AVNC Forum Post Was Right! LAPD Map Underreports Crimes

EVEN AS WE appreciate full disclosure on this morning's Atwater Village gang raid, the LA Times finds not all's illuminated inside the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD's online crime map excludes nearly 40% of serious crimes in the city. The LA Times credits one-time Atwater Village resident Jason Insalaco for shedding light on the map problem with his February 2009 post on the AVNC forum. "Numerous robberies, burglaries, homicides, and aggravated assaults have occurred in the village in recent months," Insalaco wrote. "You will not find such data on the LAPD crime maps." Though it has better navigation and histories, the EveryBlock map of Atwater Village crime relies on the same misreported data as the LAPD map. Catch up with the developing story: Atwater Violent Crime is Not Fully Disclosed (AVNC Forum, Feb. 9, 2009) LAPD's Public Database Omits Nearly 40% of This Year's Crimes (LA Times, July 9, 2009) Bratton Blames Vendor for Errors (LA Times, July 9, 2009)

Raid! Toonerville Gang Taken Down in North Atwater Village

FROM THE LAPD: "Today, the Northeast Division of the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a focused and deliberate raid on the Toonerville Gang in the Northern part of Atwater Village including the Chevy Chase Park Areas surrounding the Community Center. "Your NOE 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." LA Times reports police made 20 arrests, including 4 murder suspects, confiscating 58 weapons. Glendale News-Press quotes LAPD Capt. Bill Murphy saying Toonerville had "terrorized" Chevy Chase Park and that ongoing police programs are going to "turn that neighborhood." 89.3 KPCC also says police will remain in the area – as they did when they targeted the nearby Drew Street Gang. And at least one reader of this blog was caught in the fray. Via email: "I heard gunshots at 4:00 am and a helicopter was circling my street with the spotlight shining into my windows. Then, when I went to leave this morning, the freaking SWAT team was on my lawn. They told me the whole neighborhood was on lock down and that I couldn't leave... They finally let me leave around 9am..." Tonight officials from LAPD, City Council President Eric Garcetti's office, and the LA City Attorney's office will discuss the raid and ongoing anti-gang activity in the neighborhood. Atwater Village Community Meeting: Thursday July 9, 2009, 6:00pm New Hope Chapel 2861 Los Feliz Blvd.

Could Silverlake Video Be Next Neighborhood Shop to Close?

UNFORTUNATE RUMORS are pegging Silverlake Video, 3206 Glendale Blvd., as the next Atwater Village retailer to close. No official word, but in the age of Netflix and DVRs and digital downloads, it makes sense that a neighborhood video rental store might have a limited shelf life. It's a good store, with staff enthusiastic about film, so let's hope they have a happy ending after all.

Half Off Anything at 55 Degree Wine? Sold!

THANKFULLY THIS is not another going-out-of-business announcement. But it is a deal too good to pass up. Today you can buy a "Groupon" for $40 worth of wine, beer, cheese or whatever from 55 Degree Wine, 3111 Glendale Blvd., at the low, low price of only $20. The offer is good till midnight tonight only on the Groupon website.

Michael Jackson Funeral Passes Through Atwater Village

THE FUNERAL PROCESSION for Michael Jackson passed through Atwater Village this morning, southbound on I-5 from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills to Staples Center for the public service. Starting with the ramp from Los Feliz Blvd., police closed this section of the freeway entirely in advance of the procession.

Los Angeles Police Department officers led the Jackson funeral procession on motorcycle.

The hearse, presumably carrying Jackson's body, was the second vehicle in the procession. (A van, unassociated with the Jackson proceeding, had pulled to the right shoulder just as the freeway was closed by LAPD. Seemed like a sly paparazzi move, but was probably a legit breakdown.)

The procession continued south on I-5, passing under the Glendale-Hyperion bridge between Atwater Village and Silver Lake.

At least a dozen fans and photographers gathered on the pedestrian bridge between Griffith Park and the Los Angeles River bike trail. See all the pictures in my Jackson Procession gallery.

Early Monday Morning: Gunshots? Or Just Fireworks

RUDE AWAKENING at about 3:20am this morning with what sounded like the methodical, rhythmic snapping of 6 to 8 gunshots in Central Atwater Village. (Not the pop-fizz of fireworks, at least to these ears.) LAPD had a patrol car in the area within 5 minutes, but apparently officers' searchlights turned up no reason to call for backup or air support. Let's hope it was merely the final revelry of this Independence Day weekend.

New Speed Humps Installed in Atwater Village

New Speed Hump, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

AS FORESHADOWED by new street signs last month, the City of Los Angeles is installing lovely speed humps today and tomorrow in Atwater Village. Till now Valleybrink Road suffered one of the longest unregulated stretches of residential asphalt in the neighborhood. Commuters on shortcuts to and from Glendale Blvd. bolted along 1,600 feet of zoom room. And it seemed like nothing (kids, dogs, seniors, parked cars, palm fronds, trash bins) could keep them from besting 25 MPH. But now, word is, these humps will work. Drivers will be forced to slow down to 15 MPH, thanks to long-term and determined efforts of our neighborhood petitioners and city reps.