Many of the passengers on a small boat that washed ashore in El Segundo this week were criminals who were trying to sneak back into the United States after being deported. more ›

A small panga boat washed ashore today on an El Segundo-area beach, but the vessel was not empty. Rather, it contained nearly 20 people who police believe are illegal immigrants. Turnbull said the suspects were apparently trying to enter the country in the boat and were not involved in narcotics smuggling. more ›

Would you eat at the restaurant of an abnormally long-tongued man who spews blood and and spits flames from his mouth? Yes, we're talking about Gene Simmons of Kiss. The rocker and reality television star is set to open a Rock & Brews in El Segundo April 3. more ›

'Tis the season for Christmas lights and merriment, and Los Angeles never hesitates to string up twinkling spectacles in celebration of the holidays. The budding hosts of BDCi News' upcoming show, "K&A Adventures with Korbin and Max" recently visited El Segundo's Candy Cane Lane to view the festive displays, meet Santa and find out if the kiddos have been naughty or nice this year. more ›

The search for a man who raped a woman in the backseat of his car at knifepoint on Monday got a little easier when detectives figured out the victim had dropped her cell phone in the man's car. Detectives tracked her phone to the car of Charles Lee Kelly, a security guard who lives in Inglewood. more ›

Mattel is the world's biggest toy-making company, and their Barbie doll one of the world's most iconic. In June, Greenpeace climbed up the side of Mattel's El Segundo headquarters, and unfurled a banner declaring that Barbie's longtime love Ken was dumping his main squeeze because of Mattel's eco-unfriendly packaging practices. It turns out, Mattel listened. more ›

WTF case gets a little more WTF, if that is even imaginable: Eric P. Stickney, a man arrested Thursday for allegedly pleasuring himself while he peeked through a fence to watch a female toddler playing in a kiddie pool, may call a storage closet at an El Segundo hotel his home. more ›

Yes, it's as nauseating as it sounds. Police in El Segundo are searching for a Peeping Tom, who was caught masturbating while he watched a little girl playing in a kiddie pool over the weekend. The little girl and her father didn't notice the man spying through the fence, but a witness caught him in the act and caught him on tape, The Daily Breeze reports. more ›

Just a couple of days after Greenpeace protesters unfurled a banner on the outside of Mattel's El Segundo headquarters, the toymaker giant says they have asked their based packaging supplier to stop purchasing from a questionable source as they investigate accusations they use materials that contribute to deforestation, according to the Los Angeles Times. more ›

Authorities in El Segundo are searching for a man who chased a woman into a drug store and masturbated in front of her at a Walgreens on the 300 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard on May 23, according to KTLA. more ›

Barbie's longtime love Ken has delivered her a big-time dumping in the form of banner just-unfurled on the side of the Mattel building in El Segundo. The issue: Ken doesn't date chicks who are into deforestation. more ›

A helicopter burst into flames after crashing into office and laboratory building at Raytheon aerospace development complex on the 2000 block of E. El Segundo Boulevard shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, reports Reuters. Eyewitness reported that the Sikorsky S-58ET helicopter "erupted into a ball of flames when it crashed," reports KTLA. more ›

Do thieves have their eyes on your car's side-view mirrors? Police in El Segundo think they might have a theft trend on their hands, according to the Daily Breeze. A first in the area, last week there were 5 reported such thefts, with thieves popping the glass out of mirrors from GMC and Chevy SUVs. In Carson, similar thefts took place in March. In other parts of the country side-view mirror theft seems to be a burgeoning trend, too. The mirrors being stolen locally are considered "high-tech" with a lot of built in features, and owners replacing the glass alone can run vehicle owners up to $900. more ›

Fresh off opening their third location in Pasadena, Pacific Theatres today announced their next venture: ArcLight Beach Cities. CEO Christopher Forman called the new location "a natural extension of the ArcLight brand in the Greater Los Angeles Area." more ›

People all over the Westside and near LAX have been curious about a plume of dark smoke and flames originating from the El Segundo area, and worried that a large fire was burning dangerously close to homes and businesses. However, the fire is actually originating from the Chevron facilities, according to a live KTLA broadcast, and the LAFD confirms via email alert that the refinery there is "performing a 'controlled burn-off.'" The authorities "are aware of this," noted KTLA, "so you can rest assured that no one is in danger." more ›

If a vegan restaurant can open in Orange County and not only survive, but expand within the same city (Irvine), then it must be doing something right. And that's why the Veggie Grill, which opens in Hollywood today at 11 a.m. at the Sunset Plaza, is welcomed with praise. more ›

A minor 3.2 quake struck near Los Angeles International Airport at 9:14 p.m., but caused no reported damage as of a half hour later, according to the LA Times. The earthquake was also located in the same general area of a few quakes that struck in May. A 4.7 rattler struck on May 17 followed by a 4.1 on May 19. These little quakes are always a good reminder to get prepared: store water, take CERT and take other measures (.pdf) to help make one of the potentially worst days of your life--when the big one strikes--a little better. more ›

She's single, plays flag football in Valley parks weekly and her book was on the New York Times bestselling list for a year. In fact, the vegan activist author of Skinny Bitch (LAist Review) has penned two guest posts for LAist. In the just released December issue of VegNews, writer Rory Freedman earned the top prize in the 2008 Veggie Awards--Person of the Year. In an interview with the magazine, Freedman, who has convinced thousands of women to turn vegetarian in her book, announces that a major network TV sitcom is in development and that Skinny Bastard (watch out meat eatin' guys) is due in bookstores in June (she says she's in search of a skinny bastard herself). more ›

If you're on a self-declared "Great Los Angeles Mac & Cheese" hunt, then the fancy chain restaurant that is Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is a needed stop. It's not the best we've had in this city (tough choice between Pete's Bar & Grill and some others), but it certainly ranks up there as a memorable experience with the al dente cavatappi double elbowed pasta drowned in a creamy mild cheddar spiked with chipotle to taste. more ›

A few minutes before 8:00 p.m. last night, a small 3.0 earthquake shook the Westside. The quake, located two miles north of El Segundo caused no reported damage, but a cat might have jumped and tipped over a glass of milk or something. Nevertheless, each little microquake is a good reminder to think about preparing oneself for "the big one." One good way is to participate in The Great Southern California ShakeOut where 3.7 million people have already signed up to drop, cover and hold on November 13. more ›

A guest post from Stephen G. Ruiz, a freelance photographer. more ›

With an American Institute for Cancer Research study in hand, ABC7's Lori Corbin, aka "The Food Coach," visited the Veggie Grill in El Segundo. "Several large studies confirm that consuming more than 18 ounces [of red and processed meat], a little more than one pound of red meat, bacon, and smoked meats per week, increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 30 percent," Corbin writes. "That's worrisome since many shy from this type of cancer screening." more ›

• Britney Spears may be on her way out of Los Angeles, but she's not going quietly. The pop star was involved in a minor collision last night on the 134 in bumper to bumper traffic where she hit the car in front of her, causing that vehicle to bump the car in front of them. No one was hurt and the length of this bullet point is already severely disproportionate to my interest in it. Let's move on...
• Of all the problems facing the great city of Los Angeles, housing availability is surely near the top of the list. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy, in an LA Times editorial, has stepped into the fray with a few concrete ideas, such as slowing development of condos and other luxury housing projects to accommodate renters and building up housing around transportation hubs. His thoughts are not revolutionary, but are well taken in a city where middle and low income renters are constantly being priced out of the market.
• His comments come on the heels of a new study that said L.A. must build nearly 113,000 new housing units by 2014 to meet the needs of a growing population without worsening the shortage of affordable homes. In the battled between those opposed to new construction based on water shortages and increased traffic versus those attempting to meet the needs of a growing populace, something's gotta give.
• Yesterday, we told you about an officer involved shooting in a movie theater in El Segundo. Today, the two officers are recovering in the hospital after the shootout that left one suspect dead and a bystander injured. They are expected to make a full recovery.
• Police chase! Two dudes who may have been involved in a shooting led police for more than an hour through Los Angeles freeways this morning before being apprehended. Chases are dangerous, costly and stupid, but I admit I have a weakness for a good ol fashioned pursuit. Thank you, Fox.
• CBS CEO Les Moonves made $37 million last year. Amid show dumping and firings, his multi-million dollar salary is raising some eyebrows, LA Biz Observed wrote.
• American Airlines' MD-80 fleet is back up and running. This just in via -- yeah, that's right -- the new AA blog.
• Four homes were briefly evacuated when a small brush fire lit up a hillside near Foothills Middle School in Arcadia this afternoon.
• It was damn hot today if you didn't notice. Record high temps for LAX (96 degrees), Long Beach (95), Anaheim (102!) the Santa Monica Pier (86), and UCLA (95). Tomorrow should be gorgeous, just in time to return to work.

The Pacific Beach Cities Stadium 16 movie theatre in El Segundo was the real-life scene of a police-involved shootout last night. more ›

• 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 politician should be doing.
• Of course, by now you know all about the L.A. Marathon. But you may not have heard that the Los Angeles Fire Department treated 73 participants; transporting 23 of them to area hospitals. None of the injuries were life-threatening, they said.
• What's one of the best part about Spring Training? Rumors! The Daily News reports that Nomar could play a "handful of games" at shortstop this season. Just four more weeks until Opening Day.
• The blood in my veins is Dodger Blue, but the color of my face when driving to games is sometimes red. So, I applaud the City Council for at least broaching the possibility of public transportation to Dodger Stadium late this week.\
• An El Segundo woman warded off an attacker last night with pepper spray as he pinned her to the ground straddling and fondling her. She reached for the pepper spray and ran away, gagging and coughing.
• But her weapon of choice would not have worked if she was a reporter at the Daily News. Yesterday, we told you that the Daily News laid off 22 staffers earlier in the week. Today, the list of the fireds was published. The deceased includes Alex Dobuzinskis, a great reporter who covered Glendale and Burbank and the News' lone Washington D.C. reporter.
• The newspaper business is not the only one hurting these days. Nearly 1,600 teachers could lose their jobs as Orange County's 28 school districts scramble to find ways to cut from their operating budgets amid a mounting state budget crisis.
• Is Hillary Clinton being subversively endorsed by Saturday Night Live? Last week, SNL feature a skit parodying the media's "love affair" with Barack Obama and last night, they had Clinton on the show getting two minutes of free campaign air time. SNL has not officially endorsed Clinton, but should media outlets allow candidates a free shot at advertising? If NBC allowed Obama two free minutes, don't you think the Clinton camp would be the ones needing a pillow?

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7 pm // Santa Monica Bar and Grille // 3321 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles // $40 at the door. more ›

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Thefts of catalytic converters, according to one cop in El Segundo, have reached "epidemic" levels, the LA Times reports. Helpfully, the paper also includes instructions on how to go about stealing your own: more ›