Los Angeles Downtown News

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – Downtown Los Angeles went through an immense transformation in the decade that comes to an end in about three and a half weeks. Projects of all shapes and scope sprung up over the past 10 years, turning a former office-dominated area into a thriving, nearly 24-hour community. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck has appointed Capt. Todd Chamberlain to replace outgoing Central Area Captain Blake Chow, Chow said. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Downtown has never had a decade like the one that comes to an end on Dec. 31, 2009. The past 10 years have been nothing less than transformative, with literally hundreds of housing, entertainment, civic, restaurant, office, retail and other projects taking place across the community. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles Superior Court judge yesterday denied an effort to halt the construction of a memorial to Congressional Medal of Honor winners at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES -We couldn’t find the pot of gold, but this rainbow appeared right in front of the Los Angeles Downtown News office this afternoon during a pause in the rain. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Cheap skating is coming to South Park this week. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, the Kings Holiday Ice rink at L.A. Live is offering a two-for-one discount from 8-11 p.m. for coupon-holding couples. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Most urban bookstores have a local writers section, though “local” can cover a vague, regional set of boundaries. That’s not the case at Metropolis Books: At the small, independent bookstore in the Old Bank District, local means, quite specifically, Downtown Los Angeles. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Dear Mayor AnVil, I’ve been observing your administration ever since you were elected. Heck, some might think I’ve been keeping a closer eye on it than you are. If you haven’t always been able to watch the Spring Street henhouse, I understand — I know that since July 1, 2005, you’ve had a lot of donors to meet and places to go, with travels to locales like Israel, Iceland ... Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES -Just before a $1 million monument in honor of Congressional Medal of Honor winners is to be unveiled, a Downtown-based advocacy organization and other groups have filed a lawsuit to halt the final phase of the project and move the monument, including an existing structure, to a different location. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Although the glitzy $3 billion plan to erect condominiums and retail on Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill remains stalled, a city official said last week that a new, smaller development on part of the site is moving forward. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The late Arthur F. Leahy was a Los Angeles streetcar operator and MTA bus operator. His son, Art T. Leahy, learned to drive a bus in 1971, a year before his dad retired, to earn money to help him through school. Neither could have predicted that the gig would lead to a lifelong career in public transportation for the younger Leahy— it reached its high point in March, when ... Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES-After sitting vacant for more than 15 years, county officials have begun looking at what it would take to reopen the Hall of Justice. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Attendees of last month’s Art Walk may have noticed something different than the usual illuminated galleries and huge crowds: A Main Street parking lot held four new, gleaming, parked Cadillacs. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - It has stood as a symbol of Little Tokyo for more than 30 years. With its bright red wooden beams and blue roof tiles, the Japanese Village Plaza Fire Tower is hard to miss. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Regular readers of Los Angeles City Council meeting agendas can count on occasional chuckles when votes on surplus sales crop up (hey, if you’re reading city agendas, you look for entertainment wherever you can). Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - In October Downtown electronics retailer Crazy Gideon, aka Gideon Kotzer, announced that he would likely close his Crazy Gideon’s store in the Arts District before the end of the year. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - After a very successful year, Central Area Capt. Blake Chow has been promoted to commander and, starting Jan. 3, will work as the assistant commanding officer for operations in the LAPD’s Central Bureau. Chow took over for Jodi Wakefield in February, and since then has presided over a nearly 8% drop in overall crime Downtown. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - A grassroots effort to get more parks in Downtown Los Angeles continues next week. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the Hill and Ninth Street Park Task Force will meet to consider ideas for a proposed park at that corner. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Although Charlie Beck has been running the Los Angeles Police Department for a few weeks, and has already made several dozen changes among his command staff, this morning he had a ceremonial swearing in. Beck appeared with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city, police and community officials on the plaza of the new Police Administrative Building south of City Hall. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES- After more than 10 years in business, including a rebound from bankruptcy in 2004, Pacific Grille is closing. The popular Financial District lunch spot will serve its last meal on Dec. 22. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – Landowner and developer Meruelo Maddux Properties submitted its Chapter 11 reorganization plan in bankruptcy court Nov. 30, detailing how the beleaguered Downtown-based company intends to climb out of nearly $453 million in debt. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES -The Fashion District and the Motion Picture Association of America this morning announced a new step in the effort to crack down on illegal DVD sales — they are willing to pay whistle blowers. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - When it comes to Downtown crime, 2007 was the year everything changed. Under the Safer Cities Initiative, which deployed 50 extra cops to Skid Row, annual crime in Central Division plummeted 30%. Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - In August 2008, the Central City East Association announced that come Jan. 1, 2010, it would stop providing trash removal and other services in Downtown’s Toy District, following a group of property owners’ refusal to renew the local business improvement district. Now, just one month from the expiration, cardboard boxes and other garbage are already starting to pile up on ... Full Story »

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Cecilia Estolano marks her last day as CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency on Monday, Nov. 30. She announced earlier this month that after 3 1/2 years, she is stepping down to take a still untitled job in the new Los Angeles office of Green for All, an environmental and economic organization. Full Story »