To prepare for the upcoming March 8, 2011 elections, LAist has contacted each candidate on the City of L.A.'s Official Candidate List to participate in a Q&A. In this edition of "Meet the Candidates," we hear from Council District 4 candidate Stephen Box (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) [Full disclosure: Box is a former LAist contributor]. The district includes Atwater Village, Griffith Park, Hollywood, Los Feliz, Miracle Mile, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Studio City and Toluca Lake. more ›

Los Angeles' Planning Commissioners yesterday rejected the city's long-term vision for bicycles, delaying approval of the city's bike plan until improvements are made. The vote came at the end of an eight hour meeting, in which half of it focused on the document, where cyclists across a wide community of opinion united against its approval. more ›

This morning's bicycle summit organized by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was recently spun into a bicycle advocate after a recent cycling incident that left him with a shattered elbow, started off with a laugh. Former Mayor Richard Riordan presented Villaraigosa with training wheels. But it was only a bittersweet moment as news spread that a cyclist died in the San Fernando Valley this morning. more ›

Los Angeles has over 100 outdoor public staircases. As any cyclist knows, carrying a bike up and down them is doable, but can be a major inconvenience and something that may stop new riders from taking a stab at the mode of transportation. more ›

L.A.'s city council transportation committee today will be focusing on food trucks, which , depending on where you stand, are either beloved or bothersome. Today, three motions aimed at possible regulations will be discussed, but the dialogue will likely end up diving into misconceptions about operating a truck and the purpose of parking. more ›

Surgery on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's elbow following a vehicle-bicycle incident on Saturday evening was success and he is expected to resume a full schedule this week. But now that Los Angeles' top official has a first-hand experience with how dangerous the streets can be come questions about what's next. more ›

The discussions about recently-announced candidate Stephen Box for Los Angeles' fourth district has LAist readers wanting more from him about where he stands on the issues. more ›

For an election in 2011, the announcement that community activist Stephen Box is running for the Los Angeles City Council has picked up a lot of steam already. In many ways -- whether he planned to run or not -- he's has been preparing for this moment for years. His name is out there as someone who has been constantly working to improve neighborhoods, as someone who can be a pain in the ass to officials at city hall (especially incumbent Councilmember Tom LaBonge) and as someone who has succeeded, whether good or bad, at changing Los Angeles. more ›

Surprised? We're not. The seemingly omnipresent Los Angeles community activist Stephen Box has announced his candidacy for the city's fourth district, which includes Silver Lake, Hollywood, the Miracle Mile, Griffith Park, Toluca Lake and the NoHo Arts District (see map). It is currently held by Councilmember Tom LaBonge. more ›

A controversial video that surfaced over the weekend showing a LAPD officer apparently trying to kick a bicyclist before police used force on the videographer has prompted cyclists to call for a large turnout at a monthly city meeting tonight. 53 people are already confirmed on Facebook to show up at the... more ›

Over the last week, the L.A. Bike Working Group has been releasing their vision of how the city should be connected for cyclists. It's a plan in opposition of the Los Angeles' current and official draft master plan for biking, which since the beginning has been steeped in controversy. more ›

The proposal to increase speed limits on two Valley streets was stalled by the City Council's Transportation committee this afternoon after concerns were brought up by the public and politicians alike. "I've got serious concerns with moving this forward," stated Councilman Paul Koretz, whose district includes the two streets in question, Riverside Drive and Chandler Boulevard, which could be raised to 40 and 45 miles per hour, respectively. more ›

At the Transportation Committee yesterday, the city presented its Bicycle Plan proposal, which maps potential fixes to L.A.’s streets to make riding easier and safer for cyclists. The verdict? “Flawed,” pretty embarrassing” and an “egregious waste of money” were among some of the comments from bike and community advocates, Sierra Club members and neighborhood councilmembers. “No matter what people tell you, we are not involved in the process,” said bike activist Stephen Box, who also commented on several other items discussed at the meeting. “I’m calling on you to…call it dead,” he told Transportation Committee Councilmembers Wendy Greuel and Bill Rosendahl. more ›