Now, Bitch About All the Tourists

Historically, Los Angeles has suffered a terrible reputation as a convention spot, losing out to cities like Anaheim, for instance, because of a lack of hotel rooms, nightlife and entertainment near the downtown convention center. But the boom in downtown construction is drawing more crowds, and despite those worries about tourism, projects like Nokia Theater "have helped the city's convention bureau book a record 53 future conventions during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That's a 29% jump over 2007. Hotel room reservations are up 22%." [LA Times]