[Restaurant photographs by J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times; above, David Raccuglia]
The New York Times offers us the first look at the new Katsuya opening in Brentwood June 26. Design is by Philippe Starck and Sam Nazarian is behind Katsuya's worldwide expansion (and by worldwide we mean Brentwood and Hollywood, in addition to his Studio City and Encino restaurants, although there are vague rumors of Katsuya going nationwide).
·Slide Show: Currents [NY Times]
It looks like the environment is shaping up to the key political flashpoint in the November elections. Newsweek takes a look at Schwarzenegger's re-branding from Red to Green, as he campaigns across the state in a big, green bus with a mural of Yosemite painted across the side. He's also put the Hummers in storage (at lest until November 8th.) And if you care, Angelides owns three hybrids. Take that, Ahnold.
·The Mean Green Machine[Newsweek]
Archinect and Blogdowntown link to a recent study on the "impact market rate housing development in Downtown Los Angeles was having on the film industry." Fearing increasing conflict from residents who don't appreciate loud electric generators running all night outside their million dollar lofts, the study offers "the city a number of ideas on how to mitigate conflicts between residents and film crews. One of these proposals was to develop a series of infrastructural nodes to provide power and water at key film locations to decrease the need for generators. You can see a short film about the work here and read an article here (PDF)."
·The Future of Filming in Downtown Los Angeles [Archinect.com]
·Downtown's 'Infrastructure Nodes' Deemed Feasible [Blogdowntown]