Recycle your Christmas tree

Now that Christmas has passed and decorations are coming down, I wanted to remind everyone that in Los Angeles it is illegal to leave Christmas trees on the curb because they are a fire hazard.

Christmas trees may be easily recycled by cutting them and placing them in your green bin OR by taking them to designated drop-off sites (including 15 fire stations).

For more information about the City of LA's Christmas tree recycling program call 3-1-1 or click here.

Glassell Park Chamber of Commerce Mixer - January 13

The Glassell Park Chamber of Commerce will kick off 2010 with a mixer on Wednesday, January 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Eagle Rock Brewery (3056 Roswell Street). Meet other Glassell Park and neighboring community business operators and learn about plans for 2010.

For more information, please contact James Bond via email or 626/483-5338.

Thank you to all who donated to the CD13 canned food drive

Thank you to all who donated canned food items to be distributed to needy families this holiday season. I'd like to extend a special thank you to the Dickerson Employee Benefits office, which donated more than 200 of the more than 400 items we collected this year!

Your generosity will benefit families served by PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), SOVA, and Temple Israel of Hollywood.

Happy holidays to all!

Musical Strangers create good cheer

This holiday season the Silver Lake Musicians Co-op, an organization that engages musicians in civic activity, has been organizing local talents to perform free concerts at hospitals and convalescent homes to spread holiday cheer. The participants are people from all walks of life, including educators, students, salespeople, and even professional musicians such as Jim Wootten, Led Zepagain bassist and nephew of the legendary Les Paul.

The We Were Strangers Yesterday Christmas Band has raced from one nursing home to the next, dealing with car problems, equipment failures, car accidents, traffic tickets, and even a set of car keys falling down an elevator shaft -- all in the same day! Still, nothing has kept them from getting to their next performance and seeing as many patients as possible.

The group will also be organizing performances on Christmas Eve and on Christmas afternoon. If you would like to lend your musical talent to the group, please contact Gary Gamponia,
Silver Lake Musicians Co-Op Director, at (213) 388-8500 or 1starvingmusician@sbcglobal.net.

Support Hollywood Central Park

The Hollywood Central Park (aka the Cap Park) will get a boost from local supporters at a gala dinner on Thursday, January 7, at Vanguard. Proceeds will benefit Friends of the Hollywood Central Park, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating the park.

The idea for a park over the 101 freeway between Bronson and Santa Monica is truly visionary and would provide sorely needed open space in one of Los Angeles's (and America's) densest neighborhoods.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Laurie Goldman at 323/464-8888 or via email.

Echo Park Lake and Vista Hermosa bird counts - January 3

The Echo Park Lake and Vista Hermosa bird counts hosted by the Los Angeles Audubon Society will be held on Sunday, January 3. This is the 110th annual Christmas Bird Count, which involved more than 50,000 volunteers in the U.S., Canada, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific helping to monitor the health and diversity of local and migratory bird populations.

The Echo Park Lake count will begin at 8 a.m. Meet at the boathouse for a two-hour walk along level terrain.

The Vista Hermosa count will begin at 11 a.m. Meet at the parking lot (100 Toluca Street just north of First Street) for a 90-minute walk along mostly level terrain.

For more information, call 323/663-6767 or 213/361-7273 (on count day).

Central City Action Committee's BIG rummage sale is next week

The Central City Action Committee will hold its BIG 2-day rummage sale on Monday (12/21) and Tuesday (12/22) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The sale will be held at CCAC's offices (534 E. Edgware Road at Bellevue) and will raise funds for the non-profit organization's winter program, which includes trips to the snow, zoo, Imax theater, Long Beach Aquarium, and ice skating.

All year long, CCAC helps keep our communities looking great by painting out and removing graffiti. Here's a chance to help them help us!

Grinch goes Nutty!

Terrible news to report -- first the Grinch tried to steal Christmas and now he's stolen Goldstar's Nutty, the award given to the best U.S. production of the Nutcracker.

Check out the video below (stay tuned to see the surveillance video at the end) or head down to the Pantages Theater to tell the Grinch to give back the Nutty!

You can follow along as Goldstar works to recover the award by visiting the Goldstar website and signing up for a free membership. You can also buy discounted tickets to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which is playing at the Pantages, while you're on the site, too.

Glassell Recreation and Child Care Center's 2009 Winter Showcase

On Friday, December 18, the Glassell Recreation and Child Care Center will present its 2009 Winter Showcase featuring performances from the classes and programs at the center.



The show begins at 6 p.m. at the Rec Center (3650 Verdugo Rd) and is sponsored by my office and the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council.

Echo Park Community Holiday Parade on Saturday

On Saturday, December 12, come out to Echo Park for the Echo Park Community Holiday Parade, which steps off at noon from the corner of Sunset and Elysian Park Avenue. The parade route heads west along Sunset and ends at Park Avenue. See you there!