A search party is headed to the Calabasas Landfill in Agoura Hills this morning, on a mission to retrieve the weapon used to kill Winnetka teen Francisco "Pancho" Rodriguez. The 17-year-old El Camino Real High School student and soccer player was gunned down outside his home on January 11. more ›

Thanks to detailed sustainability planning and multiple trash-sorting stations at last weekend's Silver Lake Jubilee, the event successfully diverted 90 percent of trash produced at the event from landfills. According to Sustain LA, of the trash generated by dozens of vendors and more than 10,000 attendees, 3,600 pounds of waste was diverted to compost & recycling (over 2,000 pounds to compost alone) leaving 400 pounds of trash to landfill. more ›

It's the most wonderful time of the year again -- Liquid Kitty's Winter Punk Rock BBQ! The lineup is raging this time around, with Third Grade Teacher making an extremely rare appearance. Sabrina will once again be speaking in tongues, freaking out the audience and rocking your face off. Also in an ultra-rare appearance, Santa Sabbath (with LAist's own Bobzilla on vocals) will be -- yep, you guessed it -- singing Black Sabbath-inspired Christmas carols (as Kitty honcho Dave Childs puts it, "Punk is perverse so, Christmas in February is exactly right."). You've got a little yuletide spirit left around somewhere; try looking under the couch. more ›

Today marks the end of a nearly 20-year battle over creating a landfill, purportedly the largest in the world, next door to Joshua Tree National Park. The Department of the Interior today announced they will not appeal a 9th Circuit Court decision to ban a public lands be exchange with a company that wanted to create the Eagle Mountain landfill, which would be filled by 20,000 tons of trash from L.A. County via train six days a week for 117 years. “Secretary [Ken] Salazar made the right decision to protect our national treasure--Joshua Tree National Park-- from a literal mountain of trash,” said Mike Cipra of the National Park Conservation Association. “Los Angeles’ future garbage disposal needs can be offset with existing landfills and increased recycling.” more ›

In a major victory for environmentalists, the 9th District Court of Appeals today sided with the National Parks Conservation Association in a fight against a landfill, which would be surrounded by Joshua Tree National Park on three sides, meant for garbage from L.A. County brought in by train. more ›