Zach Behrens

Every year Washington D.C. news source The Hill publishes an annual list of the 50 Most Beautiful People and this year, Californians took the majority of spots, finds Kitty Felde at KPCC. 16 percent of the list -- or eight people (one, seen right, works for a Californian, so she's like a Capitol Hill transplant) -- represent the Golden State on the gawking list, which includes young staffers and the politicians themselves like Democrat...

Despite some opposition, Huntington Beach leaders last night voted to annex Sunset Beach. The move is not final -- paper work and studies must be done -- but the writing is basically all but on the wall. After some Sunset Beach residents failed to be annexed into Seal Beach, they wanted to become their own city, which worried others because it could have meant raising taxes to keep a small city government afloat. Huntington...

Main Street in Santa Monica | Photo by Mark Luethi via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr An update on the Chatsworth extension of the Orange Line, which will add four north-south mils to the busway. A fire erupted either at or next to Axe Restaurant on Abbot Kinney Venice today. The Echo Park Lake swap meet was broken up by police this weekend. L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti backed the enforcement: "Turning Echo...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr A man who is believed to have killed a 61-year-old Santa Monica woman on Sunday morning is in custody, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. At 8:03 a.m., police responded to The Manor regarding an "unknown trouble" call, a dispatch classification assigned to calls in which the extant of a crime is unknown. Upon arrival, the woman was found dead with stabbing wounds. Standing right there was 55-year-old...

Photo by Sarah_Jones via Flickr In California, it's a crime to give alcohol to a teen, but if something bad happens, say death from alcohol poisoning, state law protects you from civil prosecution. Now a bill to allow civil suits over the issue has been approved by the state legislature and heads to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. “Teens continue to die from alcohol poisoning under adult supervision, even though common sense alone should prevent...

Photo by fredcamino via Flickr Fares are up, schedules are changed and six routes have been canceled. That's how Los Angeles' Department of Transportation approached the budget crunch this year. As of Sunday, fares increased from a quarter to 35-cents, with a two-quarter-fare approaching next year July. Additionally, six routes have been canceled citywide: Warner Center, Hollywood/West Hollywood, Hyde Park Shuttle, and Routes C, DD and Central City East in downtown. Many of the...

When a politician appeals for money on Twitter or Facebook, that action is not necessarily regulated by state like other reportable ones. That could soon change. A report released today by the state's ethics commission details recommendations on full disclosure of official campaign messages via social networking. "Our goal here is to meet the new challenges of 21st Century technology," Fair Political Practices Commission hairman Dan Schnur told the Associated Press. "There's no way...

Photo by Paul!!! via Flickr Huntington Beach may someday grow by 85 acres if its city council tonight approves a measure that would signal official interest in annexing neighboring Sunset Beach, an unincorporated neighborhood of around 1,200 people -- Sandra Bullock was one its more notable residents in the past -- in Orange County. If approved, city staff will be directed to "prepare all the necessary documents required for application to the Orange County...

There's probably a lot more to why cycling champion Lance Armstrong was talking to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, but all we know is this, via Rick Orlov at the Daily News: "He told the mayor the goal is to stay on the bike, not off it," a mayoral aid said in reference to well wishes after the mayor's bicycle mishap, which left him injured. Random, even slightly humorous, but obvious. Since the incident, Villaraigosa...

Sunset in Long Beach | Photo by Bill Geal via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Help L.A.'s neighborhoods out and some do gooding tomorrow, join on in and Serve the City. Now that three news websites are dedicated to covering West Hollywood, LA Weekly asks if there will be increased scrutiny of local politicians. An explosion at a metal works paint company in South L.A. this morning left one man dead and another critically...

And the food truck battle continues on the 5700 block of Wilshire Boulevard. A reader this afternoon sends in this photo of a sign posted to one of the junker cars apparently used by Museum Square management to block food trucks from parking across the street from restaurants that rent space in their building. Last week, someone began posting different signs to the cars. Museum Square management has declined to comment, but employees who...

Photo by KingoftheHill. via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr It was a hectic morning for public transit users traveling around downtown as incidents along three lines temporarily halted or slowed service. A white powdery substance found at the 7th/Metro station, which serves the Red, Purple and Blue Lines shut down the station and surrounding area during the 6 a.m. hour, according to KNX1070. The station was later reopened. During that, however, at 6:58 a.m.,...