Redirected: How L.A. Works

Flight Club

By Katharine Gammon — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:27:00 GMT

Though they’re nicknamed “ghetto birds,” LAPD helicopters cover a massive area—468 square miles of L.A.—which may explain why you can almost always spot one somewhere overhead. Cop choppers are used in roughly two-thirds of pursuits, with at least two on patrol 18,000 hours a year. Here’s an overview.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Movement
The chopper makes left-hand circles above crime scenes (hovering low can be hazardous). It usually tracks a ten-block area in case a suspect flees.

Engine
It costs $800 to $900 per hour to fly the helicopters because of the rigorous maintenance schedule; new ones cost less to operate. By 2012, many in the fleet were nearing the end of their ten-year flying service, and the Air Support Division hopes to replace them in the next few years.

Doors
Built like car doors, these have fewer problems than standard sliding-rail models and have a bigger window on the pilot side for visibility. Doors are removed when deploying SWAT snipers, and all choppers have bulletproof floors.

Seats
There are four seats. The front two are for the pilot and the tactical officer, who controls the intel-gathering cameras and communications equipment.

Rotor
Three blades measure 35 feet in diameter and turn 390 revolutions per minute, with a top speed of 150 mph and an average speed of 70 mph. A chopper can climb as high as 20,000 feet and hover as low as 400—about the height of a 30-story building.

Body
The airborne unit started in 1956 with one Hiller 12J helicopter and four pilots monitoring traffic from the sky. There are now 17 helicopters and 48 pilots. The current model is the Eurocopter AS350 B2, which when fully equipped costs $3 million. The LAPD spends roughly $250,000 annually to maintain each chopper; a total of $5 million was spent last year.

Fuel
The 143-gallon tank uses jet aviation (Jet A) fuel. Each helicopter can fly for about three hours before refueling.

Sound
The decibel range depends on the height and speed of the aircraft. Inside the cabin the noise is between 73 and 77 decibels (about the same level as a vacuum cleaner).

Tools
Onboard are GPS systems, high-definition surveillance cameras, and infrared imaging cameras with a data link that enables authorities on the ground to see the aerial view instantly. A Nightsun searchlight can illuminate an area with the power of 50 million candles, reaching suspects a mile away.

Game Changer

By Katharine Gammon — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:17:00 GMT

Staples Center is a feat of engineering: No other arena has two NBA teams and an NHL team sharing the same floor space. Since opening in 1999, the $400 million facility has hosted more than 4 million guests per year for 250 different kinds of events, from boxing matches to Beyoncé—sometimes in a single weekend. Here’s the full-court press.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Flooring

The Staples floor is 18,800 square feet and has eight levels. The base is cement and covered with ice from October through April. When changing from a hockey match to a basketball game or concert, the pit crew lays 520 sheets of polyurethane-coated plywood over the ice, which insulates against the cold and condensation. The rest of the levels come together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Baskets

To go from a Clippers to a Lakers game requires more than switching logos. A new set of 2,000-pound baskets is wheeled in, part of a process that takes less than an hour.

Forklifts

The most important pieces of equipment are the forklifts. They move everything from the lower-level seat sections to the hardwood boards that form the basketball court.

Lighting

There are 160 metal halide bulbs, custom designed for each event. No two basketball games are alike: The Clippers use the traditional house lights, while the Lakers’ luminescence re-creates the effect at the Forum, their former home.

Stage

The stage for most concerts is 120 feet wide, 60 feet deep, and 6 feet high. Prepping for the Grammys is the most difficult because of the number of performers and the quick turnarounds.

Seating

There are upper and lower bowls, with 160 luxury suites in between. General admission for Lakers games is $170—the steepest in basketball. Lady Gaga tickets top that, at $440.

Ice Hockey Rink

Seven miles of steel pipe are embedded beneath the base, along with a pump filled with glycol, a liquid coolant that keeps the ice frozen and puck ready.

Star Power

By Nancy Miller — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 16:24:00 GMT

Graphic by Bryan Christie

In 1923, developers hoping to attract home buyers to their rustic hilltop attached wood-and-tin letters to a bunch of telephone poles and erected the city’s most famous billboard: HOLLYWOODLAND. Built to last one year, the nearly nine-decade-old landmark has gone from flashy (and flashing) ad to dilapidated relic to global symbol.

The Caretakers
The City of Los Angeles owns the land, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce owns the sign, and a nonprofit called the Hollywood Sign Trust supervises maintenance, working with an annual budget of $150,000. The letters are copyrighted.

The History
There have been two incarnations of the sign. The original, which was sold to the city in 1949 (and changed to HOLLYWOOD), fell into disrepair. In 1978, Hugh Hefner raised funds and had it rebuilt from scratch, at $27,000 a letter.

The Letters
Each standing 45 feet tall, the letters are made of corrugated metal and were assembled on site, affixed to girders, and staggered along the hill to duplicate the positions of the originals. Their washboard texture protects them from heavy rains and strong winds.

The View
From the sign you can see nearly all of L.A. and as far away as Catalina. There’s no official viewing spot for the sign itself, but two good vantage points are Griffith Observatory and the dog park on Lake Canyon Drive.

The Girders
The letters are anchored by steel girders that extend 13 feet underground and are bolted to concrete. At 225 tons, the structure is sturdy: No major repairs have been required in 34 years.

The Security System
The Hollywood Sign Trust has spent several hundred thousand dollars on security in the last five years. The first system was a $15,000 fence installed in the ’80s that has expanded to include cameras (some are attached to the letters) with night vision and infrared displays. The cameras are monitored 24 hours a day.

The Paint
Other than regular touch-ups, there have been only three complete paint jobs: in 1978, with oil-based paint; in 1995, with Dutch Boy latex; and in 2005, with elastomeric coating. There are plans to strip and repaint in the next 18 months.

The Land
The sign is located 1,700 feet above sea level in Griffith Park, near the top of Mount Lee (named after car dealer and radio station owner Don Lee). The road to the sign is accessible only by foot, and while there are many trails, hiking to the letters is illegal.

Video courtesy of Hollywood Sign Trust/Music by Quantum Jazz

ALSO:
Nancy Miller on getting up-close-and-personal with the L.A. icon
See what the Hollywood Sign looks like from inside its security gate

Oil of L.A.

By Katharine Gammon — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:50:00 GMT

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Oil rigs are a curious feature of this city—they seem more Texas than SoCal. But local drilling dates to 1892, when Edward Doheny (who inspired There Will Be Blood) noticed some black goo downtown and snapped up 1,000 acres. By 1925, California was supplying nearly a quarter of the world’s oil. These days roughly 40 pumping fields are in operation in our part of the state, extracting 28 million barrels of crude per year. Here, a guide to L.A.’s slick side.

1. The Well
Oil wells in urban L.A. run horizontally underground, curving outward like tentacles from the well head sites. The wells are typically one to two miles long, making it possible for companies to tap the massive amount of crude under the city from just a few dozen locations. As the “donkey” bobs, the bridle and polished rod keep fluid from seeping out.

2. The Water
To increase the amount of oil accumulated from drilling, pressurized saltwater is squirted into the reservoir from a separate water well. The water sweeps the remaining oil to the producing wells. It’s then recycled back into the injection wells.

3. The Processing
After crude oil is pumped to the surface, it travels through an underground pipeline to a central facility that separates the oil from the saltwater. The vast majority of what oil companies remove from the ground is saltwater; a small percentage is crude oil.

4. The Pump
Pump jacks move up and down, forcing an oil-and-water mixture out of the ground. Depending on the size of the pump, between a gallon and ten gallons of liquid are pushed up with each stroke. Most pump jacks use a kind of engine called a “prime mover.” Rigs tend to rely on electric motors to drive the gear box, which turns a lever that runs the pump.

5. The Result
Regional oil makes up only 4 percent of the 653 million barrels of oil consumed in California every year. Though it could be used for gas, most goes into making asphalt roads and shingles because the consistency is thick and goopy. It’s cheaper to guzzle from the Alaska pipeline, which supplies much of our state with fuel.

Liquid Gold

By Mike Carlson — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:56:00 GMT

Graphic by Bryan Christie

“There it is. Take it.” So said famed engineer and LADWP director William Mulholland when fresh water spewed down the Los Angeles Aqueduct cascades the first time on November 5, 1913. Propelled solely by gravity along its 233-mile journey from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Newhall Pass, the water nourished a fledgling city and nudged it to grow. The aqueduct cost $22 million, took five years to complete, and was awash in corruption, but on that opening day the town was baptized.

1. The 1913 Penstock
Nearly every inch of the original 1913 steel pipe is still in use. Pipe was purchased by the ton in the early 1900s. The aqueduct’s diameter tapers and expands throughout, a visual record of Mulholland’s effort to stay on budget. The 1913 penstock measures up to 99 inches across. In other areas the pipe is so wide, you can drive a car through it.

2. The 1913 Cascades
The original cascades are approximately 35 feet wide and 450 feet long. About 60 miles of the aqueduct is made up of open channels, which were cheaper to build than laying steel pipe.

3. The Control Structure
This hollow cylinder regulates the flow of water to the power plant below. The 208 megawatts generated by the aqueduct account for 2.5 percent of the electricity used in Los Angeles. In 1913, it was responsible for 100 percent of the city’s power.

4. The 1970 Cascades
A familiar sight to drivers on the 5 freeway, this feature is 15 feet wide and 1,600 feet long. It was completed in 1970 as part of a second aqueduct, which begins at the Haiwee Reservoir, 60 miles south of the first aqueduct.

5. The Blocks
The inner surfaces of both cascades are lined with small cement blocks that dissipate the energy of the water. If the liquid moves too fast, its erosive effect increases, putting the structure at risk. Slowing it down also makes it less likely to splash out of the channel.

6. The Water
The speed of the water in the aqueduct varies between 1 and 2.5 miles per hour. It takes between five days and three months for the water to reach the cascades after it leaves the Owens River.

Magic Bus

By Mike Carlson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Introduced in 2000, the Metro Rapid has brought panache to mass transit. Its red-and-silver color scheme and the calling card contour of its sun-shaded stops announce that this isn’t just a bus; it’s a brand. Stopping every three-quarters of a mile on major corridors (compared with every quarter mile for local buses), the Rapid is a favorite of commuters who prefer their buses to be like cars: driven with purpose.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

The Seats
Each 60-foot bus can hold 75 passengers—57 seated and 18 standing. The Rapid system shuttles about 205,000 passengers a day, almost 42,000 of whom travel on the Wilshire Boulevard line, one of the busiest bus routes in the country.

The Entrance
Almost all of the 433 Rapid buses have low floors, so passengers don’t have to climb steps on entering. This expedites boarding and the deployment of the wheelchair-access ramp, allowing for quicker stops.

The Sign
Most Rapid bus routes are overlays; they run on the same lines as local buses. Each Rapid is designated with the number 7 and then the number of the local bus on that route. Thus, the local that travels along Wilshire is the 20, and the Rapid is the 720.

The Engine
Housed in the rear is a Cummins Westport engine that puts out up to 320 horsepower and a top speed of 65 mph. A layer of insulation in the floor, which is unique to the larger model, gives passengers a quieter ride than the 40- and 45-foot Rapid buses.

The Fuel
The Rapid fleet runs on compressed natural gas, a relatively clean-burning fossil fuel that costs less than $1 a gallon. This bus holds the equivalent of 220 gallons of gasoline and gets about two miles per gallon.

The Articulation
The trademark feature of the 60-foot Rapid is its massive hydraulic-powered hinge. Encased in specially coated vinyl over a cast-iron frame, it features a potentiometer that senses what the driver is doing. The joint locks at 54 degrees, making it impossible for the bus to jackknife.

The Red-Light Transponder
Bolted under the front bumper is a small electronic unit about the size of a hockey puck. It instructs detectors embedded in the roadway to hold a green light a little longer or change a red light a few seconds earlier.

Cell Mates

By Mike Carlson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:31:00 GMT

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Few of us ever plan on visiting Bauchet Street, but the short tree-lined avenue is home to a novel piece of architecture: the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Set on ten downtown acres amid a sloppy triangle formed by the 5, 101, and 110 freeways, the 1.5-million-square-foot jail opened in 1997. During construction, guards were posted to keep scavengers from breaking in. Now roughly 2,900 inmates are pining to get out.

1. The 8th Floor
Unlike state prisons, county jails are run by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, with deputies serving as guards. All told, about 120 sheriffs are on duty at one time. The top of Tower 1 is the executive floor, where the unit commanders and chiefs have their offices.

2. The 7th Floor
Convicts in L.A. with mental health needs are sent to the Twin Towers, where about 39 percent of the inmates, including the few women housed here, suffer from mental disorders. The most extreme cases are held on this floor.

3. Inmate Reception Center
Arrestees spend their first 10 to 24 hours at the IRC. The average sentence used to be about 40 days, but with a new policy that sends nonviolent criminals to county jails instead of state prisons, some inmates face stretches of up to ten years.

4. Tower 2
This tower is one story shorter than its twin. Due to budget cuts that eliminated 300 sheriff positions, Tower 2 has closed several floors and now contains about 670 inmates compared with approximately 2,230 in Tower 1.

5. The Core
Every detention floor in the towers features a transparent control booth at its center surrounded by six pods—dormitory-like housing units that each hold 60 to 70 inmates. This design allows the deputy manning the booth to observe three pods at a time.

6. The Basement
Beneath Tower 1 is the kitchen, where a mix of civilian and inmate employees prepare more than 9,000 meals a day for the inmates and 750 for the staff.

7. Bauchet Street
When their sentence is completed, convicts are released onto Bauchet Street, where there is a bank of pay phones they can use to arrange transportation.

8. The Windows
The tall, narrow openings on the exterior of the jail are designed to maximize sunlight without allowing a person to exit or a significant amount of contraband to enter.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Blimp My Ride

By Mike Carlson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Gentle and slow moving, the Goodyear blimp is like the manatee of the sky. The airship first floated above L.A. in January 1920. It tied down in Carson in 1968, slowing traffic on the 405 ever since. The current blimp, dubbed Spirit of America, has a laid-back cruising speed of 35 miles per hour, the same as L.A.’s original. Come take a trip

The Fins and Rudders
Hydraulics are prohibitively heavy, so instead cables attach the fins to a manual wheel, while the rudders are connected to pedals. Since operating the blimp is rigorous, two pilots spell each other on longer trips.

The Sign
Blimps were used along the West Coast during World War II to search for Japanese submarines, but today they’re almost solely marketing vehicles. LEDs on the side of the blimp—82,656, to be exact—allow it to show text, images, and video that can be seen miles away.

The Envelope
Classified as a “nonrigid airship,” Spirit of America has no internal skeleton or external framework. Air pressure—in the form of 184,000 cubic feet of helium, which replaced hydrogen in 1937—inflates the “envelope,” the 2,400 square yards of neoprene-coated polyester fabric that make up the body.

The Battens
Sixteen contoured aluminum tubes, or battens, originate from the nose cone and travel toward the rear of the craft. They help maintain structural rigidity when tethered in high winds, and they keep the nose cone from being pushed in during flight.

The Gondola
Less than 23 feet long, the gondola has only seven seats. To nab a ticket, try bidding on any of the roughly 100 pairs that are donated annually to local charities for auction, or patronize (and then beg) your local Goodyear dealer.

The Size
Spirit of America is 192 feet long, 55 feet wide, and nearly 60 feet high. Among inflatable airships the models now in Goodyear’s fleet are like Smart cars. To wit, the Hindenburg—technically a zeppelin because of its rigid body—was 804 feet long and 135 feet wide.

The Ground Crew
A full-time crew of 16 mechanics, riggers, and handlers babies the Spirit of America. If the blimp travels more than 50 miles from home, it is shadowed by an 18-wheel Kenworth tractor-trailer, a 22-person bus, and a passenger van.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

Palm Reading

By Matthew Segal — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:55:00 GMT

Long and lean, the palm tree has stood tall as L.A.’s arboreal mascot for more than a century. In the late 1800s, the trees were planted by developers eager to give the area the look of a tropical paradise. (An oasis may have been more apt.) Of the 72,000 or so palms in the City of Los Angeles, the Mexican fan palm overshadows all others in height and sheer number. Not that its ubiquity has made the tree any less mysterious. Why, for instance, don’t they blow over the way oaks and sycamores do? And just how tall are they? Here, a chance to meet and greet the Seussian figure officially known as Washingtonia robusta.

Graphic by Bryan Christie

1. The Bend
Nobody has a definitive explanation for what causes that distinctive curve you see in so many trunks. Some speculate that the trees grow that way, bending into the wind, for balance.

2. The Roots
There’s a reason the trees resist the Santa Anas: No thicker than a pinkie, each root attaches directly to the trunk, like hair to a scalp. (Other trees feature a primary root from which others branch off.) Mexican fan roots may spread about eight feet in all directions, going only a few feet in depth and around obstacles—curbs, gutters, foundations—that compromise other trees’ roots. An established Mexican fan palm can survive on rainfall alone.

3. The Trunk
Mexican fan palms sway but rarely break, thanks to nutrient-carrying ducts known as vascular bundles. As thin as the lead of a No. 2 pencil and sheathed in sturdy fibers, they travel up and down the trunk. The effect, as UC Davis palm expert Donald Hodel says, is like rebar in reinforced concrete.

4. The Base
During winds, most of the stress is on the lower portion of the trunk, which isn’t just the oldest part of the tree but also the strongest; cells and tissues grow tougher as they mature.

5. The Size
Mexican fan palms live 100 to 125 years in urban areas. They grow fastest when young but take 80 to 90 years to reach full height—100 feet or more. The tallest tend to have the smallest crowns—about 8 feet in diameter. The crowns of younger, shorter trees are 10 to 15 feet wide. The top of the trunk may be just inches across.

6. The Fronds
In the past the city spent more than $385,000 a year cleaning up fallen fronds. Since 2008, city hall has received 54 claims of property damage caused by them. Next year the city will be scaling back palm care to less than $50,000 due to budget cuts.