The porn star known as "Sledge Hammer" died Friday at age 39, just five days after he was hospitalized after a clash with police. The Seattle native "built like a brick house" and he had performed in more than 800 movies since 1995. But lately he had been suffering from a "mild form of schizophrenia," depression and anxiety. more ›

Today we bring you the shocking news that singer Bobby Brown was arrested this afternoon on suspicion of driving under the influence. It appears as though the 43-year-old had indulged in a few too many early lunch libations and/or other effecting substances. more ›

Kaiser Permanente wants its patients to thrive, and the healthcare organization also wants high school students to be sexually educated. Spreading sexually transmitted disease (STD) awareness to local high school students, Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre recently performed at John Wooden High School in Reseda. more ›

A five-hour stand-off ended early this morning when SWAT team members fired tear gas into a Reseda home, reports the Daily News. The officers were there after LAPD responded to a call at around 8:00 p.m. yesterday about a domestic disturbance. A 38-year-old man, whose name hasn't been released, barricaded himself into the home and his girlfriend fled, later being interviewed by police. more ›

An early morning house fire claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy and three dogs in the Reseda neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. Firefighters reported to 18424 West Saticoy Street at 2:35 a.m., knocking the fire down in 13 minutes, according to Melissa Kelley of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The blaze was supposedly contained to just one room of the house, but Kelley said there was no information regarding his parents or if they were even home. An investigation is pending, but officials said that there were no smoke detectors in the home. more ›

Either way, it's feeling like the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is heading back to the days of General Manager Gloria Jeff when employee morale was low and the traffic engineers with real skills were caught up in a bureaucracy that dictated they serve cars, not people. Current General Manager Rita Robinson ran a tight and responsible ship at the Bureau of Sanitation before being appointed to LADOT, so why can't she control her own bikeways and district offices? more ›

Kevin Tran has no customers, just friends. And for over six years, he's had hundreds of friends who visit him everyday at his restaurant and tofu factory in Reseda called Vinh Loi Tofu. "I'm a tofu lover," he explained of the restaurant's beginnings. "One day my wife came up with an idea, 'honey, let's open a tofu factory, we can eat tofu everyday.'" And so they did. In 2002, they opened a the factory only for a year later to turn part of it into a restaurant, which is now one of Los Angeles' best vegan restaurants (the staff of Los Angeles Magazine are huge fans and Discovery Channel visited the restaurant to show people how Tofu is made, that video is below). more ›

UPDATE: If you're looking for information on Friday night's quake, read our story here | The Southern California Earthquake Center reports, a minor earthquake occurred at 12:46 PM. The magnitude 3.1 quake occurred 2 miles WNW of Reseda, CA. According to ABC's Twitter, Tweeps report feeling it most in Studio City and NoHo. Did you feel it? more ›

If you were in the Los Angeles area, and you need your memory jolted... Enough of a hint? Mayor Sam reminds us that today marks the 15-year anniversary of the Northridge earthquake, when "a 6.7 magnitude quake with an epicenter near the intersection of Saticoy and Reseda Boulevard in Reseda struck." It was a Monday morning, and MLK day, which meant most folks were snug in their beds hoping to sleep in on the holiday. Instead, the quake was, to say the least, a rude awakening, and a reminder of how precarious life can be when you build your city on top of fault lines. "Seventy-two people died as a result of the earthquake with more than 9,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history." For more about Northridge and the '94 quake, check out LAist's Neighborhood Project. more ›

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Adding to the hundreds of official "blue sign" Los Angeles neighborhoods (we estimate it to be around 185), Reseda Ranch in the Valley became the latest to celebrate its individuality. more ›

The birth of a new parking structure that will serve the future redone Reseda Theater began yesterday near the intersection of Sherman Way and Reseda Blvd. "The 8,500-square-foot theater will be gutted and reconfigured into an 11,000- square-foot, state-of- the-art, live-performance and special-event venue," reports the Daily News. It will get a $7.7 million makeover and is being rehabilitated by the CIM Group, who runs Hollywood & Highland, among many other redevelopment properties in the Los Angeles area. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, LAPD SWAT stormed a house in Reseda believed to be where a 24-year-old man was being held for ransom. The man was rescued with non life-threatening injuries and seven men and one woman were arrested at the home on 18300 block of Schoolcraft Street near Etiwanda Avenue. more ›

"He definately knew how to make everyone laugh," wrote a friend of Staff Sgt. Du Hai Tran on an LA Times comment board. Tran, 30, of Reseda was killed Friday by a roadside bomb in Baqubah, Iraq. He is the 501st soldier from California (24th from Los Angeles) to be lost due to the war. more ›

The Valley will still always be the Valley. From Burbank to Chatsworth, horses are street legal in some parts. more ›

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David Crown, 30, was arrested yesterday in Reseda for allegedly having repeat sexual encounters with a 14-year-old boy from Thousand Oaks. Sgt. Don Aguilar told the Associated Press that "Crown has known the teenager for about a year and has taken the boy to his San Fernando Valley home 'for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts.'" more ›

I wasn’t much of a Tom Petty fan in my pre-L.A. years, but like most people, I knew him from the basics…I had caterwauled the lyrics to "Free Fallin’" alongside other angsty Massachusetts teens at a dance or two, and I had been baffled by, but pretended I knew what the hell was going on in, the "Mary Jane's Last Dance" video. 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 ›

December 17th seems to be a big day for the MTA (maybe everyone gets to go on vacation on the 18th?), but whatevs, LAist is never one to pooh-pooh progress, particularly regarding public transportation in this fair city. The MTA announced today that the Valley will get a new Rapid line on Reseda Blvd. between Northridge and Tarzana - welcome Line 741! The 364 won't be a Rapid per-se but will be a "limited... more ›

Back in February, I got an e-mail with the subject line, "blog tip." With a link to the blog, all the e-mail said was, "just some information - nothing flashy. Glad to know you. LACN." Overtime, the anonymous LACityNerd became an authority to all things, city of Los Angeles. I don't know who the nerd is. I don't even know if the nerd is a male, female, child or beast. All I know is... more ›