After many weeks of deliberating and holding public hearings, the Volunteer Redistricting Commission has revealed their recommendation for the new boundaries for our cities 15 Council Districts. The Commission is tasked every 10 years with redrawing the boundaries to balance population and demographics amongst the 15 Districts. In this past Census cycle, population in the urban core shrank significantly while population growth in the Valley grew.
What does this mean for the Echo Park/Elysian Park area? Well, very little so far. At the center of the “Urban Core” area needing to take on population, Echo Park is currently divided between CD 1 and CD 13, currently helmed by Councilman’s Ed P. Reyes and Eric Garcetti, respectively. Both Councilman are termed out due to 12 year term limits and leave an opportunity for hopefuls who live in the districts – or ones who conveniently move into the districts – to vie for the council seat.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, a “perfect storm” is making landfall on January 25 when the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is set to make what will likely be the final decision on the proposed incorporation of East Los Angeles. LAFCO is the county agency charged to determine if a proposed new city can be created. To that end, LAFCO must determine if a proposed city is “financially viable.” At its upcoming special meeting, LAFCO’s Executive Officer will present its final report to the commissioners. An advanced copy, just released, concludes that “East Los Angeles does not generate enough revenue to sustain a healthy and financially sound city. The Executive Officer recommends that the Commission disapprove the incorporation request.”
The current incorporation effort has been ongoing for about four years, while the formal application for incorporation to LAFCO was made in April 2009 by the proponents, a group known as ELARA. As a lifelong resident of East L.A., I was deeply interested in this issue from the beginning, spent considerable time researching it and even volunteered in the effort for some time. However, as I analyzed the relevant issues in the context of the “rules” that applied, it became clear to me early on that there were fatal flaws that threatened the outcome and left no other conclusion than that which is now being borne out as this proposal sunsets. You see, the perfect storm that derailed this effort came in several fronts which were critical issues to the success of this effort:
I’m sure you’ve seen the police traps at Silver Lake Boulevard and Duane Street to catch motorists who make illegal left hand turns. Several mornings I have witnessed the police diligently ticketing scores of cars. I have several problems with this practice and the risks it poses to neighborhood bike riders:
When the LAPD pull these motorists over, often times in groups of 3 or 4 cars, they are stopped directly in obstruction of the bike lane. While the police are likely well within their rights to stop cars wherever they choose, this is a huge obstacle for Silver Lake cyclists and a hazard for them to safely ride in this area.
Police conduct their stops where Silver Lake Boulevard bends and declines steeply next to the dog park, forcing bikers into really unsafe conditions. When coming around that corner on a bicycle going down hill, cyclists are forced to make a split second adjustment into rush hour traffic as they all of a sudden see that the bike lane is blocked.
In addition to that, I would love to see some attention paid to motorcyclists who use bicycle lanes to maneuver in and out of traffic. On many an evening commute, I am backed up in the typical traffic at Silver Lake Boulevard and Berkley Avenue when large motorcycles zoom by cars in the bike lane. Doesn’t this endanger the bicyclists that these lanes are intended for? Where are the police for that?
With the end of summer come those yearly rituals for parents and school kids everywhere, a final hurrah before it’s back to school. Some are thinking of where to find the best sale on school supplies. Others are already counting the number of days left until next summer. Me, I’m thinking of the critical challenges that face the many kids of East L.A. when they return to school on Wednesday.
You see, it’s just not fair. Out of the more than 20 public elementary schools that serve the kids of East L.A., only one reached its statewide academic performance target, as measured by scoring at least an 800 on the Academic Performance Index (API), 2010 base year, according to the California Department of Education. That school was Fourth Street Elementary School. However, this school represents less than 3% of the elementary school population in East L.A! The rest fell short, again, from 2009. So the struggle to find that elusive and sustained “academic growth” continues for these schools, year after year. Like the “asymptotic” lines I studied in calculus years ago, as one of those students from East L.A., that performance target seems to always be out of reach.
Joselito Pablo Marco is owner of Marco’s Farmacia in East Los Angeles. His opinion piece on the impact of Medi-Cal cuts on patients and independent pharmacies is part of a nationwide coalition organized by community pharmacies. Consultants with the coalition worked with Marco on the opinion piece.
By Joselito Pablo Marco
What do budget cuts mean for California? Perhaps you have heard Governor Brown’s call for higher taxes, or maybe even of his executive order to eliminate half of all state employee cell phones to save money.
While some budget cuts make perfect sense, some cuts would have devastating effects on California businesses and Medicaid patients, resulting in little to no true savings for the state.
California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, has been subject to large cuts, as officials search for ways to close our $10 billion dollar budget shortfall. Currently, a 10% cut from 2008 in Medicaid provider reimbursement rates is being litigated in before the U.S. Supreme Court, because of the potential damage it may cause to the Medi-Cal program. Making the situation even more frightening for Medicaid patients is the additional 10% reimbursement cut that was recently voted for by the California Legislature.
Every ten years, we are reminded to get a tetanus booster shot, to replace our home smoke alarms, and to return the U.S. Census form. Now, a year later, based on that census, we are in the midst of the redistricting process that also takes place every ten years to re-draw the map lines for state congressional, assembly, senate, and other districts. Unbeknownst to the majority of its residents, this process is looming over East Los Angeles like an early morning fog that moves in and out quickly before most even awake.
You see, the problem with the redistricting process is that its meaningfulness is easily lost to the intricacies of legal jargon, a fast-paced timeline for finishing the process, and political rhetoric that falls upon those that likely stand to be affected most from its outcomes, minority voters. Take East Los Angeles, for example, an unincorporated community caught in a bit of a Catch-22 situation because of two conflicting messages inadvertently arising from the internal effort to incorporate as a city, on the one hand, and the external redistricting process on the other.
New motel under construction. Photo by C.J. Salgado
By C. J. Salgado
I was sitting at my barber’s shop in East L.A. listening to “Paco” tell me, as usual, about his youth in Zacatecas, Mexico, while getting a hair cut, when it hit me to ask him something that’s been on my mind a lot lately – the economy of East L.A. It matters to me because I’m a lifelong resident of this iconic community. You see, East L.A. is in the midst of four-year incorporation effort to become a city (right now, it’s actually an “unincorporated” area of L.A. County). As part of that process, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for the county is to release in late June the results of a study to address specifically whether or not East L.A. could make it as a city based on projected revenues and expenditures.
Whether economic development can be addressed better in East L.A. as a city or with a re-energized county commitment is “food” for thought.
Now, my own ruminations of the economy in East L.A. lead me to believe that there are presently some serious economic challenges facing our community, which cannot be disconnected from the incorporation issue in any fair evaluation. Still, I was moved by what my barber Paco said in response to my question of “would you support cityhood for East L.A.?” He said, “No.” Why? As he clipped around my ear his words came out slowly and methodically “…Para conservar la tradicion y ahorrar.” To understand, I searched for meaning in his response, translating to “…to conserve tradition and save.”
A woman named Emily wants to warn Silver Lake area motorists about what she believes might be a potential insurance scam involving fake traffic accidents. The scam was mentioned by an insurance adjustor following the accident described below:
My partner Andrew was the victim of a hit and run in Silver Lake, right at the Riverside Dr. and Fletcher Dr. intersection last night, April 28, around 8:45 p.m. A person in a tan Kia SUV put his/her car in reverse in the left turn lane going onto Fletcher. Once the collision happened, the car drove away, cutting off other cars. This person cut off someone at Fletcher & Glendale Blvd. and the street behind the Ralphs. There were multiple cars that honked at this vehicle as it was posing a danger to themselves and others. My partner chased them to get the license plate. He got the plate numbers and reported it to the police. We have been warned that this could be a potential scam artist who will accuse my partner of running into him ( since the blame typically lies with the person who is behind in a rear end collision.) If anyone saw anything, please let us know. If anything, please be advised there might be a tan Kia driving around silver lake with no regard for human life, as this person ran stop signs and intersections to get away from the accident.
Anyone with information about the accident can sent it to braxlove@yahoo.com.
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Cash flow will determine if East L.A. has what it takes to join the ranks of official “cities.”
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
By C. J. Salgado
Apparently, it’s hard to be a city these days. In the last year alone we’re been bombarded with the bad news on cities, with the state and county seeking to dissolve the Cty of Vernon in response to concerns of abuse of power, embezzlement, and a “controlled electorate.” Some Commerce city officials face accusations of wrongdoing and political corruption. Montebello officials accused of voter fraud, off-the-book bank accounts, and of pushing the city to near bankruptcy; And, of course, we remember the city of Bell that fell.
It’s no wonder that many residents of East L.A. are wary to support the current effort to incorporate this community. Despite the legitimate concerns that many residents have over mistrust of public officials in light of the many local failures, the misdeeds of public office holders is actually a red herring that distracts from the true issue at hand when considering the matter of incorporation– streetwise economics. In the end, cash flow will determine if East L.A. has what it takes to join the ranks of official “cities.”
An Echo Park resident opposed to the proposed 62-unit, Sunset Flats housing development want neighbors to weigh in on the project before or during Planning Commission meeting on Thursday:
Tomorrow is the last day that the community can weigh in with the Planning Commission of Los Angeles before a 5 story building becomes the new entryway into Echo Park. If you need the report that Rogelio did that sold our neighborhood down the river let me know and I’ll drop it by today.
Is it possible to ask people to come?
Thursday is the last chance for the community of Los Angeles and those who live in Echo Park to testify against the Sunset Flats 5 story development that will signify the entry into Echo Park. Please come, we need your support. You can also send a letter to Eric Garcetti’s asking for his help.
8:30am
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
City Hall
200 N Spring Street, 3rd floor
LA CA 90012
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By Christine Peters
An Echo Park resident opposed to the proposed
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