April 25, 2014
Empower LA Newsletter header

General Manager's Update 

 

I hope this newsletter finds you well. This week has been filled with putting out fires for funding, field, elections and admin - so pretty much embers were flying from every corner here so I want to thank our hardworking staff for doing their best each day to support the Neighborhood Councils. It's not easy to keep up with the amazing work of 95 Neighborhood Councils around the City so we're very thankful for the help we get from our great Board of Neighborhood Commission and our super City Attorneys.

 

Speaking of our City Attorneys, we are partnering with them to do a training tomorrow in the Valley that will satisfy board member ethics requirement as well as funding training. You will need both trainings in order to vote on funding items. You can find the details on our  EmpowerLA Events Calendar.

 

I submitted our budget request to the Budget & Finance Committee this week. Our proposal is to use unspent Department and Neighborhood Council funds to provide funding for staffing and resources to maintain and improve our policy, outreach and technology, including preparations for a citywide online Neighborhood Council election voting platform for 2016. Please weigh in on the budget, not just ours, but on all the City budget.

 

As you know, Neighborhood Councils can weigh in officially on Council Files via Community Impact Statements. All of these documents are tracked via the City Clerk's Council File Management System. If you are an active user of the system, please take a moment to provide the City Clerk feedback on your experience in their survey.

 

 

I had a few breaks this week where I got to celebrate. The first was to stop by Neighborhood Council Valley Village to happily swear in their new board, led by their awesome President, Tony Braswell. The second was to celebrate our own Armando Ruiz's graduation from LA Fire Department's Leadership Academy. By the end of the year, our entire management team will have gone through this fantastic program, which teaches how to lead collaboratively. A huge thanks to the LAFD for providing this program for free!

 

If your Neighborhood Council has some funds left over this fiscal year, please consider contributing to your Congress of Neighborhoods and Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates. For more information on how to do this, click here.

 

I'm off to Region 8 elections tomorrow in East Los Angeles. If I don't see you tomorrow, have a relaxing weekend!

 

Best,

 

Grayce Liu,

General Manager

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment 

 

Empower Yourself.

Empower Your Community.

Empower LA.

    



Beyond Earth Day

Earth Day is when we take a moment to appreciate the wonder that is our home. In Los Angeles, we are privileged with an abundance of natural beauty, from the Pacific Ocean to our mountains. But we cannot to take this place for granted. One of my greatest pleasures is seeing the excitement of my young daughter as she encounters the natural world. I hope she always has that opportunity, but that depends...

  

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What is your NC's role in
LA's One Water Plan?

In 2006, the Los Angeles Water Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) was adopted by the City Council to guide water resources planning and implementation of wastewater, stormwater and recycled water projects. The IRP has won numerous national and state awards for engineering excellence and was hailed by many in the community for being so innovative and inclusive. A huge reason for the success of the Water...

  

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What is City Council Up To?
Check City Clerk Connect!

Did you know you can access city records including legislation, city council resolutions, reports, and vote results all from one convenient online platform? Los Angeles has long been a leader in providing open access to city records and documents, a movement that is gaining steam across the country. In an effort to make government data more transparent and accessible to the public, President Obama...

  

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SVANC Sponsors
Citizenship Workshop

The Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council has partnered with several entities including the NALEO Education Fund, Councilwoman Nury Martinez of LA's CD-6, Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra of California's 39th District, L.A. Unified School District, American Immigration Lawyer's Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Senator Alex Padilla, La Opinion, Univision Commmunications and Univision Radio...

  

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La Gran Limpieza:
The 25th Great Los Angeles
River CleanUp!

To commemorate this special anniversary, the Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) are making a change to this annual event. This year, they will host THREE Saturdays of river cleanup, spread out over 14 sites: Saturday, April 26, 9AM - NOON: Valley sites Saturday, May 3, 9AM - NOON: Glendale Narrows sites Saturday, May 10, 9AM - NOON: Lower River sites APRIL 26: LA River at Sepulveda Basin LA River at...

  

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National Day of Civic Hacking:
Hack for LA Registration Now Open!

 

The National Day of Civic Hacking event, inaugurated in 2013, brings together technologists, entrepreneurs, developers and other citizens like you to improve our communities and the governments that serve them. Anyone can participate; you don't have to be an expert in technology, but you do have to care about your neighborhood and community. In support of the first National Day of Civic Hacking...

 

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Armenian Community Commemorates
99 Years Since Genocide
 

On Thursday, April 24, the Armenian community commemorated the 99th anniversary of the start of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians perished at the between 1915-1918. Events took place around the city throughout the week, including a remembrance event organized by the United Armenian Council of Los Angeles at the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument in Montebello, a commemorative...

 

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 GovJam is Coming to Los Angeles!
 

Are you ready to jam? On June 4, 5, and 6 you can join other creative minds in Los Angeles to engage in some outside-the-box problem solving. You might have heard of other jams on other themes-- it's a global effort. This jam will focus on the public sector. Working around a common Theme, small Teams will meet at multiple locations, working for 48 hours on building innovative approaches and solutions...

 

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"Bill Resolution Saturdays" Continue this Weekend
with LADWP

 

Having problems with your DWP bill? In an ongoing effort to resolve customer billing problems, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will open four of its customer service centers on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 10. Every Saturday, you can get assistance from customer service representatives at four Regional Customer Service Centers. When visiting the service centers...

  

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Help the League of Women Voters Help You: Take a Survey!

 

The League of Women Voters made a great contribution to the public understanding of Los Angeles city government with its informative book, Los Angeles: Structure of a City Government. (Full disclosure: your editor read this to acquiant herself with LA City government and found it extremely helpful!) Now, the Leauge is planning a new edition, and they're looking for feedback from current or future...

 

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Empower LA's Youth
Through Technology

 

Envision a city where everyone has free or low-cost access to a fast, reliable internet connection. What would you use it for? For many students, more accessible internet means the ability to do more thorough research, access school resources from home, work on projects more efficiently, and take full advantage of the technological resources offered by their schools. The Los Angeles Unified School...

 

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  This Saturday: 
March Against Child Sex Trafficking

This Saturday, April 26, Jenesse Center, Inc. is participating and marching with Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and many stakeholders and partners to bring awareness to the growing sex trafficking problem in South Los Angeles. As a shelter-based program that serves victims of sex trafficking, Jenesse Center knows first-hand the horrors visited upon those who are forced...

 

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News from Field Operations 4.25.14

I hope our newsletter finds you well, enjoying the pleasant warm weather we are having. Congratulations to all those of you who are new to the NC system! Judging by our observations as we seat and train new boards, these elections have yielded many new faces and new voices to the system; this is very exciting! Equally so, we are always happy to see our seasoned board members that continue to give...

  

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500 Volunteers and Counting
-Keep it up!

EmpowerLA is full of great people who are always ready to lend their time and talents to making LA the capital of civic engagement. This is truly the Year of the Volunteer. We reached a very important milestone this Elections season: 500 volunteers! Last year, we had a whopping 429 volunteers turn out to help  greet folks at the polls, organize registration, and count ballots. This year surpassed...

  

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DEADLINES

 

10 days after your
April NC Board Meeting
 
March Monthly Expenditure Reports due

  

SURVEYS

   

 

LA City/Clerk Connect Survey

 

 Los Angeles Public Library Survey

 

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

PARKING PASS LINK:

 

Neighborhood Council Parking Passes

UPCOMING
 EVENTS

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Region 8 
Election Day

Sat, April 26

 

Location: Region 8

  

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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Ethics and Funding Training
 
Sat, April 26 
Time: 8 am - 12:30 pm

Marvin Braude Constituent Center
6262 Van Nuys Blvd.
Van Nuys 91401

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Neighborhood Council - LADWP Memorandum of Understanding Oversight Committee Meeting 

Sat, May 3  
Time: 8:45 am - 10 am

Hollywood Constituent Center
6501 Fountain Avenue
Los Angeles 90028

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Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition

 

Sat, May 3 
Time:  10 am - 1 pm

Hollywood Constituent Center
6501 Fountain Avenue
Los Angeles 90028

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Region 9
Election Day 
Sat, May 3

Location: Region 9
 
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Email City Hall at
Council File
Hot Sheet

 

Active Council Files that affect Neighborhood Councils citywide, which your Neighborhood Council may want to weigh in on:

  

Neighborhood Council System:

 

Scheduled in City Council 4/29   

 

13-1685 Information and Communication Network / Neighborhood Council and Public Use / Creation and Maintenance

Scheduled in City Council 4/29

 

11-1017-S1 Investigate Allegations of Discrimination and Harassment; Training of NC Board Members

11/19  Education and Neighborhoods Committee  continued to date TBD

  
11/19 Education and Neighborhoods Committee continued to date TBD

11/19 Education and
Neighborhoods Committee continued to date TBD; Department report dated 11/19 received

11-1018  Neighborhood Council Grievance Policy and Process
Approved by City Council 12/3; City Attorney to draft ordinance to be effective 7/1/14 

Citywide Issues:

 

 

14-0600 Budget Proposal Fiscal Year 2014-15

Referred to Budget and Finance Committee; hearings scheduled  4/29, 4/30, 5/1, 5/2, 5/5; City Council public hearing scheduled 5/20; City Council considers Budget beginning 5/21    

 

4/2 Energy and Environment Committee continued to date TBD   

 

3/26 Planning and Land Use Management Committee continued; also referred to Budget and Finance Committee 3/26

4/16 CLA/CAO report referred; scheduled in  Planning and Land Use Management Committee 4/29 

 

13-1513 Increase Number of Cats Allowed Per Residence From Three To Five 

11/19 Personnel and Animal Welfare Committee

continued to date TBD 

 

13-0025-S1 Rewards for Hit-and-Run Crimes 

Referred to Budget and Finance; 2/14 Public Safety Committee continued for 60 days  

2/12 City Council  adopted Planning and Land Use Management Committee report as amended for Planning and Animal Services to report back to PLUM in 60 days

08-2020 Sign Ordinance Revision
Proposed ordinance pending in Planning and Land Use Committee; Planning Department report received 3/4  

13-0046 Consolidation of Planning and Building and Safety Departments, etc.    

4/2 City Council approved as amended   
 

13-1300-S1  Street Repair and Safety General Obligation Bond Program 

 CAO and CLA joint report received 3/17; refered to Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee

 

13-0953 Citywide Municipal WiFi Initiative

Approved as amended by City Council 11/5
  

09-2645 - Cell Tower (AGF) Regulations in Public
Right of Way

Approved as amended by  Planning and Land Use and Public Works and Gang Reduction Committees 10/8; City Attorney requested to prepare ordinance

 

Five year effort underway; updates at recode.la

    

11-0262 - State Licensed Facilities/Community Care Facilities

1/15 Ad Hoc Committee on Community Care Facilities continued to date TBD

 
 
Review all new 
City Council Files

  

City Clerk's Referral Memoranda

  

Search existing 
City Council Files

  

Council File
Management System


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Fax: (213) 978-1751

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Los Angeles, CA 90012