tnn issue #9 dec2009

Issue 9 2009-2010December - January

By The Community For The Community

RESTAURANT REVIEW, LOCAL ART, COMMUNITY NEWS FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

Historic Preservationists Prevail Historic Interiors Win a Reprieve

Development & Neighborhoods Finding A Way To Make It Work

www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.net

Happy Holidays!

Sugar Hill 1936 - 1946 A Boyhood Recollection

2

content3 The Rings of Saturn Scott Mcneely

4 Historic Preservationists Rally Laura Meyers

5 Gunman Caught in Western Heights Dianne V. Lawrence

6 Sugar Hill 1936 -1946 Robin D. Williams

9 Palm Grove Ethiopian Restaurant Review by Renee Montgomery

11 Eye on Wesson; Reaching Out Dianne V. Lawrence

12 Vargas Residence Renee Montgomery

13 Light Rail Coming to Crenshaw Blvd. Bruce Durbin

14 Community Reports

16 Neighborhood and Developer, Coming to Terms Dianne V. Lawrence

18 Art: Bakari Santos Carla Weber

20 FREE Community Events

21 Retailers Map

THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS DEC’09/JAN’10

Special Thanks to Ms. Nazalie Elmassianfor her generous contribution!

If you want to donate and help us in our efforts to serve our community, kindly make a check out to

The Neighborhood News and mail to Dianne V. Lawrence

2223 1/2 W. 21st St, Los Angeles, 90018 CA

Publisher/Executive EditorDianne V. Lawrence

Associate Editor Renee Montgomery

Staff WritersCarla Weber, Renee Montgomery, David Sroaf, Dianne V. Lawrence

Contributing WritersLaura Meyers, Bruce Durbin, Todd Hunter, Jacki

Morie, Jeff Copeland, Mason Bendewald, Layout & Design

Dianne V. LawrenceProofreader

ShianneExecutive Sales

Dianne V. LawrenceSales AssociateDeLois JacobsContact us at:

323.871.8580 [email protected]


Hi Neighbors!

Many blessings this issue! 6,000 copies with lots of ads and informative articles! These ads show you that contrary to appearances there are amazing restaurants and services all around you and the ‘News’ is bringing them to your doorstep. Check out our new ad for the local sushi place on Adams at Normandie. GREAT sushi!Here’s what you have to look forward to in this issue:- An informative article about an effort to get a new housing and retail building on the corner of 8th and Washington. The inter-action between engaged neighbors and the developer, is setting precedents for future corridor development. - The attempt of some downtown businesses to overturn codes protecting the interiors of historic buildings, and the effort of the preservationists to stop them. - Councilman Wesson’s good faith effort to mend the disconnect between his office and some of the Neighborhood Councils.- An amazing history article chronicling a young boy’s life in Sugar Hill around WWII. Great News for me... I have a new Associate Editor, Renee Mont-gomery. Renee has been a longtime resident in our community and had already been taking pictures and blogging about our area. She works at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art in the ar-chives of the museum. She will be a great help and additional eye as The Neighborhood News moves into its second year. Shianne has also joined us as our proofreader. I know some of you will be happy about that. We just had Thanksgiving and my prayers went out to all of you who have supported us by your continued enthu-siastic interest and participation. THANK YOU! So sit back with a cuppa joe and enjoy a walk around our neighborhood!

Cover; Mural on Washington Near Arlington Photo by Renee Montgomery

3THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS DEC’09/JAN’10

The group, The Rings of Saturn (http://rings.saturnelementary.com), was formed in March of 2009, by a small

number of local residents working hard to build a stronger connection between the community and their school, Saturn Elementary. Melissa

Patrick, Rayna Saslove, Ashley Thompson and Pico Neigh-borhood Council’s own Scott McNeely planted the seeds of this endeavor and it’s taking off. Rather than take the easy road of sending their kids to a westside school, this small group, along with the staff and principal, Tracie Bry-ant, had a vision to green the school by pursu-

ing a very ambitious Community Park Project. Currently, the 1st phase is underway. Donated by the Pico Neighborhood Council and co-sponsored by the Children’s Nature Institute with their do-nation of native plants, a multi-purpose garden is under construction with plans to complete it by the

planting beds, are slated to be installed as funds become available. This project would transform the campus into a park-like setting that would be integrated into the curriculum as well as pro-vide badly needed green space available to the community after school hours. With such an inspirational idea, it’s no wonder that others have joined in this effort. A group of highly professional individuals are now lending their expertise pro bono. Local politicians have also endorsed the project. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Councilmember Herb J. Wes-son and LAUSD’s Marguerite LaMotte have formally given the thumbs up. However, the real work has yet to come – fundraising. It is hoped that grants, funds, matching programs, donations, cor-porate sponsorship and good ol’ sweat from community members will make this dream a reality. For updates, register as a volunteer or to donate to the project, register at http://rings.saturnelementary.com.

spring. Other phases including a walking path, small forest, poetry garden, natural amphitheater, art installations, meadow and edible

The Rings of SaturnA Community Surrounds Their Local School

With Love, Commitment and Gardening Scott McNeely

To read more about Community Successes go to htpp://www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.net and click on Community News

4 THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS DEC’09/JAN’10

West Adams area residents played a strong role in per-suading the Los Angeles City Planning Commission to continue protecting historical monument interiors

through the city’s Cultural Heritage Ordinance at a hearing held Thursday, September 10. By day’s end, the commissioners agreed by voting 7 to 1 to continue the practice of allowing interi-ors to be included and regulated as part of a landmark designation.

Dozens of historic preservationists spoke at the commission’s fi-nal hearing, arguing that historic interiors can be just as important as exteriors -- sometimes more so. Speakers argued passionately that in communities such as West Adams, renovations of historic homes and buildings, and adaptive reuse, have helped revitalize the entire community. The city’s Office of Historic Resources has spent nearly two years in an effort to update the ordinance which has been in effect since 1962. The ordinance governs how buildings and sites can be selected to become Historic Cultur-al Monuments (HCM), plus their designations; who serves on the Cultural Heritage Commission as well as how proposed updates and alterations -- both structural and cosmetic -- are to be handled. At present, there are more than 960 designated HCMs throughout Los Angeles, with about 125 of these within West Adams and another several dozen in nearby neighborhoods. The controversy about the ordinance’s updating arose when a handful of Downtown owners of historic properties aligned with Central City Association, an organization representing Downtown business interests, to oppose many elements of the existing and proposed ordinance. In particular, these Downtowners argued against including building interiors in HCM designations -- with few exceptions. But interiors have been a part of HCM designa-tion for 47 years and of the about 70 existing HCMs in Downtown,

a large number of these receive tax credits which require their in-teriors to remain historically intact. There were other Downtown owners of HCMs who simply supported interior designations. So it appeared to observers that the Downtown group represented, at best, about 30 properties. When the city planners, nonetheless, suddenly adopted the Central City Association’s version in July without either in-cluding the historic preservation organizations from neighbor-hoods throughout the city -- or even notifying these groups of the change -- hundreds of people wrote letters and e-mails and showed up to a hearing to testify AGAINST the proposed ordi-nance as presented and FOR continuing to include interiors. The ordinance would not only free up downtown commercial property owners allowing them to change culturally significant interiors but would extend to private property as well, allowing new home owners to gut historic homes if they chose to. West Adams Heri-tage Association (WAHA), North University Park Community Association (NUPCA) and United Neighborhoods Neighbor-hood Council (UNNC) were among many neighborhood-based organizations who argued that “Downtown does not speak for me”. The Planning Commission listened at that point and deferred taking action, instead sending the ordinance back for new rounds of discussion. Over two months during the summer, historic pres-ervationists participated in a Working Group formed by the Plan-ning Department that spent more than 15 hours trying to persuade some of the city’s most powerful interests to withdraw their op-position to designating interiors. The preservation coalition in-cluded representatives of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, Highland Park Heritage Trust, Hollywood Heritage, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Los Angeles Heritage Alliance, Her-itage Square, the Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation, NUPCA and WAHA. In the end, at the Planning Commission hearing in September, their reasoned arguments – in dozens of e-mails and one-minute speeches – prevailed. More public hearings will be held in early 2010 at City Council. For more info, [email protected]

Historic Preservationists RallyTo Preserve Historic Interiors

Laura Meyers


When police stopped to question a man riding a bicycle along the sidewalk on Gramercy and 21st, they sud-denly found themselves in hot pursuit. As the sus-

pect took off, he held his hand to his pant waist indicating there may have been a gun, and began hopping over fences and run-ning through backyards along 21st east of Gramercy. The police drew their guns as they scrambled up and down driveways try-ing to corner the suspect. Support and helicopters were called in and they finally apprehended the suspect on Washington Blvd. A guest of mine had seen the suspect pull a gun out of his pants while jumping into my yard. “It was like the movies!” he claimed. The suspect disappeared around the side of the build-ing and after a few moments, backtracked through the yard and hopped back over the fence. When the police came back with a police dog to search for the gun in backyards along 21st, I re-layed my guest’s story and suggested that perhaps the gunman had pitched the gun over the fence into the adjoining yard be-fore backtracking. Sure enough, that was where it was found.

Gunman Caught In Western HeightsDianne V. Lawrence


I lived in a neoclassical mansion at 2218 Harvard Boulevard from the age of six months to about seven years. The street

was nicknamed Sugar Hill by the people across the street because they considered this block “fancy”. I would always be up and outside real early and the far away rumbling sound of the street cars downtown and the rays of the early morning sun would always give an added special feeling to the mornings. Our house was huge. On either

cinema. We’d watch the Saturday matinee serial westerns that played on along with the feature film. I saw the BIJOU there on Adams about ten years ago. It was closed but still had the sign.

all about. All I knew, it was very serious. All the adults changed. Nobody was much fun after that happened! I finally joined the Navy at the age of six. I have the photos to prove it. I joined the Navy at Sax Fifth Av-enue and they took my picture in my new Navy uniform. I was an officer and was in charge of everything in my yard at the Harvard house. We had to put dark shades on all the windows for the air raids. The sirens would go off and finally a Japanese plane crashed into the street somewhere in Los Angeles. That was the rumor! I re-member in Kindergarten at the 24th Street School, we had to salute the flag with our hands outstretched. They quickly changed our hands to palms up when they found out that the HITLER salute was the same as ours---with palms down! The school let us start a Victory Garden and we all found out how to plant seeds in the ground.

My mother Gwen became a real estate agent and I went with her to show houses. While she was doing her job I would wander up to the top of the hills and talk with the army guys who were the gun crews. They had huge cannons set up in the streets of Los Angeles. I remember those days when I was just three years old, where we would take a walk around the huge yard and then out onto the front lawn where I began my run-ning through the sprinklers on hot summer days with my grandmother watching over me. There was no traffic on Harvard during the daylight hours. I had the entire neigh-borhood to myself.

side of the front porch, that resembled a neo classical Greek temple, were tall cypress trees or some sort of thin pine tree. To the left of the house was a Mulberry tree in the shape of a Turkish caravan tent. I had all kinds of imaginative games with that tree. On the other side of the house was a drive-way and parking area and over it was the biggest bush tree affair you could imagine. It was so huge that I could climb up there and walk around in the branches that were lying flat and acting like a floor. I was suspend-ed in the air by those huge branches and I flew around up there like a human monkey. The house was full of activity in the 1940s and I was there to see it all. Hattie Mc-Daniel from “Gone With the Wind” was our neighbor and we lived there when she received an Oscar. It was a big deal! I met her once in her driveway. Her entourage always went straight into the house (a huge brown mansion) and so I just quit going over there. But she talked to my mother. She told my mother she owned one suit when she auditioned for GONE WITH THE WIND.

My good friend, Wayne Simpson and I were regular customers of the BIJOU

My mother would put a little Scottish cap on my head and I would beat all the other tricycles in the neighborhood races up and down Harvard in front of our mansion. My tricycle had the biggest wheels and the thinnest and hardest tires so it was the fastest. Nobody ever beat me. I was king of the sidewalk tricycle racers!The drug store on the corner of La Salle and Adams had the best comic book sec-tion. With a certain amount of relish, I smelled the pages of each new Superman comic book and just shook with happiness. Christmas!!! I got a pair of cowboy boots and chaps and guns and holsters and a cow-boy hat. Off I went to be a cowboy! I went into the huge yards of the mansion next to where Mrs. Mudd lived. I think she might have seen me out there in her yard playing like a cowboy. She let me do anything I wanted in her magical yard of fern grass and little hills and koi ponds all over the place.

My grandpa had his office inside the door that led out to the parking area with its cov-ered entrance that is similar to many man-sions. He was the one who found me fast asleep on a driveway entrance down on the corner of La Salle and Harvard, where the two streets meet. I remember climbing up there on the level part of the monumental entrance pillar and just lying down and falling asleep. He found me and took me home. I was only about five years old and I had free rein to wander and roam in the neighborhood to my heart’s content. My mother and grandmother didn’t seem to worry about me much. I loved the smell of new grass in the vacant lots around Adams.

I remember the attack on Pearl Harbor but couldn’t make heads or tails what it was

West Adams lot near Harvard 1936

Myra, Charles, Robin 1942

sugar hill 1936 - 1946A Former Resident Remembers His Childhood

Robin D. Williams(What Kids Did Before TV, Texting, Ipods, Video Games)

Editors note: Robin’s daughter, Blair Baron, her children Lily and Liam Larsen, cur-rently live close to Sugar Hill, making five gen-erations of local residents. Blair, an actress, was hired to do a shoot that happened to be in the house her father grew up in!

To read more about Local History go tohttp://www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.netClick on The History of West Adams


SUSHI! GREEK!

ETHIOPIAN!

AMERICAN!

SALVADORENO & GAUTEMALTECO!ALL IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD


How do you say “great family restaurant” in Ethiopian? This casual, local restaurant across

from the Nate Holden Center is ter-rific for children or for a fun adult meal. Moms will like the healthy food choices and low-key atmosphere and kids will ap-preciate eating with their hands off big communal trays with the classic Injera bread. Educational too! Gracious owners, Mekonnen Feleke and his wife Amen, are happy to share information about their homeland or discuss the decorations. I took a friend who had eaten in Ethiopia with an honest-to-God Ethiopian princess. She thought the cuisine was very tasty, authentic and, most importantly, less ex-pensive than the Ethiopian restaurants on Fairfax. I recommend the vegetarian or chicken/beef sampler platters. The hors d’oeuvres and desserts were delicious, too. Check out the $12 Sunday lunch buf-fet and the Ethiopian coffee and tea. Yay! Another affordable, informal, interesting restaurant in our neighborhood! Support it! 4641 Washington Blvd. Open 11:30am – 9:30pm except Mondays. (323) 936-0878For more local restaurant reviews, go to htttp://www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.netand click on “Restaurants and Reviews”

Palm Grove EthiopianRestaurant


In some recent ‘Eye On Wesson’ reports, we explored the dif-ficulties in the communication between Councilman Wesson’s office and some Neighborhood councils. We also reported on

his efforts to create open channels between them. We promised to follow up and are happy to report this email from Councilman Wesson explaining the new changes…..

From Councilman Wesson:In my continuing efforts to improve communications with the Neighborhood Councils (NCs) within CD 10, I have recently launched various initiatives intended to increase the flow of in-formation between the Neighborhood Council officers and myself or my office. We have been having our regular dinner meetings whereby I invite the Executive Boardmembers of all the Neigh-borhood Councils in CD 10 to discuss citywide issues, districtwide issues or issues unique to a particular NC. While I have found these dinner meetings to be helpful, I have also been exploring and establishing other methods or forums of communication be-tween the NCs and my office. These include:Periodic E-Mail Updates on “Hot” Topics. You’ve read my periodic e-mail updates this year, most of which have to do with the medical marijuana dispensaries. I will continue to do this on select issues without overloading your e-mail inboxes. Online Community Calendar. If you don’t already know, my office has added an online community calendar link on the CD 10 website where we can post community events. This would allow us to share information on upcoming community events that are happening in CD 10 or would be of interest to the resi-dents of CD 10.If you have events you’d like posted on the calen-

dar, please e-mail the information to [email protected] and [email protected] along with the flier or webpage link. (Please send the information to both in case one is out of the of-fice.) You may also give the information to any member of my staff or drop it off in my district office.Neighborhood Council Breakfasts. While the NC Ex-ecutive Board dinner meetings I mentioned earlier is a good way to share and exchange information, they don’t allow us to get into an in-depth discussion of the issues that matter to individual NCs. I felt that I really needed to spend more time with each NC. More-over, I wanted to get to know all the NC officers in CD 10, not just the Executive Boardmembers. That’s why I came up with the idea of holding breakfast meetings with the full boards of each NC where I could spend quality time with each board to discuss whatever the boardmembers want to discuss. So far, I’ve had meetings with five of the NCs in CD 10 and the feedback has been positive. (For those of you who haven’t had the meeting yet, don’t worry, we’re working our way to you.) Some of you object to holding a breakfast meeting and would rather do a regular meeting. I have no problem with that. Just let my staff know your preference when they schedule the meeting and they’ll work out the schedule with you. Direct E-Mail Communications. As some of you have heard me say before, I’m not a very tech-oriented person. I don’t use e-mail very often. However, to make it easier for NCs to com-municate with me, I have decided to create a process in my office whereby NC Boardmembers can e-mail me at a specified e-mail address. My assistant will then pass the e-mails on to me at the end of each day. (Editors note: we have not included the address since it isn’t for general public). If you have other suggestions on this matter you’d like me to consider, please let me know. Thank you for your work for our community.All the best, Herb HERB J. WESSON, Jr. Councilmember, 10th District (213) 473-7010 City Hall (323) 733-8233 District Officehttp://cd10.lacity.org/

Eye On Wesson

Dianne V. Lawrence

Reaching Out


Located in Country Club Park, this Craftsman Victorian residence was commissioned in 1908 by

Marcelin and Marie Mazet Eyraud, suc-cessful L.A. saloonkeepers. With three stories of living space and basement, it is considered one of the masterpiece homes of architect John P. Krempel, who also designed the old Times Mirror building and Old Los Angeles Fire Engine Com-

pany #28. Eight bedrooms, maid’s quar-ters and a formal butler’s pantry located off the French kitchen give the house an im-posing but homey quality. Various woods are featured in different rooms, including oak, walnut and redwood. Floor to ceiling windows on the first landing of the main staircase frame the Los Angeles city sky-line – opposite a long row of charming

The Antonio & SusanVargas Residence

Renee Montgomery

linen closets. When very progressive Mar-celin Eyraud ordered the home, he also asked Krempel to design the garage with a mechanic’s bay and unique second-story chauffeur’s quarters. ‘Sister’ to the Eyraud residence is Griffith Hall near USC, also designed by Krempel and originally the residence of John Tomilinson Griffith, who headed floral arrangements for the 1895 famed Fiesta parade, a precursor of today’s Tournament of Roses.

YOGA FOR KIDSTHURS. 4 - 5 pm $10

323.829.2626yogamidcity.blogspot.com

Historic Cultural Monument #626

To view more local historical Architecture http://www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.net

click on Featured Architecture


Good news! MTA has recommended a light-rail option (rather than a rapid-

bus line) for the proposed Crenshaw corri-dor project. The MTA presented their ideas to Mid City Neighborhood Council last year and the MINC Board produced a letter with their thoughts and recommendations. While the light rail option would take longer and be more expensive to build, it is widely believed that the rail option will be quicker, more durable and perhaps attract more rid-ers than the bus option. They will still need to fight for a Washington Station (currently Adams is the area’s proposed station) but

that battle is still a few years out. Should this line get built, it is anticipated that it will connect the Mid City area with the under-construction Expo Line and the anticipated Subway to the Sea in the Wilshire corridor. Look-ing further into the future, MTA envisions the Crenshaw Line to eventually lead north along either La Brea, Fairfax or San Vicen-te and connect with the Red Line at Hollywood/Highland. This would bring tremendous economic viability to Mid City as it will not only be located in the geographical center of the city but also be one of the best-served communities for public transit.

Light Rail On Crenshaw CorridorBruce Durbin


Arlington HeightsGraffiti IncreaseAn increase in graffiti is creating concern about a rise in gang activity. Residents are strongly encouraged to assist in its removal by calling 311 (press #1 to bypass the message and reach an opera-tor) to report it. You can also go to anit-graffiti.la.org. Take a pic-ture of the graffiti and send it to Senior Lead officer Spero Roditis at [email protected] who will send it along to the gang unit.Car Break In’sAn increase in car break-in’s has Senior Lead officer Spero Rodi-tis encouraging residents to avoid leaving tempting items in car!Street lights out? Call your Council District office CD 10. 323.733.8233 Todd Hunter

West Adams AvenuesParty! You’re Invited!West Adams Avenues Holiday Party/BazaarWed. Dec. 9 7-9 pm at the Historic Wilfandel House on W. Adams Blvd. & 5th Avenue.Holiday meal served and pot luck desserts.Bring an unwrapped toy for the South Seas HouseWinter Carnival.HPOZ Denies Request3717 W. Adams Blvd. was prohibited by the HPOZ to build a driveway and parking lot in front of the historic apartment build-ings in ‘06. The resident attended the Nov. 12, ‘09 West Adams Terrace HPOZ meeting and was told he had to stop construction

and restore the front lawn.Residents Begin Process to Gate CommunityTemporary de linears are being requested by WAA Quality of Life Committee to Dept. of Transportation as a precursor to gating the West Adams Avenues due to the influx of cut-through traffic and stolen cars left on our avenues to cool off. Benny Potter Park UpgradesThe lights in the Benny H. Potter park have been updated and are casting a bright light over the north side of the park. Our camera installation (paid for by UNNC) has been postponed until the BHP park annex is upgraded with recent Prop K funds of nearly 750K dollars. Drainage system, landscaping and a pavilion are in the proposal.Mayors Rep. Coming to Community MeetingBrenda Anderson of the mayor’s office will be our next guest speaker at the Wed. Jan. 13, 2010 WAA meeting at the Historic Wilfandel House. Joy Baxter

Angelus Vista Meeting Signs Increase ParticipationMason Bendewald put in a funding request with the UNNC Board and got approval for signs that inform community of meeting time and date. After their first use attendance went up. Neighborhood Crime is DownSenior Lead Officer Muy reports crime is down and neighborhood cooperation is up. Associations Join ForcesAngelus Vista Neighborhood Association and Arlington Heights


United Neighborhood Association are planning to start meeting together at least once every quarter. Mason Bendewald

Western Heights Neighborhood AssociationHalloween Sign Up DriveWestern Heights’ new by-laws require neighbors opting in to be-come a member. There was a Halloween drive for registration at the Carlson’s house with a great turn out resulting in 52 new members. Dianne V. Lawrence

Sugar HillAnnual Block PartyWe forgot to mention the fantastic Annual Block Party last Aug. Once again neighbors turned out to enjoy the great pot luck from ribs to amazing corn bread pudding. Special shout out to Billie Green for her inspiration and hard work. Jacki Morie

La Brea Park WestIncrease in RobberiesDue to the increasing amount of robberies in the neighborhood, residents held an emergency meeting with Senior Lead Officer Charles Thomas at the Atomic Cafe. Individual blocks formed a neighborhood watch with neighbors agreeing to take daytime and nighttime shifts.Jeff Copeland resigned from the Mid-City Neighborhood Council due to scheduling. Region 7 is actively seeking a replacement.Jeff Copeland


Development is moving forward with a proposal to build a four-story mixed use (retail and senior housing) project on the southeast corner of Wash-

ington Boulevard and 8th Avenue in Arlington Heights.On Wednesday evening, November 18, United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council (UNNC) and stakeholders, including residents of Arlington Heights, met with David Pourbaba of 4D Development during the regularly-scheduled UNNC Planning and Zoning Committee meeting chaired by Laura Meyers. Pourbaba and 4D’s consultants and architects presented their current plan for a project with retail stores on the first floor and three floors of affordable senior residential units on three more stories above the retail spaces along Washington Blvd. at the corner of 8th Ave. This new proposal includes 65 senior units plus subterranean and at-grade parking. To achieve this project, 4D needs to apply to the city for many land use entitlements,

including variances, conditional use permits, zoning administra-tor’s adjustments and site plan review. But the zoning, [Q]CM-1-VL, currently prevents new residential buildings along Wash-ington.

The discussion was lively and, at times, heated. Some par-ticipants expressed concerns that the developer is requesting variances and exceptions well above and beyond his allowable density bonuses, which currently allows for an increase in the by-right unit count, of 35 percent, allowing for approximately 50 units (depending on the configuration). Pourbaba was also questioned

View from 8th avenue

Neighborhood and DeveloperComing To Terms

about why he needed a variance to have four stories rather than three; later research indicated that the height district for this parcel has a limitation of three stories. Concerns were also expressed that the units were very small and some people remain concerned that this project will cause parking issues in the neighborhood.

On the other hand, architect John Arnold, a UNNC Board

View from Washington

member who has designed affordable senior housing projects in the past, said that the smaller unit size is typical and that the parking seemed more than sufficient. Meyers noted that the design of the building seems to be in keeping with guidelines UNNC suggested in its proposed Specific Plan, especially since the open space is contained within the building walls as a central atrium. But she wondered why there was no attempt to provide “transitional height” with a lowered roofline on the rear, 8th Avenue side.

“While the community is in strong favor of new development along Washington Boulevard, we are committed to and in total support of ensuring the adopted community plan and that efforts of the city and our neighborhood council be respected and adhered to,” said Todd Hunter, who lives on 8th Avenue. “These plans created by responsible community residents in 2004 (UNNC) detail smart, re-sponsible, positive additions to the neighborhood and are a good guide for what development might look like for all our benefit.”

At the meeting’s end, stakeholders voted to establish an Ad Hoc UNNC committee to analyze how this proposed project does and does not meet the various standards in the city’s Citywide Gen-eral Plan Framework (which establishes goals and guidelines for new projects), the UNNC-proposed Specific Plan for Washington Boulevard and the draft update of the West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert Park Community Plan. The Ad Hoc Committee may also analyze the impacts the project may have on the adjacent commu-nity, and propose some changes.

“The community is eager to have and encourage cohesive devel-opment but is also aware that this project will set a precedent and therefore serve as an example for future developments to fol-low,” Todd Hunter added. The hope is that both community and developer will come to a mutual agreement and set an example for future development along the Washington Corridor.Interested stakeholders may contact [email protected] to be placed on a contact list for continued information and actions.

Dianne V Lawrence


PLEASE BE KIND TO YOUR DOG. Unless your dog has a double coat for warmth protection, they are mis-erable left out in the cold at night. Bring your dog in this winter or make sure the dog house has a cushion raising her up off the floor, (you can use discarded sofa cushions) warm blankets to nest in and flaps over the openings. Your dog can’t complain. Be Kind.


small pueblos. After traveling for two years, he finally arrived in Los Angeles and landed a job with the Brazilian Consulate where his place as a tourist leapt to diplomatic status. Santos immediately began to establish roots and embraced the variety and flavor as he became more familiar with the enormous range of the city. Exploring East Los Angeles, he discovered the music and dance of the Latin community. He also developed affin-ities for the South Central community and the Asian communities. When you visit Santos at his home, a whisper south of Washington and West Boulevards, you will find Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Morocco spilling over everywhere. In his garden, guava and papaya trees flourish alongside a variety of other undetermined exotic flora. The walls of his home are drenched with art, reveal-ing lands visited and relished. Santos’ own work -- which is, at times, personal, tribal and universal - covers many of the walls. Santos is a master of many mediums: making masks from the

palm fronds that have fallen from a discordant Santa Ana wind, etching with metal, using canvas, oils and brushes, henna Mehndi tattooing and making jewelry. His dynamic range even landed him a stint as a principal dancer in a Hollywood movie doing the Lambada. Santos not only participates in art exhibitions in and around town but also straddles the world of Brazilian events as a promoter and producer. Coming up this December, Santos will be participating in a group show at the Bluebird Gallery in Whittier where several of his pieces will be shown. bluebirdarthouse.wordpress.com To contact Bakari [email protected]

Bakari Santos arrived in Califor-nia, hitchhiking the dusty and unpaved back roads of South

America from his homeland of Brazil. A Biology major in college with an innate curiosity, Santos ventured throughout the southern hemisphere, at times landing at remote archeological sites and isolated

BAKARI SANTOSCarla Weber

19DEC’09/JAN’10THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS


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SPECIAL EVENTS:SATURDAY DEC. 5, 10 - 11:30 am.IIWP Peacemakers MeetingNEW YEARS EVE Thurs. Dec. 31,8 p.m.Sacred Tones EveningFRIDAY Jan.1 9:30 am - 1 pmNew Years Resolution Spiritual Spa morn-ing with Spiriual Director John MortonIncludes brunch, $15.00SUNDAY Jan 17, 2-5 pmWorkshop: Finding Peace in Today’s World

THE TOM BRADLEY FAMILYSOURCE CENTER5213 W. Pico 90019

323.692.0669There are some changes at the Bradley Center. In order to take advantage of all programs and services, residents are required to fill out an in-take form and proof of City of Los Angeles residency.

The 9th Annual Holiday Toy Giveaway

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. until Gone. Pre-registration is required.

Washington Irving Library

4117 W. Washington Bl 90018 323. 734.6303

On Fridays New library service hours will be 1:30 pm-5:30 pm.

Used Book Sale Sat. Dec. /5 10 am - 2pm

Sponsored by Friends of the LibrarySATURDAY ADULT ART CLASSES

with Lady Gardner. Materials supplied by instructor. No experience necessaryJan 2 11am-2pm Visioning: Ten Steps to Your DreamsJan 9 11am-1pm VisioningJan 9 1:30pm-3pm Beginning ArtsJan 16 11am-1pm VisioningJan 16 1:30pm-3pm Beginning ArtsJan 23 1:30pm-3pm Beginning ArtsJan 30 1:30pm-3pm Beginning Arts

ADULT LITERACY CLASSES. Call Library for details.

CHILDRENMondays 11am PreSchool StorytimeSaturday Dec 12 2pm Swazzle Puppet ShowThursday Dec 17 4pm Family Holiday Storytime

FREE!!

St.Elmo Village4830 St. Elmo Dr.

90019323-931-3409

SATURDAYS 11 am - 1 pmPainting, Drawing Workshops

1st Saturday 2:30 - 5 pm International Black Writers

and Artists (IBWA)Writers Workshop

2nd Saturday, 2 pm - 4 pm

Midtown Rainbow Block Club Meeting

Held at Wilshire Police Station

Winter Solstice Salon and 35th Anniversary Celebration for International Black

Writers & Artists (IBWA)Live Music, Dance, Art, Spoken Word & Story Telling

Holiday Vendors, Light Refreshments St. Elmo Village, 4830 St. Elmo Drive, Los Angeles, 90019

Admission: Free/Canned Food Donations Accepted for Local Food Banks

Contact: Jerome Woods, 323-964-3721 or [email protected]

SOUTH SEAS HOUSEWinter holiday festival

December 12, 2009 all ages

11 am-3 pmgames, prizes, santa, toy giveaway

Winter Camp ProgramRegistration begins December 7 and ends

December 24December 28, 2009 -January 11, 2010

ages 6-12 years$75 per week

Games, arts and crafts, field trips.

for more information about ongoing programs:

323.373.9483 email: [email protected]

Website: www.ssh.weebly.comAnswer to Riddle: 3, one to change

the bulb and two to sing about missing the old burnt one.

Party! You’re Invited!West Adams Avenues

Holiday Party/BazaarWed. Dec. 9 7-9 pm Historic Wilfandel House on W. Adams Blvd. & 5th Avenue.Holiday meal served and pot luck desserts.Bring an unwrapped toy for the South Seas HouseWinter Carnival.


The Neighborhood News - now published at 6000 copies - is read by 12,000 - 20,000 residents within and surrounding the above borders. We are now online as well.

ADVERTISING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS LETS THE COMMUNITY KNOW YOU EXIST.Our Ad Rates keep the small business in mind and include website presence.

For Rates: call 323-871-8580 or email [email protected]


tnn issue #9 dec2009

Documents

great news

renee montgomery11 eye

terms dianne

neighborhood councils

historic interiors

sugar hill

renee montgomery

local art