to move up and down
Syphilis outbreak among porn actors in L.A. grinds movie production to a halt
Four more cases of syphilis have been found in an investigation of an outbreak among porn performers, bringing the total to nine, and the discovery of more cases is likely, Los Angeles County’s top health official said Tuesday.
Five cases were reported last week, causing a trade group for the multi-billion dollar industry to call for a halt in filming to prevent the spread of disease.
“It’s not surprising in the adult film industry that we would have transmission of all sexually transmitted diseases because they’re having unprotected sex, oftentimes with multiple actors,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
It’s over. The Vancouver Canucks couldn’t dig themselves out of a 3-0 series hole, and now the Presidents’ Trophy winners will be practising their golf swing for the next few months. The No. 8 Kings are onto the next round. Maybe next year?
Photos: Drive-through funeral parlor
It sounds heartless. It looks odd. Cars enter a drive-through, stopping briefly next to the glass wall behind which is an open casket, then drive off. Adams Funeral Home in Los Angeles is the only service in California where you can pay your respect to the deceased on wheels. Disrespectful? (Photos: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
The L.A. Complex is sexy, smart and Canadian made
The faded sign out front of the Hollywood hotel says “Deluxe Suites,” although truth be told the rooms stretch the boundaries of that adjective. In the courtyard, a cleaning crew pushes mops around the deck of the pool area, as a couple of inflatable chairs gently jostle on top of the sparkling surface. There was a party here the night before, I’m told, which could explain why the faded, weathered building is so quiet on a sunny, crisp morning.
Except, the real explanation is that this is not a hotel. It’s a television set, albeit a huge one, constructed on a lot in midtown Toronto that backs onto the Don River Valley. And the party, evidence of which is still being cleaned up, was a scene in The L.A. Complex. How to film a television series about a group of aspiring actors and artists living in one of the pay-by-the-month hotels in the outer reaches of Los Angeles? First, build the hotel. Next, add some aspiring actors.
“It’s a little too real,” says Jewel Staite, sitting in her room at the hotel, which is to say it is the room occupied by Raquel Monaghan, her character on the show. “This set reminds me of what it’s like to be out of work.”
It’s impossible to get away from the life-imitating-art angle of The L.A. Complex, since most of the cast has spent time doing exactly what it is they are trying to portray: living in L.A., going to auditions and waiting tables in between. “A bunch of us were out for dinner the other night, and there was a mix-up with the waitress, and it led to this debate about the right order of doing things for a table. Everyone had an opinion,” says Staite, “because everyone had done it.”
Dozens arrested as Occupy Los Angeles evicted in late-night raid
Police in riot gear and biohazard suits removed anti-Wall Street activists from an encampment outside the Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday, arresting dozens of people as they enforced the mayor’s eviction order.
Busloads of police closed in on the eight-week-old camp after midnight and declared the hundreds of protesters congregated on the lawn, sidewalks and streets around City Hall to be an “unlawful assembly,” ordering them to disperse or face arrest. (Photo: David McNew/Reuters)
Bad break
See you next season, Brett Lawrie. The Blue Jays rookie ended the year with a broken finger. Mike Cassese/Reuters
Speed traps: 25 cities to have your radar up in
Windsor is the second-worst city in all of the U.S. and Canada for speed traps, according to the National Motorists Association.
Earlier this week, the U.S.-based organization released a list of the 25 North American communities with the highest number of reported speed trap locations over the past two years.
Windsor was ranked No. 2, topped only by Livonia, Michigan. Orlando, Las Vegas and Denver took third, fourth and fifth place, respectively. (Photo: Dan Janisse/The Windsor Star)
