More ramen for Sawtelle. In the strip mall just across the street from Nongla comes Tatsu Ramen which replaces two year old Wakasaya. Keep in mind that Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle is located a stone's throw away, as is newbie Miyata Menji. And, Jinya is under construction within close proximity as well. Anyway, according to The Facebook, "Tatsu ramen is a product of intense hours of labor of love; made with carefully selected all-natural ingredients and one-of-a-kind recipes to surely tantalize your tastebuds. Customize your bowl and experience ramen like never before." Management is now hiring. [EaterWire]

In January, Westside Tavern, the American restaurant within the Westside Pavilion mall on Pico, posted a job call for a new executive chef. Reps claimed managing partner and previous executive chef Warren Schwartz was not decamping, unfortunately this is not true. As of last week Schwartz has departed the restaurant though he will continue to oversee food for the next three months. In his place as executive chef comes Ben Cohn who worked with Schwartz at WT over the past year.

Schwartz says that he is working on developing two new restaurant concepts headed to TX, GA, or possibly DC. He describes one as "an upscale wood fire pizza concept" and the other, named American Food and Beverage, or American F&B, will manifest as a modern tavern serving regional American cuisine with a more product-focused menu than Westside Tavern.
&#183Help Wanted [~ELA~]

A year ago, Westsider Joel Epstein pleaded in the Huffington Post for the reopening of West LA's neighborhood park at Bundy and Santa Monica Blvd.--the green space has been locked up for more than a decade, following the murder of a transient. The area is woefully underserved by parks, so it was nice to see the space reopen for a day--during yesterday's Earth Day, appropriately enough. Epstein spearheaded the effort, which brought out about 20 people and several dogs, through City Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office. Rosendahl's field deputy Len Nguyen says his boss is supportive of reopening the park on a permanent basis, though that means someone would have to open the park every morning and lock it up every night. Nguyen added that community pressure would help move the situation along more quickly, as the LAPD is not supportive of activating the park thanks to the sizable homeless population in the area. One such individual plopped down in the middle of the park and took a nap this weekend, but no one seemed to mind.

· Another Plea to Open West LA's Little Park [Curbed LA]

Betsy Butler baby-bottle mailer

Do you live in Santa Monica or the Mid-Wilshire district? Have you received an unwanted bit of campaign spam this weekend from candidate Betsy Butler in the form of a plastic baby bottle?

Butler's opponent, Torie Osborn, would like to help you out.

Just in time for Earth Day, one of my opponent’s campaign is littering front doors across the district with low-grade plastic baby bottles. I’m not sure why my opponent thought voters in the most environmentally conscious district in California would want to get spammed with unwanted plastic, but I’m ready to lead the recycling drive.

This Monday, I will personally recycle all the bottles given to me and my team by voters, taking them to the Santa Monica Community Recycling Center.

If you would like to have your bottle picked up and recycled, please email Madeleine@TorieOsborn.combefore Sunday at 5pm.

SANTA MONICA (CBS) — In one state assembly race on LA’s Westside, the issues have taken a back seat this week as thousands of baby bottles have created some heat.

The toxin-free plastic baby bottles were sent out with incumbent State Assemblywoman Betsy Butler’s campaign mailers as part of her 2012 re-election campaign in the newly redrawn 50th Assembly District, reported CBS2′s Dave Bryan.

“Well campaigns are all about getting out a message and last year I was incredibly proud to have a bill signed by the governor that took a toxic substance out of baby bottles and so I’m sharing that message and letting people know what I’ll be working on in Sacramento and that is getting toxins out of our products and out of our lives,” said Butler (D-Marina del Rey).

Fellow Democrat Torie Osborn, one of Butlers’ three opponents in the June 5 primary.

A Venice blogger, who supports Osborn, wrote a piece charging that dumping thousands of plastic bottles on voters doorsteps in Santa Monica probably wasn’t such a great idea — a position staked out by Osborn.

“This is not a district that wants a bunch of littering of plastic bottles of any kind. You know, it’s just tone deaf. You know it misses the feeling of the district,” Osborn added.

Butler defends the baby bottle campaign, which some of her opponents are now tongue in cheek referring to as bottle-gate, by saying many families in the district are happy to have the toxin-free bottles.

“Most of us have an infant in our lives – so whether that’s a neighbor or a coworker’s child or even your own relative, share that great bottle because they are hard to find,” Butler said.

Osborn defends the supportive blogger who wrote about the baby bottles and whose piece — some readers feel — reads a lot like a news article.

Osborn argues that in this day and age, everyone knows most bloggers are pushing a point of view.

“Bloggers write personal opinion. This is Marta’s opinion,” said Osborn.

By June 5, this issue is not likely to have a major impact on the race’s outcome, Bryan reported.

The winner of the campaign for the 50th Assembly District will represent cities, including: Santa Monica, Venice and Marina del Rey.

Betsy Butler baby-bottle mailer

Betsy Butler's first campaign mailer of the 50th Assembly District election is the talk of the town. But not in a way the candidate hoped or intended.

That's because Betsy Butler's "mailers" weren't mailed at all. Instead, they were wrapped around thousands of Mexican-made plastic baby bottles and hand-delivered by paid canvassers.

Reports of Betsy Butler's baby bottle mailers started trickling in from West Los Angeles voters last week, but I hadn't actually seen one in the wild until yesterday, when reports started flooding in of bottles mysteriously showing up on the doorsteps of voters all over Santa Monica.

Presumably, Butler chose to introduce herself to the 50th Assembly district via plastic baby bottles as a clever way to tout her involvement in a California law banning BPA from plastic baby bottles and sippy cups.

But whatever Butler's intentions, voters in the district I spoke with were universally taken aback by the gimmicky mailers.

"When I came home, my first thought was it some sort of product placement," said Rick Moore, who lives in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Santa Monica. He didn't realize it was a campaign mailer until he took a closer look.

"It's just an odd thing to receive as a 59 year-old man. I mean, does she think this is the next stop for me?"

Abby Arnold, a voter in Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood was equally flummoxed. "I don't have a baby. What am I going to do with a baby bottle except throw it away?"

A voter in the Wilmont neighborhood (who asked that her name not be used) voiced similar concerns, writing in an email, "Clearly, the Butler campaign addressed a bottle for every unit in my (11-unit) building. This struck me as extremely wasteful, and since I don't have kids and live in a small apartment,  I'm now confronted with the task of figuring out what to do with it." 

Another voter who lives north of Wilshire Blvd. (who also requested her name not be used for this story) voiced surprise that a candidate reportedly endorsed by the California League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club would dump so much plastic into the district, plastic which would more than likely end up in the trash.

"This is just bizarre. It's wrong. (CLCV and the Sierra Club) ought to look at how much landfill she's taking up."

Indeed, recycling statistics complied by Cal Recycle seem to validate this concern. The recycling rates for polypropylene plastics (the type of plastic the baby bottle mailers are made out of) is abysmally low, hovering around 5%.

"That's not a very green message," Rick Moore reiterated.

Voters also voiced concern about the Mexican-made Evenflo-brand bottles Butler chose to use.

Democratic candidates normally go to great lengths to make sure any campaign materials, including mailers and lawn signs, are locally manufactured by union shops. The issue could prove particularly problematic for Butler, who's received tens of thousands of dollars in union PAC money.

"We always look for the union label on any printed materials a candidate hands out," said Arnold. "It lets me know that keeping good manufacturing jobs in California is a priority for them."

Evenflo brand baby-bottle used in mailers were made in Mexico

Evenflo, the company which manufactures the bottles Butler chose to use, could in an of itself also prove problematic for the candidate.

The company agreed in 2009 to stop using BPA in plastic baby bottles sold domestically (two years before Butler's BPA legislation was signed into law),  yet quietly continued to ship plastic bottles made with BPA to other countries. The company has also been repeatedly (and successfully) sued for marketing defective products.  In 2007, a jury awarded $10.4 million to the parents of a four month old boy who died of head injuries sustained in a car crash while riding in a defective Evenflo car seat.  In 2008, the company had to recall a million child restraint seats when it turned out their seats could break off and fly around during collisions as slow as 38 mph.

Butler's literature wrapped around the  Mexican-made baby bottles

The irony of Butler wrapping campaign literature touting her union and consumer protection endorsements around thousands of Mexican-made plastic bottles from a company with a track record of marketing products harmful to children was not lost on Arnold.

"This is a highly informed, politically aware district. You can't fool us."

If Betsy Butler was hoping the baby bottle mailers would make an impression on voters, it can safely be said she's achieved her goal.

It certainly made an impression on the Wilmont voter who's apartment building was targeted by the campaign,

"I was undecided on who to vote for in the election until I received Butler's baby bottle." she wrote,  "Then I scratched her off my list."

To get such dense power, the design upped the per-unit watt of the installation by putting seven 240-watt solar panels on each T-structure, instead of the usual six, Build Group said. To make sure the installation stays put, the structure was built to withstand 85 mph winds. In line with the federal Buy American Recovery Act, only materials made in the U.S. were used on the project.

image via Build Group

Building such an installation in a high-traffic area took some careful planning and considerations, the developers said. While the installation promises to keep the hot Los Angeles sun directed to clean energy instead of heating up leather seats, no one wants to give up valuable parking spots. In order to keep the parking lot open to hospital staff, patients, and visitors, Build Group carefully orchestrated the project in phases that kept the lot open and safe.

The 6.8-megawatt project is just a piece of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’s (VA) initiative to switch to 15 percent renewable energy by 2013. In addition to the project in West Los Angeles, VA has allocated $56.7 million in contracts to complete solar PV systems at five medical centers in Oklahoma, Texas and California by this summer.

Orris has a new neighbor, as SliceTruck, a freewheeling pizza slinger on our streets since 2010, soft-opened a brick-and-mortar location on Sawtelle yesterday. The shop sprung up serving a limited menu of cheese, pepperoni, and hot garlic slices at $3.00-3.50 a slice, as well as 14-inch pies ($14, $4 for toppings), 18-inchers ($21, with $3 for toppings), and its own version of Grandma pizza for $25. As to the prices for their self-proclaimed "ultra premium pizzas," owners boast on their blog, "It makes no sense to make this pizza that we're making as a business when you can take $1.13 in ingredients and sell it for $15 at your pizza place and no one says a word. Its just too easy, but that's not what we're doing." Um, so what is it doing exactly?

The tiny, white-tiled shop also brags that "there is no where else in the world right now that you can get a pizza similar to ours," which might refer to their homemade dough or toppings like house-made sausage, cremini mushrooms, cherry peppers, and bacon, or simply be just some big talk. The restaurant is now seeking employees to serve up the stuff. Until then, SliceTruck, the non-truck, is soft-open only during the week, Monday through Friday, from 11:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.

SliceTruck, 2012 Sawtelle Blvd. West L.A. 310-944-2474.

Read more posts by Hadley Tomicki

Filed Under: openings, pizza pizza, slicetruck, truckin', west l.a.

The state of California houses eight out of the top ten U.S. cities that "value sex most." What's even more shocking (or maybe not shocking at all), is that cities #1-6 are all located within sunny Los Angeles.

All of this ravishing data is according to over 10 million personality tests taken nationally by singles on Chemistry.com, a Match.com offshoot.

It wasn't that long ago that Trojan Condoms's national survey found that LA residents have the most sex per year -- 135 times -- as compared to the 120 times a year, or 2.3 times per week, that the rest of Americans do the deed.

Then again, we lie more. The same study found that more Angelenos fake orgasms than residents of any other city (51 percent of Angelenos). Interestingly, the city with the lowest fake orgasm rate, Chicago, also has the least sex (so we'll take the trade-off).

And then who could forget LA Weekly's study that found that USC students were "sluttier" than UCLA students. On a drunken night, USC students were more likely to have sex or even a threesome; UCLA students were more likely to throw up and go to sleep.

If you're curious exactly where in LA these hot spots are (besides the "Trojan" campus), check out the slideshow below.

But in case all these statistics have depressed you, discover Chemistry.com's list of cities that value sex the least:

1. Lubbock, TX
2. Schenectady, NY
3. Lincoln, NE
4. Toledo, OH
5. Springfield, MO
6. Fort Wayne, IN
7. Akron, OH
8. Sioux Falls, SD
9. Dayton, OH
10. Norfolk, VA

And now, a map to the action. Click through to see if your stomping grounds made the frisky list. If not, consider moving to city #1 -- the sex capital of the country.

Unlike the James Beard gang, Food & Wine has opted not to overlook Los Angeles while summing up the country's best doughnut shops (we'd love a bigger burn than that, but that's all we've got in our puddle of defeat). The magazine looks at fifteen U.S. favorites, mostly concentrating on names you likely already know, like Voodoo in Portland, Doughnut Plant in New York, and beignet-boss, Cafe du Monde, in New Orleans. To that end, the article skips the sublime Donut Man experience found in Glendora and focuses on a truly old-school bite: Primo's Westdale Donuts, established in 1956 in at National and Sawtelle in Palms.

Primo's selection defines simple much as its slim, blink-and-you-miss-it space feels like a preserved slice of vintage L.A., save any irony or sentimentality. No faux-nuts or chai-latte glaze here, just dusted twists and chocolate circles where the dough packs more flavor than the sugar.

While the sweet senior behind the counter was yet to read the story, she did confirm "that's so nice" with us upon hearing the news, then snapping to the realization the slideshow surely must be the reason they've baked three batches this morning and continue to sell out the display case.

Primo's, 2918 Sawtelle Blvd. West L.A. 310-478-6930.

America's Best Donuts [F&W]

Read more posts by Hadley Tomicki

Filed Under: superlatives, donut man, donuts, primo's, west l.a.

Japanese comedian Tetsuji Miyata brings his Miyata Menji concept to L.A. from Osaka, where noodles dubbed TG2-D and KK100 are served in ramen and tsukemen (in the latter dish, noodles are served separate from the broth, into which they're dipped). On the menu are just two items: tonkotsu ramen with pork broth, teriyaki beef, shallots and fried tomatoes, and tsukemenwith steamed noodles, anchovy cabbage, grated cheese (optional), minced pork, vegetable potage, tomato and croutons. Um, wow. 

"Very simple," says Miyata Menji general manager Aki Kanda. "Like the In-N-Out" of ramen. 

The menu comes with instructions for eating tsukemen: "1. Enjoy flavor of wheat from noodle! 2. Try few noodle by itself then feel flavor, texture. 3. Dip noodle into broth & noodle little by little. 4. Enjoy all ingredients with noodle little by little. 5. When you finished half of noodle, grind pepper to noodle and enjoy!"

On Wednesday, Kanda says Miyata, who performed in the theater group Shampoo Hat under the umbrella of entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo, will appear at the grand opening.  

Miyata Menji, 2500 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 312-3929, www.miyatamenji.com. 

(P.S. In case you're keeping track of new Sawtelle restaurants, Korean soon tofu spot Seoul House of Tofu opened two weeks ago, serving soon tofu — spicy tofu stew — and bulgogi combos. 2101 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 444-9988.) 

ALSO:

Getty chef series: 'The Tuscan Sun Cookbook'

Julienne's double-chocolate espresso cookies

Video: Spring vegetable ideas from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

— Betty Hallock

Photo credit: miyatamenji.com

Former Asanebo and Shunji's owner Shunji Nakao has reportedly completed his takeover of the former Mr. Cecil's space in West L.A., as Chowhounders are spreading the word of the kaiseki specialist's rebirth (and sorta trying to be quiet about it--whoops! Oh well.) Shunji's now sits, soft-open, behind vinyl signage while serving up an elegant arrangement that includes steamed back cod with enoki and shiitake mushrooms, sashimi and nigiri, and a dish of thinly-sliced squid with ink, egg-yolk, and black truffles that a dude named CiaoBob calls his best bite of our young year. The 'hounders suggest getting there STAT before it fades away again. [Chow]

Shunji's, 12244 W. Pico Blvd. West L.A. 323-718-0807.

Read more posts by Hadley Tomicki

Filed Under: reopenings, asanebo, japanese, kaiseki, mr. cecil's, shunji nakao, shunji's, west l.a.

From March 5 through mid-April, Expo contractor Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. (BBII), will be conducting paving activities on National and Washington Boulevards adjacent to the Expo right-of-way. 

The work will be marked by traffic detours and diversions, and according to a release by the City, maintaining access to Howard Industries on Washington Blvd. during the widening and reconstruction of Washington means the work will have to take place in phases. The anticipated work schedule is as follows:

• Monday, March 5 to Friday, March 9, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. - implement base course paving of the areas of National and Washington Boulevards within the closed portions of the roadway.
• Saturday, March 10, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. - implement a full closure of National Boulevard, between Washington Boulevard and Wesley Street. Through-traffic will be directed to La Cienega Boulevard.
• Monday, March 12 and Tuesday, March 13, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. - minor traffic diversions within the work area will occur on National Boulevard, between Wesley Street and Schaefer Avenue.

During the above period, work will be implemented at the Howard Industries work area, with occasional minor traffic diversions.  When the work at Howard Industries is done, the final paving of National and Washington Boulevards will be performed and the streets will be fully re-opened.  This final paving will require rotating closures of National and Washington Boulevards and will be done on a weekend in April.

BBII has installed changeable message signs around the area advising of the March 10 full closure of National Boulevard and providing detour information.  BBII will also hand-deliver notices to the affected area and City Staff will coordinate web-postings of notices and e-mail distributions. 

These same noticing procedures will be implemented for the final paving in April.

Be sure to like Culver City Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

These ‘before’ photos do not capture one of L.A.’s most beautiful locations.  Still, it is good to record for posterity what was here before a major new piece of Metro’s expanding rail network comes on board. In just a few years, this empty right of way at Centinela Avenue near W. Olympic Blvd in West L.A. will be home to the Expo Line to Santa Monica. The Expo Line will restore passenger rail service to Santa Monica for the first time in more than 50 years.

Expo right of way looking east from Centinela Avenue (Photo by Joel Epstein/Metro)

Metro Expo Line right of way (Photo by Joel Epstein/Metro)

Expo right of way, looking west from Centinela Avenue (Photo by Joel Epstein/Metro)

Photo Credit: Thinkstock.com

Full-service shops

Hours: Mon to Fri -10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sat 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

West L.A. Music supplies guitar equipment to top musicians around the world in all entertainment-based industries, including recording studios, film production facilities and composers. Here, you can fulfill your musical dreams with the store’s variety of guitar basics and paraphernalia including guitars (acoustic, electric, bass, classical), amplifiers, synthesizers, capos, polish, cases, picks, pickups, speaker cabinets, straps, strings and tuning gears.

Hours: Tues to Fri – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat to Mon – 10 a.m. 7 p.m.

Started by Herman Walecki in 1946 and managed by his son throughout the past four decades, Westwood Music Center is the exclusive dealer for Bill Asher, designer and builder of Asher Guitars and Lap Steels. The master craftsmanship behind Asher’s Ultra Tone T-Deluxe and S-Custom guitars, inspired by Leo Fender’s Telecaster and Stratocaster, and his Ben Harper signature Lap Steel is a sight that can make any musician drool. In addition, the guitar store holds auctions every weekend, where one instrument with legendary value is auctioned off to the public. Auctions include instruments owned and played by Dan Folgelberg, Steven Stills, Bernie Leadon and Kenny Burrell.

For vintage strumming

Hours: Tues to Sat – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Looking for a collector’s item won’t be hard to locate at Norman’s Rare Guitars.  Since the opening of its first shop in 1975, Norman’s Rare Guitars continues to hold a collection of hard-to-find vintage guitars, including Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, Martin, and Gretsch. Norman’s rare mixture of instruments has earned him credibility among collectors, musicians and many high profile musical artists and bands. Frequent Norman’s visitors have included Robert Pattinson, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.

Hours: Tues to Sat – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In a quest for finding rare acoustic guitars, The Fretted Frog owner decided to ditch his frustrations of searching big box retailers and open his own alternative acoustic guitar store. The Fretted Frog is known for finding and selling hard-to-find guitar brands such as Boulder Creek, Cole Clark, Deering, Goodtime and Vega Banjos, George Lowden, Godin, Lag and Saga: Blueridge, Cigano and Gitane.

Related: Best Music Clubs In LA

Photo Credit: Thinkstock.com

Custom-made guitars

Hours: Available by phone Tues to Sat – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tomas Delgado exemplifies Candelas’ history of skill for handcrafting the most beautiful classical, mariachi and bajo sexto guitars in the world. Candelas Guitars have touched the magical fingers of world-class performers including Andres Segovia, Celedonio Romero, Jose Feliciano, Charo, Los Lobos, Jackson Browne, Quetzal and Ozomatli. Candelas Guitar Shop produces guitars with unmatched sounds, tones and quality at affordable prices.

Hours: By Appointment Only

Neely Custom Guitars utilizes exclusive customizing techniques to meet the high quality demands for both studio and stage instruments. Each style has its own balance of woods, strings, acoustics and electronics. Building and repairing guitars since 1974, David Neely has a unique understanding of how real musicians use their instruments on stage or in the studios. He uses this knowledge to make modifications and repairs with a personal attention to detail.

Jennifer Geisman is a freelance writer and faithful beauty junkie living in Los Angeles. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

Sustainable Works 6-Week Los Angeles Green Living Workshop

Save Money By Learning Solutions to Today’s Greatest Environmental Challenges!

*Workshops meet for six sessions at the same location and time.*

Action Oriented 1½ hour 6 week Workshop series covers Water, Energy, Waste, Chemicals, Transportation, Shopping/Food:

• Reduce your Energy & Water usage
• Save $ on Utilities
• Cut landfill Waste
• Understand latest Eco-info

With the help of the Sustainable WorksBook, participants review and take action on ten related solutions.
 
The 6 week workshop is FREE to residents of Council District 11
Funding provided by LADWP through a grant from the US Dept of Energy
 
Workshop Participants can receive Resource Saving Tools and win Raffle Prizes.

To sign up go to:  www.sustainableworks.eventbrite.com

Loyola Marymount University Room MAL 460C
1 LMU Drive                     
Los Angeles, CA 900456 Thursday Meetings, Starting February 16, 2012:
2/16, 2/23, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22
7:00pm – 8:30pm
 
West LA Municipal Bldg. Hearing Room #200
1645 Corinth Ave.                  
Los Angeles, CA 90025
 6 Tuesday Meetings, Starting March 13, 2012
3/13, 3/20, 3/27, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17
7:00pm – 8:30pm

Sherman Oaks Galleria
15301 Ventura Blvd. Community Room                     
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
 6 Wednesday Meetings, Starting March 21, 2012:
3/21, 3/28, 4/4, 4/11, 4/25, & 5/2 No Mtg. 4/18
7:00pm – 8:30pm

RELATED

1. SustainableWorks Green Living Workshops Coming This Summer
2. Sustainable Works 6-Week Los Angeles Green Living Workshop
3. Sustainable Works 6-Week Green Living Workshop at Temple Isaiah in West LA

No additional details were immediately available.

At least 12 homicides have been reported within two miles of the shooting scene since January 2007, according to the Times Homicide Report database.

ALSO:

California high-speed rail funding could be in jeopardy

Woman scammed Korean men she met online, Irvine police say

Mother of L.A. arson suspect Harry Burkhart says he's mentally ill

-- Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Graphic: Map shows homicides reported since 2007 within two miles of Tuesday's slaying.

Credit: Times Homicide Report