Councilman Tom LaBonge's Weekly Newsletter

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

A Very Happy Birthday to America

Clear skies made way for the spectacular fireworks display at the annual Lillian Way Block Party and from places all across the Fourth Council District and the City of Los Angeles. Provided that the Los Angeles Fire Department reminded Angelenos that personal usage of fireworks were illegal in the City, various licensed locations held safe and fantastic civic celebrations for everyone to enjoy throughout the day! 

Weekly Beautification Efforts at Fern Dell

Council District 4 has partnered with the Pacific American Volunteer Association (PAVA) to host weekly cleanups of the Fern Dell entrance to Griffith Park. These cleanups are open to any and all volunteers. Come join us on Saturday mornings at 7:30AM at the corner of Fern Dell and Black Oak. Bring a pair of gloves, and together we will make a difference in our community. Feel free to call our office for any questions.
 
Hollywood Community Health Fair

This past Friday, June 29, Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council in association with Councilman Tom LaBonge, Councilman Eric Garcetti, Assemblymember Mike Feuer, Hollywood United Methodist Church, LA County Department of Public Health, Walgreens, LA City Farm, and Dion the Trainer held the Hollywood Community Health Fair. Free medical screenings and information were provided to the public alongside fun-filled entertainment and activities for children and adults alike. 

40 Nights of Shakespeare in Griffith Park 

The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival opened this past weekend. Nearly 3,000 people have already joined Independent Shakespeare Co. for these outdoor performances at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park. The productions now running are A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Winter's Tale (to be joined by Comedy of Errors on August 2). ISC also offers free pre-show "Players in the Park" workshops for families on select evenings. The first of these workshops is this Sunday, July 8. A complete calendar and directions is available at www.iscla.org. Bring your family, a picnic and remember to dress warmly; it gets chilly when the sun goes down!

Tour LaBonge 2012 Summer Bike Rides Continue

With only four more stages left in the Tour LaBonge Summer Bike Ride Series, be sure to invite your friends and grab your helmet! There will be two rides in July with the first on Thursday, July 19 taking place in Toluca Lake and the second on July 26 along the Los Angeles River and into Silver Lake. Mark your calendars and come ride with our staff and fellow community members through the summer breeze. The Toluca Lake Ride will start at 6PM in front of 10116 Riverside Drive. Hope to see you there!

Streets in Los Feliz Resurfaced

With the end of the fiscal year came some exciting new road improvements to the Los Feliz area. Several streets have been resurfaced or slurried, and among the streets was Ambrose Avenue between Hillhurst and Commonwealth. The work which was held up due to a sewer replacement project that needed to be completed before repaving, Ambrose Avenue had been long on the CD4 wish list. We are very thankful for all the hard work and dedication that expedited the beautification and improvements to our roads. 

New Council District Boundaries Enacted

On July 2, the new boundaries of each Los Angeles City Council District were put into effect. To take a look at the new maps, go to http://eng.lacity.org, click on Maps - Map Gallery - Council District Maps - Council District 4 TomLaBonge. If you have any questions please feel free to call our office, and we will be more than happy to help. 

Councilman Tom LaBonge is very pleased to welcome the newest addition to our CD4 family: Sherman Oaks. New or old, we continue to work with all people to make the City of Los Angeles a better place in which to live. As Councilman LaBongehas said before, "It’s all about neighborhoods, and the fourth district and the City of Los Angeles are made up of great neighborhoods. As always, we emphasize public safety, public works, public health and public education so that we can all continue to enjoy and love Los Angeles. We help people."

Upcoming Events

Restore the LA River with TreePeople
Community volunteers are invited to help maintain the Valleyheart Riverwalk Greenway along Valleyheart Drive from Coldwater Canyon to Fulton on July 14 from 8:30AM-11:30AMRSVP here.

Meeting in Regards to the Future of Wilshire Blvd 
8AM on July 18, CouncilmanLaBonge will have representatives from the Los Angeles Department of Transporation, Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, and the Los Angeles County Metro Transit Authority to present on infrastructure changes that will be coming to Wilshire. This meeting will be held in the West Terrace Room at LACMA and is open to the public.

Taste of Farmers Market On Tuesday, July 17, enjoy an extraordinary evening of dining tastes and samples from over 50 of your favorite Market restaurants and grocers. Stroll the Market and discover a world tour of cuisines - for one great price. Admission is $35 per person (hurry, price increases start July 10)
http://www.farmersmarketla
.com/store/ProductDetail.asp?idCategory=25

Free Summer Concert Series in Hollywood
Join Hollywood & Highland Center and KJAZZ 88.1 FM for the 9th Annual Wine & Jazz summer concert series. Enjoy free concerts by some of the country’s top jazz performers every Tuesday from 7-9PM in Central Courtyard through August 28. The event is FREE to the public, and a $10 donation to Project Angel Food gets you two glasses of wine and an appetizer box to enjoy during the performance.

Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce: Business Over Breakfast 
On July 11 from 7-9AM, join individuals in the community for a great networking opportunity with special guest speaker, Raymond Kay of KABC Talk radio. For location and contact information, visitshermanoakschamber.org

2012 Van Nuys - Sherman Oaks Recreational Summer Camps
It's not too late to register for 2012 summer camps. Check out the catalog and delve into summer!
http://sp1.actemarketing.com/
CampResource/5L0VGO5BI4M
LAWU8/BIO/text.pdf

National Night Out
The Wilshire Division, Olympic Division, and Toluca Lake as well as Sherman Oaks areas will be hosting National Night Out Events in CD4. Stay tuned for more information in our upcoming newsletters.