Zach Behrens

LA's Department of Transportation is not known for its willingness to communicate with the public at large. It was only after a couple City Councilmember got aggressive this week with bikeways staff that yesterday, draft maps of the LA Bicycle Plan were released. You can download them here and then submit comments via an online form. They are not exactly thrilling maps to ogle over, but it's worth a look to check our your...

Former West Hollywood Councilman and Assemblyman Paul Koretz claimed victory for LA's 5th district seat late Tuesday night. Then an e-mail late yesterday afternoon came with some sobering news. "We learned last night from the County Registrar that their original estimate of approximately 100 ballots left to be counted was incorrect," an e-mail last night stated. "They are now reporting that there are between 500 and 1,000 ballots still to be counted on Friday...

In the final phase of a federal security transportation initiative, our borders are tightening even more beginning Monday. Those traveling by land or sea, will have to present a Passport or the newish Passport Cards when re-entering the states from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Similar rules have already been in effect for air travel after September 11th prompted the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. What if you mess up and don't have either...

Deep within Rock Pool at Malibu Creek State Park (more photos here) | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The great thing about California state parks is that many of them have so much beauty, history and significance, they could be a National Park. In fact, sometimes state parks work in combination with National Parks like in the Redwood Forest and locally within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (check out this map of all...

After a jury found Phil Spector guilty of actress Lana Clarkson's murder, a judge today sentenced the music producer to 15 years to life for second-degree murder and four years for personal use of a gun. "Six years ago, Phil Spector was barely a blip on the American celebrity radar screen," explained the Associated Press of his past. "Although his music lived on, his name and face were only dimly recalled by rock music...

"At one time, prom may have been a big popularity contest where the best-looking guy or girl were crowned king and queen. Things have changed and it's no longer just about who has the most friends or who wears the coolest clothes," said Sergio Garcia, who beat out girls to be this year's prom queen, in his campaign to become prom queen, something he said was more of a stunt in the first place....

More than 200 citizens died earlier this year while defending their homes from wildfires in Australia. That news made officials do a 180 from considering a stay and defend training program for Southern California. So they announced yesterday a "Ready, Set, Go" wildfire action plan for residents living in high risk fire areas--that is to create a defensible space around the home and go when evacuation orders are given. With a light year in...

Not a good day for use of force reports in Long Beach. In two separate incidents, Long Beach police used their guns injuring four suspects with one officer also being shot. In the first incident, Long Beach undercover detectives witnessed a drive by shooting in Compton and pursued the vehicle onto the 710 freeway. It ended in a shootout: three suspects hit and one officer. Later, an officer responding to a vandalism call led...

Close-up of Reward Poster | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist It's the highest reward ever set by the LA City Council--over a half million dollars--and today it was renewed. The long-standing mysterious "Grim Sleeper" serial killer has alluded police for over 20 years. It was only recently that police knew they were looking for the same man in a handful of cases. "For four years, police have known that a single madman is out there,...

Today marks the opening of Petrossian's first Los Angeles area storefront. It's a cafe and boutique featuring menu items such as a Smoked Chorizo Scramble, a Tsar Cut Smoked Salmon Trio, the always controversial Foie Gras, an interesting grilled cheese made of buffalo mozzarella, tomato, olives and pesto on ciabatta and other meaty and fishy items. The boutique carries items like wines, cheeses, jams, gift baskets and the such. Tonight from 4 to 7...

A fire that broke out this afternoon near Dodger Stadium in Elysian Park has grown to one acre, but is expected to be extinguished soon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. At 2:41 p.m., a call from 1700 Stadium Way in the park reported the brush fire as near them. 38 firefighters responded to the fire in medium brush, which quickly grew from a half to full acre, as of 3:25 p.m. However,...

Although not officially announced by the County Registrar, Paul Koretz claimed victory last night in an e-mail blast: "The L.A. County Registrar of Voters has just posted an update on their website. Paul's lead in Council District 5 has jumped from 551 votes to 702 votes... Although we have been told that there are still approximately 100 ballots left to count, we can now safely claim victory." As for the reported incorrect ballots, the...