Tag Archive for: Echo Park residents

Young Echo Park bicycle activist hits the road

Echo Park student Jackson Huang at CicLAvia (wearing the white shirt and white cap)

Jackson Huang is Echo Park’s newest bicycling activist – at 13 years old (soon to be 14), he’s taken up a cause that will be beneficial to the neighborhood and beyond.

Jackson, who also happens to be our neighbor, gained some notoriety recently with a letter he wrote to Councilmember Ed Reyes (CD1) after his class at Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park was visited by CicLAvia and Flying Pigeon LA Bike Shop representatives. The visit taught kids about bicycling, including how to fix a flat and stay safe, but also inspired the kids to write letters encouraging politicians to support a new bike plan that would lead directly to the school. Jackson’s letter reads:

The LA City bike Plan of 2010 states that bicycle lanes of Ave 28 and Cypress Ave will be added. The reason why we need bike lanes is because there are kids in this area that are overweight or obese. Kids can get exercise while riding their bikes home and lessening the risk of obesity.

Councilmember Reyes responded (quote via The Eastsider LA):

I grew up riding my bicycle in Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park and agree that bicycle lanes are critical for the health and safety of our neighborhoods. I have been working very hard with City staff and community members like you to ensure that the 2010 Bicycle Plan is implemented as quickly as possible.

Jackson and his bike team were amongst the 100,000 participants in yesterday’s CicLAvia event in Downtown Los Angeles, where the city announced the new Los Angeles Bike-Sharing program, which will allocate 4,000 bicycles to 400 kiosks around the city for everyone with $6 (the daily charge) to use. Even though Ed Reyes’ office hasn’t provided a date when the bike plan will be implemented, Jackson isn’t discouraged, telling us:

I feel like he [Reyes] is doing a great job in helping us get bike lanes and bridge project because it is safer to go on the bridge than going around to get to the LA river route.

And the council wants kids to be safe, right? We’re proud of our young neighbors who are getting involved and taking action!

Check out Jackson’s letter below!

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Long-time Echo Park resident claims winning lottery ticket

The Eastsider LA reports this morning that the $15 million winning lottery ticket purchased at our very own House of Spirits has been claimed by an Echo Park resident!

Victor Caube, a sushi chef, just learned on Monday he had the winning ticket when he stopped at the House of Spirits to buy another ticket. The long-time resident will be sharing his winnings a friend.

Congrats!

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Echo Park in the News

At the bottom of Echo Park Lake with KPCC

KPCC joins Eric Garcetti to explore the bottom of the now-drained Echo Park Lake (well, before the rainy weekend we had). “We’ve polluted this lake, it’s lost its character,” Garcetti told them, “It’s time to bring it back to something that’s healthy for the next hundred years.”

Listen to the radio segment (there’s a funny moment where Senior Adviser of Garcetti’s office Mitch O’Farrell loses a shoe in the lake’s muck), and watch the video at on the KPCC website.

Fed up Echo park resident starts the popular “Bank Transfer Day”

When Bank of America announced it would start charging $5 per month debit card fees, 27-year-old Echo Park resident Kristen Christian took it to the social media streets. Bank of America has since retracted the planned fees, but after tens of thousands of people pledged to transfer their banks by Saturday, November 5. Kristen has been all over the media, making television appearances and talking about her cause. If you’re still interested in a credit union, Echo Park Time Bank recommends the California Credit Union near Echo Park.

Read about it on the LA Times and Echo Park Patch.

More hidden stairways

We’ve huffed and puffed our way up these stairs before, but the views are worth it! The Eastsider LA posted a video today of the Loma Vista stairway between Echo Park and Silver Lake. Hopefully the rain will hold off long enough this week for you to check it out!

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Echo Park resident crafts his own spooky Halloween decorations

Glenn Hill with his first of many Halloween decorations, made from recycled materials

As an overworked adult these days, it’s easy to forget about the Halloween holiday. Not to mention, there are fewer decorations than the days of growing up in a small town, our mini suburbs full of kids trick-or-treating and haunted houses (remember the house that gave out full-size candy bars?!). Thankfully, however, we’ve got our very own resident bringing the Halloween spirit alive to one pocket of Echo Park.

I first noticed this house a few years ago when I lived in a dark little apartment across the street, my first Echo Park pad. As the Halloween holiday approached, we watched as an enormous figure took shape in front of our neighbor’s home, its giant arms reaching out over the sidewalk and a vague grotesque expression on its face. It was completely made out of paper and tape, surprisingly surviving our street and the weather. It turns out the papier-mâché figure was one of many, and certainly not the last.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of more of these figures, we met up with the artist himself, Glenn Hill. He’s lived in his Echo Park home on Douglas Street near Beverly Boulevard for about nine years now. Five or six years ago, he started hosting Halloween parties for fellow 12-step program members at his home – and what would a Halloween party be without decorations? Read more

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“Perfect Echo” photo exhibit presented by resident Martin Cox

Echo Park resident and photographer Martin Cox has taken some pretty stellar images of our neighborhood lake over the years, and now he’s sharing it with us all! Through November 2, you can check out his gallery of images in a show titled “Perfect Echo” at a Silver Lake gallery. According to The Eastsider LA, along with other Los Angeles neighborhood images, the exhibit will display the beautiful Echo Park Lake juxtaposed with sullen images like sunken shopping carts. While the show opened in early September, you still have time to check it out!

The Gallery is located at 3517 West Sunset at the Silver Lake/Echo Park border (enter through Dustmuffin)

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Soul Cups Tasting at Say Cheese Cafe

When Echo Park resident Celeste Alleyne isn’t working full-time at Microsoft as the Director of Community Affairs and Corporate Citizenship, she is baking up some delicious cupcakes through Soul Cups, her very own Los Angeles-based catering company.

We caught wind of Celeste and Soul Cups with the announcement of a tasting event of Soul Cups at Say Cheese Cafe, happening this weekend in Silver Lake!

“Say Cheese is an amazing establishment with the type of design esthetic and food insight I adore-Glenn Harrell is my mentor who has graciously asked me to showcase my cupcakes for every holiday in his cafe,” she says.

Make sure to stop by Say Cheese Cafe, located at 2800 Hyperion Ave in Silver Lake (right by the Trader Joe’s). The tasting event goes on Saturday, June 26 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. We definitely plan on stopping by to support our fellow Echo Park resident, especially since they are showcasing flavors like Strawberry Twist, Lemon Drop and Muddy Water Chocolate cupcakes. You’ll be able to taste, as a sample, Blueberry, Strawberry Twist and Apple Pie cupcakes (the samples are like mini cupcakes, which she calls “baby dots”). Yum!

Read more

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