In this Issue

There are certain figures in Los Angeles who loom so large that paradoxically the city takes them for granted. We think we know them. We're positive they've been the subject of a major article. It turns out, though, we're aware of only the outline of their lives, the greatest hits as it were. What makes them messy, driven, influential, and brilliant has been glanced at but not explored. Over the years, executive editor Mary Melton has made something of a specialty writing about such figures, and for the January issue she turns her attention to the photographer most identified with L.A., the photographer who, as much anyone in the city's history, exported the myth of L.A.: 98-year-old Julius Shulman. At LAmag.com, you can see a slideshow of his best-known work, a scrapbook of the photographer's busy social life these last 10 years, and you can also relive the story of his most famous image. Also in the issue, features editor Matthew Segal looks at the dramatic rise of bike culture in a city known all over the world for its love of (okay, addiction to) the automobile. Read the piece, plus such web extras as road rules for cyclists (an issue that effects not just riders, but equally important drivers and police) and links to local bike Web sites. The issue's cover story is our annual Best New Restaurants round up, and if you want to visit farmers with our winner (you're going to have to find out who it is by going there), check out this videolog. Also posted this week is part two of "The Talented Mr. Raywood," senior editor Steve Oney's profile of the con artist who scammed the Westside; photographer Art Streiber's "My LA to Z", senior editor Dave Gardetta's 2001 article on L.A. traffic (get on those bikes), and much more. . . .

By Kit Rachlis,
Editor-in-Chief