Jessica P. Ogilvie

Photo by CitySkylineSouvenir via Flickr If you've been paying attention to overhead signs recently, you've no doubt seen (and questioned) the huge billboards in which Ken proclaims his love for Barbie. By way of background information, Ken and Barbie are toys made by Mattel, Inc., so that wasn't real. Nor is the announcement that fictional, plastic Barbie has said "yes" to fictional, plastic Ken's fictional marriage proposal, but that hasn't stopped Mattel from sending...

Ellen DeGeneres might come across as warm and welcoming on her talk show, but that doesn't mean she wants uninvited "guests" traipsing about on her property. A woman who was arrested last week outside Ellen's Beverly Hills home that she shares with wife Portia de Rossi was charged today with misdemeanor trespassing.

Photo by ganymede_8 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Palm Springs is about to get even more fabulous. As part of a project called BOOM, ten architectural design firms are developing a retirement community in Rancho Mirage that will be focused on creating stylish, high design buildings that are geared towards gay retirees. The goal of the project -- which is budgeted at around $250 million -- is to create a home...

In today's incredibly depressing edition of Extra, Extra, a man and his horse are killed, a woman runs over her own daughter, a skull is found in a man's home, and a nearby shooting forces a lockdown in an elementary school. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Photo by Mr. Freshmaker via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Is it worse to find out that your job is being terminated, or to find out that you have a year to worry about whether your job might be terminated? According to the Daily Breeze, that's a question over 5,000 LAUSD employees may soon be able to answer. The paper reports that the Los Angeles school board will meet on Tuesday to...

Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A white flag flies in CD14 today. City council candidates Josè Huizar and Rudy Martinez publicly agreed on Tuesday to keep their campaigns focused on positive and productive conversations about the community, and to refrain from negative attacks on each other. The agreement, which happened during a candidate's forum held at the Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock, came on the heels...

Photo by i_hate_my_screen_name via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Anaheim residents are up in arms over Disney's so-called "urban-art" line of clothing, which features characters like Mickey and Goofy with spray cans, slouching away from freshly tagged walls. According to the OC Register, the items were pulled following a January 26 meeting in Anaheim that drew nearly 170 elected officials and residents. The Register reports that at the meeting: One Anaheim resident...

Photo by Caitlyn Willows via Flickr It looks like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be as happy to throw off the shackles of political responsibility as former president George W. Bush was when he could finally get the eff out of the White House. Variety reports that Schwarzenegger tweeted the following about his intentions to go back to Hollywood: "Exciting news. My friends at CAA have been asking me for 7 years when...

In tonight's most extra of extras, we have the ongoing investigation of a stray arrow, the Los Angeles bomb squad, thousands of counterfeit sunglasses, and a firm stance against Santa Monica's unruly library patrons. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Photo by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr Most of us have gotten used to store's cashiers requesting personal information, ranging from our phone number to our date of birth. But that will soon change, at least in small part: the California Supreme Court ruled today that retailers can no longer ask for ZIP codes form customers who pay with credit cards, reports the LA Times: "The Legislature intended to provide robust consumer protections by prohibiting retailers...

Photo by katerha via Flickr Don't forget your reusable tote the next time you shop in Beverly Hills. The city is currently enlisting their City Attorney to review documents created by LA County that deal with such a ban, according to Beverly Hills Patch. The November vote approved a ban for unincorporated LA County*, however several local cities within the county are pursuing bans of their own. The site reports that the November vote...

Photo by maximumshots via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A program launched in West Hollywood in 2006 devoted to helping maintain the city's historic trees is being given a second push, reports West Hollywood Patch. The program, called Heritage Tree Program, was originally formed "for the purpose of identifying, promoting awareness, maintaining and protecting designated Heritage Trees located within the City," according to its website. But Patch reports that the program was...