Reporting Graffiti? There's an App for That

NO FLYING CARS just yet, but Los Angeles city government is at least going futuristic with its latest citizen reporting mechanism: iPhone apps. So reports the LA Times:

"It's like having a city official in your pocket," said John Chuldenko, who recently used the app to report graffiti he spotted while strolling through his Atwater Village neighborhood. He was floored when the graffiti was gone a week later. "I've never been the type to report all these things," Chuldenko said. "But now that it's so easy, I do it all the time."

In addition to council district 13 residents using the "Garcetti 311" iPhone app, citizens all over LA can report graffiti and other city government issues the old-fashioned way by calling 311.

(Council district 2 has similar apps for iPhone and Android.)

Hipster or Not, Garcetti is Representin' Proudly

LOS ANGELES City Council President Eric Garcetti surely has been accused of worse, but this interesting exchange took place over the course of 2 interviews on Neon Tommy; one with Garcetti, one with Council Member Tom LaBonge).

NEON TOMMY: Who do you think represents more hipsters, you or Eric Garcetti?

TOM LABONGE: (thinks for a second) I think it's probably Eric because Eric is more of a hipster than I am. Though I could talk you up if you wanted me to.

NEON TOMMY: You know I talked to Tom LeBonge...

ERIC GARCETTI: Yeah I heard, I can answer the hipster question right out. I mean, not even close. CD 13 is hipster central. Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village...

NEON TOMMY: Are you a hipster?

ERIC GARCETTI: No but I represent them proudly.

Garcetti may not consider himself "hip" but just over the last 3 years it's hard to ignore the extra bit of style baked into the appearance of the future LA mayoral candidate. Yes, in answering, "What's next?" Garcetti admits that one possible path "would be to look at mayor in 2013." Hipsters represent.

Maybe Not the Message LADWP Wants to Send

SHORT, PERSONAL note to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power CEO David Nahai:

During a week when LADWP's busted water mains swallow a fire engine and drown a major traffic artery, you might not want to go with the casual mafia lieutenant look on the evening news.

Despite LADWP's alleged history of thuggery, nothing instills less confidence in a nervous public, worrying their street might be the next sinkhole, than a dude lounging on a leather sofa.

Sit up straight. Button the shirt. Maybe throw on a jacket. Or sit at a desk. Drop a couple grand on media training if you have to. At the very least, try and look like the guy who might be able to handle the problem.

Garcetti's New Emphasis on North Atwater Village

FOLLOWING THE successful Toonerville gang raids in July, City Councilman Eric Garcetti has been focusing all kinds of love on North Atwater Village. This Wednesday was a "job readiness" workshop at Chevy Chase Park helping citizens figure out how to get construction jobs. And last Saturday morning saw a neighborhood walk where Garcetti's roving gang was repeatedly thanked for LAPD efforts to crack down on other less desirable roving gangs.

Atwater Village's Haircut: Labonge Calls It River Glen

View River Glen or North Atwater Village? in a larger map

THE NORTHERN TIP of Atwater Village has the neighborhood's last remaining strip club, and now the whole area might be stripped from the neighborhood. Not that anyone really lives in this concrete industrial stem at the top of Atwater Village's banana, but Los Angeles City Councilman Tom Labonge has taken to renaming it River Glen. The new moniker appears on the LA River Revitalization Plan and other City documents, according to the Friends of Atwater Village blog. Labonge has also been using it in emails to describe development initiatives in the area. Never mind the name. (Not much Glen-like about it.) But splitting it from residential areas of Atwater Village seems rather arbitrary. Are we saying industrial and residential don't mix? Or could this be a clever ploy by Labonge's office to locate a waste treatment facility in North Atwater Village without approval from our usual stakeholders, like neighborhood council? The "River Glen" area is also adjacent to the Chevy Chase Park area, where LAPD recently raided Toonerville gang compounds and promises continued cleanup of the area. I suppose neighborhood stakeholders could want continued say in how both areas are governed. I only spent time in "River Glen" once, at a furniture sale. (Didn't buy anything.) But I wouldn't be surprised if people through it was part of the City of Glendale anyway.

Garcetti: Atwater Village Dispensaries 'Unacceptable'

DURING TODAY'S Los Angeles City Council vote to deny "hardship" applications for 14 medical marijuana dispensaries, NBC reports, "Council President Eric Garcetti said it was unacceptable that a certain half-mile stretch of Atwater Village has no less than 5 dispensaries." Garcetti: "People feel under siege. I think there are a lot of people who supported medical marijuana and want access for patients but do not want their neighborhoods taken over - to the point where there are more dispensaries than Starbucks." More: LA Closes Loophole for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries More: 3 Dispensaries Denied, 2 Withdrawn

Speed Humps Coming to Valleybrink Road

ONE OF THE longest stretches of unregulated residential asphalt in Atwater Village, with some 1,600 feet of acceleration space, is getting speed humps. After 2 years of traffic studies and petitions, 4 speed humps will be installed on Valleybrink Road between Sunnynook Drive and the 5-way intersection at Dover Street. Signs went up a few days ago. The humps (not the shorter bumps found in parking lots) could be installed any day. The speed limit on this stretch has always been 25 m.p.h. But the gentle, long curve of Valleybrink seems to encourage speeds of 40 to 50 m.p.h., especially on sweeping days when half the curbs are empty. So speed while you still can, child-hating scofflaws, before we start tearing your mufflers out from under you.

City Council Mulls Fate of Marijuana Dispensaries

NEXT TUESDAY Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to consider the fate of 14 medical marijuana dispensaries, including 5 in Atwater Village. The City Council may start enforcing a 21-month-old ban on new dispensaries, informing these that their "hardship exemptions" may not be granted. Atwater Alternative Care Collective: 3106 Glendale Blvd. LA Collective: 3401 Glendale Blvd. Friendly Collective: 3405 Glendale Blvd. Global Meds Collective: 3425 Glendale Blvd. Accurate Services Medical Dispensary: 3429 Glendale Blvd. More about City Council's move in today's LA Times. Thanks to 2 alert readers for emailing me the article.

Garcetti: "The Sprinkler is Off"

LOS ANGELES City Councilman Eric Garcetti, responding to my posts about over-watering at 3522 Garden Ave., replies via Facebook today: "The sprinkler is off and we have told Department of Transportation that they need to keep it off except when needed." See Garcetti's Facebook exchange.

Neighborhood Council Budget (Mostly) Spared

DESPITE FEARS that the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council annual budget would be slashed from $50,000 to $11,500,word is that LA City Council set AVNC funding at $45,000, just 10 percent off the top.

Survey: 62% Want Feds to Pay for LA Infrastructure

A MAJORITY OF citizens who took LA City Council President Eric Garcetti's survey about what to do with $19 million in federal stimulus funds agree with me. A full 62% of respondents want infrastructure (lights, sidewalks, streets) to be among the top 3 priorities for the federal "community development" money. 34% say infrastructure is 1st priority 16% say infrastructure is 2nd priority 12% say infrastructure is 3rd priority Just so long as they don't shut down neighborhoods to do it.

What Should LA Do with Federal Stimulus Funds?

CITY COUNCIL president Eric Garcetti, in a series of citizen surveys, wants to know "what LA's priorities should be as we prepare for the arrival of funding from the federal stimulus package." Specifically, how should the City of Los Angeles allocate $19 million for community development purposes? Here's what you can do with the money: Do your job. As in, the job you already have: Clean and light public areas, like the Sunnynook Footbridge, where this week's gunfight happened Pick up trash before someone's toilet sits on the curb for 3 weeks Fix and replace damaged streets, sidewalks and signs, like the Hyperion bridge's entirely unreadable sign Make sure there's enough money for police patrol and response, and for neighborhood councils Now is not the time to launch new, flashy projects that the City will someday ignore in favor of newer, flashier projects.

Perfect Timing: Garcetti Seeks Feedback on 'Public Safety'

LOS ANGELES City Council President Eric Garcetti is asking for input from the community on how local government can best improve public safety. Take the survey on Garacetti's website.

Clarified: Waste Plant May Be Near (Not At) Levitz Site

AS EARLIER REPORTED here on the Newbie blog, the City of Los Angeles is considering the old Levitz Furniture site in North Atwater Village (5375 West San Fernando Road) for a facility that would convert garbage to usable energy. Today comes a slight clarification from LA City Councilman Tom LaBonge's office, via Sunroom Desk: Councilman LaBonge suggested the River Glen area of Atwater, near the Levitz site but not necessarily the existing building. The Bureau of Sanitation is currently conducting an analysis of this and other sites around the City and will report their findings and feasibility recommendations to the Council members. Words theirs, italics mine. So consider it clarified. And prepare your comments and questions for the next Department of Public Works workshop for North Central LA: Tuesday March 24, 6:00 p.m., El Centro Del Pueblo, 1157 Lemoyne Street.

Trash-to-Energy Plant in North Atwater Village?

WORD ON THE STREET is that the City of Los Angeles is considering a site in North Atwater Village for a facility that will convert garbage to usable energy. The former site of Levitz Furniture, 5375 West San Fernando Road, near the 5 and 134 freeways, is a likely candidate for a plant that would be part of the City's Solid Waste Integrated Resources Plan. It could process as much as 20 percent of LA's trash. Comments and questions at the next Department of Public Works workshop for North Central LA: Tuesday March 24, 6:00 p.m., El Centro Del Pueblo, 1157 Lemoyne Street.

Why Drew Street Continues to Thrive as Gang Enclave

View Larger Drew Street Enclave Map

ACCORDING TO his Facebook profile today, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti is "helping demolish" the Avenue Gangs headquarters at 3304 Drew Street (map, street view ) adjacent to Atwater Village. (More from the LA Times.)

Cops raided this corner of Glassell Park in June 2008. It's protected by "dead" space: literally, on 2 sides, by Forest Lawn cemetery. The third side is bounded by the 2 freeway.

The fourth boundary is made of 2 large unoccupied lots. One, the old Van de Kamp bakery, is where Los Angeles Community College is slowly building its northeast campus. The other, a former Kmart site, is where activists have fought development by the likes of Home Depot for being "incompatible" with community interests.

But it seems to me it's be better to have active, public spaces, even if they're commercially "incompatible," over large vacant lots that shield gang activity from civilian eyes.

Confirmed! Prius Parking Still Free at LA City Meters

Free?, originally uploaded by rasputina2.

THOUGH WE HAVEN'T PAID (and haven't been ticketed) when our Toyota Prius is parked at City of Los Angeles street meters, we remain skeptical. As we wondered earlier, are hybrid vehicles really able to park for free? Or will we eventually stop getting lucky? Don't worry, replies LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti's office: Hybrid Vehicles are exempt from Meter violations (listed below) ... [Tickets] can be administratively dismissed upon proof that the vehicle cited is a hybrid vehicle. Hybrid vehicle is defined as the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Ford Escape Hybrid. CODE / DESCRIPTION 88.13b / Meter Overtime 80.35.5 / No Coin Deposited Too bad this doesn't apply to street-sweeping rules. Next: What other Southern California cities let hybrids keep their coin? We're looking at you, Glendale.

'Heron, Geese, Ducks ... and Shopping Carts'

LA CITY COUNCIL president Eric Garcetti brings nature back in a 44-second video tour of the Los Angeles River, as it flows through Atwater Village, during last weekend's cleanup.

In Search of Bullet-Proof Spycams

WHAT'S THE HALFLIFE of public safety improvements at Chevy Chase Park in North Atwater Village? About the time it takes a bullet to leave the chamber. From City Council District 13's June 2008 Atwater Village report: Chevy Chase Park Public Safety: CD13 has been working on two security cameras at the park. Trees have been trimmed, and camera placement agreed upon. The cameras will be on two poles on opposite ends of the park. Radio signal had been established to Northeast Station. Unfortunately, one camera was mounted and immediately shot out. CD13 is now considering what the best option is for moving forward with Anti-Ballistic camera casing. We are trying to find another vendor that will stick to our timeline, but this is proving a challenge.

New American Flags, Apparently, on Hyperion Bridge

MEMORIAL DAY NEWS as reported by CityWatch: "Councilman Tom LaBonge and fellow Angelinos [sic] honored the nation's veterans by noting the American flags raised along the landmark Hyperion Bridge... LaBonge allocated about $2,000 for the installation of 30 flags along the historic bridge through revenue generated by advertising on transit benches and kiosks in the Fourth Council District. The flags will fly in commemoration of the Fourth of July and September 11th and will remain in place until September 28, 2008."