Tournament of Roses and its Gold Line Connection

I joined the Tournament of Roses Queen and her court yesterday morning at Mariachi Plaza to promote the Metro Gold Line East Side Extension as the best way for people from downtown and the Eastside to get to all the great events surrounding the Tournament of Roses Parade, Rose Bowl game and the National Title game on Jan. 7. The great thing is during these tough economic times, with the Rose Parade being a free event and the Showcase of Floats costing very little (and free to kids 5 and under), this is a unique opportunity for families to enjoy top-notch, one-of-a-kind entertainment and not have to spend a fortune. So gather the kids, jump on the Gold Line and have some fun this New Year.

KTLA Skate Plaza w/ Rob Dyrdek Segment!

Check out this video by KTLA from this morning with the very cool Rob Dyrdek! Today is the grand opening of this new Skate Plaza located at Hollenbeck Park. 3:30pm
Hope to see you there!

 

Skate Plaza Grand Opening Thursday Dec. 17th! 3:30pm

Join Councilmember José Huizar and MTV Skateboarding Star Rob Dyrdek Thursday

at Skate Plaza Grand Opening!

Friends, please join me (and bring the skateboarding enthusiasts in your families) at the Grand Opening of our new Skate Plaza at Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights.

This new “Safe Spot Skate Spot” skating area is a 14,000 square-foot, tri-level street skating plaza, which is already considered one of the premier Skate Plazas in the entire nation and offers a picturesque view high on a hillside at the southeast corner of the park overlooking the lake.

This street-skating plaza is a $350, 000 collaboration between my office and Rob Dyrdek, star of “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory.”

Rob and my office discussed the Safe Spot Skate Spot a few months ago and we moved forward very quickly. We know all too well that our young people need more recreation space, particularly in a dense neighborhood like Boyle Heights.

Celebrate Park's New Outdoor Fitness Zone and Workout Equipment

We’ll also be celebrating our new outdoor Fitness Zone and workout equipment I had installed at the park recently, which brings total renovations to Hollenbeck Park to nearly $1 million.

Other park improvements include:

• A completely renovated floating bridge, which sits on the lake and had been shut down for five years.

• Repair to signature fountains in the lake.

• New landscaping and tree plantings.

• Repairs to the jogging/walking pathway around the lake.

• Remodeling Playground area to make it ADA accessible.

All these improvements are part of $1.4 billion in mostly public investment in Boyle Heights, including the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension; four new schools including the Mendez Learning Center and Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School and the New Hollenbeck Community Police Station, to name just a few.

So, please join us!


What: Grand Opening of Safe Spot Skate Spot at Hollenbeck Park

Where: 415 Saint Louis Street (near Saint Louis and Sixth Street)

Los Angeles, 90033

When: 3:30 p.m., Thursday, December 17, 2009.

For more information, please call my Boyle Heights District Office at (323) 526-3059.

12.04.09 Newsletter

Councilmember Huizar Acts to Protect Northeast Communities from 710 Extension

Councilmember Huizar introduced legislation through the City’s Information Technology and Government Affairs Committee Tuesday seeking to protect Northeast Los Angeles communities from any undue burden from a proposed extension of the North Long Beach 710 Freeway. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Councilmember Huizar, along with Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilmember Ed Reyes, asks the City to officially oppose the extension of the freeway through Zones 1 and 2, which would run through a significant portion of Northeast Los Angeles. The resolution also seeks to protect the community of El Sereno by stating that if a tunnel of any kind is proposed, the portal must begin and end south of Valley Boulevard. In October, Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger vetoed a bill that would have banned any above-ground freeway option for the proposed extension of the northbound 710 Freeway to the 134/210 Freeways. The Councilmembers’ resolution is expected to be heard in Council next week.

Councilmember Huizar Pledges Support to El Salvador

On November 8, Hurricane Ida struck the country of El Salvador. More than 184 people were killed, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and thousands more have been injured. Councilmember Huizar, along with Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilmembers Ed Reyes, Tony Cardenas and Richard Alarcon, pledged a total of $10,000 in aid. By some accounts, Los Angeles is home to the second largest Salvadoran population outside of the nation’s capital, San Salvador. In March, Councilmember Huizar traveled to El Salvador with a delegation of prominent Salvadoran Americans election experts and city and state officials to help monitor the recent historic presidential election.
Photo Credit: Yuri Cortez-AFP/Getty Images via The Washington Post

The Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund (SALEF) is accepting tax-deductible donations to support the victims of Hurricane Ida.
Tax deductible donations can be made payable to:
EL SALVADOR CARE FUND (Chase Bank, Account #825607187)
Mail to SALEF:
1625 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 718
Los Angeles, CA 90015
For more information, please call (213) 480-1052 or visit www.salef.org

Councilmember Huizar Unveils Bringing Back Broadway Streetscape Master Plan

Last Tuesday, more than 100 community members gathered at The Exchange Building in Downtown's Historic Core to review and provide Melendrez Design Partners with input on final concepts for the Broadway Streetscape Master Plan. Part of Councilmember Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative, a 10-year plan to revitalize Broadway’s Historic Core, Councilmember Huizar described the final plan as one that prioritizes people over vehicles. The Streetscape Plan calls for widened and reinforced sidewalks, along with basement reconstruction in places where basements extend out under current sidewalks, which are collapsing in places. Curb extensions will provide space for comfortable, real-time transit stations for bus and streetcar users, while on-street parking and loading will support merchants. The plan also calls for new signage inspired by Broadway’s historic past along with new streetlamps, which with will have the street’s original, authentic design. Trees and plantings will be added to offer green elements to the street (supported by a storm water retention and recycling system). Completion of the streetscape plan is intended to coincide with construction of the streetcar line, which will connect historic Broadway with L.A. Live on one end and the Bunker Hill/Music Center area on the other by 2014.

Fourth Annual Operation Gobble-Gobble a Big Success!

Councilmember Huizar hosted the 4th Annual Operation Gobble-Gobble – an event aimed at helping families from El Sereno, Eagle Rock and Boyle Heights during Thanksgiving by providing a free turkey with all the trimmings. Held at the Boyle Heights Technology Center last week, about 700 turkeys were given out throughout the day thanks in large part to donors like the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, Food 4 Less, El Super, Chivas USA, and the SCE Credit Union. Councilmember Huizar teamed up with the Roybal Family Source Center and the Boyle Heights Technology Center to ensure families had a great Thanksgiving meal. The event featured photo opportunities with Chivas USA Girls and a children’s corner featuring a free movie screening and popcorn.

Visiting the Guadalajara Int’l Book Fair

As the former President of the Los Angeles Unified School District, promoting literacy is a key issue for Councilmember Huizar. This week, alongside Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmember Huizar represented the City of Los Angeles at the Guadalajara International Book Fair – one of the biggest Spanish language book festivals in the world. More than 1,600 publishing houses from 40 countries participated, as well as scores of authors, literary agents and librarians. The City of Los Angeles was the Guest of Honor at this year’s festivities and reinforced the City’s longstanding reputation as a home to some of the world’s greatest contributors to literature, theater, dance, fine arts and film.

Schedule of CD 14 Holiday Events

Holiday festivities begin today! Hope you and your family can make it out to any of the below events taking place in CD 14. All events are free for the whole family.

- Jose

Hermon Tree Lighting
December 4, 2009 6:30-8:30p.m.
Monterey Road & Via Marisol

Eagle Rock Tree Lighting Ceremony
December 4, 2009 6:30-8:30p.m.
Corner of Colorado Blvd. & Maywood Ave.

Glassell Park Tree Lighting Ceremony
December 11, 2009 6:30-7:00p.m.
Rite-Aid Parking Lot
4044 Eagle Rock Blvd.

Boyle Heights Tree Lighting Toy Giveaway
December 12, 2009 4-8:00p.m.
2844 E. 2nd Street Evergreen Park

El Sereno Tree Lighting and Toy Giveaway
December 19, 2009 4:00-8:00p.m.
Corner of Huntington Drive & Van Horne Ave.

Please consider donating a toy to our partners:

LAFD Spark of Love Program
Contact: Firefighter Michael Marquez

Marines Toys for Tots Foundation

Sgt. Franciso Ulloa

Giving Thanks this Thanksgiving

I just want to wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. As for myself, I have much to be thankful for. First and foremost, like all of you, I am thankful for my wonderful family, my wife, Richelle, my children, Emilia, Isabella and Simon Luis (with another daughter on the way). I am thankful for my health. And as the Councilmember for District 14, I am thankful to you, my constituents, for allowing me to represent you. I have the greatest job in the world and I enjoy coming to work each and everyday to work on your behalf. I am also thankful for all the improvements that are going on in our district. We recently opened the Edward R. Roybal Gold Line Eastside Extension and had a fantastic block party celebrating its opening and the $1.4 billion in public improvement projects in Boyle Heights. I am thankful for community members like the late Ross Valencia, “Mr. Boyle Heights,” who we recently named a park after. I am thankful for a committed group of people in El Sereno who helped me fight against potentially dangerous development on Elephant Hill, or “The Heavens” as it once was known. I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to effect policy that protects our neighborhoods from the over-proliferation of unlicenced medical marijuana dispensaries. I am thankful for our veterans who have sacrificed so much so that we all can enjoy the freedoms we have in this great country and I’d ask you to please say a prayer for our men and women who are serving our country right now, many far away from their families during the holidays. Again, thank you for allowing me to be your representative. It is something that I take very seriously and to you, I am deeply thankful. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Ross Valencia Pic: Courtesy of Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council

Boyle Heights Block Pictures!

Enjoy these pictures from our Boyle Heights Block Party!
Thank you for making it such a great success!

Boyle Heights Block Party on Sunday!

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT!


Boyle Heights Block Party and Mariachi Festival
Sunday, November 15
8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
First Street (between Boyle Ave. and State St.)
Contact: (323) 526-3059

Metro Gold Line Official Grand Opening
Boyle Heights Block Party and Mariachi Festival


Join me and tens of thousands of attendees as we celebrate the opening of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension and the numerous Council District 14 neighborhood improvement projects completed this year, including the brand new Mendez Learning Center High School, the Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School, KIPP Charter School, the Boyle Heights Sports Center, and the new Hollenbeck Police Station.

The historic community of Boyle Heights is experiencing a rebirth as it undergoes more than $1.4 billion in upgrades. With several multi-million dollar projects completed this year, there is tremendous excitement surrounding the many great things coming our way.

Come celebrate with us and treat yourself to free entertainment, good food and friends from Boyle Heights' past and present.

One musical stage will highlight an eclectic mix of music, including reggae, Latin (cumbia, rumba, and Spanish Rock), headlined by the ever popular, Tierra. In addition to Tierra, this stage will feature:

Quinto Sol, Domingo Siete, UmoVerde, Dirty Hands, & Jahny Wallz

And playing a mix of mariachi music inspired by different regions of Mexico, this year's Mariachi Festival on the second stage will include performances by internationally recognized mariachis, including:

Mariachi Sol del Mexico, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, Mariachi Mexicapan, Mariachi Voz de America, Mariachi Santa Cecelia and Mariachi Conservatory.

Along with the live entertainment, come and enjoy free giveaways and informational resource booths. All are welcome. Bring your children and participate in a free kids corner with oversized bouncers, arts and crafts, Chivas USA soccer kick, and a rock climbing wall.

Also featured will be a photo exhibit recognizing the men and women of the Bracero Program--the labor-contract program between U.S. and Mexico during WW II and on until the 60's. The exhibit is on the corner of State and 1st St., next to the Council District 14 office that will have an open house all day.

Sunday's Block Party is sponsored by my office, Metro, the Mariachi Festival Planning Committee, Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, Wells Fargo and others.

You won't want to miss out on all of the fun! Please call (323) 526-3059 for more information.

Halloween in CD 14

The past couple of days of Halloween activities in CD 14 have been really great! From little princesses to Michael Jackson impersonators, take a look at our district-wide slide show of great costumes! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Gold Line Will be Golden Opportunity

Today I rode with Metro CEO Art Leahy, Mayor Villaraigosa and my fellow MTA directors for a test ride on the soon-to-open Gold Line Eastside Extension. With the media invited along, we rode from Union Station to the Soto Station, which has some very eclectic but beautiful art inside. The ride itself was very smooth and I look forward to riding the line more often once it opens on Nov. 15, 2009. I'm happy that Metro has committed to adding $4.5 million in additional safety improvements and I've asked that areas around Mendez and Ramona High Schools and El Mercado be given top priority, so that those new features, which will include buffers and fencing to discourage people from jaywalking across the tracks, will be installed as soon as possible. I will continue to monitor the situation well beyond the opening as safety is the top priority for me and the other MTA directors. Beyond that, I couldn't help but think today as someone who grew up in Boyle Heights, how much this train line is going to allow kids from Boyle Heights and East L.A. to explore other parts of the City. And visa versa. I like that idea. That we're not really connecting trains. We're connecting people.

Oscar de la Hoya Animo Green Dot Charter School, Welcome Home!

During my time as School Board President for LAUSD, Steve Barr of Green Dot Charter Schools approached me about building a charter high school in my district. I suggested Boyle Heights since the two local schools, Garfield and Roosevelt, were severely overcrowded and they needed relief. Along with pushing to get the Mendez Learning Center built, I knew this would be an opportunity to improve the educational future of our local students. Yesterday, I had the great pleasure to celebrate the opening of the Oscar de la Hoya Animo Green Dot Charter School. Green Dot has shown great commitment to the community of Boyle Heights . And Oscar de la Hoya, who grew up in East Los Angeles and proudly attended Garfield High School , demonstrated yet again that he is absolutely committed to giving back to his community. By donating the property that once held the Oscar De La Hoya Resurrection Gym, as well as giving $4.5 million to the project, Oscar De La Hoya has proven to be a champion in and out of the boxing ring. Before finding a permanent home in Boyle Heights , students and faculty of the charter school have had several temporary homes since the school’s opening in 2003. Despite less than ideal conditions, over the last three years, 72% of graduates have gone on to 4-year universities and the school is ranked 53 among the top 100 charter schools in the nation. With a new home, we all expect bigger and better things out of the students of Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter School. Go Boxers!
Photo Credit: Golden Boy Productions

Boyle Heights Rec Center Soccer Fields in Full Use!

Also on Saturday, boys and girls’ soccer teams from El Sereno and Boyle Heights squared off for the unofficial 1st Annual soccer match at the new $2.2 million renovated Boyle Heights Sports Center. The Center is now the site of the first City-built synthetic soccer field on the Eastside. After construction on the project began, state funding was frozen due to the poor economy and I worked with the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Bureau of Engineering to find City loans to complete the project. From the $50 million Valley Boulevard Bridge, to the Metro Gold Line, to the Mendez Learning Center and the new Hollenbeck Police Station, to the Sports Center (just to name a few!), L.A.’s Eastside is enjoying a time of unprecedented public project improvements. I’m happy to have done my part to turn these dreams into reality. Congrats to all the boys and girls (and their families) for coming out to our fair yesterday and thanks to all our organizations, including representative from the 2010 Census for coming out and helping.

LA’s Best & Sunrise Elementary Receive $10k

On Friday, I spent the afternoon with the kids at Sunrise Elementary School and the team of LA’s Best. Thanks to LA’s Best education and community partner, Target, LA’s BEST received a $10,000 grant which has allowed them to makeover libraries and install computers at 6 of their sites, including Sunrise Elementary in Boyle Heights. LA’s Best was also able to provide literacy kits and books to students at 29 other sites. To put it in perspective 4,000 students will directly benefit from this grant. At Sunrise, the library has been transformed with new furniture, new computers and even new artwork. It’s great to see that Sunrise continues to grow and provide such great resources for the kids.

Join me this Saturday at Grand Opening for New Hollenbeck Police Station

This Saturday at 6 p.m., please join me, LAPD Chief William Bratton, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmember Ed Reyes, Capt. Anita Ortega and others at the official Grand Opening for the new Hollenbeck Police Station, a stunning 54,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that will house more than 282 patrol officers, detectives and support staff. The new police station is just one of a number of improvements we’re working on in Boyle Heights – (Next up, The East Side Gold Line Extension!) Please bring friends and family Saturday as we celebrate this great new community police station, which includes an outside area where people can gather or sit and read a book. It’s really an awesome addition to our community.

When: 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009
Where: Hollenbeck Area Community Police Station
2111 East First Street (at Chicago)
Info: Councilmember Huizar’s Boyle Heights Office (323) 526-3059

Photo courtesy of Martha Benedict for lacp.org

Mendez Learning Center: Old Dreams Inspire New Ones

Last weekend, I was joined by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia, HENAAC and school administrators at a celebration for the Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a brand new high school in Boyle Heights. It was a profound experience to gather with parents, youth and Sylvia Mendez (pictured above), who in 1946 was only a little girl when her parents, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez, filed a lawsuit to end the segregation of Mexican children in schools in Santa Ana. The Mendez v. Westminster case paved the wave for Brown v. Board of Education. The Mendez Learning Center is named after these trailblazers and is the first high school to be built in Boyle Heights in decades. During my time on the school board, I set my sites on building a new high school in the Eastside to relieve overcrowding at Roosevelt High School, which at the time was one of the most overcrowded schools in the Western United States. The new campus will receive students from Roosevelt, which will allow both schools to be on a traditional school-year calendar instead of what I consider a vastly inferior year-round schedule. As Board President, I oversaw the building of several new schools and took a stand to not approve any new school in the district until we had a commitment to build a new high school in Boyle Heights. Beyond getting the school built, I wanted a campus dedicated to math and science, to allow kids on the Eastside the opportunity to pursue careers in the undermanned high-tech fields that pay the kind of salaries that can really transform lives. Thankfully, the Mendez Learning Center is styled as a college campus and houses two schools, one in math and science and the other in technology and engineering. With the access to many high tech firms and city agencies right across the First Street bridge, it is my hope that kids attending Mendez will have hands-on internship opportunities throughout the school year to inspire them and to learn that all their dreams are truly possible.

Boyle Heights Arts District: An Artistic Place to Call Home

I encourage you to read this great article in the L.A. Times about an effort put forth by a group of Boyle Heights’ artists and me to create an Arts District in Boyle Heights. After seeing an organic blossoming of local art and theater at CASA 0101, First Street Studios Gallery, as well as the Brooklyn and Boyle Gallery, I asked UCLA Professor Leo Estrada if he and his Urban Planning grad students could come up with a plan. Their comprehensive, community based report provided the groundwork for the efforts currently underway. But it’s really the artists and the community that is driving this effort. And Boyle Heights is going through quite a revitalization that will no doubt improve lives for the better. The Mendez Learning Center will open this fall. The Gold Line is almost completed, and Mariachi Plaza will also soon reopen. Boyle Heights has a rich history in the arts and culture, and these renovations bring a positive infusion to the community that will improve the corridor and really bring Boyle Heights into the 21st century. The collective of Boyle Heights artists that formed A.R.T.E.S. (Artist Revitalizing The East Side) are working very closely with my office to ensure that community needs are met first and the organic feel of this revitalization remains intact. It is an exciting time for our community, and as a resident and the Councilmember for the district, I am proud to see Boyle Heights doing more to offer opportunities to local community artists.

Volunteers Show up in Force for CD 14 Community Cleanup

This Saturday, over 1,000 volunteers, City workers and contractors came out to beautify El Sereno, Boyle Heights and Northeast Los Angeles in our effort to improve Council District 14. Collectively, we worked on 40 separate projects, including removing graffiti, bulky items and overgrown weeds in pathways, schools and parks. It was refreshing to see so many hard working people (especially all the young people) who gave up their Saturday morning and showed real community pride. To highlight just a few of the many projects, in the Northeast, members of two local Girl Scout troops and Victory Outreach came out in full force and swept up streets and cleaned major corridors; in El Sereno, our award-winning cheerleading squad, Pride All Stars, cleared weeds and picked up trash outside Farmdale Elementary School and El Sereno Middle School; and in Boyle Heights, students at Roosevelt High School repainted benches around the trees in the school’s quad area. I painted over some graffiti on Blueberry Hill (under the supervision of Graffiti Busters!) and joined several young students collecting trash around the Evergreen jogging path. Also, we trimmed trees as part of my effort to fund the trimming of more than 1,500 trees throughout the district and we placed 110 additional trash receptacles throughout CD 14, improving the overall quality of life in our community.

Reminder: Besides City’s regular Bulky Item program, CD 14 Bulky Item pickup:
El Sereno: every 2nd Saturday
Boyle Heights: every 3rd Saturday
Northeast: every 4th Saturday

Please call any of my district offices or 311 to report potholes, graffiti or bulky items. A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported the Community Clean Up, including the following agencies, organizations and concerned residents who lent a hand. My apologies if I miss anybody. You all did a wonderful job!

Enjoy the pictures!



City of Los Angeles and partners:
Department of Public Works Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz, Enrique Saldivar, General Manger Bureau of Sanitation, Nazario Sauceda, Assistant General Manger Bureau of Street Services, Urban Forestry, Office of Community Beautification, Department of Transportation, Northeast Graffiti Busters, Clean and Green and the Los Angeles Conservation Corp.

Community groups and organizations:

Northeast Los Angeles
Victory Outreach, Girl Scouts (Troops 216 and 330), Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, Glassell Park Improvement Association, Mt. Washington community members, Eagle Rock Kiwanis Club, San Pascual Neighborhood Watch and the North Highland Park Neighborhood Watch.

El Sereno:
L.A. 32 Neighborhood Council, Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, Rose Hills residents, El Sereno Stallions Football Program, Wilson High School Football team, Hollenbeck PALS, Barrio Action, Calvary Chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Monterey Hills Federation, Club Deportivo, Hillside Village Homeowners Association, University Hills Homeowners Association, Pride All Stars, Mi Casita Parent Organization and Plaza de La Raza.

Boyle Heights:
El Centro de Ayuda, Youth Opportunity Movement, Aliso Pico Girl Scouts , East Los Angeles Community Corporation, YMCA Camp Whittle Volunteers, Gang Alternatives Program, Roosevelt High School (including Football and Basketball Drill teams), People who Care, Salesian Boys and Girls Clubs, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, La Purisima Neighborhood Watch, LA Voice at Talpa Church and Abuelitos de Boyle Heights.


And special thanks to our sponsors: Charlie’s Trio Restaurant, Jarritos Sodas, El Mercado Restaurant, Cafe De Leche, CVS Pharmacy, Ellis Paints/Pacific Resource Recovery, Italiano’s Pizza and Occidental Plaza.

August 15th Community Clean Up!

Take pride in your neighborhood by volunteering to help keep Los Angeles beautiful.


WHEN: August 15, 2009

TIME:
Boyle Heights: 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
456 S. Mathews Street
Program and Roosevelt pool plaque unveiling at 12:00 Noon

Eagle Rock: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Occidental Plaza
4430 York Blvd. (Near Eagle Rock Blvd.)
Parking on Lincoln St.

El Sereno: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM, Program
begins at 8:45 AM
El Sereno Park, 4721 Klamath St.


MORE INFO:
Boyle Heights District Office - (323) 526-3059
Eagle Rock/Northeast District Office - (323) 254-5295
El Sereno District Office - (323) 266-1646

Evergreen Child Care Center Opens!

It was my pleasure today to celebrate the grand opening of the Evergreen Child Care Center in Boyle Heights and to commemorate the official dedication of the Willy Corona Multipurpose Room. Willy Corona was a great man who is sorely missed in the community. When I was a young kid playing baseball at Evergreen Park, Willy motivated me to do well in sports, as well as life. He was a great coach to me and countless other kids in the community. When I became Councilmember, lots of parents and community members told me about the importance and need for the Evergreen Child Care Center. At the time, the area was little more than a pile of dirt. The Evergreen Child Care Center had not been built, even though it was approved and planned. I worked with the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Bureau of Engineering and secured about $3.13 million in funding. After the state froze funding because of the budget shortfall, I worked with our departments to find the additional funding needed to complete this worthwhile project, which will benefit the children in our community for years to come. And there is nothing more fitting than to see Willy Corona’s name in a roomful of children who will be inspired by his work in the community.

National Night Out – America’s Night Out Against Crime

Tonight is National Night Out – America’s Night Out Against Crime.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

National Night Out is a great opportunity for all of us to show our solidarity with law enforcement and to strengthen our commitment to peace in our neighborhoods.

There are three events happening in our District and I encourage you to come out, bring your families and get to know your neighbors and community.

Boyle Heights: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
March from Dolores Mission: 170 S. Gless St.
to
Hollenbeck Police Station: 2111 E. First St. (1st & Chicago)
Join the march or meet us at the station at 6:30 p.m.

Eagle Rock: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Parking Lot of Target, Upper Level
(East side of Eagle Rock Plaza)
2626 Colorado Boulevard

Downtown: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
El Pueblo Historical Monument (Olvera Street)
125 Paseo de la Plaza
Featuring live bands: “The Remods” and “Carlos Guitarlos”