Zach Behrens

Photo by Alberto_Montoya via Flickr City Controller Wendy Greuel is at it again and this morning released a report showing off more wasteful spending in the city. With over 40,000 phone lines totaling $7.2 million a year in phone calls, she looked at phone call policies and if there is proper oversight in the justification employees making calls. Some findings her office released in a teaser are as follows: The City has up to...

Photo: Matt McGrath Photography/Flickr As mentioned yesterday, Los Angeles was awarded $7.5 million in stimulus money to increase broadband access in the city. Now here are more details: via L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti's blog: "The funds will allow us to install more than 2,600 public computer workstations, provide broadband connection at 72 computer center sites, expand WiFi networks at places such as parks and community centers, deploy portable wireless training stations, and...

Broadway and 7th in downtown L.A. | Photo by ddkim via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr If you haven't already, please take a moment to fill out our reader survey. It will help us better help you! Possibly big trouble in Glendale: "Three men, including an Iranian-born chemical engineer living in Glendale, have been charged in a scheme to smuggle sophisticated industrial components into Iran that could be used in the development of a...

Photo: Eric Richardson/blogdowntown Now here's a creative (and green) approach to adding some magic to a street. Recently installed street lamps on AEG's L.A. Live campus in downtown are something straight from pop culture. "They came from the set of 'The Chronicles of Narnia,'" explained blogdowntown's Eric Richardson, who follows L.A. Live developments closely. He notes that the Narnia film franchise is "produced by the Phillip Anschutz-owned Walden Media. Anschutz, of course, is also...

TMZ is reporting, via unnamed sources, the predicted inevitable: "Jay Leno has made a new deal with NBC, which gives him 'The Tonight Show' from 11:35 - 12:35." And as Conan said earlier this week, he's not willing to move to a later spot. Shows taking Leno's 10 p.m. spot will be Law & Order, Parenthood, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Marriage Ref (a Jerry Seinfeld show) and Dateline NBC, Monday through...

Since 1970, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, a Melrose Avenue staple, has been an information center for spirituality-related information. But times have changed and the store which used to have a staff of 100 is preparing to close its doors in a years time, reports the LA Weekly. "Twenty years ago we felt like it was an expanding situation," said Co-Owner Stan Madson. "We were concerned the store was getting too big. We had a...

Photo via Friends of the Colorado Lagoon A beach closure was ordered for Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach after hundreds of gallons of sewage spilled into it this morning. The spill occurred a couple blocks away at 3rd Street and Granada Avenue, but sewage entered the storm drain system and reached the lagoon. "The sewage discharge has been contained and crews are currently working to remove the blockage," a city advisory said. "The cause...

In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court today voted to indefinitely blocked cameras from the federal Prop 8 trial, currently in its third day, the Associated Press is reporting. The two lower courts approved a live feed to selected court houses outside of San Francisco, including an approved a delayed YouTube feed by district court Judge Vaughn Walker. Gay marriage advocates said it would bring transparency to the trial, but case defendants, the backers...

Photo: Tom Andrews/LAist Speaking of the recent Kogi BBQ growth and drama of losing the person who developed its Twitter strategy, let's step back to last week's Wall Street Journal article on the king of mobile food trucks. Specifically, buried at the bottom, is this amazing fact: "Mr. Choi says that in its first year of operation, Kogi grossed about $2 million from check averages of roughly $13 a person. Mr. Choi earns a...

On Monday, the state's Legislative Analyst’s Office released its report on California's planned $42.6-billion state high-speed rail network. Concerns included ridership, income, risk assessment and a backup plan in case ridership can't support operation. "For a project that is still very much in development, especially in terms of the full funding, none of that should be a surprise," noted Robert Cruickshank of the independent California High Speed Rail Blog. "The 2009 Business Plan is...

Over two years in the making, Los Angeles is still without an ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. Today, the City Council is slated to discuss and possibly vote on the plan. The current question for members is if dispensaries should be 500 or 1,000 feet from one another and other types of places like schools, parks, libraries, churches, childcare facilities and youth centers, reported the LA Times. At a meeting in Dcember, the Council...

Photo by portilaj via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Wouldn't it be nice if one day it rained in Los Angeles and it wouldn't mean the government telling residents to stay away from beaches because of pollution? As with every time it rains, County Health Officer Jonathan E. Fielding cautions residents who are planning on visiting beaches and going in the water. Specifically, the concern is around discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers where...