He might be an "Angel forever," but 64-year-old George Christie, Jr. could spend forever in a federal prison. Christie, a former president of the Ventura County Chapter of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang, is one of four defendants hauled in today on federal charges for plotting to bring down a couple of local tattoo shops. more ›

Medical marijuana, though legal in sixteen U.S. states and in Washington, D.C., classifies as a dangerous drug with no therapeutic value, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal government has imposed an aggressive mission to mitigate the legality of marijuana, and Los Angeles has witnessed the local effects of a crack-down on dispensaries in recent months, notably in Lake Forest, Venice Beach, West Hollywood and Glendale. more ›

Thanks to its massive air pollution problem, California currently enforces the strictest car emission standards in the country. These stringent practices may be in jeopardy, however, due to the Energy Tax Prevention Act, newly proposed legislation at the federal level, according to SFGate. more ›

Federal agents and local authorities conducted raids yesterday on two medical marijuana dispensaries located in West Hollywood. Both of the shops, Alternative Herbal Health Services and Zen Healing Collective, are "among four that the city has authorized to operate," notes LA Now. more ›

Another suspect brought in following an international investigation with strong local roots of a now-defunct web bulletin board serving as a hub and tutorial for child pornography involving young boys has pleaded guilty, according to a release issued by the United States Attorney's Office. more ›

19-year-old Nathan Ramon Wells is learning the very hard way that aiming a laser pointer at the wrong target at the wrong time has some serious consequences. The Cathedral City man was sentenced yesterday to serve 15 months in a federal prison, along with three years on supervised release. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and President Barack Obama are scheduled to meet tomorrow in the nation's capital to discuss federal funding for transit projects in Los Angeles, according to the Daily News. The Mayor "has been seeking congressional support for a plan to accelerate the construction of 12 major transit projects in Los Angeles County," and this marks his third visit to DC in four weeks. Several other state and city leaders, as well as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are among those who will be attending the meeting on infrastructure spending. more ›

Federal authorities rounded up members of what they say is a marijuana ring operating in Southern California, according to cbs2. On Friday, "agents served two arrest warrants in Los Angels County and five in San Diego," bringing in 12 people altogether. The leader of the ring, Joshua John Hester, was arrested at his West Hollywood home. "Two dispensaries owned by Hester are among 14 clinics and collectives raided by local law enforcement in September. At one dispensary, agents found two secret rooms behind a moveable bookshelf where pot was being illegally grown." more ›

Los Angeles Attorney Dolly Gee today became the first Chinese-American woman in U.S. history to serve as a federal district court judge when the Senate confirmed as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California. “Dolly Gee has an exemplary record and she will be an outstanding addition to the federal bench," said Senator Barbara Boxer, who recommended to President Barack Obama that Gee be nominated. "As a daughter of immigrants from rural China, she personifies the American dream. She used her position as a prominent attorney in Los Angeles to promote racial tolerance..." more ›

California is prepping to run a rebate program powered by $35 million in federal funds which will give cash back for appliances when the owner is ready to purchase a new, more energy-efficient model, according to an AP report published on abc7. more ›

After three decades of dreaming and planning, it looks like the federal government is finally paying attention to an expensive MagLev train line that would carry passengers between Las Vegas and Anaheim at speeds up to 300 miles per hour along the 270-mile route. The Federal Railroad Administration will give $45 million in congressional earmarked dollars to the first phase of the route, which will go from Las Vegas to the state border in Primm, NV, according to the LA Times. more ›

Senator John McCain has his eye on several transit projects all over the nation that he is labeling "wasteful government spending," including two here in Los Angeles, explains StreetsblogLA. His target is the US Department of Transportation's 2010 spending bill, which comes up "for a vote this week in the upper chamber of Congress." more ›

The next big date in all things Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, will be January 11th, 2010. In this morning's hearing about the case, backers of Prop 8 desired a 2010 summer date, but proponents of striking the ban down wanted it much earlier. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker denied three gay rights group the ability to join the lawsuit, as well as a anti-gay marriage group's request, too. However, he did allow the City of San Francisco to join, but only to assess the impacts to local governments, explained the Associated Press. Expert witnesses will be designated by October 2nd with discovery concluding on November 30th. The pretrial conference will be on December 16th followed by the designation of rebuttal expert witnesses on December 31st, said the Mercury News. more ›

As the case against Prop 8 goes to Federal Court, the presiding judge has warned that he will likely not approve an injunction against Prop 8 during trial. Even gay marriage supporters such as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have warned of the confusion and uncertainty if that were to happen and Prop 8 was found to be law. However, the judge wants to get the trial going soon. "To avoid the procedural and practical problems surrounding a preliminary injunction," U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, "the court is inclined to proceed directly and expeditiously to the merits" of the case. Tomorrow will be the hearing for the preliminary injunction. Walker will also explore whether or not Prop 8 was "discriminatory intent" and whether the "sole motivation for Prop. 8 was moral disapproval of gays and lesbians," according to the LA Times. more ›

Who wants to help bail out California, world's eighth-largest economy, by lending it money? Not bailed out banks. So like a kid asking his parents to co-sign his first apartment lease, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking the federal government to back the state on loans: more ›

The country is preparing for the 2010 Census, and already same-sex married couples are feeling left out. Respondents will not be asked about their sexual orientation, and households with same-sex couples married by law must be defined as they were in 2000: as "unmarried partners," reports the Press-Telegram. more ›

LA City Councilman Richard Alarcon and representatives from over 20 organizations announced that they will be calling on new the President-elect and Congress to update the Federal Poverty Guidelines. They'll be making their way to Washington DC to lobby for the cause. From Alarcon's office: more ›

Today, the LA City Council will be voting to endorse two federal bills. It's only symbolic in nature for the city to do so, but it helps when the bills hit the House and Senate or the differences committees. more ›

A contract security guard for the Department of Homeland Security ousted a woman from a Van Nuys federal building yesterday because she was wearing a t-shirt with "lesbian.com" printed on it when she came to pick up a social security card for her son. more ›

Undocumented immigrants (or "illegals" as many still say) may now find themselves turned over to federal authorities following arrest thanks to a plan approved by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Under the new system, individuals' resident status can be ascertained following arrest, rather than following conviction, as was the previous method. According to abc7.com, this new plan "specifically targets gang members." more ›

Blackwater might be a more appropriate name for the future of some private firefighting business. Robert at Calitics has been looking into federal firefighter shortages during the recent spate of wildfires (over 1700 in total since June 20). He reports that there have been "deliberate staffing shortages have left the USFS [US Forest Service] unable to do vital off-season brush clearance, and left them without the staffing to get a quick jump on fires in their crucial initial stages." more ›

One of the largest counterfeit currency rings in Southern California has been broken up after a three-month investigation leading federal agents to arrest five people. One of the caught suspects is a 35-year-old Sherman Oaks man, "who who allegedly cut the counterfeit bills and glued them together," according to the Daily News. more ›

You can't be assured of getting the proper assistance and funding from the unbelievably-not-renamed-since-Katrina Federal Emergency Management Agency (they even faked their press conference while SoCal was burning). But if you live in LA or Orange County and suffered damages in the October wildfires, you have until 6 p.m. to apply for federal and state assistance. FEMA reports that 19,000 requests have been filed to date. more ›

Barry Bonds was in federal court today to face the music ... sort of. Southern California's least favorite son pleaded not guilty to four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. After showing off his latest threads (the wire reports had little else to say so they raved about his "impeccably tailored" look), Bonds walked back out a free man. He was essentially released on his own recognizances, but would owe Uncle... more ›

That's what Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather said this morning:If we had more air resources, we would have been able to control this fire. Instead we've been stuck in this initial attack mode on the ground where we hopscotch through neighborhoods as best we can trying to control things. But OCFA is not the only frustrated agency in Southern California, as losses grow to an estimated $1 billion in San Diego County... more ›

Guest Day Editor LA City Nerd will be joining LAist with a few posts throughout the day. Read the introductory interview here and check out the nerd's blog. As most citizens know, the taxes they pay support the services the government provides. On April 15th, people line up to pay Uncle Sam and the State with income taxes that support things like the FDA and Caltrans, respectively. But when it comes to the City, the... more ›

In a civil war of words and politics (LA v. Rest of the Country), Mayor Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce will lead a delegation of Southern California business leaders and other regional officials to advocate for federal investment in local education, public safety and transportation. Their reasoning: SoCal's 18 million residents make up part of an economy that ranks 15th in the world. The population of 18 million is larger than... more ›

This is your last warning. Don't go posting those Oscar screeners on the Internet. Not now, and not ever! After all, you could end up like Salvador Nunez Jr., a 27-year-old Norwalk resident who was charged today with copyright infringement. Nunez allegedly got DVD copies of Flushed Away from his sister, who has the privilege of reviewing cartoons for the Academy. The MPAA knows this because they imprint digital watermarks on all screeners in... more ›