COVID cases are up, Staples Center signage is down, and more

Here's what we're reading this week:

Metro Moving Forward with Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation "Last week, the Metro board approved moving forward with a long-planned grade separation. The $156 million Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation Project will construct a new bridge to safely carry car traffic over existing BNSF railroad tracks, also used by Metrolink and Amtrak – and planned to be used by California High-Speed Rail when the project is extended to Anaheim." (Streetsblog LA)

LA County Moved Back Up To 'High' COVID Transmission "Los Angeles County health officials are warning of the beginnings of a winter surge as new coronavirus cases totaled 1,715 on Thursday. Three weeks ago, before Thanksgiving, the county was reporting around 1,000 cases a day." (LAist)

Before Pearl Harbor, L.A. was home to thriving Japanese communities. Here’s what they were like "Little Tokyo is littler than it used to be. Part of it was sacrificed after the war to build the LAPD headquarters, Parker Center, which was itself razed a couple years ago....Beyond the footprint of Little Tokyo itself, pre-war Japanese and Japanese Americans lived and worked across much of L.A." (LA Times)

Will Highland Park's underground creek ever see the light of day again? "The North Branch will be diverted into the city’s sewer system during the drier months when low rainfall and urban runoff make for extra dirty water. The Hyperion Water Treatment Plant will clean that water before being released into the ocean....The North Branch will still drain into the Arroyo Seco during rainy weather." (Eastsider)

L.A. approves its redistricting map, setting political boundaries for the next decade "On a 13-0 vote, council members approved a redistricting ordinance that places Koreatown in a single council district, reworks political boundaries in the San Fernando Valley and ensures that USC and Exposition Park remain in the South Los Angeles district represented by Councilman Curren Price." (LA Times)

4 L.A. freeways make list of roads with most traffic in U.S. "Topping the rankings is the southbound 5 Freeway between Euclid Avenue and the 605 Freeway, which has a peak delay of 22 minutes at 4 p.m., according to traffic data firm INRIX. The delay costs drivers an average of 89 hours this year, about a dozen hours more than the second busiest highway in New York City." (KTLA)

Crews spotted at Staples Center taking down signage ahead of Crypto.com Arena rebranding "Crews were spotted taking down some of the iconic red letters outside of the building, one by one." (ABC 7)