.commid-city pressVol 1. No. 1 April 2010

Distributed monthly to 25,000 homes in Mid-City, Olympic Park, Country Club Park, Layfayette Square, Victoria Park, Arlington Heights, Harvard Heights, Oxford Square, West Adams and the areas of Carthay Square and Wilshire Vista

Su Casa Home SalesPage 5

Impressions:St. Elmo Village, Page 3

Restaurant ReviewDon Dae Gam Reviewed, Page 6

Farmer’s Market OpensPage 5

Rockin’ MINCPage 4

OXFORD SQUARE—From East Los Angeles and before that, from Greece, came a man named George Stamouvlasis to Pico Boulevard. In 1965, Stamouvlasis found an old un-used gas station at the corner of Victoria Avenue and saw an opportunity to make it big.

“My dad actually built the place,” said John Stamos, George’s son. Along with a nephew, the two still run Cap-itol Burger to this day.

The hamburger stand is famous for its pastrami sand-wiches and overflowing plates

Little Hamburger Stand, Big Headache To SomeBy Sharon Yi, Mid-City Press Contributing Writer

see BURGER STAND page 7 see DONE page 3

see MIDTOWN page 3see WESSON page 4

Wesson’s Chief of Staff Not to be ReplacedBy Allison C. Ferraro

MID-CITY—Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson has announced he will not replace Charmette Bon-pua, his chief of staff, who died Feb. 14th from complications related to a brain aneurysm.

Instead, Wesson has ap-pointed Deron Williams, his chief deputy, to take over Bon-pua’s role as chief staffer.

Bonpua, who was 44, had been in Las Vegas on a fam-ily trip when she became ill. Wesson, Council District 10 staffers, city councilmembers, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials remem-bered Bonpua during a tribute in her honor held in the rotun-da at City Hall on Feb. 26th.

Wesson staffers—who all wore white Barongs—a cer-emonical garment of the Phil-ippines—were visibly shaken by their colleague’s death.

She was remembered as tenacious and caring, the “epitome of a public servant” and being “4 feet 10-inches with a 6 foot 4-inch punch.” Her strong relationship with

M I D - C I T Y— Fol low i n g years of planning and specula-tion, developers working with the retail structure at Venice, Pico and San Vicente boule-vards—known as “Midtown Crossing”—may have found financing, leading to the re-starting of construction.

According to Mark Vel-la, Economic Development

Deputy for Councilmember Herb Wesson, developer CIM Group will attempt to secure a letter of commitment from an investment company within the next four or five weeks. If that happens, he said, “we would like to see whatever in-ternal processing completed by June, [and] construction start date soon after that.”

CIM Group needs ap-proximately $45 million to complete the project, accord-ing to Vella.

Plans for the 12-acre lot have been in the works for over a decade. Residents of the area have expressed an interest in using it to create shops that would attract business.

After years of planning

LIKE IT OR NOT: Capitol Burgers has been a fixture in Mid City fornearly a half century. Photo credit: Michelle Kunz

and false starts, the area was purchased by the CIM group, a developer with offices in Hol-lywood in 2003. Plans for the space included a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, which would serve as the primary an-chor store, and about a dozen other retailers.

Phase one of the project, which included the introduc-tion of an MTA bus terminal, a Starbuck’s and several other small retailers, was completed in 2006.

Ground was broken in September of 2008 for phase two of the project, however following the economic crisis, investors pulled the plug at the last minute and construction came to a halt.

“CIM had all the con-struction in place when the private lender pulled their letter of commitment,” said Vella.

Last year, following the abrupt stop in construction, CIM became embroiled in difficulties when it, along with the city, proposed allowing 11 billboards and supergraphics to go up on the site, presum-

Midtown Crossing May Resume ConstructionBy Jessica Pauline Ogilvie, Mid-City Press Contributing Writer

NO ONE’S HOME: Construction came to a halt at Midtown Crossing in 2008, when the economic crisis hit. CIM needs $45 million to complete the project. Photo credit: Michelle Kunz

LOS ANGELES—On the heels of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s decision to cut nearly 4,000 jobs from the city, the Dept. of Neighbor-hood Empowerment (DONE), which oversees the city’s 89 neighborhood councils, will be rolled into the city’s Communi-ty Development Dept. (CDD). The consolidation will include the elimination of 27 positions from DONE.

DONE has already seen a reduction in staff this year

as well as imposed furloughs. The cuts will leave the depart-ment with 16 staff members. BongHwan Kim, who served as the general manager of DONE, tenured his resigna-tion following the announce-ment of the consolidation, which included the naming of CDD general manager Richard Benbow as the gen-eral manger of CDD/DONE. Kim will continue to serve in his position until June.

Neighborhood Councils’ Oversight Group Vastly ReducedBy Jessica Pauline Ogilvie, Mid-City Press Contributing Writer

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 2 www.midcitypress.com April 2010

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the month to 25,000 homes and

businesses in the Mid-City

neighorhoods of: Mid-City, Olympic

Park, Country Club Park, Layfayette

Square, Victoria Park, Arlington

Heights, Harvard Heights, Oxford

Square, West Adams and the areas of

Carthay Square and Wilshire Vista.

PUBLISHER /EDITORAllison C. Ferraro, M.A.

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For more stories and updates:Midcitypress.com

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That is a really good ques-tion. It seems that every week we learn of more and more newspapers struggling or even closing. But while regional newspapers are seeing tough and uncertain times, local weekly and community news-papers are thriving and filling the information gap.

Local coverage of areas in Los Angeles—including Mid-City—has decreased over the years as the Los Angeles Times has undergone rounds of edi-torial layoffs. But still, local residents want to know what their City Councilmember is up to; the impact of a pro-posed new development on the neighborhood and how a local school is faring with its test scores. That’s what the Mid-City Press will provide, in depth coverage each month on local issues that are important to homeowners and businesses alike, right here in Mid City.

Our neighborhood is a patchwork of communi-

ties, with a handful of boule-vards that run through them. Whether we live here, work here, attend school or reli-gious services here, we travel seamlessly from one commu-nity to next, sometimes com-pletely unaware we’ve done so. That’s good and bad. Our community is the sum of its parts; and the Mid-City Press will not only bind our area as a whole, but will help define our individual communities, highlighting news and events that make each unique.

I started a similar news-paper in the Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Atwater Village ar-eas in 2005. That paper, the Los Feliz Ledger, started out small like this edition of the Mid-City Press. But it has grown today to 32 pages and has become an integral part of the neighborhood. We hope to do the same here in Mid-City and look forward to com-ments and suggestions on how we can serve you better.

[letter from the publisher]

Why Start a New Newspaper in the Mid-City Area?

The Mid-City Press will be professionally delivered the last Thursday of each month (the first Thursday in April, July and September) in recyclable plastic bags between

Normandie Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard and Olympic and Adams boulevards. If you’ve missed your paper, call (323) 667-1529.

inside the mid-city press

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . Impressions: St. Elmo Village . . . . . . . . . . 3

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . Councilmember Herb Wesson . . . . . . . . . . 4

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . MINC Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . Upcoming Neighborhood Council

Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . Select Home Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . Wellington Square Farmer’s Market

Opens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village . School Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

•Impressions: St. Elmo Village .Restaurant Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

To advertise, call(323) 667-1329

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Los Feliz Ledger

April 2010 www.midcitypress.com Page 3

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Current ly c e l e b r a t -ing its 40th a n n i v e r -sary year, St. Elmo Village is a long-lived

standard bearer for the rich culture of Mid-City. Gen-erations of area residents have benefited from its artistic con-tributions.

Founded by relatives Rod-erick and Rozell Sykes and run today as a non-profit by Roderick and his wife Jacqueline Alexander-Sykes, the Village, as its inhabit-ants affectionately re-fer to it, is a live/work space for artists which is opened to the public on a regular basis.

Named for the street on which it is located, St. Elmo is a collection of small houses, apartments and a stable converted into studio and teach-ing space, all nestled into a beautiful gar-den of native plants.

The community’s set-ting is fantastically expressive – sculptures dot the property and every inch of pavement is covered with vibrant, colorful decoration. The place vibrates with creative energy and the interiors continue the theme: the walls of the workshop space display dozens of art-works produced by neighbor-hood participants. An onsite gallery features the work of resident artists and additional-ly houses an impressive library of art books. The Village is an art-lover’s paradise in the heart of the city.

According to Roderick

Sykes, the purpose of St. Elmo Village is to make Mid-City a destination for the arts.

“Participation is the key,” he said, “because art gives ownership.”

At the time of St. Elmo’s inception, the neighborhood suffered from blight. Rod-erick and his uncle Rozell turned their resources to-ward making a difference by establishing the artists’ com-munity as a beachhead of lo-cal urban renewal.

Children who once threw rocks at the property were invited inside to make art of their own. Those first com-munity interactions evolved into today’s weekly public art workshops. Their style is freeform and fun, echoing the jazz that’s played in the back-ground and the profusion of art on the grounds.

Workshop participants are mostly local kids, but anyone who wants to explore their cre-ative nature is welcome. The sessions are loyally supported - one parent has been bringing his daughters to the workshops for 10 years.

[impressioNs]

St. Elmo Village: An Oasis of the Arts in Mid-CityBy Susan Brooks, Mid-City Press Arts Columnist

see ARTS page 7

ably to help bring money in to fund the project. This oc-curred at a time when the city was concurrently working to reign in the massive advertise-ments throughout areas of Los Angeles.

If the investor CIM is seeking comes through, ac-cording to a brief statement from CIM, the next phase of the project will remain fairly true to the original intent.

“Phase Two will include a 144,000-square-foot Lowe’s Home Improvement store,” said the statement, “along with an additional 300,000 square feet of large tenant and multi-tenant space.”

Once completed, the project has the potential to improve not just the aesthetic quality of the site, which is now essentially a vacant lot, but to bring in jobs and to re-vitalize the community.

“There is a lack of sit down restaurants, and small grocery retailers like Trader Joe’s,” said Vella. “[And] there is no real home improvement store in the area.”

Vella added that the en-tire community would be upgraded through the in-stallation of lighting and the improvements made to side-walks in the area, and that secondary retailers along Pico Blvd. would benefit form the increased foot traffic.

“It’s really a community-changing project,” he said, “so once its completed, we’re very very hopeful [that] it will pro-duce multiple benefits.”

Stating in his resignation letter that he supports the de-cision to consolidate, Kim said in a later interview that the cuts will mean less access to city employees for neighborhood councils, as well as less over-sight and fewer direct services.

DONE representatives, he said, will no longer attend neighborhood council meet-ings, leaving councils to col-lect updates themselves and to liaise with the city.

In a press release dated Feb. 22nd the mayor said that the consolidation will cut $2 mil-lion from the city’s overstretched budget. The same statement re-ferred to the new consolidated organization as a “more efficient entity,” and stated that it will “take the bureaucracy out of community empowerment.”

Several local neighbor-hood council presidents said that it is unlikely the changes will have any real impact on their activity.

Allan DiCastro, President of the Mid-City Neighbor-hood Council (MINC), said in an e-mail that MINC had never received much help from DONE, and so the fact that issues will now be handled by the CDD will likely not make a difference.

“It really doesn’t matter which department handles [neighborhood councils], but rather it is a matter of how they do it,” he said.

Some believe the changes will further alienate neighbor-hood councils from city gov-ernment. They say the city has

MIDTOWN from page 1 DONE from page 1

City Mask by Roderick Sykes

already had difficulty in pro-viding assistance for neighbor-hood council’s and responding to requests for help.

“If we don’t have [city rep-resentatives] coming to our meetings, [and] if there’s not a regular interaction, I think that it’s one more thing that may disassociate us,” from the department,” said Stevie Stern, President of the United Neighborhoods Neighbor-hood Council (UNNC).

DONE has come under scrutiny over the past year or so for mismanagement of funds, and for lack of oversight both within the department and with neighborhood councils. Recent-ly, several neighborhood coun-cils were found to be grossly misusing funds. Some council members, with city issued credit cards, were discovered using them for personal purchases.

The city’s mismanagement of funds has been a source of frustration for some neighbor-hood council members, espe-cially as it may affect the future of the councils, whose funding–which now stands at $45,000 per year per council–may be reduced in the upcoming city’s fiscal budget for 2010-2011.

“DONE has not done it’s job overseeing the neighbor-hood councils in a responsible financial way,” said Stern, the president of UNNC. “They are not being able to account for millions of dollars, and that’s awful. If that has done any-thing to put the neighborhood councils at risk for having our funds cut more than other de-partments, then DONE has done us a disservice.”

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 4 www.midcitypress.com April 2010

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the LAPD was emphasized. “Charmette was the voice

but also the heart of the dis-trict,” said Los An-geles Police Chief Charlie Beck. “You’ll always be in our hearts,” he said, “and a friend to the LAPD.”

Bonpua also served as Wesson’s Chief of Staff and Special Counsel when he served in Sacramento as a member and later as Speaker of the California State As-sembly.

Flags at City Hall were also low-ered to half-mast by the mayor following Bonpua’s death.

Additionally, Andrew Westall, former candidate in the 43rd California District Assembly, withdrew his can-didacy shortly after Bonpua’s death, citing a personal need to devote his time to Wesson and his staff.

Bonpua was Westall’s im-mediate supervisor.

“This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever

made in my life, and I make it without reservation, regret or purpose of evasion,” Westall wrote in a prepared statement to the news media.

Westall has since returned to Wesson’s office as a senior deputy.

WESSON from page 1

Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel called Bonpua a “can do person.”

It is a sober fact of life that HIV/AIDS con-tinues to be a prob-lem that p l a g u e s

our community. The tragedy is that this disease is prevent-able. However, this requires education and intervention to change behavior.

Which is why the decision of the State of California to en-tirely eliminate its general fund spending of $82 million for HIV/AIDS prevention educa-tion is so alarming. The state’s funds served over 65,000 people in Los Angeles County. Over 55% of those individuals reside in the City of Los Angeles.

This action, in my view, sent the wrong message to the public regarding the need and urgency to get HIV tested

For this reason, as Chair of the City Councils Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee, I was successful in leading a Council action providing for a 24% increase in funding for HIV/AIDS testing in the City

of Los Angeles.The funding from the

Community Development Block Grant program amounts to $1,560,355 representing a 24% increase over last year’s funding.

The City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinators Office, which administers the HIV Testing Initiative, is now in the second year of a three-year pilot program. That office will receive the funds to distrib-ute to local organizations for HIV/AIDS screening, testing and counseling services. The funds are targeted for high im-pact communities where the ramification of HIV/AIDS has been especially devastating.

The pilot program has been implemented in conjunc-tion with Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles, Drew Univer-sity of Medicine and Science, Minority AIDS Project and Gilead Sciences.

The threat of HIV/AIDS, particularly in our community, continues to be a serious prob-lem. Expanding our own city’s HIV Testing Initiative with these additional funds is some-thing we can’t afford not to do.

HIV: A Battle We Must Continue to FightBy Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson

MID-CITY—Median islands are now likely for Washington Blvd. between Redondo and La Brea boulevards, according to Allan DiCastro, president of the Mid City Neighbor-hood Council (MINC).

Already, such cosmetic changes have occurred on Wash-ington Blvd. in Culver City.

The mid-city intersection of La Brea and Washington boulevards, according to Di-Castro, is especially critical.

“We have 60,000 cars that go through that insertion,” during the business week, he said. “We want the area to not

look vacant and industrial… We want to link improve-ments done in our area,” with what has been done immedi-ately west. “We want to close that donut hole.”

The islands—which are estimated to cost $250,000—have been considered for the area before, but were never implemented.

“This time it looks like it is closer than it has ever been,” said DiCastro.

Sketches for the medians’ possible locations should be complete in six weeks, DiCas-tro said.

MID-CITY—For the first time in neighborhood council history, the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office is overseeing all 89 neighborhood council elec-tions in 2010.

Neighborhood council elections in the mid-city area will be:

Thurs. May 13th: Great-er Wilshire; Mid City West; Olympic Park and PICO. Candidate filings for these races is closed.

Sat., June 26th: Empow-erment Congress West Area; Mid City; United Neighbor-hoods and West Adams. Write in candidates are still be taken for these races until Wed. April 28th.

In the March 20th elec-tion for Wilshire Center-Ko-

reatown Neighborhood Coun-cil, the following were elected (vote counts are shown):

Community Organization Representatives: Richard Y. Kim (85), John W. Kim (85), Brad H. Lee (84), Yonah Hong (82), David E. Ryu (77), Alex M. Cha (78) and Kee W. Ha (74).

At Large Represenative:Hanna G. Yoon (98)

Latino Representatives:107 write ins received votes. Official results available at midcitypress.com

Business Representatives:Celine J. Park (141), William W. Choi (122), Justin S. Kim

(117), Steven S. Park (116), Danny B. Lim (113), Scott H. Seo (110), Yeonhwa Nicole Chang (111)

Young-Adult Representative:Patricia Hong (100)

Sub District 3 Resident Representative:Yong I. Yi (34)

Sub District 4 Resident Representative:Eisenhower Lee (15). One other write in candidate received 1 vote. The Sub District 4 has two representatives. Official results available at midcitypress.com

Sub District 5 Resident Representatives:Sae Y. Ahn (5), Samuel In (3)

Median Islands Likely in MINC Area

Neighborhood Council Election Season in Full Swing

The Mid-City Press is looking for the following:

• Koreatown Correspondent

• Crenshaw Correspondent

• Religion and Spirituality Columnist

• Real Estate Columnist

• School Reporters (Elementary through High School)

• Family Issues Columnist

• Senior Issues Columnist

• Calendar Editor

• “In My Neighborhood” columnist—a column about the interesting people that make up our

area

If you are an expert in any of these areas and

are interested in writing a monthly column contact:

Allison C. Ferraro at allisonferraro@

midcitypress.com

ROCK GARDEN: MINC got rid of crime and homelessness with its Rock Garden project along an undeveloped dirt road alongside Ballona Creek.

(left to right) MINC stakeholder Patty Wilson, Michael of Northeast Trees,MINC Boardmember Barbara Thompson, MINC President Allan DiCastro, HollyHarper of Northeast Trees, MINC Stakeholder Ruth Busenkell, MINC Boardmem-ber and project lead Valaida Gory.

Los Feliz Ledger

April 2010 www.midcitypress.com Page 5

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WELLINGTON SQUARE—The first Wellington Square Farmer’s Market was held Sun-day, March 21st with an esti-mated 300 to 400 people shop-ping the site, according to Lora Davis, the market’s co-founder.

“I thought it was a very good first day,” said Davis, who volunteers as the market’s manager.

About 19 vendors par-ticipated in the market, which will be held every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Smyrna 7th Day Adventist Church parking lot. Accord-ing to Davis, it is the only Sunday farmer’s market in the immediate area.

Davis, who lives in Wel-lington Square, and co-found-

er Kathy Lewis, conceived of the market last year when the two were discussing volun-teer projects they could do together in the area.

Funding to start the market came from a dona-tion from Kaiser Permanente. Additionally, the market is veg-etarian only in keeping with 7th Day Adventist practices. The church, which holds regu-lar services on Saturdays, do-nated its location at Washing-ton Blvd. and Wellington Rd.

Produce from local farms will be on hand each week as well as baked goods and bread;

flowers, vegetarian food vend-ers and arts and crafts.

A community booth is also available for local orga-nizations and groups, each week. To schedule call (323) 373-0961.

For Information: wellingtonsquarefarmers-market.com

Hundreds Turn Out for New Farmer’s MarketBy Allison C. Ferraro

Sylvia Lacey, CD 10 and founders Lora Davis and Kathy Lewis at the first Wellington Square Farmers Market.

[ SELECT HOME SALES APRIL 2010 ]

90006 Condominimums 981 Arapahoe St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $390,000 987 Arapahoe St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390,000 1,043 S Kenmore Ave 304 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375,000 1,043 S Kenmore Ave 305 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370,000 1,036 S Serrano Ave 301 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385,000 1,138 S Serrano Ave 103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560,000 90006 Single Family Homes1662 Roosevelt Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $220,000 1428 S New Hampshire Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,000 90018 Single Family Homes2524 8th Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $410,000 3612 Arlington Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320,000 2923 S Hobart Blvd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320,000 1781 W 35th Pl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271,000 3422 8th Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250,000 1418 W 37th St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205,500 1569 W 37th Pl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000 1936 W 23rd St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178,500 3442 7th Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,000 90019 Condominium962 S Gramercy Dr 101. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $312,000 90019 Single Family Homes1680 Virginia Rd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $739,000 1044 Westchester Pl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655,000 1241 S Highland Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626,500 1223 S Ogden Dr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597,000 4502 W Olympic Blvd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565,000 1611 S Victoria Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545,000 1187 S Longwood Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512,500 1241 S Lucerne Blvd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502,000 1412 Crenshaw Blvd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440,000 1251 S Lucerne Blvd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380,000 1442 S Spaulding Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370,000 1616 7th Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352,000 4647 W 18th St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250,000 1204 S Lucerne Blvd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225,000 1843 S Highland Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210,000 90034 Condominimums 3636 Jasmine Ave 301 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500,000 3636 Jasmine Ave 405 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500,000 10021 Tabor St 110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419,000 9204 National Blvd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220,000 90034 Single Family Homes3670 Kelton Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $687,000 3625 Greenfield Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595,000 1951 S Holt Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427,000 2056 S Corning St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305,000 90035 Condominimums1520 S Shenandoah St 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $505,000 1515 S Beverly Dr 201 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466,000 90035 Single Family Homes 1600 S Bedford St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $742,000

Sales are from the previous month. Source: Great American Real Estate Solutions

Los Feliz Ledger

Page 6 www.midcitypress.com April 2010

5 4 0 S . C O M M O N W E A LT H A V E N U E L O S A N G E L E S , C A L I F O R N I A 9 0 0 2 0 w w w . p i l g r i m - s c h o o l . o r g ( 2 1 3 ) 3 5 5 - 5 2 0 4

Pilgrim School is a division of First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

If PILGRIM SCHOOL Is at the Top Of Your List, You’ve Done Your Homework.

TODDLER PROGRAM THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL 100% COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RATE

NEW FINE ARTS CENTER FOR A TOUR PLEASE CALL THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE – (213) 355-5204

[pilgrim school]By Michael Wong, 7th Grade

Once again, I am very excited to be writing about Pilgrim School. I got back from our

class trip to Joshua Tree a few weeks ago, which was a ton of fun. A dozen of us went to Josh-ua Tree National Park for five days. We got to rock climb, sleep in tents (which we constructed), make our own food, and many other things. Unfortunately, we had to leave. The week after we got back the annual Science Fair was held. Everyone has been preparing for the Fair for the past three months.

There are a lot of events taking place in April.

“The Wizard of Oz,”an all school play, is going to hap-pen in late April. Also, Spring Break, which I am really ex-cited about, is the first week of April. A group of students will be traveling to Japan with our Japanese teacher, Hiromi Taka-hashi, during Spring Break. The Arts Center is opening in mid-April, which our head-master, art teacher, and many more people are excited about. The class of 2010 is getting ac-cepted to many colleges and more are on the way.

[loyolA high school]

Sports For All Seasons

By Griffin O. Cohen, 9th Grade

At Loyola, we are well into our second

semester. Winter sports ended on a strong note. Our bas-ketball team had an excellent season going 26-3 before fall-ing to Leuzinger High School in the CIF semifinals. Soccer also had another strong year going 18-7-5.

Spring sports are under way and our defending na-tional champion volleyball team is off to a nice start. Baseball won the El Segundo Tournament to open up the season and is also looking good. Other spring sports in-

clude track— which is high-lighted by Elias Gedyon who is trying to run an under 4-minute mile—golf, swim-ming and diving, tennis and lacrosse. Everyone is getting excited for football in the fall with our new coach, Mike Christensen as well.

During this past month, all students have had to make requests for honors and AP classes for next year. As a fresh-man, it has been difficult try-ing to figure out what classes I want to take, but it’s hard to go wrong with any choice.

Loyola was also featured recently on the NBC Nightly News where NBC did a piece on Loyola’s senior commu-nity service projects. It’s a great video (watch it at: loyo-lahs.edu) and reflects just one of the many things that sets Loyola apart from other schools.

Korean restaurants can be intimidating for non-Ko-reans—sometimes there’s a language barrier, and the style of ordering and eating takes some getting used to.

Don Dae Gam is a great choice for those new to Ko-rean food. They have plenty of English speaking servers and is for those who’ve tried lots of beef barbecues and are ready to branch out.

The $40 meal is enough for three people, with three kinds of pork meat and innumerable side dishes. A large beer or soju drink is also included. For $10 or $20 more, a beef course and more cuts of pork join the meaty procession on the grill.

Don Dae Gam opened last summer, with two dining areas and a modern look.

We ordered a terrific crispy kimchi pancake to go with the set meal—other choices in-clude seafood pancakes, noo-dles and a spicy baby squid-pork belly stew with fried rice that’s a must for adventurous, heat-seeking eaters.

Before the grilling com-mences, a variety of bowls of panchan arrive. The small dish-

es serve as appetizers but can be eaten throughout the meal, and usually they’ll be refilled if you ask: several kinds of kimchi, cucumbers in dressing, a green salad, egg custard, black beans and more.

When the first course of meat arrives—thin-sliced pork belly, for example—the server places it on the grill. Wrap bits of perfectly charred pork in the square white rice noodle wrappers with a schmear of soybean paste and a sprinkle of sesame salt for a perfectly packaged bit of meaty taste.

At meal’s end, a steam-ing soup roiling with tofu and jalapenos arrives as well as a bland purple rice soup; these dishes are traditional finishes to a Korean meal, but if you’re not used to the progression of courses, you’ll likely be full by then.

The restaurant takes reser-vations and offers valet park-ing, beer and soju.

Don Dae Gam, 1145 S. Western Ave., 323-373-0700.

Reviews are based on 4 forks as excellent from top to finish.

[restAurANt reView]

Don Dae Gam is Piggy-licious By Pat Saperstein, Press Restaurant Critic

Los Feliz Ledger

April 2010 www.midcitypress.com Page 7

City Councilmember Tom LaBongeCongratulates the Mid-City PressOn its Inaugural Edition

Serving the Mid-City area of Los AngelesWith 25,000 newspapers delivered monthly

Serving the Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Atwater Village areaWith 34,500 newspapers delivered monthly

Since 2005, Allison C. Ferraro’s other newspaper, the Los Feliz Ledger, has brought the Los Feliz and Silver Lake communities a much needed outlet for news, information and good story-telling. Our community in Council District 10 is better because of the Los Feliz Ledger.

You now can have what Los Feliz has: your own community newspaper.

Enjoy it Council District 10!

TomLabonge_Apr10.indd 1 3/26/10 9:19:45 AM

BURGER STAND from page 1of chili cheese fries. Sitting just off Crenshaw Boulevard, Capitol Burger is in the heart of mid-city, a patchwork of ethnically diverse neighbor-hoods with a wide range of socioeconomic incomes.

And while the neighbor-hoods mostly exist in har-mony, the hamburger stand has created a stir in this close-knit community of Oxford Square—a historic neighbor-hood of about 200 homes along nearby Victoria Street and Windsor Boulevard.

Chris Elwell, President of the Oxford Square Neighbor-hood Assoc., moved into the area, six years ago.

“Over the years the condi-tion of the place deteriorated,” he said. “The site has become a magnet for public drinking, [and] drug dealing. Everybody knows that. People even used to meet in the stand’s large parking lot to turn tricks.”

So, in 2008, Elwell wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Dis-trict Attorney, the local police, and to Los Angeles City Coun-cilmember Herb Wesson, who represents the area. He blamed crime in the area on Capitol Burger calling it a hangout for “undesirable people.”

That quote has caused a whiplash of retorts from some

local residents of Victoria Av-enue, many whom have lived on the block for decades.

“Chris Elwell led this cru-sade after Capitol Burger. He keeps harping on the prostitu-tion and gambling and talk-ing vice and crime. He doesn’t even live on this street… I just say, ‘Drive the other way!’” said Cindy May, a resident of Victoria Avenue for 14 years.

But the letter caught the attention of Los Angeles Police Dept. Sergeant Ruben Gonza-lez, Senior Lead Officer of the Wilshire Division, who has been patrolling the neighbor-hood the last few years.

“There were complaints that I inherited in regards to Capitol Burger,” he said. “Lots of quality of life issues. Tran-sients, homeless people hang-ing around there. For some reason it became the spot to hang out and drink with the occasional narcotics deal.”

Starting last April, Gonzales said he led a so-called “purge” in the neighborhood with narcot-ics and public drinking arrests and busted a nearby under-ground club that functioned as a narcotics house.

“Some of these guys hang-ing out there [at the narcot-ics house] would walk over and boom, end up at Capitol Burger,” said Gonzales.

But Gonzales said, “It’s not because of Capitol Burg-er. It’s the location of Capitol Burger.”

Still, for his part, Stamos worked with the police and the city and put up a light pulse, two surveillance cameras and five “No Loitering” signs in the parking lot. “That’s what they asked [me to do], and that’s what we did,” he said.

But, for Elwell that was not enough. “The lights helped,” he said, but, “it’s still a dump.”

For others in the area, enough is enough.

“Capitol Burger has been here longer than any of the neighbors,” said Liz Frank-father, a 32-year resident of Victoria Avenue. “They’re still a family-run business and al-ways have been. They care about being good neighbors. I don’t think you can ask for more than that,” she said.

Though neither Stamou-vlasis or Stamos live in the neighborhood, many Oxford Square residents say the family and the stand makes for good neighbors.

One woman, who lives alone near the burger stand, said Stamos once shooed a burglar away from her home.

“George [Stamouvlasis] stands out there watching

over me making sure nobody’s bothering me,” she said. And Johnny [Stamos] is the neigh-borhood watchdog. I’m so glad they’re there,” she said.

Whether they are va-grants, homeless, or the neigh-bors from the area, Capitol Burger is the locals’ hangout. It’s the “it-spot” for residents. Customers are greeted by name and are on a first-name basis with the owners.

“Just because they see some person hanging around, they put a label on them. They think we’re to blame but we’re not. Even Bernard Parks just got something to eat just now and went his merry way,” said Stamos. “We’ve been here 45 years. I think it’s a damn good neighborhood, and I think it has great potential.”

Elwell remains uncon-vinced. He has a petition—with around 100 signatures—against Capitol Burger waiting to be sent that will ask the city to impose land-use operating measures on the business if they want to stay open.

“[Capitol Burger] complet-ed some of the requests. We’re holding onto [the petition] to see how they hold up. If they fail to maintain the measures that they put up, this [petition] is our only recourse to treat the business like a nuisance,” he said.

Local schools also fre-quently bring students for tours and St. Elmo representa-tives often travel throughout the city giving presentations. There is also a weekly open house that’s free to attend.

Besides visual art, the Vil-lage also supports literature with its Poetry in Motion fes-tival each fall.

One motto of St. Elmo Village is “Do what you love, love what you do.” The Vil-lage lives up to that every day with its open-arms embrace of Mid-City.

For more information: www.stelmovillage.org

Weekly Workshop Info:

Saturdays: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Painting, drawing and hand drumming, all ages welcome. (Children under 5 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.)

Saturdays: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: Photography and com-puter graphics, ages 10 and up welcome.

Weekly Open House: Sundays from 12 Noon until Dusk. All are welcome.

IMPRESSIONS from page 3

Peter Alexander

Carlos Almaraz

John Altoon

David Amico

Chuck Arnoldi

Don Bachardy

Larry Bell

Lynda Benglis

Billy Al Bengston

Tony Berlant

Vija Celmins

Ron Davis

Woods Davy

Laddie John Dill

Robert Dowd

Greg Edwards

Ned Evans

Claire Falkenstein

Jim Ganzer

Frank Gehry

Joe Goode

Robert Graham

Jim Hayward

Roger Herman

George Herms

David Hockney

Andy Moses

Ed Moses

Astrid Preston

Ken Price

Bruce Richards

Ed Ruscha

Ann Thornycroft

Sharon Weiner

From the collection of

Joan and Jack Quinn

curated by

Amanda Quinn Olivar

Edward Ruscha - Standard Station, 1966 - Screen-print - 30x44

Art

istsFINE ARTS CENTER

OPENING RECEPTION

Saturday, April 17, 2010

6:00PM–8:00PM

CALIFORNIA

CONTEMPORARY ART

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

Pilgrim School is a division of

540 S. Commonwealth Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90020

Call 213.385.7351 for more information

The collection will also available for viewing Sunday, April 18, 2010 12:00PM – 4:00PM