Extra, Extra: Slumber Party in The Office

"Christmas Tree" Photo by sfxeric via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• You think you spend too much time at work? I bet your hours spent in-office pails in comparison to the Mayor of El Monte. Blanca Figueroa says she keeps late nights because, "the mayor's work is never done," but her City Council members suspect her of living in her office because her home is not livable. The Council actually voted on Dec. 9th to make a City Hall working curfew of 11 pm - the only opposing vote... Figueroa.
• With Christmas around the corner, you're bound to get some crappy service while shopping or an inferior product under your tree. The Consumerist gives you a pretty sweet template on how to go about kicking & screaming for some Seasonal justice.
• The Holidays are about celebrating traditions. One tradition returns to Elysian Park where hand picked tumbleweeds and random trash items are transformed into The Elysian Park Snowmen and Woman.
• Billboards have been the hot topic lately and the Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight is leading the charge. Are you drawing a blank on the current billboard situation in LA? No worries, check out Billboard Confidential tonight on KCET at 8 pm to get caught up.
• We're (LA's) #1 for - Pet Lovers, Bookworms, Wheelers and Dealers, Night Crawlers and a close 2nd for the Most Eventful city in the country. We got jipped as the #4 spot for Music Lovers!
• Former Canyon Lake Councilman Frank Kessler and his wife were arrested in their Riverside County home on charges ranging from embezzlement to theft. That's what you get when you use a city credit card to pay gambling debts. Hey, at least he's not running a Ponzi scheme.
• The recent storm gave the ocean enough water to give a lot of our trash back to us, and the Surfrider Foundation has been hard at work trying to clean it up. If you dropped anything, you might want help and go collect your belongings.
• The end of the year is all about reflecting on the "Best Of 2008." Courtesy of The Smoking Gun, here are the Best Mugshots of 2008.