Developer to Update Locals on Residential Complex Project

The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Loyola Village Branch Library.

Residents who want to know what’s next for 138 Culver Boulevard — the site of the vacant lot known as “the Triangle” — can find out Tuesday. Derek Jones, chief executive officer of real estate development firm Legado Co, will update residents on the status of a plan to build a 72-unit residential complex with 16,000-square-feet of retail space, including two restaurants, a bike shop and a small grocery store, at 138 Culver. During the 6 p.m. meeting of the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa Planning and Land Use Committee, residents will be looking for answers, especially regarding parking and traffic issues, according to Cheryl Burnett, committee member and lower Playa del Rey resident. “People are very curious and concerned about …

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Groupon Good for Flight School, Bad for Neighbors?

Neighbors say online coupons for discounted flight lessons out of Santa Monica Airport put their safety at risk. The Airport Commission will hold a hearing about the ads.

In the past two months, a Santa Monica Airport flight school has sold more than 480 coupons for discounted pilot lessons. The success, however, has raised questions at City Hall about whether such promotions come at the detriment of airport neighbors. In its first Groupon ad, Justice Aviation enticed novice pilots with this language: "man the controls and try steep turns while flying over the Santa Monica Pier, Malibu Hills, and scenic landmarks." The attempt to grow the business nettled some residents who said Justice Aviation was putting their safety in the hands of adventure-seeking amateurs. So the second ad in May was phrased more delicately. The ability to take steep turns would be "far away from civilization and guided by the …

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Unemployment Rate Ticks Down in L.A. County

Number of people without jobs in Los Angeles drops to 11.6 percent in April, state employment department says.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County dropped to 11.6 percent in April, down from 11.8 percent in March, the state Employment Development Department announced Friday. The 11.6 percent unemployment rate was below the 12.2 percent rate in April 2011, according to the state agency. In Orange County, where seasonally adjusted numbers were not available, the unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in April, down from 8.1 percent in March. California's jobless rate was 10.9 percent in April, down from 11 percent in March and down from April 2011, when the rate was 11.8 percent, according to the employment department. The comparable estimates for the nation were 8.1 percent in April, 8.2 percent in March and 9 percent a year …

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Home Prices in Los Angeles County Rising

The number of homes sold sees a slight dip in Los Angeles County, but overall prices rise.

Home prices in Los Angeles County jumped by 5.1 percent in April compared to the previous month, but the number of sales dipped slightly, the California Association of Realtors announced Tuesday, noting that statewide home sales reached their highest level in more than two years. In Los Angeles County, the median price of a single-family home was $286,800 in April, up from $272,920 in March. Last month's median price was down 1.3 percent from April 2011, when the median was $290,600, according to CAR. Home sales dipped in the county by 2.9 percent between March and April, and the April sales number was 0.6 percent lower than April 2011. In Orange County, the median home price was $513,950 in April, up 5.9 percent from $485,300 in March but…

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Southland Gasoline Prices Rise for Fifth Straight Day

Gas prices are continuing to climb with the average price for a gallon of regular in Los Angeles County at $4.386 per gallon.

Prices for a gallon of gas continue to hover well over $4 a gallon, with the cheapest gas in the Venice-Mar Vista area at $4.28 a gallon. In Los Angeles County, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular increased for the fifth straight day Monday and rose 1.2 cents to $4.386. A gallon of regular was going for $4.28 at the USA Petroleum at 4395 Glencoe Ave. in Marina del Rey. The increases stem from record low gasoline inventories and continued refinery issues that "may resolve itself in the next week," according to Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California. The average price is 15.4 cents more than one week ago, 11.4 cents higher than one month ago and 14 cents greater than one year ago, according to figures …

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Moon Juice in Venice Creates New Mama Package

Moon Juice owner Amanda Chantal Bacon, who is a new mother herself, is introducing a New Mama package of juices for mom and baby.

Venice-based Moon Juice has created a New Mama juice package just in time for Mother's Day. Moon Juice, which opened in January at 507 Rose Ave., is a 100 percent organic juice and nut milk shop owned by Amanda Chantal Bacon, who also is a new mother. The New Mama package includes three of the store's signature pressed juices. They are: Fennel, Frond & Herb, which is made with fennel, basil cucumber and green apple; Gracious Greens with romaine, spinach, mint, lemon and cucumber; and Carrot, Lime & Coconut, with carrot, coconut meat, lime and ginger. The $38.50 package, which can be bought at the store or online, also includes Chia Pudding and is designed to help heal new mothers and their baby. Moon Juice uses a hydraulic press that does …

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Silicon Beach

Venice-based Wemo Media Dives Into Underwater Spectacle 'theBlu'

Venice-based Wemo Media is releasing the first version of a new application that allows users to explore the world's oceans and help with ocean conservation

Venice-based startup Wemo Media has introduced its new animated underwater environment called "theBlu" that is designed as a global art project and educational platform. The digital ocean was announced Friday on the giant video billboards in New York's Times Square. The project was inspired by the planet's oceans and serves as a digital art exhibit of ocean habitats and species. The Huffington Post reports that Wemo Media co-founder Neville Spiteri's close-up, eye-to-eye encounter with a humpback whale made him recommitted to "telling a big story about the ocean." The underwater environment was created by some of the world's best artists and developers, including Andy Jones, an Academy Award winner for visual effects for 2009's "Avatar" …

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Kickstarting Ideas in Marina del Rey

The Digital Hollywood conference took place this week at the Marina del Rey Ritz-Carlton.

Keith Knight’s high school job in the mid 1980‘s was impersonating Michael Jackson at birthday parties.  He performed as the “King of Pop” for a high school variety show, and eventually was charging $75 an hour for his performances, “which is more than I make now,” he said. Knight is now an award-winning cartoonist whose work has been featured in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Herald, among others. But a few months ago, he decided he wanted to revisit his moonwalking days and create a comic strip based on his MJ experience. “People always said, ‘when are you going to tell that story,’” he said. “It never felt like I could take the time out to do it because I always had to draw my cartoons to make money.” He…

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Silicon Beach

Facebook's Zuckerberg Joins Venice-Based Viddy

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg recently joined Venice-based Viddy, a mobile social video company.

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-creator of Facebook, has joined Venice-based Viddy, a social video company, according a report in WebProNews. Zuckerberg goes by "Zuck" on Viddy and posted a video of his dog, Beast, using the video sharing platform. Viddy was launched last April and allows users to capture, share and edit video clips on their mobile devices. JJ Aguhob, the president and co-founder of Viddy, recently participated in the Silicon Beach Town Hall sponsored by the Venice Neighborhood Council and Venice Chamber of Commerce. For more details, read the whole story right here.

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