Which Way, L.A.?

Homelessness in LA

Increased violence, drug use and disease are threatening the revitalization of downtown LA, but new housing is not enough. A new report from the Central City Association says that -homeless- is the wrong term to describe the increased number of street people who are threatening the effort to revitalize the area. The downtown business group issued its findings today, along with proposals for aggressive new strategies much like those recently enacted in Santa Monica. Is it time to get tough on panhandlers, parolees and the mentally ill, or will they just move on to new neighborhoods? We hear more from the CEO of the CCA and from an advocate for the homeless who finds the call for tough action unacceptable. Newsmaker: Transportation Outside the Lines While local agencies, businesses and community groups met in LA today with the familiar goal of prying more transportation money out of Sacramento and Washington, some transportation planners say it-s time to start thinking outside the box. Geoff Wardle, an automotive designer and faculty member at Pasadena-s Art Center College of Design, says it-s time to end Southern California-s love affair with the automobile. Reporter-s Notebook: El Crimen del Padre Amaro El Crimen del Padre Amaro may be the biggest hit in Mexican history, despite efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to ban it. The subtitled Crime of Father Amaro, has just opened in Southern California. It involves a young priest who has a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl, a fellow priest mixed up with drug dealers, and another with leftist guerrillas. Director Carlos Carrera talks about his hit film and the Catholic Church.