That prized garage space or curbside spot you’ve been yearning for may be costing you—and the city—in ways you never realized. A journey into the world of parking, where meter maids are under siege, everybody’s on the take, and the tickets keep on coming.

Why do people love Trader Joe’s so much? To understand the quirky chain’s success, you have to look to its founder, Joe Coulombe—and then to a former German mogul named Theo Albrecht. Grab some edamame and pull up a chair.

Bodhi Tree, the bookstore that enlightened New Age L.A., readies for its final exit.

The current is deadly, the crowds are clueless, and the surf’s always up. On a coastline patrolled by some of the nation’s finest lifeguards, the team at Zuma may be the most storied.

Good deals. Bad behavior. Bygone lives. In the odd realm of estate sales Cynthia Abernethy is the queen.

One writer treks from the bacchanalia of Palm Springs to the eye-catching jumble of Joshua Tree to the fetching desolation of Death Valley.

Every autumn the Santa Anas come howling in from the desert. Impossible to predict, they have eluded definition by the scientists who study them. No wonder the winds put us on edge.

Is Santee Alley L.A.’s most fashion-forward shopping strip?

The rough-and-tumble world of giving and grabbing on Craigslist.

Los Angeles sees more wildfires than any other city in the United States. Last May, when Griffith Park went up in flames and parts of Los Feliz were evacuated, a long-forgotten threat to the city came home.