For holiday shoppers searching for bargains and buys in Downtown Los Angeles, the LAPD wants you to know they've got your back. They've just announced stepped-up enforcement for the holiday shopping season, which means more cops on foot beats watching for thieves of all kinds. The officers will be watching for the kinds of crimes that happen when a shopper isn't aware of their surroundings, like purse snatching and pickpocketing. more ›

How people get around in cars and on foot in Downtown Santa Monica during the holidays is going to change, and hopefully for the better. Just ahead of Thanksgiving, the City of Santa Monica will begin testing out some new strategies to help improve the vehicle and pedestrian flows through the area. more ›

A controversial segment of the Expo Line today was put to rest when a state commission officially approved an at-grade crossing near Dorsey High School. Fierce opposition led to much discussion over the years about the street level crossing at Farmdale Avenue, which would have put trains running through the area at speeds that could have been dangerous for students. more ›

Speaking to poor planning and development, an opinion piece from last week in the St. Petersburg Times talks of bloggers moving from idea maker to action taker. "Many of us are angry about the impoverished environment we've inherited... Because of this brutal lack of place and community in our real world, those who Richard Florida calls 'the creative class' have been agitating for positive change by using the Internet to exchange ideas... it's just a question of time before some of these folks enter the local political scene." more ›