Zach Behrens

Forbes is at it again with their top 10 lists. This time Los Angeles ranks at #7 in their "10 Worst Big Cities For Jobs." And our neighbors aren't doing so well, either: Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine came in at #6 and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at #4. The magazine got sourced a New America Foundation report for the list. "While California's economy has come roaring back many times before, a resurgence this time will be slowed by...

The lawyer who contends all L.A. County judges are biased in cases against the county government will remain in jail after the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied his appeal to be freed, according to the Daily News. Tarzana lawyer Richard Fine has been held in "coercive confinement" for over a year after refusing to pay "$46,329 in attorneys' fees relating to a lawsuit or to reveal details of his personal finances," the paper explained....

Photo by Seen at Frankin & El Centro in Hollywood | Jennifer Lynn Photography (honeybeejen) via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Bad News Burbank: Citing the economy, Southwest Airlines said they're pulling 12% of flights--that's 82 flights a week--from Burbank Airport starting in August. Are California's aging bridges "seismic timebombs?" The guy who tried to smuggle 14 songbirds attached to his legs on a flight to LAX could face up to 20 years. Bret...

After watching PETA's online video showing "undercover footage of Ringling Bros. trainers as they beat elephants with sharp metal bullhooks," G4 Host and geektress-hearthrob Olivia Munn (LAist Interview) decided to get involved to bring attention to the issue, according to the LA Weekly. Today a billboard at Wilshire and Highland was unveiled featuring her nude--artfully, of course--with this text: "As Nature Intended, Let Elephants Be Free. Boycott the Circus." At a press conference this...

Photo by dimsumdarren via Flickr Back in 2008 when some 6,000 to 7,000 rape-kits were sitting on LAPD shelves untested, then-City Controller Laura Chick called it "disturbing" and "unacceptable" finding. The public agreed. Politicians, too. Now, the LAPD is finally getting close to going through the backlog and have 648 left to go, reports the Daily News. One thing, however, that L.A. officials would like to see change in the future is a requirement...

When it comes to L.A. and complaints about communication utilities, it's usually about AT&T cell phone service or Time Warner Cable's internet outages. Today, all the rage on Twitter this afternoon is about T-Mobile... as in how no one can make a call in Los Angeles region (gosh, we hope no one needs to call 911). "Oh guess you didn't hear, we're having issues in the LA area that's causing you guys to have...

To raise awareness, the Hollywood Sign was temporarily covered up February | Photo by therealquarrygirl via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr And it's done! Playboy-owner Hugh Hefner has donated $900,000 to the Save the Peak campaign, triggering a $500,000 match from the Tiffany & Co. Foundation and Aileen Getty, the Trust for Public Land announced this morning. The land will eventually be donated to the city to become part of Griffith Park....

Legislation to ban mobile billboards throughout California took a big step forward today when a bill to ban them was approved by the State Assembly in a 46-14 vote. The city of Los Angeles has been fighting mobile billboards, which have become one of the biggest complaints in some communities, for years with no success. AB 2756, brought forward by two Los Angeles Democrats, now heads to the State Senate for consideration....

Is this growth on track or too slow? "LA's nascent rail system attracted 7,664,748 boardings in March 2008, 8,064,477 in March 2009 (a 5.2 percent increase), and 8,471,487 in March 2010 (a 5 percent uptick)," notes Curbed LA, which also points out New York City's drop in transit numbers--of course, ridership there still dwarfs L.A.'s....

The Glassell Park neighborhood is getting a small, but nice public health boost this morning. City officials along with Council President Eric Garcetti will dedicate a 1/3-mile jogging trail on the perimeter of the park outside the Glassell Park...

Tuesday is Daryl Gates' funeral, which means street closures in downtown, but today is also a big day downtown as fellow police officers and the public are invited to pay final respects at LAPD's headquarters from noon to 8 p.m. "Gates' rites will be the closest thing to a state funeral that Los Angeles could have," says Patt Morrison at the LA Times "In fact, I think that if there were enough water in...

Photo by mark sebastian via Flickr When the L.A. City Council last week approved an electricity rate hike, it was done quickly and without public notice. Citing an emergency--the Board of Water and Power commissioners were meeting the next day--the city council took action at the end of a meeting already in progress. Now, "longtime City Council gadfly Joyce Dillard has sent letters to council president Eric Garcetti and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich alleging...