Sahra Sulaiman

Since we're in the mood to talk transitioning this week, I'd like to put in a plug for Eric Garcetti to continue to support and significantly expand one of the most important community efforts to reclaim public space for recreation.

Walking along Wilshire in the early afternoon yesterday was a surprisingly pleasant experience. I tend not to ride my bike along Wilshire too often, both because of the poor condition of the road and the hectic feeling of the traffic. It is noisy and the drivers are sometimes unpredictable -- people pull over suddenly to park, cross lanes to turn abruptly in front of you, or speed unnecessarily -- making it feel more like you're trapped in a game of Frogger than anything.

"Stalin tells me you have helped him cut costs," I said to the brother of Stalin Medina, owner of the Watts Cyclery. He has been helping manage the shop for the past several months because Medina has been tied up with Army trainings in preparation for a tour in Afghanistan that begins in July.

When I showed up at the YouthBuild charter school in Boyle Heights yesterday, I expected to be doing a story to promote a mural unveiling and community health fair. I had heard students had painted a mural that would be placed in Hollenbeck Park and thought it might be interesting to learn about the motivations for the project and their aspirations for the park. What I came away with was more inspiring than I expected.

"David!" I yelled, gesturing at City Planning's David Somers to come over and listen to what the residents playing cards in their yard were saying about the need for a stoplight at the intersection outside their front gate.

As Damien announced yesterday, over the next weeks and months, I will be expanding my beat territory to include Boyle Heights.

While Central Ave. celebrates a ground-breaking ceremony for a new Northgate supermarket today, residents in another part of South L.A. will gather to protest the closing of yet another Ralph's.

I had just passed the liquor store near Avalon and Manchester in South L.A. when a large man who was slinging dope and chilling with a few other guys apparently decided that he was in the mood to make nice with a lady.

I was excited to be able to attend the 10th Annual City Lites Inner City Sports and Wellness Fair this year. I had sat in on a few of the monthly event-planning meetings held in the run-up to last year's fair and had been impressed by the number of services City Lites was able to bring together and the dedication of organizers and volunteers to creating a healthy and fun environment for kids and their parents. I also applaud the effort to  make healthy activities -- including a bike and walking tour -- an integral part of the festivities.

As an NPR junkie, I have long been aware that the natural gas industry has been a sponsor of their programming for several years.