Runway

Despite a fresh round of objections from neighborhood groups, airport commissioners Tuesday endorsed a controversial plan to push Los Angeles International Airport's northern runway closer to nearby homes for safety and efficiency reasons. The action is part of a larger modernization effort designed to keep one of the nation's busiest aviation centers - and an economic engine for the region - competitive in an era of larger jetliners and airport upgrades in major cities, such as San Francisco.

Do not adjust your monitors; those are indeed six Lamborghini Aventador Roadsters cutting in front of a Boeing 777 on a runway at Miami International Airport. Don't worry, it was sanctioned. The event was organized to mark the world media debut of the 700-horsepower Roadster, the drop-top version of the Aventador supercar. This new version shares the drivetrain from the fixed-roof version -- a 6.5-liter V-12 engine routs power to all four wheels through a seven-speed automated manual transmission.

When actresses step onto the Screen Actors Guild red carpet this Sunday, the world will be poring over every flounce, every sequin, every slit, strap, pump and peplum. "Who are you wearing?" has become the ubiquitous question on interviewers' lips. The answers may be surprising. Every year brings a crop of relatively unknown designers yearning for the big breakthrough a red carpet triumph can bring with it. They've seen it happen before. When Halle Berry accepted her groundbreaking lead actress Oscar in 2002 in a maroon gown with a daring sheer leaf-strewn beaded top, it was also a career-making victory for her till-then unknown designer, Elie Saab.

SAN DIEGO - A recruit who made a perilous dash across the runway at San Diego's Lindbergh Field in an apparent attempt to flee Marine boot camp is no longer in the Marine Corps, authorities said Thursday. Benjamin Yi, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colo., has been separated from recruit training and the Marine Corps, officials said. Last week, Yi was detained by airport police after being spotted dashing across the runway from the adjacent boot camp. Yi's pants were torn off when he climbed two fences, including one topped with razor wire.

Bob Hope Airport is taking steps to prevent another power outage like the one last November that knocked out operations on its longest runway. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority last week voted to buy an emergency lighting system while officials complete a multimillion-dollar plan to replace the dated wiring system that caused the outage. "That outage, frankly, was not to the standard that we offer to the traveling public.... It creates havoc for those customers that couldn't fly out of here at night," said Dan Feger, the airport's executive director.

A controversial proposal to separate the two northern runways at Los Angeles International Airport is strongly supported by likely voters in Los Angeles and the City Council district that contains LAX, according to a new public opinion poll. The survey released Tuesday by the Coalition to Fix LAX Now, a group of prominent business and labor leaders, indicates that 74% of municipal voters favor separating the runways by 260 feet - a project proponents say would increase safety overall and the efficiency of handling the largest commercial aircraft, such as the giant Airbus A380.

Designer merry go round Stefano Pilati was out at Yves Saint Laurent and in at Ermenegildo Zegna. Versus, Azzaro and Vionnet lost their designers, and Jil Sander was back in at Jil Sander, after Raf Simons left that label for Dior. Nicolas Ghesquière exited Balenciaga, the house he helped relaunch practically from the ashes after he took the helm as creative director in 1997. Less than a month later, Alexander Wang was named to replace him. Betsey Johnson went out of business in April - and now is reinventing herself under new parent company Steve Madden.

IT'S ALMOST 2013 - which means it's time to take a look back at the sartorial standouts (Gwyneth Paltrow on the Oscars red carpet) and fashion faux pas (Paul Ryan on the campaign trail) of the previous 12 months. Though the world didn't end, as a flurry of Internet chatter had predicted, some in the fashion industry might have thought it had when Neiman Marcus teamed with Target on a holiday collection or when Nicolas Ghesquière announced he was leaving Balenciaga, the French fashion house he helped rebuild.

A controversial plan to separate the two northern runways at Los Angeles International Airport by 260 feet advanced last week when airport staff recommended the proposal for further environmental review over other runway options. The recommendation, if approved by L.A.'s Board of Airport Commissioners, could set the stage for more battles over the modernization of LAX, which has been delayed for decades by lawsuits, community opposition and the changing visions of mayoral administrations.

The beautiful people have a new L.A. club to call their own. Couture, with a runway in the middle of its dance floor - not for tipsy girls with catwalk fever but for actual fashion shows - is built to resemble a chic designer store. With impeccably soft lighting (think Louis Vuitton at the Wynn in Vegas), Couture aims to stitch the worlds of haute fashion, popular music and glittering celebrity into one sizzling space. Display cases are even built into the bar featuring silk scarves, pricey sunglasses and Swiss watches.