Updates

Here’s the follow up on some of the NELA’s recent crimes:

Electric Scooters All Over NELA? Not So Fast.

03/30/201904/01/2019 Mary Lynch580Leave a Comment

Councilmember Gil Cedillo recently filed a motion to exclude CD 1 from a one-year pilot program to test widespread use of electric, dockless scooters in Los Angeles.

Safe Parking in Glassell Park Clears a Hurdle

03/30/201904/01/2019 Bill Hendrickson592Leave a Comment

The academic decathletes from Franklin High School in Highland Park placed sixth among 68 schools in the recent California state finals of the Academic Decathlon.

Franklin High Competes with Distinction in State Academic Decathlon

03/30/201904/08/2019 Mary Lynch567Leave a Comment

The academic decathletes from Franklin High School in Highland Park placed sixth among 68 schools in the recent California state finals of the Academic Decathlon.

Environmentalists Blast Glendale Water and Power over Scholl Canyon

03/30/201903/30/2019 Bill Hendrickson1335Leave a Comment

The Coalition for Scholl Landfill Alternatives (CSLA), a local group of environmental activists, has issued a press release saying it “strongly suspects” Glendale Water and Power of trying to manipulate an upcoming environmental review at the Scholl Canyon landfill . . . . . .

Southwest Museum Up for Grabs

03/30/201903/31/2019 Mary Lynch597Leave a Comment

New Group Forms to Save the Southwest Museum and Lummis House

03/02/201903/03/2019 Mary Lynch6891 Comment

The Lummis Legacy League, a grassroots organization to preserve the legacy of Charles Fletcher Lummis, will hold a kick-off reception and presentation on March 17 at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens in Cypress Park. Suzanne Lummis, the granddaughter of Charles Lummis, will be a guest of honor. The group hopes to draw more […]

L.A. Teachers Set a Strike Date

12/29/201801/01/2019 Laura Brady-Allen193Leave a Comment

Public school teachers in Los Angeles will go on strike starting Thursday, Jan. 10, unless an unforeseen breakthrough occurs before then. The teachers union – United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) – announced the strike date on Dec. 19. The announcement followed the release of a report by a fact-finding panel made up of a […]

Charter School Founder with Ties to Eagle Rock Pleads Guilty to a Felony

12/29/201801/01/2019 T.A. Hendrickson333Leave a Comment

Vielka McFarlane, the founder and former chief executive of Celerity Educational Group, a Los Angeles charter school network, has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to misappropriate and embezzle public funds. In her plea, reported by the L.A. Times on Dec. 21, Ms. McFarlane admitted that she had misspent $2.5 million in public […]

Trash Haulers Win a Round in the Garbage Fight

02/05/201903/03/2019 Mary Lynch235Leave a Comment

A lawsuit to lower the fees for commercial garbage collection in Los Angeles hit a roadblock last month when the judge said the case was too flawed to go forward. But the Apartment Owners Association of California – which filed the lawsuit – has not given up. The judge gave the group until Feb. 8 […]

Saying “No” to Yet Another Anti-Immigrant Proposal

02/04/201903/03/2019 T.A. Hendrickson165Leave a Comment

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has received 216,102 public comments on a Trump administration proposal that would make it harder for legal immigrants to obtain green cards or permanent residency if they use Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidies or other common federal benefits. The comments were overwhelmingly against the proposal. It’s safe to say […]

Progress on the Mural at the Southwest Museum

02/04/201902/04/2019 Mary Lynch241Leave a Comment

Work has finally begun to recreate the mural that once covered the wall along Marmion Way leading up to the Southwest Museum. The first step – creating detailed, life sized drawings of the original mural – got underway in January, when Pola Lopez, the renowned artist who will paint the new mural, received a first […]

Mike Kelly Memorial: Art that Unites Past and Present, Here and Elsewhere

02/04/201902/17/2019 T.A. Hendrickson251Leave a Comment

Seven years ago, an abandoned carport at the end of Tipton Way in Highland Park became a community memorial to the artist Mike Kelley, who had his studio down the street and had died by suicide on Jan. 31, 2012. All through the month of February, 2012, visitors filled the space with farewell messages in […]

Smoke in the Huizar Investigation, but Still No Fire

02/04/201902/04/2019 T.A. Hendrickson225Leave a Comment

In the three months since the FBI raided the home and two offices of NELA City Councilmember José Huizar, no official explanation has been given for the raids and no related arrests or charges have been made. But the issue continues to generate a lot of smoke. The L.A. Times reported on Jan. 12 that […]

The Troubles of Mr. Huizar, Continued

12/29/201801/01/2019 T.A. Hendrickson234Leave a Comment

As of press time for this issue of the Boulevard Sentinel on Dec. 27, there was no official word from the FBI as to why it raided two offices and the home of José Huizar last November. There have been no charges and no arrests in connection with the raids. Recent reporting from the L.A.Times, […]

L.A. Más: Help for Building Backyard Homes (ADUs)

12/29/201812/29/2018 Mary Lynch216Leave a Comment

L.A. Más, a non-profit urban design firm in Elysian Valley, is now taking applications from homeowners for its Backyard Homes Project. The project will help low-to-moderate income homeowners finance, design and build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on their properties. In exchange, the homeowners will rent the ADUs, (often converted garages), for […]

Part of the 134 Freeway named President Barack H. Obama Highway.

12/29/201812/29/2018 Bill Hendrickson223Leave a Comment

Obama Drove Here Roughly five-miles of the 134 freeway, including the stretch in Eagle Rock between Pasadena and Glendale, is now officially the “President Barack H. Obama Highway.” Two large freeway signs announcing the new name were unveiled on Dec. 20, one on westbound 134 at Fair Oaks Ave. in Pasadena […]

L.A. Bars to stay open until 4am?

12/29/201812/29/2018 T.A. Hendrickson216Leave a Comment

Not Taking “No” for an Answer State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has re-introduced legislation to let bars in Los Angeles and eight other California cities stay open until 4 a.m., two hours later than the current closing time of 2 a.m. The latest bill (SB 58) is basically no different […]

NELA gets Higher Speed Limits, More Speeding Tickets

12/29/201812/29/2018 Mary Lynch185Leave a Comment

Higher Speed Limits, More Speeding Tickets New speed limits went into effect on many streets in Los Angeles on Dec 11. Most of the new limits are increases, some are decreases. One reason for the changes is to ensure that posted speed limits conform with what up-to-date speed surveys […]

NELA’s Year in Crime

12/01/2018 Laura Brady-Allen2551 Comment

As 2018 draws to a close, I asked the LAPD for updates on some of the higher profile crimes that occurred this year in Northeast L.A. Here’s a rundown as of Nov. 16: No suspects were identified in the attempted kidnapping on Jan. 22 at Campus Road and Escarpa Drive, near Eagle Rock High School. […]

Countdown to a Teacher Strike

12/01/2018 Laura Brady-Allen256Leave a Comment

On Nov. 14, the labor dispute between the L.A. school district and the L.A. teachers union entered the fact-finding stage. Over the next 30 days or so, the claims by each side will be analyzed and a report issued by a panel headed by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), the state agency that oversees […]

Picking Up the Trash Is the Easy Part. Paying for Trash Pickup Is Hard.

11/30/2018 Bill Hendrickson217Leave a Comment

For the most part, businesses and landlords in Northeast Los Angeles and the rest of the city have had no choice but to accept the higher costs and new procedures imposed by RecycLA, the city’s commercial trash-hauling system in effect since July 2017. But at a recent meeting of the committee on Energy, Climate Change […]

Violet Rivers Sings On

11/30/2018 Mary Lynch204Leave a Comment

Violet Rivers, a third grader at Eagle Rock Elementary, will sing next month at a student showcase in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National Parent Teacher Association and the U.S. Department of Education. Violet will perform her original song, Transformation, which won a 2018 National Award of Excellence in Music Composition last May in an […]

Construction to Start at Pillarhenge

11/02/201811/02/2018 Bill Hendrickson262Leave a Comment

Construction on the Pillarhenge site in Eagle Rock is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019. The building is expected to have the same overall “Love Boat” size and shape as originally proposed (see rendering at upper right), but will be configured differently on the inside to have 31 units in total (versus […]

Back to Square One on the Southwest Museum

11/02/2018 Mary Lynch718Leave a Comment

The latest effort to find a financial partner to refurbish the Southwest Museum building in Mount Washington has ended without success. A potential partner who had been evaluating the site since early 2018 has made “an internal business decision” not to invest, said Maren Daughtery, a spokesperson for the Autry Museum of the American West, […]

Parting Advice from Gov. Brown: Don’t Encourage More Drinking

11/02/2018 Mary Lynch202Leave a Comment

Gov. Jerry Brown defied the wishes of the California legislature recently, when he vetoed a bill that would have let bars in Los Angeles and eight other cities stay open until 4 a.m. Among the majority of lawmakers who voted in favor of a 4 a.m. closing time (versus 2 a.m. currently) were NELA’s representatives […]

Franklin High Bomb Threat Was a Hoax; Principal Says, “Safety Is Our Priority”

11/02/2018 Laura Brady-Allen216Leave a Comment

A bomb threat on Oct. 15 that prompted a lockdown and police sweep of Franklin High School in Highland Park was a hoax. The caller also said that an officer had been shot at the school. No evidence was found of any bomb or any shooting. The major crimes division of the Los Angeles Police […]

A Park Grows in NELA

10/06/201810/06/2018 T.A. Hendrickson211Leave a Comment

The results are in for a survey by the City of L.A. to find out what the public wants at the Taylor Yard G2 River Park, the swath of land along the L.A. River in Cypress Park that is being re-developed into a park. Nearly 60% of the 1,312 people who took the survey were […]

Rules May Be Coming Soon on Short-Term Rentals

10/06/201810/06/2018 T.A. Hendrickson2281 Comment

On any given day, about 500 rentals in Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Mount Washington are on offer through Airbnb and other short-term rental sites. New rules proposed in September by the City Planning Commission could affect many of them. The proposed rules, if approved by the City Council, would limit short term rentals […]

State of Play: Which Way Is Eagle Rock Going on the Proposal to Build a Big Storage Facility?

08/31/201809/01/2018 Bill Hendrickson2701 Comment

The proposal to build a huge StorQuest storage facility on the Ernie Jr.’s site in Eagle Rock is now on the agenda of the City Planning Commission for Thursday, Oct. 11 – a month later than previously planned. It was replaced on the agenda by another issue. The extra time provides the public a chance […]

Foes of L.A.’s Trash System Will Get Their Day in Court

09/01/201809/01/2018 Mary Lynch234Leave a Comment

The City Attorney of Los Angeles has tried and failed to block a class-action lawsuit to undo the City’s new trash-collection system for businesses. Both sides in the fight are now gearing up for more battle. Frank Mateljan, a spokesperson for the City Attorney, told the Boulevard Sentinel that the City will continue to vigorously […]

Glendale’s Energy Debate Will Force Decisions on Scholl Canyon

09/01/2018 Bill Hendrickson2731 Comment

August 3 was the deadline in Glendale for energy professionals to submit proposals on how Glendale could switch to renewable resources for generating electricity. In all, 34 proposals were received and are now under review, with a public presentation of the review findings expected around mid-October, according to Steven Zurn, the general manager for Glendale […]

Taco Bell in Eagle Rock to be Reborn

07/28/2018 Bill Hendrickson3161 Comment

The forlorn Taco Bell on Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock will soon see better and happier days, thanks to an agreement between Nader Ashoori, the owner of the Taco Bell, and The Eagle Rock Association (TERA), an improvement group. The agreement, which was reached with the help of staff from the office of Councilmember José […]

Meet the New Landlord

07/28/2018 Bill Hendrickson1331 Comment

The buyer of Frank’s Camera and two other buildings on Figueroa St. in Highland Park is a limited partnership named “AP Highland Park.” AP Highland Park is, in turn, part of a larger real estate investment portfolio run by Asana Partners Fund, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Boulevard Sentinel reported on the $23 million […]

Union Blues: A Victory for Local Labor, Then a Setback

07/28/2018 T.A. Hendrickson138Leave a Comment

When unionized service workers at public schools in Los Angeles won a hard-fought new contract in May, their leader, Max Arias, of El Sereno, told the Boulevard Sentinel that the union could not rest on its laurels. Union members had to remain united and active, he said, because anti-union forces were strong and getting stronger. Sure […]

Good News for Community College Students

07/28/201807/28/2018 T.A. Hendrickson115Leave a Comment

The University of California has offered admission this fall to 28,750 transfer students, a record number, UC officials said in July. Most of these students are California residents transferring from community colleges. That is an encouraging development for the large share of students who start college at the community level. In NELA, for example, 300 […]

Mural on Marmion Way to Be Restored

06/30/201806/30/2018 Mary Lynch128Leave a Comment

At long last, a contract has been signed to restore the mural that once covered the long wall on Marmion Way leading up to the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Mount Washington. The signatories are the Autry Museum of the American West, which owns the Southwest Museum, Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park, […]

On the College Front

06/30/2018 T.A. Hendrickson121Leave a Comment

Tally of NELA’s College-Bound Seniors Increases The Boulevard Sentinel’s tally in June of high-school graduates found that 654 out of 901 were college bound from four local high schools: Eagle Rock High in Eagle Rock, Franklin High in Highland Park, and Renaissance Arts Academy and Alliance Environmental Science and Technology, both in Glassell Park. Since […]

Gang Member Is Sentenced for Racist Attacks in Highland Park

06/30/2018 T.A. Hendrickson163Leave a Comment

Merced Cambero, Jr., a member of the Avenues gang, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for hate crimes committed against African Americans in Highland Park from 1997 to 2000. The gang’s crime spree included two murders. The sentencing, on June 4, was a long time coming. Mr. Cambero was charged in 2004, […]

Activists in NELA Continue to Take On the NRA

06/02/2018 T.A. Hendrickson1412 Comments

Drain the NRA, the anti-gun violence group co-founded by Laura Mannino of Highland Park, has notched another success: On May 9, the $225 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) adopted a gun-control policy developed by John Chiang, the California state treasurer, and promoted by Drain the NRA. Under the new policy, CalSTRS will pressure […]

Shootings Rattle Highland Park

06/02/2018 T.A. Hendrickson130Leave a Comment

NELA Councilmember Gil Cedillo and the Los Angeles Police Department will hold a community meeting on Tuesday, June 5 to discuss concerns and issues in Highland Park. The meeting will be at St. Ignatius Catholic Church at 322 N. Avenue 61 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a lot to talk about, […]

Trash Pickup Fight Lands in Court

06/02/2018 Mary Lynch157Leave a Comment

Universal Waste Systems (UWS), the designated garbage collector for businesses and apartment buildings in Northeast Los Angeles, has been named in a new lawsuit to overturn the trash-collection system imposed by the City of L.A last July. Four other trash haulers, each of which has a city contract to collect garbage in other parts of […]

The Ref Rodriguez Chronicles

06/02/2018 T.A. Hendrickson150Leave a Comment

The Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) has added its voice to the chorus calling for Ref Rodriguez to resign his position as NELA’s representative on the Los Angeles school board. In a letter sent to Mayor Garcetti on May 14, the ERNC said it had lost confidence in Mr. Rodriguez to fulfill his duties and […]

Guilty Plea in Racially Motivated Murders in Highland Park Nearly 20 Years Ago

04/29/2018 T.A. Hendrickson133Leave a Comment

A violent chapter in Highland Park history is coming to a close. Merced Cambero, Jr., 39, who was captured last year after almost 15 years on the run, recently pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes stemming from attacks on African Americans in Highland Park, including two murders, from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Cambero, a member […]

Turning Parking Lots into Housing

04/01/201804/29/2018 T.A. Hendrickson1251 Comment

The difficult politics around housing was on display recently as Councilmember Gil Cedillo was booed and heckled at a public meeting in Lincoln Heights to discuss transforming five of the neighborhood’s city-owned parking lots into housing. The exact type of housing is not yet determined, but the city’s main goal is to provide housing for […]

Another Chapter in the Scholl Canyon Saga

04/01/201804/01/2018 Bill Hendrickson133Leave a Comment

The plan by Glendale Water and Power to build a 12-megawatt biogas plant at the Scholl Canyon landfill near Eagle Rock has been stopped – for now. Following a full court press by Councilmember José Huizar, his staff, the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council and several community groups and individuals, a 2-to-1 majority of Glendale’s City […]

Businesses Keep Pushing to End the New Trash Pick Up System

04/01/201804/01/2018 Mary Lynch123Leave a Comment

Owners of businesses and apartment buildings are still trying to end the new trash collection system in Los Angeles for commercial and multi-family properties. One business group is trying to collect enough signatures by Apr. 25 for a ballot initiative in November that, if passed, would effectively undo the new system. A group of apartment […]

NELA Armed Robber Sent to Prison

04/01/201804/01/2018 admin147Leave a Comment

Sean Thomas King, 36, was sentenced in March to 25 years in state prison for a series of armed robberies last year in Northeast Los Angeles. Mr. King, pictured above in the white paper mask he wore during the robberies, pleaded “no contest” to the charges. He is eligible to reduce his actual time by […]

Scholarship Money for Speech Contest Participant

04/01/201804/01/2018 T.A. Hendrickson133Leave a Comment

When the Boulevard Sentinel last reported on Andrew Charroux, of Highland Park, the high schooler had added $900 to his college fund by winning the American Legion Oratorical Contest at the Post and Area level. As a runner up in the state competition in March, he added another $700, for total winnings of $1,600. Students […]

Ref Rodriguez, Facing Charges, Is Set to Cast Big Votes on School Board

04/01/201804/01/2018 Philip Iglauer1231 Comment

As early as this April, the Los Angeles Board of Education will decide on the next superintendent to lead the city’s schools and on labor contract terms for public school teachers. On May 9, Ref Rodriguez, the school board representative for Northeast Los Angeles, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on charges of perjury, […]

Still Rocking the Boulevard

04/01/201804/01/2018 T.A. Hendrickson132Leave a Comment

NELA residents continued to Rock the Boulevard last month. At the second meeting in March of Rock the Boulevard, a public private partnership to improve Eagle Rock Blvd., some 60 residents broke into groups of 10. Each group was assigned a two-to-three block long stretch of the boulevard to rethink and redesign in terms of […]

NELA’s River Park: More Ideas, More Challenges

03/12/201803/31/2018 T.A. Hendrickson122Leave a Comment

City officials used an online survey last month to ask the public for ideas on how to transform the G2 industrial site in Cypress Park into a riverside park. The Boulevard Sentinel got a sneak preview of NELA’s wishes when it posted a link to the survey on the its Facebook page, prompting a wave […]

Southwest Museum: The Long Slog to Save It

03/11/201803/31/2018 Mary Lynch134Leave a Comment

A collection-sharing deal between the Autry Museum of the American West and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is likely to result in more exhibits of artifacts from the largely shuttered Southwest Museum of the American Indian, located in Mount Washington. Currently, most of the museum’s artifacts are in storage at the Autry’s facility […]

Scholl Canyon: The Plot Thickens

03/10/201803/31/2018 Bill Hendrickson1301 Comment

Residents of Glendale turned out in force in February to protest the plan by Glendale Water and Power (GWP) to upgrade the city’s Grayson electric power plant. The residents said they wanted renewable energy options, not an upgraded plant fueled by nonrenewables. The dispute concerns Northeast Los Angeles, because what Glendale decides to do with […]

Fire on Fair Park Ave. in Eagle Rock

03/09/201803/31/2018 Bill Hendrickson169Leave a Comment

A fire on Fair Park Ave. in Eagle Rock on the morning of Feb. 13 consumed a tent used by a homeless person and scorched the back north wall of the shops in the Sprouts shopping center. Firefighters on the scene said that a homeless person had used cardboard to light a fire that got […]

NELA Schools: Security Concerns

03/08/201803/31/2018 Philip Iglauer1261 Comment

No arrest has been made as yet in the attempted kidnapping of a student from Eagle Rock High on Jan. 22. Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department told the Boulevard Sentinel they are still investigating, but have no details to release beyond what is already known. To recap: A high school junior walking home […]

Storage Facility in Eagle Rock Gets a Thumbs Down

02/08/201803/31/2018 Bill Hendrickson157Leave a Comment

Forty-five residents of Eagle Rock turned out on Tuesday evening, Jan. 24 to say “NO” to the proposal to build an 85,000 square foot storage facility on the Ernie Jr’s site at the west entrance to Eagle Rock. The occasion was a meeting of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council (ERNC) that had to be specially […]

Armed Robberies in NELA: New Details Emerge

02/07/201803/31/2018 T.A. Hendrickson162Leave a Comment

A preliminary hearing in criminal court on Jan. 19 determined that there is enough evidence to proceed in the case against Sean Thomas King, 36, the man accused of several armed robberies in NELA in November, and Sabrina Casillas, 44, who has been charged with driving the getaway car. The pair is due back in […]

Trash Complaints Pile Up in NELA

02/06/201803/31/2018 Mary Lynch200Leave a Comment

First, the good news. Garbage is now being picked on schedule at apartment buildings in NELA managed by Mission Properties and at Galco’s Soda Pop Shop on York Blvd. in Highland Park. That’s an improvement from last November, when the Boulevard Sentinel first spoke with those companies about L.A.’s new trash collection system for commercial […]

Rock ‘n Egg to Be Managed by Local Boxer

02/05/201803/31/2018 Reina Esparza2181 Comment

In September, 2016, when the Boulevard Sentinel first wrote about Carlos Morales, he had just become the North American Boxing Association Super Featherweight Champion. Since then, the 28-year old Mr. Morales, who lives in Highland Park, has won three of four more fights in some of boxing’s premier locations, including the MGM Grand in Las […]

Eagles Finish Second in Football Academic Challenge

02/04/201803/31/2018 Mary Lynch160Leave a Comment

The Eagle Rock High boys’ football team came in second in the 2017 Football Academic Challenge, a competition held by the Los Angeles Rams and L.A. Unified School District to see which of four boys’ football teams would end the season with the highest grade point average. The winners, with an average G.P.A of 2.85 […]

Pillarhenge Project Moves Forward

02/03/201803/31/2018 Bill Hendrickson169Leave a Comment

The proposed housing/commercial development at the Pillarhenge site in Eagle Rock was approved on Jan. 11 at a meeting of the City Planning Commission. At the meeting, the developer accepted additional conditions asked for by José Huizar, Eagle Rock’s City Councilmember for metered parking and additional lighting along Colorado Blvd. and a U-turn going west […]

Camilo’s Bistro in Eagle Rock Closes

02/02/201803/31/2018 T.A. Hendrickson180Leave a Comment

Camilo and Amelia Gonzalez, the owners of Camilo’s Bistro in Eagle Rock, announced in an email on Jan. 19 that they had closed the restaurant. The email said that rising operating costs, personal illness and complications and the decline in business income had forced the closure after 18 years in business.

Fire Updates for NELA

02/01/201803/31/2018 T.A. Hendrickson1621 Comment

The cause of the fire on Dec. 14 in the hills near Occidental College is “undetermined,” according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. An “undetermined” label means that no specific cause can be established from two or more possible causes, though none of the possibilities indicate a fire intentionally set by someone. The LAFD has […]