Councilman LaBonge's Weekly Newsletter

[The information below was provided by the Office of Councilman Tom LaBonge.]

Summer Begins On Mount Hollywood

In honor of the summer solstice, Councilmember LaBonge led a hike to the top of Mount Hollywood on Wednesday evening, June 20. The Councilmember was joined by members of the consular corps of Los Angeles, as well as delegates from various sister cities of Los Angeles. Surrounded by the flags of representative nations, constituents snacked on a multicultural potluck and took in the sunset.

Tour LaBonge Hits Positively Fourth Street

The summer bike ride series that began downtown last week continued over to Fourth Street last night with a stopover at the mayor's residence in Windsor Square. Pictured with CouncilmemberLaBonge and Mayor Villaraigosa is Echo Park artist Peter Shire (with yellow helmet), standing with one of Peter's handmade bicycles. The ride continued all the way to LACMA before the group headed for home. There are four more rides left in the bike ride series, with the next one taking place in Toluca Lake. Bikers can meet at the Valley Field Office at 10116 Riverside Drive at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 19.

Hollywood Community Plan Passes Council

City Council gave its approval to the Hollywood Community Plan Tuesday, seven years in the making. Councilmember LaBongereiterates his opposition to any proposals for super high-rise structures, pledging to work hard for better development. He also emphasizes his support for preserving the historic neighborhoods of Hollywood.

Community Cleans Camarillo Median

On Saturday, June 16, community members came together to clean up the median at Camarillo/Forman, in an effort sponsored by Councilmember Tom LaBonge as well as the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council Environmental Affairs Committee. Student volunteers from Clean & Green and New Directions for Youth took the time to pick up trash and trim overgrown vegetation. A big thank you to all of those who helped make Toluca Lake a more beautiful place!

Foreign Delegation Visits City Hall

On Wednesday, June 20, Councilmember LaBonge welcomed a delegation of Foreign Service Nationals, locally hired employees of United States embassies and consulates around the world. They came to Los Angeles to get a taste of local government, and they will take that knowledge back to their home countries to serve the U.S. around the world. Attendees hailed from 16 different countries, from Lithuania to Ghana to Nepal to Burma.

Students Graduate from Charles Kim Elementary

Councilmember LaBonge gave the graduates of Charles H. Kim Elementary School a farewell this Monday in a speech at their morning graduation ceremony. The Councilmember stands with Daisy Kim, the granddaughter of Charles H. Kim, a pioneer Korean-American. He accepted a plaque from the school in honor of his "generosity and devotion" since the school's inception in 2006.

Learning Academy Opens in North Hollywood

The ribbon was cut and the ceremonial pumpkin bread was bestowed yesterday at the grand opening of the United Children's Learning Center in North Hollywood. This amazing institution already has 19 preschoolers and has a capacity for up to 120. Founder Susan Kumar, pictured above with the Councilmember, had the vision for this project and received assistance from the office of Council District 4. The Center already has plans to expand!

Upcoming Events

Salute to the LondonOlympics at the Coliseum
The Summer Olympic games are right around the corner and Councilmember LaBonge wants to recognize London's great achievement in hosting the games and the enduring friendship between these two Olympic Cities.

June 25, 2012, 8:30am
LA Memorial Coliseum
3911 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90037

Valley Food Drive
The Rotary E-Club of The Greater San Fernando Valley and the Rotary Club of North Hollywood are teaming up with Valley Food Bank to host an OMI Food Drive. When you shop at the Gelson's in Sherman Oaks or in Valley Village/NoHo on Sunday, July 1 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., purchase One More Item (OMI) of non-perishable food. The Rotary Club will be at the entrances to collect your item and get it to the Valley Food Bank. For more information,click here.

In Brief

Personal Fireworks a No-Go for Fourth of July
The Los Angeles Fire Department would like to remind Angelenos that fireworks are illegal in the City of Los Angeles.
In 2007, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 9,800 people for fireworks related injuries. In order to be safe this Fourth of July, watch fireworks; don't light them.

Congratulations to the LA Zoo
The Tom Mankiewicz Conversation Carousel has been named one of America's best carousels by Travel+Leisure. This $2.5 million wooden piece was commissioned by the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.

LADWP Encourages Conservation
Summer is here and LADWP reminds its customers to conserve water as the temperatures rise. Its Water Conservation Rebate Program is being relaunched to help customers conserve.For more information.