It's been over three years since Jan Perry's proposed moratorium on fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles was approved. And today Bernard Parks estimates that 70 percent of the dining options in his district offer unhealthy fast food. But who's to tell you what you can and cannot eat? more ›

Debate was heated yesterday during the Los Angeles City Council meeting as members discussed the proposal to lease city garages in order to stave off worker layoffs and furloughs, and ideally bring revenue into the city's cash-strapped coffers, according to the Daily News. more ›

LAPD announced a $50,000 reward sponsored by Councilmember Bernard C. Parks today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects in a Christmas night shooting in Los Angeles that left 25-year old Kashmier James dead with her 3-year old daughter looking on. Two suspects, described as two Black males in their 20s, approached James in a dark-colored SUV as she stood on the 1700 block of West 85th Street. One suspect exited the car and fired multiple gunshots more ›

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and several surrounding parking lots aren't going to be swiftly sold off to the University of Southern California, as the school's interest in buying the property got a yellow light of sorts from The Board of Directors for Exposition Park and the California Science Center, who yesterday opted to "continue studying" the offer, according to the Daily News. more ›

Break out the suspenders and the hard-hitting questions (with a little flirtation for kicks), because tomorrow is "Larry King Day" in Los Angeles. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks will present a resolution during the Council meeting on Friday to declare December 17th as such, in honor of King's farewell broadcast of Larry King Live on CNN tonight. As part of the City honor, King will be granted rule as "King for a Day," according to Parks' office. more ›

A Los Angeles City Council committee voted to approve a new ban yesterday on "stand-alone" fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles, according to the Daily Breeze. Under this new ban, which can be viewed as an extension of the previously instituted moratorium on new fast food establishments, fast food restaurants cannot open "within a half-mile of existing establishments." more ›

John North at ABC7 this afternoon took a great look at the salaries of Los Angeles City Councilmembers. The question is, with a $179,000 salary and other compensation -- you'll often hear people say this makes them the highest paid councilmembers in the nation -- how can they justify furloughing city employees during this massive budget deficit? more ›

Lonnie Franklin, Jr., considered to be the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, was arrested in the vicinity of a billboard erected to aid in his capture. Now the electronic billboards--updated to laud local law enforcement for their work on making the arrest--are caught in a crossfire of opinions about their role in the community. more ›

Fixing the sidewalks of Los Angeles is a $1.2 Billion problem for the City, and this week the Council will consider repealing a 1974 ordinance that says the City must be responsible for the repairs, LA Now is reporting. Said Councilman Bernard C. Parks, chairman of the council's budget and finance committee: "We have no ability to perform these repairs. The money ran out in the mid-1970s, yet the city has continued to hold itself responsible." Should the ordinance be repealed, it will be up to the property owners to have the sidewalks repaired, at their expense. more ›

Councilmember Herb Wesson wants the city to explore placing a measure on a ballot asking voters to tax billboards. The suggestion comes in a letter (.pdf) from L.A. City Councilmember Herb Wesson offering various ideas on saving the budget. more ›

Close to 25 years after the first of eleven confirmed murders by the elusive Grim Sleeper, a major public awareness campaign was launched today in South L.A. Seven billboards now feature three composite sketches of the serial killer. Based on the description from the only known survivor, the images reflect what he looked like then and the LAPD's best guess at what he could look like today. more ›

Metro uses colors to name and define its major lines so it goes without saying that what we call the Expo Line today will soon become the Aqua, Pink, Olive or some other hued line when a portion of it opens this year. more ›

After a lower-than-expected attrition rate, it looks like LAPD will be unexpectedly beefing up its ranks by 22 more officers than planned for, according to the LA Times. Even with those extra numbers on the force, the goal of 9,963 sworn officers is still slightly lower than Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's goal of 10,000 officers. more ›

Leaders of the Los Angeles City Council today requested that the head of the Department of Water and Power recommend fulfilling a budgeted money transfer, which would save the city from bankruptcy on May 5th. Citing $1 billion in reserves, a letter to David Freeman said there was no need to withhold a transfer of $73.5 million. Freeman said the utility doesn't have sufficient funds to warrant a transfer without jeopardizing its bond rating. more ›

Yesterday during the meeting of the Los Angeles City Council, alternatives to laying off up to 4,000 employees was discussed. But in order to see those results, the mantra of "sharing the sacrifice" reared its head again. LA Times' Steve Lopez poses the question: "Would you take a pay cut to save your co-workers' jobs?" A 10% cut to a worker paid $50,000 a year would mean $5,000 less annually. If that happens, it won't be the first time many city employees have taken a cut. more ›

Some fire companies were closed Sunday indefinitely, but a rotating set of closures scheduled for tomorrow will lessen the number of ambulances and rescue trucks on Los Angeles city streets tomorrow as a money saving move amid the city's budget crisis. more ›

In a race against former LAPD Chief and current LA City Councilman Bernard Parks, State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas won the 2nd District LA County Board of Supervisors seat by nearly 23 percent. more ›

Yesterday's most contentious race was that for the seat for the 2nd District on the County Board of Supervisors. Considered a highly-paid and powerful lifetime position once you're seated, the race between California State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas and LA City Councilman (former LAPD Chief), Bernard Parks was extremely heated. more ›

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While the rains yesterday helped alleviate some of the dryness under which southern California has been hampered, it did little to lessen the worries of those in fire-stricken areas. Streaming rivers of rain created mudslides and prompted officials to call for mass evacuations. Flash flood warnings remain in effect. But, hey, it's LA, and today was clear and beautiful. A woman who poisoned her Marine husband to buy a boob job with the insurance... more ›

Los Angeles has over 180 official neighborhoods. These are those communities designated with the city sealed blue sign. However, if you tried to figure out your neighborhood and its official boundary, there's a good chance you are going to come upon a) conflicting information b) no information, or c) confusing information. Trust us, we know. We've been digging into official Los Angeles city neighborhoods with our Neighborhood Project and have yet to come upon... more ›

At last night's 10th Annual Los Angeles Political Roast, a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association, there was more than just poking fun at the no-nonsense East Coast talking LAPD Chief - William Bratton. The LA Times did not get into it (LAObserved did), but there was a little tiff between Mayor Villaraigosa and District Attorney, Steve Cooley. The DA took a swing at the Mayor's supposed marriage situation and later while Mayor V... more ›

This March, we will vote again. All even-numbered Los Angeles council districts will be up for grabs. Well... sorta. A few will be running unopposed: CD2: Wendy Greuel CD4: Tom LaBonge CD12: Greig Smith Competition will be found in: CD6: Tony Cardenas CD8: Bernard Parks CD10: Herb Wesson CD14: José Huizar (a story about this race) And since Alex Padilla will resign his seat in CD7 to go to the State Senate, there will... more ›

"The Coalition works to develop a safe, integrated, cost effective and environmentally sound public transportation system for the greater Los Angeles Region." more ›

As of right now, we are en route to the Aqua Line (usually referred to as Expo Line) running between Downtown and Culver City. But city councilman Bernard Parks doesn't like it. And there are so many more choices: amber, copper, olive, plum, rose, sienna, gray, lemon, lime, pink, purple, salmon, sky, tan, teal and violet. What would you name it? more ›

Chief of Police, William Bratton, has been making headlines after a July 6th KTLA interview where he said that councilmen Dennis Zine (former police sergeant) and Bernard Parks (former Chief of police) didn't "know what the hell they're talking about" when both disagreed with Bratton's loosening of hiring standards when it comes to drug use in the "distant past." more ›

LA County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke will retire after 40 years in politics. She was the first African-American woman elected to the California State Assembly. While there will be many heartfelt farewells for the 73-year-old, more interesting will be the race for her seat. The 5-member Board of Supervisors controls the pursestrings for the County and is vastly powerful; so far, Mark Ridley Thomas, Herb Wesson and Bernard Parks are rumored to be possible successors. more ›

When the biggest splash your public relations firm makes involves getting itself itself in the headlines on charges of fraud, that’s probably not a good sign. more ›

Richard Alarcon: Cha Cha Cha in Encino more ›