Women Who Are Single in Los Angeles Are in a Top 10 American Mecca For Bachelorettes

Turns out the town that inspired Three's Company, Melrose Place and The Hills is a top 10 city for bachelorette life.
That according to a rent.com survey unleashed today that looked at top cities for single women.

Los Angeles, with all our swimming pools, movie stars, universities, foodie joints, pretty boys and nightclubs, only made it to ...

... No. 7 on the list. We were beat out by Phoenix (No. 1), Seattle (No. 2), Austin (No. 3), Denver (No. 4), Washington, D.C. (No. 5) and Chicago (No. 6). At least we beat Las Vegas (No. 8), New York (No. 9) and San Jose (No. 10).

This was spun to us as a good thing -- we made No. 7, yay! But common now. You think L.A., the nation's second-largest metropolis and home to Hollywood and the Entourage lifestyle, isn't the place to be for young ladies? And where's Miami? WTF.

Anyway, here's what rent.com had to say about our fair city:

Los Angeles, CA makes the list for both bachelors and bachelorettes because of its legendary nightlife and fairly equal ratio of single men to single women. Hip beaches make LA the perfect spot for California girls hoping to catch an eligible bachelor. For the hottest restaurants and live music, the Sunset Strip is the place to see and be seen.
But Phoenix, apparently, has more men than women. And extremely hot desert. So, yeah. Forget about that 78 degree beach in summer you'll encounter in L.A. Go east, young ladies. There are leathery men in that there sand.

Porn Video Shoots Leaving L.A. for ... Arizona?

The porn industry is pissed off over L.A.'s new rule requiring condom use at adult location filming inside the city.
So much so that it has threatened repeatedly to move its multibillion-dollar operations outside Los Angeles and even California. So far it's been all talk.

But one porn star says there's a serious movement afoot to slide on over to ...

... Arizona.

Yeah, the home of anti-immigrant politics, controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio, and fellow lawman Paul Babeu, a staunch conservative who was recently outed as gay.

Sounds like hostile territory for the smut biz if you ask us.
But, according to therealpornwikileaks (NSFW), Phoenix porn star Taryn Thomas believes producers will soon be sniffing around her flat, hot state for places to film:

Over the three or four days the companies and performers are here, they're definitely going to be scoping out Arizona.
Obviously, she welcomes the, er, intrusion while criticizing L.A. as being all up in her lady business:

As a performer, I prefer the government isn't in there inspecting my genitalia all the time.
But as we've noted before, California is one of the few places in the nation where paying someone to have sex -- if it's done on camera -- isn't prostitution.

We'd be surprised to see the industry make a permanent move to Arizona. But we wouldn't be surprised if they heated up the desert with a location shoot there once in a while.

Last Minute Valentine Ideas for Phoenix Foodies

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Yep, it happened. Again. It's Valentine's Day and you have nothing. Nada. Bupkis. 

Take a deep breath. It's not too late. Plenty of time. Chow Bella is here to help.

And don't worry. We're not talking about a $55,000 diamond ring or that crazy plan Pizza Hut has to sell you a $10 pizza plus a wedding. This is all stuff you can do and get today (assuming you don't have, oh, a job or kids to take care of).

Start with chocolate. Grab some for yourself and your loved one -- here are some ideas from our 14 Phoenix Chocolate Fixes list.

For the Cook Who Only Likes to Make Reservations: We've got not one but tworound-ups of dining options. But get your phone out. Like now.

For the Newbie Cook: If a high school kid can do it, so can you. Check out our super simple chicken piccata meal -- then get yourself to the grocery store. Or give chocolate covered strawberries a shot.

For the Crafty Cook: This one might take a bit more time than you've got, but Laura Gill mastered a heart-in-a-cake, and you can certainly find something a little less tricky to make for your honey on Pinterest. Or you could tackle our homemade conversation hearts. It's a lot easier than it looks.

If all else fails, consult our list of Edible Gifts Sure to Get You Laid.

You're welcome.

Award winning singer Whitney Houston dies at age 48

LOS ANGELES - (4th UPDATE) Whitney Houston, whose soaring voice lifted her to the top of the pop music world but whose personal decline was fueled by decades of drug use, died on Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel room. She was 48.

Her death came on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles and at the same hotel where her mentor, record mogul Clive Davis, was holding an annual pre-event party at which she was scheduled to perform.

A dramatic scene unfolded at the Beverly Hilton Hotel as music celebrities arriving for the party expressed shock at her death, while reporters swarmed the hotel and fans gathered to pay their respects.

A Beverly Hills police officer told reporters they were called to the Beverly Hilton at around 3:20 p.m. PST and that emergency personnel found Houston's body in a fourth-floor room, and she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. The cause of death is under investigation.

"She has been positively identified by friends and family (who) were with her at the hotel, and next of kin have already been notified," Lieutenant Mark Rosen told reporters. Police said there were no obvious signs of criminal intent.

Tributes poured in from around the world for a singer whose remarkable vocal range produced some of the most memorable music of her generation, including her signature hit, "I Will Always Love You."

"Whitney Houston was not only an amazing artist but also a beautiful person. She was so smart and her knowledge and appreciation for the musical art form was remarkable," Motown founder and R&B legend Berry Gordy said in a statement.

Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, said event producers were working on ways to honor the singer in front of her many friends in the audience.

Standing on the red carpet outside the hotel, Portnow told Reuters they would "try to celebrate her life," and called Houston a "one of a kind singer" whose body of work was "staggering."

Throughout her decades in music, Houston won six Grammys, 30 Billboard awards and 22 American Music Awards. She released seven studio albums, sold some 170 million CDs, singles and videos that included smash hits "Saving All my Love for You."

She also appeared in the movies "Bodyguard" (1992), "Waiting to Exhale" (1995) and "The Preacher's Wife" (1996).

Houston was inspired to sing as a child by soul singers in her New Jersey family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Aretha Franklin.

"I just can't talk about it now," Franklin said in a statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen. My heart goes out to Cissy, her daughter Bobbi Kris, her family and Bobby (Brown)."

U.S. economy grows strongly, speeding recovery: Obama

Washington: US President Barack Obama has said country's economy is growing strong and recovery is speeding up. Obama's remarks on the state of the economy came hours after latest report showed that unemployment rate has dropped to 8.3 per cent as added more than 2.4 lakh new jobs in January.

"This morning, we received more good news about our economy. In January, American businesses added another 257,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came down because more people found work. And altogether, we've added 3.7 million new jobs over the last 23 months," said the US president.
"Now, these numbers will go up and down in the coming months, and there's still far too many Americans who need a job, or need a job that pays better than the one they have now.
But the economy is growing stronger. The recovery is speeding up. And we've got to do everything in our power to keep it going," Obama said.
At the same time, Obama argued, the US can't go back to the policies that led to the recession.
"We can't let Washington stand in the way of our recovery. We want Washington to be helping with the recovery, not making it tougher," he said.
"The most important thing Congress needs to do right now is to stop taxes from going up on 160 million Americans at the end of this month. They've got to renew the payroll tax cut that they extended only for a couple of months," he said.
"They need to pass an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance - and do it without drama, without delay, without linking it to some ideological side issues.
They just need to get it done. It shouldn't be that complicated. Now is not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our economy," Obama said adding that now is the time for action.
"So I want to send a clear message to Congress: Do not slow down the recovery that we're on. Don't muck it up. Keep it moving in the right direction," he said.
Beyond preventing a tax hike, the nation needs to do a lot more to create an economy that's built to last.
"To restore American manufacturing, we need to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas; give those tax breaks to companies that are investing in plants and equipment and hiring workers right here in the United States of America. That makes a lot of sense," he argued.
"To reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we need to stop subsidising oil companies that are already making record profits, and double down on clean energy, that creates jobs and creates opportunities in new industries but also improves our security, because we're not as dependent on foreign oil," Obama said.
"To make sure our businesses don't have to move overseas to find skilled workers, we've got to invest in education, and make sure college is affordable for every hardworking American," said the US president.