Westside Watch

November 8, 2009

Buzzing of Santa Monica Pier leads to questions about aviation safety

Racing at speeds of up to 350 mph, the Soviet-made military jet made several low-altitude passes at the Santa Monica Pier, seemingly keying on the popular Ferris wheel as frightened onlookers scattered, some screaming.

9:40 PM PST, November 6, 2009

Backers of Malibu septic ban rode wave of surfers' testimony

One after another, surfers young and older trooped to the microphone to recount their encounters with the polluted waves off Malibu's Surfrider Beach.

November 6, 2009

Septic tanks on their way out in Malibu

The great sewer wars of Malibu have finally drawn to a close. Sewers won.

November 6, 2009

Four arrested in fatal shooting at Santa Monica park

Four reputed gang members were booked on suspicion of murder Thursday in connection with a shooting at a Santa Monica park that left one man dead and prompted police to beef up patrols in the area, authorities said.

November 3, 2009

Water board to vote on Malibu septic moratorium

Blaming small-scale septic systems for causing much of the pollution in Malibu's watershed, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board will vote Thursday on whether to ban the systems in a large portion of central and eastern Malibu.

November 3, 2009

Physician accused of deliberately injuring two bicyclists is convicted

A physician accused of deliberately injuring two cyclists by slamming on his car's brakes on a narrow Brentwood road was convicted Monday of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and other serious criminal charges.

November 1, 2009

Cyclists have a lot riding on L.A. driver's trial

Like many avid cyclists, Rick Wurtz has his share of horror stories from the road.

August 28, 2009

Nonprofit seeks control of Will Rogers State Historic Park

A private, nonprofit group wants to assume management of Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, saying the California parks department has failed to fittingly honor Rogers' legacy.

August 16, 2009

West Hollywood residents object to plans for new club

It's billed as the most exclusive new club in Los Angeles. But some neighbors in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills don't want the late-night carousing, traffic jams or paparazzi they fear will accompany the opening of the Los Angeles chapter of the decidedly British, members-only SoHo House.

August 7, 2009

New twist in battle over oceanfront land near Malibu

Two-lane Deer Creek Road is full of tortuous twists and turns as it meanders across the canyons and ridgelines above Malibu's last three-mile stretch of undeveloped coastline.

August 1, 2009

Theaters fading to black in Westwood

Moviegoers in the 1960s and '70s flocked to Westwood Village, where they had their pick of first-run films on nearly 20 screens. With parking scarce, patrons stashed their cars at the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard and took shuttles into the village. A-list celebrities turned out for frequent splashy openings.

July 31, 2009

Cities approve 'Stadium to the Sea' route for L.A. Marathon

Finally, the L.A. Marathon will make it to the Pacific.

July 26, 2009

L.A. THEN AND NOW

Santa Monica's pier and carousel: a long and circular tale

At the city's outer edge, on the rough-hewn pier that sways with the swell and gives up the bitter tang of creosote on a hot summer's day, sits the Santa Monica carousel.

June 21, 2009

OBITUARIES

FrancEyE dies at 87; prolific Santa Monica poet

Frances Dean Smith, a Santa Monica poet known as FrancEyE who was inspired by Charles Bukowski, lived with him and had a child with him in the 1960s, has died. She was 87.

June 10, 2009

STEVE LOPEZ

Steve Lopez: A modest proposal for fiscal misery: Make them hurt in Brentwood and beyond

We're in a bind here in California, mates, in case you hadn't noticed. The till is tapped, the budget deficit is bigger than the great outdoors, and lately even the sun has disappeared.

April 20, 2009

Tarawa has become a different sort of battlefield

A Malibu man's personal crusade to clean up a trash-strewn beach 5,000 miles away will gain national attention this week when it is the focus of a cable television documentary.

April 17, 2009

U2 guitarist's Malibu house plans create some reverb

U2 guitarist David Evans, a.k.a. the Edge, has a dream: to build five contemporary houses on a hill high above Malibu, with expansive views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Malibu Pier, Surfrider Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

April 16, 2009

LOCAL ELECTIONS

L.A. city attorney candidates hold spirited debate

City attorney candidate Jack Weiss accused rival Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich of representing a "moral sinkhole" of private clients Wednesday night, while the San Pedro attorney questioned what he called Weiss' "failed record," and whether he had the legal experience for the job.

April 16, 2009

In tony Malibu, $195 cargo pants aplenty, but nary a hammer or nail

To understand the changes roiling once-sleepy Malibu, check out the new $25-million shopping center that finally opens Saturday at the junction of Pacific Coast Highway and Cross Creek Road.

April 13, 2009

Backyards could become community gardens in Santa Monica

When Tim Bowler and his wife signed up to become part of the Main Street community garden in Santa Monica, they were eager to get their hands dirty and grow their own vegetables.

9:50 PM PDT, April 4, 2009

LOS ANGELES ELECTIONS

L.A. city attorney candidates spar in combative debate

The two candidates vying for the Los Angeles city attorney's job entered a combative new phase of their runoff race at a debate Saturday, attacking each other's qualifications and trading charges over conflicts of interest.

April 4, 2009

L.A. County judge rules against Malibu homeowners and two taxpayer groups

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled against a group of Malibu homeowners and two taxpayer groups that had sought to prevent the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy from using studies funded by state bond money to prepare a plan to increase public access to parks.

March 30, 2009

Malibu Garden Club trowels for new members

After more than 50 years of toil in surprisingly difficult soil, the Malibu Garden Club is slowly withering on the vine.

March 26, 2009

Santa Monica rail yard idea stirs alarm at arts complex

Over its 15-year existence, Bergamot Station in Santa Monica has evolved from a ramshackle Southern Pacific rail yard turned water-heater factory into a world-class destination for art lovers.

March 25, 2009

Cook's Library's upcoming closure has chefs mourning a community loss

When Lucques and AOC chef Suzanne Goin got the news that Los Angeles landmark Cook's Library was going to close, she sounded close to tears. "Noooo," she said, "that's the most horrible thing I've heard. Oh my God, the world is coming to an end."

March 20, 2009

OUT THERE

Playa del Rey trying to make it back to the glory days

Time was when Playa del Rey lived up to its name: King's Beach. The hamlet's Toes Beach had a majestic break that lured the likes of singing surfer Dennis Wilson of Beach Boys fame.

9:53 PM PDT, March 13, 2009

Jewish Community Library may be bound for new location

Bina Weiss and her eight children have borrowed hundreds of books and videos from the Jewish Community Library, a little-known gem housed in the Wilshire Boulevard headquarters of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

March 12, 2009

POSTCARDS FROM THE RECESSION

L.A.'s Westside -- trouble in paradise

Two years ago, I interviewed a Chinese American woman who had lost her parents during the Depression and was sent to an orphanage in China, where it would be cheaper to care for her. When Japan invaded China, Monica joined thousands of other refugees as they walked hundreds of miles inland, hoping to stay ahead of the fighting.

February 28, 2009

COLUMN ONE

Waiting for death, alone and unafraid

The silence of night never lasts long. It ends somewhere in the 5 o'clock hour with the purring of the heater and distant strains of Sam Cooke.

February 28, 2009

LOS ANGELES ELECTIONS

Weiss' style an issue in race for city attorney

When four of the candidates running for Los Angeles city attorney recently debated on the home turf of their chief opponent, City Councilman Jack Weiss, there was no question about whom they were targeting -- or the level of animosity that simmers among some of Weiss' Westside constituents.

9:39 PM PST, February 23, 2009

Venice votes to restrict overnight RV parking

A plan to restrict overnight parking won the strong support of Venice residents in a nonbinding election over the weekend. The plan still needs approval from the California Coastal Commission, which is expected to take it up in June.

January 19, 2009

Marquez descendant hopes to restore family cemetery in Santa Monica Canyon

Long before Santa Monica Canyon became prime real estate for successful Angelenos, it served as a serene resting place for some of the area's early and prominent landowners.

February 12, 2009

Malibu High School's queen palms vanish

If Nancy Drew attended Malibu High School, she'd have a doozy of a deepening mystery on her hands. Call it the Case of the Purloined Palms.