LA WEEKLY
December 16, 2004
By James Verini

 

On Friday evenings, the streets of L.A. are alive with observant Jewry. From Larchmont to Westwood, from Wilshire to Van Nuys, men in dark suits and yarmulkes and women in boxy dresses can be seen strolling through the dusk, on their way to Shabbat services. On a recent Friday, I stopped into Temple Beth Am on La Cienega, where a breezy service was in progress. It is at Beth Am that the Creative Arts Temple, a loose congregation of Hollywood elders, meets once a month. The tone was casual, Hebrew speaking was at a minimum. People milled about, children played in the aisles. See Full Story

 

LA WEEKLY
January 27, 2005
By James Verini

 

In the nearly 14 years that Cynthia Hirsch has owned and run Cynthia’s restaurant on Third Street, she’s always been known as an eccentric. If some people have found her antics endearing – flirting with male diners and occasionally yelling at customers, calling women “princess” in tones not always sincere – others have thought her intrusive and downright rude. But in the last two weeks, the balance of opinion has tipped decidedly toward the rude end of the scale. On January 8, a rainy Saturday night, Hirsch indulged in a remarkable tirade, reports of which – an e-mail chronicling the scene has shot across town – have tapped an undercurrent of resentment against her. Outraged customers once humiliated by Hirsch have come out of the woodwork to commiserate. See Full Story

 

LA WEEKLY
January 27, 2005
By James Verini

 

Shortly after Jon Lucas and his wife, Erin Walsh, moved into their new home on Flores Street in West Hollywood in early 2003, they met their neighbors. Lucas, a screenwriter, and Walsh, then a corporate attorney, immediately took to P.J. Brill, a restaurateur, and Lauren Scherr, a handbag designer. This only made sense. Both couples were in their late 20s, educated, successful. Both of their houses were accordingly nice, with front and backyards and modest but bubbling fountains (they share a gardener). Lucas and Walsh are tall and fair-skinned, Brill and Scherr are smaller and darker. See Full Story