"I don't know if I'm more sad or more angry," Treesavers founder Jerry Rubin said this morning as he witnessed Santa Monica workers cut down 23 ficus trees on 2nd and 4th Street. He stood on a stump where one of the trees used to stand for over 40 years -- it only took a matter of minutes to cut it down. "We'll be back again, and we won't get caught with our pants down......

Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, second from right, being sworn in by her predecessor, Assemblyman Fabian Nunez, of Los Angeles, left, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger applauds during ceremonies at the Capitol in Sacramento. Second from left is Bass' stepdaughter Yvette Lechuga who held the bible used in the swearing in. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Today, Karen Bass, a local representative, was sworn in as the Speaker of the California State Assembly. She is the first......

Photo by Rick O! via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A shark attack off the shores of San Diego killed Dr. Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian and triathlete from Solana Beach. Martin was taking part in an early morning group swim near Fletcher Cove when the incident occured; an 8-mile section of beach remains closed. The fate of Rocky, the grizzly bear who bit and killed his trainer earlier this week, will......

Photo by kpeII via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The elderly women known as the 'Black Widows' have been found guilty of murder conspiracy. Partial verdicts were read today against 77-year-old Helen Golay and 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt for their roles in two murders. A 27-year-old man from Sherman Oaks jumped to his death this morning from an overpass on the 210 Freeway at Sierra Avenue in Fontana. He had left his car......

Not only is Lou Dobbs angry at Councilman Ed Reyes and LAPD Chief Bratton, but he doesn't seem to be a fan of Los Angeles and especially Mayor Villaraigosa after yesterday's news of his letter to Homeland Security regarding ICE. Check this video below:......

Thanks to the most exciting primary season in years, there's been an understandable lot of talking about the process of selecting a presidential candidate, especially regarding Delegates, Super Delegates, and of course, Mutant Delegates from the sewars. Unfortunately, there's been a kind of New Star Wars Trilogy feel to reporting on the matter; ponderous, boring, pretentious and narratively inconsistent, but somehow taking forever to get through. The general consensus seems to be that these Ancient,......

Kevin Roderick, by Marc Goldstein courtesy KCRW. In May, Kevin Roderick's LA Observed will celebrate its fifth year as one of the city's main online destination for those seeking the inside scoop on media and politics. Roderick, a 25-year veteran of the LA Times and author of two books about Los Angeles, sat down for nearly an hour where talking about the past, present and future of LA Observed, why he thinks people should......

Photo by Angela Radulescu via flickr. "Somebody forgot to tell Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential race is over and Barack Obama won." So began Reuters political correspondent John Whitesides' analysis of the presidential campaign this morning. Ever since Super Tuesday, when Obama won the majority of states but lost key states like New York, California, and New Jersey, it's seemed as if no political doublespeak or even MSM pandering could stem the Obama tide.......

It's a bear market for the city's budget | Photo by BigMcGuire via Flickr The city is entering on of the worst budget woes it has ever faced. And while it's been talked about for sometime now, the effects are now becoming more apparent. Yesterday in a long city council meeting over most things money, the most controversial subject of water and power rate hikes ended with the increases on hold for further discussion,......

Someone in Melrose doesn't like Hillary Clinton....

The National Weather Service out of Oxnard is reporting some gusty wind and some readers are saying their power is out in Echo Park. While some areas in Santa Barbara County have wind gusts of over 50 mph, Malibu is at 49 mph, Burbank at 40, Newhall Pass at 34 and Whittier Hills at 45. Today's blackout comes on the same day the Department of Water and Power approaches a City Council committee to approve......

Less than a year after being acquired by CBS Interactive, Wallstrip executive producers Jeff Marks, Adam Elend, and host-producer Lindsay Campbell (interviewed above at the MobLogic launch party this week at SXSWi) have added a second daily video podcast to the mix. MobLogic aims to take daily news and politics to the people, with daily topical summaries and commentary from everyday people-on-the street. Though based in New York City, MobLogic will be criss-crossing the......

Now that McCain has secured the Republican nomination, much work has to be done to keep his name in the news while that other party decides how to actually produce a winner. So how does McCain’s campaign plan on doing that? To start, The Man himself is planning a national tour promoting his life story, an overseas trip to promote his foreign policy experience, and town hall meetings leading through the general election. But......

As reported yesterday in the midst of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's scandal where he was busted for his involvement in a prostitution ring, the same high-scale service he used has ties in Los Angeles as well as Washington, DC, Miami, London and Paris. Documents released yesterday showed that the Emperors Club VIP operated in two unnamed Los Angeles area hotels in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica according to CBS. The service is "an alleged......

As the country waits to see what the future holds for crusader turned illicit copulater Eliot Spitzer, it is worth examining what impact his prostitute predilection might have on the Democratic Party. Spitzer, the once immensely popular governor of New York that swept into office with 70 percent of the vote, was an early and avid supporter of Hillary Clinton. He is a Clinton superdelegate and helped solidify the support she enjoys in the state......

Photo by highervision via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr This evening a public viewing will be held for slain LA High football star Jamiel Shaw, with funeral services to follow tomorrow. Shaw's tragic murder has prompted many LA residents to refocus on the senselessness of gang-related violence. Go, stop, go, stop: Commuters northbound on the 57 and the 605 transitioning to the 210 westbound this morning were greeted by the new traffic......

With an online guide for names like "Villaraigosa", we thought it's time to help educate Angelenos on other elected officials whose names often get mis-pronounced. Now,we don't have an handy audio files like the Mayor has for his name, but we've done our best to help you pronounce their last names phonetically. Councilman Tom LaBonge: luh-BONJCounty Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: yaar-o-SLAV-skeeCouncilman Jose Huizar: WEE-sarDon't even get us started on how to pronounce the City's name (or......

Last year, Los Angeles firefighter Tennie Pierce sued the city and won $2.7 million for being victim of a hazing prank in which a Latino firefighter put dog food in his spaghetti. The prankster and his two white captains were punished, but the captains, who did not spike the food, were treated more severely by the department, leading to yet another lawsuit. In the decision, jurors said it was both a finding that Capts. Chris......

Say you're going to kill the President and the feds will see you in court a week later. That's what happened to a 50-year-old Pacoima man last week before getting arrested, according to the Daily News. Charles Madrid told the Secret Service what he would do if Bush were present right at that moment: "I'd deck his ass." And Vice President Dick Cheney? He also "needs an ass kicking." Some thought Madrid was mentally ill,......

Photo by JeremyRyan via Flickr No more are the days where Mayor Villaraigosa is a rock star celebrity who stood as a symbol of change for Los Angeles. The LA Times this weekend, along with LAist late last week, questioned the Mayor's time on the road with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The Mayor says the trip scheduled to end Wednesday comes to an end today because a lot was already accomplished, but the Daily......

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. So here's this week's top posts, as endorsed by you via the recommend feature, or as indicated by the......

For the last ten years, state representatives from Los Angeles have dominated the role of Speaker of the Assembly, including Mayor Villaraigosa, LA City Council Herb Wesson and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. Today, Karen Bass, the assemblywoman who represents neighborhoods from West LA to Culver City to Baldwin Hills, had enough votes to become Speaker of the Assembly up in Sacramento. The job of speaker is to be the leader of the California State Assembly,......

We love when politicians and government officials chime in on LAist's comment section. The latest political celebrity, Senator Jim Battin (R- La Quinta), caught wind of an article this morning about SB 1374, a bill he submitted last week that would allow car pool lane access for any car owner who off-sets their emissions with carbon credits, ultimately letting solo drivers of all sorts, including SUVs and Hummers, onto California freeways. Commenters brought out ammunition......

Photo by billaday via Flickr If you thought Sacramento politics was like watching paint dry on a wall, then it's time to revaluate that thought... at least for the moment. On Friday, the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert blog picked their Press Release of the Week and if the proposed bill is passed, it could effect the roadways here in Los Angeles by letting solo drivers, including Hummers and other SUVs, gain access to car......

Photo of crowd at Los Angeles debate in January by shredded77 via Flickr Last Friday, Sarah Miller's Open Letter to Barack Obama in the LA Times Opinion section caught my eye. Got me thinking. Had me nodding my head. I'm not the only one, as the comments on her letter are getting heated. As an Obama supporter, she raised some concerns about his seeming inability to be concrete and clear about how he is......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has begun to get the word out that he plans on running for a second term. According to the LA Times, Mayor Tony made mention of his plans, along with "his most personal remarks to date about the political fallout from his extramarital affair" on Wednesday during an interview on the Charlie Rose show. The Mayor was also asked about his plans to run for governor, which have been circulating in the......

Campaign Buttons, by JSF539 via Flickr Thomas Pynchon once said, "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." But if they find you in the romantic embrace of a lobbyist and you happen to be a Senator from Arizona, it doesn't matter what they're asking, just what they are reporting and late Wednesday, the New York Times broke it wide open. In a piece that had......

The City of Los Angeles is in the process of updating its Bicycle Master Plan, a component of the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan. For the cycling community, this should be a joyous occasion, the opportunity to participate in the creation of a City Planning Department document that codifies the rights of cyclists and drives the development of a multi-modal city. But critics complain that the BMP Workshop process is obligatory at best......

Photo by Lush.i.ous via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Political Briefs and Dispatches from around California TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis gets to throw around his ideas and dreams for Los Angeles and Southern California on the KQED California Report's last of a 7-part series on climate change and California's water. We've heard them before here on LAist, but here he is in audio format in Monday's report: http://netzoo.net/audio/kathy.mp3"> Senator Hillary Clinton chimed......

Photo by Salaam Allah West Coast Transitphotography KING! via the LAist Featured Photos pool It sounds really boring: California Health and Safety Code Sections 43845. However, within that state code is a something pretty neat: if your place of work has 50 persons or more employed for them and subsidizes leased parking for your and your fellow employees, then they must participate in the Parking Cash-Out program offering you a cash allowance in lieu......