5-07-04: KNX Business Hour
Interview with Laurie Pike, LA.com Editor
 

 

FRANK MOTTEK, co-anchor: Laurie Pike, editor-in-chief for the new LA.com, is with us now here on the KNX BUSINESS HOUR. And, Laurie Pike, tell us what people can find on LA.com nowadays.

Ms. LAURIE PIKE (Editor-in-Chief, LA.com): Well, just about all things L.A. It's what to do, where to go, how to get there, where to park, what's worthwhile and what's classic in L.A. It's an interactive guide, so you can really plan a weekend or an evening out, whether it's on a date or with your parents or by yourself.

MOTTEK: So anyone starved for entertainment or trying to figure-out what to do this weekend can check that out?

Ms. PIKE: Absolutely--everything from, you know, high-minded museum shows to goofy things to do with your kids to going on a quiet hike in the hills.

MOTTEK: All right. Give us some examples of what people can find on it right now.

Ms. PIKE: Well, right now there's a very popular play that recently blew into town from New York called "Matt and Ben." It's these two hysterical women who play Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as, you know, sort of friends in Boston as they're writing "Good Will Hunting." It's a very funny play; I saw it a couple weekends ago. And that's playing for another few weeks at the Acme Comedy Theatre in Hollywood. That's definitely recommended on LA.com.

And other things maybe for families that have small kids in tow--the Santa Monica Pier is always a great option, because it's not quite as involved as, say, going to a theme park, and it's, you know, very fun. There's a lot of different options, from the beach to area restaurants to the rides. And on Sundays from two to four there are free concerts, and they're pretty good. So if it's not too boiling, that might be a fun thing for a family to do.

MOTTEK: Mm-hmm. So there are some entertainment secrets on the Web site as well then.

Ms. PIKE: Yeah, we're really big on discounts and we're really big on, you know, just getting the most out of your money. There are a lot of discounts that are actually unique to LA.com users, and a lot of just little tips on secret parking places to go and, you know, what might be a better value than something else among all your options, which- of course, there's so many, you need something to help you navigate them all.

MOTTEK: All right. What else can we find on LA.com?

Ms. PIKE: Well, there's an incredible show at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, downtown. It's a huge show of Minimalism, and there's some amazing gigantic pieces by people like Richard Serra, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, and this is a really important show that the whole nation is sort of talking about in art circles, so that's definitely worthwhile visiting. (sic)

And then, finally, really exceptionally, down at the Natural History Museum, also downtown, the Pavilion of Wings is open, and this is an enclosed garden where more than 100 species of butterflies are floating free. And so you can go in this incredible wonderland of butterflies, and they don't bite, I've been told.

MOTTEK: Well, that's good to know. As far as MOCA is concerned, what about the parking situation there? Some people might be intimidated that they have to park on the street and so forth. (sic) What's the parking situation there, for example?

Ms. PIKE: Yeah, typically it is tough to- to park at MOCA. There is street parking, but it's metered, and if you go down on a Saturday, you have to worry, you know, "Is my meter gonna run out?" There's actually a really good structure- not a structure but an open-air lot behind MOCA, so if you drive around- typically on the weekend- it's not so hard to find inexpensive parking downtown on the weekend; it's- it's during the week when it's so tough.

MOTTEK: Laurie Pike with LA.com, thanks very much for being with us here on the KNX BUSINESS HOUR.