We're not sure if waffles or lattes will be served; in fact, we have zero deets on the spread. But we do know that the Los Angeles Police Foundation (LAPF) is hosting a breakfast February 16 with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. more ›

Tonight Echo Park's own electro dance duo Rainbow Arabia will be taking on the second night of their residency, headlining the Echo. Long Beach-based indie rockers We Barbarians are poised to continue their month-long residency as well at Spaceland. And, lastly, local singer-songwriter Willoughby will be gracing the Silver Lake Lounge, warming up the stage for Line And Circle. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Troubadour to catch Santa Monica's own indie rock troubadours Chief, who recently inked a deal with Domino Records. more ›

After telling people not to drink and drive Super Bowl weekend, Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach on Monday crashed his own city-owned car into a fire hydrant, leading people to believe he was the one driving impaired. Today he blamed medication for making him "disoriented," but suspicions surfaced earlier this week when the city was hush-hush about the incident. They said it was a non-injury collision, but it put him on medical leave. Additionally, the California Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, was told about the crash a day and a half later. Leach had his own officers take the report and no suspicion of impairment was noted. more ›

He lost the bid to become the top LAPD cop, but he won out in L.A. County's second largest city. LAPD Deputy Chief Jim McDonnell will become Chief of Police for Long Beach, it was announced today. McDonnell, 50, is a 29-year veteran of the LAPD and served as the second-in-command under former Chief William Bratton. “I’m honored to be chosen for this position, and I will do everything in my power to make Long Beach the safest large city in the United States,” he said, putting him in competition with Mayor Antonio Villaragosa, who shares the same goal (but who doesn't, really?). Last October, Long Beach's Chief, Anthony Batts, resigned to be the Chief of Police in Oakland. more ›

With a unanimous vote by the Los Angeles City Council and after over an hour of questioning, Chief-designate Charlie Beck was confirmed as the 55th Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department at 10:08 a.m. Mayor Villaraigosa then swore him into office. Congrats and it's time to get to work! more ›

Since the announcement last week, Charlie Beck's position as L.A.'s top cop was all done save for a couple official steps, one of which was completed today. The City Council's Public Safety Committee unanimously approved him, turning the matter over the full council for a vote. However, that likely won't happen until next week because the group is on recess until next week. more ›

The next in a series of community town halls with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, featuring the new LAPD Chief, will be on the Westside next week. On Tuesday when Charlie Beck was chosen, meetings were immediately scheduled for that day in South L.A., followed by one in the Valley on Wednesday and one yesterday in El Sereno. more ›

The town hall train has already taken off with three community meetings set up in order to introduce Beck to the public. As noted earlier, one meeting will take place this afternoon in South L.A. Then tomorrow, the public can attend a meeting in the Valley and in El Sereno on Thursday. Details are below. more ›

This morning, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced he will tap Deputy Chief Charlie Beck as the newest head of the LAPD. While we all wish him luck, we are simply dumbstruck by the uncanny and positively eerie resemblance to Mr. Magnum, P.I. himself. Coincidence or underhanded push to increase film production in Los Angeles?
more ›

Today is the big day. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will name our new Chief of Police. Per former Chief William Bratton's recommendation, the new LAPD leader is from within the department. The candidates are Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Michel Moore. more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with all three of the finalists for the position of Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, to replace William Bratton, who surrendered his star this weekend and is moving back to New York to work in the private sector. The three candidates all come from within the LAPD, a consideration that the departed Bratton and many Angelenos felt was essential to the future success of the department. Sunday's meetings were the second of the week between the three and the Mayor; Villaraigosa's "request to see them again appeared to indicate that the choice was not an easy one," notes the LA Times. more ›

Los Angeles just got a new fire chief and Long Beach is about to lose theirs. Fire Chief David Ellis announced yesterday, after five years at the top post, his intent to retire by the end of the year. Ellis began his career in Glendale in 1980, but two years later found himself working for Long Beach, where he was raised and schooled as a kid and college student. The Department has about 550 employees and a $90 million budget, a small portion of which that is spent on a blog, likely inspired by LAFD's). more ›

Tonight local indie rock buzz band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros' (LAist Review) will be performing at the Abbot Kinney Music Festival with Eskimo Hunter, the Parson Red Heads (LAist Review, #2, #3) , Chief and Dios (Malos) (LAist Interview, Review). San Francisco-based psych-folk-pop act the Dodos are poised to headline the El Rey Theatre with Auckland's own indie pop outfit the Ruby Suns and London-bred experimental post-rock collective Sian Alice Group in tow. And, lastly, Sacramento-based dance-infused punk act Chk Chk Chk (!!!) will be headlining the Troubadour with none other than Houston-based psych-infused noise anomaly Indian Jewelry. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Knitting Factory in Hollywood to catch Berkeley-bred hip hop producer and rapper Jel and labelmate Odd Nosdam, who will be performing amongst many others for the 2nd Annual Longhair Illuminati Arts & Music Festival. LAist favorites Tweak Bird, Warpaint (LAist Review, #2, #3), Blank Blue and Slang Chickens are slated to take stage as well. more ›

William Bratton, the soon-to-be retired Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, was in Washington D.C. today, urging members of congress to make a wireless public safety broadband network a reality nationwide. In his testimony to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he talks how such a network could help the development of predictive policing: more ›

How much of a difference can you make in who the city hires as our new police chief? “Public input is critical in this process,” said John Mack, president of the LA Police Commission, which is hosting a series of five meetings that begin tonight in the Los Feliz area. “The next Chief of Police will serve all of the diverse communities of Los Angeles, and it is extremely important that we hear from those communities and know what is important to them.” more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa later today intends to nominate Battalion Chief Millage Peaks to head the Los Angeles Fire Department, according to sources close to the department speaking under the condition of anonymity. Peaks, a 33-year veteran of the department will replace Chief Barry Douglas, who will retire this weekend. Currently the Chief of Battalion 4 (LAX, Venice and other Pacific coast and inland neighborhoods), Peaks joined the department in 1976 and was promoted to be a captain in 1984. Eight years later, he became a Battalion Chief in South L.A. more ›

Talk about timing, whether planned or not. An 11:30 p.m. e-mail from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office says he will announce his nomination of a new fire chief tomorrow at 11 a.m. After 34 years--two and a half as Chief--Douglas Barry last Spring announced his retirement, taking affect on August 30th. "We have brought about a unity of purpose and have moved our Department to even higher levels of professionalism both operationally and in our work environment," he said his statement in May. "We have made great strides in strengthening our future leaders by giving them the tools they need to be successful." The nominated chief must be confirmed by city council before he or she can officially take command. more ›

Tonight Nashville-based alternative rock super-group the Dead Weather are poised to take LA by storm, playing at the Mayan Theatre with none other than Tyvek. Swedish psych rockers Dungen are poised to perform at the Troubadour with equally heady acts like Kurt Vile and Woods. And, lastly, local alt-rockers Dawes will be closing out their month-long residency at the Echo with NY's own folk rock quartet Chief. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch Portland-by-way-of-Chicago folk rock outfit Fruit Bats. San Francisco-by-way-of-Wisconsin indie pop act A B and the Sea will be kicking things off. more ›

LAPD Chief Bratton is stepping down at the end of October, paving way for another to take his role at the famous department. As noted last week by the Personnel Department to City Councilmembers, the Police Commission will be hosting public meetings for input on the qualities of the next chief. “Public input is critical in this process,” said Police Commission President John Mack in a statement. “The next Chief of Police will serve all of the diverse communities of Los Angeles, and it is extremely important that we hear from those communities and know what is important to them.” Four meetings will be held in the Valley, South LA and Westside and near the Eastside. Meeting dates and times are listed below. more ›

If there were any fantasies about having the new LAPD Chief work side by side with Bratton as he transitioned out of the job, those were shot down today in City Council. An official from the Personnel Department said the timeline has selection occurring in November. "We're trying to expedite this as much as possible, but we want to make sure that we do not cut any corners and we have a very valid and transparent selection process," she said. more ›

As Chief William Bratton begins to step down--his official last day is October 31st--the question that keeps on getting ask is who will replace him? Many are speculating an internal search, one that has been "raised" under Bratton. He's been repeating his mantra, telling TIME Magazine that the search should take place internally: "With the crises that the city is facing at this time with this budget, an outsider no matter how qualified or skilled, it's going to take that person months to get up to speed. Why take that risk when there's no shortage of people in the department who know the city, who know the issues of the department." The word on the street, according to the magazine, is that "three assitant chiefs, Jim McDonnell, Sharon Papa and Earl Paysinger may be in the running along with the well-regarded head of detectives, Deputy Chief Charlie Beck." more ›

Citing the difficulties and the slow start an outsider can have when arriving to Los Angeles, LAPD Chief William Bratton recommends that the search for a new chief within the department in an interview with the LA Times. "Nobody understands what it's like to be an outsider better than me. I've done it many times," he said pointing the time it takes to "get up to speed" and understand political power structure. more ›

With crime significantly down and the consent decree lifted, the man who said he likes to fix things and not maintain them is stepping down, according to sources to the Los Angeles Times. Although no official announcement has been made and aides to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa say they are not savvy to the announcement, the Times says. The 61-year-old who recently put his Los Feliz home on the market will next head up a private security firm. more ›

In the past LAPD Chief William Bratton was rumored to be a top candidate to take over Scotland Yard. He denied that and he's still here serving Los Angeles today. However, today Her Majesty awarded him with the honorary title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his work to promote cooperation between the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) police, both before and during his service with LAPD. more ›

It's frowned upon for police chiefs to endorse candidates during campaigns. But so far, Chief William Bratton has endorsed candidates appearing on next Tuesday's ballot, including City Attorney hopeful Jack Weiss. “If Weiss gets in, he is going to owe Bratton,” warned former Chief Daryl Gates in an LA Weekly story by Daniel Heimpel today. That would be a "real problem since one of the city attorney’s purported jobs is to rout out corrupt cops, including police brass," the Weekly notes. more ›

Speculations are running around town in regards to LAPD's top cop, William Bratton. Is he going to London? The Department of Homeland Security (after all, he did just make a robocall for Obama)? Former Daily News Editor and now writing a little for NBC Los Angeles makes this observation about why he's not leaving town any time soon--marriage: "One of the reasons is certainly what L.A. has done for the career of his wife, Rikki Kleiman, a legal expert best known for her work on Court TV (now Tru TV). But since they moved to L.A., her acting career has taken off, her book Her autobiographical book 'Fairy Tales Can Come True' reached best-seller lists and she draws numerous speaking engagements, especially before women's groups." more ›