Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist 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..." Unfortunately,......

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. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

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......

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......

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......

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......

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? Londonist votes for better skincare, alternative spaces for art, cute little birds and the men who keep them, and concrete. Lots of concrete. Shanghaiist votes for one of the Bee Gees and Air Supply (it's a double-ticket),......

Two killed, two injured when a Metro Blue Line train smashed into a car yesterday morning - CBS-2 Although once one of the best juvenile detention systems in the country, LA now has one of the worst, and it has only gotten scarier in the last ten years. The Board of Supervisors is partially to blame, the Times says. In the last year, county juvenile facilities operated by the Probation Department have erupted in......

In the days before 9/11, the biggest hassle in airport travel was having to turn down the pleas of the old women in nurses costumes standing by the escalators. Now, after 9/11, the fake nurses are still there, but they move down the long security lines that line the curbs. In this age of strict airport regulation, it’s surprising that airport solicitors and proselytizers didn’t get the steel-toed boot a long time ago. Instead,......

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......

Sarah Lefton�s new �Sacramento Girlie Men� T-shirts, mentioned at LAObserved.com, reminds LAist that our Governator is involved in a lawsuit that spotlights the different rights of celebrities and public servants. T-shirt makers beware: Oak Productions, which holds all rights to merchandise Arnold Schwarnegger�s name and image, filed suit against Ohio Discount Merchandise, a firm that markets a bobblehead doll bearing our governor�s likeness in a suit but posed holding a gun in a manner evoking......