Category Archives: Crime and Courts

International Spy Museum Is Hiring!

Photo: The International Spy Museum offers “Dinner With a Spy.” Credit: International Spy Museum. The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., has a job opening for director of guest services (and security!) The ideal applicant must have excellent team building … Continue reading

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‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Navy Reports

Feb. 6, 1942: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox warns against “loose talk.” Credit: National Archives. I returned from Saturday’s trip to the National Archives in Riverside with more than 200 images of historic documents. It’s going to take some … Continue reading

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Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Sept. 3, 1941: OK, Maj. Tucker,  let me get this straight. You and your wife, Marie, got home from  a party, where both of you had been drinking. She was in the bedroom and you were in the kitchen making … Continue reading

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Revival of Wet-Plate Photography

Photo: “Heather,” done in a wet-plate process. Credit: Robert Christian Malmberg We will be drinking nothing but clear liquids at the Daily Mirror HQ today in memory of Dr. William Wolff, who helped develop the colonoscopy. Yes, they’re annoying, but … Continue reading

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Medicine, Obituaries, Photography, San Francisco, Washington | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 7

Photo: June 8, 1943 — A mob of servicemen stop a streetcar on Main Street to remove a passenger wearing a zoot suit. Here’s a second radio address by Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, delivered June 16, 1943, on the … Continue reading

Posted in 1943, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Latinos, Radio, San Francisco, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on ‘Zoot Suit’ and History – Part 7

New Light on the Death of Joe Hill

Nov. 20, 1915: The Times publishes the account of the execution of Joe Hill (Joe Hillstrom)  by firing squad.   The New York Times has two terrific stories that are well worth your time. The first is Rachel Donadio’s feature … Continue reading

Posted in 1915, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Labor, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

An Inquiry Into Photographic Truth

Image: The Las Vegas Mob Experience. Nancy Trejos of the Washington Post visits the Las Vegas Mob Experience, an interactive museum/theme park,  (tickets $30) at the Tropicana. As I bought my ticket, the young lady behind the counter said, in … Continue reading

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Texas Cattle Rustler Gets 99 Years

Photo: Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn. Special Rangers Scott Williamson and Marvin Wills along with Carl Wade Curry. Credit: Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn. Carl Wade Curry of Athens, Texas, was sentenced to 99 years for cattle rustling. … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

‘Jewish Indiana Jones’ Is a Fake, Prosecutors Say

  Image: Save a Torah website. Credit: Saveatorah.org Perhaps you remember James Barron’s April 30, 2008, feature in the New York Times about Rabbi Menachem Youlus of Save a Torah, who traveled the world, often at great expense and tremendous … Continue reading

Posted in Another Good Story Ruined, Crime and Courts, Religion | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

N.Y. TV Shows ♥ L.A.

Photo: “CSI:NY” Sign on Spring Street. Credit: Photograph by Larry Harnisch/L.A. Daily Mirror. “industry veterans have said that the days of shooting quintessential New York shows (like “Seinfeld” and “Friends”) in California are numbered.” —New York Times, July 21, 2011 … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Courts, Downtown, Hollywood, Photography, Television | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Image: Ed Jokisch retires, Feb. 18, 1972. Retirement cartoons are an LAPD tradition. This is what they looked like in the 1970s. Credit: Ed Jokisch family. This is Part 3 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch. Note: Toward … Continue reading

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Woman Executed for Sex With Dog, 1677

Photo: Mujeres listas para recivir a Rabago, 1911. Credit: Walter H. Horne/Getty Research Institute “A Nation Emerges,” featuring images of the Mexican Revolution, will go  on display at the Central Library from Sept. 8 to June 3. The exhibit, presented … Continue reading

Posted in 1677, Animals, Crime and Courts, History, Libraries, Photography | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

#art, #history, #museums 8|16|2011

Photo: “The Marriage of Tobias and Sarah” by Jan Steen. Credit: Museum Bredius in The Hague Photo: “The Marriage of Tobias and Sarah” by Jan Steen. Credit: Museum Bredius in The Hague The Hague municipality has settled with an heir … Continue reading

Posted in 1893, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, History, Museums, Washington, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Lizzie Borden and Fall River’s Mysterious Murder

Aug. 6, 1892: Fall River’s Mysterious Murder. Jennifer Levitz of the Wall Street Journal revisits the Lizzie Borden case. So why shouldn’t we?

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L.A. Daily Mirror and L.A. Crime Beat 8|15|2011

I’m taking a break from the daily listings of history and museum news. Compiling the lists is time-consuming and they don’t seem to get many readers. In the meantime, there’s the L.A. Daily Mirror and the L.A. Crime Beat crafted … Continue reading

Posted in Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, History, Museums | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

How to Be an EBay Huckster

Photo: First all-women jury in Los Angeles. Credit: EBay listing. Photo: First all-women jury in Los Angeles. Credit: Bain News Service, Nov. 2, 1911. You can pay $9.99 for a cropped version of this photo on EBay or get it … Continue reading

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Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 2

Photo: Capt. Ed Jokisch. Credit: Jokisch family   This is Part 2 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

#art, #black dahlia, #books, #courts, #crime, #history, #railroads, 8|10|2011

Photo: BMW M1. Credit: Bonhams A BMW M1 painted by Frank Stella is being auctioned at the Quail Lodge Sale, Aug. 18-19, in Carmel. The BWM belonged to racecar driver Peter Gregg, who committed suicide after an accident left him … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, History, Motorsports, Museums, Politics, Transportation, Washington | 2 Comments

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011

Photo: LAPD homicide detectives in a gag photo, Christmas 1946. Ed is on the left in the back row. Credit: Ed Jokisch   I received word Saturday that my friend, retired Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, has died at the age … Continue reading

Posted in 1914, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Changeling Stories — Part 4

Los Angeles Times file photo Louisa Northcott, the mother of Gordon Northcott, isn’t portrayed in “Changeling,” but played a key role in the actual case. Above, she’s booked in jail. Los Angeles Times file photo Louisa Northcott with one of … Continue reading

Posted in 1928, Changeling, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide | Tagged , | 3 Comments