Did you know that another water main broke today in Los Angeles? That makes five.

UPDATE (2:46PM) Make that six. In less than a week.

But, don’t worry. The City Council plans to “more closely monitor upgrades to the city’s aging, leaky water system.”

Oh. Thanks.

In the meantime, may I recommend some afternoon shopping?

Photo from KTLA

Burbank Water and Power is conducting a beta test of a new residential energy and water savings program, the “Green Home House Call.” They need volunteers, preferably from single-family homes with automatic sprinklers, to help evaluate the program. As part of the test, you will receive free weatherization services, water efficient product installation, energy efficient lightbulbs and more.

If you would like to volunteer to be in the beta test group, please call 1.866.365.7358 to set up an appointment.

As Jerry Seinfeld would say, “who are the wizards who thought this one up?”  Yesterday, notices were posted at my apartment complex indicating that, this Saturday night/Sunday morning starting at midnight, Southern California Edison plans to shut off power in my neighborhood to perform “routine maintenance.”  The posted message on my building owner’s letterhead, which may or may not have been from SCE talking points, states that “in an effort to minimize inconvenience, the testing will be done during night time hours, when the majority of our residents will be sleeping.”

Oh really?  Asleep on a Saturday night at midnight?  I can (and did) assure my building complex’s manager that the majority of us certainly will not be asleep.  Rather, many of us will be engaged in a variety of activities (use your imagination) for which we will want to use our stereos, televisions, lights, or other electrical appliances.  (more…)

Photo by gaelenh used under Creative Commons.

I’ve said it before, and it continues to be true: One of the best parts of living in L.A. is that every night of the week there is something to do that will be fun, interesting, and perhaps more than a little unusual. Case in point, last night’s performance of “Cartoon Dump!” at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood.

Cartoon Dump! is a parody of a children’s television variety show which centers around some of the worst cartoons ever aired. The show was created by Frank Conniff (formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000) and animation historian Jerry Beck. In addition to the really bad cartoons, there are songs, comedy, puppets, and (at least last night) a juggler.

Follow me past the jump for more about Cartoon Dump! (more…)

It’s official. According to an email from Councilmember Tom LaBonge’s office that just appeared in my inbox:

The City Council voted 9-2 today to approve a tiered water rate
system in response to the state-wide drought that’s now into its third
year. The plan, which requires heavy-water-users to pay more than
water-misers, takes effect on June 1.

Los Angeles residents who use more than the allotted base amount of water will be charged 44% more for the amount they use over that level. Two months ago, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for drought-year pricing that decreases by 15% the amount of water that ratepayers can buy monthly at the lowest price tier.

So in effect, the less you use the less you pay.

This all comes on the heals of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California reducing water deliveries by 10% to the region.

Well it’s not so much a present because I’m pretty sure I paid for it already via my past electrical/water bills. Thanks, LADWP!

Even so, it was pretty cool to open the front door and find a little green giftbag sitting there.

The “LADWP giftbag” included:

• the reusable green bag (hello, new lunchbag)
• two CFL lightbulbs
• a magnet
• information on “saving water” and “bright ideas” (ways to conserve; see related post: reduce your water usage by June 1st or pay higher rates to LADWP)

Did you get one?

Dry creek bed in O'Melveny Park, Granada Hills by Jodi 02/01/09

For the third consecutive year, California is experiencing a drought, which led to the Governor to declare a state of emergency on February 27th. The proclamation contains several directives for reducing water consumption. The deficient water supply is taking a devastating toll on our agriculture industry and increasing the risk of another significantly destructive wildfire season.

The city of Los Angeles already has a conservation ordinance in place, which includes such rules as no watering the lawn between 9am and 4pm and no automatic service of water to restaurant patrons. To comply with the new state government regulations, the L.A. DWP is implementing “shortage  year water rates,” beginning June 1, 2009.

DWP charges are based on allocations for the amount of water households and businesses use. Every customer’s allotment is being cut by 15%. If you conserve and stay with reduced limit, you might see a decrease in your bill. If you exceed the limit, a premium price is charged for the overage. The L.A. DWP offers more information on rates and  tips for saving water on their website.

Share in the comments any actions you are currently taking to save water. Aside from taking shorter showers, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do a lot more to see a significant difference in my bill.

Have you ever tried searching for Los Angeles in the iTunes App Store?

I did it sort of by accident and was shocked to see so many options. I picked up LA Traffic Cam because the idea of having all those traffic cams in LA streaming right to my phone just seemed kind of fun. The reality is a bit less glamorous – the video is very choppy and 4/5 cams are offline every time I look. There’s also no shortage of Map apps, but I grabbed Mappity Los Angeles because it seemed to be the most comprehensive. Most people I know carry around Thomas Guides in their car, so having that level of map available regardless of data connection seemed like it might come in handy. There’s a lot of travel guides too, which not being someone who is visiting LA but rather one who has lived here for many many many years are all but useless to me. Also some stuff for sportsfans. Of course these are just the apps with “Los Angeles” in their name, anyone found anything less obvious that comes in handy around LA?

When  Jenny Beorkrem set out to make this awesome typographical map of Los Angeles, she was well aware of the politics, insanely intense neighborhood pride, and the death war that is launched when you talk to the wrong person at the wrong bar and refer to Silver Lake as the “East Side.”  So, ideally, the LA Times is taking note of all this as it culls together its “Mapping LA” neighborhood project.

Designed to  be “a tool that will allow reporters and editors to be consistent when describing neighborhoods in news stories in a city that sometimes seems to change the names like most people change socks,” the Times says it’s intent on drilling down, once and for all, who lives where.  It’s a pretty nifty interactive map – probably one of the better things the Times has done lately.

Some quick thoughts on this after the jump.

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On March 3, Los Angeles voters will be able to vote on a ballot measure that could significantly increase L.A.’s use of solar power.  So-called Measure B, the “Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Program” (you want some crackers with that cheese?) would require the Department of Water and Power to “install, operate, maintain and repair and/or oversee the installation, operation, maintenance and repair of solar power installations within the City and on City-owned airports to meet specified goals regarding the production of electric generation ….”  The full text of Measure B is here.

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