“Dark Shadows” fans, cast, and crew are celebrating its 50th birthday next week in Hollywood. We mark the anniversary by bringing in one of the original stars, and one of the original fans. ... When LAPD officer Jorge Parra isn’t walking the beat in LA, he’s still thinking about the city’s streets and buildings. He’s spent years building a 72-square-foot model of LA, out of Legos, in his kitchen. ... We’ll tell you what researchers discovered about the best way to increase voter turnout: voters need to make a simple plan, tell someone about it, and then think what their neighbors will say if they don’t go to the polls.

John talks with 35-year old Chris Thile, who takes over as the new host of A Prairie Home Companion this weekend and hopes to bring in a younger audience, without scaring off older listeners. ... Anthony Hernandez: taking pictures for almost 50 years: Downtown LA in the ‘70s, Rodeo Drive in the ‘80s, the homeless in the ‘90s. ... For KPCC's Voter Game Plan, Meghan McCarty tells us how she’s helping voters understand the complex Measure R transportation tax. ... Meet an Armenian-Syrian college student from Damascus juggling a full time job, night school, and the torture of knowing what his family is going through back home.

From "I'll be your Huckleberry" to Huck Finn, it's Mark Twain by Val Kilmer ... Valitar, epic show becomes epic fail ... if you think your life is hard, try being gay and undocumented ... put on your traveling face ...

Rabe goes there ... Regardie explains why downtown LA is exploding, but not in a good way ... Kevin goes to the narco-corrido opera ... Robert goes bowling ... and the Getty goes to Koreatown.

Father Boyle versus Mother Church ... Haefele on Haiti ... Mukta Mohan and the Big Picture ... parents find some peace by giving to a police station ...

In Woodland Hills, a fallout shelter stocked with c1960 products ... Shambala, Tippi Hedren's big cat preserve ... Rite of Spring celebration snubs animation ... Dylan Brody on the social network: I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

The LA Phil's new season includes a tour of LA ... Kevin Ferguson sweats to the oldies with Richard Simmons ... the first annual Ernest Borgnine Awards ...

Rosemead tiki icon Bahooka to close March 10 ... Oscar PR million$ ... David Dean Bottrell's new show ... Charlie LeDuff gives Detroit a loving autopsy ... Gary Leonard helps Angelenos find their wings ...

Classical music on the Venice Beach boardwalk ... Gordon Henderson finds a Rose Bowl chaperone ... Kevin Ferguson talks with Van Dyke Parks ...

Mark Elson's wet-plate photos of Civil War reenactors ... Backstories: the painting at Langer's and the Venice Beach piano player ... changing the thinking on football head injuries