Following weeks and weeks of stalling, the State Senate is finally getting ready to pass the budget bill after securing the crucial vote of Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman. Good news in the environmental department: San Bernardino County authorities have just agreed to start cutting back on their greenhouse gas emissions after monitoring conditions over the next 30 months. Secretary of State Debra Bowen is going after ES&S for selling close to 1,000 uncertified......

LAT tells us what L.A.'s top 25 "culinary bargains" are (find more Foodie news from today here). Did you know that a Louis Vuitton store also qualified as a public art gallery? Sex, scandal and assault at the Playboy Mansion: oh my! The Walk of Fame's stars have been temporarily "displaced" to make way for the construction of the new W Hotel. City Beat pleads L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's case. A woman in......

More congestion insanity: the L.A. City Council has just approved a rethink in planning rules to allow more downtown developments. Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos have filed suit in Los Angeles alleging they weren't paid their full percentage "share of net profits" for the hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." 10 individuals and businesses face federal charges of accidentally starting large wildfires. Officials at Angel Stadium have pledged to work......

Two people were killed and four critically injured in an explosion at a test site for small rocket engines at Mojave Airport in Kern County. Will Villaraigosa intervene on behalf of NBC Universal — corporate parent of Telemundo — and its new $3-billion development plan? Courtney Love reveals on her MySpace blog that she wants her old face back. Oops: leaked memo reveals that Home Depot tried to stack a City Council meeting with......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

Last night I put on a white “I Love WeHo Dykes” t-shirt, merged with the throng of Dyke March 2007 attendees, and paraded down Santa Monica Boulevard, a street coincidentally named in honor of the patron saint of abused, victimized, and neglected women. It may seem strange to some that I would do such a thing given that I am not Dyke, Lesbian, or Queer. But as a woman, a West Hollywood resident, and......

Even though "experts" are saying that Chicago will be the US city that the USOC will choose to represent the USA as host city nominee for the 2016 Summer Games, today the California State Senate approved a quarter-billion dollar guarantee if LA does get the nod. From an excited LA2016 press release: The California State Senate today voted overwhelmingly in favor of AB300, previously approved 65-1 by the State Assembly, which authorizes $250 million as......

8% - Crime won't drop that much next year if Chief Bratton's overtime funding request doesn't go through. (LAT) 459 - Number of seats held in the California state senate and house. Redistricting is on the rise. (Daily News) 1.4 Million - Number of uninsured drivers in Los Angeles County. (LAT) 1911 - Year Crisco became to be. Los Angeles City Council is looking into banning the use of trans fat in restaurants. (Daily......

This March, we will vote again. All even-numbered Los Angeles council districts will be up for grabs. Well... sorta. A few will be running unopposed: CD2: Wendy Greuel CD4: Tom LaBonge CD12: Greig Smith Competition will be found in: CD6: Tony Cardenas CD8: Bernard Parks CD10: Herb Wesson CD14: José Huizar (a story about this race) And since Alex Padilla will resign his seat in CD7 to go to the State Senate, there will......

That's Sheriff Lee Baca and the State Senate Majority Leader from East Los Angeles, Gloria Romero up there. Should we listen to Baca who says kids should be in school today and parents shouldn't be "hiding behind them" or should we just be following the Senator? She's out walking with her constituents right now. But has anyone seen the Mayor? We know he's in town but, we're guessing, it's politically precarious for him to......

The sky is falling! The LA Times gets a bit Chicken Little with the dire headline LA Authorities Brace for Huge Immigration Marches and, on the web, LAPD Planning for a Half-Million at Monday's Marches; both headlines lead to this story, which quickly points out that no one expects violence. They're just worried about traffic. stay in school Yesterday Mayor V repeated his call for students to remain in classes during Monday's pro-immigration marches,......

State Senate candidate George Runner and his wife, Assemblymember Sharon Runner, are poised to be the first husband and wife team to serve in the Legislature at the same time. George Runner was first elected in 1996 to serve in the Assembly and was termed out in 2002. His wife succeeded him and was up for re-election yesterday. Republican Audra Strickland, wife of termed-out Assemblymember Tony Strickland, also looks to be headed to Sacramento......