Miracle Mile Forum Examines Subway Issues

Join CM LaBonge and Assemblymember Mike Feuer for a day-long discussion of the Wilshire Subway at the "Wilshire Corridor Forum III: Are We Ready for the Subway?"

Hear the latest on the proposal to extend the subway down Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica. This third conference in a series will be held on Friday, July 18, 11a-3p at the El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Blvd.

For more information, visit the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce Website: www.miraclemilechamber.org.

Marshall Bus Line Preserved

CM LaBonge is pleased to announce that the public bus serving John Marshall High School will continue to operate for at least one more year. The Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) voted recently to preserve this line after CD4, school neighbors and the Marshall community pleaded with them to preserve Bus Line 175.
     "We need to keep students in school and graduating," the Councilmember said. "Now that gas prices are so high, bus service has become a vital link for many, many Marshall students."
     “Students, parents and staff at Marshall high are breathing a huge sigh of relief that Bus Line 175 is being preserved,” said CM LaBonge. “Congratulations and thanks go to the board of the MTA, Marshall students and the community for working with us to make this happen."
     The Councilmember began hearing rumors from students last fall that the MTA proposed to eliminate Bus Line 175. About 85 percent of the riders on this line are from the Marshall community.
     CM LaBonge spoke against eliminating the bus route. He also organized a meeting the MTA staff, Marshall school staff, the Deputy Mayor for Education and Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Yolie Flores Aguilar to address the issue. CD4 and members of the Los Feliz community also sought help from County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky since the MTA is a county agency.
     Marshall students and staff then sent hundreds of letters to the MTA board, urging them to preserve this line. The MTA said some schedule changes for this route will be announced soon.
     Residents should contact that agency or visit its website for more information: www.mta.net.

EMS response in CD4 upgraded

Residents of the Hollywood Hills will receive improved service from their local fire station with the addition of a third fully-staffed emergency response vehicle.
     Beginning July 1, 2008, a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance will once again be stationed at Fire Station 41, 1429 N. Gardner St. BLS Rescue Ambulance 841 will be staffed every day between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and will serve to reduce response time by fire personnel.
     "The reinstatement of this service is a great example of the fire department's commitment to the people of Los Angeles. I'm proud to welcome this ambulance back to our district," said Councilmember LaBonge.
     The ambulance rejoins FS41's existing paramedic ambulance and BLS engine and is part of the fire department's improvements in EMS service citywide despite this year's budget constraints.

Homeless Event at The Music Box on June 26

Project Y!MBY (Yes! In My Backyard) is holding it's third annual social service expo for homeless people in Hollywood and West Hollywood. They're offering immediate housing and social services for the homeless.

The event will be held on Thursday, June 26, 7a-1p at the Music Box Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California 90028.

Contact Sally Evans @ (323) 644-2207 for volunteer opportunities.

Take It From the Tap

In an effort to reduce the proliferation, littering and accumulation of plastic water bottles, Councilmember Tom LaBonge wants Angelenos to drink from the tap. The Councilmember introduced a motion to the City Council in June directing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to initiate a “Take It From the Tap” campaign.
     “I’m a fan of Los Angeles water and always have been,” said the councilmember, who orders tap water in restaurants. “I’m glad people are enjoying water because it’s good for them. The trouble is that the bottles end up littering our streets, stacking up in our landfills and clogging our storm drains.”
     Bottled water sales have shot up dramatically in the past decade, raising concerns among scientists and environmentalists alike. Americans buy more bottled water than any other people in the world. The Beverage Marketing Corporation says the energy required to make water bottles in the United States is equivalent to 17 million barrels of oil annually. Less than 20 percent of those bottles are recycled, however.
     “It’s incumbent on those of us in government to remind people that if they drink water from the tap it helps preserve their environment. And it tastes good, too,” the Councilmember said, citing a February water-tasting competition. The Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to the DWP, tied for first place in an international taste test in February of this year.
     The LaBonge motion directs the LADWP to return to Council within 30 days with a report on his proposal. LaBonge’s motion was forwarded to the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee for review.

Annual Summer Solstice Hike

More than 150 people attended the annual CD4 Summer Solstice hike on June 18th.

This hike is traditionally our Sister Cities hike, and in keeping with tradition, members of our 24 Sister Cities organizations attended as did members of the Los Angeles Consular Corps. Special guests included a group of filmmakers from Tblisi, Georgia who were visiting Hollywood to learn about the American entertainment industry.

The hike proved fortuitous for the Georgians since the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) also attended the event in celebration of its 75th Anniversary. The guild has a special relationship with Griffith Park because it was established at a 1933 meeting in Los Feliz that coincided with the worst fire in the park’s history.

Actor Kent McCord, SAG's first national vice president and best known for his role on the 1970s police show "Adam-12," said Griffith Park is the perfect setting for the guild's celebration.

"The rugged terrain served King Vidor well for 'The Big Parade' and proved ideal for Robert Altman’s 'MAS*H,'" McCord said, naming two of the many famous films that were shot in Griffith Park.

Councilmember LaBonge added, at sunset at 1,625 feet above sea level, that the summer solstice hike is becoming a landmark event in and of itself.

“This event started in 1981 when I hiked up here with a friend and said, 'Why don't we turn this into a party?'" the Councilmember said from his perch on top of a picnic table. “Hiking to the top of Mount Hollywood with a group of friends is a great way to experience the City of Los Angeles and the great outdoors.”

New Website Features

In our ongoing effort to communicate well, we've made a few changes to our Website.

In the Interactive Maps section, for example, you'll see a tab named Community Associations Map. If you click on that, you'll see a map of the fourth council district with boundaries of all of our neighborhood associations delineated.

If you click on an individual neighborhood, you may notice on the left side of the page, there's a link to a Los Angeles Times story about that neighborhood. The Sunday Real Estate section has a recurring column, "Neighborly Advice," which describes the location, housing stock and public entities such as schools, for certain neighborhoods. They have NOT yet featured every neighborhood in CD4, but they've included several and those articles nicely capture the personality of the area. The Brookside and Franklin Hills neighborhoods are two that have been featured in this column.

We included these links to provide more information about the wonderful neighborhoods in CD4.

We have also added the locations of all fire and police stations to this map.

Please email us at Labonge.News@lacity.org if you have any feedback or comments about the Website.

Vote to Support Your Neighborhood

Five of CD4's Neighborhood Councils hold elections within the next two weeks. These local councils are your first line of involvement with the life of your city. It's important to get involved and vote.

On Saturday, June 21, elections will be held for the following neighborhood councils:

• Greater Griffith Park NC
• Hollywood Studio District NC
• MacArthur Park NC
• Mid-Town North Hollywood NC
• Wilshire Center / Koreatown NC

The Mid-City WEST Community Council will hold its next election on Tuesday, July 1.

For information about times and locations of polling places, visit the Los Angeles City Clerk's website (PDF).