On the Pier in Santa Monica

• Mr. Lincoln, we like your pennies, says the US Postal service, just a day shy of his birthday. To celebrate, they announced today that postage will go up by 1 cent to 42 cents, effective May 12th.
• A 15-minute car chase had CHP officers trying to catch up with a woman wanted in a forgery case today. The pursuit began in El Monte and ended in Sylmar, reaching up to 95 mph along the 210 freeway. She was eventually arrested.
• The body of a man who had apparently committed suicide was discovered in the backyard of a burning house when authorities in Covina responded to a domestic violence call at the location. After a dispute with his wife, who left the property, the man set the house on fire and then shot himself.
• Investigators in Orange County are looking at the possibility that "guy wires" (the cables that keep power poles straight) are to blame for some of the October wildfires in San Diego.
• A lawsuit initiated by late actor John Ritter's family, headed up by his widow, actress Amy Yasbeck, began today in Glendale. They are seeking $67 million dollars in damages in a wrongful death suit.
• And in more lawsuit news, the London-based trust of scribe J.R.R. Tolkien filed suit today against New Line Cinema in LA for allegedly "cheating it out of at least $150 million from the blockbuster movie trilogy based on the late British author's fantasy sagas."
• Just in time for VD (that's Valentine's Day for most of you), the online dating service called CrazyBlindDate.com launched today in LA (and Chicago & DC) after causing a splash in New York, SF, Boston, and Austin. The premise is you enter some basic information and criteria, get a match, and then go on a...Crazy Blind Date!!!!!! Yikes. Oddly enough, all 7 of CrazyBlindDate.com's cities are in -ist network cities...Coincidence? We think so. Crazy!

Photo by atomicshakespeares via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr