Will Los Angeles start feeling more urban and navigable for pedestrians in downtown and Hollywood? Yesterday, the city council approved a 6-month pilot project to allow taxis more freedom of where to pick up and drop off customers. Basically, they just can't block bus stops, but handicap and red zones will be fair game. Blogdowntown reports one taxi driver's sigh of relief. We're just excited to be able to cruise from the Arts District to......

Photo by maxedaperture via Flickr Remember Walkscore, the website where you type in your address and the spit out a score rating the walkability of your neighborhood? Today, they released America's Most Walkable Neighborhoods and Los Angeles came out at #9. #9?!?! Well, it's not for the city as a whole, but rather for certain neighborhoods, specifically Mid City West, Downtown, Hollywood. Ahead one step of Los Angeles is Long Beach at number 8......

The long awaited Vista Hermosa Park near Downtown in City West is opening this Saturday. Apparently, it's the first new park in Downtown since 1895, according to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy who bought the land and has been working with the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority on the 14-acre park that seeks to recreate the natural environment through trails, wetlands, chaparral and fishing ponds. There's also a FIFA-regulation soccer field, picnic areas, and an......

Yesterday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by New York-based Paul Dillon (MySpace) from Silver Rockets (MySpace), as well as local bands The Damselles and The TC4 (MySpace), Speedbuggy (MySpace), and The Happy Hollows (MySpace). The Damselles and the TC4 is a newly-formed supergroup, comprised of members from I Make This Sound (MySpace), Le Switch (MySpace), The Voyeurs (MySpace), and Division Day (MySpace). This was their second live performance, as their......

On Wednesday, the City Council will be voting on a six-month taxi cab pilot program for downtown and Hollywood. But the Department of Transportation has a concern, according to a report (.pdf) of theirs: "There is a possibility that during peak hours, key lanes of traffic could be impeded by taxi operations generated by the pilot program." LA Times Road Sage Steve Hymon translates: "They're scared silly of anything that may slow down some bloke......

Think LA's relationship with underground rail transit began with the first tunnels blasted out to make way for the Red Line? Think again! LA's first subterranean transit system was a short stretch of tunneling dubbed the "Hollywood Subway," which moved its first passengers under the city in 1925 via electric interurban rail cars. Opening Day in Toluca Yard (end of the Hollywood Subway at 1st and Glendale); original source unkonwn, via California Trolleys The idea......

It's that time of the month again... one of the best Los Angeles events is back here on the second Thursday of the month: the Downtown Art Walk (and Comedy Walk). Here's some of what happened last month through the eyes of Ed Fuentes at View from a Loft and Blogdowntown (he wrote tonight's Art Walk Preview). The Art Walk officially goes from noon to 9:00 p.m., but really, the parties and many shows go......

Yesterday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances from local bands The Parson Redheads (MySpace), The Henry Clay People (MySpace), and Film School (MySpace). This was a rather memorable appearance for The Henry Clay People for several reasons: It was their first show at Little Radio. It was guitarist Andy Ciara's birthday. Frontman Joey Ciara vowed to put more people onstage than The Parson Redheads -- whose bandmember count can approach The......

Photo by Omar Omar via Flickr Late last month, Tribune Company chairman and CEO Sam Zell said in a memo that he was considering selling the iconic Times Mirror Square (along with the Tribune Tower in Chicago). If it does sell, Zell says moving out won't be immediate (they could sell and lease back some of the space), but come five years down the road, moving day may arrive. So the question remains, what......

The idea is already in Metro's long range plan, but it's not a priority. The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. says it's only 3-miles and if connected to Burbank Airport and the Burbank Metrolink station (therefore, downtown Burbank), ridership would surely increase. Road Sage Steve Hymon questions what if the Green Line went all the way to the Norwalk Metrolink station (we'll add in, "how about LAX?").......

The Los Angeles Fire Department is reporting that parts of Federal Building at 300 N. Los Angeles St. in downtown has been evacuated after several people fell "ill" from an unknown odor. "It's not an escalating incident," said LAFD Spokesman Brian Humphrey to LAist over the phone. He explained it appears to be isolated on the 7th floor and could be related to work going on such as carpet cleaning or installation, although there is......

When it comes to good tacos in this town, it's not all about the truck, as LAist Featured Photos contributor ~db~ attests. This tasty bite came from: From my new favorite taco stand, Las Morelianas at Grand Central Market. Last time it was cueritos, and next time it might be trompas. But today it was their dependable lengua. Two bucks. Yum! Grand Central Market is also home to some fun neon signage, decent ice......

An LAPD Motorcycle Officer was sent to the hospital this morning when he was hit by a Toyota Camry at 5th Street and Stanford Avenue in Downtown LA between San Pedro St. and Central Ave. "The extent of the officer's injuries was not immediately known, but he was conscious and breathing when paramedics arrived," reports the LA Times. The cause of the accident or who is at fault is still not known.......

Last Saturday, Little Radio (MySpace) resumed its weekly Summer Camp (MySpace) series Downtown with performances by local bands Crystal Antlers (MySpace), Imaad Wasif (MySpace), and The Pity Party (MySpace). Tomorrow, Summer Camp continues with a lineup that reportedly includes local bands No Age (MySpace), Abe Vigoda (MySpace), and The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace) as well as the Charleston-based The Explorers Club (MySpace). Admission (21+) is a $15 donation to the Little Radio Sound School Project......

View Larger Map Vaughan Davies of EDAW, an urban planning and design firm, has a good idea: to cover up an 100 acre portion of the 101 Freeway, or as he calls it, the "Big Trench, in downtown: On top of the "Big Trench" -- that unsightly two-thirds of a mile of the 101 Freeway, just east of the 110 interchange between Grand Avenue and Alameda Street -- that brutally slices through the historic heart......

Photos via Downtown Art Walk It's meant to expedite patrons' tour of the 30+ galleries in the monthly Thursday event, but there have been many times where the Downtown Art Walk DASH has been empty (once it was a true party: check this crazy video out). Starting tomorrow, things on the new shuttle are mixing it up and it will no longer just be a city bus: welcome to "The Hippodrome" (as in the......

View Larger Map UPDATE: This was no small robbery (nor does it feel random). KCAL9 reports that the $200,000 was stolen -- $100,000 in cash and $100,000 in checks [via Daily News].Yes, Los Angeles has its Wall Street too. Today, it made the news (12th and Wall St.) after occupants in an SUV were robbed by three young males from another car. Around 8:00 a.m. this morning, the robbers first bumped into the SUV and......

Priscilla Ahn plays at her CD Release Show last night at the Hotel Cafe. Tonight she'll play on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. | Photo by Koga/LAist In the comments section of yesterday's post on changes at The Viper Room, concert goers are hoping for Indie 103.1's Check One... Two moves eastward while saying such things as "the Sunset Strip is dead." To that, owner of The Roxy, Nic Adler commented back: "True......

UCLA Professor Donald Shoup has been saying it for years: "inexpensive parking fosters urban decay, contributes to sprawl and motivates people to drive alone." How? It's that circling around effect, you know, when looking for spaces, avoiding valet. "Low meter rates can further congest city streets as motorists search for cheap parking spaces," the LA Times writes. "Studies in New York indicate that motorists on the hunt represent about 28% of all traffic on Manhattan......

A fire broke out early this morning in Downtown. KCBS has some video: Nearly 150 firefighters Thursday morning knocked down a blaze that engulfed a two-story commercial building in the garment district of downtown Los Angeles. Firefighters poured water onto the blaze from street-level and from above as flames and black smoke shot into the morning sky, barely a half-mile east of the Staples Center. Authorities report no one was hurt in the fire, which......

On Friday night, The Damn Sons (MySpace), BlackBlack (MySpace), and The Like (MySpace) performed at the 6th St. Warehouse in Downtown LA. By the time BlackBlack went onstage, the warehouse air was hot and heavy, reeking of cigarette smoke, and the restroom was out of toilet paper. But that didn't deter the all ages crowd, nor The Cobrasnake, from enjoying the show and taking photos. Speaking of photos, during The Like's set, the number......

"For the best farm-fresh sandwiches in downtown Los Angeles, it is Mendocino Farms. Amazing sandwiches," wrote hinducow in the caption of his Vegan Shawarma ($9.25) photo. The sandwich is not listed on their menu, but is a new summer grilled sandwich that has a white and lentil bean puree, red oninos, tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine lettuce and a soy schawarma. Other vegetarian and vegan option on the menu include: Caprese (Gioia fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil pesto......

On Wednesday, local band (and Cobrasnake favorites) The Like (MySpace) reemerged from nearly a year-long hiatus and performed at Club 86 in Hollywood, with a half hour set consisting entirely of newer songs (with the exception of "Release Me"). In attendance were the bandmembers' families (Tony Berg, Mitchell Froom, and Pete Thomas) and friends, which combined with the choice of venue, made this show feel like an intimate "living room" performance. Afterwards, Thomas and......

Cyrus Yazdani, 24, who is known on the streets as Buket, was arrested after videos of him allegedly tagging around Los Angeles were posted on YouTube. Los Angeles County Sheriff's had been looking for him for awhile and finally caught up with the by-day Las Vegas convention planner/by-night alleged prolific street tagger with a criminal record (see videos here of him on a freeway bridge and tagging a bus in downtown during the middle of......

Yesterday it was (the best) taquitos (in the city) from an Olvera Street stand; today it is flautas from an upscale Downtown restaurant, as photographed by LAist Featured Photos contributor hinducow. Normal flautas these are not -- try this on for California size: they are Chicken flautas filled with avacado from Noe at the Omni Hotel on Olive Street. So what's the difference between a taquito and a flauta? Mainly, it depends on being......

LAist Featured Photos contributor kpeII submits this Eye Nosh photo with a bold statement -- these taquitos from Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street are the best in town. Well, their website certainly boasts it and Yelpers seem to agree. A couple years ago, LAist asked readers where to eat and a handful of commenters brought up Lindo. Even Pulitzer Prize winning LA Weekly foodie Jonathan Gold had something to say, even though it was......

Interesting interview with Menotti Go next weekend to UCLA to see the Medium, an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, who sadly passed away last year. Seating is extremely limited, but you guys are in for a treat because its playing four days in a row, it’s FREE, and it’s in English. You can also join us in our dubious distinction as the oddest group of people ever (see the comments). The opera is structured......

"Noon-Five," by Tyler S. Andrews via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr. Q: How is the San Fernando Valley like 1950's Mississippi? A:Apart from the wide lots, racism is once again rearing its ugly head. Hate crimes have nearly doubled so far this year from the same period last year with Jews and blacks taking the brunt of the attacks. Q: When is it time to say goodbye to your dog? A: How about......

If you consider having three storefronts in Los Angeles a chain, then PitFire Pizza Company is just that. However, for a chain, their food is excellent. And a few LAist Featured Photos contributors prove that with their photography at each of their locations: NoHo Arts District, Downtown and Westwood. Submit your Eye Nosh food 'porn' photos and mini-reviews to LAist via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr.......

In January, Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti announced that City Hall and other downtown facilities would provide bicycle lockers, more racks, access to showers and a subsidy to City Hall staffers who ride a bike to work. Yesterday, Garcetti blogged that they have already won an award, the Rideshare Diamond Award, for their efforts. In other bike facility news, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a bike/walk tour that is open to......