FBI agents arrested two inspectors with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety this morning on federal bribery charges, according to the Department of Justice. The men, Hugo Joel Gonzalez, 49, of Eagle Rock and Raoul Joseph Germain, 59, of Altadena, are accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to approve work done at residential construction sites in South Los Angeles. Gonzalez and Germain allegedly made the approvals but did not inspect the work, and, in some cases, hadn't even been to the job site. more ›

Andrew Adelman, Manager of the Department of Building and Safety for Los Angeles, is currently under investigation for an alleged rape back in July. The LAPD is mum, but Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reportedly sent a stern message placing him on administrative leaving. The LAPD confirms that an investigation does involve a city employee but does not name anyone. "Because of the serious nature of the allegation and for reasons of confidentiality, no names will be released," a police statement read. more ›

Steve Lopez has a good knack for getting stories about the City of LA in their stupid moments. The latest is about a family store in Highland Park that was getting tagged by taggers and gangsters on an almost daily basis. The family would clean the graffiti, it would soon come back. So the family hired two respected street artists for $3000 to paint a mural and the tagging stopped. Well, someone complained about the mural and the city sent a letter ordering the family to comply and take the art down (the mural needed a permit). They didn't, so the city painted it for them (in an unmatched color). What almost immediately happened next? Graffiti. more ›

The music venue that is the Knitting Factory has been a mainstay in the resurgence of Hollywood since 2000. As an anchor tenant and early adopter of the area, the New York City based club saw Hollywood change from having the 18th Street Gang territory sit one block away to having tourists flock the area making it a likely candidate for one of the most pedestrian dense areas in the city. Now that the area is built up and the Factory is surrounded by national brand name stores and businesses, trouble has come knocking on the door. more ›