Neighborhood: Greater Griffith Park
Next Steps on Cahuenga Peak
Cahuenga Peak Next Steps Committee members, l-r: Joe Young, Terry Davis, Daniel Savage, Sheila Irani, the Councilmember, Graham Marriott, Louis Alvarado and Felix Martinez.
Councilmember LaBonge and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) led a successful fundraising effort this year to acquire 138-acre Cahuenga Peak as an expansion of Griffith Park.
So, what's next?
The Councilmember formed a committee this week to identify other undeveloped parcels of land adjacent to the park that the city can consider acquiring as well.
"There's nothing like a wilderness mountain that you can see from almost any place in the city," the Councilmember told eight of the committee members at its first meeting last night. "Maybe there are other parcels near Cahuenga Peak that we could protect from development and open to all Angelenos for hiking."
The Cahuenga Peak Next Steps Committee will meet over the next six months to help plan the Cahuenga Peak celebration event and begin the next steps.
John Marshall High School's New Look
Acclaimed artist Yuriko Etue is installing a new mosaic at John Marshall High School, in part through a city grant that funds community improvements. The artist, known for the Vine Street Elementary School entrance mural and for her contribution to the Silver Lake mosaic "Art Cans," taught a group of students, city officials and neighbors how to place tiles within the huge mosaic on the corner of Griffith Park Boulevard and St. Georges Street on Thursday. Councilmember LaBonge was the first to participate.
"This mural will add to students' pride in their school and their beautiful campus," the Councilmember said.
The mural, funded by the community, school and city contributions, portrays the school's emblematic "M" in front of blue rolling hills. Students from Dorothy Lee's art class designed different versions of the mural, and the neighborhood council voted on the design. Etue, students and neighborhood volunteers are working to install the mosaic by October.
Griffith Park and LA River Highlighted in the Tour LaBonge
Tour LaBonge, the Councilmember’s series of summer evening bike rides, celebrated its fifth night on Wednesday with a 17-mile ride that began at the historic Mulholland Fountain.
The Councilmember led the way through the rolling hills of Griffith Park on Crystal Springs Drive, past the Autry National Center and onward along the Los Angeles River. Thanks goes to Pasadena's Incycle Bicycles for providing free bicycle tune-ups beforehand!
Riders were treated to sweeping views of the river, which was alive with great blue herons, great egrets, black-crowned night herons, a mass of Black-necked stilts, and even a double-crested cormorant. Thank you to rider Olive Kearn for identifying the various species.
Librarian Clare O'Callaghan was recognized for commuting to work regularly on her bike after one of the LaBonge rides inspired her to climb onto a bicycle for the first time since her childhood.
“Clare O’Callahan was motivated by Tour LaBonge to keep on bicycling, but I’ve met so many people who are motivated by her,” Councilmember LaBonge said. “That is the great thing about cycling: we’ve all got it in us. Thanks to Clare for being today’s inspiration through the climbs of Griffith Park.”
The annual Tour LaBonge bike rides are fun events that promote cycling as an inexpensive, environmentally friendly and healthy form of transportation. Every ride includes a police escort that will lead, accompany and follow the group.
The final bike ride on Wednesday, July 21 will take cyclists through Hollywood. It will begin at Councilmember LaBonge’s Hollywood Field Office at 6501 Fountain Avenue.
Councilmember Dives Into Summer at Griffith Park Pool
Joined by families from across the City, Councilmember LaBonge took the first dive into Griffith Park Pool for Operation Splash, Kaiser Permanente's kick-off to the first week of summer. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and General Manager of Department of Recreation and Parks Jon Mukri also joined.
"This was my neighborhood pool when I was growing up," Councilmember LaBonge said. "It's wonderful to see another generation of families coming to Griffith Park to enjoy and love another feature of Los Angeles."
"Operation Splash will kick off a summer of safe, healthy and fun activities at city pools by providing vital services, such as free swimming lessons, for children and their parents during the hot summer months," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "This partnership with Kaiser Permanente will transform city pools into a summertime oasis where children can meet new friends and develop a routine of regular exercise."
Operation Splash also included the Expo Center’s youth synchronized swimming team and children from Glassell and Chevy Chase Recreation Centers Summer Camp.
For the 2010 summer, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks received a $250,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Southern California that will fund free swim lessons for 6,000 low-income youth and adults at 35 pools across the city. Operation Splash will support free junior lifeguard training for 780 low-income youths at 49 city pools, and extend the summer swim season for one week at seven city pools serving about 10,000 pool patrons.
Joining the effort to make youngsters water safe and provide them with the opportunity to participate in water polo, synchronized swimming and diving is the LA84 Foundation. Over the last 25 years the Foundation has consistently assisted the City’s efforts to provide youngsters with access to quality sports programs.
Operation Splash developed as part of Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) efforts to reduce obesity in the community by broadening opportunities for access to healthy foods and daily physical activity.
Children and their parents can check their eligibility at local participating community pools. For more information, call the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks at 323 906-7953 or email at Citywide.Aquatics@lacity.org.
Councilmember Powers-on Traffic Light in Los Feliz
Councilmember Tom LaBonge and members of the Los Feliz community met at the corner of Finley and Hillhurst avenues to turn on a much-needed new traffic light on Tuesday. The community had been asking for the new four-way traffic light in answer to complaints of speeding motorists and accidents at the intersection.
“I’m thankful to the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for funding and installing this necessary light,” Councilmember LaBonge said. “This will make this intersection much safer for drivers and pedestrians in Los Feliz."
Councilmember LaBonge worked out a creative solution to pedestrian safety at this intersection by seeking funding for the traffic light from the CRA.
Representatives from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA) also spoke at the ceremony.
“CRA/LA is pleased to partner with other City departments to fund traffic lights and other street improvements in the East Hollywood neighborhood,” said Leslie Lambert, Regional Administrator for the CRA/LA’s Hollywood and Central Region. “The lights will improve the traffic flow in the community and make the area safer for pedestrians.”
"LADOT is pleased to have participated in the construction of this new traffic signal so that Los Feliz residents and visitors alike can cross at Finley and Hillhurst Avenues safely," said Rita L. Robinson, General Manager.
The addition of the light will remove the uncontrolled crosswalk at Clarissa Avenue on Hillhurst Avenue where six pedestrians have reported being hit by motorists. There have been a reported 31 accidents at the intersection of Finley Avenue and Hillhurst Avenue since 2000. Three pedestrians were struck at that intersection since 2000.
Promotional items for the “Watch the Road” campaign, first introduced in 2004 by Mayor James Hahn, were provided to attending members of the community. “Watch the Road” informs motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians about "good roadway user" behaviors to save lives and improve traffic mobility. LADOT is a coalition member of the program.
Cahuenga Peak Officially Part of Griffith Park
Councilmember Tom LaBonge announced today that Griffith Park expanded by more than 100 acres when the acquisition of Cahuenga Peak was recorded by the City Clerk this week. The Cahuenga Peak property is the pristine hillside beside the famed HOLLYWOOD sign. It had been threatened with luxury housing development until the Councilmember led the successful “Save the Peak” fundraising effort earlier this year.
"This is a great day for all Angelenos, past, present and future,” said Councilmember LaBonge, whose 4th Council District includes Cahuenga Peak. “This land is preserved in perpetuity for the hiking, exploring and enjoyment of the people of Los Angeles.”
The purchase adds much needed public park land in Los Angeles, which has the lowest per capital park acreage among major U.S. cities, with just 4.2 acres of open space per 1000 residents. The purchase also creates a vital wildlife corridor between Griffith Park and coastal conservancy land.
Councilmember LaBonge had set aside $4.3 million in public park funding over the past eight years to purchase the land. When the property owners listed it for $22 million in 2008, the Councilmember partnered with the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to launch a fundraising campaign to purchase it.
TPL struck an agreement with the owners to buy the land at a reduced price ($12.5 million) to expand Griffith Park. The effort, dubbed the Save the Peak campaign, attracted donations from Hollywood stars, inspired an outpouring of support from the local community and drew media attention from around the world.
The two largest donors were local philanthropist Aileen Getty and the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, who each contributed $1.25 million. Just before the fundraising deadline, Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner stepped forward with a $900,000 donation to close the fundraising gap.
Hollywood leaders donated $3.2 million, including major donations from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CBS Corporation, The Entertainment Industry Foundation, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, the Lucasfilm Foundation, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Steven Spielberg, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Time Warner Inc., and The Walt Disney Company Foundation. Other Hollywood contributors include Creative Artists Agency, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, and Norman Lear.
In addition to headline-grabbing larger donations, community activists also sold baked goods, held a rally and sponsored a concert at a Sunset Strip nightclub to raise money for this grassroots campaign that attracted international support. Many area neighborhood groups also donated, including the Argyle Civic Association, the Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association, the Cahuenga Pass Property Owners Association, the Hollywood Dell Civic Association, the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, the Hollywood Knolls Community Club, the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council, the Hollywoodland Homeowners Association, the Lake Hollywood Homeowners Association
Los Feliz Improvement Association, the Mt. Olympus Property Owners Association, the Oaks Homeowners Association, the Spaulding Square Neighborhood Association, the St. Andrews Square Neighborhood Association and the Whitley Heights Civic Association.
Councilmember and His Wife Walk for a Cure
Councilmember Tom LaBonge accompanied his wife, Brigid, and members of the Griffith Park community in an overnight walk to raise awareness and funds for cancer research and education. The event began on Saturday at 9 a.m. and ended Sunday at 9 a.m.
Mrs. LaBonge, the Relay for Life Griffith Park Communities Chair, is a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and has worked tirelessly since then to educate the public about the disease that will victimize over 150,000 Californians this year, according to The American Cancer Society estimates.
"Despite the recent economic struggle, it’s important for us to remember that people are still getting sick. Those of us who are healthy need to continue to work to help raise money for education, advocacy and research to end the scourge of this horrible disease," said Brigid LaBonge, chair of the event. She has been cancer-free for four years.
“I thank God every day for my wife, and I pray for everyone who has lost their loved ones to this horrible disease,” the Councilmember said. “The American Cancer Society estimates nearly 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. It’s time we found a cure.”
Throughout the day, participants and their families enjoyed food, games and music. The American Cancer Society also provided cancer education. The fundraiser was underscored by a nighttime ceremony for cancer victims, survivors and their families who placed luminaria to light the walking path beginning at the historic Mulholland Fountain. Mike Maldonado, the ceremony speaker, recounted his experience losing his daughter, Julisa, to cancer.
The event raised $21,000 and counting. Donations will be accepted through August 31, 2010. For more information or to donate, please visit www.RelayForLife.org/GriffithParkCA.
Beastly Ball on June 19th
Top Los Angeles chefs fed an unusual family today: gorillas at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The primates munched on watermelon and veggies to promote the zoo's 40th Annual fundraiser, the Beastly Ball.
Councilmember LaBonge joined zoo officials in front of the Western lowland gorilla habitat to promote the event, which will be held on June 19th at 6 p.m.
This year's honoree is actress Betty White, who has been a dedicated zoo volunteer for 46 years. For more information about this fun event, click here.
