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KLAC

KLAC

KLAC AM 570 is a radio station serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Branding itself as XTRA Sports 570, it is the radio flagship of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Jim Rome show, and the Phil Hendrie show, and is also the Los Angeles home of shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller. It also carries the Oakland Raiders, UCLA Bruins football and men's basketball, and Los Angeles Avengers arena football. It broadcasts nondirectionally and because of its low spot on the dial can be heard in most of Southern California, including the San Diego area, day and night. The name XTRA Sports derives from the previous association with XETRA AM 690. On February 4, 2005, Clear Channel Communications conducted a far-reaching format swap of three radio stations in the area. XTRA Sports, previously a simulcast at AM 690 for San Diego and 1150 for Los Angeles, went to one station at 570 for both Los Angeles and San Diego. AM 690 took on KLAC's previous format, a beautiful music station called The Fabulous 570 and redubbed The Fabulous 690. AM 1150 went to a liberal talk radio format featuring selected portions of the Air America Radio lineup and independently syndicated shows like Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz, called KTLK. The KLAC calls are only announced at the top of an hour by themselves with no other note paid attention to them. The Fabulous 690 "Contemporary Standards" format continues on the air and online at http://www.fabulousradio.com. More recently, XTRA Sports 570 has placed less emphasis on sports and more emphasis on male-oriented programming to compete with KLSX, the local home of Howard Stern and Tom Leykis. Local hosts have been instructed to not limit themselves to sports, but also include politics, celebrities, relationships, and current events. [http://www.labusinessjournal.com/print.asp?aid=18441315.8723719.1197521.111076.6121877.894&aID2=92108] The change also means that legendary San Diego sports icon "Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton" has been demoted from host of a afternoon talk show host to merely providing commentary and analysis. Many that live in the San Diego area has complained that they are unable to get the 570 signal. This has fueled the complaint that Xtra Sports 570 has "Los Angeles-ized", no longer catering to San Diego's sports teams and listeners. This has also gotten the attention of Premeire Radio Networks, Jim Rome's syndicater, XEPRS, a rival radio station that broadcasts in San Diego, picked up The Jim Rome Show in September 2005.

History

KLAC was owned by Metromedia for many years. They ran a Pop music format from the 50's into the 60's similar to other AM Metromedia stations. In the 60's the station was a MOR station playing music from the 40's and early 50's along with soft rock and non rock hits of the 50's and 60's. By 1971 KLAC evolved to more of an Adult Contemporay format focusing on soft rock hits from 1964 to the then present. About a year after KMPC 710 dropped Country for Big band and Standards KLAC dropped Adult Contemporary for Country music around 1978. In 1979 KZLA AM and FM joined the Country music competition and in 1980 KHJ joined. KHJ was back to AC by 1983. KZLA-AM-FM and KLAC competed through the 1980's. In 1986 Metromedia sold their TV stations to Fox and restructured into Metropolitan Broadcasting in 1987. In 1988 Mertopolitan eventually sold KTWV 94.7 a Smooth Jazz station to Westinghouse but sold KLAC to Malrite which owned KZLA-AM-FM. KZLA AM was sold to an ethnic broadcaster. KLAC moved to Classic Country from the 50's to the 70's. KZLA 93.9 FM kept playing Country hits from 1965 to the then present. In 1993 KLAC dropped Classic Country for Westwood One's Standards format focusing on artists like Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Johnny mathis, Carpenters, Elvis Presley, Ames Brothers, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, and others. The format stayed away from Big Bands as well as too many AC cuts. The station ran various pro sports over the years and some evening talk shows at various points. The station stayed with this format in some form until 2001. KLAC was owned by Malrite until 1993 when the station was sold to Shamrock in a group deal along with KZLA. In 1995 the station was absorbed by Chancellor Media and KZLA was swapped to Bonneville in the late 90's. Chancellor Media would form AMFM inc when it merged with capstar in 1999. In 2000 AMFM inc would merge with Clear Channel making KLAC a Clear Channel station. In 2001 KLAC became a standard talk radio station, hosting the likes of Don Imus, Clark Howard, Dr. Dean Edell, and Michael Jackson. Then on September 12, 2002, KLAC operated as the Fabulous 570, an adult standards format. The station played strictly artists like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, McGuire Sisters, Al Martino, Sammmy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and many others. They also mixed in artists like Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr, Rod Stewart, Michael Buble, and others but only the material where they sang old pop standards and not "baby boomer" pop. They did not play any Elvis or Beatles or Carpenters for example. Though they played artists like Kenny Rogers and Barry Manilow singing Big Band Classics. This format ended this past February 4, 2005.

External links


- [http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/ XTRA Sports 570]
- LAC

Los Angeles

The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ángeles, ) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850, when the city's population was only 1,610, and is the county seat of Los Angeles County. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,694,820, but a May 1, 2005 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population at 3,957,875, with the metropolitan area at 17,545,623. The city is also large by geographic standards since it sprawls over more than 465 square miles (1200 square kilometers), making it physically larger than New York City and Chicago. In addition, Los Angeles hosted two Olympic Games (in 1932 and 1984) and is home to world-renowned scientific and cultural institutions. The city is one of the biggest entry points for immigrants to the United States, making it one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. People are attracted to the city for its warm weather, its vibrant lifestyle, its unique energy, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream."

History

The Los Angeles coastal area was occupied by the Tongva, Chumash, and even earlier Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1542, when Juan Cabrillo visited the area. In 1769, the Spanish returned to California to stay. Father Juan Crespi described a "beautiful river", which the explorers named in Spanish "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula", English: "The Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River". The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771, thus establishing a permanent presence in the area and securing Spanish territory. territory On September 4, 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel Mission founded the town and named it after the river, but used a slighly shorter version. The official name was El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, "The Town of the Queen of the Angels", showing Franciscan affiliation. It remained a small mission and ranch town for decades. Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in the 1820s, but the greatest change took place in present-day Montebello after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847, which decided the fate of Los Angeles. Yankees gained control after they flooded into California during the Gold Rush and secured the subsequent admission of California into the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923, Los Angeles was supplying one-quarter of the world's petroleum. Even more important to the city's growth was water. In 1913, William Mulholland completed the aqueduct that assured the city's growth and led to the annexation by the City of Los Angeles, starting in 1915, of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own. A somewhat fictionalized account of the Owens Valley Water War can be found in the motion picture Chinatown. In the 1920s the motion picture and aviation industries both flocked to Los Angeles and helped to further develop it. The city was the proud host of the 1932 Summer Olympics. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. This period also saw the arrival of the German exiles, which included such notables as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger. The postwar years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded into the San Fernando Valley. The Watts riots in 1965 reminded the country of the deep racial divisions that even the nation's youngest city faced. The XXIII Olympiad was successfully hosted in Los Angeles in 1984. The city was once again tested by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A city-wide vote on San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession was defeated in 2002.

Geography and climate

Geography

2002 According to the United States Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 1,290.6 km² (498.3 mi²). 1,214.9 km² (469.1 mi²) of it is land and 75.7 km² (29.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.86% water. The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km), and the length of the city boundary is 342 miles (550 km). The land area is the 9th largest in the Lower-48th of United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). The highest point in Los Angeles is Sister Elsie Peak (5,080 feet) at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, part of Mt. Lukens. The Los Angeles River is a short, largely seasonal river flowing through the city, with headwaters in San Fernando Valley. Its length is almost entirely lined in concrete. The Los Angeles area is remarkably rich in native plant species. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills, mountains, and rivers, the area contains a number of important biological communities. The largest area is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible chaparral. Native plants include: California poppy, matilija poppy, toyon, coast live oak, giant wild rye grass, and hundreds of others. Unfortunately, many native species are so rare as to be endangered, such as the Los Angeles sunflower. There are many exotic flowers and flowering trees that are blooming year-round, with subtle colors, including the jacaranda, hibiscus, phlox, bougainvillea, coral tree blossoms and bird of paradise. If there were no city here, flower-growing could still flourish as an industry, as it does in Lompoc. Wisteria has been known to grow to house-lot size, and in Descanso Gardens there are forests of camellia trees. Orchids require special attention in this Mediterranean climate.

Cityscape

Mediterranean climate Mediterranean climate The city is divided into many neighborhoods. Most of the neighborhood names come from farm towns that were annexed by the growing city, physical terrain features, major streets, or subdivision names coined by enterprising developers. These divisions have no legal status but are of significance to residents for cultural and financial reasons. Signs have been placed on major thoroughfares designating some of the communities, a practice going back decades. (The "neighborhood councils" of Los Angeles began in 1999 and often follow different borders).

Climate

Mediterranean climate The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate or subtropical zone, experiencing mild, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Onshore breezes keep the beach communities of Los Angeles and San Diego cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. Temperatures in the summer can get well over 90 °F (32 °C) and smog can become a problem. Average Summer day time highs are 85 °F (29 °C), with overnight lows of 66 °F (18 °C). Winter day time high temperatures get up to around 67 °F (19 °C, with overnight lows of 48 °F (8 °C) and rain is a possibility. Generally the weather is warm and dry in all seasons, with 325 days of sunshine a year. The median temperature in January is 58.3 °F (14.6 °C) and 74.3 °F (23.5 °C) in July. The highest temperature recorded within city borders was 116.0 °F (46.7 °C) at Canoga Park in 1985; the lowest temperature recorded was 18.0°F (−7.8 °C) in 1989, also at Canoga Park. The highest temperature ever recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0 °F (44.4 °C) on June 26 1990, and the lowest temperature ever recorded was 28.0 °F (−2.2 °C) on January 4 1949. Accumulating snowfall is a once in a lifetime event. There has been three recorded instances of snowfall in the city; two inches (5 cm) of snow fell in 1932 and the last snowfall occurred in 1949. Rain occurs mainly in the winter and spring months (February being the wettest month) with great variations in storm severity year by year. Los Angeles averages 13-16 inches (330 to 410 mm) of rain per year.

Pollution

1949Due to the city's geography as well as the population's heavy reliance on automobiles as a major form of transportation, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system. Light pollution is also a problem.

Seismic activity

Like most areas of California, Los Angeles is subject to frequent earthquakes, due to the close proximity of the San Andreas Fault, as well as the smaller San Jacinto Fault and Banning Fault, in southern California. Most earthquakes are relatively minor, however, throughout history there are several major earthquakes. The most recent was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Coming less than two years after the L.A. riots, the Northridge earthquake was a severe emotional shock to Southern Californians, in addition to causing physical damage worth billions of dollars. Other major earthquakes include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.

People and culture

Demographics

Sylmar earthquake

Census 2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,041.3/km² (7,876.8/mi²). There were 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 1,101.1/km² (2,851.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.93% White, 11.24% African American, 0.80% Native American, 15.89% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.70% from other races, and 5.18% from two or more races. 46.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race and 29.75% White, not of Latino/Hispanic origins. There were 1,275,412 households of which 33.5% had children under 18, 41.9% were married couples, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.5% of households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size 3.56. The age distribution was: 26.6% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for a household was $36,687, and for a family was $39,942. Males had a median income of $31,880, females $30,197. The per capita income was $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families were below the poverty line. 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.

Other demographics

Of 2,182,114 native people, 1,485,576 were born in California, 663,746 were born in a different state of the United States of America, and 31,792 were born in a United States territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas). Of 1,512,720 foreign born people, 100,252 were born in Europe, 376,767 were born in Asia, 20,730 were born in Africa, 4,104 were born in Oceania, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Northern America. Of such foreign-born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens. The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. L.A. can truly be described as a "world city" (Alpha World City) — that is, it has one of the largest and most diverse populations of any municipality anywhere. The Hispanic and Asian American populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian American population is the second largest of any city in the U.S. Los Angeles hosts the largest populations of Armenians, Cambodians, Filipino, Guatemalans, Israelis, Koreans, Salvadorans, Thais, Mexicans, and Hungarians outside of their respective countries. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Japanese and Persians (Iranians) living in the U.S., and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. L.A. is home to people from more than 140 countries, who speak at least 224 different languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Koreatown, Little India (Artesia), Little Armenia, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown and Little Ethiopia give testimony to the polyglot character of Los Angeles.

Crime

The COMPSTAT unit of the Los Angeles Police Department tabulates Part I offenses (violent and property crimes) committed in the city. Los Angeles has been experiencing significant decline in Part I offenses since the mid 1990s hitting a record low in 2004. Criminality peaked in 1992 with 72,667 recorded acts of violence (1,096 homicides) and 245,129 recorded property crimes. In 2004, there were 31,245 recorded violent crimes of which 518 were homicides. The distribution of homicides in the city is uneven with nearly half of such crimes occurring in the four stations of the South Bureau of the LAPD encompassing South Los Angeles and the Harbor area. A further quarter occur in the areas covered by the Central Bureau which covers Downtown and its environs. Property crimes were three times more common than violent crimes; 90,374 were recorded in 2004. When compared to other large cities, Los Angeles fares relatively well with a total crime index lower than San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. Many movies and songs about Los Angeles depict the notion that the city is home to a large number of gangsters and professional criminals. According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center [http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs0/668/overview.htm], Los Angeles County is home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs. In Los Angeles, car chases happen more often than in most other major cities (sometimes several per week). The city's complex freeway system allows for lengthier pursuits, which may take them throughout the city. Other common crimes include: car-to-car shootings (see road rage), drive-by shootings, thrill killings, hit-and-run accidents, and carjackings. Numerous instances of all these crimes are documented on the LAPD press release Web site [http://www.lapdonline.org/portal/generic.php?page=/press_releases/press_releases.php]. One interesting example is a report on ten freeway shootings within two months [http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4449599/detail.html]. Also, Los Angeles has been a popular setting for several crime-based video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which features Los Santos, a city largely based on the Los Angeles metropolitan area) and True Crime: Streets of LA (which takes place in a close replica of the Los Angeles area).

Arts and entertainment

True Crime: Streets of LA Los Angeles is sometimes considered the entertainment capital of the world. It shares the title of the cultural capital of the United States with New York City. Its largest entertainment industry is film production, but it is an important center for music, art, and architecture as well. As a major global metropolis, Los Angeles has evolved a unique culture and that is well-portrayed in popular media and is sometimes idealized as highly desirable. However, this culture has also inspired criticism that it is not really a unique culture, although most believe the contrary. Residents of the city of Los Angeles are served by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its branch locations. Residents of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and various cities within the county are served by the County of Los Angeles Public Library The LAPL is funded by voter-approved bond and tax levy packages. The Main Library is located in downtown Los Angeles and has been recognized as a National Historic Site.

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is The Los Angeles Times. La Opinión is the city's major Spanish-language paper. There are also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including the Los Angeles Newspaper Group's Daily News (which focuses coverage on the Valley), Village Voice Media's L.A. Weekly, L.A. City Beat, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal industry paper), Variety (entertainment industry paper), and [http://www.downtownnews.com Los Angeles Downtown News]. In addition to the English and Spanish language papers, numerous local periodicals serve immigrant communities in their native languages (e.g. Korean, Persian and Japanese). Most of the above papers are center-left or left in their political stance with the clear exception of the Daily News, which is center-right. One example of this is that the L.A. Times often does high-quality investigative journalism on important inner-city issues like health care and crime, while the L.A. Daily News is usually content to run wire stories on those issues, if it covers them at all. The L.A. Daily News also focuses on business issues, education, and crime. It strongly supports lowering taxes. Many cities adjacent to Los Angeles also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Los Angeles neighborhoods. Examples include the Daily Breeze (serving the South Bay), and The Long Beach Press-Telegram. The Los Angeles metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the second largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 5,431,140 homes (4.956% of the U.S.). The major network television affiliates include KCBS 2 (CBS), KABC-TV 7 (ABC), KNBC 4 (NBC), KTTV 11 (FOX), KTLA 5 (WB), and KCOP 13 (UPN), and KPXN 30 (i). There are also four PBS stations in the area, including KVCR 24, KCET 28, KOCE 50, and KLCS 58. World TV operates on two channels, KNET 25 and KSFV-LP 27. There are also several Spanish-language television networks, including KMEX 34 (Univision), KFTR 46 (Telefutura), KVEA 52 (Telemundo), and KAZA 54 (Azteca America). KTBN 40 (Trinity Broadcasting Network), is a religious station in the area. Several independent television stations also operate in the area, including KCAL 9 (owned by CBS/Viacom), KSCI 18 (focuses primarily on Asian language programming), KWHY 22 (Spanish-language), KNLA-LP 27 (Spanish-language), KJLA 33 (variety), KPAL-LP 38, KXLA 44, KDOC 56 (classic programming and local sports), KJLA 57 (variety), and KRCA 62 (Asian language programming).

Religion

Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions. Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in the United States, rivaled only by New York City. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown. The Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is their second-largest temple and is located in West Los Angeles. The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement. Los Angeles can be called the birthplace of Christian Fundamentalism. From 1908 to 1959 the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A. now Biola University) was located in downtown at the corner of Hope and Sixth streets, in front and to the west of the Los Angeles Central Library building. In 1913, B.I.O.L.A. published a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Holy Bible. The term fundamentalism is derived from these books. In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelical ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white church members. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949. Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God used to have its headquarters in nearby Pasadena, now in Glendale. Until his death in 2005, Dr. Gene Scott was based near downtown. The Metropolitan Community Church, a fellowship of Christian congregations a focus on outreach to gays and lesbians, was started in Los Angeles in 1968 by Troy Perry. Jack Chick, of "Chick Tracts", was born in Boyle Heights and lived in the area most of his life. Chick Tracts]] Because of Los Angeles's large multi-ethnic population there are numerous organizations in the area representing a wide variety of faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, various Eastern Orthodox Churchs, Sufism and others. Immigrants from Asia for example, have formed a number of significant Buddhist congregations. Los Angeles has been a destination for Swamis and Gurus since as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920). The Self-Realization Fellowship is headquartered in Hollywood and has a private park in Pacific Palisades. Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions. One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is in neighboring Pasadena. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The Church of Scientology has a major presence in Hollywood, as does the Kabbalah Centre.

Sports

Club Sport League Venue Logo
Baseball Major League Baseball: National League Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium
Baseball Major League Baseball: American League Angel Stadium of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Los Angeles Lakers Basketball National Basketball Association: Western Conference Staples Center Staples Center
Los Angeles Clippers Basketball National Basketball Association: Western Conference Staples Center Staples Center
Los Angeles Sparks Basketball Women's National Basketball Association: Western Conference Staples Center Staples Center
Los Angeles Kings Ice Hockey National Hockey League: Western Conference Staples Center Staples Center
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Ice Hockey National Hockey League: Western Conference Arrowhead Pond Arrowhead Pond
C.D. Chivas USA Soccer Major League Soccer: Western Confernce Home Depot Center Home Depot Center
Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Major League Soccer: Western Conference Home Depot Center Home Depot Center
Los Angeles Avengers Arena Football Arena Football League: American Conference Staples Center Staples Center
---- Los Angeles is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers , the Los Angeles Sparks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Club Deportivo Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Los Angeles Avengers. Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise since 1995 despite being the second-biggest television market in North America. Prior to 1995, the Rams (1946-1994) and the Raiders (1982-1994) of the NFL were in the Los Angeles market. Raiders Anaheim, about 25 miles (40 km) to the south-east of downtown, is home to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. At various times in history the Angels have been known as the Los Angeles Angels (1961-1965), the California Angels (1965-1997), and the Anaheim Angels (1997-2004); talks in 2004 suggested the team was considering returning to the original name, over loud protests from the Anaheim government. The name was officially changed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in late December 2004 in order to link with the larger city while still complying with contractual obligations. Beach volleyball and windsurfing were both invented in the area (though predecessors of both were invented in some form by Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii). Venice, also known as Dogtown, is credited with being the birthplace of skateboarding and the place where Rollerblading first became popular. Area beaches are popular with surfers, who have created their own subculture. Los Angeles has twice played host to the summer Olympic Games: in 1932 and in 1984. The Los Angeles area contains all kinds of topography, notably the hills and mountains rising around the metropolis (it's the only major city in the United States bisected by a mountain range); four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries. Thousands of miles of trails crisscross the city and neighboring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot, bike, or horse. Across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available, such as skiing, rock climbing, gold panning, hang gliding, and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.

Economy

The economy of Los Angeles is driven by agriculture, petroleum, entertainment (motion pictures, television, and recorded music), aerospace, international trade, and tourism. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the United States. The contiguous ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together compose the most significant port in North America and one of the most important ports in the world. They are vital to trade within the Pacific Rim. Los Angeles is the world center for the entertainment industry, including adult entertainment. Other significant industries include media production, finance, aerospace, telecommunications, law, tourism, health and medicine, and transportation. The city is home to three major Fortune 500 companies, including aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman, energy company Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and homebuilding company KB Home. Other companies headquartered in Los Angeles include Twentieth Century Fox, Herbalife, Univision, Metro Interactive, LLC, Premier America, CB Richard Ellis, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Guess, Inc., O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, TOKYOPOP, The Jim Henson Company, Paramount Pictures, Robinsons-May, Sunkist, Fox Sports Net, Health Net, Inc., 21st Century Insurance, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The metropolitan area contains the headquarters of even more companies, many of whom wish to escape the city's high taxes. For example, Los Angeles charges a gross receipts tax based on a percentage of business revenue, while most neighboring cities charge only small flat fees. The companies below clearly benefit from their proximity to Los Angeles, while at the same time they also avoid the city's taxes (and other problems). Some of the major companies headquartered in cities adjacent to Los Angeles include Shakey's Pizza (Alhambra), Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (Beverly Hills), City National Bank (Beverly Hills), Hilton Hotels (Beverly Hills), DiC Entertainment (Burbank), The Walt Disney Company (Fortune 500 - Burbank), Warner Brothers (Burbank), Countrywide Financial Corporation (Fortune 500 - Calabasas), THQ (Calabasas), Belkin (Compton), National Public Radio West (Culver City), Sony Pictures Entertainment (parent of Columbia Pictures, located in Culver City), Computer Sciences Corporation (Fortune 500 - El Segundo), DirecTV (El Segundo), Mattel (Fortune 500 - El Segundo), Unocal (Fortune 500 - El Segundo), DreamWorks SKG (Glendale), Sea Launch (Long Beach), ICANN (Marina Del Rey), Cunard Line (Santa Clarita), Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita), Activision (Santa Monica), and RAND (Santa Monica). There are many other well-known companies with headquarters located in the County of Los Angeles or the greater Los Angeles area, but they are far beyond the City of Los Angeles (and the scope of this article). See Los Angeles County: Economy for a list of such companies in Los Angeles County.

Infrastructure

Government

Los Angeles County: Economy The city is governed by a mayor-council system. The current mayor is Antonio Villaraigosa. There are 15 city council districts. Other elected city officials include the city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, and the city controller, Laura Chick. The city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors within the city limits. The district attorney, elected by the county voters, prosecutes misdemeanors in unincorporated areas and in 78 of the 88 cities in the county, as well as felonies throughout the county. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) polices the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department polices all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and some cities which have contracted for law enforcement services because they lack police departments of their own, including Calabasas, Temple City, West Hollywood, and Compton. The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Public Library System and Los Angeles Unified School District are among the largest such organizations in the country. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power provides service to city residents and businesses. The city government has been perceived as inefficient and ineffective by residents of some areas, which led to an unsuccessful secession movement by the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood in 2002. The main problem seems to be that the city administration in Downtown gives priority to high-density neighborhoods like Mid-City and Downtown at the expense of its far-flung suburban neighborhoods. To make the government more responsive and to help encourage the cohesiveness of neighborhood communities, the city council has promoted the formation of neighborhood councils. These advisory councils were first proposed by city council member Joel Wachs in 1996 and were incorporated in the Charter Reform of 1999. The councils cover districts which are not necessarily identical to the traditional neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the borders of which often reflect those of cities that were annexed to Los Angeles. More than 90 neighborhood councils have been formed and all stakeholders in a district may vote for council members. Though the councils have little actual power, they are still official government bodies and so must abide by California's Brown Act that strictly governs the meetings of deliberative assemblies. These and other regulatory requirements have proven frustrating for activists unaccustomed to bureaucratic procedures. The first notable achievement of the neighborhood councils was their organized opposition in March 2004 to an 18% increase in water rates by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (a municipal monopoly), which led the city council to suspend the rate hike pending further study.

Legal system

Los Angeles Department of Water and PowerThe Los Angeles County Superior Court has jurisdiction over all cases arising under state law, while the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California hears all federal cases. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center. Unlike the largest city in the United States, Jim Rome (b. October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, the programming subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, he hosts The Jim Rome Show weekdays from 9 AM to 12 noon Pacific Time. He also hosts the TV show Jim Rome is Burning (formerly Rome is Burning) which airs on ESPN. His past hosting jobs included sports discussion shows Talk2 (ESPN2) and The Last Word (Fox Sports Net). Rome achieved notoriety for an incident on his ESPN2 show in 1994 when he repeatedly called NFL quarterback Jim Everett "Chris" (after Chris Evert, the female tennis player), from the argument that Everett shied away from getting hit. After fair warning, Everett physically attacked Rome while still on the air, overturning a table and knocking Rome to the floor. ([http://joezizzo.com/video/ESPNAttack.mpg Video] of "The Incident") Years later, many believe the incident was actually staged, however Rome has remained silent on the issue. Rome also caused controversy when, in 1997, he challenged 69-year-old ex-hockey star Gordie Howe's plans to play a shift with the IHL's Detroit Vipers, which would have given "Mr. Hockey" the claim of having played professional hockey in six decades. Rome offered a bounty of $3,000 to any player on the team playing against the Vipers to take Howe out of the game permanently. Howe and his wife threatened Rome with a lawsuit, and the bounty went away. His current radio show takes calls from listeners and features interviews of notable people from the sports world. His TV show primarily features interviews with athletes and other people associated with sports, but his main influence both started and remains with sports talk radio. A graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987, Rome started his radio career at KTMS, located in Santa Barbara. He eventually moved to XTRA Sports 690 in San Diego, where he started what is now known as The Jim Rome Show, or "The Jungle" (after "Welcome to the Jungle", the Guns N' Roses hit that opens some segments of the program). The show became syndicated in 1996. It can now be heard on over 200 radio stations across the United States and Canada.

See also


- The Jim Rome Show
- Smack-Off 2005

External links


- [http://www.jimrome.com/ Jim Rome official website]

- [http://www.stucknut.com/ Jim Rome unofficial forum] Rome, Jim Rome, Jim Rome, Jim Rome, Jim Rome, Jim Rome, Jim

Shock jock

A shock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of radio broadcaster (sometimes a disk jockey) who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe evocative or irreverent broadcasters whose manners and on-air behavior is offensive to the speaker.

Background

The idea of a performer or entertainer that breaks taboos or places their careers in the realm of the currently offensive is not a new one. Despite insistences of some decency activists, there are few eras of history in which there have not existed notoriously offensive performers (Benny Bell, Le Pétomane, Redd Foxx, Lenny Bruce, to name a few). Shock jocks, as the current incarnation of this phenomenon, entered the American radio scene during the 1970s, and are still common into the 2000s. Shock jocks may be informally identified by a number of common behaviors or conditions. Many such broadcasters revel in the fact (or belief) that a good portion of their listening audience consists of people who strongly dislike them; which of course, is an ironic but welcome boost to the broadcaster's ratings. Shock jocks also tend to push the envelope of decency in their market, and generally show a lack of regard for communications regulations (e.g. FCC rules) regarding content. It is not at all uncommon for a shock jock to find him/herself fined by regulators for "going too far"; in fact, some broadcasters consider such an incident as a badge of honor. Also, such incidents are typically followed by a media circus, which of course provides more promotion for the broadcaster and brings more attention to their antics. Popular envelope-pushing topics for shock jocks include sex, especially kinky and/or scatalogical topics, or just unabashed innuendo. Dialogue approaching or committing thinly veiled or excused racism, homophobia, exploitation of women, ridicule of the disabled, etc., are also tools of the shock trade. One increasingly common theme of shock jocks is to promote weekly highway "flashing" days, with names such as "Whip'em Out Wednesday (W.O.W for short)", where women are encouraged to expose themselves to other motorists. Many shock jocks have been fired as a result of such punishments as regulatory fines, loss of advertisers, or simply social and political outrage. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for such broadcasters to be quickly re-hired by another station or network. Shock jocks in the U.S. are under greater pressure since the introduction of a new law in March 2004 which increased the fines on radio stations for violating decency guidelines by a factor of nearly 20.

Famous incidents

Some major popularized incidents involving shock jocks:
- On May 19, 2005, Opie and Anthony encourages listeners to hold up signs during live news broadcasts. One of the show's staff stepped behind WCBS-TV reporter Arthur Chi'en holding an Opie and Anthony poster. After finishing the last syllable of his report, Chi'en turned to the staff member and yelled "What the fuck is your problem, man?" before the studio could cut to the pre-recorded segment of the report. The obscenity was aired live, and despite his apology, Chi'en was fired later that day. Since then, he has been re-hired by WB 11 to do ONLY taped news reports.
- May 12, 2004: Marconi and Tiny, two Portland, Oregon disk jockeys, played the audio portion of the video of Nick Berg's murder on their morning program several times, accompanied by music, jokes, and laughter over the scenes. The pair was fired the same day.
- April 8, 2004: Howard Stern's show was dropped by Clear Channel Communications the few stations of theirs that had carried the show after they were fined $495,000 USD for a variety of individual statements made in a single Stern show. Stern used his remaining market share to criticize Clear Channel and the Bush Administration.
- January, 2004: Clear Channel is fined $715,000 USD for an airing of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, which included (among other things) a scene involving explicit sexual conversations between children's cartoon characters. Bubba is fired shortly thereafter.
- August 23, 2002: New York shockers Opie and Anthony hold an annual contest for listeners who receive points for having sex in interesting places or circumstances. A couple is arrested for having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, and the disk jockeys are fired from WNEW shortly thereafter.
- February 27, 2001: Bubba the Love Sponge has a pig castrated and killed on-air. Bubba is charged with animal cruelty, but acquitted.
- April 1, 1998: Opie and Anthony are fired from Boston radio station WAAF for an April Fool's Day prank announcing that the mayor of Boston had been killed in an accident. The pair are soon hired by New York station WNEW.
- April, 1995: On the Don Imus radio show, U.S. Senator Al D'Amato puts on a comical Asian accent and criticizes judge Lance Ito for personal interest in allowing television cameras in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Imus is criticized for keeping D'Amato on air because of the shock value of the senator's comments.
- July 12, 1979: WLUP Chicago disc jockeys Steve Dahl and Garry Meier stage "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park between games of a scheduled Chicago White Sox-Detroit Tigers doubleheader. Fans were granted admittance to the games for 98 cents if they also donated unwanted disco records to be blown up at Comiskey's second base during the event. After the records were blown up, fans spilled onto the playing field and rioted, causing the White Sox to forfeit the scheduled second game.
- February 1974: Larry Lujack of WCFL Chicago responds to a fan's letter on-air by stating he'll play more Jim Croce records "when [Croce] goes back into the studio and makes some more." (Croce had died in a Louisiana plane crash five months earlier.) The resulting protests from Croce fans led to an on-air admission by Lujack a few days later that the statement was inappropriate.

Noted shock jocks

Evocative or outspoken broadcasters have been branded with the "shock jock" label across all ends of the spectrum of radio (and TV) broadcasters. Most range from the sexually indecent to the politically offensive. Some broadcasters variously identified as "shock jocks" include:

United States


- Danny Bonaduce
- Bubba the Love Sponge
- Mike Church
- Steve Dahl
- Mancow
- Morton Downey, Jr.
- Don Imus
- Tom Leykis
- The Love Doctors
- Larry Lujack
- Opie and Anthony
- Colin Quinn
- The Regular Guys Larry and Eric
- Elliot Segal
- Star and BucWild
- Howard Stern

United Kingdom


- Nick Abbot
- Chris Evans
- Ali G
- Caesar the Geezer
- John Gaunt
- Scottie Mcclue - real name Colin Lamont
- Chris Morris
- Eddie Nestor
- Ken Nott
- Little Matt Whale

Other countries


- Leon Byner (Australia)
- John Collison (Canada)
- J.P. Fillion (Canada)
- Alan Jones (Australia)
- Nigel Pierce (South Africa)

See also


- Opie and Anthony
- The Hideout
- Ron and Fez
- Bubba the Love Sponge
- Lex and Terry
- The Cosmic Circus
- Cowhead and Brent
- The Philips Phile
- Howard Stern
- David Lee Roth

External links


- [http://www.opieandanthony.com Opie and Anthony's website]
- [http://www.howardstern.com Howard Stern's website]
- [http://www.lovedocs.com The Love Doctor's Official website]
- [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/21/entertainment/main519365.shtml Shock Jocks Fired For Sex In St. Pats Stunt]
- [http://www.mikechurch.com Mike Church's website]
- [http://www.regularguys.com The Regular Guys website]
- [http://www.djmoves.com Track the moves of popular shock jocks] Category:Radio

Mancow

Erich "Mancow" Muller (born June 21, 1966) is a United States radio and television personality. He is best known as the shock jock on Mancow's Morning Madhouse, a Chicago-based radio show that has, in recent years, been syndicated across the U.S.

Early life

Mancow attended Central Missouri State University and received a Theatre degree in 1990. His career in radio began at KOKO in Warrensburg, Missouri. Later, he became a part of the morning show, Holy Moly & Maxx, for station KMOK in Kansas City.

Pre-Chicago notoriety

After a stint at KDON (the first radio station to feature UFO Phil) in Monterey, California Mancow headed north to San Francisco. In 1993, Mancow made national headlines while working for radio station KYLD-FM in San Francisco, California. At the time, a story had been circulated that President Clinton had tied up traffic on an LAX runway for over an hour because of a haircut on Air Force One. Mancow staged a parody of this incident on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during rush hour. He used vans to block the westbound lanes of the bridge while his sidekick, Jesus "Chuy" Gomez, got a haircut. As a result of this publicity stunt, Mancow was prosecuted and given three years probation, fined $500, and ordered by a San Francisco Municipal Court judge to perform 100 hours of community service. The radio station eventually paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a bridge commuter.

Mancow's Morning Madhouse

After leaving California, Muller came to Chicago, where he created his now-famous radio show in 1994. Originally, he broadcast from FM 103.5, which at the time was a heavy metal station. In 1998, he moved to FM 101.1, the city's foremost alternative rock station. Currently, he is heard from 5:30-10am (CST) in eight nationwide radio markets. The show is currently broadcast from the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago. When Muller worked for 103.5, he broadcast from the John Hancock Center.

Radio show overview

Despite being syndicated across the country, Mancow's Morning Madhouse retains its Chicago flavor. Its humor is laden with schadenfreude. It also retains inside jokes funny only to Chicagoans, such as its constant insults against Joliet, Illinois. A typical show consists of prank calls, celebrity impersonations, political rants, and merciless teasing of members of the show. While the show has attracted more prominent musicians, actors/actresses, and figures in recent years, the tone has not lightened. The cast of the show reveals much about its focus and source of humor. In addition to "Mancow" Muller, the main characters are:
- Turd the Bartender (sidekick)
- Deejay Luv Cheese (technical producer)
- Ryan the Gay Mexican (music reporter)
- Jim Jesus the Yelling Guy (traffic reporter)
- Al Roker Junior (sports)
- Creepy Bill (prank caller)
- Dewey, Lord of the Fat Chicks (webmaster) Recurring characters have included "Wade the Gimp," a disabled man in a wheelchair; "Cowboy Ray," a bad comedian and pornographic movie producer, who repeatedly shaves his junk; the "Big Goony," a mentally retarded worker in the building; and "Crazy Mary," a schizophrenic. The show's regular programs include such things as "Skid Theater," where the staff pays homeless people to act out lines from movies, then have people call in and try to guess which one. Not surprisingly, the show is not considered to be politically correct. In 1996, the Chicago magazine New City published a scathing attack on the show, including accusations that the show was homophobic and racist (the title of one article was "In Search of the Straight, White Male") and in bad taste. When the article came out, Muller angrily read it on his show while attempting to refute it point-by-point. However, afterwards, he toned down on how he spoke about minorities - when Andrew Dice Clay co-hosted with him for a week, he forbade him to make any anti-gay statements, and "bleeped out" any such comments (which resulted in quite a few bleeps). The show, despite its emphasis on humor, can be extremely political. While Muller calls himself a libertarian, critics have attacked him as a right-wing demagogue. Although the show routinely satirizes politicians of both parties, Muller takes strong positions on the abortion and right to die debate, and has endorsed Republican candidates. Moreover, Muller often acts like a pious Catholic, even claiming that, while in college, he considered becoming a priest. He has become well-known for, on his radio show, telling pagan guests and callers that they really worship Satan. However, this "Christian piety" does not exactly find expression in his life, or in the rest of his radio show (as he has admitted on air on numerous occasions). For example, after his marriage in a Roman Catholic ceremony, the following reception included guests as varied as known pimps and porn-movie actors. One mainstay of the show is the invitation of conspiracy theorists. However, Muller and the show's staff almost always insult and make fun of such theorists, rather than taking them seriously. Muller published his memoirs in 2003: Dad, Dames, Demons, and a Dwarf (Regan Books). Muller is currently trying to expand his radio market, including broadcasting in Los Angeles. However, not all his expansions are successful, such as his attempt to break into the Detroit market.

Incidents

While the Mancow show has refrained from stunts on the scale of the Opie and Anthony Show, it has had its moments. Muller began a long-term rivalry with Howard Stern shortly following the death of the former's father. After claiming Stern made nasty statements about his deceased father, Muller responded furiously. In 1996, Muller faked his own death. This incident led indirectly to the aforementioned New City critique of his work. Comedian Chris Farley appeared on the show several times. He was slated to appear on the show the morning after his death by drug overdose. Incidentally, Farley's Chicago apartment (where he was found dead) is located in the Hancock Center as well, only floors away from where Muller broadcast at the time. For many years, the show hosted unusual contests for listeners, including putting contestants through humiliating ordeals, such as eating cat food and other disgusting items. On other occasions, the show played pranks on Chicago businesses, such as walking into a Chinese dry cleaner with a bloody shirt and pretending to be nervous over a supposed murder. Still other contests were specially designed to scare passersby, such as "Grand Theft Auto," based on the video game series of the same name, where contestants would be issued car keys, then told an expensive automobile would be parked on a (preferably) busy Chicago intersection. However, only one of the keys actually worked; other contestants trying to win the car would appear to be would-be thieves to the uninformed observer. Such contests were slowly weeded out over the years. Some of his stock material involves using the prank call tracks from the Touch Tone Terrorist's albums, and passing them off as his own creations. A self-admitted Star Trek fan, Muller has in recent years hosted paint ball fundraisers with William Shatner. In November 2005, Cowboy Ray, a frequent guest, was struck by a car in a hit-and-run accident. Because of the incident, Muller has offered a $5,000 reward pertaining to the arrest of the driver. Although this story was eventually confirmed by the Chicagoland news media, it was intitially greeted with skepticism - about two years earlier, Muller faked Ray's death for several months to explain his absence from the show.

Running Jokes


- Mancow's wife. Muller's new wife is considerably younger than him, and both staff members and callers often try to get in a dig at his expense. Before his marriage, when Muller pondered where to hold the reception, Turd sarcastically suggested Chuck E. Cheese. After his marriage, when he complained his wife couldn't cook, a caller managed to say the following before being cut off: "Well, Mancow, in a few years, when your wife goes to high school, they have this class called home ec..."
- Turd's drinking. Turd is considered by other staff members to be an alcoholic, so the others try to find ways to stop him from drinking, such as looking for booze so disgusting that he couldn't consume it.
- Turd's made-up stories. Sometimes, Turd will start to tell a story, only to be stopped by Muller, who reveals that the "story" is actually ripped off of a popular movie, fairy tale, or television show (in this sense, it resembles numerous comedic acts, such as those on Late Night with Conan O'Brien). The show then invariably plays an audio loop which involves Muller punching Turd.
- Turd's mother. Callers and staff members alike call Turd's mother a whore, which invariably elicits the response, "My mom is not a whore!"
- White women. Al Roker Junior, an obese African-American who was created as a parody of the real Al Roker, plays to the stereotype that all black men want sex with white women. The words have become somewhat of his catchphrase - he uses them even in his reporting outside of the morning show.
- Anytime the name 'Menominee' or the word 'phenomena' is mentioned, or any other such word that sounds like those, the background crew members respond with a "Do-do-do-do" tune. This is a reference to the infamous song Mahna Mahna regularly played on The Muppet Show.

Collections

Several collections have been made containing highlights from Mancow's Morning Madhouse.
- Fat Boy Pizza Breasts
- Box of Sharpies
- The Sloppy Box ISBN B000BLKHYM
- In the Kingdom of the Blind. ISBN B0009XWV2S
- White Cotton Panties. ISBN B0007Z2XDA
- Poop

Lawsuits

Mancow spear-headed two major lawsuits: one against the antics of Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and his disrespectful behavior towards fans at a radio concert in Chicago, and another suit against a man who reported Mancow to the FCC for alleged indecency on the air, which Mancow cites as totally unfounded. Mancow has recently withdrawn his second lawsuit because it was a publicity stunt.

External links


- [http://www.mancow.com MANCOW.COM], Official site
- [http://www.mancow.org MANCOW.ORG], Discussion forum
- [http://www.mancowmilitia.com MANCOWMILITIA.COM], Discussion forum Mancow Category:United States radio programs

UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university located in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. It is the second-oldest campus in the University of California system, the largest university in the state of California, and consistently ranked among the top research universities in the world.

History

In March 1881, after heavy lobbying by Los Angeles residents, the California Legislature authorized the creation of the state's second normal school in downtown Los Angeles to train teachers for the growing population of Southern California. The Los Angeles State Normal School opened on August 29, 1882, on what is now the site of the Central Library of the Los Angeles Public Library system. The new normal school included an elementary school where teachers-in-training could practice their teaching technique on real children. In 1914, the school moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue in Hollywood. In 1917, Director Ernest Carroll Moore suggested that the normal school should be added as the second campus of the University of California. Appropriate legislation was signed into law on May 23, 1919 which turned the school into the Southern Branch of the University of California (SBUC) and added its general undergraduate program, the College of Letters and Science. In 1927, the school was renamed the "University of California at Los Angeles." The word 'at' was officially replaced by a comma in 1958, in line with other UC campuses. It has since simply been known around the world as "UCLA." Also in 1927, the state broke ground at a new campus on the chaparral-covered hills of a real estate development called Westwood. The first classes on the new 400 acre (1.6 km²) campus were held in 1929 in its four original buildings. In 1933, UCLA was permitted to award the master's degree, and in 1936, the doctorate. In 1934, upon the death of William Andrews Clark, Jr., UCLA received its first major bequest, and still one of the most generous in its history, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. The rare books and manuscripts collection includes some of the world's largest collections of English literature, history, and fine printing.

Campus

William Andrews Clark, Jr. The campus currently comprises 163 buildings across 419 acres (1.7 km²) in the western part of Los Angeles, north of the Westwood shopping district and just south of Sunset Boulevard. The campus is quite close, but not adjacent to the San Diego Freeway, an oversight avoided in the planning of such newer UC campuses like Irvine, next to Highway 73, and San Diego, which is split by Interstate 5. The university campus is world-renowned and has been praised for its architecture and picturesque scenery. It is located in Los Angeles and is bordered by Westwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and Brentwood. The campus is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus, which are both on the eastern half of the university's land. North Campus is the original campus core with its buildings being more old-fashioned in appearance and clad in imported Italian brick. North Campus is home to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and business programs. North Campus is centered around oak tree-lined Dickson Court, which has appeared in many movies such as The Nutty Professor, South Campus is home to the physical sciences, life sciences, engineering, psychology, mathematical sciences, all health-related fields, and the UCLA Medical Center. The campus is in a constant state of change with multiple construction projects, including new residence areas, teaching and laboratory space, and a new hospital. Undergraduate housing for nearly 8,000 residents is spread across 14 complexes on a ridge on the western side of the campus, which is called "the Hill." Student life on the Hill is under the care of the [http://www.orl.ucla.edu Office of Residential Life] (ORL), which is often considered to be a leading residential life department in the United States. Under the efforts of both student staff and professional staff, ORL provides a comprehensive living and learning environment, bridging academics, personal growth, leadership, and community. Housing facilities also include four restaurants and three boutique-style eateries. Students are currently guaranteed three years of on-campus housing, but the Housing Master Plan aims to guarantee housing to all undergraduates for four years by 2010. 2010 In 2002, the university began building a new graduate housing complex, Weyburn Terrace, in order to recruit top graduate students from around the world because there had been no university-operated graduate housing on or near the main campus since 2001. The new complex is located on the western edge of Westwood, a few blocks from the main UCLA campus, and was completed before the Fall term in 2005. Weyburn Terrace enables UCLA to provide housing to approximately fifty percent of incoming graduate and professional students. Ackerman Union, the John Wooden Center, the Arthur Ashe Health and Wellness Center, the Student Activities Center, Kerckhoff Hall, the J.D. Morgan Center, the James West Alumni Center, and Pauley Pavilion stand at the center of the campus. The Hill is linked to the remainder of campus by a heavily traveled pathway called Bruin Walk, which bisects the campus. In order to accommodate UCLA's rapidly growing student population, multiple construction and renovation projects are in progress, including expansions of the life sciences and engineering research complexes. The tallest building on campus is named after Ralph Bunche, an African-American alumnus, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an armistice agreement between the Jews and Arabs in Palestine. A bust of him, on the entrance to Bunche Hall, overlooks the Sculpture Garden. He was the first African-American, the first individual of non-European background, and the first UCLA alumnus to be so honored in the history of the Prize. The campus has a large number of parking garages, both above-ground and below-ground. Yet, the university continues to suffer from a severe parking shortage which is further compounded by Southern California's regional housing shortage. The university has given priority in allocation of parking spaces to staff and students commuting from distant locations like Anaheim, while encouraging all students living within a 5 mile radius to use mass transit.

Academics

mass transit UCLA is organized into the following schools and colleges:
- [http://www.college.ucla.edu College of Letters and Sciences]
- [http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/departments.html The Graduate Division of Letters and Sciences]
- [http://www.arts.ucla.edu School of the Arts and Architecture]
- Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
- [http://www.engineer.ucla.edu The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science]
- School of Law
- [http://www.anderson.ucla.edu Anderson School of Management]
- [http://www.spa.ucla.edu School of Public Affairs]
- School of Theater Film and Television
- [http://dgsom.healthsciences.ucla.edu David Geffen School of Medicine]
- [http://www.jsei.org/index.htm Jules Stein Eye Institute]
- [http://www.npi.ucla.edu Neuropsychiatric Institute]
- [http://www.nursing.ucla.edu School of Nursing]
- [http://uclasod.dent.ucla.edu School of Dentistry]
- [http://www.ph.ucla.edu School of Public Health] The aforementioned health-related schools, plus the UCLA Medical Center and associated research centers are collectively known as the UCLA Center for Health Sciences. In 2005, UCLA announced its five year plan to establish the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine; the state of California is rare in its public funding of research with new embryonic stem cell lines. [http://www.cnsi.ucla.edu/ The California NanoSystems Institute] is another project that was created out of a partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara to pioneer innovations in the field of nanotechnology.

Rankings

UCLA has a very distinguished academic program; in most surveys, it is invariably ranked among the best institutions of higher education on a national and global scale. Of the 36 Ph.D. programs examined by the National Research Council, UCLA had 31 ranked in the top 20 in terms of overall academic quality, third best in the United States. Twelve departments were ranked in the top 10:United States
- Linguistics (3)
- Psychology (4)
- Physiology (4)
- Sociology (5)
- History (6)
- Philosophy (6)
- Geography (8)
- Political Science (8)
- Anthropology (8)
- Chemistry (9)
- Classics (9)
- Aerospace Engineering (10) In 2005, UCLA was ranked 14th in the world and 12th in North America by an annual listing of the [http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm Top 500 World Universities] published by the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai, China. In addition, the Washington Monthly ranked UCLA 2nd in its 2005 rankings of the [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.collegeguide.html Top National Universities]. UCLA's oldest operating unit, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS), is renowned among educators throughout the United States. Its faculty and students have direct access to willing experimental subjects in the on-campus elementary school. The 2006 edition of U.S. News and World Report, [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/rankindex_brief.php America's Best Graduate Schools], ranked GSEIS 2nd among American schools of education.

Admissions

In 2004, 42,207 prospective students applied to UCLA for the 2005-2006 academic year, more than any other American university, and 11,338 applicants were accepted - a 26.9% acceptance rate. The average weighted GPA and SAT score for an admitted freshman was 4.25 and 1347, respectively.

UCLA, ARPANET, and the Internet

ARPANET, the world's first electronic computer network, was established on November 21, 1969 between nodes at Leonard Kleinrock's lab at UCLA and Douglas Engelbart's lab at Stanford Research Institute, in Menlo Park, CA. Interface Message Processors at both sites served as the backbone of the first Internet. Kleinrock's lab in Boelter Hall sent the first online message ever. Turing Award laureate, Vinton Cerf, was a doctoral student in the computer science department under Kleinrock in early 1970s and also worked on the ARPANET. He would later team with Bob Kahn in the writing of the important 1974 paper, A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication. This work proved foundational for their later development of the Transmission Control Protocol - TCP/IP protocol. In 1988, Kleinrock also chaired a group which produced the report [http://www.nap.edu/books/NI000393/html/ Toward a National Research Network]. This report was presented to Congress and was so influential on then-Senator Al Gore that it proved to be the foundation for what would be passed as the High Performance Computing Act of 1991, written and developed by Gore. This act would prove pivotal towards the development of the Internet during the 1990s; in particular it led to the development of the MOSAIC web browser, which was funded by the High-Performance Computing and Communications Initiative. On January 11, 1994, Vice-President Al Gore further articulated the goals of the Clinton administration in the development of the "Information Superhighway" at UCLA's Royce Hall. [http://www.today.ucla.edu/1994/archive940113.html] Gore would also later join the faculty of UCLA as a visiting professor in the School of Public Policy and Social Research, Department of Policy Studies, family-centered community building, in 2001.

Activism

In 1995, 2001, and 2004, Mother Jones magazine named UCLA in its annual listing of the Top 10 Activist Campuses, and for good reason, due to the rallying spirit of its student bodies over the years. The activist tradition of UCLA can be traced to 1934, when Provost Ernest Moore declared UCLA "the worst hotbed of communism in the U.S," and suspended 5 students for alleged communist sympathies. Over 3000 students gathered to protest in Royce Quad, and campus police officers, attempting to silence the speakers, were thrown into some bushes. The crowd dispersed before any arrests were made, and University President