Ibi Group

In a spectacle befitting Hollywood's theatrical reputation, opponents of a plan to redevelop tattered Hollywood Boulevard turned a hearing on the proposal Tuesday night into a dramatic display of their displeasure. With television cameras rolling and hot lights shining on them, several critics of the redevelopment plan wrested control of the meeting from its chairwoman by chanting slogans, screaming at their adversaries and making emotional appeals before the cameras.

In the unfolding stock option scandal, few characters are more curious than an Israeli entrepreneur named Jacob "Kobi" Alexander. The 54-year-old former chief executive, who nurtured Comverse Technology Inc. from a high-tech-wannabe penny stock to a leading producer of voicemail software with 5,000 employees, fled the country this month rather than face charges of scheming to manipulate his company's stock options.

Talk about raining on your own parade. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority coaxed Renzo Piano from Paris, Ban van Berkel from Amsterdam and a bunch of talented local architects from the far Westside and brought them together Wednesday afternoon at Union Station. The occasion was the unveiling of six conceptual plans for Union Station and the surrounding neighborhood. Metro bought the historic landmark and an attached 40-acre parcel of land last year; it holds entitlements to build as much as 6 million square feet of new shops, offices and housing there, and it is running an international competition to find a master-planning team.