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HiFi neighborhood cleanup Saturday!

The Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council (GEPENC) are hosting a neighborhood cleanup this weekend in partnership with the Historic Filipinotown Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown, and neighbors and friends.

They’ll be focusing on the Historic Filipinotown neighborhood for the cleanup.

With Earth Day coming up this month, now’s your chance to contribute to a clean environment in your neighborhood!

Meet at Lake Street Park (227 N. Lake Street) on Saturday, April 9th, 2010 from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon.

For more information about the clean up or to RSVP, please contact
Jose Sigala at 213-308-2826 or by email at jose_sigala@yahoo.com

Refreshments and lunch provided by the GEPENC and the Rotary of Historic Filpintown, with tools and supplies provided by the City of Los Angeles Office of Community Beautification.

Click here to download the full flyer.

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Tonight: EPIA social event at Taix!

I am very much looking forward to the meeting/social/fundraiser/mixer tonight for the Echo Park Improvement Association (as a committee member, I’ve been involved in the organization and this event).

At this particular meeting, the EPIA will have representatives from CD1, CD13, and the Northeast and Rampart Divisions to provide updates on community issues. Oftentimes there will also be input from other community members for event announcements and other comments. In between those agenda items, there will be cocktails, raffles (lots of great stuff from local eateries and businesses), and other goodies. It’s a great way to get involved!

Hope to see you tonight at 7:00 pm at Taix!!

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Order your Farmers’ Market healthy basket today!

At he beginning of March, the Echo Park Farmers Market started a healthy baskets program. Similar to CSA Please review the options below to find the Healthy Market Basket that’s right for you and your family!

Order now! Orders placed by Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. will be delivered that same week. Orders placed after 12:00 p.m. Tuesday will start delivery the following week. (If you would like to pay using CalFresh/EBT please email hmbp@see-la.org or call 323-463-3171)

Available in 4, 8 and 12-week options!

Fresh Market Basket:
Weekly farm-fresh produce selection featuring approximately 8-10 farmers’ market produce items each week. No customization will be offered on these baskets. $22/week

Healthy Market Baskets:
Weekly farm-fresh produce selection offering subscribers 13-16 different market fresh fruits and vegetables. Each basket will help subscribers to meet the USDA recommendation of 31.5 cups of fruits and vegetables per person per week. Subscribers will be able to choose between Basket A and Basket B options by making a selection online.

1-Person Healthy Market Basket: $29/week
2-Person Healthy Market Basket: $55/week
3-Person Healthy Market Basket: $82/week

Click here for the website and to sign up!

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Saturday: What’s your vision of Echo Park’s future?

Our CD13 rep Eric Garcetti is quite busy these days! (Perhaps gearing up for a mayoral campaign…?) Tomorrow (Saturday, April 2, 2011) he and his team will be hosting a “visioning summit” for Echo Park and Historic Filipinotown.

Called the “Los Angeles Neighborhood Dreams (LAND),” the community forum is a chance for Echo Park residents to voice their opinions about the future of Echo Park.

What do you see in the future of Echo Park? Perhaps more transparency when big developers want to build in Echo Park? More community input? A serious look at the Community Plan and removal of rules that give developers rights to build high-density projects that don’t fit in with the community?

Okay, maybe those are my recommendations. Yours might be a little different – so share them at tomorrow’s forum!

When: Saturday, April 2nd from 9:00 am to 12:0 pm

Where: Angelus Temple, located at 1100 Glendale Blvd.

RSVP using the following methods:

call the Hollywood District Office at 323-957-4500
email Alejandra.Marroquin@lacity.org
or CLICK HERE

See you there!

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Your guide to Dodgers promo days

A Dodgers "sleeved fleece." Yes please!

Now that opening day is over, we’re looking forward to a new season of McCourt-divorce-drama-free baseball! (Pretty please!) Here’s your season lineup to all the freebies (aka promos) at the Stadium:

Friday night fireworks are back, so you can expect all the oohs and ahhs of fireworks every Friday evening when there’s a home game. This starts at tonight’s game (Friday, April 1 vs. Giants).

Dodgers Sleeved Blanket: Sunday, April 3 at 5:00 pm vs Giants

Lakers Tribute – Purple and Gold LA Cap: Thursday, April 14 at 7:10 pm vs Cardinals

Jackie Robinson Night: Friday, April 15 at 7:10 pm vs Cardinals

Fernando Valenzuela Fleece Blanket: Tuesday, April 19 at 7:10 pm vs Braves

Half-Price Food & Drink: Thursday, April 21 at 12:10 pm vs Braves

Retro ’81 World Series T-Shirt: Sunday, May 1 at 1:10 pm vs Padres

Cooler Bag: Tuesday, May 3 at 7:10 pm vs Cubs

Half-Price Food & Drink: Wednesday, May 4 at 12:10 pm vs Cubs

Kids James Loney BP Jersey: Sunday, May 15 at 1:10 pm vs D-backs

Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead: Tuesday, May 17 at 7:10 pm vs Brewers

Bark in the Park: Saturday, May 28 at 7:10 pm vs Marlins

$1 Dodger Dog Day: Monday, May 30 at 5:10 pm vs Rockies

Don Mattingly Bobblehead: Wednesday, June 1 at 7:10 pm vs Rockies

Hong-Chih Kuo Bobblehead: Tuesday, June 14 at 7:10 pm vs Reds

Half-Price Food & Drink: Wednesday, June 15 at 12:10 pm vs Reds

Read more

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Prepare for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium

Since the Dodgers are at this moment kicking the Mariners you-know-whats, it’s time for a Dodgers update.

Thursday, March 31, is D-Day – that is, Opening Day (and the 54th season in Los Angeles!). If you have lived around Echo Park long enough to know how completely insane Opening Day is, well you know how to avoid getting caught up in the traffic. Here’s the deal:

The past couple of years, Opening Day started in the early afternoon. This year, it starts at 5:00 pm. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing:

Good: Fans won’t be blasting music and starting the day off with a little buzz at 7:00 am in Elysian Park. (Trust me, you can hear it pretty early)

Bad: Fans will be blasting music and catching a little buzz starting at 10:00 am in Elysian Park.

Good: 50,000 people across Southern California won’t “mysteriously” call in sick on the same day, instead they’ll be able to take a half day to enjoy the game!

Bad: Traffic, traffic, traffic. Even the non-arteries to the stadium are jam-packed, so expect a bit of a parking lot outside your front door for a little while.

Good: The Dodgers are going to win their first game, and it’s against the Giants (returning from their, uh uhm, win in the world series last season)

There will be a pregame ceremony at 4:30 om, which will include displays on the field and a military flyover. All parking gates will open at 1:00 pm (much earlier than they usually open the gates to accommodate the crowds) and the stadium gates will open at 1:30 pm.

There will be some street closures on Thursday from 1:00 am – 11:00 pm for “staging purposes and game preparations.” Closures include:

  • Scott Avenue between Stadium Way and North Boylston Street
  • North Boylston between Academy and Stadium Way
  • Lilac Terrace between Stadium Way and Lookout to Stadium

And lastly, the Dodger Stadium Express is back! You can get transit service to and from Dodger Stadium using the Metro and the Metrolink trains. Transit from Union Station starts 45 minutes before the start of the game and will stop running one hour after the last out.

That’s it for now – since we have to work all day Thursday, we won’t be planning on getting home until after all the traffic has gone through. Good luck out there! See you at the games.

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What’s the dramz at the Echo Park Save-a-Lot?

A couple of weeks ago, we got an email from an Echo Park resident who noticed something funny at the Echo Park Save-A-Lot located on Sunset Boulevard next to Walgreens: “I went into the save-a-lot today and the shelves and freezers are quite bare. the checker said that owners are denying that it is going to close, but the lack of merchandise says otherwise. do you know if it is leaving echo park?”

We couldn’t find out for sure what was going on until today, when reader Sven wrote us (and sent the following photo) about the store’s definite closure:

“What happened to the Save-A-Lot on Sunset in Echo Park? I found the place closed, the windows covered with paper and this odd note from the landlord on the door, in which he explained having changed the locks on them?”

The letter reads:

“It has come to the Landlord’s attention that Subtenant has ceased operating from the Premises. In order to protect the integrity of the Premisess and Landlord’s interest therein, Landlord has changed the locks and entered the Premises to inspect name.”

We’ll try and find out what’s going on, stay tuned!

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Thursday: Parenting class at The Echo Center

The Echo Center (formerly the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting) here in Echo Park is hosting a new class called “Raising Girls Master Class” on Thursday, March 24.

Here’s the class description, from The Echo Center:

From a very young age, girls are inundated with messages that they should “act like a lady” at the expense of their own unique self.

Helping to empower girls to be authentic, feeling, thinking people who are confident and loving means developing and expanding our own ideas about gender and power.

This session offers concrete tools to help adults support girls.

The class takes place from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at a local Echo Park residence. Address will be provided upon registration. Space is limited, so register now!

Fee is $50 per person, $75 per couple. No one will be turned away for lack of
funds.

To RSVP: Contact Azucena Ortiz at 213.484.6676 x.311 or email aortiz@theechocenter.org for more information about the class.

Visit The Echo Center website to learn more about the non-profit.

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Street closures in Echo Park for LA Marathon weekend

The 26th Annual LA Marathon takes place this weekend, on Sunday, March 20. An exciting tradition, but there will also be some road closures and parking restrictions along the routes. Make sure you pay attention to those overnight “no parking” sings along the route – including a lot of parking real estate in Echo Park and Angeleno Heights.

Runners are expected to exit Dodger Stadium (the start of the marathon) as early as 7:00 am, with Echo Park streets expected to reopen by 11:00 am.

New to the experience as an Echo Park resident? Skip breakfast at a local restaurant (although they’ll be open!) and stay in bed for a little while longer on Sunday morning before heading out for errands. It can get messy if you try to drive around the neighborhood with Sunset Blvd. closed!

Click here for the PDF of the full map.

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Tonight: Historical Society meeting, election, and tour!

Flickr photo via Mary-Austin & Scott

Tonight is the Echo Park Historical Society Quarterly Meeting, and if you’re into Echo Park history this is definitely the one to check out!

Favorite local author Charles Fleming (he wrote the Secret Stairways book I’ve been carrying everywhere with me) will be talking about his book at the stairways of Los Angeles. I’ve also heard there’ll be a short tour of the remnants of the Egyptian themed mural in what once was the bowling alley (see awesome historical photo above.

EPHS will also hold its annual Board of Directors election. Members in good standing (paid memberships) will cast ballots during the quarterly meeting. Candidates will have an opportunity to make a brief presentation before ballots are cast.

The historical society meeting takes place TONIGHT! from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Rec Center Studio, located at 1161 Logan Street.

Visit the Echo Park Historical Society website for more info, or email ephs@HistoricEchoPark.org

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Tsunami relief fundraising at Dodger Stadium today

All day today, you can stop by Dodger Stadium to help raise money for the American Red Cross Japan earthquake and tsunami relief effots.

According to a press release, Dodger alumni Bobby Castillo, Kenny Landreaux, Rudy Law, Al Ferrara, Jimmy Campanis, Derrel Thomas and NBC LA on-air personalities will be on hand to take donations. Donors who give $20 or more will each receive two tickets to an upcoming Spring Training exhibition game at Dodger Stadium.

The event started at 5:00 this morning, and ends tonight at 7:00 pm at Dodger Stadium, in parking lot 1.

Monetary donations of cash and checks will be accepted. Checks should be made out to American Red Cross with “Japan Tsunami Fund” in the memo line.

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Echo Park in the news

Twitpic by RosalineMae

You may have read that Echo Park’s famous goose Maria (made famous by an OK Go music video, then a Facebook page, then the brilliant snowball effect that comes with celebrity life in Los Angeles) was moved to the Los Angeles Zoo in preparation for the upcoming Echo Park Lake rehab project this summer. Well, as it turns out, Maria is actually a boy! The Zoo learned of the official gender while doing a checkup after the gander arrived. Dominic Ehrler told the LA Times, “He’s Mario now. But I’ll call him Maria if he doesn’t respond to Mario.”

In case you’re wondering, Dominic will be able to visit Mario/Maria.

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LA TACO @ STREET ART POP UP! from LA TACO on Vimeo.

Street Art Pop-Up Store opened last Friday, March 4 at 1461 1/2 W. Sunset Blvd. (formerly Warwick Vintage Store). The temporary art space will be featuring new artwork daily from a variety of artists, including Bigfoot, Robots Will Kill, Evil Design, Shepard Fairey, and more.

The temp shop is open daily from noon to 7:00 pm. Check out the video about from LA Taco.

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We found out on Tuesday this week that Writer Brando Skyhorse’s “The Madonnas of Echo Park” won the Hemingway/PEN Award for first fiction.

Congrats to Brando Skyhorse! And yes, the book is still on my New Years Resolutions to-do list, but I’ll be stopping by the library fairly soon to grab a copy.

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Roundup: Restaurant and Business News in Echo Park

New stuff:

Yogala Echo Park is located next to Peter Shire's studio

Yogala Echo Park is scheduled to open this month (March) at 1840 Echo Park Avenue, right by Peter Shire’s studio. They’ve got a full schedule throughout the week with a lot of different types of Yoga classes, including Baby Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, morning Yoga, and even some Pilates classes. Prices start at $12 per class, with discounts if you purchase a series or class cards. Click here for their website.

Echo Park resident Jennifer Dunlay recently started a pet-care business for when you go out of town and want to keep your best buddies at home. Artemis Pet Service will visit, play with your kitties, walk your dog in Elysian Park, and even offers overnight stays. She is fully insured, will provide references, and is Red Cross Certified. Bonus: it looks like she’s affordable! While she is based in Echo Park, she also serves surrounding neighborhoods. Click here to learn more from her website.

Juan Frias, also an Echo Park resident, opened up SuperPop Graphics earlier this year under the Sunset Blvd. bridge at 1176 Glendale Blvd. As a fellow graphic designer, he designs business cards, banners, brochures, logos, vehicle and wall graphics; and any other graphic services. The store itself contains a small retail section that has clothing with designs by Juan Frias for sale, including vinyl stickers and t-shirts. He is also able to do custom made t-shirts for men, women, children, and even babies. The store is currently operated by appointments and walk-ins are welcome as well.

Ongoing/Weekly Specials

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Weekend Guide: Get motivated with the Entrepreneur Training Program

SIPA’s Entrepreneur Training Program (ETP) is open to all new and current small business owners who wish to learn more about business operations and practices. Jen Carpinteyro over at REWIND The Recycled Electronics Store told us they had participated in the program last year, and benefited from the program. She wrote: “Thanks to SIPA, REWIND The Recycled Electronics Store is no longer a dream…. Taking the ETP program gave us the motivation and confidence to open REWIND.”

The four-week session (four Saturdays) includes guest speakers, group work, discussion and hands-on activities. Session dates are:

March 5 from 9:00 am to noon (orientation)
March 12 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (session)
March 19 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (session)
March 26 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm (graduation)

Topics covered include: Steps to starting a business, business planning, marketing, employment regulations, banking and budgeting

The ETP takes place at the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), 3200 W. Temple Street

Cost: $80 materials fee

Spaces are limited: RSVP to Farzana Nayani at (213) 382-1819 ext. 107, email fnayani@esipa.org with questions

Website: www.esipa.org

Click here for the flyer.

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Update on Echo Park’s newest school, CRES #14

Super activist and local resident extraordinaire Windy O’Malley sent us an update today on the new school, CRES #14, being built in Echo Park near the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Alvarado. Monday evening, the Echo Park Moms for Education group held a pizza party at Pizza Buona to help educate the community about the school, as well as the efforts by group to have a say in the school’s future. Here’s what she has to say:

Micki Curtis and Gabriella Waterman deliver petition to Nancy Gonzalaz, assistant to Yoli Flores. Photo by Windy O'Malley

Hello, I am happy to report that the Pizza Party for the community was a great success bringing together the very people that CRES #,4’s construction has effected and the the children that will attend the school. As parents, we are working tirelessly to reach out to our neighbors and friends in hope that together the LAUSD school board will finally listen to us.

We are happy to say more that 50 community members and children attended the event.

Also yesterday [Tuesday, March 1], the Echo Park Moms for Education attempted to hand deliver the 655 signatures we have gathered online and on the streets of our community in support of the Community Partners plan. We were unable to meet with any LAUSD Board Member, but handed the petitions to their assistants, who repeated expressed that the board members would meet with “no one regarding the plans as they didn’t have time to meet with everyone, and did not want to be bias regarding the decision.” We, The Echo Park Moms for Education, are not a part of either proposal, we only are concerned citizens who see that one proposal would be the best school for our community. We are disturbed that there is not a place for the Board Members to speak to the actual people and community this school is affecting.

We only want to be heard and consulted. This will be our school and we deserve a voice.

The school board is expected to make a decision on who will run the new school (Camino Nuevo Charter School or the Echo Park Community Partners Plan Design Team) on March 15.

You can read my latest article about CRES #14 here. The Eastsider LA has also been following the matter very closely, click here for today’s article.

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