Zach Behrens

Those large white-and-asphalt/concrete barred crosswalks are starting to appear in some places around Los Angeles, reports Damien Newton at Streetsblog. Whether this is a new policy or a pilot project, we're unsure, but it's definitely a positive step towards pedestrian safety. A tipster to Newton shares his thoughts on a new one at Manchester and Sepulveda: "I observed the new crosswalks for about 15 minutes last week during evening rush hour and it seems...

Meet LAist intern Thruxton. He's way cool (another photo here). | Photo by Fire Monkey Fish via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr It's windy (here's why) and it's expected to last though the night. Quaint. Snow birds were spotted along the Los Angeles River this morning. It's been quiet since the large riot at House of Blues on the Sunset Strip until last night when three men attacked Sheriff's Deputies. Watch what the first...

Photo by Ca-los! via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr More examples of delayed fire department responses linked to budget cuts are coming to light. One of the most recent incidents involved a 22-year-old South L.A. woman suffering from a cardiac arrest. "Normally, the closest paramedic-staffed engine would have been a half-mile away," explained the LA Times. "However, that engine had been shut down and a unit 1.7 miles away responded instead, arriving four minutes...

The Los Angeles Zoo recently received a little surprise when a female Kikuyu colobus monkey on contraceptives gave birth on November 27th. The sex of hasn't been identified yet, but it weighed about a pound and measured around eight inches long. "Because breeding is closely monitored to comply with the Species Survival Program (SSP) and the L.A. Zoo*s colobus monkeys are genetically well represented in North American zoos, the mother was placed on implant contraceptives in October 2008," explained the Zoo's public information officer, Jason Jacobs, in a news release. "They were meant to be effective for a period of two years, which is why this adorable baby was such a surprise for the Zoo!"

A good portion of the our water here in Southern California comes from Bay-Delta, where water distribution has been stifled by a court ruling to protect ecosystem. Add to that the drought and water has been a bit of an issue these days. Today, a group of federal agencies released an interim action plan to do their "part to address the urgent need to provide reliable water supplies for 25 million Californians, while also...

Welcome to the second day of winter. The cold front that passed over the area last night brought "scattered shower activity" (20% chance of rain), the National Weather Service said in a special weather statement this morning. 60-70 miles per hour gusts are expected in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys while gusts in the rest of the Southland could get up to 50 miles per hour.

Sheriff's Deputies on Horses | Photo by ~db~ via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr An audit report of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has revealed massive amounts of overtime and disrespect for the rules that may have led to underperforming deputies, according to the LA Times via a county report. Key findings in the report include: 348 deputies worked 900 hours of overtime in a year period What's lacking are policies and rules...

The proposed Anaheim ARTIC Station A big false alarm was rung late last week in the form of who was getting money for high speed rail projects around the country. Among the awardees was California, which requested around $4.5 billion for segments include Anaheim to Los Angeles. The source of the rumor was Florida Rep. John Mica who reportedly said his state was one of four to receive a sum of the $8 billion...

Ice and snow prompted the closure of the 5 Freeway's Grapevine this morning, but lanes in both directions were quickly reopened by officials a couple hours later, according to KNX1070. The National Weather Service says snow would reach as low as 3,000 feet in the latest storm. The Grapevine's highest point is about 4,500 feet....

Photo by LA Wad via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The $1.1 trillion Transportation and Urban Development Appropriations Bill has been signed by President Barack Obama and that means some funds are headed to Southern California. Some of that money includes funding for Metrolink. $1.637 million in Congressionally-directed spending was approved for Metrolink rail safety. More specifically: $400,000 was approved for grade crossing improvements in Los Angeles County along the Ventura subdivision. $750,000 was...

A Gawker poll has named Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis as Douche of the Decade. He edged out Tucker Max and overwhelmingly beat everyone else, including American Apparel's Dov Charney. Francis, who completed a Business Administration degree and Entrepreneur Program at USC, has been a societal blight, from general douchecanoe-ness to underaged porn to tax evasion to asking the federal government to bailout the porn industry. But, really, you don't need to go...

A 24-year-old Winnetka woman reported missing was found dead in her car yesterday, leading police to the of arrest her ex-boyfriend. Doris Salguero was last seen alive at a company holiday party in Carson on Saturday night. She didn't return home, prompting her current boyfriend to report her missing on Sunday morning. Come Monday, Salguero's brother went to her apartment in search of her; not finding her, he left, but not before he spotted...