If you have plans to go out of town early next month, cancel them immediately. We are doing cartwheels of joy in the office to report the big news teased in those recent "Start Me Up Wednesday" (as in, TODAY) hype campaign billboards and social media updates: at long last, The Rolling Stones have announced a nine-city "50 and Counting" North American tour set to kick off right here in Los Angeles at the STAPLES Center early NEXT MONTH. The exact date of the L.A. show is TBD, depending on the NHL playoffs schedule, but it will almost certainly be between May 1st-4th. SATISFACTION, indeed. More»

For anyone who has ever dreamed of hearing Matt Damon discuss bowel movements, today is your lucky day. As a co-founder of the nonprofit Water.org with Gary White, Matt Damon is passionate about bringing clean water to developing communities around the world deeply affected by a lack of access to sanitary water sources. In honor of today's global holiday calling attention to his cause, watch him discuss dropping deuces and use bathroom humor to drop some knowledge on the issue and wish you a very happy World Water Day with this hilarious animated PSA video: More»

Indeed. INDEED, my friends. Lindsay Lohan, without question the most notorious fixture of Chateau Marmont of our time as one of its on and off long-term residents has been officially banned from the hotel for failure to pony up a whopping $46,350.04 bill. Signaling the end of an era, Chateau's heavy presence was asked in a formal letter from the hotel's GM to vacate premises by August 1st and is banned from its facilities after stiffing the various charges incurred during her 47-day stay there earlier this summer. More»

Because Snoop Dogg and weed go together like bagels and cream cheese, one should never express too much surprise when hearing that The Doggfather has been arrested, usually at an airport, for trying to board a flight weighed down with the sticky icky. So please save your questions for the end when I tell you that, yet again today, Snoop was stopped at customs in Norway with eight grams of bud, which if my memory (unless my mom is reading this, in which case my research) serves me is a pretty hefty quarter-bag. Let's take a look at where this latest incident falls in the pantheon of Snoop arrests. More»

Hopefully you guys are having an easy Wednesday so far, because if you live on the Westside, your commute home is not likely to be very fun. Yes, less than one month after his epic dinner party at George Clooney's house turned Studio City into East Berlin for a day, President Obama is returning to L.A. for a series of fundraisers designed to capitalize on his recent full endorsement of gay marriage, and of course to bolster his campaign war chest. Read on for all the details of the where and when. Spoiler alert: if you live in Beverly Hills, you may want to leave work early. More»

Justin Ross Lee, our beloved jewjetting prince of pomp swooped into L.A. again this week to dish the arrogance like only he knows how, but sadly, had almost no time to offend strangers or even get himself banned from any local establishments as this quick day trip was strictLEE business. He did manage to squeeze in a Coffee Bean date yesterday with Reza Farahan, the flamboyant mustachioed Persian Bravo star and hands down our favorite "Shah." Our spies on the ground tell us this was very much a business meeting and that "the ego that attacked New York" and Beverly Hills' most famous 'stache are indeed hatching up something very special. But what...? More»

It's probably not really fair to say that we hate bicyclists on the streets of L.A. (and if you yell that out of your car window, you might get arrested and/or sued), but let's just say that cyclists and motorists don't exactly happily cohabit here. Unfortunately, with the Amgen Tour Of California race rolling through town on Sunday, that uneasy peace might not get any friendlier, as the Beverly Hills-Downtown race route means rolling closures of major streets across the many of the neighborhoods that we call home. In other words, you may want to consider passing on your Sunday brunch invitations. More»

After pronouncing his support for same-sex marriage yesterday (finally), President Barack Obama rolls into our godless, heathen city for a fundraising dinner that will boast an all-star guest list including Tobey Maguire, Barbara Streisand, and Robert Downey, Jr. at George Clooney's home in Studio City tonight. For the rest of Los Angeles (that means you) this will mean major traffic; specifically, if you try to drive in the Valley tonight, you may be the one who's forced to find religion. We've got all the details of who's going to be chowing down at Casa del Cloon this evening, plus street closure and traffic info right here. More»

Hopefully you all had a peaceful, nonviolent May Day yesterday if you participated in or were nearby any of the numerous demonstrations and marches that canvased Los Angeles as part of the nationwide general strike. The ultimate goal to shut down all businesses, schools, streets and other day-to-day aspects dubbed "A Day Without The 99%" may not have been met, but Occupiers certainly put quite an impressive dent in L.A.'s infrastructure with their "Four Winds" caravan which brought a parade of bikes and cars from four corners of the city that converged in Downtown L.A. Much like Occupy L.A., thousands poured into the streets—between the many wielding signs, others in costume, some alternative forms of expression, and police—to create some pretty spectacular imagery of the downtown landscape. More»

[May Day protest; photo by A.C. Thamer via]

Happy May Day, everyone! Well, maybe "happy" is the wrong greeting to attach. After all, for the Occupy crowd (and anyone who cares about worker's rights), May Day is meant to call attention to the exploitation of the labor force by the privileged elite. Not exactly a cake-and-ice-cream kind of day. But regardless of where your political beliefs fall, you'd do well not to ignore it, because with several massive protests, rallies and marches planned for today, mostly centering around Downtown L.A. and LAX, it's going to affect plenty of us. Read on for our full guide on street closures, delays, and more. More»

Get familiar with the Blind Barber because it's about to become your go-to neighborhood spot for the lads needing a trim or shave by day, and speakeasy-style watering hole by night, just like its beloved original location in NYC's East Village. Except for one little thing: the noms. Yes, the L.A. rendition of Blind Barber which opens today introduces food to its repertoire of services and GofG L.A. has the first inside look at this fine establishment and its menu of tasty new food and drink offerings. More»