There’s a Ride-Share War raging in the loading zones of Los Angeles.
On one side, you have a fleet of flashy social media companies with names like Lyft, Sidecar and Uber, which offer car services at the swipe of a smartphone app. On the other side, you have the hardened professionals behind the wheels of United Independent, Yellow Cab and the like.
I was totally ignorant …

Have you ever been entertaining house guests or relatives from out of town when an LAPD helicopter starts circling above? It’s a quintessential LA experience that can both chill and thrill your out-of-town visitors. (I’ve had Norwegian dinner guests run to the front yard during a meal and stand to watch a low-flying copter for half an hour.)
Want to know WHY your air space is …

This Saturday, April 6, the American Lung Association sponsors it’s annual climb of the Aon Building at 707 Wilshire — L.A.’s second tallest. But when that’s over and most of the charity climbers reach for that second plate of celebratory waffles, there are dozens more who will grab their bicycle gloves and spandex shorts and head to the nearest staircase for another steep climb. These …

The word “Smog” was invented in California, so it seems appropriate that Los Angeles is now becoming one massive laboratory for studying carbon emissions. We talked with Riley Duren, Chief Systems Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and manager of the Megacities project, which seeks to turn all of L.A. into one massive climate change laboratory. At an elevation of almost 6000 feet, Mount …

On Tuesday’s “Which Way LA?” we heard from Internet sleuth and writer Michelle McNamara who has become obsessed with trying to solve the  cold case of a serial criminal she’s nicknamed the Golden State Killer. He claimed 60 victims of rape and murder from Sacramento to Orange County between 1976 and 1986. Detectives have had little success and an online community of true crime …

While officials in Washington debate gun legislation, cities and counties are debating how they can make schools safer in the wake of the Newtown massacre. One question that arises is: should local school districts invest in armed guards or in services that may prevent violence in the first place?

Last month the small city of Fontana, in San Bernardino County, received a shipment of semi-automatic …

When a federal appeals court this week snuffed out the possibility of re-classifying marijuana, it did so with a simple argument: pot has no “currently accepted medical use.” What would it take to change its tune?  “Adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy,” according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
So, how is it possible that the problem is a simple lack of studies? Researchers have been …

Though local politicos and newsrooms have been glued to the upcoming mayoral election for months now, the rest of Los Angeles is only just starting to tune in. And if readers are not yet watching, a pair of city columnists are sure trying hard to adjust the proverbial rabbit ears so they start to. So what kind of show are we walking in on? …

Never underestimate the American viewer’s appetite for a redemption story. And that’s exactly what Lance Armstrong seems determined to give Oprah Winfrey in the now widely reported interview he granted her. But even if the disgraced cyclist can improve his image, and his damaged brand, what about the legal hot water he has tightrope cycled over for years? The federal investigation that was closed …

 
The word “greywater” conjures up all sorts of crunchy motifs leftover from the 1970s — food co-ops, communes, and other means of sticking it to The Man. But don’t write off greywater as a remnant like the lava lamp — in 2013 it is one of the best ways to make your home environmentally sound, by slashing your water usage. And after some local …

This week is Richard Nixon’s centennial and some, like fans in Yorba Linda, are celebrating with 21-gun salutes and special exhibits, while politicos are talking about lessons learned from the only president to resign from office. Expect to hear plenty of reflection this week on a complex character in American history and an influential leader who made lasting contributions to foreign affairs as well as the …

How about father and son? That’s the question being asked by good government observers about Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and his son, who used to work as his father’s deputy in District 4 and is now a well-connected lobbyist. There’s nothing illegal about lobbying someone who shares your last name, but when there is taxpayer money being dealt to companies with family …

Several studies in the last couple years have tried to raise awareness over the risks posed to Californians by rising sea levels. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, and the billions of dollars-worth of damage, that conversation is likely to gain some urgency. But short of installing a water-level marker, something as slow as rising tides can remain abstract and contested. This weekend, the …

Back in 1994, California voters overwhelmingly voted to pass a ballot measure that promised to “keep career criminals, who rape women, molest innocent children and commit murder, behind bars where they belong.” It became the state’s “Three Strikes” law, under which a person convicted of a felony who has two or more prior convictions for serious or violent felonies is sentenced to 25 years …

A couple months ago it was harder to tell how voters in California would react to Proposition 32, a ballot measure that would prohibit unions from using payroll deductions for political purposes. With millions of dollars in advertising on the airwaves and some recent polling in hand, it now looks like voters are leaning toward rejecting it, though it’s hardly a done deal.
A poll …

First it was a Silver Lake flower garden that got busted for urban gardening. Then, the Los Feliz backyard baker, Mark Stambler, who last May scored a profile in the LA Times and a visit from the health department the very same day. Small-scale growers and do-it-yourself food businesses have been wrapped in a lot of red tape. On today’s Which Way, LA?, we …

Los Angeles is becoming a great town for beer fans. Not just because of the number of gastropubs and well-stocked liquor stores. About a dozen craft breweries have opened in the area in just the past couple of years. With L.A. Beer Week starting tomorrow, we decided to take a look at how one of them is tapping into a new market.
A lot of …

There are those who prefer to battle loneliness with a drink at a “clean well-lighted place” —as Hemingway put it—and then there are KCRW listeners, who clearly favor a side of grit and grime with their beer.
After we reported yesterday on dramatic changes coming to the legendary King Eddy Saloon, we got about 100 responses on our Facebook page. Comments ranged from remembrances of …