Extra Extra: Less Crime in LA Means Jack Bauer Can Go On a Bender!

• If you thought earthquake season was over -- you were wrong! A 3.9 shaker hit the Lake Elsinore area earlier this afternoon. Maybe that explains the unseasonably warm weather today?
• Today in Shitty Traffic: parts of Wilshire are being closed off due to reports of a "suspicious package," Defamer is reporting that "the LAPD has closed the eastbound traffic of Wilshire Boulevard at Veteran Avenue to Westwood Boulevard."
• Hopefully justice will be served here: the man suspected of shooting his pregnant girlfriend in front of her two children has turned himself in to police.
• The biggest private employer in Ventura County is about to get a lot smaller: biotech giant Amgen is set to lay off 8% of its workforce, part of the company's efforts to scale back spending in the wake of dropping sales. This is totally going to suck for all those rich Westlake Villagers.
• CurbedLA has been keeping a close eye on that house on the 101; it may finally be moved tonight, much to the dismay of Wizard of Oz fans across the city.
• Violent crime in Los Angeles fell again in 2006, and the LAPD reported only only 293 homicides (compared to 656 just five years ago!): nationwide crime went up 2% overall, however.
• Blame Canada? Kiefer Sutherland got arrested for a misdemeanor DUI (oh stop being so trendy, Kief!), mere hours before being honored by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
• A new eco-friendly furniture store is opening in Panorama City, the green warehouse is expected to employ about 300 people [registration required to view article].
• Just one of the many ways USC takes your money: exorbitant parking meter prices, and only feet away from more economically-priced city meters! (Okay, okay, the UCLA parking situation isn't any better).

Photo by sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr