Outside the scene of Heath Ledger's death in NYC | Photo by Tien Mao, Gothamist.com Gothamist, parent site to LAist, is reporting the death of Heath Ledger. "Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in downtown Manhattan apartment by the police. Some reports say he died from an overdose." Ledger lived on Broome street. Ledger was a rising star and actor from Australia, known for his work in Brokeback Mountain, which earned him a best......

In media, saturation is key. This weekend in Los Angeles, there are two storms wrecking their havoc on our city; one of them involves buckets of rain, and the other involves Britney Spears. Both of them are causing different kinds of deluges. Rainfall totals aside, Britney's most recent series of very high profile breakdown-ing, meltdown-ing, custody losing, and hospital admitting actions has caused a media frenzy, which probably doesn't come as much surprise to most.......

Photo by Ryan Jesena in his Photo Essay of Burning Man 2007 2007 was a year of incredible growth for LAist. Us, the writers, you, the readers, found and discovered much of Los Angeles and we look forward to even more in 2008 with more hyperlocal coverage, more neighborhood explorations, more local news, more arts and events and more food (got suggestions? e-mail zach(@)laist.com). The most recommended story of the year was Malingering's CrossFit......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

Last night's Old Town Pasadena shooting that left an Arcadia man wounded is reportedly a result of a drug deal gone awry. Police today released the name of the accused shooter, who is 18-year-old Mark Cole of Claremont. It's awful hard to put a plain brown wrapper on the porn you check out online. A New Jersey-based company that runs several internet porn sites revealed they recentled suffered a security breach that made its users......

Torontoist discovered their city's most ridiculous holiday lights setup, with 80,000 lights and two––two!––synchronized music routines. Naturally, they snagged a video. Chicago tragically loses one of its most recognizable neighborhood icons, the pigeon man of Lincoln Square. LAPD leaves body in car at crash scene, then tows it. Massachusetts plus mullet equals PR mayhem. Londonist sleeps in a Haunted plague pit. UC Berkeley students strip naked and race through campus, NSFW floppiness ensues. Phillyist......

Yvonne Braithwaite-Burke doesn't trust you to pay your Metro fare; NPR reports on moves to make Metro's honor system history. Is the city of LA feeling the writers' strike in its wallet? Today reps from the WGA and SAG will talk with LA economist Jack Kyser and the City Council Housing, Community and Economic Development Committe about the economics of the strike. (The MPAA has been invited, but hasn't RSVP'd yet). A lil' shake......

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......

It looks like Bill's tight end Kevin Everett, who suffered a severe spinal injury, is going to be OK. We're all grateful, because anybody who saw the video knows how scary it was. Because he's OK, and ONLY because he's OK ... this local news blooper is hilarious.......

Ever wonder how your local news anchor could read the horrifying details of the latest terrorist attack, natural disaster or political scandal without breaking down and screaming their head off? Playwright, Kyle T. Wilson did, and penned a very funny play in the process, “Walking Into Traffic.” Directed by Chris Covics who was recently named one of the top ten artists to watch in Los Angeles by L.A. Stage Magazine, “Walking into Traffic” is......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

I generally despise the local newscasts. I’ll tolerate a traffic report in the morning if I have to drive to work, and I’ll tune into the weather forecast on Channel 7’s 11 pm news because I like to watch Dallas Raines’ crouching routine against the Doppler 7000+. (And he wears these superb suits – I swear, no one can pull off a double-breasted electric blue better.) But this week, in light of the Minnesota......

One reason that "mainstream media" should continue to fear blogs is because the best ones are truly independent. LAist is "owned" by a couple of people in New York who are busy running their own damn website. Plus, they believe that when you empower people and give them the freedom to grow, they will yield fruit faster and more beautiful than you ever expected. The people of the Interwebs have found a star in......

As much as we love Andy Sandburg and the current cast of Saturday Night Live, reruns just don't have the same ring. So where are you going to get your fill of late night costume changes, questionable acting, and belly laughs? WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event is back on the air, filling in for SNL tonight from 11:30pm to 1:00am on NBC (enough alphabet soup for you?). It's being billed as "one of the biggest,......

If you haven't seen some of your friends online today it might be because they're stuck at the Indio Greyhound station with dozens of fans trying to get home. KESQ is reporting that so many people tried to take buses home without first buying tickets that the scheduled buses became full, stranding many who have waited all day in the heat despite having tickets. "I've been been waiting to get to L.A. for like......

The tiny radio station in San Bernardino who prides itself on being "an important part of the Inland Empire by offering local news on the hour, seven days a week, produced by local veteran newscasters who live and work in the Inland Empire" are sure getting a lot of attention because of a syndicated talk show host in New York City. AP is reporting that KCAA will be in court with CBS on Tuesday......

In honor of SXSW, let today's 4:20 video serve as a warning about the dark side of rock and/or roll. There's shocking and dangerous new musical trend that's sweeping today's youth. The kids are calling it "emo"... but is emo too emotional for your teen????!!!!!! What you might think of as another harmless indie rock subculture with a penchant for maudlin lyrics and plaintive singing, is in actuality a dangerous new lifestyle complete with its......

"Well, there she is," he seems to grumble, clearly not talking about the baby, since the infant is a boy. Here are our three favorite male local news anchors in order: John Beard, Chuck Henry, Paul Moyer. So we hope he didn't just full-on refer to the glowing mother in a manner that seems to seethe in disapproval, disbelief, and disgust.......

A Word or 14: Supposedly the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert have the week off - how dare they?! I may have to resort to watching PBS, or, godhelpus, the local news. Today - Monday - February 19th, 2007 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) John Ford's '62 classic with James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Lee Van Cleef, John Carradine and practically everyone else who was alive at......

When we read New York Times' vacation on Ventura Blvd. last fall, we were happy the Valley got noticed with better geography skills than our local news outlets. And ever since La Di Da in West Hollywood closed (probably 'cause someone [see previous link] said its neighborhood was Miracle Mile), nothing in LA has been able to impress like Misti Chamkunthod's Brie mac and cheese (you can find Misti at The Backstage in Culver......

Daily News tells tales of earmarked federal funding to go to the wayside in the Valley due to Democrats going lean on the budget. Of course, it won't be just the Valley. Watch out basin/metropolitan LA. The California Report looks into the future of rest stops along California's highways. Coffee vendors, farmer's markets, solar power, wifi and more. (Download Audio Here) Closer to home, Art Center College of Design's downtown campus's roof is green.......

The AP and local news are reporting that MTV star Don Vito, the bigass lazy-eyed uncle of skater/tool Bam Margera, is being held in Colorado without bond for sexual assault on a child. Vincent "Don Vito" Margera, the cartoonishly rotund 50 year-old co-star of "Viva La Bam", was at the Lakewood Mall Friday afternoon for a skateboarding event when he allegedly inappropriately touched a minor. One can only hope that this is just another......

An LAist tipster shot this photo outside the Staples Center this afternoon. Sure, it looks like an LAPD convention, but in fact today was the Black College Expo. The event was supposed to feature seminars on financial aid, college prep and the like, with a step show competition and scholarship awards. But the rumor is that today's event also featured some kind of gang fight. Perhaps even a very large gang fight. So far......

The new head of LAMCA is a handsome young swashbuckler of the art world, according to his profile in the LA Times. The byline is from NY — we can't tell exactly when Michael Govan will be moving into the Hancock Park home that comes with his job. Riots broke out over the weekend in two California jails. Last night the system was in lockdown, county-wide. Remember that face transplant story? The frenchwoman with......

It's being touted as "the largest photographic art exhibition in the United States" and it's happening in Santa Monica at the end of this week. It's photo la 2006, where photography from the 19th Century to current contemporary photos and photo-based art will be showcased, and in some instances, be available for purchase. This is the 15th year of this large-scaled event, and 2006 brings representative works from over 70 of the world's premiere......

We're as stunned as Laura Chick at the news that the LA DWP -- the tidy acronym for "Department of Water and Power" -- was buying bottled water for its offices, even as it spent a half-million dollars to promote how safe and delicious its tap water is to drink. We love it when the LA Times does local news like this. Just how much water does $31,160 buy over two years? Records show......

There have long been rumors about a possible Los Angeles/Southern California all-news TV channel. 24/7 local television news makes sense -- from both a regional and business perspective. Not just for the biggest metropolitan areas; Seattle/Portland has one, Boston too. Over the weekend the NY Times did a nice piece on the success of Time Warner-owned NY1 (citing our big brother Gothamist's fandom). And the Gray Lady isn't the only one to see the......

While the San Fernando Valley -isters watch the creation of nature-made pools in our backyards and ponder whether or not this is, truly, weather bad enough to prevent bbq-ing, our westside -ist counterparts inform us that the power was out this morning, at least in Brentwood. The "liquid sun", as one person remarked on the local news this morning, doused the Rose Parade as well forcing, horror of horrors, the Rose Parade queen to......

Maybe we're just not looking in the right locations but we can't find any media coverage of an entire South LA apartment building going up in flames Saturday night. LAFD's blog reports that 14 companies of firefighters were on the scene and put down the fire in about 30 minutes but just taking a look at the incredible pictures and you can see that the whole structure was gutted and, we presume, several families......

Yesterday, like most of you, we wanted to stay abreast of the latest developments with the local fires. However, by noon, the major LA television networks were simply showing a loop of the same video. They labeled it as breaking news, but they had no new information, footage or insight. This led us to ask how much coverage is too much? Likewise, when are local news stations milking a disaster for ratings? Is it......