OPNC News

To provide greater transparency and openness in its budget review, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will hold workshops for customers to review the proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget, ask questions and provide comments on Tuesday, June 8, in the San Fernando Valley and Saturday, June 12, in Downtown Los Angeles. The workshops will provide opportunities for the public to learn about LADWP’s strategic priorities and proposed spending plan for the 2010-11 fiscal year.  Customers can also view a summary of the budget and submit questions and comments online.

WHEN & WHERE

MORE INFORMATION:

The proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget focuses on LADWP’s core business of providing reliable, safe water and power to the City’s 4 million-plus population, ensuring regulatory compliance, improved customer service and reduced spending in non-critical areas.  It includes $263 million in cost reductions and deferrals. A simple, easy to understand presentation of the proposed budget is viewable by visiting the LADWP’s online newsroom at ladwpnews.com and looking under the “Hot Topics” section. Comments and questions can be submitted from the online newsroom by choosing “Submit Inquiry” under the “Contact Us” tab.

Please RSVP.

or visit the LADWP Home Page

Los Angeles: Detective Support and Vice Division (DSVD), Operation ABC, with the assistance of Area Vice Unit personnel will initiate the 12th annual Safe & Sober Graduation Operation during the month of June 2010. This project is designed to curtail the accessibility of alcoholic beverages and promote “safe and sober” graduations throughout the 89 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high schools.

Between June 16 and July 1, 2010, an estimated 28,000 students will graduate from LAUSD high schools. Based on past events, it is anticipated that many of these students will be celebrating this significant event in their young lives. However, a number of them will be attempting to use alcoholic beverages as a means of enhancing their celebrations. In an attempt to reduce the availability of alcoholic beverages to underage individuals and thereby save lives, vice units will be conducting a series of minor decoy and decoy shoulder tap operations coinciding with high school graduations in their respective areas.

Beginning June 1, 2010, Area Vice Units will conduct minor decoy and decoy shoulder tap operations at licensed Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) locations in the proximity of LAUSD high schools.

On the weekend of June 19-20, 2010, Area Vice Units will be on maximum deployment and focus specifically on alcohol-related crime issues involving underage minors attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages via the minor decoy and decoy shoulder tap operations. These operations are designed to inhibit the flow of alcoholic beverages at the two primary sources: licensed locations and the parking lots of these locations. Surveys conducted by major universities indicate that approximately 75 percent of high school seniors have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past six months. Studies also indicate that 46 percent of these students will obtain the alcoholic beverage by soliciting adults outside of markets and liquor stores.

Shoulder tap operations are specifically designed to curtail this type of activity.

Operation ABC personnel are releasing this media advisory to alert those individuals likely to furnish alcoholic beverages to under-aged individuals, that the LAPD will be conducting undercover operations and will aggressively prosecute those individuals who knowingly put alcohol in the hands of a minor.

Shoulder tap operations, similar to minor decoy operations, involve the soliciting of individuals outside of licensed ABC retail establishments to purchase an alcoholic beverage for a minor. Last year’s 2009 Safe & Sober Graduation Operation resulted in the solicitation of 737 adults, with 76 violations. Statistically, 90 percent of all adults approached refused the minor decoys’ request for alcohol. Additionally, 441 licensed ABC locations within close proximity of and colleges were inspected via the minor decoy program, which resulted in 82 clerks being cited for selling alcoholic beverages to underage individuals (representing an 81 percent compliance rate).

Individuals convicted of furnishing a minor with an alcoholic beverage face a mandatory $1000 fine and 24 hours of community service.

Subsequent Decoy Shoulder Tap Operations will be scheduled throughout the summer on a Citywide basis in order to curtail the accessibility of alcoholic beverages to minors and reduce alcohol-related crimes.

For additional information please contact Sergeants Lifernando Garcia or Steve Moore, Operation ABC, DSVD, at (213) 486-0910.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/2368811/.

The Following is a press release issued by the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation:

Hundreds of people from the business, residential and non-profit communities of Los Angeles will gather at the LAPD Olympic Station to conduct a Peaceful March Against Crime and Drugs. The march will leave the Olympic Station (1130 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006) at 10:00 AM led by City and State politicians and community leaders. The march will head northbound on Vermont Ave. to Olympic Blvd., then westbound on Olympic Blvd to Normandie Ave., then
northbound on Normandie Ave. to northbound on Irolo St., until hitting San
Marino St. at which time the march will proceed westbound until coming to a
stop at the Seoul International Park auditorium (3250 San Marino St., Los
Angeles, CA 90006).

This event is being organized by the Unification of Disabled Latin Americans (UDLA), the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) and the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation (WCBIC). The purpose of this march is to bring together all ethnic groups of Los Angeles to unite in one force in the fight against crime, drugs, gangs, and graffiti. Assisted by the LAPD, participants will carry signs, flags, banners and chant out against crime and criminal activity in English, Spanish, Korean and Bengali. This march will bring out the best in Angelinos and represent what happens when people unite for a cause for the common good.

Once participants arrive at Seoul International Park there will be sense of fun and camaraderie as everyone will mix and mingle in the auditorium while they enjoy listing to a few words from our elected officials, community leaders and police officers. Refreshments will be served and everyone who participates will receive a goodie bag. Participants will then have the option of boarding a shuttle van to return to their car or walking back. Parking at the Olympic Station will be limited to street parking so participants are encouraged to carpool to event starting point.

Print out/view flyer: March Against Crime Flyer

Click to view a full map of the march route.

If you have any questions or would like more information regarding this
activity, please feel free to contact UDLA (213) 388-8352, CRA/LA (213)
977-1877 or WCBIC (213) 487-7003.

clipped from www.dailynews.com

From the Daily News: Los Angeles Unified officials released a list Monday of 17 new and chronically underperforming campuses that will be up for grabs under a district reform plan that allows teachers, charter operators and nonprofits to apply to operate campuses.

Eight chronically underperforming schools were selected: Woodcrest Elementary; Audubon, Henry Clay, Bret Harte, Horace Mann, and John Muir Middle schools; and Los Angeles and Huntington Park High schools.

“We are working to create the conditions for success for all of our schools,” said LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines, in a written statement.

LAUSD’s “School Choice” process opens all new and select low-performing public schools up to a competitive process.

Applications are then reviewed by district officials and voted on by parents, educators and community members. Cortines then makes a recommendation to the school board, which makes the final decision.

A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE Olympic Park Neighborhood Board of Directors will be held on Monday, May 24, 2010 – 7:00 PM at the QUEEN ANNE RECREATION CENTER Community Room – 1240 WEST BOULEVARD,  Los Angeles CA 90019. OUTREACH EXPENDITURES AND A NEW LOGO FOR THE NC WILL BE THE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION ACTION.

Click on the Agenda to the left to view or download here: OPNC AGENDA 052410dnl

Questions? Send us an email.

The OPNC Outreach Committee will meet this Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 6pm at Starbucks, 4700 W Pico Boulevard, LA CA 90019. Contact outreach@theopnc.org for more info. Click on the Agenda to the left to view or dowload here: OPNC OUTREACH AGENDA0512

The monthly Olympic Park Neighborhood Board of Directors’ meeting will be held on Monday, May 3, 2010 – 7:00 PM at the LAPD West Bureau Community Room – 4849 West Venice Blvd,  Los Angeles CA 90019. Candidates for the upcoming OPNC Board Elections (to be held May 13) will be invited to make “candidate statements” and engage with stakeholders, pertinent Zoning issues will be discussed and there will be a wrap-up discussion regarding the current board. Click on the Agenda to the left to view or download here: OPNC AGENDA MAY 3

May Day Festival 2010 will be held THIS SATURDAY, May 1, 2010 from 4-10pm at The Los Angeles Worker’s Center, 1251 S. St. Andrews Place, LA CA 90019. There will be performances, international music and food. May Day themed art will also be on display. FMLN of El Salvador and the CCCP are co-sponsors of this event. Click on the flyer to the left to view.

First Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive for Economic and Business Policy Austin Beutner was appointed Interim General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners today.  Mr. Beutner had been nominated for the position by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on April 19, 2010.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Austin Beutner for the past few months in his capacity as First Deputy Mayor, a role to which he has brought a new vigor and great foresight,” said Lee Kanon Alpert, President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.  “He brings to us a wealth of experience and knowledge in finance and business that we need here at the Department.  I am pleased to welcome him aboard.”

Mr. Beutner will be charged with performing a financial and operational review of the nation’s largest municipal utility, while developing and implementing customer-friendly reforms for the residential and commercial/industrial sectors and leading the search for his successor, a permanent general manager.  He will oversee LADWP’s many green efforts to reduce the effects of climate change including the integration of renewable energy sources into the power supply and preparing the Department and the City for the commercial launch of electric vehicles, scheduled for later this year.  Mr. Beutner will also be responsible for the execution of the Mayor’s Water Supply Action Plan, a multi-pronged approach to reducing the City’s reliance on imported water, and leading the Department’s aggressive initiative to revitalize water and power infrastructure, among a host of other high-level action items.

He will continue to serve as First Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive for Economic and Business Policy, a post to which he was appointed on January 11, 2010.  During this tenure, Mr. Beutner has been credited with making progress in recrafting the City’s approach to economic development, business attraction and retention, and job creation for Angelenos.

Although well known as an investment banker, with his appointment as First Deputy Mayor, Mr. Beutner marks a return to the public sector.  After a successful run on Wall Street during which he was named the youngest partner ever at the investment and advisory firm Blackstone, Mr. Beutner joined the U.S. State Department, where he worked in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.  During this time, he led a team to help the nation transition to a market economy through the development of mortgage and business lending vehicles, the creation of a fund to invest in small to medium-sized businesses, and job creation.  Thereafter, in 1996, with former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, Mr. Beutner founded the investment bank Evercore Partners, which he helped build into a leading financial services firm.

Mr. Beutner’s interim appointment begins on April 20, 2010, and will last up to six months.  The Board set Mr. Beutner’s salary at a rate of $1 for the duration of his appointment.

Below is a list of our candidates for the upcoming OPNC ELECTIONS. Available CANDIDATE STATEMENTS may be accessed by clicking on an individual’s name. ELECTION DAY for our NC is THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010 and our polling location will be QUEEN ANNE RECREATION CENTER.

At-Large Representative
HELENE MAIDAN

Community-Based Organization Representatives
JOSEPH F. HANCOCK
KELLY U. MCCONNELL

East Area Representatives
SHERRI L. WOODS
RODOLFO A. RIVERA
ISAURA RIVERA-ANAGNOS
PETER SCHULBERG
AMADO PERAZA
LEOPOLDO GUERRERO
E. NERO SMERALDO

Senior Citizen Representative
PAMELA WHITTENBURY

West Area Representatives
JOHN JAKE
LAURA RUDISON
JULI VIZZA

Come join Olympic Park Neighborhood Council at the Wellington Square Farmer’s Market on Sunday April, 2010.  We will be there with Candidate Statements for those stakeholders running in the upcoming elections on May 13, 2010.  So if you are running for a seat on the OPNC board and you wish to have your statement read by potential voters, please send them to jvizza@theopnc.org.  This is a great opportunity to support a local farmers market, meet some neighbors, get to know the candidates and learn about your neighborhood council.  We look forward to seeing you there on Sunday April 25, 2010! Wellington Square farmers market, 4394 W. Washington Blvd., at Wellington Road (two blocks west of Crenshaw Boulevard), Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

From our friends at NECA…

You are VERY welcome to join this Saturday’s meeting of NECA — the North East Central Alliance of Neighborhood Councils. Free to attend, it’s  Saturday, March 27 from 10:30am-12:30pm, at the Glassell Park Community Center, 3750 N. Verdugo, Los Angeles, CA 90065. The special speakers are L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners Vice President Albert Abrams, and Jack Humphreville, president of the DWP Advocacy Committee.  They will appear one after the other. We’ll hear about and discuss such crucial topics as the city’s budget crisis, the status of DONE, and the controversial proposed “ECAF” rate hikes associated with DWP.  There will be Q&A, of course.

NECA meetings are open to the officers and other board members of the many Neighborhood Councils in the Central and East areas, and to stakeholders and other guests from throughout the city.  Alliances such as NECA are NOT governed by the Brown Act, in part because generally, alliances do not solicit or attract that level of representation from any one NC.  But we always urge appropriate sensitivity, common sense and responsibility regarding such matters, in particular when any individual NC has many members present.  Motions can be made as part of a NECA meeting, though none are presently scheduled for this Saturday.

An Alliance is a great way of building a shared voice and common purpose.  NECA is NOT about conquering territory — it’s about developing relationships and helping each other in local and civic causes. In our brief history, we’ve enjoyed meetings that have been provocative, informative and hopefully transformative, but we’ve also sought to be supportive, or at least respectful, and not belittling toward each other and our guests. To this meeting, we’re inviting current board members, but also newly elected ones who are not yet in office, and even some whose status may be in doubt:  a later NECA meeting, but not this one, will be focused on ways to examine and improve NC elections.

I hope you’ll contact me with any questions or comments, and an RSVP is especially useful.  Our meeting is scheduled to start at 10:30 and end at 12:30 but might last a bit later, in part to accommodate some folks who may try to attend other meetings, but also because we expect some great discussion.

Thanks again - Paul Michael Neuman (also, co-chair of Silver Lake NC) / pmneuman@yahoo.com

Download the agenda here:  NECA AGENDA 032710

The weekly Wellington Square Farmers Market opens this Sunday, March 21 9am-1pm 4394 W. Washington Boulevard in the Smyrna Church parking lot. A California Certified Farmers Market. Fresh fruits and vegetables grown using no pesticides, picked ripe and brought directly to you. Download the flyer: farmers-market.pdf

INVITE Your Friends and Neighbors - PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT LA HIGH SCHOOL

This SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010, 10am - 2pm

Safely dispose of your E-Waste items
Residential and Business E-Waste accepted

E- WASTE COLLECTION AT LA HIGH SCHOOL
4650 W Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
PH:  323 900 2700

FREE Recycling, Disposal of televisions, computer monitors, computers, printers, circuit boards, computer peripherals, copiers, faxes, Tape/DVD/CD players, telephones, cell phones, audio-visual equipment, rechargeable batteries - working or not!

NO broken glass, fluorescent devices, large household appliances, hazardous-toxic materials or substances.

Please join the BONC Commissioners at their next meeting, on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. at the 10th Floor Conference Center of City Hall, Room 1060. Invited guests at this meeting include the representatives from the City Clerk’s Office who will provide an update of the March 2, 2010 NC Elections, as well as staff from the City Attorney’s Office, Public Integrity Division and the Ethics Commission who will address the issue of possible disclosure and reporting requirements relating to NC candidate fundraising. The Commission will also begin discussions on a policy to require bylaws language detailing selection processes for Neighborhood Council Boards of newly forming Neighborhood Councils who are not yet certified and therefore are unable to take part in the City Clerk-managed 2010 elections.

Download agenda here: BONC AGENDAdnl

Commission Meeting Schedule

Monday, March 15, 2010 11:30 a.m
City Hall 10th Floor Conference Center
Room 1060, 200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA  90012

Tuesday, April 6 ,2010 6:00 p.m.
107th Street Elementary School - auditorium
147 East 107th Street
Los Angeles, CA  90003