“Many people before us [wanted] to preserve this park only with nature. They had the good intention of restoring the park by leaving the trees the flora, and the fauna. And that’s when the problem started, because other people wanted other things, like soccer fields and recreation for our community.” Raul Macia, President and Founder, [...]

Preliminary findings from a recent Sacramento State survey found that visitors to California’s state parks spend an average of $4.32 billion per year in park-related expenditures, based on attendance estimates by state Parks and Recreation of about 74.9 million visitors a year.

The survey, commissioned and funded by the California Parks and Recreation Department and conducted [...]

  
Visit the coverage the work of Judy Baca and SPARC on the Great Wall of Los Angeles along the L.A. River by clicking here.
Visit the complete KCET webstory on the L.A. River by clicking here.

Visit the coverage of the Heritage Parkscape along the L.A. River by clicking here.
Visit the complete KCET webstory on the L.A. River by clicking here.
Learn more about the Heritage Parkscape here.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE UPDATED LETTER ON THE CITY PROJECT BLOG.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEXT OF THE LETTER PUBLISHED ON THE LOS ANGELES TIMES.
June 4, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Dianne Feinstein
The Capitol
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger The California State Capitol
Re: Support the National Park Service Saving California State Parks for All
Dear President [...]

Visit the coverage of The City Project’s work on the L.A. River by clicking here.
Visit the complete KCET webstory on the L.A. River by clicking here.

  
About L.A. River
“Hundreds of years ago, the Gabrielios — L.A.’s first residents — lived and worked on the banks of the Paime Pahite. That river’s basin was green and lush, according to Anthony Morales, Chief Red Blood of the Tangva Indians, dotted with stands of willow and oak that stretched all the way to the [...]

The American Academy of Pediatrics has published the following statement.
The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children
Committee on Environmental Health
Published online May 26, 2009
PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 6 June 2009, pp. 1591-1598 (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0750), http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/123/6/1591
“An estimated 32% of American children are overweight, and physical inactivity contributes to this high prevalence of overweight. This [...]

By Seema Mehta
May 23, 2009
As California schools brace for billions of dollars in budget cuts, the nation’s top education official warned Friday that the state’s students were in peril, and he challenged politicians and educators to embrace difficult reforms.
“California used to lead the nation in education,” said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaking to dozens [...]

Audit finds unhealthful food being sold in vending machines, and by pushcart operators and fundraising groups.

By Mary MacVean
May 9, 2009

An audit of L.A. Unified schools found many campuses in violation of anti-junk food policies and said that some administrators were ignorant of district efforts to [...]