Los Angeles is known as THE car-centric, traffic snarled city. But if you’ve ever been in a car in New York City, you know that traffic there’s really, really bad too. So why aren’t New Yorkers constantly complaining about their horrific traffic? Because they don’t have to deal with it — they’ve got a great subway system and a newly expanded bike network too!

That’s why the news that building L.A.’s Subway to the Sea would only relieve traffic congestion by 1 percent doesn’t disappoint me at all. Once that subway gets built, it’s bye-bye to fighting traffic — and hello to hopping on a subway train that’ll get me from Union Station to UCLA — in just 25 minutes.

The 1 percent statistic was announced as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Westside Subway Extension — or to put it in layperson’s terms, a draft study of how extending the Purple Line down Wilshire (and perhaps the Red Line through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills too) all the way to the beach would affect the city.

Even if you’re a diehard driver, there are good selfish reasons to support the Westside Subway Extension. Think a 1 percent improvement’s too measly an improvement to be worth pursuing? Zach Behrens at LAist points out that without the subway, traffic will get a whole lot worse instead of very slightly better: “Population growth means more vehicles on the road. Metro estimates about a 26% increase in daily vehicle miles traveled within the westside subway extension area.”

Ready to start riding the subway? Well, it’ll be a little while. Steve Hymon at Metro’s The Source blog spells out just how long you may have to wait:

Under the long-range plan adopted by the Board of Directors of Metro last year, the subway would reach Fairfax by 2019, Century City by 2026 and Westwood by 2036 using a combination of Measure R sales tax money and federal funds. Why so long? Because the subway to Westwood is expected to cost about $4 billion and sales tax money flows into local coffers over time — not all at once. Measure R funds also have to fund a plethora of other projects promised to county voters.

However, there is a plan to speed up construction of the subway. The 30/10 Initiative being pursued by Metro — and backed by many other politicians, environmental, business and labor groups — would use federal loans and other financing to try to build 12 Measure R transit projects in the next 10 years. So there’s hope.

Want to help get the subway built sooner rather than later? Then you’ve got to get involved with making the Westside Subway Extension a reality. Read the executive summary of the draft EIR (PDF) — or if that 64-page PDF is just too painful, read Steve’s quick bullet points about the report at The Source.

Then get thee to one of the public meetings about the draft EIR! Those will happen from 6 pm – 8 pm on:

>> Mon., Sep. 20, LACMA West – Terrace Room, 5th Fl., 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Tue., Sep. 21, Westwood United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall, 3rd Fl., 10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

>> Wed., Sep. 22, Plummer Park – Community Center, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

>> Mon., Sep. 27, Roxbury Park – Auditorium, 471 S Roxbury Dr., Beverly Hills.

>> Wed., Sep. 29, Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

After Metro collects feedback until Oct. 18, Metro officials will select a route for construction on Oct. 28 — after which will come a final environmental impact report, followed by actual action to start building the subway (the process is more complicated than I’ve made it sound; see page 2 of the executive summary for the wonky details).

Earlier: Find out what the Subway to the Sea stations near you will look like

Images via Metro

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This post was originally written 7/19/09. Since then, CSA programs have really taken off in L.A. — so I republish this post when new programs sprout up. Eat local in 2010!

Thanks to the growing interest in local, organic food, Angelenos can suddenly pick from a wealth of community supported agriculture programs with locations all over the metropolis. CSA programs basically let you invest in a local farm — for which you’re rewarded with weekly boxes of fresh local produce grown from that farm.

Some of the programs below have stretched that definition of the CSA a bit, to pool produce from more than one organic local farm, for example. Still, the general goal — to connect you to local, seasonal produce and the farms and farmers around you — remains the same. Your options:

(more…)

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>> I’ll be on the Hot, Rich & Green panel at the next Women of the Green Generation event. Come say hello on Wed., March 31, 7 pm – 10 pm at Evo, 1155 S. Grand, #2203, Los Angeles. Cost: $10. RSVP to Kris at bhaktiyogagirl@msn.com or 310.310.5692.

>> Hear from a panel of eco-conscious restaurant entrepreneurs at Sustainable Business Council L.A.’s Fiscally Green Cuisine event. There’ll be live demos and yummy appetizers made by the chefs at Border Grill, Grace, Real Food Daily, Juliano’s RAW, Cinnamon Vegetarian Restaurant, and Euphoria Loves Rawvolution. It all happens Thurs., April 1 from 7 pm – 10 pm at the Valcucine DOM, 9030 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Cost: $25. Online RSVP required.

>> Catch a free screening of What’s On Your Plate?, a documentary about kids and food politics. Post-screening will be a Q&A panel featuring filmmaker Catherine Gund, film star Sadie Hope-Gund, and actors/activists Ed Begley, Jr. and Esai Morales. The screening happens Thurs., April 1 at 7 pm at The Hammer Museum. Tickets are free and available 1 hour before the screening begins.

>> Love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?  National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day happens Friday, April 2. The PB&J Campaign people celebrate this day as one when people are encouraged to ditch their more carbon intensive, conventional meat sandwiches to opt instead for a tasty vegetarian lunch sandwich that’s simple to prepare too!

>> Honor SoCal women bicyclists and watch the L.A. premier of Women of Dirt at an event that’ll raise funds for cycling advocacy groups. There’ll be cycling celebs, raffles, two cash bars — and a VIP cocktail party with a fashion show if you go for the $100 VIP deal. Regular tickets cost just $10. It all happens on Sat., April 3 from 7 – 9 pm at Cinespace Hollywood, 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Hear Anna Lappé discuss Diet for a Hot Planet, her new book, along with Border Grill owner Mary Sue Milliken. The free event happens Thurs., April 8, with a book signing at 6:30 and the main event happening from 7 pm – 9 pm at the Santa Monica Main Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> Bike Night at the Hammer means a free vegan food, free museum admission, live music from Dobrega and Fusion, a screenings of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and a series of bike-related short films, and a mysterious surprise guest! It’s all free — including the bike valet — so I strongly suggest you get there early to ensure you get in. Bike Night begins Thurs., April 8 at 7 pm at the Hammer Museum,

Image via hotrichandgreen.com

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Last year, I wrote about 8 community supported agriculture (CSA) programs in the Los Angeles area that let you pick up a box full of locally grown organic veggies on the cheap every week. One of those programs since ended — but two more have sprung up! The new CSA programs to consider:

Napa Valley Grille (PDF)
Cost: Roughly $35 a week for a box enough to feed two for a week.
Pick-up location: Westwood

This brand new CSA program’s run by Chef Joseph Gillard of eco-minded restaurant Napa Valley Grille in Westwood, where CSA members will need to pick up their boxes every Wednesday. The produce, grown by organic standards, comes from Country Fresh Herbs’s two farms in Tarzana and Somis. You will need to pay up front: $520 per thirteen-week season ($455 for winter) — or $1900 for the whole year. An extra bonus for this CSA’s members: A seasonal farm dinner will be held for all participants at the farm and Napa Valley Grille! (via Vital Juice)

Farm Fresh to You
Cost: $31.50 for a box enough for “4 people or a couple that enjoys cooking.”
Pick-up location: Delivered to doorsteps all over the L.A. area!

Don’t have the time — or don’t want to drive — to pick you your CSA box? Farm Fresh to You will deliver to your door local produce picked within less than 48 hours — if you’re willing to expand your definition of local produce to include those grown 90 miles northeast of San Francisco in Capay Valley. The produce comes from such various and far away farms that this program toes the line between a CSA program and a less farm-specific organic produce delivery service.

Still, customers can select the “Capay Valley Organic Service,” and all your produce will come from farms in Capay Organic Valley. You also have the option of going for the “Regular Organic Service” for more variety — but then some of your produce will be sourced from even farther away — including from farms outside California. The flexible program lets you opt for veggies only, fruits only, or bigger boxes.
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I’ll soon update my original post about CSA programs in Los Angeles so you can have all the current CSA info in one place! Know one I missed? Let me know now –

Update, 2/25/10: As promised, Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles has now been updated with the new CSAs, latest prices, and added locations.

Photo of South Central Farmers CSA box contents by Dave Bullock (eecue)

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The mood at the west coast premier of The Yes Men Fix the World in Los Angeles last night was jubilant! Angelenos who turned out for the free screening enjoyed happy hour at the Hammer museum while dancing with two Survivaballs bouncing around the courtyard — before heading in to see the film about performance-activists playing high-profile pranks for socially progressive causes.

And the film didn’t disappoint. The Yes Men Fix the World kicks off with the pranksters impersonating a Dow Chemical spokesperson — on the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, when thousands died from a chemical leak created by the now-Dow-owned Union Carbide. The “spokesperson” announced to millions of viewers that Dow would liquidate Union Carbide’s assets and pay out $12 billion to compensate the victims and clean up the environmental mess still in Bhopal:

Thanks to that hijinks, Dow’s stock took a $2 billion hit. And while many environmentalists must have been happy to see Dow’s stock price go down, The Yes Men decided that the reason Dow doesn’t do right by the people Bhopal is because the company gets punished for doing good. The rules of the game had to change — so The Yes Men started going after the government.

You’ve probably seen some of The Yes Men’s recent tricks towards that end, since the pranksters have both successfully impersonated the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chased down Senator Arlen Specter in the last week or so. The Yes Men Fix the World covers some similar pranks — including impersonating of a U.S. Housing and Urban Development official at the Gulf Coast Reconstruction Conference, distributing fake, more hopeful copies of The New York Times, and more.

While the film’s hilarious, The Yes Men’s message is serious. During the post-screening Q&A, Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum urged that we, as concerned citizens, need to start taking to the streets, Earth Days style. Obama’s getting a lot of industry pressure to do the wrong thing, Andy pointed out, and he needs pressure from us to support better decisions, whether it’s for health care reform or climate change legislation.

Towards that end, The Yes Men are behind BeyondTalk.net, a website that lets you sign up to take direct, nonviolent action — even risking arrest — during the Copenhagen Climate Talks this December.

Are you ready to go beyond talk? The Yes Men Fix the World will start playing in L.A. at two Laemmle theaters on Nov. 6.

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For a relatively pedestrian-friendly ‘hood, Westwood’s got some ‘tard-y shit going on. First, the ‘hood got called out for its ridiculous 275-feet-long bike lane. And now, BikingInLA points out that a Westwood pedestrian crosswalk’s marked with a no crossing sign (via Streetsblog LA). WTF?!

BikingInLA calls this abhorrence “the world’s first crosswalk where no pedestrians are allowed — despite the presence of a working pedestrian signal.” How do Bruins deal with these confusing messages?

Earlier: DOT Wants to Remove Crosswalks to Protect Pedestrians.

Update: Thanks to the work of Damien at Streetsblog LA, the offending no pedestrian sign has now been removed.

Photo via BikingInLA

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The people at SlateV have found the stupidest bike lane in the US. And guess what — It’s in Los Angeles! (via Earthfirst)

More specifically, this lane’s on Gayley in Westwood — and runs just 275 feet long!

Yes, this bike lane’s stupid, but surely there are stupider ones even in L.A. alone?

My main beef with bike routes, however, have to do with bike paths, not lanes. Just putting a lil sign that says “share the road” does not make make the crazy freeway-bound traffic on Lincoln safe to ride in!

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Question: I am possibly re-locating to West Los Angeles (West Hollywood) shortly. I was wondering if you could tell me your top picks of food stores and restaurants/cafés in the area around West Hollywood/Beverly Hills? Thanks for your support and help. Erik, London

Answer: I’m happy to recommend restaurants you might possibly patronize. But first, as a native, I feel duty-bound to inform you that west L.A.’s not the same area as West Hollywood. The latter is its own city, perhaps best known for its friendly gay population and the home of the recent protests against Prop 8. West Hollywood has its own cops, its own recycling system, and its own gigantic Whole Foods.

West L.A., on the other hand, is a rather amorphous area of the city of Los Angeles that I generally think of as the area right around Beverly Hills (also its own city), but also serves as a catch-all descriptor for any in-between ‘hoods section of L.A. west of Fairfax (for ex, the section between Westwood and Santa Monica).

That 2-paragraph layout of the west side will make sense to you once you move here, unless you’re my friend Summer, who’s lived in Santa Monica for 3 years but still isn’t quite sure where Westwood is (why leave the beach when you don’t have to?).

Anyway, lemme move on to your actual question about good eats. Here are my recommendations:

For fast food, try Native Foods, a yummy vegan joint in Westwood or O! Burger, an all-organic burger place in West Hollywood (left).

For an order at the counter, stake out a table kind of place, try Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood, or the newer Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop (right) in Beverly Hills if you’d like wine or beer.

For a casual sit down meal, go to The Abbey in West Hollywood or Le Pain Quotidien in Beverly Hills, Westwood, or West Hollywood.

Readers — Have other recommendations for Eric? Leave them in the comments —

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>> Friends of the LA River’s RioFest 2008 happens Oct. 4! $50 gets you a ticket, including dinner and drinks at this Biergarten with bratwurst and tacos. Support the revitalization of the LA River while learning about The City of Munich’s revitalization of the Isar River.

>> The Natural History Museum of LA County apparently has a new green series, dubbed Sustainable Sundays. The next event — though the website hasn’t been updated with the info yet — is a talk titled “The Power to Sustain: The Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy,” featuring CalTech’s Dr. Nathan Lewis along with reps from LA DWP and American Chemical Society. That’s happening Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, 12:30 pm at NHM, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. (Thanks for the tip, Siobhan!)

>> Santa Monica nonprofit Sustainable Works — known for its inexpensive Residential Greening Program and Green Business Certification — is having its first ever fundraiser with beer and wine, organic and local eatas, KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez, an eco-auction, and an awards ceremony. That happens Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, from 6 pm – 11 pm at Bergamot Station Arts Center: Writers Boot Camp, 2525 Michigan Ave., Bldg. I. Cost: A tax-deductible $75, which includes a Sustainable Works Annual Membership — the benefits of which are unclear. Buy them in advance by emailing harrison_lisa@smc.edu.

>> Bike Town Beta happens Saturday, October 25 from 6 pm – 10 pm in Westwood Village, Los Angeles!

>> Green Speed Dating in Culver City happens Sunday, Oct. 26!

>> The Disney Go Green! National Day of Action, organized by Center for Health, Environment & Justice, will urge Disney parks, hotels, and restaurants to use green cleaning products — by encouraging people to throw “parties” during which people make green products. I seriously question whether this tactic will be popular or effective, but in any case, the action day’s Oct. 29.

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Do you dream of life in a bicycle-centric city? You can have it in Westwood — if by “life” one means 4 hours and by “city,” 6 blocks or so. Here’s what’s coming to LA in a month:

Bike Town Beta is a unique bike ride and social gathering. We will be transforming a small urban area into a mini bike town for a night. Simply ride your bike around the area meandering up and down every street. Make stops to patronize businesses, enjoy parks, and chat with other riders.

When: Saturday, October 25, 2008 from 6 pm – 10 pm
Where: In the area bound by Wilshire, Galey, Westwood, and Le Conte in Westwood Village, Los Angeles

I’m trying to get more details from Alec Schwartz, the organizer, about how this first — and hopefully not last — Bike Town Beta is coming together. In the meantime, put the event in your calendar!

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