Smartphone Apps Take a Haunted Spin for Halloween

First NonProfit Day in LA; Annenberg Foundation Salute

The City Council plans to declare next Tuesday, October 25^th as  Non-Profit Day in LA, coinciding with a major Annenberg Foundation event downtown saluting nonprofits in LA.  Wallis Annenberg, Governor Jerry Brown and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will highlight the important role that non-profits play in LA, especially during these tough economic times.   Jamie Lee Curtis and George Lopez will co-host and Michelle Branch and LA Philharmonic violinist Robert Gupta will entertain the more than 1,200 guests expected to attend the Annenberg Peer to Peer event.  Ten LA non-profits will participate in exciting “fast pitch” presentations about their organizations before an audience of more than 1,000 people for prizes totaling $100,000. 

The non-profits that will compete in the “fast pitch” competition include: Cardborigami which makes a portable shelter of treated cardboard that is folded into an origami structure and carried around as a backpack; Get on the Bus, a group that brings children throughout California to visit their mothers and fathers in prison; GRID Alternatives which installs solar systems into the homes of low-income families, reducing their electric bills by approximately 75 percent; Los Angeles Diaper Drive, an organization that distributes diapers to low income families so they don’t have to choose between buying diapers and feeding their children; Beauty Bus Foundation which enhances the quality of life for terminally ill people and their caregivers by providing in-home beauty services; Mother’s Day Radio which takes a service-learning, peer mentor approach to media literacy with college students teaching teens to think critically about misogyny and violence in media; Gumball Foundation, a non-profit that helps students start their own small-scale vending machine business, providing a way for them to earn money for college and motivation for academic success; Village Market Place which increases access to locally-grown healthy goods while creating meaningful jobs for youth and adults; Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, an organization that is creating a mass marketing campaign that places native plants in large retail outlets, helping customers to lower their water bills and conserve natural resources; and Inner-City Arts, an arts education organization in the Skid Row area of downtown LA that brings students from their public school classrooms to art classes.

Judges for the “Fast Pitch” will be Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust; Nike Irvin, vice president programs for California Community Foundation; Warren Olney, journalist and program host at KCRW; and Jake Winembaum, renowned entrepreneur and founder of numerous Internet businesses and the business incubator and investment firm Blue Waters Research.

Annenberg Foundation’s Peer to Peer will be held at Club Nokia at L.A. Live thanks to the generosity of AEG and the STAPLES Foundation and AEG President Timothy J. Leiweke.  The event also received the support of the Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.  Peer to Peer is being produced by Academy Award-winner Bruce Cohen and Bruce Cohen Productions.

AT&T ACTIVATES ONE MILLION IPHONE 4S’

Customers Prefer AT&T Speed Advantage

AT&T activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S’ as of Tuesday, making it the most successful iPhone launch in the company’s history.  AT&T was the first carrier in the world to launch iPhone in 2007 and is the only U.S. carrier to support iPhone 4S with 4G speeds.

“It’s no surprise that customers are clamoring for iPhone 4S and they want it to run on a network that lets them download twice as fast as competitors’,” said Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets.

AT&T’s speed advantage, and the unique ability to talk and surf at the same time, has been roundly praised by industry pundits. 

iPhone 4S Arrives at Bakersfield AT&T Stores TODAY

Excited customers lined up at the AT&T store in Bakersfield 9 p.m. Thursday night aiming to be the first to walk out with the new iPhone 4S.  AT&T Sales Director Mark Spangenberg and his staff served customers homemade brownies, cupcakes and coffee and raffled off accessories as the hours ticked down to the 8 a.m. opening. When the store doors swung open, customers were greeted with high fives and cheers as everyone rushed to fulfill another iPhone dream.  AT&T has invested more than $450 million in the past three years in its greater LA network infrastructure.

AT&T Preorders of Apple's iPhone 4S Hits 200,000 in the First 12 hours!

AT&T has seen extraordinary demand for iPhone 4S with more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours alone, the most successful iPhone launch we’ve ever had.  It’s obvious customers like AT&T’s 4G network, which is the only one that lets their iPhone download twice as fast and talk and surf simultaneously.

To preorder the new iPhone 4S visit www.att.com/phoneupgrade or download the app on your existing iPhones.  New customers can visit www.att.com/iphone. Preorders placed online will ship directly to the customer’s home with delivery as early as October 14.

• AT&T is now offering the iPhone 3GS free online and in AT&T stores, with a two-year term commitment plus voice and data plans, while supplies last.

• The iPhone 4 is now available for $99.99 for a new 8GB model
• iPhone 4S available on Friday, October 14 online and in stores for a suggested retail price of $199.99 for the 16GB model, $299.99 for the 32GB model, and $399.99 for the 64GB model

Five Halloween Safety Tips from AT&T

Over the years, Halloween observance has evolved into a light-hearted celebration associated with candy and fun-spirited pranks. With an estimated 41 million trick-or-treaters roaming the streets nationwide, it is important to have fun and stay safe - and the technology that can help families won't get you spooked.

Wireless calling is routinely up on Halloween and families can enjoy apps, videos and features to have fun while staying connected with calling, locator services and text messaging.

AT&T has compiled a list of five important safety tips for families to keep in mind before children hit the streets in search of goodies.

1. Make sure wireless phones are fully charged.

2. Pre-program contact information of parents, neighbors and emergency services into your and your child's speed dial, and be sure you know how to access these numbers with ease.

3. Establish boundaries - Families should have in place a familiarized route for children to follow while out on the town. Mobile navigation tools can assist parents and kids in creating routes and goblins on the go can reference maps throughout the evening. Similarly, AT&T's FamilyMap Viewer allows parents to easily and immediately locate a family member's whereabouts from their mobile phone or PC so they can keep a close watch. Or consider a small tracking device that can easily slip into your child's candy bag like the Garmin GTU 10 and follow them via PC or mobile phone.

4. Set up periodic alarms with Halloween-themed tones as a reminder for trick-or-treaters to text or call home between candy collecting stops.

5. Don't miss a thing! Phones also come with photo, video and audio recorders, allowing spur-of-the-moment happenings to be captured and shared among friends and family in real time. AT&T's Video Share allows you to see live video on your handset while a voice call is taking place.

Have a safe, fun and Happy Halloween!

LA-based Architecture and Design Firm Opens Major Project in Seoul

LA-based architecture and design firm, The Jerde Partnership, designed the newly opened Daesung D3 City, the first mixed-use, transit-oriented development to open in Seoul, South Korea, in a decade.  Jerde, whose offices are located right off the boardwalk in Venice, are best known locally for designing Santa Monica Place. 

Daesung D3 City integrates retail, entertainment and cultural districts with office, hotel, residential and landscaped gardens, parks and plazas to create a major new public space adjacent to the city's busiest metro line. A six-level, 860,000 square feet retail complex with major cultural attractions on its rooftop is the centerpiece of D3 City.

Exterior view of Daesung D3 City at night are building forms shaped like Asian lanterns whose glowing lights create exciting street facades and attract visitors

Unique open-air public spaces are attractive destination stops along  an outdoor pathway climbing through the lantern buildings to the top of the retail complex that has the character of an Italian hill town

Photo credit: Hiroyuki Kawano

For more information:

http://www.jerde.com/