Ten Things Los Angeles Lost in 2009

It was another rough year for farewells in Los Angeles, where frequently there's truth to that old cliche that nothing here is ever permanent.

A few things we lost in 2009:


(Pic by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.)
1. Much of the Angeles National Forest, sadly, to the massive Station Fire. The fire burned 160577 acres (251 square miles) and killed two firefighters. Ash from the mountains continues to rain down on Angelenos, and it will be decades before the forest starts to recover.


2. Indie 103.1 (KDLD/KDLE) and 97.1 FM Talk (KLSX) both disappeared in 2009, the victim of a weak radio economy and the rise of personal people meters -- Arbitron's new way of measuring radio listenership. Indie was never a big ratings grabber, while KLSX's replacement, KAMP "Amp Radio," has turned into a strong performer for owner CBS Radio.


(Pic by Gary Leonard.)
3. Richard Ankrom's guerilla 110 Freeway sign art installation disappeared after Caltrans replaced its signs on the 110 North. Ankrom attempted to find the signs he made and secretly installed -- but discovered that they'd already been crushed for scrap metal.


4. KNBC's Paul Moyer (above, when he decided to give his on-air farewell from the golf course, rather than show up to say goodbye in the Channel 4 studios) retired due to budget cuts, while former KTTV anchor John Beard, fed up with L.A. news operations, headed to his old stomping grounds in Buffalo, N.Y. Also, Rick Dees gave up his attempt at an L.A. radio comeback, as "Movin' 93.9" flipped to a Spanish format.


5. Former Police Chief William Bratton made major strides in decreasing crime and turning the Los Angeles Police Department around. And although the chief would be the first to tell you that (modesty isn't his strong suit), much of that conventional wisdom is true -- crime is down in the city of Los Angeles, while the LAPD's image has been greatly improved. Bratton stepped down in late fall, replaced by Charlie Beck.


6. A preservation group managed to "Save the Derby" -- at least, the Los Feliz building (the last surviving one-time Brown Derby restaurant) where the Derby nightclub was housed. But The Derby itself -- the club known best for its cameo in the movie "Swingers" and as ground zero for the 1990s swing dance revival --shut down in early 2009. Other clubs closing in 2009 included the Knitting Factory and the Key Club.


7. Chili My Soul, the Encino eatery known for its adventurous chili selections (my fave was the Habanero/Mango Chicken), shut down in late summer after the death of owner Randy Hoffman. Other eateries closing in 2009 included Fritelli's Doughnuts and Twin Palms; also shut down were popular book store Cook's Library, as well as Little Tokyo grocer Mitsuwa Marketplace.


8. The first big event I ever took Evan to, the Echo Park Lotus Festival, didn't take place this year -- a victim of budget cuts, and even sadder, the death of the once-vibrant lotus blooms in Echo Park. Also nowhere to be found this year: Another favorite event, Little Tokyo's Tofu Festival.


9. A year after the Lou Ehlers Cadillac showroom was torn down, a similar fate was in the cards just down Wilshire for the mid-century Columbia Savings Bank building. Demolition has already begun on the 1965 Miracle Mile building, which the L.A. Conservancy notes is "an important example of postwar bank design as well as the innovative integration of art and architecture." The building had most recently served as a Korean church.


10. Army Archerd passed away in September at the age of 87. Army spent more than 50 years at Variety (where I saw him on a nearly daily basis for 10 years), spanning several generations of Hollywood. A lot of us cover Hollywood -- but none of us will ever have the career that Army had at Variety. The stars changed, the pictures changed, the whole industry evolved -- yet there, until nearly the end, was Army, chronicling it all daily in his "Just for Variety" column.

Share your thoughts on L.A.'s great 2009 losses below.

Chief Bratton's Exit Interview

There are some things about Los Angeles that William Bratton is going to miss -- but there's plenty that the outgoing Los Angeles Police Dept. chief (who's heading back to New York) won't.

"This is a city that doesn't work in so many respects," said Bratton, who isn't a fan of how diffused the government is here. "There are all these different entities. In New York, all aspects of the criminal justice system are under the mayor. Here, the jails are under the county." And, he added, the idea of a police commission is "redundant."



Speaking at a breakfast thrown on Wednesday morning by Los Angeles magazine, Bratton reflected on his seven years as LAPD chief, and looked to cement his legacy as a boss who brought big changes to what had long been a beleaguered force. Bratton was interviewed by LA mag editor Mary Melton in front of a group at the Foundry on Melrose restaurant.

Despite his frustration with the city and county bureaucracy, the chief said he still believed "there's so much to celebrate here."

Bratton nonetheless is leaving the post fighting, taking aim at City Council plans to reduce the force. Bratton said he believes Los Angeles needs a police force of 12,500, and has brought the number up to 10,000 in recent years -- a growth now in danger of being halted, he said, as the Council appears "intent on dismantling the gains we've made."

If that's the case, then Bratton said the City Council should refund some of the trash fee hike, which he noted was earmarked specifically for public safety.

Meanwhile, Bratton noted that the murder rate has dropped by 400 since he's been in town. Citing a Rand study that calculated the economic cost of a murder in Los Angeles ($4 million per person), the chief calculated his team's impact on the city as $1.6 billion -- more than his annual $1.2 billion budget.

Bratton also defended his decision to keep 300 officers on counterterrorism duty, and spun the recent perjury charges for three officers as a positive thing, noting that the LAPD would have swept such instances under the rug, rather than thoroughly investigate, in the past.

Recalling the early reaction to his plans to reform the LAPD, Bratton mused that the force "was not open to it, not at all." The LAPD, he said, was still reeling from the impact of former chiefs William Parker and Daryl Gates -- a 30-year "legacy of a department that was very inclusive, very self-centered," and suffering from an image that it was racist, brutal and corrupt.

"The department had no sense of image," he said. "They thought they were doing a great job and doing what the public wanted. And they were not."

Bratton led a purge that got rid of much of the old guard; 40% of the LAPD was hired under his watch. With the much of the remaining force hired in the 1990s, Bratton notes that "most of the Parker/Gates generation is now gone." As a result, he said he was "confident" that the culture change in the force is permanent.



Asked what he'll miss about L.A., Bratton -- whose Los Feliz house was just marked down (and will be shown this weekend as an open house) -- said it wasn't the weather, as he's a guy who enjoys the different seasons. As for his proudest achievement, Bratton said he believed race relations have improved in Los Angeles this decade.

"We've turned a corner," he said. "We're maybe further on than the rest of the country."

Bratton hopes that his replacement comes from within the LAPD ranks. No one's been named yet.

On the LA mag front, Mary noted that publication marks its 50th anniversary next year -- and will mark the occasion with larger public gatherings and a series of lookbacks in the magazine. LA mag is also planning a "Future of L.A." event at LACMA.


(It was a breakfast, after all. Here's what I had.)

Quote of the Day: Police Chief Bratton Outs Lindsay Lohan

KNBC caught up with LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, who explained why he thinks a city ordinance controlling the movement of paparazzi is unnecessary:

"If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving; Paris is out of town not bothering anybody, thank god; and, evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue."

Bratton interrupted his workout -- he was still sweaty on camera -- because, he told the station, an earlier KNBC report with Councilman Dennis Zine (who's pushing the new rules) pissed him off.