LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS Volume 40, Number 48
INSIDE
November 28, 2011
Auto Focus 14
2
A new dance company, a bigger BID, and other happenings Around Town.
5
The readers speak out on a plan to move the Dodgers to a South Park stadium.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
Green Means Go photo by Gary Leonard
Spring Street Gets a New Bike Lane. See story p. 13 A love letter to the Central Library.
6
How to make it through the NBA lockout.
7
The passing of Father Dollar Bill.
8
A farmers market struggles to survive.
17
They Wish for a Merry Shopping Season 18
Downtown Store Owners Hope More Locals Will Avoid the Malls by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer
20 CALENDAR LISTINGS 24 MAP 25 CLASSIFIEDS
L
ove it or loathe it, the holiday shopping season is here. But area retailers want those who cringe at the promise of traffic jams and chipmunks chirping “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to know that a round of gift-buying for family, friends and co-workers doesn’t have to involve a car or a mall. For Downtown dwellers, December has long meant a trip to an established retail destination such as the Santa Monica Promenade or Old Town Pasadena. Those commercial clusters make for one-and-done excursions, see Shopping, page 12
photo by Gary Leonard
Take a bite of the Big Easy.
Caryn Hofberg, the owner of the Sixth Street vintage clothing and accessories shop Flea, is one of the Downtown business owners hoping to lure local gift buyers.