Palms Neighborhood Council

What:               Soil removal and grading necessary for the start of construction  

When:              Monday, May 14, 2012 through Friday, July 20, 2012  

Work Hours:    

• 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday in the City of Los Angeles                         
• 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday in the City of Santa Monica
• No work will take place on weekends  

Where:             Work will take place within the Expo ROW, throughout the alignment between Bagley Avenue in the City of Los Angeles and 17^th Street in the City of Santa Monica

Work Description: Construction crews will be conducting soil removal and grading within the right-of-way. Equipment used for these construction activities will include: excavators, compaction rollers, front-end loaders, backhoe loaders, bulldozers and trucks. Work crews will perform excavations under local, state and federal regulations and in a manner that does not harm the public or the environment. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) will oversee this process and ensure that it is performed accordingly.

Advisories/Mitigation Measures:

• Dust Control - The following measures will be implemented to prevent fugitive dust from leaving the site: the use of watering trucks to wet the soil, covering truck loads with tarps before they leave the work site, and the designation of a specific entrance and exit for all equipment and trucks hauling debris where an anti-soil tracking device will be installed.  Additionally, street sweepers will be used to keep clear the streets of debris as needed.
• Soil Sampling and Analysis - In 2010, the soil in the Expo ROW was sampled for soil contaminants. Arsenic, lead, petroleum hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds were found at various locations and depths below the ground surface in the Expo ROW. There is no immediate health risk to the residents or businesses in the area; however, DTSC recommended that the contaminated soil be removed to prevent the potential for future exposure.
• California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) - is responsible for the oversight of the soil removal process to ensure that the Expo Authority and its contractor, SRJV and their subcontractors perform the excavations under local, state, and federal regulations. All necessary precautions will be implemented to make certain that site workers and the community are safe during the soil removal activities. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the Expo Construction Authority or DTSC. You may contact: Yvette LaDuke, Public Participation Specialist, at 818-717-6569 or via email: yladuke@dtsc.ca.gov or the AQMD Complaint Hotline at (909)288-7664.

Traffic Impacts/Access:

• Trucks used to haul away debris will occasionally interrupt traffic as they enter and exit the ROW; however, flagmen will be used to safely direct drivers to minimize traffic disruptions.
• Access to businesses and residences will be maintained throughout all construction activities.
• Please obey all posted parking restriction signs and construction signs; do not enter the construction work zone.

(Construction schedules are subject to change for various reasons including but not limited to: weather conditions, unforeseen emergencies and other acts of nature.) To view the construction notice – please click here.

This Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00,  individuals can surrender their firearms anonymously to law enforcement at 6 locations throughout the city as part of the City of Los Angeles Gun Buyback program. In exchange, an individual may receive a Ralphs or VISA pre-paid gift card. Depending on the type of firearm surrendered, an individual may receive up to $100 for a handgun, shotgun or rifle, and up to $200 for assault weapons as classified in the State of California.

Download the flyer for locations and details; check out the FAQ for more info.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an LA Fireman? Now is your chance – on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Neighborhood Fire Stations throughout the City of Los Angeles open – click on the link to find out which ones are open: www.ci.la.ca.us/lafd/fsd.htm

Along with personal tours at each Neighborhood Fire Station, special displays of Los Angeles Fire Department equipment, apparatus and procedures will take place on Saturday, May 8 at:

• Hollywood - 1355 North Cahuenga Boulevard (and Pancake Breakfast)
• Sherman Oaks - 5101 North Sepulveda Boulevard
• Downtown LA - Olvera Street
• Pacific Palisades - 15045 Sunset Boulevard
• San Pedro - Ports O’Call Village
• Watts - 1801 East Century Boulevard

Residents of the Palms area with a Honda, Toyota, or Acura model year 2005 or earlier can acquire a FREE Club from LAPD’s Pacific Division. The Palms Neighborhood Council paid for these Clubs to be available to you, or stakeholders to address a recent rash of car thefts in the neighborhood. Come in to the LAPD Pacific station with a copy of your vehicle registration and ask for Detective Childs, or contact Pacific Auto Detectives at 310-482-6313

All aboard!

Join METRO as our community celebrates the opening of the Metro Expo Line. There’ll be music, entertainment and family fun at four stations, plus free rides on the entire line between Downtown LA and the Westside.

Enjoy these special activities
Saturday, April 28, 10am-4pm

• FREE! Live music
• FREE! On-stage karaoke
• FREE! Local dance and entertainment
• Tasty treats from food trucks and local eateries for purchase

Activity Locations

• 7th St/Metro Center Station
• Expo Park/USC Station
• Expo/Crenshaw Station
• La Cienega/Jefferson Station

Bikes on Expo

Enjoy 5.9 miles of new bikeway, including bike lanes on Exposition Bl and Jefferson Bl between Vermont Av and La Cienega Bl, and a bike/pedestrian path between La Cienega/Jefferson Station and Culver City Station. All stations have bike racks for convenient bike parking.

* Free fare on Metro Expo Line only, April 28 and 29, 2012 only, from 5am-7pm (special schedule on Expo Line for opening weekend only). Regular fares apply on all other Metro Rail, Metro Rapid, and Metro Local lines. Entertainment schedule subject to change.

Please note: The Farmdale and Culver City stations will not be open at this time and will be bypassed by all trains. These stations will open at a later date.

For more information, visit metro.net/expo

NOTICE!!

The north side of the Regent Street from Motor Ave to Jasmine Ave, and the 3600 Block of Vinton Ave (between Regent Street and Tabor Street) on both sides will be NO PARKING TEMPORARY TOW AWAY zones between 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. this Wednesday, April 25^th  for a film production at the Fire Station.

Legal Mandates and Aging Infrastructure
Driving Need for Rate Increases;

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will hold a series of community meetings throughout the city beginning April 25 to educate and inform customers regarding proposed power and water rate changes needed over the next two years.

The proposed changes are necessary to meet a series of regulatory mandates that affect much of LADWP’s existing energy and water supplies, and to invest in replacing aging infrastructure to maintain reliability for LADWP’s 1.4 million electric customers and 657,000 water customers.

Following are the dates and locations for the regional meetings. In addition, LADWP is planning to hold additional online webinars and meetings that will be announced in the near future.

RSVP’s for the community meeting are encouraged, but not required.  To RSVP, please click on  the link below each meeting.

Thursday, May 10, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Stephen S. Wise Temple, South Taub Annex
15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive
Los Angeles 90077
RSVP

Join our neighbors, the Mar Vista Community Council, to celebrate Earth Day 2012 for the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase.

What’s special about this FREE  tour is that it can be tailored for absolutely anyone’s personal taste. There are beautifully landscaped gardens by some of LA’s top designers – and 26 designers will be on hand to meet tour guests (what a great opportunity for those searching for a designer!).

There are wonderful gardens that are completely DIY – and a chance to meet the 37 homeowners and get tips from their learning curve. And then there are urban farms that range from Aquaponics to raising chickens – 45 in all that are raising food.

Guests can use our on line map to create their own tour after previewing the gardens on our blogs virtual tour or pick up a printed map the day of the tour at Showcase Central. The links on our side bar help them select gardens by category.

This weekend students from Hamilton High School, in collaboration with local professional artists, will paint beautiful murals on utility boxes along Venice Boulevard. The artwork designs for the utility boxes were based on stories collected from stakeholders in the community. These boxes represent the history, culture and institutions of Palms.

You can visit the students and artists on Venice Blvd between Culver Blvd and Motor Ave on Sunday April 15th between 10am-5pm.

Also we need volunteers to help prepare the utility boxes to be painted – it is great fun and you can contribute to a very public project. Check out the pictures from the first volunteer day on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/palmsla. Meet up with us on Sunday April 22nd at 3pm at Fire Station #43, 23690 Motor Ave to participate, or call 310-985-5684 to join us later. Click here to download and share the flyer. Thanks for participating!

Below are the utility box mural designs, approved by Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson and the Palms Neighborhood Council, or click here to download all of the designs as a .pdf: