LA City App Allows Angelenos To Report Potholes, Broken Lights, Graffiti (VIDEO)

Tired of hitting that pothole every day on the way to work? There's an app for that.

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Wednesday announced the launch of My LA 311, the city's new iPhone and Droid app, as well as the makeover of the city website, lacity.org.

On both the website, already live, and the app, which will launch March 18, Angelenos will be able to pay their Department of Water and Power bills as well as report abandoned furniture, fallen trees, potholes, graffiti and more. Users can attach pictures of service requests and use their phone's GPS to geotag the location.

The app also will also provide a news feed of live tweets from city agencies and officials and a Google map that shows nearby parks, libraries, pools and parking.

Villaraigosa announced the new site and app at the Google office in Venice, and over a live Google Hangout with five reporters (see video above).

The Huffington Post asked the mayor if City Council votes will be posted on the website in a timely manner, or quickly tweeted and posted on Facebook. Villaraigosa said swift reporting of votes may be available in the future, with the "2.0 version" of the app. The 2.0 version will also be bilingual, with the addition of Spanish, the "second language of LA," he said.

Free Wi-Fi would make the website and app available to more Angelenos, especially in South LA. Villaraigosa said he tried to get citywide Wi-Fi a few years ago, but "it's not an easy goal to hit," because of cost. Steve Reneker, general manager of the City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency, said citywide Wi-Fi remains a goal.

Villaraigosa said the cost of the developing the app was "very reasonable" at $130,000. The website renovation cost an additional $5,000. He said the new technology may save the city money long-term, but the new technology was developed mostly to improve city services. "I think you'll see more complaints, less frustration and quicker responses," he said.

The mayor conceded that LA's app comes after some cities already have apps up and running. "But ours seems to me to be the best," he said. "I imagine they'll try to one up us … a little competition … and I look forward to that."

Councilman Eric Garcetti -- the frontrunner in the mayoral race -- developed a similar 311 app for his Silverlake-area district more than a year ago.

When Villaraigosa, who has only a few more months in office, was asked if President Barack Obama has offered him the position of Secretary of Transportation, he dodged the question. Instead, he responded to rumors that his cousin, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, is being considered by Obama to replace Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

“I heard my cousin, by the way, is on the list, and I’m glad he is," Villaraigosa said. "I’ve said to a number of people he would make a great secretary of labor." Pérez is the first openly gay state Assembly speaker and is a former officer of the United Food and Commercial Workers International union.

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Parking Lot Art? Indianapolis' Hotel Commissions Graffiti Artist Nick Walker To 'Vandalize' Garage (PHOTOS)

This week in the world of outrageous art, a swanky hotel in Indianapolis has commissioned British street artist Nick Walker to decorate the walls of its parking garage with pre-ordered graffiti designs. Yes, unlike other businesses, the Alexander Hotel welcomed a man with a can of spray paint to "vandalize" it's property, all in the name of contemporary art.

Photo by John Bragg

The graffiti murals are located on the concrete walls of the hotel guest parking lot, featuring familiar urban art themes like masked figures and bubble lettering. Another design simply reveals the word "vandalism" plastered on one of the lot's columns, only the letter "v" has been replaced with a heart à la the "I Love New York" emblem. Unsurprisingly, the hotel then proclaimed itself "one of the most controversial, yet inspiring parking garages in the nation."

If you were thinking these images are a little too Banksy-esque for comfort, you're not alone. Walker is described in a press release from the hotel as a contemporary of the famed UK street artist (whose own work is now more often seen in the confines of a gallery or art fair than on any city streets). But don't worry, the graffiti is real. A press representative from the hotel even told The Huffington Post in an e-mail exchange that Walker opted for nocturnal work hours, going as far as to say it was as if "he didn't want to 'be caught.'"

What can you expect from a $44 million, boutique style art hotel, though? Of course they would hire an artist to creep around in their garage at night to fake-evade authorities in order to create an "authentic" yet palatable graffiti art experience. Our thoughts? Maybe the hotel should focus more on its pricey interior artworks, curated by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and less on its "lowbrow" basement art, made to look like it didn't cost just as much.

What do you think, readers? Scroll through a slideshow of images from the Alexander's new parking garage and let us know what you think of the work in the comments section below.

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