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.
City Considers Replacing the Crumbling 6th Street Bridge
L.A. River Makes Obama's America's Great Outdoors Agenda
Well done, City Councilman Ed Reyes. It appears as though your recent chitchat with President Barack Obama paid off. The L.A. River has been named one of 100 projects identified in The 50-State Report. Released today, the federal report serves as part of Obama's America's Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative to establish a conservation and recreation agenda for the 21st century - a promise to future generations.
Excuse Us, Mr. President: Can You Please Save the L.A. River?
City Councilman Ed Reyes and other members of the National League of Cities' Advisory Council are slated to meet with President Barack Obama today in Washington, D.C. to talk L.A. River. Reyes and company are on a mission to gain Obama's support in projects related to the river that will create jobs plus improve community health and the environment.
Paddle the L.A. River: Canoe & Kayak Trips Start August 13th
Okay, so they are about a month behind their original estimate, but now we have a date and some contact info to share with you: Canoe and kayak trips on the Los Angeles River will run weekends from August 13th to September 25th, and reservations will be open soon.
A Park a Day: The Los Angeles River Greenway, Elysian Valley
July is National Parks & Recreation Month, and all month long LAist will be featuring a hand-selected park a day to showcase just a few of the wonderful recreation spaces--big or small--in the Los Angeles area.
Maps! Activities! Sights! KCET Releases Field Guide to the LA River
On Saturday, hundreds of volunteers took part in an annual community effort to make the Los Angeles River and its adjacent green spaces cleaner and safer for residents and visitors. Now KCET has released their amazing and comprehensive Field Guide to the LA River, which includes over 90 maps (and growing) of things to do and see along the 52-mile waterway.
MAP: L.A. River Paths to Explore
City officials opened a 2.5 mile extension of the L.A. river on Saturday and KCET developed a map of river-path goodness to celebrate the occasion.
The map represents a first step in what KCET calls a "living map that will be continually updated and added to." Leave a comment for them if you've got map suggestions for future iterations.
Current Events - Man Rescued From LA River
Authorities rescued a man on Sunday, "from the rain-swollen Los Angeles River after drifting about four miles downstream," reports CBS Local. LA Fire Department says the man was spotted before 8 a.m. east of downtown and drifted past police during a failed rescue attempt at Sixth Street and Olympic Boulevard. A police helicopter was able later able to grab him in the water near Vernon, "where the river widens and the currents get slower." The man, whose name has not been released, was conscious and speaking to rescuers before being transferred to County USC Hospital, where he was reported in stable condition.
L.A. River Corridor Project Moving Forward
Fueled by a grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, the ambitious River Corridor Project is moving forward, according to the Daily News. The plan is to turn the area surrounding the LA River into a usable public space that rivals the famous San Antonio River Walk
LA River in Glendale Will Soon Get Walkway, Recreation Areas
Put on hold in February when the state froze the $1.1M grant, then further held off after funds were released by a local business' legal haggling, construction of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk project should begin this summer, according to the Glendale News Press.
Sewage Spill Shuts Down Long Beach's City Beaches
Thanks to 22,000 gallons of sewage spilling "out of a manhole cover in South Pasadena on Saturday," all of the city beaches in Long Beach are closed today until further notice, according to abc7.com. The waste may have seeped into the storm drainage system that leads to the Los Angeles River as a result of "a grease plug in the line." The line empties into the ocean at Long Beach. Officials initiated the shutdown to ensure the safety of beach users, and are awaiting clean water samples in order to re-open the beaches.
Happy Birthday Los Angeles!
Did you know today is the 226th birthday of El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles -- aka L.A.? The old bitch is looking pretty good for her age! Although the city did not incorporate until 1850, September 4th, 1781 is the date that 44 Mexican pobladores set out from San Gabriel with a military escort to settle alongside a great river -- then called the Rio de Porciuncula, later to...
Kayaking in the LA River
Hell, this may be illegal, but if the LA River plan is going to crawl upstream at a snail's pace, screw it -- the time to play is now! Not when we're 75 years of age. We caught this father/son urban adventure duo in Sherman Oaks paddling downstream towards Studio City. "Is this a tradition?" we screamed down. "Nope, it's our first time," the dad yelled back. We asked how he came up with...
To Be a Militant Angeleno
Thanks to our buddy, the LA City Nerd, for pointing out the newest hot blog on the scene -- Militant Angeleno. The anonymous blogger first started posting a week ago Friday and we like this rule of thumb for living in Los Angeles: Yes, I own and drive a car, but I'm not obsessed with it. In order to save money, gas, congestion and wear and tear on my car, I walk to places...
Fishing for Cod in the LA River
The Times has a pretty funny story about fishing for bottom dwellers in our beautiful river. The whole thing is good but this was out favorite part - without giving anything away.
Gaeta brought along white bread as bait, this column brought a $300 Orvis fly rod, a spin rod and a fresh Egg McMuffin from a nearby McDonald's.more ›
Los Angeles Noir: Local Authors Celebrate the Dark Mysteries of LA
Here’s the thing: this book isn’t even out yet. But because we live in Los Angeles, and this book is about Los Angeles, you’re in luck. We’re all in luck. Denise Hamilton and the bevy of supremely talented noir writers that contributed stories to this book are signing all over town this week. And the book will be, yes, you guessed it – available for signing at the readings two weeks before the rest of...
A.M. News: Scares & Futures
We Love BUR! Jet Blue is seen as a major force behind 2006 being the best year for Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. "With 5.7 million passengers, the Burbank airfield had an increase of 3.2 percent in passengers from last year." (SFVBJ) Business as Usual in LA While the Aqua Teen Hunger Force guerilla marketing campaign in Boston caused mass panic over terrorism and bombs, the same campaign in LA and other cities hardly...
Old Man River
Hopefully you heard about the beach closures at parts of Santa Monica and Will Rogers over the weekend, and avoided being coated in a layer of untreated…um, sludge. But, the good people at the CA Department of Health have lifted their restrictions, and we can now bring you this more savory link regarding the aesthetic virtues of the L.A Storm Drain System. FOVICKS -- or Friends of Vast Industrial Concrete Kafkaesque Structures, has a...
Los Angeles Dumps 100s of Tons of Garbage into its Sewers, and then Goes Swimming in It
When it rained this weekend 150 tons of trash from LA's sewers flushed beneath us and ended up in the ocean. This is why we can't have nice things. "The volume of trash collected at the L.A. River boom is a powerful reminder that everything in the street - trash, cigarette butts, pet waste, even oil that leaks from cars - washes into the ocean after each heavy rainfall," said Emma Ayala, Head, Public...
A.M. News: J.Lo & Echo Park, Your Car Insurance & More
"Lopez and producing partner Simon Fields have teamed with the [FX] cable network on the half-hour project 'Echo Park,' a comedic look at the world of yuppie, Latino and hipster cultures within Los Angeles' Echo Park neighborhood." ~ Variety After Automobile Club of Southern California & USAA dropped zip code-based auto insurance rates, State Farm, the largest auto insurance carrier in California, will cut premiums too. Lots of Police-Related News: LAPD's Crime Offensive on...
We Rode Through Midnight
Being the huge Midnight Ridazz fans that Blogging.la's Sean Bonner and Will Campbell are, we got a little curious and joined in on the action last Friday. Too many people to actually find the fellow bloggers (some say there were 1700, Sean says around 1300), we just chilled and enjoyed the ride. The Midnight Ridazz began in 2004 with an 18 mile Friday night ride of six cyclists and 2 skateborders. Founders say they...
A Moment of Silence for Little Antonio
On the front page of the LA Times website tonight we found the sad note that LA River swimmer Little Antonio has died:
Most Endangered Rivers
We have heard the news about the deteriorating ozone layer burning a hole that will surely fire death rays and molecules directly at Los Angeles. Today, American Rivers Outreach, a national non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy natural rivers and the variety of life they sustain for people, fish, and wildlife released their study on the 10 most endangered rivers for 2006. And no, the Los Angeles River is not on the list. But many beautiful amazing places in the country are - including Upper Yellowstone River in Montana and The Williamette River in Oregon.
Events: Inside Yourself, Outside Your Door & Cheetos
A few hours from now, "Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens debates political theorist Andrew Arato of the New School for Social Research on the war in Iraq and its impact on the present and future of America" at REDCAT (8:30 p.m.)
AM news: real estate and river
Sales of new homes dropped nationwide more than 10% last month, the biggest drop in nine years. And in the West, the numbers were even bigger: a drop of 29.4%. Yea, maybe the market is finally softening in LA! But not so fast, lusty real estate kittens. Southern California new home sales were up 9.5% from the month before; it's the biggest gain in 18 years.
Flood Channel or River?
Is the LA River really a river? Flowing from headwaters in the San Fernando Valley through to Long Beach, where it meets the ocean, the LA River that most of us see is less river and more concrete spillway. Yes, the one in Grease. LAist was recently out to a portion of the river with a naturalist and photographer from the East Coast. "I've never seen anything quite like it," he said sadly of the paved channel.

