4RentinLosAngeles.com

Thursday, June 02, 2005

The California Science Center, now the "California ScienCenter," is a science museum with fun gadgets for kinesthetic kids. Right now, however, the Science Center has an amazing exhibit for adults. More than 200 cadavers have been plastinated for the viewing public in Gunther von Hagens' Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies.
I used to do histology when I was still in research. A tissue sample goes into liquid plastic, which hardens. The plastic cube goes into the microtome to be cut into thin slices. An adhesive and cover slip goes on top of the tissue sample on the slide, and voilà, you have a microscope slide. What's different about the Body Worlds exhibit is the WHOLE BODY is plastinated. They’ve sliced the bodies into cross sections and longitudinal sections. Various organs are on display as well as whole bodies. A skinned man holds up his hide in one hand, displayed in all his muscular glory.

One controversial exhibit that troubled many viewers was a pregnant woman. The woman died of cancer and willed her body and fetus for the exhibit. Her fetus was 8 months old. Since these bodies were donated in Europe, the laws are different from US laws. I was awed, but realized other countries have different laws when it comes to protecting the lives of unborn children. I do not feel that the US should impose their laws on them, so I was not bothered. After all, I have dissected fetal animals.

We bought the combo pack—exhibit and The Human Body IMAX film. The next IMAX showing was 11:30am. It was 10:30am. Policy is IMAX first. There are no ins-and-outs, so if you choose to see the exhibit first, you must see the movie 3 hours later. The soonest we were allowed to watch the IMAX was 3:30pm if we saw the exhibit first. After getting into the exhibit at 10:45am, we finished the exhibit around 1pm. We walked around the rest of the Science Center but became bored. There is McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and a museum café in the food court. The museum café has better food, but we’d already ordered Taco Bell, and the café was more expensive. We killed time in the Rose Garden at Exposition Park. At 3pm we went to the IMAX theater. The movie was only 45 minutes. Skip the IMAX and just do the exhibit. Educators can go for free by filling out an online form. You receive a free voucher to print as your admission ticket. You can also order free classroom materials.

The Body Worlds exhibit is running from July 2, 2004 to January 23, 2005. Hours are 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily. (Last admission is at 8 p.m.) Call (323) SCIENCE, (323) 724-3623 to check on admission times, especially if you want to buy a combo ticket. They stagger the admission so that there isn't a huge crowd at the same time. Go on a weekday. It will be crowded on the weekends.

# posted by LA Jack : 9:24 AM 7 comments

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

# posted by LA Jack : 9:32 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 09, 2005

New "Overlay" for telephone code in Beverlyhills

Will it Still Be Area Code 310?
By: Courier Staff Writer
Public Utilities Commission held public hearings this week to gauge reaction to a proposal for a new “overlay” telephone code in the Beverly Hills area, including the Westside and South Bay areas now using the 310 area code. Growing telephone use, especially cell phones, means the 310 area code is rapidly running out of available numbers. The PUC will have to decide what to do before the numbers run out. An overlay would add a new code in the existing 310 area meaning customers with 310 numbers would keep those numbers, but many new customers in the same region would have a different area code. In the US, about 40 areas have overlays, but so far none are in California. An alternative would be to split the area geographically, with one part continuing to use 310 and the other getting a new area code. In 1997, when the commission broke off Long Beach and southeast Los Angeles County, there was need to create the 562 area code. The commission authorized another split in 2000 when the need arose, with West Los Angeles, Malibu, Santa Monica and most of Inglewood remaining in 310 and 424 area code was created for Santa Catalina, San Pedro, Wilmington, Carson, Lomita, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Harbor City, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Lawndale, Gardena, Compton, the Harbor Gateway, Hawthorne and Lynwood. Opposing the split because of expense, inconvenience and confusion are merchants, government officials, residents and phone-service providers. Wireless telephone companies also oppose overlays, but officials with Verizon Wireless, Verizon, Cingular, Nextel, Sprint and T-Mobile said this week they would support a “triggered” overlay, in which a new area code would not be added onto an existing area code until numbers in the old code ran critically short. It is thought customers in the 310 area code will experience the least impact from the triggered overlay because all current land lines and wireless customers will keep their existing phone numbers. They won’t experience the cost and inconvenience of changing stationery and business cards.

# posted by LA Jack : 5:27 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

A Statistical Guide to Rental Los Angeles

The current number of apartment rental units in the city of Los Angeles: 760,000.

The percentage of occupied apartment units in the city of Los Angeles in 2004: 95.9.

The number of apartment owners currently registered with the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.: 12,000.

In 1995, the average apartment in Los Angeles County cost $865 per month.

The fair market rent — a federal guideline for lower-rent apartments — for a two-bedroom in L.A. County is: $1,021.

Annual income needed to afford this apartment: $40,840.

Hourly wage needed to afford the rent: $19.63.

Number of hours a minimum-wage worker ($6.75 an hour) would have to work a week to afford the rent: 116.

Monthly rent for the average L.A. County apartment increased 47 percent from 1995 to 2002.

Monthly rent for the average one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles increased 23.1 percent from 2000 to 2004.

The city with the highest rental rates in L.A. County: Santa Monica. The average Santa Monica apartment rent, as of December 2004: $2,563.

The city with the lowest rental rates in L.A. County: Palmdale.

The average Palmdale apartment rent, as of December 2004: $830.

The average one-bedroom apartment in the city of L.A., as of December 2004, rents for $1,218.

The annual income needed to afford that rent: $49,000.

The number of buildings erected before 1978 in the city of L.A. — and therefore subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which protects tenants from excessive rent increases while allowing property owners a reasonable return on their investment: 80,000.

Number of units: 589,000.

Under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the annual allowable rent increase in Los Angeles (for a 12-month period ending September 30 of each year): 3 percent.

(This is based on the Consumer Price Index average for the Los Angeles, Anaheim and Long Beach areas.)

The number of citations for code violations — such as no heating, rodents, poor plumbing — in rental housing since the Systematic Housing Code Enforcement Program began in 1998: more than 1.5 million.

The number of apartment units demolished since 2001 to make room for LAUSD schools: 156. Number of homes demolished: 225.

Between 1989 and 2002, the median income of renters decreased by 3.6 percent.

For renters with children: 7.1 percent.

For low-income renters: 10.3 percent.

During the same time period, the income of the median homeowner household increased by 7.4 percent.

The percentage of the city’s renter households who are paying more than 30 percent of their incomes for rent: 43.3 percent.

The number of Angelenos currently receiving federally funded rental assistance, including Section 8: 107,053.

The number of Angelenos on the waiting list for federally funded assistance, including Section 8: 94,164.

The number of households that participate in the city of L.A.’s Section 8 program: 44,000.

The number of federally funded rental assistance contracts canceled in 2003: 7,275.

6,857 of them were Section 8 contracts.

The number of federally funded rental assistance contracts canceled in 2004: 8,509

8,183 of them were Section 8 contracts.

The amount in federal funds that the L.A. City Housing Authority gave to landlords who participated in federally funded assistance, including Section 8, in 2004: $361,179,623.

The number of private landlords in L.A. who participate in federally funded rental assistance programs: 17,000.

The number of privately owned affordable rental housing units in the city of Los Angeles with federal subsidies: 24,500.

The number of households living below the poverty line ($49,000 for a family of four) in the city of L.A.: 147,516 or 22 percent.

Sources: Real Facts, a real estate data service, and city, county and federal records.

# posted by LA Jack : 10:28 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 02, 2005

Found this video today and had to post it

Another reason to live in LA!
http://www.vresorts.com/VRPages/California/LA/SantaMonica/smpierbig.mov

# posted by LA Jack : 8:55 PM 0 comments

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Renting Apartments in LA can be crazy!

Use this web site http://www.4rentinlosangeles.com
First of all "It's free to search rental listings and it's also free to post rentals listings!"
IM from the East coast and it's really funny that people in LA pay bucks to view apartments on the web.
Hey,IM not saying people are stupid in Los Angeles at all.
"Some how it just got set up like that out here"
Also,I can't say this new site is the answer but,it is a start!
Plus,my goal is to add the latest web technology and the coolest recourses for living and partying in LA!
If you can contribute anything,bring it because,it's all a bonus!

# posted by LA Jack : 12:49 AM 0 comments