Zach Behrens

Some of the Oil Drilling Platform locations via VC Star With the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year -- even 16 miles of oil coming ashore in Louisiana this past weekend -- a closer and more critical eye is being kept on the industry across the country. Northwest of Los Angeles are 20 oil drilling platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, which over the past six years have seen...

A fire is burning in the Porter Ranch area this afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. At 1:50 p.m. a half-acre brush fire north of the 19100 block of Sesnon Boulevard prompted officials to call for additional firefighters. By 2 p.m., the northwest-moving blaze had consumed to two to three acres of "light brush," said LAFD Spokesperson Erik Scott. The area burned two years ago in the a large 14,000 acre fire...

Photo: justin A sofa left on the freeway caused a crash that left one person dead Sunday evening, according to wire reports. A Toyota Corolla traveling in the fast lane around 9:30 p.m. hit a couch. That car was then hit by a GMC Safari, which overturned and ejected a passenger who was later pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is still under investigation. The CHP says roadway hazards should be called in...

A closeup from the rescue effort (more photos here) | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Nearly two years to the date, a judge today is expected to sign off on a $200 million settlement that would go to family members and survivors of fatal Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth. On the afternoon of Friday, September 12th, 2008 a Metrolink train headed to Ventura County crashed head-on with a Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 people...

Photo by Alex de Cordoba via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr New rules to take effect in October mean some changes at farmers markets in Santa Monica, most notably the Sunday one on Main Street. Thanks to a City Council decision, prepared food vendors at markets must meet new criteria, namely being local -- as in local to Santa Monica -- and having sustainable practices. Six of the 13 prepared food stalls at the...

View a larger version of this map here (.pdf) | Map via Metro Just like the Gold Line's expansion beyond Pasadena in the foothill neighborhoods, it's also likely to get an extension east of the Eastside. At the moment there are two alternatives being discussed: one along the 60 Freeway from East Los Angeles to South El Monte and another that takes the 60 Freeway to Garfield to Washington, ending in Whittier. That's about...

via Beverly Hills Courier There are a plethora of events, including LAist's five picks, taking place across the city tonight for Fashion's Night Out. In Los Angeles, there five areas that will have a good amount of couture concentration. Those neighborhoods are Venice's Abbot Kinney Boulevard, downtown, Los Feliz Village, Melrose Avenue, Robertson Boulevard and West Third Street. Maps, schedule of events and trolley information can be found on the city's webpage. But what's...

Photo by melissssaf via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Watch out: "Robbers armed with baseball bats assault victims in Echo Park & Franklin Hills." Employes and customers were detained, some reportedly arrested, by the LAPD in a raid of a Venice marijuana dispensary Thursday night. Another train crash: "A surgical team amputated the arm of a conductor Friday to free him from the wreckage of a locomotive that struck a slow-moving freight train on...

Photo by Friends 4 Expo Transit Rail tracks were installed at Farmdale Avenue yesterday, which means all street crossing the first phase of the Expo Line are completed. Darrell Clarke at Friends 4 Expo Transit called it a milestone. The Farmdale crossing, which is next to a high school, had become the project's controversial chokehold until July when a state commission gave it the go-ahead. "I believe there are continuous rails now all the...

Officers responding to a call this afternoon discovered a deceased female body, reportedly in a bag. A 3:05 p.m., the police were alerted to a death investigation at a recycling center on the 1000 block of North Main Street (map), according to LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera. The location is north of downtown in an industrial area abut Chinatown. KTLA, which reported it "near" Dodger Stadium, said the body was found inside a bag....

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is China-bound and yesterday made an observation while flying over Alaska. "Over Anchorage, AK. Looking everywhere but can't see Russia from here. Will keep you updated as search continues," he tweeted in reference to Sarah Palin, noted LA Observed. Awesome (but doesn't make up for the fact that the state is in dire straights). During the 2008 presidential campaign, the vice president candidate Palin claimed she had foreign policy experience in...

It's Ricky from Ricky's Fish Tacos! More about him here. | Photo by R. E. ~ via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Would you pay $25 a day to legally drive on state roads at speeds up to 90 mph? L.A.'s income from police tows has nearly doubled over the last year. After one year, Chief Deputy Mayor Jay Carson, who once was an aide to both Clintons, has resigned, but that was his...