The LAPD is asking the public's help in identifying this man. "A lone White male dubbed the 'Garden Glove' bandit hit a bank and robbed 12 popular chain stores during the early morning hours and the evenings," explained the LAPD in a press release. "In each incident, the suspect walks into the location wearing dark sunglasses, a hoodie, or a black jacket and gardening gloves. After the suspect engages in conversation with the cashier,......

A view of the Valley from Mulholland Drive | Photo by Ilpo's Sojourn via Flickr A report about San Fernando Valley air quality released yesterday states that overall air quality has improved but the West Valley's ozone levels have risen while some East Valley neighborhoods have seen an increase in particulate matter, according to the Daily News. "The San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center, at California State University, Northridge, reported overall decreases in carbon......

Here's a statistic that is saddening. There have been over 130 collisions involving an intoxicated driver this year. And that's only for the West Valley Division that covers neighborhoods like Canoga Park and West Hills. That's only one police division out of six in the San Fernando Valley. Throughout the Valley, there have been over 550 DUI related crashes. Not only does West Valley have the highest number of DUI related collisions for the Valley,......

Vegan Waffles and 'Chicken' | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist All good things come from the Valley first. Lucky for those who stay "over the hill," Executive Chef David Anderson at LA's fanciest and tastiest vegan affair in the Tarzana Safari Walk (yes, that's an official Los Angeles Neighborhood, city blue sign and all), there is plans to open up a new vegan eatery with full bar on the Westside according to VegNews, who......

The 80th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to take place Feb. 24 at Hollywood & Highland's Kodak TheatreAuthorities have released the names of the victims in yesterday's deadly airplane collision in the skies above Corona. According to KNBC.com, "one of the victims -- Earl Smiddy, 58, of Moreno Valley -- was on the ground when he was hit by falling debris. The other victims were identified as Anthony Joel Guzman, 20, of Hesperia; Scott......

Back in November, it was announced that the West Valley would be getting an additional LAPD station in a former sex toy manufacturing plant on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga in Canoga Park. Tentatively called the Northwest Division, it will serve Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka when it opens this or next year. Those neighborhoods lay within Council Districts 3 and 12, both represented by LAPD Reserve Officers, Councilman Dennis Zine......

Vitals details in the killings of two South LA residents who were found shot to death in their 11th Ave apartment remain unknown. The LAPD was notified late Monday afternoon of gunshots heard, and soon after discovered the bodies of Shelton Sumerall, 32, and Monica Youngblood, 23, both of whom suffered fatal shots to their heads. The motive and a shooting suspect have not been determined. A Van Nuys man was stabbed yesterday when he......

How's this for a lede? "If you get in a car crash in the San Fernando Valley, there's about a 50-50 chance you'll flee the scene - and get away with it." Ha! That's almost instructional. In a comprehensive report on hit-and-runs by the Daily News, it is found there is a lot of hitting, running and general douchebaggery in Los Angeles. Yes, we all knew that after day one, but here are some......

Every Monday morning, Rick Orlov of the Daily News and Steve Hymon of the LA Times write their weekly "what's going on at city hall" columns. Orlov brings an interesting story about City Council Member Dennis Zine, who represents the 3rd District in the West Valley. Zine has been given a cease and desist order from Warner Bros. over a lapel pin he has used for years as a political token to supporters. It......

You know you're in the Valley when real estate options are that old porn studio over there or the former sex toy manufacturing plant over there. Well, the LAPD went for the latter in a $37 million project to build a new station in Canoga Park on Schoenborn Street between Owensmouth and Canoga. The station is tentatively called Northwest Area Division. The reason for this new station in the West Valley is getting officers......

In 2003, the New York City Council voted to oppose the war in Iraq. Two years later, they drew a resolution for the "orderly and rapid withdrawal" of Iraq. Now, three days short of exactly two years after New York, the Los Angeles City Council, in a 12-2 vote, voted yesterday to support pulling out of Iraq.The council said it approved the resolution because it wants the federal government to end the war, which......

If your not ready for the races mentioned in our Alt Races Guide, then maybe you are up to a race of a different breed: Nike's 5-mile Run Hit Remix: The PowerSong Edition featuring live performances along the route by Naughty by Nature, Sir Mix-A-Lot, The Sugarhill Gang, Dawn Robinson of En Vogue, and a finish line concert by MC Hammer on September 15th at 9 a.m. (you might also spot Caroline on Crack......

Could changes finally be coming to Sepulveda Boulevard after more than eight long years of debate? Who knew comic book fans could be so violent? Times reporter Geoff Boucher was attacked covering Comic-Con this past weekend. Sounds like a good idea: Hollywood residents are turning to birth control pills to control the pigeon population. Al Gore's son pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana and other drugs this morning. Seriously, you guys deserve it: members of......

It seems like there are a million places to get a bite to eat in this city, and we will nod our head emphatically in agreement if you were to say it's all a bit overwhelming. Most of the time we opt for something tried and true, where maybe we find comfort in the familiar listing of menu items, a favorite dish, or a staff who knows our name. But then there are the......

The Valley is like, only, 48.4% of Los Angeles (225 square miles of the City's 465 square miles make up the San Fernando Valley). Without trying to cause another East-West war, which gets people fired up (see comments), we're going to set one easy Valley rule here: the 405 divides East from West Valley. Funny enough, LA.com's home base and parent company is the same as the Valley's unofficial newspaper -- LA Daily News.......

When we biked the Orange Line a few weeks ago, we noticed what could be the first transit oriented development along the "Valley's newest shortcut" at the Canoga Park station, a recent addition to the line. Even for this ex-suburban kid, living in the West Valley is starting to not look that bad if it had to come to that for some reason. But what is looking even better is where the Orange and......

It is a shame that it took us a year and some months after the Orange Line's opening to bike it from end to end. So we braved the chilly weather today and did it. We even did it from the Clybourn St. Burbank border on the Chandler Bike Path that connects to the City of Burbank's 4-mile bike path. One way, the Orange Line ride is 14 miles (add 1.2 miles for the......

While CalTrans expects heavy delays in and out of North Los Angeles County on I-5 beginning today through New Years Day (plan ahead), the Valley gets to celebrate more Orange Line sweetness (prepare to salivate). Today at 10:30 a.m. marks the official opening of the new Canoga Station at Van Owen and, well, Canoga (duh). It comes packaged with a 611-space Park & Ride Lot, the largest in the West Valley. But more importantly,......

SFist was there for the 4.4 Earthquake in the Bay Area, which is a good reason to visit The L.A. Times' EQ coverage archive. LA City Beat combs through the West Valley and finds that it's not so bad. They even talk up Follow Your Heart, which we mentioned last week. That plus Figueroa Street, 818 movies and ‘What is your favorite, secret treasure of Los Angeles?’ LA Weekly reports on the convictions of......

While most were resting, a thieving couple went on a crime spree Sunday as cash, jewlery and a laptop were heisted from locals, CBS2 is reporting. In broad daylight, the male suspect (between 5' 7" and 6 feet tall and thought to be between 25 and 35 years old) struck a liquor store clerk and then shot him in the knee as the female partner ( 5' 3", about 125 pounds and appeared to......

Ever wondered why all those police cars were on your street last week? Do you miss detailed crime blotters from your local small town paper? Last Thursday, LAPD announced the redesign of their already slick site with even more slick features such as dynamic Crime Maps and E-Policing. That's right, just type in your address and view incidents in your neighborhood. Sign up for E-Policing and get e-mail updates from your SLO (that's police......

After a week of moving into a new house, travelling to the midwest and back and being without internet or TV, this LAist contributor is a little overwhelmed with everything he's missed and has to catch up on. We say goodbye to Phil and hello to Alex and just as soon as we can get our -ist shit together, we'll have a new contributor writing focusing on local politics as well. Now, here's what......

NPR ran a story last week by Luke Burbank about the newly built Midnight Mission at 6th and San Pedro downtown. The $17 million dollar facility has been getting criticism from some homeless organizations and some conservatives. The homeless organizations think the money could be better spent on affordable housing while conservatives think the amenities (which include a gymnasium and a barber shop) are too much. In the comments to one particular blog post,......

First of all, LAist apologizes for not getting our election story in–we were out at various election night parties to all hours and didn’t have time to write anything. The obvious story to write about is the rematch: Hahn vs. Villaraigosa, Part II. But we’ll be able to talk about that for the next ten weeks. For now, the most interesting question for the City’s political insiders is where Hertzberg went wrong on his......

In a remarkable setback for the Mayor, yesterday the Council rejected the proposed half-cent sales tax increase for more cops for the May ballot. Needing 2/3 of the Council vote, the measure passed 9-6, falling short by one vote. Councilmembers Villaraigosa, Parks, and Weiss voted against it from the “Anything The Mayor Wants is a Bad Idea” camp. From the “Any New Taxes Are Bad Because We’re From the West Valley” group came Councilmen......

LAist was unsuspectingly whisked off to the wilds of Alhambra the other day for what was promised to be some of the best Chinese food in the city, taken under wing to Sam Woo BBQ by some folks who swear by this hole-in-the wall place for chowing down on some chow mein. Take your pick from the hundreds of dishes listed in dizzying order on the text-only menu; the only pictures you'll get here......

Editor's Note: Darren Faulk joins LAist to cover the politics beat. Ho, hum, you say? Keep reading... Contrary to popular belief, LA politics isn’t boring, it’s just really poorly covered. That’s somewhat a problem with the structural nature of news coverage. There’s quite a lot actually going on, and quite a lot of really interesting personalities, each with their quirks, closeted (and not-so-closeted) skeletons, and dreams of power. It’s just hard to fit all......