Photo by tosaytheleast via Flickr As mentioned yesterday via blogdowntown, the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee is exploring two smoking related motions today. The suggested actions will not completely ban smoking like it practically is in Calabasas, but they do further the limiting of your rights or the protection of your health, depending on how you see it. The first, which is probably less controversial, is a proposed ordinance that would prohibit smoking......

A five acre brush fire broke out near Travel Town and the LA Zoo this afternoon around 12:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. 32 LAFD fire companies reported to the scene with help from LA County, Burbank and Glendale fire departments totaling approximately 200 firefighters on the ground. As of 2:00 p.m. no injuries, evacuations or damaged structures were reported and a knockdown had not been declared yet. "It's not progressing in......

Gizmodo caught wind of this gem of local TV news reporting from one of the Friday's iPhone long line reporting stories, an ubiquitous scene played across the nation, channel after channel. KTLA Reporter Eric Spillman became Mr. Sassypants and poked fun at the people waiting in line. Instead of being funny, it just turned into one of those "awkward turtle" moments. These type of waiting-in-line-events are usually good fodder for funny videos and reporting,......

The idea is already in Metro's long range plan, but it's not a priority. The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. says it's only 3-miles and if connected to Burbank Airport and the Burbank Metrolink station (therefore, downtown Burbank), ridership would surely increase. Road Sage Steve Hymon questions what if the Green Line went all the way to the Norwalk Metrolink station (we'll add in, "how about LAX?").......

On April 2nd 2005 at 11:00 am a witness contacted various UFO groups to report several strange objects over Hollywood. The first unidentified flying object was a geometrical black orb hovering in the sky days previous, the following day, a Sunday, the witness returned to the area and viewed another black sphere and then for several consecutive days noticed several white and black objects often firing strange laser-like lights from their under-carriage, whilst also performing......

In 1947 UFO hysteria swept across the world after Kenneth Arnold's alleged sighting of peculiar disc-like objects in US skies. Reports from Los Angeles are certainly nothing new either, and government intervention or involvement is certainly not just a modern possibility. In 1956 over Burbank a strange craft was observed in the zenith by two brothers at 2:00 pm as they pottered outside in the garden of their grandparents. A 'shiny dot' appeared in the......

The Valley will still always be the Valley. From Burbank to Chatsworth, horses are street legal in some parts. "You don't often see horses on the street in Reseda, especially on a busy street like Tampa," wrote Robbie about this photo that he submitted to LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. One of the best photo-worthy moments we have heard about was a few months ago in Chatsworth. "Two guys were riding bareback up Topanga......

Krust is less...crusty for some | Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist Like many of us hungry Valleyites, our first review of Krust left me disappointed. In a part of town that sorely lacks delicious mealtime options, it could have been the perfect fit. As an unofficial red-velvet-cupcake-tester, I knew I'd probably have to make the trip, but ... Well, East Coaster that I am, I decided to go to Krust just to be abused! In......

Everybody should know by now that one of the secrets of lasting through a shopping trip to Ikea is making a pit stop at their cafeteria, which features whimsical Scandinavian delicacies like Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. The Burbank location even has a well-stocked food market where you can pick up your own frozen meatballs, cream sauces, lumpfish roe, canned herring, rye breads, cheeses, and countless other little oddball treats like roe cheese spread.......

Near the Burbank Airport, choices are slim. Luckily, one of those few options seem to be a tasty and popular one. LAist Featured Photos Contributer ~db~ headed to Costa Azul this weekend and snapped this shot of his Tostada de Ceviche (citrus-marinated seafood salad on a tostada). He called it "the perfect Sunday breakfast." Submit your Eye Nosh food 'porn' photos and mini-reviews to LAist via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr.......

LAist has had some well documented cases of searching for that elusive “hidden bakery-café” in Burbank, or that extra parking spot at the Porto’s on Hollywood Way and Magnolia. And my suggestion? It doesn’t provide a solution for either of those problems, but an excellent alternative in Cake Monkey. It’s a nondescript bakery (basically a kitchen and an office, they are looking for a retail spot) wedged between a locksmith and a flowershop on Burbank......

Photo by jslander via Flickr If one popular restaurant single handedly caused enough of a parking problem that the LA Times' Burbank Leader is writing a feature article on it and it became a city council election issue, then it's time for the city of Burbank to think a little more about their poor public transportation system and walkability of the suburban Magnolia Park area in the city's westside. Since the popular Porto's Bakery......

Photo by marcbenton via Flickr On LAist's "Contribute" page, there are three ways you can participate: submit a link, join the LAist Featured Photos group on Flickr or leave us an anonymous tip. And one reader did more just leave a tip, he submitted an entire rant. It's a good rant and it raises good questions regarding policing for sidewalk smokers, local economies and police resources: Last month I was in downtown Burbank for......

This post was written by Lindsay William-Ross and Elise Thompson. Here at LAist, we consider our restaurant reviews to be recommendations, not critiques. We only slam a place when our hand is forced. There are just some people who should not go into any industry where dealing with the public is a chief priority. It truly pains us to do this. We so wanted to love Krust. We so wanted to write a glowing review......

View Larger Map If you've noticed northbound Hollywood Way closed in Burbank between Riverside Drive and Alameda Avenue, get used to it -- it's scheduled to reopen in October. Caltrans tells the Burbank Leader that they advise commuters to use Pass and Verdugo Avenues in the interim. A new onramp is being built on the 134 freeway to help congestion flow on the busy artery near major studios and the Los Angeles city border in......

Of Hollywood Way At least two people were injured when a car crashed into a Burbank post office today at noon near Hollywood Way and Empire Avenue reported KCBS. Both victims were taken to a hospital. Of Hollywood Blvd. Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department reported a lunchtime HazMat Investigation at the Hollywood and Highland complex where fumes were coming out of a janitorial area. Three male maintenance workers with minor illness complaints......

Music Center fountain, by ellwoodite via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr A bomb scare closed the short-term parking structure at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank this morning after a small suitcase was found without its owner, according to officials at the airport. The suitcase was detonated by the bomb squad and the parking lot re-opened after being closed for an hour. An inert World War II-era grenade left on top of a vehicle parked......

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr MUSEUM/LECTURE/RECEPTION Variations on a Caribou features Dr. Mark Sherman, Director of the International String Figure Association, addressing the lore associated with string figures (think Cat's Cradle)--we're talking chants, performance rituals, and the mathematical side of them. The evening lecture is followed by a reception at the Museum of Jurrasic Technology. 8:00 p.m. // Meeting Room of The Foshay Masonic Lodge // 9635 Venice......

Burbank residents who live in the vicinity of Bob Hope Airport may soon see relief in the nighttime hours from cargo plane flight activity if a proposed mandatory curfew is endorsed by the public and approved by the FAA. This month, airport officials will consider the curfew that will prohibit air traffic between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. In turn, the airport could potentially save millions in operation costs. In 2002, the second phase of......

Photo by pink_fish13 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Police are investigating the tragic shooting death of Los Angeles High School's Jamiel Shaw. The football MVP was gunned down by gang members last night. The 17-year-old's mother is on her second tour of duty in Iraq. The suspect in last week's shooting at a South LA bus stop is facing 15 felony counts and was arraigned today on the charges. The 24-year-old......

"...And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming" by kpe II via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Newly elected state speaker, a Democrat named Karen Bass who was raised in Los Angeles, has made friends on both sides of the aisle, the LA Times said. She is the first African-American to assume the top spot and has some pretty lofty goals, including providing healthcare and improving education. Wait, those are things EVERY......

Photo by Plankton 4:20 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr More on the arrest of Kazuyoshi Miura, who is accused of killing his wife in LA in 1981 and is being extradited from Japan: Turns out it was his blogging that got the authorities' attention. Bad blogger! Bad! Another one from the Cold Case Files solved: 47-year-old Wayne Osbourne of Virginia has been charged in the 1988 murder of Diana Michael, who......

Santee Village Apartments | Photo by atomicshakespeares via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's not the same thrill as being singled out as a draft pick when it's the police who want you: "An arrest warrant has been issued by the Irvine Police Department for St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Scott Spiezio on six charges stemming from a Dec. 30 incident." Police in Burbank are investigating the mysterious death of 47-year-old Glen Giles,......

This apartment complex next to the NoHo Metro Red Line was rumored to have many gang-related police calls when it opened | Photo by lavocado@sbcglobal.net via Flickr So that's why cops were all over the Valley this morning. The Daily News is reporting that around 200 cops raided 15 homes, arresting 16, in an early morning operation called "Wild Card" which is "the police department's effort to challenge a particularly active and violent clique......

"Banksy phone booth crashes Downtown LA?" by xxjetlab via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Five are dead and one person was hurt in an apparent murder-suicide in Yorba Linda, close to the Richard Nixon Library. A 14-year-old called in to report that his father had shot him. Police later found that the gunman shot his wife and 3 of his children before turning the gun on himself. As we have pointed out before,......

Bargain airliner Skybus is adding a route into Burbank's Bob Hope Airport starting Monday. The airline has two US hubs, and has been operating flights to and from the one in Columbus, Ohio for some time now, and is now linking BUR with its other hub in Greensboro, North Carolina. The big draw with Skybus is that they sell ten seats on every flight for $10 each (plus all those pesky fees and taxes, of......

Life doesn't stop in LA because it's raining. / Photo by kristi.nicole via LAist's flickr pool FILM The American Cinematheque’s Outfest Wednesdays continue at the Egyptian. On the big screen tonight is With You! -- director Yaniv Dabach’s documentary on the formation of New York City’s first gay rugby club, the Gotham Knights. A discussion with Dabach follows the screening – plus there’s a reception hosted by Absolut. 7:30 pm // American Cinematheque at......

Pickle just about anything at the Machine Project tonight. / Photo by ccarlstead via flickr. Sure there are a lot of places closed for President’s Day, but nightlife does exist in LA...even tonight: FILM Roman Polanski’s Chinatown focuses on an intricate water scandal and an even more twisted family backstory. Starring John Huston, Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson as Detective Jake Gittes – the city of Angels plays a major part of this nourish......

I fell in love with Porto's Bakery long before I ever actually visited one of their Glendale or Burbank bakeries -- they've always been our go-to place for catered meals at work. It only took one bite of one of their famous potato balls to convince me that this was a place I HAD to visit. But even though I drive by the Burbank location almost every weekend on my way to Costco or......

"Welcome to NoHo," by ~db~ via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Happy 5th Birthday Gothamist!! A "possible" security breach at the Department of Water and Power Monday may result in more than 8,300 employees wondering, why are there two me's? The lifted information included stats on active DWP employee's names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth and could result in a massive case of stolen identity. The gig is up for all......