Wind Advisory

Communities in the First District were hit hard by winds overnight and the situation continues with power outages, fallen trees and downed power lines. We have received the most recent reports of number of customers without power:

·Highland Park - 13,000

·Chinatown - 1,700

·Cypress Park – 9,300

·Lincoln Heights – 3,000

At the direction of my Chief of Staff Jose Gardea, we have dispatched our field deputies to survey the damage and have thus far reported more than 200 downed trees. We continue to assess damages and have sent City crews to respond to any danger from continuing gusts.

If you smell gas, or have another emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately. Call 1-800-DIAL-DWP(800-342-5397) to report downed power lines and power outages. To report non-emergency wind-related problems, call the City’s 3-1-1 call center, which will be open 24 hours during the wind event.

Earlier in the day, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) had urged Northeast Los Angeles residents to conserve water after a power outage had affected water pumping infrastructure that supplies water to the following communities: Mt. Washington, Mt. Hermon, Monterey Hills, Cypress Park, Glassell Park, Montecito Heights. Thankfully, the LADWP announced this late afternoon that this water conservation alert has been lifted.

Thank you for your patience.

Reyes, Krekorian to Hold Joint Meeting on Murals

Contacts:
Jeremy Oberstein (213) 473-7002 (Krekorian)
Monica Valencia (213) 473-7001 (Reyes)


LOS ANGELES – Councilmembers Ed P. Reyes and Paul Krekorian will hold a special joint meeting Wednesday, Oct. 12, to continue charting a course for the future of murals in the City of Los Angeles. Krekorian, Chair of the Arts, Parks & Neighborhoods Committee, and Reyes, Chair of the Planning & Land Use Management Committee, will hold the joint session at 3:30 p.m. in the Board of Public Works Room 350, Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles 90012.

The two committees will discuss amending the City's sign code to permit murals on private property. At issue is a May 2002 ordinance approved by the City Council that amended regulations governing prohibited signs to include Supergraphic Signs, Inflatable Devices and Murals Signs. The City Council is crafting an ordinance, consistent with the First Amendment, that permits fine art murals on private property, and thus restores Los Angeles as the "mural capital of the world."

During Wednesday's meeting, the City's Cultural Affairs and Planning departments will deliver a presentation(attached) on possible avenues for mural permitting. Their presentation is the result of ongoing meetings with muralists, art organizations and other stakeholders.

Who: Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, Chair, Planning & Land Use Management Committee;
Councilmember Paul Krekorian, Chair, Arts, Parks & Neighborhoods Committee

What: The City Council's Arts, Parks & Neighborhoods Committee and Planning & Land Use Management Committee will hold a joint meeting to discuss permitting art murals in Los Angeles.

Where: Public Works Room 350, Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles 90012.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, 3:30 p.m.

Reyes torches last bike marker on downtown L.A.'s first bikeway

(Photo credit: Office of Councilmember Ed P. Reyes)

(Photo credit: Joe Linton)

(Photo credit: Los Angeles Department of Transportation)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Monica Valencia
September 8, 2011 (213) 473 7001
Monica.Valencia@lacity.org

Councilmember Ed P. Reyes today torched the last bicycle marker on the 7th Street bike lanes, the first commuter bikeway in downtown L. A. The 2.2-mile bikeway is striped from Catalina Avenue to Figueroa Street through Downtown, Koreatown and Westlake—three of the most densely-populated neighborhoods.

Reyes was joined at MacArthur Park by about 100 bicycle enthusiasts, including bicyclists, day laborers, City and community leaders at the corner of 7th and Alvarado streets, across the street from the Metro Red Line station. They included the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the City’s Department of Recreation and Parks, Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), Council for Watershed Health, Central City Neighborhood Partners and the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council.

“We are removing a car lane, in favor of a bike lane. By doing so, we, as a city, are changing the way we see bicycles, as not only a recreational vehicle, but as a legitimate form of public transportation,” said Reyes, who spearheaded the Bicycle Master Plan. "In addition to all who joined me today, I'd like to also thank Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for his enthusiasm and leadership to help create a more bike-friendly L.A." The next phase involves extending the 7th Street bike lanes an additional 2.9 miles through Downtown to Soto Street in Boyle Heights.

“We are so proud to see through the implementation of our two year long campaign to get a bicycle lane on 7th Street,” said Jennifer Klausner, LACBC’s Executive Director. “This marks a sea change in the City improving the safety and quality of life for cyclists in one of the most transit dependent, working class neighborhoods in LA.”

Jaime de la Vega, LADOT’s General Manager, said: “It’s a great day for all Angelenos who live, work and play in the Westlake/MacArthur Park. For cyclists, drivers and pedestrians alike, these new bike lanes will also help to increase public safety.”

The Bicycle Master Plan, approved by the City in March 2011, lays out 1,680 miles of interconnected bikeways and calls for more than 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years Citywide, including along the Los Angeles River. The Plan will be implemented in part using funds from Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in 2008 to fund transportation projects.

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Reyes, bicyclists in fast lane for first bikeway in downtown L.A.

(Photo: Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Monica Valencia
September 7, 2011 (213) 473-7001
Monica.Valencia@lacity.org

Reyes, Bicyclists in Fast Lane for First Bikeway in Downtown L.A.

WHAT: Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, joined by bicyclists pedaling into MacArthur Park, will celebrate the first commuter bike lanes in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will paint the final bicycle marking to complete the first phase of bike lanes on 7th Street. The 2.2-mile bike lanes are striped from Catalina Avenue to Figueroa Street through Downtown, Koreatown and Westlake—three of the City’s most densely-populated neighborhoods.
WHEN: Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9 a.m.
WHERE: MacArthur Park(at 7th and Alvarado Street)
WHO: Councilmember Ed P. Reyes
Jennifer Klausner, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Kang Hu, Senior Transportation Engineer, Department of Transportation
José Veliz, day labor organizer, Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)

DETAILS: The 7th Street bike lanes are part of the City's Bicycle Master Plan, spearheaded by Councilmember Reyes. The next phase involves extending the 7th Street bike lanes an additional 2.9 miles through Downtown to Soto Street in Boyle Heights. The Plan lays out 1,680 miles of interconnected bikeways and calls for more than 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years Citywide, including along the Los Angeles River. The Plan will be implemented in part using funds from Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in 2008 to fund transportation projects. The Plan was developed to encourage alternative transportation options and promote safe and healthy living, especially in Los Angeles' urban neighborhoods.

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Almost 200 attend Arts fundraiser

Councilmember Reyes recently honored Ricardo and Maria "Terry" Teresa Muñoz hosts of the 5th Semi-Annual Tardeada Garden Party and Art Auction to raise funds for Avenue 50 Studio. The studio is a nonprofit gallery dedicated to promoting multicultural artists and poets through art exhibitions, workshops, and spoken word events in Highland Park.


Councilmember Reyes and guests recently paid tribute to Gilbert "Magu" Luján, an internationally known Chicano artist, who died Sunday, July 24, after battling cancer. He was 70. The shrine dedicated to the Chicanismo pioneer was created by Avenue 50 Studio Board Members Sybil Venegas and Laura Medina, and Artist Yreina Cervantez.


Wayne Healy, a renowned Chicano artist, and Reyes recollect the weekends when Reyes watched Healy paint murals in the First District in the 1970's.

The 28th Annual National Night Out TONIGHT

Councilmember Reyes lights a candle during a National Night Out vigil at Divine Saviour Catholic Church.

Join your neighbors for National Night Out TONIGHT. The annual event highlights crime prevention efforts at more than 15,000 communities nationwide, including several areas in the First District. The event, sponsored by National Association of Town Watch, unites citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials in creating safer neighborhoods.

National Night Out events include peace walks, live entertainment and food from 7-10 p.m. at the following First District sites:

Divine Saviour Catholic Church, 610 Cypress Ave., Cypress Park, (323) 225-9181.
Olympic Police Station, 1130 S. Vermont, (213) 382-9102.
Rampart Police Station, 1401 West 6th St., (213) 484-3400 (Peace Walk begins at 5:30 p.m. at MacArthur Park).
Echo Park National Night Out, 1625 W. Sunset Blvd. (Walgreens parking lot), (213) 485-0004.
Flores Residence, 1658 W. 23rd St., Adams-Normandie, (323) 497-1772.
For a schedule of all National Night Out events Citywide, visit LAPD website.

City Council Adjourns in Memory of George Ramos, Los Angeles Times reporter, columnist

For Immediate Release Contact:
July 26, 2011 Reyes/Monica Valencia,(213)473-7001

Garcetti/Julie Wong (213) 473-7571


City Council Adjourns in Memory of George Ramos, Los Angeles Times reporter, columnist

LOS ANGELES-The Los Angeles City Council adjourned today’s City Council meeting in memory of George Ramos, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times, who was more comfortable referring to himself as “the kid from East L.A.”

Ramos, who suffered from increased complications from diabetes, was found dead at his home in Morro Bay Saturday. He was 63.

“George was a tenacious reporter and a brilliant story teller who always wrote from the heart," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "A proud son of the Eastside, he intimately captured the Latino experience in Los Angeles and never lost sight of the human dimension in journalism. He will be greatly missed but his legacy and enduring love for our City will live on through the many young journalists he mentored throughout
the years.”

Ramos was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1947. He grew up in Belvedere Garden, a neighborhood he described in a 1984 Pulitzer Prize series story as an East L.A. hillside barrio inhabited by “poor but proud people” with “hopes as resilient as tall wheat in a summer breeze.” Ramos graduated from Garfield High School and attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1969. He joined the Vietnam War effort, serving in the U.S. Army from March 1970 to September 1971 in West Germany and South Vietnam. He was awarded the Purple Heart after suffering a leg wound.

"I first met George over the phone when I was studying in Oxford more than 15 years ago and recently saw him on Memorial Day at Cinco Puntos. In the intervening years, I came to appreciate his unique perspective on issues facing our great city. His death is a loss for us all," said Council President Eric Garcetti.


First District Councilmember Ed P. Reyes said: “George Ramos was a street reporter, passionate and fiery, who constantly searched for the human side of the news. We will miss his ability to seek truth. It’s a perspective that’s needed now more than ever and we will miss him.”

Ramos joined the L.A. Times in 1978 after working for Copley News Service and the San Diego Union. During his career at the Times, he went on to win three Pulitzer Prizes, an honor only a handful of Latino reporters has accomplished in journalism history.

“As a teacher, journalist and veteran, George Ramos was a friend and mentor to many,” said Fourteenth District Councilmember José Huizar. “His influence crossed generations. His keen intellect, sharp sense of humor and deep sense of humanity will be dearly missed. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to see all his gifts displayed at our annual Veterans’ Memorial commemoration at Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights, which George participated in numerous times. My thoughts and prayers go out to all mourning the loss of this great man.”

Tenth District Councilmember Herb Wesson said: “George Ramos had roots in many communities, and the fact that he cared about those communities was reflected in his writing. He was a fine journalist, and a great role model. The many young journalists he trained, and who maintain his high standards, are the important legacy he leaves us.”

“George Ramos had a monumental impact because he was fearless in seeking out the truth and sharing it with the public. I am among the many fans who greatly admired him for his journalistic skills, personal and professional integrity and incredible dedication. Most of all, I appreciate how much he accomplished not just through the printed word but through his own humanity, as he was a wonderful and caring person who mentored countless others, giving them tools and wisdom with which to build a better career, life and world,” said Fifth District Councilmember Paul Koretz.

Ramos and former Times editor Frank Sotomayor were co-editors of a groundbreaking series on Latinos in Southern California that won the paper the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service in 1984. Seventeen Latino journalists worked on the 27-part series. Ramos also was part of the Times reporting teams that were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Seventh District Councilmember Richard Alarcón said: “Molded by the mentorship of Rubén Salazar and Frank del Olmo, George Ramos had a very personal connection to his Los Angeles roots and his writing reflected this.
By embracing his background, Ramos helped shape the conscience of Los Angeles.”

In 2003, Ramos left the Times to return to San Luis Obispo where he served as Cal Poly Journalism Department Chair. Ramos, a mentor to young Latino reporters, also served as president of the California Chicano News Media Association and was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame in 2007. Ramos returned to the teaching ranks and continued to serve as the faculty advisor to the Mustang Daily, the student newspaper. He also volunteered as an editor for Cal Coast News, a San Luis Obispo-based website. He admitted, however, that he missed Los Angeles.

Ramos was quoted as saying: “I can’t just sit on my laurels. I didn’t get into journalism for the rewards. I still consider myself as the kid from East L.A.”

George Ramos, the kid from East L.A., served Los Angeles well.

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