Bomb Threat Disrupts Variety, E! Lunchers; UPDATE: 'It Was Empty'

MIRACLE MILE: This just in from Dana Haris at The Knife:

Walking back from LACMA's Patina outpost (aka the Pentimento Cafe), we saw helicopters overhead, black-and-whites blocking Wilshire traffic and a half dozen cops rolling out yellow tape, with another half dozen waving their hands, telling us to move away. Our keen reporting sensibilities told us something was wrong.

So we put said keen sensibilities to work, asking one ("It's a bomb threat. Please move along"), two ("It's across the street. You need to move!"), three policemen until we got satisfaction: "Someone left their briefcase."

There's a black briefcase in the eating area outside Organic To Go. (You can't see it in the picture, but it was next to the shiny aluminum chair in the center of the shot.) And now it's surrounded with yellow tape, as are the three blocks around it. (Wrinkled, recycled tape! they pulled it out of a police car's trunk!) I bet they'd get fresh tape if it was M Cafe De Chaya.

Are the cops just on extra high alert in that area or what? In March, Ryan Seacrest made a daring escape from another bomb scare at E! Now, it's the organics. Thank goodness there isn't a raw food resto near there. They'd be next.

UPDATES: "(3 pm) They've opened the briefcase -- it's empty."
· BREAKING: Briefcase "bomb" threatens lunch for Variety, E! [The Knife]
· Bomb Scare at E! Building [Defamer]