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.
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!
I attended a breakfast yesterday morning for Jonathan Veitch before his inauguration as new Occidental College President. I first met Jonathan a few months ago and I knew then that he was a committed and dedicated leader. Located in Eagle Rock, Occidental has a reputation as an excellent liberal arts university (President Barack Obama was a student) and I know that Jonathan will be tremendous asset to the college, its faculty and, most importantly, to the students. Congratulations, Mr. Veitch! Photo Credit: 1)President Veitch, courtesy Occidental Facebook Page 2) Council Staff
Northeast LA LAPD Open House & Resource Fair , A Celebration of Community
On Saturday, I joined Captain Bill Murphy and the brave men and women of the Northeast Los Angeles Police Station for their Annual Open House and Resource Fair. The entire station was packed with people from the community, from seniors to tots, as well vendors serving up great local food. I believe Captain Murphy said they had well over 1,000 people in attendance. Everyday, LAPD officers risk their lives to protect our neighborhoods and communities. It’s important that we take the time to thank them and acknowledge them for all they do. Because of the commitment and hard work of the Northeast Division and the leadership of Captain Murphy, the Northeast has ranked 1st in crime reduction City-wide with homicides down 56 percent and violent crime down 10 percent. We know that accomplishments like these come to fruition by building strong community alliances. This Open House and Resource Fair provided a safe and fun environment where residents had the opportunity to meet police officers, take a tour of the station, and build the type of relationships that will help improve all our lives. Thank you to everyone who attended and to the many volunteers who made it all possible.
Join me and the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock at the 11th Annual Music Festival! FREE! Tomorrow Saturday October 3rd from 4 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Bring your family and friends and enjoy an afternoon of great entertainment with more than 40 musical acts and great food! Don’t worry about parking! We have a FREE parking and shuttle service at Eagle Rock Plaza on Colorado Blvd. between Eagle Rock Blvd. and Argus.
This is a great event the whole family can enjoy. See you there!
This past weekend, my family and I enjoyed a really great pancake breakfast fundraiser that the Mt. Washington elementary school PTA hosted. The school had a really great turn out and raised a good amount of money for school. Congratulations!
On Wednesday, I delivered my “State of the Town Address” to The Eagle Rock Association (TERA). TERA has been advocating on behalf of Eagle Rock for more than 20 years and it’s always an honor for me to spend some time with them. I want to thank them for hosting for this event. We had a nice turnout as I updated folks on some of the issues I’ve been working on, such as pushing forward on hearing medical marijuana hardship exemption cases throughout my district. At my urging, the City has heard more hardship exemptions in Council District 14 than any other Council office and I thanked Eagle Rock residents for their help in leading me to move to strike the hardship exemption clause from the Interim Control Ordinance. We also talked about LAPD’s Northeast Division ranking 1st in crime reduction City-wide with homicides down 56 percent and violent crime down 10 percent. And after Wednesday mornings multi-agency law enforcement sweep throughout the Northeast led to the arrests of 78 alleged gang members, some alleged to be responsible in the killing of L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Escalante, we are hopeful crime will drop even more. Thanks again to TERA, my staff and the community members who came out.
Today I had the distinct honor of welcoming El Super to the Highland Park community. For some time now, the lot on York Ave. and Ave. 56 has sat empty and isolated, weakening the value of the neighborhood. In these hard economic times, a grand opening for a business is rare. El Super showed interest in the community of Highland Park and has worked closely with my office to make sure that community needs were met. El Super brings 100 local jobs and has employed local residents, offering opportunities in a time when not many companies can. At today’s Grand Opening celebration, I was happy to join Carlos Smith, President and CEO of El Super, vendors, community leaders, and the newly hired staff to celebrate the grand opening of this new supermarket that will offer fresh and affordable produce to residents. I think I can safely say that many residents are thankful for the investment being made in Highland Park and I look forward to the many positive benefits El Super will bring.
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!
Moving Forward on Behalf of Southwest Museum Despite Autry’s Announcement
The Autry abandoned plans to expand its Griffith Park Museum last week. I am surprised and disappointed the Autry did not fully engage in negotiations with me, which is what the City’ Board of Referred Powers recommended so that both the Autry and the Southwest Museum in Mt. Washington (the City’s oldest museum), could be up and running as world-class museums. I am still committed to getting the Southwest Museum reopened as a fully accredited museum so we can continue the tradition of honoring Native American and Southwest culture started by Charles Lummis at the Mt. Washington site some 95 years ago.
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
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”
Dogs (and Cats) Have Their Day at the 4th Annual Dogs Day of Summer @ Hermon Park
This year, I was happy to help sponsor the 4th Annual “Dog Days of Summer” put together by Friends of Hermon Dog Park and the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, with the participation of the L.A. Dept. of Animal Services, L.A. County Animal Control Services and the Pasadena Humane Society. I attended the event with my wife, Richelle, and our three kids. Our youngest, Simón, wanted to greet every dog that crossed his path! This was a wonderful, animal-friendly event promoting quality pet care, free and low cost vaccinations, as well as on-site pet-adoptions. Throughout the year, hundreds of dogs and cats are in need of loving homes. Thankfully, there are ways to help. Adopting a pet can be a very rewarding experience for the entire family. If you are interested, check out the links provided! And remember, if you already have a pet, be sure they have enough shade and water throughout this very hot summer.
As we kick-off the second year of the highly successful Summer Night Lights (SNL) program, I want to encourage our young people and their families to become involved and take advantage of the excellent programs being offered. As part of an effort to protect our young people from gangs and gang violence, 16 parks within Los Angeles, including Ramon Garcia and Ramona Gardens parks in Boyle Heights, are now open and fully staffed from 7 p.m. to Midnight, Wednesday through Saturday, until September 7th.
Last Friday we kicked off our community stakeholders and leaders meeting in the Northeast at the 20th Century Women’s Club with an amazing morning of discussion. Joined by several of the Northeast non-profits, community leaders and stakeholders I was happy to share information on what I have been doing in the City Council and throughout the area. Some of the issues covered:
Medical Marijuana After meeting with several residents from the Northeast concerned over the growing number of marijuana dispensaries in the community, I introduced a motion to remove the hardship exemption clause that allowed these dispensaries to open using a loophole in the current law. I also requested that hardship exemption cases be heard immediately in the City’s Planning & Land Use Management Committee (PLUM). So far, we have denied three Eagle Rock hardship exemption applications in City Council and have recommended in PLUM that four others from Eagle Rock be denied. Those will be heard today in City Council.
Southwest Museum I recently asked the Board of Referred Powers to link any lease agreement with the Autry National Center for their proposed Griffith Park expansion to a binding legal document, which would commit them to restore and reopen the Southwest Museum. I also asked that the Autry prepare a Master Plan and discuss exhibit space. The Autry has made significant upgrades at the Southwest, about $7 million. They’ve been great stewards of the 250,000 artifacts under their care since merging with the Southwest. However, after six years, the Northeast community and the thousands of Los Angeles residents who love the Southwest deserve a firm commitment.
Northeast Surveillance Cameras To aid with public safety concerns in our community, as well as provide assistance to LAPD, the Security Surveillance Cameras in Eagle Rock and Highland Park have been installed and are operable.
Wiota Circle – Welcoming Monument Just a few weeks ago, the Eagle Rock Community celebrated the completion of the first Welcome to Eagle Rock Monument at Wiota Circle. It was my pleasure to join with Eagle Rock activists and community members for the unveiling of an Eagle Rock monument shaped like the famed “Eagle Rock” the town is named after.
AT&T Mural Since, I took office many of you bought it to my attention, the need to restore the “History of Highland Park” Mural. My office has continued to work with AT&T officials. In January of this year, we received good news. AT&T has agreed to fund the entire restoration and pay for ongoing maintenance costs.
Los Angeles Facing $530 Million Budget Deficit City Cutbacks
Good News: Despite heavy budget cuts, we were able to secure most of the funding for Neighborhood Councils, which I believe are great liaisons and first in making sure issues within communities are taken care of.
311 Services Update: 311 will remain a 24hour operation, a great tool for information on city services.
Sidewalk repair will not install new speed bumps for the time being, and will repair streets with asphalt not concrete.
City can no longer waive fees or cover the full costs for local community events and street closures. However we are looking to find ways to remedy the situation at the city level. CD14 staff will continue to assist in any way possible.
Thank you to everyone that attended, I look forward in working with you all in improving the services to the Northeast community! And I look forward to the upcoming El Sereno and Boyle Heights Community Leaders Breakfasts!
For more info please call Northeast office: 323-254-5295
Asking Autry to Make Promise to Open Southwest Museum Official
Last week I asked a City Board considering an expansion project for the Autry Museum’s Griffith Park location to attach to the project’s lease a legally binding agreement to reopen the Southwest Museum in Mt. Washington. The Autry bought the Southwest Museum in 2003, along with its collection of 250,000 mostly Native American artifacts. They’ve instituted a number of upgrades at the Southwest Museum, including $7.5 million in improvements. In 2007, The Autry sent me an agreement memo, laying out their intentions to restore and reopen the museum in Mt. Washington, which is the City’s oldest. After working together with the Southwest Society, which was formed to monitor the Autry’s progress with the Southwest Museum, I decided to ask members of the Board of Referred Powers, chaired by Councilmember Janice Hahn, to require the Autry to make that agreement a legally binding document. The board, consisting of Councilmembers Hahn, Reyes, Cardenas, Rosendahl and Parks, voted unanimously to support my action, while giving the Autry and me a month to work out an agreement.
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.
