Lindsay William-Ross

The heavy rains pounding the hillsides and concrete of Los Angeles has a very specific trickle-down effect when it comes to the Pacific. Called "urban runoff," the rush of water spewing into the ocean from storm drains puts beach-goers at risk because of high bacteria levels. Not that you were likely planning to take a dip down at the beach this week, but, just in case: "A Rain Advisory has been declared for all Los Angeles County beaches. The advisory will be in effect until 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 23."

You know what rhymes with "bragging rights" (mostly)? SNOWBALL FIGHTS! Up at Mammoth, this recent weather system has left a dumping of snow on the resort and town, and today it's official: Mammoth is "the ski resort with the most snow in the world," per The Beach Blog. Skiinfo.com tracks resorts around the globe, and Mammoth tops the charts right now with a 488cm snow depth. The popular ski and snowboard destination has already...

Mitrice Richardson Latice Sutton, the mother of CSU Fullerton student Mitrice Richardson, whose remains were found in August in Malibu Canyon after being missing for several months, is calling for the FBI to look at how the sheriff's deputies handled her daughter's case, according to the Daily News. Sutton is also pushing to have her daughter's body exhumed. A forensic anthropologist working on the case will join Sutton at a press conference scheduled for...

Sorry shoppers, there are several stores on the Third Street Promenade who've lost power, reports CBS2, and "they could remain without electricity until as late as 2 a.m. Tuesday." An initial outage in Santa Monica due to "underground equipment failure" cut power to about 2,000 customers. Now about 50 customers in the vicinity of the "mall area in the vicinity of Fourth and Second streets, Santa Monica Boulevard and California Avenue" has remained affected...

Screenshot (via LAPDonline.org) Using information provided by the public, the Los Angeles Police Department say "they have tentatively identified at least 15 of the roughly 160 women," whose pictures were part of a massive collection of images gathered as evidence from the home of "Grim Sleeper" serial killer suspect Lonnie Franklin, Jr, according to LA Now. The LAPD released the images--many of them cropped because of their explicit nature--late last week in the hopes...

*UPDATE 9:16AM: "The suspect is wanted for questioning in a deadly shooting in Panorama City around 9:30 p.m. Sunday," says KTLA, adding: "It's believed the victim, who died at a hospital, was the suspect's stepson." The Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officers are assisting the Long Beach Police Department at a standoff with a suspected gunman who has barricaded himself inside a motel room since early this morning, according to KTLA.

We're on Day Three of a long, wet, hazardous system of rainstorms in Southern California, and though it may be drizzling right now, the forecast is calling for even heavier rains--the heaviest yet since the storms began late Friday night--to move in later today. There is a chance of mudslides and floods in the recent burn areas, a portion of PCH is closed, and there's been record rainfalls. Here's some basic info about the wet weather:

Photo by bedzine via Flickr Whether you're traveling for the holidays, or welcoming out-of-towners into your home, one gift you don't want to give, or receive, is the gift of bedbugs. When people are moving about the country, bedbugs, those "lentil-sized vampires," are more than happy to go along for the ride. Beverly Hills Patch has put together a set of tips for travelers and homeowners to make sure there are no bedbugs under...

In tonight's Extra, Extra we have rainy weekend road closures, a flasher all zipped up, layoffs at MGM, great reads, DUI checkpoints in the South Bay, and more. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

In LA County our restaurants and food trucks get graded, and now so will our nursing homes. Supervisor Michael Antonovich (also behind the County's restaurant grades) behind a new state law that goes into effect January 1, 2011 that requires nursing homes to publicly display their federal five-star rating. The rating system was set up in 2008. Signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger, Assembly Bill 215 is meant to help the consumer make an...

The 7.2 quake that rattled south of the border over Easter earlier this year could have a powerful impact on Los Angeles, thanks to increased tension on local fault lines that has shifted since the springtime shaker, according to The LA Times. A new NASA radar imaging system shows changes in the land following the April quake, which allows scientists to compare older maps with newer ones. They were able to see movement on...

A Korean foreign exchange student has died following a fight with a classmate at Sylmar's First Lutheran High School. The Los Angeles Police Department explain that the squabble began on Tuesday afternoon as a verbal dispute regarding cultural differences that turned into a physical fight that proved fatal. 19-year-old Jin Su Lee sustained severe brain damage during the fight with his 17-year-old classmate, also a Korean foreign exchange student. Lee was admitted to Olive...