It's located in Santa Monica but it's a big hospital Rancho Park adjacent, and it's just undergone a total architectural overhaul largely funded by Patrick Soon Shiong, an LA billionaire with an amazing background. (Briefly: Chinese parents, born in South Africa, educated in Canada, became a surgeon in LA, got UCLA professorship, resigned UCLA professorship to found startup which exploded, now may be richest man in town, …

Westwood Blvd has been designated a backbone of the LA 2010 Bike Plan Network and targeted for the extension of now fragmentary bike lanes.

The many cyclists who ride this corridor everyday, along with those would-be cyclists who have been afraid to get out there under current conditions, have welcomed this news.  The stretch between Santa Monica and Pico presents particularly dangerous conditions for cyclists as now configured.  This…

The utilities in the Cheviot / Rancho area are old and outdated resulting in outages like we had earlier this week.  A whole house serge protector provided by DWP will prevent electrical panel burn outs caused during incidents like the one this week.  DWP will install a protector when the power enters your home.   The added charge is around $3.99 a month extra.  Our oven panel burned out several times and the appliance repair company recommended a house surge protector. .  We haven't had…

Following the very exciting 4:30am power surge(s) yesterday, some folks in our neighborhood are still without power. DWP trucks were parked along Veteran at Brookhaven this morning, presumably working on the problem.  Neighbors report varying degrees of damage ranging from fried tankless water heaters and microwaves, to non-functioning outlets and fritzed-out X-boxes.  In our house a number of bulbs blew out, outlets fried, and appliances are malfunctioning (including our bedroom ceiling fan…

Check out this new video from the Build Expo folks:

Ciclavia to the Sea will turn Venice Blvd into a biking paradise this Sunday.  The full route will run from Venice Beach to City Hall and the historic El Pueblo district.  A feeder ride will pass through our neighborhood.  The group will start at the UCLA Bruin Bear at 9:30am, picking up riders along the way as it passes down Westwood Blvd.  A great way to share a Sunday with the community!

The legal battle over our east/west rail line is heading up north. On May 7, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments in San Francisco in the case of Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Construction Authority. At issue is  whether the traffic studies used for the line's environmental documents are ok as is - they are based on future not current traffic conditions - or if they are inadequate, as NSFR contends. …

From Up On Poppy Hill, the new film by master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his son Goro Miyazaki is now playing (and is the only LA venue) at the Landmark at Westside Pavilion. Not just for kids, From Up On Poppy Hill will delight audiences of any age. Like stepping into a dream, the film transports us to Japan in 1964. Stunning and beautifully rendered, this movie is truly unique. It is a sweet story that helps us appreciate the beauty of nature and makes us treasure our…

Dear amazing customers, neighbors friends,

I come to you today with a heavy heart.  We will be closing March 30th, as we are unable to renew our lease at the Westside Pavilion.  Over the last 7 years, I have such an amazing time getting to know you all and your kiddos.  It's a bit of a shock that I have now been doing this for 11 years!  Please spread the word that next week will be our last week.  If you have gift cards or need to exchange anything please do so before next…

Dear Rancho Park,

I wanted to write this to let the Rancho Park community know how much I've enjoyed my time here.  However, all good things must come to and end.  In fact two great things are coming to an end for me. 

While I've made some good friends here and committed myself to this community, I will be moving out of Rancho Park.  I would like to thank everyone for being so welcoming.  Thank you John O'Groats for delicious brunches on Sundays.  Thank you Cheviot Hills Park…

President and Mrs. Obama are no strangers to the Rancho Park area. Cheviot Hills Park has served as a base for them when they are criss-crossing the city. But today, students at Overland were treated to a phone call from the First Lady as she called to congratulate Overland in Motion creator and instructor Apryl Krakovsky for founding this innovative and invogorating  morning physical education program and to thank her for being part of a movement to get kids moving. KNBC covered the story.…

Has anyone noticed that the new bulbs on major street lights are much brighter.I live near Beverly Glen/Pico and two have been replaced the past month.They reflect a white glow rather than the yellow of the old ones.Tonight the one on Beverly Glen right up the street from the car wash has been replaced and a few weeks ago the one across the street from it up from St. Timothys was.

I'm off to vote and just realized I am not sure where my polling location is in Rancho Park. I figured many folks may be in the same boat, so I am once again sharing the link to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's online tool that tells you your polling place. Just put in your address number and street name and your voting location pops up. I'm heading to the Palms Park Rec Center. Hope to see you…

On Feb 19 the LA Department of City Planning held its Westside public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for implementation of the 2010 Bicycle Plan.  The capacity crowd of nearly 100 seemed about evenly divided between yeas and nays, although the nays were certainly rowdier. 

The proposal for floating bike lanes on Westwood Blvd (see my Feb 15…

The Council’s Feb 14 meeting featured a discussion of proposed bike lanes for Westwood Blvd.

The discussion kicked off with a PowerPoint presentation by Eric Bruins of the LA County Bicycle Coalition.  For the stretch between Santa Monica and Pico, Bruins pitched a creative proposal involving floating bike lanes as an alternative to the city’s proposal.  A city representative who was present said the city was prepared to support the LACBC proposal and noted such a design has been…

Like the proliferation of mattress stores, we now have a proliferation of massage parlors.

These are NOT allowed in the Neighborhood Oriented District (NOD) that runs along Pico and up Westwood.

Some are perfectly legit, if they were allowed, but they are not.  And some of them, most notably the most recent addition across from the Landmark, may be something "more" than massage, at least according to a few websites and Craigslist.

Please come to the Westside Neighborhood Council meeting this Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

There will be someone from the LA Bike Coalition discussing proposed bike lanes on Sepulveda, Westwood, and Avenue of the Stars -- something that is scheduled for hearing on February 19th.

We love cycling and want to create a bike network on the Westside, but anyone who walks or drives down Westwood between Pico and Santa Monica knows that taking out lanes, or parking, or…