blogdowntown: Life in Downtown Los Angeles (Stories+Headlines)

Big Turnout for First Night of Shuttle Between USC and L.A. Live

Eric Richardson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:26:51 -0800

USC's Song girls perform in front of a double-decker bus brought in for the kickoff of the new shuttle service. Photo by Eric Richardson.

Maybe it was the free pizza, the promise of free movies or the chance to see Pete Carroll, but nearly 1,000 USC students made their way to Figueroa street on Thursday night for the kickoff of shuttle service between the campus and L.A. Live.

USC football coach Pete Carroll, men's basketball coach Kevin O'Neill and women's coach Michael Cooper joined the Laker girls, Song girls and the USC band for the festivities.

Perhaps no one was more excited about the new offering than O'Neill, who lives just across the street from L.A. Live. He said he may just use the new route, which picks up right next door to his offices in the Galen Center, to get back and forth between home and the office.

London-style double-decker buses were brought in for the kickoff, but future nights will be run using USC Transportation's bus fleet.

The service will pick up at The Lab (3500 Figueroa) and 901 Bar (Figueroa and 28th) at USC and next to the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live. Buses run every half hour between 6pm and 2am on Friday, 2pm to 2am on Saturdays and 4pm to 10pm on Sundays.

By Eric Richardson.

Regional Connector Meetings Kick Off Saturday

Eric Richardson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:08:46 -0800

A rendering showing how a Regional Connector station might look under 2nd street. Photo by Metro.

Another round of outreach meetings kicks off tomorrow for Metro's Regional Connector, a project proposed to link the Blue Line and Expo Line to the Gold Line and Eastside Extension. Four meetings in the next week offer weekend, daytime and evening time slots.

While the round really kicked off with a Thursday night session in Pasadena, the Downtown meetings get started on Saturday, November 7. The project team will be at the Wurlitzer Building (818 S. Broadway) from 10am to noon.

On Tuesday, November 10, they will be at the Central Library Board Room from noon to 1:30pm, and on Thursday, November 12, the team will be at the Japanese American National Museum from 2 - 3:30pm and 6:30 - 8pm.

The Metro board voted in September to submit the Regional Connector and the Westside subway extension to the Federal government for funding. There is intense debate over how the project will interact with Little Tokyo, however. The community last week asked Metro to reopen study of a fully-underground routing.

By Eric Richardson.

False Alarm: Suspicious Package at 5th and Grand

Eric Richardson with Ed Fuentes — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:30:41 -0800

LAPD cruisers block off 5th street at Grand. Photo by Ed Fuentes.

A suspicious shopping cart near U.S. Bank tower led to street closures just before noon, but turned out to be a false alarm.

Rosie Carrillo, a Coffee Bean barista, says it was frightening to be evacuated along with other lunch retail shops on 5th street. She saw the suspicious package, made of a shopping cart with a photo of Obama, a soldier and a cross. "It was neatly stacked next to the bus stop," she said.

blogdowntown followed the incident on twitter, pulling together our own information and reports from readers.

11:03am: Text from Danyul: Report from the field. 5th and grand blocked off by police

11:15am: We send out a tweet: Tip that LAPD has the intersection of 5th and Grand closed off. Anyone know what's up?

11:25am: RT @jfrog: @blogdowntown a suspicious package outside us bank tower (where I work)

11:25am: RT @lainegrace:Suspicious pkg w/ Obama pic / Bible attached, liquids.

11:28am: We update with info from LAPD Central Division Captain Blake Chow: LAPD says the package is a shopping cart, and that bomb squad is enroute.

11:38am: RT @lainegrace: False alarm! It's apparently over, everything reopened. To quote a coworker, "The homeless guy came to pick up his stuff?"

11:40am: We update from the scene: 5th street is the last to clear up. Closed at Hill. Most everything else is reopened.

To stay on top of incidents like this as they happen, follow blogdowntown on twitter.

By Eric Richardson with Ed Fuentes.

Overcrowded Jails Lead to Quick Releases for Illegal Animal Vendors

Ed Fuentes — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:46:05 -0800

Robert Ferber, Head of the City Attorney's Animal Protection Unit. Photo by Ed Fuentes.

|VIDEO| A September raid on illegal animal sales in the Fashion District led to ten felony arrests, but overcrowding in Los Angeles' jail system means that those charged have avoided time behind bars and may not ever show up for prosecution.

One month after the raid, blogdowntown caught up with Robert Ferber, Head of the City Attorney's Animal Protection Unit, to get an update on how the cases were progressing.

Ferber said that prosecutors were convinced that bringing felony charges would make a difference in getting the high bail amounts necessary to see the charges through to trial.

Turns out, it didn't work. Bail was set at $20,000, and in Los Angeles those with bails under $25,000 are now released on their own recognizance because of overcrowded jails. Those releases occur without the person charged having to make bail, and often without any legitimate ID being shown.

Ferber said that makes it hard for a justice system to get anything done.

By Ed Fuentes.

Lengthy Closures for Saturday Police Gala

Eric Richardson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:25:46 -0800

Open space at the new Police Administration Building has been closed since October 28 for Saturday's True Blue gala, put on by the Los Angeles Police Foundation. Photo by Eric Richardson.

Saturday evening's True Blue gala at the new Police Administration Building is expected to draw 800 guests, each of whom has contributed at least $500 to the non-profit Los Angeles Police Foundation. Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien will emcee.

It's likely that some Downtowners feel they've given their own mandatory contribution to the festivities. The new public park constructed as part of the headquarters facility has been closed since October 28, as has the linear landscaping along Spring street and sidewalks along both Spring and 2nd.

1st street and Main street will both be closed during the event, as will sidewalks between 1st and Temple. A sign posted on 1st says that the closure will run from 6pm on Friday through noon on Sunday.

During the building's recent opening, City officials touted the new facility's openness to the community.

While few would question the worth of the Police Foundation cause, the duration of the closures raises questions about how the new park space will be handled in the future.

According to the City's Public Way reservation system, the park space is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, November 10.

By Eric Richardson.

Headline: KOR Sells Arts District Retail Building, Lawsuits Ensue

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:14:05 -0800

CurbedLA: KOR sells to Klein at 521 S. Hewitt; now there's a lawsuit against Loft Appeal, and Lofty Dog is seeking a new location.

Filming Nodes Proposed for DWP HQ, City Hall and 650 S. Spring

Eric Richardson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:24 -0800

A June 2008 shoot for "Criminal Minds" takes place at the intersection of 6th and Spring, near one of the proposed utility nodes. Photo by Eric Richardson.

A three-site pilot of "infrastructure nodes" to provide power for filming sites and base camps could be in operation by February of 2010, four years after the idea was first introduced at City Council. In the process, the estimated cost per site has ballooned.

The concept of the nodes is to provide points where film crews can plug in to get utility power, reducing their dependency on generators. That makes shoots greener, and the reduction in diesel exhaust is intended to make them better neighbors in an increasingly residential Downtown.

The nodes were first proposed by Plasmatic Concepts in a 2005 report on the future of Downtown filming, and Councilwoman Jan Perry introduced a motion asking the Department of Water and Power to study the concept in early 2006.

On Tuesday, Wayne Hinkson of DWP told the Council's Jobs and Business committee that the three sites have been selected, and that implementation talks are underway. Nodes would be placed at DWP's Bunker Hill headquarters, City Hall and in a parking lot next to 650 S. Spring.

The block bounded by 6th, 7th, Spring and Main is one of the most heavily used sites for filming operations. FilmL.A. reports that ten production companies have shot 15 days on the 600 block of Spring since July 1.

The lobby of the former Bank of America building at 650 S. Spring is frequently used for shoots, and a surface parking lot on the corner of 6th and Main is one of the few lots in the area large enough to hold base camps.

Hinkson told the committee that each node would cost $70,000 to $80,000, up from an estimate of $2,500 to $20,000 the department gave in 2006. DWP is trying to get community redevelopment funds or money from the Air Quality Management District to pay for the installations.

As the concept has been refined, the size of the nodes has also become an issue. Geoffry Smith of FilmL.A. characterized them as "executive desk" sized units, and said that the bulk means the nodes won't be going in on every corner.

Concerns have been raised that the installation of the nodes would lead to a rise in filming frequency on the surrounding blocks. Smith doesn't see that happening. "You're not going to go to a location because it's got a power node," he said.

By Eric Richardson.

Headline: Using the New Gold Line Extension

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:37:10 -0800

LAist notes with the opening of the new Gold Line Eastside extension on the 15th, there will be many ways to access.