Zach Behrens

USC Officials are reporting, via Trojans Alert, that a suspicious package found two blocks from campus has prompted the immediate evacuation of the area around 35th Place and Budlong. "Stay away," officials urge. UPDATE: "The suspicious device call near USC turned out to be a pipe bomb," tweeted KTLA. USC officials say LAPD is still on scene investigating and that most of the neighborhood has been reopened.

Curbed LA says it best in their headline: "Wha? Oakland Airport Will Have Rail Access Before LAX?" Yes, it appears ground will break on a 3.2-mile tram between the airport and BART's Coliseum Station with completion possibly within three years. A train to LAX? Maybe, just maybe, in 2018....

On December 15, 1892, John Paul Getty was born. The oil tycoon died in 1976, leaving behind a legacy and a lot of money and art that gave birth to the two Getty museum locations in Los Angeles. Currently on exhibition at the Villa is a collector's choice exhibit featuring Getty and his antiquities....

Photo by Kevin Britton via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The gauntlet has dropped again. After a few exit announcements that were noted yesterday, former LAist Contributing Editor Elina Shatkin today tweeted "can now add 'former Los Angeles Times staff writer to my resume.' I was laid off this morning." Shatkin, the amazing and brilliant writer that she is, had graced the Times' food and entertainment sections. Seemingly shocked, fellow Times reporter Chris Barton...

A Grilled Cheese, as seen at the now shuttered Meltdown, Etc. in Culver City | Photo by Tales of an LA Addict via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Eric Greenspan, a former competitor on The Next Iron Chef and owner of The Foundry, is working towards opening a comforting idea: a restaurant dedicated to grilled cheese. A similar-themed restaurant in Culver City, Meltdown, Etc., closed its doors earlier this year, but that may have...

On Venice Beach | Photo by jennifer_kelton via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr That's what journalist Charles Feldman is saying the Huffington Post. After going undercover for a documentary on how easy it is to obtain approval from a doctor, he feels that city and county officials have misplaced focus. "The dispensaries could not exist, let alone function, without the enabling benefit of the estimated 1,500 or so California doctors, not surprisingly most in...

For those in Venice or for those who are simply floored by the triple murder in Venice last week--a pregnant mother with twins was raped and killed, allegedly by a man already in custody--tonight is the community candlelight vigil, says Tara Tiger Brown at LA Metblogs. It's set for tonight at 6 p.m., at 1660 Electric Avenue, one block from Abbott Kinney....

You know those poster-sized signs around the city, dotting corners of mini malls and gas stations? The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear a case between the city of Los Angeles and Metrolights, a company now owned by Fuel Outdoor, reports Dennis Hathway at Ban Billboard Blight blog. The loser in the battle is Fuel, who appealed a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Los Angeles, which originally cited the...

A group of municipal associations combined forces last week to advocate for more high speed rail in Western states, announcing the formation of a new high speed rail group called the Western High Speed Rail Alliance. At issue for them is less than enthusiastic vision of high speed rail in the West. In an editorial, the Arizona Republic agrees: "Major Western cities, including Phoenix, were left off the map in federal plans for high-speed rail. Now, five of them are refusing to be overlooked. How preposterous."

An audit (.pdf) that examined just a portion of purchases made by the LAPD in the 2007-2008 fiscal year found problem after problem in how business is done, finds the LA Times. Policies on spending, hiring and tracking how money is spent is supposed to protect taxpayer money, but the report found that the best deals were not sought, millions in receipts could not be located, among various other problems. “Policies were inconsistently followed,...

LAPD's Parker Center | Photo by LindsayWilliamRoss/LAist Featured Photos on Flickr At today's L.A. City Council Public Safety Committee meeting (.pdf), the issue of what to do with the nearly emptied Parker Center is up for discussion. Since the new Police Administration Building opened in October, only the Scientific Investigation Division (SID) remains until the city finds a new 35,000 to 40,000 square foot facility in downtown. In the meantime, the city is considering...

Famous chef + food "truck" + free = corporate America's latest attempt at street-side billboard advertising? If you couldn't get enough of the food truck trend, here's another one to add to your list; however, it will be gone before you know it. Ketel One is launching a canteen--really, it's a food cart towed by an Escalade--that will serve free late-night food by Top Chef's season two winner Ilan Hall (the guy who recently...