1Voice Summer 2019

1Voice
LIFE IN L.A. CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT ONE • SUMMER 2019

ON OUR COVER
Bonnie
Lambert
“I
was an actress for many years and always
felt electrified when I performed in front of
a live audience,” Bonnie Lambert said. “Now I’m
an oil painter, and my years on stage are my greatest
influence.”
Lambert’s world revolves around gridlocked
rush-hour traffic, edgy boulevards turning electric
under neon, and power-lines and telephone poles
slicing the sky into geometric shapes. She has
“I hope viewers will be moved
to see how beautiful this
wonderful world is.”
captured CD1 vistas from the Arroyo Seco to the
Lincoln Park lake in a different light.
“My actors are a vibrant palette and expressive,
impasto brushstrokes,” she said. “I hope
viewers will be moved to see how beautiful this
wonderful world is.”
Lambert studied at the Art Center School
of Design. She has attended Margaret Garcia’s
painting workshop since 2009, and teaches at
Plaza de la Raza.
Her work has been shown at the Southwest
and Forest Lawn museums in Los Angeles, the
Pasadena Museum of History, Latino Museum of
Art in Pomona, and Contemporary Arts Museum
in Mesa, Arizona.
BonnieLambert.com
Lambert in her studio, top left, and teaching at
Plaza de la Raza, above. A Place of Calm” at top,
“Arroyo Palms“ at left, “Purple Haze” on the 1Voice
cover, and “Lincoln Park Glory” on the 1Voz cover.
1Voice is published quarterly by the Office of Councilmember Gilbert Cedillo.
Written, designed and produced by Steve Weingarten. All photos by Steve Weingarten unless otherwise noted.
Layout and additional design by David Okihiro. Spanish translation by Paulina Herrera. Send story ideas to BigNews77@aol.com
City Hall
200 N. Spring St., Room 460
Los Angeles 90012
Phone (213) 473-7001
Highland Park
5577 N. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles 90042
Phone (323) 550-1538
Glassell Park
3750 Verdugo Rd.
Los Angeles 90065
Phone (323) 341-5671
Westlake
1901 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles 90057
GilCedillo.com GilbertCedilloCD1 GilCedilloCD1 CMGilbertCedillo

Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness
Those are the three “unalienable rights” the
U.S. Declaration of Independence says our Creator
gave to all humans. It’s time to live by that ideal.
The Mueller Report may describe relentless
foreign interference in U.S. elections
and influence over the current White House,
but July 4 is a day to remember our nation’s
birth. Our Declaration of Independence was
a beacon of light when it was signed.
The radical idea that all humans are born
with God-given rights was an opening shot
at royalty and colonialism. In today’s world,
no one
pursues life
and liberty
harder than
the millions
of migrants
and asylumseekers.
Americans
have
struggled to
honor that
vision, but
our country
has also
fallen short:
Black slavery, the near-genocide of Native
Americans, and the dislocation of Japanese
communities are just a few of the stains on
our name.
Trump’s response to families trying to
escape Central American carnage is a new
outrage. The problem goes beyond some
brutal incidents. This is a bona-fide mass
atrocity. He has deliberately, systematically
attacked civilians to deliver a message to the
world: Don’t come, and if you do, this is the
treatment you can expect.
Trump is dragging all of us into dangerous
territory. For example, ICE wants to
comb the State Department of Motor Vehicles
database with facial-recognition technology
in a warrantless search for undocumented
drivers through their AB60 licenses.
By City Councilmember Gil Cedillo
July 4 rally against Trump’s border atrocities.
Crossing that digital line would violate
a promise California made when my AB60
bill was enacted that it wouldn’t share that
information with federal agents. But that
move would also give the government
unprecedented reach into every driver’s
private life.
The City Council supports Assembly
Bill 1747 to put the DMV and other state
law enforcement
databases
off-limits to
U.S. immigration
agents. The
exceptions
are if a judicial
warrant
has been
issued for
an individual,
or if
a court has
ordered the
data to be disclosed.
It’s also time to update the Council’s 2017
vote to exclude contractors who worked on
Trump’s border wall from bidding on City
projects. Private prisons, transportation companies
and others who are profiting from this
atrocity will find no sanctuary in Los Angeles.
This crisis has shined a light on the dark
side of a militarized immigration machine
and for-profit lock-ups:
• About 9,000 minors have reported
being sexually assaulted in detention;
• Police officers have been fired for
texting about shooting Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez for her defense of immigrants; and
• The FBI is investigating 70 Border
Patrol officials who belong to a secret Face-
Continued on page 7
P ublic Safety
1Voice
Team Cedillo continues to reunify hundreds of Mexican
families; L.A. marches to “Save the Kids” and “Stop the Raids”;
and the walk to Esperanza Middle School is now much safer.
Page 2
E conomic Development
An agreement facilitated by Councilmember Cedillo at Hillside Villa
is a real solution to a real problem; and CD1’s Blue House shelter
opens its doors to dozens of homeless women and children.
Page 3
A rts and Culture
NELA celebrates Charles Lummis’ cultural legacy with a
broad brush, from film screenings to juggling swords; and
Heather McLarty forges a new Noisemaker Award every year.
Page 4
Muralists have stripped layers of paint that covered a 169-foot
tableau of native cultures below the Southwest Museum; and
Latin music fans are gearing up for the annual festival.
Page 5
Students at University Prep Value High School leave their
mark on Pico Union; and Salvadoran alfombras artists create
masterpieces on Kenmore Avenue during Easter Week.
Page 6
Yolanda Gutierrez’s dolls say a lot about her native Nicaragua;
and OxyArts reaches out to Highland Park.
Page 7
C lean Communities
Lincoln Heights has a state-of-the-art pool to help beat the
heat this summer; and Glassell Bark and Meow sets tails
wagging and cats purring across NELA.
Page 8
E nvironment
Crews are building a bridge across the L.A. River for bicyclists
and pedestrians; and Friends of the River mark Earth Day by
cleaning up for the 30th year.
Page 9
On the Centerspread
Nativo Lopez was born in Boyle Heights to a
working class family with deep roots in California.
He made his name as a tireless advocate for
immigrants, and will inspire new generations of
activists in the ongoing fight for rights.

Hundreds of immigrant families will reunify this year.
A Family Affair
Francisco and Maria Petra Vergara recently
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
surrounded by family. It was a special joy.
It had been decades since the Vergaras were
all together, a story that many immigrant families
know too well. The couple arrived with 20
other families from Puebla, Jalisco and Mexico
City. The seniors’ chartered bus pulled into the
State Historic Park near Chinatown to hundreds
of cheering relatives, many of whom had never
met their loved ones in person.
Team Cedillo and Mexican state officials created
the special visa program during the Obama
Administration. The reunions continue but the
approval process now takes longer. Local partners
include the CBO Federation and the Puede Center
in Pico Union. About 200 families will take part
in five CD1 reunifications planned for this year.
Save the Kids,
Stop the Raids
July 4 rally denounces conditions in Border
Patrol camps and threats to deport millions
of immigrants. Community activists launch
“know your rights” campaign.
Before lighting the charcoal or sparklers, families
rallied against inhumane conditions in federal
detention camps. During the first six months of the
year, 179 migrants died on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Hate speech leads to hate crimes,” said Councilmember
Gil Cedillo. “The internment camps are
a hate crime. The deportations are a hate crime.”
An estimated 2,000,000 people were “repatriated”
during the Great Depression. Federal
agents would surround La Placita, sweep up
thousands of Latinos, load them onto boxcars,
and ship them to Mexico like cattle. U.S.-born
and naturalized citizens and legal residents were
also caught in the dragnets.
During the 1940s, the U.S. rounded up Japanese
and Japanese Americans from L.A., San
Francisco and other cities and “relocated” them to
desolate camps. Demonstrators marched to Little
Tokyo to pay homage to both targeted groups.
Information cards passed out reminded immigrants
they have the right to remain silent, to stop
agents without a warrant from entering a home or
searching personal belongings, and to speak with
an attorney.
For more information, contact Team Cedillo at
(213) 473-7001.
Young demonstrators led the march from La
Placita to Little Tokyo.
The rally drew extensive media, but coverage
soon shifted to the Ridgecrest earthquake.
2
PUBLIC SAFETY
The Esperanza Elementary School community had
72 hours to “test drive” the safety improvements.
Making the Walk to School Safer
Team Cedillo recently partnered with the
L.A. Unified School District, Vision Zero L.A.
and the City Dept. of Transportation (LADOT)
for a series of 72-hour demonstrations at four
CD1 schools.
The “pop-ups” included
temporary versions
of sidewalk bump-outs,
medians, and highly visible
traffic and pedestrian markings. CD1, LADOT and
Vision Zero staff explained the changes and Safe
Routes’ goal of no pedestrian deaths.
The 3-day “test drive” gave Esperanza Elementary
staff, parents, students and neighbors a
“Seeing is believing, and that’s what
was so great about the pop-up,”
said Principal Brad Rumble.
chance to experience the changes.
“Seeing is believing, and that’s what was
so great about the pop-up,” said Principal Brad
Rumble. “Our entire school community couldn’t
believe how much
safer and calmer the
changes made the
experience.”
Rumble said the
Safe Routes partners also included 4th and 5th
grade Student Council members throughout the
process.
The exhibit also popped up at Magnolia,
Gratz and Charles White elementary schools.

Panoramic views from the mountains to City Hall would have driven up rents without the affordable housing covenant. At right, Cedillo and Hillside tenants.
Cedillo Averts Rent Hikes at Hillside Villa
Ten-year agreement at the Chinatown
apartment complex follows settlements
at La Posada and The Metro.
Hillside Villa Apartments opened in 1989.
The 124-unit Chinatown complex was partly
funded by the City’s former Community Redevelopment
Agency and, in consideration for the
CRA loans, Hillside agreed to charge affordable
rent to households earning up to 120% of the
median local income.
So it was for 30 years. This year, however,
Hillside tenants became
increasingly anxious
about being evicted or
forced to pay marketrate
rent if the affordability
covenant expired.
Councilmember Gil
Cedillo sat down with
the landlord and tenants for intense talks, and
announced an 11th-hour agreement in July to
Within hours of its April dedication,
Casa Azul began filling
with dozens of homeless women and
mothers with children.
Mexican cultural flourishes
throughout the big blue shelter in
Westlake make it feel less like an
institution and more like a home.
Councilmember Gil Cedillo said
he wanted to make the city’s first
bridge-home for families “a sanctuary
for healing and hope, something
aspirational.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti described
“I began with four goals that
Hillside tenants fully supported,”
Cedillo said. “No displacements,
no evictions, no rent increases,
and it’s for 10 years.”
extend the covenant to 2029.
“I began with four goals that Hillside tenants
fully supported: No
displacements, no evictions,
no rent increases,
and it’s for 10 years,”
Cedillo said.
“This deal meets all
four, and ensures that
the most vulnerable residents
in my district get to stay in their homes.”
The agreement follows similar settlements
that saved 122 units of
affordable senior housing
in Chinatown, and
60 units of transitional
housing in Westlake.
“Dealing with
expiring covenants and
tenant displacement on
a case-by-case basis is like scooping water from a
sinking ship. It simply isn’t enough,” Cedillo said.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 3
The Blue House Shelters Dozens of Women, Kids
Casa Azul as “a safe space for the
homeless to make long-term plans
and get back on their feet.”
People Assisting The Homeless
(PATH) manages residents’ care,
including trauma services. Surveys
show 97% of homeless women are
victims of spousal abuse.
Garcetti, Cedillo and County
Supervisor Hilda Solis recognize
Tescia Uribe and PATH for work
at Casa Azul, the City’s first
bridge-home for families.
“Dealing with expiring covenants
and tenant displacement on a
case-by-case basis is like scooping
water from a sinking ship.
It simply isn’t enough.”
New Economies for Women’s Bea Stoltzer
said Cedillo broke ground in 2016 by convincing
a local developer to
earmark $2 million in
community improvement
funds to subsidize
NEW’s La Posada,
a 60-unit transitional
housing program.
“Others have
gotten developers to donate to community
improvement, but not housing,” Stoltzer said.
“Gil has saved rental units and stopped rent
increases for families.”
Some relief may be on the way from
Sacramento. Senate Bill 5 would fill a gap
created when local redevelopment agencies
were done away with in 2012. SB5 would
create an Affordable Housing and Community
Development Investment Program to help local
agencies move forward with state-approved
community revitalization plans.

Moderator Diane Velarde-Hernanadez with former
staffers Arturo Flores, Sergio Hernandez and
Rudy Salinas, and filmmaker Jimmy Velarde.
Con Safos Screens
at Lummis Kickoff
50th anniversary of seminal
Lincoln Heights magazine
Lummis Days opened with Con Safos: Reflections
of Life in The Barrio, a look by writer,
producer and director Jimmy Velarde at a seminal
Chicano publication born in Lincoln Heights during
the late 1960s.
Con Safos published eight issues from 1968
to 1972, turbulent years punctuated by student
Blowouts and the Chicano Moratorium. “What we
had was not polish, but we were hitting the right
nerves,” said collaborator Gilbert “Magu” Lujan.
During its run, Con Safos helped launch a
generation of Eastside writers and artists, including
photographer Oscar Castillo, painter Beto de
la Rocha and poet Mario Suarez.
youtube.com/watch?v=s_UVMmmEMQk
Bohemian Rhapsody
in Sycamore Grove
NELA celebrates Charles Lummis’ cultural
legacy with a broad brush, from film
screenings to juggling swords.
Charles Lummis could have taken the train
when he set out from Cincinnati to L.A. in
1884. Plenty of people did. But not Lummis, who
walked to his next job, and wired reports from
the 3,507-mile journey to his new employer, the
L.A. Times.
Lummis was just warming up. He soon became
the Times’ first city editor; built a home in
the Arroyo, followed by a museum on the hill; and
is credited with both drawing leading lights to a
city still rough around the edges, and showing
respect to Native cultures and rights.
Every spring, Lummis Days Festival organizers
Juggler Scot Nery laughs
in the face of death.
Poetry drew a large crowd to Lummis’
home, El Alisal, on Sunday morning.
aim to reflect that diverse cultural outlook. The
14th annual gathering blended a Tongva invocation,
a documentary film about a pioneering Chicano
magazine, and a contortionist whose signature
acts include juggling pancakes in a hot skillet.
“A broad cross-section of talent on the stage
draws a broad cross-section of the community to
the park and film showing,” said Eliot Sekuler.
Big bands like the Evangenitals, above, and Mariachis
Lindas Mexicanas draw big crowds.
The light was to die for in
the Southwest Museum.
4
ARTS & CULTURE
Photo by Lisa Weingarten
Each Noisemaker is Forged in Fire
Photo by Eliot Sekuler
Every year, the Lummis Days festival
honors a cultural warrior mers out a unique Noisemaker in her
from scratch every year and ham-
in the community. Tomás Benitez Sycamore Grove forge. Uniformity?
proudly claims he “was born and That’s for the Oscars!
raised in front of a TV set in East Each award has four parts: a
L.A.,” but this year’s “Noisemaker” steel tree made from pipe and tubing;
a brass gong with Charles Lum-
says his mother nurtured his love
for the arts. He became an actor mis’ face; a plaque with the recipient’s
name and year; and a striker
and writer, followed by leading
roles at Self-Help Graphics and for the gong that McLarty often
Plaza de la Raza.
personalizes. She created a baseball
bat for Dodger fan Benitez,
Benitez is the sixth recipient of
an award that also breaks the mold. and has also used a toy xylophone
Blacksmith Heather McLarty starts Continued on page 8

‘Art-eologists’ Uncover Hidden
Layers Below Museum Mural
When Daniel Cervantes completed his homage
to indigenous people in 2004, there
was a golden moment for the 169-foot mural on
Marmion Way.
Cervantes’ mural has since suffered years of
harsh weather and damage. Graffiti eventually
covered the scenes, and abatement crews whitewashed
the wall, which is property of the Autry Museum,
which owns the Southwest Museum campus.
NELA art lovers rallied to restore the mural.
Supporters included Team Cedillo, Avenue
50 Studio, the Autry, Friends of the Southwest
Museum, and the Arroyo Seco, Glassell Park,
Greater Cypress Park, and Historic Highland Park
neighborhood councils.
Pola Lopez was selected in 2016 to paint a
new mural based on Cervantes’ designs. Lopez
prepared sketches and was ready to begin when
artist Willie Herron asked if he could try to strip
away the graffiti and whitewash. Herron restored
six of the 1984 Olympic freeway murals and his
own 1973 classic, “Moratorium: the Black and
White Mural.”
Herron and Leah Moscozo, his partner in the
Conservancy of Urban Art, were given the goahead
after initial success. Restorers use different
chemicals to peel away aerosol graffiti and latex
whitewash, known as buff. They liberally spray
a segment of the wall, let it sink into the paint,
scrape off several coats, then repeat, as if shampooing
a rug.
Herron used a high-pressure water hose to
blast large areas. Detail work called for a tool not
much larger than a toothbrush. He points to a
cross-section of paint layers where he found numerous
coats below the work of art, a layer known
as “the fabric.”
“I’ve seen artists update work to reflect their
Panoramic images by Lisa Weingarten
Artist Pola Lopez, left, and restoration experts
Leah Moscozo and Willie Herron found 16 layers
of paint under the whitewash.
newer thinking, so Cervantes may have repainted
some sections,” he said. “Or there may have been
a mural there before, but we haven’t found any
record of it.”
When finished, Herron and Moscozo sealed
the work with another chemical, B-72. The wall is
covered again, but this time with tarps for protection
while Lopez works with Cervantes’ original
art, instead of her reimagined vision.
“Now it’s a true restoration,” she said.
Lineup Set for 6th Annual Latin Music Festival
If the Boogaloo Assassins don’t
get you, La Santa Cecilia will.
Deejay and Producer Jose Rizo
has assembled a weekend of
music in Sycamore Grove that could
make partygoers from East L.A. and
Medellin to Rio de Janeiro get up
and dance. Saturday begins with
young musicians from Bravo High
School and Heart of L.A., and the
Sunday lineup spotlights femaleled
bands. The headliners on both
nights represent a new generation
of Latin jazz and music.
Saturday, October 5
11:05 am ............................... HOLA
12:00 pm ...........Bravo High School
Latin Jazz Band
1:15 pm .......................... Cold Duck
Sunday, October 6
11:45 am ................... Susie Hanson
Latin Band
12:50 pm ........................ Las Chikas
2:00 pm ....................... Trish Toledo
2:55 pm .....................Little Willie G
4:25 pm .................Francisco Torres
Latin Jazz Ensemble
5:55 pm ....Andy Vargas & Souleros
7:25 pm .......... Boogaloo Assassins
3:10 pm ......................... Selenamos
4:25 pm ................................... Cava
5:45 pm .......................Vilma Diaz y
La Sonora Dinamita
7:15 pm ................. La Santa Cecilia
ARTS & CULTURE 5

Teacher Quinn Butterfield, above,
and senior Marlak Villegas left their
mark on the community.
Public Art Reflects
Pico Union’s Roots
Quinn Butterfield was a rookie when she walked through the doors
of University Prep Value High School last year. She inspired students
to create art that “reflects, speaks for, and creates the community.”
Principal Robert Poyer took a
chance on Quinn Butterfield.
Poyer was racing to open Pico
Union’s newest high school and
thought Butterfield might have the
training and talent to get the art
program rolling. His hunch paid off.
Poyer and Butterfield worked
with Team Cedillo on a pilot program
allowing 20 students to use
City utility boxes as urban canvases.
In the process, they learned
about the importance of giving
back to the community.
Her class studied public art and
visited notable local works. They
learned about Fernando Llort, a
late Salvadoran artist known for his
community work. Five teams each
came up with a theme that represented
their lives and a positive
message to convey. Their designs
incorporated Llort motifs and
touched on Pico Union’s long ties
to Central America.
Butterfield and the class presented
a formal project portfolio to
Councilmember Gil Cedillo and the
City Council in the spring. The hard
work began after officials approved
all designs. The teams prepared
their stencils and materials, then
spent every day for two weeks prepping
and painting their boxes.
“I’ve never seen students focus
so hard for eight hours,” Butterfield
said. “They all exceeded my expectations
in every area.”
Marlak Villegas’ utility box
centers on a tree with deep roots
and leaves that evoke the flags of
her classmates’ home-countries.
Villegas plans to begin at Cal State
L.A. this fall, with an eye on majoring
in art.
“I’m so glad we were able to
leave our mark on Pico Union,” she
said.
Jefte Chacon worked on the
“Unity Breaks Walls” utility box.
Chacon registered for the class
expecting cutting-edge electronic
graphics.
Continued on page 7
Photos by Lisa Weingarten
6
ARTS & CULTURE
Streets
of Fire
Kenmore Avenue shined this
spring as teams of street artists
competed in the second annual
Concurso de Alfombras, a cultural
staple across El Salvador and Central
America during Easter Week.
Alfombras – “carpets” in English
– are 2-dimensional graphics created
horizontally on a street, not vertically
on a wall like murals. The images,
borrowing a page from Rose Parade
floats, are created with dyed sawdust
and salt, not paint. Size varies
but most artworks measure 10 feet
by 15 feet.
The event’s religious tone
aligns with Easter Week. Popular
themes this year were the plight of
migrants and newly beatified Salva-
doran martyr Oscar Romero.
Team Cedillo worked on the
event with the Consulate General of
El Salvador and Pico Union’s Saint
Thomas Church.
“We hope Salvadoran families
pass on our cultural traditions so
future generations don’t lose their
cultural identity,” said the consulate’s
Jesus Aguilar.
For a 5-minute Spanish video on
the event: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=5wSHBXIaMy8
Street artists create “carpets” with dyed sawdust, salt and other natural materials along Kenmore Avenue.

Never Too Old to Play With Dolls
Some children play with dolls and imagine their
lives as grownups. Some adults keep their
childhood playthings as a reminder of a more
carefree time in life.
Yolanda Gutierrez displays an impressive collection
of colorful dolls behind glass in her Pico
Union restaurant to honor her homeland.
“This is our culture. This is our heritage. This
is Nicaragua.”
Photos by Lisa Weingarten
Gutierrez’s exhibit is a riot of characters, from
women in regional dresses to mythical shamans.
Each one’s city is written on its base – Leon, Masaya,
Estelí, Chinandega, Diriamba, Granada – giving
the display case the look of a national congress.
Gutierrez is from Managua. She came to Los
Angeles in 1977, when then-dictator Anastasio
Somoza began cracking down on insurgents led
by Sandinista Daniel Ortega.
“Now we’re facing some of the same pressures
under Ortega. It’s nowhere as open as Honduras
or El Salvador, but Nicaraguans are also fleeing.”
Gutierrez built her business by selling meals
out of her home near Vermont and 27th Street.
When she opened a restaurant on Pico Boulevard,
she named it “The 27th” in reference to her roots.
She and her husband have three children, 12
grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. “This
country has given me so much. I love America.”
Yolanda Gutierrez holds one of dozens of dolls she displays in her Pico Union restaurant.
Inaugural OxyArts exhibit
“Compass Rose” by Debra Scacco.
OxyArts on York
Occidental opens Highland Park outpost
to document a community’s transition.
York Boulevard and Armadale Avenue is
Ground Zero for the community-based arts
hub of Occidental College. Oxy Arts is housed in
a new center at 4757 York Blvd. featuring a gallery,
performance space and classrooms.
Oxy Arts is home base for NELA Stories, a project
to collect personal accounts of local history. The
project draws on the expertise of the Institute for
the Study of L.A. (ISLA), the Center for Digital and
Liberal Arts, and the Special Collections Library.
The center was also the Bob Baker Marionettes’
summer home.
www.oxy.edu/oxy-arts
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit…
Continued from page 1
book group with a stream of racist and sexually
demeaning posts.
Scores of Independence
Day rallies around
the country called on
Trump to end the ICE
raids and deportations
he continually threatens.
Speakers in Olvera Street’s La Placita drew attention
to a shameful chapter in local history with
parallels to our current political crisis.
In the 1930s, immigration agents would surround
La Placita, sweep up Latinos and load them
We can’t undo those past shameful
chapters, but we can avoid
repeating them. It’s time to say,
“Never again is now!”
onto boxcars like cattle, then “repatriate” them
to Mexico. About 2 million people were snared
in the Depression-era
dragnets, including
U.S.-born and naturalized
citizens and legal
residents.
There is still time
to stop another atrocity
from staining our national character. We can’t
undo those past shameful chapters, but we can
avoid repeating them. It’s time to say, “Never
again is now!”
ARTS & CULTURE 7
Pico Union…
Continued from page 6
“I expected digital art, not painting in public,
but I feel proud every time I pass by that box,”
he said. “And I’m a little shocked that it’s still
there.”
Public art has its challenges. Taggers have
hit all five boxes, and the original project had no
maintenance plans. Butterfield’s new proposal
includes graffiti-abatement among the jobs students
can perform for community-service hours.
Video Production students created a short
documentary about the utility box project.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_
KAzvOMVMM&feature=youtu.be

CD1’s Gil Cedillo gets the pool party started. The new aquatic complex is ADA-compliant.
Lincoln Heights Beats the Heat
As summer temperatures spike, 9,000 squarefeet
of water shimmer like a mirage in the
triple-digit heat. But Lincoln Park’s new aquatic
complex is very real and, after 10 years without a
public pool, very welcome. A 4,300-square-foot
bathhouse, 1,600-square-foot splash pad and
other amenities flank the plunge.
The original Lincoln Heights pool was built
in 1951 and closed in 2009. Calls for a replacement
grew louder as summers grew hotter, but
funding was elusive. The complex eventually
cost about $11 million, including nearly $5 million
from the Obama Administration and additional
L.A. County funds.
“You are worth every penny of it,” Councilmember
Gil Cedillo told scores of cheering kids
ready for an opening-day swim. “It was worth it
because it’s for generations of our young people.
You are our future. Our job is to give you the best
so you can live the best lives. Promise kept!”
The decibel level peaked when Cedillo announced
that the pool would operate all year.
The aquatic complex meets all Americans with
Disabilities Act requirements, from the dressing
rooms, bathrooms and showers to hoists at both
ends of the pool that allow caretakers to lower
swimmers with special needs into the water.
“That type of access tells my students that
they are truly welcome,” said Dr. John Menchaca
of El Arca, a nearby nonprofit that serves people
with developmental disabilities.
Swim L.A. is offering free adult and children’s
swim lessons at Lincoln Park and other
City pools. Programs also include water polo,
swimming, diving and artistic swimming, lap
swimming and water aerobics.
Tails Wag in
Glassell Park
Nearly 7,500 pet lovers attended the third annual
Glassell Bark! (and Meow). Local realtor
Brian Fitzburgh, seen below with singer-songwriter
Piper Madison, created the festival with a blockparty
vibe and a pet rescue’s passion.
This year, Animal Services micro-chipped 72
pets for free and gave out 88 vouchers for free
spaying or neutering, and participants adopted 30
dogs, 10 cats and two guinea pigs.
8
CLEAN COMMUNITIES
Heather McLarty hammers out each award in her Sycamore Grove tepee.
Photos by Lisa Weingarten
Award…
Continued from page 4
mallet and a pen.
McLarty and her husband, Troy
Evans, bought their 1922 home
from the original owner in 1996. She
wanted to work outside, but there
was no garage or outbuildings.
Evans, who was raised in Montana,
suggested a tepee.
“It was meant to have a fire
inside it,” she said. “Plains Indians
lived in these during blizzards.”
www.steelcrazy.biz

Building Bridges, Not Barriers
The Taylor Yard G2 River Park takes
shape, with a no-car bridge to Elysian
Village and three proposals for
developing NELA’s “beach.”
City crews broke ground in June on a steel
span over the L.A. River for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Taylor Yard-Elysian Village link will
extend the river bike-path and make the walk to
Sotomayor Learning Center safer for students who
live on the south bank.
“Communities that are connected survive
and thrive,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said during the
groundbreaking.
The bridge will be 400 feet long, 27 feet wide,
30 feet tall, and appear to float about 30 feet
above the riverbed. That graceful illusion is backed
up by 400 tons of steel and 60-foot anchors. It is
scheduled to open in two years.
Although emergency vehicles will have access,
the Taylor Yard span is one of several no-car bridges
currently under construction along the river.
The City has been cleaning up the 42-acre
parcel since it bought Taylor Yard, a railroad maintenance
yard since the 1930s, in 2017. Metrolink
agreed to pay for the $21-million bridge.
In July, City planners laid out three possible
designs for the park. “Island,” “Soft Edge” and
“The Yards” would feature different park amenities
and activities, but all are aimed at restoring natural
habitat, developing flood-control strategies, and allowing
visitors to get as near as possible to the river.
The mix of proposed kayak-rentals and cafes,
research labs and viewing decks, ranger stations
and campgrounds, amphitheaters and meadows
reflects public feedback last year in an online survey
and in two CD1 community meetings.
www.tayloryardg2.com
Studio Pali Fekete Architects designed a graceful 400-ton, 400-foot-long bridge. Renderings by SPF:a.
Thousands Join
30th Annual L.A.
River Cleanup
The Friends of the L.A. River celebrated its
30th anniversary by raising the bar for urban
waterways – again. During three weekends in
April, about 6,000 FOLAR volunteers scoured 11
riverfront sites from San Fernando Valley headwaters
to the Long Beach shore, including a large
turnout for CD1’s Bowtie Parcel. All told, they
filled 15 dumpsters, bagged 100 tons of trash and
raised about $30,000 for ongoing river restoration.
It is the largest river cleanup in the U.S.
In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency announced $1.1 million in funds to help
clean up several local “brownfields,” including
$500,000 for Taylor Yard, a former railroad maintenance
yard contaminated with metals, arsenic and
various volatile organic compounds.
Something to Chew On
1Voice is available at dozens of restaurants, coffee houses
and markets across CD1, from Everytable in University Park to
Kitchen Mouse in Highland Park. That’s food for thought!
Antigua Coffee
3400 N. Figueroa St., 90065
Lemon Poppy Kitchen
3324 Verdugo Road, 90065
La Esquina Market
3301 Division St., 90065
Café de Leche
5000 York Bl., 90042
Coco’s
6040 York Bl., 90042
Kitchen Mouse
5904 N. Figueroa St., 90042
Antigua Bread
5703 N. Figueroa St., 90042
La Monarca
5833 N. Figueroa St., 90042
Civil Coffee
5639 N. Figueroa St., 90042
La Tropicana
5200 Monte Vista St., 90042
Highland Café
5010 York Bl., 90042
Barbara’s at the Brewery
620 Moulton Ave., 90031
B Twentyfour Coffee
2223 N. Broadway, 90031
Heights Deli & Bottle
2927 N. Broadway, 90031
Homegirl Café
130 Bruno St., 90012
Chimney Coffee
1100 N. Main St., 90012
Everytable
1101 W. 23rd St., 90007
With Love
1969 S. Vermont Ave., 90007
ENVIRONMENT 9
Texis
2813 W. Pico Bl., 90006
La 27
1830 W. Pico Bl., 90006
Father Greg Boyle picks up his copy
at Homegirl Cafe.