Occupy LA has filed a complaint in pursuit of an injunction to block their eviction from the grounds of Los Angeles City Hall. The complaint focuses on the Occupiers' First Amendment rights. more ›

The Los Angeles Police Department are patting themselves on the back for a job well done yesterday, as they made 72 arrests during what they are calling a day of "mostly peaceful protests." more ›

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department harasses law-abiding photographers, threatening to put them on an FBI "hit list," accusing them of terrorist conspiracy and detaining them for completely lawful activities, according to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. Photographers have been stopped and harassed for taking pictures on the sidewalk, on the Red Line and near oil refineries. more ›

Laly Dobener is a petite, unassuming 72-year-old, whose lawn ornamentation has made a big statement in her West Hills cul-de-sac. Dobener put up a two-story white cross on her front lawn that she says is a symbol of God's love. There are blood-red paint splotches, representing where Jesus' hands and feet would have been nailed, and a crown of thorns under a sign that says, "Jesus I trust in you." more ›

The graphic new images poised to adorn American cigarette packs next year are meant to warn smokers and would-be smokers of the health dangers associated with the habit. However a few large U.S. tobacco companies say the new labels will just plain scare their customers away from cigarettes, and they've filed a suit against the federal government. more ›

PEN Center USA's annual awards were held at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday night and many luminaries were honored for their work, including Hugh Hefner who received an Award of Honor for his editorial prowess and the First Amendment Award for his ongoing efforts to fight censorship. more ›

The colorful self-organized cast of characters who spend their days interacting with passersby in front of tourist hot spots on Hollywood Boulevard have a U.S. District Judge on their side, according to KTLA. more ›

Despite efforts to pressure Mayor Villaraigosa and city officials to cancel the event, a rally organized by the National Socialist Movement will take place today at 12:30 on the South Lawn of City Hall, an LAPD release confirms. more ›

Before an African American man clad in Klu Klux Klan apparel was to speak to the Los Angeles City Council, members walked out of the room, effectively canceling the meeting because a lack of quorum, the legal limit of members needed for a meeting to take place. more ›

Did Redondo Beach resident Lisa Castaneda not learn the lessons of the West Hollywood Sarah Palin effigy? Or does she just have some major balls? To her it was free speech--she doesn't think Obama should be president. In the last 24 hours, the McCain campaign pleaded with her to take it down, the Secret Service visited and protesters did their thing outside. As of 1:00 p.m. today, Castaneda had taken down the effigy portraying Obama with a knife in his neck, covered with blood and hanging from his own necktie. The Daily Breeze has the full story. more ›

Neighbors of the home owner who has mixed Halloween decor and free speech together for Sarah Palin effigy in his West Hollywood front hard took their First Amendment right this afternoon by peacefully covering the display with sheets for a half hour. more ›

Today, the ACLU sent a letter to the City of Calabasas over a city policy reflected in their community service grant applications, which provides money to organizations for social service services within the city. more ›

Over at the Los Angeles Police Department's blog, Lieutenant Rick Banks as been assigned as the "Officer in Charge," and in his introduction post, he touts the success of the web tool and how it has been valuable for the department. But he goes on with a warning to those anonymous finger pointers. "The blog allows you to have a good amount of influence and more with complete anonymity..." more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. more ›

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. Today, get ready for Zuma Dogg who has his own website, but also contributes to Mayor... more ›

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their... more ›

Today we got an email from a concerned Pepperdine alumn whose words made us think that there just might be trouble in paradise Dear Editor: As an alumnus of Pepperdine University, I am deeply troubled by recent events at the University and the active suppression of free speech on campus. Pepperdine, like all American colleges, should be an “open marketplace for ideas” rather than an agent for indoctrination. Unfortunately, the University continues to practice... more ›

Welcome to the LAist weekly tech news roundup. Each week I'll be bringing you the latest, and hopefully most interesting, technology news from around the city, the state, the country and the world. Also, if you have any news, tips or things of interest you want to point out, feel free to drop us a line at: themacist [at] gmail dot com. Ok, let's get to the news: The Bush administration is at it... more ›

think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? more ›

Two killed, two injured when a Metro Blue Line train smashed into a car yesterday morning - CBS-2 more ›

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This column is the first in a series of articles on important Supreme Court cases that have developed out of events in Los Angeles. "Stare Decisis" is the guiding principle of the American legal system - the court should "let the decision stand" and respect precedent for the sake of the rule of law. Even though it is known for shaping American pop culture, Los Angeles has shaped American legal culture in more ways than we may like to admit. more ›

An important issue in the case is whether the bobbleheads are a political parody, and thus entitled to protection under the First Amendment, or an incursion on a celebrity�s right of publicity. While Schwarzenegger�s hardly the first celebrity-turned-politician (Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono and Jesse Ventura come to mind), he�s certainly milking his pop cultural persona for political gain —invoking the SNL Swarzenegger parody catchphrase—which is sort of puzzling, as Arnold�s lawyers insist the toy�s infringement trades more on Arnold�s persona as an entertainment figure than a politician. Seems like he�s playing it both ways. more ›