When third-generation Angeleno Mary Melton took over as editor-in-chief of Los Angeles Magazine in 2009, one of her charges was to continue expanding the magazine out of its Westside comfort zone. Melton discussed this change and why it's important for wealthy Westsiders to know what's going on with the have-nots in the rest of the region in a Q&A with Frying Pan News. more ›

Someone on the west side is really trying to take the fun out of the nightlife. A reader sent us the above picture, and let us know that the sign popped up on her neighbor's yard in the Olypmic/La Brea area last night. In case you can't tell, it admonishes bystanders who might be inclined to indulge in prostitutes (or be prostitutes themselves), drugs, drinking, shooting or stabbing people, and even good old-fashioned loitering. more ›

Carmageddon has brought out the resourcefulness of some local agencies, and the inventiveness of some business owners. For many, though, "Carmageddon" is simply an overwrought battle cry of the politically beaten-down. Much ado about nothing, if you will. In fact, it is proof that we've all turn into pussies. more ›

This weekend's impending Carmageddon has spurred a host of deals throughout the city, luring Angelenos from their safe abodes to various restaurants, bars, malls and amusement parks. Despite the city's caveats to refrain from driving this weekend, especially on the west side, western establishments are offering some tempting (and slightly absurd) specials. more ›

Metro is beefing up their freebie options on the upcoming Carmageddon weekend of July 16-17 by adding select bus routes to a list of no cost transit rides for the traffic nightmare. In addition to free rides on the Metro Orange, Red and Purple Lines, Metro will make 26 bus lines free for riders. more ›

There's a food truck for every palate, so it's only apropos that a former food (well, ice cream) truck has been turned into a mobile florist. The trend mavens at Daily Candy steered us towards Jennifer Kaplan and her sweet (smellin') Flower Truck. more ›

Reminiscent of the Trader Joe's song of yesteryear, today's video lunch is another market jam filmed on location, this time on the Westside of L.A. Your new favorite song of the summer, "Whole Foods Parking Lot," speaks to the overspending, aggressive parker in all of us. Sadly, some things you can't get at Ross. more ›

Things are Traffic is gonna get "heavy" tomorrow when President Obama spends some time on the west side of Los Angeles for a fundraising event. Details of the President's precise schedule, including what roads will be blocked off, have not been released, according to LA Now, however word has it "much of the president's travels in L.A. will be done on surface streets." more ›

Westside foodies will no longer have to pine over the “exotic grilled sausages” of Wurstküche, known to many as the sausage kitchen for its literal German translation. The popular downtown location in the historic Arts District will expand to its own Venice locale. The Westside digs will replace the newly departed Air Conditioned lounge on Lincoln Boulevard. more ›

Several restaurants who call Downtown, Hollywood, or other eastern parts of the city home are making strides to set up shop closer to the shore. Caroline on Crack has a breakdown of the restaurants who are opening up in Venice, Santa Monica, or TBD Westside spots. Who's headed Westward-ho? Scoops Westside in Culver City should open soon, Hungry Cat is taking a spot in Santa Monica, Bulgarini Gelato is headed to Venice, both Starry Kitchen and La Guelaguetza have the 310 in mind, and Wurstkuche is taking over the Air Conditioned Supper Club. more ›

The LA Times Roundtable Series is holding a session with the LA Phil's Music Director Dudamel and LA Opera's Placido Domingo. Although tickets are unavailable, the website says that if additional tickets are released, then the website will update immediately. Tickets are free so check it often if you want to go. more ›

Where is crime trending right now in Los Angeles? Mostly in the Valley. To be specific, the West Valley. Violent crime is up significantly in Northridge, Chatsworth, Canoga Park and West Hills and property crime is up significantly in Winnetka and Porter Ranch. All this is according to the LA Times' new data-based project called Crime L.A. more ›

TRANSIT FIGHT!!!! In this corner, MTA's Subway-To-The-Sea, a proposed Westside expansion offering future options for future drives to opt out of their autos and into a 25 minute train trip from Union Station to UCLA. In the other corner, LA Weekly and their $9 billion rip off story... more ›

Just as Metro did for the regional connector, Metro today released the draft environmental report for the Westside Subway Extension, the proposed project that would extend the Purple Line down Wilshire Boulevard and possibly add a spur in West Hollywood. more ›

Anytime a President has arrived in Los Angeles, traffic has been inconvenienced. But today's afternoon rush hour visit of Obama seems to have had a magic touch in that really unmagical way. Angelenos have been sharing their experiences from the road, some funny, some reeking of exasperation. Here are a just a few of their stories. more ›

Westside traffic is slowly crawling back to its normal crawl after a morning crash involving a CHP motorcycle officer on the northbound 405 Freeway this morning that prompted both sides to be closed. "The northbound 405 is so eerily clear," noted an LAist tipster around 5 p.m. today, about 15 minutes after all lanes were re-opened. more ›

Just over a year ago, the LA Times launched their neighborhood mapping project, which used data from multiple sources and reader input in the hopes of settling debates about physical--and often psychological--boundaries. more ›

There's no telling how much a coalition of food trucks that rallied around a candidate helped, but in any case, their choice won. Betsy Butler won the Democratic nomination in Assembly District 53, which covers parts of the Westside and South Bay. more ›

A small earthquake, described by some as a "quick jolt," occurred just a few miles off shore of the South Bay this morning. The 3.6 magnitude shaker struck at 2:17 a.m. 3 miles from Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, according to the USGS. It only took a few minutes before a 1,000 tweets blew by. "Nothing like going to bed and having mother nature rock you to sleep with an earthquake," said softpipes. Up here in the Valley, nothing was felt at LAist's Studio City headquarters. Some reported feeling it as far as Pomona, Simi Valley and Irvine. Did you feel it? more ›

Tonight, residents of homes and condominiums in Westwood and Century City who may be affected by construction for the Westside's "Subway to the Sea" will have an opportunity to hear "how homes, businesses, water lines and other structures will be protected" during the course of the drilling for the project, according to the Daily News. more ›

Tonight begins the end of traffic exasperation and the start of traffic hell. Metro and Caltrans are embarking on a major project to bring the Northbound 405 Freeway a carpool lane at the same time retrofitting bridges that cross it up to current standards. The Sunset Boulevard bridge begins tonight. more ›

Last week two young men allegedly walked into an IHOP on Lincoln Boulevard and demanded money at gunpoint before fleeing on foot. What they may have not known was that a security camera focused on the front door clearly caught their faces. Now police are hoping people can recognize the two. more ›

Curbed LA attended Wednesday night's scoping meeting about adding an additional stop to plans for the Westside Subway Extension. Public comments ranged the gamut, from it's absolutely needed to hell no. Curbed's conclusion seems right on: "If we were betting bloggers, we'd have to say Metro will skip a Crenshaw staton. The ridership isn't quite there, the density can't be changed, it's cheaper to build the line without it, and you have wealthy homeowners adamantly against the stop." more ›

Work to widen the lanes of the I-405 will continue to have an impact on traffic on the Westside and into the Sepulveda Pass as Caltrans shuts down portions of Sepulveda Boulevard periodically over the next two months, reports LA Now. more ›

Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA announced this morning that he's moved from the Fairfax District area to the Westside. "Westside motorists are amongst the worst in the city when it comes to sharing the road," the avid cyclist noted in addition to the lack of trains and a spotty bus system. "... a missed bus means a missed meeting," he said. Add to that fewer pedestrians, a limited bicycle infrastructure and a street grid problem. However, there's the good, such as the bikeway along Ballona Creek and the planned one along the Expo Line. And we'll add some great pocket neighborhoods of joy like Palms and Little Osaka. What's your favorite part of the Westside? more ›

The second phase of a project to bring light rail from downtown to Santa Monica cleared a huge hurdle today when its construction authority board approved a final environmental impact document and chose a route. Preliminary engineering can now begin followed by design and construction, which will could commence later this year. more ›

No one wants to wait 30 years for the much needed transit projects currently being planned. As voters, we've already approved Measure R, which increased our sales tax, to help pay for major transit infrastructure, but that's not enough if we want more trains now (or really soon). That's why the City Council has asked the proposed National Infrastructure Development Bank to advance money to Metro for the Westside Subway and other Measure R projects, according to the Daily News. Of course, that bank needs to become a reality first. more ›

Kogi BBQ owners have been talking about this, even before the food truck craze grew to an unwieldy size: have a real restaurant. You know, like a real restaurant where a competing food truck, in theory, could park outside and take business away from it (tee hee). Via Eater LA and Food & Wine, we learn of the designer street food king's next move is to open up a rice bowl-focused mom-and-pop-like counter service-style digs on the Westside on Overland. Opening date? They hope February 24th--that's chef Roy Choi's Birthday. more ›