Extra, Extra

Photo by Maniology via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

• Police are hunting for a suspect in an Orange County bank robbery. He handed the teller a note and acted like he had a gun in his jacket pocket. The teller handed over the money and the suspect fled on foot.

• LA Zoo officials called a news conference to call for completion of a "cutting edge" pen for their elephant. Work on the Pachyderm Forest" was halted after some animals rights activists convinced the City Council to temporarily stop construction.

• A lot of the parking along hillside roads will be restricted due to higher fire dangers. Watch for the "Red Flag - No Parking" signs along the roads before you park. These restrictions are due to go through tomorrow.

• Last year saw the most 3.0 or higher earthquakes in Southern California, 267, since 1999. There were only 125 quakes of that measure the year before. Are these just isolated shakers or, as some seismologists believe, a harbinger of bigger things to come?

• In a sad case of going back to bad habits, an anti-gang worker was arrested for beating a man and stealing his jewels. He was an employee of the Unity One anti-gang organization but is now being held on $1.1 million bail.

• Arson investigators are looking into a fire at a furniture store in Van Nuys. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze in around an hour but found that it apparently started in several locations.

• Finally, some good LA Zoo news. With the elephant drama still ongoing, the LA Times tells the story of Topa, a rare California condor that helped save the nearly extict species. While older than other condors, he is still very aggressive. As one former handler explained, "When you get old, you get a little crotchety. But he still has an eye for the chicks."