Debs Park events this weekend

Debs Park is closer to Griffith than you probably realize. It is a beautiful member of the City's regional parks group. Check it out if you haven't.

Nature Together: 

December 18, 3:30-4:30 pm
Free Program at the Audubon Center at Debs Park

Explore Nature Together on this easy hike for children, age 2-5 and their parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles. Nature Together is a mix of play, exploration, singing, and movement in the wilds of Debs Park! Nature Together is conducted in Spanish and all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Saturday December 19 (1:00 - 3:00 pm)
Holidays with Audubon FREE Program

Help celebrate the holiday season! Local artist Leo Limón will be on hand all day to help guide our creative spirits. Learn how to make papel picado (cut paper) banners as well as wreaths and garlands using materials from our natural environment. Refreshments will be served. We will have a bake sale to benefit our summer day camp program. All Ages Welcome.


Audubon Center at Debs Park
4700 North Griffin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 221-2255

Doin sumthin with Huell Howser

After Huell appeared on Sunday's Simpsons episode, LAist  reminds us of what watching Huell Howser will be like once marijuana sales are legalized in Los Angeles.

Huell is the only guy we know who hangs up on Tom LaBonge. Pass the cheetos!

Lookin for dude booty in Griffith Park

From Twitter two days ago:

KevinTheFighter   Here's a grown man just hanging out in cold ass Griffith Park. Why? Probably looking for dude booty...smh... http://twitpic.com/t3bxb

Bad news is that Kevin is probably correct. Lewd conduct, or "booty call",  is not something anyone should be going to any of our City parks to find. In fact, it shouldn't be on a top-100 list of reasons to go to a park. But in Los Angeles, it is nearly epidemic.  

Hey you park booty-seekers:  get a damn hotel room like everybody else and keep your shit biohazard out of the parks that we, and our children, play in.


Too bad KevinThe Fighter didn't get the guy's license plate. The guy's S.O./wife would probably like to know what he's been up to during those long lunches.

Quote of the Day

Best Practices and Common Sense rarely intersect.

-overheard at City Hall last week

When I grow up, I wanna be Brent Bishop

Meet the most extreme enviro clean-up guy ever: Brent Bishop! Park garbage wrangler of no less than the top of Mount Everest! This guy takes the prize for the coolest, most extreme trash picker-upper EVER.  Dude, you so totally rule! When I grow up, I wanna be you.

Now that I'm done with the hero worship, let's talk a little about trash clean-up. It's usually the easiest of public service projects you can do in a park, neighborhood, or just about anywhere you roam.

Be cool like Brent Bishop - carry a garbage bag with you when you hike and some simple graffiti cover-up or removal tools. You'll be shocked where you find human crap that needs removal.

From the University of Washington magazine:
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Clean Climb

Mountain Climber Brent Bishop was so horrified to see Mount Everest covered with garbage, he decided to clean it up

By Derek Belt

At the top of the world, where the jagged peaks and snow-covered slopes of Mount Everest hug even the highest of clouds, garbage besets the brilliance. Empty oxygen bottles. Shredded nylon tents. Solid waste from decades of climbing expeditions once spoiled the long haul up, rendering the world's tallest mountain a giant junkyard in the sky. Brent Bishop, '93, grew up in a climbing family and knew Mount Everest was dirty. At 27 years old, he was determined to do something about it.

    View a gallery of Brent Bishop's Mount Everest photos.

"It was a real symbol," Bishop says. "If we can't keep the highest mountain in the world clean, what hope is there for other areas?" Bishop's M.B.A. program at the University of Washington tackled cutting-edge environmental management issues and inspired him to create the Buy Back Program, which pays Sherpas—local climbers employed by mountaineering expeditions as guides—a few extra dollars to bring used oxygen bottles and other trash down the mountain to Base Camp. Whereas earlier attempts to clean Everest's highest camps had cost a fortune, the Buy Back Program was practical and put the onus on individual expeditions to participate. Using this technique for the first time in 1994, Bishop's five-man crew removed more than 5,000 pounds of rubbish. "Other teams started adopting this practice as well, and the collective consciousness on the mountain began to change," says Bishop, now 43. "It really showed you can be a very focused and dedicated climber—and be an environmentalist at the same time."

One of America's most accomplished climbers and half of the country's first father-and-son team to both summit Mount Everest (his father summited in 1963), Bishop has contributed to cleanup efforts throughout the Himalayas. But his pioneering work on Mount Everest has garnered international acclaim. Each member of the '94 team, including the late Scott Fischer, who died tragically on the mountain in 1996, was presented with the David R. Brower Award for environmental achievement by the American Alpine Club. In 2003, Bishop was awarded the Lowell Thomas Medal by The Explorers Club in recognition of his ongoing environmental work. Today, the Buy Back Program keeps Everest clean. It has been instrumental in removing 25,000 pounds of trash and nearly 1,500 used oxygen bottles from the mountain's highest camps, including the last camp before the summit—the magnificent South Col at 25,938 feet. It also imbedded in the international climbing community a sense of environmental stewardship. "If you can make economic incentive and environmental concern work together, then it's a win-win situation," says Bishop, who lives in Seattle with his two children—both climbers—and who serves as a business development consultant and motivational speaker. "I went back to Everest in 2002," Bishop adds, "and there were no old oxygen bottles left to be brought down. The mountain looks amazing."

Caption this pic

Merry f*ckin' Christmas from the Los Angeles City Council

L.A. council unanimously approves raises for DWP employees (LA Times)

 

Half Dome in the snow

From the Yosemite web cam.

Bike rider attacked on Ballona Creek bike path

Attack report for Ballona Creek bike path

Report from Don Hayashi published on the BikePaths Yahoo group.

FYI A teenager tried to punch me off my bike on Friday 12/4/09 about 2 pm. He was walking West bound on the Ballona Creek bike path when I approached him East bound on the bridge where Centinella Creek meets Ballona. Since he was in my lane I started to go to my left to pass him when he yelled something lunged at me and took a swing at my head. I was able to swerve and duck out of the way. I stopped a safe distance away and tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. He stopped and motioned me to come over. When he started to walk away I called LAPD. As far as I can tell he was trying to mug me.

One thing I found out: *LAPD is totally dependent on street addresses or cross streets to dispatch cars. The fact that I was on the bike path made me invisible to the computer system. They dispatched a car to a cross street that was no where near where the attack took place.

That bridge is the same place where two kids tried to mug me several years ago. It is also the place where a guy got shot about two years ago.I still think it is safer to ride that bike path than the streets. I'm including a link for a map of the location.


Be careful out there.
----


*highlights the needs for agencies like Park Rangers who are intimately knowledgeable about locations within their patrol areas and who do not need physical addresses but use landmarks to respond to a call.

Feral cat nonprofit scoffs at order to halt TNR, disses enviro process

Via blog The Birdchaser, GPW reported that last Friday, the City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services was ordered by court to stop all "TNR" -- Trap-Neuter-Return activities related to feral cats until the required environmental impact studies have been carried out. Our headline read:

Wild animals in LA win one ...for the time being

Looks like ...for the time being ended pretty darn quickly. Community groups from outside California are already calling for their feral cat activists to ignore, fight, and diss the court decision. Alley Cat Allies sent this mass email out to their supporters the evening of December 8th --

From: Alley Cat Allies [mailto:alleycatallies@alleycat.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 6:05 PM
Subject: Los Angeles Alert: Judge Rule In Local Case Affecting TNR

Feralpower!

December 8, 2009
Despite Setback, No Change to Private Trap-Neuter-Return Activity

Dear (....), 

I want to let you know of a recent court case in Los Angeles, and to assure you that its impact is limited. Late last week, a California trial judge suspended the City of Los Angeles' support for Trap-Neuter-Return for feral cats. The ruling requires an unnecessary environmental review before the city can restart its support. We strongly disagree with this decision, and we are encouraging the city to appeal.

I want to reassure you that the judge's decision only relates to the city government-it does not affect any Trap-Neuter-Return or feral cat care performed by private individuals or groups. But it would prevent individuals and groups from using city-funded vouchers to spay or neuter feral cats. The suspension is the result of a lawsuit brought under a California law that requires environmental reviews before some government projects can go forward. But this law was intended to apply to activities like highway construction, not Trap-Neuter-Return. Trap-Neuter-Return is a lifesaving program that benefits feral cats and the public by ending the cycle of breeding and improving the cats' health. Studies agree that Trap-Neuter-Return is beneficial for the entire community.

If the city ends its support for Trap-Neuter-Return, more cats will be pushed into animal shelters, where they will be killed. We are certain that in a city as progressive as Los Angeles, residents would prefer their taxes be used for neutering cats, not killing them. We are monitoring this situation, and we will keep you updated on any further developments.

Sincerely, Becky Robinson President

Alley Cat Allies | 7920 Norfolk Avenue, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814-2525

Dear Becky -- You are completely incorrect in stating that environmental reviews are only intended for activities like highway construction. Environmental reviews address all impacts to the whole environment by an activity.

Feral cat populations definitely impact wildlife where they exist. Mitigating that impact must be included in best practices. Ideally, this mitigation should be one of the by products of a significant, rigorous environmental impact study. Mitigation lies at the heart of the lawsuit ruled upon last Friday and brought by various environmental groups seeking a more comprehensive set of actions to address the problem.  It would probably be best if you look at the bigger picture, the one that lies just beyond your myopic view, and try to be part of the solution rather than the problem.  -GPW


Perhaps they don't have environmental impacts back in Bethesda. Or birds.

Breaking: another "suspicious object" closes Griffith Park

Breaking News:

Yet another suspicious, bomb-like object closed Griffith Park this morning.

A maintenance worker found the object next to a traffic control signal near the main entrance to the park at Riverside Drive and Los Feliz.  A massive response ensued, including LAPD bomb squad units.

The object that caused thousands of taxpayer dollars and man-hours to be dispatched to the park?

No - not a geocache this time. A golf ball with a nail through it. Uh huh. You read it right. A piece of plastic was attached on the other side. Sounds like someone hammered a nail through a golf ball and used the plastic to hold the ball in place while they were hitting the nail.

Those things are dangerous as hell! Call the bomb squad!

20,000 attend service for Lakewood officers

An estimated 20,000 attended the memorial for four Lakewood, WA officers ambushed and killed November 29 by a career criminal who often referred to himself as Jesus and who was once pardoned by then-Governor Mike Huckabee.

Murdered as they sat doing paperwork in a coffee shop were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42. The memorial took place this morning at the Tacoma Dome.

The sea of red are RCMP officers attending the service.

KNX ran an opinion piece today regarding the major role Maurice Clemmons' family played in prior knowledge of, and assisting in the ambush, murders and Clemmon's subsequent escape. Seven of those individuals are now in custody, while Clemmons himself was fatally shot while attempting to kill a Seattle police officer two days later.

Photos are AP photos; an extensive AP slide show can be seen here.

Park pic du jour

From markgrowden's twit pics ...location somewhere in Griffith Park.

GPWayist endorses Paul Krekorian in today's CD2 election

Today is the special election to fill the City Council seat vacated by Wendy Gruel who became City Controller earlier this year. This is a subject that is not directly park related, but that certainly affects the future of all of Los Angeles' parks as the budget deficit downtown enters a new phase of ugly and parks funding is once again on the City chopping block.

This particular campaign has been one of the ugliest in recent memory. For a boatload of reasons, Griffith Park Wayist is endorsing Paul Krekorian for Council District Two. The Daily News endorses Krekorian, while a City Hall-entrenched LA Times publishes fluff on their rational for supporting opponent Chris Essel.

Probably the most important reason of all to support Paul is that Tom LaBonge supports Essel which should be enough to have any friend of Griffith Park running to vote for Krekorian whether they live in the district or not!

In all seriousness now, Mayor Sam does a great job of laying out the black and white as to why Krekorian is the clear choice (which is why we didn't do it here):

Summation: Why Paul Krekorian Over Chris Essel (Mayor Sam)

For just some of the sordid related details, read:

The Million-Dollar Question: Why Is Chris Essel So Important to the City Hall Political Machine? (Ron Kaye LA)
Outside groups shatter spending record in L.A. City Council race (LA Times)
Wiesenthal Center Weighs In On CD2 Negative Mailers (Village to Village)

GPWayist urges everyone to get out and vote - we citizens of Los Angeles have no darned business complaining about things if we don't participate in the political process, ugly as it can be at times.

And when it's over and you don't know what to do with the 20 million Essel campaign mailers you received in your mailbox, we suggest taking Paul's advice. It's good for the environment, and great for your mental state!

Orographic Big-T

Big Tujunga Wash at sunset today.

Orographic clouds obscure much of the hills above Sunland to the left. Ebey Canyon runs behind the ridge entering Bit Tujunga to the right. The clouds cleared in the failing light a few moments later, revealing snow on the peak above Haines Canyon (far left)

Both Haines Canyon and Ebey Canyon were under mandatory evacuation orders today.

Wild animals in LA win one ...for the time being

Southern California has a huge problem with irresponsible pet owners, the many results of which include the huge feral cat population and the untimely euthanization of far too many unwanted cats and dogs.

Feral cat populations impact the native species who the cats call prey wherever feral colonies occur. The Department of Animal Services has taken the path of least resistance in the issue, finding it easier to let the feral cat activists keep their feral populations after spay or neutering them than to worry about the impacted wild animals who don't have much of a voice, if any, in the discussion.

Today they had a voice in court. It's pretty clear that the City's best practice for the feral cat population going forward must include all environmental impacts in its methodology, including impacts on local wildlife. Hopefully the City will now get a clue.

This article comes from the new blog (well, new to us anyway) called The BirdChaser.

-----

Birds 1, Feral Cats 0--Court Orders LA To Stop Controversial Feral Cat Program

The songbirds of Los Angeles may get a reprieve from feral cat predation. Six conservation groups won a lawsuit on Friday against the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Animal Services to stop the practice of encouraging feral cat colonies until the legally required environmental impact reviews are performed.

The Los Angeles Superior Court found that the City of Los Angeles had been “secretly and unofficially” promoting “Trap-Neuter-Return,” a controversial program to allow feral cats to run free, even while the Department of Animal Services promised to conduct an environmental review of the program. The Court ordered the City to stop implementing TNR. The plaintiffs, The Urban Wildlands Group, Endangered Habitats League, Los Angeles Audubon Society, Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society, Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society, and the American Bird Conservancy, sued the City in June 2008 to ensure that the controversial program to sanction and maintain feral cat colonies was not implemented before a full and public environmental analysis.

The groups decided legal action was necessary after their investigation revealed that the City had been unofficially implementing a so-called “Trap-Neuter-Return” program and the City repeatedly declined their request to stop implementing the program until environmental review was performed.

Although the City insisted that no such program existed, the Court concurred with the conservation groups and concluded in its Friday ruling that, “implementation of the program is pervasive, albeit ‘informal and unspoken.’”

“Our goal was to see that the City follows the California Environmental Quality Act by thoroughly assessing the program’s impacts on the environment and considering alternatives and mitigation measures before making specific programmatic decisions,” said Babak Naficy, attorney for plaintiffs. “Feral cats have a range of impacts to wildlife, human health, and water quality in our cities. The impacts of institutionalizing the maintenance of feral cat colonies through TNR should be discussed in an open, public process before any such program is implemented,” Naficy said.

The Los Angeles Superior Court found that the City of Los Angeles had been “secretly and unofficially” promoting “Trap-Neuter-Return”

In June 2005, the Los Angeles Board of Animal Services Commissioners adopted TNR as the “preferred method of dealing with feral cat populations as its official policy.” Thereafter, the Board directed the General Manager to prepare an analysis of the program under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This analysis was never completed but the Department implemented major portions of the program anyway.

The Department issued coupons for free or discounted spay/neuter procedures for feral cats being returned to neighborhoods and open spaces, including parks and wildlife areas. It also began refusing to accept trapped feral cats or to issue permits to residents to trap feral cats. The Department assisted outside organizations that performed TNR by donating public space, advertising their services, and referring the public to their TNR programs. The Department even encouraged and assisted in establishing new feral cat colonies at City-owned properties.

Read the rest of the story at BirdChaser.

Breaking: LA River rescues near Griffith Park

Hat tip to Atwater Village Newbie for info on CBS 2 breaking news on an ongoing LA River rescue between Griffith Park and Atwater Village with video.

UPDATE

Another river rescue in the same location @ 4pm. This guy didn't want to be rescued initially because he didn't want to leave his bicycle behind.

....and Common Sense takes another sucker-punch to the mid section!

Twitpic du jour

hett15 took this twitpic while hiking in Griffith Park yesterday.

Skies over Griffith Park

jliberson took this image today of the skies over Griffith Park as the storm moves in.

Scout project adds much needed steps to popular path

Despite a fire on the other side of the canyon, a popular path in Amir's Garden successfully had some major improvements completely yesterday courtesy of a dedicated Scout troop. A number of stairs were designed and installed on the steep path which has been used for decades but was never an official garden trail. Over the years the slope had become highly eroded from foot traffic.

Scout Jose Gonzalez led his troop and garden volunteers in the project with the goal of not only stabilizing the slope and making it easier to walk up for hikers, but to create erosion control measures, too.

The park fire - an electrical fire in an exhibit building surrounded by brush at the LA Zoo which broke out at approximately 9:20am - threatened to halt the project almost as soon as it began, but once fire fighters and an LA County Fire water tanker hit the fire hard it was back to work for the scouts.

By successfully completing this project, Jose Gonzalez also earned his Eagle Scout badge. Way to go, Jose!