A homeowner has voluntarily opened a public accessway next to his house. Yes, voluntarily.

The brand-new accessway on Carbon Beach is at 21950 PCH, on the west edge of the property.

A California postcard

The morning after the elusive Lake Machado alligator Reggie was captured and taken to his new home at the L.A. Zoo, I visited with the man who knew him best.

A poet works San Vicente Boulevard

The birds in Los Angeles, apparently, treat and understand the L.A. River as a river.

The San Francisco Examiner described the evening as "more like a campaign stop than a book signing," which was accurate enough, except this was not billed as either.

Unless you've been detained in a Gitmo holding cell you probably know that beatboxer Blake Lewis is poised to win American Idol tonight. In that spirit Idol has flown beatboxing grandaddy Doug E Fresh to L.A. to appear on the show for a duet with Blake.

That's it for me. Harper's Bazaar lost me for good with this month's cover. Can't say I didn't warn them....

It's entirely possible he wanted the $5 and was foolish enough to think that this complicated scheme was the only way to get it. But I decided it wasn't about money, or food.

After 83 years of furnishing the homes of Mid-west LA, Horizon Furniture will close.

I visit with Griffith Park-area City Councilman Tom LaBonge, LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, and LAFD Captain Carlos Calvillo. Also, see what it's like below a fire department chopper dumping tons of water.

Book projects are just like serial relationships. All the components are there: romance, sex, friendship, arguments, the break up ... and if you're lucky you've saved something for retirement. The Dora book was great while it lasted; we'll always be friends, but it's time to move on and I haven’t yet found someone new. After such a long relationship, I feel awkard in public. I'm not used to dining at a table for one. I haven’t, well . . . dated in a long time.

A new leaseholder will operate the National, formerly run by Mann, and has scheduled to reopen this Friday, May 11.

Paris Hilton may not have known her license was suspended, but, by God, it seems she's aware that this is Derby weekend.

Five reporters on how to take the pulse of tens of thousands of activists