Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• It's official: Police have identified the Green Skeleton Bandit who was fatally shot earlier this week when he was caught in the act of robbing the AutoZone in NoHo by a US Marshal. He was 24-year-old Lawrence Dean Smith Jr. of Palmdale who used a knife and wore a skeleton-themed sweatsuit in his robberies.
• Fight for the right to ficus! Local activists in Santa Monica just can't say goodbye to the ficus trees slated for removal by the City. LAist's coverage began last fall with "Ficus? Ficyou!" and then got a quick update. It's not looking good for those fic-ing trees.
• Dominguez Hills High to USC journey waylaid by stop for robbery at gunpoint in Compton; so goes the trajectory of football recruit Maurice Simmons.
• So You Think You Can Dance...and assault me? The 54-year-old co-owner of the Van Nuys Performing Arts Center was arrested Wednesday night for "allegedly sexually assaulting several female students at his facility."
• If aging stars can do it, so can museums named for Hollywood's golden era stars: The National Autry Museum in Griffith Park is going to get a $100 million facelift.
• L.A. Now takes a look back at the legacy of the Sleepy Lagoon murder and trial through the eyes of Mario Reyes, the youngest son of Manuel Reyes, who was one of the 22 young men rounded up and charged. Don't know what the Sleepy Lagoon murder is? Do a quick read about it on Wiki, or read the fantastic play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez.
• Planning on grabbing a bite in The OC this weekend? Be sure to catch up on the county's latest restaurant code violations. Hopefully Newport's Balboa Thai Cafe got rid of those pesky cockroaches. Shudder.