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...news of the new "Encino Community Improvement Organization." We met last night, the agenda being limited to projects that would update the physical appearence of the nabe. Such as:
- Spiffing up the (former) Oak Tree island at Louise and Ventura
- Extending the planted divider on Ventura near Plaza de Oro to "Chli's" restaurant
- Removing the moribund newsstand next to Auto Steigler
- Landscaping and cleaning-up the east side of Louise between Burbank and Oxnard
It turns out that there may be grant money available for some of this; it may also be possible to get contributions from private sources and from the council members' discretionary funds (who knew?).
To Babbitt Ave. residents, and others who back up to Louise Ave.:
If we are able to secure plants (we're thinking oleanders, but open to suggestions) for the parkway between the wall and the street, they will need to be watered and somewhat tended until they are established. How will we keep them watered? This will require community action of some kind... - Are you willing to install a drip sprinkler for the new plants at your expense?
- Can you hang your hose over the wall twice a week to water the plants
- Should we just go #$%$&^% ourselves; this isn't worth the trouble
Several of my neighbors have remarked that they always direct visitors to enter through Aldea. If we do this, the result will be a much more pleasant drive on Louise, and a better face for our community. We can take a little pride in how we present to the world. The beginning of this project will require some effort. It's going to be worky to plant whatever stock we're able to get. That dirt is bound to be hard, so we may need equipment besides hand labor. Does anyone know of a landscape architect who could help with design, preferably on a pro bono basis? Does anyone own, work at, or know of a nursery and/or equipment rental facility that might donate stock and machinery or at least give us a break?Please email encinoville@gmail.com or comment below.
Some of you will find a flyer with Neighborhood Watch news on your doorstep tonight (Sunday). The encinodogger 
and I took it around and dropped it at selected houses, especially those of residents who have expressed a wish to be involved in the nabe. Though this is the first issue that I remember seeing, at least for quite some time, I think the organizers of this now know that we in the "south of Hatteras" sector are interested and involved with Encino Village life.
The bad news is that our SLO has not set up a future meeting for the neighborhood, though the other areas covered in the brochure seem to have a regular schedule. There could be a lot of reasons for this, but if you're concerned, or just want to get more involved, give him - officer Rob Trulik - a call at 818 374.7637, or drop an email to 32326@lapd.lacity.org. In my experience, he's shown himself to be a good guy and responsive to our needs and requests. Notice that the large commercial trucks have, for the most part, disappeared from Louise Ave., due largely to Ofc. Trulik's citing efforts. And you haven't seen anyone messing with the trash on Thursday mornings either, thanks again to him.
In other news, there's an effort afoot to organize a new group to deal largely with neighborhood beautification efforts. They're meeting Tuesday, so more news after that.
Well, at least we've started to do it. Thanks to Josh and Richard, we walked the petition around the neighborhood and garnered quite a few signatures. Since we only need two-thirds of the affected properties to sign on, it should be pretty easy to qualify this. How long it will take the city to actually put up the signs is another story altogether, I'm sure.
A couple of the old-timers in the neighborhood recalled to me how many times this has been tried before; apparently we're not breaking any new ground here, but we're actually doing something.
Thing is - it's a beginning. If you're new to the blog, or even if you're not, please comment or email me. If you want to post, or even start your own damn blog, I'll help you do that too.
Get involved; be part of the solution.
And to all that helped, signed, and leant their experience: thanks.
