How many times have you placed something you don't need anymore on the sidewalk hoping it will disappear someday soon? A fridge? A bed? A mattress? A desk? If you didn't call 3-1-1 to request a free bukly item pickup, that's illegal dumping, which can be punishable with high fines or some jail time. The Department of Public Works reported today that in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year (that is, April - June of this year), 15 arrests were made, 172 administrative hearings conducted and 1,503 administrative citations were issued to Multi-Family Bulky Item illegal dumping violators. Most of the arrests were made in South LA, where the LA Times continued to investigate a massive illegal dumping problem. The department also has two online forms, one for reporting the location of illegal dumping and another to tip off investigators if you might know a suspect (there could be a $1000 reward). You can also call 3-1-1 to report illegal dumping. more ›

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 ›

"City of LA's Bureau of Street Services successfully cleared vehicles from the streets of Atwater Village by 6:00am, but haven't started much work here 2 hours later," the neighborhood blogger noted today in this Flickr photo. Another photo shows a car ticketed for street sweeping restriction: "City of LA is leaving $58 parking tickets on cars that had to move off closed streets in Atwater Village and had noplace to park but on other streets restricted for sweeping." more ›

In 2004, live-feed cameras, paid for by donations, were installed in MacArthur Park. Police said crime went down. Then the cameras started not working, maintenance was not happening. Crime is supposedly on the increase. more ›

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 ›

Tomorrow night, Councilwoman for District 2, Wendy Greuel, will be hosting a rather large public town hall meeting on crime in The Valley. Even LAist is showing up to represent a booth (okay, we'll actually be repping a neighborhood council). In any case, if you live in the Valley and you want the best part of LA to stay the best, then this meeting is extremely important. Greuel, along with the LAPD will declare... more ›

I do not remember who told me this, but he must have been important. We were at a fundraising party all wearing fancy suits and the Mayor Villaraigosa was there. He started talking about the Director of the Bureau of Street Services for the city, Bill Robertson: "There's a thing about Bill you have to know." At this point, the tone of his voice sounded like it was going to turn into an angry ranting session, but maybe it was the amount of wine he was drinking that misled my thoughts. "Bill will not bullshit you -- he's an honest man." more ›