Results tagged “crowds”

With the eyes of the world on downtown Los Angeles today, the LAPD took an abundance of caution, more than doubling the amount of officers to work announced yesterday. "Past events including the 1984 Olympics 'pale in comparison to what we have assembled today,'" reported the LA Times, quoting LAPD Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger. The department has two main concerns for today: the "cold zone"--the space immediately outside the security area where large numbers are expected to gather--and the airspace, where the FAA granted a the city a temporary flight ban below 2500 feet.

It's a weekend packed with festivals and sporting events that are sure to take a toll on traffic. The LA Times reminds us that things could get pretty snarled up on the roads around town: "USC plays Oregon at the Coliseum at 5 p.m.; the Cubs are at the Dodgers at 7 p.m.; Washington State plays UCLA at the Rose Bowl at 7:15 p.m.; and singer Neil Diamond performs at Staples Center at 8 p.m."

I know a lot of people who have the very best intentions of getting their holiday shopping done e-a-r-l-y every year who wind up failing miserably at making good on their noble plans. Some, like an estimated 40% of Americans, in fact, get wise to the internets and do their shopping online--but even that takes some advance planning. Earlier this week, if you'd forgotten to shop, or had that typical "oh, Christmas isn't for days and days! I've got plenty of time!" thought pass through your mind, you could have still gotten it in under the wire on the web. But with shipping times, and the clock ticking, I feel I must make mention of a scary fact: Christmas is in four days!