Los Angeles River

A man was critically injured in a 50-foot fall from a pumping station tower onto a floating pontoon in the Los Angeles River in Long Beach early Saturday, authorities said. Firefighters using ropes and a stretcher managed to rescue Jay Gomez, 19, of Long Beach more than an hour after his fall was reported by a friend around 3 a.m., Fire Department spokesman Bob Caldon said. Gomez suffered internal injuries and several broken ribs. He was flown to Memorial Hospital.

Goodbye Hogwarts, hello Universal Studios. After a bumpy 17-year process that once proposed developing thousands of homes on its famous Hollywood back lot, NBCUniversal won unanimous approval Tuesday from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for a plan that lets it expand its Universal Studios theme park. And a Harry Potter attraction is coming with it. Company executives said the "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," which will feature a re-creation of the Hogwarts Castle and other locations from the books and movies, will bring droves of visitors to the park.

Army Corps of Engineers officials announced Wednesday that they would stand by their decision to label the Los Angeles River as not navigable. The ruling sparked criticism from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conservationists, who warned that it would weaken federal Clean Water Act rules protecting the river's 834-acre watershed. Critics said the decision will make it easier to develop large areas of the San Gabriel, Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains because landowners will not be required to obtain certain federal permits.

After a bumpy 17-year process that once proposed developing thousands of homes on its famous Hollywood back lot, NBCUniversal won unanimous approval Tuesday from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for a plan that lets it expand its Universal Studios theme park. The $1.6-billion project will include nearly 2 million square feet in office and production space, a bike path along the adjacent Los Angeles River that would eventually allow cyclists to pedal to Studio City, and a Harry Potter-themed attraction.

The name of the game is historical accuracy. Everyone agrees on that. What historians cannot agree on is the name given to Los Angeles when its Spanish founders formed it Sept. 4, 1781. The early settlers meant to name the town after angels; that much is known. But for more than 75 years, local historians have been quarreling over its actual moniker. Some contend it was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles. Others assert it was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reyna de los Angeles.

I've always liked slow-moving rivers - mirrors to moonlight and literature, our first and best interstates, running over rocks, as Norman Maclean so deftly put it, "from the basement of time. " So what am I doing in the San Fernando Valley, a mile from the junction of the 405 and 101? Running a river, baby. Wall of trees to my left. Wall of trees to my right. Dozens of species of chattering birds. Minnows doing button-hooks beneath a ribbon of urban drool. Honestly, if someone blindfolded and plopped you down here, without your having chugged the freeways, without your kicking up a stampede of dust when you parked along Woodley Avenue, you might think you're in Idaho.

Los Angeles River walk Distance : Short walk, 2 miles; long walk, 4.5 miles Duration : short walk, 30 minutes; long walk, 1.5 hours Difficulty : 1.5 on a scale of 1 to 5. Details : Dogs on leashes.

Nobody walks in L.A.? Ridiculous! This is one in a series of articles exploring the many opportunities for walking in (and around) a city of 3.8 million. ARROYO WALK Distance: 3 to 7 miles Duration: 1 to 2.5 hours Difficulty: 1 Transportation: Free parking; Metro bus: Nos. 176, 177 This is a lovely country-in-the-city walk, flat and undemanding, offering rare views of the untamed river - less than five minutes from Old Town Pasadena. The 22-mile-long Arroyo Seco, a river-bed canyon that begins in the San Gabriel Mountains and runs into the Los Angeles River, was a lot of things before it became home to the world's first freeway and a concrete ditch with water in it. Today it's a great hiking opportunity.

I walk along the Los Angeles River every day from Glendale Boulevard to Los Feliz Boulevard; either early morning or at sunset. Over the last few years the river has become beautiful. There are all kinds of water fowl and birds living in this section of the river. It is so peaceful, and hard to believe it's so near the Golden State Freeway. Please spend that $100,000 to clean up the river where thoughtless people have thrown all kinds of trash, stuck in the middle of the river.

Re "The very nature of the city," Perspective, Feb. 4 Jessica Garrison's celebration of the transformation of Debs Park northeast of downtown Los Angeles conveyed a joy I too feel when discovering urban respites or helping advance their emergence from neglected spaces. A similar story is unfolding along Glendale's border with the Los Angeles River, where the city's community services and parks unit teamed up with the nonprofit North East Trees to install a true blight-buster, the recently opened Glendale Narrows Riverwalk Park.

How long does it take to revitalize a moribund section of Los Angeles that was zoned and built according to development and land-use patterns that prevailed in the 1940s? How long does it take to recognize civic assets like the Los Angeles River and incorporate them into vibrant communities with modern transit and modern patterns of living, working and playing? How long does it take to get local residents, environmentalists, affordable housing advocates, developers and transportation planners on the same page?

By the time BJ Kincler got her horse, Dusty Roads, the city of Glendale had closed off the horse pen behind her apartment along the Los Angeles River, leaving the equine with nowhere nearby to kick up her heels. But on Wednesday, Dusty Roads played around in new equestrian facilities open to the public for the first time after city officials unveiled Phase 1 of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk. "She's really happy," Kincler said as the horse ran in circles, stopping to lick a few apple treats from Kincler's palm.

Los Angeles has a great opportunity, but it will require action. On Wednesday, NBC Universal's plan for a major expansion will go before the City Council for final approval. The plan, thanks in part to effective agitating by Los Angeles River advocates, bicycle riders and neighborhood activists, represents a fine civic bargain, but there is also an opportunity to accomplish much, much more. For those who live in Los Angeles, there is a lot at stake in this deal. NBC Universal and its corporate masters - currently Comcast, the largest cable operator in the United States - have been trying to expand Universal's footprint since 2006.

Los Angeles River walk Distance : Short walk, 2 miles; long walk, 4.5 miles Duration : short walk, 30 minutes; long walk, 1.5 hours Difficulty : 1.5 on a scale of 1 to 5. Details : Dogs on leashes.

This is an unexpectedly verdant walk surrounded by urban sprawl, where the Los Angeles River, gradually being allowed to return to its natural state, is home to an amazing array of native fish, fowl, joggers and cyclists. 1 Begin your walk from the parking lot at the Griffith Riverside tennis facility, across the street from the famous monument honoring William Mulholland, who brought water to the desert. 2 Cross the mighty Golden State Freeway on the footbridge hidden behind the tennis courts and the soccer field.

I've always liked slow-moving rivers - mirrors to moonlight and literature, our first and best interstates, running over rocks, as Norman Maclean so deftly put it, "from the basement of time. " So what am I doing in the San Fernando Valley, a mile from the junction of the 405 and 101? Running a river, baby. Wall of trees to my left. Wall of trees to my right. Dozens of species of chattering birds. Minnows doing button-hooks beneath a ribbon of urban drool. Honestly, if someone blindfolded and plopped you down here, without your having chugged the freeways, without your kicking up a stampede of dust when you parked along Woodley Avenue, you might think you're in Idaho.

Ten people set out in kayaks at dawn Saturday and bobbed and splashed down a murky 1.5-mile stretch of the upper Los Angeles River, offering a paddle experience like no other in the city. The L.A. Conservation Corps members were on a reconnaissance mission to confirm that the route through the San Fernando Valley's Sepulveda Basin was clear of potential hazards a week before the start of the 2nd annual Paddle the Los Angeles River program. The scenery was captivating and, for the most part, serene as the flotilla skimmed over lazy currents of water the color of chocolate milk and smelling like old socks in the hardest working wetlands in Los Angeles.