Southern California

5 SoCal Cities That Are Hell on Earth

From the beaches of La Jolla to the majestic mountains of the Angeles National Forest, from the Joshua trees of the Mojave desert to the gilded canyons off Mulholland Drive, Southern California is a beautiful place. But, frankly, it can also be hell on earth. If you've ever been stuck in traffic on ... More >>

The Criminalization of Kids is Over at Pasadena Schools

If you grew up today and did some of the things you did in high school, you'd be in jail. Sneaking onto school grounds on the weekend? Toilet papering the quad? Scratching your name into your locker? Giving the local nerd a wedgie? Yeah. The criminalization of the contemporary campus is all too rea ... More >>

Texting While Walking Injuries Are an Epidemic

In Southern California it's pretty clear we have a texting while driving problem. The activity actually became more popular after it was outlawed in the Golden State, according to a survey released this summer. And, of course, it's dangerous, adding up to thousands of deaths each year. But as the m ... More >>

Three California Food-Related Kickstarters Worth Your Consideration

The internet is a strange thing -- a large part of it is actually set up for people who are looking for random ways to part with their money. I'd wager that a lot of internet shopping is not done by people looking for something specific, but rather folks aimlessly searching for a reason to throw awa ... More >>

Top 20 Punk Albums in History: 10-1

Those who say punk is dead tend to be those who wish punk were dead, either still somehow threatened by the culture or -- and this is more likely -- chagrined that punks don't give a shit what they think. Punk is, of course, very much alive in 2013, particularly in regions like Southern California. ... More >>

Fireworks Explosion in Simi Valley Injures 28 (VIDEO)

Twenty-eight people were hurt when a Southern California fireworks display literally went sideways and pyrotechnic devices hit a crowd, causing some if not many to sustain facial injuries, authorities said. It happened shortly after the show began at 9 tonight at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park ... More >>

July 4th Top-Five Travel Escapes for Southern Californians

Excited about the day off tomorrow? So are 2.92 million Southland residents who will travel someplace else, says the Automobile Club of Southern California. According to a survey of AAA's travel agents, the top five destinations for Los Angeles residents and other Southern Californians are:

MOCA's Controversial L.A. Architecture Exhibit Is Sprawling, Confusing and Beautiful

Sometimes architects are compared to artists. But often the closest counterpart to what an architect does is not that of an artist, but a screenwriter. A friend of mine, a sculptor, once pointed out that filmmaking is "art by committee." And so, can be, architecture. The client, like the director o ... More >>

Yelp Reviews of U.S.-Mexico Border Ordeals Read by Actors (VIDEO)

Growing up in Southern California, you get used to putting your rights as a U.S. citizen on hold in order to get back into the United States from Tijuana once in a while. Right? And the militarization of the border has only gotten worse post-9/11: We're all potential terrorists and would-be drug de ... More >>

L.A. Gas Prices Rising; AAA Says Fill Up Now

After eight weeks of falling prices at the American pump, your cost for a gallon gas could be headed up. In fact AAA of Southern California warned on its Facebook page last night that prices would increase and that you should fill 'er up ASAP, like this morning. Really:

How We Got Here

The Cult of In-N-Out

For omnivores, In-N-Out is arguably one of the most beloved Los Angeles food institutions. There is no shortage of requests -- national and international -- for the homegrown chain to expand outside of its immediate distribution hubs here in Southern California and, in 2011 Texas. A woman even cried ... More >>

4.7 Anza Earthquake Shakes SoCal

A moderate earthquake rocked Southern California this morning. And yes you felt it. From Las Vegas to San Diego to Culver City. And it was only a 4.7, says the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was reported at ...

California Dominates America's Happiest Twitter Cities

Los Angeles might not have made this list of happy cities, but three Southern California towns did. (Are we then, happy by association?). And the University of Vermont found that California was a top 13 happy state and that Napa was the nation's happiest city. They did so by analyzing 10 million ge ... More >>

$5 Dollar Gas Is Back In Los Angeles: Why?

After a fall of unprecedented roadside robbery, with record-breaking gas prices in Southern California, $5-plus gas is back, at least if your car requires premium. It's mid-February. What the hell is going on? The spike in L.A. county, with prices rising for the 27th consecutive day, is a result o ... More >>

West Hollywood Apartment Blast Blamed On Marijuana Honey Oil Extraction

For the second time this month in Southern California, authorities say suspects extracting "honey oil" from marijuana sparked an explosive blaze. This one happened over the weekend in the 1200 block of North Havenhurst Drive in West Hollywood, according to L.A. County Fire officials. Rescuers resp ... More >>

Winter Drinks, Part 1: Scotch & Lime

Like a bare tree in winter, some winter drinks are meant to be austere: dry, direct, bracing, with the sort of thrust that allows its effects to make a beeline to the belly. Certainly that's true with your basic shot, whether tequila or scotch or bourbon, but not everyone is interested in slamming s ... More >>

Instagram's Most-Popular Photo Locations? Los Angeles Dominates

Last month we told you about how Southern California locations dominated the year-end list of top Facebook location check-ins. Along comes Instragram with its own year-end list of "most popular locations" for photos uploaded to the social-networking service. Once again ...

Teen Girl Caught Near Border With $35,000 Worth Of Meth, Say Feds

Kids these days, you say. They're so advanced with their iPads and texting and ... meth smuggling. Yeah, so says U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which alleges that a 15-year-old girl was caught near the Mexican border in Southern California with $35,000 worth of methamphetamine strapped to her. ... More >>

Hurricane Sandy vs. Southern California Disasters: A Comparison

East Coast people sometimes like to say that with our earthquakes, wildfires and occasional uprisings, who would want to live in Southern California? With a disastrous hurricane Sandy looming near Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, we took a look at the claim, putting the East Coast ... More >>

Where the Ghosts Are

VIDEO: Man Set On Fire Outside Long Beach Market

Updated at the bottom with a suspect description. First posted at 8:02 a.m. The drive-by shooting isn't the only way people are attacked in Southern California: A particularly evil suspect resurrected a weapon with a sordid, political history, the Molotov cocktail, over the weekend. Last night the ... More >>

Gas Prices Could Reach All-Time High in L.A. as Some Stations Expected to Shut Down

Southern California is an island of gas-price hell this week. One station in Calabasas is charging nearly $6 ($5.89 to be exact) a gallon for high-octane fuel, the Costco in Simi Valley has run out of regular-grade gas (with other stations expected to follow suit), and one expert tells us that all-t ... More >>

Flex Alert For California Electricity as Heat Wave Peaks in L.A.

Today is expected to be the hottest day of Southern California's blistering heat wave, which the National Weather Service predicted could bring temps as high as 126 to Death Valley. The state's electricity-grid operator, Cal-ISO, issued a "Flex Alert" for all of California through Sunday with the h ... More >>

4.4 Near Yorba Linda: Earthquake Weather?

UPDATE: Shaky days here in L.A. Another 4.5 quake hit at 9:33 a.m., centered near the same place as last night's quake. See more at the bottom. First posted at 11:37 p.m. Tuesday See also: *8.6 Quake Possible in Southern California? A little baby earthquake jolted parts of Southern California toni ... More >>

Art Students Blow Up the Blue Whale

Brown Widow Spiders Have Taken Over Southern California, And They Bite ...

If you're getting sick of all these brown folks invading Southern California, they're not done yet. A new research paper co-authored by Richard Vetter, professor of urban entomology at UC Riverside, confirms a long-feared invasion of brown widow spiders in SoCal. The spiders are indeed coming fro ... More >>

Immigration Increases Home Values, Reduces Crime in SoCal?

Some of our favorite commenters at LA Weekly compare Los Angeles to Tijuana and say our fair town is turning into a Third World slum. We beg to differ, of course. Not only because immigrants have invigorated an inner city devastated by the L.A. riots, but because more billionaires live in Californi ... More >>

Outstanding in the Field 2012: Tickets on Sale Soon

Outstanding in the Field is the Rolling Thunder Revue of underground suppers. Those who like table-to-farm eating as much as the farm-to-table sort will be stoked to learn that the organization has revealed its 2012 calendar and will begin selling tickets on Tuesday, March 20th. Beginning May 12 a ... More >>

Some Southern California Beaches Could be 4 Feet Underwater in 18 Years

Pull back, David Geffen, pull back! Whoever thought it was a good idea to build houses on the edge of the crashing surf in Malibu wasn't thinking long-term. (He was thinking hot tubs and bikinis, obviously. Or, in Geffen's case, infinity pools and man-thongs). A new report from Climate Central says ... More >>

Marijuana-Like Compound in Your Brain Could be Magic Pill For Weight Loss: But Don't Reach For The Doritos Just Yet

Oh boy. You stoners are going to love this one. Turns out the key to weight loss might be a marijuana-like chemical that already exists in your brain. While there are skinny weed advocates out there like Seth Rogen (after) and James Franco, consider all the Taco Bell you ate in the name of bud or t ... More >>

Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits Field Trip: Expansion Highlights

Driving down this unsuspecting stretch of Interstate 15 in San Diego County, it's hard to tell that some of Southern California's most notable craft breweries are just off the freeway. If coming down the 5 from Los Angeles, take the 78 East in Carlsbad to the 15 South; before Downtown even has a c ... More >>

Pools in Palm Springs

Air Pollution Monitors Could Come to L.A. Freeways

By Taylor Freitas For Southern Californians living near freeways, in what we at LA Weekly call "Black Lung Lofts," breathing in dirty air has been a concern for years, and it's one that's been neglected by Los Angeles and federal officials. The highly publicized Children's Health Study, released b ... More >>

Snow a Foot Deep in Local Mountains as Storms Hit Los Angeles

Mountain High​May the next New Yorker who says we don't get real weather in Southern California get struck by a tree branch the size of Albert Pujols' forearm. Sorry to get violent about it. But really, after Windopolypse earlier this month we're just getting started. It's not even officiall ... More >>

'Blue Sky Metropolis' at the Huntington Library Shows How Aerospace Shaped L.A., From Surfing to Marilyn Monroe

Nasa photoNASA pilot Bill Dana watches a Boeing NB-52B carrier aircraft fly overhead after a successful test flight of the Northrop HL-10 lifting body at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in 1969. Fellow pilot John Reeves can be seen at the cockpit of the lifting body.​ At a new exhibition at ... More >>

America's Second Poorest Big City is Right Here in Southern California: San Bernardino

Pete ZarriaA motel on Route 66 in San Berdoo.​We sometimes marvel at the amount of wealth found in Southern California. Using Forbes' figures, we noted in spring that "if California were a nation, it would rank fourth, behind the U.S., China and Russia, in billionaire population (a lucky 88)." ... More >>

[Updated:] Deal Reached in Grocery Store Labor Feud

L.A. County Federation of Labor​ Update:9/26, 10 a.m. On Sunday night, workers voted and approved a new contract, ending an eight-month dispute with Ralphs, Vons, Pavilions and Albertsons. According to insiders, workers will pay $7 a week for health insurance, or $15 per week for a family. The ... More >>

Oops, I Just Unplugged San Diego: Let's Fix it so Just One Person Can't Put Much of SoCal in the Dark Again

Fox​Updated at the bottom: The California Independent System Operator will join the party, er we mean, investigations. First posted at 7:09 a.m. When the power went out yesterday for a large swath of Southern California only days before the anniversary of 9/11, our thoughts naturally took us ... More >>

Anonymous Hacker Investigation Nets Two Arrests in Southern California, FBI Says

​Updated at the bottom with details linking the arrests to WikiLeaks. First posted at 2:56 p.m. Two people were arrested in Southern California today as part of FBI raids against the loose-knit hacker crew Anonymous that were conducted in SoCal, New York and other regions, FBI spokeswoman Lau ... More >>

4th of July AmericaFest

Synthetic Marijuana Caused Psychosis For Southern California Users Who Ended Up in a Hospital

Airplane​Maybe the DEA had good cause when it banned so-called synthetic marijuana in an emergency move that took effect in March. Researchers recently revealed that the drug can cause up to eight days of psychosis and, in some cases, "months" worth of mental chaos. And you thought shrooms w ... More >>

Southern California Ghostbusters Turn up at Anaheim Comic Con

Shannon CottrellSouthern California Ghostbusters at Anaheim Comic Con​See more of Shannon Cottrell's photos in "Anaheim Comic Con 2011." Crewes Kime says he's been a fan of Ghostbusters "from birth." "I came out wearing a Ghostbusters uniform and have been wearing one ever since." We met th ... More >>

Rave Called 420 Festival in Orange County Sees Gatecrashing But Only One Arrest [Video]

YouTubeGatecrashers at the 420 Festival.​Gatecrashers attacked the latest mega-rave in Southern California, last weekend's 420 Festival in Orange County's Santiago Canyon, recalling images of last summer's embattled Electric Daisy Carnival at the L.A. Coliseum. But the one-day event was other ... More >>

'420 Festival' Rave in Southern California Called Out by Narconon For its Drug Undertones

420 Festival happens Saturday.​Ah, 420, the stoner's holiday, especially here in Southern California. Time to roll one, kick back, and blow doughnuts. It also brings us the annual 420 Festival, a rave that this weekend finds its home near Irvine Lake in Orange County. Fair enough, except t ... More >>

April at L.A. Farmers Markets: Your Virtual Grocery List

A. Scattergood​ Spring has come to Los Angeles farmers markets, bringing stinging nettles and fennel, fava beans and English peas, as well as lilacs -- only available for a few weeks in Southern California -- and more citrus. Kumquats. Meyer lemons. Strawberries are particularly good this year ... More >>

Gas Prices Are So High in L.A. Area Some Southern Californians Are Running on Fumes (And Running Out of Gas)

racingmixIf you run out of fuel, pull it on over (if you can).​A recent New York Times piece on SoCal's crazy gas prices noted that a Santa Monica station was charging $5.69 a gallon for premium. Wow. That's enough to make you ride on fumes. And that, Southern California, is apparently what y ... More >>

Dine and Dish

The tapas of Cobras & Matadors

Yayo Lives

The return of Dos Arbolitos

Taste Globally, Picnic Locally