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Neighborhood Council update, more info page 24
HOMETOWN
NEWS
Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista
February
your community newspaper • your community • WESTCHESTER • PLAYA DEL REY • MARINA DEL REY • PLAYA VISTA • your community newspaper • your community
Westchester could be divided in redistricting proposal There will be a public meeting held Thursday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the redistricting maps released January 25. The meeting will be one of seven taking place in February held by the Redistricting Commission and will take place at the Westchester Park Gym, located at 7000 W. Manchester Ave. in Westchester. The recently released maps have come under fire from politicians and community members. In the proposed maps a large portion of Westchester, would move from
Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s 11th District into Councilman Bernard Parks’ 8th District. Playa del Rey and Playa Vista would remain in the 11th District, as well as Loyola Marymount University. LAX would fall outside the 11th District boundary lines. Said Councilman Bill Rosendahl in an email sent out to constituents, “...Instead of trimming along the edges, the commission is considering amputating the bulk of Westchester and part of Playa Vista from the rest of our district. Doing so would divide
communities that share a neighborhood council, a chamber of commerce, and a community plan area. And it makes no sense to tear Westchester from Los Angeles International Airport, which dramatically impacts its quality of life and economic activity. Moreover, the proposed boundaries would shatter the wonderful partnership we have forged over the past seven years with the wonderful communities and organizations in CD11.” Rosendahl is currently circulating an online petition asking the Redistricting
Commission to not divide the 11th District as it currently stands. As of press time, the petition, which can be found at change.org or by visiting the HomeTown News’ or Bill Rosendahl’s Facebook page, had 725 signatures. (continued on page 20)
Attend the redistricting meeting and make your voice heard! Date: Thursday, February 2nd Time: 6:30 p.m. Location: Westchester Park Gym, 7000 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester
Westchester charter school making headway By Michelle Weiss Efforts to institute a charter sixth through twelfth grade school in the Westchester area still under way as parents, teachers and community members work with LAUSD to get its approval. Documents, such as a proposition 39 application, which would allow the already named Westchester Secondary Charter School (WSCS) space on an established school in Westchester, are currently being reviewed by school district board members. In the meantime, WSCS founders and supporters are continuing to raise funds and spread awareness about the school. The mission of WSCS is to “provide students in grades 6-12 with a challenging and comprehensive college preparatory education in a public school setting employing the technology of the 21st century. [WSCS] will inspire students to strive for academic and creative achievement and excellence. [Its] vision is to develop in students a sense of personal and civic responsibility, as well as the skills and knowledge to think critically, communicate effectively,
and successfully engage in the global community.” Though the proposed school has successfully been gaining support, the WSCS board is still hard at work trying to secure the $250,000 in start-up funds that are required when opening a new charter school. Leading the charge are lead petitioners Janet Landon (who is also acting principal) and Ann Wexler. The board is looking to work with a company that buys receivables and will provide the school funds for a fee. This would allow WSCS to not only receive the $250,000 needed for the opening of the school, but also enough capital to help with the purchase of books and other necessary materials for students. Another benefit of this method of financing is that the money would become available to the WSCS board in July, which would put the school on track for its proposed opening in September of this year. The board is also still fundraising, as every penny counts in a project such as this one, but they are no longer counting on fundraising dollars to comprise a large portion of their start-up funds as they were in the past. However, until all of (continued on page 5)
At left: Ann Wexler speaks to the WSCS board at a recent a meeting.
A look inside your
HomeTown
5 Cricket team looking to go abroad 7 Community garden looking for help to grow