Photo by JeremyRyan via Flickr No more are the days where Mayor Villaraigosa is a rock star celebrity who stood as a symbol of change for Los Angeles. The LA Times this weekend, along with LAist late last week, questioned the Mayor's time on the road with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The Mayor says the trip scheduled to end Wednesday comes to an end today because a lot was already accomplished, but the Daily......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has begun to get the word out that he plans on running for a second term. According to the LA Times, Mayor Tony made mention of his plans, along with "his most personal remarks to date about the political fallout from his extramarital affair" on Wednesday during an interview on the Charlie Rose show. The Mayor was also asked about his plans to run for governor, which have been circulating in the......

A member of the Los Angeles Police Department's elite SWAT team was shot dead in a gunbattle with a barricaded suspect in the San Fernando Valley this morning. * UPDATE: The suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police around 7:30 a.m., leaving the death toll at 5 (AP). The Mayor has lowered city flags in honor of the officer killed on duty. Randal Simmons, 51, a 27-year veteran officer with the LAPD,......

Quick, yet deadly: this weekend's Malibu Fire is 90% contained. We thought NBC had a policy of not giving car chases attention, a respectable position to take. Those days must be over. Anyway, it's always interesting when a car chase gets off freeway at the exit by your house like the one this morning on the 101. That would make number eight on our list for witnessed car chases. More cost effective and more......

CityWatch is reporting that today is quite a busy day at 200 N. Main St. Here are some highlights for the mayor and city council: "The Mayor and the Governor open the action with the announcement at a 9:30 media conference that LA will receive $150 million to pay for synchronizing every traffic light in the city. The funding is LA’s share of the $250 billion transportation bond passed by voters in 2006." "With time......

It's easier to name bands that Rodney Bingenheimer didn't discover on his long-running KROQ show, but if you're familiar with the works of Blondie, the Ramones, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths, it's probably because Rodney first spun it on 106.7 soon to be followed by other stations across the country. The Mayor of the Sunset Strip is the doc released in 2003 about Rodney the gentle, high voiced, mop topped LA deejay......

Los Angeles is cleaning up after a wet weekend that drenched the southland and knocked out power to thousands. Want asthma? LAUSD is building seven new schools near freeways, despite scientific studies saying such construction could damage the children's lungs. Huell Howser is here. That's amazing! The city's neighborhood councils could be in for some major changes. Maybe now, you'll actually understand what they are. A Los Angeles man suspected of shooting his pregnant girlfriend......

LAX JFK via Virgin Airlines began today. Are you flexing it? A stage 1 power emergency has been declared. If there are any superfluous lights on, turn 'em off. Get Flex Alerts via e-mail at www.fypower.org. Richard Jewel, the man cleared of the 1996 Olympic bombing, passed away today. The former home of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that we know as St. Vibiana's Cathedral in Downtown got its cupola returned today thanks to......

For the third week in a row, the Cycling Community will be massing at the Pasadena City Council speaker’s podium, protesting the City’s efforts to pass an ordinance (.pdf) that will prohibit bicyclists from riding more than two abreast in any public street. The City of Pasadena, who earned the title of "most bike-friendly city in Los Angeles County" in 2004, claims that the ordinance is a simple attempt to manage the user group......

Everyday, the Mayor's office sends us his schedule. Alarm goes off at 5 a.m., snooze is hit for another 9 minutes. 5:09 a.m., snooze button, part 2. Okay, it's not that detailed. However, with Big Sunday (are you volunteering?), the mayor is busier than usual for a weekend. He has six appearances from 8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. ranging from hanging with the Black Eyed Peas at Paramount Studios, giving trees away with the......

Paris Hilton Ordered To Court For Allegedly Violating Probation A judge on Tuesday ordered hotel heiress Paris Hilton to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom on May 4, when she could face jail time for allegedly violating her probation in a reckless driving case. After a lengthy private conference with attorneys from both sides, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer said Hilton would be "required to attend" the next court date. Los Angeles 2016 Reacts......

It truly felt like an LA moment. A police ceremony for the 10-year anniversary for the North Hollywood Shootout is taking place in the parking lot across from the Bank of America. The Mayor, the Chief of Police and other prominent figures are honoring the men and women of the LAPD who risked their lives in the extremely long shootout. Then, out of nowhere, we hear these sirens coming near. And what other than......

The Mayor Who Wasn't Is The Solar Panel Man Los Angeles Mayor challenger in the 2005 election, Robert Hertzberg: “California does have this great image,” said Mr. Hertzberg, a former speaker of the California State Assembly and the co-founder of an investment firm, Renewable Capital. “But Europe still is much greener than anywhere in the United States, by several orders of magnitude.” His thin and flexible solar panels work in overcast and in rain.......

As of this past Tuesday, it's official that LA will compete with Chicago for the US Olympic bid. We love LA and we only bring this list in hopes of getting things in motion. To have the 2016 Summer Olympics here and be host for the third time -- that triumphant return would be a dream come true. But there's a city on the third coast that has never had it and wants it......

With visions of sugar plum fairies dancing through their heads, the -Ists began to get into that holiday mood. Well, some did. Austinist wasn't, as the NY Times dissed them and a local Tex-Mex institution sold out. Making them feel better was music, sweet music and the local theater getting name checked on "Heroes". Chicagoist tried to wrap their heads around a religious movie being banned from a Christmas themed park. To wash that......

"NBA Basketball" (KCAL, 7:00 p.m.) Lakers @ Trailblazers "Jericho" (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) The Mayor, who went wandering around the nuclear wilderness, gets sick - who'da thunk? "The War" (PBS, 8:00 p.m.) Ken Burns has a new mini-series about WWII, the "War to End All Wars". Expect the FCC to fine all PBS stations who air the 7-parter due to adult language. "The Biggest Loser" (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) "They're Back" - nuff said "America's Next......

“Jericho” (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) The Mayor returns from his scouting trip to report on some really awful things he saw in the nuclear-apocalyptic world outside of town, what a shock. “Bones" (FOX, 8:00 p.m.) The show is back from hiatus “30 Rock” (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) This is the funnier of the 2 SNL rip-off shows, and thank goodness it’s only a ½ hour sitcom. “Lost” (ABC, 9:00 p.m.) Mr. Eko seems like he’s losing......

Last night was the premiere of Shark on CBS. It takes place in Los Angeles. Problem: The Mayor doesn't have secret service looking agents. He has LAPD when on the job. Question: Why does the Mayor look like Los Angeles city councilman Tony Cardenas (played by Carlos Gómez)? Kudos: For filming on location or faking the County's downtown drab marble interiors quite well. We liked: The Los Angeles natural light. We didn't like: The......

The white smoke slowly rose from atop the Angelyne billboard which meant the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce had decided who would get stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. The lucky winners included KROQ pioneer Rodney on the Roq who was the first d.j. to play such bands as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Cure, Van Halen, Duran Duran, Oasis, the Smiths, Blondie, the Go-Gos, Depeche Mode, the Strokes, the White......

We're flashing a sad peace out to their editor Carolyn Kellogg with one hand and bumping knuckles with our new head typist L.A. blogger king Tony Pierce with the other. Where do ist editors go when they hang up the 'editorial we'? They take on MySpace, apparently. At least Ben Brown does. Austinist reminds of the just rewards of less savory careers this week and then they witness the Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists......

no really, Botox is good for you - Front page "news" from the LA Times: Getting Botox injections to freeze your frown lines may improve your emotional well-being. If your face can't move into a frown, according to a survey of 10 women, your moods may be less gloomy. No word on which 10 women were in the survey. an LAPD wrinkle - Implementation of a computer system to track officer conduct has stalled......

Immigration: Nationwide, rallies for immigrants' rights continue to swell — there were 500,000 in Washington DC yesterday. But here in LA, we might have a bit of rally burnout, or maybe the threat of rain kept many at home; estimates for our downtown march are 2,000-5,000. Dave Bullock was there and tells his story on blogging.la (he also took great photos, including the one above). The same old same old: The average age of......

For now, it's safe to keep searching for "donkey porn," "D-lysergic acid diethylamide" and "discount plutonium" on Google. Yesterday a judge ruled that Google does not have to hand over search records to the Justice Department, which, some lawyers say, is on "a fishing expedition." Is there progress in addressing homelessness in LA? Mayor Villaraigosa has gotten the police, downtown businesses and the ACLU on the same side for a skid row cleanup-but-not-sweep plan.......

MONDAY • Author Elijah Wald presents and signs The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir at Book Soup, written about and with NYC folk legend Dave Van Ronk, at 7 PM.......

Forget that the Angels won two of three from the Dodgers this past weekend. Forget that the Angels are in first place while the Dodgers have struggled of late. LA is still Dodgertown. Mayor-Elect Antonio Villaraigosa made the perfectly clear on Friday night, throwing out the first pitch wearing Dodger blue. "There's only one team in the city of Los Angeles, and that's the L.A. Dodgers," Villaraigosa said. Damn straight. As long as the......

We’re not really sure when we stopped paying attention to the inconsistencies and broken promises spouted by the political leadership of Los Angeles. “We” not only being the writers of LAist, but also the editors of the Times and the City’s citizens. The instant broken promise we are referring to “Stem Cellgate” as Bob Hertzberg’s former verbal hatchet man, Matt Szabo, called it. (Check his blog out; it’s quite good.) Over and over again......

As predicted in earlier columns, Mayor Jim Hahn and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg are in a struggle to the death for 2nd place in the runoff, as the new Times Poll shows. Hertzberg has surged into a virtual tie with Hahn around 20%, and Villaraigosa holds a slim lead at 24%. Huggy Hertzberg has taken the first shot of the final week, calling for the resignation of several commissioners who also happen to......

In a remarkable setback for the Mayor, yesterday the Council rejected the proposed half-cent sales tax increase for more cops for the May ballot. Needing 2/3 of the Council vote, the measure passed 9-6, falling short by one vote. Councilmembers Villaraigosa, Parks, and Weiss voted against it from the “Anything The Mayor Wants is a Bad Idea” camp. From the “Any New Taxes Are Bad Because We’re From the West Valley” group came Councilmen......

Local political junkies are slowly turning their attention from last week’s election to the upcoming City Hall races. The Mayor’s race is attracting the most attention due to the high-profile challengers to Mayor Jim Hahn, though both of Hahn’s fellow City-wide elected officials—City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and City Controller Laura Chick—are up for re-election. The seven eight odd-numbered Council districts will also hold elections, with six seven incumbents seeking re-election and Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski......