A female hiker was the victim of a sexual assault on Halloween afternoon in Elysian Park, and the Los Angeles Police Department have released a sketch of the suspect, who may have tracked down his victim using Twitter. more ›

Police are investigating the creepy possibility that a sexual assailant used Twitter to find his next victim. On Halloween afternoon, a man jumped out of the bushes and sexually assaulted a woman finishing up a stroll through Elysian Park. She managed to escape and the suspect fled. more ›

Residents of the Eastside now have more green space in which to frolic -- Elysian Park has been expanded by five acres, and the new area is now open to the public. In a statement, Councilman Eric Garcetti announced that the addition of landscaped acreage would include two game courts, a playground, lawn areas, picnic tables, a walking path, an outdoor classroom area, and parking spaces. more ›

Sunday, the 30th annual Picnic des Chefs was held in Elysian Park. The event benefits several charities, including the Concern Foundation and The Hope Program at Children's Hospital. The Picnic is one of several events held by Club Culinaire, a nonprofit organization of gourmands and people in the restaurant profession who specialize in French food. more ›

Police want residents in the Elysian Park and Chinatown area to be on alert after a pair of con men scammed their way into a residence, making of with $2,000 in cash. A 92-year-old Chinese women and her adult niece answered the door last week to find two men posing as AT&T employees with fake work orders. Once inside, one distracted the women while the other searched for valuables and cash. more ›

Tuesday is opening day at Dodgers Stadium and that means it's party time. 56,000 ticket holders will descend upon Chávez Ravine and, as usual, hundreds more will come out to celebrate in Elysian Park and the Stadium parking lot. more ›

KFI AM 640 has a video from a Spanish TV crew showing tons of used condoms off hiking trails in Elysian Park near Little League fields. The radio station says this is a hot spot for males to have anonymous sex. "Maybe shining a light on this, hopefully, discouraging males who would come up and do this type of activity," LAPD Captain Bill Murphy said. "We'll get that word out there." 90 arrests have been already made this year. more ›

A fire that broke out this afternoon near Dodger Stadium in Elysian Park has grown to one acre, but is expected to be extinguished soon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. At 2:41 p.m., a call from 1700 Stadium Way in the park reported the brush fire as near them. 38 firefighters responded to the fire in medium brush, which quickly grew from a half to full acre, as of 3:25 p.m. However, with virtually no winds, they expected a knock down soon. No one has been reported injured and no structures were threatened. UPDATE: As of 3:26, the fire was knocked down. more ›

In an effort to further community relations, LAPD's Northeast Division is hosting their community open house today from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Along with meeting officers and councilmembers, there will be displays by the Bomb Squad, K-9 Unit, LAPD Dispatch Communications, SWAT and others. more ›

As people around the country and the world look back on the tragic events of 9/11, the Los Angeles Fire Department along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others attended a 9/11 remembrance at the Memorial Training Center in Elysian Park. High ranking officials of the LAFD including Fire Chief Douglas L. Barry spoke and gave thanks to those who fell as well as those who continue to stand for us. LAist was there to take in the event. Here is a some of what we saw (related: City Flags Lowered in Honor of 9/11) : more ›

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After discovering a massive Shepard Fairey-designed Obama print off Sunset yesterday, we went hunting for the background story, which led straight to the artist himself. more ›

To see how this giant poster got here, check poil11's flickr. more ›

Dedicated bike paths, more bike lanes, and bike rental programs, oh my! more ›

• 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 military sites, synagogues and other targets" in Southern California. The two men face 20-25 years in prison.
• Oh noes! The hipsters will be so dry now! The DWP will be draining Elysian Park and Silver Lake reservoirs because of high levels of toxic chemicals in the water.
• Gas prices soar, consumer inflation also goes up: "Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
• It's the PLAGUE!!! Actually, no, it's just the flu, and a child in the Valley is the first to be diagnosed this season. Get your flu shots! Unless you're like me and treat every illness with a few stiff shots of whiskey.
• Rhino Records is open again! Not at their storied Westwood location (sniff sniff), but they're operating a "pop-up" store during the month of December only over at Third and Fairfax.
• A "guns-for-gifts" exchange will be held tomorrow in Compton: "People turning in a gun to sheriff's personnel will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. $100 gift cards will be given for each of the first 50 guns turned in. About 400 guns were turned in at a similar exchange in 2005".
• Conan O'Brien and NBC are getting sued...by a bodybuilder...over a Clay Aiken gay joke. Do we live on the moon or something? Oh no, that's right -- Hollywood.
• Midnight Ridazz are doing an all-city Bring-A-Toy-For-Charity bike ride tonight. Check their website for details.

Where are the best pickup soccer venues in the greater Los Angeles area? -- Bankole O Los Angeles is an enormous city, and soccer is a popular sport. You can find games being played just about everywhere! If you're looking to avoid organized leagues, there's soccer played on a regular basis at Rancho Park, Pan Pacific Park, the Westwood Rec Center, and Mar Vista Park (they have a new-ish turf field which is frequently booked,... more ›

The country's safest city (some years, anyway), is getting less and less so: a shooting this morning at a Simi Valley tire store left two dead and two injured. Police have ruled out robbery and suspect a personal motive in the attack. There are a few updates on the potential water cutbacks -- although Los Angeles is okay for now (thanks to the Owens Valley), the time may come when water rationing will be... more ›

Do you walk your dog in Elysian Park? And maybe sometimes you did not collect the dog's poop in the plastic grocery bag or the corn-starch bio-degradable bag because the damned dog was chasing a lizard or squirrel or some un-neutered hound a half-mile away? more ›

- The outcome of Long Beach Halloween beatings came out today and some people are not happy (LA Times) more ›

Local hero Coop cruised by Elysian Park today and snapped some sweet pictures of dozens of lowriders showing their love to this fair city. Coop explains: I love these cars, and the culture around them. To me, they represent everything that is beautiful, crazy, and wonderful about L.A.So "Take a Little Trip" and join us as we yearn for the day that $25,000 new cars could come with the Low Rider Option package...... more ›

Rose Bowl's 80th Anniversary of Fireworks starring the Pasadena Pops - 6pm more ›

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has sparked a fire of discussion with his secret plan -- codenamed Five Ton Gorilla -- to turn Chavez Ravine into a baseball/football/mall complex. Memos about the plan were mailed anonymously to the Boston Herald and printed in an article yesterday; maybe someone in McCourt's hometown thought the idea was as crummy as we do. more ›