(From the latimes.com) Intense heat seared much of Southern California for a fourth straight day Thursday as subtropical moisture triggered thunderstorms that caused torrents of water to push mud and softball-sized rocks across roadways and block one the state’s main north-south arteries. (more…)

(From the AP) As a triple-digit heat wave in Southern California broke records Tuesday, residents gave thanks to the area’s cooling centers and the advent of air conditioning. “I wouldn’t live here if I didn’t” have air conditioning, said 91-year-old Esther DeDecker, who has lived in Blythe near the California-Arizona state line since 1940. She said she thought of moving over the years, but her family’s work was there so she stayed in the city, which is about 270 miles east of Los Angeles. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) A heat wave gripping Southern California will produce near-record triple-digit temperatures in inland areas Tuesday and Wednesday, while large waves and dangerous rip currents are expected at beaches from Ventura to San Diego, forecasters said. The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for beaches in Ventura and Los Angeles counties from Tuesday evening through Wednesday evening. (more…)

(From the nytimes.com) The intersection of Interstate 405 and Sunset Boulevard, cutting through a prosperous stretch of rolling Los Angeles hills and estates, is notorious for its knots of traffic and frustrating delays. Traffic is so bad that it is hard to figure out how it could get any worse. Well, a $1.3 billion highway reconstruction project that began with a blizzard of alarming detour signs the other day is about to make it much worse. And that has put a large part of this city on edge. (more…)

(From the sfgate.com) Southern California may finally have a summer after all. After months of temperatures way below normal, the National Weather Service said Friday that inland areas will heat up from Sunday through the middle of next week, reaching triple-digit temperatures in parts of the mountains, deserts and interior valleys. (more…)

(From the AP) Parents have been warned to keep an eye on their children and take extra safety precautions after a 17-year-old Southern California girl was apparently abducted about a block from her school and killed. An autopsy confirmed the identity of Norma Lopez Wednesday, six days after she disappeared and a day after her decomposed body, shirtless and clad in jeans, was found face-down in a grove of trees in the agricultural area on the eastern edge of Moreno Valley. (more…)

(From the sacbee.com) As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issues warnings for Californians to beware of sizzling heat, Cal-OSHA is already investigating five worker deaths since June as possibly related to heat exposure. Two deaths occurred Wednesday – the same day that state legislators held a Capitol hearing on whether the state’s regulations are good enough to protect workers from injury and death. (more…)

(From the AP) Temperatures surged around the state Saturday as Southern California continued its rare high-humidity heat wave and state officials investigated a rash of recent farm worker deaths believed tied to the weather. With a sultry, unstable airmass refusing to budge, forecasters predicted close to record temperatures and no break from the heat until Monday. Sunday is expected to be slightly cooler. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) Temperatures climbed well above 100 Thursday in inland areas across Southern California. In Los Angeles County, temperatures reached 106 in Chatsworth, 110 in Acton and 107 in Palmdale, according to the National Weather Service. Ojai in Ventura County also reached 107 degrees. Hemet in Riverside County hit 111 degrees and Lake Elsinore reached 110, the weather service said. The hot weather, coupled with high humidity, is expected to continue through the weekend, the weather service said.

(From the latimes.com) Spurred by a recovery in the economy and the state’s fledgling film tax credit program, filming on the streets of Los Angeles surged 16% in the second quarter of the year. FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles permits for the city and much of L.A. County, released a report Tuesday that shows across-the-board gains for on-location filming of movies, commercials and TV shows in the three months ending June 30. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) The moderate 5.4 magnitude earthquake that rolled through Southern California on Wednesday was probably triggered by the Mexicali temblor that hit Easter Sunday, seismologists said. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) They were probably too small for anyone to feel, but two tiny earthquakes struck the Griffith Park area on Sunday morning. The 1.7- and 1.6-magnitude earthquakes occurred after 8:30 a.m. on the Valley side of Griffith Park, not far from Travel Town. (more…)

(From the AP) A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer who was critically injured in an accident on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles two weeks ago has died. The CHP says Officer Phillip Ortiz died at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) The Los Angeles county coroner’s office said Tuesday night that a 13-year-old Pomona boy died of a staph infection, not a spider bite. (more…)

(From the AP) Authorities are awaiting an autopsy report to determine if a spider bite contributed to the death of a 13-year-old Pomona boy. Pomona police say paramedics were called to the boy’s home Sunday afternoon for a possible knee injury. (more…)

(From the AP) Big-screen televison retailer Ken Crane’s is going out of business. The company announced Friday that it will be closing all six Los Angeles-area stores in the next two months. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) Despite a massive Los Angeles police presence Thursday night, sporadic violence broke out near Staples Center after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Crowds hurled bottles and other objects at police, smashed marquees, jumped on vehicles, broke windows, and set rubbish dumpsters and vehicles on fire along Figueroa Street north of Staples Center and on Flower Street. (more…)

(From the latimes.com) The Southland’s housing market surged in May with the median home price soaring 22.5% from its year-earlier level as tax incentives for buyers and rock-bottom interest rates ignited sales, a real estate research firm reported Tuesday. The median hit $305,000, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego, putting the closely watched figure above $300,000 for the first time since October 2008, when valuations were declining rapidly amid the fallout from the subprime mortgage debacle, credit crunch and financial crisis. (more…)