Lies, Damn Lies, and Playa Vista

New Times LA takes an irreverent look at Playa Vista and the Los Angeles City Council.

1 minute read

July 6, 2000, 9:30 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


Rick Barrs (AKA "The Finger") takes an irrevernt, albeit insider's, look at Playa Vista and all of the major players. "L.A. City Council supporters of the minicity plan, which includes 13,000 condos and houses and five million square feet of office towers, suddenly pulled back in a Belmont-esque moment that had to be sweet for the Sierra Club, CALPIRG, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Wetlands Action Network -- which are fighting to save the entire Ballona Valley as open space. "

Thanks to Chris Steins

Friday, July 7, 2000 in New Times-LA

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

A rendering of a mall turned living space. People walk around a green space surrounded by apartments.

Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future

Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.

October 29, 2026 - Ben Schneider

An Amtrak train pulls into a station in chicago.

Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review

Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.

45 minutes ago - Block Club Chicago

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

Members of the Smoketown CLT gather for a photo

One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing

The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.

November 9 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.