Results tagged “wilshireblvd”

       

In addition to the Berlin Wall display, the building 5900 Wilshire Building across from LACMA opened another art exhibit today. Canstruction L.A. shows off works of art built from canned food by local architects, engineers, and designers. The free exhibit closes November 15th (Hours: Monday-Sunday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.) and that's when all those cans get donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Over the past three years, the event, previously housed in Sherman Oaks and then Santa Monica, has donated over 157,000 cans. As a visitor to the exhibit, you are encouraged to bring canned donations.

Since this morning, one block of Wilshire Boulevard has been closed to traffic. Police were alerted at 8 a.m. to a suspicious bag left on the 3600 block of Wilshire, prompting the usual response by the LAPD--close the area down, send out the bomb squad. Officer Rosario Herrera said there is no word when the street will be reopened.

Curbed LA caught the installation of some panels from the Berlin Wall at 5900 Wilshire Blvd., across from LACMA: "The exhibition is part of Culver City-based Wende Museum's commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Wall... When finished (a total of 10 panels will go up), the exhibition will constitute the largest concentration of Berlin Wall panels outside of Europe."

Is this normal for life after the passage of Measure R or is Metro trying to make transit nerds go crazy? Metro today announced the sixth, yes, the sixth public meeting about transit taking place this month. Projects seeking community input include the bicycle draft master plan (this one is actually under the jurisdiction of LADOT), bus lanes on Wilshire Blvd., the Crenshaw corridor to LAX, the Harbor corridor, the Rosa Parks station and now the Westside Subway Extension.

The Metro board yesterday directed staff to apply for federal grants in hopes of capturing start-up money for the a subway to UCLA and a the regional connector in downtown.

Gourmet Magazine shares with their online readers today their pick for their 8 favorite food trucks in Los Angeles. Their list, however, is both a tip of the hat to the trend-setters who Twitter and truck, as well as a nod to the truly wireless old school trucks that have been around the block a few times in the past few decades.

There goes traffic. Wilshire Boulevard is closed in the Westwood area for a half-mile stretch between Comstock to the east and Warner to west because of two suspicious backpacks, according to reports. [Update, 3:35 p.m.: Traffic has opened back up on Wilshire, but the investigation is still ongoing. The bomb squad was called out earlier, but their status is unknown at this point.]

Senator John McCain has his eye on several transit projects all over the nation that he is labeling "wasteful government spending," including two here in Los Angeles, explains StreetsblogLA. His target is the US Department of Transportation's 2010 spending bill, which comes up "for a vote this week in the upper chamber of Congress."

Once again, workers along Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile are witnessing an LAPD crackdown on the popular trucks that populate the area throughout lunchtime. One tipster, calling it a "raid," describes the scene in an e-mail:

A handful of workers affected by the recent decrease in lunch options on the Miracle Mile have begun a petition to stop restaurants from calling city officials and police on "designer trucks" who park in the area. "We, the undersigned request that the brick and mortar restaurants in the area known as Miracle Mile cease and desist from any attempt to impede or hinder any mobile food preparation units or food trucks from operating in the area," the petition reads.

Metro has intimated that they'll be voting on a preliminary line for their proposed Wilshire extension later next year, and hopes to connect their "current terminus in Koreatown to the Westside," explains MetroRider LA. But where the stops will be are still very much in flux; "one of the stations along the line is still kept as optional: Wilshire Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard."

By the end of this week, we should see gates in the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Normandie station, reports LA Streetsblog: "Once the Wilshire/Normandie installation is completed, Metro will continue along the Red and Purple Lines, a process that Rick Jager estimates could take up to six months before moving on to the Green Line, then the Blue Line and finally, the Gold Line." But that doesn't mean they'll be in working condition. "A start date for the turnstiles to be operational hasn't been announced, nor whether they will begin operation "piecemeal" or wait until the system is installed at every rail stop."

       

Call it a sign of the times: The property on the southeast corner of Wilshire and Highland bears a giant banner bearing the word "Foreclosure."

The man whose body was found near the 405 Freeway on Friday has been identified as being that of Thomas Francis Leamy, a 59-year-old patient of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center who left against medical advice. Leamy reportedly walked out of the hospital "a few days ago when told he was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease," reports abc7.com. The man "still had an electrode from a heart monitor attached to his chest" when he was found in some bushes near Wilshire Boulevard and the 405 Freeway. Leamy's family had reported him missing. His body was found by a pedestrian, who contacted the California Highway Patrol, but later "was arrested for refusing to identify himself and being on the freeway illegally."

Yesterday morning at around 11:30, a pedestrian told the California Highway Patrol they had found a dead body off "the ramps at the southwest corner of the Wilshire Boulevard interchange, within sight of the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Medical Center," according to abc7.com. Initial reports "indicated that the man may have recently been released from a hospital," although there has been no confirmation of that as of yet. The man appears to be in his 60s. The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles County coroner's office and the CHP.

ANSWER LA will be holding a march tomorrow, partially on Wilshire Blvd., that will wrap around Westwood Village streets and stage at the Federal Building. Let GAZA Live, as they are calling it, is part of a larger National Day of Protest with other events planned throughout Southern California.

According to a KCAL9 TV news report, the street is closed to cars from Fairfax Ave. on the east to San Vicente on the West as protesters take over the Miracle Mile area in front of the Israeli Consulate. Police have separated the two groups by 25 feet with rope and in case the demonstration is declared unlawful, the LAPD has set up a special viewing area for the press, they said in a media release. Wow, how thoughtful. (View photos from a recent protest here)

Once again, a number of protests reflecting both sides of the issue will hit the streets today on Wilshire Blvd.

              

Yesterday Wilshire Boulevard became the scene of two protests over recent rocket attacks and military action between Israel and Palestine. One by Jews for Peace outside the Federal Building in Westwood; the other at the Israeli Consulate sponsored by ANSWER LA. At the latter location, over 500 people--mostly pro-Palestinian--attended making for an "extremely tense" and loud event as each side chanted from their side of the street, said LAist photographer Tom Andrews. Here's some a little slice of what happened...

After rocket attacks and military action between Israel and Palestine that began on Saturday, protests have been lining streets around the world. Two of them are set for this afternoon, the LA Weekly finds. Protesting Israel's counterattacks, Jews for Peace will assemble outside the Westwood Federal Building at 3 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., LA's most widely known grassroots organizing force, ANSWER LA, is sponsoring an "emergency protest" outside the Israeli Consulate.

Traffic got off to a slow star this afternon after some abandoned luggage left near Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards were reported to police. That prompted them to close down the area causing word to quickly spread among evacuated employees and passerbys that it was a bomb scare. But the LAPD said there were no threats and it was only luggage. "We get a lot of those," said Officer Lee.

Albeit slowly, the 10 year process is now in a community meeting phase. Last night, StreetsblogLA writer Damien Newton attended: "By removing buses from the snail's pace of rush hour traffic, Metro will be able to sweepingly reverse the trend of longer commutes for transit riders along the Wilshire Corridor. Rex Gephardt, who oversees the Rapid Bus program for Metro, noted that bus speeds are declining by .5% to .75% every year in the corridor." So what's next before this becomes a reality? Design, environmental review, federal approval and the actual work such as restriping lanes, widening some streets and redesigning 17 intersections. If all goes ahead and works, Los Angeles is looking at a strong* bus route that will compliment the hopeful "Subway to the Sea." (*Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are not taking part in this program)

       

A group of UCLA students, under the auspices of Bruins for Traffic Relief, hit the streets last Friday to garner support for Measure R, the countywide ballot initiative that would raise the sales tax a half-cent in order to raise an estimated $40 billion for transit over the next 30 years. "As the largest trip-attractor on the Westside, with a daytime population of 55,000, UCLA stands to greatly benefit from new transportation options on the Westside," e-mails Juan Matute, an urban planning student and director of the UCLA Sustainable Resource Center.

We've just heard some very bad news. The Temple Bar, one of the few music venues (and if not the best in town when it came to booking a truly eclectic mix) on the Westside, is set to close at the end of September. More details are forthcoming.

      

This morning, we shined a light on the rebirth of Bob's Big Boy. But with all highs are lows before it. Earlier this year, Bob's at Wilshire and Highland was served with an eviction notice to make way for Beverly Hills BMW (note that this location is not in Beverly Hills.)

Last Friday night in Santa Monica, bicyclists-turned-temporary-pedestrians gathered and protested what they believe is harassment from the city towards monthly Critical Mass bicycles rides. At their latest ride on August 1st, 14 police officers were deployed to monitor the ride resulting in at least nine citations (unofficial counts totaled up to 14).

Acting Mayor Wendy Greuel (Mayor Villaraigosa is on vacation in London) spoke to the press at 1:50 p.m. today updating what was happening within the city limits of Los Angeles after this morning's earthquake.

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.

Then you might have some information for police. At around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, 31-year-old Vicky Noh was crossing Wilshire Blvd. in a marked crosswalk at New Hampshire Avenue when she was struck and killed by a yellow school bus that drove away. The 40 foot long bus is described as a "newer model with a flat front end" and was actually a charter bus, not one that transports children on a daily basis. The driver is described as a Latino with long hair in a ponytail.