Lax

Long Beach Airport (LGB) this week will open a new parking structure, bringing all airport parking on-site and within walking distance of the main terminal building. But it will also shut down its cheapest lot. The new Lot B parking garage, under construction for more than a year near the terminal, holds about 2,000 cars. Airport spokeswoman Kim McMahon said the lot will open at 12:01 a.m. Friday. On the same day, remote parking Lot D at Lakewood Boulevard and Conant Street will be closed, although of course cars already parked there can remain until they exit, McMahon said.

LAX officials estimate more than 750,000 travelers will pass through the airport Memorial Day weekend, representing a decrease of 7.4% compared with the four-day holiday period in 2011 . Higher fares resulting from higher fuel prices are being blamed.... The angler who pulls in the grand prize tagged trout will win $50,000 at Big Bear's fourth annual Fishin' for $50K Trout Derby on June 9 and 10 . Entry is $55 for adults and $30 for participants under 16; www.bigbear.com or (800)

How could any airport which permits five major airlines to ignore security regulations (Metro, March 5) be anything else but LAX? MEL SOMMER Los Angeles

Hint No. 1 that this was something big. Text messages. "It's one of those signs you've done something unusual," he said. Hint No. 2 that this was something extra big. An outpouring of fan support, post-midnight, adjacent to LAX after the Kings' flight had landed. "It was like driving down a hallway lined with human flesh," he said. "You couldn't see anything except people screaming and Kings jerseys. It was a feeling that not anyone will forget ever, I think on the Kings team.

In the last two months, two U.S. Transportation Security Administration officers have been arrested on suspicion of stealing from passenger luggage at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) -- incidents that leave me worrying about how often such theft happens. Judging from official statistics, it seems rare -- or maybe the culprits just don't get caught very often. On Thursday, TSA officer Paul Yashou, 37, was arrested on suspicion of taking $30,000 worth of items from suitcases at the airport , according to this Daily Breeze story , which also said that a police search of Yashou's home turned up "numerous items belonging to LAX passengers.

Just in time for the summer travel crush -- maybe you missed this, I sure did: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has moved its cellphone waiting lot to a location closer and more convenient to the airport, just a quarter mile from the 96th Street Bridge entrance. The 24/7 cellphone lot (and really, is there anyone who hasn't used this yet?) provides a free place to park for up to two hours and await a call or text from your passenger when it's time to pick them up. Newbies, take note: You cannot leave your car unattended when you use this lot. The new waiting area, at West 96th Street and Vicksburg Avenue, adjacent to Parking Lot C, opened at the end of April.

Airplane aficionados, you’re clear to land. At the LAX Observation Deck, that is. On Sunday, LAX is holding its first “Sunday Morning Coffee” for aviation enthusiasts and the general public, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. atop the Observation Deck at the airport’s  landmark Theme Building.  Admission, coffee, cookies – all free. But not the parking, which will be at the usual rates. Scanners will allow visitors to listen in on transmissions between pilots and air controllers, and free telescopes will allow close-up peeks at three aircraft that will be arriving that morning -- a sort of a celebrity lineup of arriving flights:  -- Air New Zealand "All Blacks" A320 : Estimated arrival time 9:25 a.m.; departure time 11 a.m. -- Qantas A380:   ETA 9:45 a.m. (for evening departure)

When it comes to gourmet airport dining, LAX is a little late to the table. Milan's Linate International Airport is known for offering superb prosciutto. British chef Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food is considered one of the highlights of Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow. And JetBlue's terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy airport has been called "the holy grail of American airport dining." But hey, better late than never. We heartily endorse the Board of Airport Commissioners' plans to upgrade the grub at Los Angeles International.

LAX is properly the nation's first hairport. V. R. HONNOLD Manhattan Beach

Avoid driving, take public transit and allow extra time if you need to get in or out of Los Angeles International Airport during the 53-hour shutdown of the 405 Freeway next month. That's the advice from LAX, which has launched a 405 Freeway Alert  Web page that outlines transit options for mid-July, when one of  the busiest freeways in Southern California will close for bridge demolition as part of a larger project. The airport is south of the closure area, but traffic is expected to be heavy on east-west freeways such as the 10 and 105, as well as on surface streets, the airport's website says.

Restaurant chain California Pizza Kitchen Inc. will move its headquarters to Playa Vista after signing a sublease with Fox Interactive Media. CPK officials and staff will relocate this summer from their longtime headquarters on Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport to the top floor of 12181 Bluff Creek Drive, said real estate broker Dave Toomey of Cresa Los Angeles. The pizza chain will occupy 33,000 square feet on the fifth floor, which has a large private balcony with views of Marina del Rey, Toomey said.

Numerous streets in downtown Los Angeles and beyond will be closed Tuesday for May Day marches. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the following streets downtown will be affected, beginning as early as 7 a.m. and continuing until 7:30 p.m: •Broadway between 11th and Temple streets •Olympic Boulevard between Hill and Main streets •9th between Hill and Broadway •8th between Spring and Broadway ...

The Transportation Security Administration labeled the drug-smuggling case at Los Angeles International Airport that came to light Wednesday as a "significant" breach in security . If so, there's a bigger problem than just the LAX case. Earlier this month, a former TSA officer admitted his role in a drug-smuggling scandal from 2010 to 2011 on the East Coast. The case is taking place in New Haven , Conn., and others involved have already pleaded guilty. Here's what the Hartford Courant reported on April 17 : "Three Transportation Security Administration officers, two police officers and more than a dozen drug dealers in Florida, New York and Connecticut are charged in the smuggling conspiracy that delivered illegal oxycodone pills from Florida to the Waterbury [Conn.]

The man with eight pounds of methamphetamine in his carry-on bag stood in the snaking security line at Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 4, inching toward the checkpoint, when a TSA screener approached. But it wasn't to stop the contraband, according to prosecutors. It was to make sure it got through. The screener, John Whitfield, allegedly told the man to get to the back of the line so he and his luggage would get to the X-ray machines when Whitfield's shift started.

An American Airlines flight from Hawaii landed safely with one working engine at LAX early Monday, after the other engine went out about an hour before the plane's arrival time. The  jetliner landed at 5:19 a.m. from Kona on time and without incident, and passengers got off at the terminal gate. The 147 people on board, including the seven crew, were not injured. The Associated Press reported that spokesman Matt Miller in Dallas says instruments on Flight 246 showed trouble with the left engine.

A program that lets preapproved air travelers zip through security lines will be expanded later this month to Delta Air Lines passengers at Los Angeles International Airport. The program, dubbed PreCheck and operated by the Transportation Security Administration, has been available for several months at LAX but only for passengers who fly American Airlines, one of the largest carriers at the airport. Starting April 24, it will be offered to Delta passengers as well, the TSA announced Friday.

On March 14, you solicited suggestions for improving LAX ("How to Improve LAX? Readers Present Views"). The pedestrian overpass connecting the parking garage to Terminal 1 needs to be redesigned. The present facilities require people to either use narrow, steep steps or a very small elevator. HARRY L. LEPAPE Los Angeles

Weather delays have pushed back the opening of the new Tom Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport  beyond the 12-12-12 target of late this year. LAX has told the mayor and the Board of Airport Commissioners that the work, primarily designed to expand gates for bigger international aircraft, will likely push to spring 2013. Airport officials are primarily blaming rain and fog for the postponement. In particular, they are citing heavy inversion layers that prevent the use of  large cranes.

The cost of expanding a key terminal at the center of Los Angeles International Airport's modernization plan has increased from about $1.4 billion to almost $2 billion. But airport officials say the overall $4.1-billion modernization program, as well as the now more-expensive Tom Bradley International Terminal, are still on schedule and within budget because of a built-in contingency fund and cost savings achieved on other projects in the revitalization effort. "With regards to scheduling, all projects find it challenging to stay on schedule," said Deputy Airport Director Roger Johnson.

Los Angeles International Airport will feature a new lineup of 60 shops and restaurants in selected terminals this year, an upgrade that's part of the airport's LAneXt project, according to a statement released Monday. The accent for the new terminal offerings is on L.A. chefs and businesses. Newcomers to Terminal 5 include the Mattel Experience, a stand-alone store that will feature Barbies, Matchbook and Hot Wheels, and Ford's Filling Station restaurant. Trendy Kitson opened up shop last week in Terminal 7. The shops and restaurants will be phased in by the end of the year, an LAX spokeswoman said.