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October 2015
You can find out more about Mike , meet your CD11 staff and see the latest
videos and updates from the Westside on our website Councilmember Mike…
at www.11thdistrict.com . And remember to like Mike's Facebook page and follow 5,229 likes
him on Twitter to always see the latest news about your neighborhood.
Liked
Brentwood Student Shows There Are No Limits for Deaf and Hard-of-
Hearing Children
5h
After that summer, I founded a No Limits Club chapter, the first of its kind, at my
school to broaden their message to a whole new group of people who would never Embed View on Twitter
have heard about it. I started with my friends and just promoted No Limits non-
stop, talking to anybody who would listen. When sign up day came, I got a solid
10 volunteers who were enthusiastic and inspired by my ideas and message.
We raised funds and awareness including several bake sales, trips to decorate the
No Limits office for holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas), working a No
Limits event at the Santa Monica Pier, selling raffle tickets, and even having a
deaf comedian (Kathy Buckley) speak at Brentwood.
However, my ultimate goal was to produce, write, direct, and create a 24-Hour
improvised musical to pay for cochlear implants and raise awareness. I found a
director willing to direct, a jazz band willing to play, a tech crew, and, most
importantly, 20 actors who would star in the production. My brainchild, the 24-
Hour Musical, was under way!
We raised over $1,200 for cochlear implants and had spread No Limits' message
to countless new families.
What's next?
This year, I'm working to help partner with Bead Relief to create a bracelet line
for No Limits, which will greatly help increase the scope of its audience. In
addition, I'm also planning another 24-Hour Musical, several speakers, and more
bake sales. There's also a possibility that my club may partner up with Best
Buddies to have a coffee house where kids from each organization dance, sing,
and perform on a stage.
On September 23, Mike took his "Pop Up Office Hours" back to the Westchester
Farmers Market. Throughout the day, Mike met with Westchester-area neighbors
about ways to improve life in their community and discussed ideas for making
Westchester a better place to live and work. The "Pop Up" Office Hours session
was part of Mike's Access 11 program, which seeks to bring local government to
neighborhoods so people don't need to trek downtown to have a say in how the
city works.
Mike toured Playa Vista on September 21, getting an overview of Phase Two of
construction in the Westside neighborhood.
Right now, there are between 2,500 and 3,000 construction professionals
working to complete Playa Vista, and construction is nearing completion on
Runway at Playa Vista, the community’s mixed-use commercial and social center,
which includes a roughly 200,000-square-foot shopping center, apartments and
office space.
More Than 700 Neighbors Get Free Health Screening at Mar Vista Gardens
Neighborhood Event
September 26 was a great day in Mar Vista Gardens! Mike's office helped organize
the Mar Vista Del Rey Collaborative, which provided health screenings and
exercise for more than 700 participants, and cemented positive long-lasting
relationships with LAPD and the community members of Del Rey. Thanks to
UCLA, Venice Family Clinic, Didi Hirsch and LA Care for their great partnership!
On the morning of September 11, Mike helped install some of the new LED lights
and security cameras at Westchester Recreation Center.
Beachfront homes in Playa Del Rey are susceptible to flooding during intense
storms, and with a record-setting El Nino expected this year, Mike is working
with the County of Los Angeles to ensure there are adequate preparations for
coming storms. In the past month, Mike's staff has worked with Supervisor Don
Knabe and the County Beaches and Harbors Commission to request that sand
berms be constructed preemptively to avoid any issues during winter months.
On September 17, neighbors in Playa Del Rey hosted the 38th annual Jungle
Cleanup. The annual event brings together people from the community to sweep
streets and pick up litter to improve their neighborhood. The community cleans
up tons of trash and then throws one of the best neighborhood parts on the
Westside!
Arson in Del Rey: Help Identify the Person Responsible for September 19 Fire
On September 19, more than 100 firefighters responded to a fire at 11869 Teale
St. in Del Rey, waging a defensive firefight before getting a handle and knocking
down the blaze in about two hours - thankfully without injury. The Los Angeles
Fire Department and ATF are now asking for the public’s help in identifying a
suspect that was seen at the incident. The suspect is described as a shirtless
young male, possibly African-American or Hispanic, approximately 6'0", 175 lbs,
with short dark cropped hair. He was wearing dark jeans with blue
undergarments (boxers) and dark colored tennis shoes with white stripes. The
suspect has a discoloration mark on his right forearm. Video from security
camera footage is available at youtube.com/lafd . The ATF is currently offering a
$5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect.
Anyone with information about the fire or the person in the photograph/video
should contact the Arson Counter/Terrorism Section at (213) 893-9850 .
Celebrating Latino Heritage & Culture on the Westside
On September 6, Mike welcomed Grupo Folklorico Guish-Bac and the West L.A.
Oaxacan community to the West L.A. Civic Center for the 8th annual Festival of
Tejate. Congrats to Natividad Santiago, Gabriel Gomez and Grupo Folklorico
Guish-Bac on an amazing celebration of Tejate and Oaxacan culture! Senator of
the Republic of Mexico for Oaxaca, Benjamin Robles Montoya, visited Los Angeles
to join the celebration. Thousands of people turned out for the event, enjoying
the music, the art, the various Tejate drinks, and some delicious tlayuda!
On September 19, Mike joined pastors and lay leaders of West L.A. United
Methodist Church (WLAUMC) to celebrate the church's 85th anniversary. The
church was established in 1930 by Japanese immigrants and has become a
spiritual pillar of West L.A.'s Japanese-American community.
Last month, the City announced a new Citywide Mural Program that calls for
$750,000 to be spent on the restoration and preservation of historic fine-art
murals as well as the creation of new ones.
The Department of Cultural Affairs program, which will run through June 2016,
follows the city’s 2013 ordinance allowing new murals after a nearly 10-year ban.
The new program is meant to generate pride and awareness for these works,
some 30 or more years old.
The funds include $400,000 that will go to the Venice-based Social and Public Art
Resource Center, or SPARC, and the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles. The two
nonprofit groups will conserve 11 damaged murals. The work will include
applying an anti-graffiti coating to protect the artwork from vandals.
The new program also provides $300,000 for 15 City Council offices to
commission new works or to conserve existing ones. Funds also will go toward
documentation and educational outreach. The remaining $50,000 will go toward
clerical administration on the mural projects.
Mike got to spend some time with the Pacific Palisades Community Council on
September 10, answering questions from board members and residents about
homelessness, development, traffic, the Olympics, bike lanes, urban bee keeping,
and a whole lot more! The PPCC is a strong and long-standing organization that
predates the city's neighborhood council system; they are a great voice for the
community in Pacific Palisades.
Improving Sidewalk Accessibility on the Westside
The Bureau of Street Services was hard at work on the Westside in the past
month, conducting a pothole blitz of locations suggested by Neighborhood
Councils, and completing work adding "curb cuts" to sidewalks in the area to
make it easier for bicyclists and members of the disabled community to cross the
street. The curb cut in the photo above was finished on September 23 at the
corner of Glyndon Avenue and Appleton Way, making the path to Walgrove
Avenue Elementary safer.
"Thank you to the readers who voted me as 'Best Public Servant' for the second
consecutive year in the annual 'Best of the Westside' issue," Mike said of the
recognition. "My team and I work very hard to put neighborhoods first on the
Westside and we greatly appreciate the support and partnership of so many
neighbors and friends. Thank you!"
Mike to Host Access 11 Pop Up Office Hours at Mar Vista Fall Festival
The Mar Vista Fall Festival is an annual event that features a day of great food,
entertainment, booth presentations, and fun for the whole family. The Festival is
brought to the community by the Mar Vista Community Council, Festival
Partners and Sponsors, and the Mar Vista Recreation Center. This year, as he did
last year, Mike will host Pop Up Office Hours at a booth at the Festival, offering
neighbors a chance to talk about their ideas for putting neighborhoods first on
the Westside. Make sure to stop by Mike's booth between 1pm and 3pm at the Mar
Vista Rec Center on October 17!
Earlier this summer, Mike joined members of the Del Rey community in
celebrating when plans for a proposed cell tower at the LAPD Pacific Police
Station were apparently abandoned. Late in September, however, the Council
office and members of the community were shocked to see the tower being
erected anyway. Mike released the following statement in reaction to the
disappointing news that the tower was being installed:
"Despite the strong, organized and vocal objections of the Del Rey community,
despite my vehement objection, and despite LA-RICS' own promise to withdraw
the project, this project was authorized and permitted to proceed. That decision
was compounded by the sneaky and surreptitious manner in which LA-
RICS proceeded, constructing the tower with no notice to anyone, including the
neighborhood council or my office. This project is a wasteful boondoogle being
managed by an organization that is shadowy, arrogant and dismissive of the
community."
Do you have an issue in your neighborhood Mike and his staff can help solve?
Please call our West LA Office at 310-575-8461 or our Westchester Office at 310-
568-8772 so we can help!
On September 25, Mike joined Mayor Garcetti, Council President Herb Wesson
and Councilmembers Jose Huizar and Paul Krekorian to announce that they
would introduce a motion committing $100 million in city funds to combat
homelessness and help move people off the streets and into housing, shelter and
supportive services. "That is a significant and serious amount of money to make
sure the City is finally getting real about this crisis," Mike said of the
announcement.
The Council's Homelessness Committee (on which Mike serves) and Mayor
Garcetti and his team will be developing the plan to spend the money, and they
will work closely with the County to make sure their efforts are in sync.
“Our homelessness crisis demands an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Mike said.
“The county has been showing tremendous leadership. The federal government,
through work at the VA, is stepping up in a tangible way. Mayor Garcetti has been
leading strongly on this issue, as is the business community, non-profits, and
neighborhood councils. This commitment means the City Council is serious about
being a contributing partner, and being part of the solution.”
Mike joined A Martinez on KPCC's Take Two and Conan Nolan on NBC4's News
Conference to discuss the big homelessness announcements. Watch and listen to
the interviews at the links below.
With what could be a record El Nino on the horizon, Mike is working with his
Council colleagues to open the annual winter shelter early this year and to keep it
open until the storms have passed. On September 25, the Council unanimously
approved Mike's motion to instruct the city to develop a plan to begin winter
shelter operations on November 1 and to stay open 24-hours a day during rain
storms.
On September 16, the group "Poverty Matters" hosted a free conference titled
"Homeless to Housing: Successful Models for Change" at the Harmony Gold
Theatre in West Hollywood. The event featured experts from successful programs
in Utah, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco and offered ideas and examples of
success in combatting homelessness, including Utah's Housing First Model; Santa
Barbara's Safe Parking program; San Francisco's mobile shower and toilet
program, Lava Mae. Mike and his colleagues will be visiting the different cities to
learn more and make sure we replicate successes here in Los Angeles.
A few years ago Mike joined the Courage Campaign on a "progressive convening"
with senior White House officials. At the meeting, Mike urged the Obama
administration to find a way to allow the local Veterans Administration facility
to offer leases to service providers and developers to create housing for homeless
veterans.
On October 7, the VA will hold a Town Hall on the West LA Master Plan. The event
will be 6-8 pm at Wadsworth Theatre on the VA campus. During this
meeting VA will provide an update on its Homeless Strategy and members of
the Master Plan Team will be present to provide a status update. This will likely be
the last town hall before the draft Master Plan is released in mid October. You can
find more info here .
Mike is working with local transit operators like the Big Blue Bus to expand
mobility options for Westside residents, workers, and visitors. The recent
extension of Big Blue Bus Route 14 service to Playa Vista is the first of many
transit-related enhancements to come.
Big Blue Bus extended Route 14 (Bundy/Centinela) into the Campus at Playa Vista
on August 23rd. Route 14 serves bus stops from Artisans Way and Centinela
Avenue, near Central Park inside the Campus, all the way to Brentwood.
Convenient connections with other routes, including the future Metro Expo rail
station at Bundy & Olympic, provide convenient connections for travel
throughout the city.
As city government is working to make biking safer in LA, Mad Men producer
Tom Smuts is working to make it more popular. On Sunday, September 20, Mike
was happy to wish luck to Tom and his friends who would soon bike from his
house in Santa Monica to the Emmys downtown. Tom's
annual # BiketoEmmys
B iketoEmmys event helps showcase how easy and fun (and
environmentally friendly) it can be to get around Los Angeles by bike.
Transit in Los Angeles is becoming more convenient for travelers, now that all 26
regional transportation agencies in LA County have joined the Metro and the TAP
network to create the largest seamless transportation system in the nation.
Starting last month, every transit agency in LA County is now accepting TAP
system, which utilizes smart cards with a computer chip embedded within the
plastic card. A new Tap card has an expected life of ten years and can be reloaded
and reused.
Since all municipal transit agencies in L.A. County accept TAP, passengers can
transfer from any of the 3,800 busses operating in the County to trains from any
transit provider.
Walk to School Day is an annual national event that encourages kids to get
physical activity. This year, Walk to School Day will be held on Wednesday,
October 7th. LADOT and LAUSD are looking for volunteer organizers to host
events at their schools on or around October 7th.
Jessie was nominated by her peers for her excellent work on the Venice Boulevard
Great Streets project in Mar Vista, and for her efforts developing APBP's Young
Professional program through her hands-on work with the 2014-2015 Mentorship
Initiative. She will travel to St. Louis soon to accept her award at the
organization's national conference.
Congratulations, Jessie!
Sunset Boulevard is one of the worst traffic chokepoints in Los Angeles, and the
gridlock affects neighbors in Brentwood, the Pacific Palisades and throughout
the Westside. This November, (exact date to be determined), Mike will convene a
meeting of neighbors, area stakeholders and traffic and transportation experts
to collaborate on creative solutions that will alleviate traffic on Sunset
Boulevard. Complete this form to sign up to receive more information about this
meeting as it becomes available.
Short-term rentals, like AirBnB, HomeAway, and VRBO have become incredibly
popular choices for travelers – and they have proliferated in many Westside
neighborhoods. Short-term rentals have a lot of supporters, including local
residents who use home-sharing to make ends meet, but the phenomenon is also
causing serious alarm and concern about impacts on residential neighborhoods
and out too-scare rental housing stock.
Over the next couple months, the City Council will be considering regulations for
the industry. The first step, before a proposal is even drafted, is public input on
what types of rules are needed. A standing room only crowd of hundreds turned
out in Mar Vista Tuesday for the first of three “listening sessions” held the
Department of City Planning. See coverage of the meeting here .
Along with Council President Herb Wesson, Mike has proposed, as a framework
for discussion, a balanced approach that allows true home-sharing while putting
a stop to abuse that threatens neighborhood character and removes rental
housing from the market.
Even if you were not able to attend the meeting, you can still offer input! The
Planning Department has launched an online survey so people can share their
views about this important issue. You can find the survey at this link .
In the summer of 2015, Mike authored legislation asking for the Los Angeles
Police Department to report to the City Council about excessive hold times on the
department's non-emergency phone number, 877-ASK-LAPD . Constituents calling
the number to report non-emergencies such as loud parties, drinking in public or
trespassing, have reportedly been forced to wait in excess of a half hour before
speaking with a live person. The non-emergency number was created to free-up
capacity when people call 9-1-1 during an emergency, but the system doesn't
work if people calling to report non-emergencies are not able to make reports
because of excessive hold times.
As the Council considers ways to improve this system, we want to hear from
you. Please share you experiences with 877-ASK-LAPD here .
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Police Department began equipping officers
with body cameras, moving LA toward becoming the first big city in the nation to
outfit all officers with on-officer cameras.
The use of body cameras has been a major initiative championed by Mayor
Garcetti, Police Commission President (and CD-11 constituent) Steve Soboroff
and Mike's colleague Mitchell Englander and it is one of the ways the LAPD is
working to improve accountability as they work to keep neighborhoods safe.
Helpful Links
Community Calendar
Thank you for reading the October issue of Mike Bonin's Neighborhoods
First Newsletter.
MIKE BONIN -
T AK E AC T I ON MEDIA NEIG HB ORH OODS ISS UES N EW S C OUN CIL STA FF A BOU T MIK E
COUNCIL DISTRICT 11
BRENTWOOD | DEL REY | MAR VISTA | PACIFIC PALISADES | PLAYA DEL REY | PLAYA VISTA | VENICE | WEST LA | WESTCHESTER
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not
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