Let's All Support the Tri Art Festival!

The second annual Tri Art Festival, in downtown San Pedro is going to be held on Saturday September 13 and Sunday September 14.

Bob and the Ponte Vista gang offered financial support last year, but it appears they are no longer involved in financially supporting the Festival.

I attended the first annual Festival last year, and it was so much less than what is planned for this year's Festival.

After I attended the first Festival, I wrote a post encouraging folks to attend last year's Sunday day. I also wrote that I would support future Tri Art Festivals.

The Tri Art Festival is run by Mr. Joe Caccavalla. He and I do not see eye to eye on our ideas for Ponte Vista, but this great gentleman is putting together another wonderful event for OUR community and I strongly urge everyone to try out Tri Art, this year.

This year's Festival will offer so much more and be quite a bit bigger than the first Festival.

Artisans from all over California Will be participating in a juried exhibition.

There will be lots of different types of art for viewing and purchasing.

"Cars as Art", a classic and custom car show will be held, with awards presented in different classes.Several car clubs have been invited to participate, including San Pedro's Rascals and the Woodie Cars Club.



To me, this photo represents art in the form of an engine compartment of a car so many ridiculed, yet would very much like to have, right now.

It got decent gas mileage, it carried folks wherever they wanted to go, it was affordable in its day, and it was so simple.

Yes, it is a photo of the engine and engine compartment of a Pinto. Look how clean the lines are and how simple it was to look at, maintain, and enjoy, back in 1971.

There is much more to the Tri Art Festival than the art we enjoy on walls, under hoods, or sitting on tables.

There will be a Mario Lanza movie featured at the Warner Grand Theater and two days of other entertainment at the Warner Grand.

The late tenor's movie will be shown on September 14, at 1:00 PM and if you haven't seen one of Mario Lanza's musical movies, I think you might have a wonderful experience watching the movie in a theater designed to treat the eyes and ears and stir memories of movie watching in bygone days.

But wait, there's more!

7Th Street will be alive with music both days of the festival. There will be two stages set up to provide musical and dancing entertainment from many of L.A.'s finest entertainments groups.

For those of you who love dance, Sunday September 14 will be filled with dances and dancers from throughout the area, including our own San Pedro City Ballet.

As I learn more of the schedules for the Tri Art Festival, I will create more posts.

Big Give Flier and a Fundraiser

The Big Give Project has been formed to help fix issues at San Pedro High School.

Here is one way OUR community can get together and support our largest high school by providing teachers and groups within the school with much needed items that there simply is no budget for through LAUSD channels, at this time.

I think we need to realize that the budget shortfall is a real issue and it is not the students' fault that our government and school system can't provide everything our kids need.

Below, is a flier that begins the spreading of information about Big Give.


Click on images to enlarge.

Big Give was inspired by Oprah Winfrey's show that gives items to individuals who are deemed needy and Ms. Jilonda Johnson, the founder of Big Give found Oprah's show so inspiring that she is heading the Big Give Project, with help from some very wonderful people.

Big Give is one great way we can all help to become a small part of "Fix Pedro High" as many members of OUR community want to do.

Below is another way to help San Pedro High School's programs and activities.

A wine tasting event is another great way to support the many deeds and goods the Pirate Lady Boosters give to the students, faculty, and staff of San Pedro High School.

Periodic events like wine tasting help the Lady Boosters provide for the common good of the student body and faculty at San Pedro High School.

Big Give targets the needs and wishes of classroom teachers, departments, and activities on campus.

I don't think we can rely on the LAUSD School Board to provide enough of the funds to keep improvements going at San Pedro High School and it will take OUR community to back San Pedro High School as it tries to achieve improvements it certainly needs and wants.

I am not willing to throw up my hands and cry that improvements can't be made at San Pedro High School. I am also not willing to 'wash my hands' concerning OUR Pirates.

I hope we can demonstrate, by our willingness to participate in 'fixing Pedro High', that through the improvements the students, faculty, staff, and WE make at San Pedro High School, we will not need to build a new campus because San Pedro High School will become so successful at managing things, that a new campus is simply not needed.

Some Things I Feel We Should Support

I think it is time to offer opinions about what residents living in OUR neighborhoods could do to help OUR community move forward.

Of course, your opinions are important to learn and none of them may agree with me and that is perfectly wonderful.

So, here are some ideas that I feel we can all work together to get moved forward.

We should continue to demand that Bob learns real reason, realism, responsibility towards OUR community, and certainly a whole lot more respect for us.

The Clearwater Program must dig their access shaft on Terminal Island.

We need to come up with great redevelopment plans for downtown San Pedro.

Downtown San Pedro needs another Supermarket, much closer to it than the Von's.

Keep the future really large cruise ships, and all other cruise ships away from Kaiser Point.

We should either acquire the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk after it is decommissioned, for use as a floating museum, destination, historical element, and tourist trap, or find a assault carrier that will do the same things.

It is probably quite fine to use Port of L.A. funds and private funds to redevelop Cabrillo Beach, with a real charge of cleaning up the water in the inner harbor.

Fix San Pedro High School so that a new campus in San Pedro is not necessary, until most of our children are grandparents.

Really get working on and finishing the waterfront redevelopment.

Work with Dick Pawloski on some of his projects, no matter what we think they should be.

Help make the Port of Los Angeles and the greater L.A. area a cruise passenger destination and not just a transfer point.

Successfully finish finding all sports leagues and large sporting groups, permanent homes, without needing to deal with out of town developers.

Work with OUR whole community to find areas for real development of more housing for seniors and folks who need to find homes of their own.

Begin the real tasks of either adding lanes of vehicle traffic or rail traffic on and off of Terminal Island, or filling in a portion of the harbor to provide a land bridge.

Work to deny the China Shipping expansion.

Move the gosh darn Amerigas Tanks to terminal Island, the sooner the better.

Really work on the environmental issues affecting OUR community.

Give more, take less and joyfully help our OUR neighbors.

Help redefine what is a "Real San Pedran" to include folks who love OUR community, but did not have the great fortune to have been born or raised here.

Bring the goats back to Peck Park canyon.

I'm sure I left off of my list things that you may think are important.

You may also disagree with some or even all of my opinions. That is perfectly fine.

If we don't really work harder for what we think should happen in OUR community, then we will surely be run over by others or run down by outsiders who think they know what is best for OUR community.

We have lots to do. We can do much of it without using to much of our own funds.

Working in groups, we can come together as a very strong, concerned, vibrant, and great community that will attract and keep what is best about us.

Just think of what we can do together, as you are reminded how far apart we are on some very important issues, at this time.

R Neighborhoods Are 1 has demonstrated that a group of ordinary residents, banding together for a cause and causes, change help change things for the better in OUR community.

And we're not leaving OUR community!

Parking Issues....An Editorial

Here is an editorial for the Sunday edition of The Daily Breeze.

Again I am slightly amazed by seeing such an editorial in a newspaper that I consider to the right of center, in political terms.

The editorial may not directly deal with Ponte Vista at San Pedro unless Bob decides to go with a density bonus, after he learns what the Planning Department thinks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bigger picture

More housing and less parking mean less livability.
Article Launched: 07/19/2008 07:01:57 PM PDT

More housing and less parking mean less livability.

Last week, the bad news for drivers in the city of Los Angeles was more than the price of gas. The city announced that it's doubling parking-meter rates and increasing the hours that meters are active. Furthermore, the city is also adding meters to streets where parking used to be free.

In and of themselves, these actions are unlikely to do more than raise some grumbles about the cost of everything going up. Even at as much as $4 an hour in the most congested areas of the city, a meter is still less expensive than many private parking lots.

But what should cause more than a momentary gripe is how these new policies relate to a ballot measure that the City Council approved last week to put on the November ballot. The initiative would end restrictions on height and the number of units allowed in publicly funded low-income and senior projects.

What that means is more people in existing neighborhoods. And where would they park?

Under normal city rules, new developments face strict parking regulations. You build 20 condos; you must have adequate parking for the cars that will come with them. But with increasing frequency, the city has been giving "density bonuses" - which often relax parking requirements - in order to coax more "affordable housing" from residential developers.

This, in fact, is the reason for the ballot measure - to codify this practice of ignoring restrictions. The council says if the city doesn't change its policies, it will lose the opportunity to spend $1.2billion in California housing bond money that voters approved in 2006.

That may be, but the city risks losing something even more precious than money if it forges ahead with easing building restrictions while giving little thought to the consequences for its livability.

Boosting parking-meter costs and changing housing restrictions seem distinct and unrelated policies - until you look at the bigger picture: higher costs for street parking, more cars competing for spaces, and more air pollution as drivers putter around, block after block, contributing to traffic congestion as they look for that ever-elusive space.

What's not to love about this?

The parking/housing density crunch is just one example of how narrow, piecemeal policy is killing Los Angeles. The city simply cannot keep growing without a vision for the bigger picture.
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The editorial did not directly deal with issues of parking lots for shoppers and other types of parking problems that would come with increased density.

But the editorial did, once again, point out how the city of Los Angeles and its bureaucrats seem to be only concerned with their own little pictures and not the "bigger picture".

Time for the Female Nordic Opera Singer of a Certain Size

Click over letter to enlarge.

Thanks Councilwoman Hahn!

Vista del Oro Neighbors Against Condos (VDONAC) can now rest a little easier, now that the ordinance has been put into full force.

Two very strong and extremely able women need to be thanked by all of us who found our fight with a developer to be a noble fight for OUR community.

Ms. Barbara Dragich quickly became the leader and spokesperson for VDONAC.

Barbara came into the fight having almost no knowledge of how to work with the city and Councilwoman Hahn to save the neighborhood she loves so much.

Barbara was the anchor, the 'go to' person, and the leader VDONAC needed, just when they needed it the most.

Ms. Michele Burk was the knowledge-base, the mentor, the administrator, the behind the scenes person who provided so much of the overall tremendously great help to everyone, surrounding this issue.

So many residents of 20TH Street and other streets in the area need to gather together at least one more time to remind each other of what they did as a group and how strong OUR community can be when push comes to shove.

The group looks like it could be the strong basis for a new Homeowners' Association in that area. We need more of those types of groups to keep the lines of communication going and to support OUR community at times of need.

Janice Hahn did her best as a politician to assist the residents of the area (potential voters) and her guidance and leadership of her staff brought about something we haven't seen in OUR community, the "Q" condition.

Now what in the heck am I going to do with all the remaining buttons? (keep it clean now, folks.)

Bob's SIX New Sites=Desperation?????

Here is an article sent to me from "Market Watch"

Bisno Development Company LLC Launches "Smart Growth" Blogs
Calls for new livable, "walkable" communities and work force housing

Last update: 11:30 a.m. EDT July 14, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Jul 14, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Bisno Development Company LLC announced today that it has launched five blogs to provide the public with easy access to information on how Bisno projects support the rapidly growing "Smart Growth" movement.

A sixth blog will provide information on the Company's proposed Ponte Vista project in San Pedro, CA, which will provide the area with much needed work force housing while devoting 40% of its area to open space.

The "Smart Growth" or "New Urbanism" movement has been gaining momentum nationally in recent years. This growth philosophy maintains that building new urban communities, scaled to the pedestrian, not the automobile, should be the template for the cities of the new millennium.

The terms "livable communities," "sustainable development," and "walkable communities" have all been applied to the concept. This philosophy envisions mixed-use, medium- to high-density projects in older urban areas that provide new, architecturally elegant housing for working families, locate homes in jobs-rich areas, create warmth and foster a sense of community and civic involvement.

Such development discourages urban sprawl, encourages mass transit development and ultimately reduces dependence on the automobile, vehicle miles traveled and auto emissions.
"Ironically, some environmental and slow-growth advocates still oppose these projects because they see any density as bad," said Bob Bisno, Chairman and CEO of the Company. "We hope these blogs explain why mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods, with appealing streetscapes, friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, require density to be successful."

According to the Local Government Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "people are beginning to realize that nodes of more intense development can help achieve local economic development goals, provide housing options, create walkable neighborhoods, and protect their air, water and open space. This balance helps create a sense of place - a place to walk, a place to talk to neighbors, a place to know the children are safe to walk to school." - Creating Great Neighborhoods: Density in Your Community, September 2003."

Above is the end of the article, according to me.

The six new blogs can NOT be reached through the following links:
http://www.bisnosnotbuildingforpeoplebutbuildingforprofit.org/
http://www.bisnoforprofit.net/
http://www.bisnosnonlivableprojects.ru/
http://www.bisnotransitdestinationsbecomeparkinglots.de/
http://www.bisnosworkforceesresidentsoutofhousing.tv/
http://www.imnotpublishinghispontevistasite.org/
Please don't try these sites out, they are not real at all
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All of the sites not listed correctly have a June 24, 2008 publication date.

The sites are copyright Bisno Development LLC.

To make a comment on his Ponte Vista site, a name and Email address are "required".

I wonder if one does write a comment on the site(s) and post their name and Email address, would they be counted as a Ponte Vista supporter?

If any of you wish to comment on the site(s), please be my guest. I will look to see if your comment is published.

I think we all can share in the idea that Elise and the gang won't post comments criticizing Ponte Vista.

I would suggest creating alternate Email addresses and names, if you wish to play.

I have enough Email addresses that Elise and the gang know, so I won't place any comments on sites, except for what I think about City Place.

Look below for more about City Place.

Having Fun With Bob's "Affordable" Housing

Click on illustration to enlarge.

Here is a loft for sale at Bob's City Place project in Santa Ana.

The first phase of City Place, a loft/commercial/retail project seems to now be complete.

Bob is now talking about building a 31 or 32-story condominium tower across the street from the first phase of the project.

City Place is quite close to the Main Place Shopping Mall, the I-5 Freeway and would be considered a much better candidate for "smart growth" than Ponte Vista could ever be.

So take a look at what is being offered on the flier that I have added the floor plan of the loft to.

You get 1,717 square feet, with ONE bedroom, but 2-1/1 baths.

You also get a "tandem" garage, which looks like you might be able to park two vehicles inside, but not next to each other.

All of this, minus HOA fees, dues, or other costs can be yours for the asking price of only,

Six Hundred Eighty Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Dollars.

You get a swimming pool, but I am sure it is shared with your neighbors.

So, you just have to put 20% down now, to get a loan ($137,998.00) and you can move right in with about a just under 6.5%, 30-year fixed loan.

You will only owe another %551,992.00. Here is a sample breakdown of monthly mortgage costs.

Principal And Interest
$3,488

Taxes and insurance
$1,027

Mortgage insurance
$0 (you have enough to put 20% down, so no mortgage insurance, great!)

Total Payment
$4,516

Now of course your mortgage payment doesn't include HOA fees, dues, or other fees. You may get stuck for many hundreds of dollars per month added. How about $800.00 per month?

It looks like all you would need to do is put down that $137,998.00 as a down payment, then start spending about $5,316.00 per month, until the fees and dues go up, and then just 360 months later, bingo! You own your very own loft.

Of course the lowest priced units at Ponte Vista are currently being considered (by Bob) going for about $330,000-$360,000. So you can see that living farther away from a shopping mall, freeway, and other local infrastructure, may save a ton of money.

I think to be fair, I'll try a 20% down, 30-year fixed loan on your very own $360,000.00 Senior Studio unit at Ponte Vista.

Total Sales Price: $360,000.00

20% Down Payment: $72,000 (See you won't have to use all your kids' inheritance after all.)

Amount Financed: $288,000.00

Principal And Interest
$1,820

Taxes and insurance
$560

Mortgage insurance
$0 (Good for you for putting 20% down)
Total Payment
$2,380

Now, let us consider dues and fees. For this unit, I'll guesstimate just $600.00 per month.

I hope you can spend $2,980 per month on mortgage and fees. I know I can't.

Of course you will also have your utility bills, transportation costs, food, clothing, entertainment, and other things that will need some of the rest of your income.

For all of this you get a one-level, no bedroom, large open space studio unit that will look pretty much like a studio apartment, but you will have the clear ownership of it after only 360 months.

Now, if you have to be 55-years of age or better to buy into Bob's senior units if they are ever built at Ponte Vista, you will have now mortgage payments after you turn just 85-years old, IF you buy at 55.

Oh, won't your golden years be grand?

However, if you happen to work in Orange County, I think you may want to stick with not living at Ponte Vista.

Or, if you work in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, or other places far from San Pedro, you may not wish to live at Ponte Vista, where traffic and access to freeways and shopping malls is not as easy to deal with.

I was particularly enjoying the "North Tustin" reference in the flier.

Folks, City Place is in Santa Ana and NOT in the city of Tustin. That makes a very big difference if you have any qualms about living in a gentrified project in a remarkably non-gentrified city.

Santa Ana is quite a unique city, with a heavy Latino population that I have found to be good to me when I worked there. It is also home to a great number of Vietnamese people. I worked well with them, too.

There is a great deal of cultural differences that makes Santa Ana a place to visit if your eating pleasures include very different types of food.

Yes, there are gangs in Santa Ana. But there are gangs just about everywhere else, too.

O.K. the fun is over. I know I won't be able to afford anything at Ponte Vista, will you?