BEAUTIFUL FOLKS DESERVE HAND GROUPS USE CITY GRANTS TO TURN EYESORES INTO PARKS, OASES.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Let's hear it for Los Angeles' beautiful people. No, not the rich or famous ones. They already get enough ink. I'm talking I'm Talking was a 1980s Australian funk-pop rock band, noted for launching vocalist Kate Ceberano. History After the break-up of the Melbourne-based experimental funk band Essendon Airport in 1983, members Robert Goodge (guitar), Ian Cox (saxophone) and Barbara Hogarth about the anonymous beautiful people -- those who spend their spare time fighting ugly in this city: trash-strewn streets, graffiti- covered walls, weed-filled lots. Fighting ugly is a full-time job in L.A., which is why the beautiful people fighting it on their own time deserve some recognition. Ten years ago, the city's Office of Community Beautification beau·ti·fy tr. & intr.v. beau·ti·fied, beau·ti·fy·ing, beau·ti·fies To make or become beautiful. beau began distributing matching grants of up to $10,000 to help groups willing to use their own resources to turn eyesores into oases. ``More than 750 little islands of beauty have popped up in this city in that time, and there's another 91 coming this year,'' said Paul Racs, director of the little-known office. Not exactly a major frontal assault The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces towards enemy forces in a large number, in an attempt to overwhelm the enemy. This is often referred to as a "suicide strike," because it is often a commander's last resort when he has run out of on the 27million square feet of graffiti that crews removed last year from 515,000 locations. But the beautiful people still keep chipping away. Of the 91 projects receiving matching grants this year, about three dozen are in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Among them is Save Chatsworth Inc., an effort by Marty Woll and scores of his neighbors to transform an old dumping ground into a park at the northernmost end of Canoga Avenue, just past the Ronald Reagan Freeway. More than 100 volunteers, including local kids, spent about 9,000 hours at the site last year. They replaced litter, razor wire and construction materials with native plants and new fencing as they prepared the area for hiking and equestrian trails. This year, they'll be putting in another 9,000 hours to add more fencing, along with oaks and a meadow for picnickers. ``We lost a dump and gained a park,'' said Woll, who wants everyone to come take advantage of the natural beauty of Chatsworth Trails Park. At El Dorado El Dorado, legendary country of South America El Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. Avenue Elementary School elementary school: see school. in Sylmar, an asphalt-covered lot will be transformed into a literacy garden with patio and fountains, where students and their reading mentors can relax and open a book together. It's another piece of beauty being added to the colorful murals with urban and rural themes the kids got last year. ``We're trying to make it a beautiful oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle Noun 1. concrete jungle - an area in a city with large modern buildings that is perceived as dangerous and unpleasant jungle - a location marked by an intense competition and struggle for survival for our kids and the surrounding neighborhood,'' Principal Judy Hall said. Ugly is also in retreat at Lorne Street Elementary School in Northridge, where rusty metal playground equipment has been replaced with colorful kid-safe equipment. And at Mulholland Middle School in Van Nuys, a long-abandoned garden -- used in the 1950s and '60s to teach kids about nutrition -- has made a comeback. ``When they stopped teaching those classes 30 years ago, the agricultural sites sat unused at most schools,'' said Tanya Mandl school garden coordinator for the LAUSD's Nutrition Network, which is providing healthier meals for thousands of youths in low-income areas. Now -- thanks to the elbow grease, time and resources of some dedicated parents, teachers and community volunteers -- there are fruit trees, a greenhouse, recycling equipment, and an amphitheater used as an outdoor nutrition classroom on a plot of land that sat vacant for 30 years. ``Teachers from more than 365 schools in our program visit to see what we've done and what could work at their own schools,'' Mandl said. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE Here's a look at the San Fernando Valley recipients of city Community Beautification Grants, and what the groups have planned for this year. Save Chatsworth Inc. -- Chatsworth Trails Park restoration Cleveland High School, Reseda -- Access for All project Gault n. 1. (Geol.) A series of beds of clay and marl in the South of England, between the upper and lower greensand of the Cretaceous period. Elementary Booster Club A booster club is an organization that is formed to contribute money to an associated club, sports team, or organization. Booster clubs are popular in American schools at the high school and university level. , Van Nuys -- Adventures in Learning Arminta Street Elementary School PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. , North Hollywood -- campus landscaping Beachy Avenue School, Arleta -- campus mural Tarzana Community and Cultural Center -- Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. beautification Boda Place Neighbors and El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Community Integration Services Inc., Granada Hills -- cultural assimilation Girl Scout Troop 783, Eagle Rock -- Dahlia dahlia (däl`yə, dăl`–) [for Anders Dahl, 1751–89, Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnaeus], any plant of the genus Dahlia Heights Elementary signage and landscaping El Dorado Elementary School, Sylmar -- campus gardens Finn Park Community Gardeners, Tujunga -- garden improvements Winds of Hope Ministries, Sun Valley -- Fresh Wind project Fair Avenue Elementary School, North Hollywood -- Garden of Knowledge Grand High Family Center Beautification Committee, Valley Glen -- senior lawn beautification Mothers Against Social Economical Educational Decline, Pacoima -- Hansen Hills signage Robert Lewis High School, Sun Valley -- Bridge to the Future project Liggett Street School, Panorama City -- campus beautification Friends of Calahan Elementary, Northridge -- outdoor art and science space Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, North Hollywood -- Old Lankershim Village gateway monument Primary Academy for Success School, Panorama City -- story land Rio Vista Elementary School, North Hollywood -- hidden garden Rockdale Elementary School, Eagle Rock -- secret garden Roscoe Elementary Parent Center, Sun Valley -- parents' garden North Hollywood High Community Garden -- rose garden San Fernando Valley Historical Society The San Fernando Valley Historical Society is a private organization committed to "research, collect and preserve the history, art and culture of the San Fernando Valley". It was founded on July 4, 1943. , Sylmar -- Pioneer Memorial Cemetery entrance project SOCES SOCES Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies Beautification Team, Reseda -- elementary lunch-yard haven CHIME Charter School, Chatsworth -- Sign of the Chimes project Study City Improvement Association -- Farmer's Market crosswalk LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) Nutrition Network, Van Nuys -- demonstration nutrition garden. Neighborhood Greening Coalition, North Hollywood -- tree planting Vintage Magnet PTA, North Hills -- campus entrance beautification Wonderland Avenue Elementary PTA, Laurel Canyon -- kindergarten courtyard. Parents and Teaches Together, Woodland Hills -- Woodland Hills Elementary beautification Senior Citizens Volunteers, Pacoima -- young active senior citizen environment CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) Clockwise from front left, Vanessa Watters, Jelena Csanyi, Marty Woll and Clara Woll stand in the cleaned up Chatsworth Trails Park on Friday. They are members of Save Chatsworth Inc., which cleared five bins of trash from the hillside north of the 118 Freeway and turned it into a multi-use park. (2) Fourth-graders Omar Carrillo, from left, Vanessa Salcedo, Karen Padilla, Irene Rivera and Zeida Vargas read in the literacy garden at El Dorado Elementary School in Sylmar on Friday. The garden, made with the help of a city grant, offers a relaxing place for mentors and children to read. (3) First- and second-graders play on a new playground Friday at Lorne Street Elementary in Northridge, thanks to help from volunteers and a city grant. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Box: BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (see text) |
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