HiFi Neighborhood Clean-Up - Saturday, December 18

Mark your calendars for the Historic Filipinotown Neighborhood Clean-Up on Saturday, December 18, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help beautify the neighborhood through this community event sponsored by the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council in partnership with the Historic Filipinotown Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown.

Clean-up participants will gather at Lake Street Park (227 N. Lake Street). Refreshments and lunch will be provided by the Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Jorge Prado at 213-925-9107 or Jose Sigala at 213-308-2826.

Crisis Response Team Volunteers Needed

Every year, volunteers for the city's Crisis Response Team (CRT) are dispatched to provide immediate crisis intervention to victims and their families who have been involved in a traumatic incident. Volunteers serve as liaisons between victims and emergency personnel, and give referrals to those affected.

If you are interested in volunteering, a seven-week training session will begin Tuesday, January 18, to help develop the skills, knowledge, and relationships needed to serve as an effective CRT member. Training sessions will take place each Tuesday and Thursday evening through March 3 at the Grace E Simons Lodge in Elysian Park. Volunteers must be at least 21 years old and in good physical condition. The program is especially in need of volunteers who are fluent in Spanish or Korean.

The program is managed by the Mayor's Office in close coordination with the city's Fire and Police Departments. Residents interested in learning more about volunteering for the Crisis Response Team should contact Jeffrey Zimerman, Crisis Response Team Manager, at 213-978-0697 or via e-mail at LACRT@lacity.org.

The new Elysian Valley Bike Path is now open

Last weekend I joined the Elysian Valley community in celebrating the opening of a new bike path along the west bank of the Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive to Barclay Street. For years, community members have walked along this path and efforts to revitalize the river have made it an increasingly popular place for walkers and runners. Now, cyclists will also be able to enjoy the path with a new smooth surface and LED lights.

Many thanks to the city agencies that worked to bring this project to completion and to the many community organizations that helped to support this exciting addition to the neighborhood.

Bring your bike to Elysian Valley and check it out this weekend!

Blessed Sacramento School invites Hollywood neighbors to open house

The Hollywood community is invited to visit the Blessed Sacrament School at its Open House on Tuesday, December 7, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The school is located at 6641 Sunset Boulevard -- adjacent to the historic Blessed Sacrament Church, which is known for being the home parish of many early Hollywood starts such as Bing Crosby and Ricardo Montalban. Blessed Sacrament recently added a pre-school and serves students through 8th grade.

Glassell Park Tree Lighting Ceremony - Friday, December 10

All are invited to join the Glassell Park neighborhood's 3rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony this Friday, December 10, at 6 p.m.

The event will take place in the Rite Aid parking lot at 4404 Eagle Rock Boulevard and is hosted by Council President Garcetti, Councilmember Jose Huizar, the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, the Glassell Park Improvement Association, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the Glassell Park Chamber of Commerce.

Hope to see you there!

Hanukkah Celebration in Highland Park

I will be attending a Hanukkah celebration at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock.

The narrative of Hanukkah is focused on the ideas of community resilience, hope and faith amid times of great struggle and change. The holiday stems back to the unlikely victory of the Maccabees in winning back the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the great miracle of a one-day’s supply of oil burning strong for 8 days. The triumph of the light and resurgence over dark times remains a common theme in Jewish community life and for the congregants of Temple Beth Israel.

Temple Beth Israel has been at their present location since 1930 and is one of the oldest congregations in Los Angeles to stay in their original home. Please join me and Susan Goldberg, who will be leading the congregation for this festive occasion.

The event is open to the community and will last from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM on Saturday, December 4th. Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock is located at 5711 Monte Vista Street, Los Angeles, CA 90041

The event will include a dairy potluck, Games for Children and a Hanukkah Sing-a-long, for more information click here!

Holiday Foodbank this Friday

The Los Angeles Housing Partnership will be holding a holiday foodbank on Friday, December 3rd at 4:00 PM, at the Roosewood Gardens Apartments Community Room, located at 504 North Berendo Street in East Hollywood. There is no charge to participate, but attendees are encouraged to bring a box or bag if possible. Coming early is also strongly recommended.

Utility Box Murals Bring Beautiful Art to the Community

This summer, Carlos Callejo, a long time Los Angeles muralist and artist, partnered with Echo Park’s Central City Action Committee and local middle and high school students to design and paint murals on 10 utility boxes located in Echo Park and Chinatown. Carlos and CCAC identified a total of 10 utility boxes spread between Council District 13 and Council District 1.

CD 13 provided CCAC with a small grant to help fund a stipend to the local youth that would be involved in the project. CCAC had a total of seven youth participate on this project, three of which are from CD 13. Five of the newly completed murals are in Echo Park.

Not only are the murals beautiful, they help prevent graffiti by denying taggers a blank surface to work on. The project, completed in early October, also provided summer jobs for the area’s youths.

For more information, please contact Alejandra Marroquin at Alejandra.Marroquin@lacity.org or 323-957-4500.

Get Ready for the Echo Park Community Parade

On Saturday December 11th, Echo Park will celebrate its annual Community Parade along Sunset Boulevard. The parade will stretch from Glendale Boulevard to Elysian Park Avenue and will last from Noon to 3:00 PM.

Reverend David K. Farley of the Echo Park United Methodist Church will serve as this year's Grand Marshal. Parade Ambassadors are include Peter L. Lassen, Walter & Sumiko Elmer, Dr. Fredy Perez and Sallie W. Neubauer.

For the more parade information please visit echoparkcommunityparade.com.

A Word on Protecting our Libraries

Tough economic times, which left the city with a $405 million deficit this year, forced across the board cuts including to our libraries.

When the budget was passed, I said that would work to make sure libraries are a top priority when the budget picture was brighter. The outlook, however, remains dim so we on the Council, led by Councilmembers Parks and LaBonge, looked for a solution that would address our library crisis while taking into account our economic and budget situation.

On Wednesday, the Council passed a motion that would guarantee funding for libraries to remain open for six days a-week in good times or bad, without any additional cost to taxpayers. The measure requires the city to allocate a certain percentage of the budget every year to our libraries. This requires a change to the City Charter, which only can be changed by the voters. Los Angeles will have a chance to vote on this amendment on March 8, 2011, and I will help ensure they do.

Libraries are a proven and cost-effective way to improve our economy and keep our youth on the right track, and this measure supports libraries with no increased cost to the taxpayers. When we prioritize libraries we are at the same time prioritizing safe places for kids to learn after school and increased access to printed and online information that can make the difference in our workforce's competitiveness.

Support for our libraries is a wise choice, both in terms of economics and education. To support our libraries before the March election, please visit LAPL.org