LA City Council votes to fast track Boring Co. tunnel under Sepulveda Blvd., LA DOT launches Blue LA electric car-share, David Hockney chats about his LACMA exhibit.
A vision for zero traffic deaths with better street design and car technology
Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled his budget for the coming fiscal year, Thursday, including $91 million in funding for Vision Zero -- the city's ambitious plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2025.
Los Angeles is one of at least 30 U.S. cities working to eradicate deaths from its roadways. Nationally, the plan is to reduce traffic deaths to zero by 2050. The Rand Corporation has a new report out Thursday that details exactly how that could happen, and it's not all about making people better drivers.
Rand researcher Lisa Ecola said what's really needed is a paradigm shift in how we think about traffic safety. Historically, we've always put the onus on the driver to drive safely, but Ecola said that's just not realistic.
We know that people are going to make mistakes whether they're impaired or distracted. Humans make mistakes. It's not something we can engineer away. So the idea behind this paradigm shift is let's design a system to be safer so that the roads are encouraging vehicles and helping their drivers drive safely, so when drivers do make a mistake behind the wheel it doesn't have fatal consequences.
Vehicle Technology
Ecola said that vehicle technology is one of the main advances that can help with this preventative strategy. Electronic stability control, which can help a driver control a vehicle if it's starting to skid, is now in more than half of cars on U.S. roads. Automatic emergency breaking, technology that makes a car capable of braking for a driver if it senses an obstacle, is a newer feature that will hopefully become standard in the future, Ecola said.
Road Design
In urban areas, this it's all about intersections, Ecola said, and reducing speeds. Creating sharper turns that require slower speeds is one option. Roundabouts are another way to make intersections safer.
In rural areas, the focus is on preventing head-on collisions or crashes where a driver runs off the road, Ecola said, which means using tools like rumble strips, medians, and guard rails.
Changing Public Attitudes
This is a long game, Ecola said. Rand hopes public thinking will change to reflect a greater demand for safe roads. She said the recent fatality on a Southwest Airlines flight was the first death on a commercial flight in almost a decade. The reason it got so much attention in the press was that people have come to expect safety in the air. Rand wants the public to expect that same safety on the road.
It's the end of the internet as we know it, but California is feeling fine
It's been four months since the Federal Communications Commission officially killed net neutrality. Current regulations overseeing the way internet service providers enable access will end this coming Monday, April 23rd.
But California isn't giving up without a fight. A new state bill seeks to replace the FCC's repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules. But is internet regulation at a state level really a good idea?
CNET senior reporter Maggie Reardon says it is not ideal. But before jumping into the nitty gritty of what this new legislation can mean, let's first do a refresher course on what exactly net neutrality is.
Net neutrality 101
Think of net neutrality as the basic rules of the road. "They say that a broadband provider or a wireless provider can't block or slow down access to a service or a website," Reardon explained.
Equal access is both for consumers and companies like Google, Netflix, Facebook. Under these rules, ISPs cannot:
- Prioritize content from sites or services. In other words, just because Netflix uses more bandwidth than a blog site, the ISPs can't charge the company more in order for users to access their content.
- Exert their power when it comes to "interconnection deals." For example, when a company like Netflix is trying to connect to a broadband provider, sometimes those discussions and business deals can get a little hairy and companies that own those networks exert their power and sort of hold those companies hostage so that has government oversight.
Still scratching your head? Here's a one-minute video that does a pretty good job of explaining it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKB2cCarKUs
What's at stake when it comes to ending net neutrality?
Reardon said the internet as we know it is at stake without net neutrality.
The real fear for a lot of people is that you don't want your internet to end up looking like your cable TV system. And that's what people fear -- that if you allow big ISPs which are broadband companies and wireless companies to have control with no rules then they can dictate what you see, what sites you can go to, what services you can use.
We've grown up loving the internet and being able to get to any site and service we want and it's been great for entrepreneurs and for people who want to start businesses and really innovate.
So what are the possible repercussions of getting rid of net neutrality?
- Slowing of innovation at the company level because if you're a startup in a dorm room you won't have the means to pay extra ISP fees for access.
- As a consumer, the fees that are enacted on companies like Netflix or Facebook could then be passed on to you, the user of these types of services.
California is fighting back, so what will the internet experience look like for us if this bill passes?
If the bill passes, the internet experience here in California will remain exactly as is, Reardon explained. It will ensure you don't have broadband companies dictating what sites you can go to, what services you can receive.
This is a state bill that will basically put the federal regulations that were just abolished into state law and it goes further. What's interesting about it, these are the strongest set of net neutrality rules that have ever been proposed and it could really push the nation to sort of follow.
Is internet regulation at the state level really the best idea?
It's not ideal and the state lawmakers who are pushing for this legislation know that.
...They say that they feel that they have to do it because without any federal rules they feel like the citizens of their state are really left behind. And now it's more than half the states in the country are considering something similar to California, although California has really gone further than anybody else.
I think the hope is if they can get these laws passed, that they can force the federal government to take action and that may be in the way of new legislation.
BlueLA is the new car in town — it's electric and you can rent it by the minute
Christophe Arnaud is showing off a new car debuting in LA this week. It's designed by PininFarina -- an Italian company better known for its work with Ferrari – not that you'd ever confuse the two.
"As you can see, it's a small urban car, but it's a four seater with a little trunk," Arnaud said.
And it's all electric. It's called a Blue car, but it isn't for sale. Starting Friday, 25 of them will be available to rent as part of a new car-share operated by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation in partnership with Arnaud's company in France – Blue Solutions. By the end of the year there will be 100 vehicles.
The service is Blue LA, and the cars will be rented out of 40 different locations, including Los Angeles City College, which has five contiguous on-street parking spaces, each with its own charger.
It's part of the sustainable city program Mayor Eric Garcetti announced three years ago, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing mobility options for Angelenos, especially those living in disadvantaged communities that are more exposed to car and truck emissions.
Places like downtown LA, Macarthur Park, Pico Union, Koreatown, Boyle Heights and Echo Park -- they're all getting Blue LA hubs, funded in part with cap-and-trade monies from the California Air Resources Board.
There are three price points, according to Marcel Porras. He's chief sustainability officer for LA's Department of Transportation, which oversees Blue LA.
1. Low income: If you qualify, it's 15 cents per minute plus a $1 monthly membership fee.
2. Regular members: It's 20 cents per minute plus a $5 monthly membership fee.
3. Walk-up service: Accessible with a credit card, it costs 40 cents per minute, without a monthly membership.
The price includes parking, insurance and fuel.
Blue LA might be the newest – and greenest – car share in LA but it is not the first. ZipCar and General Motors' Maven both offer similar services that let drivers rent cars by the hour or the day for a fee that usually starts at about $10. Turo and Getaround are the same thing, only the rentals are peer to peer.
What's different about BlueLA is that it charges by the minute because "In some instances your trip might only be 15 minutes," said LADOT's Porras.
Because there are multiple hubs, renters can pick up the car from one place and drop it off at another with a guaranteed parking spot wherever they leave it.
How it works:
- Sign up for the service through the Blue LA app, and within a couple days you'll get a tap card that unlocks an available vehicle.
- Touch that card to the driver's side window to unlock the door.
- Unplug the charging cable.
- Hop in.
- The key is inside, attached to the car. And then you drive away…
Designed as affordable, nonpolluting mobility for people who don't own a car or who need to fill in the gaps of public transit, Blue LA is likely to expand quickly. Next year, the number of cars and locations could double. In Paris, where Blue Solutions has been operating a car share since 2011, the service now has 200,000 members and has reduced the number of privately operated vehicles by 40,000.
But an EV sharing service could be a tougher sell here in car-centric Los Angeles.
April Song is a student at LA City College, the location of one of the new Blue LA hubs. Before she had a car, she dabbled with something similar - Zip Car.
"I just used that service instead of taking an Uber because that was more efficient," she said.
Now she drives a Hyundai Sonata.
"I can use my car to commute and go to places, but if you're using the car sharing service… you'd have to check out a car for hours per day, and that kind of piles up, you know?"
It will take time to pry the cold, hard steering wheels of privately owned vehicles out of Angelenos' hands, but Blue LA is a step.
As transportation technology continues to explode, we see this as fitting into that whole eco system of ride share, bike share, electric scooter share, taxis," Porras said.
LA's all-electric car share service, Blue LA, goes lives at 1 p.m. Friday.
Should Elon Musk's Westside tunnel get to skip environmental review?
When an earthquake hits, do you know the drill?
Thursday is the day for the "Great California ShakeOut," the annual, state-wide earthquake drill.
Most of us now know the basic drill: "Drop, Cover, and Hold On." There's also the warning not to run or go outside. But what if you already are outside when a quake hits? What if you're asleep in bed? In a car? Or in a store?
Margaret Vinci, manager of the Office of Earthquake Programs at Caltech, says "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" still applies, but there are some more tips to keep in mind that are specific to different locations where you might find yourself when a quake hits:
In a grocery or clothing store?
Get underneath a shopping cart if you can. It will provide some protection from falling objects. Getting inside clothing racks can also give you some protection.
In a big warehouse store like Costco or Home Depot?
If you're in the aisles, take cover inside the bottom level of the racks.
In a parking lot?
If you're in an open areas like a parking lot, drop immediately, crawl into a ball to protect your inner organs, and then put your hand over your head and your hand over your neck. The least amount of movement you make when the earth starts to shake, the safer you're going to be.
Outside of a building?
The facade of the building can come crumbling down, so you don't want to be near the front of the building. You want to be away from glass too, if possible. Also look out for electrical wires that can fall. Get next to a retaining wall or under a park bench if you can.
In bed?
Stay in bed, pull the covers over your head to protect you from glass, and put a pillow over your bed to protect you from falling objects. Don't get out of bed or get under your bed. If you're next to your bed or under it, you're at risk of getting crushed by your bed.
In a car?
If you're driving, you'll feel like your tires are going flat and you'll start to see things sway. Pull over to the side of the road, set your parking brake, lay down on the front seat. Avoid parking under overpasses or bridges, but don't go looking for the perfect place to stop.
Other places that you DON'T want to be in an earthquake?
A lot of people think that stairwells are good places to go because they're sturdy parts of the building, but if you're in a stairwell, you can be thrown down the stairs. You don't want to be in a stairwell. You don't want to be running to the roof either, like they said in the movie "San Andreas." Unless you're being picked up by the Rock, don't head for the roof.
Looking for more tips? Click here.
LA Football Club diehards wanted a stadium that was loud, intimidating and never let you sit down
Artist and ‘English-Los Angeleno’ David Hockney brings latest work home to LA
Few have left their mark on the Los Angeles like David Hockney. Known for his passion for experimentation in all its forms and use of vibrant, colorful California landscapes, Hockney brought visibility to gay life the early in 1960's by painting members of the community living openly in LA. As a prolific painter and multimedia artist, the 80-year-old Hockney has yet to slow down.
82 Portraits and 1 Still-life
His latest body of work, 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life, is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art right now. Presented together as one work of art, the 83 paintings were created in his Hollywood hills studio. Over the course of three years, Hockney seated model after model, in the same spot -- all in a striking yellow chair with a blue-green background.
The exhibit has been touring museums in Europe and has come home to be seen in Los Angeles for the first time.
"I never set out to paint 82 portraits. They just grew and that's the number I finished, eventually," Hockney said. "It was a mad thing to do really, paint 82 portraits, but I enjoyed doing them very much. And I think you can tell that here."
All of the 82 subjects were part of Hockney's circle. Family, friends, employees, and even notable personalities like Frank Gehry and Barry Humphries make up the sprawling body of work.
"I think if you know them very well, you really know what they look like," Hockney said. "Whereas, if I was drawing you now, never really having met you before, it would take me awhile to find your face, really. The more you know about people, the more I can put in the painting."
Each portrait took two to four days to paint and Hockney painted his subjects virtually back to back, over the course of three years. And Hockney was not willing to take much of a break. When a subject was unable to sit for a scheduled portrait, Hockney opted to place an arrangement of fruit, thus providing the singular still-life in the bunch.
Stephanie Barron was painted by Hockney as part of the series in January of 2014. She's also curated the LACMA exhibit and displayed the portraits in chronological order.
"Ultimately, this work is enormously accessible," Barron said. "There’s a joyousness. There’s astonishing color. There’s an openness. It’s just work that, frankly, makes you smile. And I think so often, people come to works and they feel like I’m not smart enough to know that, or I need to read a text to understand that. And that’s not the case here. These are works that I think speak to everybody."
Los Angeles left its mark on Hockney
Hockney arrived in Los Angeles 55 years ago and fell in love with the region pretty quickly. His depictions of Los Angele life and landscapes are staples of Hockney's decades-long portfolio.
"I think of myself as an English Los Angeleno," said Hockney. "That’s what I am."
Hockney may have helped shape the L.A. art scene, but creating work in L.A. has shaped Hockney as an artist. "When I went back to England to paint some landscapes, I was going back with 30 years of painting in California," Hockney said. "So, I painted it differently."
"I think it’s very lively here. I love it. I love L.A. I do. It’s a marvelous city. There’s lots of artists here now. There’s lots and lots of interesting people live in LA. All kinds of people. All types."
If you'd like to check out portraits of some of those interesting people living in L.A., 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life will be at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until July 29, 2018.
LA's knitters roll out for yarn crawl
One of the last things on your mind is probably chunky knits and fall sweaters. But the sunny SoCal weather didn't stop knitting fanatics from attending Yarn Crawl L.A. last week. It's an annual four-day festival that's like the Super Bowl for those in the knitting community—one that's grown and diversified quite a bit in the last few years.
"A few years ago, it was rare for a man to walk into a shop, and I've gotten some weird responses over the years like 'What's he doing here?' you know?" said Chester Lugmy. By day he's a corporate buyer for Panda Express but in his free time, he's also a knitting instructor and aspiring designer.
Chester is wearing a bright orange and turquoise scarf that he promises anyone could knit in just a few months. He's one of a growing of men who've taken up the pastime.
"It's definitely refreshing to see and I think more and more shop owners are seeing us as a viable group to market to," he said.
Anthony Caselina echoes that sentiment: "I love the shock value...it's awesome."
Anthony is a big guy, covered in tattoos that go all the way up his neck. And he's been knitting for 7 years.
"To me it's just an addiction — a man's addiction to football, is my addiction to yarn."
He doubts he'll ever stop. "My hands shake if I'm not knitting."
As the knitting community grows, so do the reasons for taking up the pastime.
"It actually helped me quit smoking," said Chester Lugmy.
"A lot of times it's around a baby being born — someone's having a baby and they want to knit something. We've had women, their last borns were going off to college and empty nesters, so needing something to do, wanting to meet new friends," said Samantha Knight, founder of Abuelita's Knitting and Needlepoint in Pasadena. While Samantha is a mom, she's not an abuelita quite yet.
"People many times come in and say, 'Oh are you THE abuelita?' No, no, no. That was a bit of a play on words," she said.
The name is ironic because she didn't just want to appeal to the abuelitas traditionally known for knitting. She wanted to include the young and the old, and the men.
"I remember one time at our stitch and chat we had a teenager i think she was about 13...14 and a great grandmother who was about 86 and every generation in between."
J.R. Jaffe hand-dyes yarn and is a knitting instructor at Abuelita's and says she's had similar experiences. "I've taught people who are CEOs of corporations like high powered business people to like a 5 year old little girl."
The diversity of knitters has definitely gotten a boost from films like "The Hunger Games."
"I know exactly which cowl you're talking about! In the second movie she had this amazing cowl, really really chunky knit... There were suddenly a flood of patterns that showed up online," said Chester Lugmy.
"A lot of those projects have been made," echoed Samantha Knight. "People came in and said 'I want to make the Katniss vest.'"
Even while Hollywood throws love to knitters, some people still don't see how sunny Los Angeles and knitting can ever go hand in hand.
"L.A. is a great place to be a knitter," said J.R. Jaffe. "Some people might not think so just because it is so warm here, but there's definitely a call for it just because I think a lot of people use knitting almost as a form of therapy."
That's another reason Samantha Knight has heard from her customers who've taken up knitting.
"Weight loss, keep their hands busy at night so they're not snacking. Smoking is a big one. And the other thing we hear is that women can be in the same room with their husbands if they're watching a sporting even. So that's nice if we can save some marriages with knitting!"