Zach Behrens

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...

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...

Photo by stevelyon via LAist Featured Photos Closed since January due to fire and rain damage, the Angeles Crest HIghway (SR-2) through the Angeles National Forest will remain closed with an opening expected by mid to late summer, Caltrans officials announced today. Only the La Canada-Flintridge to Mount Wilson section is closed while the Mount Wilson Road to State Route 138 section remains open. In February, officials predicted it would open by late March,...

And let the back and forth begin. In reaction to Los Angeles' action to boycott Arizona (in some aspects), one Phoenix resident tells the LA Times he's canceling four trips to Los Angeles. "I'm urging all my friends not to go to California this year," he told the paper. "We're not going to come to California."...

An unattended bag left in the Tomorrowland area prompted security and police to clear the immediate area this afternoon. Reported around 4 p.m., the bag was found outside the Tomorrowland Theatre where Michael Jackson's Captain E.O. is shown. A sheriff's spokesman told the OC Register that “the circumstances were suspicious enough” to call out the bomb squad. Around 5:30, park-goers were allowed back in the area after the bag was determined to be a...

Before the hatching | Photo by Gavin Emmons, National Park Service The rare 50-day-old condor chick at Pinnacles National Monument last week was found to have "extremely high levels of lead in its blood," the National Park Service is reported today. Fatal lead poisoning is one of the factors that brought the California Condor's status as an endangered animal in 1967. The father's blood was also tested positive for toxic levels of lead and...

Photo by *Ann Gordon via Fickr Want to rent this place? Then you'll have to declaw your cat and devocalize your dog. That's what some Californians face when looking for rentals and it's something Assemblyman Pedro Nava wants to put a stop to. His bill, AB 2743, seeks to prohibit landlords and property managers from requiring cat declawing and dog debarking procedures as a condition of rent. However, the bill only applies to rentals...

Photo by Maxo419 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr The brush fire in Riverside County reported earlier today continues to grow and, according to TV reports, another fire is ablaze nearby. Not reassuring: "Metal detectors at L.A. County jail don't work." In Long Beach, 243 school employees were sent pink slips. Most of them were teachers. $308.5 billion: the amount of money the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are predicted to bring...

The Orange County city of Lake Forest doesn't allow medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits, which prompted a lawsuit. Today a judge sided with the city, according to the LA Weekly. "State law does not allow or require cities to allow dispensaries,'' an attorney for Lake Forest said. "A lot of cities were waiting for this ruling because a lot of them have ordinances that work the same way. If they're not identical, they're...

The L.A. County Department of Public Health is saying cases of the mumps are on the rise this year. “At least nine cases of mumps have already been reported in Los Angeles County this year, six of which have been confirmed,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, Director of Public Health and Health Officer. “By comparison, seven cases were confirmed countywide in all of 2009, seven in 2008, and five in 2007.” It's a vaccine-preventable viral...

The number of murders within Los Angeles city limits has tipped 100, which has some wondering if crime is up or not. Through May 8th, there were 103 murders, three more than the same time last year, which was when the city experienced the fewest homicides since 1967. "Murder in Los Angeles is not really a function of the economy," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told KCAL-TV today...

The former First Lady was in California this week promoting her new book and made a stop by CNN in Hollywood to talk to Larry King. On the topic of gay marriage, Laura Bush told King that she and her husband George W. Bush disagreed about gay marriage. "It’s a real reversal … to accept gay marriage," she said, predicting that legalization because it's "a generational thing.”...