• Following weeks and weeks of stalling, the State Senate is finally getting ready to pass the budget bill after securing the crucial vote of Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman.
• Good news in the environmental department: San Bernardino County authorities have just agreed to start cutting back on their greenhouse gas emissions after monitoring conditions over the next 30 months.
• Secretary of State Debra Bowen is going after ES&S for selling close to 1,000 uncertified voting machines to counties across California.
• Check out the "King of California"'s interactive L.A. map.
• Douglas L. Barry is set to become L.A.'s first black fire chief.
• Officials ordered residents to evacuate from 50 homes in Hacienda Heights after a 50-acre brush fire erupted in the early afternoon.
• The NASA Ames Research Center is prepping an airport safety assessment study that will examine LAX's high propensity for runway incursions.
• The shareholders of Tribune Co. - owner of 11 newspapers (including the LAT), 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs - approved billionaire Sam Zell's $8.2 billion buyout offer.
• Outspoken liberal actress Janeane Garofalo (and former co-host of an ill-fated Air America show) will be joining the cast of conservative fave "24" this upcoming season.
• Space shuttle Endeavour safely landed in Cape Canaveral, Florida, this afternoon after a nearly two-week nail-biting episode involving a deep gouge in its belly.

Photo by victoriabernal via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr