March 31st is Cesar Chavez Day, and though this year that falls on Thursday, some local organizations and civic resources will observe the holiday today or other days this week. The holiday is nationally recognized, but its roots are in Los Angeles, thanks to the many local volunteers who worked to see the day be made into a legal state holiday and day of service. Here's what will be closed on what day this week in observance. more ›

California recognizes March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, in honor of the civil rights leader and founder of the United Farm Workers, although in Los Angeles the holiday is being observed today. more ›

Tomorrow is Cesar Chavez Day, eponymously named for the Mexican American farm worker turned labor and civil rights leader. It's an official state holiday in California and in seven other states meaning closures of government buildings and services. Today, Los Angeles city offices and libraries are closed and tomorrow, state offices, the DMV and superior courts, state universities and community colleges will close. Mail delivery, public schools, county and federal offices will all remain in operation both days as well as public transportation, banks and trash services. Unfortunately, not many people know about the holiday. Because LA City Hall is closed today, everyone is calling the 3-1-1 Call Center, which this morning was an easy 10-minute wait to reach an operator. "Everyone is calling us because it's a holiday," explained a rushed operator who had 58 calls on hold. more ›

In Los Angeles, there are some important streets named for some important people. Beaudry, Wilcox, Van Nuys, Lankershim, Wilshire, Micheltorena, and hundreds of others named for leaders, developers, owners, and others. But, in Los Angeles, there are streets that have been changed in honor of an individual. Santa Barbara Avenue in South Los Angeles was changed to honor civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1982 and Brooklyn Avenue & Macy Street were changed in 1993 to honor civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. Tom Bradley had a section of First Street named concurrently in his honor in 2001. These are the most recent street name changes of major lengths. (Yes, Chick Hearn Court was also changed from Eleventh Street, and Johnnie Cochran Vista was named just last year from Seventeenth Street; but neither are of major street length). There is one other street, though, that needs mention here: James M. Wood Boulevard. more ›

On Saturday, LAist Featured Photos contributor Victoria Bernal found this mural in Echo Park on Morton Place. Unfortunately, it's graffitied. more ›

I wouldn't normally encourage anybody to go out and gorge on a Whopper, but today, the Burger King downtown at Cesar Chavez and Grand Avenue is donating 100% of its sales to the family of SWAT officer Randal Simmons, who was killed last week in a deadly shoot-out in Winnetka. The fundraiser will be running all day today, until midnight tonight. more ›

Come celebrate at LA's annual Lunar New Year Festival! Today the Golden Dragon Parade featuring lion and dragon dancers will thrill over 100,000 spectators along North Broadway. The festival continues until 8pm tonight, and runs from 10am to 3pm tomorrow at Broadway and Cesar Chavez. more ›

The Lunar New Year has officially started, and pigs are like soooo last year. To usher in the Year of the Mouse and Rat, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles is hosting the 109th Annual Golden Dragon Parade and festival on February 9th and 10th. Performers from Beijing will lead the parade, followed by assorted city officials (Villaraigosa et al.), Mickey Mouse as grand Marshall, flower drum dances, a plethora of beauty queens, and lots of floats, costumes, and dragons. more ›

Hoping to reach out to Latino voters, Barack Obama is using Spanish-language television advertising on Telemundo and Univision here in Los Angeles. more ›

The Metro's Gold Line Expansion project is causing the First Street Bridge near Downtown to close down for about a month while construction on the light-rail line moves forward. more ›

For those of you driving over the river and through the woods to grandma's house for Thanksgiving -- this picture is going to hurt. This particular Chevron is on the corner of Cesar Chavez and Alameda in Downtown LA. And we're sure it's not the only one around town with prices like these. From today's LA Times: California motorists paid an average of $3.395 for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline, up 2.9 cents... more ›

Although some Dia de los Muertos events were held last weekend, most notably Hollywood Forever and Festival de la Gente, most events will take place on November 2nd, following the traditional date. more ›

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Mayor Tony has a busy Sunday scheduled for this weekend, but we're glad to see he's blocked off the entirety of tomorrow to pulling for the underdog Bruins as they square off against Tommy Trojan and the Song Girls. Saturday, December 2, 2006 1:00 PM - PASADENA - Mayor Villaraigosa will cheer on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins as they go up against the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans in... more ›

If you see the LA City Council around any of these intersections, may we suggest that you honk if you're horny. According to CBS2, they've got the green light to put digital cams in 22 intersections and these 22 are on their radar. more ›

UPDATE: LAObserved links, and the one-and-only Jonathan Gold responds! Olvera Street is known as the birthplace of Los Angeles. Located near the corner of Cesar Chavez and Alameda streets downtown, it’s kind of like a Latin version of the Farmer's Market on Fairfax with a lot more trinkets and a lot less fruit. LAist likes to walk Olvera every now and then for the pure kitsch factor (Lucha Libre masks abound, and are usually... more ›

Hey, have you heard? Andy Mitch Hurwitz says he's leaving the job of Show Runner for Arrested Development behind. If you haven't heard, apparently this is the only blog you read as we've seen more notices about this non-story on more blogs today than maybe anything else. AD was cancelled months ago, the 4 part series finale gave a fitting end to the show and, really, we're sorry to tell you, that no matter how much you loved it, it would appear that only bloggers were watching. more ›

The easter bunny is coming back to the Hollywood Bowl after a two-year hiatus. The Bowl's Easter Service, which happens at dawn, will include clergy from six denominations and hundreds of pariticipants; its theme is "Peace on Earth." Doors open on April 16th at 3:30am. It's free. more ›

There is something distasteful that in the week before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Los Angeles Times has decided to run a four-part series that maligns the legacy of one of California's greatest civil rights leaders, Cesar Chavez. Of course, if the foundation is bad, if there is graft and corruption, it should be exposed. There's just something about the timing. more ›

We hope you enjoyed your Cesar Chavez festivities last week, because the timing of the holiday is quite appropriate when it comes to much of the discussion on the Mayor’s race. Chavez’s empowerment of Latinos (what else is “si, se puede”?) awakened both Latino political consciousness and served notice to the mainstream that Latinos were a force to be reckoned with. He became symbolic of the Latino struggle for fairness and acceptance. more ›

LAist didn't want to let the week go by without recognizing Ceasar Chavez Day. Because Cesar Chavez isn't just another crazy, congested LA boulevard. more ›

Belmont. Fafi. Kid Robot. more ›