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General Manager's Update
I hope this newsletter finds you well. We had great elections in Region 7 on Saturday with an overall 38% increase in voters from 2012. Silver Lake Neighborhood Council turned out 1,398 voters alone, and people were running to get to the polls before they closed when I swung by to visit. Big thank yous to our elections team, especially IEA Jay Handal and Terrence Gomes, who kept things together for the region and running smoothly on election day. Hollywood United Neighborhood Council is still in the lead for a visit from the Mayor, but we have 5 more regions to go yet. We get a bit of a breather this week since Region 8 elections are next weekend.
This gave us an opportunity to study Mayor Garcetti's proposed budget for FY 2014-2015, which was released on Monday and can be found on the CAO website here. I want to thank both the Mayor's Budget and the CAO's teams for considering our requests and doing their best to meet our and the Neighborhood Councils' needs in a tough budget deficit situation. The Neighborhood Council yearly allocation has been maintained at $37,000 for next year, which is great. The Department is looking at some changes that will be challenging so we'll be proposing some possible alternatives in our requested letter to the City Council's Budget & Finance Committee, which we'll share in next week's newsletter.
I was happy to sit in on a meeting today with Deputy Mayor of Budget and Innovation Rick Cole and his team to talk about possible collaborations with Code for America. CFA has been called the Peacecorp for geeks as they send fellows to work with city governments for a year to integrate technology with civic engagement. They have created some amazing apps across the country to increase government transparency and stakeholder input, which are featured on their website. I'll be excited for any opportunity to work with them to assist the City and Neighborhood Councils in connecting quicker and more effectively with our stakeholders.
Looks like another beautiful weekend in LA so I hope you enjoy it!
 Best,
Grayce Liu,
General Manager
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Empower Yourself.
Empower Your Community.
Empower LA.
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A Note From Mayor Garcetti on the FY 2014-15 Budget
Dear Angelenos,
This is my first Proposed Budget as Mayor, and it is my goal to work with you to bring long-term sustainability to the City's finances. Five years ago, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression caused General Fund revenues to plunge and our pension investments to lose 30% of their value. The Great Recession created...
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Mayor Releases 2014-2015 City Budget
Mayor Eric Garcetti has released his first Proposed Budget as Mayor of Los Angeles, stating that he aims to bring long-term sustainability to the city's finances. Goals include:
- Promoting good jobs for Angelenos across Los Angeles
- Restoring city services that make our neighborhoods livable and attractive
- Making our communities the safest in the nation
- Creating a more sustainable and livable city
To achieve these goals, the Mayor introduced...
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One Water Day: Preserving Precious Resources
LA has complex water needs. Pollutants and storm water runoff degrade the quality of our rivers and our ocean. Complicating matters is the city's aging water infrastructure. The State's current drought only underscores LA's need to be smarter about this very precious resource. To address the issue, a number of city departments are working together as "One Water Los Angeles" under a strategy called "One Water Los Angeles 2040."...
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Tell a Story for the Future:
"One Day in Los Angeles"
On April 26th, 2014 hundreds of filmmakers, non-profit organizations, and inspired citizens will document stories and investigate 10 questions for the future of Los Angeles as part of a city-wide, participatory media-creation event. The resulting media will be showcased in an interactive geo-tagged archive and a TV series on the future of the American city. In addition, local media partners will showcase the most powerful and inspiring videos created during the one-day filmmaking event... >>> continue reading
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Message from
Councilman Blumenfield:
LA Community Broadband Network
Empower LA and our neighborhood council system are all about pushing the City to be better and making sure that its decisions are informed by a diversity of stakeholders whose collective wisdom can result in a better outcome. On April 7th, when I announced the release of a "request for information (RFI)" for the Los Angeles Community Broadband Network (LACBN) I realized there are some parallels both in terms of the initiative itself and the RFI process. Also, I realized that neighborhood councils can help make the initiative and the process a success... >>> continue reading
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Grayce Liu to Participate
in Grand Park Art Project
Grand Rounds, an innovative new public art project in Grand Park, is a participatory artwork involving acoustic sculptures and public conversations with individuals who work and recreate in the Grand Park area. The project investigates the many voices, ears, and roles both public officials and citizens utilize to invigorate our communities. Grand Rounds aims to create an inventive space for socially engaged art and civic dialogue in Grand Park... >>> continue reading
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Jay Z Brings Made in America
Music Festival to Los Angeles
Mayor Garcetti and rapper/entrepreneur Jay Z held a news conference Wednesday to announce the Made in America Music Festival, scheduled to take place on Labor Day weekend in Grand Park. The two-day festival, produced by Live Nation and sponsored by Budweiser, will feature multiple stages and beer gardens and is expected to draw up to 50,000 concert-goers. According to Jay Z, the festival is meant to bring...
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A Letter from the President of the Board of Animal Services Commissioners
Dear Friends: I am the President of the Los Angeles Board of Animal Services Commissioners. The Board advocates for people and animals living safely together in the City of Los Angeles and sets policy for, and oversees, the City's Animal Services Department. Each year, the Board visits each of our six shelters in order to hear from the residents in the nearby communities, and make it easier for the public to participate and share their views and concerns regarding animal issues... >>> continue reading
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The city needs your opinion! Four departments are currently seeking input from the public on issues ranging from citywide wi-fi to access to city resources, fire safety, and public library services. Your participation in their surveys will contribute community voices and help shape the future of these programs. The LA Community Broadband Network is part of a City-wide project designed to make "broadband" available in all areas of Los Angeles at speeds comparable to other innovative communities around the world. The project is intended to:... >>> continue reading
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What Does Southern California Need From the 710 Freeway? A Zócalo/Metro Event - The 710 is one of the most important freeways in Southern California. It's also shorter than originally planned: For nearly 50 years, legal and environmental challenges have stalled the freeway in Alhambra, 4.5 miles short of its intended destination, Pasadena. Over the decades, discussions about extending the freeway have cast its future as a local issue. But the 710 causes... >>> continue reading
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LA Law Library Celebrates Law Week, April 28 - May 2
For the second year in a row, LA Law Library is celebrating National Law Day by offering a full week of clinics and workshops, April 28th - May 2nd.
Aiming to "empower" the citizens of L.A., LA Law Library will offer a fully packed week of interesting and useful educational programs, classes and presentations. Just a partial list of offerings calendared includes a presentation by a distinguished panel of law school scholars who are...
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The Federal Building is not the first place that comes to mind when planning a concert, but this shows just how creative you can be when looking for venues. The unusual union of the FBI and Make Music LA is not that difficult to understand. It wasn't an afternoon of men in dark glasses, suits and guns. It was a day of beautiful music...
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News from Field Operations 4.18.14
I hope our newsletter finds you well and preparing for a lovely Spring weekend! Many thanks to those of you who have permitted us time on your agenda to conduct your board installations, officer elections, and Board Orientations. We are sending out notices confirming the training and giving you additional information, so that you can be pro-active about having your Ethics and Funding training completed before your first board meeting...
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DEADLINES
10 days after your
March NC Board Meeting
February Monthly Expenditure Reports due
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SURVEYS
LA Community Broadband Network Survey
Give your input on how much you access the internet, what you use it for, and how much you think faster and slower internet access should cost (if at all)
Let the Fire Department know what services are most important to you
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UPCOMING
Board of Library Commissioners Meeting
Thur, April 24
Time: 11 am - 12 noon
Central Library Board Room, 4th Floor
630 W. 5th Street
LA 90071
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Alliance of River Communities (ARC) Meeting
Thur, April 24
Time: 7 - 8 pm
Glassell Park Senior and Community Center
3750 Verdugo Road
LA 90065
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Region 8
Election Day
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Contact Us
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Phone: (213) 978-1551
Fax: (213) 978-1751
Our Address:
200 North Spring Street
20th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
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