The bizarre case of a man accused of posing as a spiritual healer so that he could to lure a woman to a hotel room and rape her just got even worse: the suspect allegedly had another victim. more ›

One of the most often-repeated facts about the Simi Valley jury that let four police officers off the hook in the Rodney King beating was that not a single member of the panel was black. Twenty years later one of the jurors explains why that's just not true. more ›

Simi Valley recently passed a law requiring porn performers to wear condoms, which was widely perceived as a way to keep out condomless productions fleeing from Los Angeles. But tucked into that law was a provision requiring adult videos producers to submit unedited copies of their films to the local police department for review. more ›

One of today's most disturbing stories comes to us from Santa Ana, where a 36-year-old spiritual healer has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman during a raw egg cleansing. Confused? Don't worry. So are we. more ›

Following the arrest of three suspects and seizure of over five pounds of heroin, authorities in Simi Valley are now saying they have successfully shout down a drug pipeline that was supplying their city. more ›

The boyfriend of a woman found beaten to death inside the couple's Simi Valley home has been arrested as detectives investigate the murder. Neighbors told reporters the 16-year-old daughter ran screaming from the house at the time of the incident. more ›

San Fernando Valley residents, if you hear an alarming boom tomorrow around 6:30am, rest assured it's just a controlled alternative energy plant explosion. Tanks full of compressed hydrogen at a fire-ravaged energy plant in Sylmar are too dangerous to transport and will be blown up on Sunday morning. The blast will require a temporary closure of a portion of the Foothill (210) Freeway. more ›

At least seven Republican presidential candidate hopefuls are expected to talk out their tensions in the debate at the Reagan Library, which begins at 5 p.m. local time and will be broadcast live. more ›

A lottery ticket was used as a lure for armed robbers to secure a victim Friday in Simi Valley, and an elderly woman fell prey to the scheme. A 79-year-old woman was approached by two suspects asking for help with what they said was a winning lottery ticket. more ›

This year the federal government is on track to crack down on nearly twice as many health care fraud cases compared to last year, according to California Watch. Some of the prosecutions close to home used parishioners, postal workers and non-existent cancer patients to conduct their scams. more ›

A young man from Simi Valley was arrested this week for allegedly making multiple threats against Las Vegas hotels and casinos. 18-year-old Zachary Jackson is accused of phoning in the threats to multiple Vegas venues between July 28th and August 8th. more ›

Stolen ten years ago from actor Nicolas Cage's West Hollywood home, a rare, $1 million copy of the 1938 Superman Action Comics #1 has been found in the San Fernando Valley tucked away in a storage locker, reports the Ventura County Star. more ›

An officer responding to a domestic dispute call in Simi Valley arrived to find an armed man in the middle of the street and the office opened fire, according to KTLA News. The armed suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. It remains unclear if the man in the street was connected to the disturbance call that brought police to the area in the first place. Neighbors and witnesses report hearing shots, but details surrounding the reason for the domestic dispute call and what prompted the shooting have yet to be made clear. The vicitm's identity has not been released and the investigation is ongoing. more ›

While it's generally true that "there's no place like home," there's a problem when it's not your home anymore. A 16-year-old boy got so intoxicated the other night that he stumbled into the Simi Valley home of Debbie Nate, stripped off his pants and shoes, and crawled into bed, according to abc7. more ›

A business building in Simi Valley exploded today leaving one dead and two with minor injuries. The explosion was reported around 1:15pm today near E. Easy Street. Firefighters training near by were able to arrive shortly after, according to Public Information Officer for Ventura County Fire Department Bill Nash. Although fire fighters are still on the scene, officials have determined the atmosphere to be clear and safe for the public. There was severe damage to the building and authorities are still assessing the structural safety. more ›

Another round of American Recovery and Investment Act of grants awards were announced today with a handful of Southern California cities on the list, the White House announced this morning. Included is $69,776 for the Metro Blue Line traction power substation, $500,000 for the Orange County Transportation Authority to purchase three alternative fuel buses as replacements for the City of Laguna Beach and a whopping $4.7 million to Metrolink to fund track rehabilitation, Positive Train Control, some facilities and insurance. more ›

As a quick-moving wildfire burns in the Santa Clara River Valley, no official evacuation order has been given to Moorpark residents as of 12:23 p.m. However, Fred Ponce of Ventura County Fire told KTLA newscasters that those living along the 118 freeway in Moorpark, they should be prepared for the possibility of leaving. "If you're in doubt, get out," he said. "Don't wait for an actual evacuation order." Ranches in the Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park are already under evacuation orders, according to news reports. more ›

A brush fire burning in eastern Ventura County is being blown by winds in a southwesterly direction from the Fillmore and Piru areas towards Moorpark. The blaze began south of the 126 Highway in the Santa Clara River Valley, burning an estimated 30 to 50 acres, according to KNX1070 [Update: The fire reportedly began near E. Guiberson Rd. and Calumet Canyon Road]. Nothing is immediately threatened, but a golf course has been evacuated. Sparks are reportedly being blown up to one-mile away from the fire, starting up new fires. Temperatures in Fillmore are currently 102 with 4% humidity and winds blowing 31 miles per hour (gusts are up to 54 mph). more ›

Despite an announcement earlier this month that former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was to speak at an event in Simi Valley, today a representative says she never committed to attending. “As repeatedly stated to several in the media over the last week, former Governor Sarah Palin is not committed to attend the Simi Valley Republican Women’s event at the Reagan Library and in fact is not attending the event,” read a statement that was posted on Palin‘s Facebook site and posted on CNN. “Neither the Governor’s state staff nor SarahPAC has ever committed to attending this event or speaking at this event, and even requested that the Governor's name be removed from the invitation several weeks ago.” The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 8th for the Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley. more ›

Sarah Palin will step down as Governor of Alaska on July 26 and next month she's headed to Simi Valley to attend a gala for the Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley. The August 8th event will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with conservative radio talk-show host and filmmaker John Ziegler as the master of ceremonies. Palin announced that she was stepping down from office for unknown reasons last week, but some are speculating it's to make room for a 2010 Presidential Bid. Nonetheless, she is saying she will be staying in the national politics scene. more ›

Shots broke out this morning at Family Dental Care around 10:38 a.m. this morning in Simi Valley. Exactly an hour later, the suspect shooter surrendered to police, but not before killing one, critically injuring three and leaving another with minor wounds. No word yet on the motive. more ›

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster--one that has been called the "Hiroshima of the chemical industry" and that took place in Bhopal, India. more ›

After winds began to die down yesterday, the Sesnon Fire somewhat subsided last night as it burned in Simi Valley. Now 20% contained, the latest reported acreage consumed by the fire is 13,285. Around 2,300 firefighters are dedicated to the fire that began in Porter Ranch and spread to Granada Hills, Chatsworth and Simi Valley. "72 structures were damaged or destroyed, all in the Los Angeles City and County areas," the Ventura County Fire Department reports, who has lifted many of the evacuations on their side of the fire. more ›

Smoke from the Sesnon and Marek fires continue to affect the San Fernando, Simi and Santa Clarita Valleys, including the immediate areas around fire scorched San Gabriel Mountains. However, the South Coast Air Quality Management District adds a new warning today with the changing winds: "As the winds diminish and shift, additional areas may experience smoke and ash, causing air quality to be Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or higher." Basically, continue to keep those windows shut and avoid vigorous outdoor or indoor exertion, they say. LA County's Dept. of Public Health recommends that "all individuals wanting to pursue any outdoor activities in areas where smoke, soot, or ash can be seen or there is an odor of smoke" should be avoided. more ›

The Sesnon Fire that began in Porter Ranch yesterday morning has spread to Simi Valley totalling 13,285 acres and prompting mandatory evacuations. Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Tapo Canyon north of Lost Canyon, Box Canyon, Lake Manor, Lilac Lane, Santa Susanna Pass Road from the Ventura County line to Box Canyon Road, and Woolsey Canyon, according to the Ventura County Fire Department as of 5:04 p.m. Voluntary evacuations are in Bell Canyon. more ›

Metrolink is using Twitter to update their service. The latest: "Ventura Co. Line to be shut down in the Chatsworth area due to heavy smoke in tunnel area. More details to follow." UPDATE: Metrolink has some bus bridge alternatives, but depending on where you are and where you're going, you'll need to see their specific details. more ›

As the Metrolink-Union Pacific train crash investigation continues through next week, Metro will be operating a bus bridge operation between the Chatsworth and Moorpark Metrolink stations with a stop at the Simi Valley Metrolink station, according to KNX1070. "Metro will begin running the buses on Monday, with southbound service leaving from Moorpark beginning at 5:07 AM, and the last northbound Metro bus leaving Chatsworth at 7:44 PM," stated a communication from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office. more ›

If you were a kid growing up in Southern California, learning about the Chumash Indians was no doubt a part of your third-grade curriculum (probably right around the same time you were building a mission out of sugar cubes). The Chumash were the original inhabitants of much of SoCal's coastal areas, and did cool stuff like leech the acid out of acorns so they could make food out of it without being poisoned. Of course, it wasn't until high school that we learned about things like imperialism and colonialism, and how the Europeans did crazy stuff like pass out syphilis blankets. (Many of you might also know of the Chumash tribe from the "Pangs" episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" where Xander got infected with all sorts of spirit-Indian diseases; it was also a really sad episode where Angel comes back to visit and Buffy doesn't know it, but anyway, that's neither here nor there.) more ›

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

While the remaining Republican candidates converged on Simi Valley yesterday to debate who was most like Ronald Reagan and the two Democratic candidates still standing in the race meet in Los Angeles later today to hash out who is most unlike Reagan, other political news sent shock waves through Washington D.C. that did not portend well for the Grand Ol' Party. more ›