There were two major controversies surrounding yesterday's Bruin win over Cal. 1. With 7.1 seconds left to go, Cal's Ryan Anderson turned the ball over under full-court pressure from UCLA's Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp. No foul call. Cal fans claim that a foul should have been called because Westbrook apparently pushed Anderson to the floor, and on top of that he "hacked him in a downward motion" to get at the ball as ESPN's......

Today around 12:30 p.m. at Nogales High School in La Puente, a call came into 9-1-1 -- there was a gun on campus. Sheriff Deputies responded and found out it was a prank. "Apparently unsupervised students in a classroom there called 9-1-1 to report someone with a gun," reported Frank Girardot of CrimeScene Blog, which covers San Gabriel Valley area crimes. He says at least two students were in custody. One week ago today, a......

#3 UCLA 77, #7 Stanford 67, OT - The Bruins clinched their third consecutive Pac-10 hoops crown with their victory over the Farm. It looked bleak for awhile, but they managed to come from behind. More from Jimmy later this morning. USC 93, Cal 89, OT - This game was tough for fans to watch. That's because it wasn't televised. And because USC blew a huge lead. It worked out OK in the end. We're......

Clippers 116, Kings 109, 2OT - Down by 17 points, it looked like Los Angeles was about to give Sacramento their first win this year against a Pacific rival. Anybody seen Sam Cassell. Two overtimes later, the Clips pulled off a wild victory and send the Kings to 0-9 in the division. LA led the entire second overtime. Al Thornton led the game with 27, Chris Kaman had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Dan......

Four Los Angeles area schools went into lockdown yesterday, the one thought to have the most potential danger in Pasadena at Blair International Baccalaureate Magnet School. An early morning report by a student saying someone had a gun prompted a lockdown that lasted throughout the day. Later in the day, police detained one male juvenile for questioning, but no further details have been released. The Pasadena Star News reported students inside the school "got on......

View Larger Map There was an officer-involved shooting down the street from Washington Irving Middle School and near Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Glendale at the intersection of Drew St. and Estara Ave. in Glassell Park. One man died and another was sought by police according to Officer Kate Lopez at the LAPD. The Southbound 2 San Fernando Rd. off-ramp was shut down due to police activity, according to Officer Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol. Other......

The Daily Breeze is reporting that police were searching earlier this morning for a possible gunman at California State Dominguez Hills in Carson: Two students apparently reported around 8:30 a.m. they saw a gunman carrying an AK-47 assault rifle and wearing a green jacket and no shirt, according to news reports. The alleged gunman may have also had additional canisters of ammunition around his waist and he was headed toward Lacorte Hall, an building of......

Photo by el daverino via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A Musical Valentine to Santa Monica: Sia just announced a last-minute show (definitely her last before Coachella!) for tomorrow, February 14th at 2PM in Santa Monica at the Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse on Third St. Promenade, first come first serve. She kicks off her North American tour the following day, Friday, in San Diego. The 15-year-old boy shot on Tuesday at a......

How does UCLA celebrate winning a tough game against the Washington State Cougars? By tanking it against the Washington Huskies. The Bruins played a tight game with the Cougars Thursday night eventually clamping down on in the last 10 minutes of the second half to go on to a 67-59 win. Even though the Cougars had lost their last two games against Stanford and Cal, they are still a tough team. On Wednesday night......

What's more shocking: Kids in LAUSD high schools are apathetic towards their education, or LAUSD high schools aren't providing students with enough assistance in moving them towards post-secondary education? According to a report released Monday, a multitude of LAUSD high school students are coming up close--but not close enough--to qualify for admission to schools in the UC and CSU systems. The LA Times explains that the "report is a snapshot of 20 high schools......

It sounds a little like something you might see on COPS: What was just going to be a routine traffic stop in Glendale turned out to be a major nab for the FBI. Police pulled over Sarkis "Sako" Militonyan on January 27th because his white Chevy Tahoe had no plates and was positioned in two lanes. According to the Daily News, the cops "discovered he was a fugitive and a search of his SUV turned......

"LA Colors" by Adamina via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr . Good news [for democracy] Voter registration for Tuesday's election is about 700,000 higher than during the last California presidential primary four years ago. Bad news [for politicos] Some county elections officials project that roughly 20 percent of the ballots might not be tallied until Wednesday or later. Good news [for Obama] The Ill Sen. received the nod of approval from the largest......

Here at LAist, we really love local folk music, especially The Hollow Trees. In fact, we love them so much that we've interviewed them three times: a little ">over a year ago, then in May about Stagecoach (the roots version of Coachella) and this last December. We'll spare any in depth analysis this morning, but will just say if you're looking for things to do late this morning, whether your a parent or babysitting some......

News on Heath Ledger's untimely and tragic death is still developing. Keep checking our sister site Gothamist for updates. OMG, girls, have you heard? Caroline on Crack is holding the best contest evarrrrr over at her site -- head over now for your chance to win a date with one of L.A.'s most eligible bachelors, Andy Sternberg, our very own News Editor! I can say with utmost confidence that he is totally not a......

It may be a holiday, yet Mondays are always a guaranteed good night for music with all the residencies in addition to tonight's appearance of Venice local Harry Perry (pictured right) in WeHo We Barbarians, The Morning Benders, Rio Bravo @ Silverlake Lounge Idyllists, The Movies, Light FM, C.R.A.F.T. Club @ Viper Room Radar Bros., Tigers Can Bite You, Kárin Tatoyan, Holloys @ The Echo The Parson Red Heads, The Shaky Hands, Francisco The Man,......

If you want to do something else tonight besides the mind-numbing seventh season opener of American Idol, here are a few options: WORDS Nobel Prizewinner Mohammad Yunus has a conversation with Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker Institute, Claremont Graduate University (and former editor of the Los Angeles Times' West) on "Creating a World without Poverty." The evening will focus on questions like: "What if you could harness the power of the free market......

For those who say you can't put a price on education, California's governor and UC and CSU officials say you're dead wrong. In fact, not only can you put a price on it, you can hike the price, making undergraduate education in the state increasingly more expensive. The LA Times is reporting that if Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed new budget goes into effect, most student fees [will] rise by 10% at the 23-campus Cal State system......

After declaring a fiscal emergency, Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday unveiled his budget plan which seeks to close the gap in California's budget. The governor proposed a 10 percent cut across the board for state programs, including education, health care and social services. Democratic state representatvies are stongly opposing the plan, including Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez of Los Angeles. The Daily News reports: "All of the cards ought to be on the table," said Assembly Speaker......

Why do all these prisoners love our governor? Because in his budget cuts that were released today, it proposes just that -- an early release for 22,000 low-risk inmates. "The governor says the cuts are necessary to erase a $14 billion revenue shortfall over the next 18 months. Schwarzenegger's new budget would spend 3 percent less than the one he signed last summer," according to the AP. Here is some of what is also......

Lakers 112, Pacers 96 - The purple and gold have won six of seven and 12 of their last 15 games. Against Indiana, several players had big nights. All five starters hit double-digits in scoring, including 26 from Kobe Bryant, 23 from Andrew Bynum, and 22 from Derek Fisher. The Pacers are 0-9 against the Lakers in Staples Center. Spurs 88, Clippers 82 - Manu Ginobili returned from an injury to his left hand and......

LNA was rained out this morning, but we're back with a quick update ... #5 UCLA 76, #24 Stanford 67 - The Bruins sent a clear message about who's atop the pecking order in the nation's toughest conference. Josh Ship led the way with 21, followed by Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook with 15 apiece. The Cardinal came into the game with a 7 game win streak. Cal 92, #22 USC 82 - The Trojans......

Rain, rain, don't go away, don't come again another day! Wet weather is on its way. And not a moment too soon for some portions of the city. A lack of water in the Valley might slow growth: "West San Fernando Valley Councilman Dennis Zine said he called for the mandatory water conservation in new development after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plea for voluntary water saving was largely ignored by Angelenos." You know all that......

Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons will be stepping down at the end of the year, letting Chicago businessman Sam Zell take over the company. The Tribune Company owns the Los Angeles Times. President Bush signed a huge Energy Bill yesterday, in hopes of "reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure."......

There are two things you can count on living in LA: fires and earthquakes. Now, it seems, we might need to add some tsunami insurance to our list of must-have SoCal coverage policies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Seismic Safety Commission have launched a study to determine the potential tsunami risk to the LA and Long Beach ports. ...

An “acid bomb” is capable of a 300-foot blast radius. So why did a 12-year-old bring one to school today in the OC? Cal State Northridge (CSUN) is building a 1,700-seat, performing arts center and just received their largest donation of one million from Attorney and civic leader David Fleming and his wife, Jean. Oh noes! Charlize Theron's home got robbed last week! Save up those quarters, DASH will not be accepting Metro passes......

Lisa Glatt, professor of creative writing at Cal State Long Beach, is on her way to the big time - and we couldn't be happier for her. Glatt's novel, A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That, has been optioned by Andrew Wagner. We're a big fan of Lisa's because whenever we see her at a local reading, she commands the room with her intense stories and mordant wit. It doesn't matter who she reads with,......

A mysterious email appeared in our inbox this morning, notifying us of a Dunkin' Donuts Shopping Cart Derby being held at the Santa Monica Pier tomorrow morning (check-in begins at 9am, you can register here through the Thrillist website). The event is being hosted by Maria Menounos, and the lucky winning team will receive a two-year supply of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, revered by many as the morning brew of choice. But wait just a......

One of the things that sports fans in Southern California should be grateful for as they warm up last night's left overs is the fact that ESPN.com's Eric Neel moved to LA this year from Northern Cal because now his excellent writing is being more focused on our teams. Yesterday he posted a glowing feature on the USC football head coach who appears every bit the Golden Boy that he looks in photos. In......

Fire up your Nimbus 2000 and fly to the Biltmore! So. Cal. Pagan or just Pagan Curious? Either way, put down that turkey leg and skip those crowded malls, the 9th Annual Pagan Days Fest is this weekend at The Millenium Biltmore Hotel, 506 So. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 90071. This witchy convention, organized by those crafty folks at Panpipes Magickal Market Place, begins Friday night with a (ticketed) meet and greet dinner and......

The courts once again sided with the Bush administration in its warrantless spy tapping program. This time, the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rule against the government in its handling of the war on terror. Somewhere, Abbie Hoffman is crying. Following an incident at Cal State Fullerton, in which nooses appeared on a clothesline at an anti-hate rally, civil rights leaders are calling for a federal investigation. College officials quickly took......