Zach Behrens

The first phase of the Expo Line will be 8.6 miles of light rail track between downtown L.A. and Culver City A train ride between downtown and Culver City will not happen in 2010, according to a report by the LA Times today. The delayed Expo Line project is $230 million over budget and if anything opens late next year or early 2011, it will open be eight stations from downtown to Crenshaw Boulevard....

A veggie dog from the Let's Be Frank truck, one of the many trucks in LA's current street food scene | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist If you went to UniqueLA this weekend and read the program book, you might have been tipped off to a festival that's guaranteed to get everyone salivating. It's the LA ♥'s Street Food Festival on February 13th. Not much information is out yet, so we spoke to one of...

Photo by GarySe7en via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr A transit lobbying group today released their formal position on budget-saving Metrolink proposals to either raise fares or jettison more than 50 trains from its schedule, which included canceling Orange County Weekend Service and a variety of other trains. Bart Reed, the Executive Director of The Transit Coalition, said fare increases would better serve ridership. "A 6% fare increase sounds scarier than it really is,"...

A City Council panel today approved a motion that would ban smoking near outdoor dining areas in Los Angeles, according to the LA Times. It will next move to the full City Council, possibly before the end of the year. The ban would prohibit smoking within 10 feet of outdoor restaurant dining and 30 feet from food trucks. Fines would be up to $250, but a one-year grace period is being sought. 18 and...

Two young children were airlifted to children's hospital after a hit and run on the 7600 block of Corbin Avenue in the Winnetka area of the San Fernando Valley this morning. Both the 4 and 6-year-old are listed in serious but stable condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Police believe they have located suspect vehicle, but the investigation is currently ongoing, according to Officer Gil Cardenas. Circumstances surrounding the incident, which occurred...

delara-photos via LAist Featured Photos Today's the big day, the long-awaited one, a sigh of relief as one the nastiest, dirtiest , big money races comes to an end. It's the special runoff election for Council District 2 (CD2), which stretches from Sherman Oaks to the Northeast Valley in the San Fernando Valley. Two candidates, Assemblyman Paul Krekorian and former film industry executive Chris Essel, face off. "The location of your polling place can...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr Santa Monica police this afternoon arrested a suspect in North Hollywood for the murder of his two-month old step-daughter after he brought her to an emergency room on October 4th. She had stopped breathing and was found to be in full cardiac arrest. Hospital staff resuscitated her twice and placed her on a ventilator. And initial examination by a medical specialist revealed that injuries were consistent with “shaken baby...

Closed since 5:30 p.m. yesterday, the 5 Freeway through the Grapevine remains closed this morning. The California Highway Patrol had hoped to open the artery that connects Southern and Central California early this morning, but dangerous conditions are apparently persisting. It may open around 10 a.m., according to an ABC7 tweet. The closure is between Grapevine and Smokey Bear roads. UPDATE: Officers will be escorting a group of 500 cars through the Grapevine around...

Due to heavy rains snowy conditions, the California Highway Patrol began shutting down both directions of the 5 freeway in the Grapevine, north of Santa Clarita, around 5:30 p.m. However, mandatory evacuations in the northeast San Fernando Valley were lifted by Los Angeles officials this afternoon....

digitalshay/Flickr After a fire fully engulfed a home in Eagle Rock this morning, a man was found dead by Los Angeles firefighters. The one-story house fire was reported at 6:23 a.m. at 4849 Maywood Avenue in Eagle Rock, a few blocks north of Occidental College. A knockdown was called 22 minutes later. The deceased man, still unidentified, was over the 60, according to Rich Matheney of the L.A. Fire Department. No firefighters sustained injuries....

The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is currently reporting two large power outages affecting nearly 11,000 customers. 8,000 in the Westlake area and 2,900 in the Boyle Heights have been without power since around 5 p.m. "Crews are on site working to restore power," said Gale Harris, a public information officer with the utility. The exact causes of the outages are unknown. UPDATE: Power has been restored to Boyle Heights and 2,000...

Today, a pair of Los Angeles city council committees will discuss the controversial costs of the Michael Jackson memorial, which ended up costing taxpayers a pretty penny. $3.2 million for police, street closures and other services was spent by the city on the Michael Jackson memorial that was produced by AEG, who, as the LA Times points out, ended the spectacle with "All Rights Reserved" on television screens around the world. The discussion will...