Lindsay William-Ross

Channel Islands National Park (Zach Behrens/LAist) Today the Nature Conservancy has announced their picks for the "Top Ten California Treasures," naming some of our state's most beloved and well-known parks and recreation areas that "were funded by a federal program called the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is currently proposed to be cut by 90 percent in the House of Representatives' budget," according to Yahoo! News. View Nature Conservancy's "Top Ten California...

Photo by mondolind via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr If you are a renter, and looking to move in the coming months, some encouraging news: Rents between now and the end of next year are expected to decline by an estimate 3.2 percent, according to the 2011 USC Casden Multifamily Forecast, a report released today by the school's Lusk Center. Here's the Casden's breakdown of key LA County info: * In 2010,...

The city's red light cameras will keep clicking in our intersections for the next three months, as the Los Angeles Police Commission approved an extension for the expiring contract with their vendor last night, according to the Daily News. At issue, however, remains a resolution to the "conflicting reports" offered up about the red light camera program's impact on drivers' safety and behavior. A negative report called "Safer Streets in Los Angeles" has recently...

Photo by NewsSpy via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr During a planned press conference held late yesterday afternoon, the Los Angeles Police Department shared photographs of women they believe could be additional victims of serial killer Lonnie Franklin, Jr, known as the Grim Sleeper. The LAPD have been using photographs collected at Franklin's home to determine how many other potential victims he may have had. He has already been indicted for the...

In tonight's Extra, Extra we've got 118 people in a giant bubble, teens and their hookahs, high paid execs, and a Councilman's chickens, along with some more news bites of the day. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

If ever there was an evening to knock back a brew or two, it's tonight, in observance of the unofficial "holiday" of New Beer's Eve. Say what? "On the evening of April 6, people lined up outside breweries and taverns, waiting for midnight when they would be able to legally purchase beer for the first time in over 13 years. Since then, the night of April 6 has been referred to as 'New Beer's Eve.'"

A 21-year-old Studio City-based talent manager and his company have been charged with seven misdemeanor counts stemming from allegations he was running an "advance-fee talent scheme" that put kids at risk of harm, according to the City Attorney's office. Nicholas Roses and his Roses Entertainment Group face "three counts of operating an advance-fee talent representation service, one count of failing to file the proper $50,000 bond with the State Labor Commission, and one count...

At the 2010 Pie Contest (L. William-Ross/LAist) Right now this is just your "save the date" heads up, since few details are available: The 3rd Annual KCRW Pie Contest will be happening on September 18th at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Specifics about where at the venue, what time, and who the judges will be have not been announced yet, though the station promises another slice of fun, with the contest, "great...

Photo by foodwoolf via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Federal Election Day could become a holiday in California, and to get the process going, Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced today that Roy Benson, the proponent of a new initiative, can begin collecting petition signatures for his measure. Although our state Elections Code (Section 14000) stipulates that employees must be granted two hours of paid time, at the start or end of...

Photo by Helga Weber via Flickr Sorry smokers! Pasadena is working on an ordinance that would slowly phase out the ability to smoke in apartment buildings and units. The Pasadena City Council instructed the City Attorney's office to "draft a ordinance that would ban smoking in common areas of apartment buildings by the summer; ban smoking in all proposed multi-unit housing; require a disclosure of the law in rental, lease or purchase agreements by...

An Alaska Airlines aircraft comes in for a landing at LAX (Photo by Mark Luethi via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) The embarrassment of being a "world class city" with an ugly, user unfriendly, depressing, skanky airport seems interminable, doesn't it? Renovations, upgrades, and pretty-fication seems to happen one terminal at a time at Los Angeles International Airport, and today comes word that Terminal 6 might emerge as being actually pleasant in...

President Barack Obama on Aug. 15, 2010 (AP Photo/Dave Martin) President Barack Obama announced this week that he is officially bidding for re-election in 2012, and to bring his campaign some bucks, he's scheduled a visit this month to Los Angeles for a fundraiser. The event will take place on April 21 at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City. Want in on the action? Be ready to shell out $2,500 for VIP seating or...