Founding member of the folk group Kingston Trio Nick Reynolds died Wednesday in San Diego of acute respiratory disease and other illnesses. The band is credited with jump-starting "the revival folk scene of the late 1950s and paved the way for artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez," according to the Associated Press. One of the groups more popular songs--M.T.A.--which is about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, interestingly enough still rings true with Los......

"The budget will cut $33 million from Medi-Cal, $8 million from probation camps, $10 million from mental health and $6 million from alcohol and drug programs, according to a memo by county Chief Executive Officer Bill Fujioka... The state budget will also cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority about $133 million this year"......

For those who have been following Assembly Bill 2321, you can take a breath of relief. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law yesterday afternoon, allowing Metro to place a half-cent sales tax increase proposal on this November's ballot. It will take a 2/3rds vote to pass and if it does, it could raise $30-40 billion in funding for transportation projects over the next 30 years. On the ballot, it is known as Measure......

Photo by Open Air Control Testing Ground via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr At today's Metro board meeting, the group unanimously approved a pilot program that would extend Red Line hours until 3:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from November through January 3rd. Yes, Los Angeles will finally have a subway that operates until 3:00 a.m... well, at least for a short period of time. The approved motion allows for the program to begin......

Now that the LA City Council approved pilot late night Metro Red Line subway service for Fridays and Saturdays, it's up to Metro to take up the issue. It's on their board agenda for tomorrow, but the plan is even more slim than before. Instead of beginning November 1st and going through January 3rd, Metro's written motion has it starting on November 14th (that cut is 25% of the project's length). Likewise, the original idea......

Photo by Open Air Control Testing Ground via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Without much discussion, the LA City Council approved the late-night subway motion which would expand service on the weekends to 3:00 a.m. between November 1st and January 3rd. But this doesn't mean everything is said and done. The City doesn't run Metro--they are two separate government agencies. Now that the City officially wants it, the issue will need to be approved......

Photo by KingoftheHill via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr As the gas prices fell last month, so did ridership on public transit. Metro documents show that people are riding less on a daily basis, but numbers are still a lot higher than usual when compared to 12 months ago or even earlier this year. The Red Line, which averaged almost 150,000 weekday boardings, suffered a near 10,000 boardings less than last in July with......

Blogdowntown has been following a city council motion that would extend the Red Line subway hours to 3:00 a.m during the holiday season on weekend nights. At Wednesday's Transportation Committee meeting, the group pushed it another step forward when they endorsed the idea. Since there is little funding for this on Metro's end, it's the business community that's committing funds in hopes to prove that the late-night service can sustain itself. The city council will......

Metro was forced to take down the Measure R website after complaints that they should not be advocating for a ballot measure with taxpayer money. Measure R would raise LA County's sales tax by a half-cent to raise an estimated $30-40 billion for transportation projects such as the "subway to the sea" over the next 30 years. But shortly after an article appeared on LATimes.com stating website removal, it seems Metro has relaunched the......

Photo by Averageman via Flickr Metro sent out a press release today telling people how to get to USC games via public transit. By the summer or fall of 2010, the Expo Line is expected to be completed with three stops in and surrounding the USC campus (two near the Coliseum and one by the Galen Center). When that day happens, getting to a USC game will be a cinch. But until then, you've......

For about a year Metro has been meeting with the public over the Westside Extension Project (they have a Facebook group too), usually dubbed as the "Subway to the Sea." In the Fall of 2007 Metro met with the public to talk about initial conceptual designs. Metro planners came back to the public in the Winter with 17 options (or alternatives as they call them) which included light rail, aerial rail, bus rapid transit and......

With one more step to go until the half-cent sales tax increase proposal goes on the November ballot, Metro has launched an extensive website to inform the public what a "yes" vote would mean: "Measure R is a half-cent sales tax increase that will provide the local resources to finance new transportation projects and accelerate those already in the pipeline. Over 30 years, it is expected to generate $40 billion for countywide congestion relief......

San Fernando Business Journal writer Jason Schaff is a fan of the Orange Line, but with the gas prices and higher ridership, the "Valley's Shortcut" is no longer that desirable he says. "At the end of summer 2008 the buses are crowded all hours of the day. I will go to the office sometimes at 7 a.m. – they’re crowded. I’ll come home sometimes at 8 p.m. or later – they’re crowded. I stand up......

Metro began with these options, but will likely recommend only one or two of these routes | Image provided by Metro The time is nearing for Metro to announce what they recommend should be the mode of transit for the Westside Extension. Will it be a subway down Wilshire Blvd.? Down Santa Monica Blvd. to Wilshire? Both? Just buses? Metro is keeping a tight lid on what these recommendations are until further notice. Until......

Four people were injured with superficial wounds on a Metro Red Line subway train at or near the Universal Red Line station after someone pulled out a pair of scissors this evening around 10:25 p.m. "Everyone is being detained and questioned at this point," said Lt. Greg Hinkel of the LA County Sheriff's. However, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported that paramedics transported at least one person to a local area hospital. Train service was......

'Metro bus variety pack, Koreatown/Wilshire' | Photo by LA Wad via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Metro released July's ridership numbers this morning. It's up even while gas prices in July plateaued and then began to drop towards the current $4.090/gallon average. Here's how it breaks down via their statement: The Metro Red and Purple subway lines and the Metro Gold, Blue, Green and Orange Lines all set weekday ridership records in July 2008......

State Senator Jenny Oropeza represents coastal areas, including LAX, and also sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee that's currently deciding the fate of AB 2321 which will allow a measure asking the people to vote on a sales tax increase that would go towards transportation, mostly public transit projects like the "Subway to the Sea" and a Green Line extension to LAX. The airport extension is in the plan, but not written into the state......

A man at a station in downtown Los Angeles has died after being hit by a Metro Subway train in an apparent suicide this evening. At 8:36 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were called to the 7th Metro Station where the Red, Purple and Blue lines serve passengers. When rescuers arrived, they found a man of around 35 years of age wedged under a North Hollywood bound Red line train 100 ft. from the......

Photo by Ensie via Flickr The LA County Board of Supervisors voted not to put Metro's proposed half-cent sales tax increase that would raise $30 to $40 billion towards mostly public transit projects on the ballot in November. It could still be voted on, just via a separate (and confusing) ballot process (as Steve Hymon notes, remember Super Tuesday's "double bubble" trouble?). And it would cost millions. "Either the taxpayers will be stuck with......

The deadline to get props, measures and initiatives on this November's ballot is August 10. As for the proposed half-cent increase in sales tax for LA County for transportation projects, it has to go through a series of agonizing legal approvals to even make it to the point where the people get to vote on it. Metro has already approved it and the County Board of Supervisors will vote on it later today. But the......

A fight on an Orange Line bus yesterday evening continued on after six involved people got off at the Valley College station at Burbank Blvd. and Fulton Ave. One person was shot, another was beaten and three others were taken into custody. The two injured men were reported to be in fair condition according to the Daily News.......

Photo by Simon Shek via Flickr After yesterday's earthquake, Metro did something unusual for them. They informed the public in real time what was going on with the rail system. Metro's Twitter account, usually used for stating facts and promoting their services, was quickly put to work. "Bus and Rail Operations report no effects from the earthquake on Metro services. But trains operating at restricted speeds," they tweeted. Later on, an update: "After earthquake......

Photo by Adan Garcia via Flickr Metro has voted to ask LA County residents on the November ballot on whether or not to raise the sales tax a half-penny for transit projects. However, the state has still not fully finished their process enabling the sales tax to be raised, That's why local state Assemblyman Mike Feuer has been working extremely hard on his bill, AB 2321, which would officially authorize Metro "to place a......

It is now up to state legislators to pass AB 2321, and if they do, the half-cent increase in sales tax to 8.75% approved by the Metro board today will be put in the hands of Los Angeles County residents when they go to vote on election day this November. If the sales tax proposal, now called Measure R, is approved, it could raise as much as $40 billion over the next 30 years for......

Photo by KingoftheHill via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Today, the Metro Board meets for their monthly meeting, but today is especially important because they will be voting on whether or not to ask voters in November to raise the sales tax a half-cent to 8.75%. Despite opposition, namely from the San Gabriel Valley over the Gold Line Extension, it is expected to pass. However, the politicians in Sacramento have to pass a bill......

What? So, Metro is set to vote this week on a mixed-use residential/commercial development that will literally be feet from the Orange Line Sepulveda station in Van Nuys (you know, in that huge parking lot no one uses). "When they first came to me about it, it was supposed to be all residential," Councilman Tony Cardenas, who represents the area, is quoted saying in the Daily News. "Now they are talking about having commercial development."......

Think LA's relationship with underground rail transit began with the first tunnels blasted out to make way for the Red Line? Think again! LA's first subterranean transit system was a short stretch of tunneling dubbed the "Hollywood Subway," which moved its first passengers under the city in 1925 via electric interurban rail cars. Opening Day in Toluca Yard (end of the Hollywood Subway at 1st and Glendale); original source unkonwn, via California Trolleys The idea......

In the Venn diagram of "foodies" and "public transit users" all those who fall in the intersected areas, this one's for you. It comes from a post that went up today on the Chowhound LA boards, from someone who has noticed a bit of a gap in good eats that can be got to from the Orange Line. It's pretty simple; they're looking for "good chow walking distance or a short bus ride from the......

A crash involving a Metro bus and a car has resulted in 9 injuries, 7 of whom were transported to the hospital. It occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of 5th St. and Vermont Ave. Earlier this morning a collision between a Blue Line train and a vehicle occurred at 219 W. Washington Blvd. near Grand Ave. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the driver turned in front of the train, but......

Gold Line Photo by Fred Camino/MetroRiderLA and Metro Subway photo by Kwasi B. Next week, the Metro board will vote on two very important issues. One will put a half-cent sales tax increase, that would raise funds for public transit, on November's ballot. The other is the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a document guiding public transit in Los Angeles County for years to come. Gold Line advocates, who wish to see the line......