After a well-needed vacation in the comforts of my own home - imagine a couch surrounded by chicken fence, wine in my hand and airplane music playing in the background - I’m back and ready to breathe in the New Year.

2007 promises to be a year filled with opportunity. LA’s noteworthy happenings feature the opening of the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre. Part of the $4.5 billion, 4-million-square-foot LA Live complex being built to adjoin the STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Nokia Theatre is expected to host star-studded award ceremonies and more than 150 live annual performances.

One of the world’s greatest architects, Renzo Piano, has designed LACMA’s spectacular renovations that are expected to open by the end of 2007. The centerpieces are the new Broad Contemporary Art Museum and an 8,000-square-foot piazza.

In 2007, the Ray Charles estate expects to open the Ray Charles Museum on the site of Charles’ recording studio for the last 40 years of his life. The 20,000-square-foot museum will house recordings, awards and even a tour bus.

Also opening in 2007 is the Children’s Museum of LA at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley. Interactive exhibits will focus on ecology in a way that promises to be great fun for families.

There is a lot going on in the City of Angels and I look forward to providing you with not only the inside scoop on celebrities and clubs, but the cultural element LA offers residents and tourists alike.