I was thrilled to find out that work Parkman Triangle Park has finally started.  I took the dog out for a walk to see for myself, and I like what's been done!

The asphalt has been ripped out, and soon the water main can be installed.  It turned out to be quite a job.  The workers who were at the site told me that it turned out there were two layers of asphalt:  one was the original street, and then you had the top layer which has been home to illegal parking and Sunday flea markets for years.  The workers seemed excited about this project, too:  they had also worked on a similar greening project in East Hollywood. (more...)

I'm so thrilled.  After years of NIMBYism, supported by the hypocritical likes of Henry Waxman, the Metropolitan Transit Authority approved the subway to the sea.  Well, it's more rail to the sea as we are talking about a light-rail line.  Although one neighborhood, Cheviot Hills, fought tooth and nail against the project (even though the line wouldn't run through their neighborhood), it looks like expanded mass transit in LA is going to happen.

 

The discussions are still flying on LinkedIn.  Most were engaging, and I was so overwhelmed I wasn't able to reply to all of them.  (more...)

At the corner of Silver Lake Boulevard and Parkman Avenue lies a 2000-square foot patch of asphalt that has lain empty for decades.  Occasionally, trash is strewn across it; sometimes there are unpermitted weekend yard sales or flea markets; often cars are parked on it illegally.  Years ago this space was paved over to make right turns off of Parkman to Silver Lake Blvd. safer, but the redesign left wasted space that currently does nothing for the local community.

 

But soon, after two years of research, phone calls, and neighborhood activism, this barren space in Silver Lake, south of Sunset Boulevard, will become a vibrant park, thanks to the Parkman Triangle Improvement Project. (more...)

Yesterday, as I walked up Pico Boulevard to the Los Angeles Convention Center, a sense of doom overcame me as I saw the crowds outside the entrance on Figueroa Street.

 

Drat, I thought.  It's 10:20, it started at 10, and I won't get into the Go Green Expo.  The place is mobbed, so "green" really is the rage!  There will be thousands of people accosting the exhibit hall for a handful of job openings--just like what we see in the newspapers when a new hotel opens and 3000 folks queue up for 100 jobs.

 

I could not believe all the tension in the air.  People really looked down and out.  It seemed half of them were smoking cigarettes.  I saw many with determined looks on their faces.  It seemed that most were with their families.  Such is life in LA at a time when employment is over 12%.

 

Will I ever get in, I thought, as I approached the glass and steel entrance.

Last week's rains reminded me of the fragility of our water supply in Southern California.  While the rain is always welcome for its clearing of the air and the resulting soft green carpets that cover Los Angeles, I cannot help but wonder where all that precious water is going.  Most of us are concerned over landslides, but if you live in the beach communities, you are often reminded after a rain, you cannot swim for several days because pollution levels in the water spike.

So it's the day after Christmas, and hopefully your tree will last till New Year's Day, or if you have some Armenian or Eastern European blood in you, it will hold out until January 6.  I do not have a problem with buying a live tree, as long is it is mulched by the city, or you pay the local Boy Scout troop a few bucks to have them recycle it for you.  Plus my impression of most Christmas tree farms is that they are run by small business owners who care about the land and are responsible.  I was, however, educated about an entrepreneur who has a fantastic idea:  renting trees.

 

Scott Martin has found a budding market in Los Angeles for his rented trees.  He operates a web site, The Living Christmas Company, where customers can select from several tree varieties and then rent them for three weeks.  The prices range from $50 for a Charlie Brown-sized tree to $185 to something more appropriate for the White House.  Martin's business is a winner all the way around:  he hires adults with disabilities, will haul away Goodwill donations, recycles used Christmas wrapping, and his fleet of delivery trucks run on biodiesel.

 

Launched as a pilot program in 2008, Martin, a landscape architect by trade, rented about 500 this year.  Let's hope his business surges even more during 2010.

A few days ago I had to take my car to the shop.  With my handy Flip camera, I took some random shots as I walked from Echo Park to Silver Lake, along Sunset Boulevard. 

 

I really do believe that the best way to learn a city is to walk it:  whether it's along Chong-no in Seoul, Michigan Ave. in Chicago, or Charles Street in Baltimore, you notice so much that you miss in a bus. 

 

I hope you enjoy the little 2 minute video.  The title is a little confusing--in the video, it says "A Walk Along Silver Lake."  Once you create a movie using the Flip, you cannot edit it, and if you look on GreenGoPost's You Tube channel, there is a nearly identical video . . . but instead of the music, you hear hissing traffic noise if that's more your speed.

I've seen enough.  Hand me the keys.  I'm taking ooh-vah. - Tabatha Coffey, star of Bravo's hit reality series, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, to another clueless owner as she is gob-smacked, once again, by a poorly-run hair salon . . .

 

I know there are far more serious issues going on right now, such as the climate change conference in Copenhagen, but I figure COP15 has enough media buzz--not to mention the discussion of all the private jets and limousines that are hauling all the politicians and potentates to and around a Scandinavian city . . . in winter.

 

Which is why it may seem ridiculous that I am bringing up Tabatha's Salon Takeover (more...)

The debate over climate change and energy independence is often divisive and polarizing.  First we must confront the apathetic and the nay-sayers, which has not been easy in the USA with the purported "Climate-gate" bruhaha and our concern over 10% unemployment.  The Obama Administration has not been very helpful with its "green jobs" rhetoric--I think every week we have heard of the push for "home weatherization" schemes, which leaves me with the image of former Avon salespeople tapping our walls to make sure they are properly insulated (is this really the best Obama & Co. can do?).  Then you've got the debate over who should lead . . . corporations, or government?  Well, what about non-profits?  One organization with a stellar "green" record is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a 103-year-old advocacy group with 32 chapters in the United States. (more...)

Unless you have been asleep the last 50 years, you probably have heard that Los Angeles has a bit of a traffic problem.  The glorification of the "car culture" has taken a toll on Angelinos and its visitors.  Road rage is even more on the rampage, parking is a constant hassle, and residents who thought they were safe often deal with speedsters who are always trying to find that perfect surface street shortcut.  Once you are out of the West Side, you really notice LA's decaying infrastructure:  potholes that look as if they should be in Chicago, parking meters that often do not work, and street lights that have not had their timing checked since, perhaps, Eisenhower was president.  So what is a stressed out commuter to do?  For a city its size, Los Angeles actually has few highways, so we will not see any new ones soon.  We hear constant talk about a subway to the sea, but most of us will not be in any physical condition to ride it by the time it opens.  One issue in LA is that you have so many constituencies and layers of government.  One organization, however, is working hard to find a holistic approach, intertwining many short-term solutions to ease the traffic that is such a deal breaker for many residents and potential employers in the Southland:  FAST. (more...)

With all the fretting Los Angeles civic leaders and residents have about our city's water supply, we could take a look at Mulholland Drive, and then nine time zones away to see what's going on in Paris. 

 

Los Angeles has a dry climate--but on average the city receives about 15 inches of water a year--not enough to water everyone's lawns and support non-native palm trees, but plenty  to justify the investment in better storm water trapping and storage infrastructure.

 

(more...)

It's that time of year again:  the season for excess and debauchery, and hopefully, quality time with friends and family.  I am not going to preach any holiday tips, nor have I looked at any "green" web sites, because I can only imagine the wrist slapping over all these not-so-sustainable practices.  What I will do is discuss what we do during the holidays--sustainable yet sensible, of course--and we'll have some fun while we're at it. (more...)