Boyle Heights

After  a seven month hiatus, Merkado Negro announced last week that CaminArte, the Eastside art walk, will return to Mariachi Plaza on May 10.

Hugged between Fourth and Sixth Streets and in the middle of a residential area, La Casa del Mexicano has been neglected for years, and it's continued existence was in doubt only a few years ago.  But on Wednesday, more than 80 community members inside La Casa del Mexicano shared their ideas on what the iconic space could become.

The next tech boom in Boyle Heights? Repurposing alleyways  to create new social spaces and community empathy? These are a few of the topics Eastside community groups are bringing up in LA2050. Only 10 ideas will be chosen for the $100,000 prize, but there are many worthy causes in Boyle Heights and East L.A., many of which are regularly covered in our Eastside coverage.

Last week, the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council's executive committee struck from tomorrow's general board meeting agenda the action item to support the Wyvernwood redevelopment project. After issues were brought up ranging from securing a proper location, to whether or not their decision would make a difference on the project, the neighborhood council doesn't appear likely to revisit the motion in the future, said Edward Padilla, president of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council.

Before the Eight Street bike lane was painted, Evelyn Martinez, a 21-year-old Wyvernwood resident and cyclist, said she would ride down Olympic Boulevard instead of Eighth Street. Since Olympic Boulevard was flatter than the hilly Eighth Street, she braced daily against freight trucks and heavier traffic.

Teresa Alfaro, 45, waters the plants in an alley between Mathews Street and Penrith Drive, just two blocks from Whittier Boulevard and Soto Street. Alfaro, whose home is at the entrance of the alley, said her husband and three sons helped  give the alley a facelift. The alley across the street is usually littered with trash and unkept in comparison.

About a month ago as I was passing Mission Road on the 7o Metro bus, and I had to do a double take when I saw the bike lane painted on the road. Mission Road between Cesar Chavez Avenue and Marengo Street is one of the busiest corridors because of its proximities to multiple freeways and its a heavily used route by freight trucks. It is also a route that gives the smoothest connection between Boyle Heights and the North East Los Angeles neighborhoods since it has a gradual incline and a wide road, as opposed to roads like Soto Street that are tight, windy and have multiple hills.

When the young women of Las Fotos Project were asked where the San Gabriel Mountains were, only 1 of 9 raised their hand. So when asked to take photos of the mountains and create a double exposure image--where film is exposed twice to create a multilayered image-- "Nature: Double Exposed" would create a lot of "firsts" for the teenage participants.

Martha Garcia legs wouldn't stop shaking when she saw the tamales and gelatins she made the night before being thrown in the trash by police officers, and her equipment being taken away by the city.