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Not sure if this has been posted here yet but Keith Emerson of the 70's band Emerson, Lake and Palmer has been found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71 and living in California.

Rock star Keith Emerson killed himself because he feared he was no longer good enough as a musician, his girlfriend exclusively told The Mail on Sunday last night. The 71-year-old founder and keyboard player of Emerson, Lake and Palmer was 'tormented with worry' about upcoming concerts in Japan because nerve damage to a hand had affected his playing, said Mari Kawaguchi. She found Emerson's body when she returned to the apartment the couple shared in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, early on Friday morning. He had shot himself with a gun he kept for protection. 'Keith wasn't feeling well on Thursday...

The Federal Aviation Administration ruled Friday that Santa Monica Airport must stay open at least until 2023 -- a decision that could frustrate the city's efforts to reduce flight operations and then shut down the historic facility in the near future. Santa Monica elected officials and anti-airport activists insist that the airport can be closed well before 2023 because, they say, all obligations to the federal government already have expired. Some have even claimed it could have been shuttered earlier this year, ending what they contend are the airport's noise, pollution and safety hazards.

Ethan Czahor’s tweets began disappearing today after news broke Monday that he had been hired by Jeb Bush. Czahor resigned Tuesday. Time magazine reported on Monday that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has hired Ethan Czahor, a Santa Monica-based techie who co-founded Hipster.com, to be chief technology officer for his political action committee, Right to Rise.

After delivering a frustrated speech about gun violence in Washington D.C., President Obama traveled to Santa Monica for a fundraiser with Hollywood star Tyler Perry. During the speech, he called for his supporters to mobilize against gun violence in order to change the current political environment that refused to act.

A Huffington Post blog, "Hillary As An Agent of Change," authored by Derek Shearer was posted yesterday to reassure the "progressives" that Hillary Clinton is really one of their own. Despite the common view among the left that Hillary is a status quo type, Shearer lets us know that she is really quite liberal as you can see in these excerpts: ... Hillary would be a strong leader who manages change in the public interest-at home and abroad--in the manner of FDR or Harry Truman. She is, in fact, the true heir to the New Deal tradition of the Democratic Party,...

In his latest column, Washington Post commentator EJ Dionne advises National Republicans to learn from California's mistakes, or face declining voter support in election cycles to come.His first point of contact on this matter? The current Chairman of the California GOP, Jim Brulte:“California is the leading edge of the country’s demographic changes,” Brulte said in an interview. “Frankly, Republicans in California did not react quickly enough to them, and we have paid a horrible price.”That is true. Up to the early 1980s and the 1990s, California was a majority white state, Republicans did very well working the entire state. Other...

The Los Angeles Marathon was held Sunday, starting at Dodger Stadium, winding through downtown LA and Hollywood, and finishing in Santa Monica. Part of the uniqueness of the course is the entertainment and spectacle along the route. Guerrilla street artist Sabo, added a little something extra for this year’s participants: street_19 Each of the sixteen posters copied the style of the marketing materials for the race. Here’s the logo from the race organizers: Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 10.50.47 AM And here’s the slightly revised one that was on the bottom of each of the posters: Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 10.51.53...

Followers of the Kardashian clan were introduced to an unlikely new character this week: Marianne Williamson, the independent candidate running for soon-to-retire Representative Henry Waxman’s seat in California’s 33rd district. “I went to hear @mariannewilliamson speak the other night w @kourtneykardash & @rachel_roy,” Kim reported on Instagram. “Very inspiring!” Also inspired by the 61-year-old author and spiritual adviser: Katy Perry and Nicole Richie, who attended a recent campaign event sporting new green and purple dye jobs respectively; Steven Tyler and Chaka Khan, who performed at a fund-raiser; and former Desperate Housewives Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross, who reunited at another...

Is it just me? I’ve noticed a distinct slump in Team Obama morale lately: It seems that Santa Monica California, which is hosting a PGA tournament this week at the Riviera Country Club, has been photo-bombed with what can only be described as anti-Obama street art. In a simple one word message – “sub-par” – some ironic artiste papered the town with a very judgmental analysis of Big Guy’s performance to date. Granted, “sub par” in golf may be considered a good thing (that’s the ironic part, in case you’re not paying attention) butt in this context I don’t think...

An unknown artist is covering the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., with posters declaring President Obama to be “subpar.”

A West Los Angeles gangster who killed two people and tried to murder 12 others was warned by a judge to "stop smiling" during sentencing yesterday, but that didn't stop him from smirking and chuckling as one of the victim's mothers deplored his crimes in court. See also: Jose Zapien, West L.A. Gangster, Convicted for Murdering 2 Santa Monica Youths. The dark side of a longstanding rivalry between West L.A. and Santa Monica gangs played out in the sentencing of 25-year-old Jose Zapien, who headed west from his Sawtelle neighborhood to kill a 15-year-old high school football player and a...

The city of Santa Monica has allowed an elaborate nativity scene in its Palisades Park each Christmas for nearly 60 years, but officials are ending the tradition this year after an atheist set up his own non-religious display and caused an uproar. Now, the churches behind the nativity are suing in federal court and claim the city violated their freedom of speech by stopping the holiday tradition. A court hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles could decide the fate of the Christian tableau for the upcoming season.

So - has anyone in So California heard ANYTHING more about the hit and run driver who drove along Venice Beach? No names released, no age, no color of skin - no nothing. Why does that make me think it was a jihadi end-of-Ramadan 'celebration of death.'???

I just don't understand how John Zawahari could have allegedly shot and killed all those people at Santa Monica College last Friday. After all, not only is murder against the law, the city of Santa Monica has strict gun control laws as does the state of California. And also, according to its website, Santa Monica College is a gun free school. Here's what it says in the website: ______________________________________ Weapons Prohibition on Campus Possessions of firearms or replicas, ammunition, explosives, knives/blades longer than 21/2 inches, other weapons, or fireworks are against the law in the College community or at College...

We see it time and time again: Every time some madman opens fire on innocent people the Democrats almost immediately use the tragedy to push for gun control laws and the all too willing media quickly jump on board to begin pushing the government’s propaganda. Where most of us see tragedy the left sees opportunity. We saw it with the Virginia Tech shooting, and we saw it when Gabby Giffords was shot, and we saw it when a madman opened fire in a Colorado movie theater. Most recently we saw it in the Newtown school shooting so I fully expected...

Of the six people killed during a shooting rampage in Santa Monica, California, on Friday, all but two of the victims are believed to have been randomly targeted by a gunman, city Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks told reporters. ...

A semi-automatic assault rifle is again being tied to a US mass shooting, this one a chaotic series of events led by a body-armor-clad man who killed four and wounded five people before being shot and killed by police in a college library in the iconic beachside city of Santa Monica, Calif. The attack marked the first major mass shooting since a bipartisan gun control bill failed in the US Senate in April. The shooting may help efforts to revive the debate about gun control, as well as put focus on ongoing legislative action in some states around allowing students...

A gunman opened fire on a street corner near the campus of Santa Monica College, wounding at least four people, authorities said. Two people were later found dead in a burned home near the campus. It was not immediately clear if the two events were related. Police and witnesses said the gunfire began adjacent to the campus and about 3 miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a fundraising luncheon, just before noon. Police said a shooter was in custody and the campus was being searched for a possible second shooter. Jeff Furrows of the Santa Monica Fire Department...

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a foul odor that spurred calls to fire departments throughout the city on Sunday is possibly the result of the large release of methane in the Santa Monica Bay. Santa Monica Fire said in a department statement that they believe the strong odor was caused by a naturally occurring methane leak below the ocean floor. “This morning there was a large release of natural ocean floor methane released in the Santa Monica Bay,” the statement said. “This methane is not toxic and dissipates quickly.” Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the Air Quality Management District...