The long awaited Vista Hermosa Park near Downtown in City West is opening this Saturday. Apparently, it's the first new park in Downtown since 1895, according to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy who bought the land and has been working with the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority on the 14-acre park that seeks to recreate the natural environment through trails, wetlands, chaparral and fishing ponds. There's also a FIFA-regulation soccer field, picnic areas, and an......

The 31st annual Echo Park Lotus Festival is only two weeks away, but something--something central to the event--is missing: The Lotus. The past few years have seen a disturbing and rapid decline in the lotus blooms and leaves that typically spring up in the lake and bathe the water's surface in beautiful pinks and whites. But it's not just a temporary stall in flowering--some believe that the lotus will not be back, and the Lotus......

Face it, it's hot. And with some people, especially the elderly, living without AC in poorly insulated homes, cooling centers can literally be a lifesaver. Three cooling centers in the Valley will remain open tonight until 8:00 p.m. tonight and will be open tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There's also free water! The centers are located at parks in Canoga Park, Sunland and Northridge. [Via Mayor's Office Press Release]......

View Larger Map Vaughan Davies of EDAW, an urban planning and design firm, has a good idea: to cover up an 100 acre portion of the 101 Freeway, or as he calls it, the "Big Trench, in downtown: On top of the "Big Trench" -- that unsightly two-thirds of a mile of the 101 Freeway, just east of the 110 interchange between Grand Avenue and Alameda Street -- that brutally slices through the historic heart......

As you drive "over the hill" from the Valley to Hollywood along Laurel Canyon Blvd., there's a sign there asking for donations to save some plots of land from development. No, it isn't a citizens' group or a non-profit for wilderness, it's a government agency. "Donated funds needed immediately to save these six acres under option by part agency," it reads. In a cash-strapped time for governments, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority is asking......

Photo by Arlette via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr 19-year-old alleged gang member Pedro Espinoza entered a not guilty plea today for the murder of Jamiel Shaw. Shaw, the 17-year-old high schooler, was gunned down near his home early last month. Mayor Tony's former lady friend and ousted tv reporter Mirthala Salinas opens up about her affair in an upcoming Los Angeles mag interview. She calls the relationship a "learning experience" and......

Meet the future location of Studio Oaks Park where a grassroots effort is the only way this strip of unusable, rat-infested land will become a park. In Los Angeles, if you really want to get something done, you've got to take it upon yourself. In the southeast Valley, residents are doing just that.......

Following several weeks of gradual draining by the Department of Water and Power, the Silver Lake Reservoir is now fluid-free. LAist previously reported on the reservoir's contamination of bromate, a carcinogen formed by the combination of bright sunlight, chlorine and natural bromides found in groundwater. Once a shimmering reservoir that held drinking water intended for the central and southern part of the city, the now-empty reservoir is an alien sight for much of the......

The end of the trail at Parker Overlook | All Photos by Zach Behrens/LAist For most of the 5.5-mile Pacific Palisades hike at the popular Paseo Miramar trail towards Parker Overlook, you can see the ocean. Located two blocks east of Pacific Coast Highway on Sunset (map found below), the hike is a popular one, often leaving the dense hillside neighborhood at the top of the street strapped for parking, which means hikers must......

Saturday morning was the first community meeting to discuss the Hollywood Freeway Central Park. Meeting in an elementary school auditorium, like they do in the Simpsons, those that attended saw Assemblyman Mike Feuer, LA City Council President Eric Garcetti and others speak about this park and the story behind it. In part I, I wrote about the failures of design in Los Angeles and a need to use architecture to embrace our 36 freeways.......

Cranes along Vine St. in Hollywood | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Today, Councilman Eric Garcetti delivered the annual State of Hollwood address at an event organized by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He dedicated the address to Johnny Grant, who passed away earlier this month, and spoke about what makes a great neighborhood, at-risk youth tragedies and all that has been great and to be great for Hollywood. Here are excerpts from the address......

An article from the Daily News takes a look at the toll the 6-month old smoking ban in Burbank is taking on its local workers, most of whom are flummoxed by the fact that a smoke break means breaking the law. According to the article, one local businessman "Barry Kessler, 48, owner of a downtown jewelry store bearing his family name, has led the charge against the anti-smoking ordinance. In the coming weeks he plans......

The Geminid Meteor showers are set to peak this week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Um, great date night, anybody? Astronomers studying the phenomenon, David Levy and Stephen Edberg, are terribly enthused: "If you have not seen a mighty Geminid fireball arcing gracefully across an expanse of sky, then you have not seen a meteor.' Those guys are serious!!! "The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing......

Don't know what to get for the gun toting rifleman who has everything? In San Francisco, turning that rifle in to authorities will net you a cool $100 gift card. Eh, you say? OK, how about $200 for AK-47s? I wonder how that conversation might go at home: Honey, where is my gun? Oh, I turned it in sweety, for $100 worth of movie rentals. You did what? Guns don't kill people, gift cards......

While the rains yesterday helped alleviate some of the dryness under which southern California has been hampered, it did little to lessen the worries of those in fire-stricken areas. Streaming rivers of rain created mudslides and prompted officials to call for mass evacuations. Flash flood warnings remain in effect. But, hey, it's LA, and today was clear and beautiful. A woman who poisoned her Marine husband to buy a boob job with the insurance......

Where are the best pickup soccer venues in the greater Los Angeles area? -- Bankole O Los Angeles is an enormous city, and soccer is a popular sport. You can find games being played just about everywhere! If you're looking to avoid organized leagues, there's soccer played on a regular basis at Rancho Park, Pan Pacific Park, the Westwood Rec Center, and Mar Vista Park (they have a new-ish turf field which is frequently booked,......

We heart our sister -Ists: today, SFist Editor Bock Keeling was profiled in the SF Weekly. We find out that Gus Van Sant hates SFist and a funny picture of a woman modeling in front of an oil spill crew is now being featured on the site. Pro football player Sean Taylor has died from injuries sustained in a mysterious and tragic shooting incident; he was 24 years old. Police are still searching for......

Now that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas Tree shopping is in order, it's a good time keep in mind that when it comes time to get rid of that tree, you can recycle it. If you have a green yard trimmings container, then you can the tree up and place it in there. If not, it's a good thing the Department of Public Works is already pushing their Christmas Tree Recycling Program that will be......

Last night I was casually checking out what various travel websites had to say about the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Most of the summaries in Frommers sounded like this: Silver Lake, a residential neighborhood just north of Downtown and adjacent to Los Feliz (home to the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park), just to the west, has arty areas with unique cafes, theaters, graffiti, and art galleries -- all in equally plentiful proportions. The......

Los Angeles has over 180 official neighborhoods. These are those communities designated with the city sealed blue sign. However, if you tried to figure out your neighborhood and its official boundary, there's a good chance you are going to come upon a) conflicting information b) no information, or c) confusing information. Trust us, we know. We've been digging into official Los Angeles city neighborhoods with our Neighborhood Project and have yet to come upon......

We are giving away a pair or tickets to Friday night's 8:00 p.m. concert of Joanna Newsom. This Friday, she will be playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with 28-piece orchestra conducted by Sean O'Loughlin, featuring arrangements by Van Dyke Parks....

Travel + Leisure's November 2007 issue features a fun little ditty called America's Favorite Cities. They've asked people from all over the country to rate 25 well-known cities on everything from culture and nightlife to public transportation and weather. We're not quite sure who these 60,000 respondents think they are, but they don't have anything nice to say about our fair city. Oh, except for the fact that we have nice shops. Los Angeles......

What do you get when you mix a sponsor (AOL Spinner), a holiday (Halloween), a label (DefJux), and a DJ (Juggaknot's DJ Boo)? Of course, a free mixtape. Peep: DJ Boo - The Definitive Jux Halloween Candy Before Dinner Mixtape [DOWNLOAD] Tracklist: Aesop Rock, 'Citronella' El-P, 'Smithereens' Rob Sonic, 'Rock The Convoy' Junk Science,'Do It Easy' Hangar 18, 'West Wing' Rob Sonic, 'Dead As Disco' Junk Science, 'Hey!' Hangar 18, 'Bakin' Soda' Junk Science, 'Jerry......

The LA Times is reporting today that the city has a near $77.5 million unspent in Quimby fees that it has been collected from developers for park space and improvements. The fees, from the California 1975 Quimby Act (not that quimby folks), require developers to help mitigate the impacts of property improvements and new development by paying a fee that goes into a city parks department fund or set aside land on the development.The......

Silly Jack Weiss! He thinks the Valley is different from the City. Tsk tsk! The Daily News takes the Councilman to task (lovingly) for his slip of the tongue. Halloween events abound in the city this time of year, and LAist is your best source for the hottest spooky spots: check out our continuing Halloween coverage here. OMGZZZ Kitten Cops! I can has ratburgerz?? The LAPD is recruiting feral cats to root out rodents......

My high school drama club participated in our local haunted house, and we were merciless. One woman had to be taken away in an ambulance after an actor concealed in a hole in the ground grabbed her foot. So these things really freak me out. I don't believe in zombies and monsters, but I do believe in unpredictable aspiring actors. THE BIG ONES: Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights looked so intense I turned down an......

Disneyland in Anaheim may have the exclusive and secret Club 33, but your chances of experiencing it is slim -- you've got to have the money, the "in" and the location (above the Blue Bayou, look for the door with the number 33 on it, then knock, someone might open it up... and yes, when we ate there, it was damn good). That's why Disney World in the "other" Orange County is much better......

George Bush issued the fourth veto of his presidency today, nixing a bill that would have provided insurance to poor children. Bush said the program was too costly, apparently cool with the fact that the Iraq war now costs over $455-billion. That's B for billion. And B for Bitch. Curbed LA takes a gander at a new development planned for West LA. In as much as the structure looks like a monument to cubism,......

Dr. Jane Goodall. Photo courtesy of Roots and Shoots. This Sunday, September 23rd, Dr. Jane Goodall (primatologist, ethologist, author, researcher, and United Nations Messenger of Peace extraordinaire) be speaking at Griffith Park as part of the Roots and Shoots Fifth Annual Peace Day. Dr. Goodall, who is most famous for her research on chimpanzees in Gombe, will be leading a parade of giant home-made dove puppets and speaking at this free all-ages event. Roots......

These are the traveling rings at the original Muscle Beach, just south of the Santa Monica Promenade. Last week at a Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park meeting, a traveling ring enthusiast brought a proposal to have these installed at the park. I can't disagree with that, these are so much fun. Don't forget to chalk your hands!......