What are you doing to make the world a better place? As President Obama takes the highest office in the land — and we lose the bad energy that is the Bush administration — there’s never been a better time to renew our belief that we can make the world a better place to live. Just last week, in a YouTube clip, Obama encouraged Americans to roll up their sleeves and do some work in their communities.

Whether you’re passionate about marriage equality, homelessness or the environment, there’s plenty each one of us can do to make a difference. There are plenty of websites to check for volunteer opportunities, including volunteermatch.org and idealist.org. Just a few months back, I decided to reduce my carbon footprint. I began recycling, using cloth bags for my groceries, reusing my plastic Starbucks cup—the label’s nearly worn off—and buying biodegradable bags for picking up after my dog. Going green inspired me to begin cleaning up my neighborhood. I’ve taken to picking up 5-10 pieces of garbage off the streets a day and putting them in the nearest recycling bin. That has lead me to begin to explore community service opportunities that involve making my city a cleaner and more comfortable place to live in. Now, am I näive enough to think that by reusing my raggedy, broken-down venti iced latte cup or by picking up five pieces of garbage—which, no matter what I do, will be replaced by five more pieces of garbage thrown out by some litterbug—I am singlehandedly saving the Earth? No. But I have hope that maybe someone will see me picking up garbage and think twice before they mindlessly throw something on the ground Every major shift in consciousness has to begin somewhere, right? So as Obama takes office and begins to undo—one policy at a time—the mess Bush has left behind, I too plan on doing my part to make the world a better place. After all, if Obama asks me, chances are, I’ll do it. Whatever it is. Really.

We’ve got a star-studded book for you this issue. First up, Katy Perry, whom we love—despite criticisms from some in the LGBT community for her supposed exploitation of lesbianism. Perry’s managed to snag a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance and begins her world tour later this month at the Wiltern. You can read all about the red-hot rockstar on pg. 32. We’ve also got the cast of Lifetime Television’s Prayers for Bobby—which includes Ms. Sigourney Weaver—to discuss the tragic real-life story of young Bobby Griffith, who became another casualty of religious-based intolerance. Catch that story on pg. 34. Finally, we’ve got Rachel Dratch, who we all loved as Debbie Downer on SNL, who makes her musical theater debut at the Ahmanson later this month in Minsky’s. You can find Rachel on pg. 26.

And of course, we have all the news, entertainment reviews and gossip fit to print! As always, I hope you enjoy the issue! Feel free to write us by shooting an e-mail off to comments@inlamag.com.

—John Hobbs