Zach Behrens

A bicyclist in Pasadena | Photo by okarol via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Lots has happened over the last year in regards to bicycling in Los Angeles, from sending a doctor to jail for purposefully hitting two cyclists with his car to the new League of Bicycle Voters to the Chief of the LAPD vowing to protect cyclists (he even appears in a new bicycle safety video). And with every new effort, bicycling...

Photo by jorizaga via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr They've banned the sale of most cats and dogs, doing some business with Arizona, mobile billboards and taken official stances for and against many topics, such as whaling. West Hollywood, or Follywood as the LA Weekly would say, is a unique city no matter how you put it, yet one that goes under the radar often when it comes to politics. Here's a sampling of...

Juan-Carlos Cruz, a former Food Network TV host, was arrested yesterday for solicitation to commit murder, the Santa Monica Police Department announced Friday evening. On May 7th, homeless liaison officers were contacted by homeless individuals that said they were solicited by Cruz to kill another person, explained Sgt. Jay Trisler. With aid from the homeless witnesses, the police investigation revealed that Cruz allegedly tried to pay for the murder of an unidentified person.

A 3.9 earthquake struck outside the Malibu area between Leo Carillo State Beach and Port Hueneme at 8:19 p.m. The U.S. Geogolical Survey considers a quake with this magnitude minor. As LAist reader Doran B. on Twitter noted, "Below 4 on the Richter scale, it's difficult for me to distinguish between an earthquake and indigestion."...

Photo by casualtimetraveler via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Governor Schwarzengger released a "grim" update to his budget proposal today. Maps of where the high speed rail route could go in the downtown Los Angeles area. A man is being questioned in the stabbing death of his wife and daughter, who were found dead today in Canoga Park. Taking medical marijuana to the airport and getting away with it. This weekend at the Natural...

The he said, she said dispute between mixed martial arts star Tito Ortiz and porn actress Jenna Jameson is over, at least for now. After an alleged domestic abuse incident in late April, the couple has reconciled and a restraining order against Ortiz has been lifted, according to the LA Weekly. And the Orange County District Attorney's office will not get involved, either: "We declined to file charges based on insufficient corroboration to prove...

Another East Coast editorial trying to understand Los Angeles hit the New York Times last week: "Something escapes me about Los Angeles. Wherever I go, I always imagine I’m finally going to grasp its essence." That got LA Times columnist Hector Tobar thinking. "New Yorkers have long been perplexed by L.A.," he said. So he called up native Angeleno Tomas Benitez, who "said he believes he stumbled upon the secret of L.A. one evening...

Photo: Gamma Infinity/LAist Featured Photos An explosion at an apparent firework-making operation led police and firefighters this morning to Los Feliz home, according to KTLA. At around 5:20 a.m., the fire department received reports of an explosion on the 3400 block of Lambeth Street, just off Los Feliz Boulevard. A hazardous materials team and the bomb squad called in removed the fireworks and materials as "two people who were exposed to nitrates were taken...

It's a space nerd weekend, folks. Not only is the Griffith Observatory celebrating its 75th Anniversary (with events all day today), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is hosting their annual open house this weekend. Then add to that this: "This weekend, Venus and the crescent Moon are gathering in the western sky for a spectacular conjunction, and they’re not alone. The International Space Station and, very likely, space shuttle Atlantis will join them for a...

When Kelley Fraser was announced as the new Sheriff Captain of West Hollywood, there was no mention about her sexual orientation, only her solid background and career. It wasn't until she recently appeared in front of the City Council with her family that the news was broke that she was openly gay. "The historic posting places a gay person as a LASD branch commander for the first time in Southern California," explained the WeHo...

(AP Photo/Facebook) When Nancy Salas suspiciously made herself disappear on Wednesday, prompting a police search, she probably didn't expect a galore of media attention. What was first a Glendale police investigation into a UCLA student who went for a run and never came back soon turned into an investigation that revealed deception -- she was no longer a student. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, the 22-year-old was found in Merced, a few hours north of...

Pasadena may join the ranks of Los Angeles, West Hollywood and various other cities next week. On Monday evening, their city council agenda lists this vague action, submitted by Vice Mayor Victor Gordo: "Consideration of possible city council action in regard to state of Arizona senate bill 1070 relating to the enforcement of federal immigration laws." Frank Girardot at the Pasadena Star News thinks it's a bad idea. "It's my belief that these boycotts...