Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliott Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

Chipotle is hot for Westwood and UCLA is hot (or just plain cheap) for them As said in Extra, Extra, thanks to our friends at EaterLA, there are free burritos in Westwood tonight: "Those poor students and cheap business people, they love the freebies. A new Chipotle opens on Broxton today, and to commemorate, they're giving away free burritos." One student reader phoned in from the line. "It is sooooo long. This is crazy......

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist Who knew an early Monday morning post about graffiti on a mural posthumously made famous by singer/songwriter Elliott Smith would lead to such wonderful results. Nearly six months ago, then-editor of LAist, Tony Pierce, posted a photo of the graffitied wall stating that "this is why we can't have nice things." Then, on Monday, reader Robert T. wrote an e-mail attaching a photo of a new tag on the wall.......

Photo of the March 3rd, 2007 total lunar eclipse by Mr. Last Minute via Flickr Look up! Whether it's a plane, a bird or Superman, the sky is clearing up. And that means earlier fears of tonight's 7:01 p.m. total Lunar Eclipse viewing being blocked by clouds in Los Angeles can go wayside (Update: the moment we published this, the Valley started to get hit by cloud cover, but it seems on and off,......

Jobing.com: Employment for Bad Spellers | Photo by Andy Sternberg for LAist This billboard has been bugging me for months and it's all over LA. WTF is "Jobing?!?" Surely it's more than just a website designed to capitalize on typos of the unemployed. But what is this Jobing Community of Greater Los Angeles all about anyway? Is it community in the Eco-Village sense? Is there a secret society that worships the prophet Job? Do......

Foxy's carne asada chilaquiles run you $12 but you'll stay fed for days | All photos by Andy Sternberg for LAist In spite of the greasy mess plate of hungover love pictured above, Foxy's in Glendale is far from your last resort, still-drunk brekkie-plate of mornings soon to be forgotten. No, no, no. Last Sunday when we rolled up the Brand Boulevard of Cars and took a left onto Colorado and another into Foxy's......

This morning at Elysian Elementary in Echo Park | Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist *UPDATE, 5:33 P.M.: More problems continue throughout LA County at the beach, in Santa Monica. At Los Angeles City Hall, two City Councilmembers had an emergency press conference telling voters to pay attention when voting and Dharma & Greg Actor Mimi Kennedy explains what's going on in a video interview with LAist. Also, Hillary Clinton answered our interview questions. We're getting......

The day has finally come. And if you didn't do your homework, you still have some time study. Yesterday, LAist Contributor Jeremy Oberstein talked up the California props and the "phone tax" with Ken Wall on KABC 790's Al Rantel Show. For the aurally inclined, here you go... Press "play" to listen &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Olberstein_KABC.mp3"> And if you want to read about each of the propositions, here they are, both sides of the coin and all: S:......

LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg is inside the Barack Obama rally which is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 this afternoon at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. The event will feature Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy, but will be missing Mister Obama himself. In warming up the crowd, California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero has declared to the gathered supporters: "YOU are the real Giants and Patriots of America today!" (Get......

Bright Umbrellas in Chinatown for a Less than Bright Day Crews are still working to restore power to some 3,600 Edison and DWP residents that lost power due to heavy rains and winds over the past two days. North Hollywood, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, Pomona, Torrance, Stevenson Ranch and - gasp! - Beverly Hills residents were affected. Candles, people. More rain is on the way so gather ye umbrellas while ye may. Tons of......

Street flooding on Rossmore Ave in the Hancock Park of Los Angeles when storm drains became clogged by debris. | Photo by Jonathon Alcom (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos Flickr pool. Through 10 a.m. this morning, here are the rain and snow totals in inches from the National Weather Service. Rain Downtown LA -- 3.43 Long Beach -- 2.85 Santa Monica -- 2.69 Bel Air -- 3.39 Beverly Hills -- 4.20 Hollywood --......

News on Heath Ledger's untimely and tragic death is still developing. Keep checking our sister site Gothamist for updates. OMG, girls, have you heard? Caroline on Crack is holding the best contest evarrrrr over at her site -- head over now for your chance to win a date with one of L.A.'s most eligible bachelors, Andy Sternberg, our very own News Editor! I can say with utmost confidence that he is totally not a......

The anticipated LA MILL COFFEE boutique opened this morning in Silver Lake on its eponymous boulevard between Sunset and the Reservoir (they close at 6 p.m. tonight and are only serving bar drinks and clovers until then). Eater LA takes in the decor: "Custom-made French wallpaper, faux crocodile, ostrich and sharkskin chairs in dark teal, sky blue and red, black Lucite tables. A dramatic brass chandelier hangs in the main room." Definitely not a......

How much Britney coverage is too much? Whatever it is, it's not enough. In an e-mail memo, obtained by Gawker, sent this morning from Frank Baker, Assistant Bureau Chief, Los Angeles, he tells staff that "virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal." "That doesn't mean every rumor makes it on the wire," he continues, "But it does mean that we want to pay attention to what other are reporting and seek to confirm those......

And that's just American Airlines! Cameraphone Photo taken around 2:30 p.m. today by LAist News Editor Andy Sternberg.......

An “acid bomb” is capable of a 300-foot blast radius. So why did a 12-year-old bring one to school today in the OC? Cal State Northridge (CSUN) is building a 1,700-seat, performing arts center and just received their largest donation of one million from Attorney and civic leader David Fleming and his wife, Jean. Oh noes! Charlize Theron's home got robbed last week! Save up those quarters, DASH will not be accepting Metro passes......

Three people were injured and dozens evacuated after an apartment fire in Sherman Oaks gutted at least two units at 2 a.m. this morning. It was cold last night, but there are better ways to stay warm people. Australian police arrested a man in Melbourne who threatened to attack The Grove Friday. There is no evidence the man, who has never been to the United States, intended to carry out the attack. Still, days......

It’s been a whirlwind of a day here at LAist. Early this morning our Editor told the staff via email that he would soon be accepting a new job at the LA Times running all of their blogs (of which there are about 25, currently) and that he would be starting in just a few weeks. We all knew this day would come, but so soon? Since the moment Tony Pierce began at LAist back......

Welcome to Hollywood Today, an LA City commission voted recommending that Charles Bukowski's former home to be designated a historic cultural monument. Yay books and reading! According to state representative Fabian Nunez, who represents the Downtown LA area, the biggest crisis we're facing today is foreclosures. ""It's a more immediate crisis," he told the AP. Meanwhile, protests are beginning to hit the streets over this. Drink up! It's the holidays! Caroline on Crack has......

If you don't get yourself to a festival this weekend, we're really going to question your priorities in life. Andy Sternberg lists the highlights, while Caroline on Crack narrows in on the awesome food festivals also happening this weekend. We have spent the entire month eating our way through Thai Town. We're winding down our series with Thai Town Express, Sanamluang Cafe, Thailand Plaza, and Thaitown Noodle. New Zagats are out! New Zagats are......

Internet Radio Stations around the country are protesting a proposed increases of over 300% to royalty rates on streaming audio broadcasts by partaking in the Internet Radio Day of Silence. Our personal favorite KCRW is observing this day and been talking about it for two weeks. Also observing the day of silence is LAister Andy Sternberg's WOOZRadio. Read about it more in either the LATimes article or Washington Post. And then please take action.......

Photo © Andy Sternberg Tomorrow, tens of thousands of Los Angeles residents will take to the streets to draw attention to the shoddy state of labor and immigration laws in the United States - for the fifth or sixth time in the last 6 months. Call me shitty, but I am over it. It's an excuse for kids to skip school, and if you have to go through downtown to get to work, it's......

How to Protect Yourself and Others from Electrical Hazards Following a Natural Disaster - Never touch a fallen power line. Call the power company to report fallen power lines. - Avoid contact with overhead power lines during cleanup and other activities. - Do not drive through standing water if downed powerlines are in the water. - If a power line falls across your car while you are driving, stay inside the vehicle and continue......

Year of the Dog's Laura Dern and Molly Shannon with writer/director Mike White OK, so we were invited to the Paramount lot -- but wouldn't it be more dramatic if we crashed it? Could additional drama even be necessary at the premiere of a movie about relationships, work, death, and dogs, with a tagline begging the question: "Has the world left you a stray?" Year of the Dog hits theaters next Friday, the 13th.......

Here are the ground rules: five players from each team enter the track -- four blockers and one jammer. The whistle blows and the group of blockers start skating. The second whistle lets the jammers begin their jam. The jammers must skate through the group of blockers, go all the way around the track and catch up to the group again. Now, for every opposing blocker they pass, a point is gained. It's those......

c l i c k __f o r__v i d e o Perry Farrell’s environmentally conscious, glammy, speed rock ensemble, Satellite Party, played a secret show at Spaceland last night, and LAist stepped out to sip champagne with the frenetic frontman. The older he gets, the more he looks like Screech. It's remarkable. The band was tight, the sound was clean, the blond was dirty, and everyone was having a good time. Risking permanently-banned......