City Bus

"It looks at this point like we are in for the long haul." --James Williams, United Transportation Union * So the MTA talks are off again and Los Angeles remains stranded. Not so Greater Los Angeles. It is evening rush hour in the San Gabriel Valley and we are aboard the No. 274. The bus is prompt. The seats are new. The aisles are wide. No one is standing. The driver, a guy named Yith Dara, says that in the four years he's done this route, he's never been threatened, hassled or sworn at.

Working with first-time actors playing versions of themselves, Michel Gondry has crafted an exuberantly chaotic vision of a teenage moment in time in "The We and the I. " The feature, set on the last day of the school year, jumps back and forth among a group of Bronx high-school students as they ride the bus home. Their fictitious route, on a real city bus, takes far longer than an actual cross-borough commute would. But the trip, beginning in bright afternoon and ending in twilight, is a figurative flight as well as an earthbound echo chamber of empty yammering and dramas both petty and huge.

A city bus slid into a concrete abutment in heavy rain Tuesday, injuring 18 people, officials said. The driver of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus was pinned for almost two hours, a DART spokesman said. He was reported in serious condition after undergoing surgery.

Fleet Week , which has been a New York City tradition since 1984, starts Wednesday (that's today) with a parade of tall ships and war ships that will be docked and open to the public through Tuesday. Members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will be aboard ships and participating in parachute jumps and other equipment demonstrations. There are lots of free activities to go and see. In honor of Fleet Week, Gray Line New York honors all military personnel in uniform with a free tour of Manhattan on its double-decker buses.  The deal: Members of the military (all branches, not just sailors and Marines)

A man ordered a driver off a city bus and drove away alone Wednesday, then slammed into an elevated train support pillar, authorities said. He suffered a broken leg. Fire rescue crews had to extricate the man, identified as Michael Smith, 45, from wreckage. He was arrested and taken to Temple University Hospital. His motive was unknown.

Taxis did a land-office business today and private vehicles gave lifts to commuters after the government refused to rescind its decision to fire 23,000 city bus workers who went on strike. Hundreds of buses from the neighboring state of Mexico were brought in to cover the most heavily used routes, which carry an estimated 2 million riders a day. Authorities said military vehicles might be pressed into service if needed. The government fired city bus drivers, mechanics and administrative workers who staged a one-day walkout on Wednesday over demands for a 50% wage increase.

Policemen commandeered a city bus to rush a dying man to a hospital after an ambulance carrying him collided with a car, injuring eight people, police said Thursday. An ambulance carrying Simon M. Malkin, 72, who had suffered a heart attack and later died, crashed into a car that pulled into the emergency vehicle's path Wednesday, police said.

While Jack White is touring in support of his latest indie group the Dead Weather, it was announced this week that the band that shot him to fame, the White Stripes, will release a concert film in the fall. Directed by Emmett Malloy, "Under Great White Northern Lights" follows Jack and Meg White across Canada, where they went out of their way to play unconventional venues such as a city bus and a bowling alley. It premieres at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 19. -- Scott T. Sterling

A 14-year-old boy was shot and wounded Sunday by police after the youth allegedly stole a city bus and tried to force pursuing officers off the freeway, authorities said. The unidentified teen-ager, who was shot in the abdomen, was in serious condition at San Francisco General Hospital. Officer Steven Glickman chased the youth and shot him when the boy made a gesture as if he were pulling a gun from his jacket.

Working with first-time actors playing versions of themselves, Michel Gondry has crafted an exuberantly chaotic vision of a teenage moment in time in "The We and the I. " The feature, set on the last day of the school year, jumps back and forth among a group of Bronx high-school students as they ride the bus home. Their fictitious route, on a real city bus, takes far longer than an actual cross-borough commute would. But the trip, beginning in bright afternoon and ending in twilight, is a figurative flight as well as an earthbound echo chamber of empty yammering and dramas both petty and huge.

One minute you're shaking it on a dance floor throbbing with happy wedding guests. The next you're navigating darkened, forlorn streets, hoping the bad guys have the night off. Such is the fractured feel of life in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, where the death of a drug lord has intensified months-long fighting between rival cartels and left residents in a dread-filled state of limbo. They know something awful is going on around them, but usually little more than that.

Jason Polan cannot talk on the phone right now. He is on his way to Taco Bell in Union Square to draw unsuspecting New Yorkers. At 27, he has made it a mission to sketch every person in New York City, all 8,363,710. From the back, the side, eating a Burrito Supreme, splayed on a gallery couch in the Museum of Modern Art, rolling a suitcase across Grand Central Station, riding the No. 7 subway to Queens, buying pizza in Brooklyn. He even captured Jerry Seinfeld scratching his head in a Midtown burger joint.

While Jack White is touring in support of his latest indie group the Dead Weather, it was announced this week that the band that shot him to fame, the White Stripes, will release a concert film in the fall. Directed by Emmett Malloy, "Under Great White Northern Lights" follows Jack and Meg White across Canada, where they went out of their way to play unconventional venues such as a city bus and a bowling alley. It premieres at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 19. -- Scott T. Sterling

The city has expanded weekday morning bus service between Union Station and Los Angeles International Airport to meet growing demand. LAX FlyAway buses will make an additional 13 weekday morning pickups from Union Station's Patsaouras Transit Plaza Bus Stop 9, according to Los Angeles World Airports, the agency that runs LAX. Buses depart Union Station on weekdays every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day and every hour from 1 to 5...

A 19-year-old man was killed late Friday when he drove his car down the wrong side of a road near the Queen Mary and collided head-on with a city bus. Samuth Pen was pronounced dead shortly after the crash at 11:45 p.m., authorities said. Pen's two 18-year-old passengers survived. One suffered minor injuries; the other was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries and was listed in stable condition Saturday morning. Seven passengers on a Long Beach Transport bus were also taken to a hospital with minor to moderate injuries.

A 25-year-old woman was killed Friday morning when a Santa Clarita city bus carrying students collided with the vehicle she was driving in the Stevenson Ranch area, officials said. Four people on the bus were injured. Janine M. Doughlin was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. She was from Stevenson Ranch. The accident took place about 8 a.m. when Doughlin was trying to turn left from Constitution Avenue onto The Old Road, officials said.

I heard the news of Mayor Tom Bradley's death as I was driving to Cal State Northridge, and I was shocked and saddened. I was a little girl here in Los Angeles during his terms in office. I'll admit I do not remember much about his political accomplishments as a public leader. What I do remember is a nice man giving my grade school class a tour of the Children's Museum. He went on the replica of the city bus with me and pretended to drive around. When he said goodbye that day, he told us that if we ever needed anything, he'd be in "that building over there."

A Superior Court jury awarded $969,757 to an Ocean Beach man after finding that the San Diego Transit Corp. was partly responsible for injuries he suffered in an April, 1986, accident as he attempted to cross the street behind a city bus. The jury ruled Wednesday in favor of Anthony Brown, 53, even though it found that he, the transit company and the motorist who hit him were equally liable for the accident. Brown is to receive two-thirds of the $1.4-million award after the jury found he was one-third responsible.

From the moment he took office nearly 18 months ago, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made traffic gridlock a cause celebre -- exhorting Angelenos to help solve the problem by forsaking their cars whenever possible. "You've got to use public transit," Villaraigosa said just last week while unveiling an automated signal system to help unclog busy intersections. "You can't keep on pointing to someone else and saying it's their responsibility."

In the city where she died and the city where she sparked the civil rights movement, the front of the bus is reserved for Rosa Parks. Detroit and Montgomery, Ala., are reserving the first seats of their buses as a tribute to Parks' legacy until her funeral next week. Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick placed a black ribbon Thursday on the first passenger seat of one of about 200 buses where seats will be reserved.