CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 10, 2012 | By Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times
The Metrolink commuter rail service plans to increase fares as early as July to help reduce a $13-million budget deficit largely caused by rising fuel and labor costs, railroad officials said Thursday. If approved, the proposed increase of 5% to 9% will cover only part of the shortfall, making it necessary for Metrolink to seek additional subsidies from the five county transportation agencies that help fund the railroad. "The current economic climate, including soaring fuel prices, requires tough decisions by transportation leaders to fund operations at a level that will continue to meet the region's transportation needs," said John Fenton, Metrolink's chief executive officer.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 2, 2012 | By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times
The owners of the Battle of the Dance dinner show had hoped to catch the wave of tourists from nearby Disneyland with family-friendly entertainment boasting European dancers and a gourmet meal of smoked salmon salad, filet mignon and a "decadent" dessert. But when the paying customers failed to materialize in the numbers foreseen, they cut the number of dinner shows, amped up the volume and turned to a different crowd. There was a "topless DJ," go-go dancers and an appearance by an adult film performer to entertain late-night partygoers in Anaheim's manicured resort district.
ENTERTAINMENT
April 29, 2012 | By Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times Film Critic
Year-round schooling. Baby boomers date-nighting. Insatiable appetites DVRing, VODemanding, online streaming. March madness game changing ("Hunger Games," not basketball, $358 million and counting). A short way to say popcorn is not just for summer anymore. Moviegoers - young (the summer staple) and old (increasingly coming back to the five-and-dime, Jimmy Dean…) - want a constant flow. The idea that audiences are more intrigued, or less pressed in the summertime, or that there are movie mood swings tied to weather patterns anymore is just downright silly.
ENTERTAINMENT
April 29, 2012 | By Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Summer brings no shortage of popcorn movies but some films this season are more like a fully satisfying meal. Consider these offerings - with casts young and old, settings foreign and home-grown, stories contemporary and period - which will linger in your memory long after the lights come up. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Lovers of "Downton Abbey"will be thrilled to see Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton together again, playing for...
ENTERTAINMENT
April 22, 2012 | By Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times
CAIRO - When filmmaker and Egyptian democracy activist Amr Salama watched Hosni Mubarak's regime collapse in 2011, he couldn't have been more heartened. Salama had been making films for years and had found himself hamstrung by the government's censorship board. This was finally the opportunity he'd been waiting for. So shortly after the regime fell, Salama resubmitted a script that had been rejected under Mubarak - one whose story centered on tension between Cairo's majority Muslim population and its Coptic Christian minority.
TRAVEL
April 15, 2012
THE BEST WAY TO NEW YORK From LAX , Delta, American, JetBlue, United and Virgin America offer nonstop service to New York, and US Airways, Delta, American and United offer connecting service. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $348. WHERE TO STAY Hotel Wolcott, 4 W. 31st St.; (212) 268-2900, http://www.wolcott.com . It's not glamorous, and for three days the eighth-floor hallway smelled faintly of cleaning products, but the location is good and, for Manhattan, the price is great.