Zach Behrens

Six UCLA students were robbed early this morning when several assailants entered an unlocked door of an apartment a half-mile from campus, according to the LA Times. It happened around 1 a.m. when the students were studying in an apartment on the 500 block of Midvale Avenue. The apparent four masked men made the students lie on the ground while items and money were reportedly stolen. There were no injuries and the suspects got...

Well, looks like the rumors were true. Conan O'Brien is touring and he's bringing his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour to Los Angeles, which is described as "a night of music, comedy, hugging, and the occasional awkward silence (the buzz about this is huge and the website has appeared to crash)." He'll be hitting up the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk on Saturday, April 24th for an evening of fun and many, many laughs. Universal is, of course, where his old Late-night NBC studio is.

Is Cincinnati truly the craziest U.S. city, as told by the Daily Beast's latest ranking of major metropolitan cities. We understand San Francisco earning the number two spot, but Providence at number three? Ranking was based on four criteria--psychiatrists per capita, stress, eccentricity, and drinking--leaving Los Angeles half way there to be fully crazy.

In Redondo Beach | Photo by Jacwee via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr How Conan changed one random woman's life by only following her on Twitter. "I've decided to follow someone at random," he tweeted last Friday. "She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change." The first city of Los Angeles layoff (of the thousands expected to be laid off to solve a massive budget gap) is...

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...

Shut down in 2001 after a fatal accident, Angel's Flight in downtown has sat unused for some time now. News came yesterday that the short funicular railway is coming back, possibly as early as next month, thanks to a passing grade...

Photo by hall.chris25 via LAist Featured Photos on Flikcr The $484-million shortfall the city of Los Angeles is experiencing has forced the hands of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and City Controller Wendy Greuel to issue a memo to department heads to stop spending money, save for paying workers and a handful of other acceptable expenditures. "Even as our budget deficit solutions begin to take shape, we must take aggressive steps to guard against cash-flow shortfalls,"...

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...

Spring Quarter, '08: This was probably the biggest we've ever seen. It took 10 minutes for the thousands of students to make it through the Strathmore Ave. tunnel. (Photo: Ryan D. Night) Despite a ban on the final's week celebration that is UCLA's Undie Run, over 1,500 students are already signed up on Facebook for next Wednesday's event. And it seems UCLA officials aren't going to stop it from happening, save for having campus...

Photo by Franco Folini via Flickr California currently has a $22.3 billion cash deficit, but the latest cash flow report from the State Controller's office today revealed that revenues are $480 million above budget estimates. Translation: this is a good sign, but we're not out of the water yet. “Revenues came in above projections for the third month in a row, continuing a positive trend that shows California is on the road to recovering...

In West Hollywood | Photo by The Flooz via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr A 33-year-old Burbank school teacher turned herself in to authorities Monday for having sex with one of her 14-year-old students. Amy Beck had taught at the school for 10 years and resigned unexpectedly last Friday. From Chinatown to San Pedro, the National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced grants to local historic sites in L.A. County. Found guilty a couple...

Columnist Harold Meyerson at the Washington Post today gushes over L.A.'s voter-approved Measure R, the sales tax which is expected to generate $30 to $40 billion for transportation projects over the next 30 years. Not only that, he loves Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 30 in 10 plan. "Now, Los Angeles is asking Washington for loans -- not grants, mind you -- to be repaid with that sales tax revenue, to accelerate said construction so that it can be done in one decade rather than three."