Polling Place Changes for March 8th Election

Tuesday, March 8, is Election Day in Los Angeles.

If you are registered to vote, please note that your polling place may have changed and you can look it up by clicking here or calling the City Clerk's Election Division at 888-873-1000.

Echo Park Farmers' Market launches basket program

Starting next Friday, March 11, the Echo Park Farmers' Market will offer a Healthy Market Basket program through which subscribers can purchase baskets of fresh, healthy produce from local growers.

Participants will have their choice of two baskets each week:

• Fresh Market Basket - features 8 to 10 farmers' market produce items (e.g. bunch of carrots, pound of apples); $22 per week
• Healthy Market Basket - features 13 to 16 farmers' market produce items; $29 per week

Sign-up for a basket online at shop.farmernet.com and then pick it up on Fridays between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and the Echo Park Farmers' Market (in the parking lot on Logan Street south of Sunset Blvd.).

Community Health Fair in Hollywood tomorrow

Tomorrow morning, my office is co-sponsoring a health fair in Hollywood. This event will feature free health screenings (including mammograms, and bone density and blood pressure tests), dental screenings, and hygiene services such as haircuts. A limited number of children's bicycle helmets will also be distributed for free.

There will be food, music, activities for kids, and more. So come on out to 5500 Sunset Boulevard between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.!

For more information, please call 213-252-2952 x12 and ask for Brenda. Or call 323-469-9002 and ask for Angel or Nathalie.

Community Health Fair in Echo Park

There will be a free community health fair at Logan Street Elementary School (1711 W. Montana Street) on Saturday, April 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The health fair will offer free cholesterol screening, body fat analysis, glucose examination, blood pressure screening. Mammograms and breast exams will be available by appointment.

The fair will also have health and nutrition information, food preparation demos, information about applying for low cost health insurance and food stamps, information on various chronic diseases, a traffic safety presentation, and a prize drawing.

For information or appointment, call (213) 484-7765.

Check out the new Film Works L.A. video

In December, I helped launch a new campaign to keep film production in Los Angeles -- Film Works L.A. Coordinated by the non-profit Film L.A., Film Works L.A. is being supported by a broad coalition of entertainment industry businesses, labor, neighborhood leaders, and others who want to play an active role in ensuring that Los Angeles continues to be the entertainment capital of the world.

Film Works L.A. has recently launched a new video of the Film Works launch
event, titled Film Works L.A.: The Real "Battle: Los Angeles" Fight Against Runaway Production.

Check out the new video here:

Free West Los Angeles Symphony Concert

The West Los Angeles Symphony will celebrate its 19th season with a free concert on Sunday, March 27, at 7:00 p.m. at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.

The concert will be a Russian-themed program featuring the Los Angeles orchestral debut of sensational young piano virtuoso, Ms. Di Wu. The concert will be conducted by Grammy-winner, Sir Angel Romero.

"Greet and Meet" Candidates for the LA Community College District

The Glassell Park Neighborhood Council Education Committee cordially invites the community to a "Greet and Meet" with the candidates running for the Los Angeles Community College District. The event will take place on Thursday, March 3, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Glassell Park Senior and Community Center (3750 Verdugo Road).

City of LA calls on Congress to pass ban on large capacity magazines

This morning, I joined City Councilmember Paul Koretz, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck to announce that the City of Los Angeles is officially supporting passage of H.R. 308 by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY04), which would ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

These large capacity ammunition magazines were made illegal as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly known as the federal assault weapons ban, but Congress failed to renew the ban when it expired in 2004. A large capacity ammunition magazine was used to carry out the recent shooting in Tucson, allowing the gunman to fire more than 30 bullets in 15 seconds.

Since the ban’s sunset in 2004, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Gun Unit has seen a significant increase in the number of large capacity ammunition magazines recovered. In 2004, the City recovered 725 large capacity ammunition magazines compared to 38 in 2003, a 1,808% increase.

We all pay a high price for the toll that gun violence takes on our communities. We want to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to have access to large capacity firepower, and we definitely don’t want to see our law enforcement officers outgunned by criminals.

Maria (the goose) moves to the L.A. Zoo

I'm happy to join community members in announcing that Maria -- the goose who makes her home at Echo Park Lake – will live at the Los Angeles Zoo while the lake is drained and repaired as part of a restoration project. Maria will be returned to her home when the project is completed.

Maria is a special part of the Echo Park community and we want to make sure she is in a safe place during the restoration project. The L.A. Zoo will take good care of her while her home gets remodeled, and her friends will still be able to visit her.

Dominic Ehrler (pictured above) accompanied Maria to her temporary home and said that he is "relieved that Maria will be safe and comfortable and not too far from her friends.”

I would like to thank the Echo Park community - particularly Dominic Ehrler and Christine Peters - for working with my office to help find Maria a temporary home. I would also like to thank the L.A. Zoo for agreeing to take good care of Maria while her home is renovated.

Northeast Community Police Station Update

On Wednesday, March 2, the LAPD's Northeast division will be hosting a community meeting for residents of Glassell Park, Atwater Village, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Park, Elysian Valley, Franklin Hills, Garvanza, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Los Feliz, Mount Washington, Silver Lake, and Solano Canyon.

Captain Murphy and other officers from the Northeast station will report on recent crime statistics and other community issues. The meeting will take place at the Glassell Park Community Senior Center (3750 Verdugo Road) beginning at 6:00 p.m.