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You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you can get what you need, a Rolling Stones song from 1969 seems to set the right tone for this eLetter. Anyone remember this song? It still resonates to me. State of the Town: Once again TERA's State of the Town Meeting was one of the organization's most popular meetings, attracting almost 100 attendees. José Huizar, councilmember for the 14th Council District, gave a polished and positive presentation regarding accomplishments in Eagle Rock over the last year. Thanks to Herb West Photography, pictures of the event can be found at http://townaddress.shutterfly.com. Pot Passion: Once again, marijuana became the most passionately discussed issues of the evening. Huizar's proposal to ban dispensaries until legislation can be crafted that more effectively manages the proliferation and operation of dispensaries is supported by TERA and has been approved by the Los Angeles City Council. Attendees who support the current presence of dispensaries were vocal in their opposition to the ban, asking for firm evidence of the criminal acts that are frequently associated with the dispensaries. Officer Orange did provide limited evidence of past problems. But, it did appear that the allegations of marijuana related crimes are mostly based on empirical rather than documented evidence at this point. Why Not Here? On February 1, the Daily News reported the following: "While the city mulls an outright ban on all medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, police in the North Valley have already essentially enacted a ban of their own, shutting down all pot shops in Northridge, Granada Hills, and Chatsworth." The obvious question is "Why can't it be done here?" Last week I asked the Council Office to organize a meeting with the appropriate LAPD representatives and whomever else they feel is appropriate so that we can explore more definitive action in our community, and better understand why what seems possible in the North Valley is so difficult in Eagle Rock. According to Rick Coca, CD 14 Communications Director, the Council Office is arranging a meeting with LAPD, TERA and other community leaders within the next couple of weeks. "My office has been in frequent contact with Devonshire Division detectives and Northeast LAPD on the possibility of implementing a
similar plan in Eagle Rock, which I wholeheartedly support," said Councilmember Huizar. "While I believe in medical marijuana access for
patients with serious illnesses, the over-proliferation of storefront marijuana businesses in Eagle Rock has placed an unfair burden on this community and that needs to stop." Redistricting: Every ten years the city is required to reconsider the boundaries of council districts. This is an attempt to preclude gerrymandering. Three weeks ago a public hearing was held at Occidental College. I was impressed by the significant number of attendees at the meeting. Most eLetter readers have probably given this topic little thought, especially since Eagle Rock has been in CD14 for as long as I can remember. Notable at the meeting was the fact that Eagle Rock has avoided the challenges that face other communities by being split to multiple council districts. Did you know that areas of Glassell Park are claimed by three different councilmembers today? As a result of redistricting it appears Glassell Park may be reduced to two representatives in the future, still not an optimum situation. LA City Hall - Council Chambers were almost at full capacity at the February 22 redistricting meeting. The community with the largest representation and strength of message was the Korean Community, wanting badly to be in a unified district.
What's the take-away from all of this? The most profound observation is a reaffirmation of the fact that all politics are local. Once again there are those who who feel strongly enough about their neighborhood that they give up free time to advocate for their districts at these meetings. They provided valuable feedback that the Redistricting Commission needed to hear. Fortunately, not much will change for Eagle Rock. My message to the Commission was to "keep Eagle Rock together". Although there was no evidence that a split was contemplated, I just wanted to preemptively discourage any thoughts in that direction.
Music in the Air: Once again I want to stress the opportunity to hear wonderful classical music, performed by the Santa Cecilia Orchestra at Thorne Hall on the Occidental Campus. It is one of the best classical music deals in town. A couple of weeks ago we had the good fortune to hear stellar performances of the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F with Bryan Pezzone as the pianist. Dvorak's Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, Opus 70 comprised the second half of the program. The musicians are talented, the acoustics in Thorne Hall are superb, parking is free and the tickets are very reasonably priced. Santa Cecilia returns to Thorne Hall on April 29 to perform a program titled "Latinos Clasicos". I know it will be a program of Latin music that I have never heard. But based on past experience it will also be a program of pure delight. If you are a classical music lover, you have to experience Santa Cecilia right here in Eagle Rock. Check them out at http://www.scorchestra.org.
 Bob Gotham, President
Welcome to XTC Gym, a new member of the TERA Membership Benefits program. XTC is Southern California's premier fitness facility and martial arts training center featuring: Show your active TERA membership card for 10% off the monthly membership. Check out XTC Gym at http://www.xtcgym.com/. Discounts are available for TERA Members at the following participating merchants. Look for the TERA Membership Decals at merchant locations. Just show your active membership card. Click on http://www.tera90041.org/benefits.htm to see the member benefits offered by each merchant.
If you are a merchant and would like to participate in this program, which includes free advertising in the eLetter, please email president@tera90041.org.
As was expected from the beginning of this initiative, parking is a topic frequently raised. There is no doubt that there are portions of Colorado Boulevard that lack adequate parking to support the local merchants. Parking alternative solutions include more effective use of existing parking, exploring the potential of angled parking to add to the parking inventory, and ideally new public parking lot(s).
There is a little good news to share. In the most densely populated commercial section of Colorado Boulevard (from Eagle Rock Boulevard east), parking spaces on the north side of Colorado Boulevard are often less utilized. In earlier public meetings, the challenge of crossing Colorado Boulevard and the shorter time limits of the parking meters on the north side of the street (one hour) were the most frequently cited reasons for the lower usage of those meters. I am pleased to report that, based on recent efforts by the Council Office, the time limits on the meters on the north side of Colorado Boulevard have now been changed to two hours.
The public parking lot at the intersection of Merton and Caspar Avenues significantly mitigates the parking issues in that area. Many have claimed they did not know this parking lot exists. New signage has been installed, making the availability of this lot, which is located within three blocks of a large number of commercial establishments, more apparent.
As one travels further east on Colorado Boulevard the parking challenge becomes more acute. Exploring angled parking will be examined but does not have the potential to add a significant number of new spaces. Building a new parking lot, similar to the existing Caspar / Merton lot, but farther east on the Boulevard, would be an ideal solution. Property values are at a historic low, making the acquisition of private property for a new public lot less costly. However, the potential of city funding to underwrite such development probably does not exist today.
Part of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan is a "Parking Credit Program". The program is structured so that when merchants desire to open a business, but cannot provide the number of parking spaces deemed appropriate, they are required to pay an annual fee into the Parking Credit Program. The guidelines indicate the following regarding the parking credit fees. "The Fund shall be used for the deposit of money paid to the City of Los Angeles pursuant to Section 13 of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan and any other money appropriated or given to this Fund for the purpose directly related to parking, transit, or pedestrian amenities in the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Community Parking Pilot Area." Further, it states "There shall be no expenditure, transfer or other form of disbursement of money from the Fund, except for purposes directly related to parking, transit or pedestrian amenities in the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan Community Parking Pilot Area." I have requested that the Council Office provide a record of the income and expenses for the Parking Credit Fund for the last three years. Of course the dream would be to discover that enough money is in the fund to make purchasing property for a new lot possible. However, it is more likely that whatever money is in the fund is too modest to purchase property for a parking lot. Nevertheless, it will be appropriate to better understand how the program is working to ensure that the proceeds are truly being used to improve parking, transit or pedestrian amenities on Colorado Boulevard, even on a modest basis.
The most recent information regarding this initiative will be found at http://www.takebacktheblvd.org. The initiative also will be found on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/takebacktheboulevard
Pillarhenge aka DHM Lofts:
As indicated in the last eLetter, the Council Office responded positively to our appeal for a partnership to jointly search for a solution to this blight on our community. We all met for the first time on January 25. The first meeting, as to be expected, was a fact gathering meeting. There were many more questions than answers regarding virtually every aspect of the project. We all went away with homework so that we will be able to have a more substantive discussion at our next meeting. On a positive note, the lender has reduced the asking price for the property from $2,550,000 to $1,875,000 ($675,000 reduction), which is very helpful.
If your house is haunted, or you know of any paranormal activity in Eagle Rock, this is the chance for your 15 minutes of fame. Jorge Del Pinal is working on the second season of Haunted Collector, a paranormal investigation show on SyFy Channel. Jorge is looking for residents living in haunted houses in Los Angeles or anyone who might know of any haunted houses or paranormal activity in the Eagle Rock area.
If you have some creepy stuff going on Jorge would love for you to call him at 310-645-1499 or email him at helpthehaunted@gmail.com to discuss further ghostly details. Don't delay because they are to shoot the segment between March 23rd and March 25th. Please get in touch as soon as possible. If you would like to see past episodes of the show please visit http://www.syfy.com/hauntedcollector/
Occidental-Caltech Symphony Orchestra - Free! 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock. (323) 259-2785 Sunday March 4th at 3:30 pm at Caltech / Ramo Auditorium 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena. (626) 395-3295 The Occidental-Caltech Symphony Orchestra, under the musical direction of conductor Allen Robert Gross, continues its 2011-2012 season on March 3rd and 4th featuring Beethoven's magnificent Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral") and Sibelius's Finlandia. The concerts and receptions after the performances are free and open to the public. Program:Dvorak - Carnival Overture Cimarosa -Concerto for Two Flutes featuring Megan Newcombe and Jonathan Zuckerman as soloists Sibelius - Finlandia Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral")
Examining the influence of Arts & Crafts masters Greene & Greene on Modernism is the topic of an upcoming lecture by Gamble House director Ted Bosley. Tickets are $20, $15 for Friends of the Gamble House members.
Reconciling craft tradition with industrial technology, many architects of the day embraced the International Style made popular by European designers Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. Others looked to homegrown influences such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene & Greene. In the 1940s and '50s, House Beautiful magazine vigorously promoted the Greenes as legitimate forerunners of American modernism, sparking a political debate that went far beyond the design world.
For more information and to order tickets, call (626) 793-3334, ext. 52 or visit http://www.gamblehouse.org
TERA could not exist without the support of our membership. Many thanks are extended to the individuals listed above who have recently become TERA members or renewed prior memberships. We couldn't do it without you!
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