Zach Behrens

All you Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars lovers, take note. "There is a possibility that product with Use by Dates/ Lot Codes 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10HI may cause a serious food-borne illness," says the grocer's website. "As a precaution, all of the product has been removed from sale and has been destroyed. To date, we have received no reports of illness related to this product." The Daily News says that "food-borne illness" is salmonella....

We've had a mobile web version for some time, but now all the Gothamist sites can be found in one very simple iPhone app called Istaverse. For now, it's super basic and offers access to all thirteen -ist cities (a dedicated LAist version will come at some point). Best of all, this app will cache your setting so you can read it when there is no cell or internet service around, such as when...

Interesting. According to chatter on Facebook, the news and sports copy desks at the Ventura County Star are moving to Corpus Chrisi, says to Kevin Roderick at LA Observed. The 15 to 20 local editors and designers will likely lose their jobs in future months and will have the opportunity to apply for their jobs out in Texas. "This also means, of course, that the local flavor of Ventura will be applied in the...

Photo by hall.chris25 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr "There just aren't unlimited options here," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the L.A. City Council when he visited for a two-hour Q&A session. "We can't continue to say no to everything. We can't say no to layoffs, no to furloughs, no to department eliminations. . . . The fact is we can't sustain this business model." Many councilmembers still believed the city there were other options,...

Taken this morning at Wilshire and Vermont | Photo by Charity Tran/ExperienceLA Denny's does the free breakfast thing every once in awhile and today's that day. Of course, the lines are expected to be long at any Dennys location. Kingsley Anyanwu compared it to a "Hollywood club" on Twitter after he passed by one. You've got until 2 p.m. to take advantage....

A home is shown damaged by mudslides and flooding on Ocean View Blvd. last weekend (more photos here and here) | AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, John McCoy Citing the incoming storm and risk of mudslides, county officials tonight warned foothill residents in Station Fire burn areas that mandatory evacuation orders will go into effect tomorrow morning. By 10 a.m., residents of over 500 homes (.pdf) must vacate their La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge,...

On Thursday, a new food truck lot will open in downtown's Arts District, the first attempt at a lot since one was shut down last month in Santa Monica. Like Santa Monica, there's no telling how successful or not it will be. "I don't know if this is going to be a prime location. It's all just sort of wild-eyed guessing at this point," said Matt Geller of SoCal Mobile Food Vendors Association to...

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr We've seen it time after time. Someone approaches a tagger in action and they get shot, usually fatally. The LAPD recommends getting out of harms way and calling 911, but when former Crips gang member Ronald L. Barron saw a tagger spray painting on Sunday evening on Pico Boulevard, he approached him. There was good reason for that, however, as Barron had transformed his life, becoming a gang outreach...

Photo by Here in Van Nuys via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr At a meeting of the L.A. City Council Budget panel on Monday, Councilman Bill Rosendahl enquired about the reality of ever seeing the $72 million in taxes owed from the city's top debtor, Prestige Parking. What he heard back was not ideal. In response, a city attorney was cautious in releasing too much optimism. "As to whether or not we can really...

Photo by work the angles via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr [Update: Hollywood Sign Expected to Read 'Save the Peak' on Thursday. Read about it here.] The LAPD this afternoon sent the most unusual non-chalant e-mail to the community today. "On February 11, 2010 the Hollywood sign will be covered up for an international campaign," an e-mail read. "The sign will be covered until further notice. Do not be alarmed, the sign will remain...

L.A. County health officials have closed the area around Lunada Bay off the coast of Palos Verdes Estates due to a sewage spill that occurred this afternoon. 100,000 gallons spilled onto the streets at Via Rivera and Paseo Lunado around 3:30 p.m. after a sewage pipe collapsed, resulting in effluence flowing into the Bay. The flow of sewage has been stopped by sanitation officials and cleanup is in progress. The advisory to stay away...

Here's a little factoid update: Over the last year, Los Angeles has submitted 148 applications to the federal government, seeking a total of $1.5 billion in stimulus money. Of that, they've seen $591 million come in from 81 different grants, it was announced at a city council committee meeting last week. No grants are being submitted this week, but officials are awaiting a big announcement about some transportation grants, in which the city applied...