Sahra Sulaiman

Polar bears might be able to breathe a little easier, but neighborhood drilling around Los Angeles continues to be a problem.

The authorities confiscated her friend's goods this past Saturday, an emotional Caridad Vasquez told the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee yesterday.

Spoiler alert: of the four options Metro is considering, the Randolph Street option (B4) has ranked the highest. Not only would it help connect residents to more schools and other important community destinations, it would be able to provide residents with the safest way to reach those destinations. Best of all, it would add over four miles to the bike/pedestrian path and connect users to the river and the existing bike path there.

The Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) recently reported that it was considering two proposals for the development of the vacant lot at 1st and Boyle, just across the street from Mariachi Plaza. It received the proposals in response to a 78-page Request for Proposals (RFP) released this past May, which had detailed the specifics of the property, the history of the area and the community's aspirations for the site, and the requirements for the project as well as those governing the application process. [See the full RFP here: PDF]

“To be honest, sometimes, we feel abandoned…” William Flores, a community engagement coordinator at CD Tech, told the PLUM committee on November 1. “This is an intimidating type of a position [for residents of South Central] to be in.”

"Where do things stand now?" I asked Adonia Lugo as we organized potential discussion themes ahead of this Sunday's Untokening event.

"They've started work on that bike path!" a South Central bike shop owner announced excitedly after noticing mounds of dirt piled up in the rail right-of-way (ROW) at Slauson and Normandie.

"Maybe you didn't catch that you jumped into a convo specifically about transportation/police issues?" snarked the self-described "police/community relations specialist" and bike advocate.

He was so glad I had "talked about people of color committing violence against other people of color," the man gushed, shaking my hand.

Tuesday night, from 6 - 8:30 p.m., the Department of City Planning will be holding a Scoping Meeting to gather feedback from the community regarding the potential impacts the policies and goals contained within Boyle Heights Community Plan might have on the area's environment, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).