Sunnynook River Park To Open To Public Along West Bank of Los Angeles River

(Los Angeles; June 20, 2013) Councilmember Tom LaBonge, together with the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Bureau of Engineering, will debut Sunnynook River Park this Thursday morning along the west bank of the Los Angeles River. Councilmember LaBonge will be joined by Councilmember Ed Reyes and Councilmember-Elect Mitch O'Farrell.

Sunnynook River Park broke ground in July of 2012. It occupies a 3.4 acre parcel just north of the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. The $1.7 million project includes native plantings, picnic areas, and an outdoor classroom.

The park is adjacent to two pedestrian bridges, Griffith Park, and the Los Angeles River Bike Path. The formerly vacant site was a combination of LADWP and Caltrans-owned property. It also includes a stormwater treatment area.

"Slowly but surely, we are taking back the river, park by park, tree by tree. I am excited to open this new chapter at Sunnynook River Park," Councilmember Tom LaBonge said.

WHAT: The grand opening of Sunnynook River Park

WHEN: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 8:30 a.m.

WHERE: Sunnynook River Park, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Parking will be available at the parking lot at Friendship Auditorium. From there, walk east to the pedestrian bridge.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge Councilmember Ed P. Reyes Councilmember-Elect Mitch O’Farrell Jon Kirk Mukri, General Manager, Department of Recreation and Parks Gary Lee Moore, City Engineer, Bureau of Engineering Michelle Mowery, Senior Project Coordinator, Department of Transportation Irma Munoz, Chairperson, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Lewis MacAdams, Co-Founder, Friends of the Los Angeles River

Councilmember Tom LaBonge Announces Six 'Stages' of Annual Summer Bike Ride Series: 'Tour LaBonge'

(Wednesday, June 5, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge will kick off his series of summer bicycle rides throughout the City of Los Angeles (also known as "Tour LaBonge") with a ride this Wednesday evening beginning at Los Angeles City Hall.

There will be six stages of this year's Tour LaBonge, on successive Wednesday evenings throughout his Fourth District. The stages are as follows:

6.5.13: City Hall (Meet at the Sister Cities Sign at First / Main.) 6.12.13: Griffith Park (Meet at the Mulholland Fountain at Riverside / Los Feliz.) 6.19.13: Sherman Oaks (Meet at Fire Station 88 at 5101 Sepulveda Boulevard.) 6.26.13: Fourth Street (Meet at Shatto Park at 3191 Fourth Street.) 7.10.13: Toluca Lake (Meet at Councilmember LaBonge's Valley Field Office at 10116 Riverside Drive.) 7.17.13: Hollywood (Meet at Councilmember LaBonge's Hollywood Field Office at 6501 Fountain Avenue.)

"There's no greater place to enjoy the summer outdoors than in the City of Los Angeles," Councilmember LaBonge said. "Come see it with your own two wheels."

All rides will take place at 6 p.m, and police will provide traffic control. All riders must be at least 12 years of age, wear helmets, and sign waivers. Please leave all pets at home.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge Debuts New Play Structure at Vine Street Elementary Community-School Park

(Thursday, May 16, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge will debut a new play structure at the Community-School Park at Vine Street Elementary tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. The Community-School Park at Vine Street Elementary opened in February of 2012 as a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District's Beyond the Bell program and People for Parks, with funding from the California Community Foundation.

The park is a result of a new public-private partnership that creates open spaces on underutilized public school properties. When the park at Vine Street Elementary first opened, it lacked a play structure, but a $75,000 structure was recently installed through the joint efforts and funding from Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Councilmember Eric Garcetti, LAUSD Board Member Marguerite LaMotte, the LAUSD Facilities Branch, and People for Parks.

The park is open weekends during the school year and seven days a week during the summer. The new equipment not only benefits the students of Vine Street Elementary but also the surrounding community.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, People for Parks, Los Angeles Unified School District

WHEN: Thursday, May 16, 2013, 3 p.m.

WHERE: Vine Street Elementary School, 955 Vine Street, Los Angeles, CA (The event will be at the area of the school just north of the car wash closer to Willoughby Avenue.)

Councilmember Tom LaBonge To Discuss Fire Service Day THIS AFTERNOON

(Friday, May 10, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge will host a press conference this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. to kick off tomorrow's "Fire Service Day." On Saturday, May 11, all 106 fire stations will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"Every Angeleno, from Chatsworth to San Pedro, has a local fire station. Tomorrow they'll be holding the door open for you," Councilmember LaBonge said.

To increase community awareness of its services, the Los Angeles Fire Department designates the second Saturday of each May as Fire Service Recognition Day. Each fire station will host special demonstrations and displays.

Seven LAFD fire stations around the city will also host free hand's only CPR instruction for the community: Fire Station 5 at 8900 S. Emerson Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90045 (10:00 AM - 2:00 PM), Fire Station 27: 1327 N. Cole Ave. Hollywood CA 90028 (8:00 AM - Noon Pancake Breakfast), Fire Station 63: 1930 Shell Ave. Venice CA 90291 (8:00 AM - Noon Pancake Breakfast), Fire Station 65: 1801 E. Century Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90002 (10:00 AM - 2:00 PM), Fire Station 86: 4305 Vineland Ave. Studio City, CA 91602 (8:00 AM - Noon Pancake Breakfast), Fire Station 88: 5101 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 (10:00 AM - 2:00 PM), and Fire Station 112: 444 S. Harbor Blvd. Berth 86 San Pedro CA 90731 (10:00 AM - 2:00 PM).

WHAT: A press conference to discuss tomorrow's Fire Service Day.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Los Angeles Fire Department

WHEN: TODAY, Friday, May 9, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: 1327 North Cole Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028, goo.gl/maps/krhlp

Press Contact: Scott Levin-Gesundheit Communications Deputy Office of Councilmember Tom LaBonge, City of Los Angeles 213.473.2344 (o) 323.706.2396 (m) scott.levin@lacity.org

Councilmember Tom LaBonge To Invite LAUSD Students To 'Hike for Health' and 'Get To Know' Nature

(Thursday, May 9, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge and the Department of Recreation and Parks will present the eighth annual Hike for Health and the 2013 Get To Know event at Griffith Park on Thursday morning. The annual event introduces LAUSD students to the nature around them by bringing them to Los Angeles's largest park.

Over 300 LAUSD fifth-grade students from 6 elementary schools will hike with Councilmember Tom LaBonge to the top of Mount Hollywood, where they will meet Los Angeles Police Department officers, see the Los Angeles Sanitation Robot, and speak with Park Rangers. Below, at the Greek Theater picnic area in the "Get To Know" portion of the event, the students will learn from nature and interactive booths from local nonprofits and City agencies, including: the Debs Park Nature Center, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Animal Services, National Forest Service, and the Department of Recreation and Parks.

“The City of Los Angeles is proud to again be an event partner for the 2013 Get To Know Contest,” Jon Kirk Mukri, the General Manager of Recreation and Parks said. “The Department of Recreation and Parks fully supports the vision to connect, create, and celebrate helping to bring youth closer to nature. This year in a joint effort with the National Recreation and Park Association we will bring over 10 million kids outdoors.”

Students from Kester Avenue, Kester Magnet, Van Ness Avenue, Valley View, and Wilshire Crest Elementary will attend the event; the schools are located throughout Councilmember LaBonge's Fourth District in Sherman Oaks, the mid-Wilshire area, and the Hollywood Hills.

"Griffith Park is the perfect Los Angeles location to teach our youth the power of open spaces and the benefits of fitness. I'm excited to help our local students get to know their great outdoors," Councilmember LaBonge said.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, representatives from many local agencies, and 300 LAUSD students

WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 2013 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

WHERE: Parking lot of Griffith Observatory, 2800 East Observatory Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90027

WHAT: Councilmember Tom LaBonge created his Hike for Health event eight years ago to inspire schoolchildren to use the local outdoors for fitness. The Get To Know Contest invites youth ages 19 and under to go outdoors and create original works of art, writing, photography, videography, and music inspired by their local natural surroundings and wildlife. Submissions for 2013 will be accepted through November 1, 2013. For more information on the 2013 Get To Know Your Wild Neighbors event call Recreation and Parks at (818) 243-6488 or visit www.get-to-know.org.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge To Declare "John Parkinson Day" in City of Los Angeles

(Friday, May 3, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge will officially recognize "John Parkinson Day" in the City of Los Angeles Friday morning in a press conference in front of City Hall. An immigrant from Britain, John Parkinson was the City of Los Angeles's premier architect in the early 20th century, and his work includes the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Union Station, Bullock's Wilshire, and, most importantly, Los Angeles City Hall.

Councilmember LaBonge will be joined by author Stephen Gee, who recently penned "Iconic Vision: John Parkinson, Architect of Los Angeles." A celebration of John Parkinson's life and work coincides with the seventh annual BritWeek, which showcases the connections between Great Britain and California. As a part of Britweek, Stephen Gee will be leading two John Parkinson tours of the City of Los Angeles in conjunction with the Los Angeles Conservancy and Starline Tours.

"John Parkinson came to Los Angeles, like many Angelenos did, as an immigrant from somewhere else, and then he made an enormous impact," Councilmember Tom LaBonge said. "On Friday we celebrate a man who shaped this great city's built environment like no one else."

John B. Parkinson (1861-1935) left a large imprint on the City of Los Angeles, designing many buildings in the city's boom days. Over 50 of his buildings still remain, including buildings at the University of Southern California, in downtown Los Angeles, and also in Hollywood.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, author Stephen Gee, members of the Parkinson family

WHERE: The Los Angeles Sister Cities Monument, City Hall, the northeast corner of First and Main Street, 100 North Main Street

WHEN: Friday, May 3, 2013, 9:30 a.m. Followed by a presentation in Los Angeles City Council on the third floor of City Hall at 10 a.m.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge To Debut New Park Equipment at LA High Memorial Park

(Thursday, May 2, 2013; Los Angeles) Councilmember Tom LaBonge, along with the Department of Recreation and Parks, will debut new park equipment at Los Angeles High Memorial Park on Thursday morning. Councilmember LaBonge will be joined by Captain Eric Davis of the Los Angeles Police Department and students from nearby Wilshire Crest Elementary School.

Los Angeles High School Memorial Park is located at 4625 Olympic Boulevard in the mid-Wilshire area. The 2.51 acre facility provides open space and a children's play area for the use of the surrounding community. With the use of $300,000 in Quimby fees, the park's play area was completely replaced and walkways were redone.

"Parks are the key to a healthy city, and it's important we continue to invest in making our parks even better," Councilmember Tom LaBonge said. "I'm excited to join with the Brookside community in welcoming these improvements."

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Captain Eric Davis of LAPD, first graders from Wilshire Crest Elementary

WHERE: Los Angeles High School Memorial Park, 4625 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019

WHEN: Thursday, May 2, 2013, 8:00 a.m.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge To Dedicate Toyon Canyon Improvements

(April 29, 2013; Los Angeles) – Councilmember Tom LaBonge will dedicate a revamped and revitalized Toyon Canyon on Monday morning, debuting a small picnic area on the site of what was formerly a landfill. All members of the public and media are invited for the unveiling at Toyon Cayon, which features some of the best views in the City of Los Angeles.

The Toyon Canyon Landfill operated as a municipal sanitary landfill between 1957 and 1985, and final closure construction was completed in late 2008. The Bureau of Sanitation began construction in early 2012 to retrofit the site for passive recreation, planting trees and shrubs, installing perimeter fencing to guide hikers and equestrians, and building a small picnic area and horse drinking trough.

"It's been a long 55 years, but this site is starting to look like a part of Griffith Park again," Councilmember Tom LaBonge said. "To reverse a quote from Joni Mitchell, this is an effort to bring back some paradise out of the parking lot."

Attendees exiting from the Forest Lawn Drive ramp of SR-134 must take a left onto Zoo Drive and then a quick right onto Griffith Park Drive. From there, signs will lead visitors to the Toyon Canyon power plant. Once out of their cars, visitors will walk 750 feet to the picnic site. WHAT: A re-dedication ceremony for the improvements to Toyon Canyon, including a new water trough, landscaping, fencing, picnic area with tables, and signage.

WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Bureau of Sanitation Director Enrique Zaldivar, Board of Public Works Commissioner Capri Maddox, local equestrians, and community leaders

WHEN: Monday, April 29, 2013, 9 a.m.

WHERE: 5050 Mount Hollywood Drive, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA

(34.146,-118.305)

Directions from SR-134: http://goo.gl/maps/gpk9H