Zach Behrens

Local controversy over high speed rail has been more commonplace in the Bay Area, but some believe that as plans progress in Southern California for the L.A. to Anaheim segment, among others, we'll be hearing more about it. Case in point, a recent LA Times article about HSR controversies has ruffled feathers for bloggers, creating its own meta-controversy of sorts. In one rebuttle, Robert Cruickshank at the CAHSR Blog titled a post "LA Times...

The Los Angeles Unifed School District yesterday voted to cut 5,200 jobs from its payrolls in an effort to solve an anticipated $640 million budget deficit. "The latest layoff figures include pink slips for 2,252 teachers, 574 counselors, librarians, school nurses and psychologists and 2,370 administrators," reported the Daily News. "That would virtually eliminate school nurses and librarians, increase class sizes in fourth through eighth grade to a potential high of 44 students in...

They should as it might be in their best interest. A new study from RAND says $193 million has been spent on hospital visits, thanks to air pollution. The study's goal was to put "credible evidence in front of insurers and the healthcare lobby, among the groups who work with these issues every day," reported KPCC. Economist John Romley said "these are folks who may have greater or significant influence in the political debate...

With most of the illegal signs in Los Angeles advertising products for the entertainment industry, why aren't they the focus of investigations, The Wrap questions today in an article. “We asked that question to the city attorney -- Paramount and DreamWorks made the arrangement for the advertising, why shouldn’t they suffer?” Dennis Hathaway of Ban Billboard Blight says. “But I think that’s legally more than the city attorney wants to bite off right now.”...

End of the day linkage: A Japanese garden in Boyle Heights, Chelsea King, farm pesticides, another dog rescued from the L.A. River, the census and more...

Photo by Elise Thompson/LAist Rumors of Wolfgang Puck taking the 24th floor restaurant space at the newly opened J.W. Marriot/Ritz-Carlton tower in downtown's L.A. Live were confirmed today. “I am thrilled to be partnering with The Ritz-Carlton again and to be a part of the first luxury hotel to open downtown,” Puck said. “Given my longstanding relationship with the city of Los Angeles, it is an honor to continue my involvement with the renaissance...

Photo by Tom Andrews/LAist Two neighboring local governments and two very different approaches. Cash-strappd Los Angeles and Orange County are going after dog owners who haven't paid for licenses yet in order to fill in budget gaps. With estimations showing that two-thirds of the city's dog population could be unlicensed, the city of Los Angeles stands to gain $3.6 million, according to the Associated Press. Licenses cost $15 for sterilized dogs and $100 for...

Photo by guamafro via Flickr A newborn baby was found dead this morning by a trash collector during regular curbside pick up in Redondo Beach, according to the LA Times. It was found on Irena Avenue near Pacific Coast Highway, which has some speculating that the baby could have been dumped by someone passing through the neighborhood. While it's too early to name a cause or motive, one possibility is that the baby was...

In the past, Time Warner Cable has seen its fair share of problems for widespread internet outages throughout L.A. Now, the latest of their follies is a bit more odd. A Consumerist reader decided to buy Time Warner's Cable HD services, but he ran into a little problem: you can't get an HD cable box until June. "I calmly informed him that I would be taking my business elsewhere," he said....

Photo by hall.chris25 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr If this fiscal year isn't bad city coffers--a $212 million deficit, prompting major cuts and thousands of layoffs--let's look at next year's, which begins on July 1st and has a projected $484 million shortfall. Add to that today's news from City Controller Wendy Greuel who says the coming year will be even more brutal in her economic forecast for 2010-2011. “While we believe that the...

Sylvia Mardini Last summer when 24-year-old Sylvia Mardini made headlines, all we knew was that went off to do some errands and didn't return home. The next day her family received text messages indicating that she was being kidnapped at gunpoint and was in Utah, prompting the LAPD and FBI's involvement in the case. Many news outlets, including LAist, reported on the story. It wasn't long before she was found, alone, at a gas...

Back in December, LAist speculated that ArcLight would be opening a Pasadena location. Officials back then would not confirm it, but today they are. "The conversion of the Pacific Paseo Theater in the Paseo Colorado center will give our many Pasadena area members the ArcLight experience right at their doorstep," the company said in a statement. "As with our current locations, at ArcLight Pasadena you will be able to enjoy the unparalleled sight and...