May 23, 2013
Local News & Culture Marina del Rey
Westchester
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MAILBOX OVERLOAD Candidates spend lavishly on last minute direct mailers
By Gary Walker Taking a first step toward minimizing what many in their community feel is an unwarranted amount of unwanted campaign material at election time, the Mar Vista Community Council has voted in favor of sending a letter to the Los Angeles City Council asking to allow its residents the option to no longer receive campaign mailers. The unanimous vote came a week before the mayoral election between Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel and City Councilman Eric Garcetti, an election where both campaigns and their supporters had flooded the mailboxes of registered voters with dozens of direct mail pieces leading up to the May 21 election. The item was postponed last month in order to allow the community council to research the policy initiative further. There was little debate among the board members before they announced their vote May 14. “I think it is an idea that should be explored for those who want to opt out,” said council chair Sharon Commins. The resolution was brought to the board by the community council’s Green Committee, whose members not only object to the avalanche of mailers but also to the amount of paper that they say is being wasted by political campaigns on direct mail that eventually winds up in trash cans or recycling bins. Mar Vista residents are some of the most environmentally conscious in the region, and their attempt to opt out of receiving a candidate’s direct mailings is as much about the concept of sustainability as it is the nuisance factor of being inundated with paper-based campaign advertisements. Sherri Akers, one of the motion’s biggest proponents, applauded the local council’s vote. “I don’t think I have spoken to anyone who has not seen this possibility as a welcome relief,” said Akers, a former Green Committee co-chair. One board member thought the actions of the Green Committee were noble but wondered about the feasibility of trying to stop all or most campaign mailers. “Realistically, I think you’ll be able to limit some but not all of it,” said Ken Alpern. (Continued on page 6)
Westchester Photo by Dan Steinberg
•This Week•
Page 11
Dulce Rosa, a two-act opera based on the Isabel Allende short story “Una Venganza,” premiered at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica May 17 and will be performed through June 9.
Master plan document shows homeowners asked LMU to charge for parking By Gary Walker A group of residents who live a few blocks from Loyola Marymount University have been up in arms since the university implemented a plan in January where anyone who parks on its grounds must pay a fee. They say it has caused an untenable situation in their neighborhoods, with an overflow of faculty and student vehicles taking valuable parking spaces. The homeowners have also rejected the idea of creating a permit parking district as well as LMU’s offer to pay for permits for those who support the parking district plan. But a document obtained by The Argonaut
shows that a group of residents representing the interests of the homeowners, largely from McConnell Avenue, actually were the ones who recommended that the Jesuit University charge parking fees and help create a permit parking district. The university is in the midst of a 20-year endeavor that will reshape its campus with state-ofthe-art facilities, dormitories and parking spaces. LMU officials hope the infrastructure refurbishing will attract faculty and students from all over the globe with new laboratories, offices and athletic facilities. In developing the master plan for the campus (Continued on page 8)