Support verbdowntown
From the Newsroom

Provecho Brings New Mexican to Financial District

By Sophia Kercher — December 08, 2008 — 13 Comments

Provecho Eric Richardson

|Photo Gallery| Provecho is the type of establishment you wear nice shoes to. The recently opened fine Mexican dining establishment in the Financial District invites opulence with its floor to ceiling windows and sleek design. The eatery is headed by L.A. native chef Gabriel Morales, who earned his culinary stripes from kitchens in Italy to France and back to California.

“There wasn’t really good Mexican cuisine downtown,” Morales says about his culinary selection for Provecho. After a long wait, he opened both the restaurant and martini lounge Remedy last week. — Continued Inside...


Five Months In, the Hail-A-Taxi Looks For a Jump Start

By Samantha Page — December 08, 2008 — 15 Comments

Councilmembers Perry and Greuel, DCBID's Carol Shatz, cab drivers and organizers at the Hail-A-Taxi Samantha Page

The Hail-a-Taxi pilot launched July 31, but there hasn't been a lot of cab hailing going on Downtown. Five months in, most cabs still end up sitting at taxi stands waiting for airport fares.

This morning, Councilmembers Jan Perry and Wendy Greuel joined the Downtown Center BID and AEG in giving cabbies a free meal and a pitch to start cruising around Downtown. The event was the kickoff to "Taxicab Appreciation Week," a campaign focused on both the drivers and their potential riders. — Continued Inside...


Arts/Culture

El Pueblo Welcomes in the Holiday Season

By Ed Fuentes — December 08, 2008

El Pueblo Christmas Tree

Friday night was El Pueblo’s turn to use the well-traveled City of L.A. ceremonial switch and signal in the season by lighting the plaza's holiday tree. It was the first of a busy event schedule for L.A.'s birthplace.


Old Bank District Holds Successful First Holiday Block Party

By Ed Fuentes — December 08, 2008 — 10 Comments

4th and Main_B Ed Fuentes

Late into Saturday afternoon, Gilmore Associates staffers were rushing around to finish last minute details for the first Old Bank District Holiday Block Party, hoping to let neighbors (and guests) feel something new from the now familiar streets around 4th and Main.

It worked. Along with "causal nightlife center of Downtown," GilVille can add "successful holiday party spot" to its resume. The event seemed to run so smoothly, you thought the token rain sprinkles at 11:05pm were arranged as a warning; a proverbial heads-up that the midnight closing hour was coming. — Continued Inside...


Politics

Around the Halls: December 8 - 10

By Eric Richardson — December 08, 2008

_IGP9728.JPG

It's Monday, December 8, and with only two full weeks before Christmas there's still a full slate working its way through Council. On the docket this week are budget balancing proposals, Mills Act contacts for a number of Downtown buildings and updates on transportation funding.


Pop-Up Store Sells Goods With a Conscience

By Camilo Smith — December 07, 2008

GWC Fair Trade Popup Camilo Smith

Many Downtowners may not be aware that Los Angeles is considered the sweatshop capital of the U.S. with it's 4,000 garment factories. The group which makes that claim is the labor-rights non-profit Garment Worker's Center. The organization is hoping to add to its fundraising budget through a pop-up store that helps fight sweatshop conditions.

Sound like a novel-enough idea? The store's located on Los Angeles Street, in the Fashion District. — Continued Inside...


Etc

Oliver Lights a Tree

By Stan Lerner — December 07, 2008
9 Comments

When you’re Downtown Oliver Brown, not much fazes you. But waking up with my hot nineteen-year-old girlfriend’s MOTHER naked in my bed did actually give me what felt like a flutter in my chest followed by considerable shortness of breath. I would have been completely distraught but for the fact that my girlfriend Misha’s mother is the former supermodel Paullina...


Arts/Culture

"Printed" Opens at Crewest, Featuring Hand Made Works

By Ed Fuentes — December 06, 2008

Crewest

Inside Crewest Gallery last night, Mike Thacker of Two Rabbits Studios, seen here kneeling, began a long evening of cataloging and installing a large stack of hand made prints for “Printed: An Exhibition About Hand Printed Art.” The show opens today, coinciding with the Old Bank District Block Party, and offers anyone interested a chance buy prints as gifts...


Etc

Oliver Encounters a Critic

By Stan Lerner — December 06, 2008
2 Comments

I stopped by Starbuck 11th and Grand with every intention of walking over to the new Starbucks at LA Live. But as a member of the Downtown community, I did feel obligated to at least say hi to my all my friends—wouldn’t want my absence to be a cause for concern. Well, I’m sitting with David, the realtor, and Victor, the owner of Hard Eight clothing, sharing a...


What to Do on the DASH This Weekend

By Eric Richardson — December 05, 2008 — 2 Comments

Remedy Lounge Eric Richardson

It's week three for the Late Night DASH Holiday pilot, and Downtown offers a lot of options for residents and visitors. The theme this week: new nightlife. Three new watering holes made their debut this week and are certainly worthy of attention.

For those who don't remember, the Late Night DASH Holiday Pilot is a six-week program to bring nighttime transportation to Downtown. It's a free shuttle connecting L.A. Live, the Historic Core and the Music Center to the 7th / Metro Red Line station. Both the DASH and the Red Line are running until 3am. — Continued Inside...