Zach Behrens

You might not be going to the LA Phil's opening night concert and gala, but there's a way you can be there somewhat vicariously. KUSC 91.5 FM will carry the "celebración" live tonight at 7 p.m. Conductor Gustavo Dudaml and his friend Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez have put together a "special program of bel canto arias and popular Latin American canciones." Works to be played includes those from Italian composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini,...

Produce at the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in South L.A. (Lindsay William-Ross/LAist) Before you freak out, the stores are not in the immediate Los Angeles area. Just as El Segundo-based Fresh & Easy's parent company Tesco announced a 15% profit for the first half of 2010, it also said it would be doing some belt tightening in the American Southwest. 13 underperforming stores will be closed, mostly in the Phoenix and Las Vegas...

An 800-mile Tour de France-style road race tailored for California will be back next May and include two stages in the Los Angeles region, race officials announced today. The Tour of California is scheduled for May 15 through 22 and will hold stages between Claremont & Mount Baldy and Santa Clarita & Thousand Oaks, home to the sponsoring company Amgen. Specific routing, however, has not been announced. For example, the route for the last...

End of the Day Links: California's budget, LA Weekly's "Best of L.A. 2010," more on the City of Bell scandal, condos in Studio City, a new car wash in Silver Lake this rainy week, where to somewhat affordably crash downtown after a late night and more.

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr A delivery truck person is missing after two men impersonating police approached the driver, according to the LAPD. The driver and the truck, which was carrying "controlled substances" (most likely pharmaceuticals) are still outstanding. At 7:15 a.m., two men wearing black sweatshirts with "Police" written on the back apparently took the driver and truck from the parking lot of a Rite Aid at the corner of Riverside and Fulton...

Photo by i_hate_my_screen_name via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Journalist Mark Lacter this month in Los Angeles Magazine and at his L.A. Biz Observed blog nicely explains why the city of Los Angeles is still facing major budget problems. I say "still" because if you follow the news, it may seem like the crisis mode we were in earlier this year is over since the city's budget was passed. Yes, there were cuts made...

Hiking at Sandstone Peak in the western Santa Monica Mountains (more photos here) | Photo by Jake Dobkin/Gothamist The skies are not totally clear today, but with clearer skies and the weather warming up over the weekend, it's a great time to get out and hike. That's because post-rain hikes tend to offer the best views, thanks to the way the rain clears the atmosphere. After the massive storms in January, we told you...

A collision between two trucks on the eastbound 210 Freeway has left one of them laying on its side and over the divider, blocking Metro light trail tracks, according to live reports on KTLA and an e-mail from Metro authorities. The incident, which occurred around 8:03 a.m. over San Gabriel and Sierra Madre boulevards (map), has delayed Metro Gold Line service for up to 20 minutes as officials work to remove the tractor-trailer from...

via Wikipedia Last week, census data revealed that 16.1% of L.A. County residents are living in poverty. Now data about the Inland Empire is surfacing and it's telling an even worse story: the region saw a 15.4% poverty rate in 2009. That's a lower number than L.A. County, but the difference comes in the uptick. The Inland Empire's number comes after a 3.6% increase since 2007, L.A. County's is a 0.9% increase since 2008....

Enjoy the outdoors, like this spot in Griffith Park, this weekend | Photo by Archie Tucker via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Welcome back, Sun! The stormy weather we've had for the past three days is heading out and it's time to welcome a warming trend. As usual after a stormy session, the air mass is still unstable, so there may be some isolated showers around the Southland this morning along with temperatures in...

After 175 groups performed in 30 different venues, filling up a combined 17,000 seats, this summer, the people behind the first Hollywood Fringe Festival announced today that they'll be back next year. The news also means performers and troupes can sign up for the uncurated festival, provided they can find a venue -- traditional or found spaces -- within their Hollywood boundaries. The event, which LAist approves up whole-heartedly, will take place over ten...

Steve Cooley | Photo via L.A. District Attorney's Office It wasn't an easy decision, but the LA Times today endorsed L.A. County's Republican District Attorney Steve Cooley over San Francisco's Democratic D.A. Kamala Harris. Why? It's not his stance on social issues like gay marriage, but he's a centrist who can manage: One of the biggest troubles facing the state of California in recent years has been the dissolution of the political center and,...