Notice that all of the San Fernando Valley is covered except Studio City and Toluca Lake. Other parts of the city that fall into the hot zone are on the Eastside and South LA | Map via Dept. of Water & Power This map shows summer average daily temperatures for the microclimates of the City of Los Angeles and was performed by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UCLA. The two temperature zones were......

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be......

In a press release sent yesterday evening, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) stated that "peak energy demand reached a record-setting high last weekend and near-record on Monday, indicating the need for customers to reduce their electricity use." Megawatt usage over the weekend and on Monday broke records. Monday's demand was the second highest for a weekday in April while both Sunday and Saturday's power usage peaked at the highest ever for......

As reported earlier today, the LA City Council was set to vote and approve rate hikes for the Department of Water and Power over the next four years. Now that all is said and done, the council approved the increases. Rick Orlov of the Daily News blogged updates throughout the meeting with some great talking points: Trust & Transparency (link)Councilwoman Janice Hahn said part of the problem facing the DWP is the lack of public......

Today, the city council is doing their second round of approval for the DWP rate hikes. And while politicians have spun it saying it will only go up a little by stating facts within certain contexts, the LA Times today did the math: "electricity bills will go up at least 23% over a four-year period, thanks to the Department of Water and Power's decision to ask ratepayers to absorb the higher cost of natural gas......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr This morning, the Los Angeles City Council gave a first round of approval for water and power rate hikes, saying infrastructure is needed to be updated. Over the next year and a half, monthly rates are expected to increase to around $7.25 (plus tax). Both General Manager for the Department of Water and Power David Nahai and Councilman Bill Rosendahl pointed towards last......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr Raise your hand if the moment you heard about the death of firefighter Brent A. Lovrien being caused by old 1930s technology, that the DWP would use that as a way to help their cause of raising water and power rates? "While we believe this to be a freak occurrence, it is a symptom of a much greater problem that we must address,"......

Photo of Tom LaBonge by Greg Katz for LAist If you missed Tom LaBonge talking with Patt Morrison on KPCC Tuesday, you missed hearing the charismatic council member for Silver Lake, Miracle Mile, and North Hollywood say that he sleeps with his lights on. The subject of their chat was the latest DWP rate hike. When asked whether he thought the DWP should use a carrot-and-stick strategy to compel energy conservation, LaBonge went off......

It's a bear market for the city's budget | Photo by BigMcGuire via Flickr The city is entering on of the worst budget woes it has ever faced. And while it's been talked about for sometime now, the effects are now becoming more apparent. Yesterday in a long city council meeting over most things money, the most controversial subject of water and power rate hikes ended with the increases on hold for further discussion,......

Photo of the Vincent Thomas Bridge by Jonathan Alcom (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr We've been covering the city's police force a lot lately -- and before you think those officers just sit around eating donuts all day, you should definitely check out the LA Times guide to the Best Eats on the Beats. (Think Mexican food.) In more fun food news, EaterLA gives us the breakdown of Los Angeles......

Photo by neonspecs via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr The LA City Council today voted to postpone a vote on proposed DWP fee hikes until April 2nd. Citing the need for widespread infrastructure upgrades that would ideally prevent customers from losing power when the demand is high, for example in summer's probably heat waves, the DWP is looking to increase "base power rates by 8½ percent and water rates by more than six percent......

The National Weather Service out of Oxnard is reporting some gusty wind and some readers are saying their power is out in Echo Park. While some areas in Santa Barbara County have wind gusts of over 50 mph, Malibu is at 49 mph, Burbank at 40, Newhall Pass at 34 and Whittier Hills at 45. Today's blackout comes on the same day the Department of Water and Power approaches a City Council committee to approve......

Photo by susan catherine via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A meeting last night in Oxnard brought out hundreds of parents angered over the recent shooting death of 15-year-old Lawrence King at the hands of a fellow teenager. They called for more vigilant security on campus and for more help for students who suffer from bullying. A multi-vehicle accident earlier this afternoon had two lanes of the 405 in Westwood shut down.......

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......

"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......

Sunday's Grammy Awards weren't just about honoring the best in music, they were also about supporting environmental awareness and conservancy. And the The Recording Academy® hoped to set the precedent with getting the Grammys to go green. The show itself was produced to have a reduced environmental impact, which, according to their press release, meant that in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and......

On Thursday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held a few miles north of Mojave for the country's largest city-owned windfarm. The Pine Tree Wind Project is Los Angeles' hope for the future of power, supplying 120 megawatts of renewable energy to our city. In fact, Mayor Villaraigosa, who attended the event and who has been working on ways to make energy more green and efficient, says "20 percent of the city's energy will come from renewable......

The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting a "water main rupture with pavement damage" on West Cahuenga Blvd. in the community of Cahuenga Pass. The street is passable, however, traffic is expected to be rerouted once the Department of Water & Power arrives on scene. For now, though, the DWP is stuck in traffic, so that won't happen right away. There will likely be delays this afternoon going over the pass in either direction, prepare......

Bright Umbrellas in Chinatown for a Less than Bright Day Crews are still working to restore power to some 3,600 Edison and DWP residents that lost power due to heavy rains and winds over the past two days. North Hollywood, Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, Pomona, Torrance, Stevenson Ranch and - gasp! - Beverly Hills residents were affected. Candles, people. More rain is on the way so gather ye umbrellas while ye may. Tons of......

A small patch of land in Silver Lake is about to learn its fate, as are the residents and officials who have been debating about what to do with it for close to ten years. At stake are six acres termed "the Meadow" by locals on the property of the Silver Lake Reservoir which is going to be opened to the public soon, but concerns are already swirling about the nature of the land's purpose,......

So, looking forward to the Golden Globes tomorrow night? If you like lists being read aloud (and, really, who doesn't?) then NBC has a show for you. But, wait, there's more! Since the news conference announcing the winners will take one hour, NBC is filling the other two hours originally scheduled for the Globes with a "Dateline" special, including interviews to be conducted by Matt Lauer with some actors that are up for some......

Sure, you could always stay in and watch reruns of [insert name of your favorite show here], but why bother when you have these things happening tonight to get you through hump day. WORDS The West LA Chapter of the Sierra Club hosts a lecture by UCLA Professor David Haake who’ll focus on the question, “Do green choices make financial sense?” The evening will also offer steps on how you can reduce your carbon......

As of 12:30 a.m. tonight, 10,300 LADWP customers went without power throughout the city, primarily due to downed wires from the weather, according to a press release from the city agency. Crews have been deployed to the scattered outages, affecting the following areas and number of customers: South LA 1,153 Cheviot Hills 1,442 Knollwood 151 Mid City 561 Granada Hills 12 Belair Estates 4 Country Club Park 29 Studio City 38 North Hollywood 3,257 Westchester......

Freaking out? Don't know what to give tomorrow? Here are a few ideas with a conscious in mind: GOOD Magazine: This locally based do-gooding magazine has been impressing many across the country over the past year. In fact, a subscription to this bi-monthly publication is one of our favorite ideas. If GOOD is not your giftee's style, there are about a million other magazines to gift them.Greendimes: Give the gift no more junk mail. Starting......

Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing. Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack......

TOYS FOR TOTS Everyone has that one special moment when it really starts to feel like Christmas. It might be shopping Thanksgiving weekend, baking cookies or buying the tree. For me, it is that magical moment while stuck in traffic when I am taken unawares by a phalanx of motorcycles zooming by carrying giant stuffed bears on the back. That is truly the spirit of Christmas. The bikers are part of an annual Toys for......

Yesterday at a press conference with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard regarding the renewal of a Sister City relationship, Mayor Villaraigosa went off topic, but with good reason: water woes could be ahead, according to the Daily News. With the fires, extreme water drought and light snowpack this year, water is tight. Earlier this summer, the mayor made a call for the public to voluntarily reduce water use, hoping for a 10% decrease (even......

In an editorial yesterday, the Daily News let its readers know that the Department of Power and Water's union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, failed to sue the paper twice and agreed to pay $17,213 for legal fees. Why? Because they wanted to stop the Daily News from publishing the names, positions and salaries of department employees. Why publish this info anyway? They found that DWP workers earn an average of......

Los Angeles CityBeat's Greg Katz asks Tom LaBonge why cyclists can't ride through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival and Tom almost completes a sentence before simply dodging and deflecting and offering more hollow promises for the future. Greg asks "You’re a bike advocate, a Griffith Park advocate, and you want to fix gridlock. Why can’t you bike through the Griffith Park DWP Light Festival while there are cars there?" Tom responds "The impact they......

For the past two weeks Councilmember Tom LaBonge has been proudly welcoming visitors to the 12th Annual LADWP Holiday Light Festival at Griffith Park, announcing with a straight face that this year's Festival demonstrates the DWP's commitment to a "Greener LA." Tom deserves credit for maintaining a straight face as he makes this outrageous claim because this Festival is far from Green! Granted, there is a lighting display at the entry that clearly states "DWP......