Nov 5th, 2009 by Donna Barstow
Equestrian Lynn Brown has notified Griffith Park users, equestrians, and city officials that there is a Bicycle Plan afoot that would allow mountain bikes on the Park Trails! This is insane. No one wants to be pushed aside by a piece of noisy, smelly machinery. We already have cars for that. (Or, if they don’t have machinery, they might whoop and holler.) In any case, they squish things that should be left alive and moving.
There is a proposal from the city (why is it that the city listens to bad ideas?) to allow mountain bikers to use non-paved trails in Griffith Park, and all City Parks. This includes the 50 miles of equestrian trails in GP. Presently, this is against the law, but mountain bikers have lobbied pretty successfully to get the Ordinance changed to allow this travesty. Mountain bikes on unpaved trails will do irreparable damage to wildlife habitat.
After years of behind the scenes manipulations, the Bicycle Plan is now open for public review and comment. The mountain bike lobby is making a push for City Park trails by overturning the current City Ordinance forbidding bikes on trails. In this bike plan, bikers are asking for access to trails in Griffith Park, Elysian Park, Serrania Park, O’Melveny Park, Santa Ynez Canyon and Lime Kiln Canyon Park, among others. If the Ordinance is overturned, all Parks will be opened to mountain bikers.
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Tags: city laws, environment, paths
Posted in People who don't know any better | 15 Comments »
Nov 2nd, 2009 by Donna Barstow
Made a great discovery for my first blog post in the LA Weekly! And I didn’t get any comments, but I got 3 tweets, which was nice.
L.A. mystery: Fountain of Youth natural spring in Griffith Park?
Did Fern Dell residents living along the southern edge of Griffith Park find a Fountain of Youth?
The mystery surfaced in the heat of mid-August, when the nearby American Film Institute (whose headquarters are located near Griffith Park), Immaculate Heart High School and two homeowners found water leaking into inappropriate areas. The Department of Water and Power insists its pipes — recently bursting and creating sinkholes in other parts of L.A. — are not to blame.
Back in 1929. a natural spring was discovered in Fern Dell, and some called it the Fountain of Youth. Here’s the fascinating story:
Local resident Gerry Hans says that in the 1920s, news of a natural spring spread among Angelenos, who dubbed it the “Fern Dell Spa.” He points to Mike Ebert’s book, “Griffith Park, A Centennial History,” which reads:
People were trekking to the southwestern corner of Griffith Park so they could fill jugs and bottles with water. Word had spread that the water from a particular spring at Fern Dell was special…Others attributed health-enhancing qualities to it. There was even some playful talk that it was the fountain of youth.
The Park Department capped the spring and had it piped to Los Feliz Blvd., but neighbors complained that it flooded the street. Later, the Park directed it to spigots, and even in 1967 people were coming for the water.
Nice photo! Of Fern Dell walkways, by chotda.
Go read the whole thing (slightly edited by Jill Stewart) over there.
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Posted in As Lovely as a Tree, LADWP | 2 Comments »
Oct 28th, 2009 by Donna Barstow
The LAFD plays Speedy Gonzales. A car fire broke out Tuesday, October 20 at 5:27 on the east side of the LA River, opposite Griffith Park. According to Firefighter Richard Matheney, one engine responded and they knocked down the fire in 4 minutes.
As usual, I’m curious. Why a car fire? It wasn’t a hot day. And why right next to the LA River? (the trees at the bottom of the photo are actually in the LA River.)
There, see? I can say nice things about the LA Fire Department! This certainly did make a lot of smoke, but I saw 2 firefighters there almost immediately. For some reason, it took me 2 days to find out any info on this fire. According to Officer Brian Humphreys, the LAFD doesn’t have a database!! Okay, I do find that totally shocking. Come on, it’s 2009.
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Tags: fire, lafd
Posted in Fire Department 101 | No Comments »
Oct 25th, 2009 by Donna Barstow
Got up late. Checked all blogs, social networks, etc. Put on sunscreen and drove to Porto’s Bakery in Glendale. Within 5 minutes after entering city of Glendale had to turn on air conditioning. :( the week before Halloween. :( (Glendale is about 10 degrees hotter than any part in LA.) Very long lines today in Porto’s, and extra hours. Who knew that people think of bakeries when they think of Halloween? Is this a cultural thing?
Warning to self: stood in line behind extremely wide woman who took up the space of 2 people. Both sides of her touched the wait line ribbon thingies.
Got my chocolate croissants, but no samples today. Too bad for them, because last time I tried Quesadilla for the first time from a sample and bought it!
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Tags: glendale
Posted in Breaking the 4th Wall | No Comments »
Oct 24th, 2009 by Donna Barstow
Once again, Ivanhoe School gives the whole neighborhood the “gift” of amplified drums and “rock music” for 5 hours.[/sarcasm]
The traffic isn’t that bad, nor the streets lined with cars – except for the time they blocked half our driveway – what a nincompoop. And the signs hung up on the fences for the 2 weeks before it are fun and festive. I appreciate anything that celebrates Halloween. But are drums the best accompaniment to their annual Halloween Party? Sucks. Totally NOT festive, and a really swell way to ruin the Saturday afternoon of the whole community.
In case you are as annoyed as I am, their number is (323) 664-0051. Not that they answer it, nor is there any way to leave a message.
Photo thanks to cc photographer andreakw.
Tags: holidays
Posted in People who don't know any better | No Comments »
Oct 16th, 2009 by Donna Barstow
Hey, kids. Oliver sudden I’m going to start guest blogging at the LA Weekly!
I’ll be writing about anything interesting, newsy, discoveries, happenings in the city, and of course Griffith Park is included. I have some ideas, but feel free to send me any tips or leads or ideas about things you think should happen, either below in comments or email: drawingflys (the @ symbol) gmail.com.
Tags: news
Posted in Breaking the 4th Wall | No Comments »
