Reading About LA

Here are some wonderful things to read, for when you have some free time:

Is someone gunning down peafowl? In semi-rural, moneyed Palos Verdes? Well, they were. That's the topic of a well-researched article in Los Angeles Magazine by Mike Kessler. I love that he interviewed Cat Spydell, whom I've met a few times. I even shared a booth with her and the mammoth sweetie-dog Drinian, just before she found and bonded with the baby peacock called Radagast. (All three are pictured at right.) Kessler also interviewed a few of the people who hate peafowl, so it's a pretty well-balanced report.

For a juicy report on the Playboy Mansion and its neighborhood, its history, the dimensions, a bunch of links, and a half-dozen pictures of the fabled estate, go to CurbedLA. Or check out this fact-heavy piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Want something to do, rather than something to read? The Night on Broadway is FREE! Takes place January 30 and celebrates the 10-year effort to "Bring Back Broadway", which is also the name of the host organization. Look over the Event guide that shows the block-by-block plans. Ferris wheels, art walks, vendors, a Festival Stage, dancers and vaudeville-like acts inside the theatres--maybe some films as well.

How did the Army Corps of Engineers get involved with the LA River? It all goes back to 1938 and some terrible flooding here. Actually, it goes back even further. KCET presents Carren Jao's excellent history of the Corps' expanding growth and oversight. That means, in the 21st century, that even something like allowing kayakers to use the River must gain approval from the Corps. The picture below shows the Army Corps of Engineers at work, building the bridge at Avenue 43 over the Arroyo Seco, later in 1938.