LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS Volume 40, Number 36
INSIDE
Football Contest 2, 7
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W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
September 5, 2011
The Great School Hunt Some Downtown Families Say Neighborhood Still Lacks Elementary Schools by Richard Guzmán city editor
Weekend farmers market coming.
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Theater owner leaves legacy.
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Remember the Expo Line.
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Pigs really do fly.
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International Theatre Festival coming.
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14 CALENDAR LISTINGS 16 MAP 17 CLASSIFIEDS
W
hen Trisha Kendrick moved to Downtown in 2005 the city lifestyle fit her perfectly. It was fun, fast-paced, hip and she was single with no kids. Even after getting married and giving birth to her daughter Nazeli, she never planned to leave the neighborhood. Now that Nazeli is three years old and nearing elementary school age, there is one thing Kendrick has not been able to find in Downtown. And that one need will drastically change her lifestyle. “There just aren’t any schools where I can take her,” Kendrick said. “I gave up trying to find one that works for us.” Kendrick is now doing what she thought she would never do. She’s packing up her current home at the Pegasus Apartments and moving 140 miles away to Rancho Mirage, a quiet city near Palm Springs where golf courses and front lawns are as common as high-rises and traffic are in Downtown. Facing the Challenge The challenge of finding an elementary school in Downtown is one many residents like Kendrick will continue to face. According to a recently released demographic study by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, 6.3% of neighborhood households have children under the age of five living at home. That’s about 1,853 kids. Typically, children see School, page 9
photo by Gary Leonard
Para Los Niños charter is an often overlooked school alternative, school official says.
Solar Rollers SCI-Arc Team Sending Solar House to Washington by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer
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here’s a new residential unit being built in Downtown that produces more energy than it uses. It’s not because this hyper efficient apartment lacks modern comforts. There’s a heater, dishwasher, television, laundry machine and dryer. When the inhabitants of this unique studio sit down on the couch, the TV turns on. It switches back off when they stand up. When they point at a light, it illuminates. If they leave
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the tiny living room, the bulb goes dark. The 733-square-foot apartment is wrapped in a white, vinyl-covered polyester skin that keeps moisture out and cool or warm air inside. From the outside, it looks kind of like a cloud. Or maybe it’s a spaceship? Most importantly, its electricity costs are zero. If the unit sounds more like an architecture student’s fantastical senior thesis project — the kind usually reserved for futuristic, computergenerated renderings and carefully assembled see Solar, page 8
photo by Gary Leonard
SCI-Arc graduates Reed Finlay and Elisabeth Neigert inside “Chip,” their solar-powered house that makes more energy than it uses.
It’s happening downtown. www.lacwh.org (213) 742.5784
COMING FALL 2011