Welcome to the Daily Digest, featuring the latest content from TheEastsiderLA.com.
Our nearly rainless winter ends this weekend as spring begins Sunday with blue skies and highs in the mid-70s, good weather for the LA Marathon.
Thanks again for reading this week. We’ll get back to your inbox on Monday. Have a good week-end!
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— Jesús Sanchez, editor
Debs Park: Downtown LA seen through mustard grass. Thanks to Katrina Alexis for the picture.
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NEWS
El Sereno: A man in his 20s was taken to hospital in critical condition on Thursday evening after being shot multiple times. the east side
Working the community compost pile in Highland Park.
Clean up the environment with community composting
By Cheryl Leutjen
“Hi, I’m Gina.” A smiling little woman leaning on a pitchfork greeted me at the Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park. She handed me the pitchfork and told me where to move a finished compost pile.
As I sank the fork into earthy brown shreds, Gina Vollono, the operations manager of THE Compost, explained the purpose of three wooden bins. Food scraps first go into the bin on the left, then moved to the middle for “cooking” before moving to the right for final processing. Lifting the fully cooked compost into a wheelbarrow made for a good workout. I was happy that we took turns.
LA Compost was founded in 2013 by Michael Martinez. He grew up near the now closed La Puente landfill, once the largest in the country. Martinez has seen what it means to throw trash “away” as dump trucks dump their cargo in his community.
East side composting
LA Compost now operates 41 community composting sites and drop-off locations, including spots in Atwater Village, Elysian Valley and Highland Park. Ten new sites are opening, focused on farmers markets.
While Vollono and I were working, a neighbor stopped by to chat. Another neighbor dropped off a bag of eggshells and fruit peelings. She and Vollono discussed the best way to prepare waste for composting.
Why compost?
Landfills receive more food waste than any other material. All that rotting food in landfills emits methanea greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
The City of LA is implementing curbside organic waste pickup, reaching most homes and businesses by summer.
Vollono said curbside pickup will not impact their work. That’s because LA Compost’s mission is about education and community development as well as converting organic waste into compost. Community composting brings people together, as I witnessed at Milagro Allegro.
After my two-hour shift, the smell of nutrient-rich compost followed me home, along with a newfound appreciation for the fertile soil that sustains us all.
What you need to know before you go:
• Sign up for a “Community Hub” or “Compost Co-Op” if you wish to move and/or water the materials to be composted. Wear old work clothes and closed shoes. You may also want gloves.
• Want to join a community composting co-op? Check out the options here. Many locations are fully subscribed, but new slots will open later this spring.
• Want to know more about compost? Discover for free “Floor sessions » hosted by LA Compost at the Audubon Center in Debs Park.
Sponsored by About… Productions
Adobe Punk: A Theatrical Zine With Music Opens This Weekend at Plaza de la Raza in Los Angeles
In the early 1980s in working-class Bell Gardens, three young punk musicians from disparate cultures squat in a vacant house. As the trio build their punk songbook and life-size zine, they define their artistic identity and find their place in LA’s musical and historical landscape.
Go here for show and ticket information:
“Adobe Punk” – WORLD PREMIERE Tickets, Los Angeles | Eventbrite
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Hermon home sales record
The highest price paid for an Eastside home in the past week was $3.12 million for a ranch-style home on a large lot, according to Redfin. The house has three bedrooms, a room for a swimming pool and two beehives.
This home fetched $1 million above the original asking price and also appears to be the most expensive home sale in Hermon by a wide margin, according to Redfin stats.
Read more
Real estate discounts
This week’s price reductions include $10,000 off a bungalow at Historic Filipinotown; a $50,000 discount on an El Sereno Traditional; and a $51,000 slice on Lincoln Heights 3 bedrooms.
Read more
weekend house hunter
This weekend’s open house:
- Picture Perfect Spanish Adobe in the Village of Atwater
- Bungalow with dream view in Highland Park
- Sun Filled Highland Park Bungalow
- Hilltop Highland Park bungalow with vintage charm
go here for these listings and other open houses
LA Marathon runners on Vin Scully Avenue in 2019, after starting at Dodger Stadium.
LA Marathon is heading our way
This Sunday morning, March 20, thousands of LA Marathon runners will exit the gates of Dodger Stadium and pass through Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz on their way to the finish line in Century City.
The race starts at 6:30 a.m. for Wheelchair/AWD, 6:45 a.m. for Elite Women, 6:55 a.m. for Elite Men and Open Field, and 8:15 a.m. for the Charity Challenge.
Beware of parking controls and detours
Miles of streets will be closed as part of the route from 4 a.m. and reopening between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. In addition, sections of certain streets that are off the main route will be also be closed as some will do highway exits.
Finally, here are some good spots to observe the runners:
- Clinton Staircase above Echo Park Lake
- Coronado Terrace above Sunset Boulevard
- Bellevue and Edgeware Road in Angeleno Heights
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NOTEBOOK
Silver Lake: neighbors of Hi-Tech Automobile on Fountain Avenue have been complaining for at least 20 years that the repair shop has monopolized a large percentage of street parking, with notable numbers of Porches, Ferraris and other luxury cars. After decades of complaints, the city is finally taking action. NBC Los Angeles
East Hollywood: Three residents of Virgil Village are launching a Substack newsletter titled “Make a Neighborhood” and charge $5 per month for original coverage. Los Angeles Time
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CALENDAR
- Saturday, March 19: Pick up at Silverlake Trash Club
- Saturday March 19: Stories, poems and songs: listening on site
- Saturday March 19: “Holy Frit” screening and Q&A with the filmmakers
- Sat & Sun, March 19 & 20: Apartment living
- Sat & Sun March 19 & 20: Adobe Punk
- Sunday March 20: Friendship Buddies Comedy
• Go here for event details
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