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Chill Central:
Eagle Rock has become "Chill Central" for many people. Chilling in Eagle Rock may involve getting high and getting loose, and there are plenty of places to do that.
There is no question that some people on the streets of Eagle Rock have a super-relaxed and mellow attitude thanks to a recently filled prescription. Marijuana dispensaries, and the city's apparent inability to control them, continues to be a primary concern in our neighborhood. As reported in a prior eLetter, the ordinance to regulate the dispensaries was found by a judge to be unenforceable. Immediately following the Court ruling, Councilmember Huizar co-sponsored a motion calling for the city attorney to prepare an interim ordinance that would address the issues raised by the Court. And on January 14, he seconded a motion calling for the City to identify what additional fees may be necessary to cover the costs of a revised ordinance. As of January 18, the City Council plans to consider a revised permanent ordinance as early as this Friday. Amending the ordinance will hopefully allow the City to move forward on its two key goals: 1) identify and bring eligible dispensaries into compliance and 2) bring enforcement action against illegal operations.
After your prescription kicks in (you're high), following up with a massage is a natural. Some may feel the massage is redundant. It is unusually easy to get whatever kind of massage you want (conventional or erotic) in Eagle Rock. Michael Larsen, President of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, has conducted some interesting research. According to Larsen's research, there are 36 erotic massage parlors located in the Eagle Rock Community. The combined proliferation of Medical Marijuana dispensaries and erotic massage parlors in Eagle Rock unquestionably diminishes the quality of the neighborhood and does not bode well for the future. Ideally, control of massage parlors should be located at the local level. However, legislation (SB731) passed in 2009 placed virtually all responsibility for the management of massage parlors at the state level. Currently the city is precluded from passing any ordinances that attempt to manage this type of business. Councilmember Huizar, the CD 14 Council Representative, introduced a motion requesting the amendment of SB731 so that counties and cities can review, permit and approve each massage therapy facility individually. The entire City Council now needs to vote on the motion.
Quiet Activism:
Community activism is frequently judged by the causes that are supported, the headlines a group creates, and the ability to raise a community in support or in opposition to issues. TERA creates headlines and appeals for community action when it is necessary. But an important part of TERA's mission is to quietly watch what's going on and raise our voice when we see something that needs a community response. This oversight does not always result in headlines or a call for community action. Here is an example of type of oversight that TERA conducts, and does not result in headlines.
A local convenience store has applied for a renewal of the CUP (Conditional Use Permit) that allows them to sell wine and bear. TERA's initial reaction of concern was based on the store's close proximity to a school and some casual comments heard that the store's permit to sell wine and beer had been suspended for a period due to sales to minors. Since the school did not exist when the convenience store opened, according to LA City Guidelines, the store's proximity to the school is not a consideration. With the assistance of the Council Office, research was conducted regarding permit suspensions. City records include no indication of license suspension and/or liquor sale violations. Based on this information TERA concluded there are no sustainable grounds to oppose the renewal of the Conditional Use Permit existed. This is the below the radar kind of community service that TERA does every day. It takes time and makes a difference. But it is not very visible.
Membership Has Benefits - Welcome to Auntie Em's Kitchen:
Welcome to our newest merchant, Auntie Em's (
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041.)
Show your active membership card and get a free mini cupcake with purchase of entrée and beverage.
The very best homemade dishes this side of Kansas. This place is one of LA's best....for super friendly service and a wide menu of choices. Don't forget to try the walnut fudge brownies, the best ever. Auntie Em's will have you saying, "There is a place like home!"
-Pasadena Weekly The simple menu while still down-to-earth has been transformed with tasty and unpretentious embellishments thoughtfully considered. Here, it's like lunch at Grandma's, but the food is quality comfort foods using the freshest ingredients while putting a modern spin on old-time recipes. Auntie Em's is like coming home to find a cozy meal on the kitchen table.
-L.A. Alternative Press Discounts are available for TERA Members at the following participating merchants. Just show your active membership card. Click on http://www.tera90041.org/benefits.htm to see the member benefits offered by each merchant.
Please patronize these merchants, save a little money, and show them that you appreciate their support of the community.
 Bob Gotham, President
There is no substitute for looking a politician directly into their eyes when they are responding to question. You have the chance to do that on Tuesday, February 8 when TERA and the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council co-sponsor a Meet the Candidate event. The flier above has all the details.
Jose Huizar, the current Council Representative for CD 14, and Rudy Martinez the candidate who hopes to succeed Jose will share their vision of the future for Eagle Rock. Political pundits have predicted that the Council District 14 race would be one of the most spirited in Los Angeles. The efforts being made by many Eagle Rock residents to support their favorite candidates once again gives proof of the fact that people who live here care about this place and do get involved. Don't miss this meeting; it will be exciting, informative and I suspect very spirited.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner On Saturday, May 21 Eagle Rockers will come together for the 2nd annual Guess Who's Coming to Dinner event. Thanks to all who have already volunteered to be hosts. There is still room for a few more hosts. Please email president@TERA90041.org if you are interested in hosting. Enjoy Tracy King's reflections on her experience further down in this eLetter.
NEW TREES TO COMMEMORATE EAGLE ROCK'S CENTENNIAL For almost a year, our team has been planning a planting of street trees to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Eagle Rock. We have a vision for the future of Eagle Rock that includes shade, beauty, and safe streets. As our partner, TERA is providing administrative support for this project. Here is an update that includes some great news.
1. Highland Park Neighborhood Council is now squarely behind the York Boulevard part of the spring planting. Several of the Council members will be volunteering with tree maintenance as well!
2. At a recent meeting with Highland Park and Eagle Rock tree volunteers, we agreed to augment the planting with additional trees in winter 2011.
TreePeople will be planning monthly Tree Care events in Northeast Los Angeles throughout the next year. The first Tree Care event, organized by Yuliana Parada, TreePeople Citizen Forester, and Marcos Trinidad, of Tree People, took place on Sunday, January 8 and attracted more than 50 volunteers.
We spent a very beautiful morning tending to native oaks that were planted years ago by our very own Northeast Trees. There were tasks the right size for everyone, whether young, old, big, or less big.
Please attend some of these Tree Care and Tree Planting Dates organized by TreePeople. All ages and levels of experience welcome.
Register for these events through http://www.TreePeople.org
For updates on the Centennial planting, visit:
http://urbanforestcollaborative.wordpress.com/
Why It's Good to Host a Charity Event What a lot of work! Why would anyone want to open their house to people they don't know and not even get paid for it! Believe me, I asked myself that question many times (and my husband asked it even more) over the months between saying "Sure, why not?" to the TERA (The Eagle Rock Association) President, Bob Gotham, and "Welcome, come on in" to our guests.
We were one of the hosts for the "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" fundraiser which was March 27,2010. We were flattered into doing it by our friend and TERA President, Bob Gotham, who made it sound like just a fun dinner we would host on one day in spring, which at that time was many months away.
We decided it would be a good excuse to do some freshening up around the place. We had visions of having all the landscaping done, all the trim and decks re-stained, all the clutter nicely removed from every room including our office. Oh, the dreams and visions we had. As the months went by, we even talked about it, that we would have the office done at last. Such dreams we had!
But as the time drew nearer, life intervened as it always does. We questioned why we ever agreed to do this. Would we be ready? Would anyone sign up for our dinner? Was there any point to all our preparations?
My husband valiantly worked on the landscaping and outside decks. He re-stained some of them and discovered termite damage and dry rot. Our simple plan was becoming complicated. We couldn't replace all the wood at this point, there was no time. Oh, well. It would still look better with some new stain around the front entry.
We had had a test dinner a couple of months previously to see if our very simple menu would be considered worthwhile. That worked. It was a very good step in the preparations, by the way. When I was asking myself every 5 minutes over the last few days if anyone was going to like it, I could look back and say, well, those guests loved it. It gave me the courage to go on.
As the big day drew near and life became busier, a few projects were shelved. We remembered we have a door to the office and we could throw everything in there and shut the door. Whew! A life-saving idea. All the extra books jammed in the book shelves were packed into boxes to be sorted later.
We made lists. We checked them off. Some people became a little cranky as the day loomed closer (I'm not going to say who). We had the windows washed, the whole house cleaned, new bed linens on the beds, a new dining room table and chairs (it was a dinner, so we couldn't have our guests stuck on the chairs I had hated for years).
My menu included food that was as locally grown and purchased as possible. TERA negotiated discounts for us at Figueroa Produce and the Colorado Wine Company, which was great since I had planned to shop at those places anyway! Did you know that Figueroa Produce has a great meat market? The steaks were fabulous, and incredibly well-priced. And John at Colorado Wine Company helped me pick just the right wines to go with the salad, the steaks, even the berries and ice cream! I also shopped at our local Friday Farmer's Market and no one can have a dinner party without going to Trader Joe's for something.
Finally, the big day was here. Yesterday. I focused on my list, checked off each item to be done, and finished with a few minutes time to spare to go to the reception at a home nearby. I was curious, who was coming to all these dinners?
I'm so glad I went. The Nogueira's house was beautifully decked out, there were wine and appetizers, and I heard that about 140 tickets (at $75 each) were sold for the event. What a nice donation for TERA! Everyone who was anyone in Eagle Rock was at the reception. What was really fun was meeting up with a number of other dinner hosts and comparing notes on the things we'd "gotten" out of the event-one person remodeled his bedroom, another a bathroom, another had all the ceilings in the house cleared of "cottage cheese." I bought all new bed linens and a dining room set. I'm looking forward to the thank you party that TERA is hosting for the dinner hosts so I can find out more of what people did to prepare.
The dinner went off fine. Everyone showed up and was good company. It was nice to meet people that were new to the community as well as long-time residents and that made for some great conversation. We were helped by a couple of Key Club members from Eagle Rock High School who volunteered as part of their participation in this branch of the Kiwanis service organization. They helped serve and clean up and were really interesting people as well. Eagle Rock has a number of community service organizations and they serve such an important function in our town. It's especially important that they have a system in place to bring young people into the community in a positive way.
Gamble House Presentation
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