Lindsay William-Ross

Phillip Ortiz, the California Highway Patrol Officer injured while conducting an enforcement stop on the 405 Freeway June 9th, has died. Ortiz, 48, "succumbed to his injuries on June 22, 2010 at approximately 5:50 P.M.," explains a press release. He was a 28-year veteran of the CHP, and had been "a motor officer for over 20 years in the West Los Angeles Area."

Vivacious entertainer Charo will be the star attraction at a rally to be held tomorrow at noon on historic Olvera Street. The Spanish native will be there on behalf of PETA on the eve of Mexico's highly promoted bullfighting festival to raise awareness about the perils of bullfighting, and to air her new anti-bullfighting PETA video. Charo was raised going to bullfights with her father, however she has come to see how the entertainment...

Photo by gtall1 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr What do you get your husband--one of the star players of NBA Champ team the Lakers? A Rolls-Royce, of course! The movie theatre monopoly on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade belongs to AMC. Congrats to former LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti-Pearce, who completed the Race Across America in Annapolis, Maryland yesterday. Ripatti-Pearce was paralyzed from the waist down in a 2006 shooting. Maywood lays...

Photo by Peggy Archer via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr At long last, New York City's Magnolia Bakery (of SNL "Lazy Sunday" and Sex and the City fame) is poised to open up shop here in Los Angeles. But the arrival of the new sweet destination has brought to light just how many parking spaces our city doesn't have, according to the LA Times. "The problem is phantom, or fictitious, parking," explains...

Your Daily Thread's Tracy Hepler offers up her picks for the best summer workouts to be found in L.A. on the Huffington Post today. The list is pretty yoga-intensive, from posing for inner peace and outer toning in Runyon Canyon to on the Malibu Pier. One of the quirkiest picks has to be "Running from the Paparazzi," which is running workout-meets-sightseeing tour, taking what celebs do to avoid TMZ to a whole new level...

Photo by fotonomous via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Yesterday spring gave way to summer, and the transition is known as the Summer Solstice. LAist Featured Photos pool contributor and blogger Lydia Marcus captured its "local noon" moment with her camera at Griffith Observatory's Gottlieb Transit Corridor yesterday, then explained on her blog: "Sunlight hits the Transit Corridor at 12:55pm on June 21, 2010 marking high noon and this year's Summer Solstice...

Photo by ubrayj02 via Flickr It's against the law for people to communicate via text message on their cellphones while operating a motor vehicle, and now not only will the fines for drivers be doubles, but also cyclists are about to be subject to the same law, according to abc7. A California bill "cleared an assembly committee Monday," that "at least doubles the fines for drivers caught in California calling or texting on a...

Gothamist Gothamist didn't realize that pot was growing in Union Square Park or that a free concert headlined by Degrassi's Wheelchair Jimmy (Drake) could cause a riot. Phillyist continued to advocate for Philadelphia's four-footed friends, this time after a year-old pit bull puppy was fund hanged in a local playground and the city's animal awareness and rescue groups responded. Bostonist went sporty, advising readers where to watch the world cup, helping ladies understand the...

Photo by current events via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Quakes rattling the Imperial Valley today are thought to be aftershocks of the 7.2 Mexico earthquake that struck April 2nd. The coroner has identified the two people killed in a San Bernardino Del Taco shooting yesterday; Alex Trujillo, 33, and his 6-year-old son Adrian were shot by a man who entered the restaurant and began shooting, then killed himself. A bomb threat--that...

Photo by *Mike Flores via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Why were there 1,950 gas lawnmowers dropped off at Angel Stadium in Anaheim today? A grisly meat-grinding accident in Vernon has left one industrial meat-packing worker without a leg. Down in San Diego, two police officers were attacked by a swarm of bees while they were searching a canyon for a suspect. Did Los Angeles make Monocle Magazine's list of the World's...

Photo by Lord Jim via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Before he was named MVP in the chaotic series of 7 NBA finals games, this street art depicting the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant in a Batman mask was spotted by LAist Featured Photos contributor Lord Jim. So who is the artist behind this image?...

Last night a family of ducks tried to blend into the traffic on State Highway 55 in the city of Orange, according to cbs2. A mother ducks and her six duckings were seen on the busy highway, likely out "looking for water," remarked Orange County Animal Control director Ryan Drabek. Thankfully, California Highway Patrol officers came to rescue, keeping them out of harm's way and ushering them to the side of the road where...