Westside Village Civic Assn., Inc.

May 2004 newsletter

Jun 03, 2004

President?’s Message


The Annual Meeting was a very successful event this year with the presentation of ?“Westside Village seen as part of the Larger Mar Vista Community Council Picture?”. The Video Presentation was hosted by: Marie Wallace, Ken Alpern, and Amanda Seward. Following, there was a panel discussion with Councilman Jack Weiss (5th District) and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski (11th District) for second half of the meeting with the questions written in advance. This worked out quite well and we were able to have a number of our questions answered in a more organized fashion than in previous years. A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Walter Renzi from Cindy Miscikowski?’s office honoring him for his outstanding service in our community. Walter has done and continues to do a myriad of different activities from being the Block Captain of the 3500 block of Greenfield Avenue for both the LAPD and the Neighborhood Watch to tutoring the children at Charnock Road Elementary School. There were also three very happy recipients of the raffled Trader Joe?’s baskets. Thanks goes to Carolyn Saltsman for her creativity in putting together these very heavy gift baskets. So, for those that won the raffle, I hope you enjoyed your feast!

One of the items on the agenda for the Annual Meeting is the election of new Board Members. There are three new Board Members to welcome this year: Arnie Lifset, Jill Lurie, and Brian Considine. We also install new Officers, usually from the Director seats that they have previously held. Tracy Marsh, who was formally the Secretary, is now President-Elect. Marie Wallace has, once again, agreed to fill the position of Past President, Lisa Haught-Garner has taken over the position of Secretary and Richard Saltsman, thankfully, has agreed to continue as our Treasurer. Speaking of which, you will all receive a dues REMINDER notice in this Newsletter. Please only pay if you have not paid this year. If you have paid, please disregard; if you haven?’t, well now is your chance. Jeanne Parker has done an amazing job of getting 100% of her block-the 3500
block of Greenfield Ave.-- to pay their annual dues for the year. This is
not the first year she has managed to do this and it has not gone unnoticed. Thank you Jeanne for all your hard work and energy. Thank you for your cooperation.

The continuing members on the Board of Directors in alphabetical order are as follows: Ken Alpern, Lisa Cahill, Don Elliot, Lotti Furlan, Ian Halsema, Roberta Schiller, Marion Serra, and Greg Severson. All of our board members worked very hard on making the Annual Meeting a success and as residents of Westside Village you are welcome to contact any of the board members regarding issues that are of concern or interest, or maybe just to say ?“Thank you?” for their efforts.

As was mentioned in the last Newsletter, there have been ongoing talks with the DWP regarding the proposed Sub-Station 145 that will be built on the existing Katie?’s Pet Depot property on National Blvd. At the Annual Meeting, Jack Weiss announced that one of our main concerns had been addressed and mitigated?—the roof. We were very concerned when the DWP engineers decided to remove the previously existing roof from the design plan that had originally been approved by the community. It then would have been an open facility with just a wall enclosure. The WVCA passed a motion to open discussions on this design change and brought the issue to the Mar Vista Community Council and to the Community Council to our North, the Westside Community Council. Working together, we were able to convince the DWP that this change was unacceptable to the community and the original design needed to be re-implemented. Ian Halsema the Chair of the DWP Substation Committee for the WVCA and Maritza Przekop, the Urban Planning Committee Chair of the Mar Vista Community Council, helped immensely with their understanding of the SEQA process and urban planning policies. We were very pleased with the negotiations that Jack Weiss and his Deputy Paul Backstrom held with the DWP representatives on our behalf to make this change possible. We have yet to see the new proposed building model but have been told that the new model will be ready for approval in the next month or so. The building of the station, which had been slated for May will now be pushed back to a later date due to the change of the proposed building and the fact that Katie?’s Pet Depot has not been re-located to a new building as of yet.

As some of you may know, Palms is in the process of being certified by DONE to be their own Community Council. We look forward to their certification and to working closely with them on issues that face both of our Neighborhoods in the future. There are many issues that do concern both of our neighborhoods; I believe that together we can be a strong voice in local politics and can achieve great results for both of our communities. Len Nguyen is leading the certification process in Palms and is doing a remarkable job in organizing that effort.

Eugene Antonier is our New Airport Committee Chairman. He is not officially on the board but is official in his capacity to be the liaison between the WVCA and the Santa Monica Airport. He attends the monthly Santa Monica Airport Commission meetings and keeps the board apprised of any LAX Master Plan developments. The WVCA used to have an Airport Committee in the past but have not done so in many years so Eugene?’s efforts are greatly appreciated by the WVCA.

For all of you who are stakeholders, would like to be stakeholders, or are interested in the Mar Vista Community Council, I am now Zone 1 Director for the next two years to represent the needs and concerns of Westside Village to the MVCC. WVCA Director, Ken Alpern, was elected to the Mar Vista Community Council as an ?“At Large?” Director/Member one year ago, which carries a term of two years. He was just elected to be the Chair of the Outreach Committee for MVCC; I believe Ken will do an outstanding job in this area and I urge all those residents who are interested in our neighborhood and would like to have a voice on the Community Council to let your voices be heard by contacting either Ken Alpern or myself. The MVCC represents a total of 55,000 people in Westside Village and Mar Vista and has proven to be a very effective vehicle in local politics. The website is: www.marvistcc.org.

Submitted by: Bobby Holliday



Knowing Your Neighbors Can Save A Life

One of the duties of our Block Captains is to distribute a current phone list of residents to everyone on their block. This way everyone knows how to contact their neighbors in case of an emergency. The importance of this was very clearly indicated just a few days ago on our block.

I went to meet my postman to get the mail. He was a bit panicked asked if I knew the woman a few houses down. In his hand were envelopes smeared with blood. He told me that my neighbor?’s dog had just jumped through the plate glass window, was bleeding badly, and had run down the street.

Fortunately, I knew the owner, who was out of town. I also knew who was most-likely looking after the dogs while she was away. Very quickly, we were able to call other neighbors, and I ran over to where the postman had last seen the dog.

She was cowering behind some brush in a lot where they are building a house. Because I knew the dog's name, I was able to get her to come to me. She had cut an artery on her leg in two places, and had some other cuts on her chest and feet.

We got the dog into my car and my husband found the other neighbors who were dog sitting. They knew the vet she used. As I drove to the vet, one neighbor called ahead to let them know we were coming, and another called the owner. People cleaned up the glass and blood, and others donated wood to board up the broken window.

Thanks to the block list we were able to quickly call people and get the dog cared for. Had it not been for a great postman, cooperative neighbors and a current block list the dog would have surely died.

Now the dog is home, and she is fine. But this story clearly shows how very important it is to know your neighbors, keep the block lists current and the benefits of living in a neighborhood where we care about each other and know each other's kids, cats and dogs.

So make sure you have a current phone list for your block. If not, ask your block captain for a copy. Don?’t know who your block captain is or you want to assist the captain on your block? E-mail Lisa Cahill: bryanlisa@sbcglobal.net.



Westside Village Festival Coming October 2nd!
Come one, come all! The Westside Village Festival is coming on October 2nd, with food, drinks, and activities for the whole family! Save the date, and watch for further announcements!

We need volunteers both to help with planning, and to man tables during the Festival. If you would like to get involved, contact Ian Halsema at 310-474-1790.


DWP?’s Surge Protection Programs

Most WVCA residents recently received a mailing from DWP urging them to ?“Sign Up Today!?” for either the Meter-Based Surge Protection program (free-installation with a monthly maintenance fee of $7.85/month), the Plug-In Protection program (you buy the Plug-In units for $35.00 each) or the Two-Tiered program for both. DWP?’s motto for these programs is ?“Curb the Surge.?”

DWP says these programs are to protect customer?’s electronic equipment which is most of your appliances because today even dishwashers have electronic components. Surges can occur in rain and windstorms, from traffic accidents hitting poles or overloading from heavy equipment. Spikes can enter your home via electrical, phone or cable lines.

What are the odds for a surge? Not great but the possibility is certainly there and most people?’s homes are loaded with electronic appliances. If you had to replace or repair them, it would definitely cost you. These programs raise many questions. Do the DWP programs protect you completely? Is there a special rate for Seniors or other low income persons? Is this a form of raising your rates? Can surge protection be built into the lines?

Terms & Conditions in the fine print on the back of the DWP brochure raise even more questions such as?” is medical or life-support equipment covered?”? (The answer is no.) .Another question is does my homeowner insurance policy protect me? We asked our carrier. He said ?“yes,?” you are covered for ?“sudden and accidental damage.?” (This is insurance language for not covering you for acts of war, sabotage or terrorists acts.)

The difference between the homeowner insurance policy and DWP?’s programs is that your insurance kicks in after the damage has occurred and DWP aims to prevent the damage in the first place.

What can you do? You have several options. Call DWP?’s Department of Economic Development for more information at 1-800-864-4409. Call your insurance carrier to find what your coverage is. Call your City Councilperson, Cindy Miscikowski 310-568-8772 or Jack Weiss.310-289-0353 to register concern. Sign up for the DWP programs. Read about the equipment DWP is using at www.metertreater.com Take your chances



Video of WVCA?’s History is available


We had 12 copies of the video made at the WVCA Annual Meeting in 2000 featuring Greg Fischer, community historian, speaking on the origins of Westside Village. We advertised them at the 2004 annual meeting and in the February News and Views. All were sold. Now we have additional requests for more copies of the video tape. Before we have a new batch produced, please let Marie Wallace at 837-0839 know, if you would like a copy also. The cost is $10.00.




Safety Tip for Walking

Stay on the left side of the street, the side facing the traffic, when walking on streets or roads that have no sidewalks. The rationale is that pedestrians can see on-coming traffic and take evasive action if necessary. Drivers may be distracted or the sun blinds them.

Children need to be taught this tip by teachers and parents. Today in Westside Village, it is common to see walkers on both sides of streets. Since many of our streets are narrow, do not have curbs or sidewalks and have cars parked on both sides of the street, this presents a hazard for both the walkers and the drivers.

Remember for safety?’s sake, walk on the left.



Should You Feed the Tree Squirrels?

If you talk to Westside Village residents who value their gardens, the answer to this question is likely to be a resounding ?“no!!?” Squirrels are a garden pest and should not be human-fed to multiply unnaturally. We?’ll call this group the gardeners.

If you talk to residents who see squirrels as graceful animals, cavorting on the electric and telephone wires and as a free Cirque du Soleil show. They will say ?“yes.?” We?’ll call these residents the feeders.

The animals caught in the middle of this dispute are the California Western Gray Squirrels. They live tax free and with free food. ?“Hey, if you want to give me peanuts, I?’ll store them where it is easiest to dig.?” (A carefully tended gardener?’s yard has the softest earth.) How many are there in WV? We don?’t know but they seem to be everywhere.

What are your rights as a gardener or a feeder? Here is some background. We live in a free society and on our property rights include choice of interaction with the environment. Birds, bees, butterflies, ladybugs, worms and squirrels are part of the L.A. ecosystem. If we chose to feed the squirrels, the lawns or the birds, that?’s our business.

The Western Gray Squirrel?’s natural diet is nuts, acorns, mushrooms, fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, plant shoots, fungi, bulbs and roots. They like to gnaw on telephone and electrical lines and parts of buildings like the covers of roof vents. For a treat, they raid bird nests and attics.

Gardener type people get very upset with squirrels digging out their newly planted flowers, shrubs and vegetables. Some report limited success in keeping the squirrels away with powdered fox urine but this stuff is expensive and easily diluted by watering.

Although they are a rodent, like rats and mice, tree squirrels are classified as game animals under the California Fish and Game Code. It is illegal to hunt or trap them without a permit. To get a permit you have to show property damage, such as eating the fruit off your trees or killing your young trees by chewing the bark. If you trap them, it is illegal to release them into another environment without a permit. (Traps are available from the West LA Animal Care and Control Center for $30.00 deposit plus $3.00 a day for use. Call 888-452-7381 for more information.)

Should you feed the squirrels? It may depend on your point of view--feeder or gardener. Here is a fact that might help you decide. Tree squirrels have been known to carry rabies, western encephalitis, tularemia, typhus, toxoplasmosis, ringworm and bubonic plague, all of which are transmissible to humans. You don?’t have to handle the squirrel. These diseases may be transmitted by fleas to you or your pets. Tree squirrels have natural predators to control their numbers but humans are not prone to feeding or encouraging the predators--coyotes, foxes, owls and large hawks--to hang around.




DWP Substation Update
After an intense campaign, Westside Village has succeeded in getting the support of our City Councilman Jack Weiss against the DWP?’s substation design. Councilman Weiss announced that the DWP had agreed to return to a design with a roof, which had received community approval in years past. The roof reduces both noise and electromagnetic pollution of the area. The DWP has promised to present the revised design in May. Construction will not begin until the Petco store on the property has found a new location.

We can all congratulate ourselves on this victory, and thank both our Mar Vista Community Council and Councilman Weiss for their support.



Westside Village Brimming with Gardens as Unique
as the Residents Who Create Them

by
Jill Lurie


Westside Village is a garden-lover?’s paradise. According to ?? (need name) at the WVCA Annual Meeting, San Diego and of Mar Vista (including Westside Village) have the best gardening conditions in the country. This comes as no surprise to local residents, who have been designing beautiful landscapes for years.

One can notice this cultivated creativity in the front yards of some WV houses, where many homeowners have taken an unconventional approach to landscaping. These gardeners have branched out from the ?‘expected?’ lawn and hedge, often to favor a large-scale planted display over high-maintenance sod. In doing so, these homeowners have not only added to the aesthetic appeal of their gardens, but have also made a positive ecological step to save water. These gardens have massive curb appeal and, once established, need a fraction of the unyielding maintenance and water of an expensive lawn.

A stroll through Westside Village is a wonderful opportunity to view a wide variety of garden styles, particularly those that feature lush plantings in lieu of grass. Midvale, south of National is a great place to start. There you will find a tropical oasis overflowing with rare plantings including an enormous Bird of Paradise along side Bromeliads and Ferns. Down the street, a welcoming, ?‘California-style?’ garden framed by a beautiful redwood fence features cheerful Kangaroo Paws, New Zealand Tee Tree and an arbor covered with a blooming Potato Vine. A few doors down sits a tranquil terra-cotta terrace with a relaxing fountain surrounded by lush shrubs including a Japanese Maple, ?‘Limelight?’ Licorice Plant and spikey Cape Brush.


Continue your path onto Veteran (between National and Queensland), and you?’ll see a beautifully designed succulent and cactus garden that blends perfectly with the adjacent desert-style home. This garden creatively melds the angular Agave with flowy Fountain Grass. Across the street is an equally attractive, yet completely different type of garden comprised of overflowing, cottage-style plants including French Lavender, Mexican Sage and Butterfly Bushes.

Don?’t miss the ?‘Purple Paradise?’ on Greenfield (between National and Queensland). This garden features an artful collection of lavender plants such as Society Garlic and Sea Lavender that perfectly complement the purple trim on the home?’s front door and window frames. If you continue walking south on Greenfield (but still north of Rose), you will find a newly-built, traditional-style home that has a front yard that is anything but expected. This newer garden looks as though it has been there for years, and includes oversized Flax, Roses and Pink Breath of Heaven. Finally, last but not least, make your way on to Veteran just north of Rose, to view yet another unique home and garden. There you will find a contemporary home that is softened by a lush screen of green foliage plants including Grevillea and other drought-tolerant evergreen shubs.

As you will see, Westside Village is home to an amazing variety of garden styles that are wonderful to draw upon for both enjoyment and inspiration. Even a few small changes have made a big impact on many of the gardens in the community. Many of these landscapes demonstrate that a garden can be both visually beautiful as well as environmentally conscious. Simply step outside your front door to enjoy some of the botanical delights right here in Westside Village.

Jill Lurie may be reached for comment at (310) 795-6597 or jill@tanglevine.com.










Clover Avenue School Happenings

?“I?’m delighted and pleased that the community supports our learning program this way,?” responded Clover Avenue School Principal Maureen Melvold on learning that the Mar Vista Community Council had approved an outdoor Rainbow Court for the Clover campus.

At the recommendation of the new Education/Culture/Arts Committee, MVCC funded $4,824.00 to purchase multicolored tables with matching umbrellas and potted trees with the idea of creating a moveable Rainbow Court on the Clover Avenue School grounds. The Court will provide sun protection for both day and after school programs and can be used by teachers for outdoor classroom activities.

Clover Avenue School was in the news recently for achieving top 10 academic ranking at both the State and City levels. On May 15, the School celebrated its 50th anniversary with games, contests, games, T-shirts, refreshments and other festivities for hundreds of alums, families and friends.

Mar Vista Community Council Update



The Mar Vista Community Council (www.marvistacc.org), is a certified City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Council that comprises Mar Vista and several adjacent neighborhoods--including Westside Village--and has been very busy these past few months. Monthly meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday evening of each month at 7 p.m. at the Mar Vista Park Recreation Center Auditorium.

Six new Zone Directors were elected to the Board, including Bobby Holliday who now represents Zone 1 (Westside Village). The Zone Directors were elected to the Board to ensure better geographic diversity in stakeholder representation, and as WVCA President Bobby is certainly a welcome representative of Westside Village.

Ken Alpern, another Westside Village resident already elected to the MVCC Board last year, was appointed by the Board to be chair of the Outreach Committee. The Outreach Committee is focusing on several efforts, such as a Daytime Outreach Subcommittee (for those who prefer daytime to nighttime meetings and activities), a glass case in the Mar Vista Library, and an updating of the current MVCC website.

Every quarter there is a Stakeholder Meeting focused on the interests and needs of everyday stakeholders rather than usual MVCC business, and the next Stakeholder Meeting will be focused on Safety and Security and held on Tuesday, July 13 at the Mar Vista Park Recreation Center Auditorium at 7 p.m.

The Board has been very busy these past few weeks in order to weigh in on the Playa Vista development that is likely to increase our worsening traffic/congestion problem on the Westside. The Board will also weigh in on Mayor Hahn's plan for LAX reconfiguration.

A new Education/Arts Committee has a budget of $5000 for small construction projects to help local schools, and bids under consideration include Clover Avenue Elementary School. A Mar Vista Historical Society is already under way, with several Westside Village residents prominent in that Society, and a new Mar Vista Arts Guild is being established to enhance more culture within the Mar Vista region.

The Transportation/Infrastructure Committee is weighing in on the future Expo Line and on several major developments within the region, and the Urban Planning/Land Use Committee is embarked upon a very large project to increase signage and landscaping that promote "Mar Vista" along Venice Blvd. and "Mar Vista Community Council" in neighborhoods such as Westside Village.

Individual participation is encouraged by all Westside Villagers, who continue to play a major role in the Mar Vista Community Council--one person's efforts do make a difference, including yours!

Ken Alpern


Tree planting grant


Attention homeowners--A grant from the City of Los Angeles may be available to members of the Westside Village Civic Association to have a tree planted in the front yard at no cost to the homeowner. Anyone interested may contact Richard Saltsman at (310) 559-1590, or E-mail richwvca@comcast.net.