Los Angeles, Ca
Santa Monica Pier to celebrate 115th anniversary
A beloved symbol of the Los Angeles area is marking a major milestone this week.
On Friday, the Santa Monica Pier will celebrate 115 years as one of Southern California’s most recognizable landmarks with live entertainment and family activities planned throughout the day.
The Santa Monica Pier officially opened to the public on Sept. 9, 1909, and “quickly evolved into a popular fishing and boating destination,” according to Santa Monica Travel & Tourism.
Seven years later, the pier began the first steps of its evolution into the tourism and entertainment beacon it is today.
Charles Looff, an amusement park developer known for his work at Coney Island in New York, oversaw the addition of a second pier which featured a billiards and bowling hall, a ballroom, and the iconic carousel that remains to this day. The 44 hand-carved horses currently reside in the Looff Hippodrome, named for the innovative craftsman who brought the vision to life.
Decades later, more amusement park rides began to open on the Santa Monica Pier, and in 1940, its famous neon welcome sign was constructed.
But it wasn’t always blue skies and sunny days for the pier, as it faced possible closures throughout the years that followed.
Eventually, the Santa Monica Pier and the Looff Hippodrome building were designated U.S. National Historic Landmarks thanks to a campaign to “Save the Pier.”
In 1996, Pacific Park opened, welcoming locals and tourists with thrill rides and midway games, and the world famous Pacific Wheel. The Ferris wheel later became the first solar-powered theme park ride of its kind.
The Santa Monica Pier has seen many changes over the years, with businesses coming and going and renovations to the structure itself and surrounding area, but it has withstood the test of time and remains synonymous with L.A. and Southern California beach culture.
This week, Angelenos and Santa Monica visitors are encouraged to celebrate the pier’s enduring history with a jam-packed schedule of events, including live musical performances, “birthday” treats and a free outdoor screening of “Barbie,” among other family- and community-focused events.
For more information on the Santa Monica Pier anniversary celebration, click here.
Los Angeles, Ca
Los Angeles releases searchable list of worst rental properties
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
Los Angeles, Ca
Millions of dollars worth of counterfeit luxury goods found in downtown L.A. bust
Authorities discovered millions of dollars worth of counterfeit luxury goods in a downtown Los Angeles bust.
On May 14, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at two locations — a retail store in the 500 Block of South Los Angeles Street and a commercial warehouse in the 500 Block of Main Street.
Inside the warehouse, deputies found a significant amount of counterfeit luxury merchandise. In total, the retail value of the goods was estimated between $5 million and $10 million.
Two unidentified suspects, a man and a woman, were taken into custody.
“This remains an active investigation,” LASD said. “Additional arrests or charges are possible as the case progresses.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call LASD’s Major Crimes Bureau’s Tip Line at 562-946-7893.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Los Angeles, Ca
Early morning Montebello fire leaves resident critically injured
At least one person was critically injured in a house fire that erupted in Montebello early Thursday morning.
Crews responded to the blaze engulfing a detached unit in the 100 block of South 5th Street near West Whittier Boulevard around 5 a.m.
Flames quickly spread to a nearby electrical pole, blowing a fuse and knocking out power in the area. Sparks could be seen as a loud pop was heard in a Citizen.com video later obtained by KTLA.
At least one person was believed to be in critical condition due to burn injuries, though officials have not released further details.
There was no immediate word on a possible cause of the fire.
A neighbor told KTLA that three people lived inside the home, including a child.
This is a developing story.
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