We’ve seen so much destruction on Wilshire in recent years — Perino’s, the old Mullen & Bluett building, and of course, the Ambassador Hotel, for starters.
Now, as we noted last month at the start of its destruction, the Lou Ehlers Cadillac building is pretty much gone. The building, built by Stiles O. Clements, is making way for Beverly Hills BMW.
The LA Times’ Bottleneck Blog notes that toll lanes are one step closer to reality in Los Angeles County:
The California Transportation Commission just unanimously approved the plan in Los Angeles County to convert the carpool lanes on parts of the 10, 110 and possibly the 210 freeways to toll lanes.
The plan now goes to the state Legislature. What do you think? Would you pay extra for the opportunity to use the toll lanes?
(Flickr pic by The Damn Mushroom.)
According to the L.A. Times, the City of Los Angeles is still losing money on its red light traffic cameras. What’s more, according to the story, tiny Culver City generated nearly $2 million in revenue from its red light cameras over the past eight months, more than Los Angeles ($1.6 million)!
The lesson here, other than the obvious L.A. incompetency angle: Do not drive in Culver City. Just don’t do it. I don’t care if you find Tito’s Tacos delicious. Chances are you’ll be slapped with a red light ticket. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
(Flickr pic by The Damn Mushroom.)
According to the L.A. Times, the City of Los Angeles is still losing money on its red light traffic cameras. What’s more, according to the story, tiny Culver City generated nearly $2 million in revenue from its red light cameras over the past eight months, more than Los Angeles ($1.6 million)!
The lesson here, other than the obvious L.A. incompetency angle: Do not drive in Culver City. Just don’t do it. I don’t care if you find Tito’s Tacos delicious. Chances are you’ll be slapped with a red light ticket. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So we settled on a car — thanks to all of you who offered comments. Given the crappy economy and our desire to avoid car payments, we went ahead and went the used Honda CR-V route. So far, so good.
Now, to take over the car’s title, I had to make that dreaded visit to the DMV last Friday. Here’s the biggest shocker: It was not an entirely unpleasant experience.
That’s mostly because of the brand spanking new West Hollywood location, which just opened this spring.
The building is unlike any DMV you’ve seen: Bright, airy, functional. The rotating sign outside teases you into thinking you’re actually entering a fun store. Which, of course, you’re not. Particularly once you’re forced to bust open your checkbook. Ridiculous fees, of course, exist no matter how stylish the DMV.
More on the building:
Refurbishing a 1946 service garage, Shlemmer + Algaze +Associates Interiors and Architecture took the opportunity to create a building with a look-and-feel that is a throwback to the past. Using the attributes of the original structure, contractors were able to utilize the abundance of day lighting already streaming through the building minimizing the need for electricity. Other aspects of energy conservation efforts include state of the art heating and cooling equipment as well as a “cool roof” that deflects 70 percent of radiant sun energy.
I only had to wait about 18 minutes for my turn. Not bad… but then again, I’d signed up for a 9:30 appointment, and still had to wait until almost 9:50 for my turn. Which reminds me, you can dress it up in pretty architecture, but it’s still the DMV.
And one more thought: I’ve never understood the deal with the DMV’s terrible logo. It’s like someone doodled big, blocky, out-of-proportion letters on a sheet of paper and then demanded that it be used as the agency’s identifier.
OK, so I mentioned my car accident the other week… sadly, my Honda CRV was totaled. I liked it, and wasn’t ready to give it up just yet. The CRV was completely paid off, dependable, got decent (not great, but decent) gas milesWith crazy mortgage payments, property tax, etc., our budget is already stretched thin enough without car payments on top of that.
But that’s a moot concern — we have to get a new car. The question now becomes: (a) Should I get a new hybrid, especially with gas prices so crazy?; (b) What about a small hybrid SUV, so we aren’t losing the space we enjoyed in the CRV?; (c) How about we take the insurance money and buy a used CRV, to roughly replace the one we lost? It’s the least exciting choice, but the most financially prudent: I get to avoid a car loan, plus keep driving a CRV as if nothing had happened.
Which option do you like, and any suggestions on which car/small “crossover” SUV?
In this spot for Farmers Insurance, a man on a tricycle drives out of his office parking garage and on to the streets of downtown, then a freeway onramp, and finally, up this hill… close to downtown (not sure why he needed te freeway as part of his commute, but I guess it served for comedic purposes).
The point? It blows to be in a car accident (um, something I’ve learned quite well this week), but this certain insurance company will help you out.
Last month, both LAist and Blogging.la printed photo essays of a giant Slip ‘N Slide on the streets of Downtown. It was a commercial shoot… but there wasn’t much info beyond that.
Last night, I caught the nationally telecast ad (which ran during “Dancing with the Stars”). It was a spot for Dodge. Here are some screen grabs:
It’s been 26 years since active production of the DeLorean — yet there are an estimated 6,500 (out of 9,000 built) still on the road. Here’s one of them. (A new round of DeLoreans were supposed to be manufactured this year by the car’s enthusiasts — any of them actually hit the road?)
Meanwhile, “UFO4DOC” — a reference to “Back to the Future’s” Doc Brown? Outta time!
If you regularly work out at the Body Builders Gym on Hyperion in Silver Lake… well, you might want to call ahead today. As you can see above, a Mercedes driver wound up plowing through the gym’s front window on Sunday morning.
When we passed by at around 10 a.m. Sunday morning, the car was still in place, and cops and firefighters were milling about. Thankfully, the driver managed to avoid that big powerline pole right there — although how he/she did it, who knows. Were they already driving on the sidewalk? And how drunk are you to plow into a business window, and at such an odd angle?!
