LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS
EYE ON HEALTHCARE 11-16
May 23, 2011
Volume 40, Number 21
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A Little Tokyo gym, Downtown Shakespeare, and other happenings Around Town.
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Downtowners weigh in on the cost and route of the $125 million streetcar.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
ON A ROLL
INSIDE
Rick Caruso’s next big speech.
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Vintage cars roll into Downtown.
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Scenes from a bike blessing.
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A street artist takes on MOCA.
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photo by Gary Leonard
Downtown celebrated Bike to Work Week with a group ride on Wednesday, May 18, that started at Union Station and passed various landmarks. For more images of another cycling event that brought out a crowd, see page 9.
Putting Together the Downtown Puzzle
How a hip bar helps the homeless.
Get Ready for Power Grabs and Horse-Trading as the City Takes Up Redistricting
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by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
E Restaurant adds spice to Little Tokyo.
20 23 CALENDAR LISTINGS 25 CLASSIFIEDS rs Cho eade ice R
DO
NEWS
BEST of DOWNTOWN
very 10 years, as population shifts dictate a change in the borders that define City Council districts, a game of political puzzle making begins. Sometimes it’s polite, with well-mannered horse trading. On other occasions it’s fractious, marked by conflict and naked power grabs. Get ready to play again. The redistricting process does not begin in earnest until August, but preliminary census data indicates that the three districts that include parts of Downtown Los Angeles are going to shift. The questions right now are, how much will things change, and who will try to take over
neighboring territory? The First, Ninth and 14th districts all cover portions of Downtown. They are among the 15 oddly shaped municipal pieces that will have to shrink, grow or otherwise mutate in order to achieve the basic goal of redistricting — ensuring that each area has an equal number of inhabitants. The 2010 census put the city’s population at about 3.8 million residents. Apportioning it equally would mean approximately 253,000 people per district. According to an analysis of the early census data by Blogdowntown’s Eric Richardson, who has worked for mapmaking company Cartifact, Councilwoman Jan Perry’s Ninth District, which covers most of Downtown and stretches to South Los Angeles, now counts 261,470 people. Thus, it
will need to shed about 8,500 residents. Conversely, Councilman José Huizar’s 14th District, which includes Broadway, half of Skid Row, Boyle Heights and a swath of Northeast L.A., needs to add approximately 20,000 residents. So does Ed Reyes’ First District, which includes City West and Chinatown, in addition to the Pico Union/MacArhur Park area and Cypress Park. Nobody knows yet where the lines will be redrawn, but essentially, the too-populous Ninth District, which includes the Civic Center, Financial District, part of Skid Row and most of the Historic Core and South Park, is sandwiched between two districts that need to expand. That could mean the 14th District enveloping, say, more of the see Redistricting, page 18
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