Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's official: Police have identified the Green Skeleton Bandit who was fatally shot earlier this week when he was caught in the act of robbing the AutoZone in NoHo by a US Marshal. He was 24-year-old Lawrence Dean Smith Jr. of Palmdale who used a knife and wore a skeleton-themed sweatsuit in his robberies. Fight for the right to ficus! Local activists in......

The defending Stanley Cup champion (and recently reassembled) Anaheim Ducks are holding a contest tomorrow for a chance to sing the national anthem at one of their upcoming games. Get you tail down to ESPN Zone’s SportsCenter Studio Store in Downtown Disney to register. People are encouraged to sign up early as space is limited (you can do it today if you're in the area). Singers will compete on Thursday, March 6 at 6:00pm, where......

Last August, Aimee Mann, Joan Osborne, Rob Laufer, Ian Ball from Gomez, and Al Jorgensen joined Cheap Trick and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to recreate Sgt. Peppers on it's 40th Anniversary. They'll do it again June 28th. We're four months out from the official start of the 2008 Hollywood Bowl Season and the schedule is nearly complete. Single tickets won't go on sale for a couple months but the Bowl is offering 16 different......

Brace yourselves, Southlanders--there could be tornadoes brewing out there. The National Weather Service in Oxnard has issued a Tornado Warning for southwest Los Angeles County in southwest California, including the cities of Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Topanga until 9:45 p.m. PST. [KABC] Although it's a brief warning, the overall weather picture remains grim here in the greater Los Angeles area. We're under warnings and advisories galore; the flood advisory is still up for Ventura and......

Tonight's episode of HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," will investigate the Reggie Bush controversy. This segment will include an interview with Lloyd Lake, the man who claims to have given Bush $291,600 in cash, living arrangements and other benefits while he was playing at USC. If these allegations are true, Bush may be stripped of his Heisman Trophy which he won in 2005 as a Junior and the Trojans' may be forced to give......

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to take place Feb. 24 at Hollywood & Highland's Kodak TheatreAuthorities have released the names of the victims in yesterday's deadly airplane collision in the skies above Corona. According to KNBC.com, "one of the victims -- Earl Smiddy, 58, of Moreno Valley -- was on the ground when he was hit by falling debris. The other victims were identified as Anthony Joel Guzman, 20, of Hesperia; Scott......

When the UC Board of Regents held a meeting this past Thursday, students and staff were on hand to express dismay with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's recently announced proposal for increased fees, enrollment limits, and salary freezes. According to the LA Times, the organized protest included approximately "50 students carrying protest banners" who spoke out about the possible fee hikes because of the troubled state budget. Students feel it is not right for them to have......

For those who say you can't put a price on education, California's governor and UC and CSU officials say you're dead wrong. In fact, not only can you put a price on it, you can hike the price, making undergraduate education in the state increasingly more expensive. The LA Times is reporting that if Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed new budget goes into effect, most student fees [will] rise by 10% at the 23-campus Cal State system......

Rain rain has gone away...so Tuesday we'll go out to play. Here's what's going on around town tonight: MUSIC The LA Phil’s Concrete Frequency series continues tonight. “Songs of the City” is being billed as a program where “urban troubadours share lo-fi songs about city life.” We’ll believe it with a lineup that features: Marc Bianchi, Biirdie, Franklin Bruno, Zooey Deschanel, John Doe, Inara George, Stevie Jackson, Sondre Lerche, Kyp Malone, Bob Mould, Zach......

Today, our great state filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the Bush administration's opinion that states cannot set emission standards. The EPA denied California a waiver that it needs under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks. At least 16 other states had been expected to follow California's lead and adopt the state's tougher emission limits. [CBS2/AP]And to that, fifteen......

School cafeteria food doesn't have the draw it used to, it seems. The Daily News is reporting today that the LAUSD is having to lose out on millions of dollars in federal funds "because just half of its eligible students are taking advantage of a lunch program in which kids eat for free or at reduced prices." Currently, the LAUSD receives $2.07-$2.47 for each meal they provide to a student for free or at a......

So, you know how MTA is considering ridding our freeways of carpool lanes? One outraged blogger blames Bush because, "local officials in the MTA are being forced to take a more free-enterprise approach to freeway management in order to qualify for federal transportation dollars." In a move designed to empower local Iraqi municipalities, the US Army is planning on concentrating its forces in Baghdad as the army continues to draw down its forces after......

There are two things you can count on living in LA: fires and earthquakes. Now, it seems, we might need to add some tsunami insurance to our list of must-have SoCal coverage policies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Seismic Safety Commission have launched a study to determine the potential tsunami risk to the LA and Long Beach ports. ...

I've always been intrigued by other "best of" lists, but this year I decided to take it to a whole new level. I e-mailed a handful of bands that I've seen this past year in order to unearth what exactly captivated them in '07. As music listeners, it is our duty to take a keen interest in our favorite musician's influences. After all, they rocked our little world, might as well see what rocked their......

If you're anything like us and still incorporate large quantities of instant ramen noodles into your diet (is that shameful for a food writer to admit?), this morning's news might cause more than a little worry. We woke to our local news broadcasters discussing yet another American health worry: salt. Apparently Americans consume 50% too much salt in their diet, much of it locked up in processed and canned foods, and the FDA is......

Mr. Negative is tired of watching the GOP candidates pussy-foot around the hardcore questions that YouTube and CNN are dishing. Mr. Negative ain't stupid, he knows what you're really saying. With immigration reform failing, will I have a job? Yes, there are still openings at Wal-Mart...but they don't provide health insurance. Actually most corporations are moving towards eliminating all benefits for the working class. But $1.99 tube socks, you just can't fuckin' beat that!......

Monday Eliot Tiegel presents The Latinization of America 6:30pm @ Book Soup Judith Freeman discusses and signs The Long Embrace 7pm @ Vroman's Roz Chast discusses Theories of Everything 7pm @ Central Library Robert Kuttner in conversation with Arianna Huffington about The Squandering of America 8pm @ James Bridge Theater, UCLA Tuesday Cesar Millan presents Be the Pack Leader 7pm @ Borders, Pasadena Frank McCourt presents Angela and the Baby Jesus 7pm @ Borders,......

As winds died down Sunday, firefighters gained the upper hand on the Malibu blaze that burned at least 49 homes and sent thousands fleeing. It is now 70% contained and officials expect full containment by Tuesday. The damage could run close to $100 million. Firefighters rescued a father and his 4-year-old son in a Sun Valley home that burned down this morning. The father got his wife and daughter out of the house, but,......

He seems so nice on tee vee, but in real life Dog The Bounty Hunter is more like Dog The Hate Mongrel. The National Enquirer has just released audio of the A&E star explaining that he wants his son to break up with his "nigger" girlfriend. TMZ reports that Rev. Al Sharpton has already been notified and has begun polishing his black ass for the upcoming press summit and standard butt-smooching slash apology slash......

Fires raged across Southern California for the second day in a row. Helicopters joined the effort as did a Boeing 747, according to NBC TV. Also, 250,000 San Diegans were told to evacuate their homes. LAist is on top of recent developments. Fires in the region always make me think of when NBC newscaster Chuck Henry reported on the forest fires in 2003. His news van caught on fire and he and his crew had......

With just a little more than half of the college football season past us, it’s become evident that no team wants to play for the national championship. No, not even undefeated Ohio State whose non-conference schedule included illustrious teams such as Youngstown State, Akron and Kent State. As for the rest of college football, every other team that climbed atop of the corpses has subsequently fallen. See California and LSU last week and South......

An incredible game took place in Los Angeles last night, and it had nothing to do with the Staples Center, USC, or Kobe Bryant. In fact, the two teams facing off had nothing to do with LA or even the United States, really. The Coliseum played host to the national soccer teams of bordering nations Mexico and Guatemala, and true to past instances when Central American squads play in the States, heads rolled in......

On Sunday, October 14 the Epilepsy Foundation will host their annual Freedom Walk in Griffith Park. I spoke with Greg Grunberg, the Honorary Chair of the walk, about his involvement with the organization. "It's a fun two hour walk in Griffith Park. We are raising a lot of money for The Epilepsy Foundation. Our team is called the Crazy Brainwaves. It's led by my eleven year old son Jake who has had epilepsy since he......

Hope Solo might be the best thing to happen to women's soccer since the 91ers (if you don't know who they are, read my DVD review from earlier today). She's grabbing intriguing headlines for the US women's soccer team -- a squad that otherwise embarrassed itself this month and would be wallowing in anonymity at the moment. In case you missed it, Solo, the starting goalkeeper, was benched just before the team's loss to Brazil......

Richard Thompson - "I Feel So Good" Richard Thompson Band @ Royce Hall Toots & The Maytals, Elijah Emanuel & the Revelations @ House of Blues The National, St. Vincent @ The Wiltern Beausoleil @ The Mint The Groovy Rednecks @ SW Hill Country Leon Russell @ Malibu Inn Michael McDonald, Patti Austin @ The Greek Josh Rouse, Jason Collett @ El Rey Girl Talk, Dan Deacon @ Echoplex Imperial Teen, The Finches, Sounds......

A trend is finally catching on that holds employees personally responsible for their health care premiums. Basically, the healthier you are, the less you’ll pay. Car insurance has worked this way for decades. Get a speeding ticket and points are added to your record, and insurance carriers can justify a premium increase. An increase that’s not absorbed by everyone else who drives. There’s always been a lingering question about health care. Why should a......

Pachuca 4, Galaxy 3 - With a cool million bucks on the line, the Los Angeles lost the final of the first ever SuperLiga tournament. After the Galaxy scored an own goal in the first half, they tied it at 1-1 in stoppage time on a brilliant bicycle kick by Chris Klein. Quarter-billion dollar man David Beckham sprained his knee and could be out another 4-6 weeks. At this rate, he won't be around to......

Last night the Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to abandon a proposed Ordinance which would have prohibited cyclists from traveling more than two abreast on any city street. The proposal was championed by Police Chief Melekian and was a direct response to the popularity of the Rose Bowl area for cyclists who ride Peloton style on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Melekian and Rose Bowl Management have claimed that user group conflict between the pedestrians and......

Not letting the bedbugs bite is getting harder than ever these days. Deeming it "troubling" and "unacceptable," Mayor Tony is urging federal officials to take steps to prevent a repeat of this weekend's Customs and Border Protection computer glitch that stranded some 20,000 travelers. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning - signifying a higher risk of wildfires - for the L.A. County mountains that will remain in effect until Wednesday......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......