Los Feliz Ledger Read by 100,000+ Residents and Business Owners in Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Vol 9. No. 12 June 2014 Atwater Village, Echo Park & Hollywood Hills Over Spending Map Shows Creates New Faultline Under LFVBID Mindset Two Local By Allison B. Cohen and Schools Jessica Ogilvie By Ryan White and Ameera Butt, Ledger LOS FELIZ—The Los Feliz Contributing Writers Village Business Improve- ment District (LFVBID) When the California governing board has a his- Geological Survey released a tory of erratic spending and new preliminary map of the has increased its costs on its Hollywood Fault in January, annual Street Festival 524% the agency also unleashed a since 2004 when the event new set of worries for those was nearly self liquidating who live, work or own proper- according to financial re- ties within the freshly detailed cords obtained by the Ledger. fault corridor. In 2004, the street fair Now, in the wake of a was staged by the LFVBID Los Angeles Times analysis at a cost of $19,496 and with that provides a new fly-over revenue of $18,000 meaning view of just which buildings 92% of raised revenue funded most likely sit atop the fault, the event. school administrators and oth- But in 2013, for example, ers along the fault’s presumed the festival cost $121,680 to path are either planning to stage with incoming sponsor- minimize risks or vigorously ships of $73,436, creating a SOUTH OF THE BOULEVARD—Los Feliz is wealthy north of the Boulevard. But on any given Saturday, nearly all of Los Feliz is just a regular low to middle class Los Angeles neighborhood with a median household income of $50,000 contesting the map’s accuracy. loss of $48,244. and where 75% of residents rent. On a recent Saturday afternoon, we captured people and places “South of the Bou- Immaculate Heart High The ballooning expendi- levard.” Clockwise from upper left: “Henry’s office at his body shop,” “Ruby, the Lemonade Girl” on Franklin Avenue, “Two Chairs,” in front of a Los Feliz duplex and a men’s soccer coach at Ferraro Fields in Griffith Park. See more photos School and Middle School, a see LFVBID page 23 like these at losfelizledger.com. Photos: Allison B. Cohen. see FAULT page 9 City Council To Now Decide on Baseball Fields Attack Spotlights Griffith Park’s at Griffith Park’s Crystal Springs and Old Zoo Stage Spotty Cell Service By Allison B. Cohen By Ryan White, Ledger Contributing Writer LOS ANGELES—The Friends recommendation would then GRIFFITH PARK—One of servatory—a high point one of Griffith Park (FoGP), the be heard by the Los Angeles the many alarming details to would think has great cov- Griffith J. Griffith Charitable City Council, sometime in emerge from the May 14th erage—goes so far as to the Trust and the Sierra Club of August, at the earliest, city sexual assault of a woman hik- stress the point on its homep- Los Angeles filed an appeal officials estimated. ing alone in an isolated area of age, under the headline: “Mo- May 9th regarding the city’s After the City Council Griffith Park stems from the bile Phone Reception Spotty Recreation and Parks Board votes, lawsuits for either or attack’s immediate aftermath. at Observatory.” of Commissioners’ April 2nd both projects can be filed in After the victim fought “Please be aware that most approval of two youth base- Los Angeles Superior Court. off the violent assault, she was mobile phones seem to have ball fields at Crystal Springs According to the Cali- forced to hike for another half- difficulty getting a clear signal in Griffith Park and a perma- fornia Environmental Qual- hour until she could regain cell while in and around the Ob- nent performance stage at the The issues will now be heard by a ity Act (CEQA), approvals of service and call 911 for help. servatory,” the warning reads. park’s Old Zoo. Los Angeles City Council committee projects by non-elected bod- Mitch O’Farrell chairs. By the time authorities were “This appears to be more of an Both projects will now be ies, as is the city’s five-panel notified and a police chopper issue for voice calls than for reviewed by the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office, anoth- Recreation and Parks Board responded the area, the assail- data reception.” City Council’s Arts, Parks, er public hearing on both of Commissioners, are open ant had vanished. The city has long been Health, Aging and River projects will now be heard to this type of appeal to an The attack highlights the aware of the potential for Committee, chaired by Los by that committee. At that elected body. hit-and-miss nature of cellular problems. In 2011, the Dept. Angeles City Councilmember time, the five-member com- The permanent stage service in Griffith Park, a fact of Recreation and Parks issued Mitch O’Farrell. mittee can sustain or deny would be for the use of the belied by the park’s setting a report that underscored safe- According to Brian Wal- the appeal on the projects. Independent Shakespeare Co. amid a sprawling metropolis. ty concerns. ters with the Los Angeles Either way, the committee’s see BASEBALL page 10 The Griffith Park Ob- see CELL page 21 Community News: A new Community News: Poverty high Community News: Ruling on Real Estate: Realtors say baseball School News: E-X-T-R-A-O-R-D- contract for the Greek may mean among local schools, page 15 Target construction expected any fields at Crystal Springs raise home I-N-A-R-Y: Spelling Bee raises over trouble for local residents, page 5 time now, page 16 values, page 22 $130K for local schools, page 32 Los Feliz Ledger [LETTER FROm THE PUBLISHER] Los Angeles cross my lips (see Mother of ter responders pinged her cell Recreation Invention, page 28, where we phone that incorrectly identi- Available online and at FOUNDED 2005 and Parks cite a study that indicates say- fied her location in the flats of these locations: B o a r d ing swear words might actu- Hollywood. She was finally Delivered the last Thursday of LOS FELIZ each month to 34,500 homes and of Com- ally be beneficial to one’s emo- found dead approximately businesses in the Los Feliz, missioner tional health). 10 hours after she was dis- Citibank Silver Lake, Atwater Village, Misty Sanford commented Gerry Hans, President covered missing. Ten hours 1965 Hillhurst Avenue Echo Park and Hollywood Hills at a March meeting of the of Friends of Griffith Park is where responders wandered Dresden Restaurant communities. 1760 N. Vermont Avenue board, she was so pleased that quoted in this edition regard- the streets of Hollywood in- PUBLISHER/EDITOR Griffith Park had a “Friends ing a woman who was attacked stead of Griffith Park where House of Pies Allison B. Cohen of” group—meaning Friends May 14th and had to hike 30 1869 N. Vermont Ms. Menke lay dying. What ADVERTISING SALES of Griffith Park—and looked minutes, with a broken finger, do you say to Ms. Menke’s Los Feliz Public Library 1874 Hillhurst Avenue Libby Butler-Gluck forward to an ongoing rela- until she got cell reception to surviving husband and two 323-644-5536 Los Feliz 3 Theaters tionship with them for the call 911 as saying “Frankly, children, Mr. Hans? [email protected] betterment of and fundraising though, people should start Further, city officials have 1822 N. Vermont GRAPHIC DESIGN for the park’s behalf. out on park trails with a mind- also indicated the lack of cell Newsstand Vermont and Melbourne & LAYOUT reception in the park hinders Tiffany Sims ...City officials have also indicated the emergency response time, let’s Palermo say, just for fun, like in the 1858 N. Vermont PROOFREADER lack of cell reception in the park hin- Griffin O. Cohen case of a fire that burned 817 Skylight Books ders emergency response time, let’s say, acres in 2007. 1818 N. Vermont just for fun, like in the case of a fire that Perhaps Mr. Hans should SILVER LAKE advocate for or hike in the wil- burned 817 acres in 2007. Casita del Campo derness of Montana or better 1920 Hyperion Ave yet, Antarctica. Silver Lake Chamber Ms. Sanford is new in her set that they will not need to I always told my children of Commerce position. She doesn’t know the rely on their phones. Cell when they were young, they 1724 W. Silver Lake Drive half of it. service is not mandatory and could “think” as many curse Instead, Friends of should not be expected in any words as they liked, they just Griffith Park are obstruction- wilderness area.” could not “say” them. ists. Appealing the construc- I got news for you, Mr. We’re all grown up now, tion of two youth baseball Hans. I have traveled in the so here’s to you, Mr. Hans fields is one thing; appealing remotest locations and wilder- and Friends of Griffith Park: the construction of the most ness of East Africa and there @#&*%! visually innocuous permanent was amazing cell reception Get a @#&*% clue. stage for FREE Symphony in there. the Glen and the Independent I don’t know what planet Corrections & Shakespeare Co. performances Mr. Hans is living on, but is another thing. But opposing Griffith Park is an urban park, Amplifications more cell towers—and direc- in the second largest city in In our story $8.3M: Highest Paid tional park signage—because the United States, and many Price for a Home Sold in Los its not aesthetically pleasing is hiking its trails have lost their Feliz (May 2014), we incorrectly nearly criminal.