BCNA's Annual Meeting - Thursday, February 25th at 6:30 p.m.

If you paid your dues last year, you will soon be getting a flyer in the mail for this annual meeting. Included will be a request for your dues renewal (if you've already renewed, THANKS!). Our goal is to make sure that you know there is a meeting and also to allow you the opportunity to easily renew so you can vote at this meeting. We can't do great things for this community without your support. Click here for the dues information.

Cheremoya School

6:30 p.m. (New starting time)

Crime Report

City Council Report with Q & A from attendees

Introduction of Slate for Election

Election of Officers
(You must be a member in good standing to vote)

Comments from Attendees

Announcements/Refreshments

Spring meeting Thursday, April 21, 2016, Cheremoya School 6:30 p.m.

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What is the Neighborhood Initiative?

The Neighborhood Integrity Initiative for a Livable Los Angeles gives YOU the Power to Stop Oversized Development

The Neighborhood Integrity Initiative:

Sets a 2-year moratorium on exceptions which allow developers to build taller and denser projects greater than what the zoning and the General Plan allows
Halts back room deals that award "spot rezoning" to developers
Forces the City Council to create a rational long-term plan for growth, via a new citywide General Plan
Prevents developers from significantly cutting the parking spaces they normally must provide
Bans developers from writing their own Environmental Impact Reports, an obvious conflict of interest

Megaprojects are worsening traffic and destroying neighborhood character

Today, cozy "density" deals between developers and politicians are destroying community character from Boyle Heights to Brentwood. Developers buy exemptions from the rules by contributing to City Hall. They make a ton of money on luxury mega-projects - we get terrible traffic and congestion.

The Initiative Creates a Timeout That Halts Overdevelopment, not Development

The Initiative will halt for 2 years (or until the City creates a new General Plan, if earlier) the building of any project that requires an exception to build at a taller height and/or with more density than allowed. It doesn't stop normal development that abides by density and/or height rules. It does stop runaway development and luxury megaprojects.

Neighborhoods Should Have a Say in What's Built Around Them

Communities are outgunned - that's why we need the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative. During the timeout, this initiative forces City Hall to adopt a comprehensive citywide zoning plan, a public process they have been avoiding for decades.

L.A. is a special city; You have the right to prevent it from becoming another Manhattan!

For more information, go to Coalition to Preserve LA, and AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Watch Video from KCRW - Which Way LA - Covers the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative (8 minutes, 59 seconds)

Jill Stewart Named Campaign Director of Coalition to Preserve LA

Click on the image for the interview with Jill Stewart.

This is a video the Miracle Mile Residential Neighborhood Association filmed and put up on its website for informational purposes. This is an attempt to understand the "pro" side of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative so we can share it with members of the public. We look forward to interviewing someone from the "con" side.

Feel free to share. It can also be seen at www.miraclemilela.com where we will do follow-up stories and video's.

James O'Sullivan

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Phone Scams!

Have you been contacted by the "U.S. Marshal"?

The following was told to us by a neighbor:

On February 2nd, 2016, I received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Federal Marshal's Office. I was told that there were warrants out for my arrest for failing to appear for Grand Jury Duty last year. He said that I had been served by U. S. Marshals on November 24, 2015 at precisely 1:15 p.m. at my home address. They said that they had my signature on the warrant, but that I had never appeared. I replied that my husband and I had flown to Oregon early on the morning of February 2nd and had the boarding passes to prove it so how could I have been served or signed anything?

Nevertheless, fearing that somehow these warrants were real, I felt the need to comply. I wanted to have them dismissed and was told that I needed to do the following in order to make that happen:

1) Remain in cell phone contact with him at all times and follow his instructions.

2) Obtain $3,496.10 in cash.

3) Take it to Food 4 Less at 5420 Sunset Blvd and purchase vouchers for that amount and a gift card. They said if the case were dismissed, I would be reimbursed on the gift card.

4) Take the vouchers to the Marshal's office at 312 N. Spring St., downtown where he would meet me in the lobby and escort me to a courtroom to set court dates, pay vouchers, etc. They would compare my signature to the one on the papers served on November 24, 2015. I would present my defense (boarding passes, driver's license, passport) and if released, I would be reimbursed for the amount of the vouchers which could take up to 2 weeks.

When my husband and I tried to purchase vouchers at Food 4 Less on Sunset & Western, the cashier called the manager who told us that it was a scam. They had several customers who had lost as much as $8,000. We then called an attorney friend who assured us that "This is not how the government works! They would never call you. It's definitely a scam. Go to the police."

So, my husband and I drove to the Hollywood Police Division and were told the exact same thing. "Just ignore them and be very vigilant in the future and tell others." They added that they no longer have the resources to investigate the growing number of scams that are being directed toward the elderly.

This experience left me feeling very vulnerable and uneasy since these scammers knew so much about me. I kept expecting the Marshals to show up at my door all night long. These scam artists are very sophisticated.

Here's a funny footnote: At 3 a.m. shortly after our visit with the Hollywood Police, I woke up to the howling and barking of a pack of "police dogs" (aka coyotes)! Then, a vehicle came up the hill with sirens blaring and stopped a few houses away from where my husband and I live. (Here they come!) And then the police helicopter started circling our canyon. Their search light lit up our bedroom. I never went back to sleep that night. My husband slept through it all!

Thanks for reading this. Please tell others not to stay on the phone if someone calls asking for money. If you are curious, just take their number and information and go to your accountant or family member to do your own research. Government agencies like the U.S. Marshal and the IRS are not going to call you and give you instructions or ask for money. If you are lucky enough to get their number, enter it into a Google search engine asking if that number is a hoax. Many times, you will see that others are being called from that same number. Hang up!

Hollyridge Neighbor

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Happy Hour in the Village at 5 p.m.

Jeff's Happy Hour has been such a welcome event on Friday afternoons. Join your neighbors and friends every Friday from 5 - 7 p.m.

Jeff and Karen look forward to seeing you and enjoying the beginning of another wonderful year in Beachwood!

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Good Neighbor News: CD of Score From Film "Nick of Time" Re-issued

Congrats to neighbor and composer Arthur Rubenstein! Paramount Pictures and La-La Land Records have issued a new CD of Arthur's music from the 1995 film 'Nick Of Time'. It has been digitally remixed and contains material not previously heard (even Arthur had forgotten it!). The packaging is superb. What is more, it includes the names of all the musicians who participated in the sessions.

Arthur says, "I'm especially proud of this score. It represents a lot of great work, not just by the musicians, but also by so many gifted colleagues, chief amongst whom are Brad Warnaar, John Richards and life-long friend, Director John Badham. Many thanks to Neil S. Bulk, Lukas Kendall and Dan Goldwasser for the writing, art direction and layout, as well as Randy Spendlove and everyone at Paramount and La-La Land Records who contributed to making this happen. A very special thanks goes to Post Haste Sound for the digital re-mastering."

When we get a link to this new release, we will make sure to publish that right here!

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Measure Twice - Cut Once

Here's some features that exist in the design of a measuring tape that you may not have been aware of:

Click on this image for a brief but informative video.

Direct Link to Video

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Beachwood Cafe

Why not wander into into the Cafe and have a meal and conversation with any one of the many neighbors you will run into? This IS family!

In days gone by, most neighbors would meet spontaneously in the local cafe and visit about all manner of neighborhood issues. We can do it again.

2695 N. Beachwood Dr.
(323) 871-1717

Follow them on Twitter @BeachwoodCafe

Check out their Facebook Page

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Quote for Today

(We get these from Values.com)

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City Council District 4 Resource List

Councilman Ryu, Councilmember.Ryu@lacity.org

Chief of Staff, Sarah.Dusseault@lacity.org

Senior Advisor, Alexander.Kim@lacity.org

Executive Assistant, Sylvie.Martinez@lacity.org

Scheduler, Yena.Ji@lacity.org

Planning Deputy, Julia.Duncan@lacity.org

Senior Deputy, Toluca Lake, Alice.Roth@lacity.org

Senior Deputy, Hollywood Field Office, Nikki.Ezhari@lacity.org

Senior Deputy, Hollywood Field Office, Catherine.Landers@lacity.org

Neighborhood Ombudsman, Daniel.Park@lacity.org

Neighborhood Ombudsman, Emiliano.Hernandez@lacity.org

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David Ryu's New Website

I'm writing to share some exciting news with you. Today my new City Council website

has officially launched.

My goal is to start a new conversation with you on how we can restore faith and rebuild trust in our local government. I'm committed to meaningful community engagement in the decisions that affect our lives, greater fiscal accountability and a renewed commitment to our neighborhoods.

My website is a great place to learn more about what's going on in our communities and City Hall.

More importantly, it's a place where you can let me know about the issues that concern you and your family the most.

If there is any way I may be of assistance, please contact my field deputy for your area: Catherine Landers.

Sincerely,

David Ryu

Councilmember

http://www.davideryu.com/

P.S. Please take time to fill out a community survey, your input matters.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/davidryu4citycouncil/

Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/davideryu

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