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Top 5 Westside Stories: Huell Howser, Possible Getaway Car Found, LAX Ghost Town

Here are the top five Westside Patch stories from Dec. 6-Jan. 12.

Close out your weekend with a recap of the newsiest and most popular Patch articles from last week. Here are the five stories that topped the headlines on Westside Patch sites:

  • A car that matches the description of the getaway car used in an armed robbery at the Westchester Nordstrom Rack was found parked at the Culver City mall Friday morning. Police are still searching for two male suspects who made off with an undisclosed sum of money. The robbery at the store at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center was reported just after 10 p.m. Thursday by a spouse or boyfriend of an employee of the store. LAPD SWAT officers eventually rescued 14 people who were hiding in a storage room at the Nordstrom Rack store in Westchester at around 3:30 a.m.
  • Join the conversation: Huell Howser, an icon of local television in Southern California, died earlier this week in Palm Springs. He was 67. All this week, fans of his long-running programs, such as "California's Gold," have been sharing their favorite local segments and Huell Howser sayings ("that's amazing!"). Tell us what you'll miss about Huell right here.
  • The California Coastal Commission decided this week to restore a patch of unused land west of LAX to its native condition. The land was formerly a neighborhood called Surfridge but as LAX grew and expanded, the community was demolished. The restoration project may begin as early as August.
  • The Santa Monica Pier is attempting to lure locals back to the landmark with art, music and film. A deal with Film Independent is in the works for the Front Porch Cinema film festival, and the will book the pier's popular summer concert series.
  • A man tumbled down the steep bluff onto Pacific Coast Highway around 11 a.m. Tuesday. The extent of the man's injuries was not immediately known. A Santa Monica Police spokesman said it appeared the . "A lot of people sleep in the bluff from time to time," he said, noting it was unclear how the man wound up tumbling to the highway.

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Note Article
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Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
stewart resmer June 18, 2013 at 02:35 pm
Vice President Joe Biden tried Tuesday to rally Congress to act on gun control legislation, sayingRead More that "the country has changed and [politicians] will pay a political price for not getting engaged and dealing with gun safety." "As proud as the president and I am of the progress we have made, we need Congress to act," Biden said in a speech delivered at the White House. "The American people are demanding it. We need to make sure that the voices of the ones we lost are the loudest ones we here in this fight." Specifically, Biden was referring to politicians like Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who saw her approval rating plummet after she voted against legislation that would expand background checks. Sen. Jeff Flake's (R-AZ) and Sen. Mark Begich's (D-AK) ratings also took a nosedive. On the otherside, Democrats in red states, like Sens. Mary Landrieu (LA) and Kay Hagan (NC), got a slight boost in their approval ratings after they voted in favor of the gun control legislation. The vice president also released a set of federal guidelines Tuesday for developing high quality emergency operations for schools, higher education institutions and places of worship. "We made sure the guide reflects all the lessons we've learned over the years," he said.
Joanne June 14, 2013 at 12:34 pm
Read it! Agree! Let's go!!!
Joanne June 14, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Also, check out the Santa Monica Mirror coverage of the Chamber of Commerce Installation, where itRead More was held and who was present!!!
Joanne June 14, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Talk about "sleeping with the enemy".....just sayin'
Fran Beeler June 7, 2013 at 07:28 am
They opened a new store upstairs at the corner of Sawtelle/Olympic Blvds. (Marshall's, Starbucks)
V.P.A. June 9, 2013 at 06:28 am
Was the question was about a STORE or a question about the Restaurant 'Michaels'?
Michelle June 18, 2013 at 06:33 am
The store. Thanks!