May 1st was Taco Truck Night here in LA, and we've been talking tacos for quite some time now. This shot--named "Make Tacos, Not War"--from 护士黑鹰 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr captures the simple pleasure that is getting a taco from a street vendor, in this case in the shadow of Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Our photog explains: "Hot tacos, $1 each, in a driveway on Avenue 50 near York.......

Unconfirmed reports of a mountain lion on the loose in Eagle Rock have authorities on the move, searching house to house on the 5000 block of College View Ave. UPDATE: At 2 p.m., authorities called off a search for what they believe may have been a bobcat -- LA Times. OK. That's news. But on CNN, it's BREAKING NEWS. The network went live with footage from KABC-7's chopper cam and continued broadcasting live --......

This morning an MTA bus crashed into an SUV, sending the car off the road and both drivers to the nearest hospital. The accident took place on the eastbound 134 Freeway near the Figueroa exit, which is in Eagle Rock. Cecil Manresa of the LAFD explains: The vehicle flipped off the freeway at the Figueroa exit and the passenger was reportedly ejected approximately 20 feet. The bus driver an approximately 35 year old female and......

Prior to his 1993 death, legendary guitarist Albert Collins played a rare second show at Montreaux and yesterday--after a 15 year wait--that show (Collins' last recorded concert) finally came to DVD. Despite his poor health, the Master of the Telecaster plays a loose, fun show as he burns through "Iceman", "Honey Hush", "Lights Are On (But Nobody's Home)", "If You Love Me Like You Say", "Too Many Dirty Dishes", "Put The Shoe On The......

RocknRollDating.com is the creation of Eagle Rock resident and music industry veteran, Daniel House. He has created the free online dating site with music as the coming-together concept. Put in your favorite bands and concerts, your preferred genres and the normal dating profile stats such as heights, sex, etc. and go find your mate based on the tunes you share in common. Or maybe you'll find someone who will let you experience new music. Tonight,......

If You don't actually live in Eagle Rock or Highland park, getting out here for a nice weekend breakfast probably feels like joining the Donner party, especially if you're hungry and your belly is screaming "NOW NOW NOW" at you as loudly as a belly can. Which it probably is. "Why should I drive all the way out there?" I can almost hear you saying as you surrender to the despotism of your appetite.......

Last year's revelers packed the house for Carnaval in Long Beach | Photo courtesy Aries Productions FESTIVAL Okay, so Long Beach doesn't pack the same exotic pull as, oh, say, Rio, but they're going to put on a Carnaval and pull out all the stops. Get out your Carnaval costumes and get ready to samba the night away! This year’s theme is “Preservation of the Planet” featuring green and recycled decorations. At the heart......

WINE TASTING Rock 'n Roll Wine brings exactly those two things at the Santa Monica Bar & Grille tonight. Vegas-based The Bends play live music while guests taste more than a dozen wines throughout the evening. No one will judge if you swallow it all and don’t spit – between wines. 7 pm // Santa Monica Bar and Grille // 3321 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles // $40 at the door. OPERA USC’s Thornton Opera......

Street flooding on Rossmore Ave in the Hancock Park of Los Angeles when storm drains became clogged by debris. | Photo by Jonathon Alcom (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos Flickr pool. Through 10 a.m. this morning, here are the rain and snow totals in inches from the National Weather Service. Rain Downtown LA -- 3.43 Long Beach -- 2.85 Santa Monica -- 2.69 Bel Air -- 3.39 Beverly Hills -- 4.20 Hollywood --......

The answer is yes, there was good chance that these two domestic violence related homicides could have been prevented. If it took place in another part of the city, say the Van Nuys area, Eagle Rock, Hollywood, South LA, or even the Pacific Palisades, something maybe could have been done. Though, in Tunjunga where two murders took place yesterday, under the jurisdiction of the the LAPD's Foothill Division, the funding just wasn't there for a......

Los Angeles is the Cultural Capital of the 21st Century. From visual art to cutting edge music to innovative theatre and live performances to some of the world's leading cultural institutions - we truly have it all. But all great cultural capitals have - in addition to the arts and culture as mentioned - a forum for public discourse. The Greeks had the agora for assembly, education, and interaction; and though we have our......

Happy New Year from LAist and your brand new Food Editor! I've arrived home refreshed from a fantastic vacation in the Philly/New Jersey area, and now I'm revved up and ready for the New Food Year. It was difficult to leave Philadelphia and its fabulous dining options behind (cheesesteaks are only the tip of the iceberg), but nothing beats Los Angeles for its range of offerings. Here's my wish list for places to go,......

Yesterday, there were not many details about a "freshly-shot" body found at the Glendale-based Forest Lawn cemetery (as opposed to the Griffith Park location). As more details came out, we learn the shooting was likely gang related and that the murder happened within the city limits of Los Angeles, not Glendale. Jason Grey, 29, was visiting the cemetery for unknown reasons when he was shot multiple times in the upper and lower body around......

The LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold names his "Top Ten Dishes of 2007" and curious palates all over the Southland take note. His picks include the porcetta at Brentwood's Vicenti (a rotisserie-cooked piece of pork where the "loin and belly are wrapped into a spiral, seasoned with fennel, and spit-roasted to a crackling, licorice-y succulence"), Donut Man's Strawberry Donut, and My Taco's Barbacoa (lamb), which we fell in love with too, when we checked out Garvanza.......

Gingersnaps and cocoa and rum balls and Italian knots and Kolacky and biscotti and chocolate chips, oh my! LAist has been in the kitchen, cooking up a Cookie Exchange. I Can Has JGoldBurger? Omg the PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST uses LOLspeak, I don't know what to say, my world has been all shook up like a snowglobe. It's entirely possible I was Afghani in a previous life (as well as Korean, Persian, Icelandic, and......

Dear WGA: Being Thanksgiving weekend and all, I have spent a lot of time the last few days thinking about what I am thankful for. I am very thankful that I have been able to make a living as a writer. I am thankful that every day I am able to do something creative, something I love. As I’ve walked the picket lines, I’ve been very thankful for the overwhelming support I’ve felt from......

ExperienceLA.com and Lonely Planet are running a community based Downtown photo contest. If you win, you're photo will be on the cover of the free guide that will distributed around LA and all over the world. And while you're Downtown shooting photos, drop by Pershing Square to go ice skating through the holidays. The tunnel on the 5 Freeway where a fiery crash killed three, shutting down the tunnel for over a month, reopened......

Join the Arroyo Arts Collective this Sunday for their 15th annual tour of artists’ studios & homes in the Highland Park, Eagle Rock & Mt. Washington areas. The auto tour begins at the historic Lummis House and will be an opportunity to check out the works of over 70 local artisans. Everything from paintings, photography, sculptures, & clothing, etc. will be available for perusing. Even Chicken Boy will be on hand, how can you pass......

This week five fresh&easy grocery stores er, "neighborhood markets," opened in metro Los Angeles. We visited the Glassell Park store located in a gutted Albertson's on Eagle Rock Blvd (map) for our first impression of UK-based Tesco's (the world's third-largest grocer) attempt to hook finicky West Coast consumers. The array of fresh&easy branded products is impressive. The packaging is minimalist, reminiscent of a Safeway or Walgreen's branded generic. But as you'll see in the slideshow......

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......

Bloc Party, Justice, Satellite Party, Kinky, Comedians of Comedy, Turbonegro, Teddybears, The Raveonettes, Shout Out Louds, Autolux, Celebrity Skin, others @ Detour Festival Dengue Fever, Mia Doi Todd, Chuchito Valdes, The Pity Party, others @ Eagle Rock Music Festival Kenny Burrell, The Pete Escovedo Family Orchestra (with Sheila E.), others @ Jazz at Drew Natalie Cole, Sheryl Lee Ralph, RuPaul, Linda Hopkins, Loretta Devine, Ann Nesby, Deniece Williams, Jennifer Holliday, others @ Divas Simply......

NOHO Scene Saturday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.: Promising a new, improved take on the NoHo Arts Festival. Free theater, dance and music , art exhibits, film screenings and workshops, plus food and goods from NoHo merchants. Proudly sponsored by your CRA/LA. Free. MAP Brewery Art Walk Sat-Sun 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.: This twice-a-year event is all the reason you need to explore The Brewery, conveniently (though conspicuously) located north of Chinatown. Lots......

Today, notable incidents for the LA Fire Department included mutual aid with the LA County Fire Department for a brush fire at the 14 and 5 freeway junction and a near drowning of an 8-year-old boy at a public pool off of Foothill Blvd. He was saved by lifeguards and airlifted to a hospital. A small plane crashed in Kern County with 4 adults and two children, all residents of Santa Monica. Another tornado......

Earlimart Mentor Tormentor Majordomo Records released August 21st, 2007 Let me be the first to say that this year will be huge for LA bands. I've written about the not-so obvious, Acute, and the obvious, Sea Wolf. Despite their associations, Earlimart fits in with the former category, but not for long. Their forthcoming album Mentor Tormentor is a prodigious effort that links them to various well-known Los Angeles musicians. The connections begin with The......

There is a serious water (-ing hole) shortage in Northeast LA. Despite their hipster enclave status, I’m always surprised that there aren’t more places to drink in thriving cultural hotspots like Eagle Rock and Highland Park. The recently opened York on York attempts to correct the problem. The “neighborhood gastropub” is located about halfway between Figueroa and Eagle Rock Blvd. in the increasingly popular small stretch of York that also includes Johnny’s, Marty’s, and......

Last night marked the first time in nearly two years that Rilo Kiley has perfomed live. Between Jenny Lewis' and Blake Sennett's side projects and recording their hotly anticipated forthcoming album Under the Blacklight, it's clear they simply haven't had the time. Despite the occasional, somewhat expected blunders, Rilo Kiley rocked a set consisting of half old and half new material. Eagle Rock's own All Star Lanes hosted their first show ever as a......

With three full length albums under their belt, and lyrics that often run the emotional gamut of life in Los AngelesRilo Kiley is as much a fixture on the L.A. music scene as anyone. While their newest album, Under the Blacklight, won't debut until August 21, they are getting ready to kick things off at All Star Lanes for a "secret" show in Eagle Rock in a few hours. After, Rilo Kiley will leave the country and return to Los Angeles, playing the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium October 15. Blake Sennett took some time to sit down with LAist...

If you haven't made your daily Rilo Kiley Myspace check, then you've missed some important news. As a part of the continuing Myspace Secret Shows series, Rilo Kiley will be playing tonight at the All Star Lanes bowling alley in Eagle Rock. Ahh, good ole All Star Lanes. I've spent many a night there drinking, bowling, and laughing at the karaoke regulars. It will always hold a fond place in my heart. My advice......

Division Day, the indie pop band hailing from Santa Cruz and formed in 2001, is out with their debut full length album, Beartrap Island, a combination of echoey sounds, exciting drums, and catchy choruses. Originally from northern California the band makes its home in Los Angeles now, more specifically Eagle Rock's "rock block" - the neighborhood known for its numerous recording studios and rehearsal spaces. Known for their relentless touring and somewhat mischevious behavior......

LAist Editor Tony Pierce has blogged here non-stop for more than a year deserving a well-earned vacation (and did he ever earn it). While out of town, we decided to have a little fun and bring some guest day editors in from around the blogLAsphere. Monday we had Green LA Girl and Tuesday saw Fred Camino of MetroRiderLA. Yesterday was Zuma Dogg and today is the official nerd him/her/itself, the LA City Nerd. 1.......