Neighborhood Council Elections TODAY for CD14 2-8pm

Today, the City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Elections for Region G (East and Northeast LA) will take place. In general, eligibility is extended to any person, 16 years and up, who lives, works, or owns property within a particular Neighborhood Council's boundaries.

Voting will take place from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. TODAY at your neighborhood council (listed below).

Lists of certified and write-in candidates are available at the City Clerk’s Neighborhood Council Election webpage, HERE.

Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council

There are 12 certified and two write-in candidates running for19 seats on the council that represents Mt Washington, Hermon, Montecito Heights, Monterey Hills, and Sycamore Grove. Polling is at Ramona Hall (lobby) 4580 N. Figueroa St., LA 90065.

Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council

There are 25 certified and four write-in candidates are running for 35 seats on the council that represents the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest regions of Boyle Heights. Polling is at the Hollenbeck Recreation Center (Boyle Heights Room), 415 South Saint Louis St., LA 90033.

Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council

There are 10 certified candidates and one write-in candidate running for one of 18 seats on the council that represents eight districts. Polling is at the Eagle Rock City Hall (Community Room) 2035 Colorado Blvd. LA 90041.

Glassell Park Neighborhood Council

There are 9 certified and two write-in candidates running the 15 seats on the council that represents seven regions. Polling is at the Glassell Park Community/Senior Center (Conference Room 2), 3750 North Verdugo Rd., LA 90065

Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council

There are 15 certified and three write-in candidates running for 21 positions. Polling is at the Highland Park Recreation Center (Dining Room), 6150 Piedmont Ave., LA 90042.

LA- 32 (El Sereno) Neighborhood Council

There are 17 certified and no write-in candidates running to hold one of 21 positions that represent 4 regions. Polling is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the El Sereno Senior Center (Lobby/Music Room) 418 Klamath Place, LA 90032.

Highland Park Lands City’s First Bike Corral

Today the City Council unanimously passed my motion to create the City’s first bike corral on York Boulevard in Highland Park. Bike corrals allow for 12-14 bikes to be parked in a space that would normally accommodate one automobile. They are a great use of space and offer bicyclists a safe and secure place to park their bikes, while keeping sidewalks clear for pedestrians. I want to thank the bicycle enthusiasts who supported this legislation. And a big thank you to Café de Leche and the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, who are putting up the money for the bike corral, which will be placed on York Boulevard between Avenues 50 and 56. Hopefully, we can follow Portland’s model, where at least 20 single-parking spaces have been converted to bike corrals. LAist covered this issue, which you can read HERE.
Photo illustration by Cafe de Leche

State of Boyle Heights Future Bright: Chamber Breakfast

I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast Thursday at the U.S.C. Keck School of Medicine to address the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce on the “State of Boyle Heights.” Even with the economic circumstances we find ourselves in as a City, Boyle Heights saw an unprecedented $1.4 billion in public improvements come to fruition in 2009, including the Gold Line Eastside Extension, our soon to be re-dedicated Rudy De Leon Hollenbeck Community Police Station, four new schools and improvements to our parks, to name a few. Due to strong partnerships among the hardworking men and women of the LAPD, residents, community groups and my office, crime is down to record lows. And in the coming months and years, we’ll see more public investment in Boyle Heights, including multi-million dollar plans to support the creation of an Arts District along 1^st Street; improved streetscapes along the Chavez Business Corridor and a mini-Civic Center at Chicago and 1^st. There is no doubt that the City’s ongoing budget issues will affect services in all our neighborhoods. But by investing public dollars so significantly into this once-forgotten community, we are ensuring that Boyle Heights’ future is bright.

Mac & Cheeza Opens in Downtown!

Yesterday, thanks to our Bringing Back Broadway efforts, a new business is ready to service the growing number of residents in Downtown Los Angeles. “Mac & Cheeza” is a great new restaurant in the Historic Core of CD14. It’s located at the beautifully renovated Chapman Building on 8th and Broadway and will allow customers to choose their own toppings for a customized serving of mac & cheese. What a great idea! The owners, Larkin Mackey and Joshua McBride also own “Larkin’s,” a soul food restaurant in Eagle Rock (also in CD14!), but as residents of downtown, they wanted to do something more local. I am very happy that we were able to help them launch their new food establishment as they are creating jobs and helping stimulate the downtown economy. They are already off to a great start with a pretty good review by Pultizer Prize food critic Jonathan Gold, which you can read HERE. Welcome to the Historic Core of CD 14 Mac & Cheeza!

Franklin High School Clean Up

I want to thank the students, administration, faculty and volunteers of Franklin High School in the Northeast for putting together a really great school clean up at their school this past weekend. Everyone did an exeptional job in getting ready for Earth Day and ensuring the school looked its best. Go Panthers!

Part of my commitment to ensure that CD14 continues to be an area of community beautification consitst of providing services and resources to residents, such as:

• Roving Truck for Bulky Item Pick Up
  Serving El Sereno the 2nd Saturday of the month, Boyle Heights the 3rd Saturday and the Northeast the 4th Saturday of the month.

• Bulky Item Drop-Off
  El Sereno - Every 2nd Saturday - El Sereno Park: 4721 Klamath St.
  Boyle Heights - Every 3rd Saturday - Talpa Church: 2914 E. 4th St.
  Northeast - Every 4th Saturday - Eagle Rock City Hall: 2035 Colorado Blvd. &
  Highland Park City Parking Lot: 5058 Meridian Ave

El Sereno Little League Opening Day!

The grand opening of the El Sereno Little League was this past Saturday and took place at the El Sereno Rec Center. This youth baseball league has been opeating for decades and is one of the biggest leagues in the City of Los Angeles - a fact all residents from local residents should be very proud of! This year the league has 31 teams, 24 which are co-ed and 7 girl teams, all of whom show great potential. I have always said that sports can play a big role in the develpment of child's self-esteem, leadership and teamworking skills. It was a great day for opening day, thank you to everyone that participated and best of luck to all the teams!

Delevan Drive Elementary Awarded Prestigious Blue Ribbon School Honor

I was fortunate enough to join with students, parents, teachers and administrators at Delevan Drive Elementary School in Eagle Rock this morning for a ceremony recognizing the school for winning a National Blue Ribbon School Award. The award is given by the U.S. Department of Education for superior academic achievement and in 2009, 264 schools nationwide were named. Locally, Delevan is one of only six LAUSD schools to receive the prestigious award and it is a major achievement. As a former L.A. Unified School Board President, I know firsthand what an amazing academic feat this is and I could not be prouder. Congratulations to Principal Patrice Velasquez, her staff, teachers, parents and especially the students of Delevan Drive Elementary School. You are a model for students and schools throughout the entire City. Way to go!

Supporting IOUCLA.org

Big thank you to IOUCLA for the amazing videos they are producing to encourage the people of California to care about the UC system and learn how UCLA has impacted the life of ALL Angelenos.
Take a look below at my video, and take a moment to comment on their YouTube page, rate and share with all your friends. Let's support education, jobs, our community and UCLA.





IOUCLA is a platform for people to organize and advocate for the issues
they care about—whether the arts, community service, health care, education,
research, the environment, economic growth or the millions of other ways UCLA
impacts our world every day.

National Census Day Tracking!

Today is National Census Day, make yourself count!
The below numbers are the 2010 Census average return rates for each area within CD14, let's get to 100%!




Boyle Heights:


Downtown:


Eagle Rock:


El Sereno:


Garvanza:


Glassell Park:


Highland Park:


Hermon:


Mt. Washington:


Overall City of Los Angeles: