Zach Behrens

There are still no confirmed cases of swine flu in LA County, but over at Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, one comrade has fallen sick and 30 that were around him socially have also been quarantined just in case. The marine in question, who had not been to Mexico, is doing well and seems to be improving. Back to LA County, one student at CSULB is listed as a "probable" swine...

Your elected state representative might be looking at a 10% pay cut. | Pedestrian friendly standards have been set for downtown by the city. | On Friday, it's May Day, which means Marches. For downtown, there are five rolling through. If you're traveling around there, we'd advise taking rail.

When it comes to worst air pollution in the country, Los Angeles is no longer number one and depending on how you look at it, that's a good thing. "I am pleased that this year's State of the Air Report shows that our efforts are working and our air pollution is down," Mayor Villaraigosa said at a morning press conference. "We are showing the world that we can transform LA into the cleanest and...

At yesterday's city council meeting, a nearly unanimous vote prompted a half million dollar study on whether the city should sell its parking meters and six city parking garages to help fill massive budget gaps. The one councilman who stood up for common sense was the Northwest Valley's Greig Smith. "We're selling property at the bottom of the market. What a stupid idea," he said. "If we were stockbrokers, we'd be in jail with...

New York Times says it best: "The gross domestic product shrank at an annual rate of 6.1 percent from January through March after a 6.3 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008. Not since 1958 have Americans experienced such a sharp contraction over six months." Basically, companies are just not buying. Is there a silver lining? "But on Wall Street, investors barely flinched at the worse-than-expected decline in economic output. Stock markets rallied...

It's been building up over some time. Bicyclists vs. the LAPD. Each situation gaining media attention is different, but one thing has been a constant--riders feel prejudiced by the police in general. Then comes today when a large group of 20 or so cyclists show up to the regularly little-attended Police Commission meeting talking about last Friday's incident between a hummer and a group of cyclists and the general treatment they receive when dealing...

The notorious Bay Area killer (but in suspected in the LA Region, too) was allegedly named today. Earning him the worst father of the century award, Guy Ward Hendrickson, who lived in Orange County (however, reports do not indicate when), died in 1993 from cancer and took his daughter with him on his killings. That's all according the said daughter Deborah Perez who stepped forward today to preempt a soon-to-be announced theory from a...

Who the hell is Allegiant Air? Whoever they are, they are making Southwest look expensive. In the latest of airfare wars, this company is offering $18 roundtrips between Los Angeles and Monterey. And all on larger jets that seat 130-150 people--no scary puddlejumpers, according to a travel tipster. So where's the catch? They only offer flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and this blogger found that despite the low advertised prices, all the add-ons...

Today marks the President's first 100 days in office. A lot has happened, but Obama is cautiously optimistic. "I'm pleased with the progress we've made but I'm not satisfied," he said today. "I'm confident in the future but I'm not content with the present."...

A nearly 2-year-old boy from Mexico City died Monday night in Houston while visiting relatives. He first began showing symptoms on April 8th, four days after he arrived into the states. Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said today that " it's too soon to tell how fast the swine flu virus is spreading. He said it's too soon to speculate as to whether the virus...

Photo by thelastminute via Flickr If only car pools lanes would be as easy as taking a bucket of paint and making some new lines. But adding 10 miles of car pool lane to the northbound 405 Freeway between the 10 and 101 freeways means widening it and $1 billion in funding. Homeowners in Sherman Oaks have already received notices that the state is taking their land, but the state is running into the...

In the American Lung Association's latest "State of the Air," it's no surprise Los Angeles County fails. For 2008, Los Angeles had 185 orange days (unhealthy for sensitive populations), 55 red days (unhealthy for all of us) and 11 purple days (very unhealthy). In fact, Los Angeles made all 6 top 25 lists for most polluted and at-risk with various factors. On the clean county lists, many northern and eastern California counties made it,...