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1/9/06
Letter
to the Editor
LADAD.com
Field of Trucks
The holidays are gone, as is the UPS truck yard on the SCI-Arc
lot.
This is was not a healthful November and December for those
of us living adjacent to the lot. Over this past weekend
several people expressed relief that the trucks were gone.
Rhinitis and sinusitis was rampant due to constant dust
caused by hundreds of trailers being transferred in and
out daily -- to say nothing of exhaust from the lights generators
all night long, which lights artistically backlit the diesel
fumes curling up into the night sky to a height of three
stories.
In my one conversation with a Mr. Maddux in Mereulo's office
(the owner of the lot), I suggested that watering down the
lot would be a good idea, and may even be required. They
did not do it. Not once.
Other neighbors spent much time and effort talking to the
lot owner, and speaking to and meeting with UPS representatives
at the lot. People on the Third Street side had a constant
problem with trash piling up all along the sidewalk.
People in my building bought air filters, and still suffered
from scratchy throats and runny noses. All I had to do to
cure myself of those ailments was to spend 45 minutes away
from my building, which abuts directly the lot in question.
Neighbors in other buildings spoke to the security people
several times about closing the flaps on the generators
to help with noise abatement (sometimes they cooperated;
sometimes they did not), and they reported that the guards
also complained about the dust and breathing problems.
It's over now, and we didn't get any satisfaction, I'm sure
because of the attitude expressed to me by the owner's office
that we residents can't do anything to shut them down as
we would filming violations because it's zoned industrial,
completely overlooking the fact that we are legal residents
here and thus do have rights and entitlements concerning
public health and welfare.
As I say, it's over now, but we certainly don't want this
to happen again. Any ideas on how to prevent a repeat?
Katie McArthy
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Prescription for The Homeless in the Artist District
I am fed-up with the increase in human wastes, garbage,
and
crime in our community. I have seen too many people sleeping
on Traction, Molino, Second, Third, Fourth, Hewitt, Santa
Fe, and other streets. Panhandlers have accosted me too
often. I have seen too many of these beggars smoking crack
to believe their hard-luck stories. I am tired of being
conned. I know many of us are sympathetic with the people
we see struggling to survive. I am proposing that we try
something else to improve our community. It is paternalistic
and insulting to think that a few coins will really help.
Let's stop kidding ourselves.
1. As we do not have the facilities necessary to support
these
hapless throngs, I suggest that all those that want to help
take a Homeless person home with them. This is the first
step- Make a homeless person a Guest in your home. Seriously,
if you are not willing to really help, DO NOT BE AN ENABLER.
2. Rather than throw them a few coins, give generously to
agencies that really offer long-term assistance. It may
make you feel good
to give a little but it really just prolongs someone else's
agony. Do not
encourage or support anti-social behaviors. DO SOMETHING
THAT REALLY HELPS.
3. Rather than give them your recycling, recycle through
another
charity. To prevent recycling, identity theft, and spread
of disease, lock
all dumpsters. Access to dumpsters for re-cycling is often
an excuse to gain access to property to steal. LOCK ALL
DUMPSTERS.
4. Rather than be nice, ask your friends and neighbors to
help
us deal with the problem by following the Prescription.
Get others to help. Make our solution contagious. SPREAD
THE WORD.
5. Rather than letting it slide, call LAPD about unsafe
behavior, sleeping on the streets or sidewalks, car break-ins,
threats,
assaults, harassment, littering, urination, defecation,
drug-dealing,
camping on private or public property, and other "nuisance
crimes". Call about garbage. Call about streetlight
outages. Demand the assistance of
authorities. CALL THE AUTHORITIES.
6. Ask all property-owners or lessees to keep their sidewalks
and private areas clean. Ask neighbors to maintain adequate
lighting. KEEP IT CLEAN.
7. We cannot support everyone. We cannot continue to act
like we
can support everyone. Taking care of our community may actually
show our unfortunate few how to take care of themselves.
REPEAT AS NEEDED.
Some
Telephone Numbers for Assistance
LAPD Dispatch 877 275-5273
Our Senior Lead Officer, Tim Nambu 213 793-0743
East Side Detail (Homeless) SLO, Joe Lopez 213 793-0734
Central LAPD Desk 213 485-3294
City Information 311
Sanitation, Garbage, Sewer, Storm Drains 800 773-2489
Streetlight outages 213 847-6413
Does
anyone have other suggestions?
Tom
Guiton
6/27/04
Arts
District Residents,
<<A
major political triumph for the Arts District and Little
Tokyo was
announced at last Thursday's LARABA meeting (6/24). The
L.A. City
Council voted 11 to 0 not to locate the proposed
police administrative
building at the Mangrove site along Alameda between Temple
& 1st
Street but rather at the old CalTrans building near City
Hall.
This
means that this critical parcel adjacent to the Arts District
and
Little Tokyo and site of the future Gold Line stop can be
used for
developments favorable to these areas instead of for a
visitor-deadening cluster of government buildings. This
is the result
of more than a year of persistent effort organizing, meeting,
lobbying,
by many dedicated people.
We owe
our thanks to our Neighborhood Council representatives Jonathan
Jerald, Tim Keating, and Charlie Woo for the volunteer time
and energy
they spent pursuing our interests. Our Councilwoman Jan
Perry led the
fight. Support from Neighborhood Councils throughout the
area bolstered
our position.
Happily,
we can now pursue a mutually beneficial vision for developing
this gateway area.
Thank
you all,
Lucy Jensen
Arts District resident
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L A
R A B A
Los Angeles River Artists and Business Association
215 S. Santa Fe Ave., Studio 8, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tim Keating, President, 213 687 3987
Jonathan Jerald, Media Coordinator: 818 386 6800
LA's Core Already Has a "There" There, 10/26/03)
is right on the money.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Letter to the Editor
Joel Kotkin's article on urban planning in downtown Los
Angeles (LA's Core Already Has a "There" There,
10/26/03) is right on the money.
Big cultural projects such as the Disney Hall and the renovation
of Grand Avenue are all well and fine, but urban planners
should also focus their attentions on the opportunities
that already exist to encourage a livelier, more livable
downtown.
Restoring historic structures and encouraging a renaissance
of the great theaters of Broadway are one example of a vastly
under-emphasized civic priority.
Planners around the country are learning to pay closer
attention to the local forces that work from within with
an almost organic logic to generate neighborhoods that offer
colorful attractions and generate economic growth.
Kotkin is quite right to point out the opportunities offered
by simply cleaning up the areas around Little Tokyo, Chinatown
and Olvera Street. Another such opportunity is in the burgeoning
Arts District adjacent to Little Tokyo where artists colonizing
abandoned industrial buildings have created a zone of lofts
and cafes now threatened by an influx of middle and upper
income residents whose presence threaten to drive out the
original population that gives the area its unique tone.
Arts District residents are hoping to find ways to preserve
the character of their community. One solution proposed
by residents and taken up by the Mayor's office is to work
with the St. Paul based non-profit, ArtSpace, to raise the
money needed to purchase several buildings and adapt them
as loft spaces that can then be rented out to artists at
low rates. This would insure the artists who give the area
its character could continue to live there and it would
provide economic impetus for further development. It's a
model that has worked well elsewhere and could only benefit
Los Angeles.
Jonathan Jerald
Arts District resident
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We
were copied with an important letter to LACMA' Andrea Rich
regarding the museum no longer will have art slides available
to teachers. web_ed
Museums Visual Center Closes-Yet
Another Educational Assult
July 17, 2003
Ms. Andrea Rich
LACMA
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Dear Ms. Rich,
Today I received a notification letter from
Toby Tannenbaum regarding the LACMA Visual Resource Center
closure. Ms. Tannenbaum's letter ended with a statement
that LACMA looks "forward to renewing its commitment
to addressing the needs of Los Angeles teachers." I
immediately called Ms. Tannenbaum and spoke with her about
the situation. She explained that slides would no longer
be available to teachers.
I urge you to reconsider the current position
of the museum. As a teacher in LAUSD's older adult program,
I can tell you that there is a desperate need for the slides
and videos as well as the packets. LACMA is one of the best
resources in southern California for these visual materials.
Until July 1st, teachers visited the center
weekly, borrowing slides and videos for in-depth lectures
on art movements and/or individual artists. Now, without
the wonderful resource that LACMA was, many of us will be
forced to discontinue our art history classes. Obviously,
this will impact not only teachers, but students as well.
A museum is dependent upon and contributes
toward the education, appreciation and understanding of
the arts for its constituency. Given the dwindling support
for the arts, programs such as the Visual Resource Center,
are crucial to the ongoing success of a museum such as LACMA,
as well as the prevention of a cultural vacuum in the community.
I hope that LACMA sincerely cares about
the needs of Los Angeles teachers and students, and wants
to continue to proactively support and develop culture in
the community. I encourage you to not lose sight of your
commitment, and continue to make slides and videos available
to teachers.
Sincerely,
Midge Lynn
cc: Barbara Levin, LAUSD
Peter Frank, L.A. Weekly
Suzanne Muchnic, L.A. Times
Knight Landsman, Artforum
Elizabeth C. Baker, Art in America
Milton Esterow, ARTnews
Mat Gleason, Coagula
Mark Greenfield, L.A. Cultural Affairs
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Opinion:
Walter:" No, no, never mind the Chinese earthquake
for heaven's sake...Look, I don't care if there's a million
dead...No, no, junk the Polish Corridor...Take all those
Miss America pictures off Page Six...Take Hitler and stick
him on the funny page...No, no, leave the rooster story
alone - that's human interest." His Girl Friday (1940)
Sometimes Small Newspapers Editors Are
Just Small
For so long have I sat back and read with
much amusement one of downtown's little throwaway newspapers.
The articles are always something
like… "rise up you poor and downtrodden individuals"
and "be cursed, you big ol' nasty downtown."
In keeping with its past tradition, the
paper has once again showed its disdain and contempt for
Downtown Los Angeles."
Over the past year and a half downtown neighbors
have volunteered their labors in the formation of Neighborhood
Council for the greater part of Downtown Los Angeles. Since
the Neighborhood Council inception, our Downtown Neighborhood
Council embraced her residents and business'. The concept
to create a neighborhood unlike any other is a truly an
exciting one.
But the editor of this little mock rag insists
on finding ways to belittle the efforts of these volunteers,
along with political advertisements masquerading as editorial
endorsements, stories that attempt to point fingers and
create controversy where none exists.
From time to time the editor
will make a valid statement or two, but it would be to all
our benefit if he shared the developing spirit for the region
he says he represents.
Jason Richauds
_______________________
WebEd note:
Mr. Richards relocated from Boston a few years ago. He is
an engineer working in the energy industry in Downtown Los
Angeles.
Neighborhood Councils were established under the Los Angeles
City Charter to provide residents, business owners and other
stakeholders a more direct voice in government. The serve
as advisory bodies to the City Council.
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