An Update From Patch

This evening and part of Saturday, Patch will be undergoing site maintenance that will increase the speed at which pages load and allow us to make future improvements to the site more rapidly. This is a first step toward reintroducing popular Patch features such as local calendars and discussion areas.

You can still read Patch while the maintenance is underway, but Patch editors won’t be able to post new stories until Saturday evening.

We will be posting vital breaking news in the meantime on the our Facebook page. (To stay in the loop there, be sure to like the page so the latest updates show up in your news feed.)

Thanks for supporting Patch, and thanks for your patience. We’ll let you know when the site is updated. In the meantime, we’ve pulled together some of the top stories from the past few weeks.

PATCH HEADLINES

• Killer Laughs, Head Bops as Loved Ones of Victims Recount Murders in Court
• Wild Weather Brings Water Spout Danger Off Pacific Palisades Coast
• Uber Driver Escapes from Car Dangling Over Side of Parking Structure
• Lohan Has Three Weeks to Complete 116 Community Service Hours or Else
• Chief Beck: ‘Very Concerned’ About Shooting of Unarmed Homeless Man in Venice
• Man Pleads Not Guilty to Breaking into Sandra Bullock’s House as She Hid in Closet
• Police Snatch Piper ‘The Wonder Cat’ from the Jaws of Coyote
• Teacher Charged with Molesting Boy He Met as a Court Appointed Advocate for Children
• Police Seek Person Who Dumped Chlorine in Rescue Tank for 17 Sea Lions
• Santa Monica Police ‘Overly Aggressive’ in Pepper-Spraying Father of 4 for Park Curfew Violation, Attorney Says
• Video: Wedding Singer’s Rapping Grandma Dies at 101
• Did State’s Largest Bank Bilk You?