Finally spurning Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's wishes, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to freeze police hiring, the Los Angeles Times reported. The three-month freeze will save more than $700,000 this fiscal year.  Because the freeze will be in place until a reformed pension system kicks in, the city will save millions over the lifetime of new officers' careers, the paper reported. 

In Los Angeles new rail lines keep popping up around the region, and more are planned over the following decades. (The Expo line is expected to partially open later this year.) 

But Angelenos have a right to be perplexed over planning.  A subway to the sea that stops in Westwood? A rail line and a future line both stopping just short of LAX?  

But today the Metro board will look at fixing one of the missing links. The board will vote on a contract to begin environment studies to link the Green Line and the upcoming Crenshaw line with LAX, The Source says. Options include: an automated people mover, light rail, and a rapid bus. 

Only studies I know, but at least it's a start. 

Also on a packed agenda: a 4 percent cut to bus service. That proposed cut and others led the Bus Riders Union to ask the FTA if the proposed changes discriminated against minorities and low-income riders. The FTA has agreed to review Metro to ensure the agency is following federal civil rights regulations. 

Reach reporter Andrew Khouri here.