Bunch of News
Palos Vedres Urban Village has changed hands
Apparently a Beverly Hills based firm, Omninet Capital, bought the 2.4 acre site in June, and are taking over the project from San Pedran Gary Dwight. Janice Hahn is "shocked" by the change. Read about it in the Breeze.
Mojo to be Repaired
More like re-invented, is what it sounds like. So it's been broken for months (I told you so!), and the company that programmed the robotic arm component went bankrupt, so they're replacing the whole arm (who's paying for this?) to make it work again. I thought I saw it working once, but it was just a bag lady standing in the right spot, where the broken arm points to. Read about it in the Breeze.
Eastview Looks Gift Horse in the Mouth
I'm puzzled by this as well. Eastview Little League (a private sporting organization) has been offered long term use of a piece of public land, but they'd rather blow their money on improving Knoll Hill for what is supposed to be a brief, 3 year residency? If they're expecting sympathy again in 2011 when it's time to remove them from Knoll Hill, I don't think they're going to get it. Read about it in the Breeze.
LA Traffic Count Method Broken
Of interest to Ponte Vista traffic dislikers. Apparently the way the city calculates traffic created by new developments is based off of a multi city model that may have no real connection to the local reality. Your tax dollars at work! So I think for now the best estimate of traffic impact from developments is probably our collective local gut. Read about it in the Times.
Wilmington Raid Nets 43 Arrests
A little follow up on the raid on the East Side Pain Bloods set in Wilmington yesterday. Total arrests is 43, and there are property improvement lawsuits and even the seizure of the Catalina Motel to go along with the arrests.
An aside - "Officials called Tuesday's sweep an unprecedented example of financially strapped local and federal agencies working together, sharing intelligence and pooling their resources to combat the region's vast gang problem."
A brief rant - Financially strapped? What planet are these guys living on. There's no department more flush with cash, and almost totally unaccountable for its ridiculous legal expenses than the LAPD. The Department of Cultural Affairs has a $10 million budget and you guys have $2 billion to play with, you don't even know what strapped looks like.
Read about it in the Times.
Apparently a Beverly Hills based firm, Omninet Capital, bought the 2.4 acre site in June, and are taking over the project from San Pedran Gary Dwight. Janice Hahn is "shocked" by the change. Read about it in the Breeze.
Mojo to be Repaired
More like re-invented, is what it sounds like. So it's been broken for months (I told you so!), and the company that programmed the robotic arm component went bankrupt, so they're replacing the whole arm (who's paying for this?) to make it work again. I thought I saw it working once, but it was just a bag lady standing in the right spot, where the broken arm points to. Read about it in the Breeze.
Eastview Looks Gift Horse in the Mouth
I'm puzzled by this as well. Eastview Little League (a private sporting organization) has been offered long term use of a piece of public land, but they'd rather blow their money on improving Knoll Hill for what is supposed to be a brief, 3 year residency? If they're expecting sympathy again in 2011 when it's time to remove them from Knoll Hill, I don't think they're going to get it. Read about it in the Breeze.
LA Traffic Count Method Broken
Of interest to Ponte Vista traffic dislikers. Apparently the way the city calculates traffic created by new developments is based off of a multi city model that may have no real connection to the local reality. Your tax dollars at work! So I think for now the best estimate of traffic impact from developments is probably our collective local gut. Read about it in the Times.
Wilmington Raid Nets 43 Arrests
A little follow up on the raid on the East Side Pain Bloods set in Wilmington yesterday. Total arrests is 43, and there are property improvement lawsuits and even the seizure of the Catalina Motel to go along with the arrests.
An aside - "Officials called Tuesday's sweep an unprecedented example of financially strapped local and federal agencies working together, sharing intelligence and pooling their resources to combat the region's vast gang problem."
A brief rant - Financially strapped? What planet are these guys living on. There's no department more flush with cash, and almost totally unaccountable for its ridiculous legal expenses than the LAPD. The Department of Cultural Affairs has a $10 million budget and you guys have $2 billion to play with, you don't even know what strapped looks like.
Read about it in the Times.
Labels: baseball, crime, development, Eastview Little League, gangs, Mojo, news, Palos Verdes Urban Village, Public Art, sports, traffic
17 Comments:
Eastview leaders said the Navy property on Western Avenue - which totals about 4.5 acres, an acre more than their old fields - isn't big enough to accommodate two full fields, a tee-ball field and parking for 150.
And don't forget the broadcast booth, sports bar, merch kiosks, valet shack, security building, on-site service station, and the Applebee's. Nothing--quite literally nothing--is too good for The Children®!
No one believes they're going to only stay on Knoll Hill for three years. Somehow Eastview's methods and tactics in dealing with their situation have managed to generate a groundswell of anger and frustration towards children's baseball. People are really, really pissed about the situation.
Here's what the article didn't say about Eastview. 1) the Navy land is over tanks and no one knows without a study if it's even safe, 2) another switch could cost Eastview next season while everything is sorted out. The situation got to where it is because Eastview got bounced around town like an orphan and so they aren't exactly trusting our civic leaders (read Janice), 3) This is a volunteer organization with little to no money and Knoll Hill could be made ready with POLA funding, but no guarantees of that at Navy Field
The Eastview guys have been portrayed as bad guys by people (read Janice) that have let them down in finding a place for the kids to play ball. They haven't done a great PR job for themselves because their previous experience in running a little league has been teaching kids to field ground balls and not swimming the swamps of LA politics.
anon - I'll concede that there are unknowns about the Navy land, and that it's entirely possible that this process could be disruptive to Eastview's upcoming schedule (which reminds me of the whole "why can't Eastview just use any of the dozen or so other baseball fields that are unused 95% of the time" issue).
But I think one of the major reasons why nearly everyone I know isn't sympathetic to Eastview - they seem to have a presumption that Janice and other community leaders and organizations have an obligation to help them with their wholly private recreational activities. While I feel bad for the kids, I don't see how the larger community has become responsible for Eastview's failure to plan for the long term - they had decades to address this issue and seemingly (from an outside perspective) ignored the reality of their situation.
"Swimming the swamps of LA politics," my glutes. Don't blame the politicians for this. Why was this Janice Hahn's job and not yours?
And since Calimari brought it up, why can't you temporarily use some of the other ballfields in town while your permanent situation gets sorted out? Think of it as a lesson for The Children in how to make do with less-than-ideal resources during those inevitable times in life when things get rough for a spell. Nobody's asking them to play in the middle of goddamned Gaffey Street.
IMBG...sometimes you have your head so far up your "glutes" it defies reality...gold medal to you if it were some sort of gymnastics event...
first, as I'm not affiliated with Eastview it's not my job, nor is it really their's...precisely because they are a private org they've let the city off the hook for 40 plus years in providing rec that is the city's duty. Just like public leagues they have fees, but also like public have never turned kids away that can't afford to play. It is the responsibility of our politicians to find these opportunities (and this includes the arts as I've heard Calamari so often lament).
Where are all these empty fields where kids could play? They serve over 600 kids on three fields that are back to back to back being used every day of the season. As far as I can tell every other baseball field in town is also used during the season. So please save your pandering this could be a lesson for the kids comments for someone else that has their cranium stuck in the same dark spots where your's seems to be firmly established.
I know this is going to sound crazy, but why can't they just move their season? At least until the league gets a permanent home together. We live in Southern California, can't we play outdoor sports pretty much year round?
Note - I know next to nothing about baseball, so if I seem naive on that it's because I am.
Anon -
they are a private org they've let the city off the hook for 40 plus years in providing rec that is the city's duty.
Why is it the city's duty to provide baseball facilities and leagues for kids? I participate in several sports, and I have never expected the city to support them, either as a child, or as an adult.
Well...my position on that is about halfway between yours and Annie's.
Is it the city's duty to provide baseball facilities and leagues for kids. Yeah, it probably is. If we accept the argument that a city should provide funding and venues for the arts, then by the same token it should also provide for some sort of youth sports.
Is it the city's duty to provide "two full fields, a tee-ball field and parking for 150" to a private baseball league upon demand? Mmm, not so much.
P.S. Sorry, Annie, I jumped to the conclusion that you were affiliated with Eastview because your comment suggested intimate knowledge of the specifics of the negotiations. My bad. Don't get your panties all bunched up between your glutes, or anything.
I think it is the city's responsibility to provide sports fields and other facilities for kids and adults, but I don't see how it is in this case. I certainly don't feel that it is the city's direct responsibility to serve every sporting activity that would like to have a facility - they do have a right to make decisions.
From my perspective, I have a hard time understanding why the city seems to be bending so hard to accommodate Eastview when there are so many baseball facilities around town already. That's where I'm coming from.
I'd much rather see the city develop facilities for sports and activities that are underserved - San Pedro has no bowling alley, for example. My understanding is that there are 600 players in Eastview, so the Eastview facilities have 600 users, and those users are really only using the facilities during a small portion of the year. How many thousands of users would use a bowling alley (for both league and non-league) play on a yearly basis? Thousands.
And then there's the potential for income, and the benefit of not having to consume prime open space - you could put a bowling alley in the basement of a new development, or in the shell of an existing, and underused building on Pacific, for example.
I'm just using the bowling alley thing as an example and it's not intended to be either a competing concept or a proposal.
The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council Planning Committee will have a Knoll Hill meeting on Monday August 6th, 6:30 pm, at the Croatian Cultural Center, 643 S. Pacific Avenue. This is a public meeting.
Kara McLeod
CSPNC
Well...um....see, the thing is, governments fund youth sports because it is generally recognized that society as a whole benefits when children have things to do that promote physical fitness, build character, stave off boredom and the mischief-making that attends it, and foster an appreciation of the outdoors. Thus, it is argued (and I see no reason to disagree), the state has a compelling interest in using taxpayers' money to build and maintain playing fields, subsidize summer sports leagues, and so on.
Now, no offense to any bowlers out there, but can the same argument be extended to a game that appeals primarily to adults and that can be played, with no noticeable performance penalty, while drinking beer and chain-smoking? Again...not so much.
IMBG - I'm following you. I do agree that the state has a compelling interest in subsidizing sports, I don't like seeing the state forced into doing it.
I'd make that same no performance penalty argument to baseball and softball, regarding beer (see Babe Ruth). And hasn't baseball always been an advertisement for chewing tobacco? Remember Big League Chew? The gateway chew for kids. I remember seeing my 8-10 year old friend with dreams of being pitchers hoarding that stuff.
Hell, after last night, it's hard not to see baseball as an advertisement for steroids, or for the kind of league policies and practices that create an environment devoid of real oversight, for the purpose of maintaining and growing the income from merchandising, ad revenues and ticket sales. That's teaching the kids responsibility! Nothing like a good lesson in the ends justifying the means to get them ready for adulthood.
Nah, man, I mean you drink and smoke literally while you're playing. For me, that's the rule of thumb that separates sports from games. (I'm looking at you, ESPN programming people who put bowling and fuckin' poker and shit on your so-called sports channel...'cause I know you all read this blog.) I mean, you might as well call for government subsidies for darts and shuffleboard. Not that these are bad activities, but it's just really difficult to make the argument that society is diminished if these pastimes are left to survive or fail in the free market.
San Pedro used to have a bowling alley on Ninth Street. The popularity of bowling fell off, and the alley closed. If bowling suddenly makes some gigantic retro-chic comeback, as cigars did in the nineties, bowling alleys will likely materialize, just as cigar shops did for a while, without any help from the state.
P.S. Smoke, not chew. You can chain-smoke all your life and it won't affect your bowling, but it will make you a lousy base-runner. Chew doesn't affect your ability to do aerobic exertion, it just gives you horrible mouth cancer after a few decades. And even then you can keep bowling until you can't stand upright anymore.
P.P.S. What were we talking about again? Oh, yeah. Eastview. I agree totally: the state should not have to deliver a laundry list of what some private youth baseball league wants, at the expense of other legitimate public interests such as parks.
Hey I used to be a serious bowler. I've never smoked or drank in an (bowling) alley in my life.
I know, they replaced the bowling alley with a church. That's blasphemy!
About 80% of the high school athletes I ever new, with the exception of the "serious track guys" were smokers. I never understood that particular stupidity.
Here is the latest scoop on Eastview:
1. They were offered Knoll Hill by Janice Hahn and the port of LA. The central neighborhood counsel was never approached about the issue so now they are mad. The neighborhood counsels are supposed to approve land use issues. When Janice Hahn and the Port didn't get the approval of the CNC before they offered the land to eastVLL it caused a huge uproar at the CNC. Is this Eastviews fault? Maybe Eastview should have made sure that JH and the port confirmed with the CNC about knoll hill. Its a little late now but this may have been the first mistake that eastVLL made.
2. Eastview was offered Knoll Hill a couple of years ago but Eastview declined since the Port was not going to relocate the dog park. Do the dog park guys know this?
3. Eastview was offered 22nd street and accepted the 22nd street offer with open arms. The offer was later "taken back" since there are some title issues with the land. Also, the land is part of a larger "bridge to break wall" project that hopefully happens.
The navy site was offered to Eastview after they accepted knoll hill. Eastview has never said NO to the navy site. They were not given any time to look into the project and were basically given a couple days to make a decision. I know you read in the paper that the land is bigger than the existing Eastview but there is no room for parking. I think this whole thing can be solved if the navy were to make its land offer a little bigger.
couple of FACTS:
1. The existing baseball programs in San Pedro cannot absorb the 600+ kids that will need a new place to play.
2. Eastview HAS asked to use park and rec facilities and were declined.
3. The daily breeze writer that comes out with the eastvll stories is part of the "dog park" community from Knoll Hill.
4. Most Little Leagues are on public supplied land. Its not that crazy for Eastview to accept Knoll Hill when offered.
5. The navy land is NOT a permanent site. Its on a 1 year lease.
I'd like to know more about any issues regarding the use of Recreation and Parks space. If there are open, unused fields that Eastview's program could be moved to, I'd consider that a win-win.
As to the permanence of the Navy Land as a permanent site - unless Eastview is prepared to buy the necessary acreage in San Pedro (which I'm not sure is even available), any site will not be permanent. They're going to have a lease somewhere.
Angels Gate had a month to month lease with the City for the first 23 years of its life, before we acquired our new 30 year lease. It's pretty much standard practice to operate under some kind of lease when you're on public land, even if you build the facilities.
**I'd like to know more about any issues regarding the use of Recreation and Parks space. If there are open, unused fields that Eastview's program could be moved to, I'd consider that a win-win.**
I also think it would be a win-win for Eastview. The only issue is that Eastview is part of the Little League family. We need to run our games in schedule with other local little leagues to make sure we all go to the loacl finals at the same time.
**As to the permanence of the Navy Land as a permanent site - unless Eastview is prepared to buy the necessary acreage in San Pedro (which I'm not sure is even available), any site will not be permanent. They're going to have a lease somewhere.***
You are correct. NO site is permanent. We cant understand how the Daily breeze keeps refering to the DOD site as a permanent solution.
I personally feel the Port of LA and Janice hahn should have never promised EastVLL the land if they didnt go through the proper channels.
The bottom line is that if Eastview doesnt have a field there will be 600+ kids looking to play baseball in Pedro. Peck park and bogdonovich do not have the facilities/staff to take on this huge number of players. There will be kids who will no be able to play and i think this is sad. It really sucks that the adults cannot get it together for the kids. I'm talking about us (Eastview), JH's office and the port.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
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