Surprise visit from City Council President Herb Wesson

En route to Taste of Soul on October 19, Herb Wesson made a friendly visit to the block club. It was agreed that he will return soon for a longer visit and discuss community issues. A committee was formed to get a list of top issues to the Council office, and Gwen Jones will coordinate with the office to schedule the next visit. “In my neighborhood, I’m just Herb.”

Climate Change Presentation

At our April block club meeting, Adele Wallace and Sue Romo of The Climate Reality Project made a presentation on climate change. They ask that we support the Green New Deal by contacting our local representatives and by supporting only candidates for public office who reject donations from fossil fuel companies.

Here is their list of organizations fighting climate change:

Cherrywood/Leimert Block Club meetings are free and open to the public.

The controversy over Senate Bill 50

There has been a lot of discussion of Senate Bill 50, a bill proposed in December and modified in March. This bill is a followup to the earlier SB 827 proposed by Scott Wiener. It is an amendment to existing law that allows developers a package of incentives if they provide affordable housing. It is targeted to transit-rich and job-rich areas of the city.

“SB50 will replace single-family homes with 7-8 story buildings on RESIDENTIAL streets 1/2 mile from Metro Stations, and 1/4 mile from busy bus stops. This goes way above and beyond Transit-Oriented Communities and has the potential to wipe out a significant portion of our beloved communities including most of Leimert Park.” –local activist Caeli Lynch

In April, the city of LA came out against the bill.
CurbedLA: “LA takes a stand against SB 50”

Additional Reading:

New Report: Black People and Homelessness

This ground-breaking new report from LAHSA identifies institutional racism, discrimination and unconscious bias as key drivers of homelessness.

Black People and Homelessness (LAHSA Report)

“This report is a critical first step to address the collective failings of systems and institutions that—de facto and de jure—have been designed to deliver the painful disparities that affect so many of our brothers and sisters.  Hard work lies ahead to counter this tragic inheritance. If our region is to prosper, it is not only a moral imperative, it is an absolute economic imperative that all who call Los Angeles home are able to attain their full measure of dignity and self-worth.” –Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

 

September 15: Demystifying Legal Cannabis

Have questions about the new cannabis laws, issues, and opportunities? We have some great guests scheduled:
Cat Packer,  Executive Director and General Manager, Department of Cannabis Regulation (City of LA)
Virgil Grant III, Cannabis Activist & Co-Founder, California Minority Alliance
Aline Ghazarian, Operations Manager, LA Cannabis Co.
PRESS

Senate Bill 827 – a big issue for neighborhoods near transit

The latest meeting of the Cherrywood/Leimert Block Club included a lively discussion of SB-827 Planning and zoning: transit-rich housing bonus. That bill will have a big impact on Leimert Park and surrounding areas, and neighbors are concerned that developers will be able to apply for exemption from local development requirements if the project is within a 1/2 mile radius of a major transit stop. It’s worth reading the details of the proposed bill. There’s a good summary in this Curbed LA article.

Vote!Meanwhile this issue will figure prominently in the upcoming special election on April 3. That election is being held to replace California State Assembly Member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas in District 54, who resigned late last year due to health problems. His successor will vote on this bill. Voter turnout is essential!

Here are the candidates – call or email them to ask what their position on SB-827 is: