Mayoral 2017 Election Challenge Starting to

Transcription

Los Feliz Ledger
Vol 11. No. 9
Read by 100,000+ Residents and Business Owners in Los Feliz, Silver Lake,
Atwater Village, Echo Park & Hollywood Hills
[RECORDS
DESTRUCTION]
The Bells of
St. Mary’s
Ring Again
DA Reviewing
Complaints
By Allison B. Cohen
By Allison B. Cohen
The Los Angeles District
Attorney’s office is reviewing
the issue regarding the destruction of 14 years’ worth
of public records, amounting to hundreds of thousands
of documents, by former Los
Angeles City Councilmember
Tom LaBonge as well as the
city’s role in not enforcing its
own rules and California law
regarding records retention
and destruction by elected officials, according to a spokesperson with the office’s Public
Integrity Division.
Jane Robison, assistant
chief of media relations with
the District Attorney’s office said one complaint has
been filed with the division,
which investigates and prossee DOCUMENTS page 6
Father Christopher Kelley said a small faction of the church orchestrated his removal and the takeover of the church and
its assets. While recently recounting the 3 1/2 year legal battle, he said he never was far from his faith. Photo: Allison B. Cohen.
Mayoral 2017 Election Challenge Starting to Form
By Sheila Lane, Ledger Contributing Writer
Local Silver Lake resident
Steve Barr is considering a run
for Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti’s seat, while Mitchell
Schwartz has announced he
will run for Mayor in the 2017
election.
Schwartz, 55, lives in
Windsor Square with his wife
and three children, ages 14,
12 and 6. He has extensive
experience in public relations,
media and political consulting. Highlights of his career
include involvement in nearly
every presidential election
since Walter Mondale in 1984
and his appointment as the
Communications Director of
the United States State Dept.
during the Clinton administration.
Here in Los Angeles, he
Community News:
Revelations from LaBonge’s Tossed
Documents, page 3
March 2016
LOS FELIZ—Embattled Father Christopher Kelley retook possession of St. Mary
of the Angels Church February 16th after the Los Angeles
County
Sheriff
ordered
those that had assumed the
property and the church’s
holdings since 2012 to evict
the premises.
Now, if you live or work
near the church, located on
Finley and Hillhurst avenues,
you can hear the church’s bells
chime at various times during
the day, summoning for mass.
Kelley and his supporters have been in a protracted
3 1/2 year legal battle over
who controls the church, its
denomination and its believed
rich financial endowment
containing a portfolio of real
see ST. MARY’S page 7
Bungalow Decision Postponed
to March 8th
By Allison B. Cohen
Windsor Square resident and mayoral candidate, Mitchell Schwartz
Silver Lake resident and possible
mayoral candidate, Steve Barr
launched the Dept. of Water
and Power’s Green Power Program in 1999, which became
the largest and most successful program of its kind in the
country.
Through
the
years,
Schwartz has been involved
in issues of sustainability
and conservation and said he
believes the city could offer
incentives to attract environmentally friendly businesses.
“I’d like [Los Angeles] to
be a center of renewable technologies,” he said.
According to Schwartz,
the core of his campaign,
however, will focus on crime,
Su Casa Real Estate:
Apartments atop Bob Baker
Theater?, page 14
School News:
Local schools developing
transgender guidelines, page 24
see MAYOR page 17
LOS ANGELES—A lack of
quorum of the city’s Central
Planning Commission February 23rd prevented the fivepanel board
from deciding
if a residential
parcel of land
in Los Feliz
should be rezoned as commercial for a
parking lot.
The commission will
now decide
on the issue
March 8th.
At issue is a small plot of
land on Russell Avenue, just
off Hillhurst Avenue, where
NC Elections:
Candidates lining up, page 17
two bungalows built in the
1900s currently stand. Gohar
Afifi, who owns the bungalows, wants the city to rezone
the property as commercial so
he can demolish them and build
see BUNGALOW page 8
L.A. Public Transit:
What happened?
losfelizledger.com
Los Feliz Ledger
[letter from the publisher]
BID It Goodbye For a Chamber of Commerce
The
Los
Angeles
City Council will vote
March 15th at City Hall on
whether the Los Feliz Village
Business Improvement District (LFVBID) should be renewed for another year.
I, for one, am submitting written comment that
the LFVBID should not be
renewed. I believe the nearly
$80,000 the board hopes to
collect from we 294 business
owners in Los Feliz can be
better spent on attracting visitors, shoppers and diners to
our area.
The current LFVBID
board has today, and for
many years, had a very insu-
lar approach to marketing,
considering its focus on local mixers. We don’t need a
business organization to help
us “mix” with one another.
We need to find a way to tap
into Los Angeles’s current record breaking tourism trade
to bring those visitors to Los
Feliz, not just for a visit to
the Griffith Observatory, but
to spend the day shopping
out our one-of-a-kind shops
and for the night, eating at
our plethora of amazing restaurants.
While the LFVBID’s reoccurring payment of tens of
thousand of dollars ($40,000
is budgeted for 2016) for village trash collection and tree
trimming is noble, I believe
taxes we already pay to the
city of Los Angeles can be
used for such, or at the very
least, these services can be
paid for with the hundreds of
thousands of dollars Council
District 4 receives in discretionary funds. Such funds
were used in the past to line
the pockets of some already
well-endowed charities. But
with our new Councilmember David Ryu, that is no
longer the case and funds are
available.
It’s time we thank the
LFVBID for its years of service and form what is really
needed in Los Feliz—an intelligent, forward-thinking,
strategic chamber of commerce.
FOUNDED 20 05
Delivered the last Thursday of
each month to 34,500 homes and
businesses in the Los Feliz,
Silver Lake, Atwater Village,
Echo Park and Hollywood Hills
communities.
1933 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 741-0019
PUBLISHER /EDITOR
Allison B. Cohen
A SSISTANT EDITOR
Sheila Lane
EDITORIAL A SSISTANT
Erin Hickey
ADVERTISING SALES
Libby Butler-Gluck
323-644-5536
[email protected]
Corrections &
Amplifications
In “Ballfields Lawsuit in 9th Inning?” (February 2016), we refer
to board members of Friends of
Griffith Park suing the city over
the construction of a children’s
museum. Some current members
of Friends of Griffith Park were
involved in that lawsuit, not the
non-profit itself. Additionally, we
indicate the non-profit was officially recognized by the state in
2012. In fact, the non-profit’s articles of incorporation were first
received by the state in 2010. We
regret the errors.
Find out where you can pick up
a copy of this month’s edition at
losfelizledger.com
GR APHIC DESIGN & L AYOUT
Tiffany Sims
For more stories and updates:
LosFelizLedger.com
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www.losfelizledger.com
March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
Tossed Documents Beg Questions Re: LaBonge Spending
By Allison B. Cohen
LOS ANGELES—Thirty-five
boxes of former Los Angeles
City Councilmember Tom
LaBonge’s public records that
were previously marked for destruction were made available
to the public and the news media in February, and some cast
light on the inner workings of
the council office, which has
been described by some former
staffers as “chaotic” at the end
of LaBonge’s 14 years in office.
Dozens of local media—including radio, print and broadcast outlets—reviewed the documents in a conference room at
City Hall. According to current
Councilmember David Ryu’s
head of communications, Estevan Montemayor, the salvaged
documents will now be archived
for at least two years, which is
city protocol.
In all, two multiple-page
LaBonge reelection campaign
documents, thousands of pages of emails and travel receipts
related to LaBonge’s Sister Cities initiative and spreadsheets
detailing discretionary fund
spending, staff salaries and
office budgets were discovered amongst the documents,
as well as numerous boxes of
land-use documents.
One recovered spreadsheet revealed LaBonge used
$350,000 in discretionary
funds from 2010 to 2013 on
salaries for what he called his
“Beautification Team.”
According to multiple
sources, LaBonge paid a handful of paid city staffers extra
the deposits, was not returned.
Also among the found
files, were excel worksheets
that appear to be working
documents tinkering with
ideas, including the use of discretionary funds, for how to
make up a 2010-2011 budget
shortfall of $148,000 for La-
30th. The handful made public last month were discovered
accidentally by a deputy city
attorney last June and were
sent to LaBonge’s successor,
Ryu, in January.
It is believed all documents
but those found in the 35 boxes
have been shredded, which is
According to public records, LaBonge ordered at least
113 boxes of records destroyed in the months prior to his
leaving office last June 30th.
to pick up trash and clean up
graffiti in the council district.
Documents also revealed
two email exchanges from a
high level staffer with the city’s
Chief Legislative Office to a LaBonge staffer, indicating he had
made deposits in the amounts
of $2,125 and $20 into a Sister
Cities banking account of donations received by LaBonge.
It is legal, according to
non-profit experts, to have
a non-profit organization
housed in a government office,
provided there is no interplay
between the two.
A request for comment
from Avak Keotahian, who
wrote the emails indicating
Bonge’s staff and a long-term
contract with a public relations specialist.
The misuse of discretionary funds, which are typically
earmarked for repairs for infrastructure like fixing streets,
potholes or the creation of medians, became an issue last year
when it was revealed LaBonge
moved over $1.7 million in such
funds—including the $350,000
for his “beautification team”—
over a two year period for the
purpose of staff salaries.
According to public records, LaBonge ordered at
least 113 boxes of records destroyed in the months prior
to his leaving office last June
against both city municipal
code and California law.
The missing documents
have enraged at least two attorneys that are currently involved in litigation with the
city over land use issues.
LaBonge as well as former staffer Sheila Irani and
Renee Weitzer, who worked
for LaBonge and now for
Ryu, will be deposed in
March regarding the missing documents relative to
one case involving a couple
who have been denied city
and court approval to build
a 8,000 square foot home in
the Hollywood Hills.
Pasadena based Attorney
Robert Silverstein is also seeking information pertaining to
missing LaBonge files regarding litigation against the city
regarding homeowners who
are fighting a Sherman Oaks
development.
Editorials by the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News
on the issue have called for
stricter city document retention and destruction guidelines and more robust adherence to such rules by city
officials. The Ledger, however,
citing city code and California
law that such precautions for
public records are already in
place, called for the immediate resignation of Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott,
who allowed such destruction
of documents by LaBonge and
other elected officials for years
under her watch.
Currently, the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council
has passed a motion, in part
requesting an outside investigator look into the matter citywide. Additionally, Ryu has
authored a motion requesting
the city create protocol for
council offices that transition
from one administration to
another.
HYBRIDS
March 2016
COMMUNITY NEWS
Page 3
Los Feliz Ledger
[street level]
Do You Use Public Transit?
By Michael Darling, Ledger Contributing Writer
Recently, the Los Angeles Times reported that ridership on Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses,
trains and subways declined by 10% between 2006 and 2015.
Additionally, according to the Times article, Metro has fewer riders than it did three decades ago when the transit system only had
buses. So, do you use public transit? Why or why not?
“I do. I think
it’s a more or
less clean system, though it’s
not as spread
out as I’d like it
to be. I’m from Chicago and
I’m a big supporter of public
transportation. When I’m not
on my bike, I use public transportation, because who wants
to sit in that. [Points at rush
hour traffic on Sunset.]”
– Roman B., outside Sunset
Junction Coffee Shop on
Sunset Boulevard
“I do. I think
ridership might
be down because certain
demographics
have moved to
more walkable neighborhoods.
That’s what I did. I used to live
in Koreatown and I used Metro all the time. Also, the rise of
Uber and Lyft have contributed” possibly to fewer riders.
– Chase K., outside Dean on
Sunset Boulevard
“I use it
sometimes, but
I normally use
my car. I think
it’s a good
system though,
and a lot cheaper than a car.”
– Besso M., outside the
Silver Lake Conservatory
Of Music on Sunset Blvd
“I don’t use it at
all. I feel like it’s
inconvenient. I
don’t
know
how it works.”
– Andrea W.,
outside Intelligentsia on
Sunset Boulevard
EmpowerLA Imposes Restrictions on School Grants
EmpowerLA, the city
agency that oversees Los Angeles’s neighborhood councils, notified all of its 96
elected bodies in February,
that councils could no longer
consider providing grants to
public schools if a councilmember’s child attends that
school and, further, that the
entire board would be precluded from hearing the matter at all.
Neighborhood councils
currently are budgeted annually with $37,000. Some, like
the Los Feliz Neighborhood
Council (LFNC) allocate
thousands of dollars yearly to
local schools.
The LFNC currently has
at least three members who
have children, of varying ages,
at local schools.
“The concept is beyond
ridiculous,” said LFNC President Linda Demmers, who
added such a mandate might
prevent some from running
see GRANTS page 3
“No, I don’t use
it, though I
think it would
be a lot smarter
to since the
traffic is so unmanageable during peak
hours. Personally, I don’t use it
because I live downtown and
everything’s walkable. Still,
there might be a stigma against
public transportation in L.A.
I’m from New York and there
you’ll see millionaires on the
subway next to homeless people.” – Earry H., outside the
Silver Lake Conservatory of
Music on Sunset Boulevard
“I don’t really
use it, mostly
because I work
in the bar industry, so I can
take it to work,
but they don’t run after closing time. Plus it still doesn’t go
as far as I’d like. I’ll probably
use it more when they open
the line to the Westside since I
hate driving to the Westside.”
– Peter T., outside Intelligentsia on Sunset Boulevard
Visit losfelizledger.com to read about what became of
L.A.’s once-robust public transit system.
March Community Meetings
Atwater Village Neighborhood Council
Governing Board
March 10th at 7 p.m.
3852 Edenhurst Avenue
East Hollywood Neighborhood Council
Governing Board
March 21st at 6:30 p.m.
1559 North Kenmore Avenue
Los Feliz Neighborhood Council
Executive Committee
March 15th at 7 p.m.
Citibank Building, 2nd Floor, 1965 Hillhurst Avenue
Governing Board
March 15th at 7:30 p.m.
Citibank Building, 2nd Floor, 1965 Hillhurst Avenue
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council
Urban Design and Preservation Advisory Committee
March 9th at 6:30 p.m.
2450 Glendale Boulevard
Page 4
COMMUNITY NEWS
March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
[crime blotter]
Local property crimes were
up in nearly every category
compared to the same time last
year—from mid-January until mid-February—according
to Los Angeles Police Dept.’s
(LAPD) statistics for the Northeast Division, which serves the
Ledger coverage area.
Most dramatic was the
54% increase in car thefts.
According to LAPD statistics,
there were 151 incidences of
that crime this reporting period compared to the same
time last year when 98 were
reported. Additionally, burglary from a motor vehicle and
personal thefts were up 17%
and 13% respectively.
One category that saw a
decrease, however, was burglary from homes. According
to the LAPD, this year there
have been 73 such crimes
compared to 124 last year, a
decrease of 41%.
Overall violent crime was
down this reporting period
4.2% when compared to last
year. However, this year, thus
far, there have been six incidences of rape reported, compared to last year when there
were five. Robbery is about
on par with last year with 37
reported incidences compared
to 36 for the same time period
in 2015.
One category that saw
crime improve was aggravated
assaults. This year, according
to the LAPD, there have been
48 such reported crimes, compared to the same time period
last year when there were 55, a
decrease of nearly 13%.
Meanwhile, according to
the LAPD, total arrests in the
area are up in every category
except for crimes of rape and
robbery. Few of those crimes
were committed, but due to a
lack of arrests in those cases,
the overall arrest rate for all
crime was down nearly 27%.
GRANTS from page 2
from EmpowerLA General
Manager, Grayce Liu was referred to the Los Angeles City
Attorney’s office. That office
did not return requests for
comment.
for a seat on the council if they
feared doing so might preclude their child’s school from
receiving funding.
A request for information
March 2016
O’Farrell Injury Trial Now Moved
to April
By Erin Hickey, Ledger Contributing Writer
Following multiple postponements, a case involving
Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell
and a woman who claims
she was run over by a man
hired to pass out f lyers by
O’Farrell’s 2013 campaign is
set to go to trial April 19th,
pending a pre-trial hearing
April 8th.
O’Farrell is being sued
by Kimberly Canody, who
according to May 2013 court
filings, suffered permanent
injuries that required 12 surgeries in the collision.
Flor Perez and De’Andre
Valencia, the owners of
Valencia and Assoc., the
West Covina-based political consulting firm hired by
O’Farrell’s campaign, are
listed as co-defendants in the
case.
Canody, who was originally represented in the
lengthy proceedings by attorney Kyle Madison, is now
representing herself.
According to court filings, Canody was riding
her Suzuki scooter on Santa
Monica Boulevard, when a
Chevy Astro van making a
turn hit her head-on.
Neither the driver, the
contractor nor O’Farrell’s
campaign were insured, according to court documents.
Meanwhile,
separate documents f iled on
O’Farrell’s behalf claim
the councilmember is not
liable for any of Canody’s
damages as he did not directly hire the driver, but
rather his campaign did—
specif ically Field Operations Manager Renee Nahum, who is also a former
Silver Lake Neighborhood
Councilmember.
Previously, while he was
still representing Canody,
Madison expressed concern
over each of the defendants’
ability to pay for any judgments.
Last March, O’Farrell
opened a legal defense fund
under city campaign finance
laws to raise money for his
defense and for a possible settlement or judgment against
him. At time of publication,
the fund has raised $13,000
from 11 donors.
Ledger Donates
$7,500 To Two
Schools
LOS FELIZ—The Los Feliz
Ledger raised $7,500 for Ivanhoe and Franklin Avenue
elementary schools in February, which was presented to
the school’s two principals at
last month’s Los Silver Lake
Invitational, an adults-only
soccer match between the two
schools now in its fifth year.
The Ledger raised the
funds for the schools by creating a special supplement for
the Invitational, which was
inserted in the Ledger’s February 2016 edition.
A special thank you to the
advertisers that participated:
Mathnasium (a math learning
center), Courtney and Kurt
Real Estate, Klub Gymnastics, AYSO Los Feliz, Esau Tenario with Coldwell Banker,
Natural Pilates Silver Lake,
Camelot Kids, projectplus.
com, The King’s Roost, Spitz
Mediterranean Street Food,
Curves Silver Lake, the Los
Feliz Neighborhood Council,
ACME Real Estate, Sotheby’s
International Realty/Los Feliz
and Berkshire Hathaway/Los
Feliz.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Page 5
Los Feliz Ledger
DOCUMENTS from page 1
ecutes criminal misconduct by
elected or appointed public officials.
Additionally, a formal res-
ficials’ ability to do the right
thing,” Mauceri said.
Specifically, the council
requested the District Attorney conduct an investigation
Boxes of public records, like these, were sent for destruction by former Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge in the months prior to his leaving office
last June. In total, at least 113 boxes of records were ordered destroyed, representing hundreds of thousands of documents. Thirty five boxes, however, were
accidentally discovered last June and are now in the possession of LaBonge’s
successor David Ryu. Photo: Allison B. Cohen
olution calling on the District
Attorney’s office to investigate
the matter was filed February
24th by the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.
“Our taxes paid for at least
into the matter to determine
if the city’s actions were illegal.
A request for comment
from Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti on the latest develop-
“[The] LFNC is recommending this
incident be formally reviewed, because doing
nothing and hoping it will all just blow over, isn’t
renewing any faith in our city officials’ ability to
do the right thing,” Mauceri said.
14 years’ worth of producing
and processing those documents. That’s easily millions
of dollars worth of work,” said
LFNC Vice President Mark F.
Mauceri. “Ordering its wholesale destruction was wrong for
all sorts of reasons, not just the
unlawful ones. Many of our
efforts over the past decade
were callously trashed.” In a sharply worded three
page resolution, which was
unanimously approved by the
LFNC in February, the LFNC
noted it, along with 10 other
neighborhood councils in Los
Angeles City Council District 4 (CD4), which LaBonge
oversaw as councilmember,
“put in thousands of volunteer
hours in researching, creating
and compiling…public documents,” which have been destroyed, and that such action
“serves to diminish the public’s trust in our City’s elected
officials.”
The resolution also stated
that such destruction of documents “portrays public officials as uncaring, dismissive
and unthankful towards the
hard work of others.”
“[The] LFNC is recommending this incident be formally reviewed, because doing
nothing and hoping it will all
just blow over, isn’t renewing any faith in our city ofPage 6
COMMUNITY NEWS
ment in this issue was not returned.
The LFNC resolution
also supported current Los
Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu’s motion that
the city create protocol for
transitioning
administrations. Ryu has said no records or documents were left
behind by LaBonge when he
took office July 1st.
Ryu’s motion, which was
passed by the City Council by
a 14-0 vote, also on February
24th, requires the city’s Chief
Legislative Analyst, with assistance from the Los Angeles City Attorney, to convene
a working group to establish
rules and procedures to ensure
smooth transitions between
elected city councilmembers
and to report back within 30
days.
“I don’t know how widespread this practice is,” said
Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz before the February council
vote was taken. “But it’s not
unique to CD4. [Former
Los Angeles City Councilmember] Jack Weiss left me
with nothing,” he said, referring to when Koretz replaced
Weiss in 2009. “We had to
start every constituent concern from scratch. It’s a process that should end.”
Settlement Reached In Park Ballfield Lawsuit
By Allison B. Cohen
LOS ANGELES—The Los
upgrades for a nearby restrespond to a request for comAngeles City Council voted
room and the mitigation of
ment on deadline.
unanimously February
2nd to agree to a tentative
“If the city is going with the larger one-field
settlement regarding the
option, it’s going to be a great improvement for
construction of a youth
baseball field in Griffith
Los Feliz and the entire city having the
Park.
‘Griffith Park Yards’ nearby.”
The settlement still
must be approved by
— Mark F. Mauceri, Los Feliz Neighborhood
the city’s Recreation and
Council Recreation Representative
Parks Board of Commissioners and, if that fivepanel board is in agreement,
six other issues, which were
Los Feliz Neighborhood
again by the full Los Angeles
not disclosed.
Council (LFNC) Recreation
City Council.
Friends of Griffith Park
Representative Mark F. MauThe City Council apPresident Gerry Hans did not
see BALLFIELDS page 8
proved in 2014 the construction of two youth baseball
fields adjacent to the Crystal
Springs picnic area. But the
city’s actions were contested
with a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Friends of Griffith Park
and the Griffith J. Griffith
Charitable Trust.
There are answers in this book.
The tentative settlement
BUY AND READ
approval instead offers that
one larger baseball field be
constructed at a location
further south from what was
originally planned. This new
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of the city’s earlier proposals,
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March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
New Homeless Count Due in May
[EASTSIDE EYE]
Art Updates for Spring
LOS FELIZ—Over 90 volunteers conducted a homeless
count in Los Feliz and East
Hollywood January 28th as
part of the 2016 Greater Los
Angeles Homeless Count.
The purpose of the count
is to help the city determine
how many homeless individuals are in Los Angeles, as well
as which neighborhoods they
are living in, and to better allocate support and resources
based on need.
Volunteers started arriving at Our Mother of Good
Counsel (OMGC) around 8
p.m., where they were given
flashlights and tally sheets and
trained on proper procedures
before being sent out.
Site coordinators Sandra
Gonzalez and Cheryl Ortega
warned volunteers not to disturb homeless individuals and
emphasized the importance of
accuracy in the count.
“Zero is an acceptable
number,” Ortega told the group.
According to Gonzalez,
94 volunteers showed up out
of about 150 sign-ups, a much
better turnout than expected.
But even with the relatively
high turnout, “a couple of
groups had to go out twice
because there weren’t enough
volunteers,” said Gonzalez.
The Los Angeles Homeless
Services Authority (LAHSA)
has coordinated the three-day,
countywide census biennially
since 2005, but switched to annual counts beginning last year.
The results of this year’s
count will not be available
until late May, but last year’s
results indicated a 12% rise in
homelessness during the preceding two years, according to
data from LAHSA.
According to an OMGC
representative, the church
plans to host the Los Feliz and
East Hollywood portion of the
count again next year.
ST. MARY’S from page 1
2011 after the parish voted twice
to exit the Anglican Church
and become Roman Catholic
after then Pope Benedict XVI
opened the door in 2009 for
Protestant parishes to do so.
Overlapping that issue, is a
vote, taken by the church’s governing body—called a vestry—
asking Kelley to resign as their
priest in 2011. He refused, indicating, in part, only four members of the nine person board
sought his removal, and he and
the church were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Church, citing the votes
to move to Roman Catholicism.
Bush, in legal filings, has
claimed the vestry had reason to fire Kelley, mostly over
church financial wrongdoing. But court documents show
those claims were unfounded.
Community groups, such
as the LFIA and the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council
(LFNC), both of which have
used the second floor of the
Citibank building for community meetings, have been
caught in the legal crossfire.
The groups have been scrambling for months to find an alternative meeting space while
the legal drama ensued.
But according to LFNC
President Linda Demmers, Kelley provided her a key to the
Citibank space after reassuming
the building in February.
“We can go home,”
Demmers wrote in an email
February 18th to the LFNC
board. “This has been a long
process for the church, for
both sides, and I wish them
speedy healing so we can get
back to the business of serving our community and our
better selves.”
estate holdings, including the
now vacant Citibank building
on Hillhurst Avenue.
After a string of court hearings and appeals, a Los Angeles
Superior Court judge ruled in
favor of Kelley December 15th,
indicating he could reassume
control of the church.
But those opposing Kelley, including Los Feliz resident and former Los Feliz
Improvement Assoc. (LFIA)
President, Marilyn Bush, who
was appointed the lay head of
the church in 2012 after the
Anglican Church of America
removed Kelley, are still fighting and said they are waiting
for this latest round of court
action to be heard on appeal.
According
to
Bush,
that most recent appeal is
still being considered by the
Los Angeles Superior Court,
which has the option to deny
it or refer it to a higher court.
Bush said she received an
eviction notice January 12th,
but had hoped for a delay citing
the most recent appeal filed.
“We had hoped for a stay,”
she said today, “until we got to
the appellate court.”
Both parties say the transfer
of possession went smoothly.
But over the years as the
legal drama has played
on, locks have been changed
time and time again, security
guards hired and at one point,
the parish’s warring factions
even operated from different
floors inside the church.
Kelley was the rector at
St. Mary’s from 2007 until his
firing in 2012 by the Anglican
Church of America, which he
said was not valid.
The complex saga began in
March 2016
By Kathy A. McDonald, Ledger Columnist
Our local arts institutions
and organizations thrive via
community support. Here’s
an update on what’s happening at the most loved institutions. Consider a visit in real
life soon.
Hollyhock House One Year Later
Good news from the Hollyhock
House. According to curator Jeffrey
Herr, after the extensive four-year
renovation and restoration, the
roof did not leak for the first time in
decades. More than 30,000 visitors
have passed through the house
since the reopening a year ago.
The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation
is now planning a major capital
project to restore the motor court
and pet pergola. “Walk Wright
In” self- guided tours are ongoing
Thursday-Sunday at the house
between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets
are for sale in the former garage.
Cost is $7 for adults; $3 for students
and seniors with ID. Credit card
payment only.
Hollyhock House, 4808 Hollywood
Blvd., Barndsdall.org.
“41 Objects Arranged for Color” by Ken Gonzales-Day
SKIN at the Los Angeles Municipal
Art Gallery
Also on Olive Hill in Barnsdall Park,
a new group exhibition explores the
issues of race and racial identity in
America. Thirty-six contemporary
artists are in the mixed-media show
intended to spark dialogue on the
underlying issues behind recent
racially tinged events throughout
NELAart Second Saturday
Gallery Night
For almost 10 years, Northeast
Los Angeles galleries, studios and
pop-up venues have welcomed the
community on second Saturday
nights. Sixty-two galleries
and event spaces participate.
Throughout the night, see emerging
and established artists’ works, hear
local bands and drop-into a local
the country. Among the thought
provoking works are Ken GonzalesDay’s large-scale 41 Objects
Arranged for Color and April Bey’s
#gradient . The exhibition continues
through April 17.
LAMAG, 4800 Hollywood Blvd.,
lamag.org.
bar or café.
York Boulevard is the central
corridor for the free event, which
continues to grow in popularity.
nelaart.org
Laluzapalooza 2016: La Luz de
Jesus’ 30th Annual Group Show
Mixed media collages, ceramics,
pen and ink drawings, even some
faux taxidermy—it’s all here at
this showcase that presents both
up-and-coming and established
artists of the alternative art scene.
Adult themes prevail in this annual
juried show of 215 artworks. March
4th–7th.
La Luz de Jesus at Wacko/ Soap
Plant, 4633 Hollywood Blvd.,
laluzdejesus.com/laluzapalooza
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Page 7
Los Feliz Ledger
BUNGALOW from page 1
[OUR BREAD AND BUTTER]
Rogers+Stellini – It’s All About the Details
By Kimberly Gomez, Ledger Columnist
Anthony Stellini and Sherri Rogers
In a Mediterranean home
that towers like a castle from
one of Beachwood Canyon’s
exclusive hillsides, Sherri Rogers surveyed the refurbished
living space with a practiced
eye.
She took notice that the
new floor finish was a little
rough around the edges and
needed some smoothing out,
pressive. She majored in architecture and interior design in
college, and both of her parents were high-end real-estate
agents.
She doesn’t just love houses, her attention to detail ensures that every home she sells
is presented as beautifully as it
can possibly be.
“When people look at a
“We see the potential in a home and
collaborate from cleaning up and staging,
to photographing and marketing.
We are very involved.”
but approved of the staged furnishings. As one of the top-producing agents at Nourmand & Associates, Rogers has been selling
exquisite homes in Los Angeles
for more than a decade.
“A home sells quickly—
and for the money you’re asking—when it’s beautiful,” said
Rogers.
Rogers’ credentials are im-
home, it’s an emotional experience,” said Rogers. “Right
away, from that first impression, most people know
whether they are going to buy
a house.”
Some five years ago, Rogers partnered with Anthony
Stellini, a born and bred Angelino with a passion for the
intricacies of sales and negotiation.
BALLFIELDS from page 6
Bonge, the now scrapped
two-field plan was too small
for what the area’s kids
needed. Seven months later,
Mauceri again reiterated the
same concern via a letter to
other city officials working
on the project, specifically
stating: [I]t would be better
if we constructed one field of
age appropriate proportions
rather than two [smaller]
fields…to adequately accommodate kids ages 10-14.”
LaBonge’s and now Councilmember David Ryu’s District
4 includes Griffith Park.
“Credit goes to David Ryu
and his CD4 team for seeing it
wasn’t a ‘LaBonge pet project’
as its opponents claimed, and
finding a perfect compromise,
although we could have got
here a lot sooner. LaBonge
ceri, a long-time champion
of restoring youth baseball
to Griffith Park, said he was
pleased local kids and their
parents won’t have to trek
across town to other neighborhoods to play baseball.
“If the city is going with
the larger one-field option, it’s
going to be a great improvement for Los Feliz and the
entire city having the ‘Griffith
Park Yards’ nearby. The Los
Feliz Neighborhood Council
had been adamant that one
right-sized field was the way
to go, so this is really good
news.”
Nearly three years ago in
May of 2013, Mauceri, acting on behalf of the LFNC,
authored a detailed letter
pointing out to former City
Councilmember Tom LaPage 8
COMMUNITY NEWS
Stellini is a 10-year real
estate professional who has
served clients from Malibu
to Los Feliz. He is known
for treating every transaction
with the utmost integrity. As a
team, Rogers and Stellini work
seamlessly for their clients.
“Some people who own
a home may not know what
services should come with an
agent,” said Stellini. “We see
the potential in a home and
collaborate from cleaning up
and staging, to photographing
and marketing. We are very
involved. And only Sherri or
I do the showings. We are up
front and present every step of
the way.”
Together, Rogers and Stellini offer unsurpassed market
knowledge, and
impeccable resources to
enhance the experience of selling or buying a home.
“Moving is a stressful
thing but I didn’t have that
[stress] at all,” said client Jennifer Freeland, who listed her
traditional home in Los Feliz.
“They got my house in really
great shape. The furniture was
so beautiful that a little piece
of me wanted to stay.”
Freeland said her house
sold in a week with multiple
offers.
“Our goal is 100 percent
gorgeous representation,” said
Rogers. “That is the business
we are the most successful in.
We take great pride in getting
a house ready.”
a 14-stall parking lot for an adjacent mini mall he also owns.
The commission already
denied Afifi’s zoning request
change last summer, but he
filed an appeal.
Locals have been fighting both the rezoning and
the demolition of the bungalows, one of which was the
home of writer Forrest Ackerman, who coined the term
“sci-fi.”
An attempt by a group
called “Concerned Citizens of
Los Feliz” to have the Ackerman bungalow listed as a historic monument was denied by
the city February 11th. Such a
status would have prevented
the property from being torn
down.
The zoning appeal was
to have been decided last
October, but was postponed after the Los Feliz
Village Business Improvement District intervened on
Afifi’s behalf asking he be
given more time to investigate working with the city
to make the proposed parking lot public, not just for
those patronizing the adjacent mini-mall.
Reporter Erin Hickey contributed to this story.
see BALLFIELDS page 23
March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
[real estate]
Echo Park January Home Prices Higher than Silver Lake
There were 56 single-family homes sold in the Ledger’s
coverage area in January, according to data from Core
Logic, a real estate research
firm out of La Jolla, CA.
Of these homes, 24 were
sold in the Hollywood Hills,
12 in Los Feliz, 11 in Silver
Lake and 9 in Echo Park.
The median price for
homes sold decreased for our
coverage area this January
compared with January of last
year, with the exception of
Echo Park, which saw a 20%
increase in median price over
last year to $960,000.
Los Feliz area realtor
Sherri Rogers attributes this
increase in Echo Park sales to
the growing demand for affordable Eastside housing.
“There’s such a huge de-
mand for houses under $1
million. It’s almost impossible
to find something on the Eastside,” said Rogers.
Los Feliz saw the biggest decrease in median price
from last year to $1.15 million, a 15.9% decrease, but
higher than the Hollywood
Hills’ $1.1 million median
price.
According to Rogers, although people often associate
the Hollywood Hills with the
high-priced celebrity homes
behind Sunset Boulevard,
“Los Feliz has always been
higher [priced] than the Hollywood Hills.”
Homes in the easternmost areas of the Hollywood
Hills are a “tougher sell,” said
Rogers, mostly because of
their proximity to the freeway
2534 Park Oak Drive, a 1941 4 bedroom French-inspired traditional recently sold
for $2,979,000. Anthony Stellini and Sherri Rogers were the listing agents.
and the small winding roads,
which make access to the
neighborhoods more difficult.
Silver Lake’s median price
went down 2.6% from last
year to $755,000, but accord-
2820 Westshire Dr, Beachwood Canyon
March 2016
Price: $1,799,000
SHERRI ROGERS
ANTHONY STELLINI
[email protected]
[email protected]
323.810.1473
310.963.4205
bre #01420104
bre #01710680
ing to Rogers, this is atypical.
“Silver Lake is higher per
square foot than anywhere,”
she said. “I just went to see a
major fixer in Silver Lake, and
was shocked that there had already been several offers in the
$900,000 range.”
According to Core Logic,
there were six condos sold
in our coverage area for the
month of January—three in
Los Feliz, two in the Hollywood Hills and one in Echo
Park. No condos sold in Silver
Lake.
Median prices for the few
condos sold were up in Los
Feliz and Echo Park 48.8%
to $595,000 and 34.9% to
$560,000 respectively. The
Hollywood Hills saw a decrease in median price of
13.9% to $430,000.
@rogers_stellini
Su Casa REAL ESTATE
Page 9
Los Feliz Ledger
[BUY LOCAL]
[HOUSE & HOLMES]
Drink Up! Echo Park’s New Beer and Wine Bars
Rainy Day Blues
By Kathy A. McDonald, Ledger Columnist
By Rob Loos, Ledger Columnist
Two new Echo Park beer
and wine bars bring a touch
of film noir décor to the
cityscape. Both occupy glassfronted storefronts in vintage
brick buildings.
In the former City Sip
storefront, Bar Bandini offers
bar bites and beer and wine on
tap—with a focus on smaller
production beers and natural
wines—in a low-lit setting.
A few blocks away, the
Semi-Tropic has an earlymorning-to-night menu, coffee, gourmet tea and beer and
wine on tap.
At Semi-Tropic there’s
bar, table and banquette seating. The WiFi is free and the
bespoke sound system is club
grade. Co-owner Dan Finley and partner Eren Magri
completely rehabilitated the
1924-built building.
During the day, it’s filled
with people on laptops, digging into churro waffles, avocado toast and Demitasse coffee. Prices for draft beer start
at $3, while wine on tap options are available for $6.
“I try to find wines that are
interesting, fun and fascinat-
Bar Bandini is a new beer and wine bar in Echo Park.
ing,” Finley said. He added that
beer selections are “accessible.”
Expect some tweaks to
the limited menu, which also
features seasonal salads, cheese
and charcuterie plates.
Three hospitality pros—
Joshua Weinstein, Michael
Lippman and Jason Piggott—
joined together to open Bar
Bandini.
“The three of us have a
deep passion for hospitality
and the products we serve,”
said Weinstein who is behind
the bar most nights.
The beer list features local
breweries like Anaheim’s Noble
Aleworks and Boyle Heights’
Dry River Brewing, while the
eight wines on tap come from
boutique California producers
who specialize in organic or
biodynamic wines.
The plumbing pipes in the
décor are a salute to the building’s early incarnation as a
plumbing supply store.
“The neighborhood has
been incredibly supportive
and super responsive,” said
Weinstein.
In a few weeks, Bar Bandini will add a small plates
menu of olives, charcuterie
and cheese.
The Semi-Tropic
1412 Glendale Blvd.
thesemitropic.com
Bar Bandini
2150 Sunset Blvd.
Barbandini.com
In Southern
C a l i f or n i a ,
we so seldom
have bad weather that our
weathermen and weatherwomen are required to come
up with never-before heard of
meteorological conditions that
confound us.
“Storm-zilla approaches,” they say. What is “Stormzilla?”
So, I am a cynical disbeliever in the current state of
Los Angeles “climate-casting.”
But I should have paid closer
attention to the real weather
conditions.
When rain suddenly assailed our 1920s era duplex,
we were ill prepared—and this
wasn’t even a “mega-showerzilla.” After about ten minutes
of the wet stuff, rivers of water
streaked down our windowpanes.
I knew there were only
two choices—either build an
ark, or call my friend, Dave,
the world’s greatest contractor.
Dave answered his phone
with that calm demeanor of
someone who lives in the hills
above the cloud layer. I ur-
gently explained the state of
our house.
“Did you do what I told
you?” he asked.
I was sure that I hadn’t.
“The rainwater is covering
your windows,” he said, “because you forgot to clean your
gutters.”
Dave was right. I had put
off taking out the leaves and
gunk, so now waves of water
were cascading over the debris-filled troughs and racing
directly down the side of our
house.
Now I, and my gutters,
are ready for Estupendo-Gigante-El Nino.
Another mystery solved
and a lesson re-learned about
home improvement: “If I can’t
figure it out—and I know that
I can’t—my friend Dave can.”
Advertise in the
Los Feliz Ledger
(323) 644-5536
Alexandria4 | LOS FELIZ
Offered at $1,399,000
SOPHISTICATED REPRESENTATION
For the Most Knowledgeable Home Sellers
Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents afﬁ liated with Sotheby’s
International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associated and are not employees of
Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Boni Bryant CalBRE 01245334. Joe Reichling CalBRE 01427385.
Page 10 Su Casa REAL ESTATE
BONI BRYANT & JOE REICHLING
Sotheby’s International Realty | 323-671-2385 | BryantReichling.com
March 2016
GLASSELL PARK | The Bubeck Residence | 4166 Verdugo View Drive | $1,395,000 | New Listing
A triumph of Mid-Century Modernism by Allyn Morris c. 1956 that embodies the best in L A architecture.
Rob Kallick 323.775.6305
web: 0286513
LOS FELIZ | Wallace Neff Villa | New Listing
web: 0286514 | $4,977,000
Circa 1924 gated Spanish Colonial Masterpiece
restored to vintage perfection. 5bd/6ba, pool, view.
Konstantine V. | Rick Yohon 323.270.1725
LOS FELIZ | 4705 Los Feliz Blvd. | New Listing
web: 0286502 | $3,898,000
Grand 2 story Spanish Colonial Villa with
6bd/7.5ba offering approx. 9,633 sq.ft.
Manvel T abakian | Nadia De Winter 323.376.2222
LOS FELIZ | 4115 Dundee Drive
web: 0286238 | $3,750,000
Quintessential 1927 Spanish Estate. Unique.
Nestled on top of a hill with panoramic views.
Rosemary Low 323.660.5885
LOS FELIZ | 2763 Glendower Avenue
web: 0286488 | $3,250,000
First time on the market in over 50 yrs. Amazing
courtyard Spanish has stunning 320 degree views.
LOS FELIZ | 4421 Dundee Drive | New Listing
web: 0286290 | $2,995,000
Fabulous Newer Tudor, “Balmoral Estate” with curb
appeal. 5bd/5.5ba with unobstructed stunning city
and hill side views. Pool with spa and waterfall.
Manvel T abakian | Nadia De Winter 323.376.2222
LOS FELIZ | 2621 N. Commonwealth Avenue
web: 0286467 | $2,895,000
Luxurious dramatic living space approx. over
5200 square feet on 1/3 acre. 5 bedrooms and 7
baths, pool, spa, and outdoor kitchen.
LOS FELIZ | 5015 Los Feliz Blvd | SOLD
Listed at $2,595,000
Classic American Colonial 4 bedroom, 6 baths
circa 1941. Sunny, fresh with expansive yard, guest
house and pool.
SILVER LAKE | 2727 Waverly Drive | New Listing
web: 0286522 | $2,150,000
An unexpected compound, This Iconic “California Spanish” Estate, completed in 1930 on over a
half acre, left no detail overlooked. Views.
Jeffrey Young 213. 819.9630
SILVER LAKE | 2490 Silver Ridge Avenue
web: 0286253 | $1,598,000
Exquiste contemporary 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathrooms
with living, family and dining room, 2 master bedrooms with knock-out views.
LOS FELIZ | 3167 Rowena Avenue | JUST SOLD
Sold at $1,560,000
Fantastic opportunity to own a trophy investment triplex. Spanish-style up/down duplex in
front. 1bd/1ba guest house.
Matthew Morgus 323.301.3041
ECHO PARK | 1461 Carroll Avenue | JUST SOLD
Sold at $1,300,000
Corner-lot triplex. Prestigious Angelino Heights
neighborhood of Echo Park. Investment property
or convert it to a single family Victorian home.
Matthew Morgus 323.301.3041
PASADENA | 295 Glenullen Drive | New Listing
web: 0286522 | $1,249,000
Restored mid-century modern circa 1952 in the San
Rafael Hills. Originally built by local architect Dante
De Cicco and is located on 10,000+ sf lot with views.
Rob Kallick 323.775.6305
ECHO PARK | 2236 Lemoyne Street | SOLD
Listed at $1,200,000
Gorgeous Spanish c. 1924 2 bedrooms and 2
baths on sprawling lush private lot with sweeping
views. Magnificent!
DOWNTOWN LA | 267 S. San Pedro Street #617
web: 0286422 | $365,000
Teramachi is a Senior 55 & over condo complex.
Wonderful top floor view apartment with high
ceilings, sun filled rooms, fireplace and balcony.
Judy Dionzon 323.394.2330
LOS FELIZ | 3245 Lowry Road | New Listing
web: 0286532 | $9,000/month
Spanish colonial revival styled residence. Exceptionally maintained by 3rd generation family. 2
story home is comprised of 4 bedrooms, 3 bath.
Judy Dionzon 323.394.2330
SILVER LAKE | 1307 Edgecliffe Drive | New Listing
web: 0286253 | $5,500/month
2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a newer kitchen and baths,
a built in breakfast nook, a formal dining room and
even the perfect sunroom and views!
LOS FELIZ BROKERAGE | 323.665.1700
Marc Giroux, Vice President | Brokerage Manager
1801 North Hillhurst Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90027
sothebyshomes.com/losangeles
Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks
used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.
Los Feliz Ledger
[KEEN TO BE GREEN]
Efficiency versus Sustainability
By Meher McArthur, Ledger Columnist
Despite my daily efforts to recycle, conserve water and reduce
my consumption and waste,
I rarely feel that
I’m living a very green life.
Whenever possible, I try
to repair damaged clothing,
toys and electronics. And usually, I cook from scratch to
avoid the wasteful packaging
ner several times a week. This
means less daily prep and waste.
I’m also shopping more online,
usually buying used items and
re-using the packaging.
Ordering groceries for delivery can also be efficient and
somewhat sustainable. Apparently, because delivery services
deliver in bulk, they consume
less gas per delivery than I
would use driving to the store.
In fact, a 2013 study in
I’m starting to discover that being green
and being efficient don’t always have to
be mutually exclusive.
and mysterious ingredients of
pre-made meals.
In an ideal world, I’d grow
all my own vegetables, but in
the actual world—where time
and energy are in short supply—efficiency often trumps
sustainability. However, I’m
starting to discover that being
green and being efficient don’t
always have to be mutually exclusive
I’ve taken to cooking lots
of soup and serving it for din-
the Journal of the Transportation Research Forum found
that in cities, delivery-service
trucks produced 20% to 75%
less carbon dioxide than the
corresponding personal vehicles driven to and from a grocery store.
So until I start growing
my own vegetables, maybe
adding these tricks to my
weekly routine will mean I
won’t have to sacrifice sustainability for speed.
“Red Car” Property To Become Wildlife Reserve
LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors
agreed February 10th to contribute $500,000 to an effort
to preserve ten acres in Silver
Lake as open space and wildlife habitat.
The estimated total cost
of acquiring the narrow,
winding parkland—which
lies between Griffith and
Elysian parks and is known
by local residents as the Corralitas Red Car Property—is
about $1.5 million, according to a board letter distributed by the Los Angeles
County Regional Park and
Open Space District.
The city of Los Angeles is
putting up $500,000 toward
the purchase and the rest is expected to come from a Santa
Monica Mountains Conservancy grant.
Supervisor Hilda Solis described the land as an urban
oasis filled with walnut and
oak trees.
“Already used as a neighborhood park by dog walkers,
cyclists and nature lovers, the
open space lies adjacent to the
Los Angeles River,” Solis said.
“It is an urban jewel. It is a haven for local residents.”
The area was once a right-
of-way for the Pacific Electric
Red Car streetcar line, which
ran from downtown to Glendale and was decommissioned
blog by one resident reported
the sighting last summer of a
bobcat that researchers believe
traveled from either Griffith
The area was once a right-of-way for the
Pacific Electric Red Car streetcar line, which
ran from downtown to Glendale and was
decommissioned in the 1950s.
in the 1950s.
Various plans for the development of the land—for
condominiums and single
family homes—have been successfully opposed by residents.
The property is home to
various raptors and mammals and is considered a key
wildlife corridor between
Griffith and Elysian parks. A
Park or west of the Hollywood
(101) Freeway.
Once acquired, the land
will be controlled by the Trust
for Public Land.
“Conservation of the Red
Car Property would take this
privately held parcel and eventually turn it into a community asset for the public good,”
Solis said.
Knowledge + Integrity + Experience =
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Colin Hoffmeister
REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty Los Feliz
CAL BRE# 01921784
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Representing Seller
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939 Glendale Ave #1
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March 2016
NOURMAND & ASSOCIATES REALTORS
THE #1 AGENTS IN 90039 & 90026
Courtney Smith
Alyssa Valentine
Kurt Wisner
Anselm Clinard
CAL BRE 01406768
CAL BRE 01431217
CAL BRE 01517618
CAL BRE 01872344
323.667.0700 - 3169 Glendale Blvd, 90039
cour tneyandkur t.com - buyinlosangeles.com
CO
M
IN
2548 E. Glenoaks Blvd
G
CO
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SO
ON
$699,000
NE
W
NE
IN
1978 Landa St
G
ON
W
TIN
5327 Raphael St
IN
3615 Glenfeliz Blvd
ES
ES
1937 Gardena Ave
ES
CR
OW
CR
2108 Loma Vista Pl
W
ST
OW
2034 Vestal Ave
LIS
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3051 Tyburn St
ES
CR
OW
3731 Glenfeliz Blvd
ST
LD
$1,035,000
Three Of fices.
NourmandRE
One Respected Name.
@NourmandL A
w w w. n o u r m a n d . c o m
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2266 Ewing St
OW
$729,000
JU
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$599,000
IN
$599,000
JU
$998,000
LIS
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$795,000
NE
$685,000
IN
$599,000
IN
2278 Silver Ridge Ave
CR
1336 N Occidental Blvd
TIN
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$799,000
LIS
TIN
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$985,000
NE
LIS
W
SO
LD
$760,000
Nourmand & Associates Hollywood
Howard Lorey I Brokerage Manager
323.462.6262 I [email protected]
6525 Sunset Blvd. Ste. G2 90028
Los Feliz Ledger
New Apartment Complex to Surround Marionette Theater
By Mike Pallotta, Ledger Contributing Writer
ECHO PARK—Over the past
decade, the fate of the Bob
Baker Marionette Theater has
been up in the air. In 2008,
facing financial difficulties, the
property foreclosed. A mysterious benefactor then swooped
in and donated enough funds
to keep it alive.
This turned out to only
be a temporary band-aid as
the theater was put up for sale
in 2012 due to continued financial woes. Current owner
Eli Elimelech then purchased
the building for just over $1.3
million, according to a theater
representative.
Now that there’s a plan
to surround the tiny theater
with a new apartment complex, it appears the theater
will remain—at least in some
capacity.
Referred to as “Marionette Square,” the complex
will surround a renovated Bob
Baker Theater with 102 residential units totaling 110,000
square feet. The new complex
will also include 3,400 square
feet of commercial space along
Glendale Boulevard for retail
businesses.
According to Alex Evans,
creative director and marionettist for the theater, the
space in which they operate
will be significantly smaller—
the biggest loss being their
current performance space,
which will be converted into
an entryway for the apartment
complex.
But, Evans said there is
a dedicated crew, passionate
about keeping Bob Baker’s
vision alive, who have been
working with the developers,
The Albert Group Architects,
to ensure the theater’s future.
In 2009, the theater was
named a Los Angeles HistoricCultural Monument, based on
its cultural merits as a hub for
children’s entertainment since
1963.
But, according to Ken
Bernstein with the city’s Office of Historic Resources,
the building itself is not
listed in that historic designation, just the functions
within it are.
For now, Evans and his
crew will continue to put on
shows as long as possible.
“There’s a version of this
story where the developer is
the hero,” said Evans. “Where
the developer has saved something that’s really important.
That’s what we want to happen
and that’s what we’re trying to
make happen.”
Evans also said, theater
representatives were only
made aware of the proposed
changes after obtaining public
[representative schiff]
Preparing Ourselves for Future Earthquakes
By Rep. Adam Schiff
Living
in
Southern
California
has many constants—we
have sun, we have surf and we
have earthquakes. We’ve been
taught by public service announcements many times over
to drop and cover ourselves
as the shaking begins. Our
schools run mandatory drills
to instruct our students how
to best protect themselves. Unlike many other natural disasters, earthquakes
strike in an instant and with
no warning—giving us no
time to prepare or even move
to a safe place. But it doesn›t
have to be that way. When the next big earthquake will hit is still unknown, but we are certain it
will come, and the only question is whether we will be
prepared. Although we cannot predict an earthquake’s
arrival, there is proven technology developed by CalTech
along with the U.S. Geological
Survey and other west coast
universities that can give us
up to a minute of warning before the shaking reaches you. It may not seem like much
time, but it is enough to save
lives and property—our tran-
sit systems, including subways and trains can be slowed
or stopped, surgeries can be
paused and elevators can stop
at the nearest floor to let people out. This crucial technology
has proven itself extremely
valuable in other countries, as
well as in the beta version in
California. Unfortunately, the
system’s delayed implementation is not a result of debate
on the science or utility of an
earthquake early warning system, but of lack of funding for
the program.
For years, I have advocated
for federal funds to help build
and maintain an early warning system on the west coast,
and in 2014, we were able to
secure these funds for the first
time. Last year, Congress increased its appropriation for
the system to $8.2 million.
This is exciting progress, and
I am pleased that support for
this important technology has
been completely bipartisan. The federal government,
however, cannot—and should
not—fund the system entirely
on its own. It will need partners on the state and local level
and among private industry.
Happily, that support is begin-
ning to materialize. Up until now, state governments along the west coast
applauded earthquake early
warning systems, but had yet to
commit significant funds to the
effort. That is now changing. Last month, leaders in the
California State legislature,
State Senator Jerry Hill, Assemblymember Adam Gray
and Senator Robert Hertzberg, unveiled a bill to provide
$23.1 million in vital funding
for an early warning system.
This legislation will appropriate funds to install the needed
seismic sensors, to implement
the telecommunications technology and to get the system
up and running. If this funding comes
through, we could have an
early warning system deployed
within a couple of years. Imagine getting a text message on
your phone, trains being programmed to slow automatically when they receive a signal,
or hospitals getting an emergency alert that an earthquake
is coming. The applications
are unlimited and the capacity to save lives and property
is substantial. With this new
level of commitment, we just
might build it in time. records showing the specifics
of the plan.
“We’re just this ragtag
team of people trying to figure out this complicated city
legal matter and development
process, and we’re just trying
to do the best we can do,” he
said.
The plan, as it is now, will
allow the theater to maintain
its party room and the majority of the performing space after the complex is completed.
During construction, performances will be moved to a
to-be-determined location, according to Evans.
A residential parking
structure will be part of the
complex along with a roof
deck for residents complete
with barbeque grills and seating.
At this point, the Dept.
of City Planning in addition
to the Office of Historic Resources have approved the
project’s plans, which will now
go before a series of more city
reviews in May and June.
If granted final approval,
according to developers, the
complex is expected to break
ground sometime this fall and
should take between 16 and
18 months to complete.
“The early bird catches the worm.”
T
he busy Spring selling season is here. With inventory scarce
and competition keen, here are two new March listings you’ll
want on your radar. Feel free to call me for details.
GLASSELL
PARK
2545 El
Rosa Drive
$848,000
4 Bedrooms
3 Baths
2,576 square
feet, per the
assessor
F
eel the wind in your teeth! This dramatic hillside aerie embraces
sweeping city and mountain views. Much undeveloped land
nearby affords walking opportunities and privacy. Tall windows in
the double-height living room bring in light and views. The efficient
floor plan and expansive decks create an ideal indoor/outdoor flow
that’s perfect for entertaining. Direct-entrance, attached, double
garage.
LOS FELIZ
3663
Los Feliz
Boulevard;
#11
$590,000
2 Bedrooms
2 Baths
1,426 square
feet, per the
assessor
O
nce in a long while a special property comes onto the market.
Such is this condo. Here’s why: quiet, sunny, rear corner
location; a small, professionally-managed HOA with low dues;
extra-tall ceilings; well-maintained by the original owner; spacious
(1,426 square feet, per the assessor); storage closet; huge living
room with fireplace; formal dining room; wide balcony; hillside view;
large kitchen and two parking spaces. Handy location is close to
freeways, public transportation, shopping, restaurants and Griffith
Park.
Richard Stanley
Estates Director
Architectural and
Historic Properties Specialist
[email protected]
213 300-4567 cell / voice mail
©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark
licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal
Housing Opportunity. Owned and operated by NRT LLC. All rights reserved. If your
property is listed with another broker, this is not intended as a solicitation. CalBRE license
#: 00971211
March 2016
tracy do real estate
www.tracydo.com • 323.842.4001 • [email protected]
#1 in the neighborhoods I serve including Los Feliz, Silver
Lake, Echo Park, Eagle Rock, Highland Park and surrounding
communities. My knowledge and experience means you have
the very best ally in your home search or sale.
FOR SALE
CalBRE #01991628
Sales data collected
from the MLS
2052 Mayview Avenue, Los Feliz I $1,700,000
4151 Holly Knoll Drive, Los Feliz I $1,550,000
If you have questions, need feedback or want to discuss your goals, I would love to
hear from you. Call or text me directly at 323-842-4001, or email [email protected].
SOLD
3143 Ettrick Street, Los Feliz I $1,458,000
1852 Deloz Avenue, Los Feliz I $915,000
3733 Clayton Ave., Los Feliz I $1,383,000
We’re dedicated to our community and proud to support:
Celebrating its 13th year, Santé D'Or is
YOUR neighborhood animal rescue!
Our community based and donor supported
501 (c) 3 nonprofit serves metropolitan Los Angeles.
We are a volunteer operated, no-kill animal
sanctuary, with an adoption center right in Los Feliz.
3165 LOS FELIZ BLVD.
L.A., CA. 90039
323.898.8889
FRI - SUN 12-5PM
WWW.SANTEDOR.ORG
Just Listed
Silver Lake Commercial “Compound” For Lease
Retail Storefronts on Hoover Street
700 to 2200 sq ft available.
Type 20 beer/wine license –
perfect for wine or craft beer shop.
Office in back available plus live/work building.
[email protected] for more details.
Selected Listings from ClintLukensRealty.com
FOR LEASE
Retail / Office
East Hollywood
$3.25 / sq. ft.
FOR SALE
Echo Park 4Plex
No rent control
$1,695,000
FOR LEASE
Retail - Hollywood
Near Metro Station
$2.50 / sq. ft.
FOR LEASE
1 - 2 Retail - Eagle Rock
Corner Storefront / Gym
$3.15 / sq. ft.
Call (323) 668-7500 x222 for a FREE Property Valuation and Analysis
Looking for an apartment?
We can help! [email protected]
4427 Santa Monica Blvd.
(323) 668-7500 ph (323) 668-7501 fx
[email protected]
www.ClintLukensRealty.com
BRE Lic #01367014
Los Feliz Ledger
[assembymember gatto]
Easy Estate-Planning Deeds Available Now
By California Assemblymember Mike Gatto
As you
know, whenever the 1st of
January arrives, new laws take
effect in California. This year
my AB 139, a measure that
established a new estate-planning tool, finally went into effect, giving homeowners the
ability to transfer their home
with a simple form. Reformers
had tried to pass this historic
legislation for 10 years, failing
until my AB 139.
Before now, middle-class
Californians had two costly
options to transfer the title of
their home upon death: hire an
attorney to draft a trust (which
typically costs homeowners
between $2,000 and $6,000)
or force surviving loved ones
to weather the lengthy, delayfilled probate process (with an
average cost of $26,000).
I’ve always felt that
one of the primary roles of
the legislature should be
to simplify life for Californians. AB 139 will do that,
by helping homeowners avoid
costly probate and attorneys’
fees and unintended burdens
on family members. It’s also
important for us to operate
under the rules we propose,
so I wanted to show everyone
how easy and secure this process is by signing deeds for my
MAYOR from page 1
the best practices from all over
the country.”
Having worked with
many politicians, Schwartz
said he plans to emulate the
quality that the best have—
political courage.
Schwartz, “I’d be so happy
just to be mayor that that’s all
I would want to do. I’m not
looking for another position.”
Steve Barr, 56, shares
Schwartz’s
disillusionment
with city hall.
homelessness,
development
and infrastructure.
“My campaign will really
be about quality of life issues,”
said Schwartz. Schwartz pointed to
Windsor Square as an example
of the decaying infrastructure
of Los Angeles.
“There has been a lot
of deferred maintenance
and that’s resulted in buckling sidewalks and unpaved
streets….We need to deal with
the infrastructure.”
Were he to become mayor,
Schwartz said he would draw
on his significant network to
find people in Los Angeles and
beyond to work for his vision
of the city.
“I’d have a combination
of experienced people who
have worked in government
and people from outside [government],” he said. “ [I’d] take
“You have to be willing to take on
entrenched interests and be willing to
make tough decisions that don’t help
your career.” — Mitchell Schwartz
“You have to be willing to
take on entrenched interests
and be willing to make tough
decisions that don’t help your
career,” he said.
Schwartz said he believes
there has been a “failure of
leadership in city hall” due to
politicians who are more concerned about their own careers
than the people of the city.
“If I were to win,” said
[Neighborhood Council Elections]
Election Hopefuls Start Lining Up
With neighborhood council elections a little over two
months away, several candidates have thrown their hats
in the ring for seats on the
Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater
Village and East Hollywood
neighborhood councils.
So far, eight candidates
have filed to run in Los Feliz: Lenora Claire, District A;
Amy Foell and Jon Deutsch,
District B; Gina Isaac and
Madison Blu Fairchild, District C; incumbent Nello DiGiandomenico and Michael
Hain, District D; and Dani
Walker, District E.
Silver Lake currently has
five registered candidates: Gabriel Blanco for one of the seven available “At-Large” seats;
Scott Crawford and Douglas
J. Loewy, Region 1; Caroline
Pham, Region 3; and Bob Lisauskas, Region 5.
Running for Atwater Village are: incumbent Mike
Leiaghat and former neighMarch 2016
borhood council member
John Ciulik, North Atwater;
incumbent Courtney Morris
and Amy Allen, South Atwater; incumbent Torin Dunnavant for Community Group/
Nonprofit Rep. and self-identified atheist Matt Waggoner
for Faith-Based Organizations Rep.
In East Hollywood, six
candidates have filed: John
O’Donnell, District 3; incumbent Eric Soldevilla, District 5;
Lynn Fountain Campbell for
Arts and Culture Rep.; incumbent Bob Peppermuller and Seta
Panosian for Property Owner
Rep. and incumbent Jessica McBride for At-Large Rep.
No candidates have filed
to run for the Greater Elysian Echo Park Neighborhood
Council.
This list includes candidates who had filed to run at
the time of publication. Visit
empowerla.org to view new
candidates as they file, register
own homes this month.
Supporters of my bill,
including the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Assoc., expressed
their enthusiasm for the availability of the new tool, noting
that these new “Easy Estate
Planning” deeds will grant all
Californians the opportunity
to use an inexpensive tool to
pass their home to a loved one.
Most counties were quick
to make the forms available on
their websites. After notarization of the form, Californians
can simply mail the deed to
their local County Recorder’s
office, pay a small fee and file
the form. The average such fee,
$25, pales in comparison to
the lawyers’ fees involved for
previous methods. To easily download a
Revocable Transfer on Death
deed form, please visit: Tinyurl.com/SimpleDeed Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Utilities & Commerce Committee and the
longest-serving current member
of the State Assembly. He represents California’s 43rd Assembly
District, which includes Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank.
www.asm.ca.gov/gatto charter schools serving Los
Angeles. He is the chairman
of California Democrats for
Education Reform and Future
is Now, a national organization highlighting teacher-led
initiatives.
Most recently, he has been
working on the creation of the
California Teacher Corps, a
program designed to address
the statewide teacher short-
age in public schools by offering some economic relief and
professional support for new
teachers. A bill proposing the
program was introduced in
February by California State
Senator Ben Allen.
“It will create a residency
program in this state,” Barr
said, “so that teachers can
learn from master teachers
see MAYOR page 26
“Los Angeles is a dynamic
city with the most un-dynamic leadership,” he said.
Barr, who lives with his
wife and two children aged 10
and 7 in Silver Lake, will announce whether he will run or
not in early April.
As the founder of Green
Dot Public Schools, Barr
spearheaded the creation of
the largest network of public
to vote or run for election.
The filing deadline for
East Hollywood was March
2nd for a May 1st election,
while Los Feliz, Silver Lake,
Atwater Village and Echo Park
residents and business owners
have until March 15th to file
for candidacy for elections on
May 14th.
POLITICS Page 17
NOURMAND & ASSOCIATES REALTORS
4530 W 8TH ST, HANCOCK PARK
$2,749,000
Stately traditional on a park-like 14,000+ lot.
Adam Sires/Michael Nourmand
310.498.1024
848 N NORMANDIE AVE, HOLLYWOOD
$1,625,000
Great bldg on major st with few vacancies. Lndry, gtd entry.
Scott Campbell
323.252.9870
3619 AMESBURY RD, LOS FELIZ
$1,489,000
Traditional two-story 3bedroom/3bathroom,den,amazingviews.
Gina Isaac
323.829.8009
2034 VESTAL AVE, ECHO PARK
$1,055,000
3 + 3 h o m e i n M i c ro - n e i g h b o r h o o d i n h i l l s o f E c h o P a r k .
Courtney Smith
323.667.0700
2278 SILVER RIDGE AVE, SILVER LAKE
$998,000
Spacious Silver Lake Tudor w. separate unit & grg.
Alyssa Valentine
310.428.7751
4300 SUNSET DR, LOS FELIZ
$995,000
Corner lot triplex bordering Silver Lake Sunset Junction.
Gina Isaac
323.829.8009
1322 N CHEROKEE AVE, HOLLYWOOD
$995,000
Two houses on one lot. Excl cond. Perf for owner/user.
Scott Campbell
323.252.9870
3875 CAZADOR ST, GLASSELL PARK
$899,000
3+2 Mid-Century Ranch with updates and lot size over 6,000 sf .
Carrie Bryden
323.829.1158
3731 GLENFELIZ BLVD, ATWATER VILLAGE $729,000
Remodeled Atwater Spanish 2b w. frplc, hwd flrs & grg.
A l y s s a Va l e n t i n e
310.428.7751
2230 YOSEMITE DR, EAGLE ROCK
$709,000
10 Brand new architectural SFRs. 3+3.5, No HOA’s.
Chris Furstenberg
323.422.2244
2226 STRATA LN, EAGLE ROCK
$685,000
Detached modern home w/ natural light, open flr plan. 3+3.
Chris Furstenberg
323.422.2244
4555 FRANKLIN AVE #5, LOS FELIZ
$649,000
2+2 large townhouse located in heart of Los Feliz.
Elisa G. Ritt
310.308.4287
2818 MOZART ST, LINCOLN HEIGHTS
$639,000
Lovingly maintained triplex in prime Lincoln Heights.
Tracy Fink
626.818.9478
516 BEACHWOOD DR, BURBANK
$589,000
2+1 Magnolia Park Gem. Private brick patio, hardwood flrs, ntrl light.
1754 N KENMORE AVE #301, LOS FELIZ
$549,000
Spacious top-floor 2 bed + 2 bath condo with city views.
310.365.6118
Shannon Fenton
Jennifer Eckert
323.543.3697
Three Offices.
NourmandRE
One Respected Name.
@NourmandL A
w w w. n o u r m a n d . c o m
@NourmandL A
Nourmand & Associates Hollywood
Howard Lorey I Brokerage Manager
323.462.6262 I [email protected]
6525 Sunset Blvd. Ste. G2 90028
NO ONE SELLS MORE HOMES
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THAN COLDWELL BANKER
®
3
2
1
FEATURED PROPERTIES
6
5
4
9
8
7
18
17
16
SEARCH FOR MORE LISTINGS AT
ColdwellBankerHomes.com
LOS FELIZ
SUNSET STRIP
(323) 665-5841
facebook.com/ColdwellBankerLosFeliz
HANCOCK PARK NORTH
(323) 464-9272
facebook.com/ColdwellBankerHancockParkNorth
2
BEVERLY HILLS
$2,295,000
Wonderful Old World Courtyard Spanish!
Steve Geller (310) 777-6237
3
HANCOCK PARK
$2,232,900
12 Luxury newly built condominiums in HP
June Lee/James Song 323-860-4262x4255
4
LOS ANGELES
$650,000
3bd+2bth, front yard Hollywood Sign view
Atsuko Kimoto (323) 665-5841
5
LOS ANGELES
$698,000
Priv. roof terrace, great walk location
Mike Chapman (323) 210-2412
6
LOS ANGELES
$750,000
1511Vermont.com | 4bd + 1bth + 1/2 bth
Kerry Marsico (213) 700-6515
7
LOS ANGELES
$1,070,000
Observatory,Hollywood sign, city+mtn vus
Isaac Fast (323) 791-5553
8
LOS ANGELES
$1,795,000
Mid-Cent. Post & Beam architectural
Chris Abbott (323) 210-1430
9
LOS ANGELES
$2,100,000
4BD/4.5BA Chic Hollywood Hills home.
Gene Bush (310) 657-5050
10
LOS ANGELES
$2,195,000
Updated contemporary with great views!
Andrew Yalcin (310) 871-3833
11
LOS ANGELES
$3,199,000
Estate with head-on city to ocean views!
Neal Baddin (323) 793-7405
12
LOS FELIZ
$1,015,000
Truly charming traditional.
Jon Bronson & Mary Swanson (310) 497-6508
13
LOS FELIZ
$1,150,000
Mediterranean style Two Story Duplex
Esau Tenorio (323) 906-2477
14
MID WILSHIRE
$799,000
Delightful duplex with 2 + 1 each unit.
Jenny Chow (323) 460-7624
15
NORTH HOLLYWOOD
$895,000
Gorgeous triplex in prime Studio City
Vahan Saroians (323) 497-6655
16
PALMDALE
$224,950
3bd+3bth. Open, functional floor plan
John Anthony Christopher (323) 906-2468
17
SILVER LAKE
$699,000
2 craftsman houses on lot near Junction
Yolanda Querubin (323) 210-1419
18
WEST HOLLYWOOD
$995,000
2BD/2.5BA loft with gourmet kitchen.
Eric Lowry (213) 507-0950
15
14
13
ATWATER VILLAGE
$739,000
Sizable corner home, close to shops
Kevin Williams (323) 665-5841
12
11
10
1
(310) 278-9470
Connect With Us
facebook.com/ColdwellBankerSunsetStrip
HANCOCK PARK SOUTH
(323) 462-0867
facebook.com/ColdwellBankerHancockParkSouth
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
(213) 406-9200
facebook.com/ColdwellBankerDowntownLosAngeles
©2016 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office is owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker® and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service
marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Broker does not guarantee the accuracy of square footage, lot size or other information concerning the condition or features of property provided by seller or obtained from public records or other sources, and the buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information through
personal inspection and with appropriate professionals.
Los Feliz Ledger
[STARGAZING]
[A DOG’S LIFE]
Get the Facts: Canine Dog Flu
Jupiter’s Opposition
By Jennifer Clark, Ledger Columnist
By Anthony Cook, Griffith Observatory
Humans aren’t
the only ones to
suffer through
flu season; dogs
can get sick as
well. Dog Influenza Type A was first discovered in 2004 in greyhounds in
Florida. More recently, a strain
of canine flu was detected in
high fever—generally above
104 degrees. Pneumonia may
also be present. Up to 20% of
dogs won’t show any sign of
illness.
Dogs that spend time in
shelters and kennels are more
susceptible to canine dog flu.
It is spread through barking,
sneezing or coughing, from
It is spread through barking, sneezing
or coughing, from one dog to the next.
Dogs can also catch it by interacting
with a contaminated object.
the Chicago suburbs that has
dog owners concerned. The illness is primarily a respiratory
disease that is highly contagious to other dogs.
Canine dog flu can be
mild or severe. Dogs infected
with a mild case will exhibit
a moist cough with nasal discharge and sneezing as well
as a lack of appetite and fatigue.
Dogs experiencing a severe case will have the mild
symptoms and also have a
one dog to the next. Dogs can
also catch it by interacting
with a contaminated object.
There is a vaccine for
the flu, but its efficacy is not
known.
In the meantime, dogs
with the flu are instructed to
rest and drink plenty of fluids.
Most dogs get better in two to
three weeks. If your dog shows
signs of being infected, it’s
important that you keep him
away from dog parks, kennels
and other dogs.
The giant Jupiter is visible
all night long on March 7th8th. On that date, Jupiter, in
the constellation Leo the Lion,
rises in the east at sunset and
will be highest in the sky, to
the south, at midnight, then
will descend to set in the west
at sunrise.
This event is called an opposition and happens when
Jupiter, about five times the
Earth’s distance from the sun,
is opposite the sun and the
two planets are at their closest
together for the year.
Details of Jupiter’s banded
clouds are interesting targets
for telescopes. The planet’s
four largest moons, first announced by Galileo in 1610,
can be spotted through steadily held binoculars. The nearly
full moon appears close to Jupiter on the 22nd.
The Red Planet, Mars,
moves from the constellation
Libra the Scales into neighboring constellation Scorpius
the Scorpion on the 13th.
Mars is best seen at about
5:00 a.m. throughout the
month, when it is highest in
the southern sky. Mars still
looks small through a telescope, but will look much
larger in late May when it is
in opposition.
In spite of being the
brightest planet, Venus is
challenging to see shortly
before sunrise this month.
Venus will be to the right of
the sun and above the eastsoutheast horizon. Because
the planet is nearing the sun
rise and sunset are delayed
an hour, according to the
clock. Standard time returns
on November 6th.
Spring begins in the
earth’s
northern
hemisphere—and autumn in the
southern hemisphere—at 9:30
p.m., March 19th.
This is the vernal equinox.
Spring will end, and summer
begins, at the summer solstice
Daylight Saving Time returns on
Sunday morning, March 13th.
At 2 a.m., Standard Time, clocks are
set ahead one hour to 3 a.m.
in the sky, it will be harder
and harder to see as the
month proceeds.
Daylight Saving Time
returns on Sunday morning, March 13th. At 2 a.m.,
Standard Time, clocks are
set ahead one hour to 3 a.m.
This will make the morning
seem darker and the afternoon brighter because sun-
on June 20th.
Indonesia has the only
land in the path of a total
solar eclipse that will cross
a narrow strip of the Indian
and Pacific Oceans on March
9th. None of the eclipse will
be visible from Los Angeles.
A total solar eclipse will not
cross the United States until
August 2017.
To many, living at home means freedom and independence.
But it can also be isolating. Belmont Village residents enjoy
a lifestyle that keeps them physically active and mentally
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RCFE Lic. 197608468, 197608466, 197608467, 198601646, 565801746, 197608291 © 2016 Belmont Village, L.P.
LozFeliz_social_2016.indd
1
Page
20 LIFESTYLES
2/12/16 2:26
PM
March
2016
Los Feliz Ledger
[SENIOR MOMENTS]
A New Local Resource for Seniors
Sour Beers for Spring
By Stephanie Vendig, Ledger Columnist
By Tara de Lis, Ledger Columnist
Saint Barnabas, a social
service nonprofit organization, is opening
a satellite multipurpose center
to serve older adults of Echo
Park and surrounding communities on March 17th.
The center is located at Sandra Cisneros Learning Academy
on Mohawk Street. It’s the result of a collaboration between
the Los Angeles Unified School
District, the Los Angeles Dept.
of Aging and Councilmember
Mitch O’Farrell.
“Our aging community
deserves to have a dependable
and robust network of supportive service, said O’Farrell
in a statement, “which includes top-notch senior centers across the city.”
In Los Angeles, two city
departments provide centers
for the older population—the
Dept. of Aging with its 16
multipurpose centers, and the
Dept. of Recreation and Parks
with 30 senior centers.
The multipurpose centers,
one in each council district,
offer a wide range of home
and community-based services
as a result of federal funding
from the Older Americans Act
passed by Congress in 1963.
The senior centers concentrate on recreational activities,
and depend on local funding
to operate.
In collaboration with the
multipurpose centers, nutrition programs at the senior
centers are also provided.
The concept of “aging in
place” is reinforced when centers offer nutrition programs,
learning, recreation, wellness
activities, socialization opportunities, and the ability to
connect to resources.
When resources in your
community, such as centers,
are accessible to you, it is easier
to remain in your community
in spite of the limitations of
aging. The center can become
a “hang out” place, where conversation and support are easily available.
Centers are also places for
volunteering. At Griffith Park
Adult Community Center
(GPACC), for example, out of
the 36 classes or groups, 23 are
led by volunteers.
The board and officers of
[THEATER REVIEW]
Science Confronts the Spirit World
in “Dream Catcher”
By Marilyn Tower Oliver, Ledger Theater Critic
The conflict between science and spirituality comes
face to face in Stephen Sach’s
new play, “Dream Catcher,”
currently onstage at the Fountain Theatre. The playwright
is also the co-artistic director
of the Fountain Theatre.
The story, inspired by a
true event, captures the consequences of personal choice
when faced with alternatives
that threaten one’s moral certainty.
At stake are large scale
issues like global warming
and the integrity of Native
American burial sites, and
more intimate issues such as
the clash between career advancement and a meaningful
relationship.
Roy is a young engineer
who is excited to participate in
a project to build a solar power
station in an untouched part
of the Mojave Desert.
He is shocked when his
girlfriend Opal—a Native
American with whom he is
having an affair—tells him
of her mystical experience in
which she discovered that the
site for the project is also an
ancestral burial site.
Opal declares that the
March 2016
[THE GOOD LIFE]
GPAC Club, which acts as a
support system for the center,
are all volunteers.
At the Hollywood multipurpose center, an auxiliary
organized by Linda Myerson
Dean has been formed to back
up the services provided for
fragile seniors. These services
include helping with homedelivered meals, making reassurance calls, helping with explaining services, translating,
and providing screening by a
cardiac nurse.
From my point of view,
not only should centers be
readily available, there should
be a close collaboration between the two types of centers so that seniors can easily
take advantage of services and
activities that are provided to
the community, regardless of
where they live.
For information about the
multipurpose centers, go to
aging.lacity.org or call (213)
482-7252 or (800) 510-2020.
To find senior centers operated
by LA Recreation and Parks,
go to laparks.org or call the
Senior Citizen Section at (213)
485-1310.
director Cameron Watson.
The high energy acting
by Elizabeth Frances as Opal
and Brian Tichnell as Roy
captures the unresolved pas-
project
cannot
move forward and
plans to become a
whistleblower.
During the
80 minute one
act play, the two
expound on their
theories of creation on a central
stage filled with
sand to simulate
the desert.
Opal believes Brian Tichnell and Elizabeth Frances star in the drama,
the Mojave tribe’s “Dream Catcher.”
myth that the world was cresions, both philosophical and
ated in four days. Roy believes
personal, that fuel this play. in the Big Bang theory. Their
Although at times the diapassionate arguing is punctulogue and action border on the
ated by their fiery sexual atshrill, the play movingly contraction.
veys the message that moral
He argues that the solar
certitude is not the same for
plant will help save the earth
everyone.
and is also his dream job. She
Jeffrey McLaughlin’s sand
believes that the higher powand rock filled set effectively
ers have led her to discover the
creates the ambience of the
burial ground.
barren Mojave Desert.
Opal’s choice to save the
burial site gives her life mean“Dream Catcher” at the
ing. Roy’s choices underscores
Fountain Theatre, 5060
the fact that sometimes an ideFountain Avenue, Saturdays
alist with lofty premises can
at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.
also make unsavory decisions
and 7 p.m. and Mondays at
on a personal level.
8 p.m. through March 21st.
“The play is messy, compli$15-$34.95. (323) 663-1525
cated, volatile and exciting, said
or FountainTheatre.com
If you’ve never
tried sour beer,
it may be hard
to believe it’s a trend. It probably sounds more like the accidental result of a homebrew
experiment gone wrong.
However, some beers are
specifically brewed to impart
a tart or sour flavor, and these
styles have centuries-long histories in Europe, specifically
Belgium. Now it’s catching on
in the States as well.
Established in 1892, the
Omer Vander Ghinste brewery produces Flemish Cuvée
des Jacobins Rouge, aka red
sour ale.
Its brownish hue belies the
tart taste of cherries and young
blackberries, with a sweetness
and maturity from 18 months
in barrel.
Also Belgian, the Petrus
Aged Pale is the color of filtered apple juice and reminiscent of a more sour version of
it, with piney hints. It’s aged in
oak foeders—wooden barrels
traditionally used for wine,
but increasingly popular for
sours.
A more rare find is the
HotSide Sour Mashed Daytime from Lagunitas. It has
reared its foamy head on tap
at Button Mash in Echo Park.
The taste hybridizes an IPA
and sour, with hints of herbs
and stone fruit.
Rumor has it bottling may
come soon, but under a different name. Whatever they call
it, it’s food-friendly and worth
a try.
Sunset Hall - Curriculum and Advocacy
Thanks to our ad sponsor Sunset Hall. They offer...
Programs for
free-thinking older
adults (323) 660-5277
Conversational
Spanish at GPACC on
Thursdays at 3:00-4:30
Griffith Park Adult Community Center Calendar
Wednesday, March 16th, 2016,
12:00 – 2:30 pm,
Lunch, General Meeting at Friendship Auditorium
Program: Bet Tzedek Legal Services:
Planning for the Future—Legal Tools that address
“End of Life” Issues
You can sign up for lunch at GPACC
between 10:30 and 11:30 am.
The Lunch Program: Lunch is served 5 days a week at the Center.
$2 donation for those over 60 years. $4 for less than 60 years.
Daily lunch served at 12 pm. Coffee and sign-in at 10:30.
For Information on the Griffith Park Adult Community
Club and getting a newsletter, call Stephanie Vendig at
(323) 667-3043, or e-mail at [email protected]
GPACC is located at 3203 Riverside Dr., just south of Los Feliz Bl.
ANNUAL
FOOD
DRIVE
JOIN AND GET A
ENROLLMENT
$
FEE 2 WEEKS ONLY!
0
Bring in a grocery bag filled with
non-perishable food items.
Then join and get a $0 enrollment fee*
323-912-9205
www.silverlakecurves.com
*Monthly fees via EFT required. Offer based on first visit enrollment for a 12 month
recurring billing membership. Offer expires 3/31/16
LIFESTYLES Page 21
Los Feliz Ledger
[out and about]
March 2016
ART
Shot In The Dark Book
Release and Signing Party
Photographer David Arnoff
was on the frontlines of
the punk rock movement in
the late 70s, documenting
artists like The Ramones, The
Clash, Lou Reed, Nick Cave,
Blondie and X. Now 150 of
his best photos (including
some unreleased works) are
collected in a new photo
book, Shot In The Dark.
Arnoff will sign copies of the
book and some of his photos
will be featured on the
gallery’s walls. Free. La Luz
de Jesus Gallery, Sun. March
6th, 4 p.m. 4633 Hollywood
Blvd. Information: (323) 6667667. laluzdejesus.com
that spirit, join a panel of
comedians as they share
and make fun of some of the
weirdest, worst and most
amateurish TV they’ve ever
seen. Suggested donation of
$5. Echo Park Film Center,
Sat. March 12th, 8 p.m. 1200
N. Alvarado St. Information:
echoparkfilmcenter.org
She’s Beautiful When She’s
Angry Director Mary Dore’s
documentary explores the
early days of the women’s
movement in the late ‘60s
and early ‘70s. The expansive
doc looks at everything from
the founding of the National
Organization For Women
to the satirical theatrical
protests of Women’s
International Conspiracy
from Hell! (WITCH), Free.
THEATER
Bed This world premiere
play from Sheila Callaghan
is a racy musical comedy
that explores ten years
of romance in a quick 90
minutes. Tickets are $25.
Atwater Village Theater,
through March 13th. 3269
Casitas Ave. Information:
(310) 307-3753 and
echotheatercompany.com
They Don’t Talk Back
The Autry’s Native Voices
program and the La Jolla
Playhouse team up for the
world premiere of Frank
Henry Kaash Katasse’s
They Don’t Talk Back. The
play is a funny coming of
age tale about a troubled
teen who is sent to live with
his Tlingit grandparents in
a remote Alaskan fishing
village. Tickets start at $10.
Wells Fargo Theater at The
Autry National Center of the
American West, Wed. March
2nd to Sun. March 20th.
4700 Western Heritage Way.
Information: theautry.org
Eliot Sumner, Sting’s offspring, plays at The Echo March 8th.
Stadium, Thu., March 31st,
7:10 p.m. and Fri. April 1st,
7:10 p.m. 1000 Vin Scully Ave.
Information: dodgers.com
COMMUNITY
Kids Club This month
the Kids Club celebrates
Women’s History Month
by teaching kids about Ada
Lovelace, the pioneering
woman who created the first
computer algorithm in 1840!
In the spirit of Lovelace, kids
will learn basic coding skills,
no computer required. Free.
Los Feliz Branch Library,
Fri. March 4th, 4:30 p.m. 1874
Hillhurst Ave. Information:
(323) 913-4710, lapl.com
Big Bunny Spring Fling The
L. A. Zoo presents its annual
family Easter festivities with
crafts, face painting, music
and the chance to meet
bunnies! Your little ones can
get a photo with “Big Bunny”
and pet actual rabbits. Free
with zoo admission. L. A.
Zoo, Fri. March 25th to Sun.
March 27th, 10 a.m. 5337 Zoo
Dr. Information: (323) 6444200, lazoo.org
HISTORY
Eleanor Friedberger plays at The Satellite this month. Photo: Frenchkiss Records.
BOOKS
Christopher Sorrentino
Sorrentino, author of the
National Book Award Finalist
Trance, discusses his new
novel The Fugitives with
his fellow author Jonathan
Lethem. In the novel, the
title fugitives are Sandy
Mulligan, a writer who has
fled to a quiet Michigan
town to avoid a scandal in
Brooklyn, John Salteau, an
Ojibway storyteller who
might have been involved
in a robbery at a nearby
Indian casino, and Kat
Danhoff, a reporter from
Chicago investigating
the theft. Free. Skylight
Books, Fri. March 4th, 7:30
p.m. 1818 N. Vermont Ave.
Information: (323) 660-1175.
skylightbooks.com
FILM & TELEVISION
Channel Surfing According
to FX Networks president
John Landgraf, we’re living
in the era of “Peak TV”;
there’s simply too much
television out there (and
not all of it is good). So, in
Silver Lake Library, Thurs.,
March 17th, 6 p.m. 2411
Glendale Blvd. Information:
(323) 913-7451. lapl.org
MUSIC
Eliot Sumner English singersongwriter Sumner’s new
record The Information has
a dark New Wave sound.
This 80s influence makes
sense as Sumner’s father
is famed bassist Gordon
Sumner, better known as
Sting. Tickets start at $12.
The Echo, Tue. March 8th,
8:30 p.m. 1822 Sunset Blvd.
Information: (213) 413-8200
and theecho.com
Passenger Car Tours Perfect
for the engineer in all of us,
Travel Town welcomes you
to check out their historic
railroad passenger cars.
Afterwards, take a ride
on Travel Town’s famed
miniature railroad. Free.
Travel Town, Sat. March
12th, 10:30 a.m. 5202 Zoo Dr.
Information: traveltown.org
SPORTS
Dodgers Vs. Angels The
Dodgers prepare for the
regular season with a
“Freeway Series” against
the Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim. Two games
will be played at Dodger
Stadium, followed by an
April 2nd game in Anaheim.
Tickets start at $14. Dodger
Eleanor Friedberger Half
of indie rock favorites The
Fiery Furnaces, Friedberger
released her third solo
record, New View, in January.
New York band Icewater,
who served as Friedberg’s
backing band on New View,
opens the show. Tickets
are $15. The Satellite, Thu.
March 10th, 9 p.m. 1717 Silver
Lake Blvd. Information:
thesatellitela.com
Page 22 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
Atwater Elementary Picking Up STEAM
By Mike Pallotta, Ledger Contributing Writer
ATWATER VILLAGE—Atwater Avenue Elementary School
is on its way to becoming a
“STEAM” school, thanks to
the efforts of new principal
Jorge Rios.
The purpose of STEAM
is to introduce children to
five areas of study—science,
technology,
engineering,
arts, and mathematics—and
foster a passion for these subjects early on.
Rios was assigned to Atwater Elementary in July
2015. He came into the position with over 20 years of experience with the Los Angeles
Unified School District under
his belt—14 years as an administrator, five years as an assistant principal, and eight
years as a principal at Malabar
Street Elementary School in
Boyle Heights.
And from day one on the
job, he’s made it his mission to
turn Atwater into a STEAM
school, which, according to
Rios, involves building and
restructuring the curriculum
subject-by-subject.
When it comes to integrating science, Atwater Elementary plans to open a new
science lab, giving students the
March 2016
chance to observe, investigate
and learn the essentials of the
scientific method. The school
is also planning to improve resources they already have.
At the moment, Atwater
Elementary has a computer
lab, which is up and running.
But, as is often the case, the
technology within has become
want to see what they’re doing,
so that we can tie our instruction to their instruction. And
therefore, it will be a seamless
transition once our kids leave
Atwater to go to Irving.”
Developing a STEAM
curriculum also involves
training the teachers to integrate subjects like art and
From day one on the job, new principal
Jorge Rios made it his mission to turn Atwater into a STEAM school, which, he said,
involves building and restructuring the
curriculum subject-by-subject.
outdated and the lab needs to
be revamped. Rios said administrators are also looking
at purchasing software and
programs to teach students
coding.
New to the world of
STEAM, the school is looking to nearby Irving Middle
School, which offers a STEAM
magnet program, as a model.
“A lot of our kids end up
going there,” said Rios. “So I
math into their lesson plans.
Rios said he currently has
three teachers who are part
of a program with Pasadena’s
Armory Center for the Arts,
a non-profit organization
that partners with various
schools and communities to
spread art education.
Once those three teachers
are equipped with the skills to
integrate STEAM into their
curriculum, they’ll work with
“designated personnel to train
the rest of my staff, hopefully
by the end of this year,” Rios
said.
Afterschool programs are
also being considered. According to Rios, one of his coordinators is looking into forming
a music club with the help of
Little Kids Rock, an organization that not only provides
schoolchildren with instruments, but also builds music
programs to teach students to
perform and compose.
Rios believes the campus
is still about a year off from
becoming a STEAM school,
but in the meantime, he will
seek out community and business partnerships for funding.
“If we’re going to look
at enhancing our technology
and those aspects of the curriculum, there’s always money
that’s involved,” said Rios. “As
a small school, we don’t have a
lot of extra money, so it’s really
incumbent on us to reach out
to the community, businesses
and corporations to partner
with us and offset some of that
cost.”
If all goes as planned, Rios
said, Atwater Avenue Elementary School could potentially
be known as Atwater Avenue
STEAM Academy in the near
future.
BALLFIELDS from page 8
was a polarizing figure when it
came Griffith Park,” Mauceri
said. “A lot of time and money
was unnecessarily wasted getting here, but the Los Feliz
Neighborhood Council is going to work to see every penny
possible winds up out on that
field.”
Prop. K, which was approved by voters in 1996 to
create and fund recreational
programs in the city for “at risk
youth” will fund the project.
According to baseball
field design specialists, larger
ballfields can be configured
for younger children as well as
those entering middle school,
which Mauceri and others
have argued are more likely
to be of an age being truly “at
risk.” The previous plan for
two small fields, designed for
younger children, can not be
so configured.
A number of baseball
fields once existed in Griffith
Park but were removed in
the 1950s for construction of
the 5 Freeway and never replaced.
Other terms of the settlement include the city paying
Friends of Griffith Park and
the charitable trust’s legal fees,
which amounted to just over
$34,000.
SCHOOL NEWS Page 23
Los Feliz Ledger
Local Single-Sex Schools Creating Transgender Policies
By Sheila Lane, Ledger Contributing Writer
As declaring that one is
transgender is becoming easier for some due to the media
shining a spotlight on the topic, some single-sex middle and
high schools are now starting
to analyze how to serve what
is expected to be a growing
population.
Statistics of how many
people in the United States
identify as transgender are
hard to come by, simply because the question of gender
identification is not often
asked—it is not included in
the U.S. Census, for example.
But currently, the best estimate comes from the UCLA
Law think tank, The Williams
Institute, which reported in
2011 approximately 0.3% of
the U.S. population is transgender, or 760,000 adults.
But exactly how many
children identify as transgender has never been studied or
estimated.
By definition, a transgender person is someone whose
gender identity does not match
the sex they were assigned at
birth.
In recent years, California law has mandated that
transgender students in public schools be allowed to participate in all activities and use
all facilities, including locker
rooms and bathrooms, in ac-
cordance with their gender
identity. In addition, the U.S.
Dept. of Education declared
that under Title IX, transgender students in public schools
are protected from discrimination.
And last September, the
National Coalition for Girls’
Schools issued guidelines encouraging private girls’ schools
to support transgender students and families on a caseby-case basis.
Locally, the Westridge
School in Pasadena and Immaculate Heart in Los Feliz are each evaluating policies
and best practices in response
to students who identify as
transgender when they apply
or declare that they are transgender while already enrolled.
The Archer School for
Girls in Brentwood has already produced a statement
that says the school will consider any candidate for admission who identifies as female.
Additionally, the school has
indicated they will support a
student after they’ve enrolled
if that student changes their
gender identity.
Marlborough School in
Hancock Park is additionally
examining the issue.
According to Marlborough Head of School Dr.
Priscilla Sands, a task force
of parents, faculty and school
board trustees are set to meet
in early March to discuss the
issue. Marlborough School is a
private, all-girls school serving
grades 7 through 12.
“I think this is an issue
that all schools are facing,”
said Sands.
Weighing the needs of
each individual student alongside the mission of a single-sex
school is challenging.
It’s a conflict that has
caused great debate at women’s
colleges—particularly when a
transgender male student has
gained a leadership position.
But now that debate has
come to the middle school and
high school level and it brings
with it the added complication that the students involved
are not adults, but minors in
a critical developmental state
of their lives with parents who
may or may not understand
their situation.
“On the one hand, I think
see TRANSGENDER page 26
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[THOMAS STARR KING]
Shark Tank
By Piper Begler, 6th grade
On the day my
teachers announced the
Shark Tank, I was overjoyed
by the news.
I have always wanted
to make inventions, but the
first few days, I came up with
things that were dull and
would never make it past the
“sharks.” I worked with my
Dad for several days, on the
way to school for ideas, but
still nothing.
I knew I wanted my product to relate to helping the
homeless, and I thought it
would be nice to donate to the
homeless in a fast and easy way.
I came up with the idea
for a wooden bin you can buy
that comes with a code for an
app, where shelters can post
the supplies and food they
need for the week.
Customers could buy the
items and put them in the bin
for a volunteer to pick up and
deliver to the shelter. I called
it Chest.
The day we presented our
projects, I was very excited.
Getting in front of my homePage 24 SCHOOL NEWS
room class was way more nervewracking than I expected. I
presented to my audience and I
received a grand applause.
When the finalists were
announced, I looked up at
the screen, and there was my
name! I had a week to prepare
for the huge presentation that
would be held in the auditorium in front of all of the 6th
grade Arts and Tech magnet
students. I worked with the other finalists over that week too.
Some of the ideas were so
wonderful, and I was surprised
none of them won.
Being second to last, I had
to wait through all the other
presentations. When I stepped
on stage I nearly froze.
When Mr.Naulls, our
principal started announcing
the names I thought I didn’t
get it. “And the 2nd place
winner for Shark tank is Bon
Balm!” he said. Not me.
When Mr. Naulls called
my name for 1st place, I ran
down the stairs an accepted
my trophy in awe. The experience was unforgettable.
Join ou
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D I S C OV E R
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Early Childhood • Lower School • Middle School • High School
IT ALL STARTS WITH A TOUR
Preschool-Grade 8
March 10, 2016
High School
March 12, 2016
The best education of my life was here at Pasadena
Waldorf School. It shaped my love for learning and
spurred a desire for knowledge in my life. -PWS Alum
Contact our Admissions office at (626) 794-9564 or [email protected]
www.pasadenawaldorf.org
A N AW S N A AC C R E D I T E D M E M B E R O F T H E I N D E P E N D E NT
SCHOOLS OF NORTH AMERICA
March 2016
Los Feliz Ledger
[MOTHER OF INVENTION]
The Verdict on Jury Duty
By Rita Mauceri, Ledger Columnist
Recently, I got the dreaded jury duty notice in the
mail. Like any good citizen,
I grimaced, complained and
considered postponing, but
ultimately reported two weeks
later to the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse downtown.
I sat in the jury room,
working intently on my laptop, annoyed that I was there
and waiting to hopefully not
be called.
I’ll spare you the gory details. Long story short—I ended up as one of two alternate
jurors on a civil trial.
The judge assured us at
the start of the trial that it
wouldn’t last longer than 5-7
days max. It lasted 12. It lasted
so long that two jurors were
dismissed and I moved from
alternate to actual jury member.
The trial was long, drawnout, and breathtakingly tedious. Yet, I came out with a
few realizations that made me
feel, to my surprise, that jury
duty is something we should
all do instead of avoid.
First of all, it’s how our
judicial system works and it’s
a privilege to be able to serve.
Truly. I know we don’t see it
that way, but considering how
justice is carried out in some
other countries, this is an honor.
In addition, the other
jurors were incredibly diverse
and, in my case, really cool.
Maybe I was lucky, but the
process of working with a
mixed group of strangers was
fascinating and fulfilling.
When we entered deliberations after over two weeks
of drawn-out testimony, one
woman got up and said what
we all were thinking. “We all
want to go home, but we need
to do the right thing and take
our time with this verdict.”
We all agreed.
The moment when the
verdict is read aloud and jury
members are polled is heartrending. That’s when you realize you are deciding something
that will impact someone else’s
life in a big way.
Last but not least, as a
mother, the experience resonated with me. When you
serve on a jury, you’re setting
an example for your kids. I
came home every night and
spent dinner talking to my
children about what was happening, why it was happening,
and why it was important.
They had tons of questions
and the whole process really
fascinated them.
I still hope I don’t get selected for the jury next time
around. But I won’t go in begrudgingly, and if my name
gets called, my reaction will
be, “Okay, let’s do it and let’s
do it right.”
[HOLLYWOOD
SCHOOLHOUSE]
Black History
Month
By Isabella Payne,
6th grade
Hello! It’s Isabella
again.
February was
Black History
Month,
and
celebrating this
month is very important to me
because it symbolizes when
African Americans and Blacks
finally got equal rights. I am
half black, and I have been
inspired by many of the people who have fought and are
still fighting for the AfricanAmerican/Black cause. Many
people think of Martin Luther King Jr. when they think
about Black History Month,
but there are so many more
civil rights leaders that are
adored. In my opinion, this
month is important because
it gets people to start thinking
more about our past and how
it connects to our present. It
also excites me to learn more
about how much these heroes
and heroines have changed
the world. Granted, there are
still some changes to be made
for complete and equal civil
rights, but we have made a lot
of progress. If it weren’t for
all of the hard work of those
who came before us, our lives
would be completely different
today.
[IMMACULATE HEART]
Spring Activities Bloom at IH!
By Ashley Conde ‘17
March is a
busy time at
Immaculate
Heart, characterized by spiritual renewal,
class planning,
our spring musical, and community-building events.
During March, Christians around the world observe
the liturgical season of Lent in
preparation for the joyous season of Easter. At Immaculate
Heart, Lent is a time to reflect
on self-improvement and betterment of our community.
For example, the IH
Campus Ministry Leadership
Team will offer a special soup
kitchen March 18th. Students
and their families can enjoy a
simple yet delicious meal together that will also benefit
Catholic Relief Services.
Additionally, in early
March a group of seniors and
juniors will participate in the
spring Kairos retreat.
Amidst their busy school
life, students will now plan
their class schedules for the next
school year. A variety of new
courses will be offered next year,
including History of the Catholic Church, Engineering, Financial Math and two Computer
Science courses.
Meanwhile, students look
forward to the spring production of the musical Thoroughly
Modern Millie, which will run
from March 17th through
20th. The 1920’s-era musical
will feature dazzling costumes
and elaborate dance scenes.
The 71st annual Mother-Daughter Luncheon and
Fashion Show will be held at
the Sheraton Universal Grand
Ballroom March 11th. High
school and middle school students and their mothers (or
grandmothers) will spend the
afternoon bonding as they enjoy a silent auction, boutique
and fashion show, featuring
models from the Class of 2016.
Book, Music
& Lyrics
by Carol Weiss
Pure enjoyment... and that's no lie!
Director/Choreographer
Todd Nielsen
Musical Director
Gerald Sternbach
Meet
the cast
after the
show!
[RESTAURANT REVIEW]
Ohana Poke Co. Brings a Taste of the Islands
to Silver Lake
By Pat Saperstein, Ledger Restaurant Critic
It’s still not entirely clear
why the owners of Black Hogg
turned their trendy Koreaninfluenced restaurant into a
counter service poke stand,
but the neighborhood seems
to be embracing the more casual direction.
The Hawaiian raw fish
dish—pronounced po-kay—
has suddenly swept Los Angeles. Owner Eric Park said he
decided to scale back his full
service restaurant and jump on
the popular trend.
The space was already
serving Italian-style sandwiches at lunchtime as Sopressata,
so Black Hogg was divided
into two spaces, with Soppresata still open only at lunch
and Ohana open for lunch
and dinner with a happy hour
from 4-6 p.m.
The menu is concise, centered on poke bowls and a few
sides. The mix and match system lets you select a base of
white or brown rice, or kale if
you’re feeling especially lowcarb.
March 2016
Choose from toppings of
traditional tuna with soy, a
mayo-based spicy tuna, chile
mango tuna, unagi salmon,
braised octopus or garlic
shrimp, or soy-ginger tofu for
non-fish fans.
After choosing the base
and topping, pick a side
that rides along in the same
bowl—cucumbers in a lightly
spicy dressing, glass noodles or
seaweed salad.
The poke is clean-tasting,
with none of the refrigerator
taste that poke from the deli
counter tends to have. A few
edamame in the bowl and a
flurry of seaweed on top add
texture and fiber.
The spicy tuna is the most
flavorful, with a light mayonnaise dressing. Garlic shrimp
is a little less successful.
There are also shrimp
chips, Hawaiian potato chips,
Maui coconut porter on tap,
and even Spam musubi to
round out the island feeling. If
you haven’t had Spam musubi,
don’t turn up your nose until
you’ve tried it. At the very
least, it will make you feel a
tiny bit like you’re in Hawaii.
Ohana Poke Co.
2852 Sunset BlvD
(323) 741-8211
ohanapokeco.com
Photo by
Martin Cohen
Big Opening Day Celebration * Sunday, Feb. 28th
“Free” Activities at 1pm for all theater goers!
Sundays 2pm: Feb. 28-Mar. 20 & Saturday 2pm: Mar. 19
All Tickets $12 * Call Now For Tickets 323-469-1970
nineoclockplayers.com or brownpapertickets.com
Assistance League Playhouse
1367 North St. Andrews Place * Los Angeles 90028
SCHOOL NEWS Page 25
Los Feliz Ledger
TRANSGENDER from page 24
[editorial]
Why LaBonge’s Shredded Documents Matter
By Michael H. Miller
Since the November 2015
disclosure by the Los Feliz
Ledger that when Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu took over Council
District 4 last July there were
no files or records left by his
predecessor, as concerned
citizens and retired city attorneys, my wife, Stephanie
Scher and and I, with others,
have been looking into this
astounding reality.
Los Angeles City Coun-
are deprived of a substantial
source of information, and law
enforcement suffers the loss of
a vital tool to uncover wrongdoing and corruption.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti has not enforced
these laws as required by the
City Charter. The General
Services Department of the
City admits the wholesale destruction set forth above by
picking up the records and
shredding them. The Informa-
under the cover of their nonelected subordinates.
Confirmed reports, including admissions by the
City Clerk, describe mismanagement of the City Clerk’s
office, which includes the improper handling of public records requests totally contrary
to the State Constitution and
mandates of the Public Records Act.
The pervasive lawlessness and mismanagement of
The city government of Los Angeles is an island of bad practices
and lawlessness with regard to an integral component of
honest government. The full meaning and menace of this is yet
to be determined, but it must stop now.
cilmember Tom LaBonge destroyed at least 113 boxes of
public records and perhaps
up to 200 boxes in the last
few months of his final term.
None of the destruction was in
compliance with legal requirements. And the practice extends beyond LaBonge. Other
councilmembers have engaged
in non-legal record destruction to an extent currently unknown.
The City Clerk of Los Angeles has acknowledged that
neither she nor her office have
complied with City Administrative Code requirements and
the California Public Records
Act when it comes to elected
officials and the public records
in their custody. This means,
among other things, that history vanishes, the background
of city decisions disappear,
information about ongoing
problems is lost, the media
tion Technology Department
destroys electronic records every time a computer is moved
from one office to another by
re-imaging the computer, erasing the hard drive, and reinstalling all software.
Information from other
cities and the city municipal
organizations affirms that the
above-described illegal actions are unprecedented. This
is consistent with our experience as former city attorneys
and active members of the
League of California Cities.
The city government of Los
Angeles is an island of bad
practices and lawlessness with
regard to an integral component of honest government.
The full meaning and menace of this is yet to be determined, but it must stop now.
Otherwise, Los Angeles City
Hall will continue as a den
of secrecy for elected officials
Michael H. Miller served as
a city attorney for several Southern California cities for over 30
years, followed by 10 years as a
hearing officer and administrative law judge. He is the author
of “The City Attorney and the
Rule of Law” in Western Cities
Magazine and an award winning essay entitled “The American Idea” published in The Atlantic Monthly.
MAYOR from page 17
issue like education or homelessness and focusing on it…
reminding people over and
over again that there are probably 80 to 90% of the things
that they agree on and not
focus[ing] on things that they
don’t agree on.”
Barr said he realizes voters
might question his capability
if he campaigns.
“Somebody asked me the
other day,” Barr said, “‘what
makes you think you can
run a city?’ I said, ‘Creating a
school district in the highest
need areas from scratch that
now serves 11,000 kids….Being that successful, I think, is
great training.”
Barr added a thought
about his approach toward
leadership.
“If you look at my background, it’s not just about
talking at issues,” he said, “but
creating some pathways and
some hope and some empowerment and I’m going to see if
that translates in a campaign.”
Three other candidates
have put their names in for
current Mayor Eric Garcetti’s
job. They are Yehuda “YJ”
Draiman from Northridge,
Frantz Pierre from downtown
Los Angeles and Jeffrey Sharp,
who did not return requests
for information.
According to the city’s
Ethics Commission, the candidates who challenge Garcetti, will have a lot of catching
up to do regarding campaign
donations. As of December
31, 2015, Garcetti has already
raised $2.2 million for his
campaign for re-election.
The election is March 7,
2017.
their first year before they become full-time teachers.”
Barr said he believes many
of the city’s issues stem from a
lack of focus on education.
“I think we need to rally
the city around our main infrastructural economic engine, which is our education
system,” he said. “I think the
mayor and the city’s budget
seems to primarily revolve
around patching and fixing
the problems that come from
not having an educated electorate, whether it be crime
or the ability to attract business.”
Barr is also concerned
about traffic congestion, development and the alarming
increase in homelessness.
“The hard work is getting
different groups around an
Page 26 EDITORIAL
the Los Angeles city government concerning the handling of public records and
documents has a major significance that will become
even more profound with additional revelations. Standing on the sidelines hoping
this will go away is not good,
particularly when the subject
is secrecy in government. Everyone should wake up. The
second largest city in America deserves better.
that we come at issues from a
place of inclusion and care and
really thinking always about
the child first,” said Sands.
“On the other hand, there is
the integrity of a girls’ school
and what we believe in. There’s
no simple solution. There will
be that tension. That’s why I
think it’s important to have a
task force to look very carefully at all the issues.”
Although the philosophical considerations surrounding this issue are profound,
the high-profile stories in the
media about high school-aged
transgender students often
center on two things—locker
rooms and bathrooms.
There appears to be an underlying fear that transgender
students are a sexual threat,
or posing to be transgender to
gain access to otherwise offlimits bathrooms. From what
she’s seen and read, Sands
finds these fears unfounded.
“Those are the kinds of issues that diminish the conversation of care for children and
it makes me sad,” said Sands.
“It boxes you into very, very
unhelpful conversations.”
Currently, there is no
deadline for the Marlborough
task force to make an announcement on their findings.
“This is uncharted territory for all of us,” said Sands,
“for parents, for children, for
doctors and for schools. So I
think being caring and open
is all we can do at this point.”
Advertise in the
Los Feliz Ledger
(323) 644-5536
Looking for that Perfect School?
Pasadena’s Weizmann School provides an academically
rigorous K-8 education in a warm Jewish community
setting. Established in 1983 and accredited by WASC
and BJE, we welcome students from an array of Jewish,
interfaith and diverse backgrounds.
For a school tour or to learn more:
(626) 797-0204 / [email protected] /
www.weizmann.net
March 2016
Voted
Silicon Valley’s
“Outstanding
School of
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OPEN HOUSE
March 19
•
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Enrolling Preschool - 6th Grade. Fall 2016.
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Los Angeles Melrose Campus
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1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles 90038 (323) 988-9505 StratfordSchools.com/Melrose
The curiosity to reach. The courage to grasp.
TM
Copyright@2016 Stratford Schools, Inc. All rights reserved. Enrollment in Preschool at Stratford’s new campus is subject to obtaining a state license.
Keller Williams
2150 Hillhurst Avenue
323.668.7600
[email protected]
georgeandeileen.com
B.R.E. 00560275, 01194455, 01950438
Congratulations to the Moreno team…George, Eileen, Dunia, and Laura!
The Top Real Estate Team at Keller Williams Los Feliz for 2014 & 2015
...Gary Reavis Keller Williams, Owner of Keller Williams Los Feliz
2015 Moreno Team Transactions
1670 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles
2038 Hobart Boulevard, Los Angeles
695 Prospect Boulevard, Pasadena
2408 Wild Oak Drive, Los Angeles
4230 Parva Avenue, Los Angeles
3818 Carnavon Way, Los Angeles
2459 Hidalgo Ave, Los Angeles
2027 Park Drive, Los Angeles
4153 Cromwell Ave, Los Angeles
5060 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles
2251 Duane Street, Los Angeles
11857 Hesby Street, Valley Village
4123 Cumberland Avenue, Los Angeles
1725 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles
4139 Camero Avenue, Los Angeles
2369 Lyric Avenue, Los Angeles
1830 Silver Lake Drive, Los Angeles
1683 Hill Drive, Los Angeles
1919 Monon Street, Los Angeles
2528 Ridgeview Avenue, Los Angeles
3715 Tracy Street, Los Angeles
4412 Melbourne Avenue, Los Angeles
832 Edgemont Street, Los Angeles
2470 Hidalgo Avenue, Los Angeles
2307 Bancroft Avenue, Los Angeles
3416 Larissa Drive, Los Angeles
FOR LEASE
2408 Wild Oak Drive
LEASED HOMES
925 Manzanita Street, Los Angeles
434 Norwich Drive, West Hollywood
4356 Burns Avenue, #1, Los Angeles
2285 Beachwood Drive, Los Angeles
2600 Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles
416 E Broadway #309, Glendale
1979 Whitley Avenue, Los Angeles
1310 Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles
2007 Hobart Boulevard, Los Angeles
1933 Monon Street, Los Angeles
IN ESCROW
Los Feliz Oaks
Available In March
$12,500 1854 Redcliff Street
Grand & Gated 5+5 Spanish estate in the fabulous Los Feliz Oaks with incredible city views.
Wonderful original details complimented with newly updated systems, including central AC &
heat. Spacious LR opens to large private patios. Formal DR. Spacious eat-in kitch w/Sub Zero.
2 fireplaces. Family room opens to a lovely terraced yard w/covered & open patios. Large studio.
IN ESCROW
6317 Grape Place
330 Raymondale Dr #3, South Pasadena
6518 Elder Street, Los Angeles
349 Crane Boulevard, Los Angeles
2700 Cahuenga Blvd., #3208 Los Angeles
3834 Clayton Avenue, Los Angeles
1336 Occidental Blvd., Los Angeles
337 West 7th Street, Long Beach
3835 Lincoln High Place, Los Angeles
2153 Avon Street, Los Angeles
4859 Via Marisol, #255 Los Angeles
1508 Acacia Avenue, Los Angeles
43216 Laurelwood Lane, Lancaster
Silver Lake
$1,295,000
Sophisticated Contemporary in a great Silver Lake neighborhood. Living room w/high ceilings,
hardwood floors and views of the city and greenery. Master with fireplace. Impressive cook’s
kitchen with large center island, granite counters. Family room. Wonderful private gated
outdoor areas - a spa with city view’s & large wood decks. Two bonus rooms. Approx 3396 sqft.
SOLD
Hollywood Hills
$929,000 2314 East Live Oak Drive
Hideway in the Hollywood Hills with 2 master suites and great outdoor space + a unique feature
- an aviary (or instead could be a kitty santuary)! Gated & private. Living Room + one bedroom
upstairs and downstairs a 2nd bedroom family room with a 2nd fireplace. Wonderful patio.
Lovely views. Two car carport + 3rd parking space. Tucked away on a cul-de-sac. Very special!
Los Feliz Oaks
$1,329,000
California living at its best in this 1950’s Traditional home in the Los Feliz Oaks. 2 bedrms - each
with private bath. Large open LR with fireplace leads out to the patio and pool. Formal Dining
Room. Large kitchen center isle. Charming den & 3rd bath. Apprx 1932 sqft + home office w/own
entrance. Pool and hot tub. Peaceful setting. With some TLC this home could be quite fabulous!

Mayoral 2017 Election Challenge Starting to

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