Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council :: Forum

Re: What's Happening Currently at the Audobon Center [by robert mendel]

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:43:09 -0000

Audobon Center in Debs Park:: What's Happening Currently at the Audobon Center
The Audubon Center at Debs Park is an environmental education and conservation center for the communities of Northeast Los Angeles and the region.
Film Fridays at Debs Park

Film Fridays

...under the Stars
...bajo las estrellas

Entrada Gratis
Free Admission

Friday, July 16
PADDLE TO THE SEA AND ROCK THE BOAT
English, no subtitles available
Start off with Paddle to the Sea, a short film about a little canoe's journey in Canada. Followed by true story of Los Angeles River activists who paddled down the length of the river.
6:45 pm: Bird Walk
8:00 - 8:15 pm: Film Begins

Re: What's Happening at Local Art Galleries, etc. [by robert mendel]

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:38:02 -0000

Arts, Music, Culture & Architecture:: What's Happening at Local Art Galleries, etc.
Silent and Classic Movies begin Saturday
Heritage Square is proud to showcase the female stars of the Golden Era for this year's Silent and Classic Movie Series. Gates open at 7:30 PM. Admission is free* for members and $10 for the general public. The series is made possible thanks to the generous support of Videoteque.

This Saturday July 10th kicks things off with the 1915 silent movie A Fool was There, one of only a handful of Theda Bara films that still exists, where she stars as a "Vamp" set out to ruin the lives of respectable men! On the same night, the museum will play 1926's The Show-Off, a comedy about an insufferable braggart who disrupts the lives of a middle-class family by pretending to be much, much more than he really is.

Read more about the first two films on our blog at http://heritagesqua re.blogspot. com

The series continues on July 17th with the 1939 comedy, The Women. On July 24th, the museum will present An evening with Clara Bow, celebrating the life and legacy of the women who would come to define the "Roaring Twenties".

* Individual members 1 discount * Family Members up to 4 *Sustaining members up to 5 *Contributing and HSSmembers up to 7

Also upcoming at Heritage Square...

Don't miss Hairpiece Basics for Reenactors with Lana and Lily
On July 18, from 1 pm to 3 pm, learn the basics of hairpieces like how to how to make your own, how to match your hair color and where to buy. This demonstration will show how to create Mid-Victorian, Bustle and Edwardian hairstyles. A discussion on the tools needed and how to research historically appropriate hair styles will also occur. Cost is $8.00 and space is limited, so be sure to RSVP by calling 323-225-2700 ext. 223 today.

Volunteer Training Begins July 31
Heritage Square's most valuable resource are volunteers. Volunteers give tours, play living history characters, staff events, help with the restoration of the homes, work in our garden, serve on committees and keep the museum thriving. If any of those activities sound like fun to you, we encourage you to attend our volunteer training classes. Be sure to fill out the volunteer application form.

As the museum reaches out to new audiences, bilingual Spanish and Chinese speaking volunteers are especially needed. Volunteering at the museum helps to connect the current generations of young and old with a history often forgotten in the textbooks. To participate and for more information, contact Jessica Maria at (323) 225-2700, extension 222 or email jessica@heritagesqu are.org.

Their Rights and Nothing Less: A Celebration of Women's Suffrage continues
The year 2010 marks the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. Our latest exhibit celebrates this accomplishment with the stories of the women, both locally and nationally, who fought to win this right. The exhibit runs through September 26th and is made possible thanks to sponsors Planned Parenthood of Pasadena, 9 to 5 Working Women Los Angeles, the Glendale Printing Center and donors like you. Entrance to the exhibit is included with admission, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

from http://citywatchla.com - Independence Day for Neighborhood Councils [by robert mendel]

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:40:49 -0000

How Neighborhood Councils Work:: from http://citywatchla.com - Independence Day for Neighborhood Councils

from http://citywatchla.com - Independence Day for Neighborhood Councils

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CITYWATCH
Ken Draper

There were many grassroots Angelinos who saw the voter uprising that overwhelmingly approved LA’s new Charter in 1999 as a kind of Declaration of Independence. A kind of demand-to-be-heard revolution.

The Charter vote didn’t need the Supreme Court to decide the outcome. It was decisive. Consider this: the new Charter was approved by a greater percentage of the voters than was Antonio Villaraigosa when he defeated James Hahn for Mayor.

It was a public shout for a voice in the of-the-people and for-the-people process.

Former Councilman Joel Wachs made neighborhood councils a linchpin in his 1992 mayoral campaign. He said that LA citizens had become cynical about and disengaged from City Hall because no one there was listening to them. The 1999 Charter vote was Los Angeles saying they weren’t going to take it anymore.

Two things of significance were featured in the new Charter: more centralized power for the mayor and neighborhood councils.

Then Mayor, Richard Reardon, wanted the centralized power part but didn’t think it was a sexy enough issue to attract the vote.

Neighborhood councils … a Charter-mandated right for ordinary folks to offer advice to City Hall … had more appeal.

So, even though he was not really a fan of the NC concept, he saw it as a way to sell the new Charter. And, as a result, neighborhood councils became the centerpiece of the Charter pitch.

How it came about didn’t interest the citizenry much. They saw the opportunity and seized it. In a big way.

Heady days followed that ‘Declaration of Independence.’

As the workshops and hearings were rolled out across the city an atmosphere of revolution began to swell. And the revolutionaries went from hearing to hearing excited by the possibilities.

Professor Blackburn was exhilarated by the possibility that everyone would have a seat at the neighborhood political table.

Michael Gutierrez imagined that perhaps now the voices in his Boyle Heights neighborhood might have impact downtown.

Molly Hedrin saw the ‘revolution’ as not a replacement for secession but a better than nothing opportunity for her beloved Valley to get some respect.

The revolutionaries talked of “holding City Hall accountable.” Of, “changing the way the City does business.” Of the power or empowered neighborhoods.

Now, 11 years later, this Fourth of July, the neighborhood council movement seems more like evolution than revolution. And, for some, the independence is more and more missing from the declaration of.

The City is now running neighborhood council elections.

The strings are being tightened on the funding process … not the way the councils’ money is managed but what they spend it on.

There are plans for bylaws standardization.

The City Council put the brakes on the Council File Number for NCs idea by adding punitive declaration requirements.

The department and the BONC are deciding for Councils what the standards should be of self-assessment.

. Decisions continue to be made at City Hall without the benefit of … and often in spite of … citywide neighborhood council input.

From revolution to evolution, LA’s neighborhood councils have made some dramatic inroads. The defeat recently of Measure B, protecting their funding, learning the art of grassroots collaboration and 21st Century communication are examples.

However, losing sight of the reasons for the revolution will ultimately prove fatal for the evolution.

The ability of neighborhood councils to impact the City’s business … your business … diminishes with the loss of neighborhood council independence.

Not a bad time, this 11th anniversary of the new Charter victory, for neighborhood councils to commit to preserving what got them here.

(Ken Draper is the editor of CityWatch. He can be reached at Editor@CityWatchLA.com) ◘

from http://www.boulevardsentinel.com/ - HHPNC Election Challenged [by robert mendel]

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:37:29 -0000

How Neighborhood Councils Work:: from http://www.boulevardsentinel.com/ - HHPNC Election Challenged

HHPNC Election Challenged

by Tom Topping

    Community members breathed a sigh of relief last month, as a new board was elected to replace the previously dysfunctional board of the HHPNC (Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council). That sigh was a bit premature however, when the election was challenged by outgoing President, Dr. Richard ####.
    The April 29th election was challenged on May 6th for a slate of issues ranging from incorrect ballots, to ineligible voters, to use of L.A. City and HHPNC logos on election materials and conflicts of interest. While some of the issues are clearly important, others seemed merely nitpicking.
    One nitpicky issue was the complaint about inclusion of spaces for write-in candidates on the ballot where no write-in candidates were running. Dr. #### contends that this led to confusion for voters and resulted in incorrect votes. The fact is, all of the neighborhood council elections had ballots with spaces for write-in candidates whether or not any write-in candidates existed. As a voter who experienced all of these elections first hand, I did not find it confusing, but acknowledge it might be for some who can't or don't bother to read the instructions. (Should they be allowed to vote in that case?) I can't, however, think of any way it could have been done better, as it was quite a formidable task for anyone to format and deliver dozens of different ballots for all the region G elections on the same day. They were all uniformly done.
    A more serious problem was the separate issue director positions being all lumped into one category of issue director. It would not have been a problem but it seems to run afoul of the HHPNC's bylaws that specify which issue positions directors are running for. Instead of the voters deciding who has the expertise to fill a position to take on specific community issues and concerns, the HHPNC board will instead dole out the issue positions among the elected "issue directors" according to whatever process they deem appropriate. This, I think, does disenfranchise the voters and is important.
    Another complaint was the contention that the HHPNC election committee, led by newly elected Vice President Richard Marquez, operated as a de-facto campaign committee, who not only took the responsibility of helping the city clerk organize the election, but campaigned for their slate of preferred candidates as well. My analysis is that even if they did, and although it would be unethical to do so, it would not be grounds to overturn the election because even if the election committee removed their committee hats, and wore their campaign hat a minute later, they were, and should be, as free to do so as any community member is free to campaign for whomever they might choose. It is similar to the built-in advantage any incumbent politician has when running for re-election. We may not like it, but there is really no way around it.
    If, however, the official HHPNC e-mail list or funds or any other asset was used by HHPNC board members or committee members to campaign for certain candidates, that clearly would not be right, but no evidence was submitted to suggest that.
    Another of ####'s contentions was that the election committee meetings were held in violation of state open meeting laws. He claims they were not held in a properly noticed, agendized, open and transparent manner, and the committee members resisted any oversight by the HHPNC board and operated in what appeared to be a level of secrecy. I believe all of this is true, considering my experience with the people involved. However, I don't think it amounts to anything that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, the election review panel or the L.A. City Clerk would care about. The L.A. City Clerk put on the election, not the HHPNC.
    Another complaint was the use of L.A. City and HHPNC logos on campaign materials. I believe it was probably done, is typically done and I doubt the election review panel will worry much about it.
    One issue was concerning the eligibility of candidates. This one centered around Election Outreach committee members who became candidates. While it is true that it violates the spirit of the conflict of interest rules, in a system where most of the local neighborhood council elections had seats that no candidates even ran for, it wouldn't make sense to eliminate people from serving who are interested enough to volunteer to help. I don't think the election review panel will care.
    A final issue was regarding the eligibility of voters. ####'s contention was that while only those who were at least sixteen were allowed to vote, any Franklin High Student that showed a valid student ID was allowed to vote. #### complained that "not all" student ID cards show the person's age, and were not monitored closely enough, allowing students to vote who may not have been eligible.
    I can't see how the City election review panel would do anything but applaud the turnout of about 1/3 of all the HHPNC voters coming from the local high school, and dismiss this issue as little more than sour grapes.
    Finally, 2008-2010 President Dr. #### concludes his election challenge by asking for specific remedies.
1. Hold a new election.
2. Assuming a new election, none of the election outreach committee members should be allowed to run to make sure the outreach activities are "candidate neutral."
3. Assuming a new election, a uniform method should be used to check stakeholder age.
4. Assuming a new election, the ballot format should be corrected so as not to be confusing.
5. Recount write-in votes and discount any that have errors or omissions in the names written.
6. Provide stakeholders in the HHPNC area with an explanation of the provisional ballot process, where voters with questionable status are allowed to vote and checked later to determine eligibility.
7. Finally, Dr. ####'s last remedy seems more like a witch hunt than an election remedy as he asks that HHPNC election Chair Richard Marquez be called before the Election Review Panel to determine who his election outreach committee members were and who of those ran for election. He further alleges that Marquez and his supporters have prevented the HHPNC members from inquiring about this during their meetings by preventing them from placing those items on the agenda. (Believable considering that Marquez's wife, Gemma, chairs the agenda committee separately!)
    My guess is that the election will not be a do-over. If anything, they may suggest ways to distribute the issue chair positions among the issue chairs that enable stakeholders to have some say. The election challenge could also engender new policy and procedures for NC elections in the future that would address some of the problems or issues identified by Dr. #### in his complaint. In a complaint that numbers 56 pages with all the attachments, I doubt the election review panel will even be very happy about having to take the time to read the election challenge.
    So why did Dr. #### take the time to make it?
    In a country that was founded over principles and process, it is a never ending battle to push for fair, open and honest means and methods of government to prevail over the natural desires of people to simply "get things done" in the most direct way possible. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the few, who, like Dr. ####, willingly bear the burden of ridicule, anger and the possibility of violence in order to preserve and protect all of our rights to be informed and have a say on what our government is doing FOR us, and sometimes TO us.
    It may make us a little crazy once in a while, but it is definitely well worth it.

from http://www.boulevardsentinel.com/ - HHPNC Election Challenged [by robert mendel]

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:36:06 -0000

How Neighborhood Councils Work:: from http://www.boulevardsentinel.com/ - HHPNC Election Challenged

HHPNC Election Challenged

by Tom Topping

from: http://yorkblvd.com -Eagle Rock a Robotic Dystopia? [by robert mendel]

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:22:24 -0000

Eagle Rock Happenings:: from: http://yorkblvd.com -Eagle Rock a Robotic Dystopia?

Eagle Rock a Robotic Dystopia?

Ξ March 23rd, 2010 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Highland Park |

Though Eagle Rock is no stranger to the silver screen, this recent Sundance favorite caught me by surprise.

Spike Jonze, who’s best known these days for Where the Wild Things Are (though I could never forget his Weezer/Happy Days video), just released a robot love story called “I’m Here.” It’s a surreal, yet remarkably poignant, tale of robots living among people in Los Angeles, and largely shot around our neck of the woods.

What’s not surprising? Eagle Rock is full of hipster-robots (zing!).

When you have 30 minutes, check it out at imheremovie.com, though you’re supposed to be over 21 (it’s sponsored by Absolut) and you might have to wait for the next “screening.”

Councilman�s son a witness to a Highland Park robbery [by robert mendel]

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:09:03 -0000

Crime News in Highland Park & LA Community Policing:: Councilman�s son a witness to a Highland Park robbery

Councilman’s son a witness to a Highland Park robbery

July 2, 2010

in Crime,Eastside 911

One of the sons of First District Councilman Ed Reyes was in Highland Park last week when his friends were robbed as they rode their bikes on Monte Vista Street and Avenue 56. Capt. William Murphy of the LAPD Northeast Division provided details of the crime in his most recent Northeast Newsletter:

“You may have heard that Councilmember Ed Reyes son was a witness to a robbery (his two friends were robbed as they rode their bicycles on Monte Vista at Ave 56). Our Gang Unit jumped on this quickly and within two days arrested 2 of the three suspects involved (still working on the other). We received DA filings for robbery on the suspects.”

The suspects, who pretended to have a gun, made off with bikes, cell phones and other property. Councilman Reyes, who lives in Cypress Park, has four children. Police did not identify which of Reyes’ sons witnessed the crime.

Re: from http://www.historichighlandpark.blogspot.com/ -- GARVANZA SIGN DEBATE [by robert mendel]

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:58:43 -0000

Garvanza Improvement Association:: from http://www.historichighlandpark.blogspot.com/ -- GARVANZA SIGN DEBATE
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/talk_to_the_sign_neighbors_proposed_highland_park_condo_hangs_on.php#more

Shenanigans
Talk to the Sign, Neighbors: Highland Park Condo Project Hangs On
Wednesday, June 23, 2010, by Dakota
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Who needs community meetings when you can just post your renderings for the world to see? For the last two weeks, this sign was up at the corner of Avenue 66 and Crescent Street in the Garvanza section of Highland Park, the notice talking up a seven-unit condo building. Not surprisingly, there's a tangled mess behind the story of the sign: Developer Alex Ma has stated he wants to tear down two homes on the site for his building, while locals in the neighborhood--an area known for its historical late 19th and early 20th century homes--want him to incorporate the structures in his condo development. It's a "volatile and contentious situation," says Tina Gulotta-Miller, Secretary of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, who has been battling Ma for years over the site. Who knows why exactly the sign was put up (presumably it was put up by Ma or an associate), but is it supposed to taunt the neighbors? Get them on his side?
Complicating everything: Here comes an HPOZ.>>>

While the purpose of the sign may not be clear, Ma originally submitted plans to the city back in 2006 to tear down the two homes on the site, and put up the condo project. According to a rep for the Dept of City Planning, Ma was told by the department to do an environmental impact report for his condo building because of the historical nature of the bigger house. Ma, who didn't respond to request for comment, hasn't completed an EIR yet.

But complicating his plans is the fact that this neighborhood is in process of being designated an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), a label that makes altering residences more difficult. Once the HPOZ is in place, "he would have to get approval to tear down [the homes]," says Charlie J. Fisher, Co-chair of the Garvanza Improvement Association. "Which he won�t get from the HPOZ board."

Both Gullata-Miller and Fisher believe that Ma could preserve the two existing homes, and build his seven units on the site. "I've said to him, 'take the existing structures, you got three units and they could be converted to condos,'" says Fisher, who works as a historical consultant. "And you have space to build out the rest."

For now, neighbors have to deal with a boarded up properties, which haven't seen tenants in years, according to Gullata-Miller. She also accuses Ma of trying to tear down the larger home three years ago, and says he was only stopped when neighbors came out and called the city to complain.

Meanwhile, back to that big sign. Building and Safety launched an investigation after a complaint was made, and the sign was removed yesterday.

And for those interested in the HPOZ issues, there's a workshop tonight (6pm and on) for the proposed designation at the Highland Park Senior Citizen Center 6152 N. Figueroa St. This new HPOZ would essentially expand the existing HPOZ and rename the whole area to the Highland Park-Garvanza HPOZ. It's expected the study will go before the Cultural Heritage Commission on July 15th.

Re: from http://laweekly.com Villaraigosa's Vanishing Veracity [by robert mendel]

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:52:27 -0000

Mayor's Office Forum:: from http://laweekly.com Villaraigosa's Vanishing Veracity
Keith Brackpool's Big Plan

12:37 PM June 28, 2010

As we reported last week, the name "Brackpool" has turned up on documents obtained by KTLA relating to Mayor Villaraigosa's trip to Europe last year.

He's listed as having attended all of the London meetings for the Mayor's Environmental Clean Technology Mission, including a sit-down with former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

We assume the person is Keith Brackpool, a good friend, former employer, and campaign contributor to the Mayor. But the silence is deafening on that topic from the Mayor's spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton. She's not responding to my emailed questions about it.

Who is this guy?

He heads up an L.A.-based company called Cadiz, Inc., which has a plan to store water from the Colorado River underneath land in the Mojave Desert.

Brackpool is also a Villaraigosa buddy, who plays host to the Mayor every summer at a luxurious fishing lodge in Iceland.

Cadiz has signed deals with two small water agencies so far, one in Claremont and the other in Rancho Santa Margarita.

But the big fish would be a deal with the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to Los Angeles. Villaraigosa has some pull with that agency, as he appoints some of the members of its board.

Re: from http://latimes.com Candidates already raising money to take on L.A. City Council incumbent in [by robert mendel]

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:46:04 -0000

CD 14 Forum:: from http://latimes.com Candidates already raising money to take on L.A. City Council incumbent in
from http://mayorsam.blogspot.com/ =
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Outtakes from CD 14: Is Councilman Huizar screening El Sereno "Fourth of July Parade" Participants?
Hola and "Happy 3rd of July" from the "Cut and Paste Republic of CD 14".

Now before my bloggin spoll checkers get their Depends moist with another supposed example of this blogger's K-12 LAUSD experience, let me remind my fellow cyber political bretherns that we celebrate America's "sacred day of freedom from the redcoats", not based upon the calender, but upon the political needs of our collectivist overlord, in this case Councilman Jose Huizar.

You see in the Cut and Paste Republic of CD 14, history, facts, truth, transparency, and proper credit for past deeds, must bow before the "five-star loving", political revisionist, who finds political credit in the most obscure politically-stage settings.

On the topic of politically-stage settings, it seems that Councilman Jose Huizar is in the business of micro-managing community celebrations of the Fourth of July within his council fiefdom.

Sources are reporting that A & E "Flip the House" Team Member and CD 14 Businessman Rudy Martinez was denied a spot in the El Sereno "3rd of July Parade". This was despite the fact that A & E was to make a $500 donation to the El Sereno Bicentennial Committee, which annually organizes the event.

It seems that Councilman Huizar forced the Committee to schedule the parade on the 3rd from its normal Fourth of July date, to coincide with his "Fireworks Show' at El Sereno Park. Thus, from parade start to end of the fireworks, its all about crafting the Huizar image, with no political challengers allow, at least in the parade.

But what if a 2011 political challenger does show up at El Sereno Park on Saturday? Then one can can bet that they will be shadowed by Team Huizar. Think Henry Casas.

Your thoughts..............

Scott Johnson in CD 14