THE EAGLE ROCK ASSOCIATION
The Best Investment You Can Make in Your Neighborhood


TERA
e.letter

June 10, 2004

Learn more about us
and how we are changing our community for the better.

What? You're not yet a member of TERA?
Join now!  Here's how:

Go to
http://www.TERA90041.org/teraform.htm

Now more than ever, please support your residents association --
more than 1,000 members strong, and growing every day!

And don’t forget to encourage interested friends and neighbors to join TERA
so that they, too, may enjoy the many benefits of membership, including
a complimentary subscription to the TERA e.letter.

This week:

All sorts of updates (items #1-4)

Wipe out graffiti (item #6)

 Oxy summer theater institute for kids (item #9)


Table of Contents:


1.  PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: IT’S TIME TO RENEW (OR MAKE) YOUR COMMITMENT TO TERA

2.  AT&T: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

3.  POWER POLES IN EAGLE ROCK: AN UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT!

4.  WALGREENS SWITCHEROO — NOT A GOOD SIGN

5.  REWARD OUR TEENS — JUNE 11

6.  TAGGED! YOU’RE IT: GET THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO ERADICATE GRAFFITI — JUNE 17

7.  TRIANGULATE AT AVENUE 50 STUDIO — RECEPTION JUNE 19

8.  EAGLE ROCK SIGHTINGS IN THE LA TIMES: GETTING SPECIFIC

9.  OCCIDENTAL SUMMER INSTITUTE OF FUN TO TEACH THEATER TECHNIQUES TO CHILDREN — THIS JULY AND AUGUST

10.  HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW?  FIND OUT — JUNE 19

11.  THE WOMENS 20TH CENTURY CLUB YARD SALE — JUNE 26

12.   "THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLFMAN" AT OXY CHILDREN’S THEATER — OPENS JULY 8

13.  WE'VE GOT MAIL

14.  THE LAST WORD —  BERTRAND RUSSELL


1.  PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: IT’S TIME TO MAKE (OR RENEW) YOUR COMMITMENT TO TERA  -- 2004 DUES PAYABLE BY JUNE 15

TERA Membership Has New Benefits!

We are working hard for you every day, and are an all-volunteer organization, highly dependent on member support.   

If you are not yet a member, please join now.  $20 a year for individuals and $25 a year for the entire household.  It's very affordable and necessary to support all of our efforts on your behalf.

There are a few ways you can join:

(1)   Simply hit the reply button to this e.letter, tell us you want to join and include your name, address, phone number and email address.
   
 -or-
    
(2)   Sign up online on our Website!  (http://www.tera90041.org/terajoin.htm.)
    
-or-

(3)   Call the TERA telephone hotline at (323) 259-TERA [259-8372] and give us your contact information.

To those of you who are currently valued TERA members: now is the time to renew your TERA membership!

All dues for 2004 are due on June 15th.  We changed our dues policy to have all dues payable on the same date for everyone annually – March 15th, but this year, our first year implementing the new policy, our due date is June 15th.  

Please check your mail for our upcoming membership renewal letter, or renew online on our Website!  (http://www.tera90041.org/terajoin.htm.)

We ask you to renew your support and consider increasing your membership level, so that we can continue to publish our weekly e.letter, produce our annual Home Tour, hold community events, host quarterly public meetings, publish our quarterly newsletter, serve you with in-depth research, reporting and representation at hearings and meetings, and convene our Land Use and Beautification Committee meetings.

We look to our membership dues to support all of our administrative overhead costs for items such as paper, ink, photocopying, mailings, telephone and fax expenses, parking and gasoline, and computer and software technology upgrades to keep pace with our accelerated world of communication.  Without your financial support, it comes out of our own pockets.  All of our volunteer hours are willingly given free of any reimbursement except the personal satisfaction of serving the greater good of the community in which we all live.

Your contribution provides us with the tools we need to perform our volunteer efforts on your and our behalf: quality of life for all, fight for good development, historic preservation and a more beautiful Eagle Rock.

New TERA Membership Cards with Added Value!

A brand new feature of TERA membership is our newly minted TERA Membership Card.  All members will have their own personalized card. We are arranging terrific promotions for our "card carrying" members.  Note that you will be able to participate ONLY when you present your TERA card showing you are a current TERA member.

New Local Business Partners Program

We are very happy to announce our first wave of local independent business owners who are offering discounts or other advantages of TERA membership to our growing numbers. We believe this new business partnership program is a mutually beneficial arrangement, which serves as a practical reminder of the economic power of TERA's investment in our local businesses.  We continue steadfastly in our resolve to patronize our local independent business owners who have shown their commitment to this community by taking the risk to establish themselves on our business corridors before it became fashionable.  We recognize their willingness, vision, creativity, aesthetic, and wisdom of engaging in adaptive reuse of our longstanding vintage architecture.  These are the proven ingredients of an attractive and vibrant local economy.  
        
We thank our first business partners who have agreed to offer a discount to TERA members who show their TERA membership card at the time of purchase:
     
The Coffee Table
Swork

Our list of businesses is growing!  Please watch for our notices with news of some interesting new value added benefits on the horizon for TERA members!

Lifetime TERA Membership – A Lifetime of our Appreciation

Please consider joining me in becoming a TERA Lifetime Member.  We are introducing our new $500 Lifetime Membership level.


When will the Coffee Table open so that I can use my 10% Member Discount?
 
According to Michael Zamarripa, TERA Board member and owner of both the Silver Lake and the Eagle Rock Coffee Table, the new Eagle Rock Coffee Table will be open by Tuesday, June 15th.  A Grand Opening event will occur later in the month.  Congratulations, Michael on a beautiful addition to Eagle Rock!  We can't wait to see what you've created!
 
Join us on Tuesday, June 29th for our TERA Member Appreciation event!
 
Finally, to show our appreciation for your membership, we invite you to come to the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, for a great night!  Come meet your neighbors and hear all the great things going on in your community.  This will also be a chance to volunteer for some important projects coming up in Eagle Rock.  We hope to have the TERA membership cards "minted" to give out to our new and sustaining members.  Then go to Swork and the Coffee Table (both serve much more than coffee!) and receive your member discount!  What could be better?  See you there!

Thanks for your support!

-- Hilary Norton Orozco, President, TERA, The Eagle Rock Association


2.  AT&T: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

From TERA President Hilary Norton Orozco, here’s an update on the AT&T Cellular antenna at 1453 Colorado Boulevard...
 
I promised in our June 8th Special Edition that I would give you an update on the hearing, which was taking place that day.  Jessica Wethington McLean, Co-Chair of the ERNC Land Use Committee; Ute de Lara, Eagle Rock poreperty owner (including the property with the Eagle Rock Montessori School) and I appeared at the Zoning hearing in City Hall downtown.  TERA and the ERNC requested denial for the following reasons:  1)  There has not been adequate efforts made to seek co-location of wireless facilities in Eagle Rock;  2) AT&T has not provided an overall plan for its numerous cellular antennas planned in Eagle Rock, and  3) AT&T has not fulfilled its prior promises to the community.   

I am pleased to tell you that after hearing, and the recommendation was made to deny the antenna as it is currently designed, Zoning Administrator Dan Green instructed AT&T consultant Wally Shin to appear in 30 days with a better design for the rooftop antenna, along with written proof that he had contacted other potentially more suitable neighboring sites!  This is a strong victory!  Jessica invited Wally Shin to first present his new plans to the ERNC Land Use Committee at its next meeting, Thursday, June 24th.
 
As for the issue of proliferation of cellular antenna in Eagle Rock and the need for an overall, forward-looking plan for future cellular coverage, Dan Green stated that the proliferation was out of his purview.  However, Jessica contacted Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa’s office to ask that he put a motion before City Council to urge the creation of a cellular antenna Master Plan for Eagle Rock and all of Northeast Los Angeles.  The lack of any clear guidelines about cellular antennas is another glaring flaw of our Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan.  At the subsequent ERNC Special Board meeting that same night, TERA and the ERNC discussed reopening the Specific Plan to create strong language in it to guide the aesthetic and land use issues related to cellular antennas. 
 
Come to the TERA and ERNC Land Use committees for further news on the new cellular antenna plan and other matters related to this case! 


3.  POWER POLES IN EAGLE ROCK: AN UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT!

Finally, here’s more from TERA President Hilary Norton Orozco on the power poles along the western end of Colorado Boulevard:
 
I am very pleased to report that, in the spirit of coalition-building, the ERNC adopted the following resolution last Tuesday in support of TERA's advocacy on the power pole issue:
 
The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council Land Use & Planning Committee has unanimously resolved the following at its May 27, 2004 meeting:
 

 

 

 
Now, therefore, be it resolved that:

  
  and
        


Thank you, ERNC Land Use Committee and Board!  This cooperative spirit is going to create a very impressive aesthetic for our beloved Eagle Rock!

-- Hilary Norton Orozco, TERA President


4.  WALGREENS SWITCHEROO — NOT A GOOD SIGN

Here’s the latest on the Walgreens development that’s underway at Colorado and Eagle Rock Boulevard.  This report was filed by TERA Vice President Kathleen Long, who’s been following the progress of this development for almost three years now:

In our efforts to work with the Walgreens developers to ensure that the project meets the guidelines of the Specific Plan, is aesthetically appealing, and is an asset to Eagle Rock, we have continuously been met with frustration just trying to keep the Walgreens stories straight.

Follow the bouncing ball!

Extended Hours of Operation
East Area Planning Commission Hearing - May 26, 2004
APCE Case No. 2004-1439-MSC for
2216 and 2228 Colorado Boulevard

As we reported to you in our May 27th TERA e.letter, the May 26, 2004 East Area Planning Commission hearing was postponed at the last minute and will be heard again in 30 days.   The hearing was to consider the developer's request to extend the hours of operation for Building "C" which will house their proposed tenant, Starbucks, who will occupy the building as a coffee shop and enclosed seating area. The reason the hearing was postponed was that they initially requested the hours range from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM, but then wanted to change that to a different time range.  They will have to go through the public notification process again.

TERA wrote to the Commission in support of conditional approval of the applicant's request to extend the hours to 10:00 PM, (see complete text in May 27, 2004 TERA e.letter) so long as all the other previous conditions to the proposed development are met.  We reiterated that no temporary or permanent Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued for Building "A" (proposed Walgreens building) until the construction of retail buildings "B" (Eagle Rock Blvd. frontage) and "C" (Colorado Blvd. frontage) is completed to the satisfaction of Building and Safety.

Request for Signage on Building "C"

The Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan
Design Review Board Hearings  May 13, 2004 and May 27, 2004
Design Review Case No. for the signs for
2222 Colorado Blvd. is DIR-2004-1441-DRB-SPP.

The initial hearing on May 13, 2004 was convened to review the developer's request to mount a Walgreens sign all along the front face of Building "C," which has been described until now as a Starbucks coffee shop and enclosed seating area.  Now the developer is representing that Walgreens will be leasing the enclosed seating area!

The hearing had to be continued until May 27, 2004, in order to define whether the sign was "on site" or "off site," that is, whether it is on Walgreens' building or off Walgreens' building.

 Well, this does become the question doesn't it?  

Here Comes the Switcheroo...

It was presented to the community that this would be a Starbucks and that the area was seating for Starbuck's.  Yet now, at the Design Review Board hearing,  it appears that the developer actually intends to lease this seating area out to Walgreens, and that it will really serve as a support for their sign  -- that's the switch.

 


So, in order to get their giant Walgreens sign up on Building "C" making a big presence on Colorado Boulevard, the developer represented that Walgreens and not Starbucks would be leasing the seating area portion of Building "C" and that its glass walls would actually be glass garage doors that they intended to roll up during business hours, leaving the whole enclosed eating area wide open and exposed.  Also, it allows for an unencumbered view of the parking lot and the main Walgreens building deep into the lot.

These conflicting representations at different hearings around town led us to ask a series of questions and make a few observations...

Extended Hours

If the Building "C" enclosed seating area is operated as part of Walgreens, it should have the same hours as Walgreens.  

Building "C" Sign--

If Walgreens wants their sign on the enclosed seating area of Building "C,” perhaps it should be conditional on the following:

            1. The back (south) walls of the enclosed seating area should be solid walls, or solid half way up, with glass windows to the ceiling, and...

            2. Effective natural green screening plantings should be added on the south side of the enclosed seating area to help screen the parking lot and provide a more                         desirable green space.

            3. The enclosed seating area should have retail uses as set forth in the Specific Plan.

            4. If the enclosed seating area is to be open on its north side, along the Colorado Boulevard sidewalk, it should have a dedicated uniformed security guard during hours of operation.

 So, who is responsible for this "no man's land?"  How will it be responsibly managed?

    Over all regarding these issues and all other unfinished business at the Walgreens site we continue to remind the Council Office, City Staff, City Commissions, and the Department of Building and Safety, that no Certificates of Occupancy should be issued before all conditions are met.

-- Kathleen Long, Vice President, TERA


5.  REWARD OUR TEENS — JUNE 11

ROCK Center Reward Party and Open House
June 11
3:00 - 5:30 p.m.
ROCK Teen Center
1597 Yosemite Drive (at Townsend)
Eagle Rock


The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council will sponsor a reward party, pool tournament and open house for area teens at the ROCK (Reach Our Community
Kids) Teen Center on Friday June 11, 2004.  There’ll be pizza, games and prizes for teens and attendees!

The ROCK Teen Center is a non-profit organization which offers local teens a place to come after school to socialize, get tutoring, use the computer lab, play games and take part in programs geared toward channeling energies to positive endeavors.  The teens also organize to do community service throughout the year, and have been active in community clean-ups and other service projects.  It is in recognition of these activities that the reward party was designed.

Playing pool is a popular pastime for teens at the ROCK, but the worn and tattered pool table leaves a lot to be desired.  At the party, the ERNC will unveil a newly covered, perfectly playable pool table surface and sponsor an inaugural pool table tournament with great prizes to the top three teen winners!

The ROCK Teen Center, under Director Donna Robey-Sullivan, is the recent recipient of grant funds which covered the cost of new flooring, updated outdoor lighting and security, as well as ceramic tile mosaics on its fixed outside seating area.  Please join the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council in celebrating all of the ROCK’s accomplishments and encourage the teens in our community to keep up the good work!

-- Jessica Wethington McLean, ERNC, Director, Sub-district 2


6.  TAGGED! YOU’RE IT: GET THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO ERADICATE GRAFFITI — JUNE 17

Our friends at the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Watch sent us the following notice about their upcoming June meeting, which sounds like a doozy:

Eagle Rock Neighborhood Watch Meeting
Crime Stats, Graffiti and You
Thursday, June 17th, 6:00 to 7:20 p.m.
Eagle Rock City Hall Field Office
Colorado Blvd. and North Maywood Ave. (northeast corner)


The first part of the meeting, our Senior Lead Officer, Joe Galindo will present the most recent crime stats with information on crime trends and problem areas in our community.  For the remainder of the meeting, Officer Colenzo, also of our NE, LAPD Division will give us information on graffiti, with complete presentation of all kinds of tools that taggers use, the clothing accessories of taggers, and what to look for if you suspect your kid of tagger crew or gang involvement.  Officer Colenzo will then present the program he heads-up with at-risk youth, involving weekend graffiti eradication and the rehabilitative behavior management program for the young people who are his wards for weekend paint-outs.  Officer Colenzo will also help identify the tagger crews or gangs that are behind the newest wave of vandalism that has cropped-up in Eagle Rock.  If you have any photos of tags or can readily identify the letters in the tag, please bring that information and your questions to this important meeting.

-- Helen Goodwill Gustavson and Betty Tyndall, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Watch


7.  TRIANGULATE AT AVENUE 50 STUDIO — RECEPTION JUNE 19

Triángulo/Triangle
Avenue 50 Studio
Exhibition Dates, June 19-July 17, 2004
Artists’ Reception:
June 19, 2004
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
131 No. Avenue 50
Highland Park


The Avenue 50 Studio is pleased to announce an exhibition featuring works of three Latino artists from three separate continents.  Gomez Bueno from Santander, Spain, Arturo Mallmann from Uruguay and Eloy Torrez from the U.S.   Stylistically different, these artists invest their paintings with tenacity and proficient skill.
These world-class painters epitomize all that is distinctive and exemplary in art.

-- Avenue 50 Studio


8.  EAGLE ROCK SIGHTINGS IN THE LA TIMES: GETTING SPECIFIC

Here’s a piece, from the May 24 edition of The Los Angeles Times, that reports on LA City Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski’s plan to subject Mayor Hahn’s proposed LAX overhaul to the scrutiny of a “specific plan” planning approval process.  We realize that airport planning issues are a little outside our purview, but we’ve included the complete text of the article because it addresses the effectiveness of neighborhood specific plans as an oversight tool in city planning.   You’ll note that Eagle Rock enjoys the dubious distinction of being singled out as a community where a specific plan was not enough to stem the tide of development on at least one front.  (I’ve highlighted that citation below.)

From the Los Angeles Times,
May 24, 2004 Monday Home Edition:

Councilwoman Touts LAX Plan as Neighbor-Friendly;
Miscikowski says her proposal would require more oversight on controversial projects.

By Jennifer Oldham, Times Staff Writer
Copyright 2004 The Times Mirror Company
All Rights Reserved, Los Angeles Times

City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who today will formally introduce what she calls her "consensus plan" to modernize Los Angeles International Airport, says the proposal would better protect airport communities by requiring more study and oversight of the most controversial projects. But whether Miscikowski can sell her proposal to critics who have attacked Mayor James K. Hahn's $9-billion plan may depend on whether she can convince them that her approach can be trusted.

The councilwoman has suggested that officials approved Hahn's makeover and then use what's known as a "specific plan" to move the more controversial elements to a second phase that would require more scrutiny from residents and city officials.  Specific plans provide a detailed blueprint for development and are frequently used by California cities to regulate growth.  But their effectiveness varies widely and the communities near the airport may be  reluctant to back a plan that relies on that strategy.

"Because each plan is drafted differently, by different people, some are ironclad, some are namby-pamby," said Lisa Gritzner, Miscikowski's chief of staff.  "If they're not written properly, they can be useless and open to interpretation."

Miscikowski will ask airport and planning commissioners to consider her proposal during today's hearing.  The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the issue June 14 and it will go to the full council later this summer.  Hahn has said his staff was in touch with Miscikowski's staff about "how to use the specific plan as a detailed planning document" and  that he was looking forward to working with the councilwoman.

Miscikowski, who represents communities around LAX, began drafting her proposal earlier this year when mounting criticism of Hahn's plan led some city leaders to conclude that it would not pass the council.  City officials have already spent nine years and $126 million trying to devise  a way to modernize the world's fifth-busiest airport. LAX received its last face-lift in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics.  Hahn's plan would dramatically change the way passengers use the airport by sending private vehicles to a check-in center near the San Diego Freeway, demolishing Terminals 1, 2 and 3 on the airport's north side and tearing down parking garages in the central terminal area, which would be replaced with a new terminal complex.

By contrast, Miscikowski wants to split construction into two phases.  She would build the projects that some airlines, business groups and residents agree on, including a consolidated rental-car  facility, a transit hub and an elevated tram.  But she would postpone the most disliked elements of Hahn's plan -- such as the remote check-in facility and demolition of the terminals on the airport's north side -- until after an extensive public review.

Planning experts complimented Miscikowski's proposal, saying it would give the City Council more say in redeveloping the aging  airport. "This is the best idea I can think of to achieve her objectives," said William Fulton, a senior scholar at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at USC.  Even so, Miscikowski is still far from achieving a consensus. Residents and influential lawmakers worry that the specific plan process isn't airtight.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who represents communities around LAX, noted that specific plans are often modified later. "Those documents are too easily amended," Harman wrote recently in an e-mail to 400 constituents, "to provide the ironclad commitments we need for security and capacity constraints."

Bill West, general manager of H.B. Drollinger Co., which owns more than half of Westchester's central business district, was more blunt.  "It's a leap of faith," he said.

But Miscikowski has taken to the road with her 36-page proposal to defend the idea of using a specific plan. "It is a city law," she said. "It can't be changed easily by one person.  It has to go through a deliberative process."

To build any of the projects in the second phase, she explained, the specific plan would require the city's airport agency to hire a consultant to study the project and then submit the study to "stakeholder" groups and various city agencies for approval.  Historically, Los Angeles' disparate communities have turned to specific plans to preserve their unique character and regulate development.  Officials use specific plans as a negotiating tool with developers to ensure that roads, sewers and other infrastructure keep pace with growth.

But residents in communities spanning the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, coastal areas and the Eastside give them mixed reviews.

In Eagle Rock, residents are upset that city officials issued Walgreens a permit to build a glass structure they call a "carport" that fronts on a street, even though the specific plan requires "buildings" to face the street to increase pedestrian traffic.

In the San Fernando Valley, Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn., gives the specific plan for Ventura  Boulevard a B-plus for regulating height and density along a 17-mile stretch, but added that it failed to achieve one major goal.

"The fees that were assessed for development were intended really to fund traffic mitigations," Lucente said, "and, frankly, many of them have been invisible to the community."

Other communities that have tried to regulate growth through specific plans have encountered another problem: enforcement.  Sandy Brown, a 33-year resident of
Westwood Village who helped draft the neighborhood's specific plan, said the city Planning Commission failed to enforce it when it approved a $100-million mixed-use project in the area earlier this year.

The commission adopted 18 amendments to the specific plan to accommodate the project's size and scope, though city planners said many were minor.

"Specific plans have no teeth," Brown said.

Miscikowski's proposal has an advantage when it comes to enforcement, planners said, because it would rely in part on what she terms an "oversight committee" to study projects before city agencies review them.

It is also strengthened by traffic limits that it imposes for streets surrounding the airport, city officials say. The proposal requires the airport agency's director to verify that projects listed in Phase 2 of the councilwoman's plan would not exceed those traffic limits.

Gritzner, Miscikowski's chief of staff, suggested that residents and lawmakers, in deciding whether to support the plan, look to the specific plan that regulates traffic in Los Angeles' coastal areas. That plan requires developers who build in beach communities to conduct rigorous traffic studies and pay a fee for each car trip that their project is expected to generate.

The coastal specific plan has helped regulate growth in the beach area, said Jay Kim, a senior transportation engineer for Los Angeles, and the fees are helping the city chip away at much-needed fixes to the area's transportation system.


9.  OCCIDENTAL SUMMER INSTITUTE OF FUN TO TEACH THEATER TECHNIQUES TO CHILDREN — THIS JULY AND AUGUST

The Occidental College Children's Theater is inviting applications for its Summer Institute of Fun, weeklong workshops in July and August that will teach children techniques in physical theater, group improvisation, tumbling and movement. Participants must be between 7 and 12 years old. Enrollment is extremely limited, so sign up as soon as possible.

Children's Theater actors will offer individual attention in a positive and fun learning environment. All children will receive a T-shirt, and each week concludes with an informal folktale performance.

    Sessions, which will cover different material each week, are scheduled for 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The schedule is as follows:

    Session 1: July 19-23
    Session 2: July 26-30
    Session 3: Aug. 2-6
    Session 4: Aug. 9-13

    Fees are as follows:

    $150 for one session
    $280 for two sessions
    $410 for three sessions
    $520 for four sessions
    
    (There is a 10 percent discount for each additional sibling.)

    For more information, or to have an enrollment form sent to you, call (323) 259-2771.


10.  HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW?  FIND OUT — JUNE 19

As reported in our May 13 e.letter, the proposed Eagle Rockdale Community Garden & Art Park has already received a $10,000 matching grant from the LA Department of Public Works.  We’ll keep you posted on further developments as the ER Community Garden moves closer to reality.  For now, here’s TERA Board Member and Community Garden director Mary Tokita with news of the upcoming first meeting and workday at the garden site:

We will have the first meeting of the Garden and a workday on the site on Saturday, June 19.  We will adopt our Garden Rules and elect officers, and then proceed to start work on the Garden itself.

 -- Mary Tokita, TERA Board member, Director, Eagle Rockdale Community Gardens & Art Park


11.  THE WOMENS 20TH CENTURY CLUB YARD SALE — JUNE 26

The Women’s 20th Century Club
Yard Sale
Saturday, June 26
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.


Questions?  Dial (323) 478-1883.


12.   "THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLFMAN" AT OXY CHILDREN’S THEATER — OPENS JULY 8

OCCIDENTAL CHILDREN'S THEATER TO LAUNCH EIGHTH SUMMER SEASON!

The critically acclaimed Occidental College Children's Theater will present "The Boy Who Cried Wolfman," conceived and directed by Jamie Angell for an extended run starting July 8 and closing on August 21st.  Performances will be in the Remsen Bird Hillside Amphitheater outdoors on the Occidental campus.

In about an hour, a cast of Occidental students, alumni and professional actors will perform without props, sets, or costumes, relying only on their acting and physical skills. "This dynamic company of talent actors ... is as fresh and entertaining as ever," the Los Angeles Times says.  

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under.  Group rates are available.

For ticket information, call the Occidental Box Office at (323) 259-2771.

As is the case every year, the script for "The Boy Who Cried Wolfman" will be entirely the result of cast improvisation, said Jamie Angell, the theater's artistic director since its inception.

"We work in the round, so the audience is right on top of the action," Angell said. "The unconventional material and the absence of props or costumes force both the actors and the audience to rely on their imaginations. It's remarkably different from most anything else you see in children's theater today."

Occidental College is located at 1600 Campus Road in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles.  For a campus map and directions to the college, please visit
www.oxy.edu/oxy/welcome/directions.

Located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, 116-year-old Occidental College is a selective, nationally ranked college of the liberal arts and sciences. Its 1,800-member student body combines diversity with academic excellence, having won three Rhodes scholarships and scores of other national awards over the past 10 years.


13.  WE'VE GOT MAIL

“I would like to offer a different perspective to the Walgreens/Starbucks, et al saga by making some points to the community in general, and more specifically to TERA members and supporters. 
 
“First, let's please move on and get past the hostility and continued divisiveness so prevalent in Eagle Rock.  Injustices were committed, local politicians did not support us, and City Hall covered up their blatant violations.  But, it is time to move beyond the 'fighting mode' and start to figure out, as a community, ways to work with Walgreens and Starbucks so we can turn the situation into a win-win for everyone.  TERA should be very proud of the way it fought the battle, but it is time to redirect and realign its energy and efforts toward a course leading to reconciliation.  Let's try to figure out what the establishments can do for us (for one, Starbucks can start saving their coffee grounds, like they do in La Cañada, for Eagle Rock's avid gardeners.)
    
“Regarding the issue of Starbucks versus small coffee houses in town, there are a couple of examples in nearby communities which demonstrate that both can coexist and be successful.  The first is in Toluca Lake: Priscilla's Coffee House is a small business a la Swork with humble beginnings and private ownership.  Starbucks (I know for a fact) and The Coffee Bean (I was told) opened up within a couple of blocks of Priscilla’s, and, to everyone's delight, Priscilla is doing brisk business.  The second example is in La Cañada, where there’s a Starbucks across from Higley's Coffee House, and both appear to be doing fine.  Also, in Sierra Madre (a city that fought Starbucks), there is a Starbucks right next to a local, privately owned small coffee/juice house, and -- trust me -- both places are doing great.   I believe that a combination of large and small businesses will enhance the overall appeal of Eagle Rock.  Let's face it, the town can not survive with  quaint, small businesses alone.  When I see the Gallery Ophelias of the world closing down in such a brief period of time, and the turnover rate of small businesses in town, I question the stubbornness of the 'small businesses only' mentality.  Well-recognized names can attract people who can then become aware of the small places.  Personally, I hardly ever drink coffee out. But if I was in a rush on a Monday, when everyone else other than Swork is closed, I would go straight to Starbucks -- their espresso is the best (next to my husband's).

“Let's learn from the Walgreens/Starbucks experience to avoid future blunders (i.e. fully trusting a local politician to represent your interests), but let's use Eagle Rock's wonderful activism in a more productive and effective way by gradually acquiring a more conciliatory approach.  It may be the community's best bet at this point and time in the game.”
 
-- Tamara Lobaco, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member

Thanks, Tamara, for sharing your thoughts with us.  We passed your letter on to TERA’s president, Hilary Norton Orozco, who’s worked quite hard to convince Walgreens and their developers that working with our community to build a practical, aesthetically pleasing development that fits the needs and desires of Eagle Rock need not be a burdensome prospect.   Hilary drafted the following response to your thoughts, which she was happy to share with our readers here:
 
Dear Tamara,

Your membership and opinions are very important to us, which is why I wanted to respond to you personally.  It is great to hear from someone who has summarized the history of the Walgreens issue so succinctly.  I understand your feeling that we need to take a more conciliatory approach when it comes to Walgreens and Starbucks, as those businesses may be good for Eagle Rock.  The truth is that we have worked with them as part of the focus group to create a better design, and I have praised the developers for making the design more palatable.  As you see by reading the item above on Walgreens, TERA was prepared to support the Starbucks request for extended hours.  I support Starbucks locating in Eagle Rock for some of the same reasons you cite.  But it is extremely important that we support our local coffee shops and small businesses.  The reason that Eagle Rock’s small business survival rate is not all that we’d like it to be is that not enough people take it upon themselves to truly invest in our local small businesses with our patronage as customers.  I will continue to choose Swork over Starbucks, just as Patricia Neal of Swork has invested her own money to create a place for real community interaction, complete with places for children to feel welcome and safe.  Your choice of coffee is your own (I happen to be drinking Starbucks coffee as I write this).  As for a more conciliatory approach with Walgreens, TERA will continue to fight for proper adherence to the Colorado Specific Plan, and toward the goal of having a well-managed property that is an asset to Eagle Rock.  We will continue to clearly state our goals and to remain optimistic that we can all work together for the common good.  Our community deserves no less. 

-- Hilary Norton Orozco, President, TERA

* * *


“A week ago Tuesday at 3:00 a.m. Swork, Beauty Doll, Best Flowers, Owl Talk and Twerps were simultaneously vandalized.  The vandals cut more than 100 vital telephone, dsl and power lines before returning the next day to break open our electrical panels to cut more wires.   In addition to the vandalism—they tagged everything too. This incident has caused many of the smaller businessess hardship.  Why, I ask?  It seems like crime has gone up.  I called Michael Cathey, but to no avail.  We’ve got to do something. “

-- Trish Neal, Owner, swork

Thanks for letting us know about this, Patricia.  We dispatched your letter to the TERA Board, who issued the following public reply:

Dear Patricia,
  
On behalf of TERA, it is appalling that Swork and your neighbors were victims of such malicious vandalism.  TERA will work with the Council office, Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, ERNC, BLEND, and Northeast Police Division in any way we can to be part of the solution to Eagle Rock's crime issues along our commercial boulevards.  In the meantime, I hope that everyone reading this letter will make a special effort to shop and invest in those businesses -- Swork, Beauty Doll, Best Flowers, Owl Talk and Twerps -- that were harmed by the recent crimes.  You all have invested greatly in Eagle Rock, and we need to help provide you with additional resources to economically recover from your damage.  

Please keep us informed through this e.letter as to Councilmember Villaraigosa's response to the crime you have just suffered, and the vandalism waves that have occurred in the past year.  Thank you all for being such assets to Eagle Rock and Northeast Los Angeles.
 
-- Hilary Norton Orozco, President, TERA

* * *


“I commend the idea of building [The Eagle Rockdale Community Garden] along that long forgotten, un-used strip of land which is frequently used as a dumping ground for trash.  However, as a resident of Rockdale Avenue who lives directly across from the proposed garden, I have a concern about parking for people or groups who might be attending their garden.  Rockdale Avenue is a very narrow residential street with parking that is insufficient for residents and visitors.  I hope the plans include space for off street parking for the garden participants.”

-- Jim Ripka, Eagle Rock

Thanks for sharing your concerns, Jim.  We passed your note along to TERA Board Member Mary Tokita, the director of the Eagle Rockdale Community Gardens & Art Park.   Here’s Mary’s reply:

Thanks for speaking up, Jim.  And, yes, your concern is something I have indeed incorporated into the overall design of the project.  You can be assured that we will be good neighbors, especially since I am a neighbor of the Eagle Rockdale Community Garden & Art Park myself.  There will be substantial off-street parking available, which I have planned for the entire southernmost portion of the tract.  According to the LA Community Garden Council, which oversees about 85 community gardens, most gardens of this size will require no more than 6-8 parking spaces, since the hours will be restricted and even on the busiest day of the week (Saturday), users of the park are staggered throughout the day.  Our designated parking area will provide about 10 - 12 spots.  I will also arrange for secondary off-street areas (not Rockdale) as required parking areas for "overflow," if there should be times when more parking is required.

I want to make this work for everyone, and I’m determined to keep making our neighborhood a better, more beautiful place to live.

-- Mary Tokita, LA Master Gardener '01, TERA Board Member, Publicity Chair/Beautification Co-Chair, Director, Eagle Rockdale Community Gardens & Art Park

* * *

"I don't know if you run classified ads, but I really need a reliable local handyman who can do carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and other miscellaneous household repairs.  I would be extremely grateful for any referrals my neighbors could offer.

"Also, I am looking for adoptive or foster homes for some California Desert Tortoises I have raised for about 20 years.  These tortoises are all males, weighing about 10 pounds.  They do require proper care and feeding, and experienced homes are preferred.  If interested, please contact me directly at: ejazzme@yahoo.com.

-- Janna Gadden, Eagle Rock

Thanks for thinking of us, Janna.  The e.letter doesn’t have a formal classifieds section, although from time to time we are able to run letters like yours on a space available basis.  So, we wish you the best of luck finding a carpenter and a home for your slow moving pet.  By the way, if you haven’t checked out the community discussion groups for our area available online at yahoo groups, you’re in for a treat.   There are two community based discussion groups catering to our area: The  North East Los Angeles Mailing List (nelalist) and the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council Mailing List (asncAlerts).  Free to all and open to anyone who’s curious about our area, these online groups post messages from our neighbors on topics ranging from  home restoration tips to area restaurant reviews.  As such,  they are both an invaluable source of news, views and gossip on virtually any topic of interest to residents of North East Los Angeles.

If you’ve never registered for an online email list, you should give it a try.  Registering is fast, easy and free.   For more information on either list, go to the list’s main site on yahoo:

Northeast Los Angeles Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nelalist/
Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASNCAlert/

That’s it for this week’s e.letter.  See ya’ in seven!

We welcome your comments, complaints and/or compliments on the e.letter or any other topic of interest to greater Eagle Rock.  Please address your message to e.letter@TERA90041.org, and include your full name, along with your city, neighborhood or professional affiliation.  Opinions expressed in the e.letter's "We've Got Mail" section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Eagle Rock Association (TERA), the e.letter editor, or The Eagle Rock Association Board of Directors, who reserve the right to publish letters or other materials submitted to the e.letter at their sole discretion.  Letters or other material chosen for publication may be edited for style, clarity and brevity.  Please let us know if you do not wish to have your comments appear in the e.letter.

14.  THE LAST WORD —  BERTRAND RUSSELL

“To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. ”

--Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)

Distributed weekly via email and as a regular feature on various internet discussion groups, the TERA e.letter is read by well over 2000 readers with an interest in Eagle Rock and Northeast Los Angeles.  Please encourage interested friends to send their full name and email address to us at e.letter@TERA90041.org so we can keep them informed, too.  

If you have changed your email address or would like to be removed from this list, send us an email to e.letter@TERA90041.org with the word(s) "remove" or "address change" in the subject box, as appropriate.

If you have a press release, letter of comment, question or other notice that you feel might be of interest to the Eagle Rock community, send it to e.letter@TERA90041.org.  Your announcement -- in the form of an email text message, (no attachments, please) -- must be in our hands by noon on Monday to be considered for inclusion in that week's issue.

TERA -- The Eagle Rock Association -- YOUR COMMUNITY IN ACTION -- http://www.TERA90041.org --
P. O. Box 41453, Eagle Rock, CA 90041 -- (323) 259-TERA -- a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation

The TERA e.letter
A publication of
The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)
Vince Waldron, editor
e.letter@TERA90041.org