From the folks who brought you the marvel that was Carmageddon comes The Rampture--no, it's not a traffic-inspired disaster movie, but rather a nickname bestowed upon the several days of closures the eight Wilshire Boulevard on and off ramps to the 405 Freeway will undergo at various times in November. more ›

Mayor Villaraigosa celebrated “Metro with the Mayor" day by riding the Rapid to the corner of Wilshire & Western where he held a press conference announcing the implementation of the “New & Improved!” traffic signal synchronization program for Wilshire Boulevard. more ›

more ›

• "A very, very good night for Barack Obama just got better," the LA Times said after it reported that the winner of the South Carolina Primary was on the receiving end of two Kennedy endorsements; Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama this morning in the NY Times and Sen. Ted Kennedy issued his endorsement later in the day.
• Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton moved on from South Carolina and defended critics of her husband's campaigning, saying, "everybody just needs to take a deep breath. We need to be focusing on what's important in the lives of Americans."
• The Federal Government isn't making too many friends these days and a new rule along the borders might not change that. People crossing the border must now prove they are a U.S. citizen, eschewing the long standing policy of orally declaring your citizenship. I fear this does not spell the end of those fabled Tijuana donkey shows.
• "I'm in a totally happy place," said former Dodger Mike Lieberthal explaining why he decided to retire yesterday. The Dodgers declined the option on the two-time all star and valley boy who was last year's back up to Russell Martin.
• Good news, foodies: the Daily News found that the number of restaurants who have received a C from the Department of Health has declined dramatically since inspections began a decade ago, while the number of eateries with an A have increased 40 percent from last year. I'm sure this doesn't include taco trucks, but, hey, ignorance is bliss.
• Rains continued Sunday, dumping as much as 4 inches on the Southland. Downtown record about 10 inches, eons more than the 1.65 inches Downtown received at this time last year. Don't freak out, L.A. drivers, the storm might taper off by this evening, forecasters say.
• In case you missed it, LAist had a big week. A few highlights: the Neighborhood Project continued with a look at Country Club Park;
• To Catch a Predator bait Dani Miura was interviewed and;
• The Roman Catholic Archdiocese has sold off their 3424 Wilshire Boulevard Archdiocesan Catholic Center to Jamison Properties for $31 million to raise money for the hundreds of outstanding sexual abuse lawsuits. An interesting debate in the comments section ensued.
• We have a big week ahead with some big name interviews, great music reviews and continued news, politics and art greatness

When the chips are down and you need cash to settle up some legal matters, unloading some real estate is a good move. more ›

The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting an 8 vehicle traffic accident at 1301 S. La Brea with 2 critical and 11 minor patients reported thus far. No extrication was needed and further details are forthcoming. more ›

Imagine a day when the Purple Line "subway to the sea" and Expo Line to Culver City (and eventually to Santa Monica) are a reality. Two rail lines running parallel from Downtown to the ocean -- are we mad men or what? But what about traveling north-south? Enter the Crenshaw/Prairie Transit Corridor:The Crenshaw/Prairie Transit Corridor extends approximately 10 miles north from Wilshire Boulevard, south to El Segundo Boulevard, east to Arlington Avenue and west to... more ›

Photo by sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
more ›

Let me just come right out and say it. I'm not a huge Pirates of the Caribbean fan. Never have been. All of that swashbuckling just makes me feel sea sick. I know that for some folks such a statement might be enough to have me walk the plank, but it's the truth. However, despite my shallow enthusiasm for the Pirates trilogy, and really, pirates in general, I do have a confession to make.... more ›

This Saturday is a good night to catch a couple of cool art openings around town! more ›

Two weeks ago today, a motorist on Wilshire Boulevard came to an intersection and found herself behind somebody who was preparing to turn left. Under normal conditions this would mean slowing down and waiting but since it was a cyclist, the motorist accelerated and screamed “Get out of the road!” The incident escalated and resulted in the arrival of Beverly Hills Police Officer Prenesti who greeted the cyclist by yelling “You idiot!” It’s clear... more ›

There's been some talk of making the Purple Line subway for Wilshire Blvd. actually veer off and go through West Hollywood or even making an additional line, say the Pink Line. As Wad explains on MetroRiderLA:The Purple Line is a 21-hour system committed to solving a 6-hour problem. The bulk of ridership would be coming from rush-hour work trips. But the offices generate very little activity during mid-days and virtually none on weekends... [snip]... more ›

As Guest Day Editor, Fred Camino of MetroRiderLA, will be joining LAist with a few posts throughout today. Read his introductory interview here and check out his site. Last weekend, the LA Times had a commentary piece by Michael Balter wherein he proposed the "radical" idea of forgoing the subway-to-the-sea (claiming its construction to be unlikely) and instead changing the entirety of Wilshire Boulevard into a car-free bike, pedestrian, bus, and light-rail thoroughfare. Clearly... more ›

A mysterious package left in the street at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard has closed down 3 blocks of traffic on Wilshire around the La Brea Tar Pits. At this time, 2:16pm, the bomb scare squad is on their way, office buildings are not being evacuated yet, but certainly exercise caution both in entering the area and also while trying to manuever around traffic. It is unknown how long this will last, but certainly the longer... more ›

Feel like returning to the scene of the crime with the Mayor of LA and help him protest his own police force? This evening at 5:30pm at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at Wilshire Boulevard and Berendo Street there will be a short town hall meeting followed by a 10-block march to MacArthur Park where there will be a rally to denounce the LAPD behavior during the infamous Mayday Melee. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Assembly Speaker... more ›

Plans to tear down the hideous 17-story Federal Building at 11000 Wilshire Boulevard are moving swiftly. Before you get all excited about the tearing down of ugliness in the hopes that such ugliness will be replaced by a Gehry-esque fantasy of steel and movement or a Meier-esque tribute to clarity and light, consider that it could get uglier. That's right. The FBI plans to setup shop in its place. See...we told you it could... more ›

Perhaps those of you who frequent Wilshire Boulevard along the La Brea Tar Pits noticed the new location of the trapped Woolly Mammoth near the streetside enclosure, as pictured above. Around December of last year, the fiberglass mammoth wrangled loose of its tether and drifted Southward, spurring this writer to wonder whether a new narrative was being constructed for the 40-ish year-old display. It would appear the middle-aged pachyderm merely broke free of her moorings and simply beached herself on the opposite shore. We have expended very little energy to track down the true story behind the Winter migration, though we suspect it could have something to do with the McNaught Comet. more ›

Mayor Villaraigosa, joined by Councilmember Herb Wesson and South Korean Consul General Choi, will celebrate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the partnership between the City of Los Angeles and the Republic of Korea for the Superblock project. more ›

A number of architecturally historic buildings reside along Wilshire Boulevard, many of which don't serve their original purposes anymore, having been converted into restaurants, boutiques, or office supply stores. One such example is the newly remodeled Metro Customer Center on Wilshire. more ›

A bistro is a café that serves simple meals in a relaxed setting, the kind of place you can go where you don’t have to worry about meeting anyone’s expectations for relative fame or fashionable dress. My favorite places in L.A. this year generally fit this definition. 1. Pazzo Gelato (my review) Many of my friends look at the dessert menu before they even consider a main course, so let’s start there. After lunch... more ›

One of LA's most popular bloggers, Kevin Roderick, mastermind behind LA Observed, will be reading tonight from his fabulous book Wilshire Boulevard, Grand Concourse of Los Angeles at Village Books in Pacific Palisades. Although he bears a striking resemblance to Bush's Brain, as lovingly pointed out by GOP flag-waver Moxie, Roderick's concerns are far more local, specifically the going-ons at the LA Times and other media outlets here in the City of Angels. The... more ›

Who said running was a loner sport. more ›

400,000 Official reports are saying 250,000 immigration rights marchers showed up at City Hall and 400,000 walked down Wilshire Boulevard in yesterday's Day Without An Immigrant. Mayor Villaraigosa made a post-Quizno's lunch appearance (good thing he didn't try to dine in Pasadena or at Panda Express at UCLA — closed due to staffing shortages). There's a sign that immigration has either become a real issue for Angelenos or it's jumped the shark: The LA Times has launched an immigration blog. more ›

With divisive leigislation pending in the House of Representatives and the immigrant rights march coming up Monday to protest it, the United States again gets to address the question of who gets to come here and whether they help or unintentionally harm their new country. According to their site, the goals of the coalition organizing the march are "to keep immigrant families together, protect our civil rights, pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, and mobilize mass public action and support to win such reforms." The details could still be debatable, then -- "comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship" could take a number of different forms -- but at this point they seem interested in rallying anyone at least interested in having that conversation. more ›

We had a chance to stop by the farmer's market at Wilshire Boulevard and Mariposa Avenue on Friday morning. The little market bustled with workers from the nearby office towers and people who live in the neighborhood. The first spring produce was already available. We picked up some slim spears of new asparagus. The strawberries smelled nice, too, though we didn't buy any this time. Also, we haven't had great luck buying bread at farmer's markets in the past, finding it too often dry and dull, but we picked up a loaf of whole wheat and honey bread from the stand run by the Old Town Baking Company of Fontana, and it was excellent -- simultaneously hearty and light, and, according to the vendor and the label, 100% whole grain. It's great when the healthiest foods are also the most delicious. more ›

We hit LA Observed daily for Kevin Roderick's take on the news and his insights into LA media. He's the co-author of a cool book about Wilshire Boulevard. All of which is to say that we respect the guy a lot and we're glad he's out there giving blogging a good name. more ›

This is what the papparazzi look like (bored, packing up) when you walk down the red carpet after the big celeb of the evening. In this case that was Diane Keaton, and the event was Thursday night's Ambassador Wake at The Bounty. more ›

more ›

In the battle of the Thursday Home sections, the NY Times smacks the LA Times down without even breaking a sweat. Just look at those web pages: the NY Times has a gorgeous photo that will make you drool, even if a cedar-sheathed house with a copper tower doesn't sound like your thing. The LA Times, on the other hand, starts with a jumble of text that's not been copy edited for the web, and has just the first line of the main stories with a complete paragraph of a minor one. The LA Times has NO pictures accompanying their stories, highlights the linen designs of Jane Seymour (yes, that Jane Seymour) and the photo gallery (mostly of stuff to buy) appears to be the same one that was up last week. Meanwhile the lead NY Times story comes with an audio-enhanced slideshow, and their Currents slideshow about LA design trends pops merrily across our fair city. Alas, LA Times, alas. more ›

Halloween is both magical and highly ridiculous. It's the only holiday in which we adorn ourselves with bloody accoutrements, illuminate carved fruits and gorge ourselves sick on glucose-ladden hors d'oeuvres. The pumpkin stands tall as an unlikely hero for this holiday. If you haven't made time to buy one yet, there are jack-o-lanterns aplenty at the Lopez pumpkin patch (pictured) on Third and Fairfax. more ›