Lindsay William-Ross

Photograph by Jeanne Wilson Gothamist is stuck in a vortex of stories involving alleged Islamophobia: A week that started with a heated rally and confrontation outside the not-at-Ground Zero mosque, there were incidents of a man peeing on prayer rugs at a Queens mosque and a taxi driver who was stabbed after being asked if he was Muslim. Chicagoist watched a Lego version of the city come under attack by Lego Star Wars villains...

Twitpic from Michael Ausiello on his way to the Emmys What is being described as a "hostage situation" has the area of Pico Blvd. at Robertson locked down to traffic. Based on some accounts from people near the scene, the incident involves is near the Starbucks at 8783 W. Pico [map] which has since been shut down. "Swarm of cops w guns drawn, chopper overhead. Starbucks closed down, dumped us onto the street and...

Photo by Non Paratus via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "What is the Schwarzenegger Legacy for the LGBT Community?" asks the Calitics blog. There was a fatal car-to-car shooting on the 105 Freeway last night. "Road rage" is being blamed for a stabbing that took place outside the victim's home following a confrontation with another motorist on the 5 freeway that escalated after they exited. We love the waffles at Shaky Alibi,...

The LAPD's 77th Division will be running a DUI and driver's license checkpoint tonight in South Los Angeles. Tonight's checkpoint, which will run from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., will be located on Florence Avenue between Broadway and Main Street [map]. The LAPD run these checkpoints throughout the year, with a particular emphasis on summer weekend nights, in order to reduce the number of traffic hit-and-run collisions involving intoxicated and/ or unlicensed drivers....

Ennis House (Photo by Troy Holden via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr) It's not just average homes that aren't selling here in Southern California, but also high-profile homes by some of the world's most prominent architects, according to an AP report published by cbs.com. Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Rudolph Schindler are all names that appear in pretty much any basic guide to 20th Century American architecture, and they...

Donal O'Callaghan Donal O'Callaghan was one of several city employees in Vernon, the 5.2 square-mile area south of Downtown L.A. whose public employee's salary was found to be sky-high in the wake of the Bell salary scandal. Now O'Callaghan has been "relieved of his duties while," as officials probe his financial dealings, reports the LA Times. "In addition to his annual salary of more than $380,000, Donal O'Callaghan, a city administrator, also received $243,898...

Traditions at USC (Photo via Facebook) For those who are less concerned with international academic rankings comes a list of American universities based on the definitive extra-curricular activity: Drinking. The college bar is an institutional concept, and Complex.com has done their homework and come up with their list of the 50 Best College Bars in America. So did they have any love for SoCal? Not really. With the Midwest, Northeast, and South well-represented, California...

The Mission Viejo man who claims his French Onion Soup at Claim Jumper included a surprise ingredient from the prophylactic section has settled his suit against the Inrvine-based restaurant chain, according to an AP report published on HuffPo. No information regarding the terms of the settlement, reached yesterday, are being made public, and both parties involved have indicated "the deal indicates no admission of liability by either party." Zdenek Philip Hodousek filed the suit...

Photo by TheTruthAbout... via Flickr It probably won't come us a surprise to many that Blockbuster, once the market leader in home video rentals, is preparing to file for bankruptcy. "Executives from Blockbuster and its senior debt holders last week held meetings with the six major movie studios to discuss their intention to enter a 'pre-planned' bankruptcy in mid-September, said several people familiar with the situation who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of...

The ad banned by Facebook, now approved by Google. Just Say Now, the pro-pot legalization group using the web to mobilize support, have found a new home for the very same ads that were yanked by Facebook earlier this month. The ads are now running on Google. Depicting a graphic of a pot leaf in a talk bubble, the ads promoting the group's wish to open up discussion of the issue of legalizing marijuana,...

Photo by East of West LA via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The Rosemead City Council is considering a raise for their City Manager; he currently earns $175,000 a year. A man from Orange tried to commit suicide near a local business by stripping down and setting himself on fire. Are coyotes on the prowl--and eating kittehs--near The Grove? A Wilmington man has been sentenced to serve 96 years for raping three...

Photo by bedzine via Flickr Maybe you said this rhyme as a kid: "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!" Angelenos are still having to worry about infestations--in fact, according to a Terminix report, L.A. ranks at number 10 in a nationwide list of cities and the severity of their bedbug problem, reports the Daily News. The issue locally is concentrated in "in lower-income areas of Los Angeles, where residents are more...