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At times I think we take for granted the little but important things in life: your family, friends, pets and neighbors; the local coffee and wine shops that know you by name; your favorite restaurant or dry cleaners. These are the essence of the neighborhood we've chosen for our self and our family - our little piece of heaven here in Eagle Rock. Never are these remembrances as poignant as when I travel for business. While it may seem that it's the best life to have, you miss the things that might seem unimportant on their own, but as a whole symbolize your life.
Although I try not to complain about the volume of business travel I do -- because I love what I do -- it sure is good to come home. For the past 40 years I've lived within a 10 mile radius of where I first lived in this country, and for the last 10 years in Eagle Rock. I have traveled the world, but after this past solid month of travel….there is no better place than home.
Enough about my travels! This e.letter is about our community, our slice of heaven in northeast LA and several very important projects we have coming up.
- The Occidental College Specific Plan. The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) Land Use Committee (LUC) will host this meeting Wednesday February 18, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock. TERA's Planning, Preservation and Development committee has reviewed the plans, reports and letters from several community groups. We have been working with ERNC LUC to ensure that it's a thorough review by both groups. At this meeting we will present our evaluation, findings as well as our questions. Please join us for this very important meeting that affects not just our local college and its neighbors, but our entire community. Additionally, see announcement below on new Oxy president Jonathan Veitch. Congratulations to him and we welcome him and his family back to Los Angeles. I hope that he will be able to attend the meeting and hear from the community.
- Los Angeles Mayoral Candidates Forum, a joint meeting of TERA and ERNC, Thursday, February 19, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd. All candidates for the office of Mayor of Los Angeles will be invited to participate. I've seen many names on lawn signs already, so I hope all will show up to share their plans for the future of our city.
- Mayor's Northeast Los Angeles Day of Service: Rescheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to noon - Beautification of The Eagle Rock Library, 5027 Caspar Ave., Eagle Rock. Although the event was postponed due to rain, we will regroup for March 14. Please let me know if you are able to participate - send me an e-mail at president@tera90041.org.
- Also for March we are working with ERCPR to hold a public meeting on the Attended Parking Project and RFP that ERCPR has been working on for a long time. Board member Frank Parrello serves on the ERCPR board and has been very involved. It will be an opportunity to engage the community and get input. Date, time and location will be announced in a subsequent e-letter.
- A ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the Wiota Circle Monument which Dave and Helen Gustavson along with many volunteers have completed is in the works. More to follow shortly.
- The Eagle Rock Make Art Not Trash (ERMANT) project is almost complete. Thanks to Heather Hogan for curating a great exhibition a few weekends ago of the panels that will comprise the sides of the trash receptacles. We are awaiting the construction and delivery of the receptacles so that the panels can be installed. We will have a celebratory party and walking tour once completed. As with most city projects that involve permits we've had delays, but thanks to project coordinator extraordinaire Pauline Mauro, we are not far from our target. I'll let you know the exact date once we get that last permit.
There is so much more that we've been working on, so please see the land use update below for important updates. And relative to the land use update, a word of caution to developers and city officials that may be less than forthright or may conveniently forget what we stand for or our position on proper land use and development: I and TERA may have a collaborative, cooperative, congenial and all the other pretty "c" words in the English language approach to how we conduct business, which is very important for community building. But do not by any means mistake that for weakness or lack of passion and conviction for the work of TERA.
Have a nice day Eagle Rock!
Maria Nazario, TERA President
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Land Use Update
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This comes from TERA's Planning Preservation and Development (PP&D) Committee, chaired by Frank Parrello and includes actions taken by TERA's Board.
Onteora Way Development:- We received the determination from the Planning Commission on the hearing that Frank Parrello testified at in August 2008. The Commission approved the zone change but did not require the specific tract map that would limit the parcel to 9 lots. TERA's PP&D Committee recommended asking Councilmember Huizar to get a clarification tying the zone change to the Tract Map. A letter from the TERA Board has been sent to Councilmember Huizar linking the zone change to the tract map and the limit of 9 lots.
Occidental College Specific Plan: the PP&D Committee has reviewed the specific plan and will present its finding at the Land Use Committee of ERNC meeting February 18. We have received a letter from the neighbors that are adjacent to the college, a group named CANAL (Community Against Noise and Lights) which we will take into consideration along with all the other factors.
Colorado Boulevard Valet Parking Program: The Request for Proposals was released by DOT this month. TERA is working with ERCPR to hold a community meeting in March at which time ERCPR's consultant Mott Smith will present the program details. A date will be selected shortly.
Eagle Rock Ridge: At the Design Review Board Meeting we learned that the developer of the land above the ridge has submitted to the City his request for a plan amendment and zone change to allow him to develop the land as commercial use and zoning for a restaurant. Currently the land is zoned as private open space and zoned for minimum density. The developer told city staff that he had been to the TERA PP&D committee and that we supported his plan. This is simply untrue. The PP&D Committee and the TERA Board has been in opposition of this development since we first heard of it and reaffirmed its opposition to the proposal at their January meetings. We reminded city officials that TERA had expressed its opposition to this project via direct communication to them and in the e-letters and printed newsletter. TERA will not waiver in our opposition of the development of the Eagle Rock ridge and will fight this until we persevere. Maybe you are thinking "what's the big deal about this open green space between the Eagle Rock and 2 Fwys, just north of the 134", well it is a big deal. It's one of the few green spaces in our community, a natural habitat for many animals, a hiking trail for those that brave it and a beautiful respite from our increasingly cemented world. Oh, it's a big deal alright, a really big deal.
Corner of Maywood and Colorado: Word on the street is that a restaurant is opening, but we can't confirm it at this time. We are investigating.
Corner of Caspar and Colorado: There is a proposal for the southwest corner of Caspar and Colorado. Originally it was to be a Momma and Papa Pizzeria but now may be called Corner Pizza. We are gathering additional information.
Green Goddess: We asked the planning department and Councilmember Huizar's office about the status of the Green Goddess. Neither one had any specific information but thought they were going forward with the request for an exemption for the ICO and wanted to be allowed to relocate on Colorado Boulevard from a previous location on Figueroa Street in Highland Park due to a lease dispute, thereby the hardship exemption. Last Friday the LA times ran an article on the proliferation of medical marijuana locations in the Eagle Rock area. The article was balanced in how it represented the facilities, but didn't address how we prevent a concentration of them in a community, which cannot be good for business or neighbors.
Construction adjacent to the Comfort Inn on Colorado west of Eagle Rock: We have inquired with city planner Tim Henry about this construction which did not come before the TERA PP&D committee. He did not remember the specifics but thought that he had written a Director of Planning Determination that it was consistent with the Colorado Boulevard specific Plan and needed no further approvals. We've asked for further clarification.
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Mt. Wash. Elem. Event
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Mt. Washington Elementary is holding its 4th Annual Silent Auction event Saturday, April 18th at the 20th Century Women's Club in Eagle Rock, the theme will be Middle Eastern. It is their biggest fundraiser of the year. With the looming budget crisis school districts face, fundraisers need to be more successful than ever. More information will be forthcoming. If you have questions, contact event co-chair Nichelle Minutti at minutti@sbcglobal.net
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LA vs. shopping carts
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L.A. Considers Shopping Cart Regulations:
From VICA (Valley Industry and Commerce Association) Weekly comes this article on shopping car regulations. This is a topic that TERA addressed in the past, with both positive and negative comments.
"The L.A. City Council's Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM) took the first steps toward putting onerous restrictions on thousands of retail, big box and grocery stores in Los Angeles this week. PLUM directed the city to draft an ordinance that would cost businesses in Los Angeles millions of dollars in an attempt to prevent customers from removing shopping carts from store property. The new law would require stores to implement a shopping cart containment system that does not allow more than five carts to be removed from the store's premises per day. This is likely to force stores to invest in expensive wheel-locking systems that can cost hundreds of dollars per cart. VICA is concerned that the ordinance will create unnecessary burdens for businesses."
President's note: I know the chairman of VICA, Greg Lippe, CPA who is one of my organization's members, I think I'll ask him for a follow up to this.
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New Oxy Pres
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(Press Release by Oxy)
Jonathan Veitch has been selected by the Occidental College Board of Trustees as Occidental's 15th president. He succeeds Robert A. Skotheim, who will retire on June 30.
Veitch, served five years as dean of Eugene Lang College: The New School for Liberal Arts in New York City, where he is currently an associate professor of literature and history. Prior to his service as dean (2003-08), Veitch served as the associate provost and chair of humanities of the New School University, of which Lang College is a part. He joined the New School faculty in 1997, having taught for five years in the English Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A 1981 Stanford graduate, he received his doctoral degree in the History of American Civilization from Harvard. "Occidental was looking for someone with proven leadership skills, a deep commitment to and understanding of the liberal arts and sciences, and a talent for attracting support for higher education. After a national search, Jonathan emerged from a very strong field of candidates as the ideal person to lead Occidental from strength to strength," said Dennis Collins, chair of the Occidental Board of Trustees. "As an institution whose history and identity is so closely intertwined with Los Angeles, we are delighted to be able to name a native Angeleno as president - the first in Occidental's history."
As dean of Lang, Veitch focused on expanding the size and scope of the institution to take advantage of its status as an urban liberal arts college. In five years, he doubled the size of the student body and hired more than 60 new full-time faculty, introduced tenure and enhanced the curriculum, including the creation of institutional partnerships with premier cultural institutions such as the Guggenheim and the New York Historical Society. Veitch also created new programs in civic engagement including college readiness courses for disadvantaged youth, prison reform and environmental projects, and launched new overseas studies programs in Mexico, South Africa, India, and Poland. At the same time, he improved the internal operations of the college, developing an academic advising team and a career services program and boosting fundraising totals from $40,000 to $2 million annually. "I am honored to become president of Occidental, a college with a distinguished record of national leadership in the liberal arts and sciences," Veitch said. "For the last quarter-century, Occidental has led the way in undergraduate research, particularly in the sciences, and in creating a rigorous, thoughtful, and diverse approach to education."
"One need only look at Occidental's most famous student, Barack Obama. Our new president demonstrates the very best qualities of a liberal arts education. It is evident in so much of what he says and does, and how he thinks," he said. "Indeed, our 44th president not only embodies the excellence and diversity that Occidental strives for, he exemplifies the urgency and centrality of a liberal arts education as we face the challenges of the new century. This is why I regard the liberal arts and sciences as essential equipment for living, and why I am so excited to be given this new opportunity."
Veitch has served as a visiting professor at NYU's Steinhardt School of Education and Doshisha University in Kyoto; a consultant for Antioch College; an outside evaluator for the New York Council for the Humanities; and as a Fulbright senior specialist in Kazakhstan. The author of the award-winning American Superrealism: Nathanael West and the Politics of Representation in the 1930s (University of Wisconsin Press, 1997), Veitch's fields of academic specialization include 19th and 20th century American literature and cultural history, and American film. His latest research has focused on the history of higher education in the United States. Veitch currently lives in New York City with his wife Sarah and their three children.
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