Shortly before 8:00 a.m. this morning, a car traveling in the Laurel Canyon area south of Mulholland Drive came off the road and landed upside down killing one person and injuring four. It started around the 8900 block of Crescent Drive, but the car landed near Duncamp Place. Two patients were listed in critical condition and one young male was said to be not seriously hurt. Initial reports from the Los Angeles Fire Department said......

Stuck in traffic down Laurel Canyon Blvd. this weekend on the metropolitan side of the hill, we took note of this stencil, below. We can't identify the artist, can you? It looks like Bansky, but sources say no. Blek le Rat was in town, but that's not his. Herakut just opened their show this weekend, but Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art owner Seth Carmichael says it was not them and that he noticed this piece......

Sara Melson has been in LA for some time now after graduating from Harvard with a degree in English (she's shy about this fact). First it was acting, now it is music. She loves living in classic Los Angeles area neighborhoods, especially those with history, roots and the word "canyon" in it. Currently living in Beachwood Canyon, which she describes as a "true oasis," her past homes have been Topanga Canyon and Laurel Canyon, both......

Alex & Sam will play the first show of their residency at Tangier tonight | Photo via their MySpace You might recognize the girl above. Locally, that's Sam from the band Alex & Sam who is playing at Tangier all this month every Sunday night, but for those who are more pop-culture oriented (rather, American Idol obsessed), that's Samantha Sidley who got a pass from all three judges for a "Welcome to Hollywood" (she's......

Get your green drink on tonight. WORDS Author and USC professor Gina Nahai and actress Bahar Soomekh (Crash) read from Nahai’s latest book Caspian Rain – about a family falling apart just before the Islamic revolution in Iran. Immediately following, there’s a discussion of the changing lives of women of the Middle East, and relationships between Iran’s Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as how these communities interact in Los Angeles, “home to the largest......

So many events, so little time. Concete Frequency's latest installment is tonight and there's always Disney on Ice (skaters, not Walt), but here's a sampling of the other good stuff to be done in LA tonight. PHOTOGRAPHY Photo LA started today and runs through the weekend. It's the largest show dedicated to the art of the camera. More than 74 galleries will showcase thousands of photographs. There are numerous seminars on collecting and an Artist......

You Me and Iowa Things are starting to get back to normal here, after the holidays -- it's a great night in music for Los Angeles. For one, two major arts institutions are hosting some excellent concerts tonight. At the Natural History Museum's popular music and discussion series, First Fridays, Dr. Antonio Damasio, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of Brain and Creativity Institute, USC) will cover how the brain processes memory, language, emotions and decisions. And......

A balcony collapsed last night around 9 p.m. in San Pedro, leaving the eight adults who fell about 8-10 feet in the accident with mild to moderate injuries.No injuries are reported in a small fire that tore through several garages and an apartment building this moring in the Hollywood Hills, according to ABC7. The fire took place at 8054 Fareholm Drive in the Laurel Canyon area, and the cause is as yet unknown. The price......

Last night, 20 year old Ricardo Hernandez was killed by gunfire in a gang-related shooting in Pacoima. The incident took place in the 11800 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. The Daily News is reporting the arrest of 30 year old Pablo Serrano who is "veteran documented gang member possibly trying to make a name for himself." The incident and subsequent arrest occured when during a routing air patrol the police "began following a speeding car......

In no particular order... 1. Secret Shows at the Viper Room 2. La Taquiza on Figueroa 3. Saturdays with the USC Trojans 4. The Henry Fonda Theatre 5. A short hop over Laurel Canyon to see my family 6. Friday Nights at the Rainbow Room 7. Using Venice Blvd. to get from work to play 8. The newly built lane at the 405/101 interchange 9. Amoeba Music 10. Some of the most eclectic, intelligent,......

I love standing at the front of the Orange Line bus looking out the front window, my eyes being massaged by the passing by landscaped medians, surrounded by Valley apartments and industrial buildings on the outside. Take a ride, here, from the NoHo Arts District station to Laurel Canyon Blvd. Video by Zach Behrens/LAist......

View Larger Map Ventura Blvd. is well served by three bus lines, the 750, 150 and 240. During the day on a weekday, you can pretty much walk to a stop and find a bus coming. To the north of the Valley's famous boulevard is the Orange Line, which during the same times of day seems to run every few seconds (it's only at 12 a.m. am I waiting longer than 10 minutes). Sandwiched between......

Earlier this week, as I was riding my bike down Van Nuys Blvd. towards Ventura, I kept on hearing all these honking horns -- I thought someone must be holding up traffic and pissing people off. As it turned it out, it was a group of twenty or so 40-somethings from MoveOn.org protesting the War in Iraq, with a few signs telling people to honk their horns if they oppose the war too. Another......

LAist reader Drew wrote in with some news in his part of town, and he was nice enough to attach some photos. Wow, thanks, Drew! Hey Tony! Apparently an elderly driver was leaving the UPS store in the little shopping corner on Riverside and Laurel Canyon (where Starbucks and Subway are), backed into THREE cars and then tried to flee the scene only to hit another car pulling into the parking lot and ended......

Studio City may actually be what out-of-state folks are talking about when they imagine L.A. (I personally had always wondered...) Wide boulevards lined with palm trees and shops, neighborhoods yielding houses used on TV sitcoms, plaques on the sidewalk commemorating John Wayne films, and filming going on around nearly every corner; as Vankman said to Vigo, it's "the sweet life out in Southern California's beautiful San Fernando valley". For Los Angelenos, it's either a......

Now why would you want to spend your hard-earned dough this weekend on a flick about Chuck and Larry when you can see live, local theater? Here are LAist's five picks for this weekend... Do Do Love Diana lives alone on disability baking cupcakes in her Burbank studio. Her landlord wants to get her out of the apartment and so sends a hottie of a handyman to disrupt her life and up her rent.......

Generously coated with crunchy quirks and utterly bursting from its chewy 60s center, Philadelphia’s lo-fi recording traditionalists, Dr. Dog headlined a packed show at the Echo last week in support of their latest record, We All Belong (Park The Van). The attending cross-section of fandom was something like suburban Silverlake meets overgrown, asymmetrical haircuts meets the Laurel Canyon revivalists. And this makes sense if you believe that Dr. Dog is what happens when The Beach......

Four men in their 20's were arrested Saturday in connection with a series of robberies that went down Friday night in North Hollywood. Despite only two of the men having the same last names, police are saying that they are all brothers in crime. Jose Alberto Garcia, a 25-year-old construction worker from Reseda, and Jose Cruz Ibarra, 22, from Reseda were arrested in the 7300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood. Juan......

- So many horror movies, so little time. Or is it that the 42 horror films this year are not as killer as the past has shown. - Whole Foods anticipated buyout of Wild Oats is not going come and go without a fight. While the two largest organic supermarkets talk, the USDA is considering relaxing some organic food standards. - Grocery Strike Watch: "We've been negotiating for six months," said Rick Icaza, president of......

I am a city kid. I spent most of my childhood riding the subway, slipping into movie theaters unnoticed, and scoping out the best pizza parlors. That was my idea of a great Saturday. It came to my surprise when I was taken to Runyon Canyon Park one Saturday by my parents (both out-of-town transplants, as well) for "hiking." Where I'm from, if you want nature, you go to the park in the middle......

So Bachelor #3 and I couldn’t get it together to make plans - first he had to change the time, then I had to change the day, so we agreed to go out next week instead. That was fine with me because Bachelor #2, the one who had that whole peeing situation at the end of our last date, has been calling me trying to make plans for this weekend. Despite his issue at the......

From our tipster email box we get this from Drew: Here are some pictures of the accident involving an elderly driver plowing through the Gelson's outdoor sitting area on Riverside and Laurel Canyon. i spoke with an officer on the scene and said to the best of his knowledge there were some injured, one man pinned underneath the car but no deaths that he knew of, thankfully! Evidently an elderly driver got flustered and......

- 13,000 Edison and 63,000 DWP customers have no power. You're not alone. - Calling 3-1-1 is pretty much useless with a surge of calls. We've been on hold for over a half hour. If you have a true fire emergency and 9-1-1 is also a hold, call the Operations Command Dispatch at 1-800-688-8000 (this is the 9-1-1 fire). However DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN EMERGENCY. - It......

How do you get over the hill expeditiously? Last night we walked our talk, as we often do, and headed over to Firecracker in Chinatown after a few early drinks at The Sapphire on Ventura Blvd. When the time came to drive over the hill, two routes to Chinatown were obvious: 101 all the way or take 4 different freeways. Not only is it fun to say, but the 101 to the 134 to......

It truly felt like an LA moment. A police ceremony for the 10-year anniversary for the North Hollywood Shootout is taking place in the parking lot across from the Bank of America. The Mayor, the Chief of Police and other prominent figures are honoring the men and women of the LAPD who risked their lives in the extremely long shootout. Then, out of nowhere, we hear these sirens coming near. And what other than......

On February 28, 1997, two gunmen took 48 Bank of America customers and employees hostage before engaging in an intense gunfight with the LAPD. The 44-minute confrontation resulted in the wounding of twelve police officers and two civilians, as well as the death of the two perpetrators. Today at 4:00 p.m., Mayor Villaraigosa, law enforcement personnel, and elected leaders will gather to honor the bravery and sacrifice of those wounded during the shootout, and......

- Hi New LAist Readers: Skid Row gets an Internet Cafe - UPI - Best LA Daily News Headline of the Week: "Moms + kids + wine = big-time buzz" - Daily News - Those Aqua Teen Hunger Force "bombs" were headed to LA - LA Times - Mello and Brand jockeying for Yao's All Star spot - AP - Rush Limbaugh nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - PR Newswire - Wisconsin Police......

As a commenter mentioned yesterday on our mysterious signs post, her favorite sign is the one at Moorpark and Laurel Canyon rooting Joey Lawrence on in Dancing With The Stars. Well, here it is. In a picture at least. Unfortunately, the sign has since been taken down. We hear Mr. Piken is a weird dude and eats a lot of cheese, but as anyone who knows this part of town, he sure does sell......

Tom Waits turned 57 today. LA's own gravel-voiced minstrel got his start at the Troubador in 1970 and gained commercial success primarily through other artists covering his tunes, for example, the Eagles (the Eagles!!!) covering "Ol' 55" on their On the Border album. Later his songs were covered by the likes of Bruce Springsteen ("Jersey Girl"), Rod Stewart ("Downtown Train"), and even the Ramones ("I Don't Wanna Grow Up"). This is an artist who......

Hiking Wilacre Park is more like hiking three parks in one without realizing it. Wilacre, Coldwater Canyon and Fryman Canyon parks all sort of merge into each other without any sort of warning of boundary lines. Take the Cross Mountain Park trail system a little further and you'll hit Franklin Canyon Park. There is something simple about going to Wilacre: if you want to get outdoors and "away from things," Wilacre couldn't be easier......