The image of a girl painted on the pavement is being tried in lieu of speed bumps, or humps if you prefer.

Mark Peel, the chef at Campanile and Tarpit (and formerly of Spago if you want to go way back), will contribute pieces on the restaurant business to KPCC's Off-Ramp beginning with an inside look at tipping on today's show at noon.

Ten friends, including journalists Anthea Raymond (public radio) and Bettina Boxall (Los Angeles Times), paddled down a two-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River between Atwater and Elysian Valley last weekend.

Last weekend's fatal shooting of 37-year-old Guatemalan Manuel Jamines continues to echo in the news. LAPD officer Frank Hernandez, who shot Jamines, was accused in a civil lawsuit earlier this...

Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz will co-produce a new version of "At the Movies" for PBS, with KCRW's Elvis Mitchell and Christy Lemire of Associated Press as the main critics.

Robert Bucksbaum, who recently announced he is giving up the Majestic Crest theatre in Westwood, says in his final email to customers that a chain will be taking over and continuing to show movies.

California Watch has been at it for a year now, and says its 11 full-time reporters are "by far the largest investigative team operating in the state."

The National Pipleine Mapping System website lets you search for the natural gas main lines near you, but in the aftermath of the San Bruno tragedy it is being overloaded with requests.

The L.A. Times has rightfully been receiving a lot of credit for its disclosures of the corruption in the city of Bell (and probably too little criticism for enabling the...

Before she left town for Washington, former New York Times bureau chief Jennifer Steinhauer did the tour of newer Downtown restaurants.

San Bruno residents smelled gas for days, another tragic shooting in Rampart, Bell not the first corrupt city, why City Hall contracts get so political and Marilyn Monroe's home sells.

An underground natural gas pipeline blew up in a San Bruno neighborhood south of San Francisco this evening, engulfing whole blocks in a fireball.

If this is really how the McCourts and the Dodgers are viewed around the sport, the media in this town — and ESPN at all levels — has done one horrendous job of reporting up to now.

Five hours after tweeting that his plane was "wheels up" on the trade mission to Asia, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger added a little barb aimed at Sarah Palin.

U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips in Riverside ruled tonight that the military’s ban on openly gay service members violates the 1st Amendment rights of lesbians and gay men.

Police Protective League drops its usual no rush to judgment stance on this one, plus a new witness saying there was no knife and other developments.

The Chief Deputy Mayor says he'll be gone by the end of the month, after just a year.

One of the websites that was selling Los Doyers t-shirts before the Dodgers trademarked the phrase has taken its merchandise off the market. Latin Lingo Clothing got a cease-and-desist letter...

The L.A. Times obituary on Paul Conrad, one of its most recognized names ever, didn't quite tell all.

The live debate between Sen. Barbara Boxer and challenger Carly Fiorina is set for Wednesday, Sept. 29 from 1 to 2 p.m. as part of the Patt Morrison show on KPCC.

Tami Dennis, health and science editor at the Los Angeles Times, is getting new Tribune-wide responsibilities and the title of vice president of health content for Tribune Company.

Blogger Tabloid Baby notices, and cares, that the little Trader Vic's remnant at the pool of the Beverly Hilton has added modest blue bikini tops to the bare breasts of the polynesian women in a painted scene.

Another Brown-Whitman debate, the benefactor of Schwarzenegger's Asian trip, Robin Kramer to the harbor commission and more inside.

Ground was broken on a $9 million interpretive center for the American Tropical mural at Olvera Street.

Police and a few hundred protesters squared off again Wednesday night in the area of 6th Street and Union Avenue, with some objects thrown and at least one fire lit and quickly extinguished. Earlier in the evening, Chief Beck was greeted by jeers at a community meeting where he had gone to promise a full investigation into the shooting of Guatemalan day laborer Manuel Jamines.

Former City Councilman Richard Alatorre and his lobbying partner, ex-Assemblyman Mike Roos, won't be prosecuted by the DA for violating the law that requires lobbyists to register and declare their clients, even though prosecutors concluded they did the deeds.

Ebyline, which launches tomorrow after several months in stealth phase, hopes to connect freelance journalists with publications that want their stories. Ex-LAT ad people are key players.

Larry King's replacement becomes official, LAT urges defense of Prop. 8, Mel Gibson's arresting deputy sues, the times loses two reporters in Washington and much more inside.

With protesters still running in the streets, and the LAPD on citywide tactical alert, KNBC 4 led the 11 p.m. news with the investigation into a possible threat on board...

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has recommended that the City Council's Board of Referred Powers disqualify the group of restaurants bidding against incumbent LAX concessionaire HMS Host, whose top lobbyist is a campaign contributor.

A gathering of protesters massed in front of the Rampart LAPD division on 6th Street tonight to vent over the weekend killing of day laborer Manuel Jamines.

Complying with the parking limits isn't enough to avoid a ticket at the city's new "smart" meters — which have more ways to fail than the old ones.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, answering a question from Patt Morrison in the weekend LAT, says he has no real regrets about not running for mayor against Tom Bradley in 1989. And as for 2013?

Sumar, one of seven orcas at Sea World San Diego, died this afternoon after appearing lethargic yesterday and being given antibiotics.

Current TV producer Euna Lee's book on her and Laura Ling's captivity in North Korea is coming this month from Broadway Books. Here's a snippet from the excerpt online of...

reakout Swedish actress Noomi Rapace sat down in Venice with Anne Thompson to talk about her new movie projects, her recent introductory trip to Hollywood and leaving behind the role of Lisbeth Salander.

Rodney King, who is 44 now, is set to marry "Juror number 5" from his civil case against the city of Los Angeles over the infamous beating he took from the LAPD along Foothill Boulevard in 1991.

Steve Greenberg's tribute to his cartooning inspiration, plus funeral information for Paul Conrad.

In August the Dodgers filed paperwork to trademark the use of the phrase Los Doyers on clothing and souvenirs for sale and in media.

Long bunch of news and notes coming back from the holiday weekend. Tucked away neatly inside, as usual.

Janice Min's arrival at the Hollywood Reporter has left the trade's previous staffers feeling shut out, Sharon Waxman says.

Tim Rutten's tribute is one of the best I've come across.Plus this cartoon from John Sherffius.

Writer, filmmaker and Los Angeles political figure Kelly Candaele has launched Politics and Films to write about feature films and documentaries from a political perspective.

Stephen Randall, the editor in Los Angeles for Playboy magazine, explains in an Op-Ed piece for the LAT that while he loves his smartphone and all of his tech toys, the old fashioned telephone on his desk at home still has its place.

fter a day of protest marches, vigils and confrontations with police, the LAPD declared an illegal assembly about 10 p.m. and officers in riot gear began clearing the streets around 6th Street and Union Avenue. That's where an LAPD bicycle officer on Sunday shot and killed a day laborer identified unofficially as Manuel Jamines.

Molly Knight says that Joan Didion speaks for her on why L.A. has it all over New York, fo rher.

A quick search for LA Observed on the L.A. Times website found four mentions this year, all on blogs. That's fewer links than LA Observed provides to LAT stories on a typical day.

David Westin writes "I’ve always admired those few who know when it’s time to move on." Read his entire email.

I spotted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver pedaling their bikes northbound on Main Street in Santa Monica.