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Vol 15. No. 7 January 2020 Read by 100,000+ Residents and Business Owners in Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village, Echo Park & Hollywood Hills Los Feliz Ledger 2019 YEAR IN REVIEW Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Increase grad rates and college attendance • Beutner: “Needs to build trust & listen.” GRACIELA ORTIZ • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Collaboration • Beutner: “I’ll hold him accountable.” ANA CUBAS • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Hold budget hearings • Beutner: “He needs to go.” HEATHER REPENNING • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: More funding • Beutner: “Needs to build trust.” JACKIE GOLDBERG • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Reform CA Charter Legislation • Beutner: “It’s unfortunate he is not an educator.” ROCIO RIVAS • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Charters • Beutner: “Corporate ideologue.” CYNTHIA GONZALEZ • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: Marginalized students • Beutner: “Whoever is advising him should be fired as well.” DAVID VALDEZ • Anti charter or Pro Reforms • Pro teacher’s strike • Key Concern: More support for teachers • Beutner: “I’m indifferent. That’s how impressed I am.” FEBRUARY MAY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER DECEMBER NOVEMBER JUNE JULY APRIL MARCH

Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

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Page 1: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Vol 15. No. 7 January 2020Read by 100,000+ Residents and Business Owners in Los Feliz, Silver Lake,

Atwater Village, Echo Park & Hollywood Hills

Los Feliz Ledger2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

Allison Bajracharya• Pro-charter• Antiteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Increasegradrates andcollegeattendance• Beutner:“Needstobuildtrust&listen.”

GRACIELA ORTIZ• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Collaboration• Beutner:“I’llholdhim accountable.”

ANA CUBAS• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Holdbudgethearings• Beutner:“Heneedstogo.”

HEATHER REPENNING• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Morefunding• Beutner:“Needstobuild trust.”

JACKIE GOLDBERG• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:ReformCACharter

Legislation• Beutner:“It’sunfortunatehe isnotaneducator.”

ROCIO RIVAS• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Charters• Beutner:“Corporate ideologue.”

CYNTHIA GONZALEZ• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Marginalizedstudents• Beutner:“Whoeverisadvisinghim

shouldbefiredaswell.”

DAVID VALDEZ• AnticharterorProReforms• Proteacher’sstrike• KeyConcern:Moresupport forteachers• Beutner:“I’mindifferent. That’showimpressedIam.”

FEBRUARY

MAY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

DECEMBER

NOVEMBER

JUNE JULY

APRILMARCH

Page 2: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 2 losfelizledger.com January 2020

FOUNDED 20 05

Delivered the last Thursday of

each month to 34,500 homes and

businesses in the Los Feliz,

Silver Lake, Atwater Village,

Echo Park and Hollywood Hills

communities.

1933 Hillhurst Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

(323) 741-0019

PUBLISHER /EDITOR

Allison B. Cohen

A SSISTANT EDITOR

Erin Hickey Pinheiro

GR APHIC DESIGN & L AYOUT

Tiffany Sims

For more stories and updates:

LosFelizLedger.com

Available at these locations:

Atwater Library3379 Glendale Blvd.

Casita del Campo1920 Hyperion Ave

Alcove & Big Bar 1929 Hillhurst Avenue

Courtney + Kurt Real Estate 3167 Glendale Blvd.

Dresden Restaurant1760 N. Vermont Avenue

House of Pies 1869 N. Vermont

Los Feliz Public Library 1874 Hillhurst Avenue

Los Feliz 3 Theaters 1822 N. Vermont

George & Eileen Moreno, Realtors 2150 N. Hillhurst Ave.

Muddy Paws Coffee 3320 Sunset Blvd.

Palermo 1858 N. Vermont

Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce 1724 W. Silver Lake Drive

Skylight Books 1818 N. Vermont

The Village Bakery and Café 3119 Los Feliz Blvd.

2019 Year in ReviewBy Erin Hickey Pinheiro, Allison B. Cohen, Carl Robinette and Daniel Langhorne

HOMELESSNESSThe 2020 Greater Los An-

geles Homeless count will take place January 21st through 23rd, with local counts in Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Atwater Village and Echo Park taking place on the 23rd. Those inter-ested in signing up can do so at theycountwillyou.org, and results for the count are ex-pected in May 2020.

Results from January 2019’s count indicated home-lessness in Los Angeles had risen 16% citywide to about 36,000 unhoused people and 12% countywide to about 59,000.

Local Council District 4, which includes Los Feliz and parts of Silver Lake among other areas, had the biggest spike in the city, with home-lessness up 53% from the pre-vious year’s count, to a total of 1,187 unhoused people in the area.

That district’s council-member, David Ryu, called for a “FEMA-like” response to the issue in November, including declaring a “Local Homeless State of Emergen-cy” to remove red tape asso-ciated with homeless housing construction and allow Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to unilaterally rezone certain parcels for such, approve so-called safe parking locations and develop a network of pub-lic restroom facilities.

Additionally, two bridge housing projects have been proposed locally, both on Riv-erside Drive.

The first, proposed by Ryu in February, is located on city-owned property in Griffith Park near the Mulholland fountain.

The project has already wended its way through much of the city’s approval process and has received broad sup-port from local organizations, including the Los Feliz and Silver Lake neighborhood councils, the Los Feliz Im-provement Assoc., Friends of Griffith Park and the Griffith Park Adult Community Cen-ter, whose headquarters is across the street from the pro-posed site.

Public sentiment, too, appears to favor the shelter. While a handful of nearby res-idents have taken to local web forums and social media sites to criticize the project—citing safety concerns due to the site’s proximity to a playground and claiming they were not prop-erly notified of the plan—an overwhelming majority of publicly posted comments in those forums have voiced sup-port for the shelter.

The second Riverside Drive bridge home—this one proposed for a privately owned property on the border of Sil-ver Lake and Los Feliz, near the entrance to the Los An-geles River where the street crosses under the Hyperion Bridge—has only just begun its approval process and is cur-rently undergoing a feasibility study.

Ryu proposed the site, currently being used for office space, in November, after the property owner contacted the city and offered it up for tem-porary homeless housing.

In November, the Los An-geles City Council adopted a motion introduced by Ryu to reform how the Ellis Act is enforced in the city and to provide more protection to tenants.

Los Angeles City Coun-cilmember Mitch O’Farrell (CD13), who represents At-water Village, Echo Park and parts of Silver Lake, among other areas, has also pushed for Ellis Act reform, specifi-cally targeting Tenants-in-Common conversions—in which joint owners purchase an apartment building in lieu of single family homes, lead-ing to eviction of the build-ing’s existing tenants—in his October motion on the issue.

O’Farrell’s district had no meaningful increase or decrease in its homeless popu-lation as of the January 2019 count, though CD13 had more than double the home-less population of CD4—2,983 individuals—per the count, despite CD4’s percent-age spike.

O’Farrell also proposed a permanent supportive home-less housing facility for a city-owned Glendale Boulevard site in Echo Park, which was approved 10 to 2 by the city council in September and is currently seeking construction bids.

The proposed site is part of a roughly 28,000-square-foot complex that nonprofit Latino community center El Centro del Pueblo leases from the city. The project would re-place a portion of the center’s playground space, angering several opponents of the proj-ect, who called it a blow to the area’s Latino community.

But O’Farrell, at the Sep-tember city council meeting, said the land can support both uses and the homelessness cri-sis needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

While Ryu and O’Farrell acted at the city level to ad-dress homelessness, local neighborhood councils and

nonprofit organizations also did what they could to ease the problem. Read more about their efforts in the web version of this story at losfelizledger.com

Meanwhile, encampment fires have become a more fre-quent danger as homelessness worsens, with firefighters re-porting a threefold year-over-year increase from 2017 to 2018, according to a KNBC investigation.

In July, a 10-acre brush fire in the Sepulveda Basin spread to a nearby homeless encampment, causing two propane tanks to explode and temporarily closing he 405 Freeway.

That incident led Los An-geles Mayor Eric Garcetti in August to announce a plan that would allow police to re-move homeless people from fire-prone areas after one ver-bal warning. A Los Angeles City Council committee is currently working on a draft of the proposed ordinance.

Garcetti has faced signifi-cant blowback over homeless-ness in the city, which has only worsened despite significant increases in funding to address the crisis.

In July, the state of Cali-fornia authorized $124 million in homeless funding for Los Angeles—nearly half of the total amount the state gave to all California cities combined.

This was in addition to $457 million from the city’s budget and $460 million in county spending approved in May—totaling more than a billion dollars allocated to address homelessness in Los Angeles County for fiscal year 2019-20.

But despite the influx of cash, the crisis hasn’t im-proved, as evidenced by the December resignation of Peter Lynn, leader of the Los Ange-les Homeless Services Author-ity (LAHSA)—the agency contracted by the city and county to address homeless-ness.

Homelessness in the city increased 33% during Lynn’s five-year tenure, despite mil-lions of new dollars in voter-approved tax revenue, leading to growing public frustration. The agency has a $300 million annual budget.

LAHSA Chief Program Officer Heidi Marston will fill in as interim director while the agency searches for a replace-ment.

Additionally, in August, LAHSA was the subject of criticism in a report from Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin, who said the agency

was failing at its goals. Galperin cited insufficient

outreach, outdated reporting methodologies and incorrect information and said the agen-cy needs more oversight from the city after failing to meet many of its outreach targets.

IVANHOE TEACHER PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN SILVER LAKE HIT-AND-RUN

Ivanhoe Elementary School teacher Molly Jane Hoene, 52, of Silver Lake, is free on bond awaiting a Janu-ary 23rd court appearance when a date will be set to de-termine if there is sufficient ev-idence for her to stand trial on

two felony hit-and-run counts for allegedly striking and se-verely injuring a bicyclist with her car and leaving the scene.

The alleged incident oc-curred October 25th around 11:45 p.m. on Berkeley Av-enue, near Silver Lake Boule-vard. The victim, David Mo-lina, a homeless man, suffered a broken leg and fractured spine, according to the Los Angeles Police Dept.

An attorney for Hoene told reporters after a Decem-ber 17th arraignment there is “nothing to tie my client to this location.”

Hoene was arrested No-

2019 Year in ReivewPhoto Captions:

February 2019: Los Feliz got a new crosswalk on Hollywood Boule-vard at Rodney Drive.

March 2019: Candidates vied for the local LAUSD seat. Jackie Goldberg beat Heather Repenning in a run-off for the seat.

April 2019: Firestorms continued to be of concern statewide, including in Griffith Park, which lost more than 800 acres in a 2007 fire.

May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California.

June 2019: Protesters at the 1967 anti-police brutality protests at Silver Lake’s Black Cat Tavern, one of the first queer rights pro-tests in the nation.

July 2019: Summer saw the the Independent Shakespeare Com-pany’s production of the Twelfth Night at Griffith Park’s Old Zoo.

August 2019: Echo Park Rising celebrated its 9th year. Pictured is Theresa Wayman of Warpaint, who headlined 2018’s festival.

September 2019: Homeless encampments in fire prone areas were a concern, including in Griffith Park. Pictured: Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge and then- Councilmember Eric Garcetti after the May 2007 Griffith Park fire.

October 2019: City officials continued to grapple with forming policy and enforcement regarding e-scooters.

November 2019: Beloved park ranger, Albert E. Torres died Oct. 11, 2019 of a heart attack after inspecting areas impacted by the 8,000 acre Saddle Ridge fire in the San Fernando Valley.

December 2019: Three are challenging incumbent David Ryu in the March 2020 election for Los Angeles City Council.

see REVIEW page 5

Page 3: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 3COMMUNITY NEWS

2020 tastes healthier here

In 2020, we start a whole new decade, so why not be your best?

Gelson’s can help you eat well and live well. Jessica Siegel, (MPH, RD) our registered dietitian, has created many healthful gourmet salads that fit into the Mediterranean Diet framework.

New for this year are: Jessica’s Plant Power Salad (garbanzo beans, celery, carrots,herbs, and extra virgin olive oil) and Jessica’s Lucky Life Salad (greens, lentils, apples,dried cherries, and Marcona almonds). These and other signature salads can be foundin Gelson’s Kitchen.

Inspired by California’s bounty, our Gelson’s Kitchen Catering Menu is another wayto please your crowd in the New Year. From irresistible appetizers and platters tosublime entrées and desserts, we’ve got you covered

Come to Gelson’s today – and celebrate deliciously in 2020

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[STREET LEVEL]

Other Than Impeachment,What Do You Think Were Big Stories This Year?

By Michael Darling, Ledger Contributing Writer

There were so many big stories in 2019, but the impeachment investigation of President Trump has dominated the headlines. What other stories, beside impeachment, do you think were some of year’s biggest?

“ U n h o u s e d people, Hong Kong protests and just the growing sup-pression of peo-

ple around the world.” - Rebecca B, outside Sky-light Books on Vermont.

“The growing level of unrest around the world has been my focus.” - Zach S.,

outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

“Hard to say. It’s hard for me not to think of a story linked to impeachment or the reasons

for impeachment. There were so many red flags. The first thing is Jeffrey Epstein and even he’s connected to Trump. Can I think of another one?

Even gossip comes back to Trump. Oh, here’s one. They think there’s sound coming out of the pyramids at Giza, so I think that’s a big story. But yeah, everything to do with the Earth also goes back to him. It’s really upsetting that everything’s connected to one man.” - Jasmine L., outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

“The continued ignoring of cli-mate change. I think that’s the biggest besides impeachment.”

- Eric B., outside Skylight Books on Vermont Avenue.

“Were there any other stories? I know other stuff happened, but it’s hard to think of other

stuff.” - Joe W., outside Sky-light Books on Vermont.

“Because of im-peachment and all that, I don’t watch the news anymore. But I can tell you that

over at Metropolitan Commu-nity Church we have a Nativi-ty scene with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph locked in cages; so im-migrant children in cages is one of the most important sto-ries of the year.” - Jenni N., outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

“All the presi-dential candi-dates, the Iran prisoner swap that happened recently, the

fires and climate change.” - Sophia C., outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

“Is ‘homeless-ness’ a story? Was the Muel-ler Report this year? There’s

been so much…” - Jacob W., outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

“ I n t e r e s t i n g question. Let me think about that. Hong Kong, that’s a big one. The

protests are ongoing and it hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in American media.” - Brett F. outside Skylight Books on Vermont.

Learn to Take Great Photos

Los Feliz resident, realtor and photography expert Rich-ard Stanley will speak January 9th at the Los Feliz Branch Library’s Architecture & Be-yond Lecture Series.

Stanley, who studied pho-tography at the Rochester In-stitute of Technology, said he plans to discuss “the visual ideas that imbue great photos with magic and mystery.”

“Just as anyone can make a photograph today, so too, can anyone sharpen one’s personal visual awareness and learn how the lens reveals more than the eye can see,” he said.

The free lecture series is supported by Friends of Los Feliz Library. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Page 4: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 4 losfelizledger.com January 2020COMMUNITY NEWS

Paid for by David Ryu for City Council 2020 – ID 1410917 777 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Additional information is available at ethics.lacity.org

Proven, progressiveleadership

for LA’s future!

Endorsed by dozens of leaders and organizations you trust:

Los Angeles County Democratic PartyPlanned Parenthood Advocacy Project L.A. County Action FundSierra Club, Angeles ChapterLA County Federation of LaborNational Organization for Women – Hollywood ChapterUnited Firefighters of LA CityUnited Nurses Association of California/UHCPLos Angeles Police Protective LeagueHollywood Chamber of Commerce PACLos Angeles Mayor Eric GarcettiL.A. City Council President Nury MartinezJon Deutsch: President, Los Feliz Neighborhood Council*

Erica Vilardi-Espinosa: Treasurer, Los Feliz Neighborhood Council*Anne-Marie Johnson: Immediate Past President, Silverlake Neighborhood Council*Amy Gustincic: President, Los Feliz Improvement Association*Chris Laib: Past President, Los Feliz Improvement Association*Standolyn Robertson: Past President, Los Feliz Improvement Association*U.S. Senator Dianne FeinsteinU.S. Senator Kamala HarrisU.S. Congressman Adam SchiffState Senator Maria Elena DurazoState Senator Anthony PortantinoState Assemblymember Laura FriedmanState Assemblymember Wendy CarrilloPartial Listing

* Title for identification purposes only, no organizational endorsement implied.

Ryu_LosFelizNewspAd.indd 1 12/15/19 8:49 PM

2019 in Review: Who We LostIvanhoe Elementary

School crossing guard Rob-ert Torres, 88, passed away December 8th after suffering a major heart attack. Torres worked at the school for 15 years and was beloved by stu-dents, parents, school staff and neighborhood residents alike.

Dion Neutra, son of ar-chitect Richard Neutra and an architect in his own right, died in his sleep at his Silver Lake home November 24th at the age of 93. Throughout his life, Neutra fought tirelessly to preserve his father’s work and founded Silver Lake’s Neutra Institute for Survival through Design.

Helen Kelley, 94, a for-mer Catholic nun who was a leader in her order’s well-pub-licized 1960s conflict with the male hierarchy of the Catho-lic Church, and who served as president of Los Feliz’s Im-maculate Heart College from 1963 to 1977, died October 31st after a long illness follow-ing a stroke.

Los Angeles Park Ranger Capt. Albert E. Torres died October 12th from a heart attack after patrolling parks impacted by the 8,000-acre Saddleridge fire in the San Fernando Valley. Torres was a fixture in the city’s parks, hav-ing worked as a park ranger for 40 years. 

Betty Lou Topper, a 60-year-resident of Los Feliz, passed away August 13th at the age of 92. Topper was the steward of the historic Lowell Health House, designed by famed local architect Richard Neutra, and was a dedicated member of the Los Feliz Im-provement Assoc.

Griffith Park Adult Com-munity Center (GPACC) founder Lia Lomedico passed away September 13th at the age of 93. Lomedico proposed the idea for GPACC to the city and went door-to-door gath-ering signatures of support. Now, 11 years later, GPACC has become a neighborhood institution and Lomedico’s legacy lives on.

The New LA YardGet up to $15,000 rebate when you replace your grass with California Friendly®

and native plants.

ladwp.com/landscaping

Advertise in the Los Feliz Ledger (323) 741-0019

[ IN MEMORIAM ]

Page 5: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 5COMMUNITY NEWS

Paid for by Sarah Kate Levy for City Council 2020 ID# 1410810 | c/o Gould & Orellana 249 E. Ocean Blvd., Ste 685, Long Beach, CA 90802Additional information is available at: ethics.lacity.org

SarahKateLevy.com

@sarahkatelevy

BUILD HOUSINGand provide services for the homeless

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Election Day is Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Make Your Plan to Vote.

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vember 26th in Palm Desert where she was staying with family, after a Glendale body shop owner who had heard about the hit-and-run on tele-vision news called authorities upon receiving her car, a Mini Cooper, for repair.

Hoene could be sentenced to up to a four years in prison if convicted, according to the Los Angeles District Attor-ney’s office.

Hoene, who taught 5th grade at Ivanhoe, was report-edly removed from the class-room when she became a per-son of interest in the case.

NEW DEVELOPMENTSSeveral developments are

in the works locally, some old and some new, signaling sig-nificant change to come.

In November, city plan-ning documents revealed plans to replace a car wash and burrito stand at Vermont and Prospect avenues with a 139-unit mixed use apartment complex with 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Designs for the complex have not yet been released, but plans include 16 “extremely low income” affordable hous-ing units, making the proj-

ect—which is located blocks from a Metro Red Line station and several bus lines—eligible for the highest tier of zoning exemptions under the city’s Transit Oriented Communi-ties program (TOC).

TOC incentives, offered to developers for building af-fordable housing within half a mile of a major transit stop, typically include permission to build taller, wider, denser or with fewer parking spaces than local zoning guidelines allow. 

If green lit by the city, the development would join sever-al previously approved projects in the area, which are in vari-ous stages of development and all within half a mile of each other.

Those developments in-clude “City Lights,” a 202-unit apartment complex cur-rently under construction at the five-point intersection of Hollywood and Sunset boule-vards, Sunset Drive and Hill-hurst and Virgil avenues; “La Terra,” two 150- and 96-unit apartment buildings across from Barnsdall Park on Hol-lywood Boulevard near Edge-mont Street; and an 18-home small lot development on the former site of the Steve Allen Theater at Hollywood Boule-

vard near Berendo Street.Also planned for the area

are two hotels, one on Holly-wood Boulevard and the other on Hillhurst Avenue, both across from the City Lights development.

The proposed hotels have different owners, but both led to evictions of popular small businesses, the Sit-Down and Good Luck Bar.

Less than two miles away, a 735-unit development with 96,000 square feet of retail space planned for Sunset Bou-levard and Western Avenue and a 87-unit development with 6,000 square feet of retail space planned for Franklin and Western avenues are also planned.

Additionally, another 26 projects of various sizes are currently being considered for East Hollywood.

Meanwhile, in Silver Lake, three projects jointly known as the “Junction Gate-way” will bring 200 apart-ments, a 94-room boutique hotel and a combined 16,000 square feet of new restaurant and retail space to Sunset Boulevard between Fountain and Sanborn avenues.

That development joins the Silver Lake Pool and Inn, a 54-room hotel and restaurant

that opened in November on Santa Monica Boulevard near the Sunset Junction.

A few feet away, an east-side outpost of Fairfax area health food store Erewhon is planned to open sometime next year.

Elsewhere in Silver Lake, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission in September approved a six-story, 39-unit apartment complex with 1,900 square feet of retail space slat-ed to replace Silver Lake Op-tometry and Shag hair salon on Rowena Avenue.

Echo Park, too, is getting its fair share of new construc-tion, with eight projects either completed this year or planned for the one-mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard between Beaudry Avenue and Alvarado Street.

The largest, at 1111 Sunset Blvd. would have a footprint of nearly a million square feet, with 778 apartment units, 98 hotel rooms and commercial structures that would include office, retail restaurant and parking space. City planning records indicate that devel-opment is currently on hold, pending environmental re-view.

In Atwater Village, “Ca-sitas Lofts,” a seven-acre,

419-unit apartment, office and restaurant development planned along the Los Angeles River raised eyebrows among river revitalization advocates, who called the development a “land-grab” and said they feared it would cut off public access to the river. That project is currently undergoing envi-ronmental review.

As for how the influx of new projects will affect local retail landscapes, an August Los Feliz Ledger analysis of available retail listings in Los Feliz and surrounding neigh-borhoods found that due to generally higher rents, newer mixed-use developments tend to attract more chain stores than more traditional com-mercial properties.

DEVELOPER DONATION BAN

Los Angeles City Council in December unanimously ap-proved a ban on donations to elected officials by developers with business before the city after a four-year push by local Councilmember David Ryu to do so.

Per the approved plan, the City Ethics Commission working with the city’s Dept. of Building and Safety—

see REVIEW page 9

REVIEW from page 2

Page 6: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters
Page 7: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 7Su Casa REAL ESTATE

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Happy New Year from the Fentons

[HOUSE AND HOLMES]

A Bubbly New Year By Rob Loos, Ledger Columnist

This New Year I’m wres-tling with

which home improvement resolutions I should tackle first. Should I build shelves in the garage, or put that off for another year like I have since 2012? Should I figure out how to finally attach the digital an-tenna to the roof? That seems really complicated. I decided that I needed to find a project that required less physical ex-ertion, since holiday decorat-ing did a number on my back.

I’m not sure whether it was moving the couch to make space for the tree, or getting all the decoration boxes from storage, or that one game of golf, but January started with a painful posterior.

We have a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom that I’ve never used. Those water jets would

surely alleviate my sore spine, right? But first I had to figure out how to use it.

I successfully popped the funky rubber seal for the tub drain. Then I deduced that I had to switch over the shower valve before turning on the water faucet. All that was left was to power up the jets. I looked around the bathroom, but I couldn’t find a switch, lever, or toggle anywhere. I even tried a voice-activated ap-proach, “Tub, turn on!” But the whirlpool didn’t function like Alexa or Siri.

I figured that I better give Dave a call. Dave is my ex-traordinary contractor friend who knows how to solve any problem, which he further re-inforced by explaining to one of his “guys” how to install sheet rock flooring while I lis-

[REAL ESTATE]

2019 in ReviewAs 2019 came to a close,

the median price for a home in 90027 was $1.5 million, ac-cording to Zillow. That figure was down 1.3% from the same time last year. However, Zillow estimates prices in that ZIP code will rise about 1% in 2020. Addi-tionally, per Zillow, the median price to rent homes, apartments and condos in 90027 was $5,000 a month, 62% higher than Los Angeles as a whole and 217% higher than in the United States.

In the 90026 area code, which includes Silver Lake and Echo Park, the median price for a home in 2019 was $948,000, down 0.6% from the same time last year. Zillow estimates the ZIP code will be up 1.3% in 2020. Regarding rents of homes, condos and apartments in 90026, Zillow indicated the median price in 2019 was $3,400—only 9.6% higher than Los Angeles’s me-

dian of $3,100, but 114% over the national median.

In the 90039 ZIP code, Zillow indicates the median home price in 2019 was $1.038 million, a 5.6% increase over 2018. Additionally, Zillow esti-mates the area will see a 7.8% increase in home values in 2020. Regarding rentals, the median price in 2019 was $3,519 per month, 13% higher than the city of Los Angeles and 121% over the national median.

In the Hollywood Hills area, ZIP code 90068, the me-dian value of a home in 2019 was $1.4 million, according to Zillow, down 1.6% from 2018. Zillow, however, estimates the area will see a slight gain in 2020 of .6%. Regarding rent-als in 90068, the median price paid monthly in 2019 was $4,899, 58% over Los Angeles as a whole and 208% over the national median.

Some notable local sales this year included Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Ennis House, which sold for $18 million in Oc-tober. The Mayan Revival struc-ture at 2607 Glendower Ave. has been featured in more than 80 movies and television shows and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In August, Silver Lake’s infamous LaBianca home sold for nearly $2 million to Zak Bagans, the host of the Travel Channel reality show Ghost Adventures. The sale coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1969 murders of its former owners, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, by followers of se-rial killer Charles Manson.

Countywide, Los Angeles property values hit an all-time high of $1.6 trillion this tax year, according to a July an-nouncement by County Asses-sor Jeff Prang. see HOLMES page 12

Page 8: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

2600 ABERDEEN AVE, LOS FELIZ $9,779,000

1932 gated Italiante estate on almost an acre of flat grounds.

Konstantine Valissarakos 323.252.9451

1209 N LAS PALMAS AVE, HOLLYWOOD $1,195,000

Tri-level 3+4 home in gated, small-lot division, Hollywood Colony.

Thomas Hilal 310.486.1065

2414 CHISLEHURST DR, LOS FELIZ $3,127,000

Spanish Revival with original architectural details & 180º views.

Konstantine Valissarako/Gina Issac 323.252.9451

311 S LUCERNE BLVD, HANCOCK PARK $6,499,000

1922 English Country estate remodeled to its orignal glory.

The Kostrey Collection 323.785.7545

6250 HOLLYWOOD BL #11D, HOLLYWOOD $950,000

Expansive 1bed/2bath unit at the top the luxury W Residences.

The Kostrey Collection 323.785.7545

887 FLINTRIDGE AVE, LA CAÑADA $5,995,000

Historical and elegant 1920s estate on a nearly 2 acre lot.

Rochelle Maize/Alex Masket 310.402.5665

3343 1/2 ROWENA AVE, LOS FELIZ $1,175,000

Small lot modern home w/open concept & expansive patio.

Trevor Levin 310.866.8738

5085 HIGHLAND VIEW AVE, EAGLE ROCK $989,000

Brand new 3+3.5 small lot home near downtown Eagle Rock.

Chris Furstenberg 323.422.2244

2751 PARTRIDGE AVE, FROGTOWN $1,400,000

Urban trophy property includes 1 SFR & 3 additional units.

Linda Chamberlain/Gina Isaac 323.828.7269

6127 PIEDMONT AVE, HIGHLAND PARK $942,000

Triplex with a 2+1, 1+1, and 2+1.5 in walkable neighborhood.

Alison Gilbert 323.369.3464

3259 DERONDA DR, BEACHWOOD CYN $4,537,000

Iconic Spanish Colonial residence ‘Casa Canem,’ circa 1927.

Konstantine Valissarakos 323.252.9451

1908 S BONNIE BRAE ST, PICO UNION $2,100,000

8-unit apt building zoned LARD1.5 near USC & Staples Center.

Christine Bullard 323.896.1186

2220 ELECTRIC ST, SILVER LAKE $1,595,000

Stunning architectural w/soaring spaces & panoramic views.

Chris Furstenberg 323.422.2244

613 FRONTENAC AVE, MTWASHINGTON $865,000

Stylish 1940s bungalow on a double-lot w/ canyon & city views.

Alison Gilbert 323.369.3464

1658 GOLDEN GATE AVE, SILVER LAKE $2,087,000

1911 Craftsman just one block from chic stores & restaurants.

Konstantine Valissarakos 323.252.9451

Expect GreatnessEst. 1976

6525 Sunset Blvd, Ste G2Los Angeles, CA 90028

www.nourmand.com

Howard Lorey | Vice President

Page 9: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 9Su Casa REAL ESTATE

Quintessentially Our Side of Town

5160 Linwood Drive; Laughlin ParkREDUCED: $5,750,000

S ited on a cul-de-sac at the highest point

in celebrity-favored, gated Laughlin Park, the home enjoys wrap-around city, hills and Griffith Park views. All rooms are impressively-scaled. Five bedrooms; pool; sunroom/den with Palladian windows; rathskeller; virtual tour. Unforgettable.

www.5160linwood.com

2394 Kenilworth Avenue; Prime Silver Lake JUST LISTED: $1,599,000

Swank, freshly-turned out 3 bedroom, 3 bath

Prime Silver Lake, Mid-Century home in desirable Ivanhoe school district. The main living area’s wrap-around custom steel-framed, double-paned windows and doors open to a spacious sun deck to let in bright, airy views of Silver Lake, hills and mountains. Downstairs lies another suite of rooms with opportunities for guest quarters, office, studio or family room. This level adjoins private patios, garden and a swimmer’s-sized, extra-deep, heated pool. Move in condition--of course!

5250 Los Franciscos Way; Los Feliz Estates REDUCED: $6,900 per month

5 BR + 3.5 BA; 3,430 sq. ft.; pool; panoramic views;

den; 3 fireplaces; small pet OK; quiet; 24-hour guarded community; updated kitchen; huge master suite; oversized double garage; virtual tour.

www.5250losfranciscos.com

Richard Stanley#1 Agent - Coldwell Banker, Los Feliz

Estates Director Architectural and Historic Properties

[email protected] 300-4567 cell / voice mail©2020 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and operated by NRT LLC. All rights reserved. If your property is listed with another broker, this is not intended as a solicitation. DRE# 00971211

2019 New Restaurant Recap

The past year brought sev-eral new additions to our lo-cal dining scene, from quick vegan burgers to high-end French-Mediterranean fusion. Here are a few highlights:

BAR RESTAURANTIn the former Malo space

on the border of Los Feliz and Silver Lake, former Trois Mec chef Douglas Rankin has opened a stylish bistro combin-ing his French training, Cali-fornia roots and Mediterranean heritage for fresh new takes on classic French Bistro fare.

Dishes like pumpkin seed-crusted spicy octopus, mus-sels with curly fries and Japa-nese milk bread, or frisée and crispy potato salad are served alongside classic cocktails and a thoughtful wine list.

4326 W Sunset Blvd.

SPOON AND PORKBorn from a popular Fili-

pino food truck, Spoon and Pork brings chicken adobo, rice porridge and, of course, lots and lots of pork to Silver Lake.

Jackfruit and tofu are on offer for vegetarians, though the spot is known for its stick-

to-your-ribs meat dishes, like their signature dish, patita—a pork shank slow-cooked, deep-fried and covered in chili garlic sauce.

But Spoon and Pork isn’t just delicious—it’s also afford-able. Most entrees range from $12 to $14.

3131 W Sunset Blvd.

MARCO POLOLocated on the ground

floor of the newly opened Sil-ver Lake Pool and Inn, Marco Polo brings coastal Italian fare to the neighborhood with a menu that’s heavy on seafood, including salt-roasted branzi-no, baked clams with calabri-an salsa, mackerel escabeche and saffron rice with clams.

A creative cocktail list in-cludes ingredients like cumin, pink peppercorn and “fluffy orange juice.”

Brunch, lunch and espres-so are also on offer, and dogs are welcome on the restau-rant’s poolside patio.

4141 Santa Monica Blvd.

NEEDLEA bright green coat of

paint heralded the arrival of

modern Cantonese food in Silver Lake, as Needle opened in the Sunset Junction in the former home of We Have Noodles.

At Needle, Chef Ryan Wong takes his 2016 pop-up Needle Noodle Shop to the next level with small plate op-tions inspired by Hong Kong street food, like a pork chop bun, squid with yellow curry and pea shoots with garlic, lily bulb and gogi berries. 3827 W. Sunset Blvd. Ste. C

ALL DAY BABYThis diner, bar and bakery

from the team behind Kore-atown’s Here’s Looking at You replaced Silver Lake’s Samosa House in November, bringing all-day breakfast, patty melts, milkshakes and more to the neighborhood.

Patrons can also get their barbecue fix, with a whole chicken, beef ribs or crispy cauliflower straight from the smoker.

3200 W Sunset Blvd.

HONEYBEELos Feliz vegans—and

meat eaters looking to cut

their carbon footprints—re-joiced at the opening of plant-based burger joint Honeybee next door to the Los Feliz 3 movie theater.

The Beyond vs. Impos-sible patty debate is laid to rest at the counter-service burger stand, which offers both meat-less burgers as an option, along with vegan shakes, soft-serve, fries, sweet potato tots and a breakfast sandwich available all day long.

1820 N Vermont Ave.

ESZETT Replacing Silver Lake’s

strip mall brunch superstar Trois Familia, Eszett opened in December with an unassuming neon sign of the German letter for which it’s named.

The simple menu ranges from unassuming comfort

food like tuna melts and choc-olate pudding to European classics like steak tartare and poached kampachi, with a healthy sampling of vegetables on offer.

3510 Sunset Blvd.

TRIPLE BEAMHighland Park’s pay-by-

the-ounce pizza shop opened a second location in Echo Park in the former Two Boots building next to the Echo.

Hold up your hands to show how big you’d like your slice, and they’ll cut it to size with scissors.

Fortunately, the Roman-style pizzeria has carried on Two Boots’ tradition of selling pizza during shows at the Echo and Echoplex, so concertgoers need not go hungry.

1818 W. Sunset Blvd.

where developers first apply for permits for construction—will compile a list of banned developers and their principals that campaigns could check before accepting donations.

But while some have championed the campaign fi-nance reform as a step in the right direction, others, like City Councilmember Mike Bonin, have said it falls short by continuing to allow devel-opers to fundraise on a candi-date’s behalf, even if they per-sonally cannot donate.

Additionally, some city hall watchdogs have criticized the timing of the ordinance, which will not go into effect until after the March 2022 primary election—the city has cited the time needed to com-pile its developers list for the delay—claiming it will give incumbents an unfair advan-tage in the race.

TEACHERS STRIKE2019 began with a strike,

as more than 31,000 Los An-geles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers left their classrooms and took to the streets for six days in January, calling for higher pay, class size reductions and more nurs-es, counselors and librarians.

More than two thirds of LAUSD’s nearly 700,000 students stayed home during the strike as well, resulting in a $151.4 million loss in state

revenue for the district, whose funding is tied to student at-tendance.

Parents, too, came out to show their support, especial-ly locally, with many braving the rain to join picket lines at John Marshall High School or delivering coffee and breakfast to striking teachers at Franklin Avenue Elemen-tary School.

The strike ended and class-es resumed on January 23rd, after a marathon negotiating session between LAUSD and the teachers’ union resulted in a 6% pay raise for teachers, provisions to hire a full-time nurse and a teacher-librarian at all schools, the hiring of additional counselors and a gradual reduction in class sizes over the next three years.

The proposed agreement is projected to cost LAUSD an estimated $403 million in additional expenses over the next three years, to be par-tially funded through a com-bination of state, county and city funding. If successful, a proposed rollback of Proposi-tion 13 property tax limits for commercial buildings, slated to appear on the 2020 bal-lot, may make up some of the shortfall.

The district had previ-ously hung its funding hopes on Measure EE, a parcel tax measure, which failed to pass in June.

NEW DETAILS REGARDING THE MONTHS PRIOR TO JOSEPH GATTO’S 2013 MURDER

Former California As-semblymember Mike Gatto indicated in court documents in 2019 that in the months before his 2013 murder, his father Joseph Gatto reached out at least six times to friends and family about disinheriting his daughter Nicole from his estate and that police found a note handwritten by his father about his estate on the desk where he was found slumped over dead from a single gun-shot wound to the abdomen.

The revelations are part of a 189-page declaration Mike Gatto filed in April, contest-ing $250,000 in executor and $383,000 in legal fees request-ed by his sister Nicole, the ex-ecutor of the estate. 

LAPD RESPONDS TO RISE IN HATE CRIMES

Hate crime recently gained local attention again after Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills was vandal-ized during a December 2019 break-in, which happened within days of a deadly shoot-ing at a kosher market in Jer-sey City.

Additionally, homopho-bic slurs and vandalism were discovered earlier in 2019 on the doors of an apartment on North Edgemont Street in Los

REVIEW from page 5

see REVIEW page 11

Page 10: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

compass.com Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate.

2006 N Kenmore5 Bed | 4 Bath | 3,200 Sq Ft $2,345,000Sold! Multiple Offers!

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Page 11: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 11Su Casa REAL ESTATE

ROB KALLICK • MARY REGAL • LAURA MARCHETTI • JUSTIN FREELING 323.775.6305 | takesunset.com/sell | [email protected] | @takesunset | DRE 01871966

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made with-out notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed.

4845 Neola Place, Eagle Rock3 Bed • 3.5 Bath • Just Sold for $1,525,000

1720 Griffith Park Blvd, Silver Lake1 Bed • 1 Bath • Listed for $899,000

2403 Park Oak Drive, Los Feliz3 Bed • 3 Bath • Listed for $2,895,000

1337 N Kenmore Avenue, Hollywood3 Units • 10 Bed • 8 Bath • Listed for $2,195,000

3431 Fernwood Avenue, Silver Lake3 Bed • 1.75 Bath • Just Sold for $1,317,400

4301 Kingswell Avenue, Los FelizTriplez • 6 Bed • 3 Bath • Listed for $1,499,000

Feliz. The local incident was just

one of many that have been reported to authorities, who say hate crimes have spiked lo-cally, mirroring recent nation-wide trends in recent years, ac-cording to Los Angeles Police Dept. (LAPD) data gathered by a Cal State San Bernardino research center.

In response, the LAPD reported in June, at the re-quest of the Los Angeles City Council, ways to improve se-curity near sites perceived to be at high-risk of a hate crime, including publicly reporting such crimes more often, pro-active outreach to at-risk sites and plans to seek federal and state grant funding to improve hate crime policing.

Also in 2019, a committee of the State Assembly failed to pass a bill that would add homeless people among those protected under hate crime laws. Both the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council sup-ported the bill.

CRIME DOWN OVERALL, EXCEPT IN ECHO PARK

Overall, crime was down locally in 2019 except for Echo Park, which saw a 5% in-

crease, according to statistics through November 30th from Crosstown/USC, which pro-vides community-level data and analyses. Los Feliz saw the greatest decline, down 12%, followed by Atwater Village, down 8%; Silver Lake, down 6% and the Hollywood Hills, down 3%.

Locally, there was one ho-micide in 2019 in Echo Park. Last year, there were seven—four in Atwater Village and one each in Echo Park, the Holly-wood Hills and Silver Lake. Los Feliz did not have a homicide in either 2018 or 2019.

Echo Park, again, was the only local area that saw an increase in burglary in 2019, up 16% over 2018. Mirroring crime data overall, Los Fe-liz had the greatest decline in burglaries in 2019, down 26%, followed by the Hollywood Hills, down 16%; Atwater Village, down 11% and Silver Lake, down 4%.

Robberies in 2019 showed a different story. The Holly-wood Hills reported a 200% increase—one robbery in 2018 and three in 2019—and Silver Lake saw a 100% in-crease from two incidents in 2018 to four in 2019. Los Feliz saw a 67% decline, from six incidents in 2018 to two in

2019 and Echo Park was down 17%, 12 robberies in 2018 compared to 10 in 2019. At-water Village reported no rob-beries in either 2018 or 2019.

Regarding theft, which includes car burglaries, sto-len bicycles, shoplifting, and stealing from a person, Echo Park saw a 15% increase in 2019 and Silver Lake was up 1%. All other local areas were down, specifically, Atwater Village, 8% and the Holly-wood Hills and Los Feliz, each down 4%.

Three local areas, how-ever, saw an increase in rape and sexual offences, specifical-ly Echo Park, up 13%; Silver Lake, up 11% and the Holly-wood Hills, up 3%. Atwater Village and Los Feliz were down in this area, 30% and 29% respectively.

CORADO LAWSUIT The family of a woman

killed by a stray police bullet during a July 2018 hostage situation at a Trader Joe’s gro-cery store in Silver Lake is still awaiting documents and video footage related to the case, ac-cording to the family’s attor-ney John Taylor.

Melyda Corado, 27, the store’s assistant manager, was killed in the crossfire when

police engaged in a gunfight with Gene Evin Atkins, 29, after a car chase ended at the store and resulted in a hostage situation.

Atkins, who was ar-raigned in September, is fac-ing 51 charges stemming from the incident—including mur-der, for allegedly setting into motion the events that led to Coroado’s death.

Meanwhile, Corado’s family, who filed a wrong-ful death lawsuit against the city in November 2018, spent much of 2019 filing various motions requesting footage and documents related to the case, according to court documents, which the court ordered the city to provide in October.

But according to attor-ney Taylor, the city has only provided some of the court-ordered documents. The fam-ily, he said, is still seeking cop-ies of police statements taken from the officers on the day of the shooting as well as store security camera footage of the incident.

STATE’S FIRST ELECTED DRAG QUEEN ON 2020 BAL-LOT VS. ADAM SCHIFF

The first ever elected drag queen in California, Silver

Lake Neighborhood Coun-cilmember Maebe A. Girl, qualified in November for the March 2020 Primary Election in the 28th U.S. Congressional District against Adam Schiff. 

Girl, who was elected to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Governing Board in the spring of 2019, did not re-spond to a request for com-ment on how she plans to beat Schiff, whose profile rose dra-matically in 2019 as chair of the Intelligence Committee and its impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

SILVER LAKE RESERVOIR MASTER PLAN

City officials shared three proposed designs for the Silver Lake Reservoir Complex—which includes both the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe reservoirs—in November that could be in-corporated in a “Master Plan” outlining public uses of the property for years to come.

Through multiple com-munity meetings and a survey that generated about 4,000 responses, the city’s Bureau of Engineering said stakeholders’ priorities were to naturalize the reservoir’s banks, remove fences surrounding the water and create a promenade that

see REVIEW page 16

REVIEW from page 5

Page 12: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 12 losfelizledger.com January 2020

tened on the phone. Dave suggested that there

must be a button or timer switch: “Is there a shampoo bottle or some bath salts that could be hiding it?”

I grumbled, and then I stared at a yellow plastic duck

bath toy nestled in the corner. I picked it up and there it was—an air button! I pushed it and the jets on the whirlpool sprang to life. So long back pain!

Once again, it goes to prove: If I can’t figure it out—and I know that I can’t—my friend Dave can.

POLITICS

Happy New Year!John Chadbourne

31 Years of Title Expertise

(310) 892-3301

Your Best Real Estate Decision

bryantreichling.com323.854.1780

[U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES]

Get Covered, CaliforniansBy. Rep Adam Schiff

While much of the nation’s attention is

currently focused on Congres-sional efforts to hold Presi-dent Trump accountable via the impeachment process, an important date is rapidly ap-proaching for American fami-lies: the deadline to sign up for 2020 health insurance.

The Affordable Care Act has been law for nearly a de-cade, expanding coverage to more than 20 million Ameri-cans, protecting 133 million people living with pre-exist-ing conditions, and allowing young people to stay on their parents’ insurance until they

are 26. It is a core part of the American health care system.

Since its launch in 2013, Covered California—Califor-nia’s ACA health insurance marketplace—has significant-ly reduced the number of un-insured Californians, lowered costs, and reduced health dis-parities statewide.

If you’re one of the mil-lions of Californians who does not obtain coverage through your employer, Medi-Cal, or Medicare, Covered California offers a competitive range of plans from 11 different health insurance carriers. Whether you’re renewing your current policy or signing up for a new plan, Covered California em-powers consumers to compare plans and find the one that best serves their needs.

New legislation requires all Californians to be insured, and provides additional financial as-sistance to help lower monthly premiums and ensure everyone can find an affordable plan. The open enrollment period for 2020 coverage kicked off in October, and already more than 130,000 Californians have signed up for new plans, an increase of 16%

from last year.The Affordable Care Act

has significantly slowed the ris-ing costs of health care in Amer-ica—that is, until the Republi-can party’s repeated attempts to dismantle and roll back the bill’s critical protections cast uncer-tainty over its future.

When their efforts to re-peal the ACA in Congress failed—largely due to wide-spread public outcry—Repub-licans turned to the courts. There, the GOP seeks to eliminate every last protection and benefit provided by the ACA, including protections for those with preexisting con-ditions, bans on lifetime and

annual limits on health cover-age, young people’s ability to remain on their parents’ insur-ance until age 26, Medicaid expansion, and more.

As this litigation contin-ues to wind its way through the courts, know that I will fight to protect our care. We simply cannot afford to return to a time when an unexpected illness or accident meant bank-ruptcy for American families.

The open enrollment pe-riod for 2020 health cover-age  ends on January 31st.  If you or your loved ones need coverage but aren’t sure how to sign up, you can visit  coveredca.com/find-help/  or call  (800) 300-1506 for assistance. 

The ACA continues to pro-vide lifesaving coverage to mil-lions of Americans. I remain committed to strengthening our health care system, bring-ing down costs, and achieving universal access because no American should worry about whether they can afford to get care for themselves or their family. Don’t miss out on your chance to get the care you and your family need.

[CA STATE ASSEMBLY]

Mental Health Services Ease Holiday HardshipBy Assemblymember Laura Friedman

For many of us, the holiday season was filled with fun and quality time with our friends, family, and neighbors. Against the backdrop of festive decora-tions, many of us had a break from the hustle and bustle of the year to enjoy and reflect on the parts of life that mat-ter most. However, not all of us were so fortunate. 

For those dealing with challenges in life, the holidays can be exceptionally difficult. Among the many hardships some struggle with this season, I want to focus on one in par-ticular, which affects far more people than most of us realize: mental health. 

According to a  2018 study by the California Health Care Foundation, one out of every six Californians experi-ence some form of mental ill-ness, while one in 24 struggle with a serious mental illness.

Mental health is a com-plex topic—one healthcare professionals and policymak-ers have experienced countless challenges in addressing over

the years. As a society, we have only

recently started to move away from stigmas and misconcep-tions and towards understand-ing the full range of mental conditions, their expressions, and effective treatments. 

California has been ad-dressing mental health by allocating resources and cre-ating new and more acces-sible treatment options. In the 2019-20 budget, we provided approximately $105 million to go towards mental healthcare workforce development, early childhood trauma treatment, and early psychosis prevention and treatment research.

Many of California’s coun-ties have been at the forefront of the mental health fight. In fact, the County of Los Ange-les has the largest county men-tal health department in the nation, contracting with about 1,000 providers who specialize in mental health services rang-ing from recovery services to wellness for people of all ages and backgrounds. 

In addition to the work

of the government, there are countless nonprofits, religious institutions, and other organi-zations ready to help anyone who is in need. For a full list of mental health resources in California, please visit my As-sembly website listed at the bottom of this piece.

So I am challenging all of us, as we  end the holiday season and prepare for 2020, to remember that while we may be enjoying the magic of the season, there will be those around us who are struggling.

From your loved ones to the person being difficult in the line at the grocery store, I think that all of us have the opportunity this season to extend our love, compassion, and understanding to those we encounter in our daily lives.

We have the opportunity to be the light in someone’s life, and to embody the real meaning of the Christmas season.

For a full list of mental health resources in California, visit a43.asmdc.org/mentalhealth. 

HOLMES from page 7

I remain committed to strengthening our health care system, bringing down costs, and achieving universal access

because no American should worry about whether they can afford to get care for

themselves or their family.

Page 13: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

LOS FELIZ BROKERAGE | 1801 NORTH HILLHURST AVENUE | SOTHEBYSHOMES.COM/LOSANGELES

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. SIR DRE#: 899496.DRE License Numbers for All Featured Agents: 01449428, 1875982, 492534, 2043519, 977617, 1276405, 1476997

For your next adventure

LOS FELIZ | SOLD

5750 Briarcliff DriveSOLD AT $1,697,000

Mid-Century Modern 3BD 3BA w/panoramic views.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

SILVER LAKE | SOLD

2419 Berkeley AvenueSOLD AT $1,605,000

Two Craftsman bungalows c. 1924 on one lot. Pool. Jeffrey Young 213.819.9630

LOS FELIZ | SOLD

1937 Taft Avenue SOLD AT $1,395,000

C. 1913 Craftsman cottage on huge lot; HPOZ 3bd/2ba.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

SILVER LAKE | SOLD

1661 Griffith Park Blvd.SOLD AT $967,000

2 houses on lot. 2bd/1ba CA bungalow & 1bd/1ba Spanish Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

HOLLYWOOD | NEW LISTING

6029 Eleanor Avenue OFFERED AT $879,900

Great upside potential, investor opportunity.Jeffrey Young 213.819.9630

ALTADENA | NEW LISTING

1585 East Altadena Drive OFFERED AT $8,500/MONTH

5bd/4ba English Tudor w/views. Furnished. Pool.Arielle Dupertuis 323.540.6476

LAKE HOLLYWOOD | LEASED

3248 Canyon Lake DriveLEASED AT $7,200/MONTH

Beautiful Mid- Century entertainers home. Romy Flint 310.721.2354 | rep lessee

LOS FELIZ | NEW LISTING

4411 Los Feliz Blvd. #606OFFERED AT $3,700/MONTH

Beautiful 1bd/1ba in the Los Feliz Towers, Jeffrey Young 213.819.9630

LOS FELIZ | IN ESCROW

2237 N Vermont AvenueOFFERED AT $2,495,000Large single story home on a quater lot with pool.Jeffrey Young 213.819.9630

LAUREL CANYON | IN ESCROW

8459 Ridpath DriveOFFERED AT $2,298,000

3bd/3.5ba the LA Green House is a modern lux retreat.Jacqueline Tager 323.697.3040

SILVER LAKE | NEW LISTING

1658 Golden Gate AvenueOFFERED AT $2,197,000

4bd/4ba Grand Old World character craftsman c 1911.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

LOS FELIZ | SOLD

5681 Holly Oak DriveOFFERED AT $2,150,000

Modern c. 1962 contemporary with pool & views.Jeffrey Young 213.819.9630

HOLLYWOOD HILLS EAST | NEW LISTING

3259 Deronda DriveOFFERED AT $4,537,000

Legendary world class Spanish 4bd/4ba estate c 1927.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

LOS FELIZ | SOLD

2161 N Bronson AvenueSOLD AT $3,025,000

Stunnig 3 bed/3.5 bath Contemporary home.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | rep buyer

LOS FELIZ | SOLD

3272 Lowry RoadSOLD AT $2,730,000

C. 1920's Spanish Colonial with 3bd/5ba. Pool/spa.Rick Yohon 323.270.1725 | co-listed

BEVERLY CENTER | NEW LISTING

1166 S Cochran AvenueOFFERED AT $2,684,262

4 Units. 2 bedroom, 2 bath each. Remodeled.Rosemary Low 323.363.0381

Thank you for another great year! Happy New Year, Los Feliz.

Page 14: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 14 losfelizledger.com January 2020POLITICS

[COUNCIL DISTRICT 4]

A Look Back at 2019By Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu

This past year has, without a doubt, been a

busy one. We’ve built home-less housing, opened new parks, and launched new uni-versal programs to boost high school graduation and college enrollment rates. There’s no doubt 2020 will be a busy year as well—so let’s take a brief moment here to take a look at where we’ve been, and where we’re going.

In 2019, we’ve opened three new homeless housing projects in Council District Four, bringing online 172 new bridge or emergency shel-ter beds in this district alone. These projects have welcomed men, women, children, tran-sitional aged youth and fami-lies—and each one has has in-cluded direct access to critical mental healthcare.

This has been my guiding belief since I began working on homelessness and mental health care nearly two decades ago—homeless housing alone won’t solve the problem. We need treatment, counseling and trauma-informed care to make a lasting impact. That’s

why every project we build in Council District Four includes access to these critical wrap-around services.

You also can’t solve home-lessness without addressing the driving forces: poverty, inequality, and a shortage of affordable housing.

That’s why, in 2019, I also introduced legislation to ex-pand renter protections and called for an expanded renter’s relief tax cut. It’s why I intro-duced Ellis Act Reform, which passed council this past year. It will give City Council op-tions to increase relocation assistance for tenants who are evicted under the Ellis Act, give those tenants the first right of refusal over any new unit built on their demol-ished home, and more. City Council also approved my Moderate-Income Housing motion this year, which seeks to increase the share of homes for Los Angeles’ middle class. When 91% of the new homes are going to those with high income and less than one half of one percent are being built for the middle class, there’s a problem—and I’m working to

reverse it.This year, I also co-intro-

duced a Vacant Homes Study, which seeks to find ways to push the estimated 110,000 units of vacant housing back on the market, and supported the Right to Counsel fund, helping tenants facing evic-tion stand up for their rights in court.

We launched “Opportu-nity LA,” the nation’s largest Children’s Savings Account Program, that will guaran-tee every child enrolled in LAUSD a dedicated savings account for higher education. We opened five new play-grounds in Council District Four, launched Griffith Park’s very own shuttle system, and passed one of the greatest re-forms to our campaign finance laws in decades.

We fought and won for our city’s trees—securing $25 million in the City budget for proactive tree care, increasing the staff at the Urban Forestry Division, and committing our city to better sidewalk design that doesn’t interfere with our urban forest.

see CD4 page 19

[COUNCIL DISTRICT 13]

Recent Key InitiativesBy Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell

The Los Ange-les City Coun-

cil took legislative action last month on some of my key ini-tiatives that will have a lasting, positive influence in the 13th District and across the city.

We declared Fletcher Drive and Hollywood Boule-vard/New Hampshire Avenue tunnel closure projects as an urgent necessity due to public health and safety issues. This will expedite the work.

We moved forward on a report from the City Attor-ney’s Office on how to allo-cate $117.5 million in fund-ing from the state’s Homeless, Housing, Assistance and Pre-vention program. The monies will be utilized in 2020 to fund our city’s homelessness prevention and housing ser-vices efforts. 

We took action to double the number of beds at the Young Women’s Christian Association bridge housing site in Hollywood. The bridge housing facility, located at 1215 Lodi Pl., has been in op-eration since November 2018 with 64 beds for women ex-

periencing homelessness. The location now has a total of 124 beds, 30 of which are for tran-sitional age youth between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. This brings the total number of shelter beds in the 13th Dis-trict to 200.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority opened a winter shelter at the Sal-vation Army in Hollywood with 30 beds available for individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. The shelter provides a warm place to sleep and eat, along with supportive services and hous-ing assistance.

I am so grateful for the sup-port of my council colleagues and for your support as we make positive and tangible change to help the most vulnerable in our communities.

If you would like to re-ceive weekly updates on the work my office is doing in your neighborhood, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at cd13.com.

Best wishes to you and your family as we start the New Year!

Page 15: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 15POLITICS

Richard Wilkinson | Melinda Marinack | Miles Crakow Amy Ferguson | Jennifer Wilkinson | Lauren [email protected] 01812487

We will cover the upfront cost of preparing your home to sell, while you sit back and reap the benefits. We’ll cover the costs of painting, staging, landscaping, new HVAC, new foundation and more.

Compass is a licensed real estate broker (01991628) in the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. Exact dimensions can be obtained by retaining the services of an architect or engineer. This is not intended to solicit property already listed.

[ECHO PARK NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL]

Twice a Week, a Beacon of HopeBy Lauren Buisson, EPNC Chief Information Officer

Echo Park Shower Stop quietly observed its third month of service much as it had its first day of operation—with volunteers busily serving hot food or distributing fresh clothes to unhoused residents as they waited their turn to wash in one of the mobile shower stations.

The mobile shower pro-gram began as initiative of the Echo Park Neighborhood Council’s Homelessness and Housing Committee, among the most dynamic and en-gaged bodies of the council.

Members worked dog-gedly for months to conceive, organize and execute delivery of much needed assistance to their neighbors in need. The workload was borne not only by formal members of the committee, but also by many dedicated individuals who de-voted their time and expertise to focusing locally on the most pressing civic emergency in a generation.

Critical to the success of the program has been collabo-ration with experienced local institutions and providers. Echo Park United Methodist Church

agreed to host the twice weekly initiative and San Francisco-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy signed on to provide the por-table showers and towels every Tuesday and Thursday.

With the example of Edendale Library’s monthly Source event in mind, the committee was also deter-mined to offer auxiliary ser-vices, an objective necessarily limited to one day per week due to capacity.

Each Tuesday morning, Rev. Frank Wulf makes the cof-fee, volunteers distribute dona-tions of fresh clothes and hot meals and staff members from Homeless Healthcare L.A. help clients navigate the byzantine process of accessing services.

Contrary to the prevailing stereotypes, most Shower Stop guests have lived in Echo Park for years, vary greatly in age, and hail from all walks of life—diverse in every way but one.

The need, as any casual observer can deduce, is im-mense; some 20 people were fed that first day alone. Their collective gratitude at being seen and provided the space to simply relax is palpable and

poignant.Demand for this mod-

est local program continues to grow exponentially, and its sustainability is wholly depen-dent on donation of time as well as supplies.

Site leaders are ever pro-active. In addition to provid-ing direct services each week, volunteers work with the local non-profit organization SE-LAH Neighborhood Home-less Coalition to collect and sort secondhand clothes, stock provisions, apply for grants, and recruit local businesses to donate prepared meals.

With the weather growing colder, a winter clothing drive is now underway, and an Amazon wishlist has been established to identify urgent needs.

Enormous challenges re-main. The ramifications of the Supreme Court’s decision to let Martin v. Boise stand likely will not be apparent for some time, even as the city’s efforts to ratchet up affordable and supportive housing construc-tion is crushed by the sheer number of new and chronic homelessness.

see EPNC page 18

[LOS FELIZ NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL]

Looking Back and Leaping ForwardBy Sarah Tressler, LFNC

We’re jumping headfirst into the glorious sea of 2020, but first, we’re standing on the beach of 2019, looking back at what the Los Feliz Neighbor-hood Council accomplished last year. Here’s what we see:

Our elections: we had a 50 percent increase in voter turnout and a record number of candidates.

On Hillhurst Avenue, we see an artist’s mural depict-ing the Griffith Park hillside, painted by volunteers.

We see more citizens checking in every Monday at 7 p.m. on the Los Feliz Emer-gency Radio Network.

At Commonwealth and Myra avenues, we see new stop signs, and at Hollywood Bou-levard and Rodney Drive, a new crosswalk.

In our schools, we see the items we collected at supply drives benefiting students whose families may be struggling to provide these necessities.

On Riverside Drive, we see the progress toward Bridge Housing for individuals and families experiencing home-lessness.

At the Los Feliz 3 The-

ater, we see neighbors join-ing our Film & Focus series, which offers cultural/histori-cal insight into our neighbor-hood, matched with a free film screening.

We topped it all off with the Los Felicidades Holiday Market & Tree Lighting.

It was humbling to receive generous gratitude in return: Mayor Garcetti’s compliments at the Congress of Neighbor-hoods for our work to curb climate change, the city’s Com-munity Award at the annual Beautification Conference at City Hall, the Los Feliz Post Of-fice manager’s thanks for how our monthly neighborhood cleanups have tidied up the area and the numerous thank yous we got from attendees of our Renters’ Rights Workshop. We can’t help but feel like we might actually be making a difference.

If you want to join us in making a difference in 2020, begin now—join a committee, speak at one of our monthly Governing Board meetings, or contact your district repre-sentative with a suggestion or comment. For information, visit losfeliz.org.

Page 16: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 16 losfelizledger.com January 2020SCHOOL NEWS

snakes around the property. A bureau spokesperson

said the survey responses col-lected in November will be posted on the agency’s website sometime after January 1st.

Also in January, city staff-ers and consultants will pres-ent a final design concept based on the public input re-ceived in 2019. A date for the workshop wasn’t available at press time.

Officials said they expect a final draft of the Silver Lake Reservoir Complex Master Plan will be complete by Sum-mer 2020.

LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION

Jackie Goldberg was elected to represent local areas on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Edu-cation in a run-off election in May against Los Feliz resident Heather Repenning.

Visit losfelizledger.com to read more about actions taken by the board in 2019.

WAVERLY DRIVE CONVENT NOT FOR SALE

Despite multiple media reports, the Waverly Drive convent at the heart of a now resolved long legal battle be-

tween singer Katy Perry and local businesswoman Dana Hollister is not for sale, ac-cording to Los Angeles Arch-diocese spokesperson Adrian Marquez Alacron.

The New York Post reported June 8th that the property was on the real estate market for $25 million, and other media, including  Elle  magazine, picked up the story.

“The property is still owned by the IHM Institute and has not been relisted,” Alarcon said in an email, re-ferring to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of the archdiocese. 

According to Alarcon, af-ter a judge cleared the way for the sale to Perry, the archdio-cese and the pop star agreed to a timeline for Perry to pur-chase the property, which has expired.

HOLLYHOCK HOUSE NAMED UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Hollyhock House, ar-chitect Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1921 modernist creation at Barnsdall Art Park, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site July 8th.

The house was built for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall and is now owned by the city of Los

Angeles and operated by its Dept. of Cultural Affairs.

According to Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House curator, at-tendance jumped 44% in the month after Hollyhock received the designation. Visitor data for the remainder of 2019 was un-available, according to the city, due to a vacancy within the de-partment, but the city has fund-ed a $20,000 parking study in 2020 in light of an expected in-crease in attendance.

There are more than 1,000 World Heritage sites around the world, but only 24 in the United States.

LONG-STALLED TARGET TO OPEN NEXT SUMMER

Nearly seven years af-ter construction began and abruptly stopped, work re-sumed in June on a Target store planned for the corner of Sunset Boulevard and West-ern Avenue and is now pro-jected to open in the summer of 2020, according to Target spokesperson Liz Hancock. 

The project, located at 5550 Sunset Boulevard broke ground in 2012, but was soon tied up in litigation from the La Mirada Neighborhood Assoc., a group of nearby residents who claimed the ap-proved project violated city

zoning laws. The store will be 143,000

square feet and will have an-other 30,000 square feet at street level for shops, restau-rants and other businesses.

ROWENA PARK? Los Angeles City Council-

member David Ryu is awaiting a report from the city’s Dept. of Recreation and Parks on the feasibility of opening the 10-acre Rowena Reservoir as a passive “contemplative park,” after he motioned last summer for such a change.

Currently the site if off-limits as it sits on top of a functioning 10-million gal-lon Dept. of Water and Power (DWP) tank.

With modifications, DWP officials say, it could be possible. The community, however, is mixed on the idea, according to letters and emails sent to Los Angeles City Council.

The Los Feliz Neighbor-hood Council supports the idea.

GRIFFITH PARK SHUTTLESThe Griffith “Parkline,”

a long-awaited shuttle system for Griffith Park debuted De-cember 3rd. The free shuttle service will operate Saturdays

and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. with stops at Travel Town, the Autry Museum, the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, the pony rides, Park Center and the Greek Theater among others.

E-SCOOTERS The Los Angeles Police

Dept. started enforcing new laws regulating app-rented dockless bicycles and e-scoot-ers in 2019 amid mounting reports of traffic violations and related injuries, as well as growing complaints of scoot-ers abandoned in traffic lanes, on private property and at oth-er illegal locations.

LAPD issued over 1,000 citations for e-scooter viola-tions from the beginning of 2019 through September, 85% of which were for riding on the sidewalk, according to an October report from Los An-geles Dept. of Transportation (LADOT).

During the first half of 2019, the city received 3,000 service request for scooter re-lated complaints and reached a high of more than 1,800 in May alone. Since then, service requests have declined steadily to fewer than 1,400 in August, according to LADOT.

REVIEW from page 11

see REVIEW page 17

Page 17: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 17SCHOOL NEWS

IMMACULATE HEARTA Catholic, Independent, College Preparatory School For Girls Grades 6-12

5515 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028 ♥ (323) 461-3651 ♥ www.immaculateheart.org

Middle School Entrance ExamSaturday, January 18, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.

High School Entrance Exam for Admission & Merit ScholarshipsSaturday, January 18, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.

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“Educating the Hearts & Minds of Young Women Since 1906”

DWP OFFICE AT RESERVOIR The Silver Lake Neighbor-

hood Council slammed the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power for moving forward with its plan to install a pre-fabricated office building at the Silver Lake Reservoir with-out studying its environmental impacts or the structure’s place in a pending Master Plan for the open space.

LADWP is moving for-ward with the project despite this plea. Officials said the modular office is necessary for employees who are currently crammed into its downtown headquarters.

Work crews are currently preparing the land where the building will be installed. Construction will be complete by Fall 2020.

HYPERION/FOUNTAIN SAFETY STUDY

The city will add safety improvements to a 1.4-mile stretch of Hyperion and Foun-tain avenues, between Sunset Boulevard and Rowena Av-enue, after a pedestrian death in January and two requests from the Los Feliz Neighbor-hood Council (LFNC).

Among the planned im-provements—expected within the next few months—are re-flective markers on curves, new street markings to discourage lane changes on curves, elec-tronic speed feedback signs and high visibility crosswalks at Griffith Park Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue.

Also under consideration

are a left-turn pocket from Hy-perion Avenue northbound to Tracy Street and safety posts, or “bollards,” to prevent dangerous turns, though those changes would first require community and business buy-in.

The LFNC sent a letter to the city requesting such im-provements in February after their previous request, sent in 2017, went ignored.

The board additionally demanded an explanation from the city as to why they never received a response to their previous request.

The issue arose again when 57-year-old mother of three Christina Garcia was struck and killed in January after a driver lost control of his car in the rain along the prob-lem stretch, which has blind curves bends and drops that LFNC officials say encourage dangerous driving.

Thomas Starr King jani-tor Freddy Prieto, 47, was ar-rested in conjunction with the hit-and-run crash, but was released from custody shortly after his arrest, according to inmate records.

Police at the time said it was unclear whether Prieto realized he had hit a person when he fled the scene, as Garcia’s body was concealed by debris following the crash.

P.L.A.Y. PRESCHOOL INVESTIGATION

The California Dept. of Social Services in September found complaints lodged in July against Silver Lake’s P.L.A.Y. Preschool alleging

a staff member had handled a child in a rough manner and yelled at the child were unsubstantiated, based on a three-hour unannounced visit to the school following the allegations.

The agency additionally found claims the school had an improper child-to-staff ra-tio and that there was mold in food storage areas were unsub-stantiated.

VACANCY TAXThe Los Angeles City

Council in September autho-rized the city’s housing de-partment and its chief analyst to investigate the possibility of a vacancy tax on landlords who intentionally keep habit-able housing units empty—a practice known as “warehous-ing”—for purposes of real es-tate speculation or to falsely inflate rental prices.

If deemed feasible, the tax would be subject to voter approval.

OSH BUILDINGAfter sitting empty for

more than a year after its sur-prise March 2018 closure, a former Orchard Supply Hard-ware (OSH) store at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Edgemont Street is now an Out of the Closet thrift store and pharmacy and will soon additionally serve as a health-care center and a the new head-quarters for the Aids Health-care Foundation (AHF).

The foundation purchased the 36,000-square-foot build-ing in August for $32.75 mil-

lion, according to public re-cords.

The thrift store and phar-macy opened in November, while the healthcare center and administrative offices are expected to open in early 2020, according to an AHF spokesperson.

REC CENTERAn August Los Fe-

liz Neighborhood Council (LFNC) proposal to build a new recreation center at the corner of Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard is still un-der consideration by the city, according to LFNC Recre-ation Rep. Meggan Ellingboe.

The city-owned site is cur-rently home to the Griffith Park Pool, a children’s play-ground, tennis court and a soc-cer field, and it is immediately adjacent to the Griffith Park Adult Community Center and Friendship Auditorium com-

munity center.  The LFNC’s Recreation

Committee pitched the idea to Los Angeles City Council-member David Ryu and is now “working on putting together a wide-ranging survey to fur-ther collect neighborhood feedback about recreation and park needs for the neighbor-hood,” Ellingboe said.

The neighborhood council previously passed a resolution in April, asking the city to study the possibility of acquir-ing the site of a vacated Or-chard Supply Hardware store on Hollywood Boulevard for the purpose of turning it into a recreation center, but that idea was put to rest when the Aids Healthcare Foundation pur-chased the building in August.

SLNC RESIGNATIONSThe Silver Lake Neigh-

borhood Council (SLNC)

REVIEW from page 16

see REVIEW page 19

Page 18: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 18 losfelizledger.com January 2020SENIOR MOMENTS

To learn more, visitBELMONTVILLAGE.COM/HOLLYWOODHILLSCall 323-874-7711 to schedule a personal tour today.

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For nearly 20 years, Belmont Village has faithfully delivered an unmatched level of service and care for thousands of California families. Our assisted living and memory care programs have set the standard of excellence in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego communities. University collaborations with UCLA and USC have helped us champion nationally-recognized cognitive health and wellness programs with positive, evidence-based results for residents. With exquisite spaces and superb hospitality, at Belmont Village you’ll experience senior living in a class all its own.

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[SENIOR MOMENTS]

End of Life DecisionsBy Stephanie Vendig, Ledger Columnist

Most of us can’t predict when our

last days will be, nor can we count on a specific location. However many of us proclaim, “I want to die in my own bed in my home.”

According to a December 11th New York Times article, this view is becoming more popular.

A relative of mine amazed me with the way she left this world. It was as if she chose her time and location for a “good death.” In her nineties, she lived alone but visited her daughter weekly.

One visiting day, she an-nounced that she was going

to take a nap upstairs. When it was time to wake up, she had passed away in a natural way in a place where help was around, not in her home where her body could have gone un-noticed for some time and cre-ated stress for the family.

Researchers at the New England Journal of Medicine report the rate of people dying at home rather than in hospi-

tals is increasing. In the 1950s, more than

half of Americans died in hos-pitals and by the 1970s at least two thirds did. Now that trend is reversing. In 2017, 30% of deaths by natural causes oc-curred in hospitals, while 31% percent occurred at home.

There are factors encour-aging this growth. About 45% of older people have so-called “advance directives,” request-ing doctors avoid taking ex-treme measures to prolong their lives. Often hospice care is recommended in these cases and takes place in the home.

Nearly 1.5 million Medi-care beneficiaries received hospice and palliative care in 2017, an increase of 4.5% from 2016. This kind of health ser-vice includes relief from symp-toms, but does not include

treatment to cure illness. However, hospice services

are limited, and the full re-sponsibility of providing care generally falls on family mem-bers who may not be prepared for the task.

Additionally, hospitals to-day have financial incentives

to not keep Medicare patients in the hospital for long periods of time.

According to the De-cember Times story, this shift of health care services to the home may put a burden on family members, both in terms of care and finances.

As one family member of a patient told the paper, “the

model of care wasn’t designed to give me any respite. It was absolutely exhausting.”

If people prefer to die at home—and it is, addition-ally, economically beneficial to hospitals and insurers and Medicare when they do—then these systems must change to better support the families that help make that happen.

Hospice services are limited, and the full responsibility of providing care generally falls on family members who may

not be prepared for the task. … This shift of health care services to the home may put a burden on family members,

both in terms of care and finances.

“”

Griffith Park Adult Community Center Calendar

Sunset Hall - Curriculum and Advocacy

Programs for free-thinking older adults (323) 660-5277

Beginning Conversational Spanish Wednesdays 3:30-4:30 & Advanced Thursdays 3:30-4:30

Thanks to our ad sponsor Sunset Hall. They offer:

The Lunch Program: Lunch is served 5 days a week at the Center. $2 is the donation for those over 60 years and $6 for those younger.

Daily lunch is served at 12pm. Sign in early at 10:30am & enjoy some coffee.

For more information on the Griffith Park Adult Community Center and to receive a newsletter, call GPACC at (323) 644-5579.

You can also go to our website: site.gpacclub.com

GPACC is located at 3203 Riverside Dr., just south of Los Feliz Bl.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020: Lunch, General Meeting and Program,

12 noon–2:30 pmProgram: Learn about the Sages and Seekers program. GPACC patrons will be recruited to participate with Marshall High School students in eight one-hour conversation sessions about “how life is lived and how personal challenges are overcome.”

Join “Zumba Gold” Class with dancing to the rhythms Salsa, Cha Cha, Cumbia, Merengue, Belly Dance, Disco and more. Thursdays, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. $25/month. Sign up at GPACC.

Page 19: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

Los Feliz Ledger

January 2020 losfelizledger.com Page 19

Jan. 31, 2020

Exam for rst visit!(excluding emergency. extensive or second opinion exams)

The aggressive disman-tling of encampments only displaces the indigent from familiar surroundings and trusted resources, and a much needed—and already ap-proved—safe parking pro-gram is still not open.

To make matters worse, a

fundamental necessity—the predictable access to toilets and fresh water—remains elusive.

This is the reality of one of the richest cities in the world. It is in this seemingly endless Dickensian nightmare that Echo Park Shower Stop is a beacon of hope.

EPNC from page 15

Finally, we expanded the all-electric DASH line to the Griffith Observatory, adding more buses and reducing wait times, to make it the most popular DASH line in the city.

It has been quite a year—but 2020 is about to be even better. This year, I have plans to fundamentally reform how our city solves homelessness,

by centralizing the identifica-tion, planning and develop-ment of homeless housing and resources in the office of the mayor. I plan to push forward my Fully Paid Parental Leave legislation that I introduced with Council President Nury Martinez. And I will continue to push for real reform that moves our city forward.

We’re just getting started.

CD4 from page 14

ended 2019 on a positive note by electing two new co-chairs and sitting a full panel for the first time in months.

Five boardmembers of the SLNC resigned in as many months earlier in the year, all members of the Silver Lake Together candidate slate, which was largely defeated by rival slate Silver Lake Progres-sive in last April’s election.

Replacements for those boardmembers that resigned are:

Tina Lin, Region 1; Ben Cassola, Region 2; Imran Syed, Region 4; Scott Gam-zon, Region 6; and Joanna Pawlowska, Region 7.

NO NEW CELL TOWER IN SIGHT FOR LAKE HOLLYWOOD

Representatives of the

REVIEW from page 17 Hollywood United Neighbor-hood Council (HUNC) asked Los Angeles City Council-member David Ryu to study adding a cell tower in the Lake Hollywood Park area to im-prove signal strength in area, which is attractive to tourists looking to get close to the Hollywood Sign.

According to HUNC president George Skarpelos, poor signal strength in the area strands tourists using Uber or Lyft ridesharing apps.

A Ryu spokesperson said

staff is working with the Dept. of Recreation & Parks to not only improve service in Lake Hollywood but also across Griffith Park. Additional in-formation on the matter is ex-pected to be released early in 2020.

CONSTRUCTION TO SNARL FLETCHER DRIVE TRAFFIC

Commuters will want to avoid the Glendale Boulevard and Fletcher Drive intersec-tion starting January 6th due to a Los Angeles Dept. of

Water and Power (LADWP) construction project to replace a large aged pipe, initially in-stalled in 1937, at their Fletch-er Pump Station.

The construction will impact the area until at least March 27th. During this time, motorists traveling west-bound on Fletcher will only be able to turn left onto Glendale Boulevard.

According to LADWP of-ficials, the pipe’s replacement is necessary because it experi-enced four leaks in 2017.

Page 20: Los Feliz Ledger · Allison Bajracharya • Pro-charter • Anti teacher’s strike ... May 2019: Silver Lake elected the first drag queen ever elected in California. June 2019: Protesters

(323) 668-7600 • [email protected] • GEORGEANDEILEEN.COM

JUST SOLD in Eagle Rock

1978 Chickasaw Avenue • Mid-century • $1,110,000

3+2 open concept mid-century 1948, plus a den which makes for a great TV/media room, office or could easily be a 4th bedroom. Master suite with spacious walk-in closet and mountain views. Backyard with spa + patio with bbq and a pass through window to kitchen! Perfectly located near all of Eagle Rock’s hot spots.

Keller Williams Real Estate 2150 North Hillhurst Avenue Los Angeles 90027DRE#’s George Moreno 00560275 | Eileen Moreno 01194455 | Laura Moreno 01950438 | Dunia Handy Gill 01262913

3943 Franklin Avenue • Cape Cod • $1,365,000

3+2 two-story Traditional Cape Cod style home perched on a hilltop with breathtaking views. Spacious living room with huge picture window to take in the view. Large breakfast room with wraparound windows to let in an abundance of natural light, with French doors to access the backyard. Laura represented buyer.

1937 Myra Avenue • English • Call For Price

Wonderful curb appeal and located on a much desired street sits this charming 1920’s 3+2 English home. Gorgeous living room with huge picture window, high ceilings, original hardwood floors & fireplace. Dining room. Bonus room is perfect for home office. 1700+ sqft. First time on the market in more than 45 years!

JUST SOLD in Silver Lake

1669 Dillon Street • Tudor Revival • $2,275,000

A very special 4+3 1936 Tudor Revival residence set above the street with panoramic views of the hillside and downtown skyscrapers. Gorgeous living room. Spacious ining room for those upcoming holidays! Magical grounds and patio with room for a pool. Close to all local hotspots. Dunia represented buyer.

IN ESCROW in Los Feliz

LOS FELIZ • SILVER LAKE • FRANKLIN HILLS • ATWATER VILLAGE • ECHO PARK BEACHWOOD CANYON • HOLLYWOOD HILLS • GLENDALE

1684 Rotary Drive • Architectural • Call For Price

4+5 two-story architectural with fabulous views from downtown skyscrapers to the Silver Lake Hills. Open kitchen/great room leads to a wraparound deck to take in the views. 2nd living rm. All bedrooms with en-suite baths. Fabulous master suite w/luxurious bath. Lots of natural light. Apprx. 3472 sqft. Just stunning!

COMING SOON in the Silver Lake HillsCOMING SOON in Los Feliz

JUST LEASED in Los Feliz

2100 HollyVista Avenue • Mid Century • $5,600

Walls of glass allow you to incredible views from this 3+2 home. Open living room with fireplace opens to a deck w/sweeping views from the Los Feliz Observatory to the Westside. Eat-in kitch w/built-in stainless appliances & center isle. Master suite w/private bath. A/C. Hot tub. Located in the Franklin School District!

4011 Farmouth Avenue • Mid-Century • $8,000

Incredible Griffith Park, Observatory and west facing views from the huge entertaining deck off the living room of this Mid-Century inspired 4+4.5 home situated in the hills on a lovely cul-de-sac. 3543 sqft. Gourmet kitchen with professional grade appl. Master leads to work out room, hot tub and sauna. Home office space.

FOR LEASE in the Los Feliz Hills

Wishing You Good Health And Happiness In 2020

Thank You George, Eileen, and Laura

Dear George, Eileen, and Laura

As sellers we were beyond pleased with the whole process. We received multiple over asking offers based on their level of experienced knowledge and

strategically brilliant guidance. We would definitely work with them again in the future.

Andre Amos Krmzyan & Terry Eagan 3827 Carnavon Way, Los Feliz Hills

• The Moreno Team •

George, Eileen, Laura & Dunia Handy Gill