Valley Village's Barbara Black wanted to support young artists, so she commissioned a mural painted by 10 North Hollywood High School students for the 75-foot fence on her property. Yesterday afternoon, Black, with the help of other artists and friends, whitewashed the artwork in order to comply with the City of Los Angeles' ruling that the mural was illegal advertising. more ›

Art, eyesore or...advertising? Valley Village resident Barbara Black was slapped with a $336 fine after a mural she commissioned from local high school artists was considered a violation of the city's advertising signage codes, reports NoHoArtsDistrict. more ›

The Get Schooled 2010 Challenge dropped in on LA on Friday, surprising the students at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Village with a one-hour assembly hosted by MTV's Sway and featuring Common. more ›

Members of a United States Marshal's Fugitive Task Force notified the Los Angeles Police Department yesterday afternoon they had arrested Omar Armando Loera, the suspect in the July 24 murder of a woman in her Valley Village Home. more ›

Police yesterday and today searched hiking trails around Studio City for a murder suspect that has eluded police since July. The LAPD earlier this week released the photo of 34-year-old parolee Omar Armando Loera, who they believe killed a woman in Valley Village before burning the house down. more ›

Today the Los Angeles Police Department released the name and photo of the suspect in the July murder of a Valley Village woman whose apartment was set on fire. more ›

Police today identified a 50-year-old man as the deceased person discovered inside a burning car under the 101 Freeway last week. But until the coroner's office receives the final toxicology report, the final cause of death for Russell Rathert of Van Nuys is listed as undetermined. more ›

A vehicle found on fire with a body inside this morning on a Studio City/Valley Village street has now turned into a bomb squad situation. Upon investigation, "some sort of wire" was found underneath the body, prompting them to call the bomb squad, according to a LAPD spokesperson. Because the vehicle was found in an underpass on Radford Street (map), the 101 Freeway may be shut down, warned KNX1070, which states a possible "Intermittent closure of the 101 freeway in both directions between the 134 freeway & Woodman." more ›

A female presence on L.A.'s Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city's official bicycle board, has been missing for a good number of years, something that even sitting members had complained about. That changed today when City Councilmember Paul Krekorian appointed cyclist Ayla Stern of Sherman Oaks to the board. more ›

Joe Peep's Pizza in North Hollywood (OK, Valley Village), is a neighborhood institution, whatever the neighborhood. It is also a mystery. Who exactly is Joe Peeps? The logo shows "Kilroy was here". Well, the secret is there isn't exactly a Joe Peeps. But there is an owner who started working in a local bakery in his early teens. There he perfected the art of the pizza crust. Although the joint takes on a New York vibe, the owner says, "You don't have to be in New York to make a perfect crust." more ›

Police are looking for the man accused of killing a 34-year-old woman and setting fire to the house last Saturday. Cheree Osmanhodzic's fiance that evening went to the store and returned home to find a man inside. He gave chase, but lost sight of the suspect a few blocks away. When he returned home, the house was on fire. Police believe the suspect killed Osmanhodzic and may have it the place on fire before being chased out. more ›

Today's official announcement on the arrest of the suspect in the April 3rd restaurant shooting that left four dead gave some more details, but not many. "With information provided from the Los Angeles Police Department Robbery Homicide Division (RHD) detectives, the U. S. Marshals Service apprehended a man whom they believe is responsible for the shooting death of four men at a North Hollywood restaurant," an LAPD news release said. more ›

28-year-old Nerses Galstyan, the suspect who allegedly shot six people at a Valley Village restaurant earlier this month, has been arrested, according to the LA Times, which cited sources "who spoke on condition of anonymity." more ›

L.A.'s best cupcake shop--that's just, like, an opinion, man--recently introduced a line of cupcake mixes so you can rock out at home and impress your friends. The $13 mixes make 18 cupcakes and include the mix, liners, frosting and any toppings if necessary (like pink sugar crystals for the vanilla flavor). The flavors offered--Red Velvet, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Black Tie (dark chocolate), pumpkin and others--are basically the same as what you can buy already-made at Famous Cupcake's Valley Village and Beverly Hills locations. more ›

On Monday, Councilmember Paul Krekorian will host a community town hall to address concerns and update residents about the investigation of last week's restaurant shooting in Valley Village that left four dead and two critically injured. LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk J. Albanese, who heads the San Fernando Valley, and Deputy Chief David R. Doan, chief of Detectives, will be there along with neighborhood leaders. The 7 p.m. event is at Colfax Elementary School Auditorium (11724 Addison St., North Hollywood, CA 91607). The suspect, 28-year-old Nerses Galstyan of North Hollywood, was named Friday and is still on the loose. more ›

28-year-old Nerses Galstyan of North Hollywood has been named as the suspect in Saturday's Valley Village restaurant shooting that left four dead and two injured, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said this afternoon. On Saturday, Galstyan was apparently with the six victims inside the Hot Spot Mediterranean Restaurant and became involved in an argument before shooting them in anger. more ›

A 2007 murder may be linked to Saturday's restaurant shooting that left four dead inside a middle eastern cafe, the LA Times is reporting. Akop Akopyan, 24, was found dead on Mulholland drive in what police believe was an execution hit. more ›

Details about how a restaurant shooting that left four dead and two injured went down started to become more clear Monday, but police were still left with varying reports, leaving a murky picture on some ends. more ›

The now-identified victims, who were likely intended targets, in Saturday's shooting that left four dead and two in critical condition were gathered after a funeral. 30 to 40 people had come together at the Hot Spot Cafe on Riverside Drive, but when the shooting occurred, only a handful remained. more ›

Police officials are calling the deadly Saturday afternoon shooting inside a Valley Village restaurant "an intentional act." Four were killed and two critically injured after shots broke out inside Hot Spot Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant on Riverside Drive near Colfax Avenue, in what some are calling an Armenian mafia or gang hit. more ›

A shooting inside a Valley Village restaurant left four people dead this afternoon. Around 4:30 p.m., a group of men were eating at the Hot Spot Cafe at 11651 Riverside Drive when shots were fired, hitting at six people. Police say three died inside and one reportedly died in transport or at the hospital [Update, 9:59 p.m.: Police are now officially confirming that the fourth victim died at the hospital. The other two are in critical but stable condition]. more ›

The controversial issue of increasing the speed limit along Riverside Drive between the Burbank border and Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks was approved by a L.A. City Council committee in a 2 to 1 vote yesterday. The proposal, which will up the limit from 35 to 40 m.p.h., will be considered by the full City Council on March 5th. more ›

It didn't take long for the recently elected 2nd District Councilmember Paul Krekorian to start work the moment he was confirmed last Tuesday. He quickly introduced a motion "that would call for tougher development restrictions and seek to limit the scope of SB 1818," the state law that strips local municipal zoning codes and allows higher density with less restrictions (watch this great video example), on a project within his district, according to OurLA. more ›

Orange Line riders might have some more rush-hour wiggle room when they travel the busway later this month. On December 13th, Metro will deploy service enhancements, including a new peak hour bus line that's expected to reduce Orange Line crowds. "Van Nuys is the second most popular stop on the Orange Line" explained Metro Spokesman Dave Sotero. Line 902 will reduce travel time and eliminate a transfer for riders traveling between the Red Line Subway and the Northeast Valley. more ›

ABC7 and Citysearch got together and made a top 7 cupcake shop list. Auntie Em's Kitchen in Eagle Rock took the top spot with Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank and Famous Cupcakes in Valley Village in spots 2 and 3. The list is rounded out by Susie Cakes, The Cobbler Lady, Violet's Cakes, French's Cupcake Bakery, Cupcakery and Dolcissimo. Who didn't make the list? Sprinkles and Crumbs. Oh, snap! more ›

Considering the recent flooding in Studio City, a fire truck consumed into a Valley Village street and various other floods throughout the city--Melrose Ave., South LA, Exposition Ave.--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials said today that in order to repair the city's older infrastructure within the 7,200 miles of piping, they will ask the City Council to increase water rates, according to the LA Times. more ›

It's not LADWP's job to be a special effects studio. First a flood, 3 to 4 feet high in some spots sweeping away a handful of cars, last Saturday night in Studio City and this morning a fire truck stuck half way into the ground in neighboring Valley Village (the firefighters escaped safely). more ›

Early this morning in Valley Village a water main break northeast of where a trunk line ruptured this weekend and caused massive flooding in Studio City has caused a sinkhole to swallow a fire engine and water and mud to flow into the streets. The fire truck was responding to the call to Hartsook Street at Bellingham around 5:30 this morning when the road was believed to still be stable. According to a live report on KTLA residents of the street have noted that the truck seems to be sinking further. The broken line delivers water to area homes, and it's unclear if its break is related to the previous Valley line break. Water and dirt are moving from the sinkhole area, east on Hartsook and south on Laurel Canyon towards Riverside Drive, potentially causing woes for motorists--either trying to drive or whose cars are parked where the mud has flown. more ›

The front doorway of a restaurant and cafe in Valley Village caught fire this afternoon, but was quickly knocked down by the LA Fire Department in eight minutes after the first 911 call. Cafe Eilat, a kosher gourmet coffee shop and full bakery with sit down service, was already closed today in observance of the Sabbath. more ›

Good news for the best cupcake storefront in town: a federal judge yesterday dismissed Beverly Hills' Sprinkles trademark infringement case against Famous Cupcakes in Valley Village "citing problems with Sprinkles' court filing," according to CBS2. Famous uses a dot within a circle design on their packaging and website, but Sprinkles says the have a copyright for that and uses the design on their own cupcakes. But this is not the end of it: "attorneys from Sprinkles said they plan to refile the motion after making the required corrections." more ›