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...

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...

Photo by Dan90266 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Will Los Angeles ever become a pedestrian's dream? A symposium was held yesterday to address the issue, here's what happened. Big oops. A bank accidentally sold the wrong loan to the city of Agoura Hills. A Metrolink train hit a car in Burbank today. Luckily, it was unoccupied and no injuries were reported. Downtown residents can now get a photo I.D. that will get them...

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...

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...

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...

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...

At a grass fire last Saturday north of Beverly Hills | Photo by Nadia Kovacs/LAist We've been noticing more fire alerts as of late. Today a brush fire in Riverside County is moving towards a Glen Avon mobile home park, prompting evacuations, according to CBS2. On Saturday, a one-acre grass fire ignited just north of Beverly Hills in the Santa Monica Mountains, and a few more small grass fires have been reported around the...

Photo by Shawn Nee/Discarted Today the Los Angeles City Council will debate and vote on a resolution calling for the end of city business with the state of Arizona and companies headquartered there until the controversial immigration bill SB 1070 changes. In an analysis (.pdf) prepared for the discussion, $56.28 million has been identified in city contracts with Arizona-based companies. The department with the most investment with Arizona is the L.A. Harbor, which spends...

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...