Getting Wilshire Boulevard ready for the decking work.

The view from above of the Wilshire and La Brea work zone. Photos by Juan Ocampo for Metro.

With the Expo Line now open to Santa Monica, 22 weekend closures in the area of Wilshire and La Brea are about to begin for construction of Metro’s other Westside rail line, the Purple Line Extension subway.

The agency released its first Quality of Life report to demonstrate that Metro services and programs benefit Los Angeles County residents and establish benchmarks to measure those impacts in the future.

We issued a friendly reminder that the Gold Line to Memorial Park Station in Pasadena is a good alternative to driving to the Copa America that begins tonight at the Rose Bowl.

Metro CEO Phil Washington and Board Member/L.A. Council Member Mike Bonin explained what the agency and city will do about the vandalized memorial to Vietnam War veterans in Venice.

A variety of writers offered their take on the Expo Line between DTLA and DTSM. The New Yorker thought it was a minor miracle that there finally an alternative to driving, Joe Mathews at Zocalo Public Square lamented Expo’s speed and the long commute between Pasadena and SaMo and Robin Abcarian didn’t find the train was faster than her car — but did find the train helped her rediscover L.A.

Oto-Oto Express is now officially open at Union Station if you’re looking for some tasty bento lunch boxes, sushi rolls, bowls, crepes, an assortment of snacks and more.