Southern California

The phone jangles in the bright white-walled computer shop off Hillhurst Avenue, and Ariel Belkin picks it up. "Los FEE-lus Hi-Tech," he says. "This is Ariel. " After the call comes his confession. Photos: It's all in the name The 30-year-old tech whiz, who also plays guitar in a band, moved to Los Feliz from the Valley a year and a half ago. Back then, he resolved to pronounce his new neighborhood as Los Fey-LEASE. The Spanish pronunciation, he says, is the "the right way. " But pretty soon he caved to the weird stares and smug corrections from locals and switched to the more common anglicized pronunciation.

Privacy rights groups on Monday filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County's two major law enforcement agencies after they refused to turn over information collected by electronic license plate scanners, the suit claimed. The Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have made use of the plate-reading technology for several years. Typically mounted on patrol vehicles, the small cameras continuously scan license plates and check them against criminal databases in search of stolen cars and cars registered to known fugitives.

An old coach named Fred "The Fog" Shero once described the relationship between Canadians and their national pastime this way: "Hockey is where we live. … Life is just a place where we spend time between games. " It could feel like that in Southern California over the next few weeks. This is hockey's time to shine with two local teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, the Kings fighting to repeat as champions and the Ducks riding one of the better records in the league. The way things have gone for the Lakers and Clippers, and with our baseball teams struggling, the sport from up north could win some new fans.

The Better Business Bureau wants you to know that it's cleaned up its act in Los Angeles. The organization reached out to me this week to say that a new operation is up and running after the old BBB of the Southland was expelled in March after years of reports that the branch had been awarding inflated grades to businesses in exchange for cash. Carrie Hurt, head of the national Council of Better Business Bureaus, told me that a "virtual BBB" has been launched in Southern California, enabling bureau officials from across the country to address local consumer issues via the Internet.

The Southern California wildfire season got off to an ominous start Thursday with a massive brush fire in Ventura County that officials fear is just a preview of dangerous months ahead. The fire showed in dramatic fashion how the region's record dry conditions and lack of rainfall can quickly combine with fierce Santa Ana winds to produce widespread havoc. Firefighters said the dry winter and spring left the brush much more combustible than they've ever seen it at this time of year.

Terry Doebler woke up choking from the smoke. Doebler, 80, and her 82-year-old husband, Paul - retired New York transplants living in the Camarillo Springs neighborhood of Ventura County - had seen brushfires before in their 15 years there, but this was the first time a blaze forced them to evacuate. "I opened the front door and the whole mountain was on fire," Paul Doebler said. The Doeblers were among hundreds of residents in several Ventura County communities who fled their homes Thursday to escape a fast-moving brush fire that burned 8,000 acres and threatened thousands of homes.

Fearing lawmakers may fail to pass a package of medical reform bills, a coalition of consumer groups and trial lawyers is mounting a campaign to put before voters an even more ambitious slate of initiatives aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse and holding doctors more accountable for misconduct. About two dozen state and national advocacy groups - including the Consumer Attorneys of California, California Nurses Assn., the Center for Public Interest Law, and Public Citizen - have been organizing privately since December and plan to unveil the campaign at the state Capitol on Thursday.

A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported Monday morning seven miles from Calipatria, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 10:32 a.m. Pacific time. According to the USGS, the epicenter was 13 miles from Brawley, Calif., 21 miles from Imperial, Calif., 25 miles from El Centro, Calif., and 206 miles from Phoenix, Ariz. In the last 10 days, there have been four earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby. Read more about Southern California earthquakes . ALSO: 1 killed, 2 wounded in early morning L.A. shootings Teenage girl's trial to begin in slaying of her parents L.A. Votes: Record-breaking spending as voters pick next mayor

A child runs past a mural on Brooks Avenue in Venice in this image by Michael Ares. The image was taken on April 13 with a Nikon D7000. Follow Armand Emamdjomeh on  Twitter  or  Google+ . Each week, we're featuring photos of Southern California submitted by readers. Share your photos on our  Flickr page  or  reader submission gallery .  Follow us on Twitter  or visit  latimes.com/socalmoments  for more on this photo series.