I hope this newsletter finds you well. I’ve been getting wonderful stories of Neighborhood Councils changing the world for the better, one neighborhood at a time. From hillside drilling issues in Porter Ranch to the Sex & Child Trafficking Summit held in Van Nuys to the National Night Out events held by Neighborhood Councils throughout the Los Angeles, I am constantly impressed and inspired by the hard work of our volunteer Neighborhood Council leaders. Speaking of which, our Neighborhood Budget Advocates are prepping Budget Day on Saturday, August 16th, and our Congress Planning Committee is opening registration for the Congress of Neighborhoods on Saturday, September 20th. These are both great events, and I hope you will take the time to come learn and network with one another
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Last night at the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners meeting, we celebrated Lake Balboa Neighborhood Councils 10th anniversary in the South Valley. We also heard from LADWP Commissioner Jill Banks Barad on the best practices of Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council. There was still some confusion about the Posting Policy and whether the reduction from 5 posting locations to 1 was actually in effect.The short answer is yes if your Neighborhood Council has a website. The Commissioners are looking to make a few updates to the policy thought so that it is why it is still being discussed.
This week, we also celebrated the graduation of our staff, Joe Hari and Tom Harvey, from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Leadership Academy. The LAFD offers an amazing 4 week leadership training for free, and we are really grateful that they open this course up to other City departments. Congratulations, too, to their new Chief Ralph Terrazas, who was sworn in today!
Next week, I’m looking forward to sharing our Neighborhood Council knowledge with our Saudi Arabia international visitors on Monday and then attending the VANC meeting on Thursday.
Enjoy the cooler weather this weekend!
Best,
Grayce Liu,
General Manager
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment aka EmpowerLA