Los Feliz Ledger [greetings from tom]
Summer Fun Close to Home
are some easily accessible oases in the city. Ferndell is one of them—cool, green and restful. Open until sunset. • Visit the Los Feliz Branch Library on Hillhurst Avenue. The library staff is dedicated and friendly, the contemporary architecture is worth seeing and it’s a great place to read a book or magazine. They have a great speaker series too.
By Tom LaBonge Los Angeles City Councilmember In the summer, when the days are long, the evenings warm, we contemplate about all of those fun activities close to home we have always wanted to do. Since I’m out and about so much, I thought this would be a great opportunity to suggest some places to visit right here in our own greater Los Feliz neighborhood. In no particular order, I’d recommend: • An evening walk around the Silver Lake Reservoir complex. You’d be amazed how many people are out in the twilight hours pushing strollers, walking and talking, exercising their dogs. West Silver Lake Drive, with its dedicated walking path, is the mellower side. • Walk through Fern Dell, north of Los Feliz Boulevard. We think of urban Los Angeles as dry and dusty, but there
• Get a bite at Los Feliz Café (formerly Eatz) on the east side of the Los Angeles River on Los Feliz Boulevard and then take a stroll along the river walkway heading north toward the Valley. This stretch of the river has a natural, not concrete, bottom and features islands of trees and rushes. • Cycle along the Los Angeles River Bikeway from Fletcher Drive to Travel Town, a dedicated bike path that adjoins the river at its prettiest sections. • Experience the Barnsdall Art Park complex on Hollywood Boulevard that includes Frank Lloyd Wright’s recently-restored Hollyhock House as well as a city cultural arts building for art, performance and other activities. Also great views of the Hollywood Hills. • Visit the Autry National Center, a museum dedicated to the history of the Ameri-
Susan North
Mediator and Facilitator
can West. The museum features special exhibits and screenings throughout the year and salsa dance nights on Thursdays. • Revisit the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden that gets better with each passing month. New exhibits, new attractions and newborns enhance the experience.
21st Century LA: The Green City
• Take a hike with the Sierra Club in Griffith Park, which conduct regular weekday evening escorted hikes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m. After the devastating May 8th fire when some trails were closed in the burn areas, hikers rediscovered trails on the north side that were as vigorous and offered as good views as those on the east and south sides.
By Eric Garcetti Los Angeles City Council President
• Take a long stroll in the Los Feliz Village business district that’s hopping all hours of the day. Check out what’s new—there’s always some new place to eat or shop— and you’ll be sure to see a friend doing the same. And, for that day when you’re feeling particularly adventurous, take Amtrak from the Glendale Station and either head north to Santa Barbara or south to San Clemente or San Diego for the day. Let someone else do the “driving,” and experience some beautiful California scenery along the way. Enjoy the rest of your summer and enjoy the love the great City of Los Angeles!
ways clog and we spew greenhouse gases. Recent successes aside, we still lack open spaces in our city. Without more recreational opportunities for our youth, childhood obesity grows and we have fewer opportunities for gang prevention programming. We must redesign Los Angeles for the pursuit of a sustainable life. What does this look like? In the more urban parts of our city, mixed-use development can bring housing, jobs and open space together at projects located near public transit. Pedestrian-friendly streets, drawing inspiration from walk able village districts like Los Feliz and Silver Lake, will reshape the city’s infrastructure, and new green building standards will help us reduce our collective ecological footprint while improving our quality of life. A sustainable Los Angeles will prepare us for the 20% growth in population expected over the next 25 years.
Los Angeles is a thrilling place to live but is also first in line to stare down the challenges of the future. We live at a crossroads where we can choose to build a sustainable city or we can be overcome by failing to make that choice. How can we build on our strengths? L.A.’s sunshine should be at the top of our list. It can beat down on our rooftops and overheat our asphalt parking lots—or we can use it, as many forward-looking property owners have done, to power our homes and even return power to the grid. The Los Angeles River, not exactly famous for its verdant good looks is soon to become the backbone of a new Los Angeles, creating open space and fostering economic revitalization along its entire 32-mile stretch. Beyond removing toxins from our environment and our bodies, we can plan our city with sustainable living in mind. Without affordable housing near jobs, our commutes grow longer. Our free-
*** I’d like to welcome Ryan Carpio, my new field deputy for Silver Lake. He most recently worked for Los Angeles’s Children, Youth and Family Collaborative. Ryan joins my office as we say farewell to Joseph Bernardo, who served many of the Ledger’s Silver Lake readers for the last four years. To reach Ryan or any field representative, call (323) 957-4500 or email councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org.
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