Lisa Brenner

Photo by sfxeric via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Last week, the City Council approved $252,000 in additional funding to the design firm overseeing renovations to a vacant, vintage building currently slated to become the new home of the Museum of Neon Art. A "highly subsidized" deal with the Los Angeles-based nonprofit museum to take up residence in the city-owned building at 216 S. Brand Blvd. (across from the Americana) was approved by...

Photo by BlackHawkTraffic via Flickr Disney California Adventure will be taking a break from said adventure as crews temporarily close major arteries, shut down venues and halt the Pixar parade while work continues on the $1 billion overhaul of the theme park. The ongoing, five-year makeover is set to be completed in 2012. According to the OC Register, the biggest rehab will be the entrance of the park which will transform into a vintage...

In a unanimously vote on Monday, officials decided to nearly double in length the first segment of California’s planned high-speed rail line to curb concern that the initial route would not reach major population centers in the Central Valley, reports The Signal. At an additional cost of $616 million in federal funding, the rail segment will now be extended to Bakersfield. Earlier this month, after Ohio and Wisconsin decided not to go forth with...

A 15-foot, baby sperm whale that washed ashore in San Diego on Dec. 13 and was sent back to sea with the help of SeaWorld, has been spotted again near the San Clemente Pier laying atop a kelp bed. The baby, separated from its mother, may be dying of starvation needing milk to survive. Experts say a rescue attempt could be difficult because of the weather. No boats or arrangements have yet been made....

Tonight in Extra, Extra!! The Ashton sweater, Chris Brown's classy diploma, Betty White wins, Betty Ford sins, Smurfs 3-D, Tracy Morgan/Jordar, Bieber sweat, holiday card wars and Casa de Cyrus might soon be yours. Keep up with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter: @LAist @LAistFood @LAistSports.

Photo via Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Sheriff's officials have located the missing 7-month-old girl whose mother -- Lancaster resident, 19-year-old Brittany Jasmine Hines -- was found slain on the side of a road in the Phoenix area around 8:15 a.m. Saturday. A Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesman says daughter Heaven Marie Smith was turned over Friday to Child Protective Services in California, reports KTLA. According to sheriff's officials, baby and mother were together when...

Tonight's Extra, Extra is saturated with intensifying rain, 3 ways you can help Venice help you get your stolen bike back, booze plus toes does not equal drunk, Honda wants to see your Passport, avalanche warnings, homebody home tours, and an AK-47 turns into a tomato.

Photo by Heather on the go! via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Grab a sparkly vampire and your umbrella, there's tonight's total lunar eclipse tonight! Tonight's cosmic event will last three hours and twenty-eight minutes and will be visible on the West Coast, theoretically, from 10:33 p.m. until 2:01 a.m. The deepest, reddest colors of the shadow should be visible at 12:17 a.m., however, given the extraordinary weather we're having, you may need...

Long Beach police shot and killed a man Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. on the 2100 block of Pine Avenue. The man died at the scene and no other details about the victim or the incident have been released. This event follows the Dec. 12 killing of 35-year-old Douglas Zerby who was fatally shot by Long Beach police while holding a water nozzle mistaken for a gun. Family members "say Zerby may have been...

Photo by Michael Zampelli via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The National Weather Service has reported minor mudslides, rock slides and flooding all over Southern California roads, however "Caltrans has so far been able to clean up the problems quickly," reports LA Now. The 71 Chino Valley Freeway in Pomona was closed at Valley Blvd. in both directions due to heavy flooding beginning at 7:45 a.m., and 355 traffic collisions were reported to...

Photo by PhotoJenInc via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr 130 firefighters responded to a rainy day blaze on Sunday just before 8:00 a.m. in a Sherman Oaks strip mall. According to Sherman Oaks Patch at least seven businesses suffered severe damage in at the Sherman Oaks Plaza including Tochal Market and Deli, Sherman Oaks Beauty Supply, Smart for Life Cookie Diet, and Got Muscle? Nutrition. The large fire was declared a "major emergency"...

Photo by sirimiri via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A 66-year-old South Los Angeles woman, Maria Casteneda-Nunez, was killed after being struck by a Metro bus and a truck while crossing the street on the 9100 block of South Central Avenue near 88th Street about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. ABC Local reports the driver of the truck initially fled the scene but returned and surrendered to police. According to LA Now, the driver...