Rampart Booster Spring Luncheon

Photo by Faith Crawford

Rampart Booster Association 2010 Spring Luncheon

At Saint Anne’s, 155 N. Occidental Blvd., Los Angeles

Wednesday, March 24, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

$15.00 per person
Tables of 10 are available

Join us for lunch, drawings, and acknowledgment awards.

Donations/Proceeds Benefit:
Rampart Police Station
Rampart Police Activites League
Rampart Explorer Post #628

RSVP by phone to Booster’s President, Bertha Wooldridge at (213) 384-6886

For more information, contact Rampart Community Relations Office Officer Gering at (213) 484-3068

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Shuttle Buses to run between Dodger Stadium and Union Station

There will now be shuttle buses running between Dodger’s Stadium and Union Station before, during and after Dodger games. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich secured a $300,000 grant from from the Mobile Sources Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee to run the service. The fleet will be comprised of “state-of-the-art 40-foot clean-burning compressed natural gas buses.” The best part is that the buses will be free to those who have tickets for the game. Here are some more details regarding the schedule:

  • Pre-Game – service will be provided on a 10 minute frequency from 90 minutes prior to game up to the 3rd inning.
  • Mid-Game – service will be provided on a 30 minute frequency between the 3rd inning and 7th inning
  • Post-Game – service will be provided “load and go” from 7th inning to 45 minutes after game ends

For more information, visit www.metro.net

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Echo Park’s Missed Connections

Sometimes you don't catch the guy on the first try!

We’ve been toying around with the idea of re-posting any Missed Connections that occurred in Echo Park for a while now, but they can be few and far between. Well, I found a couple of gems from the past few days and thought I’d give them a little bit more exposure… and maybe help destiny out a little bit.

Cute girl at Masa (m4w) – Posted on Thursday, March 11 http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mis/1640018969.html “I was studying with some friends and probably looking like quite the nerd with notecards in hand, but we made eye contact a couple of times. Right after leaving I kept complaining to my friend that I should’ve talked to you (ideally I would’ve been super suave and walked up to you, dropped my number and said “Hope this is your brother”). Really though, I hope that was your brother, friend, or platonic hipster roommate you were with. You were wearing a seafoam green vneck and I haven’t had anyone catch my eye like that in awhile. And now I am posting on Craigslist. Want to get coffee? Tell me something that lets me know it’s you.”

Short Stop last night (27) – Posted on Friday, March 12 http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mis/1641063745.html “We sat at the end of the bar and made fun of [people] around us. We couldn’t understand why someone would wear a red sweater with no undershirt. You stepped outside for air but never came back. I hope to run into you Monday around the same time.”

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E.P.I.C. (Echo Park Independent Co-op) Opens It’s Doors

Readers, you will be proud to know that I ingested one too many caffeine and guarana infused vodka drinks on Friday night all in the name of bringing you in the inside scoop on the Echo Park Independent Co-op. You’re welcome. Of course, I didn’t do it alone. Kelly and Faith and I all put on our Friday night best and headed down to the swanky affair that was their grand opening.

The Echo Park Independent Co-op (E.P.I.C.) is the creation of Tristen Scott and Rhianon Jones. It’s located in a big beautiful space on Sunset within the confines of the Jensen Recreational Center Building. The interior design of the store is stunning. Very grand and elegant but simple enough in it’s decoration to let the artwork and the clothing really stand out. Admittedly, it is their goal to present everything in the store in “a gallery-like setting.”

Half of the store is dedicated to one-of-a-kind clothing pieces created by L.A.-based designers. I’m not going to lie about the prices. They range from $60 to $1,000 and on average are somewhere between $100 and $300.  When I asked Tristen about this, he admitted that this was not affordable to most people. His goal is not to provide cheap, ready-to-wear fashion to everyone but to support local artists many of whom have no other venue in which to display their work. They also eventually plan on “taking artists and designers under their wing to create in-store products that are unique to the market place.”

The other half of the store is to be used as a gallery space. On Friday there was Post-It Note art on display created by a variety of artists and friends. Each display was priced at $10 and all of the proceeds went to Million Trees L.A. In addition, 10% of all the proceeds from Friday night’s sales went to the same organization.

The Echo Park Independent Co-op is located at 1712 Sunset. Their website (http://www.shopepicla.com/) is not fully-functional yet, but we’ll be sure to let you guys know when it is.

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Shortened Hours At Origami Vinyl This Week

Due to many Angelenos heading to Austin this week for the SXSW festival, Origami Vinyl has changed their hours this week. The owners are heading to the festival but their friends will be helping out so the store doesn’t have to close completely for the week.

Tue – Wed: Noon til 7pm
Fri – Sat: Noon til 10pm
Sun – Mon: Noon til 7pm

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Echo Park Restaurant and Business News

New restaurants:

  • Vietnamese Restaurant is taking over what used to be Par Paint on Sunset and Lemoyne.
  • Mooi Raw Vegan restaurant: We haven’t forgotten about this space, and have contacted the restaurant to find out when their opening might be. We will keep you posted!
  • As reported earlier this year, a Little Caesars is taking over the old Pioneer Chicken on Echo Park Blvd. Looks like things are finally coming along as they hung a vinyl banner out front and are putting up display menus inside.

Ongoing/Weekly Restaurant Specials

Other new news

  • PETA West Coast Headquarters (thanks to Bob Barker) on Sunset between Alvarado and Mohawk
  • Echo Park Country Outpost launches online store.
  • El Prado bar is now open early on the weekends, starting at 2:30 pm
  • Bus service between Union Station and Dodger Stadium is back for 83 games this year

Closed 🙁

  • Sirens and Sailors closed their storefront, but their online store is still open.
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New Electronic Signs on Sunset in Echo Park

New electronic sign on Sunset & Portia

One of our readers emailed us on Thursday asking, “What’s up with the sign being put up on Sunset and Portia?” As it turns out, the electronic traffic sign is one of two – the other (according to the Eastsider today) on Sunset and White Knoll Drive. Eventually the signs will have “Echo Park” displayed above the electronic sign.

No word about what what exactly the signs will read when whey are up and running, but most electronic signs of this nature warn drivers about traffic delays, incidents, and special events. Lets hope they don’t encourage Dodger Stadium goers to turn up residential streets instead of continuing along the main drag.

LA DOT photo via The Eastsider LA

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Echo Park Lake Rehab Project Community Workshop

Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Project Community Workshop
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Logan Elementary School Auditorium (1711 Montana St.)

The image above is taken from the EP Lake Rehab Project invitation PDF. To download the entire PDF, click here.

The City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works invites you to participate in a community workshop to discuss the Proposition O Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Project. We have been working on the design phase of the recommended plan and are concurrently preparing environmental documentation.

Please join us and bring along your friends and neighbors to this meeting so that we can continue to hear from you throughout this very important phase. We will talk about the following aspects of the project:

  • Design Progress Update
  • Wetlands Configuration
  • Park Lighting and Irrigation

For more information about this event, feel free to contact Olga Morales at 213-485-5933, or email at Olga.Morales@lacity.org

See you there!

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Learning about (and playing with) Piñatas at the Machine Project

via The Machine Project website

On Thursday, March 18 at 8:00 pm, the Machine Project is hosting “Piñatas: a Lecture” with Sarah Bay Williams.

She will be presenting a talk about “the short history, process, materials, resources, human nature, and meanings behind piñata-making. With live demonstration of a piñata in use (and full of candy).”

It’s unclear if you have to RSVP for the event, but you can contact the Machine Project with questions by going to their website.

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The 826LA Book Club Returns

At last! Literary happenings at 826LA geared towards grown-ups! 826LA will be hosting book clubs at both their Echo Park and their Venice locations. They’ll be reading one book per month beginning this month. The first meeting of the 826LA East Book Club will be on Thursday, March 25 from 8:00 to 9:30 pm. This month’s book is Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace, and if you purchase it from Skylight Books in Los Feliz, you’ll receive 15% off your purchase! 826LA Echo Park is located at 1714 W. Sunset Blvd.

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Menu Mondays: Allston Yacht Club

Allston Yacht Club is located at 1320 Echo Park Ave.

Dinner: Tuesday through Saturday at 5:30 pm

Brunch Sunday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Menus subject to change after post date.

Olives & Almonds – $4
Our own marinade of olive oil, rosemary, orange peel and garlic served with warm almonds roasted in cocoa, cinnamon & smoked paprika.

Frico – $6
Crisps of Parmesan Cheese and sliced shallot with tomato relish.

Scorched Shishito Peppers – $6
A mildly spicy Japanese pepper cooked quickly over high heat with a shot of Ponzu and a pinch of Bonito.

Sweet Potato Fritters – $6
A North African Treat, deep fried with minted Yogurt

Grilled Cheese – $6
Inquire.

Arancini – $6
“Little oranges” in Italian. Risotto stuffed with peas and mozzarella rolled in panko and deep fried. Served on a tomatillo salsa crudo

Fried Feta – $6
Double breaded, with a marinated tomato salad

Octopus – $6
Dry braised and marinated in olive oil, citrus, herbs and garlic.

Fried Calamari with Nuoc Cham – $8
Citrus, Soy, Fish Sauce & Chili.

Read more

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Echo Park Community Meetings this week

It’s a busy week for the involved citizens of Echo Park. Here’s your schedule for all the Echo Park community meetings this week:

Echo Park Advisory Board
Monday, March 15 at 7:00 pm
(Every 3rd Monday)
Echo Park Rec Center
Update: Click here to view the agenda

Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Project Community Workshop
Tuesday, March 16 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Logan Elementary School Auditorium (1711 Montana St.)

EPIA Neighborhood Issues Committee Meeting
Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 pm
(Every 3rd Wednesday)
The NIC meeting focuses on development and resolutions for current community issues.
Williams Hall, Barlow Hospital (2000 Stadium Way)
Update: Please note that general meetings take place on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm (same location). The next general meeting will be on Thursday, April 1.  The general meeting is a town hall with guest speakers, council office reports, and police reports.

Echo Park Chamber of Commerce
Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 pm
Taix restaurant, 1911 Sunset Blvd.
Next meeting: Thursday, May 20

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Get your 1981 LA Bicentennial Poster at 826LA

826LA has been donated a few 1981 Los Angeles Bicentennial Celebration posters, and are making them available to you in the store and on Ebay.

They have three 2′ x 3′ reproduction posters designed by post-surrealist painter Helen Lundeberg available on Ebay for a starting bid of $19.99 – so far I don’t think anyone has bid. According to their Facebook page, 825LA also has posters available for purchase in their store, the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, which is located at 1714 Sunset Blvd.

826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. They offer tutoring for the kids Monday through Thursday from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. You can learn more about the program and their volunteer opportunities by visiting the 826LA website.

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Fargo Street Hill Climb on Sunday March 14

From Highsierrabob's Flickr

This Sunday, March 14 the Los Angeles Wheelmen will be hosting their several-ish annual Fargo Street Hill Climb. Legend has it that Fargo Street in Echo Park is the steepest street in L.A. with a 32% incline. For many years now the Los Angeles Wheelmen have been challenging riders to see how many times they can ride up it in one day. The record is held by Steve Gilmore who in 2008 rode up it 101 times! Starting time is 9:00 am and the starting location is the intersection of Fargo St. and Alejandro St. (near the south end of the Glendale Freeway).

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Rumor Mill: the Echo Park Magic Gas ‘incident’

Some of you may have read our post or noticed other posts circulating about the “shut-down” of the Echo Park Magic Gas station earlier this week. Hopefully this will help clear up some rumors and other conversations going around about its brief closure.

  • Mixing water with gas: A comment on the Echo Elysian Forum argues that the problem was  the owners mixing water with gas. Subsequent comments deny that mixing water with gas is even plausible. A quick Google search confirmed the latter, but I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject.
  • We received a comment from our last post from Matthew about his experience: “YES! I went there once a few years ago and filled up and my tank BARELY reached half full! I told the guy in the shop that something seemed wrong and he immediately started yelling at me! Im so glad they got busted!” Thanks for your comment, Matthew, and hopefully you’ll be happy to know that the station has been under new ownership since around April last year. Lets hope new owners Zina Mikayelyan and Art Bagousky won’t yell at you if you have any issues in the future!
  • An “anonymous” comment on the Eastsider LA post wrote, “Those little mom n pop stations oftentimes stock the ‘dregs’ at the bottom of the tanker trucks, after the trucks are done filling up the shell, arco, mobil stations etc. which means it’s lower quality gas generally. water in the tanks, though, is another story….” As I’m not an expert on the matter… no comment.

As for what really happened? The owners told the Eastsider LA in an update that “the investigators were there in response to a legal judgment and tax issues related to the previous owner. ‘If there was anything wrong, I would have been gone a long time ago,’ said Mikayelyan as a gasoline tanker truck pulled up with a new supply of fuel.”

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