Zach Behrens

Paul Krekorian Now with Wendy Gruel heading to the City Controller Office on July 1st, her seat will be soon vacant leading to a possible campaign if a special election is approved by City Council (and it's likely to go that way instead of an appointment). Tomorrow is the last day to submit proof of residence and voter registration within Council District 2, which stretches from Sherman Oaks and Studio City through North Hollywood...

We're experiencing scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms today with a 40% chance for it to continue tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Tomorrow only holds a 20% of rain with Sunday expected to be partly cloudy. Temperatures should remain in the 60s for the most part throughout the weekend with some areas hitting the low 70s this afternoon....

Raymond Lee Oyler, who set the deadly Esperanza Fire in 2006, was sentenced to death today after a jury recommended the penalty with the judge concurring in his final sentence. Five firefighters died when flames overtook them while protecting a house in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains. 41,000 acres burned and 34 homes were lost, too. The 38-year-old arsonist was convicted in March of five counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of...

The reality is setting in. "I screwed myself. I screwed up my life, I screwed up my kids' lives," Nadya Suleman told a RadarOnline videographer about mistakes she's made. "I have to put on this strong facade and I have to pretend like I don't regret it." The conversation was mainly about how she never informed the biological father she was using his sperm after the first six children. "I went behind his back...

Remember back in February when local artist Shepard Fairey was arrested in Boston for allegedly sticker slapping and postering in Boston? Well, this week, 13 charges were dropped, but he still faces more from a September 16th, 2000 incident in which he did not appear for his arraignment the next day. "We're happy that those cases have been dismissed and we're looking forward to others being dismissed as well that rely on the same...

Freelancers, actors, waiters, web designers and all sorts of people who receive 1099s often find themselves puzzled at why they get letters from the city telling them that they owe money. That's because if you're doing business within the city of Los Angeles, you officially need to declare your earnings. In many cases, people don't earn enough for you to owe, but if you don't register in a timely fashion, you will owe plus...

Eric Garcetti proposed to have the city do bicycle sharrows--basically painted graphics on street lanes indicating bicycles and cars should share the lane, per state law--as a pilot project. That was last year June. One year later, here's the latest via the LA County Bicycle Coalition's e-mail blast today: "At a meeting, held last week, the pilot project timeline was reevaluated and due in part to LADOT and Alta Planning's priority to finish the...

Thanks, lightning and dry brush. After yesterday's storm, lightning caused at least 19 fires in remote regions of the forest, Angeles National Forest officials report after a early morning reconnaissance flight. Twelve of those fires are full contained, but one fire called the Twin Fire remains fairly active in the the central San Gabriel Mountains. The 680,000-acre forest was struck by lightning approximately 400 times between 2:30am and 8:00pm Wednesday. Inciweb will be keeping...

There's a 20% chance we get rain today and tomorrow as this system hangs around for a couple more days. "It's kind of unusual to get stuff coming in from the Pacific Ocean as far as rain goes this late in the year," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service, told the Pasadena Star News. That said, most areas received just one-tenth of an inch, but enjoyed a the novelty...

Pulitzer Prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold did not discover an unknown but extremely tasty mom and pop restaurant in a strip mall in one of his reviews this week, but instead headed to LA Live's Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. "To be honest, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill feels more like Puck’s restaurants in the Midwest or Las Vegas than it does like Spago: This is the export model, food in the crunchy,...

Welcome a new baby saki monkey to the Santa Ana Zoo! Born on May 18th, the child's sex is still unknown, but zoo officials say it's healthy and full of energy. It is the fourth born to its parents Dakota and Aaliyah. The full family can be seen at the zoo's Tropical Rainforest multi-species exhibit....

News of increased parking rates--yeah, $15--at The Getty Center and Villa effective July 1st did not go over so well with some people. So today, they announced that it will be free after 5 p.m. on Saturday nights when the Getty Center is open 'til 9 p.m. The Getty Villa is not open Saturdays, so it does not apply there. Of course, museum admission has always and will always be free so if you...