Abelardo de la Peña Jr., the editor of LatinoLA.com, lived for the longest time in more outlying parts of town like Wilmington, El Sereno and South Pasadena. In October, he and his wife and daughter decided to give Downtown life a try in South Park. He's been blogging about the transition at Downtown Lalo, most recently about helping a visitor who seemed a bit lost.

I asked her if she wanted a ride. My wife looked at me funny, but she understood. No time for a young lady … her name was Marie Helene, she’d come up from South Gate, but was really from France, was trying to get a job as a 3D animator … to be walking through the “historic corridor” at night....

Driving back, my wife and I talked about how strangers seem to gravitate to us for directions, assistance, advice, etc. Must be because we are comparatively small and non-threatening.

He's also written about the Central Library, where his wife works. A good reminder that our friends at the libraries are, as always, likely to take the worst of the city's budget-cutting pain.

More Downtown blogs: Blogdowntown and View From a Loft keep extensive blogrolls.