Zach Behrens

Photo by stephenfalk via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council this morning approved a new city ordinance banning smoking near outdoor dining areas. It will go into effect 30 days after Mayor Villaraigosa signs it, beginning a one-year educational grace period before going into full force, likely in February of 2011. The ban creates a 10-foot perimeter around stationary outdoor dining areas--think patios adjacent to a...

Looking north over the 710 Freeway on the Willow Street Bridge | Photo by Arturo (@the77angel on Twitter), used with Permission Heavy rains mixed with an electrical problem at Caltrans pump houses caused flooding in at least one area of the 710 freeway at Willow Street today. Crews are currently working to restore electricity to relieve the flooding, but Caltrans officials cannot sat when all lanes will be opened. All northbound lanes are currently...

Maybe we should move beyond the donut indulging cop stereotype. Amid news of Taco Bell founder Glen W. Bell's death, the LA Weekly finds that the first Taco Bell franchise went to an LAPD officer in 1964. That officer was one of the five motorcycle cops who opened franchises in the 60s. Five more soon got into the business and one of them, a former officer and current reserve, owns 21 Taco Bells. Random...

Photo by tara_photos via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Even the city's central hub of political activity is not safe from the rain. As the Los Angeles City Council debated medical marijuana this afternoon, the room went dark--emergency lights went on--followed by thunder that shook the building and brought out laughter in the chambers. Across the city, 6,800 customers are without power, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power at 12:45...

Ranch houses in Northridge via The Neighborhood Project: Northridge | Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist One of the oldest neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, Northridge, is getting its due respect beginning tonight. Once the "horse capitol of the West," the neighborhood later transformed, becoming the quintessential example of America's suburb with its California ranch style homes and as home to one of the state's premiere Cal State colleges. To kick off the year-long celebration,...

Today in Long Beach | Photo by Michael Zampelli via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting street flooding in San Pedro and other southernmost areas of the city. They "are experiencing severe stormwater impact at this time," the department tweeted. "Motorists are advised to avoid routine travel in the area." [Update: "In some locations 'feet of water' impacting homes/businesses," a subsequent tweet noted.]...

Los Angeles City Hall | Photo by tkksummers via Flickr Los Angeles has earned $586 million dollars from the American Recovery Investment Act (you know, the Stimulus Package?), according to city officials speaking at a city council committee meeting last Friday. That money includes $7.5 million granted for broadband technologies and $100 million for housing--both given to the city last week. Other awarded projects have included money for street resurfacing, a green jobs corp,...

Walking the dog in the rain in Hancock Park | Photo by Julie Wolfson/LAist Considering this was quite a large storm, power outage numbers for the city of Los Angeles aren't that crazy when compared to past storms. Of course, if you were one of the ones without power (like us), it's never fun. Here are the areas with large power outages, per the LADWP: San Pedro/Wilmington: 3,000 Venice: 1,400 Sunlund: 1,400 Eagle Rock:...

In this Jan. 17, 2010 photo released by the U.S. Navy, members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Search and Rescue Team rescue a Haitian woman from a collapsed building in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Justin Stumberg) The team of Los Angeles County search & rescue specialists deployed to Haiti have already rescued a handful of people from the rubble. The trip has been an opportunity for L.A. County to catch...

As seen at 9 a.m. this morning at Berendo and 6th In K-Town | Photo by Charity Tran (Intellichick) Since 12 a.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department has been called in for 475 incidents (as of publish, it's probably around 500). Traffic collisions, flooding and other trouble caused by the rain (and every day events like medical calls) are part of that number. On average, there are 1,100 incidents per day, so this is...

After the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a video feed and YouTube uploads of the Federal Prop 8 trial, one Los Angeles man has found a way around it. "Freelance journalist and filmmaker John Ireland, who's based in Los Angeles and regularly examines gay rights issues, will produce a daily re-enactment of the Proposition 8 federal trial and post it on YouTube, starting this week," reported the LA Weekly over the weekend. "The U.S. Supreme...

Sitting on a roof at USC | Photo by rchiba via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Hey, LAist won the "Best News Blog" title in LA Weekly's Los Angeles Web Awards!! Thank you for your continued support of us! As always, we are only as strong as our awesome volunteer writers and your participation. That said, we can't be everywhere on the streets, so remember to send us tips to our tips e-mail box...