Zach Behrens

"While I fully support [marijuana's] use for medicinal purposes, why don't we regulate it like we do Lipitor or Viagra," Bratton said today at a media event unrelated to urging city council to expedite the new dispensary laws. "You can't buy those two without getting it through a legitimate pharmacy. If this drug is so important and so helpful, why is it not regulated like every other drug?" In September 2007, the city placed...

In some places, such as Australia, rain barrels are an ubiquitous sight | Photo by madmack66 via Flickr Even with Los Angeles' aggressive zero waste plan not in full effect yet, we still rank number five nationally in a study on America's Least Wasteful Cities. "Following the path to a least wasteful lifestyle is done most often when it's easy and convenient," the study concluded. "Overall results showed that the easier and more convenient...

Late-night revelers in downtown may have more options for affordable parking soon. A city council committee has approved yesterday cheaper later-night parking at Pershing Square. "The facility currently offers a flat rate of $6.60 for those entering after 5pm, but after 1am a new $15 charge is tacked on," explains Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. "The current proposal would extend the reduced rate until at least 2am." The original motion asks for the reduced rate...

Photo: cliff1066 An internal LAPD audit has found that 115 of the 178 officers in desk jobs that should be filled by lower paid civilians are fit and healthy enough to be out on the streets. That's "roughly equivalent to removing one or two patrol cars from each of the department's 21 stations -- a significant handicap for a police force that is far smaller per capita than those in other major American cities,"...

Leroy Jones Pasadena police have released the "blue book" report on the controversial officer involved shooting of parolee Leroy Jones earlier this year. Jones was killed in the back of his car with 11 bullets, seven of them in his back after two officers pulled him over and a struggle with a gun ensued, according to the Pasadena Star News. The report clears the officers saying the shooting was warranted. But Jones' family and...

Burbank Airport's Arrivals and Departures | Photo by {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester} via Flickr The difference between LAX and Burbank airports are obviously vast. At one you should arrive an hour or two early just to make sure you'll make it through all the lines. At the other, arriving 20 minutes before your flight is typical. The latter, Burbank Airport, is now offering a new ultra type of valet service. "Our standard Gold...

Eric Richardson at blogdowntown notes that everyone from coffeeshops to LA Live to condo buildings are on Twitter. What's missing from the list? The government entities in the region. No Councilmembers Jan Perry or Jose Huizar, no Community Redevelopment Agency, no neighborhood council, no LAPD Central Division. Considering the City Council mandated that all agencies explore Twitter, this could change soon. You can follow LAist on Twitter here....

Around 9:15 p.m. last night, a 19-year-old man was killed when he was shot once in the head in what police believe to be a gang related shooting. Joey Romo was reportedly in an argument on the 2900 block of Glenmanor Place when the incident happened, according to the LAPD. The suspect is described as a 5 foot 7 inch male wearing a black sweatshirt. Anyone with more information about the killing was asked...

The 380 or so small and moderate earthquakes shaking the area around the Salton Sea died down this weekend with a count of around 22 quakes. "The only reason this swarm got a lot of attention is that it's very close to the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, which we're always watching very closely," said seismologist Kate Hutton of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to the Pasadena Star News. One...

Found at Normandie & Olympic | Photo: asdfkim There's nothing more that will get a community off their asses and to public meetings than the fight over a neighborhood's name. A group of people want a part of Koreatown to be called Little Bangladesh, so they filed a petition with the city. Koreatown is not one bit thrilled, but they say their area was never recognized by the city as an official neighborhood either,...

There were lots of 'I Voted' Stickers left over last week | Photo by joebeone via Flickr Last week's election hardly brought a soul out. 6%, or around 24,000 people, of nearly 400,000 registered voters came out for last week's special election for the 26th district State Senate seat vacated by Mark Ridley-Thomas when he joined the LA County Board of Supervisors. At a cost of around $2.2 million, many are frustrated at how...

Ed Boks Richard Alarcon and others on the Los Angeles City Council are fed up with Ed Boks, the General Manager of the Animal Services Department. This month's drop of coupons for city mandated spaying and neutering apparently was the last straw. "[The city] faces a continuing crisis in the management of the Department of Animal Services," began Alarcon in a motion he introduced today. "These problems range across a gamut of issues: facilities,...