Zach Behrens

A brush fire that has broken out on the eastside of the 5 Freeway in the Newhall Pass has severely slowed traffic from Los Angeles to the Santa Clarita Valley. The five-acre fire eruprted this afternoon and is threatening a dozen homes in the Newhall area, according to CBS2. The California Highway Patrol hopes to open at least one lane on the northbound 5 Freeway soon, but recommends commuters take the 14 Freeway and...

A sheriff's helicopter at a separate emergency in 2008 | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist A maintenance check flight yesterday afternoon ended up in near disaster for those on board the L.A. County Sheriff’s Air-5 Sikorsky. At about 12:40 when testing the helicopter over the Pacific Ocean, one of the two engines failed, prompting pilots to head back to Long Beach airport, according to Captain Mike Parker. But after detecting a significant loss of engine...

Photo by guamafro via Flickr A young boy riding a bicycle with his father in a Norwalk park was shot in the torso Wednesday evening. An argument between two men outside the Holifield Park ended in up to three gunshots, missing the intended target, according to ABC7. The 7-year-old boy is expected to recover follower a surgery. The suspect escaped and there's no description of him available. "You would assume somebody knows at least...

Photo by Robbie via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Under new rules approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners today, Angelenos could be soon allowed to water three days a week instead of the two currently allowed. According to the plan, LADWP customers with odd numbered address would be allowed to water lawns on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and even-numbered addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Depending on the type of nozzle...

The proposal would put a development between Gold Line tracks and Broadway Avenue | Photo by faria! via LAist Featured Photos As state officials figure out how to put a high speed train under or around Los Angeles State Historic Park (aka the "Cornfield"), another project surrounding the rare piece of downtown open space has been proposed. Owners of the nearby San Antonio Winery have proposed a public-private partnership with Metro, developing a mixed-use...

A planned protest tonight outside the Andaz hotel could bring impacts to tonight's rush hour commute. City of West Hollywood officials are warning residents and commuters that traffic along Sunset Boulevard may be diverted temporarily between the hours of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A local mountain lion heads into the woods | Photo by the National Park Service Authorities are on the lookout for a mountain lion reportedly seen in Pacific Palisades. Around 11:43 p.m. on Wednesday, police were alerted to a large 150 to 250-pound cat near Temescal Canyon Road and Sunset Boulevard. Shortly after, officers thought they may had cornered the cougar at Palisades Charter High School, but reports indicate it was never captured by...

Photo by erinleafleming via Twitter After yesterday's acts of civil disobedience in Washington D.C., DREAM Act demonstrators are taking the fight back to Los Angeles outside Senator Dianne Feinstein's office today. A press conference this morning will once again urge Senate Judiciary Committee member Feinstein to push through the DREAM Act, something she supports and sponsored when the legislation was introduced in 2003. Seven years later, the proposal to give amnesty to undocumented students...

Photo by bscott224 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr A 25-year-old man apparently running on a roof of a house in Long Beach was shot and killed by the 57-year-old woman living in the home. Investigators are trying to determine if the shooting, which took place in the driveway, was justifiable -- the man was allegedly running away after committing an assault. And a man was found stabbed to death outside his Beverly Hills...

Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist Those who experienced the last street food festival know that tens of thousands of people all waiting in line with you can make for an exasperating experience. That's why the organizers of the festival changed things up for this Summer's tasting event at the Rose Bowl. Only 5,000 tickets are being sold, and, well, save for some VIP tickets, it's just about sold out, according to Shawna Dawson, who emphasizes...

In Venice | Photo by youdiejoe via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Need a career? California is facing a doctor shortage. And add to that this about a communication gap: in L.A. County, "47 percent of the population and only 5 percent of doctors are Latino. Statewide, 18 percent of doctors speak Spanish." Despite a cap placed on the oil well in the Gulf, oil continues to leak. February 6th is now Ronald Reagon...

A Beverly Hills-based attorney pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he brought heroin to the Criminal Courts Building in downtown. 48-year-old Michael Inman was allegedly caught with the substance last month when a drug-sniffing dog alerted authorities to him while in a secure area "to visit two defendants he was representing in a a burglary and receiving stolen property case," according to the Beverly Hills Courier. He apparently had 14.25 grams of...