Category Archives: Eastside

Love on the Goldline

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This past Saturday May 29, LaEastside’s Pachuco 3000, many Eastside artists, art administrators, and familia from LA, Juarez & Texas attended the wedding of our dear friends & curators Pilar Tompkins and Adrian Rivas.  I don’t think Harry Gamboa, Jr. will mind that I’m sharing his photo showing the procession accompanied by mariachis and guests leaving the ceremony at Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles [Placita Olvera] to the Mariachi Plaza on the Metro Goldline.  Strolling from the church through Olvera Street, the joyous couple’s first dance was to “Volver, Volver, Volver” played by one of the Placita’s scheduled bands.  Tourists and locals joined in the glee of the whistle blowing guests en route to the Union Station.  The perfect day included a unique 1930’s reception at the beautiful Plaza Salon, formerly a speakeasy that is within walking distance from Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.  Pilar & Adrian’s love of Los Angeles history, art and architecture [which was featured on Saturday] was a blessing to all that attended.  Que vivan los novios!

LamPosts

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These old lamposts being devoured by creeping nasturtium vines were spotted outside the back gate of Heritage Square Museum in Lincoln Heights/Montecito Heights (the neighborhood designation is variable). The nasturtium has been growing wild there for at least twenty years and it’s amazing to me how large and prolific the vines grow.
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Memorial Day

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Evergreen Cemetery, Boyle Heights

Evergreen Cemetery, Boyle Heights

The official and American observance of Memorial Day is to honor people who died while in the military service. In the Japanese American community, Memorial Day was adapted to be a way to honor the ancestors. Those who know some Japanese call it “haka mairi” which means “visiting graves”.

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King of the Hill

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Spotted by Rosa Delgado at 5:16 pm today

After twelve years of searching, the good folks of Audubon Center at Debs Park finally spotted the elusive California King Snake today in the park.

Jeff Chapman, Director of the Audubon Center told LA Eastside:

“These guys have been seen in City Terrace, Ascot Hills, and Flat Top. I used to do reptile monitoring with kids from Franklin before the center and we never found them. Three years ago, we put out boards in the park and checked them periodically, but again we never detected them. So, this is very exciting for us and for the whole human/non-human community in the Northeast!”

If you live on the Eastside but have yet to visit the Audubon Center, now’s the time! There are all sorts of activities for children and adults and a very enjoyable trail from which you can take in the local floral and fauna of Debs Park.

Audubon Center at Debs Park
4700 North Griffin Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 221-2255

Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 9 a.m to 5 p.m.

The Audubon Center at Debs Park opened in 2003 as an environmental education and conservation center for the communities of northeast Los Angeles. The Center is located in the third largest park in the city of Los Angeles. More than half of the park is covered in walnut-oak woodland, grassland, and coastal sage scrub, a remnant of the native habitats that once rimmed the Los Angeles Basin. Over 140 species of birds have been recorded here.

http://www.audubondebspark.org

Stream Dreams-Part One: Hazard Park

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The title of this post is a nod to the informative and wonderful blog, LA Creek Freak. My discovery of this blog is fairly recently, if I only I had came across it sooner it might have saved me many hours of informal research. You see, for the past two years and a half I’ve been on a meandering quest to find the paths of old streams that once flowed through our urban areas.

When roaming through the city, I look for tell-tale signs: bridges, dips in the roads, large storm drains, stands of old trees, walls and houses made of river rock and street and neighborhood names with tell-tale monikers i.e. Brookside, Willowbrook, Arroyo Ave, River St, Evergreen, etc. Neighbors and long-time residents are also a great source of information. One of the more exciting clues are the actual streams themselves, they often pop up after heavy rains. The water remembers and will often follow it’s old course. It’s why some places in the city continually flood.

The search has been quite fun. Once I think I’ve found a spot, I’ll take photos, go home and check aerial views on Google maps. I’ll look at the way streets curve or sometimes I’ll notice a line of green trees marking the path of the old waterway. I often read through the Los Angeles Times archives and search for references to streams. For instance, I felt like the area around the Fourth Street Bridge and Lorena was a likely place for a stream and while doing research I found a notice by the city placed in the early 1900s, asking for contractors to bid on constructing a bridge over the “stream running at Fourth St.”

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The new *Cool* for Eastside kids?

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Yes, I ride a track bike. I have for 3 years now. I’d rather have a nice ten-speed these days but I don’t have the money for that kind of purchase right now.

But interestingly enough I have noticed a surge in “fixed-gear” bicycles (and bicycles in general) in the Eastside in general; and being that I live in El Sereno & work in Lincoln Heights, my perceptions arise from these neighborhoods. I have been a bicycle-commuter (& bus commuter) to get to work & school pretty steadily for almost 5 years now. As a young kid I used to get around by bicycle & bus too, but typcial of Los Angeles kids, I started driving as soon as could! Once I grew tired of driving and became aware of the social, environmental, health repurcussions due to car culture I sought to abandon it (though I am no anti-car evangelical!).

At work (a local high scool), I would often be asked why I did not drive a car; most students would see me walk onto the campus with my bicycle. I would say the usual environmental, social, political, and economic reasons: still most 16 years old are baffled when an adult doesn’t drive. I get the same response when I tell them I don’t have a TV at home. For them a car is equated with freedom of movement: anyone that has driven in Los Angeles for a few years knows that this myth slowly erodes…

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Turn in your “broken” guns

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The City of Los Angeles is having their Annual Gun Buyback next weekend. If you turn in handguns, shotguns, or rifles you can get $100 in either a Ralph’s or Visa gift cards. Or if you turn in any assault weapon you will receive $200 in gift cards. Now I say “broken” myself because with this crazy world we live in and the way it is becoming, you might want to keep working weapons in a safe place for protection…Now, that’s just my opinion. Viva La Revolution, lol!

Will there still be guns on the streets? Most likely yes, but if you want to get rid of something that doesn’t work, then why not? Whether it’s a gimmick or not, we don’t know, judge for yourself. No questions asked.

Saturday May 8, 2010

10:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M.

East Los Angeles
Hollenback Area
Legacy LA
1350 N. San Pablo St
Los Angeles, Ca 90015
West Los Angeles
Hollywood area
Farm Fresh Grocery Store
5520 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, Ca 90028
South Los Angeles
Harbor Area
Park and Ride Parking Lot
1300 West Pacific Coast Highway
Wilmington, Ca 90744
77th Area
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
7900 South Western Ave
Los Angeles, Ca 90047
Valley
Mission Area
Facey Medical Center Parking Lot
11165 Sepulveda Blvd
Mission Hills, Ca 91345

More info call the popo or not: 1-877 LAPD 247

See? We DO need a Pedestrian Coordinator for the Metro

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Job Announcement

Boyle Heights Living Streets Initiative. Job Description: Green LA Coalition (GLA) is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Project Coordinator for the Boyle Heights Living Streets Initiative. This position is expected to run through March 2012. Boyle Heights Living Streets Initiative: The Boyle Heights Living Streets Initiative will increase people’s ability to safely and pleasantly cycle and walk in Boyle Heights by implementing 3 prototype Living Streets near the Mariachi Plaza and Soto Gold Line stations. Currently, City of Los Angeles ‘ standard street improvement projects do not give any special consideration to cyclists and pedestrians. This Initiative will take advantage of the opportunity afforded by approximately $25 million allocated through various grants and funding programs to design and install street improvements near these Gold Line stations according to Living Streets principles. GLA is partnering with the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) to lay the groundwork for 3 prototype Living Streets designed with strong community participation. This Initiative will additionally develop a Blueprint document and pass necessary policies so that Living Streets can be replicated throughout the city. An inter-agency task force and community stakeholder task force will be created. For more information on Living Streets see website

Interested candidates please send cover letter and resume to:  Green LA Coalition, 1000 North Alameda Street, Suite 240, Los Angeles , CA 90012, ATTN: Stephanie Taylor, Interim Managing Director, staylor@greenlacoalition. org.   By: Friday, May 7, 2010

For More Information contact: Stephanie Taylor, Interim Managing Director, staylor@greenlacoalition. org

Eastside Name Controversy Ends

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Beware of false Eastsides. As the pretenders to the Eastside name and identity fade into the West…A new question arises for those who may give a shit,..what to call the neighborhoods of East Hollywood, Los Felix, Silver Lake and Echo Park now? As a recent article in la.curbed suggests,..If the already existing names are not trendy enough for you,..add your name suggestions and try to start your own buzz.

Here is my new name suggestion,……the following song says it all and it’s a catchy tune with just a hint of irony. 🙂
[audio:https://laeastside.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Funky-town.mp3]

The State Of The Torta

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The torta has got to be one of the most unappreciated cheap Mexican fast foods around, the lonely and homely half-sister to that king taco that gets all the attention.  How can a mere sandwich even begin to measure up to glory that is the taco? Still, little Miss Torta has her own charms. Sometimes the Torta is exactly the one you want to do. I have a few favorite spots where the torta is the only item I want to put in my mouth. (Hmm, that sounds funny.) But I figured it was time to venture away from the known and try a few other places, see how their so-called tortas stack up. Someone needs to start the Great Torta Hunt to kick off an appreciation of our most favorite utilitarian sandwich.

I took a few notes and pics of some recent examples across our city, for what little its worth. Click ahead to see the State of the Modern Torta in Los Angeles.

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Raspados

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Little known random fact about me, I use to be a raspado vendor. I kid you not. This was when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life after graduating high school. You know, taking a year off or three from school to get my head on straight.  I worked as a street vendor and I learned some life lessons that cannot be learned anywhere else. Even when I was a kid, the raspado man would be a sight for sore eyes when school let out. My favorite all time flavors are  rompope, vanilla, strawberry, then all three combined with some lechera on top Mmmm, mmmm.

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Cafecito Organico

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Silver Lake’s Sunset Junction may hold world titles in hipster density and most trafficked trendy businesses but who wants to gamble with parking enforcement and wait in twenty-minute lines for a freakin’ cup of coffee just to sport Intelligentsia’s logo?


Gamble not and wait not for Cafecito Organico has arrived next door, literally. Well, at least for those who do live next door and in walking distance from the cafe in the mostly residential area of Silver Lake. Nestled on the corner of Hoover and Bellvue, Cafecito Organico is the newest cafe in the area and only a two-minute drive from the hip Sunset Junction block. Reminiscent of a typical Italian coffee bar, the cafe struts a standing counter inside for those customers in for a quick espresso stop. The backdoor patio lets the loungers sip on lattes and check their email.
A relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, Cafecito offers quite the opposite experience from neighboring often-overcrowded gourmet coffee shops. Customers will usually be greeted by the owners, Mitch Hale and Angel Orozco – both awesome baristas and the nicest, most humble people on the planet – and their friendly staff. Mitch, Angel and their staff can also be found at the Silver Lake and Hollywood Farmers Markets on Saturdays and Sundays, where their business started two years ago and has become so successful that they had to open a shop to supply the demand of their loyal customers.
Cafecito’s menu is traditionally simple with a couple of house originals – the Cafecito (hot drink) and Global Warming (cold drink), both made with Cafecito’s orignial espresso blend, choice of milk and raw sugar cane juice. Their coffee, all hand-roasted by Angel and staff near downtown, is ground and brewed one cup at a time.
Cafecito Organico has raised the bar in quality coffee, excellent service and a most genuine welcoming environment. It is soon to be a stop Angelenos will not be able to live without.
Cafecito Organico
534 N. Hoover Street (corner of Bellevue)
Los Angeles, 90004