General Manager's Update 

I hope this newsletter finds you well. With all the information we've sent out and asked Neighborhood Councils to act on lately, I received a response from an overwhelmed reader: "What if you showed a goldfish the ocean?" As you may know, a goldfish dies in the ocean because of the salt water. I'd like to challenge the presumption that Neighborhood Councils leaders are goldfish because I see you more like blue whales myself. Even so, I do understand that some folks may be feeling the pressure of performing the mission of the Neighborhood Councils.

 

That's why, for these past few months, we've been busy on our side trying to innovate our service delivery to make your jobs as volunteers easier. My goal is to nudge us to the point where we are strategically planning ahead for the future instead of seemingly always in a reactive mode. With our work, there will always be some of the latter, but I hope for more of the former. That's why we are asking Neighborhood Councils to consider upcoming Council Files, outreach for the 2014 elections now and planning for your budgets and bylaws as soon as possible. For some people, I think this may be the first time you're seeing what Neighborhood Councils should be all about!

 

I'm sure your jobs haven't always seemed easier because of all the work we've had to do together to catch everything up, but I know that we will be a stronger Neighborhood Council system in the end because of our efforts now. Just know that you are definitely not in this alone. You are 1700 plus Board members strong, and we are ready to help however we can, too. So I want to thank you, our amazing Neighborhood Council leaders, for your patience, understanding, time and efforts for believing in our mission and in the great work that we can accomplish together.

 

If I don't see you at the LANCC tomorrow, I hope you have a great weekend!

  

Best,

 

 

Grayce Liu, 

General Manager

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment  

 

Empower Yourself.   

Empower Your Community. 

Empower LA.

    

It's springtime and Neighborhood Councils throughout the City of Los Angeles are celebrating by engaging in community clean-ups, a great way show some love to the neighborhood. Cleanup events are a great outreach activity, they engage stakeholders and other organizations, they have a powerful public safety impact, they improve the quality of life, and they offer an opportunity to partner with the departments that deliver city services. Whew! That's a lot of impact and the best part is, Neighborhood Councils aren't alone!...

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The Goldhirsh Foundation, LA2050 believes in the power of Angelenos to shape the future of our region and they will fund 10 different projects at $100,000 each if they will improve the health of our greater community with a focus on indicators such: arts & cultural vitality, education, environmental quality,health, housing, income & employment, public safety, and social connectedness. Oh, yeah...the winners also need the support of the community and that is where you come in. 279 applications have been made by dreamers who have proposed innovative and creative ways to tackle the biggest problems in Los Angeles...

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Our House offers Grief Support Summer Camp

Our House is an LA nonprofit Grief Support Center that hosts Camp Erni-LA, a free weekend bereavement camp for children aged 7 to 17. When tragedy strikes, the ripples of impact go beyond the immediate victim and often leave our most vulnerable family members in need of support. Camp Erin-LA is a weekend-long camp experience for children and teens who have experienced the death of a parent, a sibling, or someone close to them. Camp is free of charge for all participants and combines traditional camp activities with grief support, education, and remembrance ceremonies...

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Leadership Academy

The Los Angeles Public Library serves over four million people, the largest population of any library in the United States. LA's Central library is complemented by 72 branches, has an operating budget of $107 million, and was visited by 14 million people in 2012. LA's Public Library also has a new City Librarian, John F. Szabo, (almost new, he arrived last August), and John wants to meet people from the Neighborhood Council system...

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The City of LA has Plans...

...and Neighborhood Councils from throughout the City of Los Angeles get together every month at PlanCheckNC to connect with the City Planning Department and to tackle the planning and land use issues that impact the quality of life in our communities. On Saturday, April 13, at 10:00, PlanCheckLA will tackle the issue of Multi-Family Residential citations and zoning violations with special guests:

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ONEgeneration is hosting their annual Senior Symposium on Saturday, April 20th, from 8AM to 4PM. This year's event promises to be the most exciting and informative event in the five-year history of this grand community-based extravaganza. Anticipated attendance is between 500 and 600 seniors. The Senior Symposium offers a variety of informative presentations by expert speakers...

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The City of Los Angeles, like all municipal authorities, has a State-mandated General Plan that guides the city's future development. The General Plan is the foundation for all land use decisions and includes seven required Elements that include Air Quality, conservation, Housing, Noise, Open Space, Safety, and Mobility...

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Special thanks are in order for all of the Neighborhood Councils who responded to our letter issued March 1st and submitted the appropriate documentation to bring their reports up to date. If your NC did not meet this deadline and you were notified that your funds were frozen, please know that the Funding Unit will work hard to restore access to your funds immediately upon receipt of the requested documentation. Let's continue to work together to provide the best funding experience possible, ensuring accountability and transparency for the use of public funds...

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As you may know, the bylaw amendment moratorium is approaching on June 1, 2013 and as a result, staff have been busy processing bylaw adjustment applications. As staff have been visiting your meetings and making their rounds to your respective communities, we have found that many of your requests revolve around targeted assistance to your respective board. As a result, staff have been conducting board retreats for many NCs. A Board Retreat, if you are not familiar, is essentially a dedicated day of training for a board that has identified areas where improvement is needed and/or simply has decided to gain more knowledge and information...

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Last week, EmpowerLA released a list of Mayoral and City Council newsletters that allows the people to Los Angeles to stay connected to City Hall and to their City Councilmember. This week, the focus is on connecting with the Mayor and the City Council using social media. If you are not sure of your City Council District, you can enter your address here and you will find all your representatives, including your Neighborhood Council. Now let's get busy liking and following and sharing and joining and getting social with City Hall:

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Well, actually, he goeth, to the Sherman Oak Neighborhood Council, on Monday night, where he will be conducting a workshop to help you prepare your federal and state tax returns. Jerome Horton, the Chair of the State Board of Equalization, will be accompanied by staff members and they will discuss:

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Citywide, 8,700 miles of streets are in terrible condition due to decades of inadequate funding of street maintenance," says Councilman Buscaino, Chair of the Public Works Committee, "and our poor streets increase traffic, cause accidents, lower property values and cost vehicle owners an additional $750 in maintenance every year. That's why I am working with Councilman Mitchell Englander on a solution that would fix every failed street in Los Angeles within 10 years, creating 30,000 new jobs in the process."...

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