Only in LA: Outdoor Ice Cream Party at End of September

WHEN WE MADE UP our lists of Top Ten Reasons to Live in California, Mrs. Newbie and I had no idea about this: The Great Los Angeles Ice Cream Party Saturday, September 27, 2008 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round 4730 Crystal Springs Drive (between Los Feliz Blvd. & the LA Zoo) RSVP to laicecreamparty@gmail.com And just across the river from our neck of the woods!

One Year Ago Today, Griffith Park Burned

8:52pm, May 8, 2007, along Los Feliz Blvd., over the Los Angeles River

Heroin for Toddlers

Heroin for Toddlers, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

GOOD NEWS IN TIME for Memorial Day Weekend. The city's Griffith Park Recovery blog announces that Shane's Inspiration, a.k.a heroin for toddlers, has re-opened after surviving the recent park fire. This weekend, parents, load 'em up on BBQ and get them to LA's greatest playground. Open in Griffith Park as of May 25, 2007: Autry Museum Bette Davis Picnic Area Bicycle Rental Boy’s Camp (scheduled events only) Crystal Springs Picnic area (scheduled events only) Ferndell south of Red Oak Dr. Ferraro Field Girl's Camp (scheduled events only) Greek Theater (Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights) Griffith Observatory (by shuttle only) Harding Golf Course LA River Bike Path LA Zoo LASUD Magnet School Live Steamers Live Steamers Picnic Area Los Feliz Golf Course Merry Go Round Mineral Wells Picnic Area Park Center Picnic Area Pony Rides Pote Field (scheduled events only) Pump Seven Picnic Areas Ranger Station Riverside Recreation Center Roosevelt Golf Course Shane's Inspiration Sunset Stables (access to Mt. Hollywood Drive only) Trails Cafe Train Rides Travel Town Upper Ferndell Area/Section 9 Wilson Golf Course

New in the Blog-LA-Sphere

THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES maintains a helpful Griffith Park Recovery blog, with updates every few days. Sad to see our favorite godson destination, Shane's Inspiration - a.k.a. heroin for toddlers - still closed after the fire. Does anyone know if the playground sustained any damage? Griffith Park Recovery ALSO ADDED: See a great new take on the neighborhood as a New Yorker declares Atwater Village is for Lovers.

Pedaling Paradise Lost

EXHAUSTED FROM PEDALING along the LA River for Bike to Work Week? You probably didn't do much of it south of Atwater Village. Blog-LA-sphere friend Will Campbell scores an op-ed commentary in this morning's LA Times: "To experience the full dysfunction of Los Angeles cycling, there's no better place than the Los Angeles River Bikeway. Its northernmost four miles, from Griffith Park to Atwater Village, are a pedaling paradise: smooth pavement, lighting, a dedicated bridge over Los Feliz Boulevard. But cross Fletcher Avenue and the riding gets rough..." Will argues that the "Fletcher Divide," the vanishing bike lane on Santa Monica Boulevard and other planning missteps continue to show that LA cyclists are a "transportation afterthought." Or as this handwritten Fletcher Divide warning sign so eloquently puts it, "dangerous slippy slide slime."

Now 47 Photos in Griffith Park Fire Timeline

8:14pm, posted by Atwater Village Newbie in Griffith Park Burns set.

AND GREAT VIDEO, in the midst of it all, from Jacob Soboroff.

Plus a new series from another Atwater Village neighbor.

Atwater Village Chokes In It

6:38pm, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES and analysis on this tragic Griffith Park fire visit the LA Times breaking news blog. Also: My Photo Timeline of Griffith Park Fire [Flickr] - As seen from Sunnynook footbridge, Los Angeles River trail and Baum Bicycle Bridge over Los Feliz Blvd. Fire Brings Us Closer Together [LAist] - "It was an interesting night in Los Angeles. A community generally lost to each other in the confines of Bluetooth headsets and commuter traffic united in a somewhat macabre spectacle: watching Griffith Park burn." [LAist] LA City Council President Eric Garcetti [CD13] - "Griffith Park is not lost, of course, but it is damaged. We'll rebuild it, where we can, and it will grow back lush and green. It's the single largest urban park in the country; few other parks compare to it in its size and wildness." Four Hour Time Lapse Video [via Curbed LA] - Smoke from the Griffith Park fire. Griffith Park Fire Update [LAFD] - From the detailed Los Angeles Fire Department blog

East Coast Finds LA's East Side

THE NEW YORK TIMES continues to discover the Los Angeles we live in east of Hollywood. Last month the paper profiled our fellow neighborhoods in Northeast Los Angeles, or NELA. New Yorkers, it seems, are learning that some California homes are priced under $600,000 and have views of Mount Washington - "which could be mistaken for Tuscany." This Sunday our neighbors in Los Feliz Village, "below the sylvan hills" of Griffith Park Observatory, are fit to print with an overview of their pedestrian friendliness. The lesson here? New Yorkers aren't the only ones who walk a block for calamata olives! Just in the nick of time, too, as more Los Feliz residents look to further restrict neighborhood parking. Surfacing: Los Feliz, Los Angeles [New York Times] Northeast Los Angeles: Set for a Close-Up [New York Times]

Griffith Observatory on Zero Dollars a Day

We parked, walked up and walked in. We parked near the Greek Theater, just below the orange cones across the road to Griffith Observatory. We walked past the traffic guards at the top of Vermont Canyon Road. Then we walked around the bend, about half a mile, turning left at the fork in the road instead of going through the tunnel.

At the fork there's another traffic guard. We asked if this was the way for hikers, intending only to find the Mt. Hollywood Hiking Trail. Yes, hikers this way, he said. So we continued up the hill, across the lawn and - seeing an opportunity - into the front door of Griffith Observatory.

No reservation. No ticket. No permission. No questions asked. We spent about an hour at the Observatory. Circled the building. Took lots of pictures. Went inside, wondered why a $93 million renovation would leave so many displays not working, so many laser-printed signs taped to the wall.

We left without seeing everything. Didn't want to push it. This time.

Theme Song for Friday in LA

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burnin'

(Bad Religion - Los Angeles is Burning)

MORE: 5-Acre Brush Fire Breaks Out In Griffith Park