Los Feliz Library Lecture Feb. 17: “Ansel Adams in Los Angeles”

Local photographer expert Richard Stanley will give a presentation on “Ansel Adams in Los Angeles” at the Architecture & Beyond Lecture Series Thursday, Feb. 17, 6:45-7:45 p.m. at the Los Feliz Library, 1874 Hillhurst Ave.

This is one of four talks Stanley, a graduate of the Rochester (NY) Institute of Technology, has given on famous photographers of the 20th Century at the library. The images by the legendary landscape photographer are part of the Los Angeles Public Library’s Photo Collection.

Stanley is also a realtor specializing in architecture and historic properties.

Skylights Books will be on hand to sell photography-related books.

The free lecture series, now in its seventh year, is supported by the Friends of the Los Feliz Library and the Los Feliz Village BID.

For more information, call the Los Feliz Branch Library at (323) 913-4710.

[Contact: Lynne T. Jewell @ 323.244.6706]

A little pre-Super Bowl football game at Thomas Starr King Middle School

Tom LaBonge (center holding football), a few of his staffers, coaches from the LACERS after school program and, of course, TS King students after a friendly football game at the school.

Are you ready for some football? A few days before the Super Bowl, we thought it would be fun to play a little football with the kids at TS King Middle School. My staffers and I came to the school to coach and officiate a flag-football game. It was a hard-fought battle that came down to the wire. Before the game, we did a little geography lesson, arraying the kids in a living map of the United States with each student representing a city with an NFL franchise. We hope to make this a tradition.

Pledging to stop Bullying at Thomas Starr King Middle School

Councilmember Tom LaBonge talks to students and faculty at Thomas Starr King Middle School about an anti-bullying and name-calling pledge.

Hundreds of students signed-on to an anti-bullying and name-calling pledge at Thomas Starr Middle School. The pledge acknowledged that bullying and calling fellow students names is wrong and - by signing it - students pledged not to bully or name-call. The oath said that students would do their best not to bully other students or call them hurtful names; would intervene - if they safely could - in situations where other students are being called names; and would support efforts to end bullying and name-calling once and for all.

Operation Clean Sweep scours Council District 4

My staff and I fanned out on Friday and Saturday January 7th and 8th to clean-up neighborhoods in Council District 4. From North Hollywood to Koreatown ... mid-Wilshire to Hollywood ... Los Feliz to Silver Lake, we really cleaned-up. Many thanks to the Bureau of Sanitation, which provided several trucks and drivers to help us pick-up bulky items, such as old couches, mattresses, assorted furniture and rugs, old toys and construction waste left on the streets and sidewalks. We also removed discarded Christmas Trees, palm-fronds and other yard-waste. We cleaned-up several tons of debris from the streets and sidewalks of Los Angeles. It's amazing what you can do with a little cooperation and a lot of heavy-lifting.

Dedicating the "Big Blue M"

Los Angeles Councilmember Tom LaBonge helped dedicate the "Big Blue M" mosaic outside John Marshall High School in LA's Silver Lake area. The 36-foot wide by 8-foot tall mural wraps around the busy corner of St. George Street and Griffith Park Boulevard. It's made up of some five thousand glazed ceramic tiles in Marshall's midnight and sunlight blue colors and was designed by 2008 Marshall graduate Elaine Teo and executed by artist Yuriko. Nearly 100 individuals helped Yuriko place tiles, making it a genuine community effort. It shimmers by day and sparkles by night -- a symbol of academic excellence and a source of neighborhood pride.

Local Author and Councilmember Scale the Historic Stairs of Los Angeles

Councilmember Tom LaBonge and author Charles Fleming led a tour of the Silver Lake route spotlighted in Fleming’s book Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles on Friday.
The book, a favorite on Amazon.com, highlights historic staircases that are part of the unique Los Angeles landscape. There are more than 200 stairways across hilly sections of the City from the time when trolleys were the main means of transportation.
Councilmember LaBonge's tour included the Landa and Lanterman Terrace stairs. For more information about Charles Fleming's book, please visit www.secretstairs-la.com

Silver Lake Public Safety Meeting

Councilmember LaBonge convened a public safety meeting in Silver Lake Wednesday night in response to a series of recent burglaries in the area. More than 100 residents filled the auditorium at Ivanhoe Elementary School to hear news from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Captains William Murphy and Dave Lindsey, commanding officers for the LAPD's Northeast Division, asked the public for help tracking down leads on 15 burglaries between April 11 and May 11 in the area between Glendale Boulevard on the east and Hyperion and Fountain avenues on the west. Other burglaries had been reported in adjacent neighborhoods as well.
The suspects are young men, possibly teenagers. They are stealing items they can carry and easily conceal. Councilmember LaBonge's home was one of those that was burglarized.
Police expect to release a composite sketch of the suspects next week. It will be posted here as soon as it is available.
In a related incident from last year, the captains announced that two young men arrested last February in a series of street robberies in Silver Lake and Echo Park had been convicted as adults and sent to prison.
Anyone with information about the recent burglaries are urged to call the Northeast Division at (213)485-2563. For information on how to protect your home, please click here.

Silver Lake Rec Center Rally

Councilmember LaBonge speaks at a rally to preserve the Silver Lake Recreation Center.

Councilmember LaBonge joined about 100 Silver Lake Rec Center advocates who turned out Sunday morning to rally to preserve staff and programming at the popular community hub.
The councilmember said he would seek a channel for private funds for the community center, which like all Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks facilities, is threatened with lay-offs and limitations on hours.
Parents and other advocates said the fully utilized rec center is busy day and night with children and adults playing basketall, toddlers climbing on the play structure, girl and boy scouts holding den meetings and many other community-building activities. In fact, when the rally ended, the group enjoyed a potluck lunch together.
"If you create a committee to work on this issue, I will help you in any way that I can," said Councilmember LaBonge.