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February 13, 2008
Extra, Extra: With Love From Howard Hughes
Photo by el daverino via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
- A Musical Valentine to Santa Monica: Sia just announced a last-minute show (definitely her last before Coachella!) for tomorrow, February 14th at 2PM in Santa Monica at the Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse on Third St. Promenade, first come first serve. She kicks off her North American tour the following day, Friday, in San Diego.
- The 15-year-old boy shot on Tuesday at a junior high school in Oxnard has died. The 14-year-old eighth grader accused of shooting him may now face murder charges.
- James Veenstra, the 51-year-old SWAT officer who was injured in last week's raid on a home in Winnetka, has been released from the hospital. Meanwhile, today a local Burger King raised money in honor of his slain co-worker, SWAT Officer Randal Simmons.
- The wait for your daily dose of your Starbucks drug of choice could be longer than usual on February 26th. That's the day the chain will close almost all its stores for several hours to retrain their baristas on the fine art of
overcharging you formaking coffee. Maybe they'll include a seminar on including the sprinkles on their Peppermint Mochas at Christmastime. - Councilman Tom LaBonge held a press conference with other civic leaders and local homeowners this afternoon to reveal plans to combat today's announcement that 138 acres of land near the iconic Hollywood Sign is for sale for $22 million. Says LaBonge (via press release): "I'm going to use all of my options to fight this and I'm going to ask the public's help and support."
- While the folks behind the Hollywood Sign-adjacent land sale envision five luxury homes atop the hills, a more dismal picture is the overall So Cal housing market. Home sales fell 45 percent from last year in January--a 20-year low.
- Here in LA there seems to be a Trader Joe's within spitting distance of wherever you might live, but not so in Palm Springs. A petition drive is on to collect 5,000 signatures to get the company to move into their 'hood. Hope the Palm Spring-ers aren't hoping to buy foods sourced from China!
- Feeling thirsty on this progressively chilly night? Check out LAist contributer Caroline on Crack on Metromix today with her roundup of the city's coolest winter cocktails.
LAist Editor Zach Behrens contributed to this post
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Unless you happen to live in Downtown LA, which I do.
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For me, I have two Whole Foods in Sherman Oaks. I choose Whole Foods East.
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Ah! eecue, you beat me to the punch! I was JUST about to say it: "unless you happen to live in Downtown LA", which I also do.
Despite the long and sordid battle with getting a Trader Joe's downtown and despite all those who are now again TJ's for not having faith in downtown sooner, I'd take a TJ's downtown in a heartbeat.
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Again=against
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Start collecting signatures, Downtowners! Looks like that's the way to go. It worked in Long Beach, so I hear. It's hard to imagine not having a TJs near by. But since it seems like having an asstastic parking lot is a prerequisite for a TJs maybe that's what's keeping Downtown from getting one!
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Speaking of parking, in a conversation yesterday with the planning department, it was said that the downtown Ralphs is overparked, meaning there are too many parking spaces, read, they are not being used.
The city must restrict the rules for this dense area and allow business not to provide parking spaces, or many at all. What TJs needs is retail space and not to worry about parking. Yay!
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Zach - VERY true for the downtown Ralph's. While it's nice to go there and not have any parking problems, there is so much foot traffic (a good thing!) that the spaces go unusued and I hate to think of all the other good stuff that we desperately need downtown that could go there instead.
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Are we talking about the underground parking? I wouldn't say there are "too many" parking spaces, but the outer ring of spaces (facing the walls) are usually always empty when I go and it's a mish-mash of spaces taken in the central area.
But the spaces are underground, I'm not sure what could be done for putting something else there? Or am I totally off and there is an above-ground lot I don't know about?
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Aldo - No, you're right. There's no above-ground parking lot for the new Ralph's. And I didn't mean, hey let's put a nice restaurant here in the garage. I was only saying that in a downtown that still lacks a lot of services and needs space, its a shame that there is so much under-utilized space in that garage.
But now you've got me thinking -- what COULD go down there?
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You know what's totally jacked... if you do a google search for trade joe's in Downtown LA, you see one right down the street in Vernon... but that's because they have a processing plant there.