Zach Behrens

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...

Among the Prop 8 chalk graffiti, someone added this marijuana advocacy piece last night | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal suggest eliminating welfare. If that would happen, California would be the only state without such a program. "You would think they would legalize weed before this," quipped Shane Hirschman, a multimedia designer, on Twitter. Earlier this month, Schwarzenegger said it is time to seriously look into the possibility of...

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,...

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...

The brush fire that began Sunday afternoon and burned around 450 acres in Joshua Tree National Park was fully contained yesterday morning, although some firefighters remained on the scene to check for hotspots. “Exotic grasses and weeds change the desert’s natural ecology and its normal fire frequency. Because of this, Joshua Tree National Park has a full suppression approach to wildfires," said Park Superintendent, Curt Sauer. "Given that no firefighter or park visitor was...

A new pedestrian bridge over Bull Creek | Photo Courtesy of Congressman Brad Sherman's Office After a year of restoring its wildlife and native habitat, Bull Creek, between Victory Boulevard and the LA River in the San Fernando Valley, re-opened to the public this morning. As with the LA River, the Army Corps of Engineers adjusted the creek for flood control purposes years ago leaving the ecosystem and habitat weakened. “The Bull Creek project...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been a supporter of gay marriage, but his duty is to uphold today's ruling. However, he believes that someday gay couples will get the right to marry in California. Here's what he said in a statement today: "While I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage, as governor of California I will uphold the decision of the California Supreme Court. Regarding the 18,000...

A collision between a Metro Blue Line train and a vehicle, possibly a pick up truck, left at least one person injured and transported to the hospital. At 1:25 p.m., the two collided near Washington and Main just south of downtown, but no train passengers were hurt. Two other people were in the vehicle, but their condition is unknown and the circumstances of the crash are under investigation. Last week, two pedestrians were killed...

Doakes, the cat | Photo via his Facebook Page On Sunday evening, Jessica Amen and Kyle Kushner lost just about everything when their two-story unit apartment in Brentwood went aflame. Over 100 Los Angeles firefighters fought the aggressive blaze for nearly an hour before extinguishing it, keeping it contained to only their unit. One resident and one firefighter sustained injuries, but nothing life threatening. However, one cat, named Riggs, died. His pal and only...

At a Prop 8 protest last November (more photos here) | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist After this morning's ruling that gay marriage will remain illegal in California, things outside the California Supreme Court in San Francisco started to get a little out of hand. Locally, the LAPD announced logistics to the media about tonight's permitted protest in Hollywood. They advised reporters of media staging areas, the route and what to do if the march...

Prop 8 is upheld? Protests. Prop 8 is defeated? Celebrations. No matter the outcome, today is the long-planned-for Day of Decision with events across the nation. Most are taking place this evening, but if you go, make sure to check the time for your preferred location:

Photo: LA Times "I want to have an aggressive agenda and hit the ground running," said Carmen Trutanich, who will become LA City Attorney on July 1st, to the Daily News. He plans to name a transition team and develop an agenda for his first 100 days in office. Not only that, he's opening his doors to Controller-Elect Wendy Greuel for a department audit, something current City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and former Controller Laura...