Cirque du L.A.

The Cirque is coming to town! Yesterday, I joined Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, Mayor Villaraigosa, and the owners of Hollywood and Highland to announce that Cirque du Soleil has agreed to develop a show that will be in residence in the city-owned Kodak Theatre for at least a decade.

Los Angeles has an important role in the history of Cirque du Soleil. Twenty years ago, when Cirque was on the brink of closing down, they came to Los Angeles, where the city embraced them and, as they say in Hollywood, the rest is history. Yesterday, on the 20th anniversary (almost to the day) of that turning point, Cirque committed to Los Angeles to creating one of the best shows ever made. The show will draw upon the history of Hollywood and moviemaking.

The Kodak Theatre will continue to host our modern-day history-making Academy Awards (and the Cirque show will go dark for 4-6 weeks each year to accommodate our friends at the Academy), and for the rest of the year, starting in about 2010 (it takes usually 2-3 years for Cirque to create a show from scratch), we will have the world's premiere live performance stage company in residence.

Guy made clear his commitment to Hollywood and the people of Los Angeles and Cirque has a great reputation for its socially-responsible philosophy, reflected in everything from its local youth job training (for years they have been working with homeless youth at My Friend's Place in Hollywood) to using no animals in their shows and much more. Guy also mentioned that the Hollywood renaissance and the city's investment in the beautiful Kodak Theatre, which brought the Academy Awards back to Hollywood, was a big reason for their decision to create this show.

Welcome to Hollywood, Cirque du Soleil! It's great to know you will be staying for a while.

Hi-Fi Roller Derby

This past Saturday night, I had the honor of blowing the first whistle for the Derby Dolls, our newest neighbor in Historic Filipinotown. The Derby Dolls are Los Angeles' local roller derby league and they originally set up shop in Chinatown, then in Little Tokyo, and now they call an old ice cream factory in Hi-Fi home. Before moving to their new digs, they introduced themselves to the neighborhood, meeting with local community groups and co-sponsoring a recent neighborhood clean-up. The first match in Hi-Fi featured the Tough Cookies against the Sirens. While the Cookies jumped out to an early lead, the Sirens fought back led by former junior national skating champ Milla Minute, and dominated the second half, cruising to victory. Officers from Rampart station stopped by to catch the action and local bands and vendors set up shop during the game inside the warehouse. Congrats to the Sirens and welcome to the Derby Dolls--no doubt they will bring many more people into Historic Filipinotown to see all the good things that are happening in the neighborhood. (photo by Boss Hogg)

And Speaking of Ecological Footprints...

Be sure to see the Los Angeles Times' piece on Green Building this morning. I have been working very hard with Mayor Villaraigosa and the green building, environmental, and development community to craft new building regulations and incentives to help Los Angeles reduce its energy and water use, and to lessen the amount of waste that comes from construction. Congratulations to the LA City Planning Commission for passing a great package yesterday and I hope that any of you with further suggestions will weigh in before the legislation reaches council.

What's Your Footprint?

Ever wondered how much of the earth's resources you consume? Since 2003, I have served alongside environmental pioneers like Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Muta Maathai, Scientist and Pulitzer Prize Winner E.O. Wilson, and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias on the advisory council of the Global Footprint Network, the international organization that pioneered the idea of the ecological footprint. The ecological footprint measures how your personal behavior and lifestyle impacts the earth's resources. If you are curious where you rate, take the Ecological Footprint Quiz.

Recently, we launched a new blog at GFN. Check out recent postings on Ecological Debt Day (the day in which human beings have consumed the resources that were produced on earth this year--it was October 5th this year), Utah's achievement of becoming the first state to measure its ecological footprint, and photographer Chris Jorgan's photos on America's patterns of consumption (like the Seurat Painting to the right made with a representation of the 106,000 aluminum cans we consume in this country every 30 seconds).

I am working on ways we might be able to measure the ecological footprint of Los Angeles, so stayed tuned for more. In the meantime, enjoy the new blog.

Happy Diwali to all

LA City Council Diwali presentation
Originally uploaded by CD-13

Today I had the honor of making the first-ever presentation in L.A. City Council Chambers recognizing Diwali, the festival of lights that marks the beginning of the new year for many Hindus and is celebrated by South Asian Americans across the country.

I have traveled to India during Diwali and it is truly an incredible and marvelous experience -- something I will never forget.

This is a good time for all of us to reflect and a time for all of us to let the good inside win over evil and to receive the knowledge that wins over the darkness of ignorance.

Bob Barker, come on down! You're the next Grand Marshal of Hollywood's Santa Parade!

Bob Barker signs autographs for kids
Originally uploaded by CD-13

Hollywood Boulevard has long symbolized a place where people come to make their dreams come true. In just a few weeks, thousands of kids will come to Hollywood Boulevard in hopes of asking Santa to make their holiday dreams come true.

When I heard that for the first time in 75 years the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce would not produce a holiday parade, I knew we couldn't let this tradition die. Today I was happy to announce that not only is the parade going to continue this year, but we have a terrific Grand Marshal in legendary television personality Bob Barker.

The parade will be on Sunday, November 25, beginning at 5 p.m. The route begins at Hollywood and Highland, making it convenient to take the Metro Red Line to the parade.

For more information, visit the Hollywood's Santa Parade site.

Hope to see you there!

Writers' strike resolution

Around the world, Los Angeles is synonymous with the entertainment industry. It's part of our culture and a big part of our economy. This writers' strike is about so much more than just one industry -- it impacts our entire city.

Earlier this week, I was talking to a florist who owns a shop in Silver Lake. He is really worried that a lengthy strike could be harmful to his business.

Today, I introduced a resolution in City Council to urge both parties to come back to the table and resolve this quickly. It also offers city facilities, free of charge, as a neutral meeting place. Several writers came to testify in favor of the resolution. Writer Patrick Massett said, "We want everyone to be working. It's about our future. It's about our families." I want everyone to be able to go back to work, too. The resolution passed unanimously, and I will be doing everything I can to urge the parties involved to resume discussions.

Jimmy Carter is building or rehabbing 100 L.A. homes

With President Carter
Originally uploaded by CD-13

No, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter isn't actually building or repairing all 100 homes by himself... but his namesake program, the Jimmy Carter Work Project, is doing so before the end of the year. I've said many times that building more quality affordable housing is crucial to our city's future. Our city is fortunate that South L.A. and San Pedro were chosen for the 2007 Jimmy Carter Work Project to raise awareness about the area’s need for affordable housing.

Putting Illegal Dumping of Homeless Patients to an End

Abandoning homeless patients on the streets of skid row is wrong and a practice we see all too often. It leaves people vulnerable and unprotected at a time when they are in the greatest need of care.

This morning, I joined Councilwoman Jan Perry in introducing legislation that would make this practice illegal in Los Angeles. Creating a more seamless transfer process between hospitals and homeless services will give patients the opportunity to get off the streets and start rebuilding their lives.

Public Space LA!

I joined developers, architects, planners, and open space advocates at Public Space LA!, a day long symposium hosted by the LA Chapter of the American Institute of Architects dedicated to examining the unique challenges and opportunities that face Los Angeles in our efforts to preserve and create open space. We need to capitalize on our open space opportunities and embrace one of the major components of civic intersection - our city parks.

In the past, we turned our back on public open space because everyone had their own private space - their backyards. As Los Angeles has changed, so too has our attitude toward our open space. Our parks are part of a much broader urban context, one that examines their impact on the environment and on our communities. They figure into our watershed, holding the potential to become catchments that clean our water rather than conveying pollutants to the LA River or Pacific Ocean. They are places for our children to play, and it is only by encouraging community participation and community ownership that we can transform our parks into places around which our neighborhoods grow. Parks stand at the crossroads of urban revitalization, giving us a place to interact while becoming an active part of our effort to clean our environment.

Marsh Street Park is a perfect example of how parks have become an active part of our environmental and communal dialogues. Next to the LA River in Elysian Valley, we have built a park that filters the water before it reaches the watershed. Right next door is a skate park that was designed by some of the young people who now skate on it. By creating a sense of environmental stewardship and community ownership of these parks, we have changed Elysian Valley’s idea of a park, and the community has changed with it.