Van Nuys

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:

Antonio Villaraigosa's Gun Buyback Sees Long Lines, Not Enough Gift Cards

Hundreds of people showed up at the Sports Arena this morning to turn in their guns in exchange for grocery store gift cards. But they faced a very long wait -- and the possibility that they would walk away empty-handed.A man who gave his name as "Monster" said he wanted to turn in a handgun. He had ... More >>

How to Ask a Food Blogger for Food Recommendations

What You'll Need: A general idea of the type of cuisine or specific dish you would like to eat, or not eat The number of people in your party A price range of how much you would like to pay for your meal The part of town where you will dine A note of any special considerations (i.e., kid- or dog-f ... More >>

Marijuana Grow in Van Nuys Leads to Bomb Squad Investigation

Cops checking out a report of an open door at a warehouse in Van Nuys today got a little more than they expected. Not only did they find a marijuana-growing operation, but wires protruding from a doorway spooked officers enough that they called in an LAPD bomb squad to check it out. Turns out the ... More >>

The Bank That Looks Like a Del Taco: 6348 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys

You can walk in and ask for a "Del Fargo" burrito at this Wells Fargo branch in Van Nuys but, sadly, you probably aren't gonna get one. Built in 2007 where a Mobil gas station used to sit at the corner of Victory and Sepulveda Boulevards, this fairly new, ketchup and mustard-colored building could ... More >>

OxyContin Prescriptions Sold For Cash at Valley Clinic, Cops Say

You thought drug dealers operated on street corners or in Lindsay Lohan's bathroom, but no. Turns out a Van Nuys store front has been doing business as a "pill mill" where you can walk in with cash and walk out with an OxyContin prescription, no questions asked. That, at least, is what L.A. County ... More >>

Takatis Pollo a la Brasa: Sanguchon in the San Fernando Valley

If you wanted to rank L.A. courthouses by approximate distances to good food -- places to console your stomach before or after, say, dealing with a moving violation or outstanding warrant -- the monolithic Superior Court building in Van Nuys would easily rank near the top. Where else could a jury du ... More >>

L.A. County Drivers Were Extra Drunk This Christmas

Can't say we didn't warn you! A whopping 100 law-enforcement agencies across L.A. County were out in full force this Christmas weekend -- and for a week or so before, beginning December 16 -- keeping an eye out for wobbly drivers on their way home from a holiday drinkathon. Either officers were hot ... More >>

Occupy L.A. Arrestees Say Bathrooms Off Limits For Hours so They Went on Buses: Sheriff's Department Looking Into it

Ted Soqui​Allegations that Occupy L.A. detainees were not allowed to use the restroom for hours as they waited on buses headed to jails are being checked out this week by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, says spokesman Steve Whitmore. Accusations of rough and inhumane treatment of Occupy ... More >>

Drunk Parents See Kids Taken Away After DUI Van Accident in Valley, LAPD Says

Another week another tale of (allegedly) drunk parents with kids who end up in a car crash. This time, at least, said inebriated parental units tried to do the right thing: They got sloshed and reached out for a ride from a van-driving friend ... who was also drunk, authorities said. That in turn, ... More >>

Brenda Barnette's Animal Services Mishaps

Do unproven groups and extremist Pamelyn Ferdin have City Hall's ear?

Steve Campos, 25-Year-Old Motorcycle Rider, Killed by Valley Man in Pickup; Truck Driver Charged With Murder

A motorcycle like Campos'​A young motorcyclist was riding his 2010 Yamaha R6 motorcycle down Vanowen Street in Reseda yesterday afternoon at around 3:20 p.m., when -- out of nowhere -- a Nissan pickup turned right in front of the motorcycle, driven by 25-year-old Steve Campos. The truck drive ... More >>

Alleged Marijuana Growers in L.A.'s Valley Targeted by DEA, FBI Raids

Law enforcement fanned out across the Valley today to bust alleged weed growers.​Updated after the jump with details on what was seized and where. Looks like the long arm of the law fanned out across the San Fernando Valley and Palmdale today to raid alleged pot-growing operations. The Los A ... More >>

L.A. Gangs in the News: Armenian Power vs. Asian Boyz, Discuss ...

Kevin DeanNot Associated Press' work.​Big news today for both the Armenian Power and Asian Boyz gangs in L.A. For AP, 74 accused members were charged with a debit-card scam said to be worth $20 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A. For the Asian Boyz, its former leader, Mar ... More >>

Happy New Year, Drunktards: LAPD DUI Checkpoint In Van Nuys Tonight

anytimecostumes.comWe know what you're thinking. It's not worth it.​So you deftly bobbed and weaved around all those holiday DUI checkpoints we told you about like you were dancing with a star and thought, Whew, glad that's over with. I'm such a rad driver. Thanks LA Weekly. Sorry to break th ... More >>

TSA-Like Pat-downs Are Nothing New in the Inner City

CorbisThis happens to us everyday​ Arbitrary searches, humiliating pat-downs, unwanted fondling by authorities - such experiences have become a thing of horror among airplane passengers these days. This time, airline officials are no longer limiting such screenings to suspected "terrorists" ... More >>

While We Were Thawing Our Toes This Morning, We Noticed That Unemployment Benefits Had Been Terminated For 2 Million Americans

ZastavkiWhad'ya say we all just move to Antarctica​What a bone-chilling way to slide into December. Not to mention the holidays. We woke up this morning after a night of visible breath and twinkly lights to the news that unemployment benefits will likely terminate for 2 million people by th ... More >>

California Death Row Countdown: Four From L.A. And Inland Empire Cleared To Die In California's $853,000 Gas Chamber This Month

​It's almost funny that they call it "corrections." Six people on the Golden State's Death Row are expected to get their breathing permanently corrected this month, with Albert Greenwood Brown, Jr. set to be the first  executed in nearly five years. Of the six who officials tell the Weekly a ... More >>

'America's Most Wanted' Subject Raymond Lemone Easter Arrested In Connection With Pot-Shop Murder Of Matthew Butcher

Raymond Lemone Easter.​It was a day that will live in infamy in L.A.'s medical marijuana world: Two people were killed in separate pot-shop robberies on Thursday, June 24. If that wasn't enough, it turned out one of the victims, Matthew Butcher, was the 27-year-old son of Julie Butcher, a city ... More >>

College 'Transfer Reform' Passes In California Legislature, Aims To Fast-Track The 'Six-Year Degree'

​How many thousands of students went to community college for two years only to learn that they practically had to start over again after transferring to a Cal State or University of California campus because many of the classes they took didn't count at the big-league schools? (We don't know ... More >>

L.A. Pot Shop Moves To West Hollywood, WeHo City Council Blocks It With New Law

​The West Hollywood City Council this week moved to block a pot shop, squeezed out of Los Angeles as a result of that city's tough new medical marijuana ordinance, from opening for business within WeHo's borders. The WeHo News reports that C.A.R.E Collective from Van Nuys stepped into a store ... More >>

Beverly Hills Woman's Private Jet Pot-Smuggling Scheme Unravels, Authoriites Say

Lisette Lee.​The whole private-jet-with-an-entourage smuggling scheme sounds like something a teenager would dream up, and we're guessing it might have worked in the past. But this time the move unraveled for a Beverly Hills woman, authorities allege. They say Lisette Lee, her bodyguard and tw ... More >>

World Cup Update: South African Grub at World Fare Bus

South Africa, in case you've been living under a rock -- but can for some reason still read Squid Ink -- is the host nation for this year's World Cup. Thus far, their team has tied with Mexico and lost to Uruguay, with another Group A game coming up against France. But what if you want to get into t ... More >>

Squid Ink Special: Artichoke Tea

N. GalutenArtichoke tea from 99 Ranch Market​ When passing through the tea aisle in a supermarket, artichoke tea is not the first thing you expect to come across. But in our recent market travels, we happened upon some in the 99 Ranch Market in Van Nuys. Artichoke tea, or trá atiso, is a co ... More >>

Macabre Corvette Crash Kills Four In Van Nuys

Google Maps​Mangled victims and car parts were spread along a half-mile stretch of Roscoe Boulevard in Van Nuys after a late-model Corvette, thought to be speeding, veered out of control and crashed, killing all inside. "Remains of four persons have been discovered at scene," Los Angeles Fire ... More >>

Darlene Robles, L.A. Homicide No. 82: Video Surveillance Captures Hospital Body Dump

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are asking for the public's help in identifying two males and a female suspect who dropped off 17-year-old shooting victim Darlene Robles at a hospital emergency room shortly before she died April 6. Van Nuys homicide detectives just released video footage ... More >>

Fire Department Cuts Could Have Contributed To Two Deaths, Union Official Says

LAFD​City fire union president Pat McOsker called on the City Council on Wednesday to reinstate full staffing at the Los Angeles Fire Department, the lack of which, he argues, could have contributed to two recent deaths. In August the council imposed what the union calls intermittent, fire-co ... More >>

L.A. Medical-Pot Shops Peddle to LAUSD Pupils

As kids flood weed outlets, Ramon Cortines admits there's no plan

Ambulance Becomes Man's Hearse

The L.A. Daily News and other sources report that a "criminally insane" man jumped out of an ambulance that was heading southbound down the 101 Freeway near Universal City last night. He was struck and fatally injured by a Volvo driven by a Van Nuys man. The mental patient was being transported to a ... More >>

High Tea at the Langham

Where to Buy Your Summer BBQ Protein

Beyond burgers and overdone chicken: Armenian meat markets for marinated pork chops, chicken, quail and more

Ask Mr. Gold About ... Barbecue Suggestions Beyond Burgers and Overdone Chicken

I've probably been to a dozen barbecues at friends' houses in the last month, and the routine of burgers and overdone chicken is getting a little old. Any suggestions for my own barbecue? And please don't point me towards any of your beloved organ meats.

Great Los Angeles Quakefest Simulates "Big One" Disaster

Photo by Erin Broadley. Click image for entire slideshow. If today was a training session to help government and emergency personnel understand how to react to a 7.8 Big One hitting Los Angeles, and to get Angelenos revved up about earthquake preparedness, it looks like they still have quite a way ... More >>

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