Neighborhood: Greater Griffith Park
LaBonge To Provide Free Bus Service For Shuttle Skygazers at Griffith Observatory
Councilmember Tom LaBonge will be providing free shuttle bus service from the parking lot of the Greek Theatre for visitors to the Griffith Observatory tomorrow morning. The service will be available at no charge to anyone interested in viewing the historic arrival of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Shuttle bus service will operate from 8 a.m. until noon from 2700 North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. There will be signage and a tent to inform visitors of where they can park.
Councilmember LaBonge is providing this service to make the experience of viewing the arriving shuttle both safe and fun for all Angelenos and to alleviate potential traffic issues in Griffith Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. This effort is to promote traffic safety and encourage use of the Griffith Observatory while discouraging walking along highly-trafficked roads. Councilmember LaBonge thanks Griffith Observatory staff and Barry Sanders, President of the Board of Commissioners of the Recreation and Parks Department of the City of Los Angeles, for their cooperation.
"There have been many days of joy in the City of Los Angeles: our sports teams have brought home championships and our Olympians have taken back gold medals. But tomorrow, this flyover by Space Shuttle Endeavour is going to take the cake," Councilmember LaBonge said. "I hope everyone gets the chance to see it."
WHERE: Parking Lot Near Greek Theatre, 2700 North Vermont Avenue Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Friday, September 21, 2012
Breaking Ground at Headworks
Councilman LaBonge, DWP officials and community members ceremonially break ground on the Headworks Reservoir Project near Griffith Park.
Councilman LaBonge and officials from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power hosted a Groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Headworks Reservoir Project on March 8, 2012. Members of several nearby community groups were on-hand for the groundbreaking and information session at the construction site.
The twin 55-million-gallon reservoirs are a critical component of LADWP's plan for compliance with drinking water regulations. Headworks Reservoir, which will be comprised of two underground buried reservoirs with a combined capacity of 110 million gallons, will allow LADWP to remove Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs from service in order to meet compliance requirements and deadlines.
“Compliance with water quality regulations are driving significant investments in our Water System,” said Ron Nichols, LADWP General Manager. “These are our customers’ dollars at work, and we look for cost-effective investments like Headworks to make sure we continue to keep our water rates low.”
LADWP is currently in the midst of a multi-year compliance agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Public Health that has several mandated deadlines. Compliance with newer water quality regulations requires major investment in LADWP’s water distribution system with $600 million in major new contracts that must be awarded this year, and $1.1 billion in capital costs over the next five years to comply with these standards. Construction of Headworks Reservoir is made possible by the funding provided the 35-cent per billing unit increase to the Water Quality Factor approved in February.
Construction of the Headworks Reservoir has been divided into four separate construction phases. Today, LADWP broke ground on the first phase of the project, which includes construction of the 56 million gallon East Reservoir and a portion of the trunk line that connects it to the rest of the water distribution system. Later phases of the project will include additional facilities on the site, including the 54 million gallon West Reservoir and connecting trunk line, a 4-megawatt hydroelectric power plant, and a flow-regulating station. The power plant, which will generate energy from water traveling from North Hollywood to Headworks, will cost $25 million and is expected to pay for itself in 10 years.
“This is the Department of Water and Power at its best, a quality water infrastructure improvement," said Councilmember Tom LaBonge. "The Headworks Project is a state-of-the-art facility for all of Los Angeles, and I'm pleased that a park area will be created when it is completed."
The East Reservoir is slated to be operational in November 2014, when Ivanhoe is required to be taken out of service. The West Reservoir and power plant are expected to be operational by 2017. Once construction is complete, the underground reservoirs will be covered with three feet of soil and native vegetation.
Through a partnership between LADWP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, future plans include the construction of the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration project, which would include riparian wetlands in a park like setting and open areas with equestrian, cyclist, and pedestrian access.
Headworks Groundbreaking
Councilmember Tom LaBonge and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials to break-ground on the Headworks Reservoir Project.
(March 8, 2012 -- Los Angeles) Councilman Tom LaBonge will be joined by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Ron Nichols and other DWP officials to break ground on the construction of the Headworks Reservoir, a critical component of LADWP’s plan for compliance with drinking water regulations. The project’s construction is made possible by the funding provided by the Water Quality Factor increase approved by the Los Angeles City Council on February 1, 2012. WHAT: Groundbreaking Ceremony and community gathering to celebrate the beginning of the construction phase of the Headworks Reservoir Project
WHEN: Thursday, March 8, 2012, gather at 8:30 AM, program begins at 9:00 AM
WHERE: Headworks Reservoir Construction Site, 6001 West Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068 (Event entrance and parking will be on the north side of West Forest Lawn Drive, just west of Mt. Sinai Drive)
WHO: Councilmember Tom LaBonge, LA DWP General Manager Ron Nichols, Glenn Singley, LADWP Director of Water Engineering and Technical Services, Mark Turner, Webcor, Obayashi, Lyles, a Joint Venture, Construction Services Manager and Craig Collins, President of the Silver Lake Reservoir Conservancy
--all are welcome to attend
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"Friendship Grove" dedication in Griffith Park
from left: Ernest Hida of the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister Cities Affiliation, Dan Berry, nursery manager from the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Leon from Rec and Parks Forestry Division and Tom LaBonge
Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge on Thursday dedicated a “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees in Griffith Park. The grove of ten trees was a gift to the City of Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation, which were donated by Huntington Library Art Collections & Botanical Garden in collaboration with the Office of the Consulate General in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles and Nagoya, Japan have been Sister Cities since March 1959, not long after then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Sister Cities Program with the idea of building “people-to-people” relationships, global cooperation, cultural understanding and economic stimulation among cities worldwide.
This “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees in Griffith Park symbolizes the enduring friendship and strong ties between the City of Los Angeles and its first Sister City, Nagoya. It also commemorates the Centennial Anniversary of the gift of thousands of flowering cherry trees from Japan to the United States in 1912. The annual flowering of those cherry trees in our nation’s capitol is celebrated each spring during the Cherry Blossom Festival.
With that in mind, Councilmember LaBonge wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of that special gift of trees, symbolizing the beauty of nature and the roots of enduring international friendship, while acknowledging the gracious gift from the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation.
“This “Friendship Grove” of Flowering Cherry Trees will remind us of that special relationship when they cast cooling shade on park-goers and shower us with their delicate petals,” said Councilmember LaBonge. “When you plant a tree, you look to the future, while honoring those who’ve gone before us.”
Click here to see more photos of the event
Honoring the Golden Years
Carolyn James from the Department of Recreation and Parks Senior Citizens Section, Councilmembers LaBonge and Krekorian stand behind four centenarians, including 104-year old Virginia Davis and 103-year old Paul Cooks.
On November 14th, Councilman LaBonge joined hundreds of seniors, their relatives and care-givers at the annual 90+ Legacy Luncheon at Friendship Auditorium in Griffith Park. It was a festive affair, honoring Los Angeles seniors over the age of 90. About a dozen were better than 100. The Nonagenarians and Centenarians dined on a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and dessert of pumpkin pie. Councilman LaBonge served food and then did a floor show, serenading the group with his version of Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream". 104-year old Virginia Davis and 103-year old Paul Cooks were crowned the King and Queen as the most senior guests. Davis has been attending the fete since the tender age of 94. Click here to see more photos of the event
2011 Veterans Day
Forest Lawn hosted a beautiful Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday 11.11.11 at 11am. Councilman LaBonge was joined by Mayor Villaraigosa, Council President Eric Garcetti (dashing in his Naval Officer's uniform), LA County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, LA County Sheriff Lee Baca and City Controller Wendy Greuel. Hundreds of veterans from all branches of U.S. military service and their families were in attendance for the laying of the ceremonial wreath, speeches and musical performances.
Click here to see more photos of the ceremony
Los Angeles River Day and Cleanup
Councilman LaBonge (top center in Orange) rallies the clean-up crews at Friendship Auditorium in Griffith Park before turning them loose on the Los Angeles River.
Councilman LaBonge lead a cleanup of a portion of the Los Angeles River near Griffith Park on October 30th. The event was a cleanup and opportunity to hold a River Day expo with information on upcoming projects along the River, including a multi-modal pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian bridge that will connect the North Atwater area with the LA River Bikeway. Hundreds of volunteers from the Pacific Asian Volunteer Association turned-out to comb the river-banks for trash and debris. Clean-up crews reported that they didn't pull-out nearly as much trash as in recent cleanups, a good sign that the river is staying clean, at least in that stretch of the river south of the Los Feliz Bridge. click here to see more photos of the cleanup
Seeking partners to operate the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-2 on August 12th to seek proposals from potential partners to operate the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Councilman LaBonge says the City has to plan for the future to keep the zoo open and to maintain its mission of promoting education and conservation. "We're going to go out there and see who in the world could be a partner with the City of Los Angeles to operate out zoo, to expand our zoo, to continue the great care for the animals," said Councilman LaBonge, whose district includes the zoo. "We'll have an opportunity in seven or eight months to see if we want to reject this or not. We'll see who's out there." The city would save about $20-million dollars over five years under the partnership proposal, according to a study by city-hired consultant KPMG. Potential partners will have 90 to 120 days to submit their proposals, which the city will begin to weigh early next year.
