On the fourth day of the fire in Sierra Madre, most of the 1000 residents were allowed back home and schools reopened today. 59% of the fire is contained with a knockdown expected by Friday. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity that is predicted for today will aid the firefighters in their fight. No homes have been lost so far and four of the nearly 700 firefighters who responded have had minor injuries. Those injuries consisted......

Photo by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The trial of Juan Manuel Alvarez began today. Among his charges are 11 counts of murder for the January 2005 incident involving him parking his car on the tracks and causing a Metrolink train to derail. The stretch of San Diego beach closed to the public last week following a fatal shark attack has reopened. Swimmers are cautioned to keep close to the......

Mike Whitaker, with Riverside CAL Fire, uses a hose to control a fire Monday, April 28, in Sierra Madre. Firefighters struggled in tough conditions Monday to push back the stubborn wildfire burning above homes in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ric Francis) While 300-400 people are being let back into their homes on the Eastside of the fire in Sierra Madre, Fifty-one homes in Pasadena were evacuated......

Photo by KeithJ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Hot temperatures, low humidity, and brisk winds helped to whip up the flames yesterday in the foothills of Sierra Madre, as a fire that broke out mid-afternoon Saturday has now blazed through approximately 400 acres. The fire was first reported shortly before 2 p.m. close to Santa Anita Canyon Road, and caused some initial evacuations from the nearby recreation areas, including a Boy......

Celebrate your weekend. | Photo by ronnie44052 via Flickr Not everyone is going to Coachella this weekend. For those who choose to stay put in Los Angeles, the city is literally filled with events this weekend: AltBuild Expo at SaMo Civic Auditorium: an eco-friendy building & design expo LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA: a must see & do Fiesta Broadway at Downtown: party!......

Photo by tobo via Flickr Which side of the Gold Line tracks do you live on? Southsiders (below the 10) better be representing because Northsiders are fighting hard for their piece of the cake too. Metro's Gold Line currently goes from Union Station in downtown to Sierra Madre, east of Pasadena. Metro is currently extending the Gold Line from Union Station southeast through Little Tokyo into East LA and is slated to open in......

It’s the first day of work for many of us -- and it pretty much sucks. Thank God it’s a short week. If you haven't gotten enough going out for the New Year, here’s what's going on around town tonight: PARADE REMNANTS If you want to see the Rose Bowl floats before they go off to the big parade in the sky, you have until 4 pm today. Noon to 4 pm // Post......

The Geminid Meteor showers are set to peak this week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Um, great date night, anybody? Astronomers studying the phenomenon, David Levy and Stephen Edberg, are terribly enthused: "If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.' Those guys are serious!!! "The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing......

Remember the good old days, when Italian restaurants had opera-singing waiters? Mario and Larry Lalli grew up in the good old days, in one such restaurant. Mario and Larry’s family has been in the restaurant business for over 50 years. The two cousins have continued the tradition begun by their fathers, previously with a pizzeria in Palm Springs, and now with Café 322 in Sierra Madre. Larry tears it up in the kitchen while......

With headlines like "Local Police Arrest Man With Large Organ" accompanied with a photo of an old man playing a church organ, and stories like "Local Stripper Opens Euthanasia Clinic" where the entrepreneur encourages people to "go out with a bang", the Sierra Madre Cumquat is a poor man's Onion. A very poor man's Onion since the Onion is free. But it is mildly amusing, and the headlines and pictures are good, and it's......

Three years ago, Jim Brown and his wife Michelle Gringeri-Brown decided their love of mid-century ranch homes was too much to keep to themselves. With years of experience in publishing, they founded Atomic Ranch, a glossy, independent magazine that's as gorgeously photographed as the high-end home and design magazines from New York. But Atomic Ranch is from South Pasadena, and instead of focusing on "starchitect" homes features houses that are just as striking without......

The Gold Line's new express service between Pasadena and Downtown LA starts today. It'll make just 4 stops in addition to Union Station: Highland Park, Mission, Del Mar and Sierra Madre Villa. US snowboarders are SICK! A 17-year-old Long Beach teen has climbed 6 of the world's 7 highest peaks with her dad. Next up: Everest. If a full-sized monorail isn't likely for LA, maybe Ray Bradbury can get this one for his puppies.......