L.A. Anatomía

Yesterday, I passed by Iranian protesters on the sidewalk in Westwood. They were angry over the election results in Iran. Despite a good crowd, they were quite tame, and I couldn’t help but contrast them with the protesters last fall when California was voting for Prop 8. I wonder how many people knew what was going on as they drove in their cars.

Today, on a green lot of grass, I drove by a flock of Canadian geese. Then I went and had sushi. That’s all!

It’s been a lovely 80 degrees these last few days. That’s really all there is to report.

I was on my way to see my papou (grandfather in Greek), and for some reason I kept it on KCRW, listening to a broadcast of Santa Monica’s Council meeting.  The meeting was about the Tree Crisis that had the whole town in a dispute over what to do with the dying Ficus the city of Santa Monica had planned to cut down due to fungi infections, general decay, old age, etc.
The citizens of Santa Monica gave their voices, opinions and suggested what to do in timed statements that made some relative sense.  They spoke about the shade and architectural beauty that these massive trees provided.  One guy who couldn’t string two words together kept talking about Wind power.  His slurred words suggested he might have been experiencing a flashback.  Another member of the community reputed that these trees drew tourists to Santa Monica in the first place.  Funny, I always thought it was the beach and the promenade that attracted tourists.  Being a frequent visitor to the beach community, I don’t think of the beautiful canopies along the boulevards when I think of Santa Monica.   But at the very least, the broadcast interested me enough to check out what was going on.
While the City of Los Angeles planned on planting 1,000,000 trees, as initiated by Mayor Villaraigosa, the City of Santa Monica planned on cutting down some of its old trees.  “The Public Landscape Division of the Community Maintenance Department will be removing the following Indian Laurel Fig (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’) trees …These trees will not tolerate the amount of root pruning necessary to continue performing the City wide sidewalk and curb repair program” (Issued by City of Santa Monica).
The Santa Monica city council also claimed that because some of the Ficus trees had contracted a fungus that was rotting them to the core, they needed to be removed immediately.  If not, then all sorts of public health concerns and liabilities come into play if branches start falling out of no where, killing cars and people on the way down to hit the ground. Makes sense.  Who wants to deal with that kind of bullshit?  Isn’t that why they have the phrase “nip it in the bud”? And, Coupled with the trees nature for it’s roots to split up  concrete, “according to According to the city, removing the 54 trees would make streets safer for pedestrians and reduce concrete sidewalk-repair costs and legal payouts to trip-and-fall victims.
Really? The city is more concerned with people getting a scraped knew beucase they weren’t looking where they were going and might fall! This is more important to worry about than the homeless in the city or the cleanliness of their beach water? A possible scraped knee? Then you know what they should do? Post a fucking bandaid dispenser! And a “Watch where you’re going” or “Mind the roots” sign somewhere!It would be much more cost effective then the hundreds and thousands of tax payers money they spent on destroying these trees.

I mean, those big Blue buses must kill all sorts of pedestrians every year and they’re still allowed on the streets.  It’s understandable to empathize with Hippies: all that global warming scare, epidemic fears and the fact that we need to save all the trees we can.  But why did the council wait this long, until it became a problem to do something about it?  Why didn’t the SM Park and recreation Dept. notify the city earlier?  Was there was no effort to help nurse the sick trees before giving them their death sentence.
If you had an ailing grandpa who was losing his faculties slowly, and you knew it was only going to get way worse, would you pull the plug on the guy?  So, what to do, what to do?  I know!  Let’s launch an attack against these forest haters!  Let’s form an organization and call it “Treesavers,” have a blog, rally the community, let our voices be heard, hold tree vigils, stage/threaten hunger strikes, chain ourselves to the trunks of these trees.  Let’s try to pass them off as historical landmarks or something (LAist.com). Let’s cause a scene!
“The city wants to remove over 50 of the beautiful, large-canopy Ficus trees and replaced with small Ginkgos that though beautiful, actually cast very little shade (most of it after 20 years’ growth). Why? The city claims some of them are too damaged to be saved. But the majority of these trees are being removed to make those streets more attractive to the shopping public. This weird logic flies in the face of research, surveys and studies showing that dense, large-canopy trees attract shoppers. They make the place nicer, better and healthier for everyone.” – Treesavers.blogspot.com
It turns out actually, as reported by the LA Weekly earlier this year, the real reason to remove the ficus trees was apart of a $8 million project that will revitalize 2nd and 4th street storefront curb appeal. In fact the a business owners association claims that the reason why retail stores on Third Street are doing so well, despite this economy, is beucase “the Promenade is planted with a more flowery tree species.”
Ummm…I don’t think it’s the trees that are the problem as much as it is the crappy stores that just happen to be there…What do Ficus trees have to so with that?
For a while, the Treesavers were out there fighting the good fight for the trees and going forward with their crusade to preserve nature in Santa Monica. They even had some of the store owners support the cause by having posters in their display cases. One storeowner says Ken Salek, who co-owns Nobel Gems Inc. with his brother said, “I’ve been here for 25 years. We chose this street because of the look that these trees created. Fourth Street is known for these trees.”
But unfortunately, it became a showdown. The battle between green and evil came to a halt when the Treesavers were blind sighted by 23 trees being felled overnight, taking the members by complete surprise.  The city officials cut down the trees in the early morning.
So what’s become of them?  Where have these mighty tree defenders gone?  After basically being bitch slapped by the city, you’d think there would be some sort of public outrage.  Or that they had some guerilla-esque tactics up their sleeves.  A Plan-B!
But no, they’re as quiet as a tree.  Maybe, they’re laying on the down low, gathering resources and planning a massive citywide attack.  Perhaps, congregating some street teams and plotting against certain people in positions of power, so when the time comes they’ll at last take their vengeance.
As of now, their blog is still up, trees are still coming down, and no new strikes are in the works.  Except for a daily vigil.  Or is that just a ruse to the unsuspecting?

The once bedroom community of Glendale has recently been jolted out of its sleepy state with a splashy new outdoor mall centered squarely in the middle of Brand Blvd. known as the Americana.  Some call the structure an ostentatious eye sore. The developers of the Americana, Caruso Affiliates have determined to make the out door “entertainment center” into the “center of town.”
Let’s call it what it for what it really is, shall we? It’s an out door mall. Cap a roof over the 15,5 acres f prime property and you basically have an extension of the Glendale Galleria.
But seriously, many failed attempts have been made to create that nucleus, most recently being the Glendale Market Place, which sits on the other side of the Americana on Brand.  Perhaps hard economic times are to blame, but two major chain stores–Tower Records and Linen and Things–have closed down with no other business stepping up to replace them.
So much for being the center of the community’s attention.
The Empty storefronts sit right across from the newly polished Americana, like some vexed omen.  Will the Americana suffer the same fate?
The local government is gambling that it won’t.  In fact, the local government is depending on the success of the Americana to bring in revenue as well as create new jobs in the community.  They hope that the Americana will do to Glendale what the Grove did to the Fairfax area. Caruso’s construction crazy crew also created/ the Grove and was said to be insane to set up a multi-million shopping center in a predominantly Hassidic neighborhood.
Well Caruso is still crazy to think that he can create a place where families can get “relax” and “lounge” in a safe environment, when you have a community that has a lot of kids.  Even though the place is geared for the 20-30 something’s, anyone in their right mind stay away from that zoo, filled with baby carriages and bratty teens running on the freshly manicured grass. Caruso should know better.
What about the homegrown businesses up and down the rest of Brand Blvd.?
Obviously, they’re not as thrilled.  Some believe it will cause even more traffic on the Boulevard, which will deter visitors from staying to explore other businesses in the area.  Others think that in the long run, the flow of traffic to the Americana will trickle over to their businesses as well.  Either way, the businesses on Mid-Brand, which includes the historic Alex Theatre, are banding together to create more community/family-orientated events to bring people towards the north end of Boulevard.
Local Glendale-ians were also concerned with potential traffic along already overflowing streets.  Structures that tower over the shops create an even more cramped and crammed feeling when you walk through them, by them, or pass them in your car.  Wedged between one of the Gallerias parking lots and the gaudy looking Golden Key Hotel, the Americana has had to squeeze itself on the 15 acre piece of prime property.  (A special thanks goes to the Golden Key hotel, for standing up this manufactured crap.  I’m sure it really pissed off Caruso and Crew).
What has some concerned is the outrageous price of the surrounding apartment buildings and lofts, that range from low $700,000 to $2 million with rents from $2,000 to $5,500 a month.  Nathan Wong, a local resident of the Glendale area was quoted $650,000 for an entry level/one-bedroom condo, when he first inquired about the living spaces.  You could buy a house with that kind of cash.
Over lunch I asked him what his thoughts were about the Americana. After he slammed down his coffee mug, he stated, “you would think that all the foot traffic and the sales from the (high-end) retail stores would be more than enough to lower prices for an entry level home ownership.”
Creating affordable housing for the rich, enforcing an even more rigid divide between the income brackets. But that’s not the case: Caruso believes that the city of Glendale is ripe with disposable income willing to shell out the hefty price of the luxury spaces.
Maybe Caruso and friends should change their motto to “Caruso constructions, keeping social classes where they belong.” Because, I haven’t yet heard of anyone who’s actually moved into the Americana, have you?

The Los Angeles Fire Department was obviously very busy this last month with the numerous wild fires made all the more dangerous by dry and hot weather as well as really fast winds. And it was this week, in a seminar that I attended near Santa Monica, that I learned a little something about LAFD protocols. *11/30/2008 EDIT: Received a comment from LAFD PR that clarifies the information of this post. It was very nice of them to send the correction, and it was also interesting to see who comes across this little blog.*

Such a truth really put what fire fighters go through in perspective for me. And it really drove home what our 17-year old veteran said about the dedicated: “Some of them just breathe this stuff. It just moves them to help people.” I guess no matter the outcome…no matter what.

Monday Morning gas was $2.05

Monday Afternoon gas was $1.99

Tuesday, gas was $1.95

From this, I’ve come to the conclusion that you can really tell the state of the world economy by gas prices. The faster they fall, the worse they must be. Not more than four months ago, I needed $70 to fill my gas tank. Now, I only need about $30.

I’m all for better gas prices, but this can’t bode well for anyone.

With all the goings-on of the last couple of weeks–the election, prop 8, the economy, the season finale of Mad Men–I somehow missed the big Shake Out. The facts are this: At 10 AM this morning, millions of Californians participated in a 7.8 magnitude-earthquake drill. According to seismologists, the San Andreas Fault, which is that really REALLY big fault line in California, tends to let an an insanely big shaker loose every 150 years or so. The last one happened 150 years ago, which means that us current Californians might be living in the age of the next big one.

The scenario presented at the Shake Out website offers these details:

An earthquake of this size will cause unprecedented damage to Southern California—greatly dwarfing the massive damage that occurred in Northridge’s 6.7-magnitude earthquake in 1994. In summary, the ShakeOut Scenario estimates this earthquake will cause some 2,000 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage and other losses, and severe, long-lasting disruption. The report has regional implications and is a dramatic call to action for preparedness.”

The web site also says that a 7.8 earthquake will probably last for 1-2 minutes with after shocks!

So what do I think about this disaster preparation? Considering the world’s rotten luck in the last few years: Katrina, the tsunami, that huge earthquake in India and Pakistan and etc., thinking ahead isn’t such a bad idea. We Californians like to mock earthquake newbies, but the truth of the matter is that we live in a kind of dangerous state–we have earthquakes and wildfires, mudslides and volcanoes, heatwaves and floods and much more. Whatever we can do has just got to be better than nothing, and it always feels better to know you’re being extra cautious when doing so with a couple million other people.

According to the LA Times, Los Angeles county:

• voted in overwhelming numbers for a Democratic candidate
• agreed by a nose that same-sex unions were unconstitutional and that forcing doctors to notify parents of their underage teen’s choice to have an abortion was just a bad idea
• believed, by more than 30%, that farm animals, specifically chickens, had the right to live fulfilling lives in spacious cages before being slaughtered
• and despite the state’s galactic budget deficit, Angelenos felt nothing could be finer than a fancy bullet train to connect Socal to Norcal—-to be paid over the next 30-40 years.

Oh well, at least we raised the transportation tax by half a cent.

There were so many unprecedented precedents achieved in this US election: the first female presidential candidate, the first Republican female vice-presidential candidate, the first black presidential candidate, the largest voter turnout in the history of the U.S. and the first time I ever voted at a polling place. I’ve never seen such a display of politicism by voters. I heard that parents who dropped their kids off at elementary school and kindergarten overheard young citizens discussing whom they thought would be the best president or what measures they felt needed to be passed. When walking to my polling place, I saw a man standing on that oh-so contested corner, now empty but for him, wearing a red and white-striped cape and brandishing a sign that said: “Before you go to the polls, ask what God would he do”

At 8 PM, the major networks announced that Barack Obama was our newly elected leader. AH and I were together. We acknowledged the absolute jubilation onscrean–streamers, banners, horns and confetti. We acknowledged that that jubilation only mirrored half the thoughts of the citizens of this country. We thought about the slogan being posted on websites everywhere: “Change is here.” And we thought about how tenuous that promise was even at this hopeful new beginning.

Most of all, we remember our Allen Ginsberg and a poem he once penned to America’s poet that says:

      Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors 
close in an hour. Which way does your beard point 
tonight? […]
       Will we walk all night through solitary streets? […]
       Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love 
past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent 
cottage?
       Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-
teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit 
poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank 
and stood watching the boat disappear on the black 
waters of Lethe?

excerpt from “A Supermarket in California” (1955)

For the intersection in question, the one I’ve been discussing here and here, there is a new development: Today, as I was driving through the rain-soaked streets, I noticed that a large cluster of “No on Prop 8″ people stood on one corner while three “McCain & Palin” supporters stood on the other side. At this point, it seems like we drivers are used to such a scene and there wasn’t much honking. What little honking I did hear was for the McCain and Palin folks. I wonder if this is my little bureau of LA’s way of supporting Prop 8, meaning if you vote for McCain and Palin, then you must be in support of Prop 8.

Later that day, I drove east to La Canada, which is a pretty ritzy part of suburbia in the green hills near Pasadena and Glendale. When I exited off the 210, I immediately hit an intersection taken over by Yes people. When I made a left into the neighborhood I had come to visit, I saw every lawn and home had either a “Yes on 8″ sign or “McCain/Palin” sign. But then, I made another left deeper into the neighborhood and saw that this particular street was all about Obama and “No on 8.”

Even later that day,  I met up with AH in Glendale. We sat in Conrad’s, a nifty little diner that AH says is an oasis of Armenian culture in East LA. I told her about the politics of my own little city north of Los Angeles and then that of La Canada. AH said that it didn’t surprise her that La Canada seemed more vocal about supporting Prop 8. Apparently, Pasadena was founded by a conservatives from Indianapolis and such a relation has colored the politics of the city. But again, what surprised AH most was how much activity Los Angeles was generating over this election.

In her words: “California’s supposed to be laid back and chill. What’s up with everyone caring?!”

Three days till the election!