Guest Contributor

California's much-publicized city cash problem has finally hit the Los Angeles area. Last night, San Bernardino became the latest cash-strapped California city to declare bankruptcy. The Inland Empire city of over 200,000 joined Stockton and Mammoth Lakes in declaring Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Circus begins its seven-day Los Angeles visit Wednesday at the Staples Center, and local activists will be out in full force once again to protest the group's poor treatment of its animal performers.

Need something to do tonight? L.A. has a lot to offer you. Smashburger opens its first L.A.-area location, Cinefamily will screen a film by the Duplass brothers, Book Soup will hold a signing with the author of an inspirational memoir, and the Hammer will host a comedic literary contest.

Here's something to think about the next time you're stuck in traffic on the 405. A new Brookings Institution study showed that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area ranked number one in the nation for having the most jobs (96.5%) located in neighborhoods with public transit.

No one really moves to L.A. for the abundance of jobs, low rents or cheap transportation. Even longtime Angelenos aren’t deluded into thinking their city is an easy place to make a living. But is it really all that bad?

Ever looked at the LA River and wished you could take to it on a kayak? Well, maybe it's not for everyone, but the LA Conservation Corps' kayaking trips on our much-maligned waterway are back this summer.

Whatever form your Andy Warhol appreciation has taken over the years, you should know that L.A. has had the distinct privilege of being the city where the "prince of pop" (and pop art for that matter) made his West Coast debut exactly 50 years ago today.

We Angelenos aren't necessarily used to taking pride in our public transportation system. We're used to scoffs from boastful New Yorkers and visitors who discover that, underneath our miles and miles of snarled freeways, L.A. actually has a subway network.

Get out so you can watch some female-directed horror films, listen to ragtime, trek Highland Park and Macarthur Park and more!

When 29-year-old U.S. Navy petty officer Emily Valenzuela returned home to San Diego from seven months at sea, she couldn’t wait to see her beloved dog Bert. But Valenzuela's high hopes were crushed when her puggle was nowhere in sight. It turns out that Bert was turned over to the county’s Department of Animal Services and euthanized—all without her knowledge or consent.

We all know that film trumps theater here in Los Angeles, but that doesn't mean high-brow theater buffs are short on options. This summer a new lineup of larger-scale, acclaimed plays and musicals open shop around town.

If you didn’t party too hard yesterday (or just really want some free ice cream), head on down to the corner of 5th and Spring between 10 am and 2 pm today and donate blood.