Zach Behrens

Bell Cab introduced the city's first hybrid taxis in Los Angeles today in what politicians hope is the just the first of many in the city's fleet of 2,303. Controller-Elect and current Transportation Committee Chair, Councilmember Wendy Greuel requested the city to create a green taxi plan and today challenged other cab companies to follow suit. "Taxi's in Los Angeles might be different colors on the outside, but my goal is for them all...

Star Trek made a killing this weekend for obvious reasons: it was really, really good and it didn't matter if you were a Trekkie or not. And the fact that it wasn't 100% green screen and computer generated graphics was one of the redeeming factors. “So much incredible stuff happens in Star Trek that I wanted to keep it feeling as real as possible,” Director J.J. Abrams said in production notes provided by Paramount Pictures, via Wired Magazine's Underwire. “I didn’t want to have it all be green screens and CG.”

With the economy in the dumps, two Fullerton college students have joined forces to save a buck or ten when it comes to beer. David Echanique (Cal State Fullerton) and Brandon McKenney (Orange Coast Community College) last week announced ThriftyBeer.com, a website where you input your city or neighborhood and it outputs the top ten locations that have cheap beer (with a Google Map, too). In Hollywood, for example, you can 30 Bud Lights...

Foreclosed homes feelings oft beget strong feelings and emotions for owners, but this Riverside man took it way too far. Says the LA Times: "A U.S. Bank representative was checking the house Tuesday in the 1400 block of Orange Street when he discovered several explosives outside the structure. Officers from the Riverside Police Department arrived about 2:45 p.m. and confirmed the explosives were made to look like pipe bombs, officials said in a statement."...

One of the six endangered California Condors released at Pinnacles National Monument in 2003 has died at the Los Angeles Zoo. After the bird was found shot, it was brought to Los Angeles to be treated, but died Monday due to complications from lead poisoning after the bird ingested lead ammunition from hunters (oddly enough, the gunshots and ingestion were not related). On the brighter side of things. Two condors (313 and 303 if...

Found in its natural setting | Photo by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker via Flickr It's definitely become a media theme this past week. A bear sighting in Camarillo, one in Duarte, one in La Verne and one in San Dimas where one was seen this morning, KTLA reports (they have a video). A 200-pound North American Black Bear--the only kind of bear in California--was seen near residences and a condominium abut a wildlife area,...

Damp tire tracks from a street sweeper surrounds a pile of glass a few feet away (Zach Behrens/LAist) How silly. Here on this cul de sac in Sherman Oaks sat glass for nearly four weeks as street sweepers went by every Thursday. You can even see the vehicle's damp tire tracks going around the debris in the above photo. Detail of Glass Upon a call to Public Works about this we also learned some...

If you're live, work or play in Anaheim, take heed! Tonight has two big events happening in the area. First is National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoff game (Ducks vs. Detroit) at the Honda Center. Mix that in with the Anaheim/LA/Whatever vs. Boston game at Angel Stadium. The killer? Both begin at 7:00 p.m. so officials at both are warning of heavy traffic on the surrounding streets, freeways and freeway exits between 5 and...

Following up on more reports about the Mother's Day Weekend Gun Buyback program, in which people traded in their guns--no questions asked--for $100 Visa or Ralphs Grocery gift cards. Apparently, even people who brought guns early Saturday found that police divisions were already out of cards, so they went home, gun in hand. However, after the 1,300 gift cards, worth $130,200, were given away, 500 people still turned in their guns anyway. Nearly 1,7000...

LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold takes on burritos of the north and south in a question from a local reader about her Berkeley loving Burrito friend who is visiting. Says Gold: Bay Area residents tend to have peculiar ideas about burritos, which they regard as monstrous things wrapped in tinfoil, and filled with what would seem to be the contents of an entire margarita-mill dinner, including grilled meat, rice, beans...

While we await Cirque du Soleil's arrival to Hollywood & Highland, the group is heading to Santa Monica and Orange County beginning in October. First on the Santa Monica pier, where it's been 10 years since the group brought its Grand Chapiteau (big top), and then to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine in January. “Cirque du Soleil brings a global distinction to the Great Park," said City of Irvine Mayor and Great...

Bad news for residents of the Hollywood Entertainment Distirct. Whole Foods today told Racked LA that the storefront "planned for the southeast corner of Selma and Vine is on hold until the market takes a better turn." That location is near the mixed apartment complex and the currently under construction W Hotel....