We had a few minutes over lunch today to dash across downtown and watch the marchers on Broadway make their way towards City Hall. KTLA reported that by this time over 25,000 had already arrived, and judging by the mass of people moving past 7th and 8th Streets waving flags, cheering, and blowing horns, those numbers were rising in leaps and bounds. Slipping back to find the lunch in “lunch hour” I passed a... [continue]

After requesting a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency to increase regulations on vehicle emissions in 2005, (so California might implement a law, passed in 2002 requiring reduced emissions for 2009 cars, light trucks, and S.U.V.’s) Governor Schwarzenegger decided waiting was for sissies, and today in Beverly Hills, pulled out a lawsuit. The five year delay was caused by the E.P.A., claiming it didn’t have jurisdiction over auto emissions, and lawsuits from automobile manufacturers...... [continue]

It only took a few seconds before it was obvious that last weekend's Sumo Open was...something. Americans, Mongolians, Norwegians and Bulgarians (and a few other nationalities I'm sure we missed) gathered in L.A. to compete in an event that you'd be hard pressed to find in another U.S. city. Some shots are below, and if you missed it, our recap's over here.... [continue]

If you’re west of Vermont, and like parking anywhere close your home, you’ll want to block out some time Tuesday night at 7 -- because some folks are about to make everything north of Franklin between Normandie and Edgemont, permit restricted parking. Anyone who’s even visited this area knows street parking is already tough. This proposal will make it much, much harder…and street cleaning days? Yikes! There is only one meeting to voice your...... [continue]

(now imagine this with two suns) China grabbed some headlines the other day showing off their robotic moon probe, but since we’ve already got a couple roving away on another planet, our friends at the Jet Propulsion Labs have been looking into some other things. Like finding planets that orbit around twin stars, called binary systems. The new findings from the Spitzer Space Telescope suggest planets are just as likely to be found around...... [continue]

Yea citizens, when the cold light of justice turns its unflinching beam on evildoers everywhere, it will no longer shine from a two pound metal club. Ace crimefighters from the LAPD will soon be equipped with a new weapon in the arsenal of righteousness…the Pelican 7060 LED flashlight! Presented to the public yesterday, the 7060 was developed to specifications set by the LAPD after Chief Bratton banned their standard issue two foot-long metal flashlight.... [continue]

There are plenty of web-comics around to compete for your attention, but if you’re in the market, Big Head Press has one called La Muse that’s really slick. You want action? Check. You want shadowy conspiracies? Check. You want updates every week? Check. You want nicely drawn ass-kicking womenfolk? Check! La Muse plays with the story of Susan, an activist with super powers who is bent on saving the world from itself, and the...... [continue]

The Airbus A380, largest passenger plane in the known universe, snuck out of town today. After a pretty well choreographed NYC, LA touchdown happened within 15 minutes of each other last weekend, the Airbus Super-Jumbo (as tall as an eight story building and can hold 800 passengers) rolled into LAX -- which shelled out $49 million bucks to make adjustments necessary to support the maiden voyage of the aircraft With the tradition of aerospace...... [continue]

Some medical types released a study on CPR, that found the benefit of chest compressions alone, can be just as beneficial as the current procedure for CPR with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. They also studied the reactions of people when confronted with someone who’s collapsed, and discovered 70% of bystanders do nothing, partly because they’re afraid of touching a stranger’s lips. But the information shows when someone collapses it’s often due to a heart attack, where... [continue]

As we mentioned earlier, two rare violins stolen from a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic were recovered by French authorities last week. The prime suspect in the case raised suspicions, when he offered the instruments for sale to antique dealers for far under their value. However, before purchasing the violins, the dealers went through the internet looking for a more nefarious reason behind the sketchy deal. They found the LAPD’s website which has... [continue]

This didn’t gather the same kind of attention of a Stradivarius theft, but in late December, two rare violins were burgled from the home of Mark Kashper, a violinist for the LA Philharmonic. The instruments, one made by Carlo Tononi, and one by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume together were valued around two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Today, French authorities announced they had recovered the instruments, and nabbed an American in Paris who was trying to... [continue]

Sorry for the delay, but your crack LAist Aviation Staff Reporters had their attention seized (at the time) by the guy at LAX with wires coming out of his…err…body cavity, and this slipped under the radar. However, after a 17 month investigation, three Federal Agencies announced Tuesday they had taken into custody four F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, three from air museums around Chino and one from the company that produced the series “JAG” stored... [continue]

As happens every year, the wattage from the collective star-power gathered for the Oscars turns the universe into a dim bulb. But just before the big day, local braniacs at Cal-Tech have managed up another amazing astronomical feat. Using the Spitzer infrared Space Telescope, scientists peered at two planets, (360 and 904 trillion miles away) and for the first time, were able to identify molecules in an extra-solar atmosphere. The problem observing planets orbiting...... [continue]

[In '40s Narrator voice] This Week in Peculiar News -- Sex Demons! Clowns Murdered! Colossal Squid! Mummies! Tanzania -- A bat demon called Popo Bawa is blamed for a series of sex attacks. - BBC Columbia -- Two clowns are shot dead while performing in front of a live audience (no it wasn't Joe Rogan and Carlos Mencia). - Yahoo New Zealand -- Fishermen catch a 33 foot, 990 pound Colossal Squid. - BBC... [continue]

What happens when you're skateboarding, hit by a car, severely injured and undergo four brain surgeries? In the case of dancer Kim Hagen, tonight a bunch of artists and musicians throw a benefit to help pay off nearly a million dollars in medical bills. If your you, ten bucks gets eight hours of live music, DJ's, and registered for some nice door prizes (like wine tastings, gift certificates and a good bottle of tequila.)...... [continue]

LAist has noticed a disturbing trend that must be addressed: the disproportionate number of sea monster stories coming from the Asian side of the Pacific Rim. Clearly leading the industry right now is Japan with their ancient shark, giant squid, and humongous jellyfish swarms. Coming in second would be Australia (happy Australia Day BTW!!!) where a man recently survived a great white bite to the head! Not to mention their fearsome saltwater crocodiles. Competing... [continue]

Hopefully you heard about the beach closures at parts of Santa Monica and Will Rogers over the weekend, and avoided being coated in a layer of untreated…um, sludge. But, the good people at the CA Department of Health have lifted their restrictions, and we can now bring you this more savory link regarding the aesthetic virtues of the L.A Storm Drain System. FOVICKS -- or Friends of Vast Industrial Concrete Kafkaesque Structures, has a...... [continue]

Photo by Dogboy A small story about the USDA Forest Service rebranding Woodsy the Owl led me on a tortuous train of thought that ended with the question "What happened to the DC-10 Firefighting Supertanker? " The modified DC-10 carries 12,000 gallons of water, which is about 10 times more than most tankers. But the Supertanker couldn't meet the US Forest Service’s regulations for firefighting planes, and was never authorized for use on Federal... [continue]

Photo by Melyviz Submitted for your viewing pleasure, some webcams from in and around our fair burg. Venice, Pacific Palisades, LAX, Avalon Downtown, Long Beach, Burbank and others are over here.... [continue]

Clearly, L.A. does. However, plans to bring the N.F.L back to the City of Angels haven't worked out so well, and it seems we'll have to wait a bit longer. But with the Galaxy’s new acquisition, at least we'll get a new, quality football player in town. Reacting to the news, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa responded, "G o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o... [continue]