Hyatt workers here in West Hollywood at the Andaz Hotel are striking in advance of the Labor Day Weekend hoping to gain traction in stalled union negotiations.

Beginning at 4 am this morning, union members of Unite Here local 11 walked off the job and into the street to picket the hotel firm they claim “is trying to make the recession permanent for its employees.”

Unite Here president John Wilhelm, said, “Hotel workers understand that Labor Day is about more than picnics and parades, it’s about honoring the people who have built this country and make it run.”... [full story]

WeHo News prints every letter it receives and verifies through phone contact (we DO NOT publish phone numbers or E mail addresses), printing them all unedited except for brevity, grammar & spelling. We publish the letters as a group on Thursdays; deadline for inclusion is the previous Tuesday at noon.

This Week: Exclusive: WeHo triple slaying victims identified – may be connected to medical marijuana, Senior Moments: Where has the summer gone…, WHIFF 2010, in a reversal, announces a fall film festival, Smoking Task Force completes draft smoking ban.... [full story]

People often ask what is the value in getting into a lot of fests? After the submission fees, travel costs and promo materials, does it really wind up being with it all to even bother?

I’d have to say absolutely. Many of my dearest friends are people I’ve met on my travels to the fests over the years, I’ve made some important industry contacts and I’ve gotten some press

That said, we went to the 2009 West Hollywood International Film Festival (WHIFF) this week where my short film Death in Charge was officially selected to screen. Wow [from all appearances] I half suspect it was some sort of money-laundering scam.... [full story]

Stroll through all of WeHo News’ advertisers and commercial sponsors for this issue in one place…

These people, our sponsors, make it possible to bring you all the West Hollywood News. We thank them for supporting WeHo News – and sure hope you continue to support WeHo News by doing business with our neighbors, partners and friends.... [full story]

View your own and others daily video horoscopes, crafted exclusively for WeHo News by Christopher Witecki of SoulGarden fame.

Mr. Witecki promotes your "Mind, Body and Soul Improvement” by relaying your horoscope in an enjoyable video format, updated daily.

Due to your loyalty, WeHo News’ “Daily Video Horoscopes” stands as number 7 of 56.8 million) results for Daily Video Horoscopes and 17 of 84 million for just ”Video horoscopes” (go ahead and give it a whirl for yourself – we get a kick in the pants every time we give it a go). Thank You!... [full story]

When you need a new apartment and you want to live in West Hollywood, paying for rent listings only adds to the already too high expense.

Check out WeHo News’ FREE West Hollywood Rental Listings, supplied by the City’s Department of Rent Stabilization here.... [full story]

Read about all crimes reported last week here in WeHo News’ portal into West Hollywood crime tracking, including interactive neighborhood crime data and analytics.

Check out our newest link to interactive community policing – “ "Ask Captain Fraser" of the West Hollywood branch.

Be the first to find out what happened in your neighborhood, know what crimes are happening on your block and ask the Sheriff how WeHo branch is responding to your safety needs - and remember to contact WeHo News with crime/news tips of interest.... [full story]

The third installment of a great idea - a Sunset Strip Music Festival – took root this year doubling last year’s attendance by drawing 30,000 people to the Sunset Strip over three days, with 13,000 rock aficionados flocking to the Street Festival on Saturday.

This festival is on the map.

Through the last fifty years, a lot of people who started on the Strip settled around it. Up the hill and down the hill, from movies to music, from cook to crooner, Sunset Boulevard is everyone’s back yard. ... [full story]

In the very early day of the West Hollywood West Residents Association, our first president, Arthur Trudeau, would announce in answer to people expressing frustration and lack of resolve: “YOU CAN FIGHT CITY HALL – AND WE DAMN WELL BETTER!”

On August 25 I attended a small gathering of WeHo citizens to see a presentation by Ivy Properties and their architect, RNL Design, regarding their proposed building at the site known to some as “the Aga John hole” - at the northwest corner of San Vicente and Melrose Avenues.

As usual at these events, there was a fair degree of suspicion, aimed at the builder’s real intent, a few raised voices and a lot of details tossed about by the presenters... [full story]

As the recent triple-murder returns to the role of Southern California’s medical marijuana “ground zero,” officials responded LA County Sheriff Lee Baca’s charges that criminal elements have hijacked the medical marijuana movement.

In remarks made to the LA Times Wednesday, Sheriff Baca asserted that the triple killing over a pot deal showed how “the medicinal marijuana program… has been hijacked by underground drug dealing criminals.”

One West Hollywood official pushed back, saying that the only way to solve the problems caused by the illicit pot trade is to regulate it.... [full story]

A judge found the woman who allegedly stabbed four West Hollywood Target shoppers incompetent to stand trial yesterday.

Layla Rosette Trawick, 34, went through two psychiatric examinations after which doctors agreed she could not understand the legal proceedings she faced, according to LA County DA spokesperson Jane Robison.

Ms. Traywick stands accused of four counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon in the May 3 incident.... [full story]

The General Plan draft projects more intense development on “the transit corridors,” those commercial streets that are currently served by major bus routes, yet Metro (MTA) is a County agency with a budget and will all its own.

Metro is also facing an historic operating deficit - $250 million in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2010 - and recently raised its rates.

More than 500 Metro jobs are being eliminated as well as steep cuts in administrative overhead and other expenses.... [full story]

Lomita Station Sheriff’s deputies arrested the alleged killer of three men in West Hollywood last night – with a “significant” amount of marijuana in his possession.

The suspect, Harold Yong Park, age 31, and a Korean-American residing in Hollywood, was arrested during a traffic stop at roughly 11 am on Monday, August 30.

WeHo News published an exclusive about the killings’ potential connection to medical marijuana last week.... [full story]

Divine Design, the West Coast's largest retail fund-raiser, is fast approaching.

This year marks the 19th year that designers of home, gift, fashion and beauty all come together to donate goods to benefit our beloved Project Angel Food whose mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses.

Shoppers can do their holiday shopping, receive up to 90% off of designer goods and spread the cheer of the season while they’re at it.... [full story]

Divine Design, the West Coast's largest retail fund-raiser, is fast approaching.

This year marks the 19th year that designers of home, gift, fashion and beauty all come together to donate goods to benefit our beloved Project Angel Food whose mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women, and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses.

Shoppers can do their holiday shopping, receive up to 90% off of designer goods and spread the cheer of the season while they’re at it.... [full story]

TMZ reported the death of a maltese and wounding of its guardian, allegedly at the teeth of a bulldog, in West Hollywood’s Sierra Tower yesterday.

The human victim suffered minor wounds was treated at a local hospital and released.

The attacking dog’s guardian is identified as English singer-songwriter and disc jockey Samantha Ronson; Ms. Ronson is more famous, however, for dating Lindsey Lohan until last year.... [full story]

Lomita Station Sheriff’s deputies arrested the alleged killer of three men in West Hollywood last night – with a “significant” amount of marijuana in his possession.

The suspect, Harold Yong Park, age 31, and a Korean-American residing in Hollywood, was arrested during a traffic stop at roughly 11 am on Monday, August 30.

WeHo News published an exclusive about the killings’ potential connection to medical marijuana last week.... [full story]

Mooney’s fight show provided three photographs that stood apart.

Ricky, the hot Latino and Moria, the transsexual fly through the air.

Big fat Pinky Boy takes a kick in the groin and writhes on the mat.

Hair flies in magical ways, torsos seem suspended. Fishnet stockings get fragmented as the focus shifts in impressionistic ways.... [full story]

Jeanne Dobrin is certainly a West Hollywood original. There won't be another one like her again. I have a few memories of her that sort of embody my experience of knowing her.

I first met her when Stonewall Democratic Club did it's original candidate interviews for the first election in 1984, at my apartment.

I poured her some punch which she eyed cautiously and refused to drink, as she showed equal disdain for the cookies. She looked at me as if she was afraid that somehow I would rub off on her. She was not "warm/fuzzy."... [full story]

WeHo Daily is reporting several coyote sightings over the past week just south of West Hollywood in Hollywood.

Beginning last Tuesday, they track five sightings of coyotes – one unconfirmed report of a pack – in the flats below the Creative City.

They report no incidences of sightings in West Hollywood proper, but the city issued a warning in June and animal control agencies annually warn of coyote incursions into the urban hillsides during the spring... [full story]