From a weekend heatwave to a rainy and snowy day in Southern California. A reader wrote in an e-mail to us "It's hailing! But it only lasted a second here in Northridge." The bigger news is that heavy rains in Orange County have caused officials to order evacuations in three canyons where mudslides occurred earlier today. After last year's wildfires, those hillsides were charred, making for easy sliding action. However, some residents have not left......

Unrelated photo of Ben & Jerrys' shipment of dry ice via AmyMo's flickr. *UPDATE, Monday, March 10, 11:10 a.m.: The woman was on dry ice, apparently for 'religious reasons' and does not appear to be murdered. Full story can be found here.What killed a 33-year-old woman discovered packed in dry ice in the Newport Beach hotel room of a cocaine dealer? The few details are embarrassing sketchy at best pending CSI-style detectivery. The body......

Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's official: Police have identified the Green Skeleton Bandit who was fatally shot earlier this week when he was caught in the act of robbing the AutoZone in NoHo by a US Marshal. He was 24-year-old Lawrence Dean Smith Jr. of Palmdale who used a knife and wore a skeleton-themed sweatsuit in his robberies. Fight for the right to ficus! Local activists in......

Photo © Copyright 2008 by Jonathan Alcorn (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr One of the gunmen involved in yesterday's Glassell Park shootout has been identified as a member of the Avenues gang. Daniel Ivan Leon was killed by police following his participation in a fatal drive-by shooting that claimed one life. Ok, so there wasn't anyone jumping onto the 110 Freeway today, but there was a police pursuit on the......

Photo by susan catherine via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr A meeting last night in Oxnard brought out hundreds of parents angered over the recent shooting death of 15-year-old Lawrence King at the hands of a fellow teenager. They called for more vigilant security on campus and for more help for students who suffer from bullying. A multi-vehicle accident earlier this afternoon had two lanes of the 405 in Westwood shut down.......

More Pictures From the Surf City Marathon/Half Marathon...

If you plan on participating in either the Republican or Democratic primary on February 5th (in two weeks) you MUST register to vote by midnight tonight. Don't panic, you don't have to rush out into traffic, just make sure your application (download it here) is postmarked by midnight. Dig the last-minute madness? You can drop your application in person at the LA County Clerk's desk in Norwalk (map) by midnight (see the OC Registrar [map]......

Two incidents that took place yesterday in parts of Orange County turned deadly and claimed two lives and injured others. The first incident took place Friday afternoon in Garden Grove, when a man described as "an Asian male in his early 20s, was found lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the street," an apparent victim of a stabbing reports CBS2.com. Officials found the body at Cork Street and Hazard Avenue, and......

The fountain at the LA Central Library is rather strange and fantastical "I'll have a footlong Subway club on white, hold the mayo, and GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!" Police are looking for the man who held up a Subway sandwich store at gunpoint Monday on Beverly in the Wilshire area. The owner and manager of a Burbank apartment building was found liable for their role in the murder of one of his tenants, who......

Despite having returned back to his post just two weeks ago, today Orange County's beleagured Sheriff Michael Carona, announced his retirement from the job on the Department's blog. Carona is entwined in a mess of legal troubles that extend to include his wife and his mistress, Deborah Carona and Debra Hoffman, respectively, in its web. His previous hiatus took place under the auspices of him working on his case on federal corruption charges, in which......

As the second wave of the massive storm system that wailed on the area last night approaches, here are some updates on conditions and storm-related happenings:We have the power: CBS2.com reports that "Power has been restored Saturday to 31,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers who lost service" due to the rainstorm. A quarter of the outages were located in the San Fernando valley. Some customers, including a few hundred in OC with......

Officer, police thyself: Sherrifs are looking among their own ranks for DUI-free behavior this NYE. And they're looking at you, too, pal. Drive safe, designate a driver, take the Metro, or call for a Tipsy Tow. The darkest hour is just before dawn--but not on our freeways. 4.2 million Commuters in the Southland get a start on their daily drives before 6 o'clock each morning, proving there are increasingly fewer "good times" to get on......

Authorities in Anaheim are working on putting together the pieces of a very disturbing puzzle they uncovered on Thursday on North Lemon Street near the 91 Freeway. The LA Times reports that police found 34-year-old Rene Lopex Montez "with unexplained second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body." His clothes were burned off, and Montez told police "he'd been doused with gasoline and set afire at another location, then dropped off." Family members of......

If you want to drive the 91 Express Lanes during peak, peak rush hour, it's going to cost you. A lot. From today's Los Angeles Times: Starting next week, Friday-afternoon commuters on the eastbound 91 Express Lanes will have to dip deeper into their wallets to escape endless congestion on the Riverside Freeway. The $10 toll is among the highest in the nation and comes nine months after the boost to $9.25. It will......

California Highway Patrol Officer Joshua Blackburn, charged with stealing $1 million worth of cocaine being held as evidence, has had his arraignment postponed at his lawyer's request until early next month, KTLA is reporting. The 32-year-old Murietta man (pictured) has been with the CHP for six years, and remains in the Orange County Jail on $4 million bail. His arraignment had been scheduled for yesterday, but the alleged drug nabber's attorney has stated that he......

The robbery spree of an OC couple in their twenties came to an end this week after a purse-snatching and pepper-spraying incident at a Wal-Mart. The two are also suspected of a robbery in Santa Ana, and were taken into custody after police stormed their Surf Cove home. Yesterday in Pomona Superior Court, the three white men accused of attempted murder, assault, and hate crime against a black man in Claremont last year were convicted......

After a five-week hiatus, LAist is back to taking you on its weekly trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. I’ve always had a certain fascination with crepes. Not sure exactly why, perhaps it’s the simple elegance that a crepe has, its delicate buckwheat consistency and taste that can be deliciously served with virtually any kind of filling, whether sweet......

During the go-go, greed is good ‘80s, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and host Robin Leach became the symbol of American opulence. It was hard not to aspire for 'champagne wishes and caviar dreams.' Of course these days, there are countless shows featuring the upper crust flaunting their wealth. And like a car wreck, we wretch at the sight of such blatant materialism while secretly keeping our eyes glued to the TV set. So......

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......

Ducks 4, Blue Jackets 3, OT - The Ducks managed to kill 7-of-9 power plays and converted three of their own to take down Columbus in overtime. Samuel Pahlsson scored for the OC boys on a penalty shot. Anaheim has won three of their last four and moved into a three-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference, just two points behind second place Dallas, who leads the Pacific Division. Kings 4, Canucks 2 -......

Diana & Alice Bag circa '78 I almost didn’t go to see Ann Summa’s Los Angeles punk photo exhibition at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica. No offense to the once, raw obscure photographers who happened to be at the right place at the right time 30 years ago, snapping amazing images of once, raw obscure bands. Your recognition is well past due. It’s just that there’s been a plethora of punk picture/art/flyer/book exhibitions......

We heart our sister -Ists: today, SFist Editor Bock Keeling was profiled in the SF Weekly. We find out that Gus Van Sant hates SFist and a funny picture of a woman modeling in front of an oil spill crew is now being featured on the site. Pro football player Sean Taylor has died from injuries sustained in a mysterious and tragic shooting incident; he was 24 years old. Police are still searching for......

Black Friday has come and gone but there's one more killer sale that you shouldn't miss - the Obey Sale. For the last few years we have been lucky enough to learn about the sale, this year held in a warehouse The OC, and today we are very happy to share the dates with you. When: Friday, December 7th from 9a - 7p & Saturday, December 8th from 9a - 5p Where: 3500 West......

1. In N' Out I've been training for the LA marathon for the past month and once a week, after a super hard run, I reward myself by ordering a #3 w/onions. Seriously, how could a "fast food" hamburger taste so good? And it's really not that bad for you. If you order a burger combo with a diet coke, you'll consume less than 550 calories. It's totes a win-win situation. 2. Bros Because......

This is the last week to step into the doomful fairy land of Camille Rose Garcia at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery. Her latest collection, Escape to Darlingtonia, is another chapter in Garcia’s cartoony nightmares. Born in Los Angeles, and growing up in OC in the shadows of Disneyland; Garcia’s work is an animated, punk, and glittery fantasy. Imagine boozing & pill popping through the eyes of an innocent doe-eyed child, and you might get......

Bunch of savages in the OC Not everyone in Orange County is a rich white racist, but I'd wager that every rich white racist in Orange County passes his weekend at OCregister.com. Case in point: Clicking through my RSS – gotta keep up with our neighbors to the south – I read a long-enough-for-the-Register blurb about a stabbing in Fullerton. Then I scrolled down to the comments section, where I found the doozy posted......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. Here in LA, we are blessed with embarrassing riches when it comes to Latin American food. Just about every country is represented by at least a couple of places that truly embody the cuisine and spirit of the local culture. Venezuela is no different.......

There was a time when one would cringe to make a trip "behind the Orange Curtain". Those times are still with us. Perhaps now more than ever. But fortunately MTV, VH-1, Bravo, and A&E have decided to fight our (culture) war for us. Instead of castigating our neighbors through witty editorials, or knowingly pointed fingers, the networks simply shone a spotlight into the vacuous, empty, and shallow world south of the 91 (roughly). Thanks......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. Saying the name ‘Park Avenue’ evokes images of wealth, of tony living, of elegance and class (or of crappy Buicks if you’re into cars). Kinda like Rodeo Drive. It’s the antithesis of the working class, the regular everyday lifestyle that most of us experience.......

Every Friday, LAist is taking you on a trip down to Orange County to uncover the unique dining experiences that await adventurous eaters willing to explore beyond the county line. This month, LAist has brought you daily coverage of some of LA’s finest late night dining spots from all over the Southland. So we’d be remiss if we didn’t throw in at least one spot from OC. Some of you readers that have probably......