Santee Village Apartments | Photo by atomicshakespeares via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's not the same thrill as being singled out as a draft pick when it's the police who want you: "An arrest warrant has been issued by the Irvine Police Department for St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Scott Spiezio on six charges stemming from a Dec. 30 incident." Police in Burbank are investigating the mysterious death of 47-year-old Glen Giles,......

On Monday the NY Times reported that ABC and Cox Communications are collaborating on a video-on-demand service with disabled fast-forward, meaning, yeah, that you can't skip the commercials. This isn't that new an idea as Time Warner Cable has been doing the equivalent with two features called "Start Over" and "Look Back" (after using them IMHO they stink). This is another example of old media protectionist attitudes that think the strategy is to avoid being......

Photo by susan catherine via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A meeting last night in Oxnard brought out hundreds of parents angered over the recent shooting death of 15-year-old Lawrence King at the hands of a fellow teenager. They called for more vigilant security on campus and for more help for students who suffer from bullying. A multi-vehicle accident earlier this afternoon had two lanes of the 405 in Westwood shut down.......

Photo by puck90 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr An update to this week's tragic Oxnard junior high school shooting: The 15-year-old victim was taken off life support after his organs were donated today. 49-year-old transient Steven Emory Butcher was found guilty of starting one of the largest wildfires in state history. The Day Fire began on Labor Day in 2006, burned over 162,000 acres and took a month to put out.......

Photo by Steve Rhodes via Flickr A swipe from back east today shows that the NY Times couldn't help but point out the frequency the LA Times names a new head honcho; a headline in today's paper reads: "New Top Editor for Los Angeles Times, the 4th in 3 Years." Ouch! (Hey, we noticed our own local Daily News getting snarky in their headline last night!) The announcement that Russ Stanton, who has been......

As we reported earlier, the two-month Writers Guild of America strike is nearly over. WGA-East members voted heard about the proposal earlier and West members weighed in at 7 p.m. Some are already questioning the deal, but most expressed relief that the work stoppage is about to come to an end. Stay tuned to LAist for excellent coverage. A man was shot this morning in North Hollywood by an alleged gang member who approached......

Not sure how to cap off your Super Tuesday voting experience? Why not grab a drink with LAist! We'll be at the Seven Grand in Downtown from 7-9 p.m., and your first drink is free if you're sporting the hottest accessory in town tomorrow: Your "I Voted" sticker! 21+ only, please. The body of a 32-year-old woman who fell off a cliff late Saturday morning near Chantry Flats on Mount Wilson has been recovered. Recovery......

"Blues and Pinks at the Peninsula" by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "A very, very good night for Barack Obama just got better," the LA Times said after it reported that the winner of the South Carolina Primary was on the receiving end of two Kennedy endorsements; Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama this morning in the NY Times and Sen. Ted Kennedy issued his endorsement later in the day. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton......

A different kind of web-server: Los Angeles based social networking site MySpace is getting served with subpoenas in the case of the teenager who committed suicide following a friend fake-out that was allegedly helmed by a classmate's parent. All I wanna do is BANG BANG BANG BANG! and take your...Fritos? Two Lancaster gang members have been convicted for killing a kid over his junk food. Laquane Keith and Reno Williams shot and killed 18-year-old LeMarcus......

David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, and the WGA have reached an interim agreement that will allow the host to return to the air next Wednesday WITH writers. Letterman, who has been an outspoken supporter of the writers since the strike began, made it clear that he wanted to return to the air, but stressed that it was important to him to work out a deal with the WGA, so that he could return......

Ever try to get in the left-hand lane hoping you'll get that green arrow, but only end up waiting thru one series of lights after another? Imagine you drive a truck for UPS and you find yourself in that situation day after day, year after year. Then multiply those trucks by the tens of thousands. Think about how much gas is being wasted and how much CO2 is being released due to idling. The......

We've (finally) had enough of Thai Food: this month, we are checking out all sorts of late-night dining options, from the Valley to Hollywood to Culver City to Venice: Mao's Kitchen, Nak Won House, El Gran Burrito, Little Toni's, Gaby's Mediterranean, Nova Express Cafe, Greco's New York Pizzeria, Cinco de Mayo. Psst! Hey, hey, Mr. Gold? Ix-nay on the owards-hay. Nobody's supposed to know about it. You hearing me? Capisce? Otherwise, feel free to......

Top Chef hasn’t suffered from sophomore – okay, junior – slump at all. Bravo’s reality show is turning out to be one of the most consistently entertaining programs on television, thanks to one simple rule that’s all too often overlooked in the reality game: talented people make good television. Unfortunately, not everybody agrees: Regina Schrambling over at the LA Times recently decried the “tentacles” of advertising that have a firm grip on the show’s......

Cheap wine doesn't have to mean a case of Charles Shaw: NY Times readers are discussing their favorite bottles under $10 over at their Food section message boards -- what are yours? The LAist staff thanks you for continuing on with us on our Thai Town journey: check out Thai Patio, Yai #1 and #2, Red Corner Asia, Kruang Tedd, Thai Original BBQ, and (phew!) Hollywood Thai. If we never see another plate of......

Did you read the now-notorious article in the LA Times about food writing, anonymity, and the role of bloggers? LA Foodblogging has an excellent response here, and Variety's food blog shares two simple rules for online reviews. What’s on the menu for the Jewish holidays? The LAT suggests braised veal, leek fritters, and cilantro-tomato soup, while the NY Times is answering questions about Rosh Hashana meals via its food message boards. When the LA......

Bill Maher returned to HBO last night with his hilarious political talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher". His guests were actor Tim Robbins (who had a pretty good take on "experts"), NPR's Michel Martin who did get a tad ghetto on the host, and Stephen Hayes, a dude who wrote a pro-Dick Cheney book. Maher had an interesting interview with a NY Times reporter who is in Iraq, and he talked with GOP......

Oh Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan Gold! Where will you eat this week? Why, Hacienda Heights, my dear foodies: at Earthen, a wildly popular new Chinese deli in - what else - a strip mall. I'll take an order of potstickers, please. Top Chef Recap: Lordy, lordy, what an upset! The underdog quartet of Howie, Hung, Sara, and Dale captured the win in Restaurant Wars, cleaning up their menu and sporting a new name: Quatre. Tre......

-- U.S. agricultural exports to China have increased to nearly $6.7 billion this year thanks to a sudden rise in demand for California produce, especially fruit and nuts. -- The NY Times also points us to 101 simple summer meals that can be readied in ten minutes or less. Anybody else have quick recipes to share? -- And speaking of U.S. Agriculture: the House Ag Committee has put together its Farm Bill, set to......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

In a move only baffling if you thought that President Bush and his administration had hit rock bottom, today the President gave Scooter Libby a get out of jail free card on his convictions of obstruction of justice and perjury. But it's deeper than all of that. Scooter Libby was convicted on a National Security charge prosecuted by a Republican prosecutor and sentenced by a Republican judge. Libby was helping to cover up the......

Apparently the iPhone that Apple sent to LAist to review got lost in the mail, but the NY Times got theirs and did a pretty cheesy video that shows off the good and bad parts about the coolest new phone since... well... ever. Actually LAist wasn't supposed to get a free phone, but we can dream can't we? Anyways - yes it's sad and weird that Apple has set it up so that you......

A Word or 68: At long last, The Sopranos takes its long walk off a short pier, "leave the gun, bring the cannoli" a famous gangster once said. The somewhat heavily promoted (color double spread NY Times) John From Cincinatti follows. Nicole Richie continues to make her last ditch appeals for favorable public opinion before she appears before a judge in the next month or so - watch the rich girl squirm. Tonight -......

I could write a movie review of Knocked Up -- and maybe I still will -- but it will just be a long list of hilarious moments (there's the part where he does this one thing... and then she says this other thing...) in a movie overflowing with hilarity. Trust me on this: you will walk out of the movie floating on fluffly pink cloud of funny-ness, and I don't want to spoil a second......

Memorial Day Weekend 2007 wasn't just all about Lindsay's crash and arrest, there were other celeb items in the news..... One of, if not the most beautiful baby in the world, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt turned one this weekend in Prague alongside the rest of the Jolie-Pitt litter - Celebitchy Looks like its the official end of the unlikely match of John Mayer and Jessica Simpson as these photos from Cabo reveal - Flynetonline Nicole Ritchie looking......

- Bring popcorn: The MacArthur Park Task Force's first meeting is Monday at 6pm at Charles White Elementary School, 2401 Wilshire Blvd. - NBC4 - Was the Griffith Park Fire a pro-development conspiracy? - blogging.la - George Michael to star in an upcoming sitcom called "Ellie Stone" - Entertainment Wise - UCLA has done the right thing with 5,700 old pictures of Los Angeles - they're letting everyone use them - LA Observed -......

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam died yesterday in a car crash in Menlo Park, CA. He was 73. Halberstam’s work as a journalist ranges wide and delves deep. He covered the Korean War, the Vietnam War and civil rights but he was also fascinated with the humanity and spectacle of sports. He did not simply document the history he lived through – he explained complex societal constructs and cultural shifts in a way that anyone......

An article in the NY Times advises renters are better off paying that monthly check to the landlord than actually buying property. In “A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent” writer David Leonhardt takes data from every metropolitan area (including LA) to forecast the benefits of buying vs. renting. Leonhardt writes: “Over the next five years, which is about the average amount of time recent buyers have remained in their homes, prices......

This dog delivers beer! Click here to find out how. Photo by C-Monster. Larry Birkhead to World: I told you so! Sleazy paparazzo beats off human parasite, fake prince, former bodyguard and clump of seaweed to prove he's Anna-Nicole's baby-daddy. -TMZ Howard Stern cozies up to Birkhead, says Papa Larry can spend as much time as he wants with little Mealticketlynn. World's #1 Mom Virgie Arthur expected to sue for custory. -TMZ MSNBC punishes......

Tucker Max spoke yesterday here at SXSW on a panel called "Turning Your Blog Into A Book" where he explained the success of his website and how it landed him, first a book deal with a $7,500 advance, and once his book "I Hope They Sell Beer In Hell" spent a fortnight on the NY Times Best Seller's List, a new book deal worth $300k. So not only were we all ears, but we......

A Word or 51: PBS and NPR have been hyping up the new set of Frontline programs that expose media manipulation. Knee-jerk conservative pundits will have a chance to spew their own conspiracy theories since this week we have the Anti-Surge Resolution in Congress, and the Libby trial - topics both relevant to the program. Tonight - Tuesday - February 13th, 2007 American Idol (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Done with auditions, the show heads to......