Photo by corndog_au via Flickr Although Republican Assemblyman Bill Maze of Visalia introduced a bill that would fine people driving with animals on their laps $35, the Governor is giving it the ol' veto. Maze says it's "distracting" to operate a motor vehicle with a dog or another pet in your lap, and took his cue to put the bill in motion after "seeing a woman driving with three dogs on her lap," reports......

Texas is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, now downgraded to a tropical storm, which made landfall last night and wrecked havoc in the state. Many individuals did not heed warnings to evacuate, and rescue teams are going door-to-door in cities such as Galveston to try to get aid to those in need. In Houston the streets are flooded with stormwaters and debris. According to cbs2.com, Angelenos are getting ready to lend a helping......

At 59,684 registrations in Los Angeles County, Chihuahuas are the most popular breed. The runner up are Labradors at 58,071 registrations, according to an LA Times study and database. There's a lot of information about dogs, dogs, dogs. Like, the most popular name is Lucky (6,502 are named that) and Happy is a popular one too (743 to be exact).......

In the latest of bulldog audits by City Controller Laura Chick, she finds that the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services is "struggling to move forward." With an nearly a million dogs estimated in the city, the department only has 123,000 dogs licensed. "The largest source of revenue for the department is dog-license fees and, yet, the department tells us that it is not their top priority," quoted the Daily News. Among a myriad of......

The LA Times Festival of Books offered something for everyone this weekend. The many panels, author interviews and signing booths were exciting for bookish nerds like us. If you weren't into the bookish side of the book festival, however, there was plenty to whet your appetite. Literally. The food court was full of smoked meats and organic treats and live music could be enjoyed from many open plazas on the UCLA campus. There was even......

A few days ago we heard about the death of Bingo, the wiener dog that was a familiar face--of the four-legged variety--to Silver Lake-rs. Bingo was part of the family at Pull My Daisy, and one of their employees, Rhachel, wrote to let us know about the loss, saying: "If you are familiar with the Sunset Junction at all, you have seen this little guy. You have probably fed him bacon or maybe your......

The City of Santa Clarita (that's Valencia/Magic Mountain area and environs) opened its one and only dog park -- Central Bark -- late last year. The 1.3 acre, off-leash doggie park is located in Central Park (27150 Bouquet Canyon Road) and has designated gated areas for small dogs (25 lbs. and under) and larger dogs. It's open from dawn to dusk and is a great place for friendly dogs and their owners to hang......

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......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed one of the country's most stringent pet sterilization laws yesterday, requiring dog and cat owners to spay/neuter their pets or face hefty fines. What does this mean for you and fido or fluffy? It means that you must have them spayed or neuteured by the time they reach four months of age. All dogs? All cats? Pretty much. The only animals exempted from the new law are those that compete in......

"Found on sidewalk near Hope & 8th" Ball-busting: The City of Los Angeles is considering mandating spaying and neutering for all cats and dogs because shelters are overcrowded and so many animals go unadopted. Enforcement is expected to be easygoing, as in if your pet minds its own business you'll stay under the radar, but if your neighbor logs in a complaint about your barking dog and his junk is still ready to make......

Just two of the many dogs found this past weekend on a Lancaster ranch. Photo by Laura Gunn Over the weekend we told you about the 400 animals rescued from a Lancaster ranch, and the need for help with donations or adoptions to save the many abused and neglected animals. One of the volunteers who was at the ranch helping with the rescue, Laura Gunn shared with us an update and the photos she......

Earlier this week members of The Gentle Barn's Rescue Staff discovered hundreds of animals from a ranch in Lancaster, reports CBS2. They posted the story of the discovery, and a plea for help on Craigslist: "On Monday, January 14, 2008 Gentle Barn Rescue Staff arrived on scene at a property in Lancaster, CA that, from a far, just looked like some fences and trees. As we got closer, it became a city of cages made......

The American Kennel Club has just announced the ten most popular dog breeds in the country, and for the first time in nearly 75 years the bulldog makes the list. The AKC also published lists for the top 50 most populous cities and their respective doggie populations. So what kinds of pooches do we love in LA? Here's the list: 1. Labrador Retriever 2. Bulldog 3. German Shepherd 4. Yorkshire Terrier 5. Golden Retriever 6.......

Yesterday we showed you a flyer for a missing opium pipe, and today, once again from the files of "Things Other than Dogs or Cats that are Missing" comes this flyer for Gary the Duck, gone astray since December 10th. Gary's owners are quite distressed, obviously. Have you seen Gary? *Update* Gary the Duck has been found! Hooray for his return and a happy ending. Photo by edenjet via LAist Featured Photos Pool on......

After a five-week hiatus, LAist is back to taking you on its weekly trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. I’ve always had a certain fascination with crepes. Not sure exactly why, perhaps it’s the simple elegance that a crepe has, its delicate buckwheat consistency and taste that can be deliciously served with virtually any kind of filling, whether sweet......

Molly's Charbroiled Burger, a rickety burger shack on Vine between Selma and Hollywood, is one of those funny little places that is both totally ordinary and totally L.A. -- run by Koreans, with a Mexican line cook, who serve up good old American burgers, fries, hot dogs, burritos, and, um, bulgogi plates. Students at the neighboring film and recording schools swear by the breakfast burritos -- cozy bundles of egg, french-fry hash browns, bacon,......

For your lunch time viewing pleasure, Tyson, the bulldog who can skateboard, surf and pretty much do all the things a surf dude should be able to do. Of course, Tyson is a dog, so that's a little out there. But nonetheless, a man at the dog park this morning tells me he saw this once with his own eyes in Huntington Beach. Whatever floats your boat man.......

It's starting to feel like a Michael Connelly novel chock full of mob hits and urban noir. The Pink Elephant liquor store in Los Feliz, a mysterious suitcase and body parts found in a dumpster. Much is still unexplained after the body's discovery on Friday, which broke in the news last night. A store worker was throwing away boxes at the store on the 1600 block of Western Avenue when he noticed the suitcase and......

Every week we round up all the bookish events happening in LA and we present them in the Get Your Lit On series Monday mornings. This Monday, an astute LAist reader asked us a very good question: What does it mean when a writer "presents" their book? We answered as fairly as we could, pointing out that most authors briefly introduce their book, read from it, answer questions about it and then sign it.......

Rockets 88, Clippers 71 - Just as Corey Maggette and Brevin Knight returned from injuries, Sam Cassell went down with one. He's doubtful for Friday. The battered Clippers hung tough with Houston until the 4th quarter when Tracy McGrady helped Houston blow it wide open. Maggette had 21 points in his return, and Chris Kaman led the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Los Angeles has now dropped seven of nine after winning the......

B-52's @ The Roxy Neko Case @ Disney Hall Lyrics Born @ El Rey Puffy Amiyumi @ Key Club Mutaytor @ Safari Sam's The Dickies, Orange, Civet @ Knitting Factory Six Organs of Admittance @ Amoeba Tiger Army, Street Dogs, Imperative Reaction @ The Wiltern Army Navy, Mellodrone @ The Echo Eliza Gilkyson @ McCabe's......

Dogs were out in full force today.......

Here are a few events for people who like to leave the house before sundown. A few of them are even family-friendly and some involve dogs wearing costumes. Historical Society of Long Beach Annual Cemetery Tour Saturday, October 27, 2007 Sunnyside and Long Beach Municipal Cemeteries, 1095 E. Willow St., Long Beach The dead come to life to tell you about the lives they lived and the way they died at the neighboring Long Beach......

For 55 years there has been once place to go at 2am for good Pastrami. Johnnie's Pastrami is a Culver City landmark. Just around the corner from Titos Tacos you find this 1950's neon clad restaurant. I have lived down the street from it for five years and never seen it empty. It's the hub of the late shift workers, Cops, Teens, Sony employees, and Pastrami aficionados. You can sit inside at the counter and......

Meet Gobstopper. She's an 8-month-old Basenji mix, give or take a few details. We're not really sure about her background because she was a stray. And last Saturday my husband and I picked her out from among the numerous other dogs available from the county's animal shelter in Castaic. We went with a pound dog because of (a) the cost and (b) there are hundreds of good animals just waiting for a home that......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

For 36 years, The Wiener Factory has been serving hot dogs out of their Sherman Oaks stand to loyal and new customers alike. Good for hot dog lovers, bad for residents craving Pinkberry:Officials with Pinkberry, a nonfat frozen-yogurt chain, were expected to tell a Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council panel Monday night that they wanted to raze the small hot-dog restaurant and build another Pinkberry store. "Historically, many things come and go. But we have......

The identity of one driver caught in the horrific fire on the I-5 Friday night might now be identified by the last call he made. Reports surfaced that the fire in the tunnel was so hot, the concrete began to melt. But, things are going smoothly today, officials said. Or as smoothly as rush hour on the I-5 can be. A cockfighting raid in San Diego over the weekend netted 4,400 birds at a......

If you see a litter and pack of puppies and dogs walking around Pershing Square tonight, it's a Downtown Dog Walk. Maybe you're downtown right now with your dog... Go, go, go! Speaking of non-humans, the state is considering a special path for animals on the Skirball Center Drive bridge. Environmentalists cheer, residents complain it's a waste of transportation funds. On that note of big spending, California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez is still not......

Your pets want the house to themselves today. Some of yesterday's festivals like Detour, NoHo Scene and the Eagle Rock Music Festival are over with. Yet Sunday, here in Los Angeles, is still a busy day. Events continuing from yesterday's Weekend Festival Guide: Brewery Art Walk and TarFest Jazz at Drew 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.: In it's 17th year, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science's popular music and charity event......