blogdowntown: Latest Content

One thing I thought was interesting while walking around with the power out today was taking a look at which buildings had the generators to keep things relatively normal, and which did not. For instance, I heard my building’s generator kick in within 15 seconds after the power went out. It didn’t provide power to the units, but it did bring up sufficient...

Everyday

Pedestrian Life, One Way or Another

By Eric Richardson — September 12, 2005
2 Comments

Everyone else will cover the power outage better than I could, so I won’t really get into that. I will, though, say that it was fun to walk around the Historic Core and see so many people hanging out on the sidewalks. I started from my apartment and wandered over to Hill before coming back here and then heading up toward the Civic Center. Lots of people...

Everyday

September Art Walk Snapshot

By Eric Richardson — September 08, 2005

Thanks to a 7 - 11pm class, my Downtown Art Walk today was about ten minutes long. I did make some quick rounds at the nickel (5th & Main), though, and really enjoyed the Snap to Grid show at the LA Center for Digital Art. The premise is basically that everything submitted was accepted, and hung on display in a roughly 8.5x11 format. I don’t know exactly...

Everyday

DOT Says No One Wants Midblock Crossing

By Eric Richardson — September 08, 2005

One year ago today (according to the City Clerk’s stamp) Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa made a motion (PDF) asking DOT to report on the cost of placing a midblock crosswalk on Spring Street between 6th and 7th. Now that just happens to be my block, so I was interested to hear about this. Just a week or so ago DOT finally returned a report (PDF). Basically...

Everyday

Food Carts and Street Life

By Eric Richardson — September 07, 2005

Fun tip email I got today… A reader writes There’s a new (licensed, it looks like) cart vendor at 4th and Bolyston. He opened for the first time yesterday. This puts carts in my work’s area (west of the 110) at two, as another guy is located just off 4th and Beaudry. To me, the presence of street food vendors indicates a returning vibrancy...

Everyday

LABJ Looks at Market-Rate / Skid-Row Relationship

By Eric Richardson — September 06, 2005

Mark Lacter has an interesting piece in this week’s LA Business Journal titled ”Downtown’s Renewal Testing ‘Containment’ of Homeless Problem.” There are things I agree with, and things I don’t, but I guess that’s what makes a good read. I don’t know how the piece is presented in the paper journal, but I would...

Everyday

No Parking

By Eric Richardson — September 06, 2005

I really do get the feeling that all the talk that’s gone into closing the Spring Street contraflow lane was unnecessary: Hollywood closed the lane already. Today marks at least the fourth day out of the last two weeks or so that the contraflow lane has been closed between 6th and 7th. Also today, a fun new twist on lane closures. The no parking signs...

Everyday

Imagining Red Car Routes

By Eric Richardson — September 06, 2005
5 Comments

I took a little time away from the computer this weekend and watched college football (it was a nice start for the Trojans), so hopefully that’s enough of an excuse for why I’m posting today about happenings last Wednesday. In any case, Wednesday morning the CCA hosted a meeting of the Red Car Advisory Board I first mentioned back in June. The CRA...

Everyday

Housing Department Reports on SRO Hotels

By Eric Richardson — August 31, 2005

I don’t have a lot to add about this one, but I think this report from the Housing Department on SRO Hotels in Los Angeles (PDF) is a good read. What is an SRO? Well, the city considers it “a structure with => 6 guest rooms in which 30% or more of the units do NOT have private bath and toilet within the unit.” 76% of the city’s SRO...

Everyday

New Audit Says El Pueblo on Right Road

By Eric Richardson — August 31, 2005
1 Comment

Olvera Street was in the news for the wrong reasons last year, as reports came out of mismanagement and missing funds. A new audit (1MB PDF) released today by Laura Chick’s office finds things in much better shape a year later. From Chick’s cover letter to the Council Today I am very pleased to release a follow-up audit of El Pueblo that tells a...