Not everyone loves The Hills, MTV's "reality" show about skinny girls living and (barely) working in LA. Filming of the fourth season has been disastrous for the Hollywood neighborhood that stars Lauren, Lo, and Audrina call home, reports accesshollywood.com. Paparazzi have staked out the hood, causing all kinds of trouble, including an alleged photographer knife fight. And the filming has brought cameramen, vans, and tour buses. Councilman Tom LaBonge is now involved (again). The girls' two-story, seven-room house, built in 1922, was purchased in February by the Lauren Conrad Living Trust for $2,360,000—nine years ago it went for $710,000. Makes you long for the days when Hollywood was a dump that pretty things wouldn't dare live in. [accesshollywood.com]
It's another edition of Neighborhood Council Dispatch, wherein Curbed and its correspondents sit for hours at neighborhood council board meetings to bring back the first word of what changes are afoot in the area. Your reports from the field always encouraged to the tipline.
The Hollywood United Neighborhood Council held a meeting last night to calmly discuss the proposed preferential parking district (PPD) for Canyon Drive. The verbal sparring started almost immediately when one gent with a backwards "Birds" cap (he might have been the owner) decried the lack of fairness by the Neighborhood Council board in making the issue solely about residents and not about businesses, too. Representatives from Councilman LaBonge's office (CD4) and from the Department of Transportation showed up to answer questions and listen to residents bitch for nearly two hours - the meeting was originally scheduled to last one hour. By the end of the first hour, and despite pleas to not make it a class warfare issue, most people in the audience booed and hissed at homeowners on Canyon Drive who showed up to plead their case. The hissing and cat calls reached a crescendo when one homeowner, who supported the PPD, took the mic to complain that he had nowhere to park his four cars and couldn't fit them in his driveway.
The boneheadedness of Los Angeles has finally hit home. A preferential parking district is being proposed for our neighborhood in Bronson Canyon which would restrict parking on Canyon Drive to the homeowners of the area, wiping out parking for renters like us. And why is this happening? The blame rests squarely upon the smooth, supple shoulders of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, for the non-US Weekly readers). Actually, the blame rests on greedy homeowners who think they own the street and are using Brangelina as an excuse. Via FranklinVillage.org:
"After speaking with D.O.T. representative Brian Gallagher and field deputy Jullian Harris-Calvin from Councilman LaBonge's office, the residents of Canyon Drive are requesting this due to a heavy media presence (paparazzi) because of a high profile couple who own property in the area [ED:Brangelina are rumoured to own a house in the hood]. This couple is unaware of how their name is being used to further this parking plan. They are out of the country for an extended period of time at the moment and have been in another state for the last few months filming a movie."
A rep from another Council Office informed us that the Upright Citizens Brigade is also opposed to the PPD, as it will eliminate parking for area businesses along Franklin Avenue. Two meetings are being held next week where residents will have the chance to speak out against the PPD. We'll be there!
· Parking Problems [Franklin Village]
· Large Image: Read the flyer [Curbed LA]
Malibu is considering going all out in its fight to reign in out-of-control paparazzi who are annoying celebrities, like Pierce Brosnan, who we learn can't chow down in peace. Similar to Councilman Dennis Zine's proposed "Britney's Law", the Malibu City Council is considering creating safety buffer zones around celebrities. And now they're calling in the big guns to get the law past potential constitutional challenges. "...Ken Starr, dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law and the former Independent Counsel in the Clinton impeachment effort, who is currently representing Blackwater Security on alleged atrocities in Iraq, and Nadine Strossen, the president of the American Civil Liberties Union, have expressed interest in working on this at no charge to the city." [Surfside News]
Councilman Dennis Zine (CD3) appeared on last night's The Daily Show to explain Britney's Law - the law designed to reign in the out-of-control paparazzi. Rob Riggle does a fine job of grilling the Councilman. "If the nipple slips and it's not photographed - that's not going to break anyone's heart."
· Fights, Camera, Action [The Daily Show]
· Dennis Zine Introduces Britney Spears Act of '08 [Curbed LA]
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