Lindsay William-Ross

Plan for the pocket park (Heal the Bay) A charmless, desolate block-long traffic median in South Los Angeles is about to become the neighborhood's newest "pocket park" thanks to the efforts of Heal the Bay, some local school kids, and an infusion of grant funding from California State Parks. Located at the intersection of McKinley Avenue and E. 87th Street, this "dead" space is about to become the WAYS Literacy and Fitness Park, a...

Restored home in Angelino Heights (Read more about the home and the neighborhood here) (Lindsay William-Ross/LAist) The Los Angeles Conservancy is one of the premiere groups who work to keep Los Angeles of today infused with the architectural wonder that was Los Angeles of years gone by. Every year, they hand out awards for the work of preservationists and their projects, and have just announced the nine 2011 winners of the highly-sought honor that...

Photo by Andy Kennelly via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to announce soon that our state's drought is over, thanks to a season of heavy rains. "Brown is expected to lift the state's 3-year-old drought declaration Wednesday, when the next snow survey is conducted," according to the LA Times. The current drought was declared by previous governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, which, notes the Sacramento Bee, was a...

Rendering of the proposed buildings Imagine the DTLA skyline including a pair of skyscrapers whose top levels are lit up with colorful flashing bulbs in a variety of imagery. That is what could happen in the stead of the almost-60-year-old Wilshire Grand Hotel, should the LA City Council vote to approve a proposed project backed by Korean Air that would see the erection of a 45-story hotel and companion 65-story office building, according to...

Authorities are looking for 19-year-old Michael Sykes, the seventh suspect in a Moreno Valley gang rape attack on an 11-year-old, according to the Press-Enterprise. Investigators believe at least seven people raped the girl in the restroom of Victoriano Park on March 10th. Six suspects have already been arrested in conjunction with the case. This case, which was kept out of the press until now because detectives did not want to jeopardize the investigation, is...

50-year-old Andrea Perry of Palmdale was the single mother of six children, all under the age of 12. Sunday morning, when her children went into her bedroom to wake her up, they found Perry stabbed to death in her bed, her face covered with a blanket, according to KTLA.

Dining at Vertical Wine Bistro (Photo by Tales of an LA Addict via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) Several of Pasadena's restaurants will be participating in the first ever Pasadena Restaurant Week, which kicked off today and runs through Friday, April 1st. Much like dineLA, the inaugural Pasadena event will include restaurants offering three-course fixed price dinner and/or lunch menu items priced at three tiers, $15, $20 or $25 (lunch) and $23,...

The Los Angeles Police Department are investigating an altercation that led to a stabbing with an ice pick that took place Sunday night in Hollywood, according to ABC7. One person was injured in the fight, which happened outside Joseph's Cafe, the three-decades old Greek-Mediterranean restaurant and nightclub on Ivar at Yucca. That victim is in stable condition. Two men were detained. No other information about the incident has been made available....

The LAPD is continuing to send the message to drivers across the city that drinking and driving has serious consequences. As part of their ongoing effort to educate the public, there will be at least one DUI checkpoint tonight, located on Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Devonshire Street and Chatsworth Street in Chatsworth, from 8 p.m to 2 a.m. If your night out includes drinking, designate a driver, take a cab, or ride the Metro....

Photo by Jay Banzia via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The Newport Beach Public Library could boldly go where most libraries have yet dared not go: Book-less. They are considering relocating the Balboa Branch to a section of the Marina Park Community Center, but leaving out the 35,000 items--comprised of books, DVDs, and other materials--and offering a librarian-free "electronic library" instead, according to the Daily Pilot. The move will allow the library...

Scotty O'Neil Radio personality Scotty O'Neil, a longtime announcer on the Las Vegas celebrity talk show "The Dennis Bono Show," died Thursday after collapsing onstage during a commercial break of a show taping, reports the Las Vegas Sun. O'Neil dropped from the interview couch onstage at the South Point Casino in front of the live audience. He was 69. Prior to his work in Vegas, O'Neil began his professional journey in Los Angeles. He...

Long Beach native and rapper Nate Dogg will be remembered this weekend with a public viewing and funeral in his hometown, thanks to the help of local officials and his longtime friend Snoop Dogg. Nate Dogg, nee Nathaniel Hale, died March 15th at age 41, and had been in poor health in recent years after suffering several strokes. Today's viewing will take place at 10 a.m. at New Hope Baptist Church in Long Beach,...