William Nottingham

L.A. gets new park in heart of downtown

latimes.com — Before a throng of office workers and scruffy-faced hipsters, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday opened Spring Street Park in the heart of the city’s rapidly evolving downtown, telling the crowd that there were more parks to come, including the conversion of a coveted 2-acre parcel across from City Hall.

Garcetti names longtime aide Ana Guerrero as his chief of staff

latimes.com — Los Angeles Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has named a former community organizer as the first hire of his new administration, designating longtime council aide Ana Guerrero as his chief of staff. Guerrero, 42, has been working for Garcetti since 2001, serving first as his organizing director and the last five years as his chief of staff.

Ontario rejects L.A.'s offer to resume airport transfer talks

latimes.com — Inland Empire officials have rejected as unreasonable an offer by Los Angeles to resume negotiations on transferring ownership of L.A./Ontario International Airport back to the city of Ontario. The decision rebuffed a proposal made almost two weeks ago by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to renew talks on the condition that Ontario city officials drop their recent lawsuit against Los Angeles World Airports.

Kidnapped iPhone roams far from home

latimes.com — My iPhone had been kidnapped. It was sending me cries for help. Each time it was powered on, it beamed an SOS, giving me an exact street address. I studied the images on my computer screen, zooming in close. The tidy lawn of a one-story home, the boxy exterior of a duplex.

L.A. business improvement districts' value questioned

latimes.com — When the bike patrols suddenly ended in downtown Los Angeles' arts district last month, junk began to pile up against the curb on Seaton Street. Over on Mateo Street, a trail of aqua-blue chips from shattered car windows glittered along the gutter.

Lawmakers should close bullet-buying loophole

latimes.com — From what I've been reading, the Santa Monica killer was packing an illegal assault rifle and 40 high-capacity ammunition magazines. He sprayed 100 bullets and had access to 1,300. And, oh yes, he was a mental case. The guy's exact background and how he obtained his war-ready arsenal weren't clear as of this writing.

Newton: The real test for Garcetti

latimes.com — City Councilman Eric Garcetti campaigned for mayor for 622 days. He raised more than $8 million and secured the votes of 222,300 residents of Los Angeles. Now comes the hard part: governing. He has his skeptics. Some worry that he's too liberal to rein in spending.

Some L.A. County bus drivers say pesticides are making them ill

latimes.com — Los Angeles County bus drivers say they are regularly becoming ill - sometimes while behind the wheel - from pesticides sprayed inside their vehicles by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. At least 14 Metro drivers are pursuing workers' compensation claims, and more than 110 have signed a petition that demands a halt to the spraying, according to their attorney.

MTA bus driver killed in crash 'looked after everyone else first'

latimes.com — Olivia Gamboa began her route through downtown Los Angeles in the pre-dawn darkness. After 13 years as a bus driver with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, she could have chosen any shift. She opted to drive at 5 a.m., as most of the city slept, so she could care for her 3-year-old grandson in the afternoons and spare her daughter the cost of day care.

Portions of 110 Freeway to close for repairs

latimes.com — A section of the 110 Freeway in Pasadena will be closed Sunday for roadway improvements.