Up, up and away in a beautiful zeppelin

A Bay Area company is ferrying passengers in a 246-foot airship called the Eureka. In January, the ship will begin a two-week visit to the Southland.

L.A. council says pot shops could accept cash

Members also signal that they may cap dispensaries to between 70 and 200. The council plows through 50 proposed changes to its medical marijuana ordinance.

State proposes trading program to cut emissions

Companies could buy and sell allowances under plan to reduce pollutants 15%.

L.A. County supervisors urge U.S. firefighting reforms

The board wants the Forest Service to fly water-dropping helicopters at night and to use more local crews on fires in the Angeles National Forest.

Growing multitudes need a helping hand

Demand has never been higher at Loaves & Fishes, a Van Nuys food bank that helps about 3,000 families a year.

At hospitals, gastric distress is a part of the holiday tradition

As millions sit down to Thanksgiving dinners, emergency room staffs are getting ready for a busy day. 'It never fails,' one doctor says.

Mexico tightens security at U.S. border crossings

The new infrastructure -- including gates, cameras and vehicle scales -- aims to hamper the smuggling of drug money and weapons to Mexican cartels. Businesses are protesting the increased wait times.

Arrests of illegal immigrants along border drop 25%

Bolstered enforcement efforts along the Mexico-U.S. border and the weak economy are cited. The trend is also apparent across the Southwest.

Judge rejects bid to overturn campaign finance limits

Working Californians, headed by union officials, said a $500 cap on political contributions violated its 1st Amendment rights to support Christine Essel in council race.

L.A. County's fire chief to retire after nearly 21 years

P. Michael Freeman, 64, announces that he will step down in March. He previously worked for 24 years at the Dallas Fire Department.

What's in a name tag? Ask Judge Ito

The judge, who rose to national fame presiding over the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has repeatedly arrived at his courtroom to find his placard stolen. He's given up trying to replace it.

Fear sets up camp on a stretch of the L.A. River

For residents along a grimy stretch of the waterway, the shooting of five people a year ago made a perilous place feel even more so.

Conservation is seen as key to dealing with state's water woes

Rebates and low-flow fixtures are helping. Now comes the tough part: individual sacrifice.

Ridley-Thomas won't release any communications involving associate

E-mails, memos and letters involving Expo Line, Cynthia McClain-Hill and contractors that employed her were sought.

More attacks on redheads reported at Calabasas school

Three students reported being beaten up by about a dozen students at A.E. Wright Middle School. Authorities believe the attacks are linked to a Facebook group based on a 2005 episode of 'South Park.'

From east to west, steel rails pull L.A. together

Building a web of rail lines will make the Eastside and Westside more accessible and our vast metropolis smaller.

Rehab ranch's operator is jailed over living conditions

Dan De Vaul has repeatedly ignored the county's efforts to bring his facility up to code, judge says in ordering a 90-day sentence. Sunny Acres houses up to 70 homeless addicts near San Luis Obispo.

Beck shakes up LAPD's command staff

Deputy Chief Michel Moore is named an assistant chief and will assume command of Special Services, according to the department. And Assistant Chief Sharon Papa will become a commander.

Schwarzenegger taps Abel Maldonado for lieutenant governor

The Republican has crossed the aisle on some key votes and also aspires to being elected to the job next year, making his confirmation by the full Legislature less than certain.

Griffith Park visitors warned against feeding wildlife

The move was prompted by coyote attacks on two people in September. Feeding coyotes in the park is illegal and carries a fine of up to $1,000 and jail time.

Los Angeles-area leaders urged to better coordinate anti-hunger programs

With an estimated 1 million residents struggling to put food on the table, a coalition creates a blueprint to address the problem. But one group said better utilization of a federal program is key.

Chinese Americans find community on their radio dial

Pasadena-based KAZN-AM was the nation's first 24-hour Chinese language radio station and remains the dominant voice in the Chinese community in L.A.

Some L.A. Unified workers agree to furloughs

Two SEIU units representing 20,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other employees overwhelmingly approve the move to help close the district's large budget gap.

Officer who helped capture Garrido tells teens to trust their instincts

On a visit to Santa Margarita Catholic High School, UC Berkeley police Officer Ally Jacobs says she learned as a youngster to listen to the inner voice telling her to do the right thing.

White supremacist gets death penalty for murder of fellow gang member

Billy Joe Johnson, 46, was convicted last month of assisting two other men in the March 2002 murder of Scott Miller, a founding member of the gang who had divulged gang secrets on a TV broadcast.

Committee finds mayor's gang office should be made independent

Taking Los Angeles' $20-million gang intervention and prevention programs out of the mayor's auspices would allow for more transparency and City Council oversight, ad hoc panel reports.

Comedy shows to benefit homeless programs

The Laugh Factory's owner arranged two fundraisers after meeting Bessie Mae Berger, a 97-year-old woman who was living in an SUV with her two sons. The family is now in temporary housing.

UCLA's Dragovic allegedly pushed man into glass case in fight, D.A. says

The man suffered a cut Achilles tendon when the case shattered, prosecutors say. The incident took place last month at the Henry Fonda Theater.

L.A. City Council is poised to debate how many pot dispensaries to allow

The number of shops selling marijuana has exploded from 186 two years ago. Officials hope to impose some order by capping the number of outlets or by requiring a certain distance between stores.

California budget's going to be dreadful

Until long-term structural issues are fixed, there is no way legislators can produce an honest spending plan so the state lives within its means.

Success of new Martin Luther King Jr. hospital could hinge on board's makeup

Seven yet-to-be-named appointees would decide how to run the hospital and whom to hire.

Ex-pension chief rented from company seeking funds

CIM Group secured millions in investments from L.A.'s City Employees' Retirement System. Robert Aguallo's lawyer denies wrongdoing.

Catholic teachers find themselves intensely immersed in Jewish history

The Bearing Witness series of seminars created by the Anti-Defamation League is designed to teach educators about anti-Semitism and the history of the relationship between Jews and the church.

Center helps Asian Americans combat mental illness

Among challenges: The subject is nearly taboo in many Asian countries, and research in this country tends to lump the diverse group into one ethnic category.

3 killed as SUV slams into big rig on 210 Freeway

A 14-year-old boy, a man, 41, and a woman, 40, die in the crash in Sunland. A girl, 9, and a boy, 11, safely get out of the burning vehicle, possibly with the help of passersby.

San Pedro residents protest cellphone tower across from school

Residents and parents of Taper Avenue Elementary students fearful of harmful radiation hope to pressure T-Mobile into moving an antenna under construction farther away from the campus.

A teen party, a mysterious death -- and a town's unanswered grief

Joe Loudon attended a gathering in Orinda, drank some beer and later died. Miscues in the investigation led to finger-pointing, igniting a debate over whether his death was an accident or a crime.

After spending billions, state remains hampered by outmoded, unreliable computer systems

An embarrassing legacy of cost overruns, botched upgrades and failed networking projects has left California to rely on decades-old technology and jury-rigged software systems.

The emergency room bill is enough to make you sick

A doctor is flummoxed by the costs when he becomes the patient.

Poor California: No money and no leadership

Only one person who wants to be governor is talking about the budget, and few are listening.

Little Tokyo wary of proposed light-rail connector line

The community fears that construction, noise and hundreds of daily trains could ruin businesses and property values. But Metro has offered up an underground plan that seems to be easing concerns.

No shortage of smiles at school picture day

Students at Capistrano Avenue Elementary in West Hills pose and goof off. Demand for the photos is staying strong, despite the recession and the ease of at-home photography.

Some on Metrolink board question leadership of David Solow

After the Chatsworth crash and a recent bid to raise fares yet again, at least one member thinks the executive may not be best suited to run the agency. Solow's 'on overload,' another official says.

Guerrilla art in the Southland: Remember Pink Lady?

Artists with something to say put their mark on L.A. -- welcome or not. Among the creations: a giant stamp, a 'sea monster' and the naked 60-foot woman above Malibu Canyon Road.

Attack on Calabasas boy probed for tie to Facebook group

L.A. County sheriff's detectives are investigating Friday's beating of a 12-year-old as possibly being tied to a message targeting redheads.

In Echo Park, turkey giveaway ensures happy Thanksgivings

15th annual event at the Dream Center in Echo Park sees to it that thousands of Angelenos in need get a bird and a bag of groceries for the upcoming holiday.

An anomaly in judging at Carson science fair

Professors and researchers had to wow tough critics -- fourth-graders from Foster and Carver elementary schools in Compton.

Station fire probe yields little evidence, no suspects

The chief investigator in the fatal blaze says there is not enough evidence to arrest anyone. 'Basically we have nothing at this point,' he says. 'We have run down all our leads.'

New York man arrested in 1982 Koreatown killing

LAPD cold-case detectives use DNA evidence to tie the suspect to the stabbing of a 63-year-old woman, who also was sexually assaulted.

Radiation overdoses found at second hospital

Glendale Adventist says 10 patients received excess doses during CT scans.

An underground renaissance in Inglewood

A gallery tour shows a thriving art community hidden in a gritty, industrial area.

Saving Century Plaza Hotel takes a whole village

Neighborhood groups, preservationists and a councilman galvanize to negotiate a rescue plan with the hotel's owners, who want to build a retail-condo complex on the site.

Mexican teen admits killing U.S. Border Patrol agent

The 17-year-old pleads guilty to fatally shooting Agent Robert W. Rosas Jr., who was lured out of his vehicle in July while patrolling a remote area east of San Diego.

41 arrested in UC Berkeley protest

Fee hike and budget cuts trigger the occupation of Wheeler Hall.