It's rare that items swiped from your parked car ever get returned, but for one lucky family, they are getting their most valued item back. The ashes of their grandmother were stolen October 24 by thieves who broke into their vehicle at the Westfield Promenade Mall and made off with their luggage, packed to escort grandma's remains back east. more ›

What would you do if greeted by a 6-foot python? Run? So would we. A similar nightmare transpired on Tuesday around 12:30pm in the parking lot of the Buena Park Mall. A man called police to report the snake, stating that he first witnessed the reptile slithering through the parking lot. more ›

The Dodgers have retained the services of former LAPD Chief William J. Bratton in response to increasing pressure from community and civic leaders to tighten security at Dodger Stadium in the aftermath of an Opening Day post-game beating which left one man critically injured. more ›

The search continues, and the reward increases, for two men who carried out a vicious attack on San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, a 41-year-old Santa Cruz paramedic and father of two who was beaten in a coma in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium after last week's home opener, reports The Dodgers on Tuesday. more ›

The body of man who was shot to death was found early this morning in the Rose Bowl parking lot, according to CBS2. "Police responded to a call about a man down, possibly from a gunshot wound," explains KTLA. No one has been arrested. Investigators are on the scene, and have not released further information about the victim's identity or his death. more ›

In downtown Van Nuys there's a parking problem. Luckily, there could be a fix and it doesn't mean building a parking structure. A L.A. city council transportation panel today met and briefly discussed two proposals that could help solve parking around the Van Nuys civic center. Although there metered spaces line the surrounding streets -- often crowded -- two city parking lots do not operate at maximum capacity. One has an average occupancy of 76% while another has a 28% occupancy. more ›

Authorities in Southern California had their hands full this week by way of cases of men in various stages of undress at the wrong place and time. more ›

Hell hath no fury like a reporter scorned! Police in Santa Monica may be admitting to erroneous parking tickets issued to residents last week, but they are making no apologies for writing $200 worth of tickets to KTLA during a live broadcast yesterday morning. more ›

Most of the 132 people arrested yesterday at Dodger Stadium were "accused of drinking in public," with many more hauled in "on suspicion of scalping tickets and illegal vending," LAPD Captain William Murphy told LA Now. Tack on over 50 traffic and parking citations, and the crackdown on illegal activity at the famous sporting venue seems to be well underway. more ›

At a meeting of the L.A. City Council Budget panel on Monday, Councilman Bill Rosendahl enquired about the reality of ever seeing the $72 million in taxes owed from the city's top debtor, Prestige Parking. What he heard back was not ideal. more ›

Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama joined 5th graders from a DC-area school in harvesting some of the bounty from the White House's Kitchen Garden, a 1,100-square-foot, L-shaped plot on the South Lawn planted in April. Together they picked "harvested 73-pounds of lettuce and 12-pounds of peas," then worked together to create a meal they shared picnic-style right there at the White House. NPR broadcast a lovely story about the event, including the enthusiasm of the kids for working with the land and what it's taught them. The powerful partnership between learning and gardening has never been more evident than now. more ›

One LAist reader has a travel warning for you that could put a frown on your face once you return from the Thanksgiving holiday (or any trip from that matter). Here's what they had to say: more ›

A reader writes in about their experience with the newly raised parking meter fees across the city. At a minimum across Los Angeles, meters are prorated at $1 per hour (that means, if you put a quarter in, you get 15 minutes). Here's the LAist tipster's experience with these: more ›

The driver of a big rig truck apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed the truck in the parking lot of a popular La Canada-Flintridge restaurant. The accident took place around 6:30 this morning outside the Hill Street Cafe on Foothill Boulevard, as employees were arriving to work at the eatery. One person suffered minor injuries when the big rig smashed into several parked cars. According to a live report on KTLA, it is possible the vehicle's brakes failed, which caused the driver to crash. more ›

Yesterday, Westfield Century City announced the launch of a state-of-the-art, electronic parking management system called Park Assist®, something they say is a first for North America. more ›

In an editorial yesterday, the Daily News let its readers know that the Department of Power and Water's union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, failed to sue the paper twice and agreed to pay $17,213 for legal fees. Why? Because they wanted to stop the Daily News from publishing the names, positions and salaries of department employees. Why publish this info anyway? They found that DWP workers earn an average of... more ›

When I read in Extra, Extra yesterday about the Desperate Housewives marketing onslaught at my local Ralphs parking lot in Valencia, I just had to check it out. I chuckled when I saw the parking stripes -- and I have to admit it was the first advertising that caught my attention in awhile. But I'm still not going to watch the lame show. Nice try, though, ABC. More photos after the jump.... more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. more ›

Photos from the Parking Lot Art Show at the Sunset Junction. more ›

Parking Lot Art Show at the Sunset Junction, in the parking lot behind Cafe' Stella, from 5-11pm. more ›

more ›