Category Archives: Politica

The cityhood train marches on

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One hurdle on East L.A.’s path to incorporation was cleared on Friday. The County registrar certified the signatures on the cityhood petition, all 11,000-plus. What’s next? The fiscal study on the feasibility of cityhood, which should be complete by September 2009, according to the timeline in the official cityhood website. An initial study conducted in 2007 showed the possible City of East Los Angeles would be economically feasible.

If the new study finds East Los Angeles to be economically feasible, a cityhood vote would be held in 2010 and the city would be incorporated in 2011. If anything, the Gold Line will work in East L.A.’s favor.

My favorite part of this drive for cityhood is explained in this statement by Oscar Gonzales, the President of the East Los Angeles Residents Association:

Gonzales says the 140,000 residents are represented by a county supervisor whose district covers 2 million people.

State Senator Gloria Romero currently supports this process and Supervisor Gloria Molina has stayed quiet. I wonder when she’ll speak or abstain. Very interesting…

I know we got urban planners/awesome people who read this blog. Please, give your insight into East Los.

Image above taken from Cityhood for East L.A.’s Flickr. To learn more, visit their official website.

Gana la verde

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I posted this on my blog and even though I usually tend to reframe from bringing up that whole “I don’t have papers” issue on here, I figured what the hell. Enjoy 😀

              With the new year here, I always look back to the past and thank God everyday that even though I’m not where I want to be yet, at least I’m not where I use to be. Thinking back that far I remembered something that at the time didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but looking back on it now, I still can’t believe it.
Back in 2004 there was a show called “Gana la Verde,” a fear factor inspired show that pitted contestants in physical challenges all so the winner can have an opportunity win a green card. This show captivated its audience as soon as it hit the air. The show was offering people a chance to become legal residents, what every undocumented resident dreams of for their families.Click here to hear an NPR report on the show     Click here for a clip of the show

La Crisis. Is your rental in foreclosure? Don’t know, well here is a resource.

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I was reading the Uncle Fatlips blog and on his page I found a great resource, RentalForeclosure.com.

On it you can look up where you are renting and see if you will soon be homeless.

I found out my building is in foreclosure or has received a notice of foreclosure.

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A View of the 1st LA Anarchist Bookfair

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Panel on Anarcha-Feminism

This last weekend, on Saturday I went to the first annual Los Angeles Anarchist Bookfair at the Southern California Library. I’ve been to a few Anarchist Bookfairs up north in San Francisco, so I was very interested in seeing how this would turn out.  I couldn’t make it to all the workshops/panels but I did make it to a few.

More after the jump.

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Post-Post Apocalypse. Starts TONIGHT. Thursday, December 4.

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Wendy O Williams. Did life with a purpose!

Wendy O Williams. Did life with a purpose!

Opening Performance: Thursday, December 4, 2008 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Loft, 401 S. Mesa, San Pedro, CA 90731

Post-Post-Apocalypse

From December 4 to January 17, artists Edith Abeyta and Marshall Astor will engage in a series of actions, using the gallery at The Loft as a stage for process and experimentation in the public sphere.

The primary focus of this exhibition is the construction of a house inside of the gallery. This project is intended as an experimental exercise, loosely rooted in the ideas contained within the two artists’ installations for the 2006 exhibition Contemplating Apocalypse, which took place at The Brewery Project.

Post-Post-Apocalypse takes place in a cycle of three parts, Ruins, Survival and Civilization.

Ruins: On December 4, beginning at 6 PM, the two artists will enact Ruins, the symbolic exodus from their destroyed city. In a rain of light and sound they will make their path into the wilderness, in search of a new home.

Survival: Following ruins, the artists will engage in the primary action of the exhibition, Survival. During Survival, the artists will construct both the artificial environment for their post-apocalyptic hermitage and their new home, a 12’ x 24’ house on stilts, occupying most of the gallery space. In addition, a series of events and actions by guest participants will take place, including curatorial and artist salons, a cheesemaking workshop, a meditation exercise, the murder of a car, a birthday party and other events to be cooked up during the course of the exhibition.

Civilization: The close of the exhibition will be the celebration of the return of Civilization. Following the successful construction of the house, the artists will host a closing event/performance in celebration of both the New Year and the completion of their project.
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Let’s go, public transport!

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Dear Gloria Molina,

Remember Measure R, the county-wide tax increase measure you tried to prevent from reaching the November 2008 ballot by refusing to support the measure with a ‘yes’ vote? If I remember correctly, you said it didn’t spread enough money to projects in your area, though East L.A. is getting the Gold Line and passing Measure R would help pay for it to be extended further east and increase mobility throughout the Metro L.A. area.

Do you remember Measure R?

It passed.

Look at that! The heaviest support came from Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Gateway Cities in your district! Bell, Maywood, Huntington Park, Bell Gardens, Cudahy all voted in support of Measure R in excess of 77%. South Gate was one percentage point away from the so-coveted deep red, and I blame the disconnected Hollydaleans.

Your district supports improved mobility for people, not so much money and projects in their districts. Most of these cities have bus lines that connect with the Blue Line. What more do we want than increased mobility once we get to the Blue Line?

Keep this in mind the next time you abstain from supporting or opposing a measure. It didn’t bid well for you here.

Peace and love,

SEM

See map in full size here.

In America you have rights, sort of. I hate cops. Reason 1,109.

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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” First Amendment, US Constitution.

Last Thursday on November 6, my boyfriend’s (BusTard) first amendment rights were violated in the name allegedly of Homeland Security. He was taking pictures of Sheriffs that do nothing at the rail stations, but harass people not polluting the environment with their cars. For doing this he was rewarded with being arrested and taken to LA Country Jail where he got to spend the remainder of his day.
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Aha! More on Prop 8

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There are large group* of folks that need to start working on their apologies right about now. According to a new study, support for Prop 8 among African-Americans was not as high as previously reported.

From KPCC:

African-Americans may have supported Prop 8 less than exit poll showed

There is a dispute over the extent to which African-Americans supported Proposition 8, the measure that bans same-sex marriage in California. A national exit poll suggested that 70 percent of blacks in California voted for the measure.

But another poll by the Center for the Study of L.A. found in Los Angeles, just over half of blacks supported Prop 8. Fernando Guerra directs the center at Loyola Marymount University. He told KPCC’s Larry Mantle that he doubts black opposition to the measure was as large as has been reported.

Fernando Guerra: Seventeen-and-a-half percent of all blacks in state of California live and vote in city of L.A. – so neither one of ours could be correct because for us to get only 52 percent – and statewide 70 percent, all blacks outside the city of Los Angeles would have had to support that proposition by 75 percent, so it makes it even higher.”

Guerra is a board member of Southern California Public Radio. His center conducted exit polls last Tuesday in L.A. neighborhoods with large numbers of black voters.

Of course there is a lot of work needed in ALL of our communities regarding tolerance, this goes without saying. However, hope this reminds folks, especially more progressive minded people that they need to think twice before they start accusing and blaming disenfranchised groups for larger, institutional problems.

*I should be more clear, “large groups of people” refers to those in the media and others who are quick to perpetuate divisiveness.