Photo by Marshall Astor-Food Pornographer via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr We can't get enough of talking about taco trucks, but we're not alone. The folks at Zocalo have an event next week focused on the wheeled purveyors of tortilla-wrapped tastiness and their perhaps precarious state of being in light of recent laws. C. Thi Nguyen, who called the new regulations "a cultural disaster," will be on hand at the Los Angeles... [continue]

Members of a Los Angeles City Council committee took 50 hours to deliberate, but finally put their stamp of approval on a $7 billion budget for the city. In the past weeks, news of proposed cuts to services and the elimination of several jobs have rippled through the city, causing anger and apprehension about what life would be like for some Angelenos under the new plan. However, some of the proposed cuts were reversed in... [continue]

Photo by aussiegall via Flickr Today LA will be taking another look at a water recycling program that could help the city become not only more efficient in usage but lead us towards freedom from costly and precious state-level water sources. Currently, 80% of our city's water is imported. The LA Times reports that this plan "would invest in projects to capture and store rainfall and clean up a sprawling, contaminated water supply beneath... [continue]

Photo by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Police were on the lookout today for the gunman who opened fire at the Super Sal Market on Ventura Boulevard in Encino. One man was injured in the incident and taken to a local hospital. The manhunt led to the lockdown of two nearby schools. Your education will now cost more: CSU approved a 10$ tuition hike today for undergrads, and the UCs... [continue]

We're not sure if this tamale is marketed as one that promotes self-actualization, or if that is just the state of being 护士黑鹰 from our LAist Featured Photos pool found themselves in after their meal. This bite came from the South Pasadena Farmer's Market, and is a: "Blue Corn, Roasted Banana Pepper and Provolone tamale with rice and beans." Tamales often inspire devotion (or frustration), and are often associate with cold-weather comfort food best... [continue]

Maybe it's the absence of any background in this photo that makes this vegan burrito from Flore Vegan on Sunset in Silver Lake look so dang sexy. Or, if you're so inclined, maybe it's the absolute lack of any animal product or by-product that is sexy. Maybe it's just lunch time and you forgot your brown bag at home and would rather eat your own arm than eat at Carl's Jr. Our LAist Featured... [continue]

Photo by Daniella Zalcman via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Maybe actor Dennis Farina was taking his former role as an L&O detective too seriously when he packed his suitcase and headed to LAX this morning. Authorities arrested Farina on charges of carrying a concealed weapon when a .22 caliber handgun was found in his carryon. Homicide detectives are working on the case of an infant found dead inside a Lancaster home... [continue]

May 1st was Taco Truck Night here in LA, and we've been talking tacos for quite some time now. This shot--named "Make Tacos, Not War"--from 护士黑鹰 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr captures the simple pleasure that is getting a taco from a street vendor, in this case in the shadow of Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Our photog explains: "Hot tacos, $1 each, in a driveway on Avenue 50 near York.... [continue]

In light of ongoing news about the city's budget crisis (a predicted $295 million dollar deficit), information about the number of people employed by the city who earn more than $100,000 is not sitting well with some. As reported in the Daily News, the newspaper conducted research and compiled a "review of salary data [that] shows more than 21,000 city workers take home $70,000 or more a year and more than 6,000 take home more... [continue]

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 level... [continue]

On Saturday May 10th, members of Anonymous took to the streets all over the world in protest of Scientology. Here in Los Angeles, Anonymous staged their gathering at 6331 Hollywood Boulevard at one of the many Scientology buildings in the city. LAist photographer Tom Andrews was on the scene this week, just as he was last week, to capture the events on camera.... [continue]

LAist Featured Photos pool contributor kristi.nicole shares with us a shot from a recent six course tasting menu meal at K-Zo in Culver City. Over on Yelp, K-Zo scores high with fans of high-end sushi, with one Yelper promising that if you hand yourself over to their Mr. Keizo for an omakase meal (where the sushi chef serves you what he wishes based on what's best on hand) "the master will take you on... [continue]

The first annual Cupcake Challenge on May 18th will put the lip-smacking in a foodie smackdown. In this event sponsored by CozmoDeck, Fiji Water, and K and L Wine Merchants, 13 of the best local cupcake bakeries--cupcakeries, if you will--are putting on their oven mitts and throwing down the best they have to offer in the hopes of determining whose cupcake is the tops in town. The event is open to the public, because you... [continue]

Photo from the Getty by Rick O! via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Students, faculty, staff, and parents associated with Lincoln Elementary school in Santa Monica are trying to come to grips today with the weekend arrest of Thomas Beltran, who taught ESL at the school. Beltran, 60, has been charged with molesting four young girls who were his students. An auto fire turned into a brush fire late this afternoon near... [continue]

Some of us at LAist were among the first to take a bite (and a sip or two!) at the new Father's Office II in the Helms Bakery building. LAist Featured Photos pool contributor pink_fish13 also couldn't resist, but opted for this tasty looking twist on a steak salad instead of one of the Office's legendary burgers. Thoughts on the dish: "It was spicy and delicious!" Father's Office II 3229 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles... [continue]

Photo by davehodg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr KAPOW! A pipe bomb exploded today near the front entrance of the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego. Authorities are still investigating the blast; thankfully no one was injured. BANG! A 16-year-old boy was killed in a drive by shooting Saturday night in Baldwin Park. OUCH! An alleged drunk driver who went the wrong way on the Harbor Freeway got what some might... [continue]

Tent City is a homeless camp that has been growing in both size and reputation in Ontario for almost a year now. It is a place where the homeless can find a refuge that offers relative safety and was set "up on city property just west of LA/Ontario International Airport last June to lure the local homeless away from dangerous sites" by area officials. In recent months, however, police have begun to tow cars away... [continue]

Why is this guy smiling? Maybe because he hearts LAist? | Photo by Malingering/LAist 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... [continue]

Tomorrow Los Angeles will take part in Holocaust Remembrance Day--called Yom Hashoah in Hebrew--in ceremonies around the city, with the largest one in California set for early Sunday afternoon in Pan Pacific Park. Mayor Villaraigosa will be among the leaders attending the observance, and Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple is slated to be the keynote speaker. The location of the event is particularly significant, as early this year adjacent land was broken and dedicated... [continue]

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be... [continue]