This pint-sized pond at Open Charter Elementary is just one of the green
campus’ scenic solutions to storing stormwater runoff.
April 2005
Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again and Save the Day
This winter’s record-setting rains brought widespread problems. But while most Angelinos were flooding, sliding and cursing the torrential deluge, Open Charter Elementary School was capturing, filtering and storing stormwater runoff in what has become a new model for urban watershed management.
Imagine a campus containing a butterfly habitat wth migrating monarchs that glide past classroom windows; a working garden planted and tended by students; open, tree-lined corridors reflecting four of the diverse ecosystems found in California; and grass, lots of grass. After years of proposals, paperwork, planning and planting— and the collaboration and cooperation of endless area organizations, city groups, students, parents, faculty and administration—this is a vision realized for the community and the 384 students of Open Charter Elementary School, a 6.75-acre “green” campus located just a few miles northeast of LAX.
The hardscape that once covered the schoolyard was removed, replaced by a campus “forest”—150 trees including coast live oak, California sycamore and sequoia. The large, verdant ballfield on which the children play sits atop a 110,000-gallon underground cistern. The Open Charter Stormwater Sustainability Project turns rain into a resource, utilizing natural, “forest-mimicking” technologies such as mulched swales, which slow, filter and safely move rainwater through the campus. The stormwater runoff that once flowed into gutters carrying trash and pollutants onto Santa Monica Bay beaches is now channeled to a nondescript and seemingly small drain tucked in the corner of the school parking lot. From here it flows under the campus, where it is captured, filtered and stored to irrigate the school landscape’s lush oasis.
It is estimated that Los Angeles lost 82 billion gallons of rainwater this winter. “What this project does,” said TreePeople founder and president Andy Lipkis, “[is] take this very precious resource that Los Angeles is hemorrhaging and losing, capture [it], clean it, protect the beaches, water this campus and make it possible for these trees, this beautiful forest to protect the kids.”
Open Charter Elementary School is one of several stormwater demonstration projects TreePeople has established throughout LA. For more information about this and other projects, log on to treepeople.org. —Elizabeth Ralser
Your Child Left Behind
Topping out at a weighty 600-plus pages, and filled with vagaries and contradictions, the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a complex Rubik’s cube that just doesn’t line up. And that’s bad news for the students of Los Angeles, as the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) now faces severe NCLB-mandated penalties.
Back in January, the Bushites began a controversial investigation of the state of California’s compliance with the NCLB act. Under NCLB, all public schools are required to set and meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements—percentages by which state schools pledge to improve their reading and math scores annually, in an effort to reach a nationwide proficiency standard by the 2013-14 school year.
The White House has accused California of moving too slowly to meet that goal, and has threatened funding cuts to 314 state districts, including LAUSD, if the state does not raise the bar within two years. In the meantime, 72 LAUSD schools currently face federal overhaul, after failing to meet AYP requirements five years in a row.
In response, the LA Board of Ed is bracing for what chair David Tokofsky has called an “educational tsunami.” Red-flagged schools facing overhaul are almost guaranteed some form of outside takeover—be it charter, church-sponsored or state-run conversion. And with the number of ESL students in LA hovering at around 41 percent, and a mind-blowing near 76 percent at or below the poverty line, the potential for LAUSD schools to continue to meet rising benchmarks looks grim.
Clearly the LAUSD is in trouble. The success or failure of NCLB in LA will be played out over the coming years, as LAUSD schools endure a revamp. But, as California Assembly Woman Jackie Goldberg, herself a former educator, told LA Citybeat, “The biggest reason that poor kids aren’t doing well is that it takes a hell of a lot more money to overcome the obstacles of poverty.” Extras like after school programs, school counselors and nurses, and art, music and language courses are the first to go when school budgets get squeezed. “The bottom line is that no one wants to spend the kind of money it takes to close the education gap.” —Emily Henderson
If I Had a Hammer…
“I can’t be an artist. I can’t draw.” How many children have said this as they try to replicate the world in two dimensions? Alternate Routes has the solution, and they make house calls. Thanks to Side Street Projects (SSP), an artist-founded laboratory that supports and promotes innovation in the arts and education, brightly painted school buses now bring the lost art of woodworking to thousands of young Angelinos.
Classes are conducted in on-board woodworking stations stocked with hand tools, workbenches, supplies and materials where aspiring artists build their masterpieces. Alternate Routes’ goal is to teach each child how to use tools safely, effectively and ultimately independent of adult aid. With a five-to-one student-teacher ratio, every child can be productive and increase his or her confidence and self-esteem.
Although the program is suitable for any child, Jon Lapointe, co-director of Side Street Projects, says that at-risk kids especially benefit. “Kids who thrive on the bus are the ones teachers warn us about…but they turn out to be the best students. They haven’t [previously] had a program presented to them where they can channel their energies and be productive.”
SSP is a non-profit organization available for hire. In addition to schools, individuals can contact them for community festivals or birthday parties. Log on to sidestreet.org for more information. —Jennifer Gay Summers
Bus Riding Revolutionaries
Grassroots activism is alive among LA bus riders. With 3,000 dues-paying members, the Bus Riders Union (BRU), “an environmental, civil rights ‘think tank/act tank,’” has buses on the brain.
BRU recently hosted a conference to discuss the future of transportation, billing the gathering as a challenge to America’s auto culture and a movement to improve LA’s public transit. Their top issues are the creation of dedicated bus lanes, more freeway bus service, a doubling of the bus fleet and no fare increases. They want to see the needs of some 400,000 bus-riders better met. Beyond that, they want Angelinos to break their auto-addiction.
Cynthia Rojas, conference organizer, sees the bus as an efficient and viable alternative to the car. Members of her organization, which has a core activist base of some 200 people, are in the buses everyday talking to riders, promoting bus issues as a civil rights struggle. Among member activists is 80-year-old “Grandma” Hee Pok Kim, a non-English speaker who has recruited many elders from LA’s Korean community to the BRU cause.
Assemblymember Fran Pavley, drafter of landmark legislation designed to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, also attended the BRU conference. Of particular concern to Pavley were BRU’s thoughts on how climate change affects populations of color and assertions that air pollution has a disproportionate impact on urban populations.
Some of BRU’s more aggressive goals include a reduction in L.A.’s car population from 8- to 4 million, a doubling of car fuel efficiency from 25 mpg to 50 mpg and a 50 percent reduction in all greenhouse gas emissions. They also seek moratoriums on freeway expansion and rail construction.
But Rick Jager, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority, argues, “We don’t believe it’s bus versus rail. We need an integrated multi-modal transportation system that includes not only buses but a network of light rail, subways, carpool lanes and bike lanes, so that people will get out of their cars and use public transit.”
For more information, visit mta.net and busridersunion.org. —Maria Fotopoulos
Silicone Scare Returns
Silicone breast implants are busting back into the news again with the FDA gathering for a hearing this month to debate lifting the ban prohibiting silicon except in cases of breast reconstruction. Santa Barbara-based implant manufacturer Inamed, the company whose gel implant was rejected last year when the FDA cited ongoing health concerns, has been advised that a government panel will review new data about their product’s safety and durability.
The fed’s renewed consideration of silicon implants has incited researchers to demand the FDA address a recent study implicating the implants in a new health scare. The study, conducted by American University in Washington, shows that women with silicone implants (and the children they bear and breastfeed) have three times higher levels of reactive platinum in their blood and urine than women with saline implants or none at all.
Platinum is used to give silicone the honey-like consistency, which makes for a more natural looking and comfortable feeling product. But because platinum binds to the body’s nerve endings, it can cause neurological damage, such as impaired eyesight, hearing, nervous tics, faulty perception and asthma-like allergic reactions, according to forensic toxicologist Ernest Lykissa who co-authored the study.
Reportedly, both Inamed and the FDA have reviewed the American University study and are taking the new research into account when making their April decision. Meanwhile, silicone implant “survivors” anxiously await the verdict, knowing their bodies speak the truth better than words. To stay abreast of this controversy, visit humanticsfoundation.com. —Jennifer Gay Summers
Free BioWillie
No matter how exceptional the product, there’s just something inherently ridiculous about celebrity endorsements. Maybe it’s the surrealism of encountering a star so out of context (Bob Dole hawking Viagra), or maybe it’s suspicions regarding the sincerity of the celeb in question (Does Fabio really believe it’s not butter?), but even when featured in the classiest of marketing campaigns (Deniro for American Express), celebrity spokespeople cannot escape the absurd.
This is the reality that Willie Nelson, as the famous face of a new line of biodiesel fuel, has to contend with. But don’t doubt the singer’s sincerity. As founder and president of Farm Aid (farmaid.org), a nonprofit that supports small family farmers against factory farm conglomerates, Nelson has long proven himself dedicated to issues of social responsibility. And he’s made a point of feeding his tour busses with biodiesel ever since he first learned of the cleaner burning fuel several years ago.
Now the 71-year-old Texas rebel has reinvented himself as an energy company exec, marketing his own biodiesel, “BioWillie,” to truckers who make their living getting “On the Road Again,” again and again and again. “What Willie brings to this is the ability to communicate directly with a truck driver. That kind of a community is hard for people to get to,” says Peter Bell, Texas biodiesel supplier and one of Nelson’s new business partners. Bell believes Nelson’s trucker-friendly star power will help biodiesel gain wider acceptance beyond the tree-hugging contingent.
BioWillie, made from vegetable oil (mainly soybeans), averages $1.79 per gallon and can be burned in diesel engines without modification. “There is really no need going around starting wars over oil. We have it here at home. We have the necessary product, the farmers can grow it,” avers Nelson.
Although negotiations to distribute the product nationwide are currently in process, diesel-engine drivers itching for a Willie-fix can currently find BioWillie only at Carl’s Corner Truck Stop on I-35 in central Texas. If you want to bring BioWillie home, the best thing to do is direct your local gas station owner to wnbiodiesel.com, where distributor information is available. In the meantime, for those of us not trucking through the Lone Star State, check out BioWillie’s billboard, and try to keep a straight face. —Eliza Thomas
Turn Out the Light, Save a Life
Remember that time you walked full speed into a sliding glass door? No doubt onlookers found it hilarious. But you won’t hear much chuckling from the nation’s bird population, which suffers about one billion deaths a year due to collisions with glass windows. Despite common knowledge that birds have trouble recognizing glass as a barrier, modern architecture increasingly incorporates glass into building design, taking advantage of new technologies that make the material stronger, cheaper and easier to use.
Dr. Daniel Klem, an ornithology and conservation biology professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn. who has studied the problem of bird-window collisions for decades, warns of the issue’s wide-ranging implications. Globally, window collisions are second only to habitat loss as a cause of aviary mortality, he points out. As a rising number of bird species face the risk of extinction, the issue becomes increasingly central to the battle to maintain biodiversity.
Skyscrapers, by virtue of their vast number of windows, are deadly to birds. The artificial light they project throughout the nighttime hours fatally disorients migrating birds, causing them to fly incessantly around the light source until exhausted, making them easy prey for loitering predators. The city of Chicago is setting the standard for lights-out bird protection policies, turning off building lights during migration periods. Unfortunately, LA’s proud (and glaring) skyline is not yet on the bird-safe map.
Suburban homes landscaped with bird-friendly plants can be just as perilous—especially when bird feeders or baths are situated within a bird’s eye view of a house’s windows. Ironically, some of the least bird-friendly building designs are located within wildlife preserves or eco-conscious office parks and school campuses. The buildings’ large windows and natural landscaping are as appealing to birds as they are to people—but birds are lured to their deaths.
For more information on how to make your dwelling bird-friendly, visit the thoroughly informative, Toronto-based Fatal Light Awareness Program, online at flap.org. To find out more about how Chicago is reducing unnecessary migration casualties, visit www.ci.chi.il.us/Environment/BirdMigration/sub/main.html. —Andi McDaniel
Where the Customer’s Always Wrong
No wonder it’s been the side job of choice for generations of artists. In addition to being a reliable nighttime moneymaker, waiting tables offers endless fodder for cultural criticism. While your server is studiously scribbling down your special requests—egg whites only, dry toast and not too dark!—she’s also recording priceless insights into humanity.
Restaurant staffers are now sharing these insights online at sites like bitterwaitress.com, waiterrant.blogspot.com and stainedapron.com. For restaurant insiders, the sites are a long-awaited opportunity to vent on-the-job frustrations—and trust me, you’d rather they vent online than in the kitchen. But for foodies who’ve never had the tables turned, some of the sites’ contents might come as a shock.
Take, for instance, the rants over customer conduct that you’ll find archived under headings like “War Stories,” “Keep Your Brats at Home!” and Bitterwaitresses’ wildly popular “Shitty Tipper Database,” where servers crunch numbers—and name names. Little did you know that the food you returned, the mess you left behind, the extra five percent you withheld because she wasn’t that friendly, was not only unforgiven but put in writing and posted for public lambasting.
But if you do find your name in the Shitty Tipper Database, do not despair. The sites also feature crash courses in restaurant etiquette. The Stained Apron offers “Customer 101” and “How to Make Service More Efficient” classes that will undoubtedly remind you to be exceptionally kind to the people who touch your food.
For those of you who still think that tipping is optional, you’re welcome to post your counter-rants on the sites as well. Take for example “Mister Boffo,” a self-appointed non-tipper who spoke his peace on The Stained Apron, telling pissed-off servers to, “Stop whining and ask your manager for a raise.” Just be prepared to find your posting filed under “Moron of the Month.”
Across the board, service industry grievance sites project a palpable bitterness, resentment and overall loathing for this unforgiving line of work. To an outsider, it might seem strange that a job so infuriating would still be so popular. Well, for one thing, waiting tables offers unparalleled flexibility, not to mention fast cash. But its other perks are harder to quantify. Like the camaraderie among waiters at the end of a 10-hour shift. And the fact that servers get such a good look at the best, and worst, that humanity has to offer. If nothing else, this knowledge builds character and makes for well-behaved future customers. Which is why most servers would agree that everyone, at some point in life, should have to work in the restaurant business. —AM
Bring Earth Day Home
Chances are, if you decide to mark the 35th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, you’ll probably do something like plant a tree, clean up a beach or help restore a wooded trail. But if Theresa Marquez has her way, you’ll also consider inviting your mother to dinner—Mother Earth, that is. And because she’s the guest of honor, give her a break and invite some family and friends to help with the cooking.
This is the second year that Marquez, director of consumer affairs at Wisconsin-based Organic Valley Family of Farms (organicvalley. coop), has promoted the idea of Earth Dinner parties. Last year, only a handful of people adopted the idea, but it did manage to gain national attention.
Conservative talk show host “Rush Limbaugh panned it,” Marquez recalled. “He said, ‘Can you believe what these environmental wackos are doing? They are worshiping Mother Earth as a religion.” Marquez shrugged, undeterred. “Basically, there are two rules,” she said. “You have to identify where the [food] things came from, and for each course you need to have an intimate conversation about your relationship with the Earth.”
To get the discussion rolling, this year, Organic Valley has come up with a free deck of 50 discussion cards. They include inspirational sayings by everyone from former First Lady Ladybird Johnson (“Where flowers bloom, so does hope”) to novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (“There is not a thing which is more positive than bread”). And they ask questions such as: “How much food do you throw away from your refrigerator every week?”
The whole idea of Earth Dinner parties started a few years back over drinks at New York City’s Excelsior Hotel, where Marquez had gone for a meeting. Marquez, Katherine DiMatteo of the Organic Trade Association and Jeff Odefey of Waterkeeper Alliance were discussing how to put the Earth back into Earth Day by adding its bounty to the festivities. “We wanted something that was simple, without a lot of bureaucracy that everyone could get behind—trade associations, non-profits and for-profit businesses,” Marquez said.
If you want to make your dinner official, you can sign up and link it to the Earth Dinner’s homepage website. The Earth Dinner Creativity Cards by Douglas Love are available free. For menu ideas, table decorating suggestions and your own set of Earth Dinner cards, visit earthdinner.org. —Marla Donato
Don’t Get Mad, Get Active
As the issue of same sex marriage makes its way to the California Supreme Court (and continues to be tried in the court of public opinion around the country), your support is critical. Get involved by encouraging family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and community members—especially clergy—to endorse the Marriage Declaration. Created as a tool to end marriage discrimination, the Marriage Declaration creates a powerful coalition of support, opens dialogue and educates communities about the freedom to marry.
Information on how to use the Marriage Declaration, as well as how to take community, state and federal action can be found on the incredibly informative website marriageequalityca.org. Marriage Equality California’s LA chapter will hold an open community meeting this month on April 7 in West Hollywood. For details, visit the website or call BJ at 818.430.4933.
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