Program Description: 

Persons who register their Vons card with eScrip and designate their support of the Rings of Saturn (Group ID 6598071) will be helping to create a Community Park at Saturn.  Once active, everytime you shop VONS will be donating between 1%-4% of every dollar spent to the Saturn Elementary Community School Park Project  (see the Master Plan at the Rings of Saturn Website).

Next Step - Getting Registrations! 

We will be having a booth in front of Vons on multiple days for the next 7 weeks.  Dates are still being worked out.  However, I'm hoping to get VONS permission today or tomorrow to have a booth in front of the store this weekend (Sat & Sun).

We need to have 15+ Volunteers to help get subscribers in front of Vons at different times of the day ranging from 9a.m. to 7p.m.

The goal is to get 3,000 subscribers and we have 7 weeks to do it!! This is very doable! Over 20,000 families shop at our local Vons!

Contact me if you can help out! Let me know your available times!

-Scott

It is the belief of LAPD that the partnership between local residents and the police department will benefit the entire community.  It is important that we do our part to support their efforts.  Please join in on this years National Night Out on Tuesday, August 3rd to show that we are all united.

Location:  NW corner of Washington Blvd. and Vineyard (meeting will begin at 6:00 PM in the parking lot and walk will start at 7:00 PM).

Events we organized or sponsored:

Land Use & Development:

1. L.A.’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Ordinance
2. Billboard Ordinance 
3. Medians along PICO
4. Local Cell Tower Resolution
5. Development along Pico
6. Multiple Land Use case reviews
7. General code enforcement, trash cleanup & graffiti

Political:

Pico/Olympic Traffic Initiative - Defeating the Pico / Olympic One-Way Initiative. We rallied 20 other groups of home owners and 7 other neighborhood councils to join us in our fight.  And it all started with US!

White Paper on MMDs - our work on the medical marijuana dispensary issue prompted the authoring a white paper that provided significant community input to our city attorney in developing his policy. Again, it all started here in PICO NC!

Signage Ordinance - we have actively participated in the development of the new signage ordinance.

Prop B - Researching the arguments for the L.A. Solar Plan that helped establish the No-On-B Action Group.  We were the first council to take a position.  

Visibility - building relationships with: other councils and organizing a concerted effort to affect city policy (a first in the city!), local schools, council congresses, fixlosangeles.com, CD10 and other supportive government offices.

Administrative:

1. Raised our efficiency and effectiveness ranking among neighborhood councils from 81 to the TOP 5!!
2. Increased board member participation to a record-breaking 646 event hours to date!
   
3. Website redesign with functional updates, greater manageability, syndication features and cross community support. Our website has been recognized by the city and Urban Insight, an independent consultant for the city of Los Angeles as a ‘Role Model for the City’.
   
4. Completely revamped financial reporting that has resulted in attaining one of the highest transparency records in the city (we have received several congratulatory emails and published recognition from D.O.N.E.),
5. Effectively spent 100% of our annual $45K allotment and have significantly reduced our rollover funds resulting in minimal impact in the recent city sweep.
6. Inspired by the Pico NC Saturn Garden Project, the non-profit group, The Rings of Saturn, was formed to work closely with administrators and teachers towards the betterment of Saturn Elementary.  To date, the group is spear-heading an effort to convert the barren asphalt playground to a green park that will be available to the community during non-school hours.

In closing, it’s been my privilege to serve as president of the Pico Neighborhood Council over the past 4 years. Together we have made monumental strides in making a difference to our community, impacting city policies and building relationships that will further improve our way of life as well as prepare for the future.

I'm extremely excited by the growing energy and interest in the Pico Neighborhood Council and I look forward to some amazing things happening on the board and in our community.

Sincerely,

Scott McNeely
Former President, Pico Neighborhood Council

Invite You to Discuss

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Join Councilmember Wesson in welcoming Deputy Mayor Larry Frank to discuss the City of Los Angeles  strategies and programs funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  Learn how the City is training workers now in preparation for the anticipated economic recovery.

WHEN:  
Wednesday, June 23rd at 7:00p.m.

WHERE:       

Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 

Topics Include:

PLEASE RSVP BY EMAIL to:

fabiola.vilchez@lacity.org or elizabeth.carlin@lacity.org

Park in lot behind Center or metered parking on Olympic and San Vicente.

They are:

Pain Relief, 1359 Redondo Blvd.
Little Ethiopia Herbal Healing Center, 1051 S. Fairfax
Pico Collective, 1355 Genesee
Relax Herbal, Inc., 5427 Pico Blvd.
Chevette Hastings, 1396 S. Orange Drive
Herbal Nutrition Center, 1435 S La Cienega

The second wave of letters will be sent out in the future.  If anyone should see any of the above businesses still in operation, please send a note to Asha Greenberg (asha.greenberg@lacity.org)

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The civil lawsuit against the business owners and property owners of 5050 and 5056 W. Pico Boulevard and six known gang members alleges violations of the Narcotic Abatement Law; the Public Nuisance Law; and the Unfair Competition Law. The suit asks the court to grant injunctive relief against all Defendants to stop the nuisance and narcotic activity at the properties and prohibit all named gang members from coming within a thousand foot radius of the properties.

The Oki’s Dog and Cottage are connected by a breezeway and share a common parking lot. Since 1998, the two locations have been known in the community as places where gang members congregate, loiter, drink, gamble, and sell narcotics, including marijuana and rock cocaine. The locations are known for high levels of violence, including assaults, shootings and murders as a result of an ongoing power struggle between local gangs.

Since February 1998, there have been 37 documented reports of narcotics-related activity and/or arrests by law enforcement officers at or directly related to Oki’s Dog or the Cottage. The most recent narcotics operation took place between March 2, 2010 and April 29, 2010, when LAPD informants bought narcotics at the Cottage on 14 separate occasions.

During the same time period, there have also been 59 documented criminal and/or nuisance incidents at the Cottage and Oki’s Dog. Since February 2010, there have been three shootings at the two properties, including a murder across the street, a drive-by shooting in front of the Cottage and a shooting in the Oki’s Dog parking lot in April 2010.

The narcotics and nuisance activity at the Cottage and Oki’s Dog have created a climate of fear in the surrounding community, as well as endangering the public welfare.

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Don't know where to vote?  Click HERE.

Proposition 13. Limits on Property Tax Assessment. Seismic Retrofitting of Existing Buildings -- State of California (Legislative Constitutional Amendment - Put on the Ballot by the Legislature - Majority Approval Required)

Should the California Constitution be amended to provide that all earthquake safety upgrades be exempt from property tax reassessment until the property is sold?

 

Proposition 14. Elections. Increases Right to Participate in Primary Elections -- State of California (Legislative Constitutional Amendment - Put on the Ballot by the Legislature - Majority Approval Required)

Should the California Constitution be amended to require that all candidates for statewide or congressional office run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with only the top two vote-getters, regardless of their political party preference, advancing to the general election?

 

Proposition 15. California Fair Elections Act -- State of California (Put on the Ballot by the Legislature - Majority Approval Required)

Should California lift the ban on public funding of political campaigns and establish public funding for Secretary of State candidates in the 2014 and 2018 elections?

 

Proposition 16. Imposes New Two-Thirds Voter Approval Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers -- State of California (Initiative Constitutional Amendment - Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures - Majority Approval Required)

Should the California Constitution be amended to require two-thirds voter approval before local governments can start up or expand electric service?

 

Proposition 17. Allows Auto Insurance Companies to Base Their Prices in Part on a Driver's History of Insurance Coverage -- State of California (Initiative Statute - Put on the Ballot by Petition Signatures - Majority Approval Required)

Should insurance companies be permitted to reduce or increase the cost of auto insurance depending on whether a driver has a history of continuous insurance coverage?

Click HERE for a PDF of the Measures, their Pros & Cons and fiscal impacts.

CIM Group says it needs more money to complete Midtown Crossing, a long-delayed shopping center anchored by Lowe's. The loan would be repaid from various taxes generated by the project.

Stung by the recession, one of the most prominent developers in Los Angeles is turning to the city for an additional $19.2 million to bring a long-delayed Lowe's Home Improvement store to Mid-City.

CIM Group — owner of the Hollywood & Highland mall, investors in renewable energy and a prospective bidder on 10 city-owned parking garages — has asked officials for a new 20-year loan to help it complete Midtown Crossing, a shopping center at the junction of Pico and San Vicente boulevards.

Under the proposed agreement, CIM Group would be allowed to pay off the loan by tapping property, sales, utility and business taxes that would be generated by the project once it opens.

The proposal would allow the city to keep at least 51% of the sales, utility and business taxes generated by the shopping center. Up to 49% of the remaining proceeds could be used by CIM Group to repay its loan.

That arrangement drew fire from one neighborhood activist who pointed out that sales, utility and business taxes normally go into the city's general fund, which pays for basic services such as police, parks and libraries. For months, city officials have been coping with a projected $485-million budget crisis by paring back both the workforce and city services that are supported by that fund.

The proposal for Midtown Crossing "should receive scrutiny even if there wasn't a budget crisis," said Jack Humphreville, who serves on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and frequently writes essays about the city's financial woes. "Given that the city is running a deficit, it deserves even more scrutiny."

City Councilman Herb Wesson, who represents Mid-City, voiced support for the latest loan, which would bring the total amount of public assistance for the project to nearly $34 million. Wesson said his constituents want the amenities that a finished shopping center would bring and have complained for years about the enormous pit that exists on the site.

"The community has been banging on all of us to get this done," he said. "When you have a project of this size, there's usually a faction against it. There's nobody against this."

The loan request comes less than a year after CIM Group secured a similar $30-million loan to stage Cirque du Soleil at Hollywood & Highland.

Wesson said the proposal for Midtown Crossing would come up for a council vote May 28, along with a separate request from CIM Group for an outright grant of $2 million to pay for sidewalks and other public improvements at the site.

Three years ago the city approved an $8.8-million loan for Midtown Crossing, which can also be repaid with tax revenue from the project. Both that loan and the new one would come from the federal Housing and Urban Development Department under a program that provides $35,000 for each job that is created.

Representatives of CIM Group said 80% of the project's financing would come from private sources. The new loan is needed to replace private financing that fell apart in 2008 the wake of the global recession.

"Since then, CIM has been working tirelessly in this difficult financial environment to find a construction lender to allow us to move forward with this exciting retail project that will benefit the community and the city as a whole," said Shaul Kuba, one of the company's founding principals.

If the latest loan is approved, the company would break ground next month, a spokesperson said.

Midtown Crossing's first phase opened in 2007, offering retailers such as Starbucks, Foot Locker and Panda Express. The second phase, which would include Lowe's, a second "big box" store and a three-level parking garage, has been delayed repeatedly.

At one point, CIM Group proposed the installation of 11 supergraphic advertisements on the 11.7-acre site. That idea disappeared after the council voted to ban such signs.

Ninoos Benjamin, director of the L.A. Community Development Department's economic development division, said the shopping center would lead to the creation of 802 permanent jobs. He said CIM Group would use its own money to repay its two loans if tax revenues from the project fall below projections.

CIM Group is already using some of its own funds to repay the first, $8.8 million loan, a spokesperson said.

Headquartered in Hollywood, CIM Group frequently turns to city, county and state pension funds for its financing. The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, has agreed to invest nearly $1.9 billion in funds managed by the company.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings. Click here to learn more about our first week's winning item, a $2.5 billion spending cut

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) says that Uncle Sam needs to go on a diet.

Cantor (seen at left) launched a new project today that he hopes will "force Congress to begin to confront the difficult, but unavoidable realities of our fiscal situation."

It's called YouCut. It allows anyone to vote on a project that they think Congress should cut. Republicans will suggest possible cuts each week and will try to bring the winning cut to the House floor each week for an up or down vote.

Check it out, see what you think and cast your vote!

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