2007 in Review: October - December

Dave Bullock

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It feels a bit like cheating to write a wrap-up of quarter four before it has even quite yet finished, but we'll go ahead and do it anyway. This is part four of our look at the year that was 2007 on blogdowntown.

Quarter four saw transit talk, openings and politics. We held two great meetups and watched Downtown get into the holiday spirit.

In Q4 we ran 134 posts, and you all chimed in with 863 comments. If you're interested (and likely you're really not) in how all those numbers relate to average number of comments per post, it comes out to 6.08 in Q1, 6.09 in Q2, 6.12 in Q3 and 6.44 in Q4. Top commenters for the quarter were David Kennedy with 46, Metro Local with 35 and Rico A at 26.

Most Commented Posts

Another Chance to Talk Downtown Connector (62 Comments)

The Problem with Marches (41 Comments)

AskDowntown: What Gym's Best for Working Off the Holiday Goodness? (33 Comments)

October

Festival Culture — The month opened with a festival flavor as Grand Avenue Festival coverage hit on the 1st and Detour Festival coverage followed on the 8th.

Homeboy Downtown — Homeboy Industries had the opening for their Chinatown home on the 2nd. The gang intervention program is nationally recognized, and the cafe is a hidden gem on the northern edge of Downtown.

Political Numbers — The 2007 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count numbers came out in October, and the Downtown bits just didn't make sense.

November

Filming Fix? — November opened with a story that I think passed right under the radar of too many Downtowners. The city put out draft RFP terms for a new filming services contract, and included was lots of stuff that could really improve the way filming interacts with Downtown. The actual RFP has yet to be issued.

March Talk — I took a lot of heat for what I said about marches, but the discussion created one of our most active posts of the quarter.

Skate Spot — The (old) Old State Building footprint seems to be a favorite discovery for those writing about Downtown. In November we wrote that the site should be turned into a legal skate spot, since it's already used for that purpose.

Emerging Venue — The month saw a look at Bordello and its impressive slate of live music. The venue features multiple acts most nights, and provides a great neighborhood spot for live shows.

December

Theater Opens — The month started with a ribbon-cutting at the new ImaginAsian Center on Main. The new spot looks little like the old Linda Lea, but provides a modern burst of life on Main.

Lightings — The city's official Christmas tree and the 4th street bridge both got into the holiday lighting game in December, though the promised City Hall holiday colors never appeared.

More Quarters — Just a reminder: tomorrow the Downtown DASH stops accepting Metro passes (except for the EZ Pass). Bring quarters.

Season for Events — December saw two successful blogdowntown events, with the shootdowntown meetup on the 15th and the bloggers on ice get-together on the 17th.