"Eagle Rock: Where land use and
planning is a contact sport"
THE EAGLE ROCK
ASSOCIATION
-- e.letter --
August 23, 2001
Please encourage
interested friends to send their e.mail addresses to us at artburn@earthlink.net
so we can keep them informed, too.
In this issue:
1. OXY CHILDREN'S THEATER -- BEAUTY AND THE
BEATNIK -- ENDING AUGUST 25
2. COMMUNITY MEETING ON NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS
-- AUGUST 26
3. ECLECTIC EAGLE ROCK HOME TOUR COMMITTEE
MEETING -- AUGUST 29
4. WOMEN'S WORK ART EXHIBIT A GREAT SUCCESS --
EXHIBIT ENDS AUGUST 31
5. ALL EAGLE ROCK SCHOOLS DO BETTER THAN LAST
YEAR ON STANFORD 9 TESTS!
6. BEST-SELLING AUTHOR BARBARA EHRENREICH TO
SPEAK AT OXY -- AUGUST 27
7. CINE SIN FIN -- AUGUST 31
8. GREAT IDEA!! -- OFF-LEASH DOG PARK IN EAGLE
ROCK -- MEETING SEPTEMBER 5
9. COUNCIL MEMBER PACHECO DELIVERS "STATE
OF THE TOWN" ADDRESS -- SEPTEMBER 11
10. ATTENTION ARTISTS! -- ART EXHIBIT 9/15
THROUGH 10/19
11. SOLHEIM LUTHERAN HOME "ROCKATHON"
-- SEPTEMBER 9
12. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
13. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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1. OXY CHILDREN'S THEATER -- BEAUTY AND THE
BEATNIK -- ENDING AUGUST 25
Don't miss it! Occidental College's Children's Theater is
pleased to present Beauty and the Beatnik, a series of folk tales from
around the world.
The Magic Mortar
(Japan)
What is in the Bamboo
Tube? (Laos)
Coyote, Iktome and the
Rock (Sioux)
The King Tries to Trick
Xieng Mieng (Laos)
Also included is an
original piece straight from the creative, and somewhat twisted, minds of our
talented cast and director.
Performances run every
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 10:00am, July 12 through August 25, in the
beautiful Hillside Amphitheater.
Tickets are $5.00
children (2-12) $8.00 adult
We also have a group
rate for those of you who would like to bring 15 or more people.
Please call (323)
259-2771 for ticket reservations or for more information.
You can pay with cash
or check at the box office on the day of the show.
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2. COMMUNITY MEETING ON NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS
-- AUGUST 26
SHOULD THE COMMUNITIES OF
CYPRESS PARK, HERMON, MONTECITO HEIGHTS, MONTEREY HILLS AND MT. WASHINGTON JOIN
AS ONE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL???
A lot of people are
very excited about this possibility.
Come, be part of the discussion, and cast your vote!
RAMONA HALL
4580 N. FIGUEROA STREET
(next to Sycamore Grove
Park in Highland Park)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2001
3:00 p.m.
All are welcome!
For more information
please call: (323) 222 2404 or (323) 223 0996
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3. ECLECTIC EAGLE ROCK HOME TOUR COMMITTEE
MEETING -- AUGUST 29
Now is the time to sign
up for Eagle Rock's A-team! The
Eclectic Eagle Rock Home Tour 2002 Committee has been hard at work for next
year's tour, and we are implementing some GREAT ideas. Our tour has helped do wonders for our
community, and it's only going to get better every year, especially with your
help.
Our next Home Tour
Committee meeting is this coming Wednesday, August 29. Please join us at the home of Jackie and
Bill Stutz, at 5261 College View Avenue (the fabulous Hanson Puthuff house that
was featured on our first home tour -- you Craftsman aficionados will faint!).
Our meetings are fun
(we do joke around a lot), yet productive, and a very positive experience. How many Eagle Rock meetings can you say
THAT about (?), and there are lots of Eagle Rock meetings, as you probably
know. You can be a part of that
success, and fun, by calling Home Tour Committee member Suzanne Prieur at (323)
257-7042 or e.mailing her at enchanted_wds@hotmail.com and saying yes!
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4. WOMEN'S WORK ART EXHIBIT A GREAT SUCCESS --
EXHIBIT ENDS AUGUST 31
Dear Friends!
Just wanted to thank you
all for making the Women in Design Los Angeles -- "Women's Work" Show
reception such a fantastic success. I
heard nothing but rave reviews from everyone in attendance. It was a day of pure art enjoyment!
We will be having this
show as a annual event and look forward to your future participation!
Again, my deepest
thanks for all of your enthusiasm and support!
This is just the beginning of many great and creative events to come!
Sincerely,
Candace Jeanette &
Mindy Allen
(Coordinators of the
Women's Work Show, 2001)
**For all NEW WID
members! We will be having a welcome
meeting in the month of September, and will be contacting you individually over
the next few weeks with more information.
(P.S. Thanks to Sharon
Sato, Linda Johnstone-Allen, Anne Tryba, Denise Seider, and Anne Richardson-Daniel.
You made Saturday's reception run like clock-work!)
WOMEN IN DESIGN LOS
ANGELES
818 242-5303
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5. ALL EAGLE ROCK SCHOOLS DO BETTER THAN LAST
YEAR ON STANFORD 9 TESTS!
This in from former ERE
Parent Steve Springer . . . .
"Even though I
have moved out of Eagle Rock, part of me will always be there. I picked up the LA Times this morning
[Thursday, August 16] and was ASTOUNDED by the scores. ERE's average reading
score was 61, an increase of 13 over last year. That's a 27% improvement over
scores that were already well above average for LAUSD. The average math score
was 64, an 18-point increase over last year (a whopping 39% increase!).
Kudos to all teachers,
administrators, parents, and students at Eagle Rock!
I have attached a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, with some nifty graphs showing how we compared
with other schools in the area. Go Eagle Rock!
Reading 2001/Reading
Chg/Math 2001/Math Chg/Below Standard/At Standard/Above Standard
Eagle Rock 61
13 64 18 18
30 52
Dahlia Heights 62
4 52 -3 32 25
43
Delevan Drive 51
5 58 -6 24 40
36
Rockdale 42
6 47 11 34 47
19
Toland Way 46
26 51 8 21 21
29
Eagle Rock (Jr)
High 56 0 47 -3
29 36 35
Franklin 17
4 27 9 54 32
14"
[Editor's note: Sorry, folks. I'm not computer-savvy enough to know how to properly include the
graph. Please bear with me --
"Chg" means change in percentile from last year.]
----------
6. BEST-SELLING
AUTHOR BARBARA EHRENREICH TO SPEAK AT OXY -- AUGUST 27
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Occidental College
August 15, 2001
Contact: Jim Tranquada
(323) 259-2990 or jtranq@oxy.edu
Social critic and
essayist Barbara Ehrenreich, author of the best-selling "Nickel and Dimed:
On (Not) Getting By in America," will speak on "The Committed
Life" at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 27 in Occidental College's Thorne Hall.
A limited number of
seats will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis as
Ehrenreich addresses Occidental's incoming freshmen as part of the annual fall
orientation program. Admission is free.
"Nickel and
Dimed," which has spent two months on the New York Times' bestseller list,
recounts Ehrenreich's undercover attempts to support herself on the wages of an
entry-level worker - a waitress, a hotel housekeeper, a maid, a nursing home
aide, and a Wal Mart floor clerk - in Florida, Minnesota, and Maine.
Ehrenreich's book is
"in the grand tradition of the muckraking journalist," according to
the Washington Post. "It opens a window into the daily lives of the
invisible workforce that fuels the service economy, and endows the men and
women who populate it with the honor that is often lacking on the job."
Born in Butte, Montana,
the daughter of a copper miner, Ehrenreich holds a Ph.D. in biology from
Rockefeller University. Over the past 30 years she has earned the reputation as
one of America's leading social critics with scores of essays and one dozen
books, including "Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of
War" (1997), "Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle
Class" (1990) and "The Hearts of Men: American Dreams and the Flight
From Commitment" (1983).
Awarded a Guggenheim
Fellowship in 1987, she shared a National Magazine Award for Excellence in
Reporting in 1980 and was a finalist for the same award in 1992. She also is
the recipient of a Ford Foundation Award for Humanistic Perspectives on Contemporary
Society.
----------
7. CINE SIN FIN -- AUGUST 31_
The 7th Annual East Los
Angeles Chicano Film Festival -- Reception August 31
The Avenue 50 Studio is
pleased to announce that it will host the opening night reception for Cine
Sin Fin: The 7th Annual East Los Angeles Chicano Film Festival. The
reception will follow the premier at the Highland Theatre of Barrio Murders by
Jojo Hendrickson. There will be performances by three bands: Umbayala, Wozani,
and Ollin; spoken word by Raquel Salinas and Melissa Guerrero; and an eclectic
exhibition of five contemporary Chicano artists entitled 5/5 At Ave 50.
The Cine Sin Fin
film festival will present films by a new school of young Chicano filmmakers
called the Mexploitistas; films like Space Banda, written by John
Estrada; Graveyard, directed by Adrian Guillen; and Two Coyotes,
written and directed by Jose Reyes Bencomo. The Mexploitistas write and direct
films for mainstream audiences, playing up the impactful role of Latino culture
in today's society. Their mantra is, 'It's okay to be commercial.'_
The 5/5 At Ave 50
art exhibit includes photographer Alyce Quinones Rodriguez who brings her
gentle, woman-earth photos to the group, while Domingo Rodriguez shows us his
Homegirl series. Jerry Rodriguez paints his personal demons in wild
religious/sexual imagery; Richard Valdes paints whimsical portraits of women
with strange and wonderful headgear; and painter/actor Mike Moroff bonds with
his El Paso, Texas roots. A truly eclectic exhibit.
RECEPTION: Friday,
August 31, 2001
5/5 At Ave 50 reception from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
Cine Sin Fin reception from 9:30 to 2:00 a.m.
WHERE: The Avenue 50
Studio, 131 North Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA 90042
(323) 258-1435; e-mail:
ave50studio@msn.com
Hours: 10-12 noon
Tuesday through Friday, 10-4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
5/5 At Ave 50 reception free; Cine Sin Fin reception $5.00 donation.
Refreshments will be
served.
Cine Sin Fin: The 7th Annual East Los Angeles Chicano Film
Festival
Highland Theater, 5604
N. Figueroa Street, Highland Park, CA
Dates of Festival:
Friday, August 31 starting 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 1, 2001 noon to
10:00 p.m..
Please call Jaime
Gutierrez (626) 289-5407 or visit their web-site at http://www.alabrava.com
----------
8. GREAT IDEA!! -- OFF-LEASH DOG PARK IN EAGLE
ROCK -- MEETING SEPTEMBER 5
Please join us on
September 5, 2001 at 7:00 p.m. at the Day Care Center at the Eagle Rock
Recreation Center on Eagle Vista Drive for the very first community
meeting to discuss the possibility of
establishing an off-leash dog park in Eagle Rock!
This open meeting will
evaluate this proposal to determine community interest and support. This project has been developed by the
Collaborative Eagle Rock Beautiful, a coming together of all local
organizations and individuals who desire to make Eagle Rock a better
place. For further information, please
call Ursula Brown @ 323-255-9400.
----------
9. COUNCIL MEMBER PACHECO DELIVERS "STATE
OF THE TOWN" ADDRESS -- SEPTEMBER 11
Save the date! Please join us at TERA's next meeting on
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when Council member Nick Pacheco delivers his
annual "State of the Town" address, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the
Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center, 2225 Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock. Everyone is invited to attend.
Come find out what's
been happening over the last year in our town.
This is also a terrific opportunity to meet other concerned community
members and activists! Also, be treated
to local cuisine (caterer to be announced).
Childcare will be
provided so that busy parents can attend.
Parking is available on the street and at Bank of America. We kindly ask that all meeting attendees
contribute a $2 donation to help defray Cultural Center insurance costs. All monies collected are given to the Center
-- a very good cause, indeed!
----------
10. ATTENTION ARTISTS! -- ART EXHIBIT 9/15
THROUGH 10/19
The ERCCC invites you
to participate in our first annual non-juried 12x12 Art Luck: Exhibition.
September 15th -
October 19th
Fees:
There is a $10.00 per
12 inch x 12 inch space participation fee. We will accommodate larger pieces up
to 24 inch x 24 inch for a $20.00 fee but you must arrange this by first
calling the ERCCC.
We will accept payment
in cash or by check only. Please make
checks payable to ERCCC.
Eligibility and
limitations:
This art exhibition is
open to all artists of all ages. Only
two dimensional media art works will be accepted. The ERCCC must reserve the
right to refuse work that it deems unsuitable for a general audience.
Specifications:
Work must be ready to
hang. Work may be framed, but must include picture wire and eye hooks, or
perforated holes for pushpins or nails. Work must not exceed 12 inches x 12
inches (including frame) unless prearranged with the ERCCC. Work must have the
printed labels on this form attached to the art works at time of delivery.
Delivery of work:
Work is to be dropped
off Saturday, September 8th and Sunday, September 9th from 11am to 6pm. Work
will be accepted until all exhibit space is filled. If you need to send work or
require another drop off time prior to the above times please call the ERCCC to
make arrangements. All artists must fill out a waiver form at the time of
delivery. Art works cannot be hung until a waiver form has been signed.
-Wrapping materials and
boxes will not be stored by ERCCC.
-ERCCC will hang
artwork.
-Works are not insured
by ERCCC.
-Art work can be made
available for sale during the exhibition.
-The ERCCC will take no
commission on work sold.
Optional:
Artist are encouraged
to bring an updated resume/biography which will be made available to the public
at the front desk. In addition to the
opening reception, we encourage artists to attend the L.A. County Arts Open House
"meet the artist" reception Saturday, October 6th from 1 to 5pm.
Retrieval of work:
Artwork must be picked
up Saturday, October 20th or Sunday, October 21st from 11am to 6pm. Artists may assign someone to pick up
artwork, but work will not be released without the copy of the waiver form. ERCCC
is unable to provide packaging materials. Work not retrieved will become
property of ERCCC.
About the Exhibit and
the Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center:
This show was created
to raise funds for the ERCCC and to provide artists with a good opportunity to
show their work in an open, friendly, community based exhibition. The ERCCC is
dedicated to providing low cost art, music, dance, sign language and computer
classes to children and adults. Free art workshops are held here approximately
once a month. The ERCCC holds concerts, dance and theater performances, speaker
forums, and has housed a variety of visual art exhibitions that have ranged
from museum quality contemporary works by well renown LA artists to
international exhibits to work by the Cultural Centerós visual art
students. The support from artists
participating in this exhibit is greatly appreciated by the ERCCC, their
contributions will benefit an entire community.
Important dates:
Art work drop off: Saturday,
September 8th and Sunday, September 9th from 11am to 6pm
Artist Reception: (open
to the public) Saturday, September 15th from 2 to 5pm
L.A. County Arts Open
House Reception:
Saturday, October 6th from 1 to 5pm
Exhibition dates: Saturday, September 15th to Friday, October
19th
Art work pick up: Saturday,
October 20th and Sunday, October 21st from 11am to 6pm
Gallery Hours: M-F from
1 to 6pm or by appointment
Artist's Name:
___________________________________
Address:________________________________________
City, State, Zip:___________________________________
Day Phone:______________________________________
Eve Phone:_______________________________________
E-Address:_______________________________________
Title Of Work:____________________________________
Date of Work:____________________________________
Medium (water color, oil, etc...)_____________________
Price:___________________________________________
11. SOLHEIM LUTHERAN HOME "ROCKATHON"
-- SEPTEMBER 9
4th Annual Rock-a-thon
Solheim Lutheran Home
will hold its 4th Annual Rock-a-thon Sunday, September 9, 2001, from 2:00 to
4:00 P.M. It's a Rock-a-thon! A
what? A Rock-a-thon, for rocking-chair
endurance. What a fitting event for a retirement community! Residents and staff will participate. Rockers from the community are
encouraged. Each rocker will be seeking
sponsors to support their rocking efforts.
"Designated rockers" are needed. We also need rocking chairs and will pick up/return any chairs
donated for the event.
Families and friends of
Solheim are ask to pledge support for residents, for their rocking efforts, and
to come out and support their favorite rockers. All donations are tax-deductible. Please call Nancy Ackerman, Director of Development, at
323-257-7518, for more information or to volunteer.
[Editor's note: Did you know that "Solheim" means
"sun house" in Norwegian?
Solheim Lutheran Home was begun here in Eagle Rock in the early part of
the 20th century as a retirement home (only 12 rooms at the time -- it's really
big now) for elderly Norwegian Lutherans (or perhaps advanced-age Norwegian
bachelor farmers, per Garrison Keillor).]
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12. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
"I was out of the
country when the [LA Times Magazine] article appeared. Friends saved it for me. I thought it was a nice bit of
property-value-raising publicity that won't hurt anybody, but was anybody else
struck by the fact that every ethnic group living in Eagle Rock was mentioned
except African-American? Anybody know
what was up with that?" [I don't
know -- ask Dave.]
--Cynthia Carle, Eagle Rock resident
"As we left the
Home Tour after-party [May 2001], my husband told me, 'Eagle Rock is the land
of Amazon Women.' He was referring to
you and Mary [Tokita], standing behind the punch table, lovely and
statuesque. He felt that it was just
another wonderful aspect of Eagle Rock -- that there are tall, strong, and
positive females (his wife included) wanting to do good work in a community
that they love.
I adore Eagle Rock;
it's a cow town to me. And when I saw
your picture in that Times article, you just did it, Girl. You're just like a Super Hero."
-- Anita Mariko
Hultman, Eagle Rock resident, TERA member, enthusiastic volunteer, and fellow
Amazon Woman
" I enjoy reading your
newsletter. It is so informative, but even more so I love your writing
style. And if that is anything to go
by, I am sure you must be a talented illustrator, too. I look forward to seeing your work at the
Cultural Center."
-- Dipa Gupta, Solheim
Lutheran Home, a new TERA member
"You were terrific
in the LA Times!!! I copied it for my
staff and we are really excited about all the positive press Eagle Rock is
gaining. Everyone at Platt College
supports you, and we would like to support our new establishments and perhaps
host some joint activities!"
-- Gina Marinello,
Platt College, a new TERA member
"Congrats on the
LA Times Magazine article -- it was informative and interesting, and certainly
a good thing for Eagle Rock. Best
regards and kudos again, Joanne."
-- James Wirrick, Eagle
Rock resident and TERA member
"Thanks. It was
great to read this newsletter. I have printed a few items out to give to
friends from E.R. and surrounding neighborhoods. I can really feel the difference in the neighborhood in the last
year or so, and am very grateful for the time and energy you and others are
putting into this."
-- Corey Madden, Eagle
Rock resident and TERA member
"Letters
Los Angeles Times
Magazine
Los Angeles Times
202 W. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
To Whom It May Concern,
I was pleased to see
Eagle Rock featured as the cover story in the July 29 issue of the Los
Angeles Times Magazine. As a
descendant of a family who made Eagle Rock its home in the 1920s, an alumna of
Occidental College, and a city planner, I have spent a great deal of time in
the community throughout my life, observing and questioning the socio-economic
and physical changes that have made Eagle Rock, for better or worse, what it is
today.
It has been
inspirational, if not somewhat unbelievable, to follow the efforts and
successes of grassroots organizations such as The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)
and North East Trees, which have emerged to protect what remains of the
character of Eagle Rock, and help the community develop a sense of pride and
vision for the future. I could never
have imagined that Eagle Rock Clean-Up Days, the farmers market, and summer
concerts in the park [the latter two thanks to the Eagle Rock Chamber of
Commerce] could have been possible 20 years ago when new City street and
boulevard trees were vandalized, graffiti was rampant, and quaint bungalow
neighborhoods were irreparably interrupted by non-descript apartment buildings.
While Dave Gardetta's Mayberry
Shmayberry accurately characterizes the diversity and complexity of Eagle
Rock's population and business environment, the author's focus on the
fragmented business environment completely overlooked the
"Mayberry-esque" commercial institutions that are to Eagle Rock what
hot dogs are to baseball. Mr. Gardetta
failed to recognize pillars of the business community such as Tritch Hardware,
the Eagle Rock Italian Bakery, Casa Bianca, Julio's Pizza, Cindy's, and Another
World Comics, to mention only a few, that have withstood the test of time and
the transformation of the community from a homogenous middle-class town to a
modern-day melting pot. I was also
extremely disappointed at the only passing mention of Occidental College,
perhaps one of Eagle Rock's greatest assets, and among the finest, most diverse
liberal arts colleges in the nation.
Eagle Rock deserves
another look. Its rich social,
cultural, and urban fabric holds great potential that has only begun to be
realized.
Sincerely --"
-- Anna Pehoushek
545 East Palmyra Avenue
Orange, California 92866
(714) 744-7228
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"I yam WHAT I yam
[not who]."
-- Popeye
[Editor's note: This correction has been kindly brought to
you by concerned reader Cynthia Carle, quoted above in "letters and
e.mails."]
----------
We welcome your
comments. Please include your name.
Please encourage
interested friends to send their e.mail addresses to us at artburn@earthlink.net
so we can keep them informed, too.
If you have changed
your e.mail address or would like to be removed from this list, please contact artburn@earthlink.net.
Joanne Turner <artburn@earthlink.net>
President, The Eagle
Rock Association (TERA)