District Attorney Steve Cooley went on the record today in opposition of Governor Jerry Brown's proposed budget because he believes a provision for transferring "thousands of convicted felons and parolees to county custody and supervision threatens the safety of citizens." more ›

Star Wagon foodies watch-out! While the food truck health rating system has won wide support from food-truck-following Angelenos all over, the letter grades have film set catering trucks in a tizzy, according to the Daily News. The entertainment industry is urging Councilman Tom LaBonge to exempt on-set catering trucks because they don't sell food directly to the public and are thus, different enough to be outside the letter grade law. more ›

It's been a crazy week (and then some) for California's other film industry, as they've experienced yet another HIV outbreak among adult film actors. As is usual for this sort of thing, the latest death sentence inflicted on multiple porn actors has led to a quarantine of potentially affected people, calls for shoot cancellations, and now a reinvigorated campaign to mandate condom usage for adult film actors. Yet, stunningly, it's not intermittent quarantines and interrupted shoots, but the call to mandate safe sex practices, that has the porn industry pitching the biggest hissy fit of all. more ›

How will legalizing marijuana via Prop 19 effect California's budget? What about crime? Is it effective drug policy? These topics and more will be discussed tomorrow in Sacramento at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety. Per state law, legislative committees must hold public hearings on ballot measures. For two hours on Tuesday morning, politicians, state employees and experts -- ACLU, Rand Corporation, etc -- will convene in Sacramento. Want to watch it? It should be (no guarantees here, though) streamed live online via The California Channel. more ›

If you see multiple helicopters flying low in the skies over Los Angeles today, don't panic. The LAFD has sent out an e-mail notice to explain: "A large contingent of military and public safety helicopters will be seen flying over Los Angeles today. More than three dozen aircraft, at times flying in low altitude formation, will be gathering for today`s American Heroes Air Show at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area in the northeast San Fernando Valley. We wish to emphasize: There is no local emergency associated with these aircraft, and no cause for alarm." If you want to check out the event, it's from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; admission is free. more ›

Some consumers who enjoy picking up a single bottle of beer or wine at the market may soon have to make other plans for their partying in the City of San Bernardino. Yesterday their City Council "gave preliminary approval to a new ordinance taking aim at malt liquors and fortified wines sold in individual containers," according to LA Now. more ›

Remember when CBS2 investigated crashes at intersections where red light cameras were installed? Their report concluded that incidents were up, citing the number of rear-end crashes when drivers stopped earlier than expected at yellow lights. But that report was faulty, in our opinion, ignoring the fact that red light cameras are not to blame, but people who tailgating are. more ›

Now that red light cameras are costing Los Angeles money--to the tune of $100,00 a month--instead of generating income, or at least being revenue neutral, a L.A. City Council panel yesterday "reluctantly" approved a short 3-month contract extension with the company that operates them, says the Daily News. Since their installation, the LAPD says there have been no fatalities at the 32 camera-intersections (but accidents are up, mainly because people can't drive) and they would like to see the number of cameras doubled within city limits. "At a time when we are laying off 4,000 workers and the police department has an $80 million shortfall, I'm not sure we can justify this," said Councilmember Greig Smith. The contract extension still must be approved by the full city council. more ›

Another huge step was taken this morning in the effort to legalize marijuana beyond the current medical-use constraints. The California Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted 4 to 3 to approve A.B. 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which is the legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. more ›

The City says no, that intersections with red light cameras are not more dangerous with them, pointing out that red light runner crashes are down. That may be true, but an investigative report by CBS2 finds that accidents are up at most of the red-light camera intersections if you include crashes caused by people stopping earlier than expected to avoid running a red light. more ›

There are indeed coyotes in Griffith Park, and lately they've been letting their presence be known. Last week a man who was sleeping near the Travel Town area of the park" reported being attacked by a coyote," according to the LA Times. The man said he woke up "to find a coyote biting his foot," however "he was not seriously injured." more ›

This rumor has been floating around for years. If you're getting robbed and forced to take out money at an ATM, you can alert police by entering your PIN in reverse, but still get the money out so the bad guy is none the wiser. The locally based Snopes.com calls the rumor false and gives a history of the technology, which was first patented in 1994 by a Chicago businessman, but hasn't found an real-world use. Even a bill related to the idea went through the Kansas legislature but never became law. However, the LA Times reports today that Councilman Greig Smith, in his new role as chairman of the Public Safety Committee, wants to explore the technology in light of teenager Lily Burk's murder. She was killed after attempting to withdraw money from ATMs with a credit card (it never worked). Smith says the technology would cost $25 per ATM to install. If this technology were to become citywide, ATM robberies would likely become seldom, or at least and unfortunately, more efficient. more ›

As part of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's "shared sacrifice" plan to save the city budget, cuts proposed to fire department ladder and ambulance companies, nicknamed "brownouts," would short-staff stations on a rotating basis by 87 firefighters. more ›

The City Council has been looking at closing an access gate on the Ballona Creek Bike Path because in the vicinity of the 405 Freeway of crime. One such incident just happened. Via an e-mail sent to Streetsblog LA, here are some highlights: more ›

On Tuesday, a few hours after the earthquake, the Los Angeles Fire Department put up a link on the "Highlights" section on the homepage of the city's website, pointing to their Earthquake and Disaster Preparedness Manual (.pdf)--a smart move since right after an earthquake is the best time to educate people on preparing for a future and considerably worse one (Tuesday's quake was only considered "moderate"). more ›

The Police Commission approved earlier this month to agree with the LAPD federal consent decree that officers in specialized units dealing with narcotics and gangs must "disclose all of their sole and jointly owned assets, liabilities and income every two years. Refusal to disclose such information would bar officers from working in those units." And refusal is what they will do if the city writes the policy down as law. 500 LAPD officers in these specialized units will request transfers or retire before abiding by this 'draconian' financial disclosure requirement. more ›

Gearing up for another War on Christmas, combative conservative columnist David Horowitz and the College Republicans are calling out to their hate squad and killing Halloween (not to mention a week of breast cancer awareness month) with what they've dubbed "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week." Ann Coulter, recently listed as charging a $25,000 speaker fee by the Premiere Speakers Bureau (and now "call for fee") will speak in the name of Islamo-Fascism Awareness tomorrow night at USC.... more ›

more ›

no really, Botox is good for you - Front page "news" from the LA Times: Getting Botox injections to freeze your frown lines may improve your emotional well-being. If your face can't move into a frown, according to a survey of 10 women, your moods may be less gloomy. No word on which 10 women were in the survey. more ›

LAist is really, well, just flummoxed with yesterday's senseless metrolink tragedy so although there are a few other interesting local stories in the papers today, we're going to focus solely on what The Los Angeles Times is calling the Tragedy on the Rails. more ›