South LA

Community Services Unlimited, Inc. (CSU), a great organization that I've profiled here, is featured in a short documentary by USC students Mindy Guilford and Adam Joe. The piece explores the Garden Gateway program, CSU's interactive workshops designed to empower South L.A. residents with the tools and know-how to grow their own healthy food. The monthly workshops often feature cooking segments as well, to give gardeners ideas about how to use the produce they grow. The program is currently on hiatus for the summer, but will pick up again in the fall.

I don't live in South L.A. But I can be found somewhere within its confines 4 times a week, on average. Often, more. And, always on the bike.

This is the third (and long overdue) piece in a series re-examining the way we think about Livable Streets. The first two articles (here and here) detail the history of a wonderful young man named Fidel who ran with a crew just north of USC. His experience mirrors that of many of the teens I know in South Central and, as such, offers insight into what "livability" means in areas where streets are contested.

Maybe watching Curiosity land on Mars reminded you how cool space exploration was. Or maybe it was Mohawk Guy. Either way, all you long-time and newly-minted nerds out there will be thrilled to know that that will be neither a bird nor a mere plane you see overhead on September 20th. That will the Space Shuttle Endeavor hitching a ride on a NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier on its way to LAX. Once it arrives, writes The Source:

(There are two more meetings for the I-170 Expansion Project, tonight in Long Beach and tomorrow in Commerce. The Long Beach Post has the meeting details. If you can't make a meeting, you can email comments to 710eir@metro.net by August 29th.)

"The deadliest light rail line in the country."

This Friday morning, the California African American Museum (CAAM) will play host to a free breakfast talk by Eric Walsh, MD, MPH, on the Adverse Health Effects on Children of High-Density Development in Urban Transportation Corridors. Walsh is Director of Public Health/Health Officer for the City of Pasadena Public Health Department.

"Stah-LEEN," he enunciated for me, reaching up and tapping the cardboard cutout of a soccer shirt hanging over the cash register. His back to me, he ambled intensely around the workspace looking for a bike part. "Keep talking," he said with an urgent wave of his hand. "I'm listening."

"Most people DO realize that Flaming Hot Cheetos are not a good meal on a daily basis, three times a day," said Clare Fox, Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC).