Lindsay William-Ross

Debra Bowen has conceded the election As the final ballot count continued after Tuesday's Special Election, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded in the race to fill the vacated 36th Congressional District seat, leaving the runoff to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) and businessman Craig Huey (R). From Bowen's statement: “Since Tuesday’s election, my staff, legal advisers and election experts participated in the ballot review process to ensure a full and...

Tom Leykis (via Leykis101) If you've spent much of your career in Los Angeles as a "shock jock" known for advising men on how to bag women, is that reason enough to turn down a generous donation towards a growing reward fund to help bag some criminals? Tom Leykis is beginning to wonder if that is what's going on with the $50,000 he offered the City of Los Angeles to put towards the pool...

Photo by Melon Bee via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr An arboretum is, in essence, a collection of trees, though by contemporary definition, it is a place dedicated to conservation of and education about trees. Now Santa Monica is beginning to explore the possibility of being "the first city-wide arboretum in the world," according to The LookOut News. The idea, which was first brought up for public discussion earlier this week in...

It's 6:20 on a Thursday evening, and you're supposed to meet a friend for a drink at one of the restaurants on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. So, uh...where is there a free parking spot? As of today, iPhone and Android users can tap into vacant spaces in Studio City with Parker, the real-time parking app. The launch of the app in Studio City was marked at an event featuring the participation of City...

Photo by Rainforest Action Network via Flickr Activists from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) dressed as iconic characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse were arrested this morning during a protest and banner-hanging outside the Walt Disney Company's Headquarters in Burbank. The group unfurled a 35-foot banner reading “Disney: Destroying Indonesia’s Rainforests," and blocked the company's main entrance early this morning, as part of an ongoing campaign. RAN Forest Campaigner Robin Averbeck said via news release...

A plain ol' affordable bowl of pho (Photo by Jennifer Gaillard via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) A recent reader e-mail prompted us to look into the possibility of there being a really (really, really) expensive bowl of pho out there. Our reader writes: "I heard that Tiato restaurant in San ta Monica will have a Pho Noodle with KOBE beef for $5,000.00 a bowl. Is this true?" The answer: Yes. First:...

Photo of the Salton Sea by lostlosangeles via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr As a cost-cutting measure, "the California Department of Parks and Recreation has come up with a list of 70 parks statewide that it will close by July 2012," reports KCET. Of the 70, just 13 are located south of San Luis Obispo, however of those 13, six represent half of our Desert State Parks. For those who make the...

Steve Cooley | Photo via L.A. District Attorney's Office Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley finally admitted Tuesday that he will not seek a fourth term in 2012. Cooley cites the primary reason for opting out of an upcoming race as his age--"he will be 65 when he completes his term," notes the Daily News, and has worked nearly 40 years as a prosecutor. Cooley's announcement ends months of speculation, much of which...

A 19-year-old Riverside man has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy with a toy lightsaber, according to KTLA. Javier Enrique Perez was found guilty on four felony counts, including "sexual penetration by foreign object by force." The crime took place while a handful of other children and teens watched; Perez assaulted the boy in the kitchen with the light saber by holding him down against the kitchen table. In addition, Perez "was...

Photo by magnetic lobster via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The Los Angeles Zoo is struggling to meet its payroll, and with the current state of the city's budget, there isn't likely to be an influx of cash streaming in from the coffers any time soon. One solution on the table is to turn the Zoo over to a private operator who can afford to run the attraction, according to the Press-Telegram....

In this file television image broadcast on Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV shows Osama bin Laden at the wedding of his son in January 2001. (AP Photo/Al-Jazeera/TV, file) From beautiful Canoga Park, California comes this timely release about the coming together of current events and, well, porn. I mean--it's Canoga Park, after all. In what we would surely hail the "Press Release of the Day" if we were to do such a thing comes word from...

Air Rescue 5 hauls the marijuana on board (Photo courtesy LASD) Authorities have removed about 1500 pounds of marijuana, assembled into about 31 bales with an estimated worth of $750,000, on Catalina Island, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The marijuana, and one male suspect, were spotted by a captain and deputy from the LASD's Avalon Station yesterday, who observed the suspect interact with what the authorities considered "suspicious items" wrapped in...