Zach Behrens

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...

Photo by Lord Jim via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr A panel of federal judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled in favor of Los Angeles' fight against billboards and supergraphics. Their ruling "found that the City Council did not violate the 1st Amendment right to free speech when it allowed exceptions to its citywide ban," said the LA Times. "The court also reversed injunctions that blocked the city from seeking...

The hills have been lush with green this Spring, thanks to more rain than ever (okay, more rain than the past three years). But that means when things dry up this Summer, it's more fuel for a wildfire to burn through, according to the Daily News. 34,000 homes within Los Angeles are in brush areas and inspections to make sure homeowners have cleared land have already begun. In areas where the county works, some...

View full flyer image here In a move that has streets activists applauding the LAPD, Twitter is being used to spread the word about a hit and run on La Cienega that left a valet in a coma. Ben Zelman was working as valet at Koi restaurant on La Cienega Blvd last week Wednesday when he was run over by an older model yellow Volkswagen black top convertible. Now Officer Hutchings of LAPD's West...

We often hear of bears in the foothill neighborhoods of San Gabriel Valley or in Ventura County, but it's not too often we get reports of one within Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department this morning is reporting a bear, possibly 90 pounds, sitting 15 feet up in a Pine Tree in Porter Ranch. That's not a big surprise -- the northwest valley community sits at the bottom of the Santa Susana Mountains....

Found in Inglewood | Photo by Eleets121 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Russian roulette left a 15-year-old girl dead in Mid-City on Sunday. At the trigger was a 16-year-old boy who didn't realize there was a bullet in the gun. Should be good for tourism: LAX has a new runway that can accommodate A380s, which are "extra jumbo aircraft" that weighs one-million pounds. A sailboat washed ashore in Venice on Sunday, and with...

Slate's Micky Kaus has been the Democrat underdog challenging Senator Barbara Boxer in the upcoming June 8th primary. The Venice-based writer hasn't garnered much media attention, but today's news could: he's set up a debate between himself and Boxer at 2 p.m. today, according to LA Weekly. "We know Senator Boxer will be in San Francisco then, because she's having a $35,000-a-couple fundraiser a few blocks away that evening," Kaus said. The Weekly has...

In recent years, collisions on California roads have left 600 people dead who, authorities say, would be alive today if they wore their seatbelts. In an attempt to engrain that message on residents throughout the state, officers across the state this week are participating in a "Seat Belt Enforcement Crackdown." A regular seat belt ticket runs $142 and will increase $3 later this Summer. Think it's just about making money? That may be, but...

Photo by VeryBadLady via Flickr A man was wounded in a shooting this afternoon that took place inside a parking garage in Studio City, but no suspect has been located, according to the LAPD. At 2:09 p.m., a 911 call alerted police of gunshots heard on the 12200 block of Ventura Boulevard, reportedly in the garage of California Pizza Kitchen off Laurelgrove. Upon arrival, officers and paramedics found a man suffering from two gunshot...

With talk of NFL stadium plans in the city of Industry and in downtown, LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik says forget about it. Los Angeles has been without a NFL team since 1995 and says the league has been playing coy every since. Explains Hiltzik: "Here's City Councilman Bernard Parks (circa 2004, re the Coliseum): 'If we resolve the issues, then they've said clearly there's no need to look at other sites.' Here's John...

He works for $1 a year and is bringing some no-nonsense planning to the city. Now Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, with his Wall Street background, is subject to rumors that he may be posturing himself -- or rather, he has been put in a high profile place to force the issue -- for political aspirations, says Rick Orlov at the Daily News. One example of why some think he should run? "You can buy...

Planning to vote in the June 8th primary? If so, today is the last day to register to vote, but in order to do so, you have to physically drop off your application in at the county's Registrar-Recorder headquarters in Norwalk. "Registration forms and a deposit box for completed forms will be available in the front lobby," noted the department in an e-mail. "RR/CC staff will be in the lobby until midnight to assist...