The recent rain storms have put local hillsides - and the people who live below them - in a precarious position. Though the rain stopped days ago, debris basins and burn areas are still at risk of movement and will remain so for several weeks until the saturated soil dries out, according to Glendale News-Press. more ›

The most commonly committed environmental crime in Los Angeles is illegal dumping and littering. For the Bureau of Street Services (BSS), it's a $12 million problem, but that doesn't include the money spent by business improvement districts, the parks department and other groups. more ›

Oxnard City Hall was locked down on Friday while investigators from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office served a search warrant, according to the Ventura County Star. more ›

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The millions expected to show in downtown Los Angeles today did not appear. While that was good on the city's resources, it meant bad business for hundreds of vendors selling t-shirts, buttons and other items. more ›

President-Elect Barack Obama is planning to propose a federal economic stimulus package when he's in office. It would be an infrastructure investment plan, "the largest since the creation of the national highway system, to jumpstart the economy." It would include infrastructure projects that are "ready to go", meaning that they have cleared all planning, design and environmental reviews and can begin construction within 180 days and complete construction by December 31, 2010. The city already has a long list of those types of projects, here are a few interesting ones: more ›

Councilman Bill Rosendahl played to the cycling community last week when he announced that he was convening a Community Forum to address issues raised in the aftermath of the Mandeville Canyon "road rage" incident of July 4th. more ›

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Until 2 p.m. today, residents of Los Angeles can receive free sandbags, courtesy of Department of Public Works Bureau of Street Services. You're going to have fill the sandbags yourself with the shovels provided on site and you get up to 25 bags if you so desire.There are about 35 locations in the city (includes fire stations), so you shouldn't have to go that far. more ›

Yesterday's citywide public relations blitz, "A Day Without a Bag," to bring awareness to our bad habits of using and and ditching paper and plastic bags in the trash was a quaint effort by city and county leaders -- a step in the right direction, as it were. Though, in a nation where the average household consumes 750 plastic bags a year, one day, or two bags, is hardly habit forming. more ›

The LA Times reports that copper thieves have been stealing the wire from streetlights in areas across the city where they think they can get away with it. Scratch that, where they can get away with it. more ›

Now that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas Tree shopping is in order, it's a good time keep in mind that when it comes time to get rid of that tree, you can recycle it. If you have a green yard trimmings container, then you can the tree up and place it in there. If not, it's a good thing the Department of Public Works is already pushing their Christmas Tree Recycling Program that will be... more ›

The state says the Mayor should get an automatic $8,283 salary increase retroactive to July 1. The mayor says not so fast: “With the City of Los Angeles facing a tough budget year, I do not believe now is the time for me to accept an automatic and retroactive pay raise. Being Mayor of Los Angeles is reward enough, and I’m committed to working twenty-four-seven to protect essential services.” (via a press release) The... more ›

Monday program on R&B station V100-FM, Bo Taylor, a radio host whose show has become something of a group therapy session for gang members. more ›

Last Saturday morning, the Board of Public Works invited all neighborhood councils to attend a meeting to kick start the go-happy 1950s Keep America Beautiful program. Los Angeles has been chosen as the kick off location for the national program, the Great American Clean Up, that takes place from March 1 through May 31. Along with a crowd of about 50 folks, bloggers/downtown neighborhood councilmen Eric Richardson from Blog Downtown and Brady Westwater of LA Cowboy were both in attendance. Here are some highlights and thoughts about the upcoming program: more ›

When it rained this weekend 150 tons of trash from LA's sewers flushed beneath us and ended up in the ocean. This is why we can't have nice things. "The volume of trash collected at the L.A. River boom is a powerful reminder that everything in the street - trash, cigarette butts, pet waste, even oil that leaks from cars - washes into the ocean after each heavy rainfall," said Emma Ayala, Head, Public... more ›

West LA Online points us to tract7260.org, the web home of the homeowner's association for the neighborhood between Century City and Santa Monica. The issue of the day is the delay in the completion of the Transitway Project. It is now a year behind schedule and has reduced the number of lanes in each direction from three to two for long stretches. more ›

The City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works has issued a "helpful" FAQ for those playing at home and has scheduled a slew of community meetings (see below for the list) to explain the changes. more ›

The Daily News reports that an ill-timed maintenance project in San Fernando threatens a holiday tradition this weekend. more ›

With the redesign and reconstruction of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood still a fresh memory, West LA residents, commuters, businesses, and a handful of pedestrians are bravely tolerating another major improvement project now taking place along a westerly swath of the Boulevard. more ›