Zach Behrens

John Chiang arrives at the city of Bell | AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes As promised in August, State Controller John Chiang has launched a website detailing the salaries and other compensation of city and county governments throughout California. The move followed the city of Bell scandal, in which employees and part-time city councilmembers of the Southeastern L.A. County municipality were found to be earning sky high salaries and now face charges. While a majority of...

See a larger image at KTLA Power went out this morning along Beverly Boulevard in the Park La Brea area, most notably causing traffic lights to go down and businesses to shutter along Beverly Boulevard. The LADWP confirms that 664 customers have been affected and that crews are working to restore power. Although it's windy, no official cause has been cited. Out in Granda Hills, a large tree fell onto a house, leaving a...

Unlike tax forms, a postmark date on or by election day on an absentee ballot in California does not mean it's eligible. The United States Post Office today encouraged voters to not just voter early (and often), but to also "mail early." And if for some reason you cannot get the ballot into the mailbox on time, voters can hand-deliver their completed ballot in the official envelope to any polling location on November 2nd...

Lower and Upper Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. | Photo by jimmay bones via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr This is not local to L.A., but the universe! NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock used Foursquare to check into the international space station. It unlocked a new badge: the "“NASA Explorer." "California's unemployment rate stayed put last month, remaining at 12.4 percent and hinting at some stability after the state has endured a brutal run of...

Lindsay Lohan was back in court this morning to learn of her fate after violating probation when she failed a drug test. The District Attorney was pushing for the mandatory 180 days in jail, but Judge Elden Fox took Lohan's admission that she was an addict into account, sentencing her to rehab until January 3rd, followed by a court date on February 25th, according to E! But if she violates that, Fox will have...

AP Photo/Conrad Schmidt Street closures for Obama's visit to USC are already in effect, but less talked about his what he's doing after the campus rally this afternoon. He's heading to the Valley for a radio interview. ABC7 predicts his motorcade will likely snarl traffic. Glendale police told the LA Times that there may be some temporary road closures along Central Avenue and the 134 Freeway. If there are any freeway closures, it will...

Detail of Street Closures Map via LADOT If any traffic from President Barack Obama's visit to USC's campus and Glendale wasn't enough, then here's more. A march from Pershing Square in downtown and ending at MacArthur Park in Westlake will begin at 2 p.m. It's just one of the many protests across the nation for the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality. Road closures include 5th Street between Pershing Square and the...

Yups, that's what he said today in a live video Q&A with his Twitter followers. "I'm sure I'll write a book or two," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to the Sacramento Bee. Whether or not he act again would depend on the script or other factors. And apparently, he's a big chess fan, staying up to 2 a.m. playing with friends....

via Google Maps Three beaches around Vandenberg Air Force Base have been shut down for at least three days after a body surfer this morning was fatally bitten by a shark. The incident happened this morning at Surf Beach, which is officially a base beach, but is publicly accessible via the Lompoc area. "Long considered a “sharky” area by locals, Surf Beach... has been the site of several shark sightings in recent years including...

Photo by David Markland, used with permission Police swarmed Franklin Avenue at La Brea shortly after 6 p.m. tonight after a crash between a LAPD unit and SUV occurred. Details from police were not immediately available, but an officer was rumored to have injured his ankle. Traffic flow was diverted off Franklin Avenue and at El Cerrito Place and Sycamore Avenue, according to Weho Daily on Twitter. Traffic in Hollywood tonight was already expected...

A union stagehand working the USC rally for President Barack Obama this morning was reportedly fired for wearing a sweatshirt that said "George H. W. Bush" on it, according to Eric Spillman at KTLA. But get this, it was a shirt that pictured the U.S.S. George H. W. Bush aircraft, where his son is currently serving, the worker said. Duane Hammond said he wasn't making a political statement, just supporting his son. A union...

Photo by Mark Luethi via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Curbed has run Part Two of its look "at a long-standing, but far-from-universally-embraced Los Angeles building code that requires all buildings 75 feet and taller to have a helicopter landing pad." Don't forget, it's the third Thursday of the month, meaning it's Venice Art Crawl night. Yo Venice and Venice Patch offer their guides. "Contrary to what one might believe, the term Westside Republican...