There are many ways to get involved with the city you live in, and to help shape the future and quality of life in your community. This week, three such opportunities crossed our desk, and all of them are very simple, requiring anywhere from just a few minutes to a few hours of your time.
Metro Budget Survey
Can you create a balanced budget for local transit? Want to provide input on transit priorities in Los Angeles? Just complete Metro’s quick survey at http://lametro.force.com/onlinebudget#top
Total time commitment: about 5 minutes.
Planning 101 Workshops
Why are planning and zoning important to you? Because what can be or does get built in your neighborhood directly affects the character of your surroundings and the quality of life in your neighborhood.
Want to understand how planning works in the city of Los Angeles, so you can learn how to interact with the process, understand what developers are proposing and have a voice in neighborhood development?
Then plan to attend one of the upcoming “Planning 101” workshops conducted by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment at various locations around the city in April and May. Full details in the flier (click the image to see a full-size version)…but the closest location to our area is probably the Thursday, April 12 session, at 6 p.m. at City Council Member Herb Wesson’s field office at 1819 S. Western Ave. (between Venice and Washington).
Total time commitment: about two and a half hours.
embRACE LA Dinners
embRACE LA is a new city initiative “aimed at unifying Angelenos and empowering communities through a citywide conversation about race and racism.” Launched by Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson and Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, the effort seeks to foster understanding, healing and growth throughout the city.
From April 16th-20th, embRACE LA will host 100 FREE dinners across all of the 15 Los Angeles City Districts. According to the event description, “each dinner will consist of a chef, a gathering of 10 neighbors, and a thoughtful dialogue centered on one of the most important topics of our time: Race.”
To request a seat at the table, go to https://www.embracela.org/join_a_dinner, and fill out the short application. Attendees will be selected with consideration to equal representation across the City of Los Angeles. The application deadline is Saturday, April 7. (Please note that applying to attend a dinner does not guarantee you will be selected. Depending on the number of applications, a lottery system may be used to choose participants. All applicants must be residents of the City of Los Angeles.)
Total time commitment: one evening (with free food!)
It’s your city…so take a few minutes, and/or a few hours, and see how easy it is to get involved.
