LOVE ANGELES

SENNA DOCUMENTARY

The Spirit of this man, along with the humility, purpose, courage and natural wisdom that poured through his words and presence, inspired so many. I highly recommend experiencing Ayrton Senna through the documentary which is playing at select theaters (LANDMARK in LA). You will be moved...

Tala Michelle

SoCal bikini blogger Tala Michelle is carving herself a nice little niche. Check out a taste of her website www.bathingnews.com photos below by my cuz- yasmin b style

What is Tehrangeles?

Source: Wikipedia - Tehrangeles is a portmanteau deriving from the combination of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and Los Angeles. 

It is used when referring to the large number (estimates range from 500,000 to 600,000) of former Iranian nationals and their descendants residing in the Los Angeles metropolitan area; it is the largest such population outside of Iran. In common usage, it usually refers to the proportionally larger Persian-American subset of Iranian immigrants, many of whom are second generation citizens. This area is now officially recognized by the City of Los Angeles as "Persian Square". Thanks to the many efforts of residents, business owners and Councilman Paul Koretz's office.

The Persian community in the L.A. area originally centered in the Westwood neighborhood of west Los Angeles, particularly Westwood Boulevard between Pico Boulevard and the UCLA campus, often referred to as Little Persia or Persian Hills/Persian Square. It is between Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. Immigration to the area increased several-fold due to the events surrounding the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Westwood Boulevard became known for its many Persian shops and restaurants; and the Persian expatriate community of Los Angeles entered all forms of media including magazines, newspapers, radio and television stations.

As the population grew, many Iranians have moved all over Los Angeles, with other large neighborhoods forming in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Woodland Hills and Encino in the San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills, California ; the city of Irvine as well throughout Orange County and Persians also made their homes in San Diego and the Palm Springs area (Coachella Valley). The Persian population of Beverly Hills may be as high as 40% of the total population. The vice mayor of Beverly Hills, Jim Delshad, is Iranian-born.

10 Reasons Why L.A. Is the Coolest City on the Planet

Check out the complete Slideshow at QG.com!

Park 101’s Freeway Lid for a Walkable Downtown Los Angeles

Source: LA Streets Blog - In the 1950's, the 101 Freeway was built through downtown Los Angeles, cutting off the city's historic plaza, Union Station and Chinatown from the rest of the downtown civic center. This week, Angelenos have a chance to learn more about an ambitious plan that could restore much of  the fabric of downtown, improve walking and bicycling connections, and add parkland to the L.A.'s park-poor core. It involves creating a lid above the below-grade freeway; atop the lid sits Park 101.

Interested folks can see Park 101 project plans, ask questions, and give input at a meeting preceding the monthly downtown Art Walk this Thursday. It [took place yesterday] between 4 and 6 P.M. at Caltrans Headquarters, at 200 S. Main Street

There are quite a few places where highway lids have been used to create park space. Successful examples include Memorial Park in La Canada and Freeway Park in Seattle. The lid idea is being explored for lots of locations in Southern California, including:

*Over the 101 Freeway from just west of Vermont Avenue to nearly Virgil Avenue - approved in the city's Station Neighborhood Area Plan

*Over the 5 Freeway near the Lincoln/Cypress Metro Gold Line Station - shown in Metro's and Livable Places' Making the Connections study.

*Hollywood Central Park over the 101 Freeway from just west of Hollywood Blvd to Santa Monica Blvd

*Over the 10 Freeway from 14th to 17th Street in Santa Monica

Park 101 is proposed over the 101 Freeway through downtown Los Angeles, extending from around Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral (near Grand Avenue) to the Los Angeles River (near Alameda Street.) The project would extend about one mile, entail roughly 100 acres, and cost about 800 million dollars. Project specifics and images are available at the Downtown News, LAist, Curbed, and at Caltrans' Park101 page.

There's a clear need to bridge the massive barriers that L.A.'s freeways present.  This is especially true for downtown Los Angeles, given the density of population and availability of transit. Park 101's initial phase would strengthen walking connections to transit-hub Union Station, by lidding the block between Los Angeles Street and Main Street. Park 101 proponents propose that portions of the project can dovetail with High Speed Rail planned to connect with Union Station.

As civilized as Park 101 feels, the project does face a number of hurdles, not the least of which is its estimated $800M price tag. The site is surrounded by institutional and governmental uses that have turned their backs on the freeway. These government buildings, generally empty outside of weekday workdays, don't really generate the needed "eyes on the park" and park usage that can be critical for success. Additonally, even with the freeway covered, there are still numerous street crossings to bridge to arrive at a coherent park corridor. None of these issues are insurmountable, but they will take careful planning and plenty of funding.