Zócalo Public Square, the non-profit lecture series that "creates intellectual community across the nation by presenting smart ideas in an open, non-partisan, multi-ethnic space," has upgraded on the web in a big way. The site now refreshes daily with reports on the lectures and a multimedia blog that sifts the web for interesting links. Swati Pandey, a former Los Angeles Times reporter in Opinion and Business, will be working on the blog as online editor. Zócalo, started by Gregory Rodriguez, used to host its lectures mostly in Downtown but is now holding events all over town and beyond Los Angeles. The Getty panel last week on immigration and photographer Carleton Watkins was a Zócalo event.

LA Observed has been a Zócalo sponsor since 2004.