The plans for a street-level crossing of the new Metro line near Dorsey High School has been controversial, with some in the community saying the stop on Farmdale Avenue would be unsafe for students. (You can see Annenberg Radio News’s coverage of the issue here.)

Today, however, it was announced that the project will be going forward as planned. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the crossing today, based on a new safety plan that includes speed restrictions of 15 miles per hour and gates.

Construction of the line, which will also run past USC/Exposition Park to downtown, is expected to finish next year.

Read more here at the LA Times.

Video of the decision:

Angelenos seeking to escape the summer heat have the option to head to city-owned buildings including libraries, senior citizen centers, and park facilities.

From a city press release:
The following Recreation and Parks and Senior Centers located in the
San Fernando Valley will be open on Saturday (7/17) from 10:00 am to
9:00 pm and on Sunday (7/18) from Noon to 9:00 pm to provide relief from
the heat:

The city is also recommending that residents conserve energy when possible to help avoid brownouts or blackouts, and that they keep hydrated and stay indoors during the middle of the day if possible.

You can find a list of librararies here, senior citizen centers here, and parks here.

With school out for the year and temperatures climbing, city officials are trying to find ways to keep students busy during the summer.

One way is to help them find jobs, which can put at-risk youth on a path toward a career.

Today, mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the launch of the Youth Summer Employment Program, which is expected to put 10,000 Angelenos age 14-24 to work. Those in the program will work six-week paid internships over the next two months.

“That’s 10,000 young people who will be given a summer job and an opportunity towards a lifetime of employment,” Villaraigosa said in a press conference at Kaiser Permanente, one of the employers. “Hire LA’s Youth is creating fulfilling summer employment for our youth in the short-term and establishing the building blocks for the long-term success of our local economy.”

To be eligible for the Hire LA program, people must receive Calworks or food stamps and live in the city. The mayor’s office said 6,000 youth are already registered for the program. Others who are interested can call 311.

The program is funded by $25 million of stimulus money from the federal government. It’s a joint project between several Hire LA groups, including Hire LA 16-24 and several other programs, including Learn and Earn, the LA Conservation Corps and LA Community College City scholars Program.

Jurors in Los Angeles today found ex-Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle, 28, guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

He faced second-degree murder charges in the death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot last January in Oakland. The case – a white police officer accused of shooting an unarmed black man – sparked racial tensions and riots in Oakland, and was moved to Los Angeles to avoid the intense scrutiny.

Mehserle had claimed he accidentally grabbed his gun instead of his Taser.

The sentence dismayed many of Grant’s supporters, who saw it as a slap on the wrist compared to the murder charges.

“This is not an involuntary manslaughter case,’’ attorney John Burris told reporters outside the Criminal Courts Building. “This is a true compromise verdict that does not truly and accurately reflect the facts, and we are extraordinarily disappointed at that. We do believe that this was a murder case, a second-degree murder, and we are surprised that the jury came back as quickly as they did and seemed to be very dismissive of the murder charge and the voluntary manslaughter.”

In his summation, Mehserle’s lawyer, Michael L. Rains, said the case left room for reasonable doubt: “There’s nothing that suggests an intent to kill—nothing.”

Involuntary manslaughter carries a two to four year prison sentence. Mehserle was also found to have personally used a handgun in the commission of a crime, which could lengthen his sentence.

Members of the L.A. Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant will gather in Leimert Park at 5 p.m. to discuss the verdict. Both Oakland and Los Angeles have braced for public reactions to the decision.

Read more updates on the verdict.

Tomorrow is Independence Day!  Setting off your own fireworks is illegal in Los Angeles, but there are plenty of celebrations to attend. Here are some near South LA:

Carson
Home Depot Center
LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders Soccer Match
18400 Avalon Blvd.
Carson
Game at 7:30, Post game fireworks

Downey
Downey High School
10410 Brookshire (Brookshire and Firestone)
5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Food and Family Fun
9:00 p.m. 25-minute Fireworks Show

Gardena
Rowley Park (Baseball Field)
13220 S. Van Ness Ave.
9:00 p.m.

Huntington Park
Salt Lake Park (Northwest Soccer Field)
3401 E. Florence Blvd.
9:00 p.m.

Los Angeles
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
8th Annual Fireworks Extravaganza
3911 South Figueroa St.
Kicking off this free event, KJLH will be providing music beginning at 5pm from a stage located at the east side of Christmas Tree Lane, which is situated just east of the Coliseum. The fireworks display itself will get started at dusk (approximately 9pm). The best vantage point to catch this world-class show will be at the east end of Christmas Tree Lane, as well as at the South Lawn, which is just to the north of the Coliseum, between the Coliseum itself and the Natural History Museum.  Parking for this event will also be free. Those that will be traveling by car are encouraged to enter Exposition Park at Martin Luther King, jr. Blvd and Hoover.  Immediately adjacent to the Fireworks Extravaganza, the California African American Museum has a full slate of activities planned for the 4th. T

Lynwood
Lynwood City Park
Baseball Field
11301 Bullis Rd.
9:00 p.m.

South Gate
South Gate Park
Corner of Pinehurst and Tweedy
9:00 p.m.

Find more fireworks shows here or check out more ideas for celebrating.

July 1 marks the first day that fare hikes on the L.A. Metro, approved in 2007, go into effect.

Single-ride fares will increase from $1.25 to $1.50, and day passes from $5 to $6. Monthly passes are up from $62 to $75. You can see a full list of the changes at the Metro site.

The fare increases won’t affect seniors, students, the disabled, or Medicare recipients, whose rates are frozen until 2013.

In addition, Metrolink fares will go up by about 6 percent, and several trains will be eliminated, including ones to San Bernadino, Ventura and Moorpark. You can read more about that here.

The rate changes have been protested by several groups including the Bus Riders Union, which says they unfairly target the poor and minorities.

The MTA says the moves are fiscally necessary, and that L.A. public transportation is still less expensive than that in other cities.

To sign up, call CDTech at (323) 235-8320 or email the South L.A. Report at southla[at]usc.edu.

To volunteer as a teacher’s aide, please email southla[at]usc.edu.