Zach Behrens

Finally, Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 year this morning, reports Gothamist: "In the courtroom, Madoff told [U.S. District Judge Denny] Chin, federal prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." He added that he lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night. However, Madoff did not...

Bottega Louie's facade at 7th & Grand in downtown LA | Photo by Eric Richardson/blogdowntown Four Los Angeles eateries received awards tonight at Dwell on Design honoring excellence in their design. The 4th annual 2009 Restaurant Design Awards presented by American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA/LA) presented Bottega Louie and Chaya Downtown with top category jury prizes and The Conga Room with the lounge/nightclub award. The Lab Gastropub on USC's campus garnered the...

At a Starbucks in NYC | Photo via Center for Science in the Public Interest A new nutritional information and menu labeling law will take effect next Wednesday, forcing many restaurants in the state to provide facts about the food they serve. Split into two phases, the first one next week states that restaurants with 20 or more locations in California must provide brochures at the point of purchase with number of calories, grams...

Zach Behrens/LAist On Wednesday night, this is what Ed McMahon's Hollywood Walk of Fame star looked like just outside of the Roosevelt Hotel. There were no flowers or no notes, just newspaper stuck to the sidewalk with some black paint or tar over his name. Accident? Vandalism? Probably the latter--there are some crazy and mean spirited people out there. Luckily, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce cleaned it up that night and things are back...

The Jackson family attorney, Brian Oxman, stepped outside UCLA Medical Center and spoke with KCAL9 for a live interview. "The family is just very sad. They are together, they are not saying anything, they aren't doing anythig, they are simply hugging one another," he said of the scene inside the hospital. "The music of Michael Jackson has been echoing off the walls here at UCLA; it has been one of the most surreal experienes...

After one death and a shooting this week, some fans are wondering what happened to their sweet Orange County Disneyfied Angels baseball experience. The LA Times takes a look, finding some interesting comments made on the internet: "In a ballpark that once had a no-alcohol section for families and won over youngsters with Disney promotions, fans have taken notice, erupting on message boards and on Twitter. Several threatened to stop going to games. 'Not...

For the second time this year, a California man has died at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Claude Finney, 48, jumped into the water to swim without a personal safety device, according to National Park Service officials, who say he was treading water for about a minute before he began to call for help. Friends tried to throw him life-rings, but he disappeared below water before they reached him. Search and Rescue teams have...

As of yesterday, the State Senate had not moved on items except denying a budget package of three bills passed by the Assembly (before a bill can go to Schwarzenegger, it must pass both houses). That package would temporarily halt the use of IOUs in lieu of bill payments from the state. In regards to the threat of state parks, no action has been taken yet. The Democrats proposal goes like this: AB 180,...

The Roxy quickly put up this message on their marquee today | Photo via The Roxy Up in the capitol, legislators are trying to fix the state's $24 billion budget deficit. After another day on both house floors, the Assembly unanimously voted for three bills that would cut school spending and delay payments to schools and local governments in order to allow the state to pay its bills instead of giving IOUs. It was...

LA Weekly is tracking every murder within Los Angeles city limits and yesterday in Pacoima, the 137th for 2009 occurred. Yesterday, "30-year-old Gerardo Cruz was standing out in front of his girlfriend's house with her brother drinking beer when three alleged gang members jumped out of their blue compact car and 'shot up the place.'" Although gang related, police said Cruz was not affiliated with any gangs. This was the fourth homicide in the...

Steve Cooley "If Bernie Madoff had committed his crime in California under the proposed statute, his … scam which has destroyed countless lives and fortunes, would have been a misdemeanor," wrote LA District Attorney Steve Cooley in a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger obtained by the LA Times today. In trying to fix the $24 billion state budget deficit, Schwarzenegger proposed changing state sentencing guidelines so that some felonies would be prosecuted as misdemeanors....

Who knew our little freeway that could was the largest and most stimulated project in all of the state. Ripped from a White House press release about California meeting Recovery Act goals ahead of schedule: "As of today, California’s largest ARRA-funded project is the I-405 in Los Angeles County that will be widened and include several interchange upgrades along a 10-mile stretch of HOV lanes. This project is located in an economically distressed area...