Gold Line

The Gold Line Where: Señor Fish, 422 E. 1st St., L.A. When: Third Saturday of every month, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Price: $5 admission Info: (213) 625-0566; http://www.senorfishla.com.

As officials build mass transit lines at a rapid clip, Los Angeles County's oldest and most-used light-rail system has been breaking down with alarming frequency. The Blue Line from Long Beach to downtown L.A. — one of the nation's busiest light-rail routes, with 26 million annual riders — has suffered a rash of maintenance problems that have left commuters who rely on the service facing major delays. In January and February, Blue Line trips were late or canceled 858 times — roughly 14 times a day — compared with 428 times during the first two months of 2011.

Heather Bleemers had never spent much time on Los Angeles' Eastside, despite being an urban planning graduate student at USC. But on Sunday, Bleemers ventured from her usual stamping grounds. She and about 50 others toured the area's Nativity scenes, known as nacimientos, taking advantage of the new Gold Line extension. Unlike previous tours by car or bike, this year's event depended entirely on public transportation. "We live in Silver Lake and . . . don't go outside that area much," said Bleemers, who took the tour with her husband.

Facing a 2015 construction deadline and the uncertainty of a long court fight, the builders of a San Gabriel Valley light-rail project have agreed to pay a Monrovia property owner $24 million to settle six lawsuits related to a dispute over the price officials offered him for his land. Under the settlement, the Gold Line construction authority will give George Brokate of Excaliber Property Holdings his asking price for 4.8 acres in Monrovia that are needed for a maintenance yard for the Foothill extension, which will run from Pasadena east to Azusa.

Thanks for Jane Engle's terrific advice on travel credit cards and ATMs, etc. ["Cash or Credit? It Depends," More for Your Money, Feb. 27]. I would add that you should travel with more than one card and/or options and backups. I once traveled with a tour group in which one couple, on arriving at the airport in Casablanca, Morocco, lost their only card in an airport ATM. They were also traveling with little cash. Fortunately for them, people on the tour helped them financially.

L.A. County's ambitious light-rail network is about to push deeper into the San Gabriel Valley, and five cities along the route of the long-awaited Gold Line extension hope the trains will bring with them new development. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will break ground Saturday on a $690 million, 11.3 mile extension of the Gold Line from Pasadena through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. The line is scheduled to be completed in 2014. Real estate developers and politicians are hoping the line will pave the way for some new residential and commercial developments in the cities.

Facing a 2015 construction deadline and the uncertainty of a long court fight, the builders of a San Gabriel Valley light-rail project have agreed to pay a Monrovia property owner $24 million to settle six lawsuits related to a dispute over the price officials offered him for his land. Under the settlement, the Gold Line construction authority will give George Brokate of Excaliber Property Holdings his asking price for 4.8 acres in Monrovia that are needed for a maintenance yard for the Foothill extension, which will run from Pasadena east to Azusa.

Their train had just whirred into the Little Tokyo station and stopped about 100 feet out ahead. Sisters Mary and Betty Sugiyama had a day of shopping planned. Both in their 80s, they weren't equipped to run like they did as youngsters, but they started to walk quickly. "I didn't think we could make it," Mary said. "But we decided to try. " They were almost there when Mary spotted a heavyset woman, dressed entirely in black, sitting alone on a bench near the tracks. As the sisters passed, the stranger suddenly leaped to her feet and shouted, then extended both arms and shoved Betty onto the tracks, police said.

Music fans looking for a serious dance scene have often faced a dilemma going out in Los Angeles. Either hit a pricey Hollywood club, where glittering starlets dance behind velvet ropes until the wee hours and bottle service buys a place to sit, or cram into a sketchy, industrial-district warehouse outfitted with Porta-Potties and no parking. A new option is appearing Saturday: Get on the Gold Line. A pair of Los Angeles DJs and their graphic artist partner have teamed to produce "The Gold Line," a techno and house music night happening every third Saturday of the month at downtown L.A.'s Señor Fish restaurant.

Nobody walks in L.A.? Ridiculous! This is one in a series of articles exploring the many opportunities for walking in (and around) a major city. RADIO HILL Distance: 3.5 miles Duration: 1½ hours Difficulty: 2.5 (on a 1-5 scale) Transportation: Metro bus No. 45, 83, 84 This is an unexpectedly bucolic walk through city-center neighborhoods unknown even to most Los Angeles natives, offering great downtown views and unlikely encounters with nature and history.

The historic 1st Street bridge over the Los Angeles River is a key portal for thousands of commuters moving in and out of downtown Los Angeles. But when officials marked the reopening of the span Tuesday after a closure of more than three years for widening and rail construction, they spoke less about traffic than the cultural link between the city's core and neighborhoods to the east. "For more than 80 years, this iconic bridge has carried the dreams of millions of people traveling the short distance between Boyle Heights and Downtown L.A.," said Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar.

Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes and two other elected officials have resigned from the board of the Gold Line light-rail project in the wake of a conflict-of-interest complaint sent to the state attorney general. In addition to Reyes, two alternates — Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz and South Pasadena Councilman Michael Cacciotti — have stepped down from the Metro Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority that oversees the San Gabriel Valley project. Reyes, who has denied any impropriety, left the board last month along with Lutz.

I have been castigated by readers who felt I over-dramatized the peril of riding L.A.'s subway system in my Saturday column about the fatal stabbing of a Red Line rider 11 days ago. "You're joking, right?" wrote Julia Tyson La Grua. "I rode the Gold, Red and Purple lines every weekday for 3 months when I was on jury duty in Koreatown and they were immaculately clean, prompt and I felt entirely safe. " But I was also scolded by readers who thought I soft-pedaled the risks that passengers face on the city's five subway lines.

A 33-year-old man was in critical but stable condition Saturday after being stabbed during what began as a fistfight on the Metro Gold Line as it traveled through Pasadena, authorities said. The violence Friday evening came on the heels of a fatal stabbing the week before on a Metro Red Line train. That stabbing also followed a fight and was the first slaying on the subway since it began operations in 1993. The latest attack took place aboard a northbound Gold Line train about 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Local legislators want to exempt officials of a San Gabriel Valley light-rail project from conflict-of-interest laws after a complaint was lodged last month with the state attorney general. Assemblywoman Norma J. Torres (D-Chino) and five colleagues have proposed a bill that would help five board members and two alternates of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority who have been accused of holding incompatible offices. State law forbids public officials from serving on multiple boards, commissions, city councils and other governing bodies with interests that are likely to clash.

Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes and two other elected officials have resigned from the board of the Gold Line light-rail project in the wake of a conflict-of-interest complaint sent to the state attorney general. In addition to Reyes, two alternates — Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz and South Pasadena Councilman Michael Cacciotti — have stepped down from the Metro Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority that oversees the San Gabriel Valley project. Reyes, who has denied any impropriety, left the board last month along with Lutz.

Re "Gold Line So Far Has Few Takers," March 8: Of course the use of the Gold Line is poor. Who in Pasadena wants to go to Union Station? What then? A quarter-mile hike to get out of the terminal. The line should have been routed through downtown along Broadway, where the jobs, courts, government offices, entertainment and businesses are. The same problem awaits the proposed line to East Los Angeles. It should be routed across one of the viaduct bridges through the garment district and connect to the Gold Line on Broadway.

Riding the Metro could save you from more than just exorbitant tabs at the pump and the occasional fit of road rage. It could mean breathing cleaner air on your way to work. In a study of the air quality experienced by L.A. commuters, first place went to air collected on the Gold Line, which runs mostly aboveground. The Red Line, which runs underground, came in second. The air quality for both is likely better than you'll encounter if you're driving on the freeway, the authors said.

Thanks for Jane Engle's terrific advice on travel credit cards and ATMs, etc. ["Cash or Credit? It Depends," More for Your Money, Feb. 27]. I would add that you should travel with more than one card and/or options and backups. I once traveled with a tour group in which one couple, on arriving at the airport in Casablanca, Morocco, lost their only card in an airport ATM. They were also traveling with little cash. Fortunately for them, people on the tour helped them financially.