MacArthur Park | Here in Van Nuys/Flickr In 2004, live-feed cameras, paid for by donations, were installed in MacArthur Park. Police said crime went down. Then the cameras started not working, maintenance was not happening. Crime is supposedly on the increase. Example: last Fall, among hundreds of people in the middle of the day, a 23-day-old infant was shot by a gunman. Did the cameras help? "The unfortunate tragedy was like a highlight. It......

Dedicated bike paths, more bike lanes, and bike rental programs, oh my! KCBS2 is reporting today that City Councilman Ed Reyes put forth a motion during the City Council meeting to make his council district more bike friendly. He has asked city officials "to create a plan that includes bike-only roadways, more bike lanes on wide streets and sidewalks, and a public bicycle prgram that would allow Angelenos to rent bikes online or at Metro......

Los Angeles has over 180 official neighborhoods. These are those communities designated with the city sealed blue sign. However, if you tried to figure out your neighborhood and its official boundary, there's a good chance you are going to come upon a) conflicting information b) no information, or c) confusing information. Trust us, we know. We've been digging into official Los Angeles city neighborhoods with our Neighborhood Project and have yet to come upon......

In 2003, the New York City Council voted to oppose the war in Iraq. Two years later, they drew a resolution for the "orderly and rapid withdrawal" of Iraq. Now, three days short of exactly two years after New York, the Los Angeles City Council, in a 12-2 vote, voted yesterday to support pulling out of Iraq.The council said it approved the resolution because it wants the federal government to end the war, which......

See the 1995 60 Minutes segment about the horrendous Red Line subway construction. Apparently, in democracy you cannot run against your boss' political allies without getting fired. That's what happened when city councilman Ed Reyes fired his office manager after she lost the 2005 election to Jose Huizar. She sued. She won. All the Wilshire Blvd. bus lane info you could want. The Zaca wildfire has been going for a month and now Governor......

On the front page of the LA Times website tonight we found the sad note that LA River swimmer Little Antonio has died: Little Antonio, a goldfish made almost famous by living over 111 days in water from the Los Angeles River, was found dead in his tank in the latimes.com newsroom at 1:58 a.m. Monday. He was believed to be about five months old. The cause of death was undetermined, according to a......

LAist Rants are strictly the opinions of the author in question. Uncanny as it is, they are written in first person! We keep them on Sundays because even the hive mind needs a rest. I always had them in my car trunk with good intentions. Though, for years, I would forget to use them and give myself the obligatory mental swift kick in the arse, each and every time at the grocery store check......

On Wednesday, Councilman Ed Reyes submitted a new proposal to get rid of grocery-bag blight. While other city leaders advocate following the lead of San Francisco and ban the free distribution of grocery bags in supermarkets, the Environmental News Network reports that Councilman Reyes wants manufacturers of plastics and officials in grocery chains to partner with him on bag cleanups and recycling programs. "San Francisco has the wherewithal to charge that much. San Francisco......

Following the recent successful community campaign to keep Wal-Mart out of Inglewood, Los Angeles continues to move ahead in the effort to mitigate the “Wal-Mart effect.” Thirteen of the fifteen members of the Los Angeles City Council support a proposed law that calls for certain superstores to perform additional fiscal and social due diligence. If it passes on Tuesday, the ordinance will require an economic study that “would forecast whether a proposed store would......

The City Council seems set to do everything in its power to keep the city of L.A. a Wal-Mart-free zone. Two council committees approved a new ordinance that will require big box retailers to pay for an economic analysis for any potential new store. Councilmember Ed Reyes expects Wal-Mart to sue the city in response to the legislation. [LAT] Juan Catalan, the man who was exonerated by Larry David's stock footage, is suing the city......

These things come in threes... - The New York Daily News gossip page lets us know that The Sopranos' final season will not air in 2005. - Carb-stigma victim International House of Pancakes to close more locations. - Mayor Hahn sides with land developers against Ed Reyes' bid for "inclusionary zoning" and cheap housing. We discussed this plan in June.......