Friday, July 10, 2009

Save the Date


Friday, July 10
* A nuclear melt down performed as modern dance in Silver Lake.
* Lincoln Heights salutes MJ with an outdoor Michael Jackson movie night.

Saturday, July 11
* The Lotus Festival is not happening this year but the Echo Park Community Festival is.
* Learn how to kill (pests) the organic way at Highland Park's Milagro Allegro community garden (pictured).

Sunday, July 12
* Be prepared to share: Echo Park Time Bank workshop & potluck.

Monday, July 13
* A night of Bach and poetry presented by the Mt. Washington Homeowners Alliance.
* It's Telescope Night at Highland Park's Arroyo Seco library

Wednesday, July 15
* La Charanga Cubana concert in MacArthur Park

Thursday, July 16
* Mariachi Divas kick off Heritage Square concert series.

You can find an updated version of the Save the Date calendar at Eastsider on the Go

Photo from 90042

Around The Eastsider

Stories and items from other parts of the blog:

Why a science fair at a Boyle Heights middle school scienc is important to national security. School Yard

Photo from StemUp.org

This will be your last weekend to ride the Echo Park Lake pedal boats

The pedal boats will join the lotus as the next thing to disappear from the waters of Echo Park Lake. The boats will be in operation this weekend for the Echo Park Community Festival. But after that the pedal boats will be put out of business it's not certain when they will come back, said officials with the city's Recreation and Parks Department.

Department spokeswoman Jane Kolb said budget cuts forced the closure of all boating operations. There is no plans to resume service, she said.

A sign on the door of the Echo Park Boathouse reads the "The Paddle Boat Concession Will be Closed Until Further Notice" while another sign below reads that the boats will return for this weekend in time for the Echo Park Community Festival (The Lotus Festival, which is normally held during the second weekend in July, was canceled by the city earlier this year in a cost-saving move).

Residents have boated on Echo Park Lake for more than a century since it was declared a public park in the early 1890s. The city has spent more than $500,000 in recent years repairing the docks of the Echo Park Lake Boathouse as well as installing a new red tile roof and other improvements. In 2007, the Recreation & Parks officials closed the money-losing pedal boat operations in Echo Park and MacArthur Park. However, Echo Park residents were able to convince the city to get the pedal boats back on weekends.

Echo Park photographer Martin Cox, who lives near the lake, was involved the previous effort to bring back the pedal boats. But Cox won't be launching another rescue effort since the city's budget and economic outlook is so bleak.

"I don't think there is enough sympathy to go around," Cox said. "It's sad. But at least I can go boating one more time."

Dear Eastsider: What's to keep my car from plunging into the Arroyo Seco?

Kevin from Angeleno Heights (yes, the same Kevin of Stealth Chopper fame) was driving north on the Pasadena 110 Freeway near Highland Park when he noticed a large hole in the chain-link fence between the freeway and the concrete channel of the Arroyo Seco. He recalls seeing other gaps like this over the years in places where some motorist had demolished and possibly driven through the fence and into the arroyo below. While there is a low concrete barrier in places, Kevin realized that the only thing separating speeding traffic from a tumble into the arroyo was only a flimsy fence. There is not even a guard-rail in many places. So, Kevin asks:

"With so many motorists apparently going into the arroyo,
why doesn't Caltrans put up a better barrier?"

Turns out that Caltrans is already working on that issue, said spokesman Patrick Chandler. Chandler didn't have accident statistics for the winding 110 Freeway between downtown and Pasadena. But Chandler said the agency plans to replace much of that chain-link fence between the freeway and the arroyo with a new concrete barrier. That barrier will be installed as part of a project that features a new median divider along five miles of Los Angeles' oldest freeway.

It's not certain when those new barriers will be built but Chandler said the agency is just about ready to seek bids on the project. He also said on Thursday that Caltrans crews were headed out to repair the holes in the fence pictured above and in other spots between freeway and the arroyo. Chandler advises motorists who spot other problems along the freeway, such as graffiti or broken sprinklers, to call the Caltrans Public Affairs office in Los Angeles at 213-897-3656.

So, until those barriers are built, keep your eyes on the road and your car out of the arroyo.

News & Notes from Boyle Heights, Echo Park, East LA, El Sereno & Glassell Park

Drive-by shooting leaves one man dead in El Sereno. CBS2

A photo exhibit in Glassell Park takes a look back at Gay L.A. after the Stonewall Riots. LA Times

Man gets shot trying to rob an off-duty cop in Boyle Heights. EGP News

The '60s are back in Echo Park. Echo Elysian Forum

What do East LA residents want from Third Street? LA Eastside

Thursday, July 9, 2009

LAPD launches raid against Atwater's Toonerville gang

The LAPD is scheduled to hold a 6 pm community meeting about the arrest of 20 people as part of an early morning raid against members of the Toonerville gang in north Atwater.

"LAPD Officers and Detectives were able to arrest suspected gang members that were recently served with warrants since the Toonerville Gang Injunction was enacted into law in Los Angeles County," said Sgt.Danny Roman in an email distributed to residents this afternoon. More details in Eastside 911

It's not really the food that matters at El Mercado

LA Weekly restaurant critic Jonathan Gold sums up the chief attraction of eating on the third floor of the food hall and shopping center known as El Mercado in Boyle Heights.

"There are many, many better places to eat Mexican food in this part of town, but after a carnitas plate, a fistful of Modelo Especials and an hour of music from the two or three mariachi bands that often play at the same time, you are unlikely to care."

Photo by Scani via Flickr