Lindsay William-Ross

Be a part of projects in LA like this tree planting (Photo by BitBoy via Flickr) If you've made helping out a priority in 2010, but don't know where to begin, grab a $5 bill and head over to Downtown today from 11-4 to check out dozens of great options at the CityLabs Community Fair event. The purpose of this one-day fair is to give Angelenos a chance to browse the booths set up...

After a week of violent storms that brought heavy rains, hail, and the threat of great destruction to Los Angeles, and snow to local mountains, today we're getting a reprieve from the wet weather. Rainfall totals reveal just how soaked we were, as reported by KTLA: "Between 10 Tuesday night and 5p.m. Friday, rainfall was measured at 6.37 inches at the San Gabriel Dam; 4.41 inches at Sepulveda Canyon at Mulholland; 4.38 inches in...

Surveillance footage shows the "Stun-Gun Bandit" (via LAPD) LAPD detectives arrested the man they'd nicknamed the "Stun-Gun Bandit" during the course of an investigation yesterday, according to a news release. Lester Robert Evans, 68, was on parole for a bank robbery, and has been tied to a December boutique robbery during which "the suspect was captured on video shocking the young clerk with a stun gun." Authorities had been called to investigate a bank...

During an intense wave of this third massive winter storm to pass through the Los Angeles area, two planes approaching Bob Hope Airport were struck by lightning this morning, according to KTLA. The aircraft were both Southwest Airlines, one of which was arriving from Oakland and the other from Sacramento. "The incidents happened sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.," reports a Southwest representative. The planes landed safely, and the airline is still working...

Fishlips Sushi is planning to participate on Saturday (Zach Behrens/LAist) The Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association is assembling food trucks for a fundraising event on Saturday to benefit the rescue and recovery operations in Haiti. The trucks will gather at the TLofts in West L.A. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. TLofts is a new eco-friendly urban loft community, and they have had much success drawing patrons to dine at several of the...

Photo by Put Down Your Camera via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The critical eye of the Mayor Sam blog is taking a break, having announced over the weekend they feel it's time for a hiatus. Today's heavy rainstorm has forced the cancellation of horse racing at Santa Anita Track. More rainstorm fallout--or "fall down"--as a tree fell on a man today in Woodland Hills. The founder of Irvine-based fast food chain...

Photo by kristi.nicole via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A flash flood warning was issued today for hillside communities and burn areas of the Station and Morris fires, as residents continued to shore up tenuous hillsides with sandbags and prepare for possible evacuations. "Residents and motorists are advised to be alert to flash flooding and debris flows, which may block roads and culverts," abc7 is reporting. During a live KTLA news broadcast...

Photo by nicadlr via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The rain came in a bit earlier than most expected it to yesterday afternoon, and lasted through the night. Now the National Weather Service has issued a special statement regarding the likelihood we'll face strong thunderstorms across Southwestern California this afternoon and tonight. This current frontal system is going to bring us heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms, some of which could produce small...

Villaraigosa beaming at last week's dineLA launch party (Elise Thompson/LAist) In a candid interview published in today's LA Times, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa shares his reasons for his current well-being, citing changes to his diet, personal life, and career. Villaraigosa says he now practices yoga regularly, makes his Mondays meatless, and believes "his decision to forgo a run for governor this year," has helped make him more at ease at City Hall and at home....

The company that owns nine Los Angeles-area newspapers, including the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze and the Pasadena Star-News will be filing "a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy" according to the OC Register. Affiliated Media Inc. announced their plan to reorganize yesterday, and that "the holding company’s lenders have agreed to swap debt for equity." As part of the deal their debt will be reduced "from $930 million to $165...

An earthquake described by one authority as "a mild jolt" shook things up this morning in the Inland Empire, according to cbs2. The 4.3 magnitude quake hit at 4:03 a.m. and was centered "about 3 miles west-northwest of Beaumont," in the San Gorgonio Pass, which is 12 miles east of Moreno Valley and 71 miles east of Los Angeles, an area born of the San Andreas Fault system itself. So far there have been...

It's probably too late to pair this freebie up with your morning coffee (apologies!) but the offer runs all day, so consider this a possibility for an afternoon snack or a sweet treat for dessert. To celebrate a decade of adding to the waistlines of Angelenos, Krispy Kreme is giving out one donut per customer today. "Krispy Kreme celebrates 10 years in So. Cal. Visit participating stores on Jan 16 and receive a free...