Zach Behrens

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...

Photo by A.C. Thamer via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Looking at next week's special election, Governor Schwarzenegger's Department of Finance says the state budget deficit will be $15.4 billion if Props 1A through 1E pass, $21.3 billion if they fail. A nice new bar opens in downtown this week. Welcome BottleRock to the South Park neighborhood (they have another location in Culver City). 2008 High School Dropout Rate announced today: 34.9%...

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...

Well, you know how it goes. The world's oldest profession will never cease, even if Craigslist, in an agreement with most U.S. state attorney generals, nixes their "erotic services" category in favor of a monitored "adult" one. This comes amid controversy surrounding the Craigslist Killer incident on the East Coast when a medical student from Boston was charged with killing a masseuse he met off the site. But, as ZDNet Government Richard Koman notes,...

As we enter into a worsening fire season and summer recreational time, the Angeles National Forest today announced that the fire danger level will be raised from moderate to high this Sunday.

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...

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...

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,...

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....

Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist In a strongly worded post on StreetsbogLA, Damien Newton breaks down where support lacked for AB 766, dubbed the "Safe Streets Bill:" Assemblymember and Transportation Chair Mike Eng, representing the San Gabriel Valley, only let the California Highway Patrol speak as expert witnesses. Lieutenant Carl Povilaitis of the Glendale Police Department, who has experienced too many pedestrian vs. auto accidents in the city, spoke during public comment. Councilmember and Controller-Elect...

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...