People for Parks

Councilmember LaBonge with Carlyle Hall, public interest attorney and fellow honoree.

Councilmember LaBonge received the Legislator of the Year award from People for Parks on Monday night.

Hydromulching begins in Griffith Park

Hydromulching has begun in Griffith Park. This artificial-looking green organic substance is being sprayed over the denuded hillsides charred by the fire of May 8 and 9 from ground apparatus and by helicopter. The covering, described as a kind of "pie crust" laid over dirt, has been used before in other burned areas to hold the moisture and help prevent erosion and mudslides during and after rainstorms. The Dept. of Recreation and Parks has made this a priority so that the hydromulching is completed before the rainy season begins in earnest in December/January. Helicopter operations that begin tomorrow are expected to take a total of eight days; the balance of the work should be completed in the next couple of weeks. We are working to ensure that trails are reopened as quickly as possible once the work is done.

Reducing blight one pile at a time: Call 3-1-1

Councilmember Tom LaBonge's four-year quest to extend the bulky item pick up service to apartments became a reality the first week of October; it was announced Monday in an area of East Hollywood that has been plagued by the scurge of illegal dumping.

"There's nothing that brings a neighborhood down faster than trash and discarded household junk left on the streets," said Councilmember Tom LaBonge. "But there's nothing that brings a neighborhood up like clean streets and we expect this program will help greatly." Mayor Villaraigosa elicited a laugh with his slogan: "One call and we'll haul," referring to the ease of calling the city's toll-free service number 3-1-1. LaBonge worked alongside the Bureau of Sanitation and Los Angeles Apartment Owners Assn. to craft the program that is funded via a nominal fee charged to apartment owners and residents on their LADWP bill. Up to now, pickup was offered to 750,000 single-family residential customers; now the service will be expanded to some 600,000 additional units.