Zach Behrens

Photo by Neeta Lind via Flickr A group has sued the federal government for disseminating inaccurate information about medical marijuana. The LA Times points out that although the Obama administration has stated "that science should be guiding government judgments in controversial matters of medicine and technology, not the prevailing political mood," a federal lawyer told the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday that marijuana "has no currently accepted medical use." By law, the...

The politics of the proposed overnight parking districts in Venice is getting nasty. Mean spirited notes are being placed on residents' cars and doors that threaten action against them over junky-looking cars parked on the street, unkempt lawns or barking dogs. One letter obtained by the LA Times read: “Habla Ingles? FINAL WARNING .... No junk car parking on our street. Move it or we tow it!” The letters are credited to the Venice...

Starting at 3:30, the annual ceremonies for the State of the City will begin at the Balqon Electric Truck Factory in the Harbor area. It will be aired live on Channel 35 and on its website. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's speech probably will begin around 4 p.m., according to his office. The LA Times suspects the speech will focus on green jobs, considering its setting....

Yesterday, a city council committee was presented with a report (.pdf) on the benefits of privatizing city owned parking meters. Such as a move--Chicago already is doing this--could solve the city's budget crisis, which is looking to be over $500 million. "It’s not like we’re going to wake up tomorrow and the city will have handed over control of its parking meters," Damien Newton at StreetsblogLA notes. "However, because the city is looking to...

Today and tomorrow's ultraviolet index level in Los Angeles is 7, which means a person could be sunburned in 7-8 minutes of exposure to the sun. Everyday, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center releases the next day's UV levels and as we approach summer, these numbers have been climbing out of the low and moderate levels towards the high. "There are two prices to pay for overexposure to UV radiation: a severe sun...

The most heated a neighborhood council meeting will get is usually is over new development. This week, two neighborhood councils are heavily advertising meetings about projects going into their neighborhoods. Tonight, the Studio City Neighborhood Council's Land Use Committee checks in on a large development at Ventura and Colfax that will include 254 units and 5,000 square feet of retail/commercial space. And in Silver Lake, they are urging community members to come out Saturday...

Compared to last year's first quarter, film production shoots are down 56.3%, but thanks to last year's writers strike, TV shoots was given a boost with a 76.4% increase. However, the Hollywood Reporter has sobering news about all of this: "after factoring in a 34.2% drop in recession-battered commercial shoots -- first-quarter location filming in L.A. was virtually stagnant, increasing by 0.7% year-over-year." Feature Film production in Los Angeles also drastically went down to...

"Not only is the current statewide Republican registration of 31% a historic low, but for the first time there is not a single congressional, state senate or assembly district that has a majority Republican registration," finds Fox and Hounds Daily, a blog about the state's politics and business. Is this a sign of the times or because more people are deciding to register as "Decline to State" or was this predictable when assembly districts...

Photo by stevelyon via Flickr When you see a patrol car speeding by with its lights and sirens blaring, that's a Code 3 call, otherwise known as someone or something is in danger right now. It's these cases when officers can break the law by speeding and running red lights. But there's an old school rule on the books: in general, when responding to emergencies, only one unit is allowed to go Code 3...

It's 9 p.m. on Saturday at Coachella and you've got to choose between M.I.A., Band of Horses and Junior Boys. "Ugh," one fan of all three bands wrote in an e-mail to LAist regarding the set times released today by the music festival. Anyone else find any good bands you'll have to choose between?...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr With all the unfortunate buzz going around about hit and run incidents these days, the LAPD today is asking for help with three older cases from late last year that left people dead. Rewards of $50,000 each are being offered for the following: Nov. 8, 2008, at around 12:45 p.m.- 71-year-old Royce Miles was riding in his motorized wheelchair across 47th Street at Central Avenue when he had a...

Tom Andrews/LAist A 2-year-old toddler was killed Saturday afternoon when he was struck by a Yukon GMC truck in the parking lot of a car wash in the Koreatown area. Luis Rojas and his 24-year-old brother were standing near their car when Rojas ran around the passenger side of the car to the back when he was hit by the 2003 Yukon. He was transported to the hospital by where he died shortly after...