Since billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad has funded Los Angeles institutions such as LACMA's BCAM and UCLA's Stem Cell Institute, Curbed LA asked its readers what he should spend his money on next if it were to be a civic project. The "Subway to the Sea" won with overwhelming results....

In this city, crime is up and morale is down. It's clear at this point that what Los Angeles needs is Batman. I've been wondering who L.A. Batman would be if there was one. It would have to be someone with more than loves of style, culture and justice; he or she would also need awesome physical strength and the audacity to wear the rubber suit. I briefly considered some of the city's political figures......

Eli Broad and Antonio Villaraigosa at the Grand Avenue announcement Almost two years ago, Frank Gehry, Eli Broad and the big developer folks from Related Companies announced the Grand Avenue Project. A blocklong development of housing, a hotel, retail & greenspace -- all designed by Gehry -- would complement Disney Hall. Getting the development together was tremendously complicated, and it probably wouldn't have happened without Broad's power and support. Since the exciting, fancy unveiling......

Los Angeles philanthropist, Eli Broad (rhymes with road), has decided not to give his massively large and impressive private collection of art to museums, rather, keeping the collection in house under control of a private foundation according to the New York Times. One of the assumed recipients of the art was LACMA, where the new $56 million Broad Contemporary Art Museum is scheduled to open next month. However, even with Broad's name on the......

Picasso. Giacometti. Kandinsky. Klee. Brancusi. So begins a list of 20th century artists whose works are part of the largest single donation to LACMA in over 40 years. Private LA art collectors Henri Lazarof, a composer, and his wife Janice, a daughter of the late S. Mark Taper, gave 130 paintings, sculptures, and other modernist works to LACMA this week. The gift is valued at an estimated $100 million plus according to the LA Times.......

In today's LAFD updates, a structure fire at Fuller and a passenger car is trapped underneath an 18-wheeler. Will fewer fast-food restaurants mean healthier citizens? The City Council will be asked to consider a moratorium on new chain restaurants in South Los Angeles. Oscar-winning actress (and first wife to Ronald Reagan) Jane Wyman died today at the age of 93 at her home in Rancho Mirage. Students at forty LAUSD schools will be competing......

With one-third of the worst freeway junctions in this land o' freedom according to Forbes Magazine, somehow, this city still runs. It must be due to the fact that Los Angeles is economically successful: that is, if we go by the theory of economist Anthony Downs who said in the Washington Post that more economic activity equals more cars and more driving. He continues to say that "congestion will remain a fact of life......

LA Times Buyer Reveals Pre-Deal Negotiating Drama The Chicago billionaire about to take over the company that owns the Los Angeles Times said in remarks published Wednesday that L.A. billionaire Eli Broad sought him out as a partner last month, then tried "to stick a knife in my back." Trial of Suspected Los Angeles Serial Killer to Begin Tuesday A former pizza delivery man accused of being one of the city's most prolific serial killers......

The latest episode of Who Wants an NFL Franchise entered a new stage yesterday: The Meetings of the Rich Dudes. The most interesting items so far, it seems, are the descriptions that the LA Daily News made about the two sides -- the OC & LA -- as they vie to get the new NFL team to play in their little corner of paradise. First the Daily News described who the Mayor of LA......

Eli Broad (with glasses) and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stand in front of one of the models of the new Grand Avenue at today's press conference. We admit, we are entranced by shiny, pretty things, and in this case that goes for things encased in translucent glass, too. We're talking about debut of the design of Grand Avenue, phase 1, by a team of architects led by superstar Frank Gehry. The design includes two towers, a......

The Los Angeles Times has a series of articles this week on LA surviving ten years without NFL football. Today's edition in the series, is about former 49ers and Browns executive Carmen Policy, and how he might be the savior LA has been looking for to bring us back a team. Come on! Enough already! How many more saviors can we take? Add Carmen Policy to a list that includes Jerry Jones, John Elway,......

So now we are being told that Larry Ellison is coming to save the day and finally bring a football team to LA. But before we jump on the Oracle founder's bandwagon, let's take a big step back and look at the big picture. In order for Ellison to be involved with the NFL, he needs a team. While the NFL has said a 33rd expansion team is possible, we know it's not desirable.......

Yesterday's LA Times explores the intricate relationship between LACMA’s biggest benefactor, billionaire Eli Broad, and the plans to revamp the most visible art establishment in Los Angeles. Broad selected the architect (he chose Renzo Piano's plan after Rem Koolhaas’s tear-it-down-and-rebuild-it approach was scrapped) and organized a new board to manage acquisition monies and supervise construction. This decision-making power was granted in exchange for his pledge of $10 million to support LACMA’s collection and $50......

Large-scale development in Downtown took a new turn yesterday when the Grand Avenue Committee announced the developer selected to undertake the massive project on oft-contested Bunker Hill. The Committee chose New York-based Related Cos. to develop the four parcels, for which design proposals are still pending. Local patron of the arts and real estate magnate Eli Broad and representatives from the City and County of Los Angeles are directing the effort. The parcels are owned......