October 30, 2008
What do Will Farrell, Queen Latifah, Jon Voight and the cast of Entourage have in common? They are all expected at Urth Caffé, the eco-conscious, L.A. restaurant celebrating the grand opening of its new headquarters at Barker Block Lofts in the downtown Arts District November 16th. If at least one of them shows up, nobody will be surprised. But everybody will groove to musical entertainment and Urth Caffé delectables while touring the classic brick structure with original buttresses and tiles painted by Downtown artists. Read More
October 29, 2008
The Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world (of course!), combining shopping and theme-parkish entertainment, was scheduled to open tomorrow in Dubai. However, the debut has now been pushed to November 4. According to Emaar Properties, the mall’s developer, some 30 million customers are expected to visit the destination in its first year of operation. Dubai Mall features 12 million square feet of shopping and more than 14,000 parking spaces. Read More
October 27, 2008
Continuing its service of uncovering unusual new groups fronted by female singers, the Hot Sheet welcomes School of Seven Bells. Brooklyn-based, School of Seven Bells is led by guitarist Ben Curtis (formerly of psychedelic pop band Secret Machines) and twin vocalists Claudia and Alejandra Dehaza (formerly of artsy vocal group On! Air! Library!). The sisters intertwine harmonies in genres difficult to pigeonhole, except to say they are exactingly crafted. Guitarist Curtis jabs chords and splashes colors. And everything rests on electronic grooves that feel one step ahead of trends. The most promising piece of new material is “Half Asleep,” the first track on the group’s MySpace page. Blissful, emotional, transcendent. It might remind some listeners of veteran British “shoegazers” the Cocteau Twins (whose guitarist Read More
October 24, 2008
First they made Gordon Gecko look like a law-abiding bureaucrat. Next they rewarded their own disastrous behavior in an O.C. luxury resort like Adam Brody and Mischa Barton. But not until now has the impact of Wall Street’s bail-out boys reached BCS-like proportions. The New York Times reports – and The Hot Sheet confirms – that the mortgage meltdown is harming one of the purest American pursuits: collegiate athletics. Read More
October 24, 2008
You’ve probably seen the “I’m a Mac” commercials over the past couple of years. And by now, you’ve probably seen Microsoft’s recent counter-attack ads, “I’m a PC”- it took them long enough! But the combat between the two most popular operating systems has only just begun, folks. Whether or not you find these ping-pong-style attack ads to be entertaining, you’ll likely admit that they’re highly creative. Read More
October 23, 2008
Eco-conscious people know about the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, introduced for commercial buildings, then expanded to residential buildings a few years ago. But are you aware of the other sustainable building ratings? These include the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes and International Initiative for a Sustainable Environment’s SB Tool 07. The Hot Sheet provides a glimpse at the criteria for these three ratings systems.
LEED-NC (new construction) provides for a maximum of 69 possible points and is organized into six categories: sustainable sites (14 possible points), water efficiency (5), energy and atmosphere (17), materials and resources (13), indoor environmental quality (15), and innovation and design process (5). Certification levels include: Certified (26-32 points), Silver (33-38), Gold (39-51), or Platinum (52-69).
The Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes is based on a 1,000-point scale system and rates a building’s performance in seven categories: project management, energy, indoor environment, site, water, resources, and emissions. Projects receive a final rating of one (35-54 percent), two (55-69 percent), three (70-84 percent), or four (85-100 percent) globes. Read More
October 21, 2008
ULI Los Angeles, a district council of the Urban Land Institute has announced Katherine Aguilar Perez as its new Executive Director. Perez is the former Vice President of Development for Forest City Development, and was co-founder and Executive Director of the Transportation and Land Use Collaborative of Southern California. Working with ULI Los Angeles Board Chair Wayne Ratkovich, Perez commands day-to-day workings and long-range programming of ULI Los Angeles, one of the largest and most active district councils of the international Urban Land Institute.
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October 21, 2008
In recent news, the ABC Network and the Alliance for Climate Protection (a group founded by Al Gore) are at war over a “Repower America” ad that was rejected by the network the morning it was scheduled to air. The Alliance’s ad – which promotes the benefits of clean energy projects and attacks big oil companies – was slated to run after the presidential debate on September 26. ABC says it was pulled due to a screen shot of the nation’s capitol building which violates network guidelines. Read More
October 17, 2008
Although mass transit has gotten a boost too, high gas prices and the slumping economy have ushered in a new wave of transport: hybrids, “smart cars,” and the newest L.A. trend – scooters, says MSNBC.com. The average scooter costs as little as $4 to fill up and can get more than 100 MPG. Also, you don’t need to straddle a scooter as you do a motorcycle. Nor is there a manual transmission. You just sit down, twist the grip and go. Read More
October 17, 2008
Hot Sheet editors Daniel Martin and Jack Skelley – from Paolucci Communication Arts Advertising, Public Relations and New Media – will host a colorful and stimulating webinar on international sales and marketing outreach. Sponsored and co-hosted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the live, interactive session will offer global insight from the comfort of your own computer. Log in on Wednesday, October 22, from 10:30-12:30 p.m. PST.
Martin and Skelley will offer compelling visual examples of how some developers are surviving and thriving during current market upheaval by appealing to global buyers. For more information, including how to register, visit www.bostonconferencing.com/uli.
