Rudy Giuliani Drops Out of G.O.P. Race

Rudy Giuliani quit the GOP Presidential race today and decided to back Sen. John McCain just before a Republican debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Heavy Rains Hit Los Angeles

Southern California has been under drought conditions for the last few years, but recent rain is subsiding that situation. Rossmore Ave in Hancock Park was flooded when storm drains were clogged by debris overnight. The largest storm of the week is predicted to hut the area this weekend, with flash flood watch in effect for the recent devastating fire damaged areas.

Hilary Clinton Redux

For the second time in a 7 days, I photographed Hilary Clinton during a campaign stop in L.A. I met a cool AP photographer from Boston who is traveling everyday with Hilary until super Tuesday on Feb 5. I'm sure it's a challenging gig trying to come up with different photos day in and day out of basically the same speech over and over. She said the access to HC is limited as well, but when she covered John Kerry in 04 she had great access. The truth is that behind the scenes is where the truly nice moments occur, where you see the real individual not the same staged photo ops. I sincerely hope both Hilary and Barack Obama have personal photographers documenting the inside story of this historic campaign.

Sen. Obama's Backyard Roundtable

Senator Barack Obama had a roundtable discussion with four voters and an army of media today in a Van Nuys backyard. I have photographed many campaigning politicians in my career and this was probably the most different setting I've seen , a backyard in a quiet neighborhood.

Lost at Sea

Driving just west of Malibu , I came across a search for a 17 year old who perished when he was swept out to sea while fishing on the rocks at Point Mugu. The youth was reportedly not a good swimmer.The divers were not able to recover him in the 55 degree water as of this post.

Hilary Clinton Campaigns in L.A.

Hilary Clinton was in town today on a campaign stop at a local union. Looks like the Democratic nomination is going to her or Obama, we shall see soon enough. Chelsea was there today as well, she may be the first daughter again. interesting.

Golden Globes Strike Out

The self congratulatory Hollywood award show season is being severely impacted by the Writers Guild of America strike. The Golden Globes show scheduled for Sunday on NBC is being boycotted by the celebrities who refuse to cross the picket line in Solidarity with the WGA. It remains to be seen what will happen with the Academy Awards next month. I think they should only hand out these awards once every four years like The Olympics.

On New Years Day

Here are some photos from the 2008 Pasadena Rose Parade. I covered the parade and the Rose Bowl game back when I worked back at the Pasadena Star News in the early 1990's , and I as far as I can tell it's pretty much the same as it was back then, except for digital cameras, tighter security and war protesters. Happy 2008!