Zach Behrens

One year ago this Thursday, the Freeway Complex fire broke out. The 30,305-acre fire destroyed 314 homes. Two years ago this past Sunday, the Santiago Fire ignited, eventually burning through 28,517 acres and destroying 14 homes. Now, Orange County is developing a new system, which will launch this Thursday, that will deploy volunteers in and around county wilderness areas during Red Flag conditions. The OC Fire Watch program will also include OC Parks will...

But LAX won't be one of them. Through January 15, 2010, 47 airports nationwide--that includes Burbank and San Diego--will have free WiFi. However, you can pay if you want. "The holidays are about giving and we hope that you can continue to spread holiday cheer by making a donation via Google Checkout to any of the participating non-profits," says the search engine giant. "At the end of the program, Google will match donations made...

James Wagner, a journalist over at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune tweeted this gem of a local fact today: "LA County to appoint Buzz Aldrin as Honorary Consul General to the Moon. No joke. LA County/Moon relations will now be better than ever." Don't believe it? It's on tomorrow's agenda (.pdf)...

At Kat Von D's 2007 event | Photo by Ali Miller/LAist Back in 2007, L.A. Ink's Kat Von D broke the world record for "most tattoos done in 24 hours." That record was soon shattered within six months in Texas and then again in Arizona. Now, the next attempt to break it will be back here locally this Friday, beginning at midnight. Jeremy Swan, the tattoo artist and shop owner over at Broken Art...

Out in Pomona, police arrested four young men who burglarized a home Friday night and left a trail of shoe prints that aided police in their quick capture. They were found nearby, "sleeping in a garage stacked with the stolen property, and with some of the ill-gotten goods in their pockets," according to ABC7. Items from other possible burglaries were also found. The four will be arraigned tomorrow....

As Los Angeles fumbles around with the latest proposed medical marijuana ordinance, the Long Beach City Council is set to examine its own tomorrow. If passed, the law would limit where dispensaries may be located, hours of operation, how it can be distributed and records of every member, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram. Still, it's not as strict as it could be since cities do reserve the right to ban collectives outright...

Talk about wasting no time. Organizers for the Sunset Strip Music Festival have already determined the dates for its third year. It will run from Thursday, August 12th through the 14th, with a Sunset Strip street closure on the last day. “The first-ever street festival brought a renewed energy to The Sunset Strip, and we received a tremendous amount of positive response from the press, attendees, artists and city officials following the event,” said festival Executive Director Todd Steadman in a statement. “We are excited to solidify a date for 2010, and we are thrilled to build on the success of the event for next year.”

Since the announcement last week, Charlie Beck's position as L.A.'s top cop was all done save for a couple official steps, one of which was completed today. The City Council's Public Safety Committee unanimously approved him, turning the matter over the full council for a vote. However, that likely won't happen until next week because the group is on recess until next week....

Apparently, a 76 Station in Sherman Oaks has been dispensing messages to customers for some 10 years now. "t’s not the cheapest gas in town, but it’s clearly the most articulate," said blogger Lucinda Michele, who posted about it on Los Angeles. Metblogs. Adding to that, a commenter wished that life had more cheerful easter eggs like this, hidden all around." So do we, so do we...

Local sex and relationships blogger AV Flox has launched a new naughty site, appropriately called Sex and the 405. It's tagline: "What your newspaper would look like if it had a sex section."

Sean MacPherson, the man behind some of L.A.'s most popular bars, announced today that his Hollywood-Los Feliz-Silver Lake neighborhood hang, the Good Luck Bar, will celebrate its 15th birthday later this month. On Thursday, November 19, DJ Travis Keller and Chinese burlesque dancers will entertain patrons as they guzzle down $5.00 Stolichnaya, Sailor Jerry, Cazadores, or Jack Daniel's cocktails and selected beers for $2.00 beers (plus: Kogi BBQ will be outside). In 1994, MacPherson...

When the two hotels and Ritz Carlton residences open at L.A. Live next year, that's not the end for development at the mega sports and entertainment complex in downtown. The Downtown News finds that AEG has submitted some big plans. It includes "332,618 square feet of office space and a 269,182-square-foot broadcasting studio that could accommodate a nationwide cable television network, a 275-room hotel and a 25-story residential building with 65 units adjacent to...