Los Angeles Chat Room

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles shoppers soon won't hear the question, "Paper or plastic?" at the checkout line. The City Council voted Tuesday to ban plastic shopping bags from stores, beginning July 1, 2010. Shoppers can either bring their own bags or pay 25 cents for a paper or biodegradable bag.

Crimes motivated by hate increased 28 percent in Los Angeles County last year, even as overall crime in the county and city of Los Angeles declined, according to a report released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.

Hate crimes in Los Angeles County soared last year to their highest mark in five years even as overall crime dropped across the region, according to a report.

LOS ANGELES - Hate crimes in Los Angeles County soared last year to their highest mark in five years even as overall crime dropped across the region, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press.

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- MBIA Inc., Ambac Financial Group Inc. and four other bond insurers were sued by Los Angeles for allegedly conspiring to maintain a credit-rating system that led local governments to buy ``unnecessary'' policies on their bonds.

The city of Los Angeles sued more than 30 municipal bond insurers and Wall Street investment banks, accusing them of fraud and antitrust that it said cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Jasmine Sanders was sitting outside with friends and family when 2 teenage males approached the crowd and began firing, police say. 'She didn't deserve this.... She didn't deserve this,' mother says. Police were searching this morning for two armed teenagers in connection with the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old girl Wednesday in South Los Angeles.

Two teenage males approach the crowd she is sitting in and begin firing, apparently at a group of youths nearby, police say. An 8-year-old girl was shot and killed in South Los Angeles Wednesday as she sat on the front stoop of an apartment building, an apparent victim of stray gunfire, authorities say.

Mayor Villaraigosa seeks to protect local resources as Legislature hunts for cash. Staff Writers As the stalemate over California's long-overdue budget continues, Los Angeles officials are alarmed that some lawmakers want to borrow local government

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Los Angeles Angels came up with just enough offence to overcome one of John Lackey's worst outings of the season and a subpar outing by their bullpen.