The days of the iconic, double-arched 6th Street bridge that stretches across the Los Angeles River are numbered. Now the city council is trying to figure out how to replace the bridge built in 1932 — and whether to shut it down before an earthquake does the job. more ›

Another SoCal region has been occupied, but its mission focuses not on corporate greed but on infrastructure. Occupy Santa Clarita is marching to the beat of its own drum, straying from the beaten path of other Southland occupations like Occupy L.A. more ›

Los Angeles has a problem with massive cracks in its sidewalks, after the cash-strapped city just let things go for way too long and federal help dried up. Now the city is considering a plan to make those monster cracks the responsibility of homeowners. more ›

Monster cracks in L.A.'s sidewalks are going unrepaired while politicians dither over whether to make homeowners responsible for their upkeep, according to KCET's SoCal Connected. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and President Barack Obama are scheduled to meet tomorrow in the nation's capital to discuss federal funding for transit projects in Los Angeles, according to the Daily News. The Mayor "has been seeking congressional support for a plan to accelerate the construction of 12 major transit projects in Los Angeles County," and this marks his third visit to DC in four weeks. Several other state and city leaders, as well as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are among those who will be attending the meeting on infrastructure spending. more ›

The Infrastructurist today points out a nice historical post on Progressive Fix, which tells us there was a time when we led the world in high speed rail. But that was before we went interstate highway-crazy: "In the period between 1935 and 1950, the 10 fastest scheduled passenger trains in the world were all U.S. streamliners… To operate the Shinkansen, or 'New Trunk Line,' between Tokyo and Osaka, Sogo actively imported technology from America... Remarkably, the U.S. government gave Japan foreign aid - money purportedly going to an underdeveloped country - to build a rail infrastructure far superior to our own." Maybe Japan, with its super fast bullet trains, can lend us a helping hand in return? more ›

On the agenda today for the City Council is consideration of a proposal that will "replace the city government's crash-prone e-mail system with a Google-based application," according to the Daily News. The impetus behind what some view as a costly or belated upgrade is the fact that the system they currently use, GroupWise, is often down and unreliable. more ›

The Mobility 21 transportation summit (.pdf) is wrapping up for the day, but earlier a list was released, featuring 21 "Critical Transportation Projects 'In My Backyard' to Improve Mobility throughout Southern California." The same-named six-county coalition included sexy public transit projects like subway to Westwood and high speed rail between San Diego and San Francisco, but also other important projects such as Positive Train Control for safety and added freeway lanes. more ›

Chicago in the 90s experienced something quite drastic one summer--thousands of dead fish were washed ashore as a result of the relatively new freshwater critters in town. Zebra and Quagga Mussels had been making there way through the Great Lakes system since the late 1980s and while the end results for a breach goer meant stunningly crystal clear water, the ecosystem was shifted. Come January 17th, 2007, the first of these mussels in California were found in Lake Havasu. more ›

KCET's SoCal Connected blogger Val Zavala shared this photo a couple of days ago, which spotlights a bizarre sight in our city. Says Zavala, of the mysterious floating telephone pole: "L.A. has some strange sights. But this one is a winner. I took this photograph in Silverlake on March 10th. My caption is attached, but I invite you all to add your own. (No, I did NOT photoshop it.)." The caption? A note to the man in Washington DC who is handing out money to help cities stay, er, afloat: "Dear Mr. President, We've got a little infrastructure problem here. Would you mind throwing a little stimulus money our way?" Anyone know what the deal with the pole is? more ›

The $819 billion stimulus package being worked on right now by congress could help California up and down the state. Projected to have $42 billion deficit later this year, the money wouldn't go to state coffers to fix the budget, but rather to counties and cities for ready-to-go infrastructure projects. For example, $4 billion could go to transportation projects alone. But the New York Times warns that California will be an indicator if this stimulus will be successful or not in other states: "There are political hazards, too. Not only is California needy, with high unemployment, the most foreclosures in the country and tax revenues so depressed that it will begin furloughing state workers, it is also politically unruly." more ›

Presidential candidate Barack Obama took a relaxing Sunday bicycle ride with his family to a friend's house and then on a beachside ride. It's sexy that he's sporting a helmet, too (even if some say it was an unflattering choice). more ›

Los Angeles is not short of ideas for the how-to-do and where-to-do public transportation. The problem is always money. Ironically enough, the very thing that needs funding is one that causes the region to lose out on $12 billion a year, says one study. LA City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel writes in CityWatch: more ›

The LA City Council today voted to postpone a vote on proposed DWP fee hikes until April 2nd. more ›

While the presidential election is the sexy supermodel on the Feb. 5 California Primary ballot, there are three important propositions asking you to say Yes or No when you walk in to that polling place or mail in your vote. more ›