"As an officer who has responded to many murders over the years, this is amongst the most horrific," Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz said to the LA Times of last night's murder where a homeless man was allegedly doused with two buckets of gasoline and lit on fire. "This is one of cruelest crimes you can imagine." At about 9:40 p.m. last night, police responded to a call on 3rd Street between Berendo Street and New Hampshire Avenue (near Vermont) in the Mid-Wilshire area. Unconfirmed reports from anonymous witnesses tell the Times that they saw men in their 20s pull up in a car before dousing the man, who residents of the area know as "Grimley" and say he is a 20 year resident on the streets in the area.

James E. Moore II, chairman of USC's department of industrial and systems engineering and director of the transportation engineering program, writes in an LA Times op-ed piece that "if Metrolink service were discontinued tomorrow and all those passengers got back in their cars, there would be no perceptible change in freeway congestion or travel times." He goes on to say that "Metrolink actually makes traffic conditions worse because it consumes resources that SCRRA's member agencies could dedicate to effective congestion relief measures, such as the creation of priced freeway lanes that can also operate as busways." His piece, which gives a nice quick history of the service, makes some interesting points. But the reality is, Metrolink is most likely here to stay.

Has parking been easier in your neighborhood recently? It has been for one Echo Park resident who has noticed this trend, via The Eastsider LA: "As if following the financial markets, parking began to appear right as we approached the bail (fail) out and credit crisis. Each day more space, even at night. Now I see spaces in front as the Dow dips below 10,000 with each dive. Could Laguna Ave. be some kind of bellwether street for the economy?"

The heavy wind in the Valley from last night has spread a bit more throughout the city causing more concern from the National Weather Service that today's mix of winds, humidity and heat are conducive to wildfires. A red flag warning for the area has been called, but Los Angeles officials have not called a local redflag that affects parking in hillside communities. ALSO: A new study finds that wildfires have another negative effect: they cause "spikes in ground-level ozone, a lung irritant, that can occur far from the fire itself... In the upper atmosphere [the ozone] protects against harmful ultraviolet rays, but near the surface it can aggravate athsma and other lung conditions."

It's not directly Los Angeles or even California, but will today's decision have any effects on the Proposition 8 (eliminates gay marriage) campaigns? Or is this an example of other states following California's lead? "The court ruled 4-3 Friday that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples," the Associated reports. "Justices overturned a lower court ruling and ordered that court to find in favor of the plaintiffs."