Los Angeles International Airport

President Obama recently groused that no U.S. airport ranked among the world's top 25 airports. If you're a regular traveler to or from Los Angeles, you may be even more disappointed to learn that Los Angeles International Airport didn't even make the top 100. Obama was referring to a ranking released in April - the Skytrax World Airport Awards - that is based on a survey of 12.1 million travelers around the world. Out of 395 airports worldwide, LAX ranked 109th. It came in at 24th among 50 airports in North America.

The debate on whether Los Angeles hotel workers should be paid at least $15.37 an hour opened last week with some less-than-expected allies for a "living wage" and some questions from City Council members about whether the proposal goes too far, or not far enough. Two of the city's business titans, billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad and mall developer Rick Caruso, broke from the standard business-versus-labor divide when they said in interviews they support a higher minimum wage.

One thing you may not be able to do this year: Grab a bite at Encounter restaurant at the free-standing Theme Building inside Los Angeles International Airport. It has closed. Whatever new restaurant concepts are being considered and when those ideas might be presented to airport officials is unknown, an airport spokeswoman said Tuesday. Westfield Concession Management , which brought tony eateries such as Umami Burger and 800 Degrees to LAX's expanded Tom Bradley International Terminal amid a splashy rollout last year, is in charge of coming up with those concepts and ideas.

A major downtown project aimed at closing one of the most frustrating gaps in Los Angeles' rapidly expanding rail network moved a step closer to reality Thursday when federal officials signed an agreement to provide $670 million in funding. At a Little Tokyo ceremony, county transportation officials accepted the pledge of money for a 1.9-mile, $1.4-billion underground link between unconnected light-rail lines that skirt opposite ends of downtown, one near Union Station and the other near Staples Center.

Los Angeles International Airport is among the five most "problematic or dangerous" airports in the nation, according to the 200 pilots who answered a questionnaire in Professional Pilot magazine this spring. Why? Some pilots cited the airport's design, but crowded airspace was the primary problem. There were 665,000 takeoffs and landings at LAX, the nation's third-busiest airport, last year.

Saying that it comes down to who runs Los Angeles International Airport--the airlines or the city--airport commissioners Sunday committed $250,000 to fight a lawsuit filed Friday by 40 airlines against an increase in airport landing fees. "We will prevail," said Ted Stein, acting chairman of the Airport Commission. "Litigation is expensive, but the city's overriding interest in controlling its own airport is more important than anything else," Stein said.

The city of Los Angeles has announced that three major airlines and a commuter carrier will lose their rights to use Los Angeles International Airport early next month--and that dozens of other air carriers will follow--unless they pay disputed landing fees.

Every President from Dwight Eisenhower to George Bush has walked all over Joe Mack's work. So have the Pope, King Hussein of Jordan and the Emperor of Japan. So did Nelson Mandela, who even stopped to shake hands with Mack. Mack is part of the select custodial team at Los Angeles International Airport charged with rolling out the red carpet for visiting dignitaries.

Scientists have discovered four new species of legless lizards in California, including one species that lives beneath the sand dunes near Los Angeles International Airport. But before we go on, let's get one thing straight: Yes, a snake is a legless lizard, but not all legless lizards are snakes. Throughout the history of lizard evolution, several lizard lineages have lost their legs, James Parham of Cal State Fullerton said. Snakes are the best-known and most diverse of these lineages, but more than 200 other types of limbless lizards exist throughout the world.

LAX shooting: The latest A composed, solitary gunman shot his way into Los Angeles International Airport on Friday morning, killing a transit security screener and injuring at least one more before being wounded by police and taken into custody. The incident was over in less than 10 minutes, but caused chaos at the world's sixth-busiest airport and disrupted thousands of flights across the nation. The gunman was identified as Paul Anthony Ciancia, a 23-year-old New Jersey native who lived most recently in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Council members opted Tuesday to seek an economic study before moving to enact one of the highest minimum wages in the country - $15.37 for workers at big hotels - a review that opponents hoped would slow or stop the proposal. Council members Mike Bonin, Nury Martinez and Curren Price asked fellow council members to request a review of the economic effects of ordering a "living wage" for workers at hotels with more than 100 rooms. There are 87 hotels of that size in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles lawmakers plan to introduce an ordinance Tuesday that would require the operators of big hotels to pay workers $15.37 an hour, one of the highest minimum wage rates targeting private employers anywhere in the U.S. The initiative by City Council members Nury Martinez, Curren Price and Mike Bonin is expected to set off a fierce contest between labor and business. Union activists say workers deserve a bigger share of revenue in the booming hotel industry, while owners say that nearly doubling the state minimum wage of $8 an hour will hurt profitability.

Growing numbers of dangerous laser-beam strikes on aircraft in the Los Angeles area and the rest of the nation prompted federal authorities on Tuesday to launch a reward and education campaign to combat the problem. For the next 60 days, a dozen FBI field offices across the country, including one in Los Angeles, will offer $10,000 rewards for information that leads to the arrest of anyone who aims a laser at an airplane or helicopter. Officials say that lasers shined in the eyes of pilots can cause headaches, temporary blindness and injury in some cases.

Starting Wednesday, US Airways passengers at Los Angeles International Airport will need to go to Terminal 3, not Terminal 1, because the airline is moving its operations.  "All US Airways ticketing and check-in, aircraft gates, baggage services and customer service will begin operations in Terminal 3 with the airline's first flights from LAX the morning of Feb. 12," according to an airline statement Tuesday. US Airways will share Terminal 3 with Allegiant Air, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

Growing numbers of dangerous laser beam strikes on aircraft in the Los Angeles area and the rest of the nation prompted federal authorities Tuesday to launch a reward and education campaign to combat the problem. For the next 60 days, a dozen FBI field offices across the country, including one in Los Angeles, will offer $10,000 rewards for information that leads to the arrest of any person who aims a laser at an airplane or helicopter. Officials say that lasers shined in the eyes of pilots can cause headaches, temporary blindness and injury in some cases.

Negotiations over transferring ownership of LA/Ontario International Airport have collapsed for a second time, setting the stage for a court battle that could determine whether Inland Empire officials can take over the struggling facility operated by the city of Los Angeles. Attorneys involved in the dispute said Wednesday that talks between Los Angeles and Ontario representatives broke off Jan. 31 - the last day of a 58-day postponement in a pending lawsuit brought by the city of Ontario.

He had no radio. He was not trained as a security officer. His job was to push passengers in wheelchairs, as he later testified to the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. But two Saturdays ago, Perfecto Adalid, 75, an employee of a private firm that provides security for United Airlines at LAX, was told to guard a checkpoint leading from an elevator onto the airfield. Three hours into Adalid's shift, a man without a security badge got out of a van and headed toward the elevator.

With the coming expiration of a federal law that restricts airline traffic out of Texas' Love Field, Southwest Airlines has announced a slew of nonstop flights from that airport, including a flight to Los Angeles International Airport. The so-called Wright Amendment, championed by U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Fort Worth) in 1979, was intended to restrict air traffic out of Love Field and direct more growth toward the then-fledgling  Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The amendment, which expires Oct. 13, has had a big impact on Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest domestic carrier, headquartered at Love Field.

Re "Airport is almost a terminal case," Jan. 28 I was interested to read your story about how unpleasant New York's LaGuardia Airport is, but for LAX users, the article might have been better titled, "Pot calls kettle black. " It is deeply unpleasant to fly to and from Los Angeles International Airport. It offers a dirty, crowded and hassle-heavy experience. What might help is if those in charge of LAX treated L.A./Ontario International Airport more like a partner when it comes to helping manage congestion rather treating it like a rival to be put out of business.