In Memory of St. Elmo's Robert Sykes

RODERICK SYKES

CO-FOUNDER OF ST. ELMO VILLAGE

“Everyone is an artist. Everyone has the ability to create. What my life is about is sharing the creative process.”

“Do What You Love. Love What You Do.”

~ Roderick Sykes

Roderick Sykes, my Husband, friend, and life partner

of over 41 years passed away April 5, 2021, at the age of 75, after a five-year struggle with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Roderick is now at peace.

He was a giant in the Los Angeles community and an artistic master in multiple mediums; Photography, Acrylic/Oils, Assemblage Art, Drummer, Saxophone player, and an amazing muralist. He was known Nationally and Internationally for his creative work.

Roderick was the co-founder of St. Elmo Village, an artist enclave in Mid-City LA, which has been in existence for over

52 years. During the Village’s long history, Roderick poured his art and love into the Los Angeles community as a public speaker and arts educator. He developed and taught workshops for children and adults, which included painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and African drumming.

“St Elmo Village is a place where love is made visible through the work.” ~ Roderick Sykes

Roderick touched the lives of many here at St. Elmo Village and around the world. He was an Artist, Visionary, Arts Advocate, Motivational speaker, and an inspiration. His mission was to encourage all of us to live life creatively.

There are no words to express how much Roderick will be missed by me, our community, family, and friends. The spirit of his life will live on in the work he has inspired in others and in the work at St. Elmo Village that he created.

With Jeff Bridges and co-founder Rozelle Sykes

Mayor Tom Bradley visits St. Elmos

Peace and Light, Jacqueline AlexanderSykes

In lieu of flowers, please donate to: Alzheimer’s Association, www.alzgla.org,

UCLA Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Program, www.dememtia.ucla.org

or Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care www.seasons.org) St. Elmos Village: https://stelmovillage.org/ laist.com st elmos village

laws regulating them do not take into account the noise and air pollution affecting people on the ground. It’s a separate world above with its own laws and only token but toothless accountability to the world on the ground.

Residents rallied and started petitioning their representatives. There was a Quiet Skies Caucus formed by congressional house representatives who challenged the FAA when they came to Congress to get funding.

Karen Bass who represents our district, was an early

member and fighter against Nextgen. Local residents formed groups like the Sky Justice National Network Facebook page where people from all over the country share information and support. Quiet Skies LA, made up of members from Culver City and West Adams created a 1,000 signature petition sent to local representatives. They also organized a protest at the mayors residence. The mayor met with them and provided support for an alternative path map they had created. The LAX Roundtable (the airport organization that mediates between affected communities and the airport over noise issues) assisted in the presention to the Roundtable who recently approved sending the map to the FAA for consideration. Culver City filed a lawsuit but lost their case. Councilman Wesson assigned a deputy, Jeff Camp, to the issue and his office along with other affected councilmembers began writing letters to the FAA which were ignored. When that failed, they took it to the next level and worked behind the scenes to support a lawsuit by the City Attorney. Finally, a window opened that allowed the Los Angeles City Attorney to step in and sue the FAA and after nearly two years of back and forth in the courts,

the city won.

include public comment and consultation with the City. The Ninth Circuit did not rule on the City's secondary petition to invalidate an FAA notice regarding its website, holding that it was not a final agency action upon which it could rule.

To read the whole ruling go to our website and click on this article. www.theneighborhoodnews.net

GRACE YOO Cont. from Pg. 10

incidents of hate, jumping from nearly 3,800 to 6,600,

which is an increase of nearly 75% during the months

of March 2020 until March 2021. We know that there are many underreported incidents, but still the number of reported incidents of crime are staggering.

As an activist, you can count on me to ally myself with others to join in marches and rallies that support justice and accountability for any group. Last year, I supported many Black Lives Matter marches and protests demanding justice and accountability from elected officials and the police. Transparency and accountability are necessary for society to function equitably and allow people to have hope for a better life.

Allyship to me is friendship in a stronger form. It

represents “I have your back.” I have always felt allyship is natural and necessary, because as an Asian American, I have always been in the minority here in the United States. Perhaps if I were a Bruce Lee with amazing martial arts skills, then I might have been more like the Lone Ranger. Actually, I take that back because Bruce Lee, with his impressive and legendary martial arts skills, was a friend and ally to all. And even the Lone Ranger had his trusted friend and fellow crusader Tonto.

Statement from the City Attorney's Office JULY 8

The Ninth Circuit issued an opinion which invalidates the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) changes to flight procedures for aircraft arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. The court agreed with the City of Los Angeles that FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act by failing to conduct an environmental review and to consult with the City before making the flight procedure changes. The court found that FAA’s after-the-fact analysis of environmental impacts did not comply with the law and that the agency improperly applied its procedures for so-called categorical exclusions which would have allowed only minimal environmental review. The court's ruling does allow the existing FAA flight procedure to remain in place while FAA conducts a proper environmental review, which under federal law will

Bruce Lee, an American martial arts legend, was a true ally who never turned anyone away from studying with

him based on their ethnicity or heritage. A contemporary of Martin Luther King, Jr., Bruce Lee epitomized the hope of King expressed in his iconic “I Have a Dream: speech where King dreamed of a time when people were “treated not by the color of their skin but by the content of their