Cigar talk with Victor Migenes
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: Listen to the Music
By Lani Tunzi
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Lessons from a backyard farmer
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: On the road again
By Lani Tunzi
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Remembering Eddie Van Halen, My Friend from High School
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: Money, Money, Money
By Lani Tunzi
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Lani Says: Take the Highway
By Lani Tunzi
When the Bobcat fire began landing on our Eagle Rock streets, I and five friends hit the road! The trip was scenic and healing. It was a blessing. Read on about how we went from doom and gloom to gratitude.
Lani Says: In My Life
By Lani Tunzi
In the friendship department, I was immensely lucky to find such powerhouse individuals at a very young age. After spending more than a decade of my life with such wonderful individuals by my side, I can’t pretend that the goodbyes are not hard.
Jeremiah Tash, the Founder of “Jarring,” on the Virtues of Fermentation
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: Not What I Expected
By Lani Tunzi
After months of preparation, applications, and big decisions, my first semester of college is not shaping up as anticipated.
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New Location for Botanica Nueva Era, NELA’s One-Stop Shop for Spiritual Supplies
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: Get It Right
By Lani Tunzi
| No sooner did Taco Bell in Eagle Rock reopen in June, ending years of unsatiated late-night cravings and an eyesore fenced off lot, then support for the once beloved food chain started to dwindle – undeservingly so.
A New, Invaluable Resource on Wild Edible Mushrooms
By Christopher Nyerges
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Restoring the Native Plants of Hahamongna
By Christopher Nyerges
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Lani Says: Runnin’ Down a Dream
By Lani Tunzi
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Getting Comfortable with Uncertainty
To try not to let fear and worries dominate your day, we offer these comments from Lionel Shockness, psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker.
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A Yaqui Indian and His “Steel Pony”
Rafael Gomez: “Riding puts you in touch with nature in a way that riding in an auto can never do.” He says his religion is the Bicycle and his church the open road.
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Lani Says: The Long and Winding Road
It was only a while ago, on Friday, March 13, that I sat at a table in the quad at Eagle Rock High School for what would, unbeknownst to me, be the last time. That day, the announcement came that schools would not open the following Monday. Within a few weeks, rumors of a virtual […]
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Lani Says: Don’t Stand So Close to Me
The Coronavirus changed the homestretch of Senior Year at Eagle Rock High. Lani will tell you about that here.
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: The New World of “Shelter in Place”
Here’s a summary of home self-reliance skills from Chris Nyerges. They’re great in times of emergency like the present one.
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Lani says: Local Trails -Take a Walk
Eagle Rock has great hiking trails. And, a nice hike can be a great relief while we’re all “keeping our distance.” Lani gives you a few trails to try out. They are listed here.
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Lani says: Walk a Mile in My Shoes
Being thrifty, it turns out, is environmentally sustainable. There’s a mini-economy in resold goods – mostly clothing. Read Lani’s report here.
Continue ReadingLani says: For Whom the Bell Tolls
There are schedules good and bad. Lani is fighting for a good one for Eagle Rock High. Read about why here.
Continue ReadingRock Lobster
When it comes to holiday traditions, the most important ones in my family center around food, Italian food. What about your family?
Continue ReadingBehind the Mask
For me, creating art from discarded boxes is the epitome of recycling.
Continue ReadingTime Is on My Side
I would never advocate missing school, but ……
Continue ReadingTime in a Bottle
What about Eagle Rock would you put in a time capsule?
Continue ReadingShake, Rattle and Roll
Yosemite Drive – more race track than neighborhood street. What’s being done to slow things down on Yosemite? Read about that right here.
Continue Reading(You Better) Slow Down
Yosemite Drive – more race track than neighborhood street. What’s being done to slow things down on Yosemite? Read about that right here.
Continue ReadingClosing Time
What next? Here how an up-coming High School senior is coming to deal with the existential of life.
Continue ReadingWe Will Rock You!
We’re always told growing up that we can do anything we set our minds to, no matter how outrageous it may seem. Well, two Eagle Rock teens with a passion for live music and the persistence to match took the advice to heart and, last month, pulled off a punk rock show with three bands and a hundred fans – on Loleta Avenue in Eagle Rock.
Continue ReadingBe True to Your School
If you happened to see groups of high school boys in pleated skirts and makeup out and about in Eagle Rock last month, this may be why:On Friday, March 8, Eagle Rock High School held its annual “Dustbowl,”
Continue ReadingLani Says: Where the Wild Things Are
by Lani Tunzi Once upon a time, it was rare to see a coyote. Now, coyotes are a common sight in Eagle Rock and other NELA neighborhoods, often seen isolated trotting down the sidewalks or heard howling in packs. And we’re about to see and hear more of them. After a mating month in February, […]
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Lani Says: Surfin’ Bird – Bird Is the Word
Birds – rentable, dockless, electric scooters -– have descended upon Eagle Rock. They dot sidewalks, rest on corners and tend to congregate at the intersection of Colorado Blvd. and Eagle Rock Blvd. when they’re not scattered along residential streets. They’re reasonably inexpensive and convenient. You use a downloadable phone app to find and rent a […]
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Lani Says: When I Grow Up
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Even when I was a little girl, I found that to be a weighty question. I would come up with answers – a veterinarian, a teacher, a spy, or maybe all three at the same time. But I never had a single answer that […]
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Ask Lionel: Mixed Feelings in the Fight Against Homelessness
At dinner the other night, my wife, Wanda, my son and I were taking turns reviewing the day’s events. Wanda, said she was feeling terrible about her handling of an earlier incident. Wanda had started the day as she always does, with a morning ritual that includes a daily affirmation. This particular morning, she had […]
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At the Eagle Rock Dojo with Angelo Cervera
Learn the basics of Martial Arts in Eagle Rock’s Arnott Kenpo. Chris Nyerges will tell you about one of the area’s best instructors.
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Bycyclists and Hurricanes – Bringing out the best and worst in mankind
What do bicycling in Los Angeles and hurricanes have in common? Chris Nyerges will give you food for thought on both. Read on.
Continue ReadingCooking the Native Way
The Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park is indeed a happy place. Will it stay happy after Oscar Duarto moves on? Here’s the story. . . . .
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The Miracle Garden of Oscar Duardo
The Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park is indeed a happy place. Will it stay happy after Oscar Duarto moves on? Here’s the story. . . . .
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What I Saw in Inner Space
“What was I destined to do?” I thought at the top of the pyramid. Who hasn’t asked this question?
Continue ReadingThe Wilderness Workshop of Janice Cooney
Hiking and backpacking require gear – boots, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, packs of all sizes – which all eventually require repair. Wilderness Workshop, in Eagle Rock can fix it all.
Continue ReadingA Music Samurai Plays in Highland Park
Goh Kurosawa, a singer-musician-artist born in Maebashi, Japan and now residing in Highland Park, is known for one-man shows he performs with his guitar, nicknamed “Honey Beast.” He’ll be back playing at the Highland Park Farmers Market. For more at Goh, read on.
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Muralist John Zender Seeks “Triunity” in His Current Work
Highland Park muralist John Zender studied fine arts at Otis Art Institute and produced many works over decades. Here he is with one of his murals. Check out one of his fine oil paintings here too.
Continue ReadingNuts and Berries of California
A Voice in the NELA Wilderness by Christopher Nyerges NELA’s landscape has an amazing mix of native and non-native vegetation. Both types have had important roles in our rich horticultural and agricultural history. For example, native nuts and berries – black walnuts, pine nuts, blackberries, wild strawberries, to name a few – have long histories […]
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The Longest Straw: A Film by Samantha Bode
When filmmaker Samantha Bode learned that a 338-mile aqueduct brings water into Los Angeles, she decided impulsively to see it for herself by walking its entire length – from the Cascades in Sylmar at the southern terminus of the aqueduct to Mono Lake, 338 miles to the north. The result is a documentary film, The Longest Straw – a close-up look at the environmental impacts of what it takes to keep L.A. alive.
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Low Cost Ways to Prepare for the Big One
There have been no major earthquakes in Los Angeles in quite a while. But the danger is ever present. The way to cope is to be prepared.At WTI, a local nonprofit that teaches survival skills, earthquake preparedness has been in the curriculum for nearly 40 years.
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Water in NELA – Where Water Once Flowed
Much of our recent rainfall has flowed out to the ocean, uncaptured and unused. But it was not always this way. Up until the 1930s, water flowed throughout the area we now know as Northeast Los Angeles.
Continue ReadingRecycling the Rain
by Christopher Nyerges During the recent rains, my neighbor, Carol Kampe, collected enough water to irrigate her fruit trees and other plants clear through August. She estimates the savings on her water bill to be about $300 a month. “But I don’t do this for economic reasons,” says Kampe. “I do it because we live […]
Continue ReadingThe Allure of Wild Mushrooms
A Voice in the NELA Wildernessby Christopher Nyerges With the recent rains, I have gone in search of mushrooms in wild and not-so-wild spots in NELA and the Arroyo Seco.My study of mycology began in the ’70’s. I wanted to try every wild mushroom I could find until I learned the meaning of the phrase […]
Continue ReadingZero Waste: An Idea Whose Time is Now
A Voice in the NELA Wilderness by Christopher Nyerges It is sad but true that only a small fraction of discarded materials is recycled, while the rest goes to landfills or incinerators or winds up as immense floating plastic islands in the ocean. Leslie VanKeuren Campbell, a regular at the Old L.A. Farmers Market in […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Flamenco-Fusion Out of Highland Park
I’ve observed what happens when David Holguin, 27, starts to play his guitar. People stop and listen – and then they stay, waiting for another song. “That’s the kind of music we need more of,” said one man who recently stopped to listen to Holguin at the Old L.A. Farmers Market in Highland Park. Holguin, […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: One Man’s Quest to Revive the Dying Art of Basketmaking
Some 20 years ago, I saw a photograph of Justin Farmer in the Southwest Museum in Highland Park. In the photo, Farmer is holding a traditional long bow. I have never forgotten it. Farmer is not primarily known for his bow-making, though that is one of his many skills. Farmer is best known for his […]
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Lani Says: On the Street Where I Live
A new family has moved onto the street in Eagle Rock where I have always lived, into the Simmons’ house. It’s the same house, but with a new family who will create their own experiences and memories just like Melvin and Joyce Simmons did for 50 years before moving recently to Glendora to be closer […]
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Lani Says: Vote Your Choice
I was in the first grade when I began to catch on to elections and voting – and six-year old me was absolutely offended that I couldn’t vote until I turned 18. Later in life, when I found out that some people choose not to vote, I couldn’t understand why they would sit out something […]
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Lani Says: Sympathy for the Devil
Every year when the holidays roll around, it seems that everyone has something to say about each and every detail of each and every holiday. As for me, I have something I want to say about Halloween. With every passing Halloween, there’s been a creeping decline of crazy, creepy spirit in the air. Candy bowls […]
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Lani Says: Cut My Hair
About a year ago, I woke up one morning with a surprisingly urgent thought: “I want to shave my head.” Now, before I delve any further into this tale of impulsive behavior, let me say that my hair has always been a defining feature of mine — long, thick and nearly unmanageable. In fact, when […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Local Pioneer of Self-Reliance Practices What She Teaches – and Teaches What She Practices
Recently, Prudence Boczarski was at the Highland Park Farmers’ Market, showcasing her natural bakery business and representing WTI, the local nonprofit founded in 1971 to teach urban dwellers how to live better with less. And since there is no better way to teach than to give a hands-on demonstration, Ms. Boczarski was also using her […]
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Lani Says: Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime
For 103 incoming juniors at Eagle Rock High School, myself included, the first day of school on Aug. 14 will be the start of a rigorous, two-year academic journey known as the “International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme,” or IBDP. Begun in 1968 in Switzerland, IBDP stresses intercultural understanding, inquiry and analysis through immersion in English language […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Soil from Coffee Grounds, Water from the Air Conditioner
I recently noticed a new flower bed behind Antigua Bread, the coffeehouse/bakery at 5703 N. Figueroa St. Where there once had been weeds and trash was a beautiful wood-framed garden bed, approximately 6-by-6 feet, with colorful flowers, some vegetables – and a five-gallon plastic bucket strapped to a tall wooden pole and connected by a […]
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Lani Says: T-A-C-O B-E double L
Summer in Eagle Rock has always been a time of fun, ease and possibility. School is finally out and students can spend the time that had been taken up studying for finals on seeing their family and friends. They can sleep into the afternoon, procrastinate on starting their summer reading lists and maybe (maybe) even […]
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Lani Says: In the Summer Time
by Lani Tunzi Summer in Eagle Rock has always been a time of fun, ease and possibility. School is finally out and students can spend the time that had been taken up studying for finals on seeing their family and friends. They can sleep into the afternoon, procrastinate on starting their summer reading lists and […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: The Art and Craft of Sharpening a Knife
I met Julio Toruno recently at the Old L.A. (Highland Park) Farmers Market, where he works on Tuesdays from the back of his truck, sharpening knives on a whetstone. Just by watching him, I could tell he epitomizes “old school” craftsmanship. I approached him as he was sharpening a large kitchen knife and I could […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness:Grow Your Own Oyster Mushrooms
Matt Heidrich of Highland Park loves oyster mushrooms – so much, in fact, that he has mastered the intricate art and science of home cultivation. I visited him recently and learned a lot. Oyster mushrooms grow on the sides of old and dying trees; in the Arroyo Seco, they commonly grow on willows and cottonwoods. […]
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Lani Says: Wildflowers
by Lani Tunzi Among all the flowers of spring, the sky lupine, a California native, is near and dear to my heart. And I know I am not the only person in Eagle Rock with a special fondness for the lupine, with its bursts of blue, pink and purple, its height (as tall as two […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: The Delicious Nettle
This spring, I have collected a lot of chickweed, mallow, hedge mustard and nettle. Most of it I dry. I use the powdered chickweed in an insect repellent, the mallow for a mild cough remedy and hedge mustard to make a spicy powder to add to dishes. But nettle is the plant I can never […]
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Ask Lionel: Heal the Past, Improve the Future
I recently received an email from a reader, a 47-year old man about to turn 48, asking for advice. With his permission, the email is summarized below, followed by my reply. The man reported deep loneliness from never having had a girlfriend. He said he had sought help from counselors to no avail. “I am […]
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Ask Lionel: What Growing Older Has Taught Me About Being Young
I recently told my physical therapist that until he brings it up, I often forget I have arthritis. The dreaded autoimmune disorder has very slowly taken residence in various parts of my body, occupying it as though it had squatter’s rights, but on days when I’m pain free, I feel like I did 30 […]
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Ask Lionel : Compassion or Anger? Conflicting Emotions About Homeless People
Witnessing the plight of the homeless is heartbreaking. But on days when the concerns of my life require my full attention, I can find myself becoming irrtated and then mad at the people in tents, on the sidewalks and offramps, or living in cars and RVs. One day I wish I could save them and […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Thinking About Public Space
Many years ago, a developer wanted to build a tall apartment at the base of the Eagle Rock that would have blocked the view of that local landmark. The town said “no,” and instead, the land was purchased by the City of Los Angeles and turned into a park. It was a dramatic example of […]
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Looking Back: Moments in the History of NELA’s Parks
When you consider the effort it is taking to build a dog park within the Eagle Rock Recreation Center, it is all the more remarkable to recall the effort that went into building the park in the first place. In 1954, the dream of establishing a park in the shadow of the Eagle Rock was […]
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Lani Says: There’s Something Happenin’ Here
One month after 14 students and three staff members were killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., students and teachers across the nation joined together in protest and outrage, demanding change. On March 14, I stood with many of my peers at Eagle Rock High School in silence […]
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Ask Lionel: When the Drug Epidemic Hits Home
When I first entered the field of mental health in the early 1990s, I worked as an in-patient drug counselor in New York City. I led men’s groups for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. At the time, crack cocaine was killing people, destroying families and communities, and straining our systems of health, justice and law […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: How Does Your Drought-Resistant Garden Grow?
State water officials recently toyed with the idea of reinstating drought-era water rules and making them permanent. In the end, they didn’t act. But rules or no rules, it behooves all of us to find and practice a lifestyle of water conservation. Northeast Los Angeles is part of a coastal desert plain, with enough local […]
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Lani Says: Put on Fresh Paint
I am a bookworm, with a special place in my heart for studying. But my love for school extends beyond academics. In fact, extracurricular activities are really my favorite subjects. I have been active in the Associative Student Body, the Sophomore Class Club and the drill team. These activities are only a few of the […]
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A Voice in the NELA Wilderness: Camping on Zero Dollars a Day
Camping in the hills of NELA was a big deal when I was a boy and looking back, I realize it was a no-budget activity. Today, I don’t mind spending money on an item if I know it’s the best and if my life may depend on it. But I still like to go as […]
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Ask Lionel: Fearlessness in a Time of Fear
My 11-year old son’s school hosted a day of service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January. Current events cast a shadow on the event. President Trump had just tweeted that the Dreamers program was “probably dead.” Immigration agents had launched new raids. I read a news story about a Latino father of three […]
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Lani Says: Who Are You? Who? Who?
Naima Corea,16, a student artist and musician who is my classmate at Eagle Rock High, has an exhibit on Feb. 3 at the Cactus Gallery L.A. in Elysian Valley. The exhibit will showcase the results of a project of Naima’s on self-image, in which she encouraged her peers to portray their self-image in poems, paintings, […]
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