Planners Pushing Forward With Hollywood Boulevard Makeover

Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, August 19, 2024…

• For decades, Hollywood Boulevard has been marketed to the world as a glamorous and sophisticated place. But the reality of contemporary Hollywood Boulevard is very different. Some blocks are packed with throngs of tourists, merchants and street performers. But they’re on overcrowded sidewalks with few amenities, like shade and seating. But work is underway to provide a safer, better experience for walkers and cyclists.
• Thousands of Democratic Party delegates, party leaders and politicians are in Chicago to kick off this week’s Democratic National Convention and officially name Vice President Kamala Harris as their party’s presidential candidate. 
• A lawyer representing the former manager of Sacramento’s Capital Public Radio is pushing back against allegations her client was involved in financial impropriety at the station.

Hollywood Boulevard Re-Envisioned

Los Angeles’ iconic Hollywood Boulevard is undergoing a major transformation.

The glitz and glamour from the past is being met with a stark reality these days, as contemporary Hollywood Boulevard looks vastly different. Some blocks are packed with throngs of tourists, merchants and street performers. But they’re on overcrowded sidewalks with few amenities, like shade and seating. Hollywood Boulevard is also one of the most dangerous streets in the L.A. area, with dozens of pedestrians killed or seriously injured in recent years after being struck by vehicles.

On its more residential east end, the city recently removed parking spaces and car lanes and turned them into bus-only and protected bicycle lanes. And more changes are planned for Hollywood Boulevard, especially in its commercial core around the Walk of Fame. There, the city wants to continue converting traffic lanes to bus and cycling lanes, but it also wants to widen sidewalks so there’s more room for walking than driving. 

Democrats Prepare to Celebrate Harris, ‘A Daughter of California,’ at Chicago Convention

California Democrats have arrived in force at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, brimming with anticipation to anoint Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s first nominee from the Golden State.

“Certainly, California Democrats are extremely excited to be the home state of our party’s nominee, a daughter of California,” said Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party.

Elected leaders and party activists swarmed the lobby of the delegation’s hotel along the Chicago River, where visitors were greeted with room cards adorned with the smiling face of the state’s senior U.S. senator, Alex Padilla.

Former CapRadio GM Suspected Of Receiving Nearly $500,000 In Mysterious Payments

Ever since news broke late last year about CapRadio’s financial troubles, audience members, staffers and employees of Sacramento State — which oversees CapRadio —  have been hungry for answers about how things went wrong, and who was responsible for the chaos that led to layoffs, a scrapped downtown headquarters project and the cancelation of several music programs.

A picture began to emerge last week when Sac State released the results of a long-awaited forensic analysis of the station. The heavily redacted summary, prepared by the Roseville-based accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, found over $760,000 in “unsupported” payments, or payments that couldn’t be backed up with an expense report or receipts. The summary also noted that more than half those mysterious payments – some $460,000 – were made to one CapRadio executive, identified in the report only as Subject #1.