Zach Behrens

Photo by A.C.Thamer via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr It's official, but that doesn't make it good news: The Gulf oil spill has surpassed the Exxon one, making it the worst one in U.S. history. A little parade happened in downtown L.A. today to rally the efforts of bringing LeBron James to The Clippers. Sounds like fun: ABC is doing some game show where you throw stuff and people off the side of a...

Beloved actor Gary Coleman has died. The 42-year-old who made his name on Different Strokes was at his Utah home this week when he suffered a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday. "The actor was admitted to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness," reported USA Today. "Coleman was then placed on life support." After Coleman's career on Different Strokes,...

Earlier this week the LAPD called the Twitterdom to action, trying to get them to help spread word about a hit and run that left a valet working at Koi in a coma last week. In the end, it was a tipster who saw the security footage that turned in a 74-year old man late Thursday afternoon, according to the WeHo News. The family of the victim, 22-year-old Benjamin Zelman, put up an award...

As if we didn't know that. But here are the numbers, according to a 2003 data the San Bernardino Associated Governments was recently looking at, courtesy of Streetsblog LA. The L.A.-Long Beach-Santa Ana topped the list for miles driven per highway lane-mile. Then their own Riverside-San Bernardino came in second. San Francisco-Oakland took third with San Diego and Sacramento taking fourth and fifth. At ten was Oxnard-Ventura. Non-California cities that made the top 10...

The LA Times is saying that forecasters are predicting this three-day holiday weekend to have "perfect beach weather." That means 80s in the basin, possibly 90s in the Valley but perfect on the coast. Enjoy!...

Police personnel searches at the scene where a dead newborn baby was discovered in a curbside trash bin on Wednesday March 3 (AP Photo/The Daily Breeze, Brad Graverson) The cause of death for a newborn found inside a Redondo Beach trash can in early March has been deemed asphyxia and classified as a homicide, the Los Angeles County coroner's office has announced, via the LA Times. 24-year-old Jessie Lauren Canfield was at a house...

Mayor Phil Gordon The silly little bet between Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Phoenix's Mayor Phil Gordon just got more interesting. At first the two traded wagers based on the Western Conference Finals, which has the Lakers pitted against the Phoenix Suns. If L.A. won, Phoenix would gladly accept Republican gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. If Phoenix won, L.A. would get the notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known as "American's Toughest Sheriff." Now Gordon...

It's an a relatively unknown event supporting an important grassroots city function that's garnered little attention, but at 2 p.m. today the polls will open to the public in 11 San Fernando Valley neighborhoods. Yes, it's election day for some neighborhood councils. Save for a Daily News editorial by Councilman Paul Krekorian, there hasn't been much buzz about them (but do neighborhood councils ever get that much buzz in the first place?). Neighborhoods involved...

When a bear sitting some 15 feet high in a tree was shot with a tranquilizer this morning in Porter Ranch, it fell onto a safety cushion that firefighters placed below. The situation was nothing unusual, but the photo LA Times photographer Lawrence K. Ho captured was amazingly cartoony (we love it!) Check out a larger version here....

Investment firm Mercer yesterday released its annual list of international cities that top the quality of living rankings and Los Angeles was not included. In fact, out of 50 cities, the highest ranking U.S. one was Honolulu at #31. San Francisco came in at #32, New York at #49. That's some tough competition. As for their eco-city list, L.A. didn't make it either. Honolulu came in a #2, Minneapolis at #6 and Pittsburgh at...

The Sunset as seen from Hollywood Boulevard | Photo by @sevenphoto via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr It's that time of year again. Brush fires today erupted in Hemet and Victorville. "People Are Funny" and "Kids Say the Darndest Things" host Art Linkletter died at 97 in Bel Air. R.I.P. More Urban Wildlife! Three bears, two of them adorable cubs, were sifting through trash in San Dimas this morning. Kobe Bryant's former maid made...

Usually, an opening of a Walgreens isn't that big of a deal. But when it comes to downtown Los Angeles and it's rebirth, it is. The drugstore quietly opened Wednesday afternoon at 7th & Hope, mirroring hours of Rite Aid across the street, according to Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. Downtowners are likely pleased with this new convenience, but many still are praying for a local Trader Joe's....