September 2008 Archives

It was your typical weekend in Hollywood. A DUI, a quickie marriage and banking on the deceased.

Heather Locklear was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance in the upscale Santa Barbara area, authorities said Sunday.
Locklear, 47, was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer Saturday afternoon after a resident reported seeing the actress leaving a parking lot and “driving erratically,” patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said.
The officer noticed Locklear’s car parked on a state highway and blocking a lane in Montecito, a wealthy community about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles. She was believed to be alone in the car, Marshall said.
“In talking with her, (the officer) determines that she seems to be under the influence of something,” Marshall said.
Locklear was taken to the police station, where she was tested for alcohol and drugs. She was booked at 7 p.m. on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication. She was later released from custody.
Calls to Locklear’s publicists were not immediately returned.
Locklear’s TV credits include T.J. Hooker, Dynasty, Melrose Place and Spin City.
Locklear checked into a medical clinic in June to seek treatment for anxiety and depression.
Last year, she got a divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora after 11 years of marriage. They have a daughter, Ava Elizabeth.

Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds did a little rushing into it after all.
The couple married this weekend, according to publicist Meredith O’Sullivan. She did not provide details.
Us Weekly reported on its Web site Sunday that the small wedding took place at a resort outside Vancouver, British Columbia. Guests included Scarlett’s mother, Melanie Sloan, and her brother, Adrian Johansson, the magazine said.
The couple announced their engagement in May.
“We’re just enjoying our time,” the actress said last month. “We’re just recently — very recently — engaged. So, you know, we’re just taking it easy. And no big plan yet. But it’s a good time and we’re just ... enjoying our time to be young and engaged.
“I mean, I’m 23. There’s no reason to rush into it. Everything feels very natural and relaxed.”
Johansson most recently starred in the Woody Allen film Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Reynolds starred on the TV show Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe.

Heath Ledger’s 2-year-old daughter Matilda Rose will inherit all of her father’s estate, Ledger’s father says.
The Australian actor, who died from an accidental prescription drug overdose in January, signed a will before his daughter was born leaving everything to his parents and three sisters. Some had speculated his former partner Michelle Williams would lodge a claim for the money.
But Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, told the Australian newspaper The Sunday Times that the family had given all the money to Matilda and that there had been no challenge from Williams.
“There is no claim,” the newspaper quoted Kim Ledger as saying in a report published Sunday. “Our family has gifted everything to Matilda.”
The actor signed the will on April 12, 2003. It lists assets and cash of just $118,000, but the actor’s estate is believed to be worth more than $16.3 million, the newspaper said.
Adelaide accountant Mark Dyson, who is an executor of the estate, said he could not reveal how much Matilda would inherit.

Both Clay Aiken and Lindsay Lohan came out of the closet this week confirming what we have all known for a very long time now...that they are gay.

Aiken will appear on the cover of "People" magazine this Friday with the headline "Yes, I'm Gay!"

The 29-year-old former American Idol runner-up, multiplatinum recording artist and Broadway star credits his son, conceived by in-vitro fertilization with friend and producer Jaymes Foster, with making him realize that he could no longer hide his homosexuality from the world.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” Aiken told the magazine, which arrives on newsstands Friday. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.”

LiLo casually told the co-host of the syndicated radio program “Loveline” on Monday that she’s been dating the 31-year-old DJ Samantha Ronson. The pair have appeared in public and been photographed together for but have never publicly commented about the extent of their relationship.

“You guys, you and Samantha, have been going out for how long now?” DJ Ted Stryker asked. “Like two years, one year, five months, two months?”

“For a very long time,” Lohan said after laughing.

Hollywood should change their slogan to "A Gay Old Time!"

As reported in The Sun today, scouts for the Micky Ward bio-pic "The Fighter" were in Lowell over the weekend.

The Mill City boxing legend is said to be played by actor Mark Wahlberg. The part of Ward's brother Dickie Eklund has been under much speculation with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon rumored to be interested in the role.

The scout was taking pictures in two bars in Cupples Square that are known hang outs of the two brothers. Captain John's, The Highland Tap and Arthur Ramalho's West End Gym were all visited by location scouts.

A South Carolina coroner says a pilot and co-pilot killed in a Learjet crash died from smoke inhalation and burns, and two passengers were killed by impact-related injuries.

Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman released the information Monday, about two days after the plane crashed while trying to take off at a Columbia, S.C., airport.

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM were critically injured in the Friday night crash but are expected to recover.

Pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland were killed along with were Chris Baker and Charles Still, who worked for the musicians.

Federal officials said Sunday that the crew thought a tire blew and tried to abort the takeoff but couldn’t stop the plane.

National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said a cockpit voice recording of the Friday night crash indicates the crew tried to abort the takeoff, but then signaled the efforts were failing.

The jet shot off the end of the runway, ripped through a fence and crossed a highway. It came to rest on an embankment a quarter-mile from the end of the runway, engulfed in flames.

Hersman said no cause of the crash has been determined and the investigation is ongoing. She did say that pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff. The runway is 8,600 feet long.

Investigators said they want to speak with Barker and Goldstein for their accounts of the crash, including how they survived. One witness said he discovered the musicians in the street near the fiery wreck as they frantically tried to douse their burning clothes.

Dr. Fred Mullins, medical director of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, said the two suffered second- and third-degree burns but had no other injuries from the crash and are in overall good health.

Barker was burned on his torso and lower body and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, was burned on an arm and a portion of his scalp, according to a statement from the musicians’ families released by the hospital.

Barker and Goldstein had performed a together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia on Friday night. The show, which included performances by former Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell and singer Gavin DeGraw, drew about 10,000 people to a neighborhood near the University of South Carolina.

They also performed as part of the house band at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month.

Tweens everywhere are in mourning and Carson Daley is doing the "I told you so" dance. MTV announced that “Total Request Live” will soon shut down after 10 years on the air.

The music video show will conclude in a two-hour special on a Saturday afternoon in November, Dave Sirulnick, executive producer of “TRL,” said Monday. He stressed that the show wasn’t ending for good but was taking a break after an unprecedented run on the cable music channel.
“We want to close this era of ‘TRL’ in a big celebratory way, and 10 is a great number,” Sirulnick said. “And 10 is the number that ‘TRL’ counted down every single day for 10 years, and we hit this 10th (anniversary) and we thought, ‘You know what? This feels like the right time and let’s celebrate it and let’s reward it. And let’s let it have a little bit of a rest for a minute.’ Let it catch its breath! Been working hard — for 10 years!”

For the finale, Sirulnick said he hopes to celebrate with many of the “folks who helped make ‘TRL’ what it is — whether that’s Justin (Timberlake) and his guys in ’N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, Britney, Eminem — I think we would love to see all of them here.”
That includes former host Carson Daly.

In a statement, Eminem said: “I’m going to miss ‘TRL.’ ... Where else will I be able to start feuds, defend my honor vigorously and act like an angry teenager on national TV? Oh, wait ... the VMAs!”

It’s true, "You Can’t Fix Stupid." The ironic title of comedian Ron White’s album takes on a whole new meaning now that he was arrested before a stand-up appearence in Flroida. White, who is scheduled to perform at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in November was busted by Vero Beach Police Department in Florida, Wednesday on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The 51-year-old was late to a sold-out performance on Florida’s Treasure Coast because of the arrest. He was booked at the Indian River County Jail shortly after 6 p.m. and released about two hours later on $1,000 bail.

His publicist, Kathe Nelson, says he went straight to the show after being released from jail. The show was delayed about an hour.

One of White’s most famous routines includes a joke about being booked into a Texas jail under the alias “Tater Salad.”

White will stop at the auditorium on Nov. 15 for two shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets are still available for both shows and are $44.75.

We got to chat with Weezer last week. The band is set to open their U.S. tour at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell Sept. 23.

Read it Here!

With all the college students moving into the Mill City this month, I was brainstorming with a pal of mine about what it takes to call yourself a true Lowellian. I know what you are thinking — Lowellita and one of her vapid friends actually have brains that stimulate over more than just who went home with whom last weekend. To be completely honest, we were just trying to block out the image of Gisele licking Brady’s wounds and the fact that the economy is doing worse than Scott Weiland at a pill party.

Looking around at the influx of newbies at the Old Court, we decided that they have a lot to learn — and I don’t mean in the classroom. There is always a battle in the city between the lifelong Lowellians and the Blowellians, especially come the fall when the lines to the ladies room at the local watering holes resemble the seventh inning stretch at Fenway.

If you are going to call Lowell home for the next nine months, here’s a list of 25 things to do to avoid blow-in status.

1. Find parking in Centralville or Pawtucketville during a snow ban.
2. Drink draft Pabst Blue Ribbon at The Worthen.
3. Discover the cure for a hangover — the Boott Mill sandwich at Arthur’s Paradise Diner.
4. Nod sympathetically and knowingly about the closing of Evos.
5. Become obsessed with Jack Kerouac — at least for one semester.
6. Roll your eyes when someone mentions Jack Kerouac and call him a hack, but only after living here for at least a year.
7. Trip or break a heel on the cobblestones of Middle Street one night or early morning.
8. Curse the gentrification of Middlesex Street that caused the loss of Barney’s Delicatessen.
9. Stand in line at the Brewery Exchange for 30 minutes in the rain, before you realize they use shot regulators and you can get three gallons of gas for the cost of one cocktail.
10. Curse yourself the morning after inhaling an omelet at the Club Diner after last call.
11. Curse yourself the morning after inhaling a steak bomb from Santoro’s Sub Shop after last call.
12. Throw parking tickets in a drawer in hope that the registry will someday just forgive and forget.
13. Eat an entire fat chicken from Suppa’s.
14. Know City Councilor Rita Mercier’s phone number by heart.
15. Start calling every grocery store Demoulas.
16. Know at least one person who is in the Lowell Sun daily — mostly just in the arrest log.
17. Spend more time idling in your car on one of the city’s bridges than at the Pollard Memorial Library.
18. Consider yourself part of the creative economy as reason to justify lingering outside Brew’d Awakening all day.
19. Know how to dupe the Lowell Police handing out speeding tickets at the end of the Connector by getting off the Thorndike Street exit.
20. Swear by Espresso Pizza, but order Fio’s anyway since they deliver.
21. Only venture into downtown for two reasons: to drink or jury duty.
22. Somehow come up with a way that you are related to Micky Ward, even if it’s by marriage.
23. Eat at either the Athenian Corner or the Olympia — never both.
24. Defend your position in an argument by saying, “Well, I read it in the Lowell Sun.”
25. Know the true identity of Lowellita and buy her a beer once or twice.

What makes you a true Lowellian? E-mail your reasons to lowellita@lowellsun.com.

New Kids on the Block, your check is ready.

The recently reunited band, former Red Sox player Nomar Garciaparra and celebrity chef Todd English are among 40,000 people, businesses and charities on Massachusetts’ latest list of owners of abandoned property.

The list maintained by State Treasurer Tim Cahill’s office includes bank and brokerage accounts and other assets that have been untouched for three years.

The treasurer’s office says $800 in unclaimed stock and a $27 check are waiting for New Kids.
Garciaparra, who now plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, can claim an uncashed check worth $121.40.

English has $1,239 in unclaimed assets.

The latest list has a combined total of $17 million in unclaimed assets, including six accounts worth more than $100,000 each.

Our spies hear that Weezer will be in town early for rehearsal and sound checks prior to their concert on Sept. 23 at the Tsongas Arena. The band is kicking off their first tour in more than three years here in Lowell. There are still some tickets available according to sources close to the box office staff.

Be on the look out for the boys and check out next week's Steppin' Out which will have an interview with Weezer drummer Pat Wilson.

Also, tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. for Staind, Papa Roach and Seether, who will play the Tsongas on Sunday, Nov. 16. Tickets are $35.75 for reserved seating and $39.75 for general admission on the floor. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at all TicketMaster outlets, at the arena box office, or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Best friends cannot be replaced. Boyfriends, girlfriends, therapists, bartenders — if you don’t like what they have to say about your lifestyle choices they can all be dropped.

In some way or another, you are technically paying these people to tell you what you want to hear. For them, being dishonest pays off in the form of health insurance co-pays, tips and in the case of significant others, little blue boxes from Tiffanys.

It is part of their job description to reassure you that those jeans don’t make your rear look like Khloe Kardashian, but more like her better looking sister Kim. And that drinking the well vodka in your cucumber cosmo does not make you cheap. It all tastes the same when you are on your fourth anyway.

Your best friend would tell you, subtly of course, that you need to get some class and lose that (rhymes with glass). But that is why you are BFFs, for that brutal honesty money can’t buy. You can always count on your bestie to let you in on their little secrets like stretch-denim and New Hampshire liquor stores. Thanks to their inside information you will look 10 pounds lighter, but your wallet will feel 10 times heavier.

Through thick and thin — literally, your best friend is always there. The only thing more traumatic than replacing a BFF is getting a new hair stylist. Letting anyone you don’t know that close to a main artery, let alone your layered bob with super sharp scissors, can be hair-raising.

Breaking up with either your best bud or hairstylist could lead to social suicide. With all the dirty laundry your best friend has on you, not to mention the dishes that sat in your sink long enough for Pamela Anderson to dump Tommy Lee, for the sixth time, and get back together again (Hey, it’s for the kids, people!), you better think twice before kicking your BFF to the curb. Just look at Heidi and Lauren of The Hills.

Once those two became frienemies, it was revealed that LC was a little more Paris Hilton than Marcia Brady — if you get what I mean. Heidi became public enemy No. 1 when she outted that poor little rich girl for having a little more than just loose morals.

Lauren should have remembered the golden rule: Keep your friends close, but keep your frienemies closer.

Have a topic or issue for Lowellita to tackle? E-mail your suggestions to lowellita@lowellsun.com.

It’s Britney, baby, one more time.

Despite her train-wreck performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, the network confirms Spears will kick off the show once again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

MTV Networks Music Group President Van Toffler said Wednesday, that Spears will not perform but it’ll be something “fun and unexpected” on Sunday night’s show.

Britney said in a statement: “MTV has long played an important role in my career. How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs? I’m excited to open the entire show, to say hi to my fans and to be nominated,” Spears said in a statement.

Toffler also raised the possibility of another troubled pop icon appearing: Michael Jackson.
“We’ve been talking to him as well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” he said. “People fall in and fall out up until the day of the show.”