An annual UCLA survey that measures the quality of life satisfaction found that San Fernando Valley residents have the lowest satisfaction in the last nine years, and satisfaction is the lowest ever for residents across Los Angeles County. Countywide, residents are concerned about the high cost of living and housing, according to the survey released on April 17. The survey polled 1,686 Los Angeles County residents in February and March on 40 different aspects of life, including cost of living, education, environment and public safety. The poll is part of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA ..read more

Yes, the sun is finally out, so let’s go and enjoy it! Here’s our list of fun things to do in May that are really free! (And really fun.) FREE ON CERTAIN DATES The Queen Mary’s historic Observation Bar, featuring its Art Deco lounge, reopened to the public on Friday, May 19, 2023, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer) The Queen Mary, Long Beach (Tuesdays): Enjoy free ship admission on Tuesdays in May during the “Meet me at the Mary” special events. Happy hour only, from 4 to 8 p.m. (Parking is $10). Head to the beautiful Art Deco Observation Bar for live mus ..read more

  Sweet 4-month-old Dahlia (A514205) is looking for a new home. She’s one of many puppies available for adoption at Pasadena Humane. The shelter also offers training classes for puppies of all ages. Our classes are held in a state-of-the-art training facility where we follow strict sanitizing protocols to help keep puppies healthy and safe. Learn more at pasadenahumane.org (Photo courtesy of Pasadena Humane)   For many years, puppies were a rare sight in our kennels. When the occasional litter came into the shelter, the cutie pies were adopted within minutes. These days, it seems lik ..read more

Liz Truss, the 56th and shortest-serving prime minister in British history, stopped by Pepperdine University Wednesday to talk about her book on the future of American conservatism and the dangers of “destructive ideologies.” Focusing on her book “Ten Years to Save the West,” Truss and Jim Gash, president of the Christian university, discussed her evolution as a politician, her rise to the prime ministership and quick downfall. Truss, 48, joked about her tenure at No. 10 Downing Street: “In historical terms, it’s unmatched,” and blamed a massive and powerful “administrative state” for the fail ..read more

Elliott Tramel Nowden, 45, seen above in a booking photo provided by the Los Angeles Police Department, was charged Wednesday, April 24, 2024, with murder in the stabbing death of a woman who boarded the Metro B (Red) Line train in North Hollywood on Monday, April 22. He has a prior conviction for attacking someone on a Metro train, according to court records. (Photo courtesy of the LAPD) A man suspected of fatally stabbing a woman on a Metro B (Red) Line train in the Studio City area — and who has a prior conviction for attacking someone on a Metro train — was charged Wednesday with murder. E ..read more

VAN NUYS — A former athletic trainer who worked at two high schools in the San Fernando Valley pleaded no contest Monday to felony charges stemming from the sexual assaults of 12 teenage girls. Richard Alexander Turner, now 65, was immediately sentenced to 36 years in state prison and ordered to register as a sex offender for life following his plea to one count of rape, three counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraud, four counts of sexual penetration with force and five counts of sexual battery by fraud, according to Deputy District Attorney Cindy Wallace. The plea came ..read more

Sprouts Farmers Market has agreed to pay $265,000 to settle sexual harassment and retaliation allegations from employees in the San Fernando Valley, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced this week. The EEOC said Thursday, April 18, it found “reasonable cause” to believe that Sprouts employees faced retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment in violation of Title VII, which protects workers and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The EEOC declined to release information on the specific allegations s ..read more

Massive work begins on the $92 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing stretching across the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills this week. All lanes of the southbound 101 Freeway from Cheseboro Road to Liberty Canyon Road were being closed Monday through Friday this week from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. and closures will continue for weeks. Workers prepare for a night of construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills on Monday night, April 16, 2024. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Contributing Photographer) Heavy canes start putting in the multi ..read more

Authorities said Wednesday that the crash on the northbound 101 Freeway in Studio City that killed a Los Angeles Fire Department recruit was not believed to have been a criminal hit-and-run. The crash that occurred about 5:10 a.m. Monday near Vineland Avenue in Studio City took the life of 22-year-old Jacob Fuerte, who was driving a Jeep that collided with another vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol and the LAFD. CHP officials said Fuerte, a Riverside resident, collided with a 2021 Ford driven by a 36-year-old Montclair man who was not injured. “Initial investigation suggests a ..read more

Local elected officials and advocacy groups are buoyed by signals that President Joe Biden will sign a declaration expanding the 346,177-acre San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by one-third within the next few weeks. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, who have bills stalled in Congress that expand the monument by adding 109,167 acres of federal forest land, while designating 30,000 acres of protected wilderness and adding 45.5 miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, reacted positively to a Washington Post report published on Thursday, April 11. But nei ..read more