Did you know that L.A. has more than 2 million eligible voters, but that 1.6 million of them are expected to skip the election on Tuesday? This means that you, dear voter, have a lot of responsibility.
When to Vote:
Polls are open from 7AM – 8PM on Tuesday, May 21st.
Where to Vote:
Find your polling place and a sample ballot here.
Wendy Greuel vs. Eric Garcetti:
Angelenos will finally …

Los Angeles is historically horizontal, but it’s becoming increasingly vertical with a host of new projects going up from downtown to Santa Monica.  Many large building projects, on hold since the Great Recession, are not just back on the drawing boards but under construction.
So-called “smart growth” dictates that high-rise work space and housing is the best ways to accommodate increased growth within the region. A …

With just a few weeks left until Election Day, it’s time to get beyond the campaign rhetoric and 30-second commercials in the race for mayor of Los Angeles. Candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti visited Zócalo for a live debate, taking questions on everything from education to pension reform to why the campaign has gotten so negative.
 
Warren Olney hosted.

You can hear the whole thing here and …

We want to hear from you: Should LA Get taller?
From the time it was completed in 1928 until 1964, the 32-story City Hall was the tallest building in Los Angeles. Soon, the planned Wilshire Grand – all 71-stories of  it – will be the newest record holder. This will make it not only the tallest building in Los Angeles but on the entire West …

Updated Friday 4:40 p.m.
The Springs Fire has spread to 18,000 acres with 20 percent contained. 15 residences have been damaged , with 4000 currently threatened by fire. Updates here.
A brush fire in Glendale has forced to closure of the 2-134 freeway interchange. The LA Times reports:A fire has flared up in Glendale. Updated Friday 3:20 p.m.: 

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the blaze was burning near …

Who will be the next LA mayor? Do you have questions you still want answered?
With just a few weeks left until Election Day, it’s time to get beyond the campaign rhetoric and 30-second commercials in the race for mayor of Los Angeles. Candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti visit Zócalo for a live debate. They’ll take questions—and follow-ups—from Warren Olney, host of KCRW’s “Which Way, L.A.?”
It’s a chance to demand specifics …

In 2011, the US Supreme Court ruled that overcrowding in California’s prisons was “cruel and unusual punishment” with suicidal inmates held in cages without toilets and with treatment unavailable to the one-third who are mentally ill. The population was 200 percent larger than the prisons were designed for, and the court gave Governor Brown two years to reduce that to 137.5 percent. He created …

Electric-car maker Fisker is headquartered in Anaheim… if it can stay in business.  CODA was lured from Santa Monica to Los Angeles—but it, too, may be on the edge of collapse.  We’ll hear about what looks likes the failed promise of a new “clean” industry subsidized by local and federal taxpayers. Also, a battery recycler in Vernon is shut down after accusations of risks …

Southern California’s received 5.14 inches of rain so far this year compared to the normal 14. It was just enough for grass to spring up, providing fuel for what could be an epic fire season. We hear what’s in store and what it’s like to fight fast-moving blazes on steep hills where the last resort is a portable tent compared to tin foil on …

UCLA, UC Berkeley and the rest of the university system have been a boon to California’s economy. For decades, admission was guaranteed for qualified state high-school graduates—at an affordable price. Not any more. Tuition and fees have gone through the roof—and so have admissions of students from out of state, who pay even more. Are in-state students are being pushed aside?  What about the …

KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez talked to Andrew Kitzenberg, a witness to last night’s shootout between Boston bombing suspects and the police. Kitzenberg was evacuated from his own Watertown apartment by heavily armed cops. We reached him at the apartment of a friend and business partner, also in the Watertown neighborhood.
Kitzenberg has been actively tweeting his experiences of the last few hours. The authorities were “checking …

This coming Sunday, Venice Boulevard Westbound will be free of cars from downtown Los Angeles to Venice Beach from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. It’s another CicLAvia, designed to encourage commuting by bicycle in the car capital of the world. We visit a city that really makes way for pedal power by physically separating bicycle traffic from cars, trucks and …

In a news conference Thursday, the FBI released video footage and photos of two men they have identified as suspects in the Boston marathon bombings. FBI special agent Richard DesLauriers said that they “working around the clock to bring this matter to justice” and that these are the only photos that should be considered.
The FBI also has a website for people to contribute information and tips …

Two Los Angeles artists are turning voicemails into a public art project that you can appreciate anywhere you have reception. Jeff Foye and Gordon Winiemko are a pair of artists from Long Beach, better known as  JEFF & GORDON. The duo is known forproducing art that examines how human beings interact. Their work was been exhibited at the Sweeney Gallery at U.C. Riverside, and …

Los Angeles launched an experiment of sorts when it turned carpool lanes into toll lanes on the 110 freeway late last year. The idea, of course, was to get everyone moving more quickly (and to make some money to improve the Harbor Freeway corridor). The data is in and it’s not exactly what drivers and planners wanted to see. Drivers in the toll lanes …

Last night, Antonio Villaraigosa made his last State-of-the-City address as Mayor of Los Angeles. He took credit for declining crime, reduced air pollution, new light rail lines and paved bikeways. He also took aim at the campaigns of Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti, one of whom will replace him in June. Today, he’s making more news by saying that city workers should contribute 20 percent of their salaries …

Jerry Brown probably could’ve picked a better time to head across the Pacific for meetings in China, given the roiling political showdown underway on the Korean peninsula. Nevertheless he and a cohort of 90 business and policy leaders are in Beijing on a mission to increase trade ties between China and the Golden State. The California Governor will spend six days traveling across China in …

Bluebird Liquors in Hawthorne sold 8000 tickets in its first five hours of business today, as California became the 43rd state in the Union to offer Powerball. The California Lotteryinvested big money to promote Powerball on radio and TV. “California Dreamin’” is the background music over pictures of people looking delighted as little white lottery balls drift from above, ending up with a red ball drifting …

Roger Ebert, the film critic best known for his “thumbs up, thumbs down” movie reviews died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 70. A prolific writer, Ebert reviewed as many as 285 films a year and wrote 17 books.  “My newspaper job is my identity,” he said in 2005.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
“The show, airing on Saturday nights around dinnertime in most major …

Stockton may be showing other cities how to battle their way through bankruptcy. San Bernardino, Compton, San Jose and Watsonville are among those watching closely as Stockton residents cope with massive cuts in police and fire services with crime on the rise and resources on the decline. Will CalPERS, the state pension system, have to wait in line with other creditors? Also, the Los …