latowncrierblog

2008-04-03T17:29:00.001-07:00

Opening Day - Good News Foundation Girls Strike again There wasn't much fan fare , the national anthem wasn't sang , no fly overs by the military or big name politicians and celebrities , but there was another opening day in Downtown Los Angeles. This opening day was to be held in the heart of the Fashion District on 7th Street. But if it wasn't for opening day of baseball season, I am sure there would have been all of that. Then again, when you have the divas of local news media drawing attention to this organization , that is a lot of fanfare. California Closets partnered with the Good News Foundation to do an extreme makeover of the Dress4success closet .

The dedication ceremony also kicks-off the 2nd Annual 'Clean Sweeps' Clothing Drive for Dress 4 Success organized by the women of Los Angeles television news. Leading reporters from the various TV stations will be on hand to help us start things off in style by bringing a professional suit that will be a 'perfect fit' for a woman looking to enter the professional work force.

I was ecstatic as I have also been a victim of the good news girls. Wendy Burch had invited me inside when they partnered with Office MAX to donate computers for school on wheels and then invited me to go to the news conference about the make over. Previous to today, after folks reading my blog and seeing the photos I took of the school on wheels event, I have been getting hired to take photos. People liked those photos. SO this event and the event at School on Wheels has had a profound effect on establishing the Good News Foundation as promoting things that bring forth opportunities to people to help themselves, either through educational opportunities or through opportunities to dress up for interviews and be confident in their search for work and even myself getting to be adopted by the Good News Foundation to take photos and spread the word. I am working on the photos, so I will be posting the full article later. I am sure all of us will be there for the grand opening of the dress4success closet next Friday. Details later today . With the big opening day at Dodger Stadium and it being Cesar Chavez day , I know many people were out enjoying their day off. It is understandable.

2008-04-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

Eric Garcetti is the LA CITY NERD? OR is it LA CITY NERDS.... I have to say that this has got to be the biggest april fools joke ever perpetrated on the City of Los Angeles. David MArkland over at blogging.la claims that the LA CITY NERD is none other than Councilmember Eric Garcetti. Sure and I have a bridge in brooklyn I want to sell you. What gives this away was at the very first discussion on Broadway at the Los Angeles Theater I was sitting right behind the LA CITY NERD when he was live blogging . Eric Garcetti wasn't even at that meeting. And no, the article below about Naval Officer Garcetti is true and he is in the NAVY. I was born but I wasn't born yesterday... boy..... I have even had discussion with the NERD himself on collaborating with my blog but only as a source... I know who it was , why he had to stop, and who he worked for... But I will never tell. HE is my friend. And he is a huge fan of the Los Angeles Town Crier.

2008-03-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street and other activities in Downtown Viewfromaloft author Ed Fuentes directs us to the blessing of the Animals at Placita Olvera. Great time to test out a new camera. [VFAL]

Angelenic lets us know that the Music Center is seeking people to learn how to be strip club pole dancers. [Angelenic]

Dramastage Qumran will be having a artistic theater festival at Artsharela on March 22nd- check out the website. [dramastage qumran]

2008-03-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

SRO HOUSING Corporation gets 1.5 million dollars They got the money

2008-03-04T00:01:00.001-08:00

Photos from Surviving the NIckel at the Regent Theater

2008-01-21T05:25:00.001-08:00

Surviving the NIckel

A great theater troupe will be performing a play featuring the people of skid row. Many of these actors used to live on the streets of skid row. A soliloquy by a security guard in the play is based on words I said at a meeting about housing. Come out to the Regent Theater on Main Street at 7 pm to hear those words.

DRAMASTAGE-QUMRAN THEATER 1335 North La Brea #2179 Los Angeles, CA 90013 (323) 850-4436
PRESENTS

KING'S DAY PERFORMS AT THE REGENT THEATER

"If you want to know what's happening in Los Angeles. Don't go to Hollywood or Beverly Hills. Come on down to fifth street (the nickel) in skid row and the nickel will tell you."

These lines are uttered by John Doe, one of the characters in Surviving The Nickel, a play about surviving like on the nickel (fifth street) in the skid row area of Los Angeles as we follow the journey of two community members who fall from mainstream society and end up on skid row.

Surviving The Nickel, is written and directred by Melvin Ishmael Johnson.

The performance will be held as part of the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday

Regent Theater, 448 South Main Street, LA, Ca 90013 Monday, January 21, 2008 7:00pm, Reception with Food - Free. 8:00pm Performance - Free. (Donation Accepted) 9:00pm - Brief Q&A.
This program is sponsored by Dramastage-Qumran Theater and DLANC.

For more information call (323) 850-4436 or 213-359-5153 or email at dramastage1@yahoo.com or go to our website www.dramastage-qumran.org.

2008-01-20T00:09:00.001-08:00

Julie Swayze to be honored as woman of distinction Julie Swayze , owner of Metropolis Books , is going to be honored in February as a Downtown Woman Of Distinction on February 13th at the Elevate Lounge. Details and more information will be forthcoming at this blog. The University of Southern California will be doing the honors. Julie Swayze opened Metropolis Books on Main Street and has managed to survive in business this long. I am sure that she is well deserving of this honor.

2007-05-11T00:56:00.000-07:00

All five City blogs secure Ambassador of Goodwill award in the Category of Town Crier Choice for Town Crier's of Los Angeles five City of Los Angeles Blogs- cd 13- CD 13 continues to lead the city bloggers , Eric Garcetti's CD 13 blog secured the top spot because he even had guest bloggers from CD 13 = he sort of ruined the curve for the other city council bloggers. Eric GArcetti and the 1st amendment know no bounds.

cd 11
cd15
lafd
and
lapd

Have all secured their Ambassador of Goodwill Awards. The Town Crier Choice Category is reserved for those blogs, newspapers , and other sources of communication, which promote transparency and interaction with the communities which they serve primarily Los Angels. Many are nominated such as was the case with the Garment and Citizen, Downtownlalife , and others , last year. Nominations for the other categories have been extended until July 15th. go to www.latowncrier.com to find out how to nominate your choices.

2007-03-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

CRA Meeting tomorrow creates an increase in nominees for the LA Town Crier Ambassador of Good Will Awards Those appealing for emergency funding qualify for nominations in the Los Angeles Town Crier AMbassador of Goodwill Awards. Because many of those who will be attending the hearing to advocate on behalf of SRO Housing Corporation to receive emergency funding from the CRA have tenuous relationships in the skid row community, this shows that these organizations are willing to put aside philosophical differences to make sure those people who are dependent on services are not adversely affected. These organizations will have crossed all economic, ethnic , socioeconomic , and even philosphical differences to be good neighbors.

2007-03-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Eric Garcetti ruins the curve for the City Council bloggers Eric dude! What are you doing? Now I have to create a whole new category just for you because you now have guest bloggers at your blog. Not only are you blogging , but now you have bloggers in the 13th Council District blogging. You have been keeping your blog up to date , it has become interactive with cd 13 bloggers. Man!!! You have the Ambassador of Goodwill all wrapped up. Dude!!!!!

2007-02-11T01:52:00.001-08:00

Early Nominations are coming in for the second annual Town Crier Ambassador of Goodwill Awards Janice Hahn has been nominated early.I received an e-mail asking for Janice Hahn and her blog to be nominated for the second annual Los Angeles Town Crier Ambassador of Goodwill awards. I won't accept this nomination until the official nominating period begins on March 1.

2007-02-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles City Council supporting commemorative stamp for Mayor Tom Bradley The Los Angeles City Council is right now discussing supporting Mayor Bradley being honored with a commemorative US Postage stamp. DEe 13 2006 RES 0 L U TI 0 N? í'~: :.38' :E.tii~lvIENlAL '"~¡ ATIONS

RESOLUTION WHEREAS, any official position of the City of Los Angeles with respect to legislation, rules, regulations or policies proposed to or pending before a local, state or federal governmental body or agency must have first been adopted in the form of a Resolution by the City Council with the concurrence of the Mayor; and WHEREAS, Mayor Tom Bradley wil forever be a towering figure in the history of Los Angeles as well as in our Nation; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley strongly guided Los Angeles along a course paved with obstacles during his record-setting 20 year as Mayor. His stem and sure guidance was the steady force that reassured residents; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley was first elected Mayor in 1973, and he paved the way for many other leaders on the local and national level. Although he made history as the first black mayor of a major city, Tom Bradley ran and won his campaign, pledging to be a representative of the entire city; and his achievement of this promise made him one of this Nation's most respected mayors; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley was a product of the Los Angeles public schools systems, his academic abilities enabled him to parlay his high school athletic prowess into a university education. Bradley received a scholarship to attend UCLA where he soon distinguished himself as a track star; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1940. In May 1941, he marred Ethel Arnold and had two daughters, Lorraine and Phyllis; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley worked full time as a police officer and went to law school at night. He graduated from Southwestern University in 1956 and passed the California bar exam; and WHEREAS, after 21 years of service, he retired from the Los Angeles Police Department with the rank of lieutenant in 1961 and began to practice law. In 1963 he ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. He won and served for i 0 years before becoming the city's 37th Mayor in 1973; and WHEREAS, Mayor Bradley opened the doors of city hall; his staff and administration appointees represented the rich cultural fabric of the city. He attracted businesses to the city and established policies that resulted in the dramatic resurgence of the downtown Los Angeles economic center. He turned the city's harbor and airports into top-of-the-line businesses, expanding the number of people employed and the city's ability to compete in a world market; and WHEREAS, Mayor Bradley also focused his attention on creating economic opportunities both for the inner city, with such community revitalization projects as the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw and Vermont-Slauson shopping centers, and the entire city, where he put forward affordable housing and fair planning policies; and WHEREAS, he led a long and hard battle to bring rail transportation to the city of Los Angeles, as a result: today, the Metro Blue Line carries passengers from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, and the Metro Red Line has become the first underground rail system, carrng passengers from downtown to North Hollywood; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley served on many regional and national public interest organizations and was unanimously elected as President of the National League of Cities in 1974; and WHEREAS, Mayor Bradley secured the 1984 summer Olympic games; he united the private and public sectors behind a common goal and produced the most successful Olympic games in the modem history of the event. The games boosted economic activity in Southern California by $3.3 billion, created 68,000 jobs, and ended with a $215 million surlus; and WHEREAS, Tom Bradley's record of service to Los Angeles and to the Nation is so exceptional that it is especially fitting that the achievement and legacy of this great man be marked by the issuance of a special commemorative U.S. Postage Stamp in his honor, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, with the concurrence of the Mayor, that by the adoption of this Resolution, the City of Los Angeles hereby includes in its 2007-2008 Federal Legislative Program SUPPORT for the issuance of a commemorative U.S. Postage stamp in honor of Mayor Tom Bradley and URGES the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to approve the issuance of such a stamp. PRESENTED BY: e.~ BERNAR PARKS Councilmember, 8th Distrct .k SECONDED BY:~jJ f¿pl' 1 3 roo~ a ,-aac::ç7_-~3

REPORT OF THE CHIEF LEGISLATIVE ANALYST December 28, 2006 TO: Honorable Members, Intergovernmental Relations Committee Gerry F. Miller'.Ì\ . w.~ t~ Chief Legislativ~ Analyst C.F.07-0002-23 Assignment No. 06-12-2036 FROM: Commemorative Stamp Honoring Mayor Tom Bradley CLA RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution (Parks - Perr - Greuel) to include in the City's 2007-2008 Federal Legislative Program SUPPORT for the issuance of a commemorative U.S. Postage stamp in honor of Mayor Tom Bradley and URGES the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to approve the issuance of such a stamp. SUMMARY: All subjects chosen to appear on U.S. stamps and postal stationery are suggested by the public. Each year, Americans can submit proposals to the Postal Service on a varety of topics. The subject for a commemorative stamp must feature an American or American-related subjects. The United States Postal Service recommends that proposals for subjects be submitted at least three years in advance of the proposed date of issue to allow sufficient time for consideration and, if approved, design and production of the stamp. The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC), on behalf of the Postmaster General, is responsible for evaluating the merits of the stamp proposals. The Committee meets four times a year in Washington D.C. The U.S. Postal Service just announced that the time period since death of an honoree be shortened from ten years to five years. Mayor Tom Bradley passed away on September 29, 1998. Tom Bradley was elected as the 37th Mayor of the City of Los Angeles in 1973. He served as Mayor for 20 years until 1993. He was the first black Mayor of a major city. Tom Bradley graduated from UCLA and thenjoined the Los Angeles Police Deparment in 1940. While he was a member ofthe LAPD, he attended law school at Southwestern University and graduated iii 1956. He then retired from the Police Department in 1961 after 21 years of service and began to practice law. In 1963 Tom Bradley decided to run for a seat on the Los Angeles City CounciL. He won and served for i 0 years as a Councilmember, until he was elected Mayor. During his career as Councilmember and then as Mayor, Tom Bradley's numerous accomplishments included enhancing the City's economic and transportation infrastructure. He created economic opportunities for the inner city with community revitalization projects. such as the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw and the Vermont- Slauson shopping centers. Tom Bradley also fought hard to bring rail transportation to the City. Due to his efforts, the Metro Blue Line, carrying passengers from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles, and the Metro Red Line, the first underground rail system carrying passengers from downtown to North Hollywood, were created. -1-Some of Tom Bradley's other achievements include being elected President of the National League of Cities in 1974. He also played a vital role in securing the 1984 summer Olympic games in Los Angeles, which boosted economic activity in Southern California by $3.3 billion, created 68,000 jobs, and attained a $215 million surplus. ~ø~ Cheryl A. Banares Analyst Attachments: i) Resolution (Parks - Perr - Greuel) 2) United States Postal Service Criteria for Stamp Subject Selection e4'" ie

2007-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Eric Garcetti on his way to another LA Town Crier Ambassador of Goodwill award-with Janice Hahn on his tail Eric Garcetti the Council District 13 Council Member is well on his way to earning another LA Town Crier Ambassador of Goodwill Award in the category of making Los Angeles politics transparent by keeping us up to date with his blog. Janice Hahn of the 15 th Council District is right on his tail when keeping up her blog. SO we shall see who gets the Award , Considering I may well leave it up to the voters. Still to be determined
Holland Michigan Town Crier Visits

John Karsten at Left

The Town Crier of Holland Michigan , John Karsten , was visiting the Los Angeles Area Last Week and I was able to get together with him for a visit. We talked about many things and some exciting things coming up in Los Angeles soon.

New Zrealand Town Crier to go inot battle for Downtown Los Angeles

2005-08-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

Caroline Robinson Palmerston North New Zealand The Kiwi Crier has said she will be doing battle on Behalf of Los Angeles in regards to the article below. Eric Richardson at Blogdowntown brought it to our attention in his blog

What not to miss on your next LA stopover 23 June 2005 By RAYMOND GILL Many Kiwis contemplating a holiday on the East Coast of the United States find themselves deliberating about breaking the trip in Los Angeles. After 14 hours over the Pacific, the temptation is to keep enduring the unendurable and do the LA to New York jump nonstop. Los Angeles, with its vast sprawl and reputation as a superficial glitz-fest and drug-riddled haven for the worst of American racial tension scares off many travellers. But it is a perfect long-weekend break, if you know how to take it on. The first rule is not to stray where no tourist should venture - dreary downtown or more dangerous East LA. But if you're prepared to cushion yourself by sticking to the foreigner-friendly areas, Los Angeles is a relaxed and enjoyable destination with great weather, iconic locations and a shopping philosophy that makes any consumerist impulses able to be rationalised as cultural pilgrimage.

Hobart Seeks new Town crier

2005-07-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1426313.htm

Hobart seeks passionate loudmouths The Hobart City Council has begun advertising for a new town crier, to replace the popular Vic Garth, who died in April. Mr Garth was a familiar sight for Hobart residents and visitors; he regularly met cruise ships and appeared at Salamanca market. Hobart's Lord Mayor, Rob Valentine, says the new crier will need to be passionate about the city. He says the 92-year-old Mr Garth left big boots to fill. "The town crier has to be a people person," he said. "I think they have to be the sort of person who doesn't mind being pulled up by visitors [who say], 'Can I have a photograph with you and your town crier's uniform?

Swaffham gets a new town crier

2005-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well , Well, Well,

Swaffam gets a new town Crier .

A new town crier was dishing out the decibels in Swaffham Market Place on Saturday. Eddie Godden, who was vamping up the vocal volume to publicise a green fun day at the EcoTech Centre, has taken over from Kerry Hart, who quit in May saying there was not enough work for him. But Mr Godden, former town crier in King's Lynn, said: "I'm happy to be available when I'm needed. I'm not too worried how much work there is to do - although the signs are that I'll be quite busy. "The important thing is to cover the town events but then if any retailer or other organisation wants to use me, all well and good."