Well, actually it was free dirt.  It's been an eye-opening experience working on the Parkman Triangle Project.  I've spent many hours this month calling contractors, from trucking companies to landscapers to plumbers to dirt companies.  What money we have really needs to go to plumbing, so to save about $2500, we decided to see what we could scrounge up from contractors who are working on projects and need to dump their dirt. (more...)

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...)

 

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...)

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...)

Activism.  Activist.  They are words that many people love to shout out.  To me, they often give me the creeps.

 

How many times have you heard someone say, "I don't eat THIS" or "I don't buy THAT" or "I don't do ALLOFTHEABOVE."

 

My response is:  it's always easier to NOT do something.  It takes a lot more commitment to actually do, or COUNTER, something to which you are opposed.

Well, Saturday night, as we returned home from dinner in Silver Lake, we saw a group of folks on a corner up to something that looked pretty good.  We pulled over, and we saw about 20 folks, of all ages, plowing, hacking, and digging away.  Some looked retired; others probably hadn't even started Kindergarten.  They all were having a blast. (more...)