I have a question for my neighbors in Eagle Rock - Does everybody get as many flyers as I do? Sometimes I open my front door and there are business cards for tree trimming services strewn on the porch, accompanied by sheets of colored paper advertising debris hauling or garden maintenance. I was thinking that maybe it was a form of negative commentary about my garden, but there are also flyers offering to appraise my home, in addition to auto detailing coupons rubber banded to my doorknob and menus for take-out food stuffed into the doorjamb. Every day, so much of this stuff. This is so unpleasant! Why isn't this considered littering? I've called some of the businesses on the adverts and asked them to please stop - one lady actually laughed at me. Is there nothing we can do? Whenever I see the men with their packs full of paper approaching my home I always tell them to step away, but I feel terrible - they're only trying to make money. I'm at a loss. To me, these pieces of paper are no different than the paper cups and Frito bags the high school kids drop while walking by. It just doesn't seem right that companies can throw paper all over our neighborhood in the name of advertising. I've asked friends who live in other neighborhoods if they have this problem - it seems to be more prevalent on the eastside. How unfair!

What to do? Anyone?

I. Soler, Townsend Ave.

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Subject: STOP SIGNS AROUND COLORADO & ARGUS (SCHOOL SITE)

THIS LETTER IS INTENDED FOR MICHAEL OR TO WHOMEVER WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE PERSON TO CONTACT FOR ISSUES OF CONCERN IN THE EAGLE ROCK COMMUNITY.

I'M A PARENT WHOSE SON WHO ATTENDS SCHOOL AT RENAISSANCE ARTS ACADEMY (SITUATED AT THE OLD PILLERS BUILDING AT ARGUS AND COLORADO).

RECENTLY (ABOUT A MONTH AND HALF AGO) TWO STUDENTS WHO ATTEND RENAISANCE ARTS ACADEMY WERE CROSSING THE STREET DURING THEIR LUNCH PERIOD BY TACO BELL AND WERE HIT BY A ONCOMING MOVING VEHICLE. THEY HAD TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL AND THOUGH I DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS OF THEIR HEALTH, I DO KNOW ONE OF THEM IS WALKING ON CRUTCHES AS A RESULT OF THAT INCIDENT. IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORST OR EVEN FATAL.

I'M WRITING BECAUSE, AS A CONCERNED PARENT, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST "SLOW DOWN" "CHILDREN CROSSING" SIGNS AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE SCHOOL SITE AT ARGUS AND COLORADO. KIDS CONSTANTLY CROSS THE STREET TO AND FROM SCHOOL AT COLORADO BLVD/ARGUS STREET AND/OR TO BE PICKED/DROPPED OFF TO AND FROM SCHOOL.

CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING SIGNS PUT UP TO ALERT MOVING TRAFFIC THAT THERE ARE KIDS CROSSING STREETS IN THAT VICINITY? THE CONTACT SCHOOL STAFF AT RENAISSANCE ARTS ACADEMY ARE SIDNEY, DIREDTOR, AND LISA - SECRETARY. THE NUMBER THERE IS 213/259-5700.

PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS TO SEE IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE, OR WHAT COULD BE DONE TO SLOW DOWN SOME OF THESE SPEEDING DRIVERS. MAYBE STREET BUMPS ON THE STREETS SURROUNDING THE SCHOOL SITE COULD HELP OUT ETC.

PLEASE RESPOND TO EITHER MY EMAIL. IF YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE SCHOOL, I HAVE PROVIDED YOU WITH THE TELEPHONE # . THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME IN READING MY EMAIL.

I'll refer this to TERA's Preservation, Planning and Development Committee and we'll look into what we might be able to do. Pedestrian safety continues to be an issue throughout Eagle Rock and one can only hope that if Councilmember Huizar's request for additional police in NE Los Angeles is approved, some of those resources will go towards traffic enforcement. You may recall a couple of months ago a reader wrote in about witnessing a tragic death of a pedestrian crossing Colorado Boulevard. As someone who walks a lot in Eagle Rock, I am very sympathetic to the rights of pedestrians and deeply resent what seems to be the ever-increasing numbers of thoughtless, reckless and rude drivers in our neighborhood. But, while supporting pedestrian rights, I urge pedestrians to exercise great care to avoid not only being dead right, but right dead. I'll forward your e-letter to the Council Office as well. Be careful out there!

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Hello Michael,

I applaud your efforts to clean up the litter & graffiti in our parks. I have taken it upon myself to pick up at least 1 piece of trash everyday that I walk my dog in our parks. I think it is our responsibility to help out where we can. If all the people who walk in the parks would make a commitment to pick up at least 1 piece of litter, I'm sure that would help tremendously.

Our park workers are doing a good job for the most part & when we see them we should tell them how much we appreciate their efforts.

As far as the tagging, I think our local schools could have a clean up graffiti day once a month in coordination with the parks. I don't think adults are doing this tagging & if the young people had to do the clean up maybe they would bring pressure on their peers who they know are doing the tagging.

Sincerely,

Celia Anderson-Hayes

Thanks Celia. It's always a pleasure to hear from you. Retired CD 14 Councilman Art Snyder also wrote in about tagging with some suggestions. See below. Meanwhile, I think having enough pride in our community to pick up that piece of someone else's trash and dispose of it appropriately is the best weapon we currently have against litterbugs.

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Michael:

Regarding your comments about graffiti, a subject that many writings of all kinds have approached. Briefly: From a lifetime of experience, and that of participating in placing my own "placa" on the walls of the East Side of Los Angeles during my youth, I have some brief suggestions.

1. The easiest thing to do is to light up the wall during the night.

2. The next easiest is to make it an undesirable location by painting it a color that will not show up the message well. Medium-dark green or brown have been found to be helpful.

2. The best thing to do is to deny access to the wall. Fencing is most effective; however, I recommend as well a dense planting of Natal Plum, a plant with 1 1/2" thorns, but also with attractive flowers and fruit. Scientific Name: Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) Synonym: Carissa grandiflora Family: Apocynaceae See: http://www.desert- tropicals.com/Plants/Apocynaceae/Carissa_macrocarp a.html I know that nobody wants to pay for a good fence, but there are fence plans that are both good- looking and effective.

3. But most effective of all is painting it out every morning when the sun comes up. Placas are only worth the risk and the effort if people see them. You can't give up. You can't skip a day. Like the war in Iraq, it will take longer than you think. A bank in Boyle Heights with a big, beautiful wall carried on the fight for almost four months before the local Vatos gave up. The huge, curving wall at Pasadena Avenue and Avenue 22nd, formerly the training tower for the LAFD, took years.

You can't eliminate it by hating it or those who do it. You can't depend on someone else to do it, by law enforcement, threats, occasionally painting it out, or complaining to local politicians or organizations. But you can beat it in individual areas, if you are willing to approach it with the understanding that those who want to put their identifiers up where their friends or enemies will see it can be stopped at an identified place or area, if you frustrate them by keeping it from being seen.

Best regards,

Art

PS: I have a great story about how the White Fence gang cleaned up the graffiti through central Boyle Heights. I'll tell it to you one day.

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DSL Disaster in Eagle Rock

Dear Neighbors,

Has anyone else been turned down for DSL service by our local phone company? I was astonished to find that "there isn't enough demand" in Eagle Rock (or at least on my block) for AT&T to provide the wiring for high speed DSL connections. I plan to write to our State Senator Jack Scott, incoming Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, and to the Calif Public Utilities Commission (one member is Michael Peevey, husband to our outgoing Assemblymember Carol Liu).

Does anyone want to share their frustration? It seems to me that we should all have access to DSL service through our local phone company; I am still on dialup and it's awfully slow.

Best wishes,

Mona Field (email field4collegebd@hotmail.com)

Well Mona, the phone company gave you a different story than they've been giving me, but the end result is the same. After years of waiting, writing, and getting the run-around, I was finally able to get DSL through my cable company, but still can't get it by phone. Too far from the central line, I'm told. Phone lines are too old, I'm told. Problem in hillside areas, I'm told. So I pay double for cable, and at this time, am grateful to have it. But I too am more than a little frustrated.

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