Zach Behrens

Peggy Archer/Flickr A new tax incentive allowed under a new bill for filming in California has been so popular, the majority of its allotted money has been taken advantage of by 25 film projects across the state. Local Assemblymember and current LA city council candidate Paul Krekorian's legislation to allow up to $100 million in tax credits for filming became a reality last month with 25 productions already claiming $67 million. “Just one month...

Certainly everyone has their favorite gastropub, maybe because it's their neighborhood hang or because they like the burger a lot, let's say from Father's Office. But let's face it, sometimes these gastropubs are out of control busy, packed and with a line out the door. That's why we love York on York (Blvd.) in Highland Park. How can you beat a chillax environment with $5 Craftsman beers and some of the best skin-on fries...

San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom is once again back in Los Angeles on the campaign trail. Today he sits down with Los Angeles' business community at the L.A. Chamber of Commerce as part of their California Candidates Series. Newsom will discuss public and private-sector jobs and how they could revitalize the economy to the group who could offer a powerful endorsement later in the race. According to his campaign, Newsom "was...

Looks like Burbank officials goofed on the whole letting the business community know they were taking away blocks of parking to add traffic lanes. Not only does it exacerbate the current recession for owners, but it has possible legal ramifications with the law, says Damien Newton at LA Streetsblog: "In May of 2008, when the debate over the fate of the Mayor's Pico-Olympic Plan was at its hottest, a Superior Court Judge ruled that...

As the city of Pasadena explores options to help fix the mess that is the popular three-mile loop around the Rose Bowl used by walkers, joggers and cyclists, three options have from planners with two exceptionally progressive. "What a difference two years make," said LA Streetsblog writer Damien Newton noting that an older proposal sought to eliminate bicycles from loop altogether. The three proposals include leaving the path as it is (unpopular), marking a...

Last week, authorities raided Dr. Conrad Murray's office in Houston. Today, his other office and home in Las Vegas. Search warrants said DEA and police were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense." Murray's lawyer told the Associated Press yesterday that he did not prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Jackson. Murray was paid $150,000 a...

Photo by guamafro via Flickr Here's a cozy north Pasadena story. Early this morning around 1 a.m., a group of 10 people were gathered on a street in Pasadena when about three shots were heard. The group dispersed and four houses down, a bullet that made its way through a window was found between the legs of a 1-year-old in his crib, according to the Pasadena Star News. The incident took place on the...

Photo by Renee Rendler-Kaplan via LAist Featured Photos/Flickr They say Los Angeles is best compared to Paris. Well, both cities share rankings in a report released yesterday showing the busiest airports in the world: Paris at 5th, Los Angeles, formerly at 3rd and 5th in recent years, now at 6th. At its peak in 2000, Los Angeles served 68 million passengers. In 2008, 59.5 million travelers. "This is all about demand, and airlines only...

The campaign for Chris Essel for Council District 2 has been gearing up for a big announcement this morning, but the LA Times scooped away what the press conference was supposed to announce later this morning. “In both the private and public sectors, Christine Essel has proven that she has the skills and the commitment to get the job done,” Riordan will say, according to a statement obtained by the Times. Essel has served...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr 17-year-old Lily Burk's murderer is allegedly Charlie Samuel, a parolee transient, who was arrested for drinking in public and possession of drug paraphernalia. Already behind bars, he was later connected with Burk's murder after fingerprints from inside her car matched. Sameul's "quality of life" arrest under the LAPD's Safer Cities Initiative has received a lot of heat as of late. Calling it an "oft-criticized quality of life arrest," Eric...

With parts of the Valley at 83 degrees at noon, it was a welcome surprise after yesterday's blistering temps and with LA County public health officials extending a week long heat alert through today. Of course, the Antelope Valley has already hit triple digits with the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys to follow, but the National Weather Service is no longer predicting that nor are they reporting high temperatures at the height of...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr No matter how legal a marijuana dispensary is, drugs and money make them popular targets for crime. One of those such incidents last year on an October afternoon left Noe Gonzalez, a security guard, dead when a robbery attempt by four men went wrong at La Brea Collective on the 800 block of La Brea. And although two of the suspects were immediately caught, two others were on the...