Authorities believe the same arsonist or arsonists responsible for multiple fires early Friday morning in the Hollywood and West Hollywood area struck again early Saturday morning, this time in the Fairfax district and the North Hollywood area. An estimated 11 car fires set in the early morning hours have been added to the disturbing and growing chain of fires set by an unknown suspect or suspects. more ›

From the folks who brought you the marvel that was Carmageddon comes The Rampture--no, it's not a traffic-inspired disaster movie, but rather a nickname bestowed upon the several days of closures the eight Wilshire Boulevard on and off ramps to the 405 Freeway will undergo at various times in November. more ›

During a press conference held this morning by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other local officials, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy referred to the 53 hours in mid-July when the 405 Freeway will be shut down for the Mulholland Bridge demolition as "car-mageddon." Good one, Mr. Y! more ›

The Metro Board of Directors unanimously voted today to support LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and the vocal condominium residents and will remove a contested one-mile segment of the proposed Wilshire rush hour bus-only lanes from the project, reports Streetsblog Los Angeles. more ›

Calling plastic bags "urban tumbleweed," L.A. County Sup. Zev Yaroslavsky was among the voters on the Board who helped put a sweeping ban on the items today, according to LA Now. Joining Yaroslavsky were Sups. Gloria Molina and Mark Ridley-Thomas, with Sup. Michael D. Antonovich opposing, and Sup. Don Knabe absent. more ›

He's been a steady name in Los Angeles politics for decades, from the Los Angeles City Council to his current long-term spot with the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Now, he's seriously being asked -- apparently by "people you just can't ignore" -- to consider making a stab at running for Mayor of Los Angeles next year, when Antonio Villaraigosa's term is up. more ›

The City and County of Los Angeles is offering $55,000 in reward for information leading to the "identification, apprehension, and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of" Ila Ali Packman, murdered June 24th inside a Hollywood Marijuana clinic, the LAPD have announced. more ›

Sunday morning shoppers at Vons in Wilshire Center had an unusual sight to see from the checkout line. Feet away from them were TV cameras, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others talking about Assembly Bill 1998, known to many as the plastic bag ban. more ›

After a death of a teenager and over one hundred injuries at last weekend's Electric Daisy Carnival, two L.A. County Supervisors today called for a multi-agency task force to address the health and safety issues associated with rave party events and report back with findings and recommendations. more ›

Following the death of a teenage girl who attended this weekend's Electric Daisy Carnival at the L.A. Coliseum, a Los Angeles County Supervisor is calling for a moratorium on raves at the location. 15-year-old Sasha Rodriguez was one of the over 100 people transported to local hospitals during the event, which drew around 185,000 people. She died Tuesday afternoon. more ›

In a split decision, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors today approved a boycott of Arizona over its controversial immigration law, SB 1070. The 3-2 vote means county employees cannot travel to the state unless "the county’s chief executive determines it would seriously harm county interests," according to the LA Times. "The boycott also calls for a divestiture of Arizona’s state and municipal bonds by the county’s pension fund." Mark Ridley-Thomas was the deciding vote when he joined Gloria Molina, who introduced the measure, and Zev Yaroslavsky in approving the measure. Don Knabe and Michael Antonovich voted no. “We need solutions, not boycotts,” said Antonovich. more ›

The ACLU this afternoon released their statement on the death of former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates, who often referred to Ramona Ripston, ACLU of Southern California's Executive Director, as “Ramona Ripoff." She offers some choice words: more ›

The big day is tomorrow. The Expo Line's construction authority board is scheduled to vote on the second phase, which will bring the line from Culver City to Santa Monica (the first phase between downtown and Culver City is already under construction). The vote could go a variety of ways, including being voted down--meaning no train--to what's expected: the route as seen in the photo above. more ›

When it comes to condom use in the local porn business, Los Angeles County officials are opting to keep their hands to themselves. more ›

It was back in 1992 when the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan went into effect, setting course for the city of Los Angeles to preserve the historic 1924 drive through a set of land use regulations and improvements. Among those was the Core Trail, some 22 miles in length, roughly from near the Hollywood Bowl to Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Approaching 20 years since it became law, some are wondering why nothing has been done. more ›

This morning's Daily News raises an important question in the era of social networking: "What do you do if you're a local official on a political mission to Washington, D.C., but find there's no media there to cover your activities?" The answer, of course, is to use services like Twitter and YouTube to pass along short pieces of information a la minute to your followers and constituents. more ›

USC journalism student Alexander Comisar tried to interview LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky about the day in a the life of a politician. The press representative said "no" so Comisar confronted Yaroslavsky during public comment at a meeting this week. "Your Press Deputy told me that as a point of policy, you don't do interviews with students because it isn't your responsibility to help us with our homework." That seemed to catch the 3rd district politican a little off guard. "I can't believe that my press deputy said that I woudn't interview with students because he knows that I interview with students all the time." Comisar's profile will come out in a few weeks. Also: It should be noted that representatives from three of the five County Supervisors has contacted LAist for stories or to be put on their press lists. Yaroslavsky's office is not one of the them. more ›

LA prides itself on being a standout among other American cities for its weather, celebrities, and attractions. One distinction, however, points to the darker side of life in our troubled metropolis--the fact that over "two million people living in Los Angeles County - about 20 percent of the area's population - receive welfare or other public aid," according to the Daily News. In fact, our county tops the list nationwide, per Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who said: "We have the highest human service burden of any county in the country in sheer numbers. Two million people is the size of some countries; that's how big our problem is." Officials believe numbers will continue to rise as our economic woes continue. Local offices are "ill-equipped to deal with the growing throng of indigent people," and, as of the end of 2008 LA County was drawing $334 million a month from local, state, and federal governments. more ›

LA County Board of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has jumped on the bandwagon of politicians begging the LA Times not to kill the California section of the paper. "Despite its profitability even in the current market, the Times recently boosted its street price by 50% even as it was accelerating plans to further degrade its news product by eliminating sections and cutting additional staff," he wrote in the letter (via LA Observed). "Charging the newspaper's customers more while giving them less is never sound economic policy, nor is it a sustainable journalistic practice. In essence, the Times' current trajectory can be described succinctly as follows: 'We are going to save the newspaper by destroying it.'" LA City Councilmember Eric Garcetti started a popular Facebook group to urge the section's survival. more ›

In an attempt to give the public more information about the nutritional value of the fast food they're consuming, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is presenting a proposal next week that would require fast food restaurants to post calorie counts on menus:

If the measure is successful, Los Angeles County would be following in the footsteps of New York and a handful of other municipalities nationwide that already have implemented calorie counts on the menus at major restaurant chains, or are taking steps to do so. more ›

Averaging at just about $4.19 for a gallon of regular gas on Sunday in the Los Angeles area, prices continue to increase with an unknown end in site. The ripple effect is still unknown, but people are noticing some freeways thinning out and Metro is reporting record high numbers of ridership. Keeping all this in mind, the Daily News brings up some interesting figures: more ›

• Councilman Tom LaBonge: luh-BONJ
• County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: yaar-o-SLAV-skee
• Councilman Jose Huizar: WEE-sar

This past Saturday, the Boardmembers, stakeholders and guests of the Woodland Hills Warner Center Neighborhood Council met at the WH Marriott for an all-day Retreat and Board Workshop. more ›

Maybe it’s because of its residents' blogginess, but these days everyone seems to know that downtown LA is booming. However, flying way below the radar is Koreatown. Yes, you already know it’s the place to go for your late night barbecue and karaoke needs, but the boozin’, beef-eatin’ hood (best known to those outside LA as one of the places ravaged by the 1992 riots) has quietly been getting a $1 billion makeover that... more ›

Did you know Disney Hall was designed before the Guggenheim in Bibao, Spain? On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote on taking ownership of Disney Hall. If they do, they will rename it to County Hall. Just kidding. (Los Angeles Times) Speaking of the County, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky apparently can sustain about a 9-minute mile for almost a half marathon distance. That's one option if you want to get across the... more ›

Mayor Tony has a busy Sunday scheduled for this weekend, but we're glad to see he's blocked off the entirety of tomorrow to pulling for the underdog Bruins as they square off against Tommy Trojan and the Song Girls. Saturday, December 2, 2006 1:00 PM - PASADENA - Mayor Villaraigosa will cheer on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins as they go up against the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans in... more ›

Hooray for the homeless! The LA County Board of Supervisors has approved the $100 million plan to build 5 major homeless shelters and service centers at points around the county. This should relieve the concentration of homeless in downtown LA. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky called the move "a historic investment." more ›

LA has unveiled a plan to spend $100 million on the homeless. The allocation includes many housing solutions, including establishing five "stabilization centers" around the city, which would be open 24-7 to provide services, treatment, and housing. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky says it's "a proposal of historic proportions." The Board of Sups is expected to vote on the plan next month. more ›

KPCC reports that former city councilman Marvin Braude has died. Braude was first elected to his post repping the 11th district in 1965, then won the next 7 elections, serving for 32 years. He worked to preserve the Santa Monica Mountains, siding with environmentalists over developers. We once heard (but can't prove right now -- bad google!) that he was such an avid bicyclist that he regularly rode his bike to work at the Council. Later he was an advisor to USC's Neighborhood Participation Project, and as recently as last month was giving his frank opinion about a political appointee: "he's a kvetch and a nuisance." We didn't even know him and we'll miss him. more ›

- Somebody else thinks LA is cruising towards riots. more ›