Abstract
I discuss some recent observational results in the research of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN). These results cover three main topics: (i) evidences for the current paradigm for AGN's, which includes a nuclear supermassive blackhole (SMBH) fed via an accretion disk; (ii) evidence that this paradigm may also apply to LINER's, the lowest luminous AGN's and to normal galaxies; (iii) evidences of how the fueling of the SMBH occurs and its relation to recent and intermediate age (106 to 108 yrs old) episodes of star formation.
