Zach Behrens

Last week, after a few rallies throughout the state, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger handed in a grant to the feds, asking for $4.8 billion in stimulus money for California's high speed rail project, which would take passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a few hours. Today, that grant drew support from both of California's U.S. Senators and 21 other congressional leaders, including many from Los Angeeles. “When it comes to constructing high-speed rail,...

Photo: Strange de Jim The ever-so aggressive gubernatorial campaign for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced this morning a slew of small local endorsements from around the state. Other than State Senator Alex Padilla in The Valley, no major Los Angeles politicians currently working are on the list. But Newsom did gather up three West Hollywood notables, including John Heilman, Mayor Pro Tempore, Councilmember Lindsey Horvath and Robert Kalonian, President of the West Hollywood...

Photo by DeusXFlorida via Flickr The large annual Harley Davidson ride and charity from Glendale to Fairplex has been canceled this year. Although 25,000 bikers attended last year, topped off with performances by ZZ Top and Foo Fighters, the reality of pulling off the event meant to raise money for various charities just wasn't there for organizers as pre-sales were way down. “This was a gut wrenching decision for me,” said Oliver Shokouh, who...

Photo by guamafro via Flickr Now here's a humorous ending to yesterday's manhunt for an armed robbery suspect. Although he evaded police during a five-hour search and closure of a few block area, his continued tomfoolery landed him in cuffs. As told by a local neighborhood watch via the LAPD Senior Lead Officer for the area, here's what happened: The second suspect was finally caught! How you may ask? The #2 suspect kept calling...

Photo by guamafro via Flickr A perimeter has been set up in Sherman Oaks as police search for a robbery suspect currently at-large. At some point this morning, officers observed wanted robbery suspects in the parking of lot of Rite-Aid at Riverside and Fulton. One was taken into custody, but another ran, according to police. The perimeter, which encloses a neighborhood, shopping center and two schools (Notre Dame High School included), is apparently bounded...

Following a handful of fellows arrested for attempted murder in a September stabbing, another one, likely unrelated, happened this afternoon on campus. At about 12:20 p.m., UCLA police were called about a stabbing on the sixth floor of Young Hall. They responded and have already taken a suspect into custody. So far, a connection between the victim, who was taken to the hospital, and suspect is unknown. Police are asking if you have information...

A Field Poll released this morning has Attorney General Jerry Brown comfortably leading San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom by 20-points in the race for governor. Results indicate Brown at 47 percent with Newson at 27 percent. Meanwhile, the three Republican candidates have less succinct results. "About half of GOP primary voters (49%) are undecided. Among those offering a preference former eBay head Meg Whitman receives 22% of the vote, former Congressman Tom Campbell 20% and State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner 9%," explained the poll.

Police said that a perimeter set up for an armed robbery suspect has concluded after an exhaustive five-hour search ended with no arrests. Around 5 a.m. this morning, two robbery suspects were recognized by officers in the parking lot of Rite-Aid at Riverside and Fulton. One was quickly arrested, but the other escaped on foot, possibly with a gun. Police created a large perimeter, using patrol units, an airship and K-9 units. At about...

It's dineLA week, are you checking out new restaurants? Some vegans felt their options were limited, but the bloggers and readers at Quarrygirl are calling all the restaurants, asking if they'll accommodate vegans. Most restaurants so far are agreeable, but two are not. There's nothing surprising about Chaya Downtown not offering vegan food, but La Grande Orange, the restaurant that promotes dishes made from fresh, organic and seasonal ingredients? That's just disappointing....

Photo by Culture Shlock via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Some L.A. City Councilmembers are considering freezing the police department's budget in light of the economy and a downtrend in the city's crime statistics. Specifically, it would affect the goal of hiring 10,000 officers, a Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa campaign promise that is nearing completion. Proponents of the hiring freeze say it doesn't make sense to hire officers and then furlough them. But outgoing Chief...

Photo by stevendamron via Flickr As highlighted in today's TV Junkie column, KCET's SoCal Connected premieres for its second season tonight. And in our humble opinion, it is the best TV investigative journalism you can find in Southern California. We watched a little sneak peak of tonight's episode about texting while driving and found it fascinating. Journalist Vince Gonzalez explores how bad texting while driving can be, finding that it can actually be worse...

The fire area shown in red Amid cooler weather, firefighters continued to increase containment on the 7,128-acre Sheep Fire today. However, the low-pressure system that brought record lows to Southern California this week is moving out, which will increase temperatures starting tomorrow. Containment, currently at 85 percent, is still expected by Saturday, according to officials tonight. The blaze began Saturday afternoon in a portion of the San Bernardino National Forest on the San Gabriel...