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DECEMBER 2016
SECTION ONE
Larchmont Chronicle
Community Comment By John Welborne
Channeling anger: Pensions, Trump, and tall buildings In recent weeks, the “Los Angeles Times” has been running a series of articles about unfunded public employee pension liabilities. This is an issue trumpeted for years by local resident and our paper’s former columnist Jack Humphreville. Anger over pensions When you read the “Times” articles — or possibly more interestingly spend an hour to read the hundreds of online comments — you will see expressions of incredible anger on both sides of this issue. There is anger from taxpayers saying their tax dollars are being taken
without justification. There is anger from retired and not-yetretired public employees seeking to protect their promised pensions and benefits. Trump-related anger The anger seen in the debate over public employee pensions is similar to the anger at government expressed by many Trump supporters (clearly a minority of voting Californians). And, of course, there has been another kind of anger expressed in the streets (and on the freeways) by anti-Trump people. Anger over zoning As you will read on page 1,
Keeping our Community Green The Association has been working with the City on figuring out what happened when the City started trimming our street trees and ended up removing a large number of trees. Hancock Park is an HPOZ and as such our street forest is protected. Any removal of a street tree in the parkway section of our streets needs to be reviewed by the HPOZ Board; something the City did not do. Now, however, the City has agreed to follow its own rules and will not be removing any more trees unless an arborist reviews the decision and the HPOZ board agrees. The tree trimming will resume in the near future. This time, though, they’ll trim one block and, then, the Association’s arborist will check the work and determine whether the job is correct before the crews continue trimming. As part of our reforesting effort, the Association’s Tree Committee has been investigating different varieties of our existing street tree species to find cultivars that are better adapted to the challenging circumstances in our parkways. As many of us have removed grass to install water saving landscapes, the watering of parkway trees has often been forgotten. This means our street trees are suffering a double whammy: less watering from homeowners and extreme drought and heat conditions. As a homeowner you can help by being sure your trees are well watered. The City has a new contractor to maintain the Highland median, and we’re still in the evaluation period as to whether the contractor is doing its job. The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council has sponsored an asphalt truck to do spot fixes in asphalt paving. If you see a pothole in an asphalt street, let your block captain know or contact the Association. Don’t forget to keep your family safe by locking your house and car and activating your house alarm if you have one. Contact Officer Dave Cordova if you are a victim of a crime, and Dave can take a crime report. Call his cell phone, 213-793-0650, or send him an email, 31646@lapd.lacity.org with all the information, including your name and telephone number. Join a committee and be an active member of the Hancock Park Community. The Association’s website is: hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org. The HPOZ Preservation Plan — preservation.lacity.org/ hpoz/la/hancock-park — regulates our HPOZ. Contact our City Planner, Renata Dragland (renata.dragland@lacity.org), and use the online form (preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening. checklist) if you plan on making changes to the exterior of your house. Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System — http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/ welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE189DE58DCCB435538 — and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180. Adv.
THIRD ST. SCHOOL was the site of the "Wilshire Hollywood Community Town Hall" in November.
there also was great anger shown in our neighborhood in the auditorium of Third St. Elementary School at a recent Saturday meeting. Convened as the “Wilshire Hollywood Community Town Hall Meeting,” attendees were asked to “Share Your Experiences Fighting City Hall & Developers.” The meeting was sponsored by the “Coalition To Preserve LA” that is seeking to enact a two-year moratorium on construction not consistent with adopted zoning. A prime feature of the gathering was the raw anger exhibited by speakers and audience alike. The anger in the room was palpable, especially when people stood to shame a developer who was in the audience. Can all this anger — at outof-control public pensions, at government, at Prez-Elect Trump, at local density and high-rise construction — be
channeled in some positive directions? Anger nationally On the national scene, because Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote and is the President-Elect, it remains to be seen what his (and his voters’) anger will achieve. Anger locally Locally, the City of Los Angeles has another election coming up on March 7, 2017. That day, the City likely will see the reelection of seven council members (including our local and nearby Councilmen Paul Koretz and Mitch O’Farrell) and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Eight council seats are open; only one seat (in the Valley) has no incumbent running. The Mayor, those eight tobe-elected council members and their seven incumbent peers, including David Ryu, are the officials who have the
most impact on the city pension system and on city planning decisions and real estate development in the city. So, if there is anger in the local populace, will that anger be directed at these incumbents running for reelection? Experience shows that won’t be the case. Although voters may speak out against the evils of government in general, voters more often than not support their own familiar representatives at election time. If you cannot find a way to channel your anger productively, don’t give up. Perhaps just stop being angry. There is a lot that is positive in the world. Find some way to put on a happy face. Or just join me. When confronted with all these concerns, including what am I doing for the holidays, I just say: “I’m going to Disneyland!”
Calendar Wed., Dec. 14 – Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council meeting, Ebell Club, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. at 7 p.m. greaterwilshire.org. Sun., Dec. 18 to Sat., Dec. 24 – Farmers Market Christmas activities with Dickensian Carolers and more, 6333 W. Third St., farmersmarketla.com. Tues., Dec. 27 – Farmers
Market Hanukkah celebration, 6333 W. Third St., 2:30 p.m. farmersmarketla.com. Thurs., Dec. 29 – Delivery of the Larchmont Chronicle. Sun., Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day and Rose Parade. Mon., Jan. 2 – New Year’s Day observed. Sun., Jan. 8 – Annual meeting of Park La Brea Residents Association, theater at noon.
Letter to the Editor Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Associate Editor Billy Taylor Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Advertising Director Pam Rudy Art Director Tom Hofer Classified and Circulation Manager Rachel Olivier Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103
Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com
NEW LOOK in Hancock Park.
Best block in city
I want to commend street crew #501 that worked on 4th St. between Highland and McCadden. They did an amazing job over the two weeks in early November it took to complete. They were incredibly considerate, professional, and most of all accommodating to the four households most impacted by the work. My daughter had her 10-year birthday party on a Friday when the street was closed, the crew went above and beyond to help accommo-
Photo by Mike Sanchez
date our plans for the party. We now have the nicest stretch of road in the city I believe, and it will last a very long time. They made what was at best an inconvenient situation and truly went out of their way to minimize the impact on the families on the street. Mike Sanchez S. Highland Ave. Letters and comments can be sent to letters@larchmontchronicle.com.