SILVER LAKE—More than two-dozen neighborhood residents say they have recently developed respiratory issues and claim a nearby Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP) construction site and its contractor, Steve P. Rados Inc., are to blame.

Residents have also complained of severe noise and local businesses are reporting staggering decreases in business, all surrounding the work site located along Glendale Boulevard from Riverside Drive to where Rokeby Street and Waverly Drive intersect in north Silver Lake.

Martha Mattieu, 72, who lives off Waverly Drive, has a pre-condition of asthma but was ordered onto oxygen by her doctor after construction began.

Another neighbor Lillian Groag started waking up choking in the middle of the night. She has visited several ear, nose and throat doctors and allergists but none could determine the cause. According to Groag, when she leaves town for work, she feels better.

According to another resident, Michael Newsom his two dogs and a cat died within a few weeks of each other. None were old or unhealthy, he said, and with each he noticed respiratory issues prior to their deaths.

Ana Calderon has also been experiencing allergy-type conditions and wheezing, worse than she’s had before.

“I couldn’t understand why I was always getting this asthma,” she said. As a deejay, Calderon works nights and is rarely home before 3:30 a.m. She said when the construction starts at 7 a.m. it’s so loud she can’t sleep causing stress and anxiety. As a newlywed, she said, it seems that every argument with her husband can be traced back to the construction.

“Everything is more difficult than it needs to be,” she said.

The construction is part of a water quality project replacing the current two-mile river supply conduit that runs through the neighborhood. This portion of the project began in October and is now expected to be finished in April. The construction will then move down Rokeby Street for another month and a half.

For residents, the end can’t come soon enough.

Jerome Courshon, who works from home as a film producer, started taking pictures of what looked like improper practices at the construction site.

Promised in the project’s environmental impact report is that the site would be watered at least twice daily. According to Courshon, that has not happened. He has dozens of videos photographs of the unwatered dry site, uncovered dirt trucks and piles, and other infractions taken almost daily through January.

He has also taken several readings of the construction site’s noise from his apartment, approximately 95 feet away. According to Courshon, the levels have been as high as 94db.

According to city code, equipment and machinery cannot exceed 75 dB at a distance of 50 feet.

In mid-January, Courshon hosted a community meeting at nearby Silverlake Presbyterian Church. In attendance were 22 residents, five DWP staff members and four representatives of the contractor. Throughout the two-hour meeting, as the neighbors listed off complaints, their moods grew heated.

“I feel like we’ve put up with it for a reasonable amount of time but we’re frustrated because we haven’t seen reasonable progress,” said Jeff Kaufman who’s lived in the same property on Rokeby Street for 10 years.

For some the construction has been so unbearable, they’ve moved away. “I am not off the site, I’m in the site. I hear everything… I welcome you to stay at my home for a night. We can’t breath, we can’t sleep and we’re [angry],” said Keith Ruggiero, a sound engineer who eventually moved away because he could no longer work from his home.

“We need to be more visible,” said Glenn Singley, Director of Water Engineering and Technical Services at LADWP, of his department’s oversight after hearing complaints. “Let’s come back and see what we can do because there’s a lot more work coming as well. The neighborhood’s complaints are being looked into. There were some things that we had to tighten up,” he said, including regular watering onsite and covering dirt piles overnight.

Singley said an industrial hygienist will also monitor the site and take air quality samples to see if there are any concerning constituents in the soil.

“We are pretty much in bedrock in this particular area,” he said, “so we don’t expect there to be anything that has been dumped on the site or penetrated but we’ll see if there’s anything that raises a red flag.”

The project manager from Steve P. Rados Inc., Derek Rados, said his company and crew are trying to take resident’s complaints in consideration and they’re working as fast as possible. However, he said, the site has harder rocks than initial reports showed and that has made things difficult.

“You can only go as fast as your excavating and especially with this hard rock it’s really hard to excavate. . . .You run into things in underground construction you don’t expect,” he said.

According to Rados, since the meeting, a sound engineer has explored methods of sound mitigation and work crew have been more diligent about consistent watering and sweepings of the work area, as well as covering dirt stalk piles.

To his knowledge, he said, none of the crew has experienced respiratory problems since working on this site.

The construction has hurt local businesses as well.

On Riverside Drive, down the hill where it intersects with Glendale Boulevard, Armen Yeghikyan, 47, who works at Valero gas station, walked along the gas pumps one recent afternoon. He ran his finger along the top of one pump, showing a clear line in the dust. Pumps are wiped down every morning, he said, but by 11 p.m. the dust is twice as bad.

Business, he added, is also down about 30% which he attributes to the construction because of a lack of commuter access to the gas station.

Rafi Abramyan, 54, owns the Dyno Smog test center behind the gas station. Though he has been coughing more recently, he’s more concerned about his business.

Since construction started, Abramyan said he’s seen a nearly 90% dip in sales. On a recent day, he said he only had one customer in 10 hours. He said he might be forced to move or close his business all together.

“Right now I’m stuck in the middle of something and I don’t know what to do,” he said.

Abramyan said he has filed a claim with the city to compensate for his losses. “They told me it’s being investigated,” he said.

Always a challenge, restoring a neglected older property is almost always also a labor of love. Furniture designer Ryan Trowbridge of Los Feliz and his partner interior designer Tracy Beckmann recently completed an extraordinary restoration and thoughtful renovation on a hillside street in Desert Hot Springs.

In 2008, the pair purchased the four-room, 1947-built hotel designed by architect John Lautner—of Silver Lake’s Silver Top.  Originally the hotel was to be at the gateway to a 600-acre development. In 1947, Lautner was fresh off his fellowship at Taliesin West under the tutelage of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The hotel’s design echoes Taliesin’s primitive tents where light, the desert sky and the rugged environment are embraced.

Constructed of redwood, glass, concrete and steel, the building’s steel framing cantilevers out, creating a wing-shaped overhang that shades each room. Although the rooms are compact in size, there’s an incredible feeling of expansiveness due to the 180-degree view through a glass wall.  Each room opens to a private patio and cactus garden.  Lautner was known for his sympathetic way of incorporating the natural world into his buildings.

Purchasing the property took some time due to its uniqueness and its location in a tract home neighborhood. When Trowbridge and Beckmann first saw it, the entire building—including all the redwood—was painted solid white.

“It was a crazy adventure because nothing was standard,” saidTrowbridge of the restoration, but most visitors have been “blown away,” by seeing the building returned to its original look.

There have been some additions: bathrooms have been redone in Heath Ceramic tile, three units have restored kitchenettes, one has a full kitchen and furniture is now of-the-period vintage finds.

Among Beckmann’s projects is the hotel at the LA Athletic Club and Mas Malo restaurant downtown. Trowbridge, in addition to his furniture and light constructions, is a partner at Bar 107 in downtown Los Angeles.

Hotel Lautner is open for overnight stays via hotellautner.com. During Palm Springs Modernism Week, an open house on Sun. Feb. 19th will benefit the Lautner Foundation.

Eastside Eye Pick for February

Pacific Standard Time: Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982, now through May 27. For mid-century modern fans heading out to Palm Springs for modernism week, the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time sponsors this first major exhibition that dives into swimming pool photographs.

Caption: The local indie band, Milo Greene, performs three nights at the Satellite this month.

ART

‘Soft Candy’
The Shanghai-born, L.A.-based artist Danni Shinya Luo marks the release of her new book of art, Soft Candy, with a signing and an exhibition of her sensual, whimsical explorations of the female form. Also showing their work this month are West Coast artists Matthew Bone, Soey Milk, Christine Wu and Bonni Reid.

La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Tues., Feb. 14th-Sun., Feb. 26th.
4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz. Information: (323) 666-7667; www.laluzdejesus.com

BOOKS

Book Club
The Los Feliz Library’s monthly book club meets to discuss its latest selection, Helen Simonson’s Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. Simonson’s debut novel tells the story of a retired British officer and widower who is trying to hold onto a family heirloom and his old-fashioned values. Also at the library this month are an installment of the Architecture & Beyond series (Thurs., Feb. 16th, 6:45 p.m.) and a used-book sale (Sat., Feb. 25th, 10 a.m.)

Los Feliz Branch Library, Sat., Feb. 4th, 11 a.m.
1874 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz. Information: (323) 913-4710; www.lapl.org

Daniel Pyne
Screenwriter and novelist Daniel Pyne (Fracture, The Sum of All Fears, Twentynine Palms) will read from and sign his new book, A Hole in the Ground Owned by a Liar. His latest novel is about a divorced high-school shop teacher who buys a gold mine off the Internet. Also reading this month will be Ben Marcus (Thurs., Feb. 2nd, 7:30 p.m.), Ramona Ausubel (Fri., Feb. 10th, 7:30 p.m.) and Steve Erickson (Wed., Feb. 22nd, 7:30 p.m.).

Skylight Books, Tues., Feb. 7th, 7:30 p.m.
1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. Information: (323) 660-1175; www.skylightbooks.com

CLASSES

‘Backyard Chickens and Bees’ & ‘Redirecting Rainwater’
Aspiring urban farmers and eco-conscious gardeners, take note: In their respective classes, John Lyons will teach the basics of beekeeping and raising chickens, and Rachel Young will discuss and demonstrate how to make the most of natural rainwater. Classes are $15 each.

Descanso Gardens, Sat., Feb. 11th, 11 a.m. (Lyons), and Sat., Feb. 18th, 10:30 a.m. (Young)
1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. Information: (818) 790-3663; www.descansogardens.org.

Safety Safari
Now in its second year, this annual event teaches families about such topics as home safety and how to build an emergency kit. Participating guests include safety experts, LAPD and CHP officers, and Smokey Bear.

Los Angeles Zoo, Sat., Feb. 25th, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
5333 Zoo Drive, Griffith Park. Information: (323) 644-4200; www.lazoo.org

CLUBS

Los Angeles Breakfast Club
For more than 85 years, the club has gathered folks from all walks of life to enjoy a meal and each other’s company. Breakfast is $7 per person and free for first-time visitors. Annual club membership is $100.

Friendship Auditorium, Wed., Feb. 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th, 7 a.m.
3201 Riverside Drive, Los Feliz. Information: (213) 665-1154; www.labreakfastclub.com.

FILM

Alternative Projections

The Echo Park Film Center and L.A. Film Forum continue this screening series focusing on experimental film in Los Angeles between 1945 and 1980. The first program is Outsiders Observe Los Angeles, with works by David Lamelas and Robert Nelson. (Details of the second screening were not available at press time.) Tickets are $10 general admission, $6 for students and seniors.

Echo Park Film Center, Sat., Feb. 4th, and Fri., Feb. 24th, 8 p.m.
1200 N. Alvarado St., Echo Park. Information: (213) 484-8846; www.echoparkfilmcenter.org

‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ & ‘My Neighbor Totoro’
As part of its screening series Castles in the Sky, the American Cinematheque presents two fantastical films by the Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli. Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of a teenage girl swept up in an adventure with a mysterious wizard, while My Neighbor Totoro follows two young sisters who discover wondrous creatures in the forest near the house. (Totoro screens in Japanese with English subtitles.) Also playing this month are double features by Orson Welles (Fri., Feb. 10th, 7:30 p.m.) and Charlie Chaplin (Thurs., Feb. 16th, 7:30 p.m.). Tickets are $11 per screening.

Egyptian Theatre, Sun., Feb. 12th, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Information: (323) 466-3456; www.americancinemathequecalendar.com

FOOD & DRINK

Thursday Night Flights
Oenophiles and novices alike can sip and sample at these weekly tastings. Flights of three wines are arranged, each with a common theme: a grape, a winemaker, a region, etc. The Let’s Be Frank gourmet hot dog truck will be parked out front. Flights are $12 per person. Different tasting events are also held Mondays and Sundays.

Silverlake Wine, Thurs., Feb. 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd,5 p.m.-9 p.m.
2395 Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake. Information: (323) 662-9024; www.silverlakewine.com

MUSIC

Lana Del Rey
On the heels of a controversial performance on Saturday Night Live and the release of her major-label debut, Born to Die (Jan. 31st), singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey comes to Hollywood for a free in-store concert at Amoeba.

Amoeba Music, Tues., Feb. 7th, 6 p.m.
6400 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Information: (323) 245-6400; www.amoeba.com

Milo Greene
The local five-piece indie-pop band Milo Greene will perform three free shows this month at the Satellite. Their first full-length is due in spring. Supporting acts include Handshakes, Lesands and A House for Lions. Also playing this month are Spindrift (Fri. Feb. 10th, 9 p.m., $8) and Buck 65 (Wed., Feb. 22nd, 9 p.m. $15). Shows are 21 and over.

The Satellite, Mon., Feb. 13th, 20th and 27th, 9 p.m.
1717 Silver Lake Blvd., Silver Lake. Information: www.thesatellitela.com

SCIENCE

Public Star Party
At this family-friendly monthly astronomy event, attendees can try out a variety of telescopes; view the sun, moon, planets and other celestial objects; and talk to astronomers about the sky and their equipment. Admission is free. Also this month is All Space Considered, a public program held in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater that explores astronomy, space science and space exploration (Fri., Feb. 3rd, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m., free).

Griffith Observatory, Sat., Feb. 25th, 2 p.m.-9:45 p.m.
2800 E. Observatory Road, Griffith Park. Information: (213) 473-0800; www.griffithobservatory.org

THEATER

‘Buddha’
The distinguished actor John C. Reilly (Magnolia, Step Brothers) directs the West Coast premiere of writer-performer Evan Brenner’s one-man show tracing the life of Buddha. Tickets are $30.

Bootleg Theater, Fri.-Sat., Feb. 3rd-25th, 7:30 p.m.
2220 Beverly Blvd., Westlake. Information: (800) 838-3006; www.thebuddhaplay.com

‘Fiesta’
Master puppeteer Bob Baker presents a south-of-the-border-themed extravaganza. The show was first performed in 1964. Tickets are $15.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater, weekdays, 10:30 a.m., Sat.-Sun., 2:30 p.m.
1345 W. 1st St., Echo Park. Information: (213) 250-9995; www.bobbakermarionettes.com

‘Hunka’
The Native Voices First Look series presents a staged reading of playwright Larissa Fasthorse’s Hunka. The play explores themes of family, pregnancy, adoption and responsibility. A Q&A with Fasthorse will follow.

Autry National Center, Sun., Feb. 12th, 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. Information: (323) 667-2000; www.theautry.org

LOS FELIZ—Marking 40 years of Soap Plant/Wacko—the famed sprawling store of pop culture design, books, toys and kitsch—owner Billy Shire laughingly credits “not being afraid of bad taste,” for much of his success.

A self-studied artist from Echo Park, Shire was 20 when he and his mother opened Soap Plant in 1971 near the hippy culture intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Sanborn Avenue. Their shop sold high-quality lotions and soaps— still supplied by a family from Berkeley—as gifts.

“We’ve always been visually oriented and pan cultural and I started getting into more ethnic type baskets which led into masks,” said Shire.

Back then, Shire picked up work as a leather and studs artist costuming rock bands. He also liked to travel to Mexico where he became fascinated with Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art.

By 1980, Shire set up shop on Melrose Avenue, an area cultivating creative retail and trendy eateries.

The Soap Plant thrived in the urban setting and Shire expanded next door with Wacko—a natural extension of Shire’s artistic interests—where he popularized ethno-graphic items such as Japanese toys, Godzilla and cultural folk arts. His clothing store, Zulu, opened soon after.

Finally, when his collection of Dia De Los Muertos art was brimming over in Wacko, Shire led the trend of showing and selling these artifacts as merchandise in La Luz De Jesus Art Gallery, which he created upstairs.

Twenty-five years later, La Luz de Jesus still rotates so-called low-brow art shows monthly, now in its current location at 4633 Hollywood Blvd. where Shire combined his stores in 1994. The site was a former U.S. Post Office.

“The gallery is based on Southern California pop culture. . . surfing, hot-rodding, skateboarding, pin-up art, tattooing,” said Shire.

“The store is the best of a lot of different categories—toys, soaps, skull stuff, lunchboxes,” said Shire.  “It’s all about my eyes, doing it fast and knowing what to order.”

Shire is admired by gift vendors for finding the next best thing, as he did with Tiki culture, prominently displayed at Wacko.

“I wouldn’t call it nostalgia, but I definitely cater to different generations,” said Shire pondering his philosophy to Soap Plant/Wacko.  “I’m mining my own history for things that really strike a chord with me and trying to show people their roots.”

O(h)’s Liz Casebolt and Joel Smith. Photo credit: Jeff Larson.

In the wake of the holidays a number of new shows are opening in the Hollywood area. I attend two vastly different productions that are running into February.

Dance aficionados won’t want to miss O(h) at The Actors Company Theatre in West Hollywood in which dancers Liz Casebolt and Joel Smith deconstruct the creative process offering a  fast paced glimpse into the minds and personalities of the two principals.

The show melds dance and theater into an interesting whole. As the two performers dance and sing, they also directly involve the audience. In 2010 O(h) was a hit at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and in New York City.  Producers hope to expand their audience in Los Angeles.

Liz Casebolt and Joel Smith have a long-standing partnership.  Both received degrees in experimental choreography at UC Riverside and now are college teachers: Casebolt at Los Angeles Valley College and Smith at UC Riverside, UCLA and Scripps College. Together they have a great chemistry.

In the one-hour production the duo dances together and alone.  I particularly enjoyed Smith’s athleticism and elegance. His allusions to being gay are sensitive and subtle.

Casebolt is incredibly agile and is also a good singer. Her performance in “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story” is a hilarious showstopper.

Architects Hadrian Predock and John Frane have transformed the bare stage into a stylish set using strings of brightly colored lights.  Be sure to arrive early to watch the two dancers warm up.

In a totally different vein, the dark comedy, The Beauty Queen of Leenane currently onstage at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood, is set in small town contemporary County Galway, Ireland.

The action takes place in a dreary kitchen that evokes a mood of entrapment that describes the central figure, Maureen Folar, a 40-year-old spinster who has a history of mental illness. She is the caregiver of Mag, her selfish and manipulative 70-year-old mother.

The play had a successful run in Ireland, England, and New York where it won four Tony Awards and was nominated for best play in 1998.  It was the debut-work of playwright Martin McDonagh who is known for his dark Irish dramas some of which have been at the Taper and the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

As the dysfunctional relationship between mother and daughter emerges, a glimmer of romance arises in the first act when Maureen brings home Pato Dooley, a middle-aged construction worker who is home from his job in England.  He is disillusioned by his life and dreams of moving to America.  His younger brother Ray adds a note of cynical humor and has a glimmer of a bad boy image. The plot unfolds with twists and turns of deception and betrayal and keeps the audience on edge.

I am not a fan of dark comedy with disturbing scenes of sadism and familial violence. The best part of the play for me was the stunning performances given by the four actors. Judy Nazemetz’s facial expressions are evocative as Mag. Ferrell Marshall captures the frustrations and anger that define Maureen’s motivations. Alex Egan’s interpretation of Pato Dooley’s monologue at the beginning of Act II is stunning and Rob Herring’s portrayal of the younger brother Ray provides comic relief. August Viverito is the director.

O(h) through Feb. 19th, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 5 p.m. Sundays at The Actors Company, 916A N. Formosa Ave., West Hollywood.  $30; students and seniors; $22. (800) 838-3006 or www.caseboltandsmith.com.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.;  Sundays at 3 p.m.  $25 at www.theprodco.com or at Brown Paper Tickets.

GRIFFITH PARK—The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council (GGPNC) has unanimously adopted a resolution to support the construction of two youth baseball fields in Griffith Park.

According to Mark Mauceri, GGPNC Sports and Recreation Committee Chair, the fields would be funded by Prop. K “LA FOR Kids,” which earmarks funds for recreation and parks to help “combat the inadequacies and decay of the city’s youth infrastructure,” according to Prop. K wording.

The idea of new Griffith Park baseball fields was initiated Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Griffith Park is in LaBonge’s city council district 4.

Los Feliz resident and mother of five, Erica Yoder Chapman spoke at the GGPNC’s Jan. 17th meeting—prior to the council’s vote—in favor of the two new ball fields.

“As a past president of the Los Feliz Mom’s club, I can tell you there are so many of us who want this field. We really need more recreation and playgrounds here in the neighborhood, not across town. I can bring you as many people as you want to stand in this room and support the project,” Chapman said.

Joe Young, chairman of the GGPNC’s Parks, Rivers and Open Space (PROS) committee, spoke against the vote saying the GGPNC’s PROS committee didn’t have adequate time to evaluate the city’s proposal.

The construction of the 5 Freeway destroyed the previous Griffith Park ball fields in the late 1950s.

In the Sports and Recreation committee’s resolution, they cited inadequacies of Los Feliz’s youth recreational facilities and the influx of local families with children.

“We have no city-staffed recreation center,” Mauceri said. “There are no public basketball courts in all Los Feliz… and that’s just wrong.  Golf and tennis we have in spades, but we need to do better in the more traditional ‘stick and ball’ sports, and this Prop. K plan is a chance to at least bring little league back, we certainly have the kids for it. I have three.”

Mauceri also stressed Griffith Park’s deficiency of ball fields when compared to other Los Angeles city parks that are only a fraction of the size.

“Why L.A.’s largest public park doesn’t have a little league field is just beyond me.  We have the chance to put back what the 5 Freeway wiped out.  Area parents shouldn’t have to drive to the Valley so their kids can play sports,” he said.

A Los Angeles City Bureau of Engineering exploratory plan, presented at the meeting, showed two adjacent ball fields that could be incorporated into the park’s Crystal Springs area.

“This will be a long process, and I have no doubt there will be staunch opposition to these fields from park advocate groups who would rather have the whole of the park be designated an ‘urban wilderness,’” said Mauceri. “But it’s a big park and there’s room for some kids’ ball fields… Sometimes we all have step back and see the forest through trees. . . if we really do what’s right by the neighborhood.”

For more information, please visit: www.ggpnc.org/go/recreation

With talk of another budget shortfall for the Los Angeles Unified School District in the amount of $543 million for the next academic year and possible remedies of increased taxes or a new parcel tax, we asked local educators and a spokeswoman with Los Angeles Unified School District boardmember Bennett Keyser’s for their thoughts.

Karen L. Sullivan Glenfeliz Elementary principal

Students won’t come home talking about their same teachers at Glenfeliz Boulevard Elementary if the Los Angeles United School District budget isn’t remedied. “They’ll notice if they aren’t here. They’ve been here forever,” she said. The budget shortfall will also force us to cut our intervention group, which helps out underperforming students as well as playground supervisors and the music program. The library may also lose its full-time librarian, who keeps the shelves organized and moderates book selection that would be a great loss to students. The librarian reinforces literacy, and also inspires learning by imparting an appreciation for reading through story time sessions. That’s the magic reading brings to a student. In the long run, the economy will be hurt indefinitely because the next generation of workers won’t have as strong an academic background due to the lesser quality in schooling.

Jumie Sugahara, Ivanhoe Elementary School principal

I think what we’re waiting for right now is how this will play out in Los Angeles Unified as far as what budget cuts will be. We don’t receive much as far as categorical funding. It’s not a title one school but there’s still a need to create programs for kids that need more support…. what would affect us is if they have to increase class size. I think right now. . . we’re holding tight to see what Superintendent Deasy does. . . We’re waiting to see what the budget cuts for art and music, and that we have been able to supplement. I think that it’s a big “what if” right now. And it’s a crazy time because right now I don’t know when the official last day of school is, we haven’t heard.

Kristen Murphy, Thomas Starr King Middle School principal

One of the first impacts of budget cuts is the reduction of office staff. I have to answer the phone sometimes. At this point, we really don’t know what the impact is going to be. King is fortunate in being a Title 1 school that we do receive federal Title 1 dollars. We get a per-pupil allocation for 85% of our students that does help us out, so we’ve still been able to purchase things like a full time nurse, a full time librarian and some additional counseling time, so we’ve been really fortunate. We’re also lucky in that our neighborhood councils have been really good to us: the Greater Griffith park Neighborhood Council; the Los Feliz Improvement Assoc., the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council and Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge. I don’t want to say I’m not concerned about budget cuts because obviously it’s not a good situation, the state is in trouble, the district’s funds are being cut, but King is a pretty remarkable place… and our teachers have really rallied and our scores continue to go up despite the fact that we’re doing more with less. Budget cuts are never easy for anyone but I think we will weather the storm.

Susanna Furfari, Micheltorena Street School principal

I’ve heard rumors about how it will probably increase the class size. Every time we have these cuts somehow our school has managed to still maintain a lot of the core programs and initiatives that we think are essential. So I’m optimistic for next year. One of the newest ways that we’ve been working on keeping our core programs sustainable is through community partnership. For example [we have a] partnership with the Silver Lake Conservatory, it’s about bartering and trying to make due with what we have. We want to have a girth of services that we can provide to our students at a high quality, whether or not we have lots of money coming in… I think there are a lot of resources in Silver Lake and it’s just about getting to know people and reaching out to them and trying to find ways to work together.

Sarah Bradshaw, Chief of Staff for LAUSD Board Member Bennett Kayser (District 5)

It’s obscene, we have to sit here and wait for the state. We have to plan based on what they might do. Now part of the state’s planning this year is based on what the voters might do with the governor’s proposed ballot initiative. We have to budget for it passing, we have to budget for it not passing, and we have to live with the consequences regardless. It is criminal. We are 49th in the nation for per pupil funding… 42% of our kids are English language learners. 76% of our kids are in poverty. And then with our precious dollars we have to spend a ridiculous amount on testing and doing all back office or not really hands on productive learning stuff. So that’s kind of where it’s at. So much is being asked from the schools and the kids are so needy. The time to fight is now. But among options there are class size increases, shorter school year and more services cut to students.

This story was reported by Ledger reporters Colin Stuz and Tony Cella.

While the first pass of proposed Los Angeles City Council district boundary changes were released by the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission Jan. 25th, local activists continue to plead local neighborhoods stay in tact.

Local community leaders called for the commission to solidify Atwater Village into a single City Council district at a meeting earlier in January.

“We shouldn’t have two council districts when there’s one Neighborhood Council,” said Barbara Lass of the Atwater Village Residents’ Assoc.

Alex Ventura of the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council said the opinions of residents and business owners in North Atwater are neglected because they comprise a minute portion of Council District 4.

Los Angeles City councilmember Tom LaBonge, who represents some of the district, did not return requests for comment.

Eric Garcetti, candidate for mayor, represents the majority of Atwater Village, which lies in Council District 13.

His spokesperson, Julie Wong, said some residents expressed concern to Garcetti that if the two councilmembers don’t maintain a working relationship their community won’t be represented at the council, which could cut them off from potential services.

Garcetti has not taken a stance on whether Atwater Village should be unified, but encouraged residents to vocalize their opinions at public hearings.

Atwater Village City Council lines were split in 1992. The neighborhood was in a single district between 1986 and 1992, after being split for 14 years prior.

In Los Feliz, the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council (GGPNC) has resolved the boundaries of the neighborhood council should remain intact and reside within a single City Council district.

“As the boundaries of Los Feliz and Griffith Park do not appear to be threatened or split—the GGPNC just wanted to be on record as stating its support for the our neighborhood council jurisdiction to remain intact within any reconfigured council district,” said GGPNC Treasurer Nelson Bae.

City Council boundaries are redrawn every 10 years due to population changes.

Public hearings on the proposed boundary changes continue throughout February. The commission hopes to adopt a final plan, for City Council approval, by March 1st. For information: www.redistricting2011.lacity.org

LaBonge’s District 4 is potentially one of the most affected districts. The current proposed new boundaries of District 4 run from Silver Lake to Bel-Air and north to Encino relocating Hancock Park, Windsor Square and the Larchmont area to Council District 5 (Paul Koretz).

Bob Herzog, Co-Chair of the Silver Lake History Collective, a committee of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, died on Nov. 14th, 2011 after a battle with cancer.  He was a Silver Lake native and had a great love for and strong devotion to the community.  He attended Hollywood High School and the Univ. of Southern California, where he earned a degree in Business

He began his professional career at the American Broadcasting Company and worked for various advertising agencies, beginning with J. Walter Thompson.

He lived and worked in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Juan, Puerto Rico where he met his life partner, Jim Van Wheeldon. The couple moved to London Street in Silver Lake in 1976.

Tiring of the world of advertising, he took several years off to rest and travel.  For a time, he found himself working as a house painter with Van Wheeldon. After Wheeldon’s death from AIDS, he took over the painting business, where he spent 18 years as the owner of Herzog Painting.

Retiring from the painting business in 2005, Herzog became involved in community service.  At the time of his death, he was actively involved on the board for The Silver Lake Improvement Association and the Griffith Park Adult Community Center.  For the past three years he served as Co-Chair for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s History Collective.

In an interview for the Silver Lake History Collective on July 8th, 2008, Herzog recollected his life in Silver Lake, “I love this community, and my home, where I have lived for the past 35 years. It is a great pleasure to work with my neighbors in preserving the culture and history of our neighborhood. We spend our lives working and raising families, then retirement comes and offers an opportunity to share our lives with others and flower into maturity,” he said.