Zach Behrens

At the Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown | Photo by Huro Kitty via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Remember how Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took two vacations over the summer? First there was one to Iceland and then another to Africa. That bugged KTLA's Eric Spillman enough to go digging for costs, if any, to taxpayers. At first he was given the run around, being denied access from public records about the Mayor's security detail....

Photo of smoke from Station Fire by Lynn... via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Big, but not surprising news snuck out yesterday about the 250-square mile Station Fire. After a cold front and a few days of rain, containment finally reached 100 percent last Friday evening. The fire, which began on August 26th, had been listed at 98 percent for weeks as firefighters worked on hard-to-reach smoldering areas. The blaze killed two...

Mother Nature is taunting us as she does best. After an earlier-than-expected season opening for Mammoth Mountain on Friday, officials had to close the popular skiing spot down as warmer temperatures made a return. "After a big storm earlier this week and great skiing and riding on Friday, record breaking warm temperatures rolled in, wreaking havoc on our snow in the process," a statement from the resort read. However, a storm in the near future could bring back the snow and lower temperatures.

From a 2007 medical marijuana raid in Hollywood (more photos here) | Photo by Shay Sowden In a major switch from the Bush Administration, Attorney General Eric Holder in a memo today told agencies in 14 states to stop prioritizing raids and cases against those who comply with state medical marijuana laws. It's not a good use of time, the three-page legal memo said, urging that criminals should be the focus of any efforts....

The man who is suspected of starting a small fire in the Angeles National Forest just six days before the 250-square mile Station Fire was arrested last week in Lancaster, according to the LA Times. 25-year-old Babatunsin Olukunle, a Nigerian national, was caught on August 20th tending a fire near Mile Mark 36. Six days later near Mile Mark 29, the Station Fire began. Officials determined the large blaze to be caused by arson,...

Playing Desert Mini-Golf The pop-up museum that is Environmentaland is going away after Wednesday. It's a nicely done and unique project by Global Inheritance. The interactive museum (or theme park, as they describe) has stuff like bikes that you pedal to create different kinds of energy, a design your own recycling bin area and a taste test that let's you see the difference between sustainable and regular food. Find it at Hollywood and Highland....

Curbed LA caught the installation of some panels from the Berlin Wall at 5900 Wilshire Blvd., across from LACMA: "The exhibition is part of Culver City-based Wende Museum's commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Wall... When finished (a total of 10 panels will go up), the exhibition will constitute the largest concentration of Berlin Wall panels outside of Europe." It will be on display through November 14th. On November 8th,...

Do you live in Mike Davis' 48th District? Bigger map here USC's digital online news website Neon Tommy began a new series today called Democracy in Action where reporters visit field offices of L.A.'s state legislators. "Our goal is to see what goes on in a two-hour period on a routine day," they explain. For the first post, Jessica Flores visited Assemblyman Mike Davis' field office, finding that the simplest of questions were the...

Since taking office, President Obama has visited Los Angeles a couple of times, but today is his first San Francisco visit. Tonight will be a National HIV/AIDS Community Discussion at UCSF, which offers a chance for the public to provide input on combatting the disease. The White House says that more than 56,000 new HIV infections occurs each year in the U.S. Obama has three goals in his effort to...

A Thursday night water main break in the Hollywood Hills left about 20 people without water through this morning, reports the Daily News. The six-inch main burst in the Mount Olympus area in the Hollywood Hills affecting about 20 customers. No streets were closed. Then around 4:20 a.m. this morning, an eight-inch pipe broken near Paramount Studios, says the LA Times. The break on Van Ness between Melrose and Lemon Grove has prompted the...

Portraits of Dorothy Hamill and Muhammad Ali by Warhol were among the stolen works (see all the paintings here) Although his paintings were allegedly stolen fro his westside home last month, Richard L. Weisman waived the $25 million he could have gotten under his insurance policy, reports the Los Angeles Times. Detectives would like to follow up with Weisman about that, but have found it hard to track down him. Weisman told the Seattle...

For those who travel the 10 freeway in the wee hours of the morning, take note. Caltrans will be closing westbound lanes between Puente Avenue and the 605 Freeway (map) all next week. Specifically, between 11:59 p.m. and 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. It's for the $114-million HOV lane project, which is expected to be finished in winter 2012. When done, the car pool lanes will whisk passengers between the 605 and Puente Avenue...