Zach Behrens

Love 'em or hate 'em, AOL's push for hyper local news took two more steps this week in Southern California. More specifically, Patch.com launched websites in the unincorporated community of Altadena and the city of South Pasadena. Behind the two sites are editors with masters degrees in journalism.

From a 2009 adult film shoot (Photo by Koga/LAist) News of an actor who has tested positive for HIV has put the spotlight on a heated debate between the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the adult entertainment industry. Although a quarantine has gone into effect and four production companies have voluntarily shut down for the time being, the nonprofit says it's not enough. “A voluntary and partial suspension of production is simply not enough in...

Heads up, Sunday morning commuters! All northbound lanes of the 710 Freeway between the 10 Freeway and Valley Boulevard will be closed from 4 to 10 a.m. on October 17th. But that's not all, all Southbound lanes will be shut down from 4 a.m to 6 p.m. Why? It's Hollywood, they're filming....

The Big Blue Bus Line #1 | Imaga via Google Maps It looks like Big Blue Bus finally jumped on the Google train! Today transit activists were excited to find that Google Maps offered transit directions via Big Blue Bus, something that has been desired for awhile now, even prompting a petition last month. Neither Google or Big Blue Bus have made an official announcement about the feature, which could mean today's discovery is...

All northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway will be closed tonight from midnight to 5 a.m. to make way for the partial demolition of the Skirball Bridge. But unlike what Metro warned drivers of earlier this week, this should be the last night because crews are two days ahead of schedule. Sepulveda Boulevard will remain open as a detour while the Skirball Bridge and and Skirball Center Drive on- and off-ramps, save for the...

Maroon dots mark bike rack locations | Map via LACBC Often legally parking a bicycle is very hard to do, and beyond that, sometimes it's even hard to find a tree or pole or something to lock your bike to. In Pico-Union at the CARECEN day labor center, there are about some 50-100 Spanish speaking cyclists who use the center daily to find work and yet little bicycle parking is to be found. Enter...

Fry Smith visits Sherman Oaks | Photo by polaroid-girl via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The L.A. County Board of Supervisors this week approved the expansion of its letter grading system for (.pdf) food establishments to include food trucks and carts. That means your favorite mobile eatery could soon be displaying an acceptable "A," a bummer of a "B," or a cautious "C." But a number of things must first happen before this actually...

Photo by Rich Anderson via Flickr CVS Pharmacy has agreed to settle with the federal government after admitting it illegally sold a key ingredient to criminals who made methamphetamine, the United States Attorney's Office said today. The company will pay a settlement of $77.6 million. $2.6 million of that represents the profit the company made from selling pseudoephedrine, the rest is a civil penalty, which is the largest ever paid under the Controlled Substances...

It's the final stretch before the November 2nd election and Republican candidate and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has begun her "Take Back Sac Express" bus tour to rally for votes. On Wednesday, one day after that fiery gubernatorial debate, Whitman made her first stop, stepping off her bus, which carries the message "Jobs are on the way," at one of downtown's classic eateries, Philippe's.

At the Watts Towers | Photo by fe2cruz via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Happy 100th Birthday, Daily News! The paper today kicks off a year-long celebration with an article detailing their history, starting with its first iteration as the Van Nuys News. Like many cities, Inglewood is also facing a budget crunch and will lay off 27 full time employees. One day after a Riverside-based Federal Judge placed an injunction on "Don't Ask,...