Zach Behrens

The volcanic ash spewing from Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland continues to affect the local music scene. We first heard about it with Coachella, now the smaller venues are feeling the pain, too. The Viper Room today announced that four upcoming shows are canceled: Deluka (4/20, but rescheduled for 5/19), Little Fish & Piney Gir (4/21), The Filthy Souls (4/22) and The Mary Onettes (4/29). "We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused and...

28-year-old Nerses Galstyan, the suspect who allegedly shot six people at a Valley Village restaurant earlier this month, has been arrested, according to the LA Times, which cited sources "who spoke on condition of anonymity." Nerses' brother Samuel Galstyan was also apparently arrested. Both were captured in the Seattle suburb of Kemore and could be transported to the Los Angeles area by Wednesday. Galstyan allegedly began firing shots in a restaurant on the afternoon...

Photo by JoshuaDavisPhotography.COM via Flickr If one bureaucracy wasn't enough, try living on a street owned and operated by the cities of Los Angeles and Burbank. That's the case for residents along Clybourn Avenue in the Valley. Along nearly a half-mile stretch between Riverside Drive and Toluca Lake Avenue, "numerous potholes" dot the street that "has been in an overall state of disrepair for years," according to a motion put forth by L.A. City...

Looks like President Barack Obama is coming back to California next month for more fundraising. Catlady Overload: Up in Apple Valley, animal control officers have removed 67 cats, many of them unhealthy, from a woman's home. Now Cardinal Roger Mahony has joined the opposition to Arizona's anti-immigrant law. He joins Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

A Taxi on Hollywood Boulevard | Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist Taxi cabs might not be the most talked-about mode of transportation in Los Angeles, but it's still an important part of local transit. Back in 2008, a Hail-a-Taxi pilot program began, allowing taxis to stop in red curb areas to pick up passengers in downtown and Hollywood. But the program "officially, and quietly, expired at the end of January," says blogdowntown's Eric Richardson, who...

Airspace over Europe is mostly open today, meaning LAX's regular schedule of 17 departing flights and 16 arriving flights (one has been canceled) are clear to go, LAX officials announced this morning. They do expect, however, that many flights will be "significantly delayed." Also, an estimated 3,000 passengers remain stuck in Los Angeles and are awaiting available standby seats on flights. Around 10,000 people have been affected at LAX since last Thursday when Eyjafjallajökull...

Arbor Street in Pasadena | Photo by okarol via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr 15-year-old Rachel Lester has been elected to the South Robertson Neighborhood Council for a two-year term. She's the youngest neighborhood councilmember in L.A. and beat her opponent 144 to 13 votes. A small patch of land got some beautification over the weekend at Silver Lake and Parkman. Nice close-up photo of a young-looking mountain lion in the L.A. neighborhood of...

Photo by stephenfalk via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Environmental groups will hit the streets on Thursday to protest two Texas oil companies that are bankrolling a ballot initiative that, if placed on the ballot and approved, would roll back California's landmark climate law AB 32. The initiative, which is currently in the signature collection phase (due July 19th), would suspend "state laws requiring reduced greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, until California's...

In a preview of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's budget proposal for the next fiscal year--it will be released in full on Tuesday--the panic of 4,000 layoffs has been erased. Under the plan 3,546 position would be eliminated, but those comprise mostly of early retirements (2,400 people), those already laid off, people who have transferred to different jobs or those slated to be laid off next fiscal year, which begins in July. That puts the number...

Photo by tim_mcgarry via Flickr It's not just the city of Los Angeles with budget woes, but the county, too. The massively large organization faces a $510.5-million budget deficit, which could mean layoffs for 100 employees, according to the LA Times. The budget shortfall, however, is different than the city's $222 million one. That's because the county is planning for a $22.721 billion budget, which is $885 million less than the one this year....

LAX Officials this morning said volcanic ash over the UK and Europe (see satellite images) continue to affect flights in and out of the airport. In all, eight departures and 13 arrivals have been nixed. However, give flights were given clearance to depart. Using aircraft and flight crews stranded in Los Angeles for the past few days, Lufthansa, British Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui were able to depart....

John Nunez After Rosemead City Councilman John Nunez lost a his re-election bid in early 2009, he claimed and eventually collected $11,250 in unemployment benefits, paid by the city, despite objections. When news broke, it ruffled many politicians the wrong way prompting them into action. State senators Gloria Romero (D - East Los Angeles) and Bob Dutton (R- Rancho Cucamonga) both co-authored SB 1211, which seeks to prevent elected officials from collecting unemployment benefits...