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Westwood Village wants to be cool again

By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:05:00 PDT

It's 'never going back' to its heyday as the hottest entertainment neighborhood in L.A., but it hopes to be revitalized through the arts.

For decades, Westwood Village was the heartbeat of Los Angeles nightlife while downtown languished in solitude. Westwood had the movie theaters, fancy restaurants and bustling street traffic, and downtown was known as a quiet and intimidating place to be after dark.

New teacher training study decries California universities

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:05:00 PDT

A controversial policy group singles out teacher training programs at UCLA and Loyola Marymount as hardly worth attending. But the schools say the report is flawed.

A new front is opening in the education wars as a report released Tuesday derides California's teacher training schools as among the worst in a nation full of substandard programs.

L.A. mayor-elect Eric Garcetti favors low-key over glitz

By David Zahniser and Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:07:00 PDT

Garcetti's made few major announcements, his transition team is short on big names and he's forgoing a black-tie inaugural ball. He's also on a city listening tour.

When it comes to glitz and showmanship, L.A.'s next mayor is taking things down a notch.

Here's a teacher I'd want for my children

Sandy Banks — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:32:00 PDT

Kaylie Gomez, a rookie teacher in a South L.A. neighborhood, imparts skills that don't show up on achievement tests.

I don't know what her students' test scores are like, or what her principal thinks. But I do know that if I had a child in third grade, I'd want someone like Kaylie Gomez to teach her.

Battery recycler in Vernon allowed to reopen — for now

By Jessica Garrison and Kim Christensen, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:07:00 PDT

The state ordered the Exide plant to shut in April, citing arsenic emissions and calling it a public health risk. A judge rules it can restart operations, pending a hearing.

A Vernon battery recycler shut by the state in April as a health risk to thousands of nearby residents will be allowed to reopen pending a court hearing next month, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Slain woman had described harassment, threats by husband

By Jean Merl and Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PDT

Michelle Kane, who was stabbed Saturday, said her husband had 'threatened to slice my throat' and alleged a long history of drug abuse. Michael Kane was arrested Monday in Joshua Tree.

A woman who was stabbed to death trying to flee her estranged husband in a quiet suburban neighborhood gave chilling accounts of harassment, threats and her deepening fears, according to documents filed in her divorce case.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveils new downtown L.A. park

By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:53:00 PDT

Spring Street Park sits on the site of a former parking lot between 4th and 5th streets. It's the 16th public space to open under the mayor's 50 Parks Initiative.

Before a throng of office workers and scruffy-faced hipsters, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday opened Spring Street Park in the heart of the city's rapidly evolving downtown, telling the crowd that there were more parks to come, including the conversion of a coveted 2-acre parcel across from City Hall.

L.A. Mayor-elect Garcetti picks longtime aide as chief of staff

By David Zahniser and Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:18:00 PDT

Ana Guerrero, a former community organizer, has been working for Garcetti since 2001, most recently as chief of staff of his City Council office.

Los Angeles Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti on Monday named a former community organizer as the first hire of his administration, picking his longtime City Council aide Ana Guerrero as chief of staff.

L.A. City Council to vote on plastic bag ban

By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PDT

A fine for giving 'single-use' plastic bags to customers would apply to convenience stores, food marts and any large retailer that sells groceries.

Nearly three weeks after a statewide ban on plastic bags was rejected in Sacramento, the Los Angeles City Council is moving ahead with a similar measure to regulate carryout bags at supermarkets, pharmacies and some big retail chains.

Man accused of murder 7 years after ex-wife found dead

By Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:59:00 PDT

Lonnie Kocontes is arraigned in Orange County. Prosecutors say he threw his ex-wife off a ship off the Italian coast to gain more than $1 million.

Theirs was a messy marriage that ended in divorce. Five years later, their rocky relationship rekindled, the Orange County couple flew to Europe for a romantic cruise.