Workers to fill 20,000 potholes across L.A.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday urged Angelenos to report potholes in their neighborhoods in preparation for a two-day blitz next month, when crews will be dispatched with orders to fix 20,000 of them.

"Starting today, I want to encourage Angelenos to call 311 and report pothole locations in your neighborhoods," Villaraigosa said, arguing that "the condition of our street network affects the quality of life for every Angeleno."

The mayor told residents that "with your help, we will undoubtedly be able to exceed our goal for the upcoming Operation Pothole weekend."

The Department of Public Works will use the information phoned in to fill an unprecedented 20,000 potholes the weekend of June 4 and 5 - an operation that will involve 75 crews, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

The city of Los Angeles says it fills an average of 250,000 potholes annually.

"Pothole repair is one critical component of our overall street maintenance and resurfacing program," said Public Works Commissioner Andrea Alarcon. "Under the Mayor's proposed budget, in the next fiscal year we would be able to fill over 300,000 potholes to ensure safer streets for City residents"

Coroner: Playboy playmate found dead in home died of heart disease

Yvette Vickers, a onetime Playboy playmate and actress whose badly decomposed body was found inside a Benedict Canyon home, died from heart disease, coroner's officials said Saturday.

The body of the 82-year-old Vickers' was found two weeks ago in an upstairs bedroom in her home in the 10000 block of Westwanda Drive, according to Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter.

The body was so badly decomposed it could not be immediately determined if it was that of a man or a woman, he said.

Coroner's officials said Saturday that Vickers has been determined to have died a natural death caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The neighbor who found the body said she went to check the home because she saw old letters and cobwebs in Vickers' mailbox.

"The letters seemed untouched and were starting to yellow," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I just had a bad feeling."

In addition to posing for Playboy, Vickers appeared in B-movies such as "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches."