The DWP Building downtown | Photo by Omar Omar via Flickr After yesterday's announcement of an $160 million settlement in the case where the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power "knowingly overcharged State and local governmental agencies for electricity (as the State Attorney's Office put it)," the city agency released a statement online only (mysteriously, it wasn't e-mailed). Basically, they say everything is fine and dandy and not to worry about your bills:......

Photo by corndog_au via Flickr Although Republican Assemblyman Bill Maze of Visalia introduced a bill that would fine people driving with animals on their laps $35, the Governor is giving it the ol' veto. Maze says it's "distracting" to operate a motor vehicle with a dog or another pet in your lap, and took his cue to put the bill in motion after "seeing a woman driving with three dogs on her lap," reports......

Photo by SeRVe61 via Flickr The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095) passed out of the differences committee (that's where senators and representatives work out differences in the versions of the bill each chamber approved and before it goes to the President) tonight in Washington D.C. "House and Senate negotiators have reached a deal on a major railroad safety reform bill that will require new technology to prevent crashes and limit......

Taken at Sequoia National Park, which has parts included in the bill | Photo by Allie_Caulfield via Flickr There are two identical bills floating around the U.S Senate and House this month that would protect federally owned land from any development, vehicles, permanent structures, mining or basically anything else that would alter the environment. The land would go under The Wilderness Act, signed into law by President Johnson and says defines land as "an......

Photo by AZAdam via Flickr Only 102 of the 958 city buildings expected to get CFLs have installed the energy-efficient lightbulbs and City Controller Laura Chick is saying that the program is not going fast enough. So far, the city has replaced enough to save $1.5 million on the annual $27-million power bill. However, replacing the bulbs came at the price of $5 million, but costs are expected to be recovered over time with......

"We live in the Valley ourselves,” Panorama City based ADJ Finishing president Alexander Orantes said today after being cleared 16 counts of illegally dumping pollutants into city sewers. Apparently, it's not the first time for USC student Holly Ashcraft to dump her baby in a trash bin. A man in his 30's was shot outside Belmont High this afternoon. He stood his ground and fought for his strip club in La Habra. Then the......