Zach Behrens

Century City, Westwood, and Santa Monica beyond | Photo by Chris Camargo via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Getty director Michael Brand announced his plans to resign today. In two separate incidents, in which four were arrested, explosive devices were safely detonated in Long Beach and the Northeast Valley. The Daily News suggests trying out veganism for 21 days. Governor Schwarzenegger's budget proposal will be released tomorrow but transit advocates are already slamming the...

Sepulveda Boulevard as seen this morning | Photo by Michelle Vargas/City of LA The two-plus year, $8.9-million project along Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester has finally been completed, officials announced today. As one of the main access routes to LAX, Sepulveda in Westchester was (and sometimes still can be) a headache for commuters, travelers and locals. The project between Lincoln and Howard Hughes Parkway brought improved sidewalks, landscaped medians, upgraded streetlights, new shrubbery, 193 new...

As part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal, which includes offshore oil drilling to fund state parks, he included an idea that would enable cameras at intersections not just catch red light violators, but speeders, too. If passed, cities and counties would be able to install a speed sensor, says the LA Times. "Those whizzing by the detectors up to 15 mph above the limit would have to fork over $225 per violation," the...

The LAPD's weekly weekend presence on the streets to deter drunk driving will be no stranger in 2010. Tonight, a DUI Checkpoint will be located in the Hollywood area at Fairfax and Melrose from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Last year, the surrounding area experienced, 120 driving under the influence-related and 1,185 hit and run traffic collisions. As noted by LAPD Chief Charlie Beck in an interview with LAist, the department is under no...

It didn't take long for the recently elected 2nd District Councilmember Paul Krekorian to start work the moment he was confirmed last Tuesday. He quickly introduced a motion "that would call for tougher development restrictions and seek to limit the scope of SB 1818," the state law that strips local municipal zoning codes and allows higher density with less restrictions (watch this great video example), on a project within his district, according to OurLA....

Justice is served. "Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington called the case a 'wake-up call' to motorists and cyclists and urged local government to provide riders with more bike lanes," the LA Times reported. "He said he believed that [Dr. Christopher] Thompson had shown a lack of remorse during the case and that the victims were particularly vulnerable while riding their bicycles." Thompson purposely slammed on his brakes while driving on...

Photo by [Kwasi B.] via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Next week, Metro will begin doing seismic tests in some Westside neighborhoods as they prepare to build the "Subway to the Sea" project, reports the agency's blog. Work will begin Monday and last for four nights. "Data gathered from these investigations is part of the necessary environmental work to identify the best locations of subway tunnels and stations in the area," explained Metro CEO...

Photo by tom.arthur via Flickr The ever-expanding neighborhood market that is Fresh & Easy appears to be preparing to open a store in Encino. California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control records released today indicate the market's application for a beer & wine license. When all is said and done, the new market can be found at 17150 Ventura Blvd. For those who don't catalog addresses in their heads, that's the Encino Town Center. More...

Unchanged from November, last month's unemployment numbers kept at 10 percent as the nation lost 85,000 jobs. Also, underemployment grew from 17.2 to 17.3 percent. "To put this number in perspective, employment declined 139,000 in September and 127,000 in October," explained Christina Romer, the White House Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. "So, in a broad sense the trend toward moderating job loss is continuing. This trend is particularly obvious in the quarterly...

First Walt Disney's grandson in the West Valley, now Ronald Reagan's in the East Valley. 31-year-old Cameron Reagan was arrested last night when an alarm was tripped at his family's Sherman Oaks home on the 4700 block of Allott Avenue, according to the LA Times. Police arrived to find a somewhat-inebriated Reagan who was “very uncooperative," leading to his arrested for resisting arrest. He was booked at the Van Nuys Station and was held...

In a case oddly reminiscent of model Jasmine Fiore, 26-year-old Paula Sladewski was found "burned beyond recognition" inside a Miami trash bin Sunday night, according to the LA Times. The Rancho Cucamonga model was traveling with her boyfriend, who told police they got separated at a club before he reported her as missing on Monday. Her boyfriend, 34-year-old Kevin Klym, and her apparently got into a fight at the club when the bouncer kicked him out, according to the Miami New Times. He took a taxi back to the hotel, leaving her inside.

Yellow identifies where the park could go | Image via the Hollywood Freeway Central Park Project When you're a park poor city with little room to designate more park space, where do you go? You build one on top of a freeway. Well, that's the vision of community and politicians a like and tonight is the Friends of the Hollywood Central Park's annual gala. "The idea for a park over the 101 freeway between...