L A Live Entertainment District

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday issued a stinging rebuke of City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, voting unanimously to reject his legal advice and back six controversial sign permits at the L.A. Live entertainment district downtown. Trutanich two weeks ago warned building officials, Councilwoman Jan Perry and representatives of L.A. Live's owner, Anschutz Entertainment Group, that they could face prosecution if sign permits for the company's new movie theater were issued, according to Perry and AEG. Trutanich said the large wall signs violated the city's new ban on outdoor ads. During a two-hour council hearing, five members scolded the city attorney for making the threats, although he did not attend the meeting.

It's not every day that Los Angeles welcomes a new addition to its skyline. And this week, the city did it in style with a gala for the 54-story Ritz-Carlton hotel-condo tower that is the centerpiece of L.A. Live and opens for business next month. The guest of honor was Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, which built the $2.5-billion L.A. Live and has been at the center of the effort to develop the area around Staples Center into a sports and entertainment hub. The blue-hued tower is a big part of the plan.

It's not every day that Los Angeles welcomes a new addition to its skyline. And this week, the city did it in style with a gala for the 54-story Ritz-Carlton hotel-condo tower that is the centerpiece of L.A. Live and opens for business next month. The guest of honor was Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, which built the $2.5-billion L.A. Live and has been at the center of the effort to develop the area around Staples Center into a sports and entertainment hub. The blue-hued tower is a big part of the plan.

The latest addition to the downtown Los Angeles skyline is expected to debut with a big splash -- make that a big flash -- tonight, when lights in the city's newest high-rise snap on for the first time. Owners of the 54-story Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott tower are rigging lights on the top 27 levels to flick on floor by floor in a rising wave to celebrate completion of the hotel, the last piece of the massive L.A. Live entertainment complex. The attention-grabbing stunt will cost about $100,000; by no means a pittance but still a fraction of the $2.5-billion overall cost of L.A. Live, which sits next to Staples Center and is already home to Nokia Theatre and other attractions.

The latest addition to the downtown Los Angeles skyline is expected to debut with a big splash -- make that a big flash -- tonight, when lights in the city's newest high-rise snap on for the first time. Owners of the 54-story Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott tower are rigging lights on the top 27 levels to flick on floor by floor in a rising wave to celebrate completion of the hotel, the last piece of the massive L.A. Live entertainment complex. The attention-grabbing stunt will cost about $100,000; by no means a pittance but still a fraction of the $2.5-billion overall cost of L.A. Live, which sits next to Staples Center and is already home to Nokia Theatre and other attractions.

When L.A. Live, the $2.5-billion entertainment district across from Staples Center, first broke ground in September 2005, downtown Los Angeles was riding high, and the sky seemed the limit. Block by block, decades of grime were being replaced by trendy eateries, loft dwellers and their dogs. Thirty-two skyscrapers were in the planning phases. And L.A. Live, with clubs, restaurants, convention-center hotels and a 30,000-square-foot Grammy museum, was being called Times Square West.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich allegedly threatened to prosecute city building officials last week if they issued permits for six wall signs at the L.A. Live entertainment complex downtown, and a city councilwoman said he threatened her with jail time if she intervened. The actions generated more heat in L.A.'s contentious fight over billboards and intensified a feud between Trutanich and one of downtown's most politically connected corporations, Anschutz Entertainment Group.

The humble downtown Los Angeles Holiday Inn will undergo a $10-million renovation and a name change designed to capitalize on its position near Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment complex. When the work is completed this spring, the 195-room hotel will be renamed the Luxe City Center Hotel, part of an upscale, Los Angeles-based hotel chain, Luxe Hotel officials said Tuesday. The hotel will remain open during the renovation work. With a new name and face lift, the four-star Luxe City Center Hotel is expected to fit better among the glitzy new restaurants, clubs, museums and movie theaters that now border Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center, said Jane Coloccia, a spokeswoman for Luxe Hotels.

AEG, the company that owns and operates the budding entertainment hub L.A. Live, plans to announce today that it has secured Panasonic System Solutions Co. as a founding sponsor for the venue, despite the difficulties of attracting advertisers in the current economy. Panasonic will be one of eight sponsors committing to multimillion-dollar contracts over several years. Others include Coca-Cola Co., American Express Co. and Wachovia Corp. Details of the Panasonic deal were not disclosed. L.A.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year received more than $32,000 in gifts, including a Mongolian shield, a bronze bust of a California condor, a replica of a high-speed train, antique dumbbells and lots of wine and cigars. In a disclosure report filed annually by elected officials, the jet-setting governor said the gift-givers included Prince Karim Aga Khan (a clock), Mexican President Felipe Calderon (cigars), Chilean Ambassador Mariano Fernandez (a book) and film director Chris Columbus (wine).

The humble downtown Los Angeles Holiday Inn will undergo a $10-million renovation and a name change designed to capitalize on its position near Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment complex. When the work is completed this spring, the 195-room hotel will be renamed the Luxe City Center Hotel, part of an upscale, Los Angeles-based hotel chain, Luxe Hotel officials said Tuesday. The hotel will remain open during the renovation work. With a new name and face lift, the four-star Luxe City Center Hotel is expected to fit better among the glitzy new restaurants, clubs, museums and movie theaters that now border Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center, said Jane Coloccia, a spokeswoman for Luxe Hotels.

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday issued a stinging rebuke of City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, voting unanimously to reject his legal advice and back six controversial sign permits at the L.A. Live entertainment district downtown. Trutanich two weeks ago warned building officials, Councilwoman Jan Perry and representatives of L.A. Live's owner, Anschutz Entertainment Group, that they could face prosecution if sign permits for the company's new movie theater were issued, according to Perry and AEG. Trutanich said the large wall signs violated the city's new ban on outdoor ads. During a two-hour council hearing, five members scolded the city attorney for making the threats, although he did not attend the meeting.

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich allegedly threatened to prosecute city building officials last week if they issued permits for six wall signs at the L.A. Live entertainment complex downtown, and a city councilwoman said he threatened her with jail time if she intervened. The actions generated more heat in L.A.'s contentious fight over billboards and intensified a feud between Trutanich and one of downtown's most politically connected corporations, Anschutz Entertainment Group.

AEG, the company that owns and operates the budding entertainment hub L.A. Live, plans to announce today that it has secured Panasonic System Solutions Co. as a founding sponsor for the venue, despite the difficulties of attracting advertisers in the current economy. Panasonic will be one of eight sponsors committing to multimillion-dollar contracts over several years. Others include Coca-Cola Co., American Express Co. and Wachovia Corp. Details of the Panasonic deal were not disclosed. L.A.

When L.A. Live, the $2.5-billion entertainment district across from Staples Center, first broke ground in September 2005, downtown Los Angeles was riding high, and the sky seemed the limit. Block by block, decades of grime were being replaced by trendy eateries, loft dwellers and their dogs. Thirty-two skyscrapers were in the planning phases. And L.A. Live, with clubs, restaurants, convention-center hotels and a 30,000-square-foot Grammy museum, was being called Times Square West.

British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott broke rules for ministers by not immediately declaring his stay last year at an American billionaire's ranch, according to a watchdog agency. Prescott, whose portfolio includes planning and urban redevelopment, spent a weekend in July 2005 at the Colorado ranch of Philip Anschutz, who is building an entertainment center in East London and is hoping to lease space to house Britain's first super-casino.

It was hard to find a cynic in Southern California on Tuesday. Not downtown, where tears streamed down Alesia Adams' face as President Barack Obama finished reciting the oath of office, projected on 15 massive screens at the new L.A. Live entertainment district. "Thank you, Lord," she whispered, as her husband, James, tightly embraced her and their two daughters.