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. Joined at the podium by Councilwoman Wendy Greuel and LADOT General Manager Rita Robinson, the Mayor explained that the new Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS) as implemented on Wilshire Boulevard, would increase capacity by 20%,......

Louis Allen as Christopher Walken and Amy Kelly as Robert DeNiro/Photo courtesy of Patrick O'Sullivan. COMEDY* All About Walken: The Impersonators of Christopher Walken is back on a new night and new venue (running only on Thursdays until April 3). Conceived and directed by Patrick O’Sullivan, the comedy show has an entire multiracial cast playing the same guy (Chris Walken, duh) picking up his tics and cadences to a tee. Tickets go fast for......

"Blues and Pinks at the Peninsula" by delara-photos via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr "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......

When the chips are down and you need cash to settle up some legal matters, unloading some real estate is a good move. Which is precisely why the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has sold off their 3424 Wilshire Boulevard Archdiocesan Catholic Center to Jamison Properties for a cool $31 million. Of course, that $31 million is just a drop in a bucket with a pricetag of $660 million for the church's past sins. According to the......

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. In an event most likely to be unrelated, shots were fired on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills around 3 p.m. today. "A gunman in a black Mercedes-Benz fired several shots along Wilshire Boulevard Wednesday, but no one is believed......

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......

If you thought earthquake season was over -- you were wrong! A 3.9 shaker hit the Lake Elsinore area earlier this afternoon. Maybe that explains the unseasonably warm weather today? Today in Shitty Traffic: parts of Wilshire are being closed off due to reports of a "suspicious package," Defamer is reporting that "the LAPD has closed the eastbound traffic of Wilshire Boulevard at Veteran Avenue to Westwood Boulevard." Hopefully justice will be served here:......

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.......

This Saturday is a good night to catch a couple of cool art openings around town! ACME is launching the group show Tugboat, featuring a variety of works by L.A. based artists Justin Beal, & Doug Crocco, along with Tomory Dodge, Tony Feher, Davis Rhodes, Lisa Sanditz, and Neal Tait. Opening reception is Saturday night from 6-8pm. - runs thru Oct. 6 - ACME - 6150 Wilshire Boulevard, Spaces 1 & 2 - www.acmelosangeles.com......

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......

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]......

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......

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......

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......

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......

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......

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. The Superblock, bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, Vermont and New Hampshire Avenues, and 6th Street, would be the focal point in Koreatown in promoting international trade and culture with South Korea. The joint development......

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. Housed in an understated yet elegant building originally designed by Welton Beckett's firm, Metro Customer Center functions as an information and pass distribution center as well as the Lost and Found for the......

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......

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......

Who said running was a loner sport. Niketown has been sponsoring jogs-about-town from its mammoth Beverly Hills location for years. When a race is upcoming, it sponsors group runs at other locations throughout the city and South Bay, as well. The sneaker seller has just launched a new batch of training runs ahead of the Brentwood 5k/10k Run on Sunday May 28th, Memorial Day weekend. They're all free. As a lure, Nike is offering......

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......

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......

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......

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. So we were perplexed by his recent launch of a companion site, The Valley Observed. Last time we checked, the San Ferndando......

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. Michael from Franklin Avenue doesn't take nearly enough credit for making it happen, with the LA Conservancy, and he has a great writeup of the evening. Mack does too. A pile of......

Eric Lynxwiler is the Indiana Jones of Los Angeles. He braves hostile bureaucrats, crumbling building sites and dangerous junkyards to ferret out Los Angeles's lost treasures. Characterizing himself as an "urban anthropologist," Eric shares his knowledge of the city's past with those lucky enough to get a seat on one of his Museum of Neon Art’s Neon Cruises, a nighttime open-air bus tour of LA neon signs. Eric's latest research project is the book,......

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,......

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. You can also check out the Santa Monica Farmers Market......

On Monday October 17th, Club Culinare is hosting a Chef a Table dinner with Swedish Chef Conny Andersson at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. Andersson will spend each of five courses at a different table, and guests are encouraged to engage in table talk about culinary issues and other pressing global concerns. Andersson graduated with honors in culinary school, has created dishes at some of the top restaurants in the country including L'Orangerie and the......