THE EAGLE ROCK
ASSOCIATION
-- Invest in Your Community --
TERA
e.letter
August 11, 2005
Learn more about us
and how we are changing our community for the
better.
Are you a TERA member yet?
Join the "in" crowd now! Here's
how:
Click on
http://www.TERA90041.org/teraform.htm
Now more than
ever, please support your residents association --
well over 1,000 members
strong, and growing every day!
Please encourage interested friends and
neighbors to send their email addresses
to us at e.letter@TERA90041.org so we can keep them informed
as well.
This week:
1. TERA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE -- MICHAEL
THARP
2. TERA'S COUNCIL CANDIDATE "MEET AND GREET" --
SEPTEMBER 6
3. TERA'S PUBLIC MEETING NOTES
4.
TERA MEMBERS HAVE ALL THE LUCK!
5. LAST
PERFORMANCES OF "THE LEGEND OF WHITE SNAKE" -- THROUGH AUGUST 13
6.
"NOT A CORNFIELD" -- BEGINNING AUGUST 14
7. JOIN US
FOR AN EAGLE WALK -- AUGUST 27
8. IN REMEMBRANCE -- JULIA
ANN HERNANDEZ -- AUGUST 28
9. EAST LA REPERTORY THEATRE
PRESENTS FREE SHAKESPEARE -- STARTING AUGUST 20
10. FIND OUT
MORE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY -- AUGUST 30
11. QUOTE OF THE
WEEK -- SCHMUEL GELBFISZ
1. TERA PRESIDENTıS MESSAGE -- MICHAEL THARP
Things
are really happening in Eagle Rock this summer! Saturday morning found
over 1,500 people in the parking lot on the east side of the Westfield Mall,
coming together for Council District 14ıs Day of Service to the Community.
Community members from all over CD 14 joined with Council District 14
Staff members and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to initiate 10 projects throughout
the Council District. Making all of this possible were, among others, the
efforts of Lisa Sarnow, Michael Cathey, and Jennie Carreon-Lacey.
One of the projects included in the Day of Service was TERAıs own
Eagle Rockdale Community Garden and Art Park, and there was no shortage of
volunteers working to turn an unused remnant parcel into a community garden and
art park. TERA owes special thanks to the Theodore Payne Foundation.
John Wickham is executive director and an Eagle Rock resident, and along
with him were Theodore Payne Foundation board members. The Theodore Payne
Foundation contributed native plants and knowledge of planting techniques, as
well as hard work and sweat, to start a native plant section in the Community
Garden.
In addition, members of the Eagle Rock High School
football team and the Eagle Rock High School cheerleaders, under the guidance of
Coach Dominick Hernandez, worked long and hard in the hot sun, clearing brush
and debris from the garden area, while avoiding poison oak. And for many,
the cheerleaders made the day when they did a cheer for the newly installed
native plants ("Letıs grow green plants, letıs grow"!!!?, or words to that
effect). It was amazing to see the principle of multi-tasking so ably
demonstrated by our young volunteers. Who would have thought it possible
to rake, hoe, and carry on an intense conversation by cell phone, all at the
same time? Joining in the efforts were 50 students from Roosevelt High
School, who, even when tools were lacking, pitched in to work with what they
had. One young man pointed out that a rake wasnıt necessary because the
weeds were so dry they could be removed with a push broom.
Kacy Treadway,
a local artist, was at the entrance to the garden helping young and old alike
create clay letters and sculpture that will become the entrance gate to the
garden. Teague Weybright and Bruce Saito and the folks from the Los
Angeles Conservation Corps handled some of the really heavy work, getting the
site ready for the construction of raised garden plots. And when the first
raised bed was constructed, all at once what was an abandoned piece of overgrown
real estate began to actually look like a community garden.
While
thanks are being handed out, Iıd like to recognize some of TERAıs own for their
contributions. Mary Tokita and Joan MacNeil have spearheaded the Garden
effort, working long into the evenings as well as on weekends to make the garden
a reality. Hilary Norton Orozco was there with her two nieces, as was
Juliann Lanser and Liz and John Wagner. In addition to photographing the
events of the day, Keith Louie moved mountains of rocks and mulch to create an
hospitable place for organic food to be grown.
You know it was a
successful event when a passing bicyclist stops by and is so impressed with the
work being done that, unsolicited, he writes out a check to the garden for $100.
I promised I would not reveal his name to protect his privacy, but we know
who he is and we are very appreciative. There are more people who deserve
to be thanked than there is space. Suffice it to say that all of us at
TERA are exceedingly grateful to all of the community members who showed up for
the Day of Service on a hot summer Saturday to help with projects that will
provide a long-term benefit to the residents of Eagle Rock and all of CD 14.
2. TERA'S COUNCIL CANDIDATE "MEET AND GREET" -- SEPTEMBER
6
Please join TERA on September 6 in our quest to help you choose
the best candidate to represent Eagle Rock and the rest of Council District 14
in the upcoming election in November.
Council District 14 "Meet and
Greet"
Tuesday, September 6
7:00 p.m.
Center for the Arts, Eagle
Rock
2225 Colorado Boulevard
Eagle Rock
Last time we counted, there were 17 candidates. There
might be more by the time September 6 comes around. Come meet them all!
We hope to see you there.
3. TERA'S PUBLIC MEETING NOTES
³A New Partnership for
LA²
An Illuminating Evening with LA City Controller Laura
Chick
Over 50 people showed up on Tuesday night (August 9) at the Center
for the Arts, Eagle Rock, to hear Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick, the
first and only female to hold citywide office, shed some light on what exactly
her department does, discuss her relationship with the new Mayor, and lay out
the goals for her second and final term.
TERA's new president, Michael
Tharp, opened TERA's August 9 Public Meeting with an introduction to featured
speaker Chick. Mr. Tharp met Ms. Chick many years earlier when she was a
field deputy for the third Council district, before she was elected to the
Council to represent that district.
Mr. Tharp explained that what Ms.
Chick does, as a great service for our city, is a new type of audit that
carefully reviews all contracts with vendors and any other entity doing business
with the City of Los Angeles. He told our audience that besides being the
first woman to hold citywide office, she was the first woman to chair the Public
Safety Commission.
In Ms. Chick's words, it is the responsibility of the
Controller to ask two very important questions: "How are we doing? How can we do
it better?" To that end, her department is currently engaged in 80 major
audits, including audits of Planning, Recreation and Parks, Campaign Finance,
Building and Safety, and the Fire Department, among others. They also
issue follow-up reports when these departments fail to make the recommended
reforms. The goal is to focus on ways to make these departments run more
efficiently and to expose and eliminate ³sacred cows,² the long-held assumptions
which may not hold up under todayıs fiscal scrutiny.
She has already
looked into the inner workings of the DWP, the Harbor Commission, the Police
Department and even the Staples Center. But one of her most dramatic
recent reports was about the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
With mounting debts of over $5 million and serious accounting and
mismanagement issues, LAHSA was unable to offer the much-needed services it was
commissioned to provide to our cityıs homeless, many of which are women and
children. Chickıs report was filed just last month and within a day, LAHSA began
to make the recommended structural and procedural changes.
Chick
underscored the importance of her strong working relationship with Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa. She described her audits as ³roadmaps to change² and
explained that the Mayor has often stepped in to make sure that those changes
are implemented - sometimes even within 24 hours. Chick also announced the
newly-approved creation of a Waste & Fraud unit which will serve as a strike
force to respond to whistleblowers and further improve the financial standards
and accountability of City departments.
Chickıs tone was energetic,
direct and honest -- a personality that has raised the profile of her
department, and in turn, brought quite a bit of media attention to several of
her high-profile audits and recommendations. Chick doesnıt shy away from
the exposure; in fact, she encourages taxpayers to learn how their tax dollars
are being spent and, in turn, expect more from their public officials
You
can see a list of audit reports, press releases, plans and other reports at the
City Controller website: http://www.lacity.org/ctr/
In
addition to the great conversation, there was an incredible selection of some of
the best food Eagle Rock has to offer, generously donated by the following:
Auntie Emıs, Camiloıs, Colomboıs, Danteıs Chicken & Ribs, and Ernie Jr.ıs.
A huge thank you to Mrs. Chick and to TERA for organizing such a great
night!
A special thanks to our TERA volunteers: Michelle Simutis, Maria
Nazario, Betty Tyndall, Teri Aranguren, and Maura Duval Griffin.
Donıt
forget the next TERA event -- September 6 is "Meet the Candidates" Night!
Come meet the candidates for CD 14 Council Member before the Special
Election on November 8.
4. TERA MEMBERS HAVE ALL THE LUCK!
TERA members come
out on top all around town! Benefits to our members include the
following:
10% discount at Swork Coffee, 2160
Colorado Boulevard
10% discount at The Coffee Table, 1958
Colorado Boulevard
One-month discount on an annual membership at
Curves, 4870 Eagle Rock Boulevard
A free home appraisal up to
$1000 with mortgage financing from Olympia Funding. Contact Steve Aranda
at (323) 868-6242
10% off Friday and Sunday wine tastings at The
Colorado Wine Company, 2114 Colorado Boulevard
10% discount at
The Blissful Soul, 4870 Eagle Rock Boulevard
Join TERA now so you, too, can partake in these
good things! To join over 1,000 other Eagle Rock community members in the
endeavor to improve our town, just click on
http://www.TERA90041.org/teraform.htm.
5. LAST PERFORMANCES OF "THE LEGEND OF WHITE SNAKE" -- THROUGH
AUGUST 13
The last performances of The Legend of White Snake at
the Sylvan Amphitheater in Yosemite Park will be held this weekend, Thursday
through Saturday, August 11th, 12th and 13th at 7:00 pm.
This theater
production was wonderfully reviewed in the LA Times, LA Weekly and other
community newspapers. Come catch the final performances of Henry Ong's
play of a Chinese folk tale.
The concluding days of the performance at
the Sylvan Amphitheater will feature a modern dance performance spearheaded by
Anita Pace, a re-telling of the famous Pinnochio by the Open Gate Theater, and a
weekend of original plays by northeast LA area youth presented by The Unusual
Suspects Theatre Company. Don't miss these wonderful productions.
All performances are free. Yosemite Park and the Sylvan Amphitheater
is located at 1840 Yosemite Dr. in Eagle Rock.
Please visit
http://www.centerartseaglerock.org for further festival
information.
"THE LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE," A MARTIAL ARTS PLAY, ENDS A
FOUR-WEEK RUN
AT THE BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SYLVAN AMPHITHEATER, EAGLE ROCK
THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 THROUGH 13.
The popular Chinese
mythical drama about a snake that turns into a woman after a thousand years of
meditation, ³The Legend of the White Snake,² continues a four-week run at the
Sylvan Amphitheater in Yosemite Park, 1840 Yosemite Drive in Eagle Rock.
The play, performed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through
Saturday, August 13 at 7 p.m., is presented by the Center for the Arts, Eagle
Rock, The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, The City of
Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, Council District 14 and Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa. Picnics are welcome, and please bring seat
cushions.
MORE EVENTS AT SYLVAN: On August 18, 2005 Los Angeles:
The Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock will be hosting an exciting new dance
performance as part of the summer long performing arts Sylvan Amphitheater Fest
in the historic Sylvan Amphitheater located behind Eagle Rockıs Yosemite Park.
Who:
Choreographers Kate Foley, Anita Pace, Nancy Sandercock
What: ³Short
Program 2²
Where: The Sylvan Theater at Yosemite Park in Eagle Rock, 1840
Yosemite Dr. 90041
When: August 18, 2005 7:30pm
Tickets: Free
Bring seat cushions. Picnics are welcome.
6. "NOT A CORNFIELD" -- BEGINNING AUGUST 14
You are
cordially invited to a "NOT A CORNFIELD" event:
Sundays @ Not A
Cornfield
DRUM CIRCLE + CORN PLANTING + ORAL HISTORY BOOTH + STORY SERIES
DEBUT
SUNDAY AUGUST 14 @ 3-8pm
AND EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL
HARVEST
MORE INFO: 323.226.1158
Interpretive Tours
3pm
Drum Circle w/ musician Michael McCall 4-7pm
BRING A DRUM OR
INSTRUMENT
Corn Planting w/ gardener Jaime Lopez 4-7pm
Oral History Booth
w/ RadioSonideros 4-7pm (at Millie's)
Story Series Debut -- community history
w/ Hilary Kaplan & special guest Alicia V. Brown
As part of the
free-of-charge, weekly Sundays @ Not A Cornfield event, please join curator
Hilary Kaplan and special guest Alicia V. Brown at 7pm on August 14 for the
debut of Story Series, a storytelling, poetry, performance writing, and music
program highlighting the community history of Chinatown, Downtown, Lincoln
Heights and The Cornfield. This intimate, engaging spoken word gathering brings
to life stories of Los Angeles past and present.
This Sunday, community
leader Brown shares stories of the Solano Canyon neighborhood she's called home
since 1939. She and her husband raised four children there; the children, in
turn, attempted to raise frogs caught in the L.A. River. A former teacher and
member of the Cornfield Advisory Committee, Brown is currently interested in the
waterwheel once located at the intersection of Solano Avenue and North Broadway.
This waterwheel brought water out of the L.A. River into zanjas (ditches), the
first system of water service to L.A. residents.
ABOUT NOT A CORNFIELD:
"Not A Cornfield" is a 32-acre living sculpture. The project is located between
Chinatown, the L.A. River and Lincoln Heights on a large stretch of land north
of downtown Los Angeles popularly known as "The Cornfield."
DIRECTIONS
(SOUTH GATE): From the intersection of North Spring and College (Gold Line -
Chinatown stop) take North Spring north 2 blocks to the entrance gate at the
southern end of the project site.
NOT A CORNFIELD
1201 NORTH SPRING
STREET
ALWAYS FREE TO THE PUBLIC, HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE
FREE PARKING AT
SOUTH GATE
PLEASE VISIT THE NOT A CORNFIELD WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO AND
A MAP
http://www.notacornfield.info
7. JOIN US FOR AN EAGLE WALK -- AUGUST 27
Enjoy one
of Eagle Rockıs most beautiful neighborhoods -- and get fit at the same time!
Join Janiss Garza, the editor-in-chief of the popular Internet fitness
magazine, http://www.allspiritfitness.com, on a Saturday
morning!
EAGLE WALK
Saturday, August 27, 2005
8:30 AM
We
will meet by City Hall, on the Corner of Colorado Boulevard and Maywood Avenue.
Ms. Garza will take you on an easy two-mile fitness walk past some of
Eagle Rockıs historic homes. We will end at Swork, at the corner of
Colorado and Eagle Rock Boulevards, where we will stretch out, and Ms. Garza
will answer your questions about exercise, fitness and weight loss.
This
is a beginnerıs level fitness walk that almost anyone will be able to accomplish
easily. Youıll be surprised at how fun a little activity can be! If
you have any questions about the walk or would like to R.S.V.P. (preferred, but
not necessary), please call 323-258-2660.
8. IN REMEMBRANCE -- JULIA ANN HERNANDEZ -- AUGUST
28
Julia Ann Hernandez, August 25, 1939 October 24,
2004
A celebration of Julia's life will be held Sunday August 28,
from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the Rock Rose Gallery, 4108 North Figueroa Street,
Highland Park. Her death was the result of a cerebral aneurysm she
suffered on September 14, 2004.
Julia was known by many in Eagle Rock
from her distribution of flyers for the Sangeet School of World Music, where she
volunteered her time and talents since her retirement in 2001. Hers was
also a familiar face at the Saturday anti-war demonstrations at the corner of
Colorado and Eagle Rock Boulevards.
She was one of the organizers of the
Highland Park Earn-A-Drum project, in which youngsters would be awarded drums
for community efforts.
The event is being put on by Kenneth Bonnell, her
life companion for twenty-six years, with the cooperation of her friends Jonnie
Summers, Margo, and Rosamaria Marguez, proprietor of the Rock Rose Gallery.
There will be a display of photographs from Julia's life.
For
information, please call the Gallery at (323) 222-4740 or e.mail Ken Bonnell at
Khbonnell@aol.com.
9. EAST LA REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS FREE SHAKESPEARE -- STARTING
AUGUST 20
East LA Repertory Theatre proudly presents the tragic
love story of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare as part of Free
Shakespeare at East LA Parks. For the third consecutive year East LA Rep will
tour a classic play to various parks in East Los Angeles, this summer the
production of R&J will be seen from the edge of East Los Angeles in
Boyle Heights and as far east as the city of Whittier. An ensemble of talented
actors, Richard Andrade, Mariella Saba, Francisco Garcia, Fanny Garcia, Eva
G. Rios, Sergio Villarreal, Karen Anzoategui, and directed by Jesus A.
Reyes bring this tragic love story of young love, parental ignorance, and
societal strife to life.
East LA Rep invites you to join us in this new
tradition of open-air performance at community parks. We encourage you to bring
your blanket, lawn chair, and sunscreen and enjoy classic theatre under the LA
sky.
What: Romeo &
Juliet
by William Shakespeare
When:
Aug. 20 Sept. 11,
2005
Saturdays and Sundays @ 11am
* 5pm show on Saturday Sept.
3rd
Where: Various East
LA Parks
Aug. 20 @ Prospect Park
Aug. 21 @ City Terrace Park
(patio)
Aug. 27 @ Hermon Park at Arroyo Seco (Hermon/Highland Park)
Aug.
28 @ Eugene A. Obregon Park
*Sept. 3 @ Belvedere Park (lakeside
stage)
Sept. 4 @ Ruben F. Salazar Park
Sept. 10 @ Saybrook Park
(Montebello)
Sept. 11 @ Sorenson Park (Whittier)
Admission:
Free
Info:
(323)
788-3880
jreyes@eastlarep.com
eastlarepertory@hotmail.com
www.eastlarep.com
Mission
East
Los Angeles Repertory Theatre Company is dedicated to producing works by
emerging and established playwrights of Latino heritage thereby promoting the
essential role of Latino theatre to the American stage. East LA Rep also brings
theatre to under-served communities with summer offering of classic plays as
part of our Free Shakespeare at East LA Parks and theatre programming to
educational and community organizations lacking arts support.
10. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY -- AUGUST
30
Occidental College invites you to find out more about
Social Security, August 30, 2005, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The
events will take place at the College in Thorne Hall, 1600 Campus Road, Eagle
Rock.
Keynote speaker: Xavier Becerra, Congressman 31
District
MC: Consumer advocate, David Horowitz, "Fight Back with David
Horowitz"
Also featured will be Occidental College president Ted
Mitchell
Workforce issues: YWCA Greater L.A. CEO, Faye
Washington
Occidental students, economists and former Social Security
Administration officials featured.
Music, pizza, fruit, and cake at no
charge. Parking available on campus and in surrounding residential areas.
All are invited to attend the informational festivities.
11. QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- SCHMUEL GELBFISZ
"Good
things live. Bad things die."
-- Samuel Goldwyn
Got graffiti? Contact the City of LAıs Operation Clean Sweep Graffiti Removal
Hotline: 3 - 1 - 1.
Distributed weekly via e.mail and as a regular feature on various Internet
discussion groups, the TERA e.letter is read by well over 2,000 readers (and
probably more) with an interest in Eagle Rock and Northeast Los Angeles.
Please encourage interested friends to send their full name and e.mail
address to us at e.letter@TERA90041.org so we can keep them informed, too.
If you have
changed your e.mail address or would like to be removed from this list, send us
an e.mail to e.letter@TERA90041.org
with the word(s) "remove" or "address change" in the subject box, as
appropriate.
POLICY ON SUBMITTING A NOTICE:
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 e.mail text message, (no attachments, please)
-- should be in our hands by noon on Tuesday to be considered for inclusion in
that week's issue.
İ2005 The Eagle Rock Association
TERA --
The Eagle Rock Association -- INVEST IN YOUR COMMUNITY -- 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)
Joanne Turner, Editor
e.letter@TERA90041.org