Density

A regulation banning the establishment of new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles is unlikely to curb obesity rates, according to a study by researchers at Santa Monica think tank Rand Corp. Concerned about high levels of obesity, the lack of traditional grocery stores and a proliferation of fast-food eateries, the Los Angeles City Council approved a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in one of the poorest sections of the city last year. It has extended the ban through March of next year.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Tuesday tossed out portions of a city law approved last year that allows developers to build taller buildings in exchange for setting aside some units for affordable housing. Judge Thomas McKnew's ruling throws scores of proposed developments into doubt because it prohibits the Planning Department from processing any project applications in which density would be greater than what is authorized by state law.

A 73-year-old Bonita man was arrested Thursday and charged with posing as a doctor and selling phony, possibly dangerous, cancer cures. Kurt Walter Donsbach was arrested during his Internet radio show. One patient allegedly paid thousands of dollars for steroids supplied by Donsbach, leading to severe bone density loss. Donsbach is being held in San Diego County Jail on $1.5-million bail. "This defendant preyed on vulnerable patients," said Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis. -- Tony Perry

The owner of the Beverly Connection mall has agreed to withdraw plans for two high-rise residential towers as part of a settlement with two community groups that challenged the expansion in court, citing concerns about density in one of the city's most congested areas.

A second lawsuit has been filed over a recently passed city ordinance that allows new buildings to be larger and more dense if they have some affordable housing. Environment and Housing Coalition Los Angeles, a collection of civic groups and homeowner associations, argued that the City Council did not provide enough environmental analysis of the new planning law, which rewards developers for making as little as 5% of their residential projects affordable. One San Fernando Valley activist filed a separate lawsuit last week.

The main obstacle that hinders Los Angeles from claiming its place beside London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore as one of the world's greatest cities is its lack of a world-class transportation system ("The Gridlock Kid," by Christopher Hawthorne, March 2). It's time to declare that the experiment with the automobile has failed and channel new funds to increase density. Density, in turn, allows walking, bicycling and more effective use of buses. We need to expand the light-rail network to make it viable.

Amgen Inc. said its experimental drug for osteoporosis boosted bone density among postmenopausal women in a clinical trial. The treatment, denosumab, was more effective than a placebo at increasing bone density in a study of 332 women, the Thousand Oaks-based company said.

The razor-sharp beaks that giant squids use to attack might one day lead to improved artificial limbs for people. That deadly beak has long puzzled scientists, who wondered how a creature without any bones could wield it without hurting itself. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara reported Friday in the journal Science that they have an explanation.

Re "Zev tours growth areas in a fury," column, March 19 Thanks for Steve Lopez's wild tour with L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. In our neighborhood, we're asking the same kinds of questions about development. Will we be at maximum density when we all bump heads picking up our morning paper? In our case, a developer purchased nearly an entire block of homes and has a large condo project underway. So is that enough density on one block? Apparently not in the eyes of city planners, as they're now considering allowing the same developer to do a similar condo project on our side of the Monopoly board too. When I asked a city department if the project required a traffic plan, I was told, "Nope, the project's too small."