The Ventura County Fire Department has said a camper reported seeing hundreds of gallons of oil seeping onto the beach around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, reports KTLA. Authorities believe the spill is coming from a nearby oil field and were working to identify the exact source. more ›

BP successfully stopped the gushing oil well from gushing just now, choking off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April. About goddamn time, people. This is all part of an on-going test of the new "capping stack" that was put in place over the last few days, and which has been slowing the flow of oil one valve at a time, so as to avoid causing another leak busting out elsewhere. more ›

Half a dozen Los Angeles music venues are hosting benefit concerts tonight as part of the global Gulf Coast Benefit Concerts. Proceeds from all participating venues will be donated to The Gulf Restoration Network, a nonprofit committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations. more ›

The damage done by the Gulf oil spill is horrendous, claiming the unfortunate top spot as the worst environmental disaster in American history. Although land spills have very different effects on the surrounding area, ChartBin, via California Watch, reminds us that the largest recorded oil spill actually took place in California in Kern County, L.A. County's northern neighbor. In March of 1909, a well head that blew out, begetting the Lakeview Gusher, and spewed 1,227,600 tonnes of oil over 18 months (yes, it took that long to stop). To compare, the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969 released 14,000 tonnes into the ocean. Today, numerous agencies regulate oil drilling in California. Also: If the BP Oil Spill was Centered in L.A., It Would Look Like This. more ›

If you don't know the geography of the Gulf of Mexico, the scope of the BP oil spill might be lost. Now, thanks a software developer from Michigan, you can simply plug in your city and see how big the spill would be in your city was the Deepwater Horizon rig. more ›

Volunteers from a San Pedro bird rescue facility are working in the Gulf Coast region to help "save as many birds as possible after the British Petroleum oil-rig disaster," according to abc7. more ›

As executives from the three companies responsible for the oil-spewing rig in the Gulf of Mexico testified before congress yesterday -- essentially, they all blamed each other for the mess -- a group of protestors took to BP's fancy, curvaceous and company-touted "green" Arco gas station at Olympic and Robertson. more ›

The Southbound 110 at Sepulveda Boulevard in Carson was shut down last night due to an oil spill that created a "slippery mess" on the lanes. After the CHP shut down the lanes, clean up crews cleaned up the mess, and the 110 reopened early this morning. It is unclear what caused the oil spill. more ›

We heart our sister -Ists: today, SFist Editor Bock Keeling was profiled in the SF Weekly. We find out that Gus Van Sant hates SFist and a funny picture of a woman modeling in front of an oil spill crew is now being featured on the site. Pro football player Sean Taylor has died from injuries sustained in a mysterious and tragic shooting incident; he was 24 years old. Police are still searching for... more ›

LAist continues to cover the Hollywood Writers Strike with visiting guest "strikers" such as KT Tunstall and Presidential candidate John Edwards. To celebrate Veteran's Day, they visited a Civil War reenactment and to celebrate Geography Week, they asked all the Los Angeles City Councilmembers about the districts they represent finding that LA's 180+ official neighborhoods are not easy to define. And to help better understand neighborhoods, the latest Neighborhood Project focused on Franklin Village, where the hipster culture and Scientology meet. In Beverly Hills, one writer takes us on a photo tour of a house that looks like it's straight from Alice in Wonderland. And what's Los Angeles without a University of California sociology of sexuality class being taught by pornstars? more ›

Following a flap from an LA Times article that found 60,000 LAUSD students attend school within 500 feet of a freeway, the school district is looking into ways it can reduce the health hazards for kids close to pollution-filled freeways. Maybe the school district can use the $53 million in funds they're trying to recoup to build domes over playgrounds. Thousands of birds and an immeasurable amount of fish have died as a result... more ›

" "Just because you've rolled horse manure in powdered sugar doesn't mean you have a doughnut": people aren't very happy with the Farm Bill, and yet the Senate still seems set on passing a totally inadequate "reformed" bill that continues to subsidize Big Agriculture at the expense of our nation's health. City officials are "identifying" Muslim communities across the city -- but it's not profiling, it's "community engagement"!! Those kooky kids at City Hall!... more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities. more ›