Zach Behrens

Courtesy the City of LA It's been closed for a handful a years, but the Downey Pool between Chinatown and Lincoln Heights has begun construction and is expected to open next year June. The $2.2 million project includes a 3,000-square-foot lap pool, an 1,800-square-foot splash pad, and a 500-square-foot structure that will house new pumps and filter equipment, and chemical rooms. A pool in this park was original built in 1919, according to city...

Last night's win already caused people to run amok in East LA. And even though Sunday night's game is in Orlando, should the Lakers win the Championship, the LAPD and LA County Sheriff's say they are prepared, citing the win 2000 when 11 people were arrested and close to a million dollars in damage was caused on downtown streets. Yeah, police cars were torched....

Smac & Cheese from the Nickel Diner | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Heaven comes in the form of oooey, gooey, and slightly crunchy with a spicy kick. Meet Nickel Diner's appropriately named Smac and Cheese ($7.50). Large macaronis are smothered with four cheeses--cheddar, fontina, pepper jack and mozzarella--mixed with a few roasted tomatoes and topped with baked breadcrumbs and herbs. Wowee. Downtown has reached a trifecta of the most pleasurable mac and cheese recipes...

There is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the Southern California mountains today with rain, wind and lighting possibly hitting other parts of the region late this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Temperature wise, the direct Los Angeles area will be in the 60s and low 70s with lows in the 50s and 60s, depending on where you're located. Over the weekend, expect more of the same with patchy drizzle....

At 4th and Main in downtown, construction makes progress | Photo by rebelsciences via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The latest on having Pedicabs operate in the city? After a meeting combing over the proposed rules, Transportation Commissioners continued the item until next month after asking for changes on some of the more ridiculous items like dress code and helmets for passengers. Schwarzenegger: Give me a budget on time or I'm shutting...

A family hired forensics expert said today that he believed David Carradine's death was not a suicide, but the cause of death could not determined until he received more information from Thai authorities, the Associated Press reported today. Carradine was found hanging dead last week, with ropes tied around his neck, wrists and genitals, in a Bangkok hotel. Thai officials original suspected suicide, but later said it could have been accidental, too, because the...

Photo: tylerdurden1 This morning officials will announce a new runway safety system designed to prevent airport accidents. LAX has been subject to many close calls over the years. The new safety lights, known as Runway Status Lights, are a series of red lights embedded in the pavement that warn pilots when it’s unsafe to enter or cross a runway, according to Mayor Villaraigosa's office. The system cost $7 million and has been placed on...

it's been a long battle between permanent residents and the new mobile permanent residents of Venice. With the streets filling up with RVs and some allegedly dumping water waste (in the literal sense, too), on lawns and into the streets, residents wanted to limit the amount of overnight and RV parking in the neighborhood. It's what the residents ultimately voted for and what California Coastal Commission staffed urged. Nonetheless, Commission members voted against restrictions,...

When former Mayor James Hahn visited China in 2002, hoping to get panda exhibit for the LA Zoo, he came back with the promise of three golden monkeys for 10 years. Now that is not even happening, according to the Daily News. "We did pursue it with the Chinese government, but our understanding is they were no longer responding to our inquiries," Zoo Commission President Shelby Kaplan Sloan said. "We are working to bring...

The County tried to regulate the time a taco trucks could operate in one place and lost. On Friday, a similar, but lesser known Los Angeles city ordinance from 2006 was struck down by a judge. Last December, a taco truck owner received a $150 parking ticket from the city's Department of Transportation for violating the law. He and a group of attorneys and students from UCLA Law School's clinical program challenged the ticket in an administrative hearing, but lost. They appealed to LA County Superior Court and won with no city attorneys present at the hearing.

Photo via Quarrygirl, used with permission A new trend for Los Angeles? After learning that Cruzer Pizza in Los Feliz began offering a vegan-heralded brand of very realistic cheese, Daiya, Purgatory Pizza chimes in via Twitter to us saying, "Someone told me they read on LAist that only one place in LA has Daiya. Not true. We have it at Purgatory Pizza too." For vegan blogger Quarrygirl, her favorite pizza place just got a...

Photo by Fred Camino via Flickr One of LA's best ideas is about to get a little more pricier. Beginning August 1st, LAX FlyAway one-way tickets between Union Station/Van Nuys and LAX will raise one dollar to $7 to further close the gap between revenues and expenses. Westwood to LAX and back will remain at $5 each way. "Despite a decline in air travel, the demand for LAX FlyAway bus service has increased in...