Streetsblog Los Angeles

Saturday night Streetsblog partied down in Brentwood at the house of 30/10 mega-booster and Huffington Post columnist Joel Epstein.  Neither bad weather nor a packed Holiday schedule stopped twenty five Streetsbloggers from joining myself and the Epsteins in his gorgeous house.  We munched on Indian Food, chatted about transportation policy and raised funds to help pay Streetsblog’s end of year bills.

And what a crowd we had!  Expo backers, affordable housing developers, UCLA professors, a sitting judge, most members of my immediate family (minus Sammy), Transit Coalition members, and the transportation deputy for Council Member Bill Rosendahl.  And just when it looked like the crowd was thinning out, who appeared at the doorway but a representative from Bikeside and a former staffer with Mayor Villaraigosa’s office.

And Streetsblog’s coffers got a much needed boost going in to the end of the year, as we raised nearly $1,500.  I know Los Angeles Streetsblog readers have been more than generous this past year, we would have ceased to exist and I’d be posting surveys on The Source, but Joel and I have one last challenge for you.  There’s eleven days left in 2010.  Let’s see if we can match that $1,500 raised on Saturday through your donations.

You can donate through links above and on the right.  All donations are tax deductible…

Saturday night saw Streetsblog’s fourth fundraiser of the year and another stunning success.  This time, thirty of Los Angeles’ leading lights joined myself and a host committee at the Silver Lake home of Deborah Murphy for an amazing evening of food, drink and company.  In addition to raising some funds to keep Streetsblog going into the winter, I also had a chance to speak with several people on some intriguing plans to expand our coverage areas and our coverage topics.  I don’t want to jinx anything, but I suspect that 2011 is going to be a truly groundbreaking year.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank everyone that attended the event and our host committee, City Council President Eric Garcetti with Dale Benson, Joel Epstein, Dana Gabbard, Alfredo Hernandez, Joe Linton, Jessica Meaney, James Rojas, Carter Rubin, Beth Steckler, Valerie Watson, and Will Wright.  In particular, Murphy earns a Gold Star for providing the space and the food to make the event happen.

If you missed out, don’t worry.  We’ll be hosting more events before the year is out.

As I type these words, the ride cards, brownies, bottled water, stickers, Clif Bars and Luna Bars are all packed and ready for transport to the Flying Pigeon (3714 N. Figueroa Street) for tonight's fundraiser for L.A. Streetsblog sponsored by none other tha the Flying Pigeon Bike Shop, with an assist from the Eastside Bike Club, Clif and Luna Bars and Trader Joes.  We're going to leave Flying Pigeon at 7:00 for a slow-paced ten-mile ride following the old yellow cars line.  Afterward, we're going to party.  That will be cool.

The cost is $10 for the ride $10 for the after-party or $15 for both.  In addition to the ride and party, we'll also be honoring some of our 2009 Streetsie winners: Enci Box, Stephen Box and Browne Molyneux.  If nothing else, you should come out just to hang out with them.  If you need more info on the fundraiser, despite my shameless self-promotion over the past week, read last week's article on the ride and party, here.

Before we go, a quick thank you to our sponsors:

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Mark your calendars for Friday, April 9, for the first ever L.A. Streetsblog fundraiser from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. at the L.A. Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Place.  Anyone not familiar with the Eco-Village should click on this link for directions, and note that it's a couple of blocks away from the Beverly/Vermont Red Line Station.  The suggested donation is $25, but feel free to give whatever fits in your budget.

In addition to the usual food and drinks mixer; we'll also be holding a raffle and celebrating some of the 2009 Streetsie winners: Ted Rogers of Biking In L.A., the LACBC's City of Lights program, the Eco-Village and ArtCycle, with a very brief awards presentation.

Joining host Joe Linton and myself in planning the event on our host committee are Deborah Murphy, Ivy London, Julia Russell and Ron Milam.

In short, this party is going to rock, and we're going to be surrounded by cool people, having a good time.  This is really only the second Streetsblog mixer, after the Baby Shower organized by Jessica Meaney, so it's one of best chances you'll have to meet some of the faces behind the names.  Maybe we'll have a prize for the first person to identify Spokker in real life.

All donations are tax deductible will be re-invested locally in Los Angeles Streetsblog.  If you think this sounds great, but it's a bad day or location...stay tuned.  There are more planned later in the Spring...

If you'd rather donate online than at the door, make sure to also drop me an email so I can leave a note at the door.

For a full sized copy of the poster, click here.