Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Love For Sale, Highland Park
- Curly Howard fans flock to an East L.A. cemetery to honor their favorite stooge. Paul Skolnik (h/t East L.A. Facebook)
- “Sonic energy” fills the rooms of Eagle Rock’s Welcome Inn. Culture Montster
- The year in L.A. River trash. Curbed L.A.
- LAPD arrests visiting gang members in Highland Park. Patch
- Boyle Heights to host Latina film festival. Facebook
- Happening Today: Central City Action Committee Rummage sale, Angeleno Heights. Highland Park & Silver Lake farmers’ markets. Save the Date
A plan to turn a small section of Griffith Park Boulevard in Silver Lake into a traffic-free zone for pedestrians and bikes is moving forward. Under a City Council motion introduced by Councilman Eric Garcetti, nearly two blocks of Griffith Park Boulevard between Sunset Boulevard and Edgecliff Drive will be off limits to most motor vehicle traffic to create additional a public space with seating areas. It’s part of a pilot project under Streets for People, which consists of a coalition of planning departments, public health agencies and other groups seeking to transform underused streets into public spaces.
[Read More…]
Erika Gallo of Lincoln Heights was filling up her car Sunday night at the Arco at the corner of North Broadway and Griffin Avenue when she noticed the sidewalks were practically abandoned. No was walking their dog, running an errand to the store or out for some evening exercise. Gallo, a neighborhood activist who grew up in Lincoln Heights, said she thinks the empty street reflected the fear and uncertainty surrounding the fate of two neighborhood women: Bree’Anna Guzman and Michelle Lozano. Officials are still trying to confirm that it was Guzman’s body that was discovered last week next to the 2 freeway in Silver Lake. Lozano, a 17-year-0ld, turned up dead next to the 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights.
It’s not clear if the two incidents are connected but Gallo decided something needed to be done to restore the confidence of her Lincoln Heights neighbors. So, she is asking Lincoln Heights residents to take a walk on Wednesday night along North Broadway.
[Read More…]
Photo by Bob Warpehoski
Photo by Jesse Saucedo
It’s been a dozen years since Silver Lake restaurant and property owner Gareth Kantner purchased a cluster of neglected storefronts at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Sanborn Avenue. Over time, Kantner renovated the complex – painted terra-cota red and crowned by the iconic Sunset Junction sign – and filled the spaces with upscale tenants – Intelligentsia Coffee, Cheese Store of Silver Lake and his own restaurant, Cafe Stella.
But now Kantner’s most recent change at his property – the construction of an approximately six-foot high wall in front of what will be an expansion of Cafe Stella – had attracted criticism in the form of blog comments and, as of this morning, tagging. Kantner found the words “Tear Down This Wall” had been spray painted on both sides of the wall.
The tagging will be removed but the wall is going to stay, Kantner said in an interview.
“How dare you,” Kantner said of whoever is responsible for the tagging. “I have been “trying to make this corner a wonderful place for the community with amenities that people need … it infuriates me.”
[Read More…]
News & items from other parts of the blog and beyond:
- Councilman Eric Garcetti has raised approximately $1 million in contributions to support his mayoral campaign. The Silver Lake resident who is serving his last term as Council 13 District representative will provide details of the contributions – made during the last four months of last year – in a filing with the city on Tuesday, according to an announcement from his campaign.
View Flipping Highland Park in a larger map
Homes for sale or in in escrow shown in blue; red markers indicate homes sold during the previous year.
Photo from Redfin
Home flippers have been busy buying and selling homes across Highland Park for sometime now, but some corners of the neighborhood are attracting more attention than others. Take for example Burwood and Strickland avenues east of Figueroa Street, where in the past year six homes within about a block of each other have all shown the signs of being bought and sold by investors (typically, house flippers buy, fix and sell a property within a year). Three of the homes, shown in red in the above map, sold within the past year while three (shown in blue) are currently on the market or in escrow. The newest fixed up flip to hit the market – an 858-square-foot bungalow at 6217 Burwood (pictured) – went up for sale this past week at an asking price of $419,000 – that is nearly $180,000 more than what the house sold for in November, according to Redfin. If this Highland Park block gets flipped out, where will investors head next?
Hermon
Monday, January 30, 2012
Photo by Valentina Silva
By Valentina Silva
A decent donut is a fairly easy find, but a stellar one? That can be an enigma unless you’re willing to drive to Inglewood or Glendora, which is quite a commitment to quench one little donut craving. It’s not like there’s a shortage of donut shops on this side of town. They’re as ubiquitous in this corner as any other in Los Angeles—just pull into any strip mall, and you can probably emerge with a bearclaw or cruller in seconds. No sweat. But, let’s be honest: it will most likely be just so-so, all kinds of ho-hum, a little waxy, on the dry side, too dense, or just plain eh.
You deserve better.
That’s why I’m letting you in on the best kept donut secret in Hermon. If you passed by it, you wouldn’t even give it a second glance. There’s no gigantic, beacon-like donut sign to reel you in, no buzz to spark your curiosity… nothing.
[Read More…]
A woman was sexually assaulted in Echo Park this morning by a man who had offered to help the victim find her friends. Officers responded to the 1800 block of Sunset Boulevard after the woman’s friends called police at about 1 a.m., said Lt. Wes. Buhrmester with the Rampart Division. Passersby reported seeing an ambulance and police squad cars parked in the middle of the street. Here are more details from Buhrmester:
The investigation revealed a female was on foot looking for friends, when approached by a suspect offering to help find them. The suspect escorted her to a nearby secluded location where he sexually assaulted her. He then fled the area, and the woman was able to find her friends, and told them what just happened. They phoned the police.
The investigation is ongoing and “details of the assault and particulars of the location and suspect are not being disclosed at this time,” Buhrmester said.
News and items from other parts of the blog and beyond:
- Angeleno Heights burglar might have taken advantage of pleasant weather and an open door. Eastside 911
- Found: Grey Pit Bull in Silver Lake. Lost & Found
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