Emma G. Gallegos

The supporters of Hollywood Central Park have friends in high places. Friends of the Hollywood Central Park have been pushing for their ambitious plan to create a 44-acre park over the 101 freeway from Santa Monica to Hollywood boulevards for years now, but this week the effort got a boost from officials in D.C.

In tonight's Extra, Extra, the Kings' goalie keeps the Hollywood sign on his mask, Marilyn Hagerty takes on NYC and a fireball could erupt in Long Beach. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports. You can also find us on Pinterest, Storify, Foursquare, and Instagram (laistpics).

Gabriela Cortez, a high school Spanish teacher at Roosevelt High School, was charged in connection with bringing underage high school boys home to have sex with her.

Coming soon to a Starbucks near you: beer, wine and small plates. A Starbucks in Calabasas applied for a permit to sell beer and wine last week.

The severed heads of two dogs were found inside a dumpster in South Los Angeles yesterday. Today police are asking for the public's help to try to understand what happened to the dogs, and they're offering a $5,000 reward for more information about the dogs

This week's round-up of overheard snippets of conversation come from on the set, Wondercon, homesick Angelenos in SXSW and, as always, Runyon Canyon. Our Overheard in L.A. feature relies on you to send us the strange conversations you overhear in this city. Send them our way at overheard@laist.com.

In tonight's Extra, Extra, a man says he killed his dad with a sledgehammer, Gwyneth Paltrow fights with the New York Times and the Occupy Wall Street protesters tell Mayor Bloomberg why they're grateful. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Prepare yourselves: there will be little news from Lindsay Lohan for the next few weeks. It seems like she might actually have some half-decent friends hanging around, who understand that Lohan is her own worst enemy, because they have successfully convinced her to stay on lockdown until March 29, the day her probation ends.

There's almost never a context where WeHo Jesus is not funny, whether he's picking up a latte, hanging out on the Miracle Mile or casually high-fiving Odd Future fans on Fairfax.

The brunch community was up in arms this weekend when it realized that 20,000 long-distance runners would be making their "Stadium to Sea" trek through prime brunch territory. (Perhaps folks were particularly cranky this year because they had downed a few too many shots of Jameson for St. Patrick's Day.)

Get out so you can ring in the new year, say anything and walk on Turtle Island.

If you're heading 26 miles to Santa Catalina any time soon, you might want to stay out of the water for the time being. The Los Angeles Times has a story about the effort to clean up the "deceptively clear" but "chronically polluted" beaches of Avalon.