1Voice Summer 2019

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.”
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