New Late-Night DASH Offers Holiday Hours

News Brief

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES – The city Department of Transportation has introduced a late-night Downtown DASH bus route that will run through the holiday season. LADOT officials, along with Councilwomen Jan Perry and Wendy Greuel, announced the new route, which began operating on Nov. 21 and will continue through New Year’s Eve, during a press conference last Thursday outside of Walt Disney Concert Hall. The DASH runs Friday and Saturday nights from 6:30 p.m.-3 a.m. The line parallels portions of the Metro Red Line, which is also operating until 3 a.m. during the holidays. The new route travels from the Convention Center to the Seventh Street/Metro Center Red and Blue line station before turning east to head up Main Street with stops at Sixth, Fourth and Second streets. It then connects with the Red Line again on First Street in the Civic Center before looping back south along Grand Avenue, stopping at Disney Hall, Pershing Square and the Fashion

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Coffee Anyone?

How to Find the Coffeehouse That’s Right for You

by Richard Guzm�n

As in many neighborhoods, coffeehouses Downtown are social gathering hubs where the ambiance is often as important as the brew.

But with dozens of coffeehouses that cater to various tastes and personalities, where you go for your cup of Joe can say a lot about who you are. In Downtown Los Angeles, in fact, there’s a place for everyone, whether you’re an artistic type who likes to discover hidden gems, a serious coffee aficionado who can’t talk enough about Brazilian beans, or a stressed-out office dweller who just needs an excuse to leave the cubicle.

Behold, a few Downtown destinations, along with descriptions of some of the people who frequent them.

The ConnoisseurIf you think of coffee as a drink worthy of discussion and admiration, and are yearning to explore exotic beans with the help of a coffee sensei, then Caf� Corsa may be the ideal place

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A Walk on the Wildflower Side

Downtown Gets a Springtime Surprise, as Cornfield Site Blooms

by Richard Guzm�n

It took about two years for this piece of art to bloom. Now that it has, the blanket of green, purple, pink and gold that dances with the breeze will only live for a few more weeks.

But that’s just long enough to leave an impression on those who walk through the unexpected piece of natural art in Downtown Los Angeles.

“It’s really beautiful, and you don’t really expect to see this here. It almost feels like you’re in a painting,” said 32-year-old Ernesto Mendoza as he and his girlfriend, Ana Maria Torres, strolled through the field of wildflowers at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The 32-acre plot, which a few years ago was a dead brown patch of earth, is in a largely industrial area at the northern end of Chinatown.

Thanks to this year’s wet winter, more than a dozen types of California wildflowers have

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L.A. Fashion District Shopping Tour

Monday-Saturday with advance reservation, 10:30 a.m. Three hours of walking and shopping with a guide in the nation’s largest fashion district. $36 per person.

Call (213) 683-9715 or urbanshoppingadventures.com.

Coming occurrences of this event:

Thursday, October 18, 2007
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Big Ideas

L.A. Phil Mixes It Up With Famous Finns,

New Works and a Glimpse of the Future

by Julie Riggott

Bigger is better when it comes to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“One of the things that I’ve noticed about working with Esa-Pekka [Salonen] is that ideas can’t be big enough,” said Chad Smith, who as vice president of artistic planning interprets and implements the music director’s vision for the Phil.

The new season brings a variety of programming. After the gala opening night with celebrity soprano Renée Fleming on Thursday, Oct. 4, the Phil has three festivals featuring orchestral works complemented by new music, symposia and other events: Sibelius Unbound, the International Youth Orchestra Festival and Concrete Frequency.

“We have to scale our projects bigger. Our audiences expect it, the city expects it, our orchestra expects it, and, indeed, Esa-Pekka expects it,” Smith said.

The season kicks off this Thursday with a program of French and Italian music by Ravel, Berlioz

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Calendar Listings Update In Progress

July 2007
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Arts District/Little Tokyo Farmers Market

Weller Court, 123 S. Onizuka St., (323) 660-8660 or ladad.com.
Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Farm fresh produce, flowers, olives, oils, hummus, dips, honeys and crafts. Music 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Financial District Farmers Market

Fifth Street, between Flower Street and Grand Avenue.
Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.: Produce, flowers, coffee, baked goods and soap, to mention a few.

Chinatown Farmers Market

727 N. Hill St., between Alpine and Ord streets, (213) 680-0243 or chinatownla.com.
Thursdays, 2-6 p.m.: Wares from certified growers, plus a variety of Asian produce.

Echo Park

Parking Lot No.

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Little Radio’s Big Problem

Royalty Rules Could Force a Change for Downtown Internet Pioneer

by Evan George

When Dave Conway founded Little Radio, a Downtown-based Internet radio station, he was sending out clandestine playlists to friends using illegal rooftop antennas.

Three years later, Little Radio is a multimedia company that deals in brand marketing, event planning, rock shows and even the sale of environmentally friendly electric cars. Its five employees work in two large rehabbed warehouses in the Industrial District.

But at heart – and by name – Little Radio remains centered around the web streaming of music that Conway calls the company’s “life blood and our heart and soul.” The free 24-hour radio station informs all of the other business endeavors, he said.

Not if the recording industry has anything to say about it.

In a ruling earlier this month, the Copyright Royalty Board, which manages fees that radio stations pay to the recording industry, upheld a decision to

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Restaurant & Lounge

On the site of the historic Little J’s, a hangout of celebs such as Natalie Cole, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder, this South Park lounge offers signature cocktails, fine spirits, cigars, beer and wine by the glass.At 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746. jloungela.com

Library Bar

This Financial District pub has seven craft beers on tap — some brewed locally like Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing Co., all of them artisan or small batch — and serves another dozen high-end bottled beers, including several Belgian ales.At 630 W. Sixth St., (213) 614-0053. librarybarla.com

Redwood Bar & Grilldaily

It’s a pirate’s life now for the Redwood Bar & Grill, the former Los Angeles Times watering hole. Nautical gear is everywhere, including fishing nets and floats, weathered wooden planks and the stumps of dock timbers. A rusty anchor and reproductions of pirate flags adorn the ceiling of the entryway.At 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 . theredwoodbar.com

Bar 107

Dark and

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‘Sexo y Violencia’for the People

Lucha VaVoom Brings Burlesque and Wrestling Back to the Mayan

by Lea Lion

It is a hazy Thursday morning in early February and three women are doing warm-up stretches in an unassuming, wood-floored dance studio in Atwater Village. They are chatting about their upcoming Valentine’s Day show and killing time waiting for the fourth dancer to arrive.

One of the dancers, Rita D’Alpert, who goes by the stage name Ursulina, has two-tone hair – blonde on top, black underneath – cut into a shaggy ‘do. She is wearing black low top Converse sneakers and matching arm-warmers. Moana Santana has dark brown bangs across her forehead and is dressed head-to-toe in black, including a tank top that reads “Sexo y Violencia” in cursive script across the chest. Audrey Deluxe, a tall blonde, embodies the most all-American look of the crew.

They could be any dancers with any troupe in the country. But their conversation reveals otherwise.

“Why don’t you try wrestling?”

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