Bill Gibson

A monthlong campaign by L.A. Council woman Ruth Galanter and a team of lobbyists failed to persuade state legislators to offer 70 acres of prime state land to Playa Vista. To avoid paying $115 million, developers sought to trade less-desirable land for the state property, which fell to the state......

Photo by Kathleen Clark Worries about the extent of methane beneath 1,087-acre Playa Vista are causing city officials to order more studies and delay millions of dollars in tax subsidies for what would be the city’s largest development. Last week, Councilman Mike Feuer’s Budget and Finance Committee declined to issue......

Worries about the extent of methane beneath 1,087-acre Playa Vista are causing city officials to order more studies and delay millions of dollars in tax subsidies for what would be the city’s largest development. Last week, Councilman Mike Feuer’s Budget and Finance Committee declined to issue $135 million in tax-exempt......

A new report on Playa Vista says the site of what would be Los Angeles‘ largest commercial and residential development sits on vast pockets of explosive methane gas and straddles a potentially active earthquake fault. The study, conducted by Exploration Technologies Inc. (ETI) of Houston for the city of Los......

Foes of Occidental Petroleum’s oil-drilling plan in Colombia failed to slow the project at the company‘s annual shareholders meeting last week. Their next effort to draw attention to what they see as a huge threat to sacred ground will be outside this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. ”The......

Al Gore seems to want no part of a long-standing battle being waged in Colombia, where an Indian community is fighting plans by Los Angeles--based Occidental Petroleum, which has ties to the vice president. But U.S. backers of the U’wa Indians say Gore must join their fight against the oil......

AP/Wide WorldEarth Day organizer Denis Hayes lamented last week that the presidential contenders are all but ignoring the top environmental issues of the day. Hayes, who started Earth Day in 1970, told 80 L.A. environmental leaders that global warming should be the top agenda item. “There is probably no greater......