They keep piling on. Today, "the governor placed a $900 million bond measure on the ballot to provide low-interest home loans to returning veterans of current and recent wars," reports John Myers at KQED's Capitol Notes. And there could be more to come, he says. Three of them could be a water bond, a budget reform proposal and a reform of the lottery initiative to raise money for the state budget. Now that's fifteen props......

Guerilla gardening is largely thought to have its roots in England, where folks have long planted unexpected gardens in neglected public spaces as a sort of call to action that highlights the misuse of land and repurposes it into something beautiful. They often work in crews or teams and go on carefully-planned gardening missions. Recently a local team of guerilla gardeners transformed a section of land next to an off-ramp of the 101 Hollywood Freeway.......

For six weeks, ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt has been trying to get a hold of DWP's CEO and General Manager's personal water bills, something that must be released by law within 10 days of request. The reporter was ready to bring the DWP to court, but before that, the Daily News printed a story about Nahai's bills but left out the backstory on why Nahai was all of the sudden releasing this info.......

Ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt (known as the LA Sniper) might sue the LA Dept. of Water & Power General Manager and CEO David Nahai over a California Public Records Request violation -- Nahai won't give up his personal water bills for his 6,012-square foot Benedict Canyon mansion. Mittelstaedt thinks the bills will show Nahai's lifestyle is opposite the one his department preaches: sustainability and green. "We’re in ongoing discussions with DWP’s attorneys and......

In 1947 UFO hysteria swept across the world after Kenneth Arnold's alleged sighting of peculiar disc-like objects in US skies. Reports from Los Angeles are certainly nothing new either, and government intervention or involvement is certainly not just a modern possibility. In 1956 over Burbank a strange craft was observed in the zenith by two brothers at 2:00 pm as they pottered outside in the garden of their grandparents. A 'shiny dot' appeared in the......

Dr. Randii Wessen, a program system engineer at NASA, holds a globe of mars where at the top in the northern hemisphere, a yellow square marks the landing area of the Phoenix Lander where ice water was found. | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist This just in from the Mars Phoenix Lander's Twitter at 5:15 p.m.: "Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best......

With temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in the Valley and with other parts of Los Angeles feeling sticky, it's no surprise that energy use spiked yesterday. "The energy peak topped out at 5509 megawatts, making it the second highest June load on record," stated an LA Department of Water & Power press release from today that "urges" residents to conserve energy. "The record load for June is 5531 megawatts, set on June 28, 2006. The......

One week after Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a statewide water drought, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California has issued a water supply alert to the 18 million people in the six counties it serves, which includes Los Angeles County. The alert is the second of three steps to impose water rationing. “A ‘water supply alert’ does not mean less water being supplied; it means that the water being supplied is severely depleting reserves, and......

Kayaking the LA River in Sherman Oaks (more photos here) | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found the Los Angeles River unnavigable, therefore it is not a river. Critics say it will weaken rules that protect the watershed under the Clean Water Act. "They believe the ripple effect of the decision will make is easier to develop large areas of the Santa Susana, Santa Monica and San Gabriel......

Today, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a statewide water drought and ordered immediate action to address the issue. Via the Sacramento Bee: The Republican governor will sign an executive order that seeks to accelerate water transfers to shortage areas, pursue federal assistance and improve coordination between government agencies. The order does not impose statewide water rationing but attempts to reduce water use by bolstering state and local conservation programs Locally, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California......

A possible water supply alert is being considered by Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, who serve 18 million people in the region. Their board will discuss the option next month because places where water is taken is found to be "unusually" dry and for environmental reasons (delta smelt). “A ‘water supply alert’ does not mean less water being supplied; it means that the water being supplied is severely depleting reserves, and that if......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says that most households in Los Angeles use between 30-40 percent of water outdoors and in some neighborhoods located in zones with warmer temperatures or with homes on larger lots, households use as much as 70% of their water outdoors. And after a hot weekend, this weekend looks to be much cooler and wetter. "Now is the time for customers to cut......

Photo by aussiegall via Flickr Today LA will be taking another look at a water recycling program that could help the city become not only more efficient in usage but lead us towards freedom from costly and precious state-level water sources. Currently, 80% of our city's water is imported. The LA Times reports that this plan "would invest in projects to capture and store rainfall and clean up a sprawling, contaminated water supply beneath......

Earthquake Photo via Shanghaiist The nearly 10,000 person death toll (and rising!) after yesterday's massive 7.8 earthquake in the Sichuan province of China serves as a reminder to Los Angeles that we are just as vulnerable to such a large shaker. It was just last month that scientists said "California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037." And they're talking about "the big one." Shanghaiist, a sister......

Beginning this morning, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was scheduled to begin filling the Silver Lake Reservoir back up with water. Six months ago it was taken out of service and later drained after unusually high levels of bromate were found, according to KNBC. The chemical compound is only cancer inducing if a person drank two liters of it every day for 70 years....

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be......

Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. The event was highlighted by brief talks from actress Amy Brenneman and TreePeople's Andy Lipkis, both of whom spoke about the power of conservation, and in appreciation of a few individuals who are doing......

The Metropolitan Water District is asking residents to conserve water by watering their lawns one day less a week, according to KNBC. If that happens, the water saved could equal "as much water as the cities of Anaheim, Burbank, Long Beach and Pasadena use in one year." A 13-week advertising campaign is being launched to request voluntary conservation. And while watering the lawn is something many do, apartment dwellers do not have to deal with......

As reported earlier today, the LA City Council was set to vote and approve rate hikes for the Department of Water and Power over the next four years. Now that all is said and done, the council approved the increases. Rick Orlov of the Daily News blogged updates throughout the meeting with some great talking points: Trust & Transparency (link)Councilwoman Janice Hahn said part of the problem facing the DWP is the lack of public......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr This morning, the Los Angeles City Council gave a first round of approval for water and power rate hikes, saying infrastructure is needed to be updated. Over the next year and a half, monthly rates are expected to increase to around $7.25 (plus tax). Both General Manager for the Department of Water and Power David Nahai and Councilman Bill Rosendahl pointed towards last......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr Raise your hand if the moment you heard about the death of firefighter Brent A. Lovrien being caused by old 1930s technology, that the DWP would use that as a way to help their cause of raising water and power rates? "While we believe this to be a freak occurrence, it is a symptom of a much greater problem that we must address,"......

After a 5-month investigation, the Associated Press found that Los Angeles drinking water has traces of Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications. "To be sure," the AP noted "the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose." Across the nation, the report found tainted water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas, five of those in California: Los Angeles: 2 (meprobamate and phenytoin)......

Nick's, home of delicious breakfast burritos, by Rebecca~James via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Remember when we told you that Los Angeles tap water was the best tasting in the world? Turns out that our delicious H20 might have been sprinkled with delicious drugs. The AP found that a multitude of pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million......

One of my favorite food writers, Jeffrey Steingarten, once did an elaborate and methodical taste test of several different varieties of tap and bottled water. After much research and even more adjectives, he came to the shocking conclusion that New York tap water was most pleasing to the palate. And now Los Angeles tap water has every right to brag as well: it won the award for best municipal water at the 18th annual......

The Metropolitan Water Board is set to approve a controversial new "drought plan" for Southern California. More updates on the tragic Oxnard shooting that has left one student seriously injured and possibly dead. Twelve top Defamer posts from outgoing editor Mark Lisanti, via...some guy's Tumblr account. Teh internets! Are you a lazy asshole? But a romantic lazy asshole? Well, check out last minute V-Day flower bargains from the Daily News' Bargain Hunter Blog. File......

Yesterday at a press conference with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard regarding the renewal of a Sister City relationship, Mayor Villaraigosa went off topic, but with good reason: water woes could be ahead, according to the Daily News. With the fires, extreme water drought and light snowpack this year, water is tight. Earlier this summer, the mayor made a call for the public to voluntarily reduce water use, hoping for a 10% decrease (even......

The country's safest city (some years, anyway), is getting less and less so: a shooting this morning at a Simi Valley tire store left two dead and two injured. Police have ruled out robbery and suspect a personal motive in the attack. There are a few updates on the potential water cutbacks -- although Los Angeles is okay for now (thanks to the Owens Valley), the time may come when water rationing will be......

The LA Department of Water and Power seem to think that LA will just sit back and let them raise rates, hide money, and allow themselves to get rich. In the last few weeks the public utility has been exposed for a few troubling trends and actions that we quietly await to see what Mayor Tony, and our other elected officials, will do about it. On Sunday the LA Daily News discovered that over......

Although water conservation certainly isn't at the top of everyone's 'scintillating conversation' list, an article about Long Beach's declared water emergency in today's LA Times might move the topic up just a bit. Los Angeles doesn't lie in a naturally wet region - annually, we can only expect about 16 inches of rain (which makes it sort of understandable that no one who lives out here seems to be able to drive on wet......

The devil is in the details. This astute and well-named handle said it best:The Antelope Valley sits in the western Mojave Desert in north Los Angeles County. The Palmdale Water District threatened a mandatory 30% reduction in water use in a special meeting the last week of August. In spite of drought conditions, in the Mojave Desert, government agencies have an Oasis of grass planted on their property. Had it not been raining, the......