Cheers to Bill Rosendahl, our City Councilman, for persuading DWP to complete their environmental impact study on the underground power line project that would run through Mar Vista and Westchester before actually starting to dig.
Thanks, Bill! You’ve once again earned my vote.
Stay tuned for more information on the project as it develops…
Scattergood, for those of you who haven’t heard the word yet, is the shorthand name of an infrastructure project being undertaken by LADWP. It will involve power lines being placed under 12 miles of streets in West Los Angeles from approximately the 405/10 interchange down to just south of LAX. It will mean massive amounts of road work and disruption while it’s happening, and I know many people in the affected neighborhoods have concerns about all that.
Plenty of people also have concerns about what the power cables themselves will mean to us, and wonder what levels of Electromagnetic fields are safe? And what controls are in place in the State, or in the City of LA? So tomorrow night, January 6th, City Councilman Bill Rosendahl will sponsor a presentation on Electromagnetic Fields by Dr. Leeka Kheifets of the UCLA School of Public Health.
The presentation will begin at 6pm at the West LA Municipal Building, Hearing Room 200, 1645 Corinth Avenue, West LA, 90025. Following the presentation there will a question-and-answer session. Please email questions to Len Nguyen at len.nguyen@lacity.org.
Another Big Weekend with lots of activities to tell you about. Plenty of holiday shopping opportunities and family fun to be had. So without further ado…
Thursday evening marks the opening of Mixed Moments II, a photo exhibit by Mar Vista’s own Stephen Boskin, at City Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s West LA office, 1645 Corinth Ave, 90025, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Admission is free.
Also opening Thursday and running through the weekend is the Green Screen Environmental Film Festival & Salon, at the Electric Lodge in Venice. Check their website for showtimes and prices.
Friday morning from 7:30am – 9am, Mar Vista Elementary school Green Dolphins will be holding an eWaste recycling drive as part of their Community Day. The drive will run again on Saturday from 11am – 2pm.
Friday Night at the Fanatic Salon is another All-Girl Revue. Show starts at 8pm, admission is $10.
On Saturday New School West is holding their Holiday Bazaar from 10am – 4pm, and Beethoven Elementary School runs their 6th Annual Holiday Boutique from 10am – 3pm.
Saturday the Electric Lodge will also host an outdoor Eco/Arts Street Festival from 10am – 6pm. Free community event, plus there will be crafts for sale as well.
Also Saturday, take a trip through Mar Vista history by taking one of Mark Crawford’s walking tours. This weekend’s tour will be around the famous Mar Vista Oval, but please check the website of the MV Historical Society to verify times and tour locations.
Sunday is not to be outdone: in addition to the Mar Vista Farmer’s Market (which happens every Sunday, as you well know), there’s another Holiday Gift Sale, this one in a private home: 3410 Granville Ave. from 11am – 4pm.
Today was the market’s 3rd birthday — and there was plenty of celebrating going on. Bands playing, free ice cream, new booths on display, new waste management systems, and special guests! Happy Birthday, Mar Vista Farmer’s Market!! Mar Vista loves you!
The special guests were the good people representing allrecipes.com, a recipe site that’s interactive and user-driven, which is very cool. I’m new to the site, but I’m already a convert. The site offers an ingredient search tool that lets you find recipes using the thing you have in your pantry, or in our case, something you find at the market. Not only that, but they have this awesome iPhone app called Dinner Spinner, which you can use to pick recipes and cooking methods based on your available ingredients. Love this app!
Sara Breuer, of allrecipes, was our market shopper today, and she is a fan of figs,
which are at the height of their season right now. We found these beautiful Mission figs
and then searched allrecipes for something to make.
Sara picked this Fresh Fig Cake, which looks pretty easy, and very delicious. Yum!
The new waste management system at the market includes these new trash, recycling and composting collection bins, here being shown off by Jeanne Kuntz, of the Mar Vista Green Committee, City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Joseph Treves of the Farmer’s Market board, Elise Derby of Elise’s Ramblings, her daughter and her mother.
It’s kind of exciting, even though that might seem weird to say, because the market actually generates a lot of waste — and it’s always a problem of how to deal with it all. So this is a great first step solution towards a zero-waste situation, where the market wouldn’t generate more than it could take care of. 
There will be a little learning curve, because both the compost and the trash bins are green, but I know we can figure it out, Mar Vista. Just read the signs carefully!
Note: photo of Jeanne Kuntz, Bill Rosendahl, Joseph Treves, Elise Derby and her daughter and Mother was taken by Sherri Akers, of the Mar Vista Green Committee, and used with permission.
Tuesday night, July 14, at the council’s monthly board meeting, Albert Olson, left, was duly elected as chairman of the board, replacing Rob Kadota, right.
The council decides many issues each month, and it’s worth your time as a community member to check it out once in a while. This month, issues like these were before the board: funding the LAPD Pacific Division’s Explorers program, honoring volunteers who’ve worked on community prjects like the Green Garden Showcase and the Fire Station 62 clean-up, funding Grand View school’s computer lab, and establishing funding guidelines going forward for other worthy projects. Representatives from the offices of City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, U.S. Representative Jane Harman, State Assembly member Ted Lieu, and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass were on hand to make reports, among others. Agendas for upcoming meetings are posted on their website, Mar Vista Community Council.
Plus if you come to a meeting, you might get some cookies, like these, homemade by Lorraine Wells. 
Just be aware of the seating arrangements. The metal folding chairs can really get uncomfortable after a couple of hours of meaty community deliberations. Some people come prepared.