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From the Newsroom

Changed Live/Work Definition Will Take Time to Affect Downtown Condo Market

By Eric Richardson — March 12, 2010 — 4 Comments

Santee Village Eric Richardson

A code change that could make Downtown condos easier to finance passed City Council today, but it isn't clear exactly how soon the market could see a bounce from the move.

The change in the definition of live/work units is designed to allow Downtown units to qualify for loans insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), which come with much lower down payments. While today's change is widely praised in the housing market, updated FHA rules and a reclassification process for existing buildings will keep it from having an immediate impact. — Continued Inside...


Roads/Rails

Monday: Talk Transit at 'Transportation 2020'

By Eric Richardson — March 11, 2010
5 Comments

Monday: Talk Transit at 'Transportation 2020'

High Speed Rail, the Regional Connector and the L.A. Streetcar will be among the topics of conversation at "Transportation 2020," a town hall event being held on Monday evening at The Exchange.


Roads/Rails

720 Stop Added to Serve Skid Row

By Eric Richardson — March 11, 2010
3 Comments

720 Stop Added to Serve Skid Row

Ask and you shall receive. That's the message out of Skid Row this week, where Metro has added a 5th and San Pedro stop to the 720 Rapid Line in response to a request from community activist "General" Jeff Page.


Roads/Rails

Angels Flight Return Set After PUC Approval

By Eric Richardson — March 10, 2010
8 Comments

Angels Flight Return Set After PUC Approval

Downtown's shortest rail line appears set to finally make a return to passenger service. Angels Flight will be open for rides on April 15, according to John Welborne, head of the non-profit that owns the incline.


Arts/Culture

Grammy Museum Opens Comedian Series with Bob Newhart

By Ed Fuentes — March 10, 2010

Grammy Museum Opens Comedian Series with Bob Newhart

|Photo Gallery| Displaying his trademark stammer -- more comedian's timing device than personal quirk -- Bob Newhart played the Grammy Museum Sound Stage on Tuesday evening, partly to honor his 50th Anniversary as a performer, but mostly to just have a few laughs. It would be close to impossible to find a better choice for the first comedian to be interviewed in the museum...


History

Learn About L.A.'s Mayors at the Central Library

By Eric Richardson — March 10, 2010
1 Comment

Learn About L.A.'s Mayors at the Central Library

Los Angeles mayors George E. Cryer (in office 1921-1929), Frank Shaw (1933-1938) and Fletcher Bowron (1938-1953) will be the subjects of a trio of Saturday afternoon lectures at the Central Library. "Growth, Graft, Grandeur: Three Los Angeles Mayors" kicks off this weekend and runs through July.


Art Walk Preview: March, 2010

By Ed Fuentes — March 10, 2010 — 3 Comments

IMGP5003 Ed Fuentes

The March Downtown Art Walk -- make that Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, as the ever-changing website boldly notes -- returns to the streets of the Historic Core this Thursday.

For those making their first visit, the Artwalk Lounge at 5th and Main may be a good first stop. Others will feel free to pick their favorite gallery and start from there. — Continued Inside...


Food/Nightlife

Ay Caramba to Close

By Ed Fuentes — March 09, 2010
4 Comments

Ay Caramba to Close

After six years, Issac Ibarlucea is set to close Ay Caramba, the Arts District Mexican Cafe that has done double duty as a general store since February 2009. Ibarlucea cites a slowdown in business as the reason for the closure. The last day to dine will be Wednesday, March 17th, from 8am to 8pm.


Fiesta Broadway Moves North

By Ed Fuentes — March 09, 2010 — 14 Comments

IMGP1209 Ed Fuentes

While the 21st Fiesta Broadway may still pull in 500,000 “Latino customers” to the streets of Downtown, the 2010 event will have a far different footprint than it has in years past.

A short move to the north will concentrate the April 25 event on the northern blocks of the Broadway corridor and the Civic Center, limiting its southern reach to 4th street but expanding it to Spring and Main around City Hall and the new LAPD headquarters. — Continued Inside...


Politics

Around the Halls: March 8 - 10, 2010

By Eric Richardson — March 08, 2010

Around the Halls: March 8 - 10, 2010

Today is Monday, March 8, and it's a delayed edition of Around the Halls thanks to city website issues that left the calendar inaccessible well into the day. On the agendas for the rest of the week are neighborhood council funding, planning decisions for the Ford Hotel and float loans for a pair of Downtown projects.