Protecting the visual environment of Los Angeles
Updated: 5 hours 22 min ago
Mon, 08/16/2010 - 10:10
In a lawsuit filed July 30 in L.A. County Superior Court, CBS Outdoor claims it is owed $2.23 million for two mural signs on a building demolished twelve years ago to make way for the Hollywood & Highland entertainment and shopping complex, even though the company now has 12 signs on the site that rent [...]
Fri, 08/06/2010 - 12:03
Almost everyone’s either seen or heard about the 2002 film “Minority Report” with its scene of Tom Cruise walking past digital advertising signs that call out to him by name and deliver sales pitches for such things as Guinness beer, Lexus, and a trip to an island paradise. And almost everyone’s read or knows about [...]
Thu, 08/05/2010 - 18:58
A 66-story office tower and adjacent 46-story residential building in downtown L.A. could be covered with nearly 400,000 square feet of electronic signage, including full motion video, if the city approves a special sign district for the yet to be built project. As reported by our friends at Curbed LA, the proposed sign district would [...]
Sun, 08/01/2010 - 13:44
Michael McNeilly, whose company just lost a major court battle with L.A. over illegal supergraphic signs, is promoting a ballot initiative that would impose a tax on billboards and supergraphic signs in West Hollywood. The initiative would also greatly expand the areas where those supergraphic or “tall wall” signs are allowed, a fact that has [...]
Sun, 07/25/2010 - 18:15
Apparently undaunted by a federal appellate court decision upholding the city’s right to ban new off-site and supergraphic signs, attorneys for sign companies have signaled their intention to mount fresh challenges to the ban that has been the subject of almost constant litigation since its original passage eight years ago. In filings in U.S. District [...]
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 21:12
After hearing warnings that a ban on supergraphic signs in Hollywood could have such dire consequences as stopping new development and forcing businesses to close their doors, the City Planning Commission Thursday directed the planning department to come back next month with more details on why the ban proposed by City Council President Eric Garcetti [...]
Thu, 07/15/2010 - 16:19
The face of this billboard displays fresh ad copy, so we know it’s not abandoned. And even though Lamar, which owns more billboards in the U.S. than any other company, lost $58 million last year, it’s hard to imagine that it couldn’t have found some stray pennies to sandblast and paint this billboard (perhaps by [...]
Wed, 07/14/2010 - 17:35
L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti’s proposal to ban new supergraphic signs in the Hollywood sign district would exempt a total of 31,000 sq. ft. of the signage that has won some form of city approval, but hasn’t been issued permits by the city building department. Included is a 5,700 sq. ft. sign that would cover [...]
Mon, 07/12/2010 - 19:18
Four full-sized billboards that appeared without warning the past three years on the north side of the 110 freeway may be in definite jeopardy, due to a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling today upholding the city’s claim that the billboards are illegal and need to be removed. See New Billboards Go Up Alongside Downtown Freeway [...]
Fri, 07/09/2010 - 11:26
Multi-story supergraphic signs advertising everything from movies to liquor to women’s clothing have proliferated throughout Hollywood in the past half dozen years, but L.A. City Council president Eric Garcetti is now calling for a ban on the approval of any more of the signs in the Hollywood Sign district. In a motion to be voted [...]
Thu, 07/08/2010 - 14:30
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided against granting World Wide Rush and Skytag, Inc. an “En Banc” rehearing of last May’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of L.A.’s ban on off-site and supergraphic advertising signs. The companies’ only recourse now in their three-year old attack on the city’s sign ordinance is to file a [...]
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 17:05
Clear Channel, CBS Outdoor, and other big sign companies regularly tout the value of billboards for PSA’s, or public service announcements. But when it comes to following their own industry code of practices the companies aren’t so public-spirited and community-minded. Clear Channel and CBS Outdoor are both members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, [...]
Mon, 06/28/2010 - 11:06
Northbound travelers on the 405 freeway in West L.A. might be asking what happened to the supergraphic signs that used to be stretched across the face of a 12-story office building on adjacent Sepulveda Blvd., advertising such products as movies, cellphones, fast food, soft drinks, and trips to Hawaii. Those ads that have appeared continuously [...]
Thu, 06/24/2010 - 20:39
Watch the short video and then hit the “continue reading” link to take a short quiz. Do you think the idea of California license plates than can show electronic ads is: 1. A great idea, about time. 2. Possibly questionable, but let’s study it. 3. One of the top ten worst ideas of all time. [...]
Tue, 06/22/2010 - 19:52
In the latest chapter of a long-running lawsuit in federal court, Regency Outdoor Advertising has filed a demand for a jury trial to determine if the city owes the company at least $10 million in profits lost because the company was denied permits to put up new billboards more than 10 years ago. A U.S. [...]
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 07:04
Many reams of newsprint and hours of air time have been devoted to John Wooden since the former UCLA basketball coach died two weeks ago. Now Clear Channel is getting a piece of the action by displaying “Woodenisms” on a network of more than 70 digital billboards throughout Los Angeles. By all accounts Wooden was [...]
Wed, 06/16/2010 - 10:07
Since taking office last year, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has been aggressively prosecuting sign law violators by filing criminal charges and civil lawsuits, but deep cuts to the Department of Building and Safety’s Code Enforcement Bureau could seriously hamper those efforts in the coming fiscal year. The budget that takes effect July 1 includes salaries [...]
Mon, 06/14/2010 - 16:34
Attorneys for Skytag, Inc. have asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for an “En Banc” rehearing of last month’s ruling by a three-judge panel that overturned a lower court decision invalidating L.A.’s ban on off-site and supergraphic signs. If granted, the appeal would be heard by 11 members of the 29-judge circuit. The original [...]
Sat, 06/12/2010 - 17:42
The following video reports on Clear Channel Outdoor’s refusal to allow certain images on billboards rented by organizers of St. Pete Pride, a gay pride march scheduled for June 26 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Fri, 06/11/2010 - 18:35
When a bill to put a little bite into California’s toothless billboard regulations came before the State Senate last week, the usual suspects—big billboard companies, chambers of commerce, construction interests—lined up to oppose it. But also signing on to help kill the bill were such organizations as the National Council of Jewish Women, the Minorities [...]