Lindsay William-Ross

Officials from Los Angeles County have finally issued a statement about the sudden death of Internal Services Department Rebecca Wells, who was discovered dead in a cubicle in Downey on Saturday morning. Wells is described by her former employers as "a dedicated, professional and enthusiastic employee."

A driver who may be facing DUI charges crashed his vehicle through the front of a restaurant in Long Beach, leaving customers injured. Among those whose Mexican meal was dramatically interrupted was a 3-year-old girl, who was briefly trapped beneath the sedan before "being freed by bystanders," according to ABC7. The toddler was hospitalized, while one adult male on the scene was treated for minor injuries. The crash happened when the driver "ran a...

Photo by Lisa Brenner/LAist (Do not republish without written consent) When rumors swirled that Urban Outfitters in Westwood wanted their brand new Banksy painted over, the internet cried foul. Now Urban Outfitters is responding, and explains that it is not the store, but rather the property management of their retail space in Westwood, who wants the "Crayola Shooter" colored over. Urban Outfitters shared with us the following statement: "We love Banksy and have been...

Photo by Gamma Infinity via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr During the battle to tame a blaze that broke out late last night at a home in the 1500 block of North Viewsite Drive, near the Sunset Plaza area of the Hollywood Hills a ceiling collapse left several LA City firefighters injured, including one veteran of the Department who is "battling for his life" today, according to LA Now. Of those injured,...

The Splendor, stranded at sea (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Seaman Mikesa R. Ponder) Hey, who wants to take a cruise to a country beleaguered by violence and kidnapping and risk catching one of those ship-board illnesses that often grip cruisers on a boat that caught fire in the middle of the ocean the last time it sailed? If this sounds like you, you'll be happy to know Carnival's Splendor is arriving back home in Long...

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is turning to the public to ask for help in locating a suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teenage girl that took place this weekend at the Green Line station in Hawthorne, according to LA Now. The 14-year-old victim was grabbed at around 9 p.m. Saturday as she was "walking up a stairwell at the station in the 11900 block of South Crenshaw Boulevard." The...

Everyone's input is welcome! (Photo by pmarkham via Flickr) Pleased or displeased about plans to make improvements to the 710 Freeway corridor? The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced plans today to take advantage of the broad reach of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to get people connected to conversations about their proposed plans. Called the "SR-710 Conversations" digital program, Metro will use their website, webcasts, interactive virtual meetings, and...

Teachers, students, and the students' parents were shocked yesterday to learn that their principal, Timothy Guy, had been put on paid administrative leave, and that there was some sort of "investigation" taking place. Word of Guy's suspension was spread to staff via their mailboxes, says Chatsworth Patch, and some heard his leave was triggered by a "paperwork problem." Today comes word that the investigation surrounds the financial accounts to which Guy had access "at...

Photo by Lisa Brenner/LAist. Do not re-publish without obtaining written permission. Urban Outfitters, who have made a few bucks off the work of street artist Banksy through the years, now allegedly want his "Crayola Shooter" piece, on the wall behind their Westwood store, to be painted over. A Facebook event page has already popped up summoning folks to protest the rumored removal. Says one poster on the page, the retailer's store management is "claiming...

Route 66 Nursery in Upland is fighting for their right to add a crop to their rotation. Trouble is, the law says they can't grow what they want to. That crop, of course, is medical marijuana, explains the AP (via CBS2). The business has been denied a license by the city of Upland "because the city zoning ordinance doesn’t allow medical marijuana dispensaries." But Route 66 is taking it to the next level and...

Updated downtown stadium Gensler rendering with Farmers Field logo added to once-blank top of the stadium (in previous renderings) There was a power pow-wow yesterday involving Governor Jerry Brown, other legislators, and the people behind the proposed Downtown L.A. football stadium, reports the Times, with a goal of proving "the project is politically and financially viable." Already in question is the destruction of a portion of the current LA Convention Center to accommodate the...

For many of us, it's hard to pick where to go for a meal out. So how about when you pick a place, and can't find it? Even in this era of search engine ingenuity, a plainly-named restaurant may have to rely more on word of mouth than the virtual vortex of online information. This is the impetus behind a fun piece on Squid Ink today called "Top 5 Least-Google-Friendly L.A. Restaurants." As in,...