It seems the Valley isn't the place to be if you're a gang-affiliated criminal. One year ago, Mayor Villaraigosa held a press conference in North Hills at the LAPD's Mission Division, mapping out their plan for a crackdown on gangs. This past Thursday he returned, along with Police Chief William Bratton, to the same spot to announce that the plan had been successful. The Daily News reports on Mayor Tony's proud assertion, and 2007 statistics:......

US Figure Skating champion Christopher Bowman, 40, was found dead yesterday in a room at the Budget Inn in North Hills. The former child actor and successful figure skater in the late 80s and early 90s was also known for his powerful struggles with alcohol and drug use. His death is being investigated as a possible overdose. A fire that took place last night at San Jose Edison Academy, a West Covina charter school, is......

Just like yesterday, when we announced that while the federal government can rob medical marijuana dispensaries, citizens can't, we find that LAPD officers are not allowed to rob drug dealers. In a separate case from the widely known Rampart Division Scandal, a group of rogue officers held up at least 30 drug dealers in a two year period ending in 2001 according to CBS2 News. After the robberies, which included taking the drugs, money......

Today in major LA Fire Department events: an early morning structure fire in North Hills sending smoke into the flight path of Van Nuys Airport, a big rig with a trailer overturned on the Southbound Harbor freeway causing a Sig Alert, and a medical emergency in the Hilton Hotel at Universal City where staff mixed ammonia & bleach solutions creating hydrochloric acid (oops!). Is it the second Thursday of the month? Ah, it is!......

Don't forget to enter our Labor Day Weekend Contest with the prize to see AIR at the Greek Amphitheater later this month. Recent major events for the Los Angeles Fire Department include a fire last night in North Hills contained to a 12 x 12 foot room where a twenty-something male in serious condition with smoke inhalation and an air ambulance rescue for a two-year-old boy who fell from a pony, dragging him near......

This time, we're not talking about USC fan woes or UCLA fans who got shot with rubber bullets. We're talking shootings with real bullets: Eagle Rock On Friday, December 1, 2006, at approximately 8:40 p.m., officers responded to the 4800 block of Wiota Street in Eagle Rock. Officers found Randy Duane Rogers’ lifeless body lying on the driveway. Paramedics made several attempts to resuscitate him but he had already died from his injuries. According......

Orange County's Movieland Wax Museum is, eh, liquidating its inventory. Marilyn, Arnie, Michael J. Fox and the Little Rascals could all be yours at the March 11 auction. A lot of these figures were obviously made a while ago: Michael Jackson is brown. Stars start at $500; extras $100. You could almost get a live extra to stand around for that, although you'd have to buy him lunch. Spike Lee came to town to speak......

We all know that freeways are dangerous. Our highly unscientific estimate is that there are about 30 highway traffic incidents reported every hour, which includes everything from "there's a couch in the breakdown lane" to multiple-car crashes with serious injuries. If you're morbid, try the link, which is to the CHP realtime online report center. We know, we're kinda morbid. Lately, freeways have been particularly hazardous for people on foot. Last night, a pedestrian,......

The Los Angeles Times reported on 11/29/2004 that a carjacking occurred in North Hills on Sunday night. Police searched today for two men who carjacked a car in North Hills, leaving one man dead and two others hurt. The men on Sunday night approached a Toyota Camry that had pulled to the side of Sepulveda Boulevard, near Chase Street, because one of the occupants felt ill, Detective Gary Barthelmess said. LAist hopes it's not......