Zach Behrens

Efforts to build the $1.7 billion Crenshaw Line will take another step Monday when exploratory drilling begins. The process to test below-ground surface conditions will be hailed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a press conference to mark the important project. Expected to be completed in 2018, the 8.5-mile light rail line will move passengers between the current Green Line Aviation station (meaning getting to the actual airport is still a...

With HOWS Market poised to leave the NoHo Arts District, residents and blogs have been abuzz--wishing, hoping, pleading--with the prospect of a possible Fresh & Easy takeover of the space. Michael Higby at the Downtown NoHo Times, citing a "secret inside snoops," says that Fresh & Easy indeed does have plans to move in. But a representative at the company tells LAist in an e-mail that it's not the case, at least not at...

KFI AM 640 has a video from a Spanish TV crew showing tons of used condoms off hiking trails in Elysian Park near Little League fields. The radio station says this is a hot spot for males to have anonymous sex. "Maybe shining a light on this, hopefully, discouraging males who would come up and do this type of activity," LAPD Captain Bill Murphy said. "We'll get that word out there." 90 arrests have...

A proposal to tunnel underneath a handful of cities to connect the 710 and 210 freeways has been a controversy for decades. And it's not over yet. City of Glendale officials this week agreed to devote more resources to fighting the project, which currently has studied five different tunnel routes that could affect Alhambra, Glendale, La Cañada-Flintridge, Los Angeles, Monterey Park, San Marino, South Pasadena or Pasadena. Joining La Canada and South Pasadena, Glendale,...

Photo via Alarcon's Webpage Councilman Richard Alarcon, currently under investigation for not living in his Northeast Valley district, came home last night to find a man in his house. That man apparently was the same one who broke into his house last year, scaring Alarcon to live at his wife's house in a different district for some time, which prompted an anonymous tip to the District Attorney's office about him not living in his...

With the budget shortfall--estimates now have it up to $700 million for the rest of this fiscal year and next year--and massive city layoffs--up to 4,000 over the next year--city services will start dwindling. The one we'll feel (literally) the most? Potholes. On Wednesday at the L.A. City Council meeting, Bureau of Street Services director Bill Robertson said 80,000 fewer potholes will be filled, according to the Daily News. That's 300,000 potholes instead of...

The San Gabriel Mountains, as seen from Atwater Village last Sunday | Photo by 27ray via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Music producer Phil Spector wants an appellate court to overturn his murder conviction. Convicted Serial Killer Rodney Alcara took photos of his victims and now that hundreds his photos have surfaced, police want to know if these people were also victims. "An attorney and two chiropractors were among a group of people arrested...

Rumors be damned about Gavin Newsom, here it is, via the LA Times: "He has called elected officials and potential donors to inform them he is in the race. Sources familiar with Newsom's plans say he will unveil a list of endorsements that includes many of the state's top Democratic leaders. They requested anonymity to allow Newsom make the announcement." Too late on the latter, but this sure will make the campaign against L.A....

Photo by lostlosangeles via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr It's been weekend after weekend of rain or cold cloudy days, but things should change this weekend. "We're looking at a pretty decent weekend, really," said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "We're in for a nice dry trend here." Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the 60s followed by the same temperatures tomorrow, albeit partly cloudy. By...

Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA announced this morning that he's moved from the Fairfax District area to the Westside. "Westside motorists are amongst the worst in the city when it comes to sharing the road," the avid cyclist noted in addition to the lack of trains and a spotty bus system. "... a missed bus means a missed meeting," he said. Add to that fewer pedestrians, a limited bicycle infrastructure and a street grid...

The investigation of Oscar-winning documentarians and federal officials has prompted the U.S. Attorney's Office to charge Typhoon Restaurant, Inc.--the parent company of The Hump restaurant--and Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, a 45-year-old chef who resides in Culver City, for the illegal sale of a marine mammal product, specifically, Sei whale, for an unauthorized purpose. “Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte...

It "seems broad-brush and unsubstantiated," says Friends4ExpoTransit about the lawsuit (.pdf), which has been expected since last month, filed by Neighbors for Smart Rail (NFSR), a group that doesn't want the a light rail train cutting through their neighborhood at street level. The second phase of the Expo Line was approved in early February, allowing for the eventual construction of track between Culver City and Santa Monica. The first phase between downtown and Culver...