1,000 residents evacuated from Sierra Madre fire area

The wildfire that broke out Saturday off Santa Anita Canyon Road near the Chantry Flat area in the San Gabriels has burned more than 400 acres and is about 20% contained, but is expected to burn for days in steep terrain. Winds pushed the flames near homes this morning, but no structures have been damaged. Sierra Madre schools are closed today. LAT, Star-News, CBS2, NBC4, Foothill Cities blog

Santa Barbara Plaza redevelopment a bust

The Times investigates how the city gave millions to a politically connected developer who promised to fix the old shopping Crenshaw area shopping center, now "a collection of dead or dying businesses surrounding a vast parking lot with weeds pushing through large cracks." LAT

Yeah, Villaraigosa plans to hang around this May 1

No out-of-town trips for Mayor Villaraigosa this time. When the marchers arrive at City Hall, he'll be inside. Orlov/DN

L.A. Live residences won't be for the riff-raff

Prices in the the Ritz-Carlton Residences that will take the upper 27 floors at the hotel to be built across from Staples Center will start at $1.4 million and rise to $9 million for each of the 12 penthouses. Downtown News

Budget tricks in City Hall

The mayor's plan to delay payments to the employee pension fund could cost the city far more than the $81 million short-term benefit that Villaraigosa hopes for. LAT
Related: Mayor should be careful selling naming rights to city facilities. LABJ

Don't hold your breath for wi-fi

Plans for service on the Orange Line across the Valley were quietly dropped after no providers liked the numbers. DN

Debating traffic and growth

Bart Reed of the Transit Coalition and USC Professor Peter Gordon engage in dialogue all week on the Times' Opinion website, billed to start today.

Save the snark about Grand Avenue

USC professor Martin Kaplan argues, "Sure, the just-revealed plans for the Grand Avenue civic park, which will run downhill from the Music Center to Spring Street, come nowhere near to living up to the hype that accompanied the park's announcement three years ago -- "a world-class destination," "the new 'Central Park' of Los Angeles," "the most dramatic public space in all of Los Angeles." But if it gets built, the view from the Music Center plaza to City Hall will be much better than what's there now, and the city will get a new stage for civic engagement, which may turn out to be more important." Sunday Opinion

South L.A. garden lives on, sort of

Some members of the former South Central Community Garden — remember that news flurry from 2006? — are growing now in Buttonwillow, west of Bakersfield. LAT

Auto Club's archivists in the spotlight

Morgan Yates and Matthew Roth are featured in the Downtown News.