By Tracy Garcia WEST WHITTIER - They were there to be honored, to receive a $1,000 scholarship for their environmental activism - but Pioneer High School seniors Alicia Sabanero and Reyna Orellana couldn't just stand by and watch others plant a tree in front of their school last week.

By Ana Facio Contreras While Carlos Sanchez, a guitarist, waits in front of Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights to be picked up for his next job, he likes to look at a mural behind the plaza's kiosk.

By Anonymous Los Angeles Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension construction is halfway completed, is on time and under budget, and construction workers have gone more than 1,000 days without a lost-time incident since construction began July 1, 2004. Opening date is scheduled for late 2009.