Welcome to blogdowntown

January 13, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I moved Downtown in May, 2004. Since then I've spent a lot of time writing about Downtown Los Angeles, and people have started coming to my blog as a site for info about what's going on there. Eventually I decided that I should probably really have two blogs: one for Downtown stuff and one for whatever else I'm thinking about. And that's exactly what I've set up. blogdowntown will now hold all the Downtown-related content I had previously been writing. My blog, blog.ericrichardson.com, will revert to being just about my life, computers, music, USC, etc. I'll try not to post the same things both places, so if you're interested in both my life and Downtown you'll just have to read both. Both have RSS feeds, so keeping up really shouldn't be that hard.

Sales Tax and the NCs

January 13, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I missed yesterday that the Daily News had printed a piece on how the proposed city sales tax to pay for cops has been presented to neighborhood councils. We just addressed this issue at the DLANC board meeting on Tuesday. A representative from LAPD was there (I can't remember his name... I'm bad at those) and presented, and he was introduced by a girl from the Mayor's office. — Continue Reading...

The Pricey Side of Town

January 12, 2005 by Eric Richardson

The LA Business Journal (whose website is now much more useful, thanks to more free articles) has a great piece today on the downtown housing market. You sort of know this stuff, but sometimes it doesn't really hit you over the head until you see it in black and white:

Resale asking prices at the Flower Street Lofts near Staples Center are higher on a per-foot basis than the median prices for condos in Brentwood’s 90049, Beverly Hills’ 90210 or Marina del Rey’s 90012. Only beach cities such as Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Malibu and Santa Monica’s 90403, along with Century City’s 90067, are priced higher, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

I don't know Flower St. Lofts specifically, but all these units are selling. The question, as always, is whether this kind of market is sustainable. I don't think you can even pretend to answer that question right now.

Consider Them a Captive Audience

January 12, 2005 by Eric Richardson

My last class to meet this semester is "Urban Transportation Planning and Policy." The class is taught by Michael Kodama, who is a transportation planning consultant. Interestingly, he's one of the consultants on the CRA's Downtown Parking Study, so I'll get to pester him for the next couple months about that. Jeffry Carpenter, who's in charge of the project for the CRA, is on the DLANC Transportation & Public Works Committee with me, so I get to pester him there. — Continue Reading...

1 Down, 4 to Go

January 11, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I had my first class this morning. It's titled "Public Service in an Urban Setting," and is taught by Dr. Richard Sundeen. It's the first of my two classes this semester from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. It looks like it'll be interesting. Part of the class requirements is that students go get involved in some sort of volunteer service, and my participation in DLANC will count for that.

After just finishing my chicken strips from Carl's (who now once again serves Coke products on campus, ending a ten month or so flirtation with Pepsi) I'm sitting at Annenberg for another twenty minutes or so catching up on email before I head out to my next class. I then go straight through for five hours.

Update (1/12 1am): It turns out the Coke deal is university-wide. I definitely approve.

I Need Directions

January 11, 2005 by Eric Richardson

This is my eighth semester at USC. Understanding that you would probably think that by now I'd have a feel for the land, know where buildings are, etc. And yet for my classes this spring I need a map. One building I'd never heard of (and never been inside of); another got renamed. And two others I've been inside once or twice. And to make things even better, I get to cover pretty much the entire campus on Tuesdays, usually with 10 minutes between classes. For all the finagling I do to my schedule, this easy transit between classes thing is one I seriously neglected.

Blue Skies

January 11, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I got woken up this morning by something strange shining into my room. I was confused, and then realized it was the sun. But this wasn't just the sun peeking out from behind a cloud: this was the sun shining through a blue sky that you only get out here after a lot of rain. If it weren't my first day of classes, this is the day when I would start calling people and telling them to skip classes and follow me to the top of Mount Hollywood, where we can take in the entire Los Angeles area, likely including Catalina.

Eliminating Wasted Space

January 10, 2005 by Eric Richardson

I now have a data center in my ceiling. You see, I've had this server (the one running this site) sitting on my entertainment center for the last few months. The problem is: it's a bit loud. I didn't have a great other place to put it though... or so I thought. Then I realized I have this drop ceiling, the area above which is conveniently accessible from the window ledge. Sitting on the couch I can now hear a hum, but it's a whole lot fainter than it was a couple minutes ago. Running up to the ceiling are a power cable, a phone line, and an ethernet cable. All in all I'm happy with the results. I'll try to post a picture when it's light outside; I don't have any good means of lighting the area up there right now.

The Buildings Have No Tops

January 10, 2005 by Eric Richardson

The weather forecast tells me that we're going to get sun this week, but the view out my window gives no hints in that direction. I opened up the windows this morning to listen to the sound of waterfalls cascading off of nearby buildings and down into the alley. In a little bit I need to make my way out to go make an ATM deposit, but it looks pretty quiet out right now, so that shouldn't be so bad. A couple days ago I mentioned that I couldn't find my extra checks. Funny thing, that... Turns out they're supporting the webcam that took the above shot, sitting on top of our drop ceiling.

My '94 Camry Feels Old

January 09, 2005 by Eric Richardson

Kathy and I went over to the Auto Show this afternoon, after wading our way down the 405 to get back from church. We were only there for a couple hours, so we didn't get to be very thorough checking everything out, but it was a good time. First impression: packed. I don't care if you've read the stories talking about how many people this thing draws or not, you don't understand the numbers until you're in there trying to move around. — Continue Reading...

DLANC: Is All Press Good Press?

January 08, 2005 by Eric Richardson

The new issue of the Downtown News is out, and the lead story (at least online... I haven't picked up a paper copy yet) is titled "Success and Growing Pains: The Downtown Neighborhood Council Learns That It's Hard to Escape the Politics." At first I wanted to blast the piece as negative to DLANC, but I'm not going to do that. It's not really a bad piece; author Chris Coates is routinely at the DLANC board meetings and I think he has a good feel for what he's writing about. That said, the article feels to me a bit sensational, making good reading but not really telling the whole story. Click read more to get a more in-depth breakdown... — Continue Reading...

My Personal Cell Phone Lot

January 07, 2005 by Eric Richardson

LAX recently opened a cell phone lot, where you can wait for free until the passenger you're picking up gives you a call and tells you they're ready. It's a great idea, but I prefer something a little friendly. So that's why I'm sitting at Panera Bread right now, waiting for Kathy's flight to come into LAX. Her plane has started its initial descent; the tracker says it's at 28,000ft and 20 minutes out.

Driving past the airport on the way here it appeared that planes were taking off and landing in opposite the normal direction. Since the prevailing wind in LA comes off the ocean, typically planes both take off and land facing the sea. Our abnormal weather right now must have brought atypical air flows.