Central City East : Downtown Los Angeles

Steve lopez writes his first part in a series on Central city East thus I ahve writen him a letter . I will probably write him a letter after every article

Steve,

Thanks for doing the series on Central City East. I liked the beginnng in the written portion . How you say it was created and now that the lofts are going up people are paying attetnion to the dying here.

One thing I would recommend , since you have a home with a family.

Community aquired methecillin resistant staph is running rampant here. It gets into the blood stream and , pow. You get very sick and can die. Children and the elderly are suceptible to this infection and even after washing your clothes can stay there for some time.

So I saw you touching the things which belonged to the lady who passed away in the video portion , make sure you keep some anti-bacterial gel with you to wash your hands with. MRSA staph is deadly and the way we aquire it is by infecting ourselves, thorugh an dopen cut . MRSA colonizes in the nose.

There are Many of the intravenous drug users with so called spider bites ,MRSA is exactly what they have at their injection sites , they look like boils . Some poepls have dried up and they are dry sores with craters.

I know i got it the beginning of last year. And was in the hospital for 1 week because it got into my blood. I cut myself shaving. I am always hugging my friends in this neighborhood. No one was notified about community aquired staph
It just makes me so angry that now that these lofts are bing built , now iit matters that people are dying everyday on the streets here.

You asked a rhetorical question in your part 1. Do they know they are dying the same way as that one lady . I know they do. I live here. I hear it all of the time. ANd I wonder sometimes if this person dying in your articles was actually ,in someone elses mind , not a tragedy , but a success story in getting rid of the skid row type people. ONe less person to worry about. This is what skid row was created for. BUt we fight ot change that.

although I don't use drugs or shoot up . Because of the environement I can get really sick .

I work hard to keep the street sweepers coming and the clean up day here. Not because I can make a name for myself or become some politicians hack , but because if the streets are filthy we die sooner than later.

We do things here out of a basic instinct of survival.

If you were a politician who brought public works here to clean . I would , due to desire to live ,be kissing your feet and fawning over you day and night . I want to live. Survival is what we , in this neighborhood do everyday.

oh yeah.

Lets bring back the mental hospitals where people are locked up and our human rights are violated. But now a days there is a recognized difference between mental incompetance and mental illness , thus we could try to bring back mental hospitals with onsite residency., with the social services to keep folks stabilized on medication.

It is a complex situation , especially those with dual diagnosis, like the chicken and the egg, which came first ?, mental illness and self medication , or drug abuse leading to mental illness. These are the issues we face everyday. There is no on clear label or fix for the people here. But just letting folks die is not the answer.

IMmyself would prefer to just lay in a fetal position all day and run away from the world. I still don't know why I do the things I do. MAybe it is because it is to piss off those who see us as worthless, knowing they can't fathom the idea of people here who actually can do great things , becuse in the deep dark recesses of their unconscious mind they know that they could wind up having to live in this situation thorugh something as simple as catostophic illness. ANd be labeled a bum , or a homeless , or a skid row person. Or lazy.

Keep up the good work.

D

MAyor SAM does a post on City Councill Puffery.

It seems Steve Hymon from the LA Times has a problem with all of the resolutions and commendations that are given during City Council takiing up precious CIty Council Meeting time.

Beleive it or not I agree. I thought Fridays were the only day that the morning was filled with this sort of thing , yet it turns out that it is getting pretty bad on other days as well.

To me I think it should be like the publishers clearing house sweepstakes , like when they just arrive at your doorstep with a surprise with these sorts of things or even at someones work or on the street . Too much time is spent on proclamations etc.

Of course dignitaries from other countries etc. should be introduced at council chambers as they should always.

Medicare | Medicare Drug Plan Comparison Tool Should Be Available Next Week, CMS Officials Say
[Oct 14, 2005]
A new online tool allowing Medicare beneficiaries to compare prescription drug plans will launch Monday, following an earlier delay, CMS officials announced Thursday, the Washington Post reports. The tool had been scheduled to launch on Thursday on the Medicare Web site. However, federal officials decided to delay the launch because of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, which also fell on Thursday. "We wanted to respect all the partners out there and their religious beliefs," CMS spokesperson Gary Karr said (Lee, Washington Post, 10/14). He said volunteers, not-for-profit groups and others need to undergo training on how to use the site, and officials thought the training should not take place on Yom Kippur (Freking, AP/Detroit Free Press, 10/14). Beginning next week, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to access the tool and input data, such as where they live, the types of drugs they take and how much they want to pay in premiums and deductibles. "You'll be able to plug in essentially what's important to you," Karr said, adding, "Folks shouldn't be anxious about making the perfect choice. Once you narrow it down to the things you think you need, there is not a wrong choice there. You're fine." Karr also noted that beneficiaries should have enough time to compare plans because enrollment begins Nov. 15 and runs through May 15.

too tired to post anything tonite

Goodnight

WHat A mess!!!!!

There is a transition going on for those who have both Medi-cal and Medicare to switch to a MEdicare PArt D Drug Prescription plan. It doesn't look good so far with 53 Different Plans in California ALone to choose from and those on medi-medi who are qualified for " Extra Help" will be turned over to one of them on JAnuary 1st.

I will post what I learned a little later on here tonite.

Stay Tuned.

Mary Chaney - Artist, Downtown Activist - And Friend - Passes Away.
Below is a note I received from a close friend of Mary's:It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Mary Chaney this last Wednesday. Mary was a long-time resident of Downtown Los Angeles and activist for the community. A life-long professional artist, Mary fought for the inclusion of arts representatives in the formation of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC). She was active with LAPD Boosters and CPAB, overseeing improved communications and responsiveness between residential needs and our police department.Mary worked as a documentary artist sketching from life in the courtroom as well as the streets. Her courtroom work has been broadcast by ABC, CNN, FOX, NBC, KTTV and Court TV. She covered cases such as the civil rights trial in the beating of Rodney King, the Steven Spielberg stalking, the O. J. Simpson civil trial, the Richard Miller "FBI Spy" trial, the Richard Ramirez "Night Stalker" trial, and the civil trial of Philippine President Marcos' wife, Imelda.Ms. Chaney exhibited her courtroom sketches and illustrations in several Southern California exhibits including exhibits at Loyola Law School "The Classic Courtroom Trial" and the Federal Rodney King case "Justice on Trial". The Los Angeles Sheriffs' Art Documentary featured "The Badge and the Brush" and "My Mom Is In Jail" illustrations.Her work has been published in several law reviews and is included in the Smithsonian American History Museum, the United States Air Force Art Collection, and the Los Angeles Downtown Art District website. Her quick and astute skills in sketching rendered a small book of portraits of those attending the post-9/11 gathering at City Hall for a Candlelight Vigil, the drawings later acknowledged with gratitude of support by Mayor Giuliani.Mary will be remembered for her quick humor, hard work for social causes, steadfastness of purpose, and inspiration as an artist. Her passing is a great loss to our community.A memorial mass will be held at the St. Francis Xavier Maryknoll Church in the Arts District at 10 am on Tuesday Oct. 18. The church it located on Hewitt St. near 3rd St.
# posted by Brady Westwater @ 3:29 PM 0 comments

Media Release

Contact:

Don Garza
Resident Central City East/ LA Town Crier
Phone: 213-623-6332 /213-255-8411

E-Mail: latowncrier@latowncrier.com

October 12 , 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Residents in Central City East Holding Forum for Council District 14 Candidates

(Downtown Los Angeles , Ca ) - Residents in the Central City East area of Downtown, informally known as Skid Row, will be holding a community forum for the Candidates running for the office of City Council District 14. This will be the first time residents will be holding such a forum on their own. Because of the creation of the James Wood Community Center this has been made possible.

When :Saturday October 15th , 2005 3 pm

Where: James Wood Community Center

400 East 5th Street , Los Angeles California

The Central City East Area is included in Council District 14 and Council District 9.

Issues related to Downtown Los Angeles and CD 14 might be raised , and questions for candidates may include such subjects as dumping of persons into the area , plan to end Homelessness , and quality of life issues such as public safety and street cleaning.

Parking will be made availale at Harry's Lot located on San Julian Street between 5th streets and 6th streets .Parking will be limited. I suggest users carpool and or park on adjacent streets.This is an adult event , thus children have not been invited to attend.

Don Garza is the Official Town Crier of Downtown Los Angeles.
The Co-Chair of the Outreach Committee of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
He has been awarded the First ever Downtown Los Angeles Community Service Award by Hollywood Media One in 2002
and Recognized by the City of Los Angeles to repesent Los Angeles at Town Crier Competitions World Wide. And is the Town Crier at the OLD Bank District Art Walk
Don Has participated on the City Center Redevelopment Project Area Committee and pushed to include 1500 Units of sro Type HOusing in the plan
Don is also CEO of Intrepid Herald -Town Crier an event planning business
and a proud resident of Central City East

I am still awake.

CLeaning house too and watching a movie and now on the computer.

Not only has Hurricane season turned into a time when we have Category 4's Hitting the United states and actually having so many hurricanes and tropical depressions that we are actually using the letter V to name a storm , but we now have A tropical storm for the very first time making landfall on the IBerain Peninsula , Spain , in Europe.

Storm tracker has the update.

I think someone needs to check the Water Temps in the MId Atlantic to find out if the temps are dropping or what?

WHat's next?

A blizzard in Los Angeles?

You go Girl!!!!!!! Anita Nelson, the Executive Director of SRO HOusing Corporation , speaks on behalf of the low income tenants residing in the sros that still have not been aquired by not for profit developers of housing for the poor.

The article in the LA Times quotes her at the meeting in the City COuncil about the Ordinance that places a moratorium of conversion of these Hotels across Downtown and the city of Los Angeles.

Such architectural details and rich histories appeal to loft developers, but advocates for the homeless worry that the poor are being pushed out.

"When you take these hotels and you convert them into high-end apartments or dwellings, [the city must] think about those people who are living there," said Anita Nelson, executive director and chief executive of the SRO Housing Corp., a nonprofit housing agency. "They have to go somewhere."

The greatest investment I made was voting for Jan Perry.

Councilwoman Jan Perry, who proposed the moratorium, said the motion is "an attempt to provide a layer of protection for housing that is quickly going to be extinct. It's a recognition that a balance needs to be achieved."

SRO HOusing Corporation is Inviting people to attend a grand opening of the Yankee Hotel On NOvember 18 2005 at 8:45 a.m.
They have a link to the particulars of that day at their website at http://www.srohousing.org

I will remind folks later.

Well after these many months it turns out that Julie Rico was correct. I should have never gotten in the middle of this power struggle.

But I guess the old saying is true: if you give a man enough rope he will hang himself.

And boy did he.

Sorry Julie Rico Sorry very much for not believing you.

You can now read the Downtown Central City East Blogger in spanish