Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California by population and the second most populous city in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A., it is an alpha world city having an estimated 2006 population of 3,849,378 and spanning 469.1 square miles (1,214.9 square kilometers). The Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana metropolitan area is the estimated home to nearly 13 million people. Los Angeles is the seat of Los Angeles County and its inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos", though the correct Spanish spelling is ''Angelinos".
Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula). It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following independence from Spain and then a part of the United States in 1848 at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. It was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850—five months before California achieved statehood.
As an alpha city, Los Angeles is one of the world's centers of culture, technology, and international trade, and is home to world-renowned institutions in a broad range of professional and cultural fields. The city and its immediate vicinity lead the world in producing popular entertainment—such as motion picture, television, and recorded music—which forms the base of Los Angeles' international fame and global status.
History
The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva (or Gabrieleños) and Chumash Native American tribes thousands of years ago. The first Europeans arrived in 1542 under Joao Cabrilho, a Portuguese explorer who claimed the area as the City of God for the Spanish Empire but continued with his voyage and did not establish a settlement. The next contact would not come until 227 years later when Gaspar de Portola, together with Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2, 1769. Crespi noted that the site had the potential to be developed into a large settlement.
In 1771, Franciscan friar Junipero Serra had the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel built near Whittier Narrows in what is now called San Gabriel Valley. In 1777, the new governor of California, Felipe de Neve, recommended to the viceroy of New Spain that the site previously recommended by Juan Crespi be developed into a pueblo. The town was founded on September 4, 1781 by a group of 44 settlers and was named "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula," ("The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on the River Porciúncula"). These settlers were of Filipino, Native American, African, and Spanish ancestry, with two-thirds being mestizo or mulatto; a majority of the settlers had at least partial African ancestry. The settlement remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to about 650 residents. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the historic district Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles.
New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, and the pueblo continued as a part of Mexico. Mexican rule ended during the Mexican-American War, when Americans took control from the Californios after a series of battles, culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847. Later, with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the Mexican government formally ceded Alta California and other territories to the United States.
Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923 Los Angeles was producing one-quarter of the world's petroleum. By 1900, the population had grown to more than 100,000 people , which began to put pressure on the city's water supply. The 1913 completion of the Los Angeles aqueduct under the supervision of William Mulholland assured the continued growth of the city. In 1915, Los Angeles began the annexation of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own.
In the 1920s, the motion picture and aviation industries flocked to Los Angeles. In 1932, with population surpassing one million, the city hosted the Summer Olympics. This period also saw the arrival of exiles from the increasing pre-war tension in Europe, including Thomas Mann, Fritz Lang, Bertolt Brecht, Arnold Schoenberg, and Lion Feuchtwanger. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. The post-war years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded the city into the San Fernando Valley.
Much like the rest of the United States, Los Angeles in the 1960s and early 1970s had to come to terms with changing race relations; the Watts riots in 1965, the high school walkout by Chicano students in 1968, and the 1970 Chicano Moratorium were representative of the racial strife present within the city. In 1969, Los Angeles became one of the birthplaces of the Internet, as the first ARPANET transmission was sent from UCLA to SRI in Menlo Park.
In 1984, it hosted the Summer Olympics for the second time. The rest of the 1980s was plagued by an increase in gang violence. Racial tensions surfaced again in 1991 with the Rodney King controversy and the large-scale riots that followed. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake shook the city, causing 72 deaths. Also that year, O.J. Simpson led police on a slow-speed chase before surrendering to face murder charges in the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. Despite propositions for the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood sections to secede from the city in 2002, residents voted down secession. The 2000s has seen a rise in urban redevelopment and gentrification in various parts of the city, most notably Echo Park and Downtown.
Geography
Topography
Los Angeles has a total area of 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 km²), comprising 469.1 square miles (1,214.9 km²) of land and 29.2 square miles (75.7 km²) of water. This makes it the 14th largest city in land area in the United States. The city extends for 44 miles (71 km) longitudinally and for 29 miles (47 km) latitudinally. The perimeter of the city is 342 miles (550 km).
The highest point in Los Angeles is Mount Lukens, also called Sister Elsie Peak. Located at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, it reaches a height of 5,080 ft (1,548 m). The major river is the Los Angeles River, which begins in the Canoga Park district of the city and is largely seasonal. The river is lined in concrete for almost its entire length as it flows through the city into nearby Vernon on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
Geology
Los Angeles is subject to earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The geologic instability produces numerous fault lines both above and below ground, which altogether cause approximately 10,000 earthquakes every year. One of the major fault lines is the San Andreas Fault. Located at the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, it is predicted to be the source of Southern California's next big earthquake. Major earthquakes to have hit the Los Angeles area include the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake near Sylmar, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Nevertheless, all but a few quakes are of low intensity and are not felt. Parts of the city are also vulnerable to Pacific Ocean tsunamis; harbor areas were damaged by waves from the Great Chilean Earthquake in 1960.
Climate
The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen climate classification Csb on the coast, Csa inland), experiencing mild, somewhat wet winters and warm to hot summers. Breezes from the Pacific Ocean tend to keep the beach communities of the Los Angeles area cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland; summer temperatures can sometimes be as much as 18 °F (10 °C) warmer in the inland communities compared to that of the coastal communities. Coastal areas also see a phenomenon known as the "marine layer," a dense cloud cover caused by the proximity of the ocean that helps keep the temperatures cooler throughout the year. When the marine layer becomes more common and pervades farther inland during the months of May and June, it is called June Gloom.
Temperatures in the summer can get well over 90 °F (32 °C), but average summer daytime highs in downtown are 82 °F (27 °C), with overnight lows of 63 °F (17 °C). Winter daytime high temperatures will get up to around 65 °F (18 °C), on average, with overnight lows of 48 °F (10 °C) and during this season rain is common. The warmest month is August, followed by July and then September. This somewhat large case of seasonal lag is caused by Los Angeles' proximity to the ocean and its latitude of 34° north.
The median temperature in January is 57 °F (13 °C) and 73 °F (22 °C) in August. The highest temperature recorded within city borders was 119.0 °F (48.33 °C) in Woodland Hills on July 22, 2006; the lowest temperature recorded was 18.0 °F (−7.8 °C) in 1989, in Canoga Park. The highest temperature recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0 °F (44.4 °C) on June 26, 1990, and the lowest temperature recorded was 24.0 °F (−5.0 °C) on January 9, 1937.
Rain occurs mainly in the winter and spring months (February being the wettest month) with great annual variations in storm severity. Los Angeles averages 15 inches (38 cm) of precipitation per year. Snow is extraordinarily rare in the city basin, but the mountainous slopes within city limits typically receive snow every year. The greatest snowfall recorded in downtown Los Angeles was 2.0 inches (5 cm) on January 15, 1932.
Flora
The Los Angeles area is rich in native plant species due in part to a diversity in habitats, including beaches, wetlands, and mountains. The most prevalent botanical environment is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible chaparral. Native plants include: California poppy, matilija poppy, toyon, coast live oak, and giant wild rye grass. Many of these native species, such as the Los Angeles sunflower, have become so rare as to be considered endangered. Though it is not native to the area, the official flower of Los Angeles is Strelitzia reginae.[30]
Environmental issues
Due to geography, heavy reliance on automobiles, and the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex, Los Angeles suffers from air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the fumes from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources. Unlike other large cities that rely on rain to clear smog, Los Angeles only gets 15 inches (381 mm) of rain each year, allowing pollution to accumulate over multiple consecutive days. This has brought much attention from the state of California to mandate low emissions vehicles. As a result, pollution levels have dropped in recent decades. The number of Stage 1 smog alerts has declined from over 100 per year in the 1970s to almost zero in the new millennium. Despite improvement, the 2006 annual report of the American Lung Association ranks the city as the most polluted in the country with short-term particle pollution and year-round particle pollution. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. With pollution still a significant problem, the city continues to take steps to improve air and water conditions.
Cityscape
The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns that were annexed by the growing city. There are also several independent cities in and around Los Angeles, but they are popularly grouped with the city of Los Angeles, either due to being completely engulfed as enclaves by Los Angeles, or lying within its immediate vicinity. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, the Harbor Area, Hollywood, Wilshire, the Westside, and the San Fernando and Crescenta Valleys.
Some well-known communities of Los Angeles include Watts, Venice Beach, the Downtown Financial District, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Koreatown, Westwood and the more affluent areas of Bel-Air, Benedict Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Pacific Palisades, and Brentwood.
Landmarks
Important landmarks in Los Angeles include Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Disney Concert Hall, Kodak Theater, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard, Capitol Records Tower, Los Angeles City Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Watts Towers, Staples Center, Dodger Stadium and La Placita Olvera/Olvera Street.
Culture
The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. Nighttime hot spots include places such as Downtown Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Hollywood, and West Hollywood, which is the home of the world-famous Sunset Strip.
Some well-known shopping areas are the Hollywood and Highland complex, the Beverly Center, Melrose Avenue, Robertson Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica, The Grove, Westside Pavilion, The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center and Venice Boardwalk.
Media
The major daily newspaper in the area is The Los Angeles Times. La Opinión is the city's major Spanish-language paper. There are also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including the Daily News (which focuses coverage on the San Fernando Valley), L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles CityBeat, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal industry paper), The Hollywood Reporter and Variety (entertainment industry papers), and Los Angeles Downtown News. In addition to the English- and Spanish-language papers, numerous local periodicals serve immigrant communities in their native languages, including Armenian, Korean, Persian, Russian and Japanese.
Many cities adjacent to Los Angeles also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Los Angeles neighborhoods. Examples include the Daily Breeze (serving the South Bay), and The Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The Los Angeles metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the second-largest media market in North America (behind New York City and followed by Chicago and Toronto.)
Los Angeles, along with New York City, are the only two media markets to have all 7 VHF allocations possible assigned to it.
The major network television affiliates include KABC-TV 7 (ABC), KCBS 2 (CBS), KNBC 4 (NBC), KTTV 11 (FOX), KTLA 5 (The CW), and KCOP 13 (My Network TV), and KPXN 30 (i). There are also four PBS stations in the area, including KVCR 24, KCET 28, KOCE 50, and KLCS 58. World TV operates on two channels, KNET-LP 25 and KSFV-LP 6. There are also several Spanish-language television networks, including KMEX 34 (Univision), KFTR 46 (Telefutura), KVEA 52 (Telemundo), and KAZA 54 (Azteca America). KTBN 40 (Trinity Broadcasting Network), is a religious station in the area.
Several independent television stations also operate in the area, including KCAL 9 (owned by CBS Corporation), KSCI 18 (focuses primarily on Asian language programming), KWHY 22 (Spanish-language), KNLA-LP 27 (Spanish-language), KSMV-LP 33 (variety) — a low power relay of Ventura-based KJLA 57 — KPAL-LP 38, KXLA 44, KDOC 56 (classic programming and local sports), KJLA 57 (variety), and KRCA 62 (Spanish-language).
Religion
Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions, with Roman Catholicism being the largest due to the high numbers of Hispanic, Filipino, and Irish Americans.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown.
The Los Angeles California Temple, the second largest temple operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is on Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood district of Los Angeles. Dedicated in 1956, it was the first Mormon temple built in California and it was the largest in the world when completed. The grounds includes a visitors' center open to the public, the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center, also open to the public, and the headquarters for the Los Angeles mission.
With 621,000 Jews in the metropolitan area (490,000 in city proper), the region has the second largest population of Jews in the United States. Many synagogues of the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist movements can be found throughout the city. Most are located in the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles. The area in West Los Angeles around Fairfax and Pico Boulevards contains a large amount of Orthodox Jews. The Breed Street Shul in East Los Angeles, built in 1923, was the largest synagogue west of Chicago in its early decades. (It is no longer a sacred space and is being converted to a museum and community center.
The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement, not long after Christian Fundamentalism received its name and crucial promotion in Los Angeles. In 1909, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A., now Biola University) published and widely distributed a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Bible. The term fundamentalism is derived from these books. Los Angeles is also a major hub of the House Church Movement. Dr. Gabe Veas is one of the leaders of this group, pastoring the house church network known as Authentic LA.
In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelical ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white church members of the Foursquare Church. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949. Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God used to have its headquarters in nearby Pasadena, now in Glendale. Until his death in 2005, Dr. Gene Scott was based near downtown. The Metropolitan Community Church, a fellowship of Christian congregations with a focus on outreach to gays and lesbians, was started in Los Angeles in 1968 by Troy Perry. Jack Chick, of "Chick Tracts," was born in Boyle Heights and lived in the area most of his life.
Because of Los Angeles' large multi-ethnic population, there are numerous organizations in the area representing a wide variety of faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Bahá'í, various Eastern Orthodox Churches, Sufism and others. Immigrants from Asia for example, have formed a number of significant Buddhist congregations making the city home to the biggest variety of Buddhists in the world. Los Angeles currently has the largest Buddhist population in the United States. There are over 300 temples in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has been a destination for Swamis and Gurus since as early as 1900, including Paramahansa Yogananda (1920). The Self-Realization Fellowship is headquartered in Hollywood and has a private park in Pacific Palisades. Los Angeles is the home to a number of Neopagans, as well as adherents of various other mystical religions. One wing of the Theosophist movement is centered in Los Angeles, and another is in neighboring Pasadena. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, considered a spiritual, rather than a religious leader, founded the Transcendental Meditation movement in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The Kabbalah Centre is in the city. The Church of Scientology has had a presence in Los Angeles since it opened February 18, 1954, and it has several churches and museums in the area, most notably the Celebrity Centre in Hollywood.
Economy
The economy of Los Angeles is driven by international trade, entertainment (television, motion pictures, recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the United States. The contiguous ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together comprise the most significant port in North America and one of the most important ports in the world, and they are vital to trade within the Pacific Rim. Other significant industries include media production, finance, telecommunications, law, health and medicine, and transportation.
For many years, up until the mid-1990s, Los Angeles was home to many major financial institutions in the western United States, including First Interstate Bank, which merged with Wells-Fargo in 1996, Great Western Bank, merged with Washington Mutual in 1998, and Security Pacific National Bank, which merged with Bank of America in 1992. Los Angeles was also home to the Pacific Stock Exchange until it closed in 2001.
The city is home to five major Fortune 500 companies, including aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman, energy company Occidental Petroleum, healthcare provider Health Net, homebuilding company KB Home, and metals distributor Reliance Steel & Aluminum. The University of Southern California (USC) is the city's largest private sector employer.
Other companies headquartered in Los Angeles include Twentieth Century Fox, Latham & Watkins, Univision, Metro Interactive, LLC, Premier America, CB Richard Ellis, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Guess?, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, Tokyopop, The Jim Henson Company, Paramount Pictures, Robinsons-May, Sunkist, Fox Sports Net, Capital Group, 21st century Insurance, L.E.K. Consulting, and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
The metropolitan area contains the headquarters of even more companies, many of whom wish to escape the city's high taxes. For example, Los Angeles charges a gross receipts tax based on a percentage of business revenue, while many neighboring cities charge only small flat fees. The companies below benefit from their proximity to Los Angeles, while at the same time avoiding the city's taxes (and other problems). Some of the major companies headquartered in the cities of Los Angeles county are Shakey's Pizza (Alhambra), Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Beverly Hills), City National Bank (Beverly Hills), Hilton Hotels (Beverly Hills), DiC Entertainment (Burbank), The Walt Disney Company (Fortune 500 – Burbank), Warner Bros. (Burbank), Countrywide Financial Corporation (Fortune 500 – Calabasas), THQ (Calabasas), Belkin (Compton), Sony Pictures Entertainment (parent of Columbia Pictures, located in Culver City), Computer Sciences Corporation (Fortune 500 – El Segundo), DirecTV (El Segundo), Mattel (Fortune 500 – El Segundo), Unocal (Fortune 500 – El Segundo), DreamWorks SKG (Glendale), Sea Launch (Long Beach), ICANN (Marina Del Rey), Cunard Line (Santa Clarita), Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita), Activision (Santa Monica), and RAND (Santa Monica). The L.A. area is also home to the U.S. headquarters of all but two of the major Asian automobile manufacturers. Further, virtually all the world's automakers have design and/or tech centers in the L.A. region. Downtown Los Angeles also is the home of the Los Angeles Convention Center which hosts many popular events.
Demographics
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,876.8 people per square mile (3,041.3/km²). There were 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 2,851.8 per square mile (1,101.1/km²).
The racial makeup of the city was 46.9% White (29.7% White/non-Latino), 11.24% African-American, 10.0% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.9% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 46.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino (of any race. 42.2% spoke English, 41.7% Spanish, 2.4% Korean, 2.3% Tagalog, 1.7% Armenian, 1.5% Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) and 1.3% Persian as their first language. Since the mid-80's Los Angeles has been a minority-majority city.
According to the census, 33.5% of households had children under 18, 41.9% were married couples, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.5% of households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size 3.56.
The age distribution was: 26.6% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household was $36,687, and for a family was $39,942. Males had a median income of $31,880, females $30,197. The per capita income was $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families were below the poverty line. 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.
It is also of interest to note that the post-1950 population increase did not take place exclusively in suburban or peripheral locations. While many other American cities had experienced central area population declines, the opposite has been true here. The increase in the central area population is due, in part, to Los Angeles' large immigrant population.
In the period from 1920 to 1960, African Americans from the Southeast U.S. arrived in Los Angeles and its population grew 15 times. Since 1990, the African-American population dropped as its middle class relocated to the suburbs, notably the Antelope Valley and Inland Empire and Latinos have moved into the once predominantly African-American district of South Los Angeles. African Americans still remain predominant in some portions of the city, including Hyde Park, Crenshaw District, Leimert Park, and Baldwin Hills.
Of 2,182,114 U.S.-born people, 1,485,576 were born in California, 663,746 were born in a different state of the United States, and 61,792 were born in a United States territory.
Of 1,512,720 foreign-born people, 100,252 were born in Europe, 376,767 were born in Asia, 64,730 were born in Africa, 94,104 were born in Caribbean/Oceania, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Canada. Of such foreign-born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens.
By the next national census, Los Angeles is expected to have a Latino majority for the first time since 1850. The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the number one point of entry for immigrants in the country. The Latino, Asian American, and Caribbean populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian-American population is the largest of any U.S. city. Los Angeles hosts large populations of Cambodians, Iranians, Armenians, Belizeans, Bulgarians, Ethiopians, Filipinos, Guatemalans, Hungarians, Koreans, Israelis, Mexicans, Salvadorans, Thais, and Pacific Islanders such as Samoans. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Japanese living in the United States, and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. The metropolitan area also is home to the second largest concentration of people of Jewish descent (estimated at 621,000) in the Americas, after New York City. Los Angeles also has the second largest Nicaraguan community in the US after Miami. It also host a sizable South Asian community. Los Angeles experienced minor waves of European immigration in the late 1800s and early 1900s and the city has sizeable populations of German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Romanian, Romani, Polish, Portuguese, Serb, Spanish, Lebanese, Croatian and Ukrainian descent.
Los Angeles is home to people from more than 140 countries speaking 224 different languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Historic Filipinotown, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia, Little Persia, Little India, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town provide examples of the polyglot character of Los Angeles.
Government
The city is governed by a mayor-council system. The current mayor is Antonio Villaraigosa. There are 15 city council districts. Other elected city officials include the City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and the City Controller Laura Chick. The city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors within the city limits. The district attorney, elected by county voters, prosecutes misdemeanors in unincorporated areas and in 78 of the 88 cities in the county, as well as felonies throughout the county.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) polices the city of Los Angeles, but the city also maintains three specialized police agencies; The Office of Public Safety, within the General Services Department (which is responsible for security and law enforcement services at city facilities, including City Hall, city parks and libraries, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Convention Center), the Port Police, within the Harbor Department (which is responsible for land, air and sea law enforcement services at the Port of Los Angeles), and the Airport Police, within the Los Angeles World Airports Department (which is responsible for law enforcement services at all four city-owned airports, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport (ONT), Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), the busiest general aviation airport in the country).
LAPL, Los Angeles Public Library System and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) are among the largest such institutions in the country. LAUSD is the second largest school district in the United States; only the New York City Department of Education is larger. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power provides service to city residents and businesses.
The city government has been perceived as inefficient and ineffective by residents of some areas, which led to an unsuccessful secession effort by the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood in 2002. The campaign to defeat secession was led by then Mayor James Hahn. The most common complaint is that the city administration in Downtown gives priority to high-density neighborhoods like Mid-City and Downtown at the expense of its far-flung suburban neighborhoods.
As the city does not have officially named districts, most areas and neighborhoods are known either by the names given by tract developers when first developed, or by the names of principal neighborhood streets, or by the names of the formerly independent communities that were annexed by the city.
Neighborhood councils
Voters created neighborhood councils in the Charter Reform of 1999. First proposed by City Council member Joel Wachs in 1996, they were designed to promote public participation in government and make it more responsive to local needs.
The councils cover districts which are not necessarily identical to the traditional neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Almost ninety neighborhood councils (NCs) are certified and all "stakeholders" — meaning anyone who lives, works or owns property in a neighborhood — may vote for members of the councils' governing bodies. Some council bylaws allow other people with a stake in the community to cast ballots as well.
The councils are official government bodies and so their governing bodies and committees must abide by California's Brown Act, which governs the meetings of deliberative assemblies.
The first notable concern of the neighborhood councils collectively was the opposition by some of them in March 2004 to an 18% increase in water rates by the city's Department of Water and Power. This led the City Council to approve only a limited increase pending independent review. More recently, some of the councils petitioned the City Council in summer 2006 to allow them to introduce ideas for legislative action, but the City Council put off a decision.
The neighborhood councils have been allocated $50,000 each for administration, outreach and approved neighborhood projects.
Ashanti To Perform Free Show In Los Angeles Tonight (Newstalk 1010 CFRB)Singer and actress Ashanti is set to give a free concert in Los Angeles today (August 27th). The performance will be the finale of shopping village The Grove's free summer concert series at 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Move for Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady? (Hollywood.com)
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen's lover Tom Brady has reportedly bought an empty plot of land in Los Angeles for $11million.
MLB: Los Angeles Angels 5, Oakland 1 (UPI)
ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Angels rode John Lackey's 13th career complete game to a 5-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics Tuesday.
Los Angeles Dodgers (65-67) at Washington Nationals (47-85), 7:10 p.m. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Greg Maddux will get another shot to prove his worth for the road-weary Los Angeles Dodgers, who resume a three-game series tonight versus the host Washington Nationals. Maddux joined the Dodgers last week in a trade with the San Diego Padres and made his debut Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Maddux was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings of an ...
'One Day At At Time' Star Arrested At Los Angeles Airport (The Tampa Tribune)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former teen star Mackenzie Phillips has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance after she allegedly was found carrying drugs at Los Angeles International Airport.
2009 Green Car of the Year Will be Announced at Los Angeles Auto Show (The Auto Channel)
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27, 2008 - The winner of the 2009 Green Car of the Year(R) (GCOY) award will be announced Nov. 20, 2008 during the Los Angeles Auto Show's Press Days. Green Car Journal, the leading automotive environmental magazine, initiated this annual award in 2005 and it has continued to grow in significance as consumer demand for more fuel efficient and environmentally positive vehicles ...
Los Angeles Lakers sign second-round draft pick Joe Crawford (Slam! Sports)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Joe Crawford, the Los Angeles Lakers' only selection in the NBA draft last June, signed a contract with the Western Conference champions Wednesday.
Dr. Dre: Son found dead in Los Angeles (WPVI-TV Philadelphia)
Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son has been found dead in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Dodgers recall infielder Blake DeWitt from Las Vegas (Canadian Press via Yahoo! News)
LOS ANGELES - The slumping Los Angeles Dodgers recalled infielder Blake DeWitt from triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, making room on their 25-man roster by designating infielder Pablo Ozuna for assignment.
Los Angeles Dodgers (65-67) at Washington Nationals (47-85), 7:10 p.m. (Miami Herald)
Greg Maddux will get another shot to prove his worth for the road-weary Los Angeles Dodgers, who resume a three-game series tonight versus the host Washington Nationals.
