Tag: Nightclub

WEST HOLLYWOOD—Just in time to celebrate Pride Month, a new sapphic nightclub, Sweetwater, has opened up in West Hollywood. SweetWater opened its doors on the WeHo strip with a soft opening on June 5, the first day of WeHo Pride. The establishment is expected to celebrate a grand opening in the middle of June. 

SweetWater is a 2,363-square-foot nightclub that runs across 8869-8871 Santa Monica Boulevard on the corner of San Vicente Boulevard. The hours of operation will be Wednesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 a.m. 

Owner, Bernadette Gambino, expressed how important it was to her to open one of the few lesbian owned spaces in West Hollywood after working on the club for the past two years, she informed Fox 11.  “Women don’t have a place. West Hollywood has been Boystown forever,” said Gambino to Fox 11. She added, “When they come through, i want them to say, Oh my God, I’m finally home.”

SweetWater is not only a nightclub with music and cocktails, but a place where women can come dance and enjoy themselves on a night out. Gambino hopes the establishment becomes a safe place for many women, lesbian identifying or not, who frequent the West Hollywood strip.

“This is SweetWater. A place where waves of energy meet the dance floor, where self-expression knows no limits, and where the connection between people is as deep and vast as the ocean,” the establishment states on its website.

By Ryley Metten

HOLLYWOOD HILLS—The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating an Officer Involved Shooting that transpired on Saturday, September 9. The LAPD Force Investigation Division indicated a shooting occurred around 1:45 a.m. at a nightclub on the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue. Security guards flagged down uniformed officers and noted that a group of patrons were fighting and pointed out a male who appeared to be the cause of the altercation.

The suspect who was identified as a white male, approximately 30 years old, got into the driver’s seat of a white Mercedes-Benz that was parked on Ivar Avenue south of Hollywood Boulevard. The suspect drove the car in reverse, negotiated a turn and stopped in the middle of the street facing the west curb.

While the officers were driving towards the suspect’s Mercedes-Benz, the suspect who was seated pointed a handgun outside of the driver’s side window and fired the weapon towards people on the west sidewalk, involving in an OIS.

The suspect immediately fled southbound in his vehicle towards Sunset Boulevard.  Officers initiated a pursuit and after a short distance, lost the suspect’s vehicle and the pursuit was stopped. No officers or community members were injured during the incident.  Force Investigation Division (FID) and Robbery Homicide Division (RHD) investigators responded to the scene and are investigating.

The LAPD’s specialized Force Investigation Division responded to the scene, interviewed witnesses, and supervised the collection of evidence by the Forensic Science Division personnel.  The complete investigation will be reviewed by the Chief of Police, the Board of Police Commissioners, and the Office of the Inspector General to determine the thoroughness and accuracy of the investigation and whether the use of deadly force complied with LAPD’s policies and procedures.

By Trevor