Roundup: Riots continue in Greece; new Mirage Volcano premieres in Vegas; L.A. taxis, RV life

Will you be hailing a cab anytime soon? The Downtown Center Business Improvement District in Los Angeles hopes so. Its “Hail-A-Taxi” public-awareness campaign begins today, and taxi drivers are going to be encouraged to do more cruising of downtown streets to find you.

Greece | Riots are still underway in Greece, sparked by the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old boy in central Athens on Saturday. There’s turmoil all around, with battles between youths and riot police: In Athens, high school students blocked streets in protest; hundreds of students in Veria rioted, throwing rocks at police, who fought back with tear gas; in Thessaloniki, youth have set trash cans on fire. Read “More rioting breaks out in Greek cities.”

Las Vegas | The landmark volcano at the Mirage in Las Vegas has been closed for renovation since February, but this evening at 5 p.m. the attraction will be debuting its $25-million renovated self, in what promises to be one grand fire-spouting, molten-lava-spewing spectacle (set to music by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Indian tabla artist Zakir Hussain). Read “Las Vegas: The Mirage adds a walk of flame.” The show is on hourly every night, until 11 p.m.

Local stay | With views of the Pacific and a hint of jet fuel and sewage-treatment plant in the air, the RV park at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey is a home away from home for a quirky cast of regulars. See “For RVers, L.A. beach is a park place in the sun.” At less than $40 per night for an ocean view, you may want to consider it for your own RV-traveling relatives coming around for the holidays; find booking details on the Department of Beaches and Harbors site.

Can you recommend other unique budget spots worth considering for visiting family and friends? Share your tips with us in the Comments below.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: DowntownLA.com

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 8:13 am by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Europe, Good Morning, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice, San Diego, Theme Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.