EPIAn Ways April 2000

8/9/2019 EPIAn Ways April 2000

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The big news is that Senior Lead Officer JoeWriter, who has been serving our neighborhood foralmost 14 years, recently scored first in theSergeant's exam and has been promoted to a newposition in Northridge. Officer Writer met for thelast time with EPIA at the our March 2nd monthlymeeting in Williams Hall at Barlow hospital inElysian Park. He will be training at the PoliceAcademy in Elysian Park for a month and then starthis new assignment in the Valley. Interviews are

currently being conducted to select a new SeniorLead Officer for Echo Park and Elysian Valley.

Echo Park has been very fortunate to have thesame Senior Lead Officer for over a decade. Inother areas we have seen constant turnover ofofficers and we must rebuild working relationshipsevery year or so. The Community Based Policingsystem EPSA has developed over the years withOfficer Writer has been remarkable. The rate ofreported crime in the Echo Park's Basic Car areahas consistently been the lowest in the NortheastPolice Division for almost two years. We believe theclose working relationship between residents,Select Patrol, and our Senior Lead Officer Writerhas enabled us to transform Echo Park into thesafest community in Northeast and one of thesafest communities in all of Los Angeles. The recent jump in property values--over 40% lastyear--proves that Echo Park is now considered to be a desirable place to live.

Echo Park Improvement Association Meets at 7pm the 1st Thursday each Monthin Williams Hall at Barlow Hospital 2000 Stadium Way in Elysian Park

SLO JOE WRITER BIDS FAREWELL TO ECHO PARK

Senior Lead Officer Joe Writer stops to give

a farewell talk to neighbors at March EPIAmeeting. Well miss Joes positivepresence in our community.

Thanks for all your help. Good Luck Joe!

EPIAn ways


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April 2000

NEWSLETTER CREDITS

EDITORS:LYNN BARBSTEVEN M. ARTHURADVERTISINGFLORA KERP

DESKTOP PUBLISHING:S.M.ART SYSTEMS

PRINTING:LYMAN PRINTING

MEMORANDUMS

INVOICES

WARRANTIES

DIAMOND FOLD COLOR

CARDS

PRICE CATALOGS

APPRAISAL CERTIFICATES

COIN ENVELOPES

Lyman Printing & MailingLOW COST PRINTING & MAILING

SINCE 1913 IN LOS ANGELES

Dominos PizzaEcho Park

213-413-8444

10:30 - 12 Sunday - Thursday10:30 - 1 Friday & Saturday

(323) 634-0830


3/12

REDUCE STRESSDEVELOP FLEXIBILITY,STRENGTH & TONE

Call for class schedule(323) 953-0496

2810 Glendale Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90039

(323)

Look carefully at the murals around Echo Park and you will see many murals are covered withgraffiti and in need of restoration. To start the restoration process we plan to have ReubenBrucelyn, the artist who painted the large Sports Mural on the west side of the lake and the EyesMural under the Sunset underpass, begin the process immediately and paint out the graffiti. Laterhe will start restoring the murals themselves. Reuben will need to buy about $500 worth of specialmural paint and members of EPIA are assisting in the process. Anyone wishing to donate to thisproject can write checks to EPIA and clearly indicate the money is for 'Mural Restoration'. We willmake sure all of the money is used for mural restoration and nothing else.


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April 2000

On June 8, 1999 Los Angeles votersoverwhelmingly approved a new Los Angeles CityCharter, the first in 70 years. At the heart of thischarter is a plan to create a citywide system ofindependent Neighborhood Councils. Byempowering the people of Los Angeles,Neighborhood Councils have the potential toaffect citywide decision-making in unprecedentedways and improve the quality of life.

The new Charter had no details about thecomposition or functioning of the newNeighborhood Councils. The Department ofNeighborhood Empowerment (D.O.N.E.) was

formed to create these councils and to offereducation, training and support to the Councilsonce they are established. By the newly approvedcharter, DONE has only until December 2000 todevelop and present a plan to the Mayor and CityCouncil that creates a system of citywideNeighborhood Councils.

DONE is conducting 16 public workshopmeetings across the city to provide a forum forideas and questions to help create the shape, butnot the agenda, of the Neighborhood Councils.After the meetings, participants inputs will beused to form the Neighborhood Council Plan thatmust be submitted to the Mayor and City Council

for approval and funding.Some of the questions that the plan must

address include:What size should Neighborhood Councils be?

What are the criteria for recognizing aNeighborhood Council? How are boundariesdetermined? What support will be expected fromthe City to ensure the success of NeighborhoodCouncils? What are the goals of NeighborhoodCouncil?

Many of the 250 or so attendees at the areaworkshop, held March 21st at Logan StreetSchool, were already concerned about the

agenda of the as yet to be defined Council(s),without realizing the necessity to assist DONE tocreate a plan which will work for all parts of thecity. Although the remaining 11 workshops willnot be held in our neighborhood, attendance isnot limited to those in the area nearby themeetings. If you are interested in participatingwith shaping the plan, you can attend a meetingin another area.

To get more information including a scheduleof the upcoming workshops, contact theDepartment Of Neighborhood Empowerment byphone: 213-485-1360, by FAX: 213-485-4608, byemail: [email protected] or on the web

S.M.ART Systems, Inc.Bought a computer and dont know how toget the benefits you expected?

WE CAN HELP YOUYour Community Computer Helper

Training & Tutoring

Upgrades & InstallationsFlyers & Newsletters

Network Systems Design

Internet AssistanceCall Us at [email protected]

Barlow GuildhouseSpring ThingSaturday, May 6th & Sunday, May 7th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Windchimes for Gardens and Beautiful Cloth Dolls,

New scented Soaps and Pictures for wallsLittle Glass Reefs with bright colored Fishes,Ceramic Pots and new Crystal Dishes,Glass Ladybugs about to take wing,These are a few of our new Things for Spring.2000 Stadium Way (213) 250-3894

Creating Our Neighborhood Councilsby Steven Arthur


5/12

We are having a great time growing, andbecause the garden looks so great thisyear, we're throwing a party. Join the funon Sunday, April 16th from 12 noon to 4p.m.

This is our third year, and each year newgardeners and new neighbors get thischance to meet each other.About twelve new gardeningfamilies joinedthe twenty old-timers since lastyear. There willbe a special giftfor the first 250guests, ande a c h p a i dadmission isautomat ica l lyentered into araffle. The raffleprizes include Dodgers,Clippers and Kings tickets, Smith &Hawkens tools, children's prizes and more.(By popular demand you need not bepresent to win.) We are planning on anIrish band, a barbecue (including veggieburgers), and a great plant sale. Our plant

sale, lead by the renowned germinator KimEastwood, will be extra-special this year.She's coaxed and nurtured many types ofTomatoes and other plants to create an

exciting batch of seedlings, which will beavailable for $1.00 each.

Last year we raised hundreds of dollarsthat we use to help pay the water bill andbuy tools. The cost of having a plot at the

garden is just $5.00 for three months,which doesn'tcover all our costs.If you are agardener or novice,you can help us getready on Saturday,April 8 between9AM and 2PM,when we will have aworkday to cleanthings up, andplant. It should bea great opportunityto enjoy theoutdoors. We havejobs for all types ofpeople.

For more details about the Picnic in theGarden, call Kim at (323) 969-1702 fortickets/information. Tickets will be $5.00per person, free for those under 12 years

o l d .

by Garden Master Glen Dake

PICNIC IN THE GARDEN3rd Annual Fundraising Party for the Echo Park Community Garden


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April 2000

ECHO PARK CALENDAREvent Date Location CommentsEPIA Meetings 1st Thursday, 7 p.m.

May 4, June 1

Williams Hall at Barlow

Hospital in ElysianPark

Call EPIA message

phone for additionalinformation

EPIA Steering CommitteeMeetings

2nd Monday, 7 p.m.

Apr. 10, May 8Taix French ResaurantTake an active part in

EPIA Join the SteeringCommittee

Chamber of CommerceGeneral Meeting

Friday, 1:00 p.m.Apr. 21, May 19

Taix French Restauant EPCC information/message 213-630-3032

NODS MeetingNeighbors of Dodger Stadium

3rd Thursday, 7:30 p.m. 1949 Cerro Gordo St. Call 323-663-6356 or

FAX 323-663-6361Citizens Committee toSave Elysian Park Mtg.

1st

Wednesday, 7:30p.m., May 3, June 7

Call 213-666-9651 formeeting location

Echo Park CommunityGarden

Garden membershipmeeting 1st Sunday ofthe month 10:00 a.m.all other Sundays openhours 10-2.

Echo Park CommunityGarden, 2223 SunsetBlvd. (Sunset atRosemont)

In case of rain call 213-882-4835 for meetinglocation

Echo Park Arts Not regularly scheduled Information at 213- 250-4155

Echo Park HistoricalSociety

Meets quarterly Call for Information 323-860-8874.

Introduction to Raja Yoga Sundays, 5:00 p.m. 1300 Glendale Blvd. FreeDeadline for June EPIAnWays Newsletter

Saturday, May 20 Send submissions toEPIA, Attn: EPIAn WaysEditor

SPECIAL EVENTS

Community GardenWorkday

Saturday, April 89 a.m. to 2 p.m.

2223 Sunset Blvd

3rd Annual FundraisingParty for the Echo ParkCommunity Garden

Sunday, April 16,12 noon-4p.m.

2223 Sunset BlvdAdmission available atthe door, Includesentry into raffleNo pets

call Kim at 323-969-1702 for tickets/information$5.00 per person, freefor those under 12 yearsold

County Fair atNeighborhood NurserySchool

Saturday, May 20,1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

2700 Telsa Ave. on the reservoir in SilverlakeAdmission $10 includes all-you-can-eat buffet,live music, auction and great activities foryoungsters. Preschool children free.


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Department Building & Safety 213-485-7091

213-485-4193


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April 2000

"us" against "them." This underDONE in

Echo Parkmines the goal of unity and shared points ofview and responsibility toward all. It can alsolead to demands that each group is treated as aseparate constituency that must haverepresentation, or else! People of good willresist this kind of self-defeating fragmentation.Look up the meaning of "E Pluribus Unum"which is the official motto of the United States.

5. Neighborhood Empowerment in practicemeans that the flow of authoritative informationand opinion is from the sovereign people to thepersons in government. The duty of persons ingovernment is to learn and be compliant to thewill of the sovereign people. This may be exactlythe reverse of the whole mind-set of the personsin Los Angeles City government. But they'rebright, and they are learning. We're hopeful. We

want them to be persons of good will too.My contribution to the discussion was about

the organization of Neighborhood Councils. I

suggested that the Council be composed of atotal of 50 members, chosen by and from thefollowing parts of the community: Thirty from several geographic sub-sections

of the area roughly equal in population. Five from the local non-profit organizations,

including churches, in the community. Five from the businesses in the community. Five from the absentee landlords and

community workers who live outside thearea.

Five appointed by the other 45 members of

the council, to make up 50 members.This pattern of representation meets the

requirements for inclusiveness and avoidssetting up potential conflicts between thegroups.

You can give the DONE your own ideas at

(Continued from page 12)

ECHOESFROMTHEPASTIn 1934 Dr. David Eugene

Olson, D.D., M.S., was minister ofthe Alvarado Church of Christ(Christian). Dr. Olson could beheard on KEHE at 9:00 P.M.,Saturday Evenings and hisSunday Preaching Services wereheard at 11: 00 A.M. and 7:30P.M.

An advertisement at that timeread: "When you come to hear Dr.Olson, it is your privilege to seethis. THE LARGEST ANDGREATEST ILLUSTRATED BIBLE

ON EARTH. Write out anyreasonable question and Dr.Olson will answer it. InspiringMusic by Chorus and Orchestra,Organ Chimes, Thermion. Soul Stirring Sermons on Prophecy and Second coming of the Lord BY A MAN ON


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Partnering withCentral City

Action Committees is ONRamp Arts a digitalarts access lab for youth and artists in EchoPark. We are open after school every day from4pm-7pm for local youth and will be offeringartists classes this summer in multimediadesign.

Our current project, Turning Fromthe Millennium, is a multimedia,online project that portrays an urbanpast through a perceived presentand a controversial future. Working

with us are students from Belmontand Manual Arts High Schools inLos Angeles. We are exploring acivic issue of high relevance - thepast, present, and possible future oftheir own neighborhoods - throughmultimedia technology.

In this project the historically rich and

culturally diverse neighborhoods of SouthCentral LA and Echo Park are discoveredthrough research, speculation and portrayal byyouth who possess an intimate knowledge ofthese neighborhoods. ONRamp reinforces thisoften ignored and undervalued knowledge

through professional artistic and scholarlyguidance. This project is fast becoming anenthralling, innovative model of community

do cu m en t a t i o n a n d a r t i s t i cexpression. Working with us on

this project are graduatestudents from the Design and

Architecture programs atUCLA, as well as local scholarssuch as Norman Klein whosebook, "The History of

Forgetting" offers one of the fewdetailed accounts for localhistory in this area.We are actively seeking

community participation for this project, soplease let us know if you would like to shareyour stories, photographs, public records orlocal folklore. Check out our preview online:

Central City Action

(213) 250-5768


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April 2000

ECHO PARK STAFF PROMOTED

The Echo Park Branch staff proudlyannounces the promotion of its long-timesupervisor, Sylvia Galan, to Northeast AreaManager for the Los Angeles Public Library.After serving the Echo Park community as thebranch supervisor for ten years, Sylvia wastapped to lead all of the citys northeast

branches. Although we lose her in the day-to-day affairs of the library, her newresponsibilities include administrative oversightof Echo Park. And, in an old staff tradition, shelives here! Ably pinch-hitting until a new branch

supervisor is appointed, will be Young AdultSpecialist librarian, Wendy McPherson.

SPECIAL LIBRARY EVENTSThe library plans many unique events for this

spring. The Los Angeles Department of CulturalAffairs will offer local artists assistance inapplying for arts grants on Saturday, April 15,from 10am-noon. The library Friends grouphosts a book sale on Saturday, April 22, from10am-3pm. Bill Steeds Woodwind Quintet isbooked to perform on Thursday evening, April

27. And Elizabeth Moran is arranging herFeng Shui workshop for Saturday, June 10, at3pm.2000 Reason Reasons to Read encourages

children to take reading playfully throughoffering give-away incentives and liveWednesday programs. On Wednesday, April 12,for instance, David Orozco helps kids make theirown books. On Wednesday, May 17, DavidPrather presents John & Juan: Stories ofCalifornia. And on Wednesday, June 14, SuniPaz performs Poetry and Music of LatinAmerica. All programs are free and bilingual.And they all begin after school at 3:30pm.

ON-GOING CLASSESBut theres more! The library offers lots of on

-going opportunities to enhance your

information-rich life. Beginning Internet and

word processing classes are conducted (in yourchoice of Spanish or English) at varying timesand days. Every Friday afternoon, from 4-5:30pm, screenagers can learn how to build theirown website. And Professor Bob Kort continuesto hold informal, one-on-one discussions to helpwith career and college options.

Finally, high school-age youth can prepare forpaid jobs through earning valuable workexperience in TWO ways. The library alwayswelcomes teens to informally help library staffserve the public. And for those wishing to

satisfy school graduation requirements orlooking toward their college applications, thelibrary also offers its award winning ServiceVolunteer program. The SV program requirestwo mandatory orientation meetings and twentyhours of community service. Many teens landthe first job they apply for after the program!The library would like to thank its currentService Volunteers for the assistance theyprovide the community: Jamie Elisa-Aragon(Palisades Charter High) and Jecella Mejia

(Belmont High).

LIBRARY HAPPENINGS

Library HoursMonday 12:30-8:00 p.m.

Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m.

Wednesdays 12:30 5:30 p.m.

Thursdays 12:30-8:00 p.m.

Fridays 12:30 5:30 p.m.

Saturdays 10:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m.

Library Address1410 W. Temple Street

Los Angeles CA 90026Phone213.250.7808FAX 213.250.3744World Wide Web Addresshttp://www.lapl.org24 Hour Renewal: 888-577-LAPL


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It was only five years ago that theEcho Park Arts Festival made itsmodest debut. The festival, however,has quickly emerged into one of the

city's largest art happenings. Lastyear, the work of more than 100 local artists,writers and performers were featured in abouttwo dozen venues.

This year, the 2000 Echo Park Arts Festival isonce again seeking to expand its offering with anambitious program of events designed toshowcase the community and its creative spirit.Look for exhibitions and performance pieces inunexpected places, such as a front porch alongEcho Park Avenue or the landmark firehouse inAngeleno Heights. The guided studio tours,youth art workshops and live performances onLemoyne Street will be expanded into Sunday.Also, a village of local artisans will rise indowntown Echo Park for a weekend-long arts &crafts fair.

In addition, local artists and writers will talkabout their work in lively forums. Meanwhile,

residents will beable to sign upfor weekend-longclasses and

w o r k s h o p s

taught by Echo Park area artists. Local youthwill stage a special performance commissionedby the festival.

The weekend long event, which will be held on

October 14-15, will also include evening andafternoon poetry readings, musicalperformances and insights into Echo Park's richhistory. The ambitious schedule of events,however, requires a huge amount of volunteereffort and creativity. More than 50 people helpedorganize and stage last year's event, and we willneed even more this year. In addition, thefestival is also seeking curators to help solicitand stage mini exhibitions.

In addition to the festival, Echo Park Arts, thead hoc group which stages the festival, is alsoseeking to establish a permanent organization tosupport the local arts community. Graphic artistTerri Lloyd is leading the effort to form anonprofit arts group that could generate moreyear-round events and programs. Terri recentlysent a proposal to the Los Angeles County ArtsCommission to create a quarterly Echo Park Artsnewsletter.

The 2000 Echo Park Festival is sponsored bythe office of Council member Jackie Goldbergand the Department of Cultural Affairs.

For more information and volunteer

1911 SUNSET BOULEVARDLOS ANGELES, CA 90026

(213) 484-1265

PARKARTS


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April 2000

The brand-new Los AngelesC i t y D e p a r t m e n t o fNeighborhood Empowerment(DONE) brought its road showto Logan Elem. School. OnTuesday, March 21, 2000,DONE put on the third of manypublic meetings they will holdin communities all over L.A.Their game plan is to gatherinformation in order to preparethe draft city ordinance theymust submit to the City Councillater this year. The Council willpass the ordinance, or somemodification of it, and onlyt h en w i l l t h e a c t u a lNeighborhood Councils beestablished. Look for it in thesummer of 2001. The CityCouncil must also appropriate

enough money to these newgroups to support theiroperation. The new City Charterwe recently approved requiresthis.

Perhaps 150 local peopleattended the Logan meeting.Members of the DONE Board ofCommissioners, and theGeneral Manager, RosalindStewart, were all introduced.There were also many"facilitators" to write on butcher

paper and many translators forseveral languages. We had tofill out three questionnaires soDONE can get information onus for their database. (Itreminded me of my years as anofficer in military intelligence,preparing dossiers on "them.")Next, Rosalind told us that wewere going to divide up intoseparate groups according tolanguages, and talk to their"facilitators." But, the peopledid not want to be divided up,we wanted to speak to, andhear from each other. Rosalindinsisted several times that wedivide up, but eventually sheunderstood that we were takingcontrol of the meetingourselves. This is exactly what

Neighborhood Empowerment isall about. We did not getdivided up.

This minor mutiny messedup the plans of the DONE staff.They weren't pleased and itshowed. But, this is a goodlearning opportunity for them. Isee these lessons for the staff:

1. People are fed-up with the"divide-and-conquer" tactic ofsegregating people intoseparate groups so they can beisolated and controlled apartfrom each other. This keeps usweak and easy to manage.Segregation violates our equalrights.

2. Dividing people upaccording to language is

patronizing, not democratic.The false assumption is createdthat people are too fragile orfrightened to speak to and hearfrom people of differentlanguages. And, our personalforeign-language skills may bealmost as good as the officialtranslators, and we can use thepractice. This may diminish therole of the translators, butthat's not a problem.3 . N e i g h b o r h o o dEmpowerment is directdemocracy, where people willmake more decisions in personand be more in control of theirown destiny. This is central towhat America means, and isvitally important. So, we willnot accept being "mediated"

any more. This means thatcommunication between peoplemust not go through a thirdperson like a "facilitator." Wedon't need to be subordinatedto, or dependant on, theirreports back from break-outgroups to the whole meeting.We are concerned that themediators may dis tortinformation for their ownp u r p o s e s , w h i c h i sdisrespectful of the people.Translators to the whole groupknow that they will becorrected in public if they areless than accurate.

4. Segregation into separategroups may lead to attitudes of

(Continued on page 8)

JEBSVIEWNeighborhood Empowerment Comes to Echo Park

Opinions expressed in this

newsletter are those of the

writers and do not necessarily

reflect the position of the Echo

Park Improvement Association

Opinion by Jeb Brighouse

Documents

EPIAn Ways April 2000