Just when you'd settled your troubled mind following the news of Walmart's impending Chinatown grocer, the corporate behemoth announced today that it will open another grocery store in Panorama City by the end of 2012. more ›

Los Angeles, we apologize in advance, but may we present to you possibly the most disgusting local abode. After a few fits of dry heaves and some mild therapy, we have mustered up the strength to post photos of this putrid pad, located in The Valley, for sure. more ›

The LAPD is continuing to send the message to drivers across the city that drinking and driving has serious consequences. As part of their ongoing effort to educate the public, tere will be at least one DUI checkpoint tonight, located in the San Fernando Valley in Panorama City on Van Nuys Boulevard between Osborne Street and Nordhoff Street, and it will run from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. more ›

It always starts with a suspicious smell: A 57-year-old Panorama City man was served with an animal hoarding search warrant by the Los Angeles City Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACTF) after a neighbor came forward to authorities about a troubling odor, and seeing cats enter--but not leave--the premises. more ›

Following the last wave of crime alerts, and set against a low, 1967-era murder rate for Los Angeles, the Crime L.A. database has posted alerts for six neighborhoods based on data from Dec. 22-Dec. 28, the most recent seven-day-span of available information. more ›

Through last week, there have been close to 18,000 reported car break ins within Los Angeles city limits, making it the city's most often-committed property crime. For someone involved in their community, this is not news. Officers at community meetings often sound like a broken record, telling residents to not leave stuff in the parked car, or, at the very least, not visible. more ›

Though the grand jury indicted District 7 Councilman Richard Alarcon yesterday on 18 felony counts stemming from allegations he does not reside at his given address within his district, Alarcon continues to assert his innocence. more ›

L.A. City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, who has been accused of not living in the area for which he was elected as representative, has been indicted by an L.A. County grand jury on 18 felony charges, according to the Press-Telegram. more ›

17-year-old Darlene Robles of North Hollywood was dropped off at Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City early last Tuesday morning, where she later died. The teen had been shot, and left in the hospital waiting area in a wheelchair by at least two people, while the driver of a private vehicle that carried them to the facility drove off. more ›

Three people have been arrested for posing as undercover police officers in order to rob homes and police believe there are more victims out there. Late last month, three suspects posing as LAPD undercover narcotics officers knocked on an apartment door in the 400 block of N. Normandie Avenue. more ›

A man reportedly "firing shots into the air and threatening his family during a holiday party" was shot and killed by LAPD Officers early this morning. Around 12:30 a.m., officers arrived at the party, evacuated the attendees and searched the Panorama City residence for the suspect. It was two hours before they found a man in a garage crawl space. "The man was armed, and three officers opened fire, according to preliminary reports" reported the LA Times. "Police did not say whether the man also shot his weapon, pending an LAPD investigation of the officer-involved shooting." (For clarification: homicide is a human killing a human and does not indicate a criminal murder). more ›

He already served a month of jail time when he was convicted last Spring, but today, sleazy wannabe slumlord Darren Stern, who also goes by Henry Shalom, was ordered to pay millions back to rent-control tenants that he mistreated in order to get them to move out so he could raise rents, eventually selling the buildings at "inflated" prices, according to CBS2. more ›

Just because the federal government can legally rob a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles, it doesn't mean you can too. On Friday, in two separate incidents in the Valley, a dispensary on Cahuenga Boulevard in North Hollywood and Golden State Collective, 10369 Balboa Blvd., in Granada Hills, both got robbed in takeovers. On Sunday, the Granada Hills robbers were caught, according to the Daily News:

During the heist, one shot was fired, ricocheting off the floor and breaking a window. No one was injured. more ›

You know you're in the Valley when real estate options are that old porn studio over there or the former sex toy manufacturing plant over there. Well, the LAPD went for the latter in a $37 million project to build a new station in Canoga Park on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga. The station is tentatively called Northwest Area Division. The reason for this new station in the West Valley is getting officers... more ›

Photo by S:U:P:E:R:M:O:D via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
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Photo by sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
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The Ceremony of Worshiping the Messenger Monk's Ship continues tonight at the Wat Mon Buddhist Temple in Panorama City. The Wat Mon Temple is unique from other Buddhist temples in LA County in that it prescribes Tipitaka (Pali canon) teachings. These scriptures are believed to be the oldest set of teachings of Buddha recorded. more ›

The MTA will be testing a new 65-foot-long prototype bus - which can hold up to 131 sitting and standing passengers - on the Orange Line busway for one year starting this week. Nicely done: L.A. City Councilman Richard Alarcon drafted a measure 2 months ago that would've drastically reduced traffic congestion on one block of one street in Panorama City - namely the one where his house is located. Who's down with Gov.... more ›

"We live in the Valley ourselves,” Panorama City based ADJ Finishing president Alexander Orantes said today after being cleared 16 counts of illegally dumping pollutants into city sewers. Apparently, it's not the first time for USC student Holly Ashcraft to dump her baby in a trash bin. A man in his 30's was shot outside Belmont High this afternoon. He stood his ground and fought for his strip club in La Habra. Then the... more ›

Photo by toastycakes via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

A group of homeowners are trying to change their part of Reseda to be officially recognized as Reseda Ranch. Sean Bonner of Blogging.la spots Los Angeles Dodger bling on the streets of Tokyo. The results should be in by tomorrow for today's vote by grocery workers on the proposed labor contract. It is expected to pass. A woman in Ventura was killed in a hit and run while riding her bike when a truck... more ›

It looks like neighborhood councils are back in style with two new hires for General Manager and Assistant General Manager at the city's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). Their first "whirlwind" week on the job has come on the heels of two new neighborhood councils: Panorama City and Rampart (making a total of 89 councils in LA). In their first letters to the public and neighborhood council members, General Manager Carol Baker Tharp shares... more ›

- Last week Santa Monica extended its tyrannical smoking ban to now include restaurant patios, bus stops, ATMs and movie theater lines(!); now Burbank wants to further restrict freedoms. Why not grow a pair and just ban the sales of smokes? Oh thats right, you like the taxes you collect on them. - LA Daily News - CBS wants you to know that Terry Lee Shields, 350 lb., accused child molester, of Anaheim, 51... more ›

Who knew you could find out so much information just by typing in the date into your browser window? April10.org has the details on all the local events today for the National Day of Action For Immigrant Justice. It's an evening affair so whether you are participating, objecting or avoiding, adjust your schedules accordingly: more ›

If you're rich enough to hire a private jet and crazy enough to be flying home to be charged with child molestation, be careful of what you say on the plane. Santa Monica-based XtraJet decided sure, it would fly Michael Jackson to Santa Barbara in 2003 — and it would secretly line the plane with hidden camcorders and tape the one-time King of Pop talking with his attorney. The company, and the co-conspirator who installed the devices, hoped to make a bundle. But instead of buying the tapes, Fox News turned them over to authorities. In a plea agreement, the tapers pled guilty yesterday. more ›

If LAist was still in high school, we'd probably be faking sick, playing hooky or attempting to convince our parents to reconsider their aversion to home schooling this week. It is not a good week to be a teen in Los Angeles. In our best local newscaster hyperbole: No Place is Safe! We know that Jefferson High School and Santa Monica High School had huge brawls last week (Jefferson fighting continued on Monday) but we didn't know the streets weren't safe either. On Monday, Two Panorama City teens were shot on Terra Bella Street. One of them died. more ›