Zach Behrens

Confident and Proud of their word & actions, Westboro Baptist Church protesting the Oscars at Sunset & Highland | Photo by Snapshotboy via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Remember these people at the Oscars? It's the infamous Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church and they are protesting various locations in Los Angeles tomorrow including Fairfax High School, a Jewish temple, a community center and the Anti-Defamation League's headquarters, according to the LA Times. "We're here to...

In a pretty shocking move last month, the Los Angeles Unified School District cut summer school for elementary and middle students along with some high school level classes in a move to save $34 million from its dwindling budget. Overall, this affects 225,000 students. So what are the kids to do, asks the Daily News? Are they at risk? Will they run amok throughout the city? How about getting a job? The latter is...

A $1.50 tax increase to packs of cigarettes sold in California was approved today by the state's Senate Health Committee. Yesterday, a legislative budget committee approved the increase, among various other deficit related moves, all supported by Democrats, which Schwarzenegger promises to veto. It's estimate that it would provide $1.2 billion in new revenues. "A statewide poll by David Binder Research in the wake of the May 19th Special Election demonstrates that a strong...

Mr. Brainwash is at it again at his usual spot on La Brea at San Vicente. This time celebrating along with the rest of Los Angeles. "It might be an understatement to say Mr Brainwash polarizes opinion," wrote the unnamed blogger at unurth, a street art blog. "While some people love his work, and he sells prints and originals at blazing speed, others criticize him for lacking originality and being overly commercial. I like a lot of his work, but to me this piece doesn’t make it any easier to defend him."

Photo by inocuo via Flickr Get ready to splash! Come Saturday, 34 pools will open to the public for the summer season, including the new family Aquatic Center at Jackie Tatum (Harvard) Recreation Center in South LA. Additionally, 16 year-round pools will begin their summer schedule. An affordable $2.50 gets you in for a swim. Show your city library card and it's fifty-cents less. Children age 17 or younger, seniors age 65 or older,...

If you've ever driven the 2.1 mile canyon-to-valley-floor stretch of Beverly Glen Boulevard, you probably have noticed that it changes throughout, telling you to go 25 mph, now 35, oh wait, now 30. The city's Department of Transportation now wants to change the sporadic nature by splitting the baby with a uniform 30 mph from Mulholland to Moorpark in Sherman Oaks. "It will be easier for motorists to monitor their speed as well as...

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today speaks at a news conference to announce plans for the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA championship victory parade (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) Under pressure not to spend nearly a million dollars in city money for the Lakers parade tomorrow, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa raised $850,000 from private donors to offset costs. "If we hadn't had a parade, you've have had a whole bevy of other people criticizing," he said. Those who helped...

To find the apps, go to iTunes or the Apps store and search for KCRW or click here to open up iTunes KCRW today officially launched three iPhone apps connecting listeners with live streams, calendars, videos and archived shows. Each cost 99-cents, which "will help offset costs for future iterations of this app and future apps," says a station spokesperson. The main app lets you tune into the internet channels, which include the live...

"Just look at that picture. Look at how that cheese is melting, you know it belongs in your fucking face." That's vegan blogger Quarrygirl for you on her above photo from Chango in Echo Park. The coffeeshop is now offering grilled cheeses with that new vegan cheese that some pizzerias have started to use. Is this a trend that we'll see continue across the city? Is this Daiya vegan cheese so good that chefs...

An annual $15 vehicle fee proposed by a state budget committee yesterday could save 80% of state parks currently threatened to be closed amidst the budget crisis. The Ventura County Star explains: Under the plan, all motorists would pay a $15 surcharge on the license fees they pay each year to register their vehicles. The surcharge would yield about $220 million — enough to keep parks open, allow anyone with a California license to enter and park for free at state parks and leave enough left over to make some debt payments on outstanding park bonds.

Several lanes remain closed on the southbound 405 freeway as police search for burglary suspect who hid in a storm drain near the Roscoe on- and off-ramps. The suspects--one was arrested--were apparently trying steal copper wiring from a nearby warehouse when someone reported the burglary, according to the LAPD. The closure began around 3 a.m., snarling morning traffic on one of the busiest freeways in the world....

Photo by GarySe7en via the LAist Feathred Photos pool on Flickr Tomorrow's City Council Transportation Committee meeting has an agenda full of bicycle (.pdf) issues including the master plan, LAPD and a revival of the bicycle license. The latter is one of the more peculiar items because city council just recently squashed its existence. Now a new motion is trying to have it come back. Vaguely written, it goes like this: I MOVE that...