January 8, 2023 - Open as a Webpage

Wendy Castro, from the office of Mayor Karen Bass, spoke about the Mayor's first day in office. Mayor Bass declared a State of Emergency on Homelessness and has since then signed two Executive Directives to address the homelessness crisis in our city. 

Ms. Castro also mentioned that volunteers are needed for the 2023 Homeless Count. The Highland Park Count will be on Jan. 26 from 8-midnight. There are many open slots and you can sign up in groups of up to 3 by clicking here: https://www.theycountwillyou.org/highland_park_count_20220127_20230126

Lastly, the Mayor Bass Administration is hiring. To submit your resume and cover letter visit jobs.lamayor.org/apply/mayor.

Senior Lead Officer Lloyd Chang addressed concerns raised by stakeholders regarding tagging at the Highland Park Adult Senior Citizen Center wall, suggesting that video cameras be added to the site. NC Board member Ghazal Hashemi suggested that a blank wall is a temptation for future tagging and that perhaps a mural would be a better solution. SLO Chang enthusiastically agreed.

Lorenzo Briceno, the EmpowerLA representative for HHPNC, mentioned the virtual Regional Awareness and Engagement Workgroup. And spoke about the potential of returning to In Person meetings although there is no immediate information.

Sarah Moore from the Arroyo Seco Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library - reported on a workshop on Sauerkraut and Other Fermented Food to be held on Saturday, Jan. 14th, at 3 pm. For this and other events please visit lapl.org

Senator Maria Elena Durazo was able to attend to talk about some of the changes to the law since she took office. Foremost the Senator mentioned that wage replenishment for Paid Family Leave and for State Disability was only 60% of the earned wage which made it difficult for lower wage earners to utilize. Now, thanks to a large coalition, it will go to 90% within 2 years making it more likely for lower-income families to take advantage of the program. The Senator also spoke of expanding access to healthcare for children and seniors regardless of immigration status.

Elections Ad Hoc- will meet the first Wednesday of the month at 6 pm. Members of the committee will be attending the next virtual Regional Awareness and Engagement Workgroup, to gain ideas and resources on how to approach candidate recruitment and voter outreach. The Candidate filing period begins on Jan 20th and will go through Mar 6th. 

Housing Renters and Homelessness welcomes a new Co-Chair Elliot Avila and the next meeting will be on January 18th at 7 pm. The HRHC will host the monthly discussion about the Tiny Homes at Arroyo Seco, and the condition of the restrooms for the residents at the site as brought up during General Public comment by two residents, one of whom is Mr. Hope from the Housing Renters and Homelessness Committee.

The Los Angeles City Clerk's Election Division's Naima Pulliam gave a presentation to the meeting about the upcoming NC Elections. For more information go to https://clerk.lacity.org/clerk-services/elections/nc-elections

Theresa Saso briefed the meeting on a newly forming coalition of the various neighborhood councils (NC's) within Council District 14. There has been preliminary discussion among various NC executive committee members within VD14 about forming a coalition of mutual support because of the difficulties facing Councilmember De Leon and how best to serve our communities.

Some of the possibilities include working with other Council Members in order to move items through the City Council given some of the barriers Council Member De Leon faces now that he has been censured and asked to resign. The briefing was primarily intended to see if there was 1) a need for the coalition and 2) a need for further discussion. The overall sense was that a coalition is a good idea and that there is a need for an expanded discussion with stakeholders and board members present.

• Community Impact Statement (CIS) in support of a Conditional Use Permit for an alehouse called Block Party at 5050 York Blvd. John Collinson reported that since the Land Use Committee voted to support the CUP he discovered that not all the provisions in the current CUP have been met by the owners and that he is now opposed to rather than in support of the expansion to the full liquor license. Members of the community expressed their support for Block Party, but a motion was not made either way since the language on the agenda was not clear whether or not the CIS was for or against. 

• The board voted to support a Community Impact Statement addressing discrepancies between the approved plan and existing construction at 516 N. Ave 64.

• The board approved expenditure of up to $2,000 for eco-friendly outreach items and any associated fees.

• Lastly, the board appointed Elliot Avila as a new Director At Large on the HHPNC Board.

The Environmental Committee met mid December to make upcycled holiday gifts from found and repurposed objects for friends and family! We brought all our crafting supplies, tamales and pan dulce (thanks to one of our most amazing stakeholders!!). We enjoyed ourselves so much we decided to make it a semi-regular thing! Keep an eye out for future invitations.

The stunningly beautiful Water is Life mural by local muralist Joe Bravo is nearly complete. You'll notice it features P-22 who happens to be ascending into the stars--it was a coincidence that he was painted that way, and upon near completion, the mountain lion was euthanized. It makes our mural even MORE powerful, more important for environmental reasons. Our friends the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, Kizh Nation have been part of the conversation as to what to do with P-22's remains.

Separately, our committee is really proud of the growth of our trees that were planted nearly two years ago in partnership with the Department of Sanitation. Check them out surrounding the Luther Burbank and Garvanza Park, along York Blvd surrounding the 99 Cents Store and the surrounding areas. We are also working with the Bureau of Engineering and CD14 to advocate for environmental improvements using the 710 freeway diversion money -- it's $5 million solely to be spent on Figueroa from Ave 60 all the way to Garvanza Park!! The BOE wants to get started soon on these improvements, so look out for sidewalk repairs, tree planting, and general safety improvements plus beautification etc along that area!

In larger LA news, our committee successfully supported the Wildlife Protection Ordinance and it was approved by the commission! Stay tuned for next steps and thank you all for your advocacy AND ALSO -- our City Council voted in December to immediately ban new oil and gas drilling! What do YOU want to see done environmentally in our neighborhood?

E-mail me: emily.spokes@highlandparknc.com 

Mark your calendar to help out for the next Homeless Count which aims to provide valuable information about our unhoused residents.

https://www.theycountwillyou.org/

HHPNC Elections will be held on May 20, 2023. Candidate filing begins on Jan 20 and ends on March 6th

If you are interested in running for the 2023-2025 term, or want to know more about being on the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, please reach out to Elections Ad Hoc Committee Chair Theresa Saso at theresa.saso@highlandparknc.com

For Election Details visit our Election Committee Page or visit the LA City Clerk's Page on Neighborhood Council Elections

On November 3rd, the HHPNC Board approved the New NPG Guidelines.

NPG applications will be accepted from 1/1/23 to 1/31/23. Proposal review and consideration 2/1-2/28. NPG proposals will be heard at the 3/2/23 General Board Meeting. The goal is to fund within the month they are voted upon.

Stay tuned for more details on the NPG process and the new guidelines.

Want to attend a Committee Meeting or our Monthly Board & Stakeholder Meeting? For All Upcoming Meetings and Events, visit the HHPNC Calendar on our website:

            MONTHLY CALENDAR LINK

Visit our website to find links to the agendas and zoom log in information. 

Meetings are subject to change and/or cancellation so check the website prior to attending. 

Place Your Order for Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of free at-home tests from USPS.com. Here's what you need to know about your order:



• Limit of one order per residential address
• One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (COVID.gov/tests has more details about at-home tests, including extended shelf life and updated expiration dates)
• Orders will ship free starting the week of December 19, 2022

Disclaimer: Acknowledgement of any entity or person(s) in this newsletter does not constitute the neighborhood council’s support or endorsement of it or its products or services.