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Young Filmmakers Shine at 3rd
Annual L.A. Student Media Festival
NORTH HOLLYWOOD - With the red carpet rolled out and the stage set, enthusiastic young filmmakers and a throng of film buffs filled the seats of North Hollywood's El Portal Theatre to watch the final 36 films of the 3rd annual Los Angeles Student Media Festival to showcase a night of impressive storytelling.
This year's festival collected nearly 200 entries from schools throughout Los Angeles County but only one was named Best of Show.
"Thanks for liking my films," said Stephanie Delazeri, who accepted the top prize for her animated films In the Home and The Horror, to a rousing ovation in the sold-out theater.
Other winners included:
-Best Documentary/PSA: Trans*formation
-Best Comedy: Survival of the Fittest
-Best Drama: Palled in Elm
-Best Commercial: Raid
The night, hosted by, Jonathan Weedman, Senior Vice President of Community Relations for Wells Fargo, was kicked off by Harvard Westlake's improve comedy troupe Scene Monkeys.
This year's winners won a $500 scholarship sponsored by the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation and received an official commemoration from the city of Los Angeles. Each team will also be treated to a lunch hosted in their honor at CBS Studio Center with Studio President Michael L. Klausman.
"As is true every year, the films that made the final cut prove that the level of talent and creativity of Southern California's high school students is unparalleled and I'm thrilled that our festival once again gave them a forum to fully showcase their vision," Councilmember Krekorian said. "I have no doubt that among the finalists we announced will be Oscar and Emmy winners of the future."
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Project on Schedule as LADWP
Continues Work on Coldwater
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Councilmember Krekorian with LADWP Director of Water Distribution Joe Castruita at the site of LADWP project.
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STUDIO CITY - A project to install a new 60-inch pipe underneath Coldwater Canyon Avenue is on schedule as officials continue working quickly to ensure the safety and reliability of the region's drinking water.
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Crew works on excavated pipe.
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Last week, crews from the Dept. of Water and Power installed steel beams and shoring plates at each of the three connection points of the pipe along Coldwater Canyon. They are now in the process of preparing to install the trunk line at its connections points before welding them together - the final stretch of the project.
Construction is still slated to end at the end of April and crews will continue shutting down Coldwater Canyon, between Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. As has been standard practice during construction, access to Coldwater Canyon in the project area will continue to be restricted to those with local access passes.
To ensure a smooth flow of traffic, Councilmember Krekorian directed the Dept. of Transportation to place about a dozen extra traffic officers at key intersections in and around the closure area.
Stay up to date with weekly emails from the office of Councilmember Krekorian. To receive these updates, simply send an email to Geoffrey.Yazzetta@lacity.org, with our office. You can also stay up to date with news on Twitter and Facebook. All updates will be posted to our Tumblr page, accessible to everyone via cd2news.tumblr.com/tagged/coldwater.
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Valley Glen Clean-up
Sweeps Away Loads of Trash
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Bulky item: removed
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VALLEY GLEN - No corner was left unturned when volunteers hits the streets of Valley Glen last weekend to rid their neighborhood of trash and beautify the community.
Councilmember Paul Krekorian kicked off the clean up in the Valley College parking lot before residents and members of the LAPD Divisions in North Hollywood and Van Nuys scoured the area for bulky items to be trashed, graffiti to be removed and for shopping carts to be retrieved. The result: 112 identified graffiti locations were painted over by local non-profit New Directions for Youth, 50 abandoned shopping carts were recovered and pulled off the streets and about 214 bulky items were removed from the streets.
The departments of Sanitation and Street Services also pitched in to help during the event, which was organized by the Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council and the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association, in addition to the office of Councilmember Krekorian.
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Graffiti: scrubbed
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The weekend's event was part of an on going effort by the Council office to address community needs by empowering and inspiring community partnerships to beautify and improve the quality of life in Council District 2 and beyond.
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North Hollywood Beautification
Draws Hundreds of Volunteers
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The Whitsett Slope
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NORTH HOLLYWOOD - With shovels, rakes and tools in hand, more than one hundred community volunteers took to a northeast pocket of North Hollywood last weekend to begin Phase One of a community beautification project in a lot long an eyesore for residents.
 Near the intersection of Whitsett Avenue and Saticoy Street - in an area known as the Whitsett Slope - Councilmember Krekorian joined volunteers from throughout the city who spent three hours in the lot picking weeds, digging, seeding, and mulching the area. This Saturday, April 6, volunteers will head out there once again from 7 to 11 a.m. to finish the job by planting native plants and more.
The slope, near a city-owned lot, has been an ongoing problem for more than five years before its path to beautification was kicked off last weekend. The event was a collaboration of Councilmember Krekorian's office, neighbors from the North Hollywood West Neighborhood Council, North Hollywood Northeast Neighborhood Council, Strathern & Teesdale neighborhood watches, volunteers from USC during their Day of Service, Sun Valley and North East Valley Graffiti Busters and many more. Families from the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission and workers from the Sherman Way Day Labor site also helped and representatives from the Theodore Payne Society helped with native plants.
"Through an extraordinary partnership between the city and the neighborhood, we worked together to help realize our collective vision of revitalizing this area as we continue to improve quality of life in the San Fernando Valley," Councilmember Paul Krekorian said. ------------------------------------
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Krekorian Releases Statement About
The Tonight Show's Move
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LOS ANGELES - NBC announced yesterday that The Tonight Show will move from its base in Burbank to New York in 2014. As a member of the City Council, Councilmember Krekorian has worked to keep film and television jobs from leaving the city and, while a member of the state Assembly, authored the state's first successful film and television incentive package in 2009 to keep production local.
"Obviously, it is a great disappointment that The Tonight Show will move back to New York after four decades in Burbank to accommodate its new host," he said. "At the same time, it's important to emphasize that NBC made this decision due to the specific circumstances of this show and its host. NBC has personally assured me of the network's continuing commitment to increase production in Southern California, and I will continue working closely with NBC to make certain their promise becomes a reality.
"The Tonight Show's move east will not dampen our resolve to fight for jobs in Los Angeles and beyond."
Part of that fight included a plan the City Council approved last year that is slated to deliver 30,000 jobs in Los Angeles. The NBCUniversal Evolution Plan, which you can read more about here, was passed unanimously by the Council in November and is slated to deliver $1.6 billion to the local economy as the company constructs new media outlets, an expansion of Universal Studios' back lot and theme park, and two 500-room hotels.
The plan was significantly pared down since originally proposed, when it featured 3,000 housing units that would have caused horrendous and
unmitigatable traffic impacts on surrounding communities.
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City Honors Persian New Year
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Councilmembers Huizar, Koretz, and Krekorian honor Persian New year during last Friday's council session.
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LOS ANGELES - The L.A. City Council honored the Persian New Year Nowruz in late March with a celebration featuring Persian-American leaders and elected officials from throughout Southern California.
Nowruz kicked off on March 21 to mark the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian calendar. The 3,000-year-old festival, celebrated by more than 300 million people across the globe, focuses on the idea of renewal emblematic of spring, when nature casts aside winter for warmer weather.
"Springtime is a time for us to reflect on looking forward and how we can do better, how we can have a new beginning," Councilmember Paul Krekorian said. "The name Nowruz, a new day, reinforces that concept of new beginnings that all of us cherish."
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Councilmember Appoints Representative to the L.A. Domestic Violence Task Force
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Lauren Gallant
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LOS ANGELES - Councilmember Paul Krekorian recently appointed Lauren Gallant as Council District 2's representative to the city's Domestic Violence Task Force.
A long-time San Fernando Valley resident and current field representative for state Sen. Alex Padilla, Gallant hopes to provide a valuable vantage point using her experience at the local and state level as it concerns domestic violence programs, funding and policy.
The Los Angeles Domestic Violence Task Force was established in 1994 to assist city leaders in developing and coordinating domestic violence programs and making recommendations to the City Council on legal advocacy, legislation and other policies relating to domestic violence.
During the March meeting, the task force shared pertinent information about services provided by the Family Violence Unit at the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, which works to provide relocation assistance, medical assistance, counseling services.
Additional information about the Family Violence Unit's victim services can be found at: http://da.co.la.ca.us/familyviolence/
The task force meets the second Monday of each month. For further information, contact the Human Services and Family Development Division at (213)744-9311.
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April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department is joining state law enforcement agencies this month for a zero-tolerance enforcement campaign to deter drivers from texting while driving and ensure safety on our roads.
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It's not worth it
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More than 225 public safety agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, will be on the lookout for those using their mobile phones or texting while behind the wheel. Officials last year ticketed nearly 450,000 motorists using their phones while driving, with last year's April campaign netting nearly 60,000 offenders in California.
This year's enforcement hopes to educate the community about the perils of distracted driving, especially cell phone use. Studies show that drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into traffic collisions serious enough to injure themselves.
As the campaign kicks off this week, maximum enforcement dates are scheduled for April 3rd and 16th. To avoid a distracted driving ticket (which can cost up to $160 for the first citation) or fate worse than a citation, the LAPD offers drivers the following tips:
- Turn off your phone and/or put it out of reach while driving;
- Include in your outgoing message that you can't answer while you are driving;
- Don't call or text anyone at a time when you think they may be driving.
For more information, visit the LAPD website.
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Volume 4, Issue 9
April 5, 2013
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cd2.lacity.org
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Are you receiving this newsletter from a friend?
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Coldwater Canyon Closure Info:
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Closure Now in Effect
Monday - Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday,
8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Take Alternate Routes:
Cahuenga Blvd./Highland Ave.
Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Beverly Glen Blvd.
Sepulveda Blvd.
Interstate 405
Take Metro- visit www.metro.net
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Valley Plaza Park Playground Closed
The playground at Valley Plaza Park will be closed until further notice. Due to falling tiles, the Dept. of Recreation and Parks has taken precautions to close the playground until repairs can be made. For more information, call us at (818) 755-7676. |
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To see a complete list of neighborhood council and community meetings, please check out our
Community Calendar.
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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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