For Angelenos, bees are more often than not encountered as sugar-drunk spastics outside of a neighborhood recycling center, sippers of sweet nectar from your garden's flowers, or a stinging source of outdoor anguish. But there's actually a nationwide "bee crisis" that pertains specifically to honey bees and their unexpected decline, and now what's been a problem for farmers is getting passed on to the consumers in the form of higher food prices. To put it......

Photo by akeg via Flick As powerful as the written word can be, sometimes it takes the extra help of a video and a little push by the "fourth estate" to get things done in Southern California. In today's weekly Road Sage column by Steve Hymon, he features Rich Allen who made a nearly 10-minute video to post on YouTube that highlighted the terrible pothole conditions on the 60 Freeway (video embedded below). Then......

In light of ongoing news about the city's budget crisis (a predicted $295 million dollar deficit), information about the number of people employed by the city who earn more than $100,000 is not sitting well with some. As reported in the Daily News, the newspaper conducted research and compiled a "review of salary data [that] shows more than 21,000 city workers take home $70,000 or more a year and more than 6,000 take home more......

What the hell is up with air travel these days? Another day, another 850 flights canceled because government officials have failed us yet again. Yes, we blame the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA[IIL]). And so does American Airlines:American is cancelling several hundred flights starting on April 8 to conduct additional inspections of its MD-80 fleet. These inspections are to ensure precise and complete compliance with the FAA's directive related to wiring in the aircraft's wheel......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist A local state assemblyman has proposed a bill that could end up adding a fee to driver registrations or gas at the pumps in Los Angeles County. The West Hollywood based Mike Feuer, who sits on the state's Transportation committee, has put in AB2558 that would either add $90 to annual registrations or 9-cents per gallon of gas. It would raise $400 million a year for public transit projects. It's......

The United States Postal Service furthered its efforts to embrace new, green technologies this week, even as these technologies eat away at the USPS' age-old business model of letter delivery. Over the past couple years, the postal service has been employing cleaner energy at some of their plants and experimenting with hybrid diesel-electric alternatives for some of their 200,000 + vehicles. This week, USPS launched a program that allows patrons to pick up postpaid envelopes......

So this week, I watched pitcher Roger Clemens as he desperately fought for his name in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown – without the asterisk. The seven-time Cy Young award winner testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on whether or not he was pwj – playing while juiced (on steroids and human growth hormone). Here’s a recap: Under oath, Clemens told the panel that he never used steroids or......

One year ago, Los Angeles County received the distinction of being number one in the nation for the amount of medical marijuana dispensaries in the country, with close to 50 in operation. Recently, picking up your prescribed pot got theoretically easier with the launching of the world's first marijuana vending machines here in the City of Angels, which is causing international waves from objectors who cast doubt on the therapeutic validity of the Schedule 1......

Restaurants have no love for dogs, but dogs sure do love their owners | Photo by Tom Andrews via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Steve Poizner has no love for Allianz: The state Insurance Commissioner announced a $10 million settlement with Allianz Life Insurance Company, the biggest seller of annuities in California, today in Burbank. Allianz swindled hundreds of 84 and 85 into bad deals that cost them thousands of dollars. David......

"Blues and Pinks at the Peninsula" by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "A very, very good night for Barack Obama just got better," the LA Times said after it reported that the winner of the South Carolina Primary was on the receiving end of two Kennedy endorsements; Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama this morning in the NY Times and Sen. Ted Kennedy issued his endorsement later in the day. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton......

*UPDATE: Saturday, 2:45 p.m.* 3 people are now confirmed dead in the aftermath of Friday's avalanches -- LAT. *UPDATE: Friday, 8:50 p.m.*One person was killed and at least one other was missing after avalanches struck near the town of Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains. The victim, 23-year-old Michael McKay, was an employee of the Mountain High Resort ski patrol. Around noon, an avalanche struck as McKay and two friends were skiing in the backcountry......

Photo by Here in Van Nuys via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency is testifying to a Congress panel that he was not pressured into shutting down California's attempts to create its own global-warming laws: "It was Johnson's first appearance on Capitol Hill since he acted last month, and he drew the ire of not only Boxer, his usual critic, but other Democratic senators whose states......

Dear Daily News, you bury your excellent stories, columnists and blogs on your website, you let The Signal kick your ass in Santa Clarita and you think a few drops of rain is breaking news. Whisky Tango Foxtrot, dudes. Government offices being closed today is not breaking news; it happens every year, as planned. Drizzle is news of the hour or a weather update, not breaking. Unless the Oscars are canceled, you announcing that......

What will Hike The Geek do?!?! In order to face up to budget-balancing woes and a state-wide financial crunch, Governor Schwartzenegger has proposed to close 48 different national park sites, as well as cut funding to many school, health care, and criminal justice programs. Parks in the L.A. area like the Will Rogers State Historic Park, Topanga State Park, and Pio Pico State Historic Park in Whittier will all be shut down, affecting many......

Rain rain has gone away...so Tuesday we'll go out to play. Here's what's going on around town tonight: MUSIC The LA Phil’s Concrete Frequency series continues tonight. “Songs of the City” is being billed as a program where “urban troubadours share lo-fi songs about city life.” We’ll believe it with a lineup that features: Marc Bianchi, Biirdie, Franklin Bruno, Zooey Deschanel, John Doe, Inara George, Stevie Jackson, Sondre Lerche, Kyp Malone, Bob Mould, Zach......

Mayor Tony calls the federal government's failure to address issues such as poverty, housing, and infrastructure "absolutely criminal" in this short video interview produced by The Nation and The Drum Major Institute.......

So, you know how MTA is considering ridding our freeways of carpool lanes? One outraged blogger blames Bush because, "local officials in the MTA are being forced to take a more free-enterprise approach to freeway management in order to qualify for federal transportation dollars." In a move designed to empower local Iraqi municipalities, the US Army is planning on concentrating its forces in Baghdad as the army continues to draw down its forces after......

In an editorial yesterday, the Daily News let its readers know that the Department of Power and Water's union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, failed to sue the paper twice and agreed to pay $17,213 for legal fees. Why? Because they wanted to stop the Daily News from publishing the names, positions and salaries of department employees. Why publish this info anyway? They found that DWP workers earn an average of......

Let's get this out of the way immediately--if you are a fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, you will be disappointed by some of the elisions and excisions made in this movie. The degree to which it bothers you will largely determine how much you enjoy The Golden Compass. I won't get into the details too much since it would spoil the movie for those unfamiliar with the novels. Let's just say......

Simon Pastucha is the kind of city government employee Los Angeles needs more of. Why? He walks the talk and the Daily News tagged along for a day of his car-free, public transportation life. The Pasadena resident is an urban designer and planner at the Urban Design Studio, a two-person office charged with making the city a more community oriented, walkable and people friendly one. With his salary, Pastucha used to lease a Mercedes......

Welcome to Hollywood Today, an LA City commission voted recommending that Charles Bukowski's former home to be designated a historic cultural monument. Yay books and reading! According to state representative Fabian Nunez, who represents the Downtown LA area, the biggest crisis we're facing today is foreclosures. ""It's a more immediate crisis," he told the AP. Meanwhile, protests are beginning to hit the streets over this. Drink up! It's the holidays! Caroline on Crack has......

If you're anything like us and still incorporate large quantities of instant ramen noodles into your diet (is that shameful for a food writer to admit?), this morning's news might cause more than a little worry. We woke to our local news broadcasters discussing yet another American health worry: salt. Apparently Americans consume 50% too much salt in their diet, much of it locked up in processed and canned foods, and the FDA is......

Monday Eliot Tiegel presents The Latinization of America 6:30pm @ Book Soup Judith Freeman discusses and signs The Long Embrace 7pm @ Vroman's Roz Chast discusses Theories of Everything 7pm @ Central Library Robert Kuttner in conversation with Arianna Huffington about The Squandering of America 8pm @ James Bridge Theater, UCLA Tuesday Cesar Millan presents Be the Pack Leader 7pm @ Borders, Pasadena Frank McCourt presents Angela and the Baby Jesus 7pm @ Borders,......

Everyone's favorite perdedor, Beck, returns to Echo Park on Sunday to charm the kids at the Echoplex, the Echo Blast email stated minutes ago: Beck Announces a Special Los Angeles Club Performance SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25TH @ ECHOPLEX Tickets on sale Friday November 23rd at 5pm 2 ticket limit. The only way to retrieve your tickets is at will call the night of the show. You MUST bring the credit card you used to purchase......

The courts once again sided with the Bush administration in its warrantless spy tapping program. This time, the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rule against the government in its handling of the war on terror. Somewhere, Abbie Hoffman is crying. Following an incident at Cal State Fullerton, in which nooses appeared on a clothesline at an anti-hate rally, civil rights leaders are calling for a federal investigation. College officials quickly took......

The Lovely Mistresses of George W. Bush Calendar....

10 Freeway westbound Normandie on-ramp, 8:45 a.m. Imagine a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles with no schools and no government. But the rest of us still had to go to work. Enjoy your Veterans Day Monday commute!......

This is why we do all of our Christmas shopping online: first the FBI reported possible terrorist threats to Chicago and Los Angeles malls this holiday season, then took it back. Hey kids! You too can grow up to be a pervert with a social conscience! Dov Charney just signed on for a deal with American Apparel's partner company that could net him millions per year. A Small World it's not: Disneyland is remodeling......

A few days ago, I posted about sitting in L.A. traffic on Halloween, and opened the floor for people to make shortcut suggestions. Turns out that the mere mention of the words "shortcut" and "share" in the same sentence can make at least one person go temporarily insane, and others suddenly think that they're in sole possession of highly classified government information. Who knew? Anyway, my friend and colleague Sloane Berrent posted her thoughts......

These photos were taken by amateur photographer Chris Mesaros of Santa Clarita, who submitted them to us. We think they're brilliant! Their local government has also posted a neat google map of all the fire incidents. Donation to the rescue efforts can be made here. More great photos after the jump! (photos have been posted with permission from artist)......