Results tagged “lariver”

A park planned along the L.A. River between the Los Feliz/Silver Lake area and Atwater Village jumped another hurdle today when the LADWP Board of Water and Power Commissioners gave its stamp of approval, something that was needed since the property lies within a LADWP transmission line right of way.

LA Creek Freek blogger Joe Linton leads us to a nice river vision in Studio City called the L.A. River Natural Park, which would go between Whitsett Avenue and Coldwater Canyon. Described as "a forward-thinking concept design for the last remaining unprotected open space along 22 miles of the L.A. River in the San Fernando Valley," the project could include walking and bicycle paths, a native habitat, a play area and tennis courts, which already exist as part of the former recreational space, now threatened by condo development.

Remember last year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed taking away “traditional navigable waters" status for the Los Angeles river? That stirred some major controversy including a three-day kayak trip from the Valley to the ocean by a group of activists set out to prove the river's navigability. Heather Wiley, who works for the Army Corp and disagrees with their decision, was caught up in the mess.

On Monday, crews will begin construction on the LA River bike path, extending it further south towards downtown. The 2.5 mile stretch will go from Fletcher Drive to Barclay Street over an asphalt easement previously owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The current path, running from the northern end of Griffith Park to Fletcher Drive is about 4.25 miles. The project is expected to take 6 to 7 months based on preliminary reports.

Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter may have tried to navigate the LA River's precarious waters the other day, but now you can, too, without ever leaving your computer.

Conan is having fun exploring Los Angeles so he went canoeing in the LA River. "Let's never do that again," he said after humorously trying it near the 6th Street Bridge.

After a year of restoring its wildlife and native habitat, Bull Creek, between Victory Boulevard and the LA River in the San Fernando Valley, re-opened to the public this morning. As with the LA River, the Army Corps of Engineers adjusted the creek for flood control purposes years ago leaving the ecosystem and habitat weakened.

                     

The Los Angeles region is a behemoth, but the reality of it is that we are all connected. Garbage left on city streets ends up in storm drains, which carries it to the ocean. The water gets polluted, the animals get poisoned, the people get ill, the beaches close and none of it ends well.

As over a year's work on a Studio City bridge comes to a close with a controversial ending with some home owners claiming it damaged their homes, the city will head West a few miles to the Fulton Avenue Bridge in Sherman Oaks over the Los Angeles River. Beginning March 9 through the end of January next year, contractors will work to widen it per federal standards and bring it up to state seismic safety standards. They will try to minimize traffic effects, but, as they say in a neighborhood flyer, "a totally normal situation cannot prevail."

Heather from the US Army Corps of Engineers was dismayed to hear that her own office had called the LA River not really a river because it wasn't completely navigable. So she got on board the group of folks determined to say it wasn't so by taking a 3-day kayak trip down the river from Canoga Park to the beach. This is Heather's story.

  

Yes, he is. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call that someone was in the riverbed at Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Valleyheart Dr; (just north of Ventura) in Studio City. An LAist reader sent in these photos saying he was either pushed or that he jumped and that it didn't look like he made it.

MUSIC JAM*: The Ford Amphitheatre’s J.A.M. Sessions series continues tonight with “String Along to Bluegrass.” Audience members can bring along their acoustic string instruments for an evening of bluegrass jamming. The event’s hosted by the Bluegrass Association of Southern California and begins at 7 pm. And make an evening by bringing your own food and drink (or buy it there) for a picnic. The Ford opens two hours prior to evening performances for picnicking in the terraced entryway.

3.85 miles of beach were closed yesterday after 20,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the LA River via the Compton Creek in the Watts area. Long Beach's Health Officer, Dr. Helene Calvet, issued a beach closure specific to Long Beach’s open coastal beaches from Alamitos Avenue to 72nd Place, according to a release issued by the city. This is the 31st sewage spill since January causing the fourth beach closure. This time last year, there had been 41 spills and 7 closures, according to LA Times background work.

Tonight is ride number two for Councilman Tom LaBonge's cutely name "Tour LaBonge" bicycle ride series where constituents are invited to come along. At 6:15 p.m., riders will meet at the Mulholland Fountain (Riverside Dr./Los Feliz Blvd.) and embark on a 10-mile ride along the LA River and in Griffith Park. Half way through, it's ice cream time at Travel Town, which is near where a brush fire ignited on Sunday afternoon, and then back towards the fountain. LaBonge, along with Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes, is a passionate cycling advocate, but some criticize his backpedaling on bicycle rights at the annual Festival of Lights. Nevertheless, the larger bicycling discussion continues as drivers and cyclists learn to share the road. Future LaBonge bicycle rides will be on August 6 (City Hall), August 13 (Toluca Lake) and August 20 (Hollywood).

                     

They did it. Geroge Wolfe and the gang kayaked, from end to end, the LA River, proving that claims by the Army Corps of Engineers that the river was not navigable, thus not a river, were wrong. Looking at all of these photos says something to us. It says "we need this river for the people!"

                   

Continuing their journey down the 52-mile long Los Angeles River, proving that it is navigable by boat, George Wolfe and a group of kayakers completed their second day. Starting at the Sepulveda dam, they boated down through Sherman Oaks, Studio City Toluca Lake, Burbank and down into Atwater Village and Los Feliz. Today, the group finishes their journey in Long Beach.

              

Yesterday afternoon was day one of George Wolfe's LA River expedition where he and a group of twelve kayakers intended to prove that the LA River is a river that is navigable, something that is contrary to what the Army Corps of Engineers concluded last month.

KAYAKING + LA River: Supporters are welcome to watch a group of fearless kayakers navigate the LA River – from the Valley to Long Beach. At 3 pm today, there’s a kick-off ceremony/"launch" at the LA River Headwaters on the overpass @ Owensmouth in Canoga Park. The kayakers will demonstrate to developers and the Army Corps of Engineers that the LA River is a navigable waterway that should be protected and owned by the people of Los Angeles. Here’s a fun fact: our river is one of the most hydraulically modified urban rivers in the world. “Nearly 75 percent of the fifty-two mile long river is enclosed in concrete.”

This afternoon in Canoga Park, 12 kayakers are going to begin a 51-mile, three-day journey down the LA River to Long Beach. They have no permit to enter the river, but that's part of the point. The Army Corps of Engineers caused a stir in the community last month when they declared that the Los Angeles River was not, in fact, a river because it was not navigable, save for two spots.

The political battle to keep the Los Angeles River officially a river after is heating up. Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps issued a finding stating that only two small portions of the Los Angeles River constitute as "traditional navigable waters" under the Clean Water Act.

On the heels of the annual Great LA River CleanUp comes another large do-gooding river activity tomorrow morning. 2,000 people from Heal the Bay, the NAACP, PAVA and ANAHUAK will be cleaning the Glendale Narrows section of the LA River along with Councilman Eric Garcetti and other neighborhood and organization leaders.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found the Los Angeles River unnavigable, therefore it is not a river. Critics say it will weaken rules that protect the watershed under the Clean Water Act. "They believe the ripple effect of the decision will make is easier to develop large areas of the Santa Susana, Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains because landowners will not be required to obtain certain federal permits," the LA Times reports. "Some federal and state officials fear that the decision also may undermine rules against discharging wastewater and storm water into the river's tributaries."

People gripe about the rain and its effects, especially on traffic. It's easy to forget that we're living desert-adjacent; being a part-time Hi-Desert dweller, I'm grateful for every inch of rain we get, especially after the devastating fires of 2006. Along with nourishing our parched land and turning that empty concrete wash into an actual "LA River", the rain brings an abundance of wildflowers, transforming the desert floor into a multicolored carpet for miles.

Now with John Edwards out of the picture, Hillary and Barack only have eyes and one-liners for each other. Watch them duke it out during the Democratic candidates debate tonight with friends and bloggers in the comfort of CineSpace (because really, you don’t want to be anywhere near Hollywood and Highland). RSVP at RSVP@gatherinc.com.

Occidental Professor Robert Gottlieb's latest book -- Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City -- is going to be awfully tempting to Angelenos who care about urban planning, the environment and social change. Get a taste when he reads today at Dutton's at 2pm -- and then ask the store to order a copy for you.

Photo by kpe II via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

The LA Times reports that copper thieves have been stealing the wire from streetlights in areas across the city where they think they can get away with it. Scratch that, where they can get away with it.