DotDotDash: Around Town

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — We take a look at some galleries, muse in the Arts District, and wonder what Kobe is planning. All after the jump.

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THIS JUST IN: The one-man Downtown labor force, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Byrant, declared Wednesday on ESPN radio that he wants to be traded. Stay tuned.

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ARTS DISTRICT RAP: Dangerous Curve’s summer music series continues with "Is It Music?" on Friday June 1 & Sunday June 3. Admission is a sliding scale from $7 to $10. For all the performers and directions, go to Dangerous Curve ..— Unitard (706 E 1st St) opens Reeve Schumacher’s “June Loon” Saturday, June 2nd at 8pm. For those who want to see the work without the party crowd, a soft opening is being held with the artist on Friday June 1 at 6pm.

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THIS JUST IN: Byrant doesn’t want to be traded after all, as heard later on Laker flagship station AM570 the same Wednesday afternoon.

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ARTS DISTRICT RAP-UP: Plans for 10-acre Mangrove site were explored by G&C in detail. The piece mentions how the adjoining communities of Little Tokyo and the Arts District will be part of development discussions. It will be interesting to see which neighborhood will have more influence on the final project ..— The units at Artisian On Second were built as condos. When completed, they will be rentals. Call them re-partments ..— Ideas are already tossed around for the former gas station site at 2nd, 3rd and Traction that hasn’t even been approved for purchase by the City yet. And what does Arts District resident, jazz musician, and Posi-tone music label producer Mark Free want to lobby for? Mural of jazz greats? Nope. Free would like to see a statue of William Wolfskill, the Angeleno who made growing oranges an industry. Wolfskill’s citrus groves once extended from the Los Angeles River to what is now the Historic Core.

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THIS JUST IN: No truth to my rumor that Kobe Byrant wants to have a statue made of him, and will demand that it be traded for a sculpture to be named later.

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NEXT TO THE STAPLES CENTER: A groundbreaking ceremony for the Convention Center Hotel and Ritz-Carlton Residences will be held at L.A. Live on Friday. The V.I.P. event is hosted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, 9th District City Councilmember Jan Perry, hotel maverick Bill Marriott, and the mysterious Phillip Anschultz ..— Chick Hearn Court is in the center of it all, so expect someone to write that the renaissance of Downtown is in the refrigerator, the eggs are cooling, the butter is getting hard, and the jello is jiggling.