Zach Behrens

The southbound 101 Freeway in Hollywood are jammed this morning after a musical group blocked lanes in a publicity stunt -- they were singing on the roof -- that ended in their arrest. Because the driver left the scene with the keys to the bus, the California Highway Patrol is waiting for a tow-truck to arrive. In the meantime, traffic is backed up to at least the 170 Freeway, according to KABC.

Obama is coming back to L.A. (let's hope for better traffic this time), Delta earns $256 million in baggage fees during the second quarter of this year, the best of Orange County, a look at Julius Shulman, a new ramen shop in Little Tokyo, Bruce Lisker and the LAPD vs. the Venice Drum Circle.

An Inland Empire-based Federal Judge today ordered the U.S. Military from enforcing the 1993-enacted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which discharges openly gay service members. The Obama Administration requested U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillip, who ruled the policy unconstitutional last month, to delay an injunction on enforcement, but today she ordered the government to "immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation or other proceeding" into a service member's sexual...

Trying to save the budget in Sacramento (this building will not be sold) | Photo by AdrielH via Flickr A group of private investors will be purchasing several of state-owned buildings for $2.3 billion, the California Department of General Services announced Monday. California First LLC, a partnership between a Texas real estate firm and an Orange County private equity firm, will soon own 7.3 million square feet of office space across the Golden State,...

As if there wasn't enough hinky traffic today. A suspicious package prompted the LAPD to close down streets around the intersection of Echo Park and Sunset boulevards this afternoon. Luckily by around 4:30 p.m., traffic slowly crawled back to its normal crawl once police destroyed the package and deemed the area safe. At around 3:30 p.m., police were notified of the suspicious package in the parking lot at Walgreens....

If there's a gubernatorial debate to watch, it's the one tonight. And, well, it's the last one between Democrat & Attorney General Jerry Brown and Republican & former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Expect it to be fiery, not just because the distractions -- Whitman's undocumented housekeeper and Brown's "whore" controversy -- are front and center, but because veteran newsman Tom Brokaw is moderating. Brokaw plans to keep the two on point and hopefully he...

Detail of tonight's detour map. All maps can be found at Metro's project website Work to replace the Sunset Boulevard bridge over the 405 Freeway has been going on for a few months now, but tonight marks the beginning of a second bridge's replacement, and it once again brings some traffic headaches. For five night this week, crews will demolish half of the Skirball Center Drive bridge in the Sepulveda Pass. That means full...

Metro staff recommended Alternative 2, which terminates at the Veterans Administration | Map via Metro Transit planners at Metro today released their recommendations (.pdf) for the Westside Subway extension, and for many, the preferred alternative is no surprise. A nine-mile route from Koreatown to the Veteran's Administration, just west of the 405 Freeway, was chosen, but preference for some hotly debated sections, such as tunneling under Beverly Hills, were carried forward for further study....

Sunday's CicLAvia event was not just about taking back the streets for people (not cars), but it also for the environment and health. And that provided the perfect backdrop for a rally that urged Los Angeles to rid its dependence on coal and oil for electricity. Currently about 44% of L.A.'s power is derived from the two energy sources that are blamed for pollution. In fact, "the out-of-state coal-fired power plants that power Los Angeles...

Just like Los Angeles' budget-saving move in closing libraries twice weekly earlier this year, Long Beach today followed suit. Its system of 12 libraries will all now be closed two days a week (Sundays and Mondays). Previously, four libraries were open six days a week, with Monday on the schedule. "This action is a result of the Long Beach Public Library's implementation of the City's adopted budget to offset a structural deficit of $18.5...