Category Archives: Southern California Stuff

musings on LA, Palm Springs, and other parts of SoCal

L.A.’s Subway System: A Look at What’s to Come – and in the Gay Press, no less!

FrontiersLA.com | L.A.’s Subway System: A Look at What’s to Come.

I was really happy to to see the linked article, from L.A.’s gay paper, Frontiers, about public transportation in Los Angeles and advocating for it (as well as informing its audience of the possibilities).

Writer Patrick Rosenquist begins by focusing on the recent Spike Jonze movie “Her.” (Which, BTW, won the Oscar (Jonze) for best original screenplay this year.)

In the movie, L.A. has a subway that goes everywhere, like in a dream. This will never happen, of course, but it’s about to get a whole lot better. Next year (or early 2016 – there are always delays with light rail here, it seems) the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica will open, and I (and you, of course) will be able to take light rail to that beach for the first time since the 1950s.

The actual subway that’s being built, the Purple Line extension going to the VA in Westwood, under Wilshire Boulevard, is set to open in 2035. I will be 80 that year. If I’m still around, I’ll be waiting on the platform.

Kudos to Frontiers for running this piece, and I loved that the writer is a car-free guy. Articles such as this one will only help get rid of the stigma that still exists in some quarters to taking public transport — though admittedly the trains have a higher profile than the buses.

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Speaking of which, I took the bus out to the beach last Wednesday for a day on the sand and in the surf. Or, more accurately, 3 different buses — from the Valley where I live, it’s an enormous distance and there’s no one bus/train/lightrail that will ever take you there. Mostly, it was painless, though time consuming — and I did have to wait at one stop for about 20 minutes in the blazing sun – no shelter, no trees — and this was in tony Brentwood. Shame! It will be so much easier once the Expo Line is done.

Kudos also to Angelenos for passing Measure R – the sales tax which local funding, meaning we don’t have to rely on the deep bench of backward senators in deep red rural flyover states to fund our public transportation from D.C.

Yet there still is that problem with bus stigma. “People in L.A. see public transportation as something meant for someone else— ‘it’s not for me.’ Getting people to use buses is more of a marketing question,” says Duran. – (John Duran, WeHo City Councilperson) What he really means is that “white” people don’t see it as an option. But I see the evidence of that changing, every time I get on a bus. And like the writer of the Frontiers piece, I have to hand it to the Millennials – it sure as hell ain’t the Boomers on those buses (for the most part, present company excluded).

As to the “Her” filmmakers wishing Malibu would get a subway stop: well, you can always dream. I’d settle for Palm Springs on Metrolink or a daily Amtrak – and this is not that hard, people. Really. Tracks and station already there!

Is It Time To Consider Leaving Los Angeles, part two . . .

So hard to quit you.

Adding on to where I was before . . . in a post:

In the last couple of days, this came out: Los Angeles Most Unaffordable City for Housing

And then, a friend shared this link with me: The Living Wage Calculator , which is a project basically to advocate for higher minimum wages, by showing what a “living wage” actually is, in real dollars and cents, in any location you plug into their search engine.

I figured I could also use this for planning where to live frugally on a fixed income, try to figure out where my dollars would go the furthest.

So here’s the baseline, no-frills living wage (annualized) for a single adult (hey, that’s me) in some of the locations (in descending order, from most expensive to least) I’ve considered over my months of ruminating on this issue:

Los Angeles: $23,640.

Palm Springs: $22,289.

NOLA: $21,869.

Sacramento: $20,696.

Las Vegas: $20,036.

Madison: $19,843.

Milwaukee: $19,717.

Tucson: $17,400.

So, is Tucson really about 27% less expensive than L.A.? Hmmm, it’s something to think about.

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New Technology Makes Going CarFree Even Easier

It’s dawned on me that the days of going to a bus or train stop and just hoping that your ride comes along eventually are basically over — that is, with a little help from technology and smart phone apps.

Here in Los Angeles, the LA Metro system has its own app that tells you, in real time, when the next bus/train will arrive. So basically, this means you don’t have to leave your house/place of business/whatever if you don’t want to because you know exactly when the ride will arrive.

This is also helpful when making a connection – too common an occurrence here in L.A. The app can tell you in real time whether one option might be better than another based on real-time bus arrival times which you can access while on the first leg of your journey. This has the potential of shortening your time in transit.

And, to be honest, since going car-free almost a year ago I’ve had that moment here and there where I just thought, damn, it would be nice to get a ride. Well, now that’s easier too. There were always cabs – but you had to call them and wait and half the time they didn’t show up. With Uber or Lyft, the smartphone app does it all for you, including telling you how far away the car is, and since it’s going to be charged to your credit card on file, there’s no worry about having enough cash in your wallet should you decide on the ride on a whim.

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These options make going car-free in our car-centric city that much easier, and makes it even less likely I’ll get another car soon. This time of year, even the bargain basement ARCO near my house currently has unleaded for over $4.20 per gallon. Ouch!

Speaking of Uber, I read they’re launching in Palm Springs. I couldn’t be happier! You know why? After living there for 10 years (part time) I met more of the rudest, assholest cabbies you could ever imagine. Who charge outrageous taxi rates in Palm Springs. So sorry if you’re now going to have to compete with ordinary Uber drivers. Maybe you’ll be a little nicer, even? Like they say, Karma is a bitch.

I’ve started commuting home one night a week on my bike (instead of taking it on the train). It’s about a 15 mile trip, from East Hollywood through Silver Lake/Los Feliz, then along the L.A. River bike trail and connecting in Burbank to the Chandler bike path to Valley Village. Not sure I’ll do it all year, but I’ve loved this trip in the evening spring light.

Top Ten Things I Miss About Living in Palm Springs

Well, it’s Spring, and a young man’s fancy turns to . . . hot desert nights. Not that I’m, um, young or particularly fancy, but you know. . . This time of year it’s the height of the spring season out there, with the White Party and Spring Break and all the other stuff about to climax before the beastly summer heat settles in.

So I’ve been thinking about the desert recently and the things I miss. Here are ten, in no particular order:

The Hot Summer Nights. Seriously. As in seriously hot. I loved not ever having to worry about taking a sweater along (unless it was to a movie, then you needed one because they crank the AC up so much) cause you know the temperature isn’t going to go down lower than 86-88. And that’s at the “coldest” point just before dawn. And of course, perfect weather for walking around without a stitch on.
Koffi. I’m writing this blog right now in a coffeehouse in Studio City, also a great place, but there’s nothing quite like Koffi for atmosphere–not to mention the two fab locations, downtown and the south end. Different vibes and both very suited to writing. I’ve always found a spot to open up the laptop at either place. I also got a lot of writing done at (believe it or not) Starbucks at Sunny Dunes.
The Blessed Stillness. Is there another place on earth where it’s more blissfully quiet to sleep? Or is the quiet of a place like Palm Springs just the way it is if you don’t live in a huge noisy city? Whatever it is, I found it particularly conducive to a good night’s sleep. Those inky black nights.
The Camelot — movie house. Where they play unusual and art films in the middle of a low-population desert. I love that they continue to do this kind of programming there, even in the summer, when the houses are practically empty. It’s got to be losing money at that time of the year, so clearly it’s a labor of love. (This may be the real #1 on my list.)

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The Farmer’s Market (actually it’s right outside The Camelot)– Small enough to be manageable and the farmers were local, so that was really enjoyable to get to know where your food was grown (on the mountain behind you!). Only drawback to this Farmer Market is that it closes in the summer. Guess it gets too hot to grow anything!
Fresh & Easy — There’s lots of opinions about this store but it always worked for me. From their already cut up and washed fruit and veggies to the ready-to-eat entrees, and, of course, they had the bargain aisle where they’d sell totally good food a day past the expiration for basically peanuts. I hear since the chain itself went under, this location may have new owners. . .
Eddy’s Frozen Yogurt– Eddy has great froyo and toppings — if you’re in a healthy mood, there’s the fresh fruit, if not, there’s the chocolate and peanut butter cups and all the other bad sugary things. But the best part really is sitting and enjoying your frozen treat watching the comings and goings of the nearly naked men at Hunter’s next door. A favorite summer night excursion, for sure.
World Gym Palm Springs–at the corner of Sunrise and Vista Chino–one of the best gyms I’ve ever been member of. They have miles of equipment, it seems, and it never appears crowded there. Great friendly staff and instructors — I liked that exercise and yoga classes were included with the membership. Come here to find out what’s going on in Palm Springs. I found this an easy place to go to get fit – easy because it was so pleasant and non-stressful.
Mount San Jacinto–ah, the mountain. Avid hiker that I am, I loved going up the tram, especially during the horrendously hot summer days, and spending the day up on top of the mountain hiking in the magnificent forests that are up there. The last time I was there during the summer I got a pass for $60 – a great value if you plan on going up on the mountain even just a few times during the summer months.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name — which seems to be every restaurant, every bar, every store. I guess I liked this aspect of small town living — that when you go out, half the people in any one establishment are people you know. I thought that was a lot of fun. Not like that at all in the big city, where anonymity seems to rule. Sometimes that’s nice, sometimes it’s just sad.

The Girl at the Bodega

not the bodega in question, but a famous one at Las Palmas and Fountain.

And why the future belongs to her.

I was at the bodega across the street from where I work part-time in East Hollywood. I go there on my work days to buy a soda, usually (OK, I can’t be Mr. Healthy all the time! at least it’s always diet soda) before repairing over to the LACC quad to eat my bag lunch and watch the college boys.

On Saturdays there’s a different, younger girl working behind the counter. A younger relative of the reticent, older woman who works there during the week? Who knows.

The future belongs to this Saturday girl because:

she is bilingual if not more, with no trace of an accent when she’s speaking English
she is multi-cultural, clearly comfortable relating to the neighborhood kids in Spanish and joking around with a middle-aged white guy in English
she grew up with agency in both a traditionally American world (probably through the public school system) and an old world immigrant one
Her beautiful brown face of the future of Los Angeles, and the future leadership of Los Angeles

I imagine she’s only here on Saturdays because she’s in school the rest of the week. She won’t be working here at the bodega forever; her job will be downtown or in one of the other centers of creative work.

For all of the naysayers who decry the myth of the American Dream (and with good reason), this the real deal, the real American Dream, or some small part of it, made manifest and human and standing right in front of me.

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Update on Car-Free Living in Los Angeles

Pedestrians and bicyclists take over Wilshire Boulevard during a recent CicLAvia

So it’s been four months now in my car-free L.A. experiment. Other than three weeks in August when I was in NY (of course, I was also car free there!) I’ve been here the whole time, in L.A., in Valley Village, basically the core of the summer as we often describe it (or as the Beach Boys did, from “July to the end of September,” Beach Baby).

So how’s it working? I’m happy to report all the walking and biking has certainly kept my weight steady – I’d lost about 20 lbs. since March and have been able to maintain that. I do realize the biking portion of the program has really been assisted by a) warm/hot weather and b) the extended daylight of summer. Will my willingness to ride places be compromised when it gets dark at 5 p.m. in a month or so? I have good lights, I could use more reflectors and reflective clothing. I also like these things that light up your wheels.

Do I still worry about how my decision will be perceived? (Are you a loser? Are you too poor now to have a car???) Honestly, yes, still a little bit – but much less. I guess I’ve become the weird old guy on the bike.

The reaction from a couple of my friends who I thought would be shocked that I sold my car was really rather mild — and while I wouldn’t say hugely supportive — was not unsupportive in the least. Others are extremely curious about how I get places and do things. Almost without exception, people here in L.A. understand why someone would want to get rid of the car — the source of so much frustration and irritation here, not to mention the money pit aspects.

Anecdotally, I pick up that more and more people are trying public transport here — of course, that’s a middle class person’s luxury problem. But the truth is that L.A. and the Southern California regional area have made great strides in the past decade-plus on its public transport infrastructure, and it’s working better and just a whole lot more pleasant than it used to be.

More of that, please!

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The Forest Dark – Reading at Stories

Thanks again to Hank Henderson and the folks at Stories Cafe & Books in Echo Park. I have more from the reading, and I’ll add it once I process the video (added below). If you’re a member of goodreads, check out the giveaway below. . . or join!

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The Writer’s Friend: Gary Shusett, RIP

Gary Shusett
photo: candidcoverage

So many deaths in 2013! I saw the obits for Gary Shusett while I was in New York last month helping my dad with the arrangements following the death of my aunt.

I certainly didn’t want to not remark on Gary. He was such an original of the type that you still occasionally find in Hollywood, a link between those golden filmmaking years of the 60s and 70s and today (I know it’s weird to call the 60s and 70s golden years, but it’s all relative, right).

Gary died on August 9, the day after my aunt Joan, of cancer at 72, according the obit in the Times.

I took a couple of seminars from Gary’s organization, Sherwood Oaks College, over the years, mostly having to do with access to producers and agents, always hoping for that prime bit of perfect information that gets you a foot in the door.
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Gary was remarkable in his success at getting the major folks to appear at his seminars, a constant amazement that they actually would show up. I also found him to be genuine and honest – at times brutally so, about the role of writers in Hollywood and what were the best strategies for success (which may or may not dovetail with anyone’s personal ambitions).

I also did an internship with his company on script coverage, which was good training as well as just good for a writer to know how scripts and short stories (we read a lot of science fiction) are evaluated by readers.

He will be missed. I don’t know who will fill that void, but I certainly hope it’s someone. Another great loss from the writing/mentor world, who joins beloved teacher Linda Palmer in that Big Writers’ Room upstairs.

Car-Free in L.A.? The list of where to live.

Magnolia Boulevard in Valley Village

I was happy this piece in Metro’s The Source highlighted NoHo (specifically the NoHo Arts District) as one of the places in L.A. where it is most conducive living Car-Free or Car-Lite.

I live in Valley Village, which I guess I’d call NoHo-adjacent, and by this proximity, can also boast to be a good option for the Car-Free.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised over the (now two years, how time does fly) time I’ve lived here at how convenient the neighborhood is to my specific lifestyle – as the referenced Walkscore website puts it, “most daily errands do not require a car.” What they don’t tell you is what the criteria are for walkability distance, i.e., I know from personal experience that what I think is a reasonable walk another person might think of as a death march.

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But truly, the usual places one needs: grocery, drugstore, movie theaters, restaurants, library, coffeehouse, yoga studio, park, gym, elementary, junior and senior high schools, public transit stops, farmers market, gay and other bars, etc. are all within easy walking or easy walking and biking distance.

The other neighborhoods The Source deems perfect for Car-Free living include Culver City, Koreatown, DTLA and Pasadena. I would also have included Los Feliz, my former neighborhood, which still has a huge place in my heart – and is very conveniently located to all amenities and is also a hub for Metro lines, bus and rail. And, it’s got Griffith Park. Hard to beat that.

Living in L.A. Without a Car: Airport Connections — and Connecting

photo by Victor L Antunez

I love cities where the urban planners have had the foresight to make the airport fairly painless to get to (thinking of Heathrow in London, right away). Believe me, this is not usually the case, especially in the U.S., what with our still crazy dependence on the private automobile making us anything but independent (the very thing it was supposed to do, for all of us, was to make us our own sovereign masters of travel. But don’t get me started. . .)

I recently took a trip from LA to New York, and since it was relatively last minute, the best deals were from LAX (which I try to avoid) even though I live much closer to that easy Burbank Airport. So that was not an option this time.

This post would be more accurately described as the various ways to get to and from the airport, and certainly not specific to car-free folks – cause you’d have to be crazy to drive yourself to the airport for anything other than a weekend getaway. Right? Or am I just crazy, not realizing that people throw good money away on long-term parking fees that add up really fast?

Maybe they do. So OK, then perhaps this will be enlightening, or maybe it won’t.

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I was gone for 20 days. So if I drove myself, I’d have that convenience, perhaps, and let’s just estimate the long term parking charge at $6/day, so that would cost $180, plus gas and whatever your time is worth.

I’m sure there are people who do this and don’t blink an eye. I’m not one of them.

The other ways I know of to get to the airport include 1) asking friends for a ride 2) taking a cab 3) taking one of the shuttle services 4) taking public transport.

This trip my plane was wheels up at 6:15 a.m., so I didn’t even consider asking a friend for a lift. I live in the close-in Valley, so I figured a cab would probably be somewhere in the $80-100 range, again, not really what I wanted to pay for this.

I generally dislike the shuttle services – because they pick you up so far ahead of time – this trip because of the early early hour there was no viable public transportation option (unless I wanted to go very late the night before, and stay overnight waiting for my plane – ummm, no thanks.)

So I did take Super Shuttle – they picked me up at 3:35 a.m. for that 6:15 flight. It cost about $38, which included a 10% tip and a 10% discount (I found a discount code on the internets that actually worked). Oddly, there was no traffic on the 405 at that hour so we got there in about half an hour – before even the TSA is open. I always assumed they were there 24 hours a day, but apparently not.

Coming back, I was able to make use of my preferred method – FlyAway Bus, Red Line Subway, Orange Line Bus. It cost $10. I took the FlyAway from LAX to Union Station, the Red Line subway all the way to North Hollywood, and the Orange Line Busline one stop to Laurel Canyon, which is about 2 + blocks from my house.

Prior to leaving NYC, my father asked me, if cost wasn’t an option, wouldn’t you rather just take a car? (As in, I think he meant, a taxi) I had to think, would I? I think no, not really. Because it’s not all about the cost. It’s about the ability to actually do this kind of a trip using public transportation options. Since I’m a writer, I really see the value in the “closeness” to my fellow passengers — because I don’t experience too much of anything new in a closed up car all by myself. The subway is a never-ending panorama of life in the Big Orange, including its ugliness and unconventionality. I’m constantly striving to fill up that depleting well inside. Being an integral part of the city (and immersed in it) is a way to make that happen.