Zach Behrens

Photo by http://MikesPhotos.us via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Not only will there be a saturation of police officers everywhere tonight, there will be at least two checkpoints set up, one in Hollywood and another in the NoHo Arts District. From 8 p.m to 3 a.m., there will be a checkpoint at Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue. The Hollywood area has seen 163 DUI-related collisions along with 1,205 hit and runs...

At Cabrillo Point | Photo by dc9000 via Flickr We're no snowy Chicago or any other place with a traditional winter. But that doesn't mean we can't have our polar bear swims on New Year's Day! Here's what's happening: 8 a.m., Hanson Dam in Lake View Terrace: Anyone age eight or older can enter this 1.5-acre swim lake for some cold fun. The free event, now in its 10th year, is run by the...

Photo by didier burton via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Fascinating: "Peace breaks out among LA gangs: It's all a matter of economics." The movie Battle: Los Angeles was filmed in LA... Louisiana, that is, which has Curbed LA asking "If we can't keep a movie in town that has 'Los Angeles' in the title, what can we keep here?" LA County's Gift for Guns program took 5,334 weapons off the streets, including 53...

This photo was apparently taken near Venice Blvd. and Overland Avenue at the West Los Angeles Christian Center. Those are definitely strong words to make you think while driving....

Party it Up! | Photo by GarySe7en via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr If you're going out tonight, here are some logistics you might want to consider: Beginning tonight, some freeway lane and ramps will close for the Tournament of Roses. If you plan on taking the 134, 210 or 710, read more here. And if you're driving, you may want to lay off the liquor and stay safe. Besides a saturation of police...

California Happy Cows come from California | Photo by lindsayshaver via Flickr The Sacramento Bee has put together a nice A-thru-Z list of new state laws in 2010 (also a fancy poster to go along with it). We won't list all of them here, but here are a handful of the ones that we found interesting: C is for cows. SB 135 makes it a misdemeanor to chop off a cow's tail, except for...

Avoid this scenario | Photo by Alex E. Proimos via Flickr If you find yourself too drunk to drive tomorrow night (or any night, for this matter), just don't drive. Please. Luckily, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, which means a few things: a) lots of bad drunks on the roads b) lots of police on the roads c) the Automobile Club of Southern California is offering its annual tipsy tow service to everyone, not...

In an effort to revitalize West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, Monday will see the beginning of a new boulevard in the form of street resurfacing project that will also bring more pedestrian friendly sidewalks, flowers and trees. It will mark the first time since the famous artery has been repaved since 1930. “There’s probably chewing gum spit out by Jim Morrison in front of the Whisky a Go-Go,” West Hollywood Councilman John Duran told the...

New Year's Eve-Eve just keeps rattling. After a pleasant shaker in the Death Valley area this morning and a large set of them at the border--the biggest being a 5.8 that swayed buildings in San Diego--a 3.3 magnitude earthquake rattled near Mentone and Yucaipa at 4:17 p.m. in San Bernardino County this afternoon....

If you're planning to drive on the 134, 210 or 710 on New Year's Eve or Friday morning, heed Caltrans' warning as there will be various ramp and lane closures occurring due to the Tournament of Roses. Thursday, December 31, 2009 to Friday, January 1, 2010 Glendale Freeway (SR-134) · 8 p.m. to 11 a.m. - Eastbound Orange Grove Boulevard off-ramp. · 2 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Westbound Orange Grove Boulevard on-ramp.

Holy Merry Christmas! Daily News photographer Michael Owen Baker caught this van loaded with bicycles parked on Glenoaks Boulevards in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Lake View Terrace (say "LVT" to sound like a neighborhood local) in the Northeast Valley. See a larger image here. Found via the new Daily News photo twitter account...

Tom LaBonge poses for a photo on a Autumn Equinox Hike in 2008 | Photo via LaBonge's Flickr Councilman Tom LaBonge hikes Griffith Park daily, inviting the community to come out in large numbers with him at each change of season. But instead of a Winter Solstice hike, he leads an annual New Year's Eve hike. The two hour hike begins at 4 p.m. in the north end of the Griffith Observatory parking. The...