Lisa Brenner

Photo by Lushbunny via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Got flow? In collaboration with the L.A. River Day of Service, the City of Los Angeles is presenting a youth songwriting competition called the Songs of the L.A. River project where local lyricists and composers aged 6-18 are invited to to write and submit an original musical number inspired by the Los Angeles River. The top two submissions will win a chance to perform...

The Art Of Monsters: There's something hiding in your closet, under your bed, in the back seat of the car and probably calling from inside the house. You better get to a safe place. How about Monsterpalooza!! -- a stupendous collection of 200 vendors, special presentations, monster museum, model kit contests, lectures, panels, exhibits and a mutant army of artists in attendance.

Photo by Marion Doss via Flickr The USS Iowa, a historic battleship that served extensively in WWII and the Korean War, could be setting sail for San Pedro as early as this summer, according to plan supporters, if the Navy decides to relocate the vessel currently berthed near San Francisco, reports CBS. In September, Los Angeles City Council approved a resolution to support berthing the historic battleship at the Port of Los Angeles, and...

Photo by compujeramey via Flickr According to authorities, a man was shot dead early Sunday at a Taco Bell drive-thru in Rialto. "The driver and a female passenger were approached around midnight by several men in the drive thru at the Taco Bell located on the 1200 block of Baseline Rd.," reports KTLA. The driver, who reportedly was shot several times while attempting to flee, was transported to a local hospital and died of...

(via Chicagoist) Chicagoist food editor Anthony Todd dined at Next, the new restaurant from Grant Achatz, and brought back the photos to prove it. A photo of Chicago from the vantage point of the International Space Station had readers in awe. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the ist-a-verse... Seattlest began the week by reminding ourselves why theater matters, then reeled as we found out the proposed state budget would mean cuts to higher education, health programs,...

Photo by lovine via Flickr Los Angeles police say a shooting on the 101 Freeway around 2:40 a.m. left two men wounded after a suspect in another vehicle fired on their car near Alvarado Street, reports the L.A. Times. The victims were able to exit the freeway and seek help near Hill and College streets in Chinatown. One man was shot in the arm and the other received a back wound. According to police,...

Tonight in Extra Extra! Things get 'real' downtown, Hef turns 85, strawberries, the new Disney parade, bird art in the park, and a small plane crash near Camarillo. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Photo by theilr via Flickr Further to the multifold controversy of red light cameras and the decision of the Los Angeles Police Commission to extend their vendor contract with American Traffic Solutions for another three months, a bill to ban red light monitors across the state is set to be heard by a House committee on Wednesday, reports NBC LA. "AB 1008 would put an end to automated traffic enforcement systems, which employ photography...

Ye Shall Be Ren Faire Aware: It's opening day at The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in southern California. Grab a mutton leg and puffy shirt and do like the dragon slayers do. Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale, CA, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Tickets here. ALSO: rare film noir, book signings with the ex-boyfriend, the biggest step competition in the country, original song-cycles...

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called "April." Electric guitars, April. It means 21 days and that's a mighty long time. But I'm here to tell you.. there's something else. May. A world of never ending Purpledom, you can always see the tush, day or night. So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills...

After setting record high temperatures a little over a week ago, several locations around Los Angeles noted record lows on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The thermometer hit an icy 28 degrees In Palmdale while Lancaster warmed up to a balmy 29.

Tonight in Extra, Extra! Thor hammers into town, Paris and mystery of the unreturned jewels, film production and teen drug use are both on the rise, can you can?, and white children are a minority in California says the U.S Census. Plus: Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.