Los Feliz Ledger
Principal To Hear Plan to Restructure King Middle School By Kimberly Gomez Ledger Contributing Writer SILVER LAKE—Thomas Starr King Principal, Kristin Kaiser said she will meet with Los Angeles Parents Union (LAPU) representatives to hear a proposal that would transform the middle school campus into four or five thematically-based autonomous schools. “I know there are lots of models for developing smaller learning communities, some have been more successful than others,” said Kaiser. Kaiser took over last year at the middle school. King has failed to meet federally mandated test score improvements under the No Child Left Behind Act for eight consecutive years. Members of the LAPU presented the basics of their three-year plan—which they would like to implement in the fall of 2009—to 70 community members at a January meeting in Silver Lake. For such a change to occur, the proposal would have to be approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District board of education.
[ POLICE BLOTTER FEBRUARY 2008 ] Avenue. Suspect smashed front glass door, entered, then smashed a display case and took coins. Second burglary suspect kicked open front door, entered and took property. Aggravated Assaults: 6 Burglary Theft From Vehicle: 41 Robbery: 11 Grand Theft Auto: 21 Burglary: 19 Sexual Assault: 1 Burglary: Dec. 21st, 1500 block of Silverwood Terrace. Suspects pried open front window, entered and took computer, iPod and clothing. Burglary: Dec. 30th, 1600 block of Lucile Ave. Suspects opened a rear door, entered and were chased away from the property by the victim. Suspects described as two males, 5’ 09’’ and 5’11’’, 160 to 180 lbs., wearing hooded sweatshirts. Burglary: Two burglaries occurred on Dec. 21st and Dec. 22nd 1900 block of Hillhurst
February 2008
Robbery: Dec. 30th, at Melbourne and Rodney. Suspects approached victim and pointed a stainless steel handgun and demanded her purse. Robbery: Dec. 30th 4600 block of Russell Avenue. Suspects approached victims seated inside of their car. Suspects pointed blue steel revolvers and demanded property. Robbery: Dec. 30th, at Hillhurst and Finley. Suspects approached victim from behind and attempted to pull her purse. Victim struggled with suspect who punched the victim on the face. SAFETY TIP: To take a “bite out of crime” establish neighborhood watches and set up telephone or e-mail trees.
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The “Happiest Place on Earth” Started on Kingswell By Jean Luc Renault / Ledger Contributing Writer LOS FELIZ—When Extra Copy on Kingswell Avenue opened in 1994, the staff knew nothing about the small storefront’s unique history. About a year later, one visitor changed all that. “An old woman came into the store and just started crying,” said Extra Copy’s manager Marine Ter-Pogosyan. “She told us she used to work here when it was Disney’s studio.” Stumbling distance from the Dresden Restaurant’s parking lot, the storefront was the Disney brothers’ first standalone animation studio. But brothers Walt and Roy had been perfecting their animation on Kingswell Avenue for some time before that. After moving to Los Angeles in 1923, the brothers stayed
with their uncle, who lived two blocks down the street. They used his garage as a makeshift animation studio, until they needed more space. Later that year, the two rented out a back room at the Holly Vermont Realty Company at 4651 Kingswell Ave. for $10 a month. With only a curtain separating their office from the realtors space, the brothers soon outgrew the space. In early 1924, Walt rented the vacant space next door—the same location where the Extra Copy shop stands today—and remained there for two years before moving to a larger location on Hyperion Avenue. Today, the Walt Disney Company hasn’t officially deemed the store a historic location, but it acknowledges the
Young entrepreneurs in front of the storefront Disney Brothers Studio on Kingswell Avenue, 1925.
store’s role in Disney history. Regardless, the shop’s interior features a few bootlegged drawings of familiar Disney characters on its walls. It’s just for show, because none of the characters gracing the walls, not even Mickey, had even been conceptualized until after the brothers moved elsewhere. But that hasn’t stopped busloads of fans from visiting the store in droves, nor has it stopped surprising unknowing patrons who are amused at finding a piece of Disney history right in their own neighborhood. Just goes to show: it’s a small world after all. COMMUNITY NEWS
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