How the Boulevard Sentinel Began
May 17, 1997 was the date of the first Boulevard Sentinel. People often ask me how I started the paper. This is my story.
In late 1995, I had accomplished what I thought was the biggest thing I would ever do in my life, competing in the world famous Pikes Peak Auto Hill climb. I made it on ESPN, and afterward I wondered what I would do next. I started getting involved in the community, and on a lark, I became an activist for local businesses. On my first try I was able to get 40 automotive business people to a community meeting about the Downtown revitalization effort. (I was also an autoshop owner at that time) I created quite a stir that night. Many in the community did not like the idea of auto businesses having any kind of voice in community affairs.
I continued my involvement and eventually met a lady who at that time was editing a little paper called the Summit Niche. Melody Peterson was her name and she had seen me in some of these community meetings. A few months later she approached me, and asked me to write an article and sell business card ads to my auto business friends, to help with one issue of the paper.
I had always been a pretty good writer, although I rarely did. I agreed to help and wrote an article entitled, "Motorists Unite," and sold the ads to my automotive friends. (Little did I know then those two activities comprised the bulk of the work of publishing a newspaper!) Afterward, Melody said I was a really good writer.
I continued getting involved, participating in helping organize the first "Eagle Rock Snapshot Day," which ended up getting national coverage on the NBC nightly news. During that time I made many good friends, specifically Bob and Marion Costa, who owned the "Another World" comic store.
A couple of months later, Melody told me she was quitting her job at the Niche, and she suggested that I should apply for it. I wasn't sure what to do, but I was talking to Bob Costa about it and he said, "I think you should do it because you never know where it will lead." Truer words were never spoken.
I decided to give it a try, and met with one of the ladies who owned the Niche. She hired me as the new editor, albeit at slave wages, $100 per issue. Melody Peterson was so helpful as she showed me what she did as editor, and how she put it together. The owners of the Niche sent me up to the printer they used in Tujunga, to see how that end of the production worked. In two afternoons, I learned how the whole process fit together.
I did one issue working for the Summit Niche. When I was working on the second, I learned that the Niche had not paid Melody for three issues work. I did not want that to happen to me. It was bad enough to work for slave wages, but to not even get paid for that would be really bad. I looked for and found an independent contractor agreement on my computer, printed it up, and gave the ladies a copy.
As I was busy preparing the stories and photos for the next issue, I waited for the Niche to call regarding my little contract. Monday, then Tuesday came and went. I knew it was past the deadline. There would be no Summit Niche that week. I was a little annoyed at the ladies, particularly because I had worked my butt off getting everything ready, and I did not want it to go to waste.
After scant consideration, really more just a reaction, I decided I would not let my work go to waste, but instead would put it into a little newsletter and distribute it myself. It took only a few minutes to come up with the name- The Boulevard Sentinel. The Sentinel was the Historic Eagle Rock paper of record, (I delivered it for a few months when I was 12) and the Boulevard businesses were what I felt needed protecting. I felt I was there to help local business people handle problems from the extremist community activists and misdirected government forces as well. (A Sentinel is someone who stands guard- like guard duty- you know?)
I formatted everything I had collected into newsletter size, put Boulevard Sentinel Issue #1 at the top of the page and started looking for printers in the yellow pages. I ended up at Grace Printing in Glendale, who charged me $168 for a box of 1000 4 page newsletters. It was just one 11x17 piece of paper folded in half.
That was my first.
Before the second issue came out, I had sold enough ads to pay for the printing, which I now had found at a lower rate. Everyone seemed pretty amazed that this mechanic had figured out how to make a newsletter, and just kept going and going, refusing to give up. A year and a half later, I made the jump to newsprint, and suddenly, I was paying the rent on my studio apartment with this little monthly paper. (My secret was to always keep selling ads into the future, so I couldn't give up, I'd have to give all the money back!)
It's worked out OK for me. I'm not getting rich, but I don't have to fix cars anymore to get by. I love the attention I get from it (Hey! I'm a Leo, I can't help it!), and it's very satisfying when I am able to really help someone, or an entire community, like when I exposed the ADA scammers. I've had my share of problems, too. The frivolous defamation lawsuit last year really was a thorn in my side, but I'm recovering.
Although I liked working on cars, I didn't like being in the business of working on cars. This seems to suit me pretty well, I've taken to it, and I have some fun with it. I hope it's been fun for you, too. -Tom Topping

What does Eagle Rock Really Want?
With all of the controversy over Fat Dog Lounge, one question that has not been raised is, "What does Eagle Rock really want?" It is apparent that we all do not agree on this. Those that live close to the location of a proposed late-night alcohol serving establishment (remember... it's not a bar!) are quite sure that they don't want noisy inebriated patrons walking or driving (or worse) past their homes late at night. They also are sure they don't want to come home only to find all the parking spaces are taken by Fat Dog patrons, and they can't park anywhere near their homes. They also don't want the inevitable increase in traffic and noise that an over 100 seat late night alcohol serving establishment will bring. They believe it will lower their home value.
But just as valid are the desires of residents who want a nice late night place to enjoy a meal and a drink. Also, there are those who just really like to drive past neatly fixed up storefronts on the way to their Hill Drive home. Some insist a place like Fat Dog will raise property values. There are business people who want a more lively and vibrant boulevard. They think it will be good for them and every body else, too.
Which brings me back to, "What does Eagle Rock really want?"
Twenty years ago, when community activists started writing the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan, you would think that mini-malls and auto repairs were causing the downfall of western civilization. To them, it was an imperative to stop the proliferation of these uses. The way some folks railed against automotive businesses, you would think that getting rid of all of them would cure everything that was ailing Eagle Rock (some still do).
Some very vocal folks were calling for Eagle Rock to become the "New" Old Town Pasadena, and they beat that drum constantly. At that time, community leaders were begging and pleading with developers and investors to take a chance on Eagle Rock by bringing a restaurant or a Starbucks type of business to the community.
A few of the more intelligent community members recognized that another "Old Town" was not the best thing for Eagle Rock, recognizing that along with prettied up storefronts came a huge potential negative impact for adjacent residences. Of course, adjacent residences is what the commercial areas of Eagle Rock are all about. There are no "buffer" zones, nothing to minimize noise and traffic from impacting those who live and may be trying to sleep next door. (Could this be why the Specific Plan says no businesses should be open after 9 p.m.?)
Five years later, in 1992, when the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan became law, the city was given legal authority to stop the expansion of the kind of uses that "Eagle Rock Community Activists" did not want. The Specific Plan was only restrictive, however, and did nothing to proactively bring in the types of businesses that the "Eagle Rock Community Activists" did want.
What did they want? At that time, very little was said about what activists wanted Eagle Rock to be like, only what they didn't. Sure, there were the "pedestrian friendly" and "college town" phrases bantered about, but nothing really clear enough to paint a picture from.
Luckily, five years after that, the "Downtown Directions" process was started.
Spearheaded then by Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce President Linda Allen, a positive process was started to revitalize the boulevard. One step in that process was the community visioning session held at the Eagle Rock High School Auditorium on October 24, 1996. It was an open and inclusive process that let everyone have their say, and did not allow any criticism or "crosstalk." Every idea, every vision was written down on a giant note pad. (see sidebar)
At that time, there was a call for bookstores, coffee-shops, and restaurants with outdoor seating. There was a call to get rid of liquor stores (except Trader Joe's), a call for community monuments, community events, a town square, a motorcycle shop, and a jazz club. There were many more as well.
Ten years later, many of these things are reality. But because it is ten years later, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Some folks have moved on, new ones have moved in.
Because of that, it's possible that the vision created ten years ago is now outdated.
We've had a lot of successes, and we've learned a few lessons. We're now fighting off developers instead of begging them to come. We're having fights again, we're not pulling together anymore.
I think it's time again to create the vision. It's time for another open and inclusive brainstorming session. We need to find out what people want. We need to find common our ground. We need to find out where we agree. We need a new place to start from.
I ask you to start by agreeing with me that it is time to do this. Join with me in calling for another community-wide "visioning session." I suggest that it be like the first one, or that it at least be as open and inclusive as the first one was. Let's do it before we confront another "Fat Dog" controversy. Let's get together and see what it is we all want Eagle Rock to be like. Let's do it together. Let's do it this fall.

John Raymond Adrian
1935 - 2007
John Adrian was the first born son of Herbert and Berness Adrian whom he loved and honored to their deaths. He was a loving and playful brother to nine siblings: Mary Ann, Mick, Sheila, Joe, Rocky, Bunny, Babes, Tim, and Greg. He was a loving husband to Liz and father to John, Julie, Shannon and Jeff. He has left behind twelve grandchildren and one great grandchild.
John was born and raised in Minnesota and attended St. John's prep school and University where he studied theology, the arts, and drama.
He moved to California and made a living as a very talented artist. He worked on various projects for Universal Studios and painted the banners and murals for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His work can be seen all over Southern California.
John was diagnosed with lung cancer Dec. 26, 2005. He refused to succumb to hopelessness and fought the disease with a positive attitude until it took him from us on March 14, 2007. He will be missed by all who loved him.
A free Spirit in life, may his spirit find freedom from pain and sorrow in death, and may he find only peace, love and joy in the Heavens that await him.

Cypress Park Memorial Day Observance
The Friends of Cypress Park Community Improvement Association in conjunction with the Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council will again host a Memorial Day observance, on Saturday, May 26, at the Cypress Park Veterans Memorial, repeating the popular appearance of professional skydivers circling the community's Veteran's Memorial from above and bringing new flags to be raised in honor of Cypress Park veterans.
The Veteran's Day ceremony begins 10:30 a.m. at the memorial site (at the intersection of Cypress Avenue and Pepper Avenue). Guest speakers are expected to include Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed P. Reyes and other city leaders.
After speeches honoring local veterans for military service, at 11 a.m., former military skydivers will again parachute from a circling plane onto the playing field at the nearby Cypress Park Recreation Center.
The skydivers were also part of the celebrated conclusion of the opening ceremony for the Cypress Park memorial in 2003. The aerial show for this year's event has been generously financed by the community's certified neighborhood council.
The memorial event is open to all. Refreshments will be served following the ceremonies, near the site.
The Cypress Park Veterans Memorial is the product of volunteer work organized by the Friends of Cypress Park in 2002, funded by a Los Angeles Neighborhood Matching Funds grant, and completed in 2003 -- converting a bland concrete traffic median at the center of the community into a neighborhood garden and memorial site with new trees, flagpole and engraved bronze plaque honoring all local veterans.
The Friends of Cypress Park Community Improvement Association, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit service organization -- welcomes new volunteers and meets at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month in the Los Feliz Room of the River Center in Cypress Park (570 W. Avenue 26, Los Angeles). The group oversees community improvement efforts working with Los Angeles city government and other local organizations.

Romeo and Juliet Unplugged May 3 - 6 at Eagle Rock High
William Shakespeare's classic teenage tragedy is spun with a musical twist. Director and head of Eagle Rock High School's Drama Department, Russell Copley, goes beyond the limits once again. Remember the genius of Macbeth? Performed and crewed by Eagle Rock Stage Thespians.
"Sounds purr from a sixteen-year-old's iPod and strolling troubadours. Lilting violin, bass and piano licks filter through the layers of a lunar mindscape. Lights come up on multi-layered scenes, fusing the worlds of old and new, like ice cream dew on a concrete view. Denim jeans with renaissance themes, hand-made jerkins with leather seams.
It is a story told in the glow of kisses under the moon; a five-day dream of blades in the hood. Unsheathed. Unplugged. Los Angeles waits."
ROMEO AND JULIET UNPLUGGED will be at the Eagle Rock High School Auditorium, 1750 Yosemite Drive, Eagle Rock CA 90041, on Thursday and Friday May 3 & 4 at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday May 5 & 6 at 4:00 p.m.
Tickets are $8 pre-sale and $10 at the door. Catering by Mommy's Kitchen. Teriyaki chicken plate $7. Restaurant opens one hour prior to the show.

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN
I'm so glad we heard through the grapevine that the Boulevard Sentinel is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year. We would be remiss if we had not been able to congratulate you, Mr. Tom Topping. We have resided in Eagle Rock since 1973. Since 1997, you have been the best news source for our community.
Having an annual subscription to your paper allows us to enjoy it at times in the comfort of our home while still in our pjs and at other times at our favorite restaurants while at breakfast. Your paper keeps us in touch with our community. You encourage and allow readers to share stories of personal interest in all aspects of life. The calendar of events is our community "map" and we'd miss many functions if we didn't have it. Why, even the business ads inform us of new businesses in the area and remind us to patronize others. Why go elsewhere when the best is here in Eagle Rock? As a matter of fact, you've been writing about the uniqueness of Eagle Rock long before the L.A. Times or Westway magazine discovered us.
From sports to political articles, to "people" stories such as those who congregate at the corner of Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevard to protest the war, and articles on DST or legal struggles, you've brought us the news. We thoroughly enjoyed your "food tasting" adventures for weeks. This was plain 'ol "fun reading." And it helped us venture out to those eateries as well. It's good to see you out and about meeting your neighbors and getting to know people.
We've also seen your courage in covering controversial issues; you've given our community a lace to voice their opinions.
You have a strong commitment to your paper, and it shows. Your journalism is all about "local" and you have definitely served our readership needs. Ten Years is a long time to be serving our community. Wishing you many more years of success. Mr. Topping, take a bow.
Sincerely, Gary and Yolanda Dennis, Eagle Rock
P.S.
The traditional "10th Anniversary gift is "tin" or "aluminum." We'll need to go shopping at our local stores for your gift. Are some telescopes made from tin? Or perhaps we can treat you to dinner at Colombo's and you can take home left overs in aluminum foil.

Dear Editor,
As an on and off resident of Northeast Los Angeles for the past eight years, I have seen a sea change in the neighborhood. Auto-body shops have become sushi restaurants and previously abandoned building have become art studios and cafes. Colorado Blvd. is no longer a thoroughfare to drive through on one's way to a restaurant, cafe, or bar in Pasadena or Glendale. The Oinkster, The Chalet, The Coffee Table, Spitz, Swork, Fatty's, and the Boulangerie are all businesses that I had to drive out of the neighborhood for during my college years at Occidental. I can only hope that the same gentrification occurs in Highland Park, where I have recently purchased my first home as Eagle Rock is now out of my price range. This rise in property value is symbiotic to the ever-improving businesses that now line Colorado Blvd. When searching for a home, I was not looking for a neighborhood where I could walk to an art framing service. I wanted access to cafes, restaurants, libraries, and yes, bars. If the owners of the Fat Dog Lounge find their neighbors to be inhospitable to new business, I would encourage Mr. and Mrs. Manderville to consider joining me near the Highland Park Metro station. I will be more than happy to watch my property appreciate.
Sincerley,
Chris Rutherford

Fat Dog Supporter
As far as we are concerned we WOULD gladly welcome the establishment to Eagle Rock, It can only improve the dining and enhance the Blvd, rather than see " autobody repair shops " I can't figure out why the older generation is so blind, maybe because they have never been around fine dining... When we moved here from West Hollywood abouot 8 years ago, we have only seen positive changes from adding Target, to Coffee table, Starbucks etc. Let's move into the next century with an updated downtown, that walk friendly and fine dining and assorted establishment. We would gladly love to attend the next meeting if there is one scheduled. By the way, what's wrong with an establishment like " Fat Dog" serving Wine and Liquor????? Groups like the TERA group only hurt businesses that wish to set up here... Wake UP !!!!
Chris & Ron D Rodriguez
 

Dear Tom,
I have a couple things on my mind: Lets start with the over rude managers at Vons, in Eagle Rock. In the past 6-8 months I have noticed how they no longer care about the customer. Their employee's are always and have been very helpful and great to talk with. I would not waste an ounce of air on the rest of them. Since (another) over priced coffee stop was added in the store, they could not care about anything else. It is no surprise that they would move all the handicap parking out in no mans land. This means more customers, easy parking to head for the coffee. Someone should really scare the paper bags out of them and go after them.
On Colorado, with the cross street Dahlia Dr. (AGAIN) There is only one way to solve this problem, which should have been done in the first place. Enough pussy footing around.
There is a DOUBLE YELLOW LINE, which means people coming from the Pasadena area can not make a left turn into Trader Joe's. (look it up on the DMV written test).
There have been and will more problems at this site. People who live on Dahlia Dr. take their chances every time they want to make a left (illegal) turn. The ones who wish to go to Trader Joe's just come on over into the turn lane. Hell I have been flipped off a couple of times because they demand the right of way. I had the right of way. Putting up sticks is not the solution. And the proof is they are no longer there. Try putting the cement blocks like they use on the freeways. Here's a thought, if you want to make a left into the store, go down to the light and make a U-turn. This is legal. That whole area is a problem. The money and time spent on getting lights put up on the Eagle Rock, where are the lights? The money spent on putting a small and strange looking version of the rock at the end of the freeway, why? Everybody comes flying out of the freeway anyway. How about using some of the time and effort on the double line problem. After all, Dahlia Dr. is residential street, you know, families!
Amy Peters.

Comfortable with DST?
This article "afflicted the comfortable" Tom (that's me). I'm comfortable with DST. Actually Christopher Nyerges' article was informative; however I will not be writing to the Governor. Christopher has found a person who enjoys longer daylight summer evenings because I get so much more accomplished with a little more daylight. With standard time, I feel that my day has ended by the time I get home at 5:30 p.m. "and it's already dark." With daylight savings, I get home and I don't have to turn lights on to do anything. I open my drapes and let daylight in. I finish all of my chores inside and out and then I can relax at 9 p.m. when it's ok to be in the dark - cuz' it will soon be bedtime.
I work with an elderly lady, 72 yrs. old who is still capable of working and driving just a few blocks to work. She too loves daylight savings. The extra daylight allows her to be comfortable driving home. During standard time, she leaves at 4:30 so that she can have her daylight. Daylight savings allows her to drive to the market or hairdresser after work and be home "before it gets dark" without having to leave work early (and lose pay). Most importantly, though, are safety issues.
As a matter of fact, for childrens' safety, I believe there may be or it's actually a law, that this year, 2007, DST will be extended to the first Sunday in November, allowing "trick or treaters" daylight.
I refer you to webexhibits.org/daylightsaving (also good discussion of history, rationale, laws and dates) and Congressional Research.
Yolanda Dennis

"DST" and "Russians"
I enjoyed the double dose of Nyerges in the April Issue: "DST" and "Russians". I agree that daylight savings time is stupid and useless. But, if we get rid of it, I wonder if we'd miss it. Probably not. They don't make L.P. records anymore and I never cried over that (even though those huge album covers were very handy for sorting through a new bag of ___)- Someday, while bouncing a grandchild on our knees, we might laugh while telling about how we used to have this thinj called daylight saving time, and the grandchildren will all go... "NO WAY GRANDPA!"
We once had a cold war with Russia, but I would enjoy vacationing in Moscow. I doubt if I will ever feel that way about the countries that we're at war with now. I guess I could say that "I like Russiians."
R.M

Lummis Day Poetry Reading
Poets & Writers Magazine, the preeminent national information source for working writers, will sponsor the poetry reading and reception that will kick off the second annual Lummis Day Festival, beginning 11:00 am on Sunday, June 3 at Lummis Home, 200 E. Avenue 43.
Authors Steve Abee, Suzanne Lummis, Lynne Thompson, and Charles Harper Webb, each representing a singular current in contemporary poetry, will be reading from new and published work in an outdoor garden setting.
Along with essays on the literary life and interviews with contemporary writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, Poets & Writers Magazine publishes articles with practical applications for both emerging and established writers. It's pages provide the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print. Poets & Writers Magazine is published by the nonprofit organization, Poets & Writers, Inc. The event is supported by Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from the James Irvine Foundation.
Designed as a community-building program, Lummis Day: The Festival of Northeast Los Angeles will celebrate the diverse cultures and history of the L.A.'s Arroyo neighborhoods with June 3 events--free and open to the public--at Lummis Home and Sycamore Grove Park. The Festival has been preceded by an educational program, featuring a curriculum implemented in LAUSD schools. A display at the Arroyo Seco Library and a May 5 fund-raising event at Heritage Square Museum will also lead into the June 3 events.
Lummis Day takes its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, who joined the L.A. Times as the newspaper's first city editor in 1876. A prolific writer and photographer, Lummis was also one of the city's first librarians, founded the Southwest Museum and helped introduce the concept of multi-culturalism to Southern California.
Lummis Day: The Festival of Northeast Los Angeles is presented by Occidental College and sponsored by the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, the Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council, the Autry Center for the American West, public radio station KPFK 90.7, the Arroyo Seco Journal and the Boulevard Sentinel with the support of the North Figueroa Association, Los Angeles City Council Districts 1 and 14, the Department of Recreation and Parks, SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, the Historical Society of Southern California, Heritage Square Museum, the MTA, the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the Arroyo Arts Collective, the Mount Washington Association and the L.A. Poetry Festival.

Quetzal to Perform at Lummis Day
Critically praised Los Angeles band, Quetzal, will perform at the second annual Lummis Day: The Festival of Northeast L.A. on Sunday June 3 at Sycamore Grove Park, (4900 N. Figueroa Street).
Admission to all Lummis Day events--at Lummis Home and Sycamore Grove Park--is free. The Festival, a celebration of the city's diverse culture and rich history, will be presented by Occidental College and will begin with an 11:00 am poetry reading at nearby Lummis Home. Lummis Day activities will continue at 12:30 pm in Sycamore Grove Park, where music, dance performances, puppetry, art exhibitions and food service will continue through 7:00 pm. A broad cross-section of the city's cultural traditions will be represented at the community-building event.
Quetzal, formed in the early 90's by Quetzal Flores, has consistently pushed musical boundaries to create a new Chicano music experience. The band has recorded a large body of work and and has toured extensively with internationally recognized artists ranging from Los Lobos and Ozomatli to Aerosmith, Taj Mahal and Michelle Shocked. Quetzal's mix of Mexican and Afro-Cuban rhythms, Jazz, R&B, and Rock, supercharged by the dynamic vocals of Martha Gonzalez, has established the band as of one Los Angeles' most important and successful groups. Praised by Los Angeles musical icons, Los Lobos, as the group that's "ready to carry the torch for Los Angeles' Chicano community," Quetzal is committed to community organizing efforts and has been instrumental in developing Fandango Sin Fronteras, a dialogue between Chicanos from California and Jarochos (musicians from Veracruz, Mexico). Quetzal's fourth studio album, "Die Cowboy Die," was recently released by Vanguard Records.
Lummis Day takes its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, who joined the L.A. Times as the paper's first city editor in 1876. Lummis was also one of the city's first librarians, founded the Southwest Museum and helped introduce the concept of multi-culturalism to Southern California.
Lummis Day: The Festival of Northeast Los Angeles is presented by Occidental College and sponsored by the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council, the Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood Council, the Autry Center for the American West, public radio station KPFK 90.7, the Arroyo Seco Journal and the Boulevard Sentinel with the support of the North Figueroa Association, Los Angeles City Council Districts 1 and 14, SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Historical Society of Southern California, Heritage Square Museum, the MTA, the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the Arroyo Arts Collective, the L.A. Poetry Festival, and other community organizations

Fat Dog Update
After such a crowded and contentious ERNC Land Use meeting last month, proposed Fat Dog Lounge owners Richard and Susan Mandaville, along with their advocate Elizabeth Peterson, as well as about 120 community members apparently had not had enough the first time, as they all showed up at the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts for round two of the Fat Dog controversy held on Thursday evening, April 26.
The Mandavilles had arrived with a modified plan that reduced the number of seats, and shortened their hours of operation, in an effort to alleviate community concerns.

The community members, many of them neighboring residences of the proposed late-night alcohol serving restaurant lounge establishment, ("It's not a bar," say the Mandavilles) showed up as well, some with nice presentation boards to help illustrate their concerns.
The Land Use Committee had arranged for the use of the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, expecting another overflow crowd, and thankfully reverted to the much more professional acting committee Chair Bob Arranaga, who at least was able to resist throwing gasoline on a fire, unlike what co-chair Randy Levine had done the month before. This time, armed Los Angeles public safety officers were in attendance, who apparently provided a calming presence, as Levine (and others) remained mostly well-mannered throughout the night.
The time for public input was limited this time, with only 50 minutes set aside for public comment. The pro and con speakers would alternate. There was definitely some dissatisfaction for some on the "con" side who wanted to speak but were not allowed to, although more opposing speakers were heard than supporters.
The meeting proceeded in a typical fashion, but was lacking one very important item. Information.
I cannot fully express my dislike for previous Land Use Chair Jessica Wethington, but I must credit where credit is due, she usualy did a great job explaining things to those who attended. This was a night where that was needed.
For many of the attendees, this was probably one of their first experiences seeing a government body consider land use issues. They really didn't know much about what this committee could decide, how much difference it would make, or what, if any, other levels could or would be involved later.
As someone who has witnessed an average of 5 of these types of conflicts per year, I can explain.
Government 101
The first thing that the Eagle Rock residents should have been told is what exactly the committee had the authority to decide. Most of the attendees believed that the Land Use Committee would approve or deny Fat Dog the right to open a lounge in that building.
This is not the case. The zoning and use permits for the building are what determine that.
What the committee was considering was for a conditional use permit that would have allowed Fat Dog to operate with less than the required number of parking spaces, and for their hours to be expanded beyond the limit of 9:00 p.m. (a restriction imposed Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan).
On April 26, the Land Use Committee voted to deny the parking, and to approve the expanded hours.
Government 102
The second important thing is that the Land Use Committee does not really have the power to approve or deny anything. Their role is to listen to and research the issues that come before them and then make a recommendation to the full board of the ERNC for their final vote.
Well, final is not really the right word, because the ERNC can't approve or deny anything either.
Huh?
Yes, the ERNC can only write a letter to the Zoning Administrator, or "ZA" as they are known. There, the ZA will consider the application, information, letters, (the letter from the ERNC) and testimony of members of the public who show up at the public hearing that the ZA will hold.
The ZA will decide, and that decision is final. That is, unless someone appeals it.
Huh?
Government 103
If either side is unhappy with the Zoning Adminstrator's decision they can appeal it to the Local Area Planning Commission, in this case, the East Area Planning Commission.
Anyone can appeal an unfavorable decision for a fee of $75, except, of course, the applicant, (Fat Dog) who would have to pay around $7000 to appeal it, with no guarantee of the outcome. But, a resident who favors Fat Dog could file the appeal for just the $75 fee.
Government 104
Finally, whomever loses in the Area Planning Commission could try and persuade the Councilman to assert his authority under the City Charter, and bring the decision to a vote of the full L.A. City Council.
(Government 105? I think that if you are still unhappy with that, you can challenge that decision by collecting about 100,000 signatures to trigger it being put to a vote of the people at a special election, but I may have that part wrong. Who could afford that anyway?)
Meanwhile,
back at the meeting...
Some of the audience was unhappy after the vote of the committee. Some said, "Why did they vote against us? We were the majority?"
That is not correct.
By denying the parking, the committee voted in favor of the community majority. They said, in effect, "No you can't be released from the city parking requirements. This community does not have enough parking, to have a restaurant that big you need to provide the require parking." That is nothing but a win for the residents who showed up to oppose Fat Dog Lounge. They didn't realize they won.
The committee did vote in favor of the expanded hours.
Did it approve that part of Fat Dog's plan? Yes.
Did it go against the community majority? Not really.
In fact it can be argued that approving the expanded hours is generally in favor of the community, and specifically in favor of the entire business community.
Although the Colorado Specific Plan clearly states that no businesses that operate after 9:00 p.m. will be allowed, it cannot shut down existing businesses that have been operating past those hours before the Specific Plan was enacted. Therefore any new business that comes in will be at a huge competitive disadvantage with Colombo's, the Chalet, Pete's, Tommy's, Taco Bell, Oinkster, Cafe Beaujolais, Mobil, 7-11 etc. etc. Other new businesses have already been exempted from that 9 pm requirement as well like Fatty's, Swork and Coffee table to name a few. The 9 pm closing has been identified as one of the biggest impediments to bringing in new restaurants to the area.
Eagle Rock has said over and over again that they want nice restaurants and other businesses to come into town. If that is still what they want, the committee did decide in favor of the community. If Eagle Rock has changed its mind, someone better speak up quick. (Other issues like serving alcohol, the outdoor patio and others could have been addressed by the committee, but they only weighed in on the parking and hours.)
The day after the meeting I got a call from Ron Marino. He had seen his restaurant, Magnolia in Hollywood, mentioned in the April issue. And he was clearly angry.
If you don't recall, the Mandaville's land use advocate Elizabeth Peterson had told attendees at the previous meeting, "My Clients, the Mandaville's, own another restaurant in Hollywood called Magnolia which is an established restaurant open for a year and a half. If any of you want to see the quality of their type of restaurant and what they're doing, you can certainly visit there."
Well, as I heard this I believed, and any reasonable person hearing this statement would also have believed that:
1. Magnolia restaurant belonged to the Mandaville's
2. The plan is for Fat Dog Lounge to be a place pretty much like Magnolia.
Well, the man who identified himself as Ron Marino told me, angrily, that the Mandaville's were NOT the owners of Magnolia, and that he was. When I explained that it was announced by Ms. Peterson in a public meeting, he recanted, and said that Susan Mandaville worked for him as a hostess there and had purchased a minority ownership in Magnolia last year. Hmm. Interesting.
He wanted me to print a correction, and I told him I gladly would if he would write a letter identifying himself, list the alleged inaccuracies in writing and provide the information he alleged to be correct. He seemed to lose interest after that.
Yesterday, Susan and Richard Mandaville called me and wanted me to put a correction in from last month's story. I think Mr. Marino probably had a talk with them. They said that my caption that explained "The plan is for Fat Dog Lounge to be patterned after the Magnolia Restaurant," was not true and was not what Ms. Peterson had said.
I believe that what I wrote was substantially what Ms. Peterson did say, and what a reasonable person who attended would have believed upon hearing what she said. The Mandavilles did not agree, and explained that to them, my use of the word "patterned" would make people think that the floor plan or decor or something would be a direct copy of what was at Magnolia.
That is not what I meant when I used the word patterned, and I doubt that anyone thought that. But just to be clear, I hereby retract it and correct it with the direct quote from Elizabeth Peterson, you can judge for yourself what she meant.
"My Clients, the Mandaville's, own another restaurant in Hollywood called Magnolia which is an established restaurant open for a year and a half. If any of you want to see the quality of their type of restaurant and what they're doing, you can certainly visit there."

Unique Way to Celebrate Mother's Day
Help reduce climate change with a tree!
This Mother's Day, many consumers are thinking outside the box – the gift box that is, and they're celebrating Mom and Mother Earth in the process. Dedicating trees through TreePeople's Gift of Life program provides a gift that lasts longer than cut flowers and is more original than a greeting card.
"Mothers love tree dedications," says Michelle Sadeh, Gift of Life program manager. "These gifts create a lasting difference in Southern California by helping restore forests impacted by wildfires, smog, drought, bark beetles and overuse." The trees planted by the nonprofit group TreePeople also combat global warming, provide flood protection, prevent and reverse water pollution, save energy and clean the air.
Mothers receive a card or certificate printed on recycled paper with beautiful, original artwork. A dedication of one tree is $25 and a grove of five is $100.
The dedicated trees will be planted by TreePeople staff and volunteers in the mountains and park woodlands of Los Angeles. Funding from this program helps plant thousands of trees annually. For more information about Mother's Day Tree Dedications or to order, visit www.treepeople.org or call (818) 753-TREE.
Landlords and Tenants
Calling all renters and landlords! Let the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs answer your questions about renting in Los Angeles. The department's chief investigator, Rigoberto Reyes, will be at the Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library in Highland Park for a FREE presentation and Q&A session on landlord and tenant issues. Bring your questions! WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 6 P.M. Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library, 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042. Questions? Call us at (323) 255-0537 or e-mail kgaidos@lapl.org

Latina Fashionista
Do you want to break into the fashion industry? Then stop by the Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library in Highland Park for a FREE presentation to promote the success of Latinas in the apparel industry. Our presenter, founder of the nonprofit Latina Fashionista, will share information on education and leadership. FRIDAY, MAY 11, 3 P.M. Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library. 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042. Questions? Call us at (323) 255 0537 or e-mail kgaidos@lapl.org.

Detailed concept plans for Southwest Museum expansion have been donated by Garavaglia Preservation architects to Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition. These plans show ways to add exhibition and program space, more parking, and a restaurant.
The Coalition believes that Autry National Center's announced plan to change Charles Lummis's highest achievement from its historic museum muse to a cultural center disrespects our community's needs and wishes.
Professional studies and past Southwest Museum performance have shown that an enthusiastic management can make Los Angeles's first Museum continue and thrive in its current Northeast Los Angeles location.

Local Museums to Celebrate Arroyo Culture on May 20, 2007
Event Will Feature Exhibits, Special Events, Crafts and Family Fun;
Free Shuttle, Free Admission to Six Area Museums
The Los Angeles Police Historical Museum Joins Free Day Festivities

Here's a recipe for a memorable Sunday: great art, architecture, music and family fun with some historical discoveries thrown in for good measure. The best part? It's all free.
On May 20, 2007 the 18th annual Museums of the Arroyo (MOTA) Day invites the public to tour six museums located along the celebrated Arroyo Seco in Los Angeles and Pasadena for a free day of music, storytelling, art, crafts and entertainment.
This year, the Los Angeles Police Historical Museum will join the MOTA museums for free tours and special events.
MOTA Day is from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Special events this year include:
* The Gamble House. Visitors can enjoy a performance by Grammy-awarding® winning musicologist Ian Whitcomb and his Bungalow Boys; children can do crafts in the backyard.
* Heritage Square Museum. Guests can observe a Spanish American War encampment, watch traditional woodcarving demonstrations and listen to historical storytellers as well as enjoy music. Children can play with Victorian toys and do crafts. Costumed docents will lead tours of the houses; visitors can also create freehand sketches of live horses, courtesy of the Arroyo Arts Collective. Visitors can also view "Well Done: the Story of Cookbooks and Commerce," a collection of vintage cookbooks from the turn of the century to present day.
* The Los Angeles Police Historical Museum. Visitors can tour the facilities which feature private collections and historical memorabilia that date back to the late 1800s. Kids can climb into a retired police helicopter, try on police gear and get "locked" in a real jail cell. An exhibit on police portraiture will also be offered.
* The Lummis Home and Garden. Tours of the Lummis home and gardens will be available.
* The Pasadena Museum of History. Guests can tour the museum's current exhibition "African American Quilts from the Robert and Helen Cargo Collection" as well watch quilting demonstrations. Children can try their hand at designing or sewing quilts with quilt teacher Anne Batiste, play African American games , do "Double-Dutch" jump-roping, and hear storyteller Sunny Stevenson who will be reading quilting stories. Guests can hear African-American music and visit the museum's 100 year old Fenyes Mansion and the Finnish Folk Art Museum.
* The Southwest Museum. Visitors can enjoy mariachi music and folklórico dancing from Mariachi Cielo Nuevo. Families can go on an "archaeological" dig to find out about the past; children can do crafts. Guests can also take tours of the botanical gardens as well as director's tours of the construction and current renovation process of the museum. Historical films will be shown in the Braun Research Library.
Getting to MOTA Day is easy --- take the Gold Line to MOTA Day and jump off at the Heritage Square or Southwest Museum stations, where free shuttles will escort you to MOTA Day. Or park your car once and shuttle to the museums of your choice.
For more information call the MOTA hotline (213) 740-TOUR (8687) or go to www.museumsofthearroyo.com
SHUTTLES AND PARKING
The MOTA Day shuttles will operate two free routes that allow visitors to easy get from museum to museum. One will run between Pasadena and Highland Park with stops at the Pasadena Museum of History (across the street from The Gamble House) and the Los Angeles Police Museum . The other will shuttle guests back and forth between the Los Angeles Police Museum , Lummis Home and Garden, Southwest Museum and Heritage Square.
Parking will be available in Pasadena at Avery Dennison on Walnut (near Pasadena Museum of History) and surrounding streets. In Highland Park, parking will be at the Los Angeles Police Museum's parking lot, on Carlota Street (near Lummis Home and Garden), at Heritage Square and Southwest Museum's parking lots and surrounding streets. Shuttle service for MOTA Day is provided by the City of Pasadena and the City of Los Angeles , Council District One.

ABOUT THE MOTA MUSEUMS
The Gamble House
(4 Westmoreland Place , Pasadena , 626-793-3334)
An internationally recognized National Historic Landmark, in the style of the American Arts and Crafts movement. Built in 1908, The Gamble House is the most complete and best-preserved example of the work of renowned Pasadena architects Charles and Henry Greene.

Heritage Square Museum (3800 Homer Street , Los Angeles , 626-796-2898)
Established in 1969, this living history museum reflects the settlement and development of Southern California from 1850 to 1950. Through guided tours, changing exhibits and special events, Heritage Square Museum takes its guest back in time to eras where electricity was a novelty, a trip to the beach was often a full-weekend activity and manners were distinctly different from those of today.
The Los Angeles Police Historical Museum
(6045 York Blvd. , Los Angeles , 323-344-9445)
Founded in 1989, the museum displays the rich history of the LAPD from its beginnings on March 10, 1869. Located in the 1925 Highland Park Police Station, the museum was salvaged and restored to its original Renaissance Revival style and it is a registered National Historic landmark.

The Lummis Home and Garden (200 East Avenue 43, Los Angeles , 323-222-0546)
A turn-of-the century home built over a 12-year period with stones from the arroyo by Charles Lummis, early activist, author and civic booster. Lummis also founded the Southwest Museum and was one of the first city editors of the fledging Los Angeles Times.

Pasadena Museum of History (470 W. Walnut Street , Pasadena , 626-577-1660)
A museum and research library/archives focusing on the history of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley , the museum is on the grounds of one of the few remaining grand homes on Pasadena 's former "Millionaire's Row." The 1906 Beaux Arts Fenyes Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The history galleries contain changing exhibitions and the "Tupa" or Finnish Folk Art Museum is one of the only such museums in the United States .

Southwest Museum
(234 Museum Drive, Los Angeles , 323-221-2164)
The oldest museum in Los Angeles , the Southwest Museum holds one of the nation's most important museum, library, and archive collections related to the American Indian. In addition, it has extensive holdings of pre-Hispanic, Spanish colonial, Latino, and Western American art and artifacts. For nearly one hundred years it has supported research, publications, exhibitions and other educational activities to advance the public's understanding and appreciation of the Americas , with particular emphasis on the western United States and Mesoamerica.

American Legion Rummage Sale
On Saturday May 12, 2007 The American Legion, District 17 will hold a rummage sale. The sale will be conducted on the parking lot of the Senior Citizen Center located at York Blvd and Figueroa. It is just across the street from the 99C Store. The event will start at 7AM and conclude around 5PM. Payment for items beings sold will be on a cash bases only.
The money raised from this event will assist the district in supporting various programs such as Boys & Girls to Sacramento, Teachers to Valley Forge and veterans currently hospitalized at the veterans hospitals in Los Angeles.
Any questions regarding the event can be answered by calling Richard Kalk at 626 287-1616 or Richard Ledesma at 323 500-9751.

Villaraigosa Dedicates
Rio de Los Angeles State Park
State-City partnership transforms former rail yard into 40-acre open space for local community
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined community members, State and City parks officials, and members of the State Legislature and City Council today to dedicate Rio de Los Angeles State Park and open 40 acres of new land to local residents.
This park represents what can happen when the community, State and City all realize that we share the same interests and work together to make them happen,* Mayor Villaraigosa said. *The dedication today opens up yet another chapter in the re-greening of Los Angeles that I hope will continue for years to come.
Mayor Villaraigosa hailed the park*s opening as a significant step in the City*s efforts to build additional open spaces across Los Angeles, which will include 35 more parks in the next five years. The dedication is also part of a Citywide push to revitalize and restore the Los Angeles River.
Rio de Los Angeles State Park will serve as a model *green park,* helping protect the local environment by integrating sustainability features and smart technology that allow the City to monitor the park*s system and reduce consumption of valuable natural resources.
The park will also offer local residents opportunities to participate in a wide range of recreational and community activities. The space includes four soccer fields, a multi-purpose synthetic turf field, two tennis courts, baseball and softball diamonds, four basketball courts, a children*s play area and a community building.
In addition, there will be a natural outdoor amphitheater, a picnic area and bicycle and walking paths. Formerly known as Taylor Yard, the park is located on a former Southern Pacific rail yard along the L.A. River. The site previously served as a storage facility and industrial area, and has sat vacant for over 20 years.

LA LINEA -- THE LINE
Ramses Noriega
Armando Brito
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 7-10 pm
The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present its new exhibit, "La Linea -- The Line", featuring paintings and drawings from two masters of Mexican Art, Armando Brito and Ramses Noriega. The use of line is the dominant element in this exhibition.
Each artist demonstrates their mastery of line drawing but not simply to describe nor separate objects and forms but rather to suggest a point moving through space that guides the viewer into the profundity of recesses and levels of the work's surface. At times the line leaps as it spans distances until it evolves into a gestural dance along the edges of a face, a color or an animal.
Ramses Noriega, a native of Sonora, Mexico has a long and distinguished exhibition history that includes shows in Berlin, Paris, London, Mexico City, New York, San Diego and now Los Angeles. He has exhibited his work alongside Mexican masters such as Cuevas, Rojo, Tamayo and Toledo. The writer Andres Montoya says of Noriega's work, "His line, whether architectonic or fluid, always seems to slash, violently or softly, at the heart, exposing the fears and battles or loves of life".
Armando Brito has studied with Mexican masters Jose Luis Cuevas and Roger Von Gunten. His long list of exhibits includes shows of his work in Switzerland, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Wilmington, Delaware, Houston, Miami, Cortes, Colorado and Los Angeles. Roger Von Gunten has about Brito that "... (He) is a painter-poet like no other. He has been able to capture and to transmit on the surface of his drawings and paintings, the sensation of the profound."
Both artists have developed their artwork along the lines of 20th century Mexican Humanism, echoed in the work of Jose Clemente Orozco and Jose Luis Cuevas and where both revolutionary rhetoric and abstraction have been subordinated to a descriptive probing of cultural beliefs, the human psyche and social conditions.
When: Opening Reception: Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 7-10 pm
Where: Avenue 50 Studio,
131 No. Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA 90042
Duration:
May 12 through June 3, 2007

Mother's Day Spring Craft Fair
Spring Craftaganza is an awesome yearly event held at That Yarn Store where you can pick up trendy, funky, and unique handmade gifts made by over 15 artisans and crafters. Pick up something for your Mom (the next day is Mother's Day), or start your holiday shopping early. Also, live entertainment by singer Mark Lantham, demonstrations of do-it-yourself crafts, a make-and-take table for the kids, and free refreshments.
May 12, 1-7pm
That Yarn Store
5028 Eagle Rock Blvd
(323) 256-9276
 

VOICE IN THE EAGLE ROCK WILDERNESS

MOTHER'S DAY: HONORING THE PRINCIPLE OF MOTHERHOOD
by Christopher Nyerges
One of the victims of our uniquely "American" -style capitalism and greed is the demise of real meaning within our many holy days and holidays. There is plenty of blame to go around for this, even beginning with the marketing of holiday "stuff" by the various Eagle Rock stores, the media for going-along-with the pablum messages, and the general population (Eagle Rock residents includes) for passively accepting this dumbing-down of our sacred traditions.
When we Eagle Rock folks reduce what should be a time of great reflection and learning to a time of buying foods and "stuff," we become the victims of our own ignorance. We deprive ourselves of these annual reminders that our lives should be something more, something greater than merely going through some pointless physical motions.
Mother's Day is therefore not alone in the way it has been outright perverted. And this is really sad, since everything begins at home. A child learns all his or her values in the home. We have heard it said that charity begins at home, but much more begins at home. He who is undisciplined at home will practice that same undisciplined thinking in the workplace, at school, and in the community, even though such is easier to hide "out there" than it is at home.
He or she who practices hypocrisy and dishonesty at home will practice the same in the workplace, at school, and in the community. This is so, despite the defensive denials of so many public officials -- including President Clinton -- who want the gullible among us to believe that what they do at home is wholly separate from "their job." No! That's a big lie, and should be exposed. The idea that we can think and act one way at home, and another in the community, is absurd! It's not possible. The home is the fundamental "training ground" where one's ideas and ideals and principles can be practiced and tested "safely," and where one can grow and evolve, hopefully amidst a loving and concerned family.
Once parents have children, it is their top responsibility to train and direct those children. The parents who do not do this are simply avoiding their own natural responsibility.
The mother is more often than not the heart of family, carrying on a 24-hour a day job. The ultimate essence of motherhood is self-discipline. First, self-discipline to conduct one's self in a manner that is a fitting example to one's children. After all, children "learn" the most from watching what their parents do. Then there is the self-discipline of motherhood to see that all the physical and emotional and spiritual needs of the children are tended to.
In the traditional family where the father works at a regular job and the mother raises the children, the mother's job is far more important and far harder than men ever give them credit for. The man's job is relatively simply. He gets up, eats breakfast, goes to a job, works, comes home, eat dinners, maybe goes to a meeting in the evening, goes to bed, and repeats it all the next day. On the weekend there are greater choices, such as cutting the lawn, taking the family on an outing, watching TV, etc.
But the mother's scope of responsibility is much vaster than the father's. The mother who exemplifies the Principle of Motherhood is working at a level akin to a CEO of a company, focusing on the education, security, nutrition, and spirituality of the children. The mother, more often than not, is the psychologist and nurse, and provider of entertainment and stimulating mental activities. Of course, all this is taking place while the mother must put many of her personal desires on the back burner.
The point that is lost on so many of us today is that we have confused "the Principle of Motherhood" (which we should be taking the day to study and commemorate) with a female body who has given birth to at least one child. This is a serious error in our thinking. The Principle of Motherhood is a Universal Principle, which means it's there to be studied and learned by anyone, including men (actually, especially men). The principles of motherhood can and should be studied, and practiced by all. It begins with a way of thinking, a way of taking responsibility, a way of embracing, a way of loving. Men are the most deficient in motherhood principles because they have been duped (by their peers, by society, by themselves) into thinking that since they reside in male bodies, they needn't be concerned about that female stuff.
Men attempting to learn the principles of Motherhood create balanced and stronger men. This is equally true for women attempting to learn and apply the principles of Fatherhood.
Men perform spiritual violence upon our beloved mothers when we fall for the grossest Mother's Day marketing campaigns -- such as buying chocolates, sexy underwear, perfume, or jewelry. Such "gifts" are rarely genuine expressions of true love, but are usually nothing more than subtle bribes.
We have attempted for years to explore the real underlying meanings of each holiday and Holy day, and this effort has opened our eyes to how ignorant we have all chosen to become. Becoming part of the solution to this problem may seem difficult and socially-unacceptable. Though picnics and heart-felt hand-written cards have their place, it is also good to take the time on Mother's Day to recognize and honor our mothers, and to find ways that all of us can emulate those highest principles of Motherhood.
[Nyerges is the author of 7 books. He conducts field trips and seminars. For more information, contact www.ChristopherNyerges.com Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or on-line at www.self-reliance.net.]

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Real Estate News
Resident Realtor
Raphael Guerin
Well, we all have read and heard how the Real Estate Market has turned to favor Buyers and no one knows what the future will be. In my opinion, the market today is one of 'negotiation' for both buyers & sellers. Since the first of the year approximately 157 properties have sold in the North East. It is a time for sellers to be realistic about the sales price and other terms, and for buyers to be ready to put in a reasonable offer, and then for both parties to negotiate in good faith to reach a reasonable middle ground.
We have 198 properties presently on the market that are active and now is the time to make that move to a home that meets the buyer's needs and desires. Interest rates are still relatively low and inventory of available homes is high. We are in a time where strong marketing and clear directives control the outcome and the best assistance comes from a party's Realtor.
A Realtor knows the local market, the necessary documentation and can negotiate on a party's behalf to achieve an optimal outcome. One must remember that a Realtor is a professional that is licensed, undergoes substantial training and has support of his or her broker, as well as relationships with title companies and mortgage lenders to help a client reach his or her goal of a successful purchase or sale. Search for a Realtor with whom you feel comfortable and who will tell you his or her opinion, even when it might not be something you want to hear.
There is a difference between an agent and a Realtor. I am proud of what I do and prouder of the people I represent

American Woodworks
One of the very interesting local businesses and business persons is American Woodworks and David Reiner. David is the owner-proprietor of American Woodworks on North Figueroa. Many people know it as the "unfinished furniture place" although few know anything about what they have to offer and what they are capable of doing. It turns out that he has a full service cabinet shop. If you can afford it, he can build about anything you might desire. But everyone knows the place for the "real wood" unfinished furniture sold there. But what few people know is the role that David's Mother, Maxine Reiner, had in opening American Woodworks store.
They got started when David was needing to rent a shop for his cabinet making business, and needing a partner to go in with him on the rent. His mother Maxine, was living nearby at the time, and was working for free for his Aunt Donna at her coffee and gift shop in Eagle Rock. It did not take much persuasion to convince mom to join in, help him with the rent and tend a shop that would sell furniture.
They found themselves infatuated with Mexican Rustic furniture, and made a few trips to Rosarita beach to load up. "We had some carved armoires with coyotes on them, everything was interesting," said David.
"But when opened the door here, people would come in, they'd kind of look at the stuff and say, 'Do you have any tables and chairs, dressers, regular stuff?'" It was clear that in the working class neighborhood of Highland Park, more conventional furniture would be what would sell.
Maxine and David first tried selling low cost particle board furniture sets, which sold well, but often customers would come back a short time later with a their new furniture pieces falling apart.
"I knew that the particle board stuff wasn't something that we should sell. I wanted to have stuff that was more quality that we could build a reputation on," said David.
They went to a few trade shows and accidentally found the company that they still use today. The unfinished pine furniture was sturdy, high quality and sold well. "Business picked up so well, we picked another half dozen companies," said David. They soon were selling oak, alder, all quality stuff.
All the while David was continuing his cabinet making business, and Maxine was minding the store. David lost his mother just last year and the fond memories were still quite in focus.
"Every time somebody would come in the store, she would find out how many kids they had, where each family was from, where they lived, where they came from. I'd always want her to be here because I could never spend that kind of time with the customer," David said.
Maxine really had a comical side to her as well. When people would come by trying to sell things, she would always exclaim loudly, "Does it look like we buy stuff here?"
She had an interesting life. David pulled out news clippings of his mother tending to a flock of sheep from the front page of a Cottage Grove, Oregon newspaper. In her recent years, she would travel around in a motorhome. She loved traveling and meeting new people.
She almost quit the day he tried to bring in new business by painting the front of his building purple.
"If you paint that purple, I'm outa here, I'm retiring, I quit!" she said.
In fact, I even got to experience the down home and brutally honest Maxine once or twice. I stopped by one day to take a photo of the building to see what kind of advertisement I might do for them. I made the mistake of showing the photo to Maxine. She said, "Why are all those cars in the picture? We're not selling cars!"
I tried to explain that the photo was only to set-up the shot, it would not be actually used for the ad.
Maxine replied, "You have all those cars in the picture. We're not selling cars."
I know now that was Maxine's way of having a little fun with me, and it just makes me chuckle now. But that's the kind of roots David comes from.
David continues with his successful cabinet business, as well as selling the unfinished furniture. He also sells mattresses sometimes, and gets constant a flow of inquiries for custom wood work.
He often is asked, "How do you compare with Home Depot?"
The answer is, he doesn't even try. "We do everything that Home Depot can't," said David.
I wondered what was it like to be in business with his mother?
"It was a great thing," said David. "You're working with somebody who's on the same page with you - wisdom - energy - being able to deal with people. It was great," he said.

Discover Italiano's Dining Room

"If you want to discover something new in Highland Park, go to Italiano's Dining Room," said Vidal Sangolqui, as he proudly showed off over a year's worth of work that went into their new dining room, just opened last month. From the booths to the place settings to the original artworks on every wall, I could see that here, indeed, was something worth discovering.

Starting off in downtown Los Angeles about ten years ago, Vidal's first restaurant served the Downtown L.A. breakfast and lunch crowd from 8am to 2 pm. But the real beginning of the story, starts in Ecuador where Vidal grew up.
He continued, "My grandfather is Italian," said Vidal. "I'm from Ecuador, I'm from South America, I grew up over there." Vidal grew up with a mixture of cultures and foods. He was influenced by Cuban, South American, Ecuadorian and Italian food and culture. "Twelve years ago I went to Pennsylvania with my uncle. He's Italian, born in Italia, and I was working for him for four years." He was working in his Uncle's Italian restaurant in a small town near Philadelphia. "One day I decided to visit a friend in California. I came to California, and I liked it so much, I never went back."
His Uncle kept calling, trying to get Vidal to return to work, but Vidal settled right here in Highland Park, and made it his home. Opportunity knocked at the corner of Figueroa and Meridian Streets, as a take out restaurant space became available. After a few years, he did well enough to open a second location, so when a space became available at York and 51, he expanded and opened his second location there.
He could have settled for that, but instead decided to push and grow some more.
Vidal and his wife Guadalupe were now residents of Highland Park and they started to sense what the communities' needs were. "We'd try to go out at night and there was nowhere to go eat!" said Guadalupe.
They found themselves going out of the area to find a nice place to go at night. That's when they got the idea for the dining room. It seemed simple enough at first, the store front next door was available, and it was a good fit.
Guadalupe (who is an L.A. native from Atwater) said, "Everybody was asking for that- Where can we sit? Where can we have dinner?"
Vidal added, "We decided to open this side for the people- for the community- We decided to open this place so they would have a dining room."
It was not quite that simple, though. Getting the lease and the tables and other furnishings turned out to be the easy part, as they had only just begun to navigate the ins and outs of the L.A. City bureaucracy. About a year and a half after they started, Italiano's dining room is finally open for business.
"It's different from anything around here," said Vidal.
"The food is different, the service is really very good... the ambiance, especially in the evening," added Guadalupe.
The food comes from four distinct cultures. Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Italy. This is not your typical Italian restaurant- this is not your typical any kind of restaurant. They have lots of new menu items, Latin American, Seafood, Ecuadorian, Cuban and Mexican. They prepare the food in the most health conscious way. Nothing is deep fried. Even the potato wedges are baked. Everything is cooked with olive oil, and they use the leanest cuts of meat.
"We have white rice, black beans, lobster ravioli and crab ravioli," Vidal explained, clearly proud of his wide variety of menu items.
Guadalupe said, "We won't sell anything we won't eat! We eat our own food. Everything is homemade from scratch- sauces, everything."
To make the experience even more special, they have a large wine selection and now offer wine tasting, every day. "Three wines and three cheeses for $12," said Vidal.
If that's not enough, there's now art and music to draw customers in. What? Guadalupe is an accomplished artist, previously working for Dreamworks and Warner Brothers studios. It's all her own works on display, decorating the roomy dining area. Her murals and framed paintings add a lot to the ambiance of a place that will never again be known as just another take-out pizza joint. (The takeout food and pizza delivery is still going strong, though, so if that's your desire, you will be well taken care of.)
And then there's the music. Four nights a week. A variety of live performers will entertain regularly; mariachi, bolero and jazz, solo guitarists and pianists all liven up the nights at Italiano's, from Thursday through Sunday evenings.
So check it out. Try the new, food. Enjoy the new atmosphere. Taste some wine. I think you'll agree that the new Italiano's has something for just about everyone.

Cruisin' with Mary

Greetings planet Eagle Rock! I have an article jam-packed with information and opinions for you this month. The Eagle Rockin' Rodders had a successful April cruise-in at Oinkster and we were honored by a visit from our friend, Steve, from Livecarshows.com. I wrote about them last time, you may remember. He filmed the cruise-in to be put up on the website (it should be already running as of this printing), and several of our members spoke on camera about their rides and our club. It was a lot of fun for us to be filmed, and it's also really exciting to see your car on the internet!
We attempted, unsuccessfully, to contact Oinkster owner, Andre, to present him with a thank you certificate, and instead presented it to John Gardetto, one of the the most visible and accessible members of the Oinkster staff. Thanks again, John, and congratulations on your pending wedding.
We are still conducting the canned food drive, but last month, it seems many folks forgot to bring their non-perishable items. It was a little disappointing, but I do expect things will pick up again in May. Many thanks to all who participated. Items went to the Highland Park Sr Center for bingo prizes. The raffle was quite zippy again, with a very cool wheel barrow/seeder donated by Tritch Hardware. It was the "hot ticket" item of the night. I would like to remind guests & club members, PLEASE, NO BURNOUTs leaving Oinkster. We had an incident at the last cruise and don't want any problems with the LAPD, neighbors, or Oinkster. Remember, lots of guests bring little kids as well as leashed dogs, and it would be horrible if someone got hurt.
Last year I wrote about my experiences with parking meters and parking tickets, and some of the new services being offered in other states. I discovered new "meters" right here in our own backyard, at the Paseo in Pasadena. The regular, old fashioned coin-feed meters on Colorado Blvd, going east from Marengo St towards the Paseo, have been removed. Instead, the parking spaces are marked off with lines painted on the street and numbered at the curb. Every 8 spaces or so, there is a machine near the curb that looks like a small atm machine. The instructions state it is $1.25 an hour to park, which is the same as the old coin-feed meter price. You enter your parking space number on a keypad, then you can either pay for the parking time using either coins, an atm or credit card. What I found was plenty of space to park because I think people get freaked out by this new "technology" and decided to park in the structure instead! I see some plusses and possible negatives to this situation. For one, the machine doesn't give you a printed receipt (like at the gas station sometimes), and should you happen to get a parking ticket, you will have to wait for your bank statement to prove you really paid for the space. Or what if the machine is on the fritz and you get a parking ticket anyway, and so on. It also doesn't take dollar bills. On the other hand it looks like you might be able to program it and pay for as long as you want to park without being limited to one or two hours. This will probably take at least two more shopping trips to resolve, and I'll keep you updated.
Everyone has heard of MySpace, even if they don't have a MySpace account on the internet. It was originally started for teens to make friends and network and quickly exploded into a way to advertise just about anything as well as a free venue to put up videos, photos, and opinions. Many adults have these profiles set up, both as a way to meet people and also to monitor what their kids are doing. It's a cool way to showcase your car or motorcycle, as well as pets, events, etc.. Some people update their profiles weekly or even daily with new photos and information, called blogs, about what is new in their lives. I'm proud to announce the Eagle Rockin' Rodders have started a club MySpace, moderated by our own web-mistresses Keva and Terrye Munday. There will be cruise and club photos, as well as this article posted, and also upcoming events. We hope to be linked to other friends and websites eventually, as well as Livecarshows.com. Visit us at www.myspace.com/eaglerockinrodders.
Concerts in the Park will be held on Sun. July 8 at Eagle Vista Recreation Center, with live 50's music, hot rods and family fun for all. Show cars can enter after 3p.m. Don't forget your picnic for the concert on the grass at 6:00.
Till next month, keep on cruizin'.

Council Adds Matricula Consular to Hotel Check-in IDs
By unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council allowed hotels and motels to accept consulate-issued identification as a valid form of IDs for check-in. Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilmember José Huizar introduced the original motion to bring the city's hotel-motel ordinance in line with the city's own policies governing acceptable ID for use in city facilities.
"Los Angeles is a global crossroads," said Council President Garcetti. It's right and proper that the same matricula consular that you can use to open a bank account or get a library card be acceptable to check into a hotel room."
"It's just common sense that we make our laws friendly to our visitors and to the businesses that serve them," said Councilmember Huizar.
Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 41.49 requires that guests show ID to rent a room at a hotel or motel when they walk in without a reservation, rent the room for less than 12 hours or pay cash at check-in. These regulations were designed to help prevent hotels and motels from being used for nuisance activity such as prostitution and drug dealing, but they did not originally include the matricula consular as valid ID.
"I would like to thank the City Council for supporting us on this issue of allowing guests carrying consular IDs to be able to rent a room in Los Angeles," said Ray Patel, the president of the North East Los Angeles Hotel Owners Association. "This will make life easier for the mom-and-pop immigrant-owned small businesses that Los Angeles depends upon."

Rep. Becerra Denounces the President's Veto
Shortly after President Bush vetoed Congress' supplemental funding legislation for the war in Iraq , Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Assistant to the Speaker of the House, issued the following statement:
"The president, for the time being, has chosen to reject the funding for which he asked.
"It is disappointing to see President Bush refuse to acknowledge the reality on the ground in Iraq, the wishes of the American people, and the good faith efforts of Congress to provide our troops an exit strategy from this quagmire.
"With a stroke of his pen, the president has vetoed his own benchmarks for success, showing the Iraqi government that there are no consequences for failing to meet their commitments. If we are to believe the Iraqi government's promise that Iraqi troops will take responsibility for securing all of Iraq 's provinces by November, as the president told us in January, why reject a plan to redeploy our troops when that critical goal is met?
"The president's veto is a rejection of the American people's call for a new direction, and a denial of the ongoing failures of his policy of open-ended war."

NORTHEAST YOUTH JOB FAIR MAY 12
In our continuing effort provide positive outlets and more opportunity for youth in the Northeast, Councilmember Jose Huizar has joined forces with City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Council President Eric Garcetti, the Glassell Park Improvement Association, the First Chance Program, and local businesses to present a Northeast Youth Job Fair on Saturday, May 12. Everyone is invited to participate.
The job fair is for youth ages 16-24 at the Glassell Park Community and Senior Center located at 3750 N Verdugo Road in Glassell Park. The event will take place from 10:00 am-2:00 pm
This job fair is designed to link local businesses of Northeast Los Angeles with local youth. It will provide job opportunities that range from seasonal to permanent, and from small mom and pop businesses to large corporations. for businesses that wish to participate but will be unable to have a booth or attend, there will be a board available to post "help wanted" sings.
A form is available for businesses of any size to fill out and return. Any questions can be directed to David Cons at (323) 257-9600 x156. The completed form should also be faxed to him at (323) 257-8118 by Monday, May 7. A flyer is also available to post in places where youth congregate (high schools, recreation center's, parks, etc).

Beginning Real Estate Investing
Let an expert guide you through the basics of beginning real estate investing. This FREE class at the Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library offers a friendly environment to learn about building a real estate investment portfolio. SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2 P.M – 4 P.M. Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library, 6145 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90042. Questions? Call us at (323) 255 0537 or e-mail kgaidos@lapl.org.

Eagle Vista Seniors
The Eagle Vista seniors May Calendar begins on My 1 with an "Ode to Italy" in honor of Lou Agrati's coming birthday. Italian sandwiches will be served. But first at 9 a.m. comes the board meeting. After tha, at at 10 a.m., the regular business meeting, along with the aforementioned festivity will occur.
On May 8, Lou Agrati will be the caller for BINGO.
On May 15, a speaker from the Pasadena Senior Center discusses an appropriate subject for elders in a talk about "Fall Prevention."
On Thursday May 17, those who remember Lawrence Welk and his "one-and-a-two" will be happy to know that at least his theater lives on. A Seniors' trip to the Welk Resort Theater will depart from Glassell Park at 8:45 a.m. and at 9:00 a.m. from the Eagle Rock Recreation Center. The return is approximately at 6 p.m.
This is certainly Lou Agrati's month as on Tuesday the 22, he gets to be the BINGO caller again!
On Tuesday, May 29, the famed Dave and Ron serenade us with accordion music.

Chicken Boy Project

Chicken Boy could use your help (please). We need more letters in support of the installation of Mr Boy atop Future Studio (on Historic Route 66 in Highland Park). We are preparing a package to submit to a bureaucratic agency which shows the enthusiastic and heartfelt community support of folks who really really really want to see a happy shiny Chicken Boy in a new home. Please send letters (if possible on letterhead, the official-er the better) to Chicken Boy c/o Future Studio, PO Box 292000, Los Angeles CA 90029. We could use them by mid-June. Thanks!
(Watch this space for updates.)

LOS ANGELES students to study EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION with AWARD-WINNING HISTORIAN

On Friday, April 20th at 9:30 a.m. at The Colburn School in Los Angeles (200 South Grand Avenue), students from Benjamin Franklin High School and Gertz-Ressler Academy High School will attend a forum with Dr. Allen Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and professor of history at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
Guelzo's talk will address the events leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation and the impact it had on the war effort and civil rights. The talk is sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and funded by the Eris and Lawrence Field Family Foundation. Roughly 250 students from the two schools are scheduled to attend.
Benjamin Franklin High School is the only Gilder Lehrman history school in Los Angeles . Gertz-Ressler Academy High School participates in a Gilder Lehrman Saturday Academy of American History.
In preparation for the lecture, each student received a booklet of primary source documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives on the Emancipation Proclamation.
Dr. Guelzo is a two-time winner of the Lincoln Prize, awarded for the best book on Lincoln or the Civil War era. His most recently published book is titled Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America.
The Eris and Lawrence Field Family Foundation has provided funding for various Gilder Lehrman programs and materials since 2005.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute sponsors 41 history schools and 22 Saturday academies nationwide. Gilder Lehrman history schools are rigorous, college-preparatory schools centered on American history. They have a track record of raising test scores and sending more than 90 percent of graduating seniors to college. At the core of these schools is a four-year sequence of courses in American history. In many of these schools, the entire student body participates in the Gilder Lehrman program. In other schools, including Benjamin Franklin High School, a select portion of the student body participates.
Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history. Increasingly national and international in scope, the Institute targets audiences ranging from students to scholars to the general public. It helps to create history-centered schools and academic research centers, organizes seminars and enrichment programs for educators, partners with school districts to implement Teaching American History grants, produces print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, and sponsors lectures by eminent historians. The Institute also funds awards including the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and George Washington Book Prizes and offers fellowships for scholars to work in history archives, including the Gilder Lehrman Collection.

GRAFFITI -- ART OR
VANDALISM?
EXPLORE GRAFFITI IN LOS ANGELES
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 7:30 AT PASADENA MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Neolithic cave paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, medieval illustrated manuscripts -- the art of penmanship has been intrinsic to human communication since the dawn of civilization. So how does one judge graffiti?
Where others see the highly stylized "tagging" as vandalism of our public spaces, author and researcher Steve Grody sees art and a colloquial calligraphy unique to Southern California's "graffiti artists."
Grody will present his case in an illustrated lecture based on his new book, Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art on Tuesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Museum of History (470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91103). A reception and book signing will follow. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Tickets: $15 general; $10 museum members are available by calling 626-577-1660, ext. 10. For additional information visit the museum's website, www.pasadenahistory.org.
The Book
Long before graffiti was adopted as the visual expression of hip-hop culture in the 1980s, Chicano gang members in East Los Angeles had been developing stylized calligraphy and writing on walls. Cholo (gangster) scripts became the first distinctive letter forms to evolve in the modern vernacular tradition of graffiti writing. Today Los Angeles writers of diverse backgrounds draw from a unique confluence of cultures that has led to regionally distinctive styles.
Graffiti L.A. provides a comprehensive and visual history of graffiti in Los Angeles, as well as an in-depth examination of the myriad styles and techniques used by writers today. Complementing the main text, interviews with L.A.'s most prolific and infamous writers provide insight into the lives of these fugitive artists. Essential to the understanding of the development of the graffiti movement, this book will be an invaluable source to graffiti fans around the world.
The Author
Steve Grody saw spray can art begin to appear around Los Angeles's streets and walls in the 1980s and immediately recognized its creativity and verve. Since 1990, he has been driving across Los Angeles searching its back alleys, washes, and abandoned lots for this vernacular art.
Editors Please Note: Tuesday, May 15, 7:30 pm at Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91103.
Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art: Illustrated lecture and book signing by author Steve Grody. Graffiti L.A. provides a comprehensive and visual history of graffiti in Los Angeles, as well as an in-depth examination of the myriad styles and techniques used today. Complementing the main text, interviews with L.A.'s most infamous and prolific graffiti writers provide insight into the lives of these fugitive artists. Grody will discuss his 20-plus years of searching out this vernacular art form in the back alleys, washes and abandoned lots of Los Angeles. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Tickets: $15 non-members; $10 members
Reservations: 626-577-1660, ext. 10

The Horse That Ran Away
Christopher Nyerges
What is "good"? What is "bad"? A small gathering of folks at an Eagle Rock coffee house had a lot to say about this. Though there are plenty of folks who will tell you with great assurance what is good and what is bad, let's not forget that sometimes it is only our opinions and value judgments that make something "good" or "bad."
A visitor to a small mountain home once commented, "The good thing about living way up here is that you're far away from everyone." After a pause, he added, "And the bad thing about living way up here is that you're far away from everyone."
In other words, is the grass greener on the other side, or is it simply the other side? When we long for a change, is it always for something better, or simply because we have not learned how to appropriately deal with what we already have?
My friend Jay Watkins shared a Chinese story with me as we ate chile rellenos at Elvira's on Colorado Blvd.
A farmer in northern China, near the Mongolian border, realized one day that his horse was missing. He had no idea if the horse was stolen, or if it just got loose and ran away. It was a great inconvenience, in any event, because the farmer needed his horse for the farm work. The farmer's neighbors all came to console him for his great loss, grieving at his great loss. But the farmer told the neighbors not to grieve, pointing out that what had happened was not necessarily so bad, and it didn't warrant grief.
A few days later, the horse returned by itself, and it was accompanied by a magnificent Mongolian stallion. The stallion had apparently strayed from its herd, and simply following the farmer's horse back to the farm. This turn of events not only relieved the farmer but now also increased his wealth. The neighbors returned, this time to rejoice the farmer's good fortune, and even to envy his fine new animal. But once again, the farmer would not rejoice with the neighbors, and told them that what had happened was not necessarily so good.
A little time later, the farmer's son was out riding the Mongolian stallion, and since his riding experience had been limited to riding a slow farm horse, the frisky stallion threw the farmer's son. The son's thigh was badly injured in the fall, and meant the son was unable to do some of the farm work. This again inconvenienced the farmer, but he still refused to regard it as a misfortune and did not grieve.
In a few months, the barbarian armies of the Mongolian chiefs swept through the farmer's district of China, and they conscripted every able-bodied man into the army to help defend the empire. It was well-known that the mortality rate in the Mongolian army was very high, as they engaged in many savage battles. Yet, due to the son's bad leg, he was exempt from this military service.
The point of the story was that the farmer was able to remain calm throughout the ups and downs of his life, without the severe swings of emotion that seem to afflict the average person.
Jay Watkins also shared with me the "Six Always" guidelines from Shi Tianji, a scholar of healthy living in the Ming Dynasty. He said Always be peaceful in mind, Always be kind-hearted, Always uphold justice, Always be cheerful, Always be pleasant, and Always be contented. Of course, Shi Tianji had a lot to say about each of these six guidelines, and it becomes reminiscent of the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and many of the other guidelines from the past millennia for sound living in an insane world.
Jay Watkins believed that the 6th "Always" was the most important – to always be contented. Watkins pointed out that although it is impossible to avoid all adversity, we learn the most from life when we are cheerful
[Nyerges is the author of 7 books and an outdoor field guide. For more info, go to www.ChristopherNyerges.com or write to Box 41834, Eagle Rock, cA 90041]