November - Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance

The Alliance Times
The Mt. Washington Homeowners Alliance
The Free Voice of Mt. Washington
Vol. 7, No. 6 November 2007
2005 Mt. Washington Homeowners Alliance. All rights reserved.
“We have it in our power to begin
the world over again.” - Thos Paine
Since 2001
Guards Ordered To Keep Community Out
While Villaraigosa And Huizar Conduct
SW Museum Press Conference
by Daniel Wright and Mark Kenyon
On September 27, 2007, shortly before the event was to
happen, Nicole Possert of the Friends of the Southwest
Museum Coalition received a telephone call from Councilmember Jose Huizar. He told Nicole that he had great
news. He said the Autry National Center had agreed to
almost all the things he had promised the Coalition in an
August 2007 letter he sent to Coalition members. Huizar
said there would soon be a press conference to announce
this agreement and that he hoped the Coalition would
support this new plan. Nicole said that, without having
an opportunity to review the details of the plan, how
could she know if the Coalition’s core demands had been
achieved? The Councilmember indicated his staff would
send the details to her soon. She asked if the Councilmember would delay a public announcement until the 50+
Coalition leaders could meet again with him to discuss
this. The Councilmember replied “no” because the announcement event was scheduled that day. Nicole hung
up wondering why the Councilmember had not mentioned
this press conference at the community meeting she had
attended with him just the previous evening.
Meanwhile, over at the Southwest Museum, Autry CEO
John Gray, and Mount Washington Association activists
Carol Jacques and Eliot Sekuler had everything ready for
the press conference in the Museum courtyard. Someone
placed signs at the bottom of the Museum driveway that
said “Private Event” and guards with a list of “approved”
attendees were stationed at the bottom of the driveway and
the top of the driveway. The elevator and tunnel access
to the Museum was closed and turned off.
Soon the television vans began to arrive. Other cars carrying radio and print media were admitted to the private
event. As the media set up their cameras, microphones,
or waited for the event to begin, they were chatting. Tom
Topping, the publisher of the Northeast newspaper, the
Boulevard Sentinel, arrived camera and notepad in hand.
Topping overheard KPPC reporter Aldolfo Guzman-Lopez exclaim: “Oh, so the community is here too. I guess
they are ready to bury the hatchet!”
Topping looked around for Nicole Possert, the Chair of
the Coalition. She was nowhere in sight. In fact, as Topping looked around the Museum courtyard, none of the
other members of the Coalition Steering Committee were
present. Topping slipped away and talked to the guard at
the head of the driveway. He asked to look at the list of
“approved” guests and found none of the Coalition Steering Committee members on the list. He confirmed with
the guard that only persons on the list would be allowed
in the press conference.
At this point, only Topping understood what was about
to unfold: the Autry, supported by the Mayor, Huizar,
and a few community leaders pulled in by Autry (or the
electeds), would announce to Los Angeles that the community supported something that, in fact, the overwhelming majority of the community did not. The Mayor and
Huizar arrived and press conference got underway.
Autry CEO John Gray, Villaraigosa, and Huizar announced that “tough negotiations” by Huizar with Autry
had resulted in a plan to convert the Southwest Museum
into an education and cultural center. The hand-picked political supporters of the Mayor stepped to the microphone
and declared their excitement about the “new plan.”
Villaraigosa announced that he was working with Autry
to form a new group called the “Southwest Society”
whose purpose was to raise money for the Southwest
Museum. The list of people on the “Southwest Society”
included some other elected officials, some Native
Community Barred continued on page 4
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by Daniel Wright
INTEGRITY. Integrity appears to be a
dwindling resource in Los Angeles.
A number of important issues in Northeast Los Angeles demonstrate that the
planning and environmental protection
processes of our City have reached a
point of complete break down. Even
former Los Angeles Councilmember
Zev Yaroslavsky has admitted on camera that the system is so corrupt that
communities have no real voice at City
Hall. Zev specifically pointed out that
this City still allows developers, their attorneys and environmental consultants,
to write environmental documents – instead of the people elected and appointed
to do the job at City Hall. And Zev has
branded the Neighborhood Council system a series of debating societies with
$50,000 each but no meaningful input
into City Hall decision making. See
the video yourself at: www.youtube.
com/watch?v=pq47aMbYAfY.
As our community has reviewed the
Draft EIR for the Autry National Center’s proposed expansion on taxpayer
land in Griffith Park, there is alarming
evidence that the City’s Recreation and
Park Department has deferred inappropriately to the environmental documents
written by Autry’s EIR consultant, PCR
Services Corporation, as advised by
Autry’s attorneys, Latham & Watkins.
There is no room in this newsletter to
review the detailed evidence but if you
want to open your eyes, the MWHA’s
comment letter on the Draft EIR is now
available on our new website at: www.
MountWashingtonAlliance.com. The
completely unnecessary loss of the
Southwest Museum at its spectacular
site on Mount Washington, a result that
will follow if the City approves the
Autry’s expansion ambitions in Griffith
Park, is about to become a larger symbol
of the corruption of our City’s political
and environmental processes.
As predicted in my last President’s
Message, the Autry, with the apparent
assistance of our former neighbor, Antonio Villaraigosa, has recruited certain
political “types” in our community to
2
begin working against the public interest in a vibrant Southwest Museum.
These individuals showed up at the press
conference at the Southwest Museum
and participated in a fraud on the Los
Angeles press: they tried to claim that
the Autry had broad community support
for its “plan” to convert the Southwest
Museum into a cultural center. In front
of the television cameras, these Mount
Washington Association activists were
used by the Autry to create a false impression of community consensus when
over 70 community-based organizations and civil rights organizations in
the Friends of the Southwest Museum
Coalition continue to demand that Autry
keep its merger promises. (See Coalition Memorandum on our website too.)
Not only were these organizations of
the Coalition not invited to the press
conference; had any one from these
organizations come to the press conference they would have been barred by two
guards! Apparently, our former neighbor
is afraid of those he has stepped on and
forgotten to obtain his current office. See
story at the Boulevard Sentinel: www.
boulevardsentinel.com.
Then there are the elected officials and
their staff members. While we suspected
for some time that some elected officials had been “flipped” by Autry, the
lackluster effort, the stony silence, the
unreturned calls of staff, and the illogical
public statements have all become clear.
At some point, the stench of campaign
contributions and promises of help for
those who desire to step up to a new,
higher political office have trumped the
votes of YOU, the constituents who put
our electeds where they are today.
The Southwest Museum would be such
an easy campaign promise to keep. All
our City officials have to do is say they
will not approve the Autry’s proposal to
expand in Griffith Park. Or they could
condition any expansion in Griffith Park
on certain legally enforceable conditions
to reuse the Southwest Museum. End
of story. Such a principled position
would force Autry to do that which it
so far refuses to do: seriously look at
a sensitive expansion of the Museum
here on land the Autry owns outright as
a result of the merger. And the Mayor
made it sound so easy in 2005 when he
promised in front of hundreds of people
and the press at Ramona Hall that he
was prepared “to jerk Autry’s chain.”
Well, given the shameful performance
of our elected officials and their staff
on this issue, one has to wonder exactly
who is jerking who’s chain? And who
is operating with a “collar” of political
ambition around his neck? Just the fact
that our elected officials would be so
foolish as to participate in such a blatant
and shameful press conference speaks
volumes about the loss of integrity at
City Hall.
It used to be that good elected officials
took positions based upon principle and
not personal political ambition. Even
Richard Alatorre, who later ran into
ethics problems, was forthright on most
issues right from the beginning. You
knew where you stood with him and
he led the City to save the Southwest
Museum in the 1990s. Today, City
Hall likes to offend the least number of
people and postpone taking a meaningful position until the 11th hour so the
community cannot get the word out
about the elected’s betrayal. Whatever.
Such behavior is far more polarizing of
voters than developing a reputation for
simply calling the issues as the elected
official sees them. That has far more integrity than a public official who works
against the community for months and
years behind-the-scenes while publicly
claiming to support it.
I want to specifically call attention
to how the Friends of the Southwest
Museum Coalition has conducted itself
through the nearly 5 years of its existence. The word is Integrity. When
Carol Jacques and Tony Scudellari,
formerly with our Coalition Steering
Committee, were agitating to go public
with posters depicting Jackie Autry and
Autry CEO John Gray as Beverly Hillbilly Pirates and filing lawsuits, others
with cooler heads prevailed to not go
public until a full negotiation process
was completed. When former Coalition
Co-chair Eliot Sekuler drafted a letter to
private foundations asking them to pull
money from the Autry, cooler heads prevailed to wait until all reasonable efforts
to negotiate a quiet settlement had been
exhausted. That was Integrity.
The Coalition went to a confidential mediation
process at the invitation of the Mayor and tried
to talk sense to John Gray and Latham attorney
William Delvac. It ended in the same stalemate as all the previous meetings with Autry.
And many now believe the Mayor’s mediation
was merely a stalling tactic that came about
when Autry pulled the Mayor’s chain.
Then there was the Mayor’s “public input”
process. Funny thing, each meeting was highly
controlled so that Autry CEO John Gray never
had to directly respond to arguments presented
by the Coalition. Then Councilmember Huizar
began saying that he was going to “personally meet with the Autry Board of Directors.”
The Coalition continued to work with the
Councilmember while the supposed meeting
with the Autry Board was delayed for month
after month. Then the Councilmember said
he wanted to have a personal meeting with all
Coalition members to hear directly from the
leaders of each organization their thoughts.
More than 50 Coalition leaders spoke eloquently at that meeting of the vital importance
of keeping the Southwest Museum in place.
Little did they know they were about to be
stabbed in the back.
After allegedly working with our Coalition for
four years, on September 27th, our Councilmember called a press conference to announce
his great victory for the “community” as a
result of “ tough negotiations” with John Gray
(he never met with the Autry Board). And at
this time he and the Mayor excluded the real
community and put Carol Jacques and Eliot
Sekuler and the names of other directors of the
Mount Washington Association in front of television cameras to falsely claim the Southwest
Museum would be saved under this “exciting
new plan.” (Except the new plan is almost the
same as the pathetic, unenforceable plan Autry
proposed last fall.)
For the Coalition, we have conducted ourselves
with Integrity. The Autry has played the most
cynical of political hardball. The Mayor and
Councilmember, who have spit on the bones
of their ancestors in the Southwest Museum
building (the remains of tribes that became the
people of Mexico), have conducted themselves
with complete shame. How stupid do they
think the people of Los Angeles are?
Now that the Coalition has exhausted its
good faith in some of our elected officials,
the time has come to loudly protest. Our
MWHA Slate of Officers and Directors
proposed by the
Nominating Committee for 2008
Title
Name
President
Clare Marter-Kenyon
V.P. Action
Chris Howard
V.P. Programs
Raphael Guerin
V.P. Land Use
Daniel Marlos
V.P. Membership
Peter Lucey
V.P. Hospitality
Vicki Rank
Secretary
Wendel Eckford
Treasurer
Janet Simms
ParliamentarianMartha Alvarez
Director 1Monique Gaudry
Director 2Arline DeSanctis
Director 3Linda Kallen
Director 4
Peter Parrish
Director 5
Ruth Mehringer
Director 6Michael Kelley
Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the
General Membership Meeting on November 12th.
elected officials and their staff owe
our community a retraction, apology, and reversal of course. So we
will use those signs created by Carol
Jacques and Tony Scudellari and that
letter created by Eliot Sekuler. We
have reached a point that the public
outcry must be raised so that the political pain of supporting the Autry’s
ill-conceived plan must exceed the
currently perceived political gain of
our elected officials. Today, Sunday
October 21 I joined more than 60
people at the Southwest Museum to
march, chant, and increase awareness
of the outrageous conduct of the Autry. Lots of people stopped their cars
and honked in support. Everytime
we protest, the crowd gets larger. It’s
a bit poetic that the revolt began on
the 100th anniversary of the founding
of the Southwest Museum. Charles
Lummis would be proud.
Museum. If you are among the approximately 40 people who belong
to both the MWHA and the Mount
Washington Association, this is the
year to rethink that. I welcomed the
cooperation of our organizations on
local beautification projects, but why
support an organization controlled by
handful of people who keep selling
this community down the river on
vital public issues? Let the MWA’s
membership fall to less than 40
people. I need to hear from film industry folks (we have YouTube mock
political ads to shoot), radio and
television experts (the Coalition’s
own press conference), and those
interested in forming a Political Action Committee. Zev Yaroslavsky
is right when he said he senses a
revolt brewing. Our City Hall is for
sale again, like in the corrupt Shaw
administration of the 1930s. But the
As we come to the end of the year, people of Los Angeles have ways of
please consider a tax-deductible do- fixing problems. Let’s roll up our
nation to the Friends of the Southwest sleeves and go to it.
3
Community Barred
continued from front page
American activists, some political appointees of the Mayor to other commissions, and five current Board members
of the Mount Washington Association.
Conspicuously absent from the list was
any wealthy person or person with connections to wealth. Also, not a single
Autry Board member was on the Southwest Society list of Charter Members.
Topping specifically asked Councilmember Huizar where were the members of
the Steering Committee of the Friends of
the Southwest Museum? Huizar replied
that perhaps they chose not to attend.
Other than the last minute call to Possert,
none had been invited.
The Autry handed out a press kit that
contained a press release. In it, the
following is attributed to Eliot Sekuler,
another Board member of the Mount
Washington Association: “The agreement brokered by Councilman Huizar
provides assurances that two of our community’s key institutions - the Southwest
Museum and Casa de Adobe - will be
preserved, revitalized and maintained
as vibrant cultural resources. It represents a major victory for Los Angeles’
northeast neighborhoods.” Eliot Sekuler
recently “resigned” from the Coalition
in a splashy online letter even though he
has not been a member of the Coalition
Steering Committee for many months.
In fact, he has not attended a Friends
of the SW Museum Coalition meeting
since last spring when he refused to sign
an agreement to keep Coalition matters
confidential.
After the curtain rang down on the press
conference, Topping also asked the
guard at the bottom of the hill if he had
let anyone into the press conference not
on the list. The guard said absolutely
not. Thus, the elected representatives
of Northeast Los Angeles had just conducted a press conference where their
own constituents would not have been
welcomed.
Later that day, major media outlets in
Los Angeles reported stories about the
formation of a fund raising group to
preserve the Southwest Museum and
4
High Performing Mt Washington School
Seeks Community Support
by Roberta Tinajero-Frankel
The PTA started this fall season with
renewed energy and excitement with a
new principal, Sosie Kralian; a new PTA
president, Roberta Tinajero-Frankel;
and a strong partnership with the community. The PTA launches its annual
Gift Giving Campaign in November
with varying levels of sponsorship.
Please watch for the letter and consider
a donation.
The PTA’s volunteer commitment translates into one of the District’s strongest
PTAs. However, sometimes the work
of the PTA is one of the hill’s best kept
secrets.
Thanks to the work of the PTA parents,
the school is able to offer after school
homework tutoring in the library, a P.E.
class, choir, and parent educational programs. The PTA helps pay for additional teachers’ aides to enhance learning
and playground safety. It funds school
buses for each grade, so our children
have numerous field trips (as opposed
to just one like other schools). Our dollars provide additional library books,
learning software for the classrooms
and school beautification projects, such
as the mosaic wall. Each year a visiting
astronomer presents to each grade level
and hosts an evening Star Gazer event
for families.
how the Northeast communities had
achieved a “tremendous victory” by the
long negotiations led by Councilmember
Huizar.
Meanwhile, Tom Topping had the real
story: the press conference was a sham, a
fraud, a lie. The overwhelmingly larger
number of Coalition leaders with whom
Huizar had met with in July, about 50
community leaders and representing
thousands of people, had been purposely
not been invited to the press conference
even though Huizar was declaring a
“victory” in their name. Topping produced a news story and investigative
piece that revealed what really went
November General
Membership Meeting
Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center
Classes & Programs for Fall 2007
A Special Place and Time
It’s no secret that family involvement at
schools contributes to high performance
and our community is lucky to have a
school that scored 892 in the state Academic Performance Index, giving it a
statewide rank of 10.
However, the school can use some help
from the community as well. Morning
traffic in front of the school is a growing
safety issue. The School Site Council
and the PTA are seeking a professional
traffic engineer willing to provide some
consultation on pedestrian flow.
Is there an Alliance member interested
in running the weekly Chess Club on
Thursdays from 2:15 to 3:30 pm? Duties
include setting up, supervising play, distributing a light snack, and putting away
materials. Chess is a terrific game for
children, boosting their critical thinking
skills, sportsmanship, and self-esteem.
It’s also been shown to improve both
math and reading scores. Please consider leading this important club.
The PTA welcomes Alliance members
to carve out whatever time, talent or
contribution you can spare to our great
school. To volunteer for chess club,
traffic consultation or other opportunities, please call the school office at (323)
225-8320.
down at the Autry/Villaraigosa/Huizar
press conference. He scooped all the
other media of Los Angeles. Soon after
his story was published, Huizar’s staff
was on the phone complaining. Topping
stands by his story.
The story in the Boulevard Sentinel
is found at www.boulevardsentinel.
com/southwest.htm. The Arroyo Seco
Journal also quickly figured out the real
story and its story is online at www.
arroyosecojournal.blogspot.com. The
controversy over the press conference
has spilled out in the Los Angeles City
politics blog www.mayorsam.blogspot.
com.
By Arline DeSanctis
The following classes are funded by L.A. Kids and free to
participants:
Mt. Washington School MultiPurpose Room
San Rafael at Glenalbyn Drive
Friday night, November 16, 2007
7:00 p.m.
Join the MWHA for a re-run
showing of the Mt. Washington
Voices Project Documentary
(We hear you! We get many
requests to show the film for
those who missed it!)
To accommodate work schedules, the film will not run until
8:00 pm.
Ages 5 – 17
Ages 6 – 17
Ages 5 – 17
Ages 5 – 17
Ages 5 – 17
Ages 5 – 17
Monday
Tuesday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Wed & Fri
Wednesday
Ages 5 – 17 Friday
Ages 5 – 17 Friday
4:00 p.m.
4 – 5 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
5:00 pm.
4:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
_______________________________________
After School Program
Mon – Friday 2:30 – 6:00 p.m.
MWHA will provide popcorn
and drinks. You are invited to
bring a favorite snack or dessert to share!
The Mount Washington
History Guide
Now for sale
$2 each at
general meetings of
the Alliance.
Arts & Crafts
Guitar
Explorations
Kids in the Kitchen
Tumbling
Sports & Games
Improvisation
Workshop
Dance for Theatre
After School Program includes a supervised walk from Mt. Washington
Elementary School, homework help, daily snacks, sports, games and Arts & Crafts.
Program is for youth ages 5 – 12 (grades K-6)
Cost: $120 per month, $35 per week, $10 per day.
There is no After School Program on designated holidays.
________________________________________________________
Tiny Tots Preschool Program
Tuesday – Friday 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Ages 3 – 5
Cost $60 per month
________________________________
Lola Moquin, Recreation Facility Director
Sherri Jacobson, Recreation Coordinator
To enroll in classes, call (323) 225-4960
Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance Membership Application
 Single: $15
 Family / Couple: $25
 Senior: $10 (each)
 Sponsor: $35
 Benefactor: $100
Name(s)_________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________Zip__________
Phone____________________Email___________________________________
I am  OWNER
 RENTER
 RENEWING MEMBER
 NEW MEMBER
 Yes, I’m interested in advertising my business or service in the MWHA Newsletter.
Memberships are valid for one calendar year, beginning in January. Member voting privileges are restricted to
homeowners. Please make check payable to the Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance. Mail application with check
to MWHA, P.O. Box 65146, Los Angeles, CA 90065-0146.
5
The Tree
from Hell
by Daniel Marlos
When I originally proposed the idea to
include a piece in the newsletter about
the Tree of Heaven, I got the following
clarification from Clare Marter Kenyon,
a well known advocate of environmental
preservation: “ [you mean] about the
tree from hell?” Lauri Mraz responded
by writing “My opinion is that the Tree
of Heaven is a real nuisance Let’s tell
people about it!” It has always been
the stance of this organization to
preserve the environment, and this
newsletter has tried to inform its
readership about the diversity of
life forms here in Mt. Washington
in an effort to save their populations, but there are some invasive
exotic species that seriously threaten
those very species that need to be
conserved.
The Tree of Heaven, or as so many
people have more colorfully referred
to it, the “Tree from Hell” is actually
Ailanthus altissima. Other common
names include Chinese Sumac, a reference to its country of origin, and
Stinking Shumac, a reference to the
offensive odor produced by crushing the leaves and other plant parts.
The Plant Conservation Alliance’s
(PCA) Alien Plant website (www.
nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/aial1.
htm) has placed it at the top of their
“Least Wanted” list. The site notes
that this rapidly growing deciduous
tree can reach 80 feet in height and
describes the tree as having smooth
gray bark and light brown twigs.
The compound leaves can reach 4 feet
in length and are composed of smaller
leaflets. Clusters of papery seeds follow
the small yellow-green flowers that appear on the tips of branches in the late
spring. The PCA stresses the ecological
threat by posting: “ Tree of Heaven is
a prolific seed producer, grows rapidly,
and can overrun native vegetation. Once
established, it can quickly take over a
site and form an impenetrable thicket.
Ailanthus trees also produce toxins that
6
prevent the establishment of other plant
species. The root system is aggressive
enough to cause damage to sewers and
foundations.”
Betty Smith wrote the touching book
“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” which
metaphorically examines survival under adverse conditions while keeping
idealism alive. The Tree of Heaven is
at the center of the metaphor. The Tree
of Heaven is a hardy species that is able
to survive in the harshest of conditions,
which is what enables it to displace native vegetation that is quickly compromised by environmental changes. The
Tree of Heaven easily propagates from
the gold rush. It can be found in as
many as 42 states, and a 1995 survey
indicated that “interstate highways in
southwestern Virginia found that 30%
of the mileage along the highways was
infested by Ailanthus.” Major portions
of the Shenandoah National Forest are
also seriously being threatened by a
proliferation of Ailanthus trees.
Here in Mt. Washington, our compromised and protected California Black
Walnut Trees might be facing a more
imminent threat from invasive Trees
of Heaven than they are by the surge in
development we are currently experiencing. Elyria Canyon Park, a 34 acre
gem of open space located off Division Street, has its own healthy and
growing population of Ailanthus
trees. The newly fenced ranger
station contains a large mother
tree that towers over the building.
It currently has a bumper crop of
seeds waiting to be dispersed. The
trail leading down to the ranger
station from Killarney Avenue has
several dense groves, and individual sprouts are beginning to crowd
out Black Walnut trees in places.
There are also groves of trees on
the hill above the parking lot on
Wollum Street. Other areas of Mt
Washington have healthy populations of Ailanthus Trees. Several
vacant lots on Killarney Avenue
across the street from my home
contain groves of trees.
Because the Ailanthus Tree can
reproduce from root suckers, there
is often a predictable pattern to their
spread. The tree roots are shallow
and spread laterally. They are rephoto by Daniel Marlos ported to have trouble penetrating
undisturbed soil, but any excavaseeds and root suckers. If a large tree tion that disturbs the ground, like street
is cut, numerous sprouts will quickly paving, sewer installation, or erection of
appear, often as far as 30 feet from the walls and fences, opens the path to root
original trunk.
penetration. In my own yard, there was
The Tree of Heaven is more than just a row of suckers that quickly developed
a threat to our native vegetation and into 30 foot trees, the largest with a trunk
habitat in Mt. Washington. The species more that a foot in diameter. It has taken
was introduced to America by a gar- me several years to eradicate this plague.
dener in Philadelphia, PA in 1784 and Cutting the trees just resulted in sproutthe tree was soon regularly available in ing suckers throughout the yard, along
nurseries in the east. It was brought to the curb, in the vegetable patch, and
California by Chinese laborers during under the garage. I am normally a per-
son who refrains from any pesticides or
herbicides in my yard, but after months
of digging roots with a pickaxe and pulling as many new shoots as possible on a
weekly basis, I resorted to some internet
research. The PCA notes: “ The most
effective method of Ailanthus control
seems to be through the use of herbicides, which may be applied as a foliar
(to the leaves), basal bark, cut stump,
or hack and squirt treatment. Keep in
mind that it is relatively easy to kill the
above ground portion of Ailanthus trees,
you need to kill or seriously damage the
root system to prevent or limit stump
sprouting and root suckering.” I followed this advice. I purchased a product
called Vine-X from Burkard Nurseries in
Pasadena. This is a strong herbicide that
must be painted on the trunks of the trees
with an applicator brush. My stumps
are now dead and the sucker shoots only
appear sporadically far from the original
plant, but they are quickly painted with
Vine-X as soon as they are noticed. I
still dread the spread of new roots now
that the vacant lot has been cleared in
preparation for two new homes.
Residents, by practicing diligence in
their gardens, can help to limit the
spread of this threat to our ecosystem.
First, make sure that you have properly
identified the Ailanthus. Ironically, it
bears a superficial resemblance to our
endangered California Black Walnuts.
Try to identify large seeding trees to
eliminate the spread of new plants.
There is a large female tree in the backyard of a home on Killarney Avenue that
is close to the groves of trees above the
Elyria Park ranger station. That single
tree might result in Elyria Canyon Park
becoming an Ailanthus forest. The trees
currently growing in the park need to
be controlled, including the large seeding specimen in the fenced yard of the
ranger station. Concerned individuals
should join one of the publicized park
clean-ups that occur on a regular basis
by contacting Lynette Kampe at lynnette@pacbell.net and finding out about
the future schedule. Anyone who desires
additional information on the Tree of
Heaven should be able to easily locate
numerous internet resources.
Benches Honor Local Women
by Clare Marter Kenyon
The joint Beautification Committee of our Mount
Washington Homeowners Alliance and Mt. Washington Association, is implementing a project in the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s Elyria Canyon
Park.
The project is intended to pay tribute to Lucille Lemmon and Pat Samson who loved and served our community, each in her special own way. Pat was known
to many of us as the hill’s Historian who kept records
for many years and passed away last year. Lucy was
Lucille Lemmon
an outspoken environmentalist who was responsible for
leading the charge to reject early development proposals for Elyria Canyon.
On October 13th, several volunteers gathered to prepare the site for the installation of two benches at the top of the canyon close to Elyria Drive. Previous work
included the removal of some old fencing. Plaques will commemorate these two
fine women.
Funding was provided for the benches by the MWHA,
MWA, ASNC and Highland Park Heritage Trust.
Two more work parties are scheduled for the following dates:
Saturday, November 10, 9a.m. - Noon: Prepare
concrete footings
Saturday November 17, 9a.m. - Noon: Install
benches and sow wildflowers
Volunteers are very welcome! To RSVP call: Lynnette 323-221-1782 or email: lynnette@pacbell.net
OR: just show up!
photos above by louis mraz
Pat Samson
hugh king; lynnette kampe; cmk; mark kenyon; rob schraff; luke
parker; hank schaeffer.
photo by daniel marlos
7
The Parrots of Mt. Washington
distinctive calls.
Locally, a person would have to be
unconscious (or plugged into an iPod,
same thing) not to have noticed the
large flocks of parrots (mostly conures)
that hang out in, or fly over, Highland
Park in the vicinity of Figueroa St. and
York Blvd., or just about anywhere in
Pasadena.
by Julian P. Donahue
Parrots? On Mt. Washington?
Believe it!
“Parrots,” in the broad sense, refers
to any member of the parrot family of
birds. They may be called lovebirds,
budgerigars, parakeets, parakeets, conures, macaws, lories, and so forth—but
they are all parrots.
All of us have seen caged companion
parrots—noted for their vocal ability,
personality, and longevity—and some
of us have been fortunate to experience parrots in their native habitats: the
tropical and subtropical regions of every
continent.
Of the 364 species of parrots in the
world, not a single one is currently “native” to the United States. But it wasn’t
always that way. In the 19th Century the
only native North American parrot, the
Carolina Parakeet, was a familiar bird,
with a wide distribution in the eastern
United States, from the Ohio Valley to
the Gulf of Mexico. The last known wild
bird was killed in Okeechobee County,
Florida, in 1904, and the last of the species, a lone captive bird in the Cincinnati Zoo, finalized the extinction of this
lovely bird when it died in 1918.
Since the disappearance of the Carolina
Parakeet, however, numerous other species of parrots have become established,
or “naturalized,” in the United States.
Thanks in large part to the many exotic
trees that are now cultivated in subtropical parts of the U.S., greatly aided by the
longevity of parrots in general, parrots
that have escaped from captivity have
been able to locate mates and set up
housekeeping in the urban “wilds” of
our southern states. For these tropical
birds, finding tropical plants on which
to feed is just like home.
Although most of our bird identification field guides have few if any
illustrations to aid in identifying these naturalized parrots,
the latest (fifth) edition of the
National Geographic Field
Guide to the Birds of North
America (2006), illustrates no
less than 16 species of parrots, with notes on where they
occur. Understandably, the
Miami area is well endowed
with parrots, not to mention numerous other escaped
tropical plants and animals,
because of its salubrious climate, lush exotic vegetation,
abundance of parrot owners,
and the fact that Miami is a
major terminus for travelers
(and parrot smugglers) from
tropical America and Africa.
Southern Texas is also home
to several resident species of
parrots, most likely descended
from escaped individuals of
species that occur naturally in
Carolina Parakeet, from John J. Audubon’s nearby Mexico.
Birds of America
8
According to The California
as a bright yellow stripe in the wing.
Like most parrots, they are sociable, and
travel in flocks of varying size. If you see
one you can be sure that others are also
there, camouflaged by the foliage. Often
I’ve searched for minutes just to locate
the first bird, but when startled a flock
of half a dozen or more birds explodes
noisily from the tree.
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets in
the author’s floss silk tree
© Julian P. Donahue
Parrot Project, 13 species of parrots have
become naturalized in California. Freeflying parrots have been documented
in the state since the 1960s. Many additional species of parrots occasionally
escape and are spotted in the wild, but
as far as we know they have not been
able to breed successfully in the wild.
In my 34 years on Mt. Washington, for
example, I have been astonished to see
single individuals of African Gray Parrot
(with its owner trying to lure it back into
a cage), Fischer’s Lovebird, a Budgerigar (the common “parakeet”) that landed
on my finger and became a household
pet, and once I was flabbergasted to spy
a giant Hyacinth Macaw perched atop a
deodar tree!
Understandably, most of California’s
naturalized parrots have a rather limited
distribution, tending to remain in favorable habitats they have found near the
place where they escaped from captivity.
Yes, it’s true: birds of a feather DO flock
together, and parrots of the same species
manage to find others of their kind in the
area and establish wild flocks of varying
size—aided in large part by their loud,
On Mt. Washington, if you look to the
skies when you hear parrots calling,
you may see one of the several species
of Amazona parrots flying overhead.
Usually in pairs, these broad-winged
and short-tailed natives of the American
tropics have a peculiar, fluttering flight
with shallow wingbeats that make one
wonder how they can fly at all. I have
been unable to get a good enough look
to identify any of these Amazona parrots,
because they are always backlit and silhouetted and are so high in the sky that
I can not discern any of the color pattern
that’s distinctive for each species.
A second kind of parrot occasionally
flies noisily over the hill, and I haven’t
a clue what it is—it is not one of the
13 naturalized species. These birds are
very small, very short-tailed, and fly like
bullets high overhead. It is most similar
to what are called parrotlets, which I’ve
seen in western Mexico. Putting a name
to these speedy birds remains a longterm challenge.
The most commonly seen parrot on Mt.
Washington, however, is the Yellowchevroned Parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri),
a native of the southern Amazon basin to
northern Argentina. One of their favorite
foods here seems to be the seeds of the
floss-silk tree (Chorisia speciosa), also a
native of South America that is currently
in full bloom all over the Los Angeles
basin. When the large pods of this
member of the kapok family split open,
perhaps in May, Yellow-chevroned
Parakeets descend on the fruiting trees
and tear through mounds of “fluff” to
get at the edible seeds. Feeding birds are
often silent while they are feeding, and
they are virtually impossible to see: their
green feathers match perfectly the green
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets in
the author’s floss silk tree
© Julian P. Donahue
foliage of the trees. The first clue to their
presence in the tree is often the shower
of kapok fluff falling out of the tree and
drifting in the breeze as they feed.
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets apparently
first became established near downtown
Los Angeles in 1984, and they were a
frequent sight in the floss-silk trees at the
Natural History Museum in Exposition
Park. According to a map of the spread
of this species by Karen Mabb, by 1994
they had reached Mt. Washington and
Pasadena. By 1999 they had reached
Santa Monica, and by 2005 they were
well into the northeastern San Fernando
Valley, the western San Gabriel Valley,
and all the way over to Whittier, down
to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and into
Orange County. Because I was so familiar with these birds at the Museum,
where I worked, I neglected to record
when I first detected their presence on
Mt. Washington. I do know, however,
that by 1999, when I finally did make a
note, they had been here for a while.
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets are sleek,
long-tailed, green birds with a distinctive
yellow patch near the bend of the wing
(see photos). In flight, this yellow shows
Parrots in Los Angeles are, of course,
another alien invader. Currently, however, they do not appear to pose much
of a threat to our native environment
because they prefer to hang out around,
and feed on, introduced exotic trees.
Quoting parrot expert Karen T. Mabb,
“Should parrots move out of the city
and invade wild land, such as sycamore
and oak canyons, they could exert serious competitive pressure on native species. These native species populations
already suffer under the pressure of
increased urban- and suburbanization.
As areas undergo this transformation
into urban-sprawl, and as the trees in
these neighborhoods grow into “mature
forest,” we can expect that it becomes
more common to see free-flying parrots
established in other city areas in addition to Los Angeles County, or even
California.”
Parrots have a lot of friends. Parrot owners who, for whatever reason, decide that
they can no longer keep (or tolerate)
their pet, may want to consider contacting Parrots First, a nonprofit group
dedicated to parrot adoptions, care education, rehabilitation, and rescue (www.
parrotsfirst.org; 866-248-7670, ext.
5937). And parrot owners who want to
flock together with others of their kind
may be interested in the Parrot Society
of Los Angeles, another nonprofit group
involved with educating the public about
the proper care of companion parrots, as
well as rescues and relocation of parrots
to adoptive homes (www.parrotsocietyoflosangeles.com; 310-358-2907).
For more information about The California Parrot Project, and an opportunity to
participate by reporting observations of
free-flying parrots, visit them at http://
californiaparrotproject.org
9
City Changes Its Argument To Avoid LA Overcharging for Water
(Edited from a column from the Howard JarDealing With “Dirt Burnell” Fraud vis Taxpayers Association, October 8, 2007)
by Daniel Marlos
Previous newsletters have documented
how the developer of a house at 1657
Burnell Drive used false statements and
manipulation of land titles to avoid environmental review and obtain project
approvals without conditions to protect
the community. After the MWHA appealed the building permits, the City’s
Zoning Administrator recently issued a
decision denying the MWHA’s appeal.
This was not unexpected as throughout
the entire process, the City has refused
to acknowledge the existence of the
developer’s fraudulent actions.
In the first decision in this case, the
Department of Building and Safety
claimed (contrary to the Municipal
Code) that the Department has no authority to enforce the Zoning Code and
therefore it could do nothing about the
alleged fraud. When MWHA pointed
out in the appeal before the Zoning Administrator that this would set a terrible
precedent for the City in future cases,
the City abandoned that argument and
now claims that the permits are valid
because they were not originally appealed. There is no discussion of the
fraud in the decision.
There are California legal decisions
that support the MWHA’s contention
that fraud invalidates permits from the
first day the actions are committed.
But in the Zoning Administrator’s
decision, the City is now claiming
that the permits cannot be challenged
because the permits were not originally
appealed right after the Burnell house
was approved. This issue is irrelevant
under the legal cases cited by the
MWHA but the City fails to discuss
the legal cases at all. The Zoning Administrator has not protected our community from the fraud of the developer
– he has endorsed it. This matter will
be appealed to the East Los Angeles
Planning Commission.
The MWHA believes there is no coincidence that the Zoning Administrator
decision was issued the same week as
the issuance of a Mitigated Negative
Declaration (MND) for two additional
homes by the same developer on three
adjacent lots immediately to the east of
the controversial 1657 Burnell house.
The cover letter of the MND notes
that: “As part of the project, Burnell
Drive would be improved/paved approximately 200 feet from Killarney
Avenue to the eastern property line of
the project site. Roadway improvements would include installation of
retaining wall, curbs, gutters, and a
hammerhead turn around.”
Comments on the MND are due by
October 31. The advocacy of the
MWHA on this issue has resulted
in the incorporation of a number of
important protections of the public
should the two additional houses be
approved. The MWHA as well as
concerned neighbors are currently
working on identifying remaining issues about the environmental impacts
of this project including: the height
of retaining walls, drainage, erosion,
fire and safety access, and potential
cumulative impacts of other projects
on the same or nearby streets.
Check out the Alliance’s new website! Read the full stories written to inform the
Mount Washington Voices Project History Guide.
Go to
www.MountWashingtonAlliance.com
and click on the “History” button.
10
By Jon Coupal and Timothy Bittle
In fact, every Los Angeles water customer
has been overcharged for years. Although
the California Supreme Court ruled last year
that cities can no longer charge customers
more than it costs to provide water service,
the City of Los Angeles was hoping it could
break the law again this year. Sorry, L.A., we
at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
noticed. But first, a little history: In 1999,
we sued the City of Los Angeles because its
water rates significantly exceeded its cost
to provide water, resulting in a surplus of
over $20 million each year, which the City
transferred to its General Fund. Our lawsuit
alleged that the overcharges violated Proposition 218, which in part states, “Revenues
derived from the fee or charge shall not
exceed the funds required to provide the
property related service.” Unfortunately,
the Court of Appeal sided with the City,
ruling that metered water rates are not fees
for a property-related service and therefore
are not subject to Proposition 218. Then, in
2006, the California Supreme Court granted
review of a case called Bighorn-Desert
View Water Agency v. Verjil. The case involved a voter’s initiative to reduce water
rates. The high court ruled that reducing
rates is within the people’s initiative power,
and that water rates are subject to the other
requirements of Proposition 218 as well.
The Supreme Court issued the decision in
July 2006. Anyone with faith in the rule of
law would expect that, by now, the City of
Los Angeles would have adjusted its water
rates to comply with the law as laid down
by the state’s highest court.
The City of Los Angeles recently filed a
lawsuit addressed to “All persons interested
in the matter of the validity of the transfer of
$29,931,300 from the Water Revenue Fund
of the City of Los Angeles to the City’s
Reserve Fund.” We prepared an Answer
to the City’s lawsuit denying the City’s
asserted right to continue generating and
transferring a surplus, and affirmatively alleged that the City’s practice became illegal
when the Supreme Court overruled HJTA
v.City of Los Angeles. The two sides will
now battle it out in court.
The entire column can be found on the
HJTA website at: http://www.HJTA.org/
commentaryV5-41
Real Estate News
by Raphael Guerin
As the market continues to be a special interest topic to all. the key today
is financing. On both Buyer or Seller
sides the importance of the transaction
is financing and the strength to be able
to close escrow on time. The latest research shows that the market will decline
approximately 4% in the area per the
California Association of Realtors in
2008. I hope the information brought to
you is helpful.
On September 21, the CALIFORNIA
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
(C.A.R.) applauded the passage of H.R.
1852, the “Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007,” by U.S. House
of Representatives. The act, introduced
by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (DCalif.), modernizes the FHA mortgage
insurance program, providing American
homeowners with safe, affordable mortgage alternatives that are fairly priced
without resorting to teaser rates or negative amortization. H.R. 1852 increases
the FHA loan limits to 125 percent of an
area’s median home price, with a cap at
$729,750. By contrast, the current FHA
loan limit is only $362,790.
Passage of the “Expanding American
Homeownership Act of 2007” will
give home buyers in high-cost areas
like California an affordable mortgage
alternative instead having to resort to
significantly more expensive subprime
loans.
Home prices throughout most of California will post modest declines next
year while sales of existing homes will
stabilize from the precipitous decrease
experienced in 2007, according to the
C.A.R. “2008 California Housing Market Forecast”. The median home price
in California will decline 4 percent
to $553,000 in 2008 compared with
a projected median of $576,000 this
year, while sales for 2008 are projected
to decrease 9 percent to 334,500 units,
compared with 367,500 units (projected)
in 2007.
“Tighter credit standards, affordability
concerns, and a continued standoff between buyers and sellers will contribute
to continued weakness in the market
Recycling Progam Changes
by Lauri Mraz
Did you know? The Los Angeles City Sanitation Department has expanded the list of recyclable materials you can
put in your blue bin!
All Clean Dry Paper: computer, ledger, wrapping, arts
and craft paper, unwanted mail, telephone books, newspaper,
blueprints, magazines, file folders, paper bags, Post-it notes,
catalogs; and all envelopes including those with windows
All Cardboard Boxes and Chipboard: cereal, tissue, dry
food, frozen food, shoe, and detergent boxes; paper and toilet rolls; and corrugated boxes broken down and flattened
All Aluminum, Tin, Metal, and Bi-Metal Cans: rinsed if
possible, soda, juice, soup, vegetables, and pet food cans;
pie tins; clean aluminum foils; empty paint and aerosol cans
with plastic caps removed, and wire hangers
All Glass Bottles and Jars: rinsed if possible, soda, wine,
beer, spaghetti sauce, pickle jars, broken bottles, and etc.
All Clean Plastics 1 Through 7
Empty Plastic Containers rinsed if possible, soda, juice,
detergent, bleach, shampoo, lotion, mouthwash, dishwash-
going into next year,” said C.A.R.
President Colleen Badagliacco. “Sales
could decline more steeply in 2008 if the
current liquidity crunch in the mortgage
markets has a longer-than-expected duration or if interest rates unexpectedly
increase,” she said
“Geographically, more affordable
regions such as the Central Valley and
Inland Empire will experience greater
softness in the resale market because of
the large number of new homes coming onto the market in recent years,”
said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief
Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.
“Higher priced regions of the state, such
as the San Francisco Bay Area and parts
of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange
counties will react more to affordability
constraints.”
Historically, the last time the sales level
fell below 2007’s projected 367,500
units occurred in 1995, when annual
sales totaled 342,540 units. Sales last fell
below 2008’s 334,500-unit forecast in
1985, with 328,270 units. The last time
the statewide median price fell was a 0.5
percent decline in 1996.
ing liquid bottles, milk jugs, tubs for margarine and yogurt,
plastic planters, food and blister packaging, rigid clamshell
packaging, etc.
All Plastic Bags and All Film Bags grocery bags and dry
cleaner bags, and all clean film plastic
All Clean Polystyrene (Styrofoam®) Styrofoam cups, containers, and packaging such as egg shell cartons, block packaging,
and clamshell packaging
Miscellaneous Plastics Plastic coat hangers, non-electric plastic toys, plastic swimming pools, & plastic laundry baskets
Call 1-800-733-CITY (2489) for more information.
For items that cannot be safely recyled in the blue bins, Los
Angeles provides the Solvents-Automotive-Flammables-Electronics (SAFE) Collection Centers, which accept computers,
monitors, printers, network equipment, cables, telephones, TVs,
video games, cell phones, radios, stereos, VCRs, and electronic
toys. They also accept household hazard waste (motor oil, paint,
aerosols, expired medicines, etc.), and bulky items (furniture,
appliances, doors, bikes). SAFE Collection Center, 2649 E.
Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90021. Fri., Sat., Sun.
9am-3pm; Also accepts bulky items seven days a week, 9am5pm. Bring Dept. of Water and Power bill and photo ID
11
The cost to advertise in the next NEWSLETTER is just $25.00 for a business card size ad.
Submission deadline is 12-30-07. Make check payable to MWHA and mail with ad copy to:
MWHA c/o Ruth Mehringer, 834 Rome Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065
Larger ad space and yearly subscription rates are available.
For information contact 323-225-1339 or ruthmlb56@roadrunner.com
12
P. O. Box 65146
Los Angeles, CA 90065-0146
Homeowners Alliance
Mount Washington
Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance
Board of Directors
Officers
President
Dan Wright
323-223-4797
VP Action
Arline DeSanctis
323-223-4775
VP Programs
Raphael Guerin
323-225-6161
VP Membership
Chris Howard
323-222-6646
Treasurer
Janet Simms
323-222-1808
Parliamentarian
Barbara Schultz
323-226-1521
Board Directors
Mary Helen Cruz
323-227-1991
Ruth Mehringer
323-225-1339
Linda Kallan
323-223-8485
Peter Parrish
323-258-8827
Daniel Marlos
323-342-0902
VP Land Use
Martha Alvarez
323-258-1980
www.MountWashingtonAlliance.com
VP Hospitality
Vicki Rank
323-221-3226
Newsletter
Lauri Mraz
323-222-1970
Advertising
Ruth Mehringer
(323) 225-1339
November MWHA General
Membership Meeting
Friday night, November 16, 2007
7:00 p.m.
Join the MWHA for a re-run
showing of the Mt. Washington
Voices Project Documentary
Mt. Washington School Multi-Purpose
Room, San Rafael at Glenalbyn Drive
MWHA will provide popcorn and
drinks. You are invited to bring a
favorite snack or dessert to share!
for details see page 5