DECEMMBARECRH 2200114 Newsletter and Activity Guide WINTER CLASS SCHEDULE INSIDE! A MESSAGE FROM YOUR CITY COUNCIL City Officials Lancaster City Council City Manager It is the time of year when despite the nip in the air, we all get a warm feeling inside as R. Rex Parris, Mayor Mark V. Bozigian we look forward to spending time with family and friends. As the holidays approach, Marvin E. Crist, Vice Mayor Ronald D. Smith, Council Member we offer you a variety of ideas on how you can enjoy your holidays together. Ken Mann, Council Member Of course there are traditional yuletide activities: our annual Christmas Parade, the Sandra Johnson, Council Member festive Magical BLVD Christmas, Breakfast with Santa and more. However, we also offer Kit Yee Szeto, Deputy Mayor Cassandra Harvey, Deputy Mayor some interesting ideas for ways to stay active and healthy amidst all the egg nog and pumpkin pie which permeate the season. You’re Invited to Meetings Lancaster City Council Lancaster’s YOLO Wellness PACT is a yearlong competition designed to help you 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. Notice of eat right, stay active and live well as you work your way toward the grand prize of special Council meetings will be posted at City Hall. $5,000. You’ll find details inside. Lancaster Architectural and Design Commission Speaking of wellness, health care in the Antelope Valley took a big leap forward this 1st Thursday of the month at 5 p.m. All meetings are held in the Council Chambers at City Hall. fall with the opening of Kaiser Permanente’s beautiful new medical facility. You’ll catch a glimpse in this issue of Outlook. Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission 2nd Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. All meetings With shopping high on the minds of many this are held in the Council Chambers at City Hall. time of year, we also make the case for spending your Lancaster Human Relations Tapestry Commission dollars close to home. We all benefit when we do. 2nd Wednesday every other month at 6 p.m. Next meeting is in January. All meetings are held No issue of Outlook would be complete without in the Council Chambers at City Hall. the full guide of courses, programs and activities our Lancaster Neighborhood Vitalization Commission Parks, Recreation & Arts Department has cooked 1st Tuesday of the month at 4 p.m. All meetings are up for you and your family to enjoy. held in the Council Chambers at City Hall. So please, take some time during this hectic Lancaster Planning Commission 3rd Monday of the month at 6 p.m. All meetings are holiday season to savor the precious gifts we all enjoy. held in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Agenda Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays! review is held on the Monday preceding each month’s meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Public Safety Conference Room. Your City Council Lancaster Youth Commission 2nd Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. All meetings are held in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Let Us Hear from You We welcome your comments. Contact City Hall at 661-723-6000 Monday - Thursday from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. On the Cover TDD users may call the California TDD Relay Service at The magic of the holiday season comes alive along 1-800-735-2922. The BLVD with music, lights and festive decorations. Join us for “A Magical BLVD Christmas” on December 13. Hotline Info Abandoned shopping cart retrieval 800-252-4613 City Special Event hotline 661-723-5900 Editor-in-Chief: Joseph Cabral Job hotline 661-723-5874 Design: Davis Communications Graffiti hotline 661-723-5977 Photography: David Balian, Curt Gideon, Josh Kline Anonymous crime tip hotline 661-948-COPS (948-2677) and Melinda Mason www.cityoflancasterca.org City Council meeting agendas can be found here. Register online for classes. www.lpac.org Lancaster Performing Arts Center www.lancastermoah.org OUTLOOK is published quarterly by the Lancaster Community Services Foundation. Lancaster Museum of Art and History This newsletter is mailed to households and businesses in the City as a public service. www.destinationlancasterca.org Incorporated in November 1977, Lancaster is a Charter City within Los Angeles County. Destination Lancaster The City of Lancaster is an equal opportunity employer. E-mail your Council Members or apply for City jobs online at www.cityoflancasterca.org DECEMBER 2014 2 YOLO Lancaster! Eat right. Stay active. Live well. 4 Kaiser Unveils Stunning Landmark Health facility treats both patients Page 2 and environment kindly 6 Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas Celebrate with family and friends A Magical BLVD Christmas at a host of holiday events returns to The BLVD 8 Shop More in Lancaster Page 6 Shopping locally benefits us all 10 OneLINC VISTA program helps LINC volunteers with projects 11 Veterans Down Payment Assistance Program 14 Winter Safety Tips 16 Parks, Recreation & Arts Activity Guide 35 LPAC Holiday favorites and more 36 Prime Desert Woodland Winter nature events Shop locally this holiday season Page 8 Four-time Grammy Award-winner Roberta Flack comes to LPAC February 7 Page 35 December 2014 | outlook | 1 WIN Let’s face it, we all have some bad habits we’d like to change, but with many of us are seldom motivated enough to replace our poor choices with better ones. Healthy Well, let’s see if a $5,000 grand prize can’t get you motivated to get up and get moving. This is the top prize in a new, yearlong Habits competition designed to help Antelope Valley residents eat right, stay active and live well. The YOLO Lancaster Wellness PACT is open to all local adults and rewards you for making healthy choices in your daily life. Choose a salad instead of a YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, burger for lunch. You’ll earn points for eating right. Lancaster! Spend some time at the gym. Rack up even more Mke the ost of it points. Pick up some fresh vegetables for dinner at the farmers market, and you’ll soon see how fast these rewards can add up. We’ll even reward you for visiting your doctor regularly, attending parenting classes or getting help to lower your blood pressure. Joining the program is quick and easy. You can go online to YOLO Lancaster.org or call 661-425-9050 to sign up. You’ll be instantly issued your own membership card and be invited to a quick assessment at Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), the chief organizer of YOLO Lancaster. The AVPH staff will go over your vital signs and discuss your overall objectives. Then you’ll be on your way toward earning rewards and valuable prizes as you adopt healthier habits. Monster Fitness is just one of several local gyms and fitness centers participating in the YOLO Lancaster program. 2 | outlook | December 2014 Earn GREAT Prizes Local Subway stores are partnering with YOLO Lancaster to encourage Grand Prize: healthier eating habits. $5,000 cash to the Dozens of community-minded Overall Points Winner partners are participating in the Wellness PACT, including A year of free fitness local gyms, restaurants, farmers One year free gym membership to markets and more. You’ll the person with the most physical find the complete list at activity YOLO Lancaster.org . Each time you partake in a YOLO activity, you’ll receive a rewards coupon, A pantry stocked with healthy foods which can be redeemed online or by phone. Participation earns you points. $500 grocery gift card to the person with Accumulate points and exchange them for prizes. most YOLO referrals If you earn the most overall points between now and October 31, 2015, you’ll walk away $5,000 richer for exercising your healthy habits. A season of entertaining evenings So what are you waiting for? Sign up now. Start earning points and learn LPAC season tickets to the person with to eat right, stay active and live well with YOLO Lancaster. best attendance to YOLO classes Dine out on us Eat right. Restaurant gift cards to the person who Stay active. enjoys healthy meals most often Live well. Plus... Official YOLO gym bag Sign up at Yours, FREE when you complete your assessment YOLO Lancaster.org Official YOLO t-shirt when you reach 100 reward points Conditions of eligibility apply. For additional details on eligibility, visit YOLOLancaster.org. Official YOLO ball cap Sponsor has the right to verify the eligibility when you reach 300 reward points of each participant. Official YOLO hoodie when you reach 500 reward points Official YOLO signature jacket when you reach 1,000 reward points December 2014 | outlook | 3 Kaiser Unveils Stunning New Lancaster Landmark Health facility treats patients and environment kindly With more than 100,000 members in the Antelope Valley, Kaiser Permanente represents nearly a quarter of all insured patients throughout the area. Yet since first arriving in the Valley in 1968, Kaiser struggled to keep pace with its popularity. Quarters were sometimes cramped as facilities and staffing grew exponentially to meet demand. This fall, Kaiser took a dramatic leap forward by creating a spectacular new space for its specialists. The eye-catching new Medical Specialties complex on Avenue L offers far more than just an attractive façade. It is designed from the ground up to provide patients with quality medical care while treating the environment with respect as well. While the building is architecturally stunning from the outside, the real beauty comes from the thought and care that went into creating a facility with “We want our facility to reflect the patients’ needs so much in mind.