Photo by Beige Alert via Flickr Since the perk of giving Hybrid owners a free ride when it comes to Los Angeles city parking meters has been in the news lately, the always fiscally conservative Daily News opined on the issue today: "The right thing is for the council to kill the hybrid car perk." Even though the estimated losses are little, "a drop in the bucket," they say, the Daily News stays with......

Once again, the Daily News has saved us all from despair, anguish, and strife by providing Angelenos with vital news about our city. From the folks who brought you "Breaking News: Patchy Drizzle Expected This Morning" comes "Junk e-mails spreading that promise erotic celebrity pics, Glendale company warns." WHAT? Hold up a minute, partner. You mean to tell me that some of the e-mail I get is (sputter, cough) fake? That there might be something......

Photo by highervision via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr This evening a public viewing will be held for slain LA High football star Jamiel Shaw, with funeral services to follow tomorrow. Shaw's tragic murder has prompted many LA residents to refocus on the senselessness of gang-related violence. Go, stop, go, stop: Commuters northbound on the 57 and the 605 transitioning to the 210 westbound this morning were greeted by the new traffic......

In Rick Orlov's weekly Daily News column on City Hall and local politics, today he touches on the Democratic presidential race and Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa, who has recently been criticized for his time away from the city to campaign for Hillary Clinton. He defends his out-of-town moves and talks about what happens if Clinton loses: "Look, if you're a big-city mayor and you want money from Washington, you have to get involved in these......

The state's budget woes may soon have a massive casualty list to its credit, culled from our already ailing school systems. Who's getting kicked out of school? Educators! Late next week, teachers and administrative staff from public schools around the state will find out they may soon be unemployed, reports the Daily News. "The layoff letters, which by law must go out by Saturday, could number in the tens of thousands, school officials warn."......

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......

Reporter Leo Stallworth and Chief Bratton have a difference of opinion and at yesterday's press conference about violence in South LA, the no-nonsense East Coast sensibilites of LAPD's top cop came out in front of everyone... and ABC aired it. Stallworth asked about racial tensions, maybe in a more speculative way, based off interviews with community members. Bratton did not like that and responded. "We have to work with fact and speculation... You're a......

75 killings this year equal a 27% increase from this last year, but the LAPD says they are random and unrelated, according to KFWB News 980 on air. One of those include a murder this morning. There has been a 5% decline in violent crime overall and a 25% drop in gang-related homicides. "Try telling that to the people I represent," said LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry in the Daily News report on gang violence.......

Sherman Oaks and South LA made national news yesterday when a Los Angeles native, now based in Oregon, became the latest decried author who penned a fraudulent memoir. Yes, Margaret Seltzer grew up in the Valley, no Margaret B. Jones (her non de plume) did not gangbang in South Central as her book said. Today, the fallout came in the form of experts giving quotes to the media about this reoccurring theme. What first comes......

The MTA says it's time to cut the lines--20 bus lines, that is. Because of low ridership and operating costs, the city's transit system is looking to trim the fat from their service. The current proposal being voted on consists of the elimination of 20 bus lines and reduced service on 24 other lines, for a total of 375,000 service hours cut altogether. The Bus Riders Union is vehemently opposing the proposed cuts, with spokesman......

Two North Hollywood news items melded into one last night when, as reported on LAist, a US Marshal walked in on a robbery in progress at an auto parts store in NoHo Arts, fatally shooting one suspect who is believed to be the "Skeleton Bandit." The robber had recently unsuccessfully held up a local Jack in the Box and a mini mart dressed in an outfit initially described as a skeleton costume, but as reported......

Say you're going to kill the President and the feds will see you in court a week later. That's what happened to a 50-year-old Pacoima man last week before getting arrested, according to the Daily News. Charles Madrid told the Secret Service what he would do if Bush were present right at that moment: "I'd deck his ass." And Vice President Dick Cheney? He also "needs an ass kicking." Some thought Madrid was mentally ill,......

There are a few things you can't do in apartments. There are things that you can't do anyway, like drugs, but you also can't break holes in the walls unless you own the place. Well, that's what Jackass star Steve-O did this weekend before his neighbors placed him under citizen's arrest, then turning him over to police, who in turn searched his apartment and found drugs. And if his drugs are of the smoking kind,......

Photo by JeremyRyan via Flickr No more are the days where Mayor Villaraigosa is a rock star celebrity who stood as a symbol of change for Los Angeles. The LA Times this weekend, along with LAist late last week, questioned the Mayor's time on the road with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The Mayor says the trip scheduled to end Wednesday comes to an end today because a lot was already accomplished, but the Daily......

"...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......

As reported yesterday on LAist, a car-to-car shooting took place on the 101 Freeway between Hollywood and Universal City following a verbal dispute that took place between the occupants of two vehicles on Hollywood Boulevard. 26-year-old Bunthan Roeung was shot by one of the four black male occupants of a black Chevy Impala, and was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai hospital. The vehicle exited the freeway at Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, and the driver......

"the road home," by pink_fish13 via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Boy am I glad I don't live in this Torrance neighborhood, where a cache of machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found in a house Friday. The residents may be terrorists, police say, but the owner of the weapons said he is just a collector. Do you think he also collects dead bodies in......

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......

Red Light cameras at Verdugo Road/Mountain Street and Colorado Street/Pacific Avenue went into operation today In November 2006, we asked the city of Glendale, among many other cities, if they used cameras at intersections to catch red light runners. They said not yet. Today, via Daily News, we find out that they went into operation today at two of the city's most dangerous intersections: Verdugo Road and Mountain Street and Colorado Street and Pacific......

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......

UPDATE, 8:50 A.M.: One suspect has now been arrested and the LAPD says the man who was shot and killed last night by officers was apparently holding a camera tripod according to the LA Times. This is all sounding eerily similar to last week's Glassell Park shooting. Last night before 7:00 p.m., a Van Nuys LAPD division unit stopped a car. Then things went wrong says the Daily News: Two officers from the violent crime......

Good news regarding last week's LAPD shootout in Glassell Park. The fourth and last suspect, a Northridge resident who was the driver of the suspected car, was arrested Monday in Granada Hills. It wasn't that hard either: "he was in the same vehicle police believe was used in the driveby," according to a report by the Daily News. Last Thursday, a drive-by shooting occurred in the late morning, resulting in the death of a man......

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,......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Remember when there was that big freak out in the Santa Clarita Valley? Six Flags Magic Mountain was going to close and quite possibly become torn down for more housing. Not good. The "extreme" roller coaster theme park is the single largest employer in the area, it fills up the hotels with tourists, adding green to the local economy and hey, it's an institution of the little Valley that could......

There are many ways to handle a tough break-up with a girlfriend, but torturing and injuring a little puppy isn't one of them. The Daily News reports that a 22-year old Encino man, Steven William Butcher, was arrested yesterday in the 6400 block of Bertrand Avenue for animal cruelty. After a break-up with his girlfriend, Butcher was reportedly distraught and had threatened aloud to harm his small puppy. Worried about the man's mental state, a......

Today's holiday is a Federal one, so that means government offices, from city to county to state and beyond, are closed. Same goes for banks and public schools. No mail being delivered either. However, trash and public transportation in Los Angeles will be running as usual says the Daily News in their Presidents Day schedule. If you're one of the blessed and have the day off, there are many fun things to do. Here are......

Still Life with Seasonings, by Alex Kehr via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr An investigation by the Daily News found that, as the DWP has increased rates they continue to issue cars to more than 100 employees who are free to take them home. Proponents of the program say the cost of the vehicles is offset by the tax breaks the department receives from the hybrids they drive. Other people say, You're shitting......

Chino's Westland/Hallmark Meat Company came into the spotlight recently when secret video footage revealed staff was mistreating the animals. On the heels of this week's news that the slaughterhouse's manager could face several years in prison if charged with animal cruelty comes the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has recalled 143 million pounds of their frozen beef, making it "the largest beef recall in the United States," according to the Daily News. The......

As we reported in January, Robert Culp wants the LA Zoo's current elephant enclosure shut down and all construction on the new enclosure halted, due to alleged pachyderm cruelty. Yesterday, the judge's ruling in the case was made public and he issued a big "no." Despite claims from former zoo employees and animal activists that LA zoo elephant handlers have a history of abusing the elepehants, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reginald A. Dunn said......