Heads up Culver City!

Parcel B, the long-time empty lot between Trader Joe’s and the Culver Hotel is slated for development. On Monday June 13th, the Council/Redevelopment Agency will select three developers to move forward on proposals for this prime public land in the heart of Downtown Culver City.

Normally, development projects go through the RFP (Request for Proposal) process. Exceptionally, Parcel B is going through the RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process, wherein developers are pre-selected. On Valentine’s Day (02/14/11), a city staff report provided a list of pre-selected developers [download report here]:

Second Street Venture, Forest City, JH Snyder, Tolkin Group, Combined Properties, Caruso Affiliated, Federal Realty Investments, Irvine Asset Group, Thomas Properties Group, Trammell Crow Company, Macerich, Champion Development

Note that the last on the list, Champion Development, years ago proposed a highly controversial and ultimately failed mega-project along Sepulveda Blvd. (see Gary Walker’s March 25th article in the Culver City News).

When the city hosted a public “workshop” on the topic of Parcel B on November 9th, 2010, there was overwhelming public support for a design competition for this exceptional piece of public real estate. [See  letter to editor about this Q&A parading as a workshop.] However, rather than a design competition, the city proposed a selection process quite the opposite from an open competition, the RFQ. The Council/Redevelopment vote to accept the RFQ process conveniently took place this Valentine’s Day 2011. I submitted the following comments:

Several residents at the November 9th workshop on Parcel B expressed the desire to hold a design competition for this site. Although tonight’s staff report acknowledges this point, it does not explain why the proposed RFQ/RFP process is superior to a design competition.

In effect, a design competition will generate more excitement, creativity and good press for Culver City than the RFQ/RFP process. It will bring attention to the importance of this prime location and development opportunity. Rather than limiting the Agency’s choice to a relatively short pre-selected list of developers, it will cast a wider net, drawing in more healthy competition, and more opportunities to find the right kind of project for this most important location: the heart of the “Heart of Screenland.”

A Design Competition is an open process, it is visible, media-generating and it’s an exciting process for residents, business-owners and patrons of Culver City. It would be a real shame to miss all of these benefits.

The RFQ passed, public demand for a design competition lost out.

During the upcoming June 13th Council/Redevelopment meeting, according to the city’s notification letter, seven developer responses will be considered, and three will be shortlisted. We won’t know who the seven are until the agenda is released on or after June 8th. [Download the letter here.]

One can only imagine the intense lobbying going on in Culver City cafes and offices from now until Monday, June 13th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Bike Week and the Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC) is organizing a Bike From Work Pit stop this Thursday at Joxer Daley’s from 5-8pm.

We’re busy preparing the logistics… bike parking -oh please let us do a bike corral!- food, outreach materials & Metro goodies! Look what Metro delivered today:

Here are the details:

CCBC’s Bike From Work Pitstop

Thursday, May 19, 5-8pm

Joxer Daley’s Irish Pub

11168 Washington Blvd. Culver City 90230

Bike over, buy a drink* & enjoy appetizers on the house – a generous offer for cyclists from Mehaul O’Leary, owner of Joxer Daly’s. Meet your fellow cyclists & members of CCBC. We’ll have free Metro bike maps, stickers, Clif Bars, membership information and more.

* If you choose to buy alcohol – by all means, drink responsibly! Laws for cyclists are the same as for drivers.

Questions? ccbicyclecoalition@gmail.com / 310-845-5831

There have been many ups and downs since the first Earth Day in 1970. 41 years later, being an environmental activist is no less than fighting for a  future for human life on this planet. It is a monumental task to raise awareness, change the status quo, fight those who profit from pollution, encourage green business, teach our children a new path, and transition to a life less dependent on fossil fuels. Today is the day when international attention is brought to this effort. Will it bring us closer to making the changes we need in order to survive?

In Los Angeles, there are hundreds of Earth Day events, large and small, spanning the entire month of April.

In my little microcosm, here’s a slice of my Earth Day so far:

 

At school:

Linwood E. Howe Elementary School hosts monthly Walk-and-Wheel-To-School Days as part of its Safe Routes To School Program. We scheduled our April Walk/Wheel on Earth Day, part of a whole week of events focused on the environment.

At home:

After hanging the wash out to dry in the sun, I made soup broth with ingredients from our Community Supported Agriculture veggies.  CSA California provides a weekly bag of locally-grown organic fruits and vegetables that we pick up at school. $2 out of each $25 bag is given to our school to support its garden program.

 

On this sunny Earth Day, I used the solar cooker to make the soup…!

Education:

In a bit, I will be heading back to my sons’ school to launch Linwood Howe’s recycling program with the Green Team.

Hope for the future?

YES!

The PTA sent 75 people from the 33rd district to lobby legislators in Sacramento.

I have to make a confession: despite being a longtime member, I thought the PTA was about school fundraising. Although our local PTA rallied to support Culver City’s Parcel Tax in November 2009, beyond that, I didn’t see the bigger picture. My participation had been limited to the silent auctions, raffles, book and bake sales that ensured our kids could maintain free and reduced-rate after-school care, field trips, arts programs, etcetera. These are the immediate issues affecting my children’s individual school that I believe in and continue to support, but their scope is more narrow than what I learned during my trip to Sacramento with the 33rd District PTA.

The California State PTA, represents the 9 million children of California; not just their education, but their health and well-being. The PTA advocates for the whole child: from making sure there is free, safe drinking water in every school, to early care, healthy lifestyles, transitional foster care, special education, mental and oral health, closing the achievement gap, and of course, quality education for all.

“The mission of the California State PTA is to positively impact the lives of all children and families. As part of this mission, the association promotes, supports and engages in advocacy at all levels on issues related to education, community concerns, health and parent involvement.“

 

The State PTA does real legislative analysis and advocacy. The individuals who work on this level are volunteers who study all proposed legislation to assess their effect on children’s well-being. Needless to say, the cuts in the State budget these past 5 years are of deep concern to the PTA.

Safari

The Sacramento Safari has been designed to empower students, parents and teachers to become legislative advocates for California children. Between March 20-23rd 2011, a 75-person delegation from the 33rd District went to the State Capitol to lobby the Legislature to tell them to stop cutting education in California. We received “Advocacy 101″ training, including information on Governor Brown’s budget proposal and how it affects school funding. We were then leashed upon the Senate and Assembly to plead our case: school budgets have already been cut to the bone, we can no longer balance the budget on the backs of our children. The most impassioned and effective speakers were the students themselves, who are on the front lines of the war on public education. They spoke of classroom overcrowding, teacher firings, cut programs, dirty facilities and the overwhelming message our society is telling them by the cuts: you and your education don’t matter.

“Vote baby vote!” VS “Cut baby cut!”

The Culver City delegation of the PTA met with an astounding 22 California State legislators and their staff members on March 21st. Our goal: to talk to as many State Senators and Assemblymembers possible so that they will allow the people of California to vote whether to freeze taxes at their current rate in order to stave off further cuts to education, or to let them expire, knowing that deeper, harder cuts will have to be made as a result.

The three Culver City High School students in our delegation shared their first hand experiences with cuts in education; less instructional time because of furloughs, degraded facilities, favorite teachers forced to leave their students and favorite subjects dropped from the curriculum. They asked legislators not to make any more cuts. As the students spoke, party lines were painfully clear: Democrats support Governor Brown’s budget proposal to let voters decide on a tax freeze, Republicans do not.

What were Republicans’ proposals to save public education in California?
There was lots of talk about “flexibility” and “improving the system” – the only concrete proposals I heard were:
1) end collective bargaining for teachers
2) outsource janitors

Only four Republican votes were needed to put the tax freeze on the ballot – they were not given. As of this Monday, it’s too late to put it on the June ballot. By not allowing the people to vote on this issue, they are in effect supporting major education cuts, beyond what our schools have already suffered in the last 5 years. Since there is no Republican plan to raise revenue, the entire budget will be based on cuts.

This poster, photographed here on the door of Republican Assemblymember Shannon L. Grove of the 32nd district, could also be found on a few other doors.

Apologies for the blur… this is what it says:
“(Actual) List of Existing California State Agencies: Which boards and commissions would you eliminate to save the state money?”
The highlighter affixed to the door is then used to highlight the cut “wish list” which included:
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Board of Equalization, California Air Resources Board, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Department of Water Resources, and much more.

 

What now? Is this the future of California?

The main lesson I learned was this: we need to activate our parent base to vote in every election, and educate them on the issues that will affect our children’s day to day lives. We need to bring the PTA advocacy in Sacramento home to our schools: the front lines, where the decisions made by the State Senate and Assembly translate into less books, less teachers, less classes, and less opportunities for a decent education. No bake sale in the world will ever be as valuable as a parent’s educated vote.

Healthy Schools Culver City (HSCC) has been trying to work with CCUSD Food Services in order to improve the quality of the food served in Culver City school cafeterias. The goal is to  dramatically decrease processed foods and sugar, while offering what I call real food (you know, fruits, vegetables & stuff that has ingredients you can pronounce). The road has been bumpy, with some successes and some outright failures. The request for Meatless Mondays was embraced and instituted in the beginning of the school year. However, the promised 1-month trial to offer chocolate milk only 1 day a week rather than every day in elementary schools was abruptly halted after the first week, despite parent outcry. See more in this article with HSCC director Maggie Memmot Walsh.

After attending 2 tours led by Food Service administrators, one at my sons’ school Linwood E. Howe, the other today at the Central Kitchen in the Middle & High School complex, I’m DEPRESSED. Here are the leftovers on my son’s styrofoam tray:

 

When I asked him what he had eaten, he said: “Something you wouldn’t like” (it said mini corn dogs on the menu, but my son thought they were chicken nuggets). The milk he chose was, of course, chocolate, and the yogurt’s second ingredient is sugar (no fruit inside, just “natural flavor”). There is a salad bar with fresh foods every day, and he could have chosen the vegetarian option (chili, which I heard is quite good) and non-sugar milk. But the fact of the matter is that, no matter how much nutrition education I give my sons at home – where they cook, garden, and eat their veggies – they will systematically chose the most appealing and least healthy options in the cafeteria.

Food Services are challenged in every conceivable way – from the demands of the kids, the parents, the administration, the board, and, overwhelmingly, from ever-growing budget constraints. These days, with public education on the absolute brink, isn’t it a luxury to even think about food when teacher pink slips, class overcrowding, and program cuts are so much more pressing? Granted it is no easy task to improve school food, but it is vital to do so. Nobody says it better than Ann Cooper in her 2007 TED Talk: kids go to school to learn, the learning doesn’t stop at the cafeteria door. With the type of food our kids are being served, we are teaching them habits that have lead to a diabetes and obesity crisis of epic proportions. Just imagine, for the first time in human history our children have a lower life expectancy than us.

Is it a luxury to do something about that?

If you want to learn & do more, join Healthy Schools Culver City.

Green LA Coalition – SPECIAL MEMORANDUM

Thoughts on the Nuclear Disaster in Japan

March 14, 2011

Dear Friend,

Last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan was a tragic reminder of the earth’s destructive power. The death toll is expected to be in the tens of thousands.

What is occurring, however, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is no natural disaster, but a human-made one.

You are no doubt reading reports of the situation in Japan. As of late-afternoon today, at unit two, an explosion has ruptured the primary containment vessel, and at two other units there have been partial meltdowns; emergency personnel have been evacuated; over 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area; radiation from damaged reactors has set off radiation detectors seventy-five miles away; the American fleet, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, is moving to safer waters, after 17 personnel tested positive for radiation exposure.

The environmental community must be able to speak credibly about nuclear power, so, at minimum, a cursory knowledge of physics and medicine is helpful.

In a nuclear reactor, heat is harvested to create steam, in turn, the steam spins the turbines that create electricity. The heat is created by an atomic chain reaction of neutrons striking and dividing uranium atoms. Fission divides atoms into small atomic components, thereby releasing tremendous energy in the form of heat. Loads of heat. A core of a nuclear reactor reaches temperatures of 5000 degrees Fahrenheit — half the temperature of the surface of the sun.

This super hot chain reaction cannot be turned-off like a light-bulb. Once ignited, the atomic chain reaction keeps going. At Fukushima, the heat exchange between seawater and the uranium fuel rods is expected to continue over many years. But that’s not the end of the story, the radioactive decay of uranium fuels rods continue for hundreds of thousands of years, and remain deadly for the duration.

Back to today. The reports are sketchy, but thus far it appears that there has been a full meltdown at unit two, and other radiation releases from the deliberate venting of vaporized coolant. Unfortunately, highly dangerous radioisotopes have been released into the environment, including cesium-137, strontium-90, iodine-131 and plutonium-239.

In a failed effort to prevent a meltdown, utility workers had dipped fire hoses into the ocean and pumped in seawater to cover the reactor core. (Apparently, at unit two a valve stuck, leaving the rods are fully exposed, leading to a full meltdown.) The containment vessel has been breached. A horrible witches brew of radioactive contaminants is being unleashed. (The mixed-oxide fuel in Unit 3, uranium blended with weapons-grade plutonium, is also troubling.) Another worry is the decades-worth of spent fuel rods stored on site — these pools appear to be failing.

The Fukushima meltdown not only impacts Japan but the entire world as well. The Chernobyl plume traveled around the globe and especially affected Scandinavia – over a thousand miles away the site. Chernobyl was responsible for tens of thousands of cancers.

Here’s the problem — radioisotopes enter the food chain. The radioactive variety of iodine, I-131, is readily absorbed by the thyroid. It is a strong gamma emitter, and once perched in the thyroid, I-131 slices-up the DNA of healthy cells, converting them to malformed cancer cells. Other isotopes pose a threat. Strontium is metabolised in the body as calcium and cesium is absorbed as potassium. Once ingested, these cancer-causing radioactive agents become part of our bones.

With the news of a full meltdown, wind patterns will likely deliver radiation to the West Coast in about five days. As I-131 has a toxic life of 80 days it is advisable for pregnant women and children to ingest potassium iodine (KI) to flood the thyroid with “good” iodine, thus keeping radioactive iodine out of the body. It’s important to note that KI only defeats I-131 and not the other deadly isotopes.

On television this weekend we’ve seen a parade of nuclear industry spokespeople and medically-ignorant physicists downplay the health ramifications. The experts like to say it’s “fear” we have to worry about, not the radiation. Some are even bemoaning the loss of nuclear power as a means of thwarting climate change. (Never mind that virtually every environmental group opposes nuclear power and prefers safe clean renewable energy.)

The fact is that radiation is never healthy. Rather than take industry’s word on it, I encourage you to read what medical researchers and physicians have to say. The National Academy of Science’s latest report on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, BIER-VII, says that the smallest dose of low-level ionizing radiation has the potential to cause health risks to humans.

Nuclear technology is so fraught with some many hazards, can we honestly engineer our way out of them? The answer is no. We’re dealing with 5000 degree temperatures, atomic chain reactions, and radiation that remains deadly for hundreds of thousands of years. Even Prometheus couldn’t handle this fire.

For background on the unfolding incident I suggest the following websites:
Beyond Nuclear
Washington Post backgrounder
Union of Concerned Scientists blog
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research

What can you do?
If you wish to stay apprised of the crisis, please let me know: jparfrey@greenlacoalition.org
Activists along the Pacific coast are monitoring for radiation — let me know if you wish to participate.
Encourage local health officials to safely distribute KI pills in orderly fashion: steve.dargan@lacity.org

- Jonathan Parfrey

Jonathan Parfrey is executive director of the Green LA Coalition. For thirteen years he served as executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility in Los Angeles and currently serves on the board of directors of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.

Come see the screening of the Academy-Award nominated documentary “Waste Land” at the Actors’ Gang Theatre on Monday, March 14th. Doors open at 7pm, screening at 8pm – “pay-what-you-can” – click here for more info about the screening. Bonus, the reDiscover Center will lead an arts activity during the evening!

Synopsis from the Waste Land website:

“Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio De Janeiro.  There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”-self designated pickers
of recyclable materials.  Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage.  However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.”

Here are several events I’m helping to organize -or do outreach for- in Culver City this week.

Bag It! Screening > Thursday Feb. 24, 7-9 pm
The Clean Seas Coalition and Transition Culver City present:
“Bag It!“  the award-winning documentary about why we’re banning plastic bags and looking at our relationship with single-use plastics
Doors open at 7pm, screening at 7:30pm – public forum discussion after the film
Culver-Palms United Methodist Church – 4464 Sepulveda Blvd – Culver City, CA 90230
Requested donation: $5 (to help pay for the screening)  -  Everyone donating will be entered into a drawing for a DVD copy of the film, signed by the filmmakers

CCDemClub Happy Hour > Friday, Feb. 25, 5-7pm
The Culver City Democratic Club is now organizing social events to get more people involved in the group in fun & different ways.
On Friday, we’re having our first Happy Hour at Kay n’ Dave’s (across the street from Trader Joe’s & the Actor’s Gang) from 5-7pm.

Our Time Bank Potluck > Saturday Feb. 26, 2-5 pm
Our Time Bank (OTB) is a community of people living and working in the Culver City, Palms and Mar Vista area who support each other by bartering time
Orientation for new members will be at 2:00 p.m. and the potluck will be from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Culver-Palms United Methodist Church – 4464 Sepulveda Blvd – Culver City, CA 90230
Don’t forget to bring your own plates and utensils – and a dish to share with the group.  See you there!

Culver City Bicycle Coalition Family Ride > Sunday Feb. 27, 10 am – 12 pm
The Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC) hosts an easy-paced family-friendly bike ride to encourage and educate people to bike more in Culver City every last Sunday of the month.
This month we’re riding the east portion of the Ballona Creek Bike Path to Syd Kronenthal Park and back (route map).
When: Sunday, Feb 27
10am Gather, sign waivers, bike adjustments
11am Ride!
12pm Hang out, grab lunch.
Where: Starts and ends at Town Plaza, near the  Culver Hotel 9400 Culver Blvd. Culver City 90232
Requirements: Bicycle, helmet and a signed waiver for each rider.  Please come at 10am so we can have the paperwork done before 11am.  Bring some coffee in a thermos to share, and some water bottles.
Future rides: MAR.27 – Bunny Ride/APR.24/MAY29/JUN.26 School’s Out Ride!/JUL.31/AUG.28 – Ride to Fiesta La Ballona/SEPT.25/OCT.30 – Halloween Ride/NOV.27 – Turkey Ride/ No ride in Dec. – it’s Xmas!

Jared Blumenfeld from the Environmental Protection Agency will do a bike tour with the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition & L.A. County Public Health Tuesday, Feb, 1st. They’ll pay a visit to Culver City’s own Linwood E. Howe elementary, which has been awarded grant money for its ambitious Safe Routes to Schools program (see 10/22/10 post).

A member of the Linwood Howe Safe Routes committee and Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC), I am hoping this visit will help Culver City schools & streets to show their potential to become future biking meccas – and attract the funding to make it so.

From the EPA’s press release:
The fun and informative 18 mile journey will be led by Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, joined by Mitch Katz, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Jennifer Klausner, Executive Director LACBC, Barbara Romero, City of LA Planning Commissioner and Chief of Urban Projects and Watershed Division for the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority.
On Tuesday, February 1, bicycle enthusiasts can join EPA’s Bike Ride at any of these locations:
Start Location:  Pacific Avenue Bridge over Ballona Creek at Playa del Rey.  Start Time: 9:30 a.m.; departure time: 9:45 a.m.
Stop #1:  Culver City – Linwood Howe Elementary School, 4100 Irving Place. Approximate arrival time: 10:20 a.m.; approximate departure time: 10:45 a.m.
Stop #2:  Macarthur Park – NW corner of Alvarado and 7th Street, Los Angeles.  Approximate arrival time: 11:30 a.m.; approximate departure time: 12:00 p.m.
Stop #3:  County Cycling Collaborative (CCC), presentation by LACBC’s Bike Wrangler Jonny Green, 1250 6th Street, Los Angeles.  Approximate arrival time: 12:00 p.m.; approximate departure time: 12:15 p.m.
Stop #4:  Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. Approximate arrival time: 12:30 p.m.; approximate departure time: 1:30 p.m.
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Follow the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EPAregion9

The Culver City Bicycle Coalition has started off 2011 with a mission to educate and advocate for biking. CCBC members are taking turns writing a weekly column in the Culver City News called “Bike Safe, Bike Smart” to give bicyclists (and motorists) information that will help them ride safely & know their rights and responsibilities on the road.

January was my writing month – here’s  the article that appeared in the Jan. 13th edition:

BIKE SAFE, BIKE SMART!

Why Biking is the Best New Year’s Resolution

by Meghan Sahli-Wells for the Culver City Bicycle Coalition

If your New Year’s Resolutions include any of the following: exercise, save money, help the environment, help your community, then biking is for you! Hop on your bike this year, and you will fulfill all of these goals, and more.

Exercise is the most common New Year’s Resolution, and the most obvious effect of biking. Biking delivers a great cardiovascular workout, while toning leg muscles and helping to minimize the gluteus maximus. It’s also fun. Remember the the thrill of biking when you were a kid? Cycling is a form of exercise, recreation and transportation all-in-one. What’s more, all of these benefits are simultaneous, so you can get from point A to B, while doing something you enjoy, and being good to your body. When explaining why he loves to bike to work, one bicycle commuter put it this way: “It’s like golfing to work” (Jeff Mapes, Pedaling Revolution).

Another typical New Year’s Resolution is to save money. When you replace short car trips with bike trips, you’ll spend less on gas, parking fees, bus fare, wear and tear on your car, plus you’ll save money on the gym. The only fuel you’ll use is the food you’re already eating, and most of us have extra calories to burn. In the long run, you’ll probably save on medical bills, too, since the exercise will make you healthier.

Many people are concerned about the future of our planet, and have made a New Year’s Resolution to do something for the environment. Cycling is definitely sustainable. Biking more and driving less can help improve many of the critical environmental problems we face today, such as air pollution, noise pollution, CO2 emissions, fossil-fuel consumption and dependency (which have a very high ecological price – think of the BP oil spill). Biking not only helps our individual bodies, it helps our collective well-being right now and for the future.

Culver City is blessed with a great number of community-minded residents, and I’m sure many Culverites have resolved to do even more for their community in 2011. If you’re wondering why biking would be good for community… consider this:
Biking is a great way of connecting with your community simply because you’re not shut in a metal and plastic box going fast. You can easily stop to chat with neighbors and enjoy neighborhoods, since you are out in the open, moving at a slower pace. Biking also reduces car traffic, which generates the noise, pollution and parking problems that plague many Culver City neighborhoods. Furthermore, biking is good for local business. Since most people bike shorter distances than they travel by car, they’re more likely to stop and shop locally. That means more tax revenue and local employment opportunities for our community.

So dust off the 10-speed or beach cruiser in your garage, and make biking your resolution in 2011. You’ll have fun and do something that’s good for you, your family, your neighbors, and the world. Last but not least, here’s a shout-out to all the Culver City walkers – rock that walk in 2011! All of the benefits mentioned above pertain to walking, too.

Bike Safe, Bike Smart! is a new weekly column to promote responsible cycling by providing information, education and advice about riding. It’s written by members of the Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC), a local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Join CCBC for its Family Bike Ride, the last Sunday of every month. For more information and to submit questions, write: ccbicyclecoalition@gmail.com, and visit CCBC’s blog: http://culvercitybc.wordpress.com.

So far, 2011 has not been happy, but perhaps the new year will offer hope…

On January 8th, Democratic Congresswoman Giffords was victim of a shooting where 6 people, including Judge John Roll and 9 year old Christina Green died, and 12 others were wounded.

While some members of Congress have expressed their intention to carry guns to all of their public events, others in the country are once again talking of much needed gun control and calming the hate speech that has become the new “politics as usual.”

In Tucson this Wednesday, President Obama delivered a moving speech, attempting to bring the nation together in healing. While in Culver City, the Democratic Club discussed a resolution calling for the ban of assault weapons, such as the one used in the recent massacre.

Today, Saturday January 15th, a week after the shooting, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday at the Culver City Senior Center and throughout the nation. Dr. King’s resilience, moral righteousness and believe in peace still inspire and give hope.

My hope for 2011 is that the spirit of Martin Luther King prevails over the hate and  violence in our country and in the world. Let’s come together to heal from this tragedy, work to improve our communities and our earth, and solve our financial challenges not through cuts that hurt our schools our services and much-needed public-sector jobs, but rather by ending the wars which have lasted way too long and have caused far too much harm.

Peace.