Andy Sternberg

Terror in the U.S. no longer sees any color. After nearly a decade, the sun has finally set on the Department of Homeland Security's rainbow of terror color-coded alert system. In the near future, terror as we've feared it will no longer be expressed in terms of the more shocking shades in the spectrum as the department's brand new National Terror Advisory System (NTAS) public guide (pdf) is introduced. "We've been 'orange' since 2006,"...

Record Store Day exclusives seen in the Coachella tent, 2009 (Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist) This weekend is all about music and you don't even need to venture out to the Coachella Valley to take part. April 16th is the fifth annual (fourth global) Record Store Day and it is being celebrated at more independent record stores around L.A. than we even knew existed. The limited-edition special releases and in-store parties and performances begin at...

Homer gets a break this April 15th (photo by jpmatth via flickr. ...The deadline for filing taxes is Monday, April 18th this year! In January the IRS announced an extension from the typical April 15th tax deadline to the 18th in keeping with the traditional Coachella Friday -- er -- Emancipation Day holiday, observed only in DC and equating to one celebratory day of liberation from filing taxes. If you're not filing via the...

Part of the sky, as seen by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) NASA's Pasadena-based (Caltech) Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) left us all a little gift this week -- the first batch of data and images collected by an infrared satellite that captured the most detailed scan of the whole sky. Data and images captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) during the first three months of 2010 can now be pored over...

!!! gets the Coachella webcast off to a sweaty start on the Outdoor Theater stage Whether you missed out on tickets to Coachella this year, prefer kickin' it by the pool, or just dislike crowds (but love music), you'll be enlightened to know that the festival is comin' atcha live. On three channels, starting now. Barring any technical difficulties, the Coachella livestream will bring about 60 live performances to your computer or mobile device...

Authorities are asking the public for help in an animal cruelty investigation after gruesome discoveries of the remains of four cats at El Monte's Rio Vista Park (map). All of the animals had been duct taped and tortured in a similar fashion, leading El Monte police to believe there may be a serial cat torturer at large.

A woman filed an anonymous civil lawsuit in LA Superior Court Wednesday asking that Match.com cease new registrations until the online dating site has a system in place to screen new signups and exclude registered sex offenders from its membership. The woman, an Ivy League graduate who works in film and television, according to her attorney Mark L. Webb, was the victim of an alleged sexual attack after meeting for a second date with a man she had met via Match.com.

via Carting Away the Oceans report. Greenpeace's latest scorecard measuring various supermarket chains' commitments to sustainable seafood may come as a surprise. The polesitter is not Whole Foods and certainly not Bristol Farms... it's one of the largest grocery chains in the United States. Safeway, which owns and operates all VONS and Pavilions supermarkets (among others), captured the top spot in Greenpeace's fifth update of its Carting Away the Oceans rankings. Safeway has made...

Prince is in town. We wouldn't know about this, of course, if not for George Lopez and his late-night show on TBS -- y'know, the one that comes after Conan. On Monday night his purple majesty called in to Lopez Tonight to announce a 21-night stand at The Forum in Inglewood. But Wednesday night Prince got down with Team Loco, performing three songs (including new ones) and rapping with George about everything from Olive...

Photo at the scene by Alice Oestreich. Authorities are investigating a fire and reported burglary at a Hollywood synagogue today. Workers reported the incident upon arriving at Temple Israel, 7300 W. Hollywood Blvd. (at Fuller), around 9 a.m., according to authorities. "Because it is a house of worship, we're taking every precaution to be sure we know we are not underplaying the situation," said LAPD Capt. Beatrice Girmala, according to L.A. Now. LAPD issued...