Zach Behrens

Two major solar power projects in Southern California were announced today, proving that the state's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases may be on target. Locally, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pushed forward plans for what will become the city's largest solar array. Meanwhile, the federal government approved...

California, you are so beautiful. | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist The U.S. House takeover isn't the only change that's happening these days. Here at LAist, we're mixing up things, too. After almost three years as LAist's Editor, I'm heading over to KCET, L.A.'s public television station that will split from PBS in January, making it the largest independent public television station in the nation. To say the least, this is an opportunity and challenge...

Long desired, and more recently rumored, residents and workers will soon have a Target store in downtown Los Angeles. The big box retailer this week finalized its agreement with Brookfield Properties for an approximately 100,000 square foot space -- that's one-third smaller than their typical size -- at the 7th+Fig mall...

Photo by maveric2003 via Flickr Yesterday, numerous heat-releated records were broken across the southland. It wasn't 113 degrees like the downtown L.A. record that was broken in late-September, but for November, many are calling the 90s way too hot. In all, 14 records were broken in the National Weather Service's Oxnard office region, which covers L.A., Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties (meaning, it's likely more records were broken in other counties)....

Starting Monday, all but one of Metrolink's train schedules will be slightly tweaked, the agency announced today. "We made these adjustments to provide the best service possible to our customers. We added time to many schedules to provide better connectivity, compensate for new safety enhancements such as decreased speed limits in some areas and to make sure we are on time as often as possible," said John Fenton, Metrolink's CEO. "We understand even minor...

Oaksterdam University's Richard Lee, the author of the failed ballot proposition that would have legalized marijuana, says an initiative to legalize marijuana will be once again voted on during the 2012 election. "We just need to do some research and see why people voted 'no,'" he told the Sacramento Bee. "We did get more votes than (gubernatorial candidate) Meg Whitman. And she spent more than $140 million. We need to look at the bright...

via City of L.A. Until last week, you could only plant -- without a permit, that is -- grass or trees in a parkway, that strip of land between the sidewalk and the street. Thanks to a vote by the Board of Public Works last month, the cookie cutter look is no longer Los Angeles residents' only choice when they want to improve their home sans permit. The new rules found in L.A.'s Residential...

Although he made an early attempt to run for Governor, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom dropped out of the race last year, making way for Governor-elect Jerry Brown. He later decided to run for Lt. Governor, which proved to be a successful move on Tuesday. Both the Associated Press and LA Times declared the 43-year-old as the winner against incumbent Abel Maldonado, who had yet to concede, during the early hours of Wednesday. "Newsom will...

28 years after he left the Governor's office, he's back for a third term. Just a hour after the polls closed, the Associated Press called the gubernatorial race for Democrat and current Attorney General Jerry Brown. He becomes the 39th California Governor (was the 34th between in 1975 and 1983) beats Republican and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who broke records in campaign spending, most of it -- $142 million -- from her personal...

Although Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to reveal who he voted to take his job, so far he's only announced his positions on the nine propositions. The only "yes" he casted was for Proposition 20, the California Congressional Redistricting Initiative. Regarding the gubernatorial race, “Congratulations to Attorney General Jerry Brown on his hard-fought campaign and his victory tonight," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Jerry has demonstrated his commitment to the people of California throughout a...