In the midst of what seems like a non-stop string of scandals involving L.A. schools and teachers, it's refreshing to hear that local classrooms are still doing something right -- kids from Granada Hills Charter High School won the California Academic Decathalon on Sunday. more ›

While extinguishing a house fire in Granada Hills this morning, L.A. firefighters uncovered the resident's hobby (or livelihood). Hundreds of marijuana plants crowded the garage. more ›

Two major solar power projects in Southern California were announced today, proving that the state's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases may be on target. Locally, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pushed forward plans for what will become the city's largest solar array. Meanwhile, the federal government approved... more ›

Power went out this morning along Beverly Boulevard in the Park La Brea area, most notably causing traffic lights to go down and businesses to shutter along Beverly Boulevard. The LADWP confirms that 664 customers have been affected and that crews are working to restore power. Although it's windy, no official cause has been cited. more ›

Hikers who stayed on trail at O'Melvany Park in Granada Hills may have never known, but just 300 yards off a main hiking trail about one mile and a half from the parking lot, $24 million worth of marijuana was being cultivated. more ›

A 1.5 magnitude earthquake shook in the Santa Susana Mountains, north of Granada Hills, Porter Ranch and Chatsworth, this morning. The 9:41 a.m. shaker is considered a microquake and is usually only felt by those extremely close to the epicenter. Another quake, measuring the same size, was reported in Claremont last night at 7:08 p.m. more ›

Didn't this burn last year, like twice? A small vegetation fire reported to the fire department at 12:48 p.m. burned a half-acre inside O'Melvany Park, just south of Sunshine Canyon in Granada Hills today. The park is located at the eastern end of the Santa Susana Mountains, site of the 14,703-acre Sesnon Fire from last year October. The Los Angeles Fire Department deployed not only ground crews, but an air attack, snuffing out today's fire in 29 minutes. more ›

Irresponsible, unethical? "Three administrators at Porter Middle School in Granada Hills have been reassigned for allegedly asking a boy to buy marijuana as part of an informal sting operation against another student, according to authorities," the LA Times is reporting. The student is not under investigation but the administrators and alleged drug dealer are. more ›

Not many details are coming out, but preliminary information suggests that no one was seriously hurt this afternoon when a vehicle crashed into a post office at 18039 Chatsworth Street in Granada Hills (at Zelzah Ave). KCAL9 was first on scene to capture this image. more ›

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As the Sesnon Fire reached around 10,000 acres, heading into Granada Hills and prompting new evacuations near O'Melvany Park, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared a local emergency late this morning. Such declarations can be made when Villaraigosa finds that an event reaches a magnitude beyond the control of the normal services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the departments within the City government, according to the Mayor's Office. more ›

A half acre fire ignited in the thick of the fog above Granada Hills this morning around 8:30 a.m. The fire burned slowly through thick brush along steep terrain forcing Los Angeles Fire Department personnel to hike up into the Santa Susana Mountains to attempt to knock it down. Due to the fog, helicopters were grounded until 9:15 a.m. and shortly after, an official on scene said it had spread to 1.5 acres. more ›

Shortly before 11 this morning a man with an automatic rifle opened fire at St. John Baptist de La Salle Roman Catholic Church's International Festival in Granada Hills.

The gunman wounded three people, [LAPD Officer Norma] Eisenman said. Two were taken to a hospital in stable condition and one in critical condition, she said. more ›

Not only were six people injured in a collision in Pacific Palisades this morning when an ambulance was involved in a collision, but now more Los Angeles first-responders have been involved in crashes. Shortly after 2:00 a.m. this morning, an LAPD squad car traveling on Westbound 118 collided with another car, prompting the shutdown of all lanes on that side of the freeway. As of 8:30 this morning, only the car pool and lane #1 were open. The officers were sent to the hospital with unknown injuries and no one else is reported to be hurt. more ›

Good news regarding last week's LAPD shootout in Glassell Park. The fourth and last suspect, a Northridge resident who was the driver of the suspected car, was arrested Monday in Granada Hills. It wasn't that hard either: "he was in the same vehicle police believe was used in the driveby," according to a report by the Daily News. more ›

Just because the federal government can legally rob a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles, it doesn't mean you can too. On Friday, in two separate incidents in the Valley, a dispensary on Cahuenga Boulevard in North Hollywood and Golden State Collective, 10369 Balboa Blvd., in Granada Hills, both got robbed in takeovers. On Sunday, the Granada Hills robbers were caught, according to the Daily News:

During the heist, one shot was fired, ricocheting off the floor and breaking a window. No one was injured. more ›

As of 12:30 a.m. tonight, 10,300 LADWP customers went without power throughout the city, primarily due to downed wires from the weather, according to a press release from the city agency. more ›

Yesterday's tragic assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has shocked and angered the world and the tide of emotion is strong in LA's community of Pakistani-Americans. more ›

Within 48 hours, building fires in Los Angeles did not take a holiday vacation. more ›

You know you're in the Valley when real estate options are that old porn studio over there or the former sex toy manufacturing plant over there. Well, the LAPD went for the latter in a $37 million project to build a new station in Canoga Park on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga. The station is tentatively called Northwest Area Division. The reason for this new station in the West Valley is getting officers... more ›

The first time I was in Compton, I didn't even know it until later when I was at a restaurant looking at the menu and noticed the address. It appeared the world's stereotype was wrong, maybe gone or I just happened to be in the "right" part of town. "Compton is beautiful, there are horse ranches there," a co-worker who grew up there told me at a previous job a few years before my... more ›

It's a full moon and the earth is shaking. Three small quakes within a hundred miles of Los Angeles in the past hour alone, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site. Perhaps unscientific -- though seemingly never "gamed" or exagerrated -- is the USGS "shake map" at right. Within 30 minutes of tonight's 3.2 magnitude shaker centered near Granada Hills, over 700 people went to the site to report shaking intensity. Hover over the... more ›

- Only a few thousand of the 15,000 expected marchers showed up to the Immigration Rights March In Hollywood. - Last night in Mid-City a suspected drunk driver crashed his SUV and was thrown from his car at Washington and Cochran. The SUV then caught fire. - Scoooooooore! U.S. Beats Mexico to Win Soccer's Gold Cup. - A water pipe broke today at LAX causing fire sprinklers to wash down hundreds of travelers at... more ›

- 3.0 quake in The Valley this afternoon - Major League Soccer: New England 3, Los Angeles 2. - Environmentally friendly and affordable bras and panties guides by GreenLAGirl. - 2 die at Mother's Day Flower Stand when car plows through. - Why do the La Brea Tar Pits bubble? - California man on FBI's Top Ten List arrested in Canada - 60 to 80 acres burned in Pacoima off Osborne Street. - American... more ›

We live in a beautiful part of the world, don't you think? Despite the fact that sometimes it feels like all we ever see are the taillights and inane vanity plates of the car we're stuck behind, if we take some time to check out all the flora and fauna that our soil produces, we might get that nice swift kick in the rear from Mother Nature we didn't even know we needed. On... more ›

Yesterday we asked. Today we answer. more ›

- LAVoice is looking for a new editor - LAVoice - Darin Erstad goes to the Chicago White Sox - LA Times - 2 bodes and 3 dead dogs found in Granada Hills house fire - CBS2 - Gehry building torn down - CurbedLA - Press Deputy for the Mayor, Matt Szabo, gets poked at - LAO - $75,000 for leading to the capture of the Ski-Mask Bandits, who have robbed more than 200... more ›

SoCal winter hikes have a benefit: hiking past 9 a.m. does not bring on heat stroke. And if you are doing a 5.1 mile, two and a half hour hike with a 1000 ft. elevation gain and loss, it cannot hurt to sleep in a little. Named after Darius Towsley, who discovered oil here in 1865 and later sold it to Chevron (then Pacific Coast Oil), this Santa Clarita Valley hiking spot is only... more ›

So, if you're on your way to find some Nature in LA this weekend, might we suggest downloading two tracks from Oliver Wang's Soul-Sides? He was in town this past weekend and came across The Devics and Feist (one of our favorite artists from 2005) while listening to Anne Litt's new show on KCRW - The A Track (which is also available daily at kcrwmusic.com). more ›