La Mirada

DUI Checkpoints Tonight in Lincoln Heights, Van Nuys

After a flurry of anti-drunk-driving operations this spring, culminating with a massive Cinco de Mayo crackdown, the cops around here seem to be mellowing out. Maybe just a little. Our weekend DUI cheat sheet contains info on only three checkpoints (that we know of). Here you go:

Holiday DUI Checkpoint Cheat Sheet: Massive Drunk Driving Crackdown Starts Friday

'Tis the season to be jolly, yes, but try not to do your fa-la-la-la-laing in a jail cell. Not fun. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department this week previewed the anti-DUI can of whoopass it's unveiling for the holidays, starting this weekend. It's massive:

L.A. Council Votes To Put Half-Cent Sales Tax On March Ballot; But Citywide Candidates Are All Opposed

The L.A. City Council voted 10-4 today to put a half-cent sales tax increase on the March ballot. But all of the candidates for citywide office opposed it.Councilman Eric Garcetti and Councilwoman Jan Perry, who are running for mayor, voted no. So did Councilman Dennis Zine, who is running for contr ... More >>

Chicano Batman, Caped Crusader

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] With the July 20 release of The Dark Knight Rises, the iconic Batman franchise returns for its seventh summer with the usual panoply of "pows," "bangs" and Chri ... More >>

15 Great Peruvian Restaurants in Los Angeles

You won't find "Perutown" or "Little Lima" in Los Angeles. The Peruvian and Peruvian-American population is spread out around greater L.A., and so are our Peruvian restaurants. So maybe you haven't noticed these eateries -- often small and unassuming spots, tucked in strip malls far from trendy rest ... More >>

Marijuana Crackdown on 36 L.A. County Pot Shops by Feds

Federal authorities today announced a crackdown on 36 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles County, including raids on two shops in Santa Fe Springs and warning letters to 34 businesses and property owners. Interestingly, the actions did not involve any pot shops in the city of Los Angeles. ... More >>

Sexting Teacher Taylor Welch Wooed Teen Girl on Facebook, Cops Allege

When the Miramonte sex abuse scandal erupted early this year, the L.A. school district and detectives said they had to take time to investigate horrific allegations against teacher Mark Berndt, meaning parents were in the dark for the better part of a year. These days, somehow, some way, things hap ... More >>

Ted Nishihara is Latest School Sex Scandal Suspect: Lewd Act Alleged in La Mirada

January's Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal has unleashed a torrent of accusations against area teachers. The latest involves Ted Nishihara, a substitute educator at Los Coyotes Middle School in La Mirada. The 29-year-old was arrested yesterday after a student said he touched her inappr ... More >>

Rock-y Road: Street Closures for LACMA's Levitated Mass

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation announced Monday it will be implementing rolling (get it?) street closures to accommodate LACMA's Levitated Mass as it crawls through the the busiest corridor of its route at speeds of 5 to 8 miles per hour. The 340-ton rock is about halfway through an ... More >>

FBI/LAPD Task Force Shoots Double Homicide Suspect on a Roof in La Mirada

"What started as a fist fight ended in a deadly shooting that left two men dead," a press release concerning a double homicide back on November 30, 2011 read. Today, a third man, the suspect in the November 30 incident, is also dead--shot on a roof in La Mirada after a tense standoff with the FBI/LA ... More >>

205 Imperial Highway, La Puente: Ye Olde Tuscan House of Pancakes Chapel & Sportsbar

Try to pin down the original purpose of this building -- was it a Black Angus Steakhouse? Dancehall? Place of worship? All three simultaneously? 205 Imperial Highway in La Puente is the kind of building-as-sausage that occurs when a property is re-purposed over and over, added to, covered-up or sla ... More >>

Worst Legislator in California, Part II

Charles Calderon lets special interest groups ghostwrite his laws

Q & A With Romain Vetter of MovieRecipes.net: or, How To Make Your Favorite Film Food At Home

John Christenson/MovieRecipes.netRomain Vetter, with food​You might live in this town because you work in the film industry. Or because you moved here from Topeka to get into it (sorry). Or you might just live here in spite of the vast machinery of the film business. Regardless, we have a spec ... More >>

Bubble Wrap Bandit: Hey Police Agencies, Better Nicknames For Bank Robbers, Please

Bubble wrap​Police say a man with a history of alleged bank robberies hit a Bank of the West Tuesday at Valley View Boulevard and Imperial Highway in La Mirada. He's been dubbed the "Bubble Wrap Bandit." So does he wrap his face in bubble wrap to disguise himself or something? Or perhaps he ... More >>

FBI Releases Security Photo Of "Balding Bandit"; Misnomer?

​The FBI released a photo, which you can see at right, of a guy they say has robbed three banks in La Mirada since May. They're calling him the "Balding Bandit," which seems like a misnomer. Authorities say he held up a Banco Popular Tuesday, after robbing Chase branches on May 14 and July 2 ... More >>

Stage Raw: McNulty/SLM Colloquy Reaction

NEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Opus, at the Fountain TheatreMcNULTY/SLM COLLOQUY REACTION The L.A. Times devoted print space in last Sunday's paper to an email discussion of small theater in Los Angeles that transpired between the Times' Theater Critic, Charles McNulty, and me. The reactions ... More >>

Following Post-Rave Death Of Teen, U.S. Attorney's Office Cracks Down On Alleged Ecstasy Ring; $17 Million In Pills Seized

U.S. Attorney's OfficeTuan Vu, at-large.​Fifteen suspects were indicted this week following a federal investigation in the Los Angeles area that led to the seizure of 1.1 million tablets of ecstasy -- $17 million worth, the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A. announced Thursday. The U.S. Attorney i ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

Charter School Teachers Talk Union The L.A. Times reports that nearly 80 percent of teachers from a respected Los Angeles charter school have signed cards requesting union membership. Teachers at the Accelerated School say in the story that the school's administrative decisions have become "opaque a ... More >>

Where Are Our Landmarks?

A new L.A. Conservancy report card (actually, an update to its 2003 survey) scolds San Gabriel Valley cities -- not only for not having ordinances to protect historical landmarks, but for not even having any landmarks to protect. While giving A's to Pasadena, South Pasadena, Long Beach and Whittier ... More >>

Movie Reviews: The Midnight Meat Train, Mirrors, Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Also, Henry Poole Is Here, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer and more

City Hall's "Density Hawks" Are Changing L.A.'s DNA

Bitter homes & gardens?

Marrying for Money

Poverty-wage young soldiers wed strangers and friends to get cash and housing

Child Cares

Mojo A Go-Go

L.A. garage mods the Mojo Filters got soul, feet down below their knees

Silver Lake Gang War

Homeboys and hipsters struggle to claim Silver Lake

Standing on the Corner

Day laborers get organized

Seeking the Heterosexual Within

many ex-gays find themselves back in the closet

Dead Xmas Tree Watch, No. 12

Date: 31 January 2009 Time: 09:25Location: La Mirada AvenueRemarks: "Twins."

Dead Xmas Tree Watch, No. 14

Date: 7 February 2009Time: 09:46Location: La Mirada AvenueRemarks: This part of La Mirada Avenue is couch-and-mattress country -- good for late-season tree sightings.