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Earth Week: Biking in Los Angeles

“Are you an avid cyclist or looking to ride your bike more often?” Google Maps took a step in a more bike-friendly direction about a month ago when they added biking directions as a transportation option. One can both get directions for traveling via bike and view which streets are safest for cycling. The project is still in the beta phase, however, and the directions and the suggestions for the best biking streets are not definitive.

Click on the image above to view the interactive Google map

But, as you can see from the map above, Los Angeles is not exactly Amsterdam. The green lines translate as follows: a dark green line indicates a bike path with no cars, a light green line indicates a street with a bike lane and a dotted green line indicates a street without a bike lane but which is less busy and safer for cycling. Google Maps also takes into account changes in elevation and suggests routes that don’t feature very steep streets.

There are several other resources out there for fans of two-wheeled transportation:

  • LADOT has both a bike blog and a guide to biking in Los Angeles in PDF form that features rules, regulations and suggestions.
  • LA Metro has a guide to biking routes in LA (pdf).
  • Gmaps Pedometer is a great resource for cyclists who are also on a mission to burn calories. Just click on the map to create your own route. It will tell you how many miles you’ve traveled, how many calories you’ve burned (really?) and changes in elevation.
  • On the second Friday of every month (along with a variety of other rides throughout the month), Midnight Ridazz organizes a night-time bike ride throughout Los Angeles.
  • LA Streetsblog follows news and events in all things bike riding.
  • Echo Park Cycles is, you guessed it, a local bike shop where you can get new gear or a tune-up. Prices are reasonable and the staff friendly!
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Earth Week: Earth Day Events Around LA

  • Thursday April 22nd – Earth Day at Environment Furniture: Want to get pampered?  Then head over to the Environment Furniture show room for some earth-friendly fashion and makeovers There will also be a silent auction benefiting Brand Aid Haiti.  The event takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. at 8126 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90048 (map).
  • Thursday April 22nd – LA Green Drinks Present I Heart Earth: Join up with the local LA Green drinks crowd as they combine forces with all of the chapters to create one be Green Drinks event at the New LEED Cheroke Lofts in the Fairfax District.  Meet and greet with lots of local organizations doing good green work.  More info at http://lagreendrinks.blogspot.com/
  • Thursday April 22nd – Pledge For The Planet: Join local business owners and community members pledge to make eco-friendly changes in their lives.  Independent music collective Dublab will be there spinning live and come via public transportation or your bike.   The event starts at 12 p.m.  Learn more at Sustainablesilverlake.org
  • Thursday April 22nd – Global Home Tree Benefit: Celebrate Earth Day with James Cameron and the crew behind the film at the Nokia Live event in downtown Los Angeles.   Enjoy live music, see eco-highlights of the film and participate in a Q&A with cast and crew.  Get complete details and tickets (that benefit local at risk youth) email EarthDayHomeTree@gmail.com
  • Thursday April 22nd -Valley Water Expo: Did you know you could receive up to 2,000 from LADWP?  Learn about this and more ways you can be “Water Wise” at the Valley Water Expo. Get complete details at http://valleywaterexpo.blogspot.com/

Via Your Daily Thread. Visit their site for weekend earth day events and other eco friendly stories and tips.

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EPIA Meeting Agenda for Tonight

Tonight is the monthly Echo Park Improvement Association’s Neighborhood Issues Committee. The meeting takes place at 7:00 pm at Williams Hall, Barlow Hospital (2000 Stadium Way). Here’s the current agenda for the meeting:

  1. Introductions and sign-in
  2. Schools:
    • Van De Kamps/LACC-LACCD Update (Garsten)
  3. Land Use:
    • Barlow Hospital-Proposed Entitlements and Development Update (Garsten)
    • Jenson’s Sign Update (Hubert)
    • Durbin project and Morton Village complex Update (Garsten)
    • Filming Committee (Garsten)
    • City Policies on News Stand Removals (Lassen, Garsten)
    • 6 New SRF on Rosebud Ave in Echo Park – Community Members
    • Four-Square Senior Housing Project – MND
    • New Items: LAUSD Parcel Tax
  4. Parks:
    • Echo Park Lake: Restoration Project (Raskin) and Illegal Flea Market (Garsten)
    • Elysian Park (Peters)
    • New business
  5. Public Works:
    • Route 2 Terminus Improvement Project Updates (Lassen, Raskin)
    • Mural Projects-EPIA Committee Progress? (Lassen, Meksin)
    • Walkable Streets-Streetscape and pedestrian amenities (Meksin report on forming working group)
    • Dodgers traffic issues (Hubert)
    • New Business
  6. EPIA Policies & Procedures
    • Standing Rules, Membership Dues. (Hubert discussion on Dues)
    • EPIAn Way newsletter discussion / internet presence
  7. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items
  8. Future Agendas Items
  9. Next Meeting
  10. Adjourn
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Fire at Sunset and Douglas in Echo Park

From WeiNeverSleeps Tweetphoto

At around 4:00 pm today, a fire broke out in a median near the corner of Douglas and Sunset Blvd. The Eastsider LA is reporting that firefighters do not yet know what caused the fire.

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Earth Week: Eric Garcetti’s House In Dwell Magazine

Photo by Misha Gravenor for Dwell

I think sometimes it’s easy to forget that our politicians are also our neighbors. Therefore, I thought I’d share some pictures of the beautiful and earth friendly home councilman Eric Garcetti shares with Amy Elaine Wakeland. Their home was featured in the 2008 July/August issue of Dwell magazine. The house was designed by Daniel Dworsky (who designed the Bradley terminal at LAX!) in the early 1950s. It was then adapted by architect Elissa Scrafano when Garcetti and Wakemen purchased the home. You can see more pictures and read about all of the ecologicaly friendly renovations on Dwell’s website.

Read more

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Earth Week: Community and Urban Gardening

We figured that Earth Day week would be a good time to address the subject of community gardens and urban farming in and around Echo Park.

First, if you are interested in finding a community garden near you, I suggest consulting the Los Angeles Community Garden Council website. There aren’t any LACGC-affiliated gardens in Echo Park itself, but there are a few located pretty close to us. The closest one is Jarden del Rio located in Elysian Heights.

The LA Community Garden Council also uses a site called GrowFriend that helps link up growers who need land with those who have land and don’t garden. If you go to the website and create a profile, you can view a map of what and who’s available in your area.

Second, some exciting news just came to us from Tara over at Silver Lake Farms. Since 2003, Tara has been growing flowers, herbs and vegetables in her backyard and selling them at local farmer’s markets. In 2009 L.A. City’s Department of Building and Safety told her that she would have to stop or pay a fine/serve six months in jail. They told her that what she was doing was illegal because it wasn’t “Truck Gardening.” This means that it’s illegal to sell anything grown in residential gardens unless it’s a vegetable. Read more

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Tonight: Echo Park Hospitality Night

Join Warwick vintage store tonight for Echo Park Hospitality Night, starting at 8:00 pm. Warwick is launching a few new lines of vintage wear, including jewelry by Dark + Dawn and Birds of a Feather. In addition to the new lines, the store will feature art by Cody Comrie and music by Patrick Melcher.

Click here to view the Facebook event page.

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Earth Week: Recycling How-to’s in Echo Park

When I first moved to Echo Park a few years ago, one of my primary questions had to do with recycling in the neighborhood. I was concerned about some pretty basic stuff, like what to recycle in the blue bin, but I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t throwing away items that didn’t belong in either bin.

General Recycling in your blue bin:

  • Styrofoam: This was my biggest surprise about L.A. County recycling. The Styrofoam containers and cups you get to-go from a restaurant are recyclable – just rinse it out so it’s nice and clean and you’re good to go.
  • Clean, dry paper
  • Cardboard Boxes and Chipboard (even your frozen food boxes that aren’t heavily coated in wax.)
  • Flattened metals such as aluminum, tin, cans, etc. Rinse them out or clean them off. Empty paint and aerosol cans are also recyclable when you remove the caps.
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Clean plastics 1 through 7
  • Plastic bags and film bags such as grocery bags and clean film plastic.
  • Miscellaneous plastics like coat hangers and even plastic swimming pools.

Click here to view the Bureau of Sanitation’s full list of do’s and dont’s for blue bin recycling.

Read more

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Earth Week: Echo Park Clean Up for Sunday

In celebration of Earth Day, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Cleanup Project is hosting an Echo Park Cleanup Day on Sunday, April 25 at 10:00 am.

Donuts and supplies will be provided, and anyone in the community is welcome to join. The group will be meeting at the Walgreens parking lot at 10:00 am.

Click here for information about the L.A. Neighborhood Cleanup Project and its cleanup efforts around the city.

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Earth Week: Help Revitalize Elysian Park

Celebrate Earth Day with L.A. Works with a revitalization project at Elysian Park on  Thursday, April 22 from 8:00 am – 12 noon.

“We are honored to restore and preserve the beauty of this park for our city,” says the website. “Project activities will include: weeding, mulching, raking, trimming, trail maintenance, trash pick up, graffiti removal and park bench refinishing.”

So far, 29 people of 150 spots are signed up to volunteer, and you can register here (you’ll receive specific directions once you sign up).

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Acoustic Guitar Store Opening Soon

An acoustic guitar store will be filling the now empty space adjoining the Echo Park Film Center in the near future. Called The Fretted Frog, the shop will be specializing in alternative, unique and customized acoustic guitars. According to the website, they will also offer:

  • A repair shop with a large accessories and piece parts selection
  • 3 recording rooms that will be available for instructions and private sessions
  • A team of instructors for all styles and all levels
  • A stage for open mics, concerts, clinics

No word yet on the exact opening, but the website ancounces they’ll be opening soon.

The Fretted Frog will soon be at 1200 N. Alvarado.

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Charity Poker Tournament at the Echoplex

ALL IN ‘10 Poker Tournament to benefit The Bridge Program

at the Echoplex

Sunday, April 25th at 12pm

$25 to register, $200 to buy in

21+

Play for your chance to win prizes such as an Apple iPad, iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle, tickets to the Playboy Jazz Festival, plus dinners, gift cards and outings.

All-In ‘10

Dozens of poker players competing for the All-In ‘10 Championship and great prizes. Be part of the action!

What is All-In ‘10?
It’s a Charity Poker Tournament for the Bridge Program. Great prizes for all the top winners. Loads of action and surprises!

How does All-In ‘10 work?
It’s simple. It’s like a walk-a-thon.
Register to play for only $25.
Then raise your buy-in.
Ask friends and family members to chip in and sponsor you.
Invite them down to the ECHOPLEX to watch you play.
The minimum buy-in is only $200.
Raise more and you can buy-in at a higher level and reap the rewards!

What kinds of prizes?
New prizes are coming in all the time, so check back here for updates. Visit our full list of prizes to see a complete list and details.

Register at: The Bridge Program

The Bridge Program at Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) provides college classes to low income adults in Los Angeles, at no cost to students. Bridge students earn up to twelve units of college credit while studying philosophy, literature, art history, and writing over a nine-month period.

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Earth Week: Echo Park Film Center Screening and more

In honor of Earth Day, the Echo Park Film Center will be presenting the film Earth by Ukrainian director Alexander Dovzhenko. Earth is a 1930 Soviet film about an insurrection by a community of farmers, following a hostile takeover by affluent landowners. “One of the undisputed masterpieces of the cinema, no single viewing of Earth will ever reveal all of its poetic brilliance… The story itself is secondary to the visually stunning and incredibly moving images that Dovzhenko creates.” Thursday, April 22 @ 8:00 pm

Also playing soon at the Echo Park Film Center:

Saturday, April 24 @ 8:00 pm – FLORESTINE COLLECTION FUNDRAISER
Helen Hill was an experimental filmmaker and film teacher who made many fun, inspiring, and original short films. At the time of her murder in New Orleans in January 2007, Helen was working on The Florestine Collection, a thirty-minute animation and live action documentary about 100 hand-sewn dresses she found in the trash on the side of the road. Her husband Paul Gailiunas decided to finish the movie as a 16 mm film and needs to raise funds for the last steps in the filmmaking process. Please join us to see a ten-minute preview of The Florestine Collection, as well as other short experimental films by Helen, and several of her filmmaking friends. Treats provided! Admission is $5.

Thursday, April 29 @ 8:00 pm – GIRLS N’ GHOULS
Feminism isn’t dead – it’s undead! EPFC, along with EdibleBrains Productions, presents an evening of female voices in zombie film, zombie music and zombie art. “The Dead Walk in Brooklyn” zombie film trilogy will be presented with live musical accompaniment by local Echo Park band PioneerShips. EdibleBrains is a bicoastal, female centric production company dedicated to pieces written and produced by women in the science fiction and horror genres for film, theater and multimedia art. Go here for more info.

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Earth Week: Sustainable Silver Lake

For this post, we’ll momentarily drift away from Echo Park and into nearby Silver Lake. Sustainable Silver Lake is throwing an Earth Day event at Spaceland on Thursday, April 22 from 12 noon – 5:00 pm.

The event focuses on getting everyone to adopt just one more eco-friendly practice in our daily lives – from using re-usable grocery bags to turning off the water tap while brushing your teeth. Those pledges will be broadcast live on the web by Dublab during the event. KCRW’s Anthea Raymod, KPCC’s Alex Cohen and actor Ross Marquand will MC, and renowned photographer Doug Hill will document the event. Eco experts will also be present to share tips on how to green our lives, with local vendors providing green snacks.

To participate in this event, please contact Sustainable Silver Lake: info@sustainablesilverlake.org

To volunteer with Sustainable Silver Lake to help with this event and help make Silver Lake Sustainable, beautiful, and green, email membership@sustainablesilverlake.org

The group also hosts a free series called “Sustainable Saturdays” at the Silver Lake Library. The program provides guidance to residents about sustainable living, including talks and workshops by sustainable experts and documentary films about sustainable practices. Learn more here.

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Les Savy Fav at The Echoplex

Les Savy Fav (Listen or Watch)

Sunday, May 9th

The Echoplex

8:30pm

$16 advance, $18 day of show

18+

LSF has two very decidedly different components to the live show: singer Tim Harrington’s antics in enforcing the ‘no boundaries’ policy between him and the crowd, and the band itself. What I figured out quickly and thankfully is that by no means are the remaining members only providing a background soundtrack to Harrington’s act. They can shred, they can swagger, and they can rock just as hard. They’re just not shirtless or have toilet paper stuck to them via sweat glands.

Lead singer Harrington appeared on stage wrapped in toilet paper on top of his red-striped shirt. After mumbling something about how he got into an accident, and that the toilet paper reminded him of a tampon, he bounced around stage for a couple tracks before getting bored and jetting over to the stairs leading up to the VIP section, despite not having a cordless mic. He hooked his feet in the bars to make an airplane with his body before finding two foot stools to use as sleds back down the stairs. Over the duration of the show, he then stripped, donned a brown shower curtain for a cloak, duct taped himself to fans, wandered some more into the audience, used someone’s cell phone, put a bucket over his head and constructed a smiley face out of duct tape, peeled a banana and stuck the end of it in a photographer’s mouth, found a straw hat, passed around a large bag of tortilla chips to the audience, and changed into an actual shirt for the encore. While still singing.

Somehow though, I knew opening the show with something like “The Equestian” was going to breed some psychosis from audience members. The furious track begins with Jabour’s heated guitar plucking, and dance anthem songs like “Patty Lee” only carry the crowd into more destructive oblivion. But for all the mad performance jumping jacks Harrington laid on us that night, I’m relieved to know that as a band LSF has some real rock meat underneath the craziness of their lead singer, even if they themselves look bewildered and slightly mortified at times by Harrington. – Tripwire

I have seen this band live. They put on a great show. This will sell out. You can still buy tickets here.

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