Happy Thanksgiving!

Friends: Have a joyous Thanksgiving! I hope you get to spend quality time with family and friends enjoying great food and conversation. As always I am thankful for my wife, children, family and friends. Let’s remember those who are in need this holiday season and throughout the year, count our blessings and share them with one another. Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's Take the Time to Thank & Honor our Veterans

Fortunate to live in a country where we can have heated political debate like Tuesday’s Presidential Election and share our opinions freely. Our Veterans and their sacrifices are a big reason why – We’ll be celebrating Veterans’ Day tomorrow in El Sereno at 10 a.m. at Huntington Drive and Eastern, and Sunday at Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights at 10 a.m. and a ceremony at our Eagle Rock City Hall at 11 a.m. before the 1 p.m. Northeast Veterans Day Parade. Let’s all take the time to thank our Veterans this weekend and beyond!

Congrats to 6th St. Bridge Design Competition Winner!

Congratulations to HNTB for winning our International Design Competition for the new 6th Street Bridge!-It's a beautiful design that honors our past with features that are clearly rooted in the future. Historic day for Los Angeles. Community involvement was key and will continue!

Please click here to see our short film on goals for the new bridge.

6th Street Bridge International Design Competition Winner Announced Friday!

Friends, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. we will gather at 6th St Bridge to announce the winning design of the 6th Street Bridge International Design Competition. Our 3 finalists surpassed our expectations. New bridge will honor the past while looking solidly toward the future -hope you can make it- See this short film on our hopes for new bridge!

14th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival Saturday!

Proud to sponsor along with Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock the 14th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012 - the largest free music festival in Los Angeles! Festival takes place on Colorado Blvd. and runs from 2 to -11pm. Free Shuttles from Eagle Rock Plaza. Enjoy fantastic music and support local businesses-Hope to see you there!

Celebrate Independence Day At Three CD 14 Concert & Fireworks Shows

Help us celebrate an early Independence Day as my office joins community groups to sponsor three Concert and Fireworks shows, with two next Saturday, June 30th, in El Sereno and Boyle Heights, and one on Sunday, July 1st, in Eagle Rock.

Since taking office, I have made it a priority to bring back our beloved neighborhood 4th of July fireworks shows, which had been non-existent in some CD 14 neighborhoods for decades.

So please join us for food, kids games, music and fireworks as we celebrate our great nation's birthday!

Click on flier or see below for details:







Saturday, June 30, 2012

El Sereno Fireworks Show is preceded by the El Sereno Bicentennial Committee 4th of July Parade, which begins at 2 p.m. on Huntington Drive , traveling down Eastern and ending at El Sereno park.

El Sereno Concert and Fireworks Show
4 p.m. - 9 p.m. (fireworks begin at 8 p.m.)

El Sereno Park
4721 Klamath Place
Los Angeles 90032

Please call (323) 226-1646 for more information.

Boyle Heights Concert and Fireworks Show
4 p.m.- 9 p.m. (fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m.)

Hollenbeck Park
415 S. Saint Louis St.
Los Angeles, 90033

Please call (323) 526-3059 for more information.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Eagle Rock Concert and Fireworks Show
4 p.m.-9 p.m. (fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m.)

Eagle Rock Park
1100 Eagle Vista Drive
Los Angeles 90041

Please call (323) 254-5295 for more information.

Click on the fliers for info, or see below:

Saturday, June 30, 2012

5th Annual El Sereno 4th of July and Fireworks Show







& El Sereno Bicentennial Committee 4th of July Parade















Parade begins at 2 p.m. on corner of

Supporting Complete Streets in Boyle Heights and Beyond

Union de Vecinos debuted street furniture they designed with the Green LA Coalition today. Look for the new benches on Fickett and Boulder. Union de Vecinos shares my commitment to the complete streets concept, which is about creating community friendly streetscapes. I am working with the Green LA Coalition on complete streets concepts for Huntington Dr. in El Sereno and York Blvd in Highland Park. Congrats to Union for all the good works they do!

Garvanza Park Grand Reopening Thursday Morning

Tomorrow morning we’re celebrating with the Garvanza community the Grand Re-opening of Garvanza Park and its new storm-water capture facility that will reuse millions of gallons of runoff water. My office also worked to install new outdoor exercise equipment at the park, which we’ll unveil tomorrow. Earlier, my office worked with Rec and Parks to install a new skate park. Great day for this historic community-Event kicks off at 9 a.m.!

Update on High Winds Aftermath-Water Conservation Called Off for Northeast

Friends: Please continue to be on alert as High Wind Warnings and Red Flag warnings are in effect at least through tomorrow. LAFD is recommending people stay indoors. If you have a downed power line between homes, call 911 and stay indoors. The water conservation call for Northeast Los Angeles has been lifted. Los Angeles County has declared a state of emergency.

See below for latest information from the City of Los Angeles' Department of Water & Power. Best, Jose

Urgent Water Conservation Alert for Northeast Area of
Los Angeles Lifted

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has lifted an urgent water conservation alert for the communities of Mt. Washington, Hermon, Monterey Hills, Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Montecito Heights. This area had previously been urged to restrict water consumption to essential uses only as water pumping infrastructure that supplies water to these communities had been affected by a power outage today. Power to the pumps has been partially restored and the immediate threat to water supply in this area has passed.

LADWP crews are making temporary repairs to the affected equipment and returning it to regular service. Customers may notice some reduced water pressure but this is temporary and will subside as the infrastructure comes online.

LADWP asks residents in these communities to continue conserving water, where possible, until at least tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reports approximately 130,000 of its 1.4 million electric customers are without power as high winds continue to cause outages in several neighborhoods. Approximately 127,000 of these customers are located in the Los Angeles Metro Area and the remaining 3,000 are in the San Fernando Valley. Power has already been restored to more than 80,000 customers since the wind storm began last night.

LADWP currently has over 100 crews responding to over 1,000 separate incidents and has called in crews from out of state and from other remote areas in the State of California to assist in restoration efforts.

LADWP crews are working in extremely dangerous conditions to restore power and are working as quickly and safely as possible to do so. At this time, the current estimated time of restoration for customers experiencing outages is 24 - 48 hours. Many customers will experience shorter outages, but customers experiencing outages should be prepared for up to 24 - 48 hours. LADWP asks for the patience of our customers as we work around the clock to restore service during this major wind storm.

The following areas and neighborhoods have the highest number of customers impacted:

SOUTH
South Los Angeles: 6,500
Green Meadows: 5,500
Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw: 2,400

CENTRAL/DOWNTOWN
East Hollywood: 7,500
Hollywood Hills: 5,300
Los Feliz: 5,100
Hollywood: 4,400
Chinatown: 1,700

EASTSIDE/NORTHEAST
Highland Park: 12,800
El Sereno: 11,300
Glassell Park: 9,800
Cypress Park: 9,300
Eagle Rock: 2,800
Griffith Park: 5,200
Boyle Heights: 3,800
Lincoln Heights: 3,000

VALLEY
Van Nuys – 2,100

LADWP strongly encourages the public to be vigilant and cautious to stay safe during this storm. Stay away from any downed power lines and poles as well as downed trees and limbs, and protect children home from school today from the same. Beware of traffic signals that may be affected by power outage and proceed with extreme caution. Allow access for uniformed LADWP crews, all of whom carry Department-issued identification cards, so they may service infrastructure in need of repair.

In the event of a power outage:

· Stay calm.

· Have a flashlight and extra batteries nearby. Don’t use candles in a power outage.

· Turn off lights but leave one light turned on so you will know when your service is restored.

· Turn off and unplug appliances and other electrical equipment. Unplug heat-producing items like irons and space heaters. This helps prevent circuit overloading, which could delay restoration of service.

· Call us and report your outage at 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397).

If you encounter a downed power line:

· Report any downed power lines immediately by calling the LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). If you or someone else is in danger, call 911.

· Do not touch a downed or dangling wire or anyone or anything in contact with it. Always assume a downed line is still energized.

· If a power line falls on your car, stay in the car and wait for help. If you must get out, make sure you do not touch the metal parts of the car and the ground at the same time. The safest exit method is to open the door, stand on the door sill and jump free without touching the car.

· Stay away from metal fences, such as chain link fence, as there may be a power line down and touching the fence somewhere beyond your sight.

· If there is damage to the connection from the power pole to your house, you should go to the electrical box and turn off the main switch or shut off the fuse switch. Again, always assume electric lines are live.

· In case of an electrical emergency, stay calm and think before you act. Don't become a victim while trying to help others. Call 911.

· If someone is shocked or not breathing, apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR.) Then cover the victim with a blanket, keep their head low and get medical attention.

The public and members of the media are encouraged to check the Department’s news site at www.ladwpnews.com and Twitter page, @LADWP, for updates.

Turning L.A.'s Car Culture into L.A.'s Bike & Pedestrian Culture

Photo: Eric Richardson / blogdowntown

Today we celebrated the City's first Green Bike Lanes on Spring St. in Downtown and First St. in Boyle Heights. I worked to get First Street on the City's Master Bike Plan and as a Metro Dir., we were able to secure funding for the green, pre-formed thermoplastic lane markings that are now in place on First Street. On Spring Street, we painted Green lanes throughout the route.

We'll see how both options hold up and where we can do more in the future. L.A. has long been known for its car culture - we want to turn that on its head - make Los Angeles a bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly city. Thanks to everyone who helped get this done, especially the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the bicycling community, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Metro, the Mayor and my colleagues on the City Council.

Restoring the 'History of Highland Park" mural

Very proud to have helped restore a more than 30-year old mural honoring the “History of Highland Park” – We’ll be unveiling this fully restored piece of art Saturday. My office worked for a number of years to get AT&T and the artists who painted this beautiful mural in full agreement to restore it. Thanks to AT&T, Judy Baca, SPARC & all the artists and volunteers for helping us make this happen.

Tomorrow in City Council, we will hear an update on the City's mural ordinance, which we heard in PLUM last week - As the Councilmember representing the district with the most murals in the City of Los Angeles, I've worked to help shepherd in an ordinance that will support creating new murals on private property while also working toward the kind of restoration that is allowing us to revitalize treasured pieces like the "History of Highland Park" mural.

City Working on New Mural Ordinance

After introducing no fewer than 19 motions related to supporting murals over the last few years, I am pleased the City is moving forward on a new mural ordinance. I authored 4 out of the 6 motions we considered yesterday in PLUM and as someone who grew up appreciating murals and who supports the arts I want to make sure we follow through on this ordinance. See what could happen with murals throughout City here.

Rent/Lease Agreements Coming to El Pueblo Soon

After 14 years without an agreement, today the City Council voted unanimously to approve our plan on a concession agreement with about 60 El Pueblo merchants. Today’s compromise deal comes after more than a year of active negotiations spearheaded by my office, with the help of the Mayor, City Attorney, CLA, CAO and the merchants themselves.

After the El Pueblo GM brought forth a contract in April 2010 that lacked input from the merchants I stepped in as the councilmember representing El Pueblo to include the merchants in the negotiating process. I did this because while I have been one of the strongest advocates for a self-sufficient El Pueblo that is not a burden on the taxpayers, I also believe that the merchants are the heart and soul of El Pueblo, with many families operating stores, kiosks and restaurants there for generations. They are the root of El Pueblo’s success and they deserved to be part of the negotiations.

Today’s compromise represents a 25 percent reduction in rates than those first proposed in April 2010. It also doubles the 2010 lease agreement term from 10 years with a 10-year extension option to 20 years with a 20-year extension option, which will help ensure that El Pueblo’s tradition of family-owned businesses can continue for decades to come.

It will also help El Pueblo operate in the black, and after more than a decade without an agreement, allows the City to be a responsible landlord. After the commission votes on May 12, 2011, it will come back to the City Council for final approval. Congratulations to all who worked so hard to get this deal done.

Joining with Community to Oppose Wyvernwood Project

Today, as we celebrate the birthday of Cesar Chavez, I joined with Wyvernwood residents to oppose a project that will vastly increase density and do more harm than good to a community that has existed since 1939. Thank you to our friends at ELACC, Healthy Homes Collaborative, Comite de la Esperanza and the residents of Wynvernwood for allowing their voices to be heard today. See press release below.

Huizar Joins Community in Opposing Wyvernwood Project

Councilmember cites importance of protecting and preserving current community, which would be dismantled under the proposed development and increase density nearly four-fold

LOS ANGELES (March 31, 2011) — Councilmember José Huizar joined residents, housing advocates and the Los Angeles Conservancy in opposition Thursday to a $2 billion Boyle Heights’ housing project that would increase density nearly four-fold and dismantle an existing community that has been in place since 1939.

Wyvernwood Garden Apartments is home to more than 6,000 mostly working-class residents. Its open-space design with vast expanses of grass and trees was considered a model when first designed by Architects David J. Witner and Loyall F. Watson and has in fact become a sought-after model in recent years. With many families living in the “community within a community” for generations, the proposed 4,400 unit remodeling project would mean a significant amount of them could end up leaving the only home they have ever known.

“In Boyle Heights, Wyvernwood is a community within a community with its own significant and rich history,” said Councilmember José Huizar. “I cannot support a project that would tear down this proud community one building at a time and replace it with a denser, lesser version of itself. Generations of families would be adversely affected by this community dismantling and today I am joining a vast majority of Wyvernwood residents in opposition to this proposal.”

Currently, Wyvernwood has 1,187 units on approximately 70 acres of land. The current model of 16 units per acre would jump dramatically to 55 units per acre under the proposed redevelopment plan by the developers, the Fifteen Group.

Boyle Heights is already one of the densest areas in the City of Los Angeles.

Also, in attendance Thursday was Linda Dishman, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservancy, which opposes the project, noting Wyvernwood’s community-building layout was the first large-scale garden apartment complex in the City, predating others like Park La Brea in the Fairfax District.

“We applaud Councilmember Huizar for supporting the preservation of Wyvernwood,” said Linda Dishman, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Conservancy. “This remarkable site is an irreplaceable part of our history. It has fostered a unique sense of community for generations and it deserves to be preserved for future generations.”

Councilmember Huizar has been considering the project since it was first proposed in 2006 and participated in several meetings with the developer, as well as hosted community forums in order to listen to all perspectives on the proposal.

The proposal is currently undergoing an Environmental Impact Review by the City of Los Angeles’ Planning Department.

To learn more about the effort to save Wyvernwood, including photos and a video history, please visit http://www.laconservancy.org/issues/issues_wyvernwood.php4.

New Reward Ordinance Will Help Protect Those Who Protect Us

The City Council voted 11-0 to adopt my legislation closing a loophole, which left LAPD officers who fall victim to assaults while off-duty and out of City limits without any means to have rewards issued on their behalf. After Wednesday’s vote and one more second-reading vote next week, the City of Los Angeles will now be able to issue rewards on behalf of officers who are assaulted or killed, whether officers are attacked while on-duty or off, in or out of City limits. The maximum rewards for assaults on Los Angeles Public Safety officers will also be raised to $100,000.

I want to thank Councilmember Greig Smith and the Public Safety Committee, the LAPD and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. A special thanks to LAPD Capt. Rigoberto Romero for sharing his story his story about the time some years ago his wife, two young daughters and he were shot at outside of City limits as they entered their home. Their assailants were never caught. Thank goodness Capt. Romero and his family were not struck, despite nine rounds being shot at them.

On behalf of officers like Capt. Romero, we want to make sure should something like that happen again, the City of Los Angeles can and will use every legal tool possible, including rewards, to bring criminals who target our officers to justice.

Improving Business Opportunities for Small Business Owners

I recently joined Mayor Villaraigosa, other electeds and a host of small business advocates to announce a new directive that will create a fairer, more accessible system to increase business opportunities for small business owners. Los Angeles is home to one of the largest, most diverse small business communities in the world and the Business Inclusion Program will help the City tap more effectively into that vast pool of talent.

This new program will be implemented largely through the City’s online business platform, the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network (BAVN), and will include benchmarks to increase business participation for small, minority, and, for the first time, service-disabled Veteran owned businesses. It will also require that all City contracts subject to advertisement be listed online at the BAVN.

As Chair of the Public Works Committee, I will help ensure goals are met by holding our department managers accountable for the benchmarks set out for them under the Business Inclusion Program.

Councilmember Huizar Introduces Motion to Keep Street Service Workers Working Year Round to Fill Potholes and Pave Streets Using Special Funds

Below is a motion I introduced today in Council. It followed a press conference at City Hall I held on the the south steps with City leaders to announce the effort.

MOTION

January 7, 2010

Recent rains in Los Angeles left significant numbers of potholes, fallen trees and other severe road damage in their wake, causing inconvenience to millions of Angelenos in addition to flat tires, damaged vehicles and blocked traffic lanes. The City’s road repair crews should be operating at full strength so they can fix our streets as quickly as possible and help taxpayers avoid damage to their cars.

Certain job functions within the Bureau of Street Services, not all of which correspond exactly to worker classifications, are completely funded by special funds such as federal stimulus dollars. One such example is pothole repair, which is a key service in any year but certainly a priority following the worst storm in memory. Other functions are nearly entirely paid for by special funds or could easily be.

The Bureau of Street Services has been extremely responsible in its efforts to help with the City’s budget situation. With just 2.9% of the City’s workforce they have produced 9.3% of the overall savings this year from furloughing employees, according to a report issued recently by the Controller. Exempting positions that are special funded from furloughs will not negatively impact the City budget.

I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Administrative Office be instructed to report to Council on options for exempting from furloughs certain classifications within the Bureau of Street Services that are fully paid for by special funds. This report should also explain the process by which determinations about which staff are and are not furloughed are made, including which formulas staff is utilizing.

PRESENTED BY: _________________________

JOSE HUIZAR, Councilmember, 14^th District

SECONDED BY: __________________________

ERIC GARCETTI, Councilmember, 13^th District

Crime Drops Again Citywide

Yesterday I joined LAPD Chief Beck, Mayor Villaraigosa, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and my colleagues on the City Council to announce that crime is down in the City of Los Angeles nearly 7 %. Violent Crime is down 11% and Property Crime is down nearly 6%.

Homicides dropped below 300 for the first time in decades and our City is the safest it has been since 1952. I want to thank Chief Beck and all the men and women of the LAPD for the sacrifices they make each and every day to protect us and make our city safer.

Special recognition to Captain Anita Ortega, Captain William Murphy and Captain Todd Chamberlain and their officers for their work in Council District 14. Crime continues to drop in all divisions in our district.

I also want to thank all those working in intervention and prevention programs. Gang crime in our city dropped 11% in 2010. Programs like our highly successful Summer Night Lights program are having an impact. Since 2008, gang crime has dropped 40% in the areas around the parks that offer the program. In the area around Highland Park Recreation Center, where the program was offered for the first time in 2010, gang crime fell 68%.

Despite a tough economy, we are making headway against crime in the City of Los Angeles. Let’s continue the fight in 2011.

Surplus Food: Connecting Those Who Have it With Those Who Need it

With our City’s new Surplus Food policy in place, creating a cultural shift in getting people to think about donating surplus food is as important as any policy we create.

We know the demand is there, especially in tough economic times where we are seeing the faces of those needing emergency food services change to include more children and families – including adults who might have once donated food themselves.

We know the supply is dwindling, but there is still plenty out there. With 5 million tons of good, edible food ending up in landfills every year in California we have to start thinking about donating surplus food the same way we think about recycling.

National Public Radio’s Karen Grigsby Bates did a report on our program and the need to do more. Go to our website, HelpFeedLA.org for more information on Surplus Food donations.

Operation Pothole to Launch This Weekend

As the Chair of the Public Works Committee, I wanted you to know that Operation Pothole will take place this weekend, and I want to encourage all City of Los Angeles residents to call 311 to report potholes in their area.

With the recent rains causing road damage, we’ll have 50 crews working throughout the City filling potholes on Saturday and Sunday, but we need your help to ensure that the Bureau of Street Services knows where the potholes are located.

The expanded crews will work to fill 10,000 to 15,000 potholes throughout the City this weekend.

So if you see a pothole, call 311 and let them know where it is located.