Tips to Avoid Traffic, 'Dirty' Car Wash and Snow

Firefighter Glenn L. Allen, who died after the ceiling of a Hollywood Hills home collapsed on him, was laid to rest Friday, and Los Angeles Fire Department officials are urging residents to be on the lookout for con artists trying to cash in on the tragedy.

"There have been recent reports of people going door to door carrying cans, asking for money, taking advantage of this tragedy," Devin Gales and Erik Scott write on the LAFD's blog.  They ask that if anyone solicits a donation "via phone, e-mail or front door" on behalf of the LAFD or Allen, to call 911.

Traffic Shortcuts: Rain in L.A., combined with the Academy Award related road closures, seems to make everyone late in L.A.. Exhibit A: this week's edition of Hollywood Outpost. As an apology, here are two tips to help get around traffic if you need to get in, out, or through the neighborhood:

1. Cahuenga Pass alternate: Outpost Drive. Two blocks east of La Brea on Franklin, take Outpost north to Mulholland and turn right. It will drop you off back on Cahuenga just a short hop from Barham. Familiarize yourself with this on a map first.

2. Find yourself in gridlock heading south on Highland Avenue after exiting Highway 101? Depending on your final destination, take a left onto Odin Street, then right onto Cahuenga Boulevard or turn right onto Camrose Drive, then left at the stop sign, to be dropped off on Franklin Avenue a couple of blocks east of Highland Avenue.

Have your own tips for evading award show or weather related traffic? Let us know in the comments.

Oscar Winter Wonderland. I can't imagine a better image: Oscar statuettes wearing Santa hats as snow collects on the Hollywood sign. L.A. Now reports this could happen. The weather forecast calls for snow levels dropping to 1,000 feet, and Mount Lee, home of the Hollywood sign, is at 1,600 feet.

Signs to the Sign Resigned: Tourists using Google to find their way up to the Hollywood sign are apparently getting bad directions, and as a result the Hollywoodland Homeowners Association posted signs directing people to an ideal viewing spot near Lake Hollywood. Some NIMBY locals complained, and the signs were torn down, leaving tourists to wander, making numerous U-turns on the hills' assorted dead ends. Curbed LA has the longer story. In related news, the Los Angeles Times has a review of a new book about the history of L.A.'s most popular landmark.

Banksy Watch: Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, told Deadline Hollywood that, in spite of previous reports to the contrary, the director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop is welcome to come to the ceremony, even if wearing a monkey mask. Sherak said, "The media is making it exciting with all the questions about Banksy. I think it’s all good and if he shows up, he shows up. I won’t stop him."

Regardless, key figures in the Los Angeles art community are speculating that if not during the broadcast, there will be a Banksy related spectacle somewhere during or before the show.

Dirty Car Wash: A one woman protest outside of the Hollywood Car Wash was documented by blogger Jacky Jasper. Judy, he writes, was taking a stand after the establishment allegedly damaged her vehicle and refused to pay for it, holding a handmade sign up for passers-by to see reading, "This car wash owes me $1,000 damage for my car." Jasper notes that in 2009 the same car wash was accused by the city attorney's office of systematic labor violation. He's set up a Facebook page for people to show Judy some support.

Hollywood Babylon: A model of the Garden of Allah, the long-gone mansion turned hotel for young Hollywood, is up for auction, per LAist. The hotel grounds were located at Sunset and Crescent Heights boulevards until 1959 when "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot." The lyrics of Joni Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi" are allegedly a reference to the location. 

Public Relations Junk in the Trunk? It turns out that the "buttcam" video I mentioned here last week was actually a PR stunt for Levi's. How'd that work out? The only time I even noticed the connection to the jeans manufacturer was when I read the words "PR stunt for Levi's." 

Stalking Boardners: Patch's Nicole Pajer gave Boardners on Friday. Last week, the film location junkie who blogs at I Am Not A Stalker did an overview of some of the television shows and films the classic Hollywood dive has appeared in, including 90210 and Ed Wood.