The Eastsider LA

A new view of old windows

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:39:00 +0000

Ed Sanchez spent many years in the business of getting homeowners to rip out old double-hung and casement windows - beloved by old house fans - and replace them with (gasp!) aluminum sliders. It did not make him a popular man among preservationists. But on Monday night, Sanchez will be welcomed at a meeting of the Highland Park Heritage Trust as an expert on repairing and restoring the same old windows. How did this happen? Read more in Home & History .

Occidental College celebrates the poetic legacy of alumnus Robinson Jeffers

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Occidental College today ends a month-long tribute to poet Robinson Jeffers - class of 1905 - with a series of events - from readings to bird watching and bee hive demonstrations - that combine poetry and Jeffers' interest in the environment. The students pictured above were getting ready to begin a tour of the Eagle Rock campus to view artwork - called the Ecologies of Poetry - created for Robinson Jeffers Day. The events conclude at 2 PM.

Photo by Marc Campos/Occidental College

The Echo Park store that does not end at the door

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:48:00 +0000

After remodeling and decorating the interior of her new Echo Park store, Tavin Boutique owner Erin Tavin didn't stop in the interior. She has rolled out potted plants, vintage metal chairs and even a rug to create a more inviting spot outside her Echo Park Avenue shop. She loves the look but admits it's a lot of work, everything has to be put back inside when the store closes and that
rug needs frequent cleaning.

News & Notes from Atwater, East LA, Echo Park, El Sereno & Lincoln Heights

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Living small: An Echo Park family at home in a 380-square-foot house. LA Times

Living big: An Echo Park family outgrows their two-bedroom house. Curbed LA

Two dead in Lincoln Heights murder-suicide. FoxLA

Roosevelt Roughriders beat Garfield Bulldogs in the 75th annual East LA Classic. LA Times

Atwater Village pot dispensaries ignore city orders to close. AV News

City approves ban on cat declawing. Associated Press

Incoming LAPD police chief tells El Sereno crowd that change is coming to the rank-and-file. LA Weekly

Today's Agenda:
* Take the kids along for a bilingual (English-Spanish) Family Nature Hike through Debs Park sponsored by the Audubon Center.
* Cypress Park honors its vets with a Veterans Day Ceremony.
* Save some time for the Frugality Forum at the Edendale Library.
* Occidental College celebrates Robinson Jeffers Day with poetry, bird watching, bee hive demonstration & performance.
* Silver Lake Art Collective holds an opening reception for their Fall Exhibit.
* The Silver Lake Art Crawl also stumbles through Atwater, Echo Park & Los Feliz (Sat & Sun).
* Edible art: The Back to Basics exhibit at Materials & Applications in Silver Lake ends with a Fish Taco Party.
* Slime mold races, panning for gold, smores & more at Echo Park's Machine Project Benefit.
* Ofrendas 2009, calavera fashion show and walking altars, at Tropico de Nopal in Echo Park-adjacent.
* Cesar's Last Fast film screening and fundraiser at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park.

Photo by Buz Carter/Flickr

Bus and vehicle collide in Silver Lake

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:54:00 +0000

An MTA bus and vehicle collided at about 6:30 PM on Glendale Boulevard near the 2 Freeway in Silver Lake, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Traffic is a mess and maybe blocked, according to reports on Twitter. Updated reports will be posted on Eastside 911.

Update @ 7PM: About 20 people are injured, with two in critical condition, according to the LAFD.

Eastside Shopper & Diner

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:35:00 +0000

In the mood for hydroponic greens, duck carnitas or perhaps an Eastside-brewed beer? Then head over to Eastsider on the Go to satisfy your appetite.

Photo courtesy Echo Park Farmers' Market

Peanut butter on paper? Anything goes at the Monster Drawing Rally

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:56:00 +0000

There is really only one rule that matters for the more than 100 artists who will participate in Sunday's Monster Drawing Rally in Eagle Rock to benefit Outpost for Contemporary Art. They must finish a drawing in an hour or less. What materials they use- including last year's peanut butter creation by Evan Holloway - is up to them. Read more in Eastsider on the Go.

Photo courtesy Outpost for Contemporary Art

Save the Date *

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Debs Park Family Nature Hike on Saturday/Photo by Buz Carter/Flickr

Friday, November 6

* The Eastside Cafe Space in El Sereno serves up organic popcorn and two films by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Saturday, November 7

* Take the kids along for a bilingual (English-Spanish) Family Nature Hike through Debs Park sponsored by the Audubon Center.
* Cypress Park honors its vets with a Veterans Day Ceremony.
* Save some time for the Frugality Forum at the Edendale Library.
* Occidental College celebrates Robinson Jeffers Day with poetry, bird watching, bee hive demonstration & performance.
* Silver Lake Art Collective holds an opening reception for their Fall Exhibit.
* The Silver Lake Art Crawl also stumbles through Atwater, Echo Park & Los Feliz (Sat & Sun).
* Edible art: The Back to Basics exhibit at Materials & Applications in Silver Lake ends with a Fish Taco Party.
* Slime mold races, panning for gold, smores & more at Echo Park's Machine Project Benefit.
* Ofrendas 2009, calavera fashion show and walking altars, at Tropico de Nopal in Echo Park-adjacent.
* Cesar's Last Fast film screening and fundraiser at El Centro del Pueblo in Echo Park.

Sunday, November 8

* Vets on the march: Veterans Day Parade and ceremonies in Eagle Rock & Highland Park.
* Activists on the march: Residents hike the California high-speed rail route from Lincoln Heights through Atwater.
* Ready, set draw: Monster Drawing Rally and art sale benefit in Eagle Rock.

* Correction: A previous version of this post included Cesar's Last Fast incorrectly under Sunday's events. The correct day is Saturday.

News & Notes from Boyle Heights, East LA, Echo Park & Highland Park

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:00 +0000

The people who brought you the Eastside Gold Line. EGP News

Where to take your parents to dinner in Echo Park. Squid Ink

Pocket park to be dedicated in the memory of a World War II man known as Mr. Boyle Heights EGP News

Waiting for the street car to arrive in Highland Park circa 1907. 90042

Childhood friends and neighbors to play against each other at tonight's East LA Classic. LA Times

East LA cityhood campaign makes some financial progress - one bowl of menudo at a time

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:38:00 +0000

The most recent drive for East Los Angeles cityhood has attracted plenty of attention. Money, however, has been a different matter. The East Los Angeles Residents Association, which is backing the proposal to turn unincorporated East LA into a self-governing municipality, needs to raise about $134,000 to pay for a fiscal analysis. But, in July, the EGP News reported that cityhood boosters had raised only $25,000 from a combination of menudo breakfasts, tours and other events. Since then, the cityhood movement has raised more money - another fundraiser is planned for tonight - but it still has a long way to go. Read more in Eastside Citizen.

News & Notes from Eagle Rock, East LA, Highland Park, Montecito Heights & Silver Lake

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +0000

LA Bike Plan update would extend Arroyo Bikeway to San Pedro. York Blvd.

What's going on at Avenue 43? Above the City

House hunter: Occidental College looks to nearby homes for faculty housing and offices. Oxy Weekly

Silver Lake resident wants to legalize urban farming. LA Weekly (previously on The Eastsider)

More details on a new Silver Lake-area park along the river. AV News

Rampart residents offer their views of the former Rampart Division captain who will head the LAPD. La Opinión (en español)

Bulldogs and Roughriders prepare for the East LA Classic. LA Eastside

The man behind Highland Park's fizz. BoingBoing (h/t 90042)

LA City council recommends a uniform policy on school uniforms. CBS2

Today's Agenda:
* Toast to Equality, a benefit in support of gay marriage, to be held in Silver Lake.
* New LAPD chief Charlie Beck to meet with El Sereno residents tonight.
* Fundraiser tonight for East LA cityhood campaign.

Everything you need is right here: milk, beer, wine, water & car seat covers

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Forgot to mention check cashing and keys at the northwest corner of Glendale Boulevard and Montana in Echo Park.

Photo by Mike Fischer/Flickr

Eastside Crime Watch

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:45:00 +0000

A double murder in Highland Park and numerous violent robberies in Boyle Heights were among the major crimes reported last week. Read the review of major crime broken down by neighborhood in Eastside 911.

Split decision announced in the Boyle Heights high school construction derby

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Last week The Eastsider reported that both LA Unified and charter school operator Green Dot were each claiming they had just opened the first new pubic high school in Boyle Heights in 80 years. LA Unified did hold a dedication ceremony in September for the Mendez Learning Center about a month before Green Dot staged a ribbon cutting for the Oscar de la Hoya Ánimo Charter High School. However, Green Dot said its school had been operating for five years in a temporary site in downtown Los Angeles. How did the schools reconcile the counter claims? Read more in School Yard.

Echo Park-Silver Lake freeway project takes another detour

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:31:00 +0000

View Larger Map
For more than a decade, Echo Park and Silver Lake residents, traffic engineers, consultants and political leaders have been working on a plan to rebuild the often jammed and chaotic southern tip of the 2 Freeway, which comes to an abrupt end at Glendale Boulevard. It looked like a resolution was finally at hand this summer when an official with the Metropolitan Transit Authority indicated support for a proposal created by residents, who want to squeeze out additional parkland and other public amenities from the project. But, at a meeting tonight, MTA officials will explain why the agency can't get behind the residents' proposal and will need more time and money to study yet another idea to untangle what's officially called the State Route 2 Terminus. It's the most recent setback for a $12 million project that when completed still won't provide much relief for motorists stuck in traffic.

"Is it going to improve traffic? I don't think so," said Echo Park resident Peter Lassen of the newest proposal the MTA wants to study. "What does it do for the community? Nothing."

Community activists like Lassen as well as MTA officials have inherited the problem caused more than 40 years ago when a coalition of Echo Park and Silver Lake residents prevented highway builders from extending the 2 Freeway south through the neighborhoods. The freeway ends just south of where it crosses the 5 Freeway before it narrows, dumping traffic onto Glendale Boulevard. Federal funds totaling about $12 million were allocated in the 1990s to fix the freeway stub, thus giving birth to the State Route 2 Freeway Terminus Improvement Project. Since then, state and local officials focused on improving traffic management and safety have been locked in a struggle with residents seeking to keep the freeway from overwhelming nearby neighborhoods. "They seem to want to move more traffic," said activist Judy Raksin, which has been following the project since the beginning. "We want to move traffic more smoothly."

Earlier this decade, residents were successful in getting their proposal, called Alternative D, to be studied along with designs. Alternative D (pictured below) would transform the freeway bridge now crossing above Glendale Boulevard into an elevated public plaza and create more green space near the Tommy Lasorda Field of Dreams. It's the proposal that the MTA staff appeared to be ready to endorse, according to residents who heard presentations this summer. But, while MTA staff might have supported the idea, their partners at Caltrans and the city's Department of Transportation opposed it for numerous reasons, according to Chester Britt, a community relations consultant working on the study. All three agencies must agree on the terminus proposal. So, the MTA staff came up with yet another idea that combines elements of the previous proposals studied over the year. The idea, as presented to Lassen and other residents, keeps the bridge over Glendale Boulevard for motorists and realigns some other lanes. That would fall far short of what Lassen and others have wanted.

Britt said the MTA board will be asked for money to study this most recent idea before it can be finalized and, with the blessing of the board and other agencies, implemented. There is concern among local elected officials that the $12 million allocated for the project may be lost if a decision is not made soon, Britt said. "Giving the money back is not an option," Britt said. "If there is consensus on anything ... it is that we need to make a decision. We need to make a that final decision and stand by it and live with it."

Yet, even if the MTA and other agencies finally reach a consensus on how to spend that $12 million and take several years to fix the 2 Freeway terminus, what will it mean for motorists? Not much, concedes Britt, who said the goal is to improve traffic safety and management.

The project will not necessarily "mean that you are going to relieve traffic congestion," Britt said. "There is just too much demand and not much room."

Related Links:
* 2 Freeway Terminus Redesign. Corralitas Red Car Property

El Sereno residents win the battle of Elephant Hill but who will pay the bill?

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Residents of El Sereno have waged a 25-year battle against investors seeking to build homes on what is called Elephant Hill on the boundary with South Pasadena. On Tuesday, residents declared victory after the City Council agreed to settle a lawsuit with the Elephant Hill property owners by buying their approximately 15-acre site and an adjacent 5-acre parcel for $9 million to create a future park. Still to be worked out, however, is how the city is going to pay for the deal to resolve the dispute, which has proved awkward at times for Councilman Jose Huizar. Read more in Eastside Citizen.

News & Notes from Echo Park, El Sereno, Highland Park & Silver Lake

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:04:00 +0000

City agrees to settle Elephant Hill lawsuit by buying El Sereno property for $9 million. LA Times

LA Unified enrollment keeps dropping while charter schools gain. Daily News

Merry mail carriers: Holiday decorators needed for the Highland Park post office. Highland Park Residents

A new Silver Lake area park to provide open space and clean storm water. LAist

Do you know how to play Echo Park Poker? Casino Walk

Not so fast: City council commission delays action on pot clinic ordinance. LA Times

McCourts borrowed more than $500 million using Dodger Stadium property as collateral. Dodger Thoughts

A Jose Huizar Halloween. Council District 14

Today's Agenda:
* LA Bike Plan meeting in Highland Park.
* MTA updates Echo Park-Silver Lake on 2 Freeway Terminus project.
* Occidental students organize against Human Trafficking & Slavery.

Police capture suspect in Highland Park stabbing and Glassell Park shooting

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:37:00 +0000

The LAPD has made arrests in connection with two separate incidents involving a deadly knife-fight in Highland Park and a shooting in Glassell Park in which a car carrying several children was hit by gunfire. Read more in Eastside 911.

Your next text message might come from the LAPD

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:51:00 +0000

A Wednesday night march in Silver Lake in support of gay marriage will find the LAPD sending out text messages as well as officers to keep things under control. The department will be texting mobile phone users with information about road closures and the location of BuryProp8 marchers as part of a test of a secure instant message system operated by a start up company called Nixle. Read more in Eastside 911.

Tacos, anyone? A Silver Lake exhibit comes to a tasty conclusion

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:30:00 +0000

This coming weekend marks the end of the "Back to Basics" exhibit at Silver Lake's Materials & Applications. But first, the stars of the show must be caught, filleted and then shoved into a taco. The Saturday night Fish Taco Party will feature the approximately 20 tilapia that have been raised in a tank in the M&A courtyard as part of an exhibit to get city dwellers interested in raising their own food, said Jenna Didier, founder of the Silver Lake Boulevard exhibition space that focuses on architecture and landscape. Read more in Eastsider on the Go.

Mayor names former Rampart Division leader to head LAPD

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:34:00 +0000

Deputy Chief Charlie Beck was this morning nominated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to replace William Bratton as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Beck, a 33-year-department veteran, served as captain of the Rampart Division, which covers portions of Echo Park and Silver Lake, in 2003-2005, according to a press release. He was credited with helping carry out reforms at the division in the wake of the Rampart scandal, according to the LA Times.

If the City Council approves Beck's nomination, he is expected to preside at a December graduation ceremony at the Los Angeles Police Academy in Elysian Park for a new class of officers, which will include his son, Martin.

Related Links:
* Councilman Eric Garcetti statement on Beck. CD 13
* Charlie Beck interview. YouTube

Tranquil Debs Park turns into a mountain biking battle ground

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:41:00 +0000

The steep hills and narrow canyons of Debs Park in Montecito Heights provide a nearly 300-acre refuge in the middle of the city. There is nothing peaceful, however, about the tug-of-war being waged over Debs between mountain bikers, who want to open the park to off-road riding, and park advocates concerned about safety. The issue will be coming up at a Wednesday night public meeting in Highland Park as the city's Planning Department reviews an update to the city's Bike Plan. Read more in Eastside Citizen.

An early price chop for new Echo Park condos

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:22:00 +0000

The Sunset Five condo project has been on the market for only about three weeks but the owners of the Echo Park project have already taken a $20,000 whack at the price of one unit. Read more in Home & History.

Neighborhood cops make way for Echo Park neighborhood council

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:50:00 +0000

View Larger Map

The Echo Park neighborhood council - which has found itself meeting in churches and libraries as well as in parking garages and even a play ground - has finally found a permanent home. Read more in Eastside Citizen.

News & Notes from Echo Park, El Sereno, Highland Park & Silver Lake

noreply@blogger.com (The Eastsider LA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Freeways in the news: 2 Freeway project takes a detour & barrier work to begin on 110 Freeway.

An Echo Park house that sold for $315,000 in June is back on the market at $549,000? Curbed LA

Mayor to name new police chief this morning. LA Now

Day of the Dead, Highland Park style. 90042

Free flu shots today at Cal State LA. LA County

Will the Knitting Factory bands and fans relocate to Silver Lake? Daily Trojan

Cholo Writing, then and now. LA Eastside

New chief to make an El Sereno appearance Thursday. The Voice