Lindsay William-Ross

In this Dec. 2007 photo, guns are collected by the LA County Sheriff's Department in a similar gift card "exchange" program as the LAPD's Buyback program (Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) It's become an annual tradition for the Los Angeles Police Department and other city officials: One day a year, they will trade you your unloaded gun(s) for a gift card. The 2011 Gun Buyback day is taking...

A 2007 fire in Canyon Country (Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) There have been a few small brush fires throughout the Southland in the past week, and as we head into summer, the threat of more, and larger, blazes is imminent. To that end, local authorities are urging residents in brush-dense communities to take on the important task of clearing their properties in preparation for fire season. In...

Photo by Neil Armstrong2 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Documents and other intelligence gathered at the Pakistani compound of Osama bin Laden indicate that Los Angeles was among the possible targets for future attacks on the United States, according to CBS2. The memos, shared with the FBI and Homeland Security following the killing of bin Laden, discuss attack plans being concocted for Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. Al-Qaeda's...

Photo by John Brooks for LAist Govind Armstrong's 8 Oz Burger Bar was usually pretty packed, served up a pretty good burger (and a killer Shortrib Grilled Cheese) along with very slurp-able boozy shakes and a curious (if not completely palatable) Bacon Bloody Mary. After an abrupt March shuttering for a purported "renovation," Eater LA updates diners that 8 Oz is actually closed for good. Or, in their words: "Very Much DONE DONE DONE."...

For the many Californians whose vehicle registration fees come up this July, some sort of good news. You won't have to pay your fees...in July. Renewal notices for July are being ordered on hold at the DMV because while there is a law that goes into effect that month that sees to it the fees are lowered, Governor Jerry Brown and other lawmakers are working on our state budget, which could see those fees...

Here's a little tale of media "b" "s": Apparently typing O-b-a-m-a instead of O-s-a-m-a is as easy to do as it is to not catch before the graphics go up on air. While many were quick to scoff at Fox News and at least one of their affiliates for the typo-blooper, our local ABC television affiliate KABC-7 can count themselves among those for whom the "s" in Osama was replaced with a "b" for...

A controversial policy revision at the Los Angeles Police Department means that sober but unlicensed drivers caught behind the wheel at DUI checkpoints will no longer automatically have their vehicle impounded. Now Santa Ana's City Council is being pressured to adopt a similar policy at the behest of activist groups supporting undocumented immigrants, according to the OC Register. The all-Latino Santa Ana City Council heard several speakers on behalf of the request to adopt...

Locanda del Lago's The Clooney (Photo courtesy Locanda del Lago) People mag hasn't called George Clooney the "Sexiest Man Alive" since 2006, but, five years later and turning 50 on May 6, the actor is still smokin' hot. To cool yourself down and celebrate his hitting the half-century mark, Santa Monica's Locanda del Lago has a cocktail named for Clooney, and are offering it at a special price Friday to Sunday in his honor....

Photo by melissssaf via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Metro has completed and released a draft outlining their proposed $4.145 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2011-12, and are prepping a public meeting to log feedback, as well as a directors' meeting this month before its adoption. Included in the budget are plans to keep fares the same (though including a temporary reduction of a Day Pass price to $5) and employee wages...

Police in Culver City are investigating a double homicide involving a man in his 80s and a woman in her 20s, according to the Daily News. The male victim has been identified as 89-year-old Lucien Bergez, however while the female victim's identity is known, her name is being withheld until her relatives can be notified. The bodies were found Tuesday morning inside a home on the 4000 block of Huron Avenue. Lt. Milton McKinnon...

Quitting smoking isn't easy, but thankfully, once you put down the cancer sticks you can swap out your habit for a patch, one of those newfangled air cigs, or chew on some nicotine gum. Unfortunately for one Mission Viejo man, his gum habit was actually a shoplifting habit that has now found him arrested on multiple charges of theft, according to the OC Register. 37-year-old Nathan Sheridan is thought to be the gum-fiending mastermind...

Jackie Cooper He was one of the first child stars of Hollywood's golden era. Actor Jackie Cooper, 88, died yesterday after a brief illness at a Beverly Hills hospital, reports TMZ. Cooper holds the record as being the youngest performer to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; he was recognized for his work in the 1931 film "Skippy." Cooper, a native of Los Angeles, was born to...