Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Humongous Mall Project Sparks Controversy in West Hollywood City Council Race

WEHOville recently broke a jaw-dropping story that's causing a major stir in West Hollywood and could possibly impact any driver passing through that city on Santa Monica Boulevard, which is already a rush hour nightmare. Developer Charles Cohen, who owns the Pacific Design Center and recently adde ... More >>

Subway Route Under Beverly Hills Becomes An Issue In L.A. Mayor's Race

Five candidates for L.A. mayor squared off last night at a debate in -- of all places -- a temple in Beverly Hills. The debate did not produce much news until the very end of the two-hour forum, when the candidates were asked their opinions on the controversial Westside subway extension route.Counci ... More >>

Yes On Measure J Campaign Rakes in $2 Million; "No" Campaign Raises Just $5,000, But Vote Is Likely To Be Close

The cash is starting to roll in for Measure J, the November ballot initiative to extend the county's half-cent sales tax to accelerate transportation projects.The "Yes on J" campaign has raised more than $2 million -- almost all of it in the last three weeks -- enough to go up on the air with t ... More >>

Measure J: Transit Tax Extension Holds Narrow Margin in Internal Poll, But Needs More Campaign Cash to Win

Update below: Beverly Hills Unified votes to oppose Measure J, board members join No on J effort.A county sales tax measure to accelerate transportation projects has slightly more than the two-thirds level of support required for passage, according to internal polling from the Yes campaign.Measure J ... More >>

D.C. Declares Laughable 'Transit Revolution' in Los Angeles While Metro Hacks Bus System

'Tis the season for local and national politicians to co-opt the media into singing their praises. November 6 is right around the corner -- and one positive article by a respected journalist is the (free!) equivalent of 100,000 campaign mailers. But because L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the pres ... More >>

Los Angeles' War on Street Artists

The art world sees a vibrant movement. Metro's cops see jail fodder.

Dodgers Sale On Track Despite MLB Concerns; Fans Avoiding Parking Lots in Record Numbers

The Dodgers sale is still on track to close on April 30, as a bankruptcy judge approved the sale agreement today despite last-minute objections from Major League Baseball.According to the tandem of @EricFisherSBJ and @BillShaikin, who were both tweeting the proceedings in Delaware, the attorney for ... More >>

[Updated With $4 JetBlue Flights!] Carmageddon Countdown: Fly Over Empty 405 Freeway on $400 Helicopter Tour, or $150 Air-Taxi Alternative

Executive HeliSharesEven cooler without the cars.​Updated after the jump: JetBlue just announced it'll be offering $4 flights between the Long Beach and Burbank airports on Saturday. Yes, $4. Originally posted July 12 at 4 p.m. Only in Los Angeles (hate that saying, but it's true) would an e ... More >>

Los Angeles Bus Cuts: MTA Axes 305,000 More Hours of Service, Stranding Low-Income Workers in L.A. Outskirts

Beverly PressThe 757, from Hollywood through Koreatown, will no longer run on weekends.​About every six months, we receive a deja-vous press release from the Bus Riders Union, furious at the Metropolitan Transit Authority for a new wave of massive cuts to the decrepit L.A. bus system. The cut ... More >>

1,680 Miles of L.A. Bike Lanes Approved by City Council; Mayor Pre-Signs Via Twitter

PHOTO BY TED SOQUIReady to burn some rubber​Aside from a few equestrian types worried about their horse lanes in the foothills, the long-labored plan to build 1,680 miles of bike lanes along Los Angeles streets (at least 200 miles every five years) was embraced by one and all at today's L.A. C ... More >>

Nine Out of Ten Bus Riders in L.A. Are People of Color, And as Fares Have Gone Up, Their Income Has Gone Down

pichenettesBuses are more painful to catch in L.A., says Bus Riders Union.​Updated with Metro's response, after the jump. Forget about President Obama's $1 billion gift for transit stimulus in L.A. Or Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's $9 billion "Subway to the Sea" monument to hizzoner for a momen ... More >>

Is the Essential Character of L.A.'s Landmark Union Station in Some Kind of Danger?

Union Station in downtown Los Angeles​Nothing is certain yet, but we can already see a major brouhaha brewing over the future plans for Union Station if it's sold to the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The much-beloved Union Station is actu ... More >>

Expo Line Contractor Awarded $25-30 Million For Delays

Cover illustration by Curt Merlo​Meeting in closed session on Thursday, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority board agreed to pay a settlement to resolve a long-running dispute with the rail project's contractor.Sources said the board agreed to pay something in the range of $25-30 milli ... More >>

Former Valley State Assemblyman Richard Katz Bails From California High-Speed Rail Board

No. 1 with a bullet: California's high-speed rail project.​After we reported that former state Assemblyman Richard Katz might have been breaking the law by sitting on two government boards -- L.A.'s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and California's High Speed Rail Authority -- Katz caved ... More >>

West Hollywood City Council's Big Dreams of Subway-Oriented Development Goes Down in Flames, Traffic Destined to be a Nightmare

West Hollywood City Councilwoman Abbe Land​When the Metropolitan Transportation Authority shot down a subway route through West Hollywood a few weeks ago, it probably shook up no group of people harder than West Hollywood City Council members John Heilman, Abbe Land, Lindsey Horvath, Jeff Pra ... More >>

L.A. Advertisers And Anti-Billboard Activists Pissed Over City Council's Bright Idea To Slap Billboards With A 12 Percent Tax

PHOTO BY TED SOQUI​The Weekly has long had an eye on sketchy billboard deals throughout Los Angeles. In 2008, we reported that 4,000 of the city's 11,000 billboards were illegal, built without permits or earthquake regulations. Then came the Westside "Mad Men," fat-cat entrepreneurs who were ... More >>

Subway to Sea: Antonio Villaraigosa Still Boasts Rail Line Will Fix Gridlock

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa​Hyped by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe as a "historic" vote, Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members only approved a draft environmental impact report for the Subway to the Sea that still needs a lot of ironing out over the next several mo ... More >>

Will President Barack Obama Be Duped Into Backing Subway To Sea? Antonio Villaraigosa's in D.C., Again, Seeking Money

President Barack Obama with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa​Will President Barack Obama ask Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about a recent Metropolitan Transportation Authority environmental impact report at a face-to-face meeting at the White House today? The one that showed Villaraig ... More >>

$1 Billion 405 Widening Project Only Attracted A Single Bidder

Metro​A Los Angeles County audit this month of non-competitive and single-bid contracts granted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority found "that in most respects procurement complies with regulatory and policy requirements," but noted a few eyebrow-raising exceptions, including a singl ... More >>

Transportation Projects Will Create Half-Million Jobs For L.A.

Metro​Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa touted the half-million jobs a recent study concluded would be the spoils of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's ambitious, 30-year plan to expand light rail throughout the region. The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation paper, whic ... More >>

Eastside Rail Line Set To Open: It's Not In Silver Lake

Attention Silver Lake and Echo Park hipsters: The Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension is set to open Nov. 15. It goes from Little Tokyo, through Boyle Heights, to East Los Angeles. If you don't live along the Gold Line -- if you're not able to take a bus directly north or south to a Gold Line stop (w ... More >>

Busdriver: Crushed Groove

"Your least favorite rapper/With a haircut like a pineapple/Wearing khakis torn/With a voice like a high soprano."

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

The Thin Blue Pencil The LAPD union, which has $30 million invested with the new owners of the San Diego Union-Tribune, wants some editorial changes made at the paper. L.A. TimesA Wing and a Prayer A military T-38 Talon training jet crashed north of Edwards Air Force Base, outside Mojave, Thursday a ... More >>

LA People 2009: No More Mr. Nice Guy — Damien Goodmon

What's My (MTA) Line? A Tale of Two Names

L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina's proposal to christen the stretch of the Gold Line that cuts through the mostly Latino Eastside  "Linea de Oro" met with the reality of all cultural politics in this city and emerged with a cumbersome, but bilingual moniker. The Metropolitan Transportation ... More >>

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

DiFi Says No to Alt-Energy Desert Corridor California Senator Diane Feinstein is readying legislation to keep a large swath of the state's desert region off-limits to solar- and wind-power projects. L.A. TimesKeach Returns to Do Nixon Actor Stacy Keach, whose mild stroke last week removed him from t ... More >>

County's Public Transportation Will Survive State Budget Cuts

Now that the dust from California's epic budget battle is starting to settle, Curbed L.A. has done some quick analysis and found that despite the seeming loss of $136 million in operating funds, L.A.'s transit system will not be as hard hit as first thought. That's partly because of anticipated mone ... More >>

“Supergraphics” Company Continues Attack Against Los Angeles’ Billboard Ban

Last week, attorneys for World Wide Rush filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to permanently block the city from prosecuting building owners who allow “supergraphics” signs on their buildings. The motion was filed after the city began enforcing its sign ordinance against the owners o ... More >>

Federal Court Judge Rules in Favor of Illegal “Supergraphics”

It looks like Councilmember Jack Weiss’ plan to impose hefty fines on companies that post multi-story “supergraphics” signs plastered illegally around Los Angeles is kaput – for now. A federal court judge made sure of that. Last April, Weiss held a press conference across the street from a ... More >>

Do As We Say, Not As We Do

Smart growth�s biggest boosters still love suburban living

Voters' Guide

Making sense of the ballot measures

Shooting Down Trains

LAX director is no big fan of the Green Line

Low-Quality Promise

Mayor stretches his word on commission appointment

Letters

Summer of Power

Antonio and his pursuit of a new L.A.

Antonio Villaraigosa Interview Transcript

Interview With Antonio Villaraigosa

Heroes on the Boulevard

Exposing L.A. Secrets

The right lawyer could make sure that L.A. County is run openly

James Doolin, 1932 - 2002

Letters

Letters

A Vision for the City

A Weekly roundtable on the issues, movements and prospects for a progressive Los Angeles

Letters

What Reactionaries

Don�t assume the D2K will be another Seattle

Los Dos Richards

Does Alatorre have a future?

Out With the Old

Riordan makes good on vow to topple incumbents

Grand Central Stalemate

Is Ira Yellin killing the market in order to save it?

Limited Access

Ramps and attitudes need fixing on L.A. public transit