Remodeling

As Walt Disney Co. set out to renovate It's a Small World at Disneyland, the company's Imagineers had one thing in mind: Don't mess it up. Despite being one of the oldest attractions in the park, the ride is among the most popular -- drawing about 6.7 million riders a year.

It seemed to be a daunting task when UCLA announced plans to drag the aging and architecturally troublesome Pauley Pavilion into the 21st century. Now comes a seemingly more complex undertaking -- the point system administrators have created to determine the pecking order by which fans get to choose their seats.

The Hotel Bel-Air, a storied Mission-style landmark frequented by Hollywood's elite, will close for nearly two years for a multimillion-dollar face lift that will put hundreds of staffers out of work. The massive renovation, beginning Oct. 1, will include upgrades for all 91 rooms and suites, the hotel's Champagne Bar, its restaurant and private dining rooms. When it is finished in mid-2011, the hotel will boast 12 new villas and a spa with seven treatment rooms.

When Clifton Moore ran the Los Angeles airport system from 1968 to 1993, there wasn't much emphasis on dining and shopping for people waiting for their planes at LAX. About all they could get were the basics: a newspaper, a cup of coffee, cafeteria fare and a preflight libation. The mantra was "We are an airport, not a shopping mall," and people on the staff were proud that Los Angeles International Airport had the least concession space of any major airport in the United States. Not anymore.

When Elliot Aleskow recently checked into the Montage Beverly Hills, the Maryland doctor got a room with what seemed to be typical hotel amenities: A bed, a flat-screen TV, curtains, an alarm clock, lamps and a remote control. But there was nothing typical about the room's built-in technology. Using the remote control and an on-screen television menu, Aleskow programmed the alarm clock to play his favorite music in the morning. He also opened the curtains and set the room temperature and lighting just the way he likes it -- all by pushing a few buttons on the remote.

As expected, Santa Anita officials announced Tuesday that, in hopes of solving an ongoing drainage problem, the existing synthetic Cushion Track will be repaired rather than replaced with a sandy loam dirt surface. The decision came after extensive testing in Australia and in the civil engineering department lab at USC. "The test results are dramatic and extremely encouraging," Santa Anita President Ron Charles said.

Declining enrollment has prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District to scale back its $20-billion school construction and remodeling program sought to relieve overcrowding and end involuntary busing. The building program, which is paid for by four bond issues approved by local voters and state funds, is believed to be the largest public works project in the nation.

One young mother from Tillamook gathers her five children and drives two scenic miles to go beachcombing at a quaint hideaway off U.S. Highway 101. Another young Tillamook mother slips into a skimpy, form-fitting black gown and steers to the same town to dance for tips at the only exotic club on the northern Oregon coast. They, along with strip-club patrons, visiting families, longtime residents and retirees, mix it up in this quiet community.

LACMA director Michael Govan squinted into the sun and watched a weathered forklift cradle a Charles Ray sculpture -- a toy firetruck blown up to the size of a real one and intended to be confused for the real thing. As the sculpture settled into position on the plaza, a Los Angeles firetruck pulled up behind it and a fire marshal climbed out for an inspection. "I love it that the first visitor was the fire marshal," Govan said. "It was like some kind of apparition." So was LACMA.

Take a trip to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and you're bound to encounter some impressive bone structures. Popular tenants include the Tyrannosaurus rex and a complete cast of the long-necked Mamenchisaurus. But the biggest dinosaur is perhaps the building itself -- a hulking, fossilized fortress from a bygone era.