Zach Behrens

Photo by guamafro via Flickr Two young girls who apparently snuck out of their Pacoima homes to go the park last night never returned home, according to the LAPD. Anna Lopez and Ruby Zapata, both 11 years old, reportedly headed to Pacoima Park in the Northeast Valley at about 9 p.m. [Update: The two have been found safe, according to KFI AM 640. They were apparently sleeping over at a friend.] Both girls are...

Photo by vmiramontes via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Do you work outside? New rules about working in the heat have been approved. The Redbury Hotel in Hollywood is gearing up to officially open on September 1st. Here's a look. But will they leave the neighborhood? "Three decades of arts classes, exhibits and performances have made Self Help Graphics & Art one of East Los Angeles’ most important cultural centers." Happy 10th birthday San...

If you say it, mean it. Well, that wasn't exactly the intention of an allegedly inebriated 19-year-old at Disney's California Adventure last night. The man and his friends were on the top platform waiting in line at the Tower of Terror when he reportedly joked, "wouldn't it be funny if I fell?" as he climbed over the railing. He then, of course, fell, plunging 20 to 25 feet to the ground. That would be...

Photo via the Governor's office Today Governor Guard Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the California National, deployed the first group of national guard troops to the Mexico border. They are the first to head to the border as part of President Barack Obama's plan to send 1,200 troops to the Southwest border. "Today, our National Guard has been called to help secure the border and protect the safety of the American...

Photo by nopantsboy via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Say the n-word 11 times and the heat will follow. L.A.-based radio host Dr. Laura will end her show at the end of this year following her controversial use of the word. After two years of renovation, the Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo has officially reopened. Blah. State furloughs are back, affecting some 144,000 state employees. A developer wants "to carve up a single...

Photo by Atwater Village Newbie via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Gram Ponante, a writer who focuses on the adult entertainment industry, had a question yesterday, so he tweeted it: "If I've seen the street sweeper go past, is it then legal to park on those streets on sweep days?" We suspected the answer would be no, considering the organization it would take the city to make that actually work, and looked to the...

Do you live abut a wildland area? Then maybe you notice a trend, according to the San Bernardino Sun. A scientist in San Bernardino County, who has been tracking red diamond rattlesnakes in the Loma Linda Hills, has found a pattern: snakes are drawn to homes in the summer and away during the winter. "It might be for the water or because small mammals go there to get water, or both," said Aaron Corbit,...

At 5 p.m. today, gay couples across the state were hoping to get married. That's when Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker said a stay on his Proposition 8 ruling, which said banning gay marriage was unconstitutional, would be lifted. But the 9th District Court of Appeals on Monday extended the stay until at least December as consideration of an appeal from Prop 8 proponents is heard.

Photo by R. E. ~ via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Now that city councilmembers have banned smoking on the Santa Monica Pier, up next is replacing the 1939-built bridge that connects to Ocean Avenue, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. The project would cost an estimated $8 million, but the cast-strapped city, which has placed a sales tax measure on the November ballot to recoup some money, may get $7 million in...

It's no surprise we at LAist love this city. And we know we're not the only ones. Now you can add GQ magazine to the list of lovers because in their September issue, they will name Los Angeles the "Coolest City on Planet." Thankfully, the reasons given are not too cheesy. For example, reason two is downtown nightlife impresario Cedd Moses and his empire of bars ("Try Las Perlas for tequila, Seven Grand for...

Oh Bell, your story never ends! The latest from the scandal-ridden city of Bell, where city officials were earning some of the highest municipal salaries in the country, are the loans they received. Yes, in addition to their sky-high salaries, they asked for loans, finds the LA Times. Over the past eight years, around $900,000 in loans were given out to at least 50 people. Of those was two $80,000 loans to City Manager...

A parking lot and construction staging area between two downtown lofts was set to become a park a year and a half ago. Now finalized designs have been released, finds blogdowntown. Spring Street Park will be 35,000 square foot and mainly feature green space. Planners originally proposed a more ornate space, but residents, who lack green space in downtown, wanted it to be simple.