Zach Behrens

Other than Prop 1F, all the budget ballot props have failed, according to the Sacramento Bee: "With about a quarter of the state's precincts in as of 9:30 p.m., the Secretary of State's Office reported none of Propositions 1A through 1E were garnering more than 41 percent of the vote. Only Proposition F, which would freeze the salaries of state elected officials in bad budget years, was winning - and it was winning big."...

An ordinance in the high desert city of Lancaster went into full effect on March 1st, but today Lancaster officials are reminding residents not to water their lawns between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. “The summer heat is already beaten down upon us," said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris about today's reminder. "It is imperative that we each do our part to conserve water this summer. We must sustain this precious resource in our...

It always felt like an obvious thing to do, but now we know the potential. According to state's Flex Your Power program, "if you use air conditioning, a ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting about 4°F with no reduction in comfort. And here’s the best part: most ceiling fans use less electricity than a light bulb. Remember to turn fans off when you leave the room, since they work by...

Since the recession and a new ordinance began, business for a family selling food out of a taco truck in Palos Verdes Estates is down by half. It started last summer, as LA County tried to unsuccessfully enforce a similar, but more relaxed, ordinance that was struck down as unconstitutional. In an article about trying to curb taco trucks nationwide, the LA Times explains: "No longer could loncheras set up for hours at parks...

A 6.3 quake in 1933 was caused by the Newport-Inglewood fault killed 120 people | Photo by Jan Bruce via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Oh, the terrible Newport-Inglewood, you've yet to forsake us. Yesterday's mild 4.1 earthquake caused 18 people to be displaced at the Locust Avenue apartments in Long Beach. "Firemen found a 10-foot by 70-foot section of wall on the second floor peeling away at the roof line," reported the Long...

Come July 1st, there will be some new blood in city hall. After a nasty race, Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich tonight won the race for City Attorney, announced the LA Times in a breaking news alert. He faced current 5th District Councilman Jack Weiss. As of midnight, Trutanich had over 55% of the vote with 76% of precincts reporting, according to the LA County Recorder-Registrar/County Clerk. Trutanich had the endorsement of Sheriff Lee Baca, but...

By 1:15 p.m., a voting precinct in a garage on Stern Avenue in Sherman Oaks just received their 60th vote. That's 60, or 4.28%, out of roughly 1400, a number provided by the LA County Recorder-Registrar's Office pertaining to the average amount of registered voters per precinct. Countywide, a sampling of turnout was a bit higher at 8.76% as of 2 p.m., according to the Recorder-Registrar's Twitter feed. Polls are open to 8 p.m....

They may be only a fourth mile apart, but both family friendly yogurt chain Menchies and newcomer Sweet Rarts just recently opened in Sherman Oaks' restaurant row. First came the addicting and popular Menchies of Valley Village fame, which opened at Ventura and Dixie Canyon, most appropriately next to an elementary school.

Work to restore truck arresters to their original function after a deadly crash last month began today, announced Caltrans. On April 1st, a truck barreled down Angeles Crest Highway (SR-2) through a red light in La Canada Flintridge, crashing into several cars, injuring 12 and leaving a father and daughter dead. "This project will restore the truck arresters to their original function and enhance safety on SR-2," the state agency said in a news...

The counties of San Bernardino and San Diego tried to fight Prop 215, but were denied an appeal hearing yesterday by the US Supreme Court. They tried to challenge state law, specifically ID cards to protect users from police, saying federal law prohibits use of marijuana. That didn't fly, especially in light of the Obama administration's new stance on state rights in regards to medical marijuana, and the appeal went on deaf ears. "No...

Little Armenia via The Neighborhood Project | Photo: Tony Pierce Little Armenia business owners are making headway in creating a stronger neighborhood brand. Coming soon are signs on the 101 Freeway near the Sunset Blvd. exits identifying where the neighborhood's location, the Little Armenia Chamber of Commerce announced in an e-mail last night. They also announced two upcoming major improvements. One is an Armenian Gateway Monument Installation and the other is the formation of...

Today, the Santa Monica Police Department announced the city's new crime mapping tool. It's a great start, but it's a bit clunky when compared to LAPD's crime map. Data, stored for the last 90 days, can be searched by type of crime in relation to an address, intersection, landmark or within the city's boundaries. Only sex-related crimes are not included.