Zach Behrens

Just in time for downtown's most popular event tomorrow evening, the new 2nd Street Park at the Police Administration Building has finally reopened after a two-week closure for a private police foundation fundraiser. Unfortunately, it now looks terrible. "Its grass may look as if a season of football has been played on it," described Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. So who gets to pay for the reseeding and landscaping?...

As part of the large car-free photography exhibit at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, a series of panels are being run in conjnction. Tonight at 6 p.m. Green LA Girl and others will discuss how to live a car-less or car-free lifestyle. Then at 7 p.m. a panel discussion with D.J. Waldie will explore the social, spatial, and psychological aspects of walking in Los Angeles....

As Los Angeles prepares to dive into their own pot law, Long Beach is already taking it head on. Last night they voted to make some changes to a proposed medical marijuana ordinance, loosening some restrictions, before finalizing the law. "The changes included, among others, allowing collectives in mixed-use areas; removing prohibitions against having collectives within 1,000 feet of libraries and parks; improving patient privacy issues so as to not identify every member of a collective; giving a grace period for existing collectives to comply once the law goes into effect; and allowing collective patients to grow marijuana in their homes," reports the Press Telegram.

Remember that draft ordinance submitted to City Council last month (read a copy of it here and scroll down)? Well, it's finally going to a city council committee where it will be vetted, questioned, possibly changed and more next Monday, according to the Daily News. Once and if passed out of committee, it will move to the full city council for a vote....

The state is already looking at a $5 to $7 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year. Next year, another $7 billion. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will reveal his solutions in January, but today answered questions from the press, according to the LA Times. “I think there will be across-the-board cuts again. We are not going to go and pick and choose [ between programs]. I think that we always have to go and cut...

The City says no, that intersections with red light cameras are not more dangerous with them, pointing out that red light runner crashes are down. That may be true, but an investigative report by CBS2 finds that accidents are up at most of the red-light camera intersections if you include crashes caused by people stopping earlier than expected to avoid running a red light. Based on data six months before and after cameras was...

Photo by Caveman 92223 via Flickr Tomorrow is the 83rd Anniversary of the numbered highway system that gave birth to Route 66, among others. In honor of that, the long-debated ending point of the famed auto-passage will find itself at the Santa Monica Pier in a 9 a.m. ceremony with a parade 66 vintage cars and motorbikes (it begins at Santa Monica and Lincoln) and the unveiling of a replica of the "End of...

Some exciting news, if it comes true, via Damien Newton at StreetsblogLA. The Mayor's office has indicated that Ciclovia may be coming to Los Angeles in early 2010. What is that? "For the uninitiated, the city of Bogota put on the first Ciclovia decades ago by closing several of its main streets to cars and opening them to pedestrians and cyclists on Sundays," explains Newton. "Over the years, a culture developed around these gigantic...

James Wagner, a journalist over at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune tweeted this gem of a local fact today: "LA County to appoint Buzz Aldrin as Honorary Consul General to the Moon. No joke. LA County/Moon relations will now be better than ever." Don't believe it? It's on tomorrow's agenda (.pdf)...

Well, it's not a full-on holiday meal, but a pretty sweet tasting is going for a cheap ten bucks over at the locally-sourced, from farm-to-table themed restaurant, Akasha in Culver City. For two Saturdays, the restaurant will feature different menus for the price. On Saturday, there will be desserts and hors d'oeuvres like Pear and Cranberry Tart with Cinnamon Crumble, Bacon-Cheddar Biscuits, Wild Planet Tuna with Housemade Bread & Butter Pickles and Pomegranate-Jalapeno Jelly.

View the full map alignment here (.pdf) Metro staff yesterday recommended that the Crenshaw Corridor be light rail, not a rapid bus line. This comes after urging of many, including County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents the area. The Line would run about 11 miles, from Exposition and Crenshaw (also home to a future Expo Line station) to the Metro Green Line Aviation/LAX station. Proposed stations, via a committee document (.pdf), would be Exposition/Crenshaw,...

Although the massively large Station Fire was fully contained last month, it still burns in the Angeles National Forest. That may be confusing, but we'll back up to the common definitions of containment and control, as given by officials in most fire updates to the public: