Renovations

The rose beds at Descanso Gardens, one of the county's premier floral attractions, will be uprooted and replanted over the next 18 months as part of a major renovation plan. The five acres of rose beds at the county-owned gardens in La Canada Flintridge were planted in 1948 and are largely dying and diseased.

With plans to reopen damaged Kanan Dume Road underway, city officials hope to turn their attention to shoring up--or tearing down--the decaying, closed Malibu Pier before the anticipated heavy storms of El Nino reach the structure Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings said Wednesday that the city has, in effect, agreed to lease the pier from the state. With Malibu as the lease holder, Jennings said, county funds would be available to help pay for renovation of the landmark.

Actress Jane Fonda bought a home in Beverly Hills last year with a feature that might seem counterintuitive for a fitness guru: an elevator. The Holmby Hills house that pop icon Michael Jackson leased has one within its 17,200 square feet of living space. So does the nearby 56,500-square-foot mansion heiress Petra Ecclestone bought from socialite Candy Spelling two years ago for $85 million. But home elevators aren't just for the super-rich anymore. Baby boomers looking to age in place are installing them to ease the burden of bad knees and growing girth.

On the third day of silence and meditation, I said just 14 words, all of them in the course of chopping vegetables for dinner. Days two, four and five were not much different. I'm not the quiet type. But this was my idea. So earlier this year, I drove most of a day to reach Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County to immerse myself in the practice of mindful meditation. To be still, clear of worry over career, my teenage sons' futures, the renovations of our old house. To see whether I could stop -- just stop -- for five days and perhaps for a little bit each day afterward.

When the upcoming comedy "The Hangover Part III" wrapped production in January, Warner Bros. was left with tons of used plywood, joists, furniture, faux brick and other materials from the film set. But instead of hauling the leftovers to the landfill, the studio donated the items - enough to fill 10 truckloads - to the charitable organization Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, to be sold in Habitat's stores in Gardena and Norwalk....

Continuing its expansion in the Los Angeles market, AMC Theatres said it would take over the lease of the Laemmle Fallbrook 7 complex in West Hills. “We already have a strong presence in the area, but we're very excited at the opportunity to not only add to the AMC family in the area, but to turn this theater into one of the nicest in the country,” Mark McDonald, executive vice president of development at AMC, said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed. The move is the latest by AMC, the nation's second largest theater chain, which has been beefing up its presence in the L.A. market, where it already has 28 theaters.

Much of the real estate market is still stuck in deep winter, but Highland Park is showing signs of spring. Investors have descended on this and other communities in Northeast Los Angeles, snatching up bargain-priced Craftsman homes located within an easy distance of downtown. It's an echo of the housing boom, only this time speculators are drawn by the crash in prices. Attracted by an abundance of foreclosures and aided by interest rates near record lows, renovators are giving distressed properties a makeover.

In its glory days, the Forum was Southern California's preeminent entertainment venue, a behemoth with Roman columns where adoring fans came to see the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Wayne Gretzky and Bob Dylan. But the famous round building fell on hard times. The Los Angeles Lakers and Kings moved downtown. Other venues in up-and-coming neighborhoods came along to nab the concert business. And, in the end, the Forum was bought by the Faithful Central Bible Church and all but forgotten.

While working at Hollywood Park Casino, Tafere Haileselassie has been able to achieve what some say is the American Dream. The Ethiopian immigrant said he put his two children through college and bought a house in the Crenshaw district, all on the tips and minimum-wage salary he earned as a porter at the Inglewood card club. But come March, when a new manager is scheduled to take over the daily operations of the aging casino, Haileselassie and about 600 workers may be out of jobs.

When John Frayer sets foot in a salvage yard, he feels like a kid in a candy store. "Seeing those stained glass windows, antique doors and decorative hardware makes me want to buy it all," said Frayer, whose passion for architectural antiques makes him roam local salvage yards every weekend. "It's like a treasure hunt," he said. Frayer's richest treasure chest is Scavenger's Paradise, a fancy salvage yard in North Hollywood.