Times are tough, and one passenger aboard a Metro Red Line train appears to be in dire need of funds. A video uploaded to YouTube yesterday by ThatKidProductions60 captures one man's desperate attempts to sell passengers presumably stolen shoes from a popular department store. more ›

When the Metro Red Line finally opened two additional stations in the Valley 10 years ago, increases in ridership began to swell. In 2000, the average daily boardings were 83,230. In 2009, it grew to 146,723 boardings. In nearly the same time period, the average traffic increase on L.A. Freeways has grown 10 to 15%, but on the 101 Freeway over the Cahuenga Pass, the average increase has been just 2%. more ›

The L.A. City Council today approved a directive allowing city transportation staff to work with Metro on north-south transit corridors in the Eastern San Fernando Valley. The study, funded through Measure R and other outside sources, will begin the process towards scoping, budgeting and public outreach for improving bus speeds on key north-south corridors, a busway on Van Nuys Boulevard and extending rail service from the North Hollywood Red Line station to the Northeast Valley. more ›

We've told you about Oscar-related curb, street and sidewalk closures as well as parking two zones and today comes information about public transit. Metro Red Line trains will still operate on a regular schedule but will skip the Hollywood/Highland Station without stopping on Sunday, March 7 and there will be no public access to the Hollywood/Highland Metro Red Line station. Regular service will resume on Monday morning. As for buses, lines 212, 312, 217, 222 and 780 will be detoured through Monday March 8. Normal service should resume by 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 9. more ›

From 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., the LAPD will be holding a DUI checkpoint at Lankershim and Campo de Cahuenga. It's actually a genius spot because that's the entrance and exit to Universal Studios and CityWalk. It's also home to the Metro Red Line Subway Station. The North Hollywood police division, which covers the Universal City area, has experienced 166 driving under the influence-related and 1,058 hit and run traffic collisions so far in 2009. more ›

Despite a recommendation from a city council committee (.pdf) to once again run trains into the wee hours of night, late-night subway service this holiday season will not happen. The culprit? The economy, of course. more ›

A Recession Obsession is, 1) a meal so great that it sticks in your mind long after digestion's end, and, 2) plays nice with your sensitive wallet. Is there a better place than Los Angeles to eat a wide variety of amazing food that happens to be inexpensive? Probably not. We're as lucky as we are well fed. We last obsessed over this series' Greatest Food Hits and Thai Town 2.0's Krua Thai. Today, we obsess... more ›

UPDATE!!! The event has moved to in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Check Facebook for updated details.

A clear, crisp early spring morning greeted the participants in this year's LA Marathon, and the runners are filling our city's streets. more ›

Much to LA City Beat's dismay, the Metro board voted and passed a motion to "install barrier gates on the Metro Red Line, Metro Purple Line and selected light rail stations in efforts to prevent fare evasion, provide for seamless travel and improve transit station security," says a press release from the agency this afternoon. Expect to see the 379 fare gates within 18 to 24 months from now. more ›

So that's why cops were all over the Valley this morning. The Daily News is reporting that around 200 cops raided 15 homes, arresting 16, in an early morning operation called "Wild Card" which is "the police department's effort to challenge a particularly active and violent clique of Vineland known as the Jokers." more ›

Last night we checked out What Made Milwaukee Famous playing to a small crowd at Spaceland. Simply put, amazing. We're shocked that more people were not there. Lucky for us, luck for you, they have four more shows within the next nine days here in LA starting Thursday at the Silverlake Lounge. more ›

Now here's the quote of the day via the Daily News: ""I think if there were laws that required mayors to take transit, you'd see transit systems improve remarkably." That's Ted Balaker, a policy analyst for the Reason Foundation who spoke to transit beat writer Sue Doyle, who wrote a piece on Mayors across the country and their public transit use. more ›

Last night, a packed room of community members at LACMA listened attentively to Metro present nineteen options to serve the Westside. This first in a series of three public input meetings (two more meetings next week) was exciting -- wheels are in motion to get Los Angeles moving, even if that reality be around ten years from now. more ›

A Starbucks in Sherman Oaks as victim of a hit-and-run. You can't deny a blogs influence on local politics and city services these days. Who knew? Kangaroo skin is illegal to sell in California. Sorry Adidas. Celebrity stylist Stacy Young cannot add new allegations against Jamie Foxx in breach of contract case. The Feds have finally arrived to inspect 'Killer King,' or Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. At it again with UCLA and Monkeys... more ›

If the red line seems slow today, now you know why. The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting that a man either fell or jumped inito the path of the North Hollywood bound Metro Red Line train at the Westlake/MacArthur Park subway station shortly before 8:40 a.m.The subway train was unable to stop before striking the man, who was found trapped beneath the trainset. Despite the prompt response of Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, the... more ›

- Wilshire Monorail? [LA Visions] - Growth spurt for prepubescent Purple Line? [MetroRiderLA] - Pro-rail advocacy is not a racist tactic [Green LA Girl] - Fighting transit racism: Building the environmental movement on the buses of L.A. [Grist] - We need a new plan [Bottleneck Blog] - Purple not Pants [Asymptotia] - A Major Subway Hater Sees the "Light" [L.A. Straphanger] - If I Had A Million Dollars... [Los Angeles Transit Riders] - NYC... more ›

Beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the May Day immigration march will begin at Olympic and Broadway, heading towards City Hall on Spring St. According to Metro, "Rail service will be increased on the Metro Blue and Metro Red lines to handle the extra patrons expected to participate in the march. The Metro Green and Metro Gold lines will have extra trains ready for deployment should the need arise. The Metro Red Line... more ›

One of our favorite Thai dishes is Pad Kee Mow (most commonly known as Spicy Noodles). So on April Fool's Day (the first), it better be there at the Thai New Year's Festival in Thai Town. more ›

After a grueling installment of the popular local show "Public Transit in LA Sucks--We Know This Because We've Used It" last night, we've decided that there is no subway stop at Wilshire and Vermont. It just doesn't exist. It's an urban legend, a myth of social construct, a shared ideal that has only materialized in the minds of the mentally unstable. Why do we say this? What has our dander all dander-fied about the Red... more ›

...the Beer Garden, that is. Back in June we applauded the impending summer opening of the New Otani Hotel's rooftop Beer Garden, and now that we've enjoyed some mugs of Kirin and some hibachi grilling, we're ready to laud this seasonal downtown hangout yet again. A few floors above the lobby level (not quite the roof, but a roof) is the hotel's lovely Japanese gardens, complete with waterfalls and streams, paper lanterns in bright colors, stringed lights, and modest skyscraper views through the treetops. It's rather quiet up there, and it's easy to forget that you're right on the edge of the civic center. Casual patio tables are set up, and a simple menu offers basic fare: Beer, Meat and Veggies to grill, and side dishes. We ordered a pitcher of Kirin (we hope you've gathered by now that we weren't alone!) a sampling of things to grill: Salted beef, chicken breast, shrimp, and veggies, and some rice and kimchi pickles on the side. The edamame is plentiful, and our bowl was constantly being refilled. The food appeared quickly, the grill was hot and oiled, and we set to searing our raw slices of meat and produce. Everything was quite tasty, and paired nicely with the beer, but most importantly, with the atmosphere. We were there as the sun went down on our lovely city, and we made our way (on foot!) back to the Metro Red Line station, which is just a couple of blocks up 1st street. The Beer Garden is a great place to go with a group of people, to unwind after work or to start an evening's celebration off with food and drink. We'll be sad to say sayonara to the Beer Garden when it closes down in September, but there's still plenty of time left to get us back to that garden...again! more ›

The NoHo Theatre & Arts Festival is the largest and longest running festival of its kind here in LA, and features two jam packed days worth of free theatre, music, and art. This year the event's geography has sprawled out from Chandler to Camarillo on Lankershim, and onto several east/west streets between, particularly Magnolia, which will be closed to traffic, as will many of the neighborhood's streets. Because parking will be at a prime, your best bet is the Metro Red Line to the end of the line. There's always decent fair eats (sno cones, bar-be-que, funnel cakes, oh my!), great vendors, open doors at most of the area's shops, restaurants, galleries, and theatres, tons of arts and crafts and activities for wee ones to do, and, best of all, awesome people watching. We've experienced the festival from several angles, including spectator and participant, and we can't help but be a part of it annually, as we happen to call home the very same blocks the festivities take over. So by all means, come by and say hello. The fair runs Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. more ›

Retail is sorely lacking in the quirky NoHo Arts District, which is for the most part a huge plus for the mom-and-pop boutique and cafe feel of the 'hood, but, ultimately the lack of retail options seems to be a bit of an unbalanced act in light of steadily rising rents. We aren't sure a movie mega-plex is needed, and we have the requisite Starbucks, but there are times when it seems like a bit of schlepp to shop in nearby Burbank or Studio City (we all know CityWalk doesn't count unless you're wearing a fanny pack and enjoy being taken advantage of). Ideally, NoHo needs a moderate shot in the arm of revitalization; right now they talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. The NoHo Commons construction seems promising in this vein, and we hope that this urbanization will be the right thing for our neighborhood. more ›

We started off the tour by hopping on the Metro Red Line. LAist loves the Red Line; we embrace its shortcomings, we sometimes laugh at its futility, but we use it when we can. We definitely use it when we go downtown. So we joined the folks carrying their LA Marathon banners and took the train down to Pershing Square. First stop on the tour was the Grand Central Market. We'd never heard of this place until recently, and we were curious to see how it might stack up to the famous Pike Place Market that we'd recently roamed. Even though it was early Sunday morning, the sawdust-covered floors were packed with folks eager for a taste of some of the savory food being served up at the stalls. We weren't ready to eat, though the aroma of Chinese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Italian dishes were enticing, and the aisles of bulk spices, gleaming produce, and sugary treats looked beautiful, we settled on a modest cafe cubano near the front entrance. more ›