A wedding is happening. A big wedding. No, bigger than yours, and anyone else you’ve ever known. This wedding is ROYAL. This bride and groom is better than you.

Some kid named Will is going to say “I do” to some girl named Kate. Are you paying attention? Turn on the television. Any channel. There it is. Wall-to-wall-to-wall-to-wall-coverage. Journalists, bloggers, Mario Lopezes are falling all over themselves here and across the pond, gushing about pomp and circumstance. Or ceremony. Or whatever. What will they wear? Who will be there? How will she do her hair? Every single detail being examined as if by Birthers on a mission.

None of you are invited. But, luckily enough, you can pretend to live out this fairytale fantasy – right here in the San Fernando Valley. The Valley!

The affair is one of today’s top stories on the Los Angeles Daily News. They take a hard inside look at local celebrations of the far far away nuptials to come:

Golriz Moeini, co-owner of the White Harte Pub in Woodland Hills. “All of us are so stressed with natural disasters and wars. This is one happy thing that we have.”

What started out as a small get-together for Moeini’s friends has now turned into a royal wedding extravaganza complete with a live band, champagne and wedding cake. Guests are required to don wedding attire. That means jackets for the men and dresses for the ladies. And there might be a seating chart in one section.

I’m sure that some will argue with me about what a historic moment this is. A real-life prince making a commoner a real-life princess! It’s a storybook wedding!

Have fun with that. I’m sure the 217,000 men that died during the American Revolution won’t mind a bit.

The Once and Futile King (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

When news broke that Major League Baseball was assuming day-to-day control of the Los Angeles Dodgers, most of the internet reacted with a sense of “about damn time.”

Local politicians? Well, they’re just flabbergasted. Blindsided by something that none of them ever saw coming during the reign of The McCourts. How could this be? Why is this happening to our beloved boys in blue? We have never had any reason to believe something like this would happen, aside from The Divorce, Manny, gang shenanigans, fan beatings, IRS investigations, and endless seasons of The Great NL West Race to .500. We’re stunned. STUNNED!!!

Perhaps the most ridiculous statement to come out of City Hall yet belongs to Wendy Greuel:

As a lifelong Angeleno and a Dodgers fan, I would hope there would be stability so the Dodgers can focus on winning the World Series.

Follow the game much, Wendy?

In observance of the 30th anniversary of NASA’s shuttle program, the announcement has finally been made. Space Shuttle Endeavour will spend her retirement in Southern California, on display in the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Are we worthy of such a gift?

Endeavour, also known as OV-105, will launch into space on April 29th for its final mission. STS-134 will deliver the  Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. This, in addition to STS-135 is considered to be a bonus flight, as the shuttle program was scheduled to be retired from service after STS-133.

Godspeed, Endeavour. We’ll see you soon.

CicLAvia Shot From srd515's Flickr Stream

I’ve added CicLAvia to my list of Favorite Things To Do in L.A. If you missed the first two, I suggest you get your bike/skates/shoes ready for the next one on 7/10/11.

Here are 8 Ways CicLAvia can be even better:

1. Longer hours. Make it an all day party. Something like 8-6, or later. Imagine enjoying a Southern California sunset with 150,000 of your closest friends.

2. Extend the route. Let’s get this thing into the heart of Hollywood, take it over Cahuenga, and into the Valley. Close off Ventura Boulevard. Shop owners might be surprised how much walk-up business they would get.

3. More destinations. Set up entertainment stages along the route. Schedule local bands and performance groups. Establish a food truck zone. Farmer’s Market. Arts & crafts vendors.

4. Better traffic mitigation. LAPD needs to learn that you cannot throw up your hand and shout for 100 cyclists to stop on a dime. Maybe smile a little. People on bikes are not necessarily criminals.

5. Eliminate some of the current street crossings, like Grand, Olive, and Broadway. If you’re Downtown, you should be on foot anyway. Close Broadway to traffic and include it as part of CicLAvia. Get Bringing Back Broadway involved. What better way to raise awareness of that initiative?

6. Encourage local restaurants to be open along the route. More curbside tables and booths along the way. Set up sidewalk dining.

7. Pave the route. Pave the route. Pave the entire route, right now.

8. Make this happen every Sunday. Permanently.

Dodger Stadium From Praveen31's Flickr Stream

In a swift response to the March 31st beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium, LAPD chief Charlie Beck has announced that a zero-tolerance policy will go into effect immediately. Starting with the next game. For reals this time.

In the short term, there will be more police officers – paid for by the Dodgers. In the long-term, they plan to “look at technology, observation posts, lighting, environmental studies and increased community outreach.”

Microchips? Armed guards on a wall? I particularly enjoy the “environmental studies.” Can you imagine: After further review, Chavez Ravine is not an appropriate location for a sports venue. Sorry about evicting all the people that lived there.

The entire announcement is best summed up in the ESPN comment thread by Stark10547:

Chicago is known for its L – a heavy rail transit line that is elevated through its downtown core. But, did you know that Los Angeles almost had it’s own L?

It would have been on Wilshire, the transit corridor currently known for its underground Subway To The Wiltern. It would have been part of the Red Line, from Union Station to the Miracle Miracle, up through West Hollywood, back to Hollywood, and on to NoHo.

The plans were drawn up in 1983. Twenty-eight years ago.

Metro has put up the renderings and maps for what could have been.

It was where men celebrated the end of a hard day’s work. Or, the beginning.

It was the New York Saloon at Third and Spring. The year was 1881.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

A brand new NFL stadium right next to L.A. Live. Los Angeles hosting the Super Bowl in 2016. The World Cup in 2022. Bigger conventions. More jobs.

AEG’s Tim Leiweke is talking about it. Exciting, no?

Already, there are fears of gridlock, declining property values, and general mayhem from some of the self-proclaimed pioneer loft-dwellers. Here are but a few comments from Curbed:

I think it would bring gridlock for days—–and make the area less pedestrian friendly.

Its not like we have a lot of available open space around here. i’m not opposed to commercial, but a stadium seems to big. nothing green around there.

I love living downtown but bringing in the sporting low life that comes with 10′s of thousands of football fans can destroy downtown.

My favorite complaint that I hear whenever something new is being developed Downtown, is about someone “losing the view” from their building. Because everyone moves to the heart of a city for sunshine and rolling meadows. Peace and quiet. Solitude.

I’m curious to know what you think. Is this a good idea? If you live Downtown, are you are for or against an NFL stadium/event center being built next to L.A. Live?

Nothing says Halloween like a traditional game of bobbing for apples at the old Cock ‘n’ Bull Tavern on Sunset. Go get ‘em, Diane.

The year was 1949.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

Crowds of patriotic Angelenos gather to buy war bonds, watch the beauty pageant, and see a B-25 bomber up close.

It was Pershing Square in Los Angeles. The year was 1942.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

Their motto was “Daily at Your Door,” and daily they came. Covering hundreds of miles every week, the Helms Bakery coach was always stocked with donuts, cookies, pastries and candies, and freshly-baked bread. And you thought food trucks were new.

The year was 1936.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

The Con is staying put in San Diego for the next 5 years.

Both Los Angeles and Anaheim had hoped to lure the convention North with cheaper hotel rates and greater exhibition space. It was not to be. At least not right now.

This comes as good news if you treat the annual event as a weekend getaway nerdcation. It is bad news if you were hoping to shorten the amount of time you had to wear your Iron Man costume in the car.

Hey, cosplay takes commitment, son.

Some good news coming from Blogdowntown, as they report that “Downtown’s Poet-Broker” Ed Rosenthal has been found alive. He had been missing for nearly a week while hiking in Joshua Tree National Park.

He is reportedly in critical condition, suffering from exposure and injuries.

The Bringing Back Broadway initiative has announced plans to celebrate the 100-year anniversaries of the three oldest remaining theatres in the Historic Theatre District of Downtown Los Angeles. 100-year-old buildings. IN LOS ANGELES.

The Broadway Centennial Summer is envisioned as a month-long festival of films, art, theatre and tours to honor the oldest surviving theatre district in Los Angeles, and one of the largest intact historic theatre districts in the entire United States.  The two oldest theatres on Broadway, the Arcade Theatre (originally the Pantages) and its next door neighbor, the Cameo Theatre, turn 100 years old this fall, having opened on Sept. 26, 1910 and Oct. 10, 1910, respectively. To coincide with the 100^th anniversary of the theatres opening, property owners of the Arcade and Cameo Theatres say they are planning façade improvements to bring back the original historic character of the theatres. The Palace Theatre opened on June 26, 1911.

Activities will include the 25^th Annual Los Angeles Conservancy Last Remaining Seats screenings in Broadway theatres, special screenings of early films, tours and discussions, historical retrospectives and other arts and cultural activities.

While it remains to be seen exactly what “façade improvements” are in the works for the theaters, I thought you might like to see what the Cameo Theatre originally looked like, when it opened as Clune’s Broadway Theatre in 1910. Wouldn’t you love to see that sign restored?

A city celebrating it’s history. Don’t look now. But, maybe we’re finally growing a conscience.

Photo from Jose Huizar’s flickr stream

The official statement:

The Downtown Art Walk, a downtown Los Angeles institution since 2004, has grown to become the largest regularly occurring event in the center city. In its 6 years of operation it has achieved every one of its slated objectives; re-energizing Downtown Los Angeles, establishing a downtown art gallery district, and acting as a significant economic development tool for a multitude of other neighborhood serving businesses.In recent years the Downtown Art Walk has grown so large that it has become too costly to manage in its current form. Effective immediately the Downtown Art Walk will go on hiatus, ceasing all event operations until January 2011, at which time it will be reborn as a quarterly, weekend, daytime, gallery-focused event which will appeal to both patrons of the arts as well as the general public.

Doesn’t sound good to me.