Krekorian Demands DWP
Improve Customer Service
LOS ANGELES - Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee, introduced two motions Friday to shed light on changes to the Department of Water and Power's billing system and address long wait times for calling into the utility's support hotline.
The first motion comes in response to constituent concerns of repeated difficulties DWP customers experienced getting in touch with their utility. Specifically, the motion seeks data on daily and weekly call volumes, average hold times and mechanisms for fixing excessive wait times.
In his other motion, Councilmember Krekorian called on the DWP to update the City Council on the process of implementing its new billing system, which the DWP said experienced software problems.
"Customers with inaccurate bills complained that their charges significantly increased and in some cases doubled," Councilmember Krekorian wrote in the motion he introduced. "They also complained of experiencing long wait times while dealing with the Department's customer service unit. The DWP reported that they are fully committed to resolving these issues and stabilizing the system as soon as possible."
The motions have each been sent to the Energy and Environment Committee for further review before they will return to the City Council for approval. Each motion was co-presented by Councilmember Felipe Fuentes, chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, as well as Councilmember Mike Bonin.
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Mustached City Hall Kicks off Movember
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Councilmember Krekorian, flanked by his colleagues Felipe Fuentes, Mitch O'Farrell, Curren Price and Mitch Englander, honor Movember, represented by its U.S. Director Mark Hedstrom and Mo Bros | Photos/CD2
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LOS ANGELES - It's that time of year again, when mustache-clad men rise to the cause, spreading awareness about cancer and mental health issues that affect men.
During the 30 days of November, global charity Movember encourages men to join the movement by growing a mustache, or Mo, as it's known in Australia, raising funds and awareness to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.
The L.A. City Council, led by Councilmember Paul Krekorian,
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Movember U.S. Director Mark Hedstrom
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recognized the work of Movember on Wednesday, honoring the movement that has advocated the cause of early detection and worked to provide funding to better diagnose, treat and cure prostate and testicular cancer.
"This has been something this Council has placed a great deal of importance on because all of us are impacted in some way or another by friends, family or somebody we encounter who's been impacted by Cancer," Councilmember Paul Krekorian said. "What the Movember movement does is it causes us to ask questions. When somebody sees me wearing this (mustache) they ask, Why in the world are you doing this? It gives me an opportunity to talk about things that are sometimes difficult to talk about - the importance of being tested for Cancer.
"Most of the men's cancers are so readily treatable if we just make the effort to get early testing."
Joining the Councilmember was Mark Hedstrom, U.S. director for the organization, his Mo Bros, and councilmembers Felipe Fuentes, Mitch Englander, Mitch O'Farrell and Curren Price.
In 2012, more than 1.1 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world joined the movement, raising $147 million. In the U.S. alone, more than 209,000 Mo's raised $21 million, which has been a game changer for cancer research, Hedstrom said.
"With the funds that are raised...we have the ability to change the way research is done, particularly when it focuses on prostate and testicular cancer," he said.
Last year, Movember launched a $10 million global action plan to fund research around the world that focuses on better ways of diagnosing men's cancer and tailoring treatment for those suffering from prostate and testicular cancer.
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Community Clean Up in North Hollywood
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Collection of trash and debris from the clean up | Photo/CD2
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NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Neighbors and volunteers gathered in the East Valley last weekend to beautify their community, continuing the push for a cleaner North Hollywood.
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Volunteers clearing trash | Photos/CD2
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The North Hollywood North East Neighborhood Council, in conjunction with the office of Councilmember Paul Krekorian, provided tools and refreshments to more than 50 volunteers, including many high school students from Upward Bound, as they all helped clear trash and debris along Lankershim Boulevard between Vose Street and Sherman Way.
Since April, local nonprofit Sun Valley Graffiti Busters has removed nearly 450,000 pounds of bulky items from CD2 streets, while the
Bureau of Sanitation hauled away nearly 749,000 pounds of bulky items in September.
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Council Pushes for Citywide Free WiFi
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Photo via Wikimedia
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LOS ANGELES - The City Council moved ahead this week with plans to study the technical, financial and physical parameters of offering free WiFi service throughout Los Angeles. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the measure, asked the city's Information Technology Agency to draft a Request For Proposal (RFP) that could deliver internet access to millions of Angelenos.
Councilmember Paul Krekorian, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, supported the measure, calling it an economic motivator for a city still recovering from the Great Recession.
"If we want to be a 21st Century city with a 21st Century economy, then we have to build a 21st Century technology infrastructure," Councilmember Paul Krekorian said.
Ars Technica reports that this would be "one of the most ambitious city-led broadband projects to date:"
LA expects the fiber buildout to cost $3 billion to $5 billion, but the cost would be borne by the vendor. "The city is going into it and writing the agreement, basically saying, 'we have no additional funding for this effort.' We're requiring the vendors that respond to pay for the city resources needed to expedite any permitting and inspection associated with laying their fiber," [ITA GM Steve] Reneker said. "If they're not willing to do that, our City Council may consider a general fund transfer to reimburse those departments, but we're going in with the assumption that the vendor is going to absorb those up-front costs to make sure they can do their buildout in a timely fashion."
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Tiara Street Park is Now Open
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Councilmembers Krekorian and LaBonge but the ribbon open the Valley's newest park | Photo Dept. of Rec and Park
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NORTH HOLLYWOOD - For years, this stretch of land in the middle of North Hollywood laid vacant. The building, empty for years after the Los Angeles Police Dept. moved up the street, sat next to under utilized open space. City officials spent years landscaping, designing and finalizing plans for what would become Tiara Street Park.
On Halloween Day, years of hard work came to fruition as councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Tom LaBonge led an array of officials and costumed kids from nearby Maurice Sendak Elementary School in a ribbon cutting heralding the park's opening.
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Councilmember Krekorian pictured with Mid Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council president Mary Garcia in front of the brand new play area. | Photo/CD2
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The old LAPD building is now a community multipurpose center and will be used for an after-school club day care and, eventually, a preschool, as well as for community meetings and gatherings.
The one-and-a-half acre landscaped site also features a children's play area with rubberized surfacing, decomposed granite walking paths, a trellis, benches, gaming tables, solar-powered lighting, outdoor fitness exercise equipment stations, picnic tables, drinking fountains, shade structures and a new asphalt concrete parking structure.
Tiara Street Park is located at 11480 Tiara St., North Hollywood.
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Free Resource Fair Invites
Seniors to Learn About Services
VALLEY VILLAGE - The Office of Councilmember Krekorian, in collaboration with the office of Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian and the Valley Village Homeowners Association, is hosting its first senior's resource fair on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. and you are invited!
 City, County and community agencies will gather on Thursday evening for the Community Support for Active Seniors fair to provide information about the variety of services available to the senior community, such as in-home assistance, nutrition services, healthcare management, transportation services for the elderly, senior employment training, family caregiver training information and much more. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about all the available services and speak with organization representatives. The fair is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the Oakwood School's North Campus, located on 11605 Magnolia Blvd., at the intersection of Lemp Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. If you plan on attending, be sure to RSVP with our office by emailing Nikki Ezhari at [email protected] or call (818) 755-7676.
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Photos Around Town
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Councilmember Paul Krekorian, pictured above with Ernie Moscoso from the North Hollywood North East Neighborhood Council, activated a new traffic signal intersection of Lankershim Boulevard & Valerio Street in North Hollywood. | Photo/CD2
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Councilmember Krekorian pictured with the newest appointments to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission. From left to right: Richard Katz, John W. Mack, Caroline Choe, Maria Guadalupe Cabildo and Robert L. Ahn
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 | | Little trick-or-treaters from the Joy Picus Child Development Center participated in the annual Halloween Parade through City Hall | Photo/CD2 |
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Councilmember Krekorian with Jeri Dye Lynch (center), Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian and participants of the 2013 In Honor of Connor 5K run | Photo Office of Assemblymember Nazarian
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Councilmember Krekorian spoke on the budget process during the 2013 Neighborhood Council Budget Day
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Wat Thai of Los Angeles held the opening ceremony of the Loy Krathong Festival on Saturday, Nov. 2. Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. The name can be translated as "Floating Crown" or "Floating Decoration", and comes from the tradition of making floral decorations which are then floated on a river. | Photo/CD2
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Volume 4, Issue 29
November 6, 2013
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cd2.lacity.org
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Check our blog out on Tumblr, where you can read daily news stories and updates of our neighborhoods and beyond. Click below or on cd2news.tumblr.com 
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