Strollerderby : los angeles

New Graffiti Law May Make Parents Pay

SunnyChanel — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:30:00 GMT

Hide those markers, spray cans and Sharpies. If a decision is passed in Los Angeles, parents there could be financially responsible for their kids rebellious tagging and attempts at street ‘art’. Under this new proposed law, mom and dad would be cited for vandalism and have to pay a fine along with being sent to parenting class. The money paid by the parents would go to help clean and repair the property that had been damaged by the graffiti.

But this proposal isn’t unwarranted. Los Angeles pays more than $7 million a year to clean up graffiti at about 675,000 locations across the city. In the City of Industry the cops launched an anti-graffiti sweep to try to catch members of two of the main ‘tagging teams’. In the sting, ten juveniles and two adults were arrested. The decision on the law will take place on May 20th.

Do you think parents should have to pay for their kid’s youthful indiscretions like graffiti?

Source

Image Source: Guardian UK

Boy With Toy Gun Shot By Deputy

Brett Singer — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:00:00 GMT

You hear about things like this happening from time to time but you always hope it will stop. But it doesn't.

A boy was "playing cops and robbers" in Palmdale, California when he was shot by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. He is now in the hospital in stable condition.

The police were responding to complaints from neighbors that someone was "riding a bicycle and brandishing a handgun." Deputies arrived on the scene, told the kid to drop the gun, and he pointed it at them instead. According to the report, the boy is 15, which seems a little old for that sort of behavior.

This quote, from sheriff's spokesman Deputy Ed Hernandez, is disturbing: "The deputies, fearing for their lives, shot him once. Later on, they determined it was a juvenile playing cops and robbers." I'm not blaming the police, especially since if the boy was really 15, he should know better. But the idea that a kid can have a gun that looks enough like a real one (the photo above is of a toy gun you can buy at Amazon.com) for a trained police officer to fear for their life...

Source: LA Times

Image: Amazon

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Love it or Hate It- Get Into Disneyland For Free

SunnyChanel — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:25:00 GMT

Get into to Disneyland, yes Disneyland for FREE! Yeah, not much in this capitalistic world of ours doesn’t come without a price attached. But the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts behemoth will be starting a promotion in 2009 where if you go to one of their parks on your birthday, you get into the park for free.

Disneyland is one of those places you either love or hate. Me, I adore it. It’s an over stimulating, exhausting but ridiculously fun time for me and my toddler. Yeah, I do have qualms about subjecting her to that much Princessmania but to see her eyes light up when she met Ariel and saw the Main Street Parade, well all of it was worth it. And we didn’t even get in for free, so this whole free bday thing totally sweetens the deal. And if you hate Disneyland but your family is insists on go, this way you can at least not give them all of your money, but they’ll probably get it anyways when you buy your Mickey ears and Disneyland commemorative pins. You can get all the details here.

Best of FameCrawler: Week of June 20th

Whit Honea — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:00:00 GMT

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Kitchenista: Cheesy Goodness

Adrienne Martini — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

There comes a time when all good eaters must take a stand. Comrades, gourmands and countrymen -- that time is now. Ignore that namby-pamby presidential primary hooha. This is the political process that really matters. In honor of National Grilled Cheese Month, I beg of you, let your voice be heard.

Those lucky enough to live in the LA area can cast their ballot directly at Clementine. Eaters who love peace, freedom and the American way should search their conscious and vote for the Philly Cheese Steak, which is "a ribeye steak grilled with onions, peppers and jalapenos topped with American and Provolone cheeses on a Freedom roll." Eaters outside of Cali who also love cooks who love their jobs should just check out the Melt the Vote site. It's full of melty goodness.

If you must cast an absentee ballot, here's a basic grilled cheese recipe from the Fanny Farmer cookbook, Ten Tips for Great Grilled Cheese, and a surreal wikipedia entry. For those who like a good food fight, head to the Grilled Cheese Invitational to cast your ballot.

In the immortal words of P.Diddy, "Vote or Die." Do it for the children.

Image credit: www.meltthevote.org

Fresh Air? Times Square!

aprilpeveteaux — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:14:00 GMT

There’s been a lot of talk around Babble lately about raising your little ones in the city that was previously the greatest place on earth and now the greatest challenge to your parental sanity. Alison Lowenstein brings back the original meaning of ‘nursery’ in His and Hers to justify staying in her crowded Brooklyn apartment where her daughter and son share a bedroom and everyone wants for privacy. Last week Rebecca Woolf tackled the lack of kid-friendly baristas in Los Angeles and you all had a lot to say about your own urban baby experiences as well. Living in a fast-paced metropolis has always been about compromise and adjusting your life and perspective to make it work. Obviously the pay-off is worth it as more people are procreating in New York City and not moving to Westjerseticut, forcing the single and child-free to share their playground. But it doesn’t mean that my own household doesn’t discuss what a pain in the ass it is to live in our crowded, volatile and awesome neighborhood at least once a week. Where is the best place to hang your hat when your family unit changes from two to three (or four or five…)? Readers?

Cough, Spew. Build Schools Next to Freeways

Madeline Holler — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:04:00 GMT

Does it seem like a good idea to build schools close to freeways in the dirtiest city in America?

Especially if those schools are for a population of kids who are already at risk for high rates of childhood asthma?

Officials in the Los Angeles Unified School District seem to think so. They approved construction of seven new schools within 500 feet of the notoriously clogged LA freeways. Nearly 70 freeway-bordering schools already exist and serve some 60,000 kids and their formerly pink lungs. But LA isn't the only city where the school meets the traffic-jammed road.

The San Francisco Bay Area has plenty of school playgrounds near overpasses and on and off ramps. In fact, 2.6 percent of schools in California are within 500 feet of high-traffic roads, according to the article.

LA officials who approved these new school sites have promised to install air filters to keep the indoor air clean. Problem is, even high-grade filtering systems can’t keep out the ultra-fine particulate matter, which is found mostly near freeways and appear to have higher levels of dangerous chemicals.

And outside? I suppose now it’s a good thing schools barely have recess or P.E. and that kids mostly get to class by riding in a car, thereby reducing exposure to the air outside.

Most of the existing schools that are near freeways serve low-income populations and most of the new ones will too. Let’s give them inhalers with their free and reduced lunches.

Pedophile's Blog Angers Parents

Karen Murphy — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:14:00 GMT

Los Angeles area parents are frightened and angry over the online blogging antics of self-described pedophile Jack McClellan. Run out of Washington state after media and concerned parents made his life there difficult, McClellan has returned to his roots, and kid-magnets like Disneyland, in southern California. He's broken no laws, claims never to have inappropriately touched a child, and doesn't post photos of children on his site, yet his chilling descriptions of how he trolls for children, specifically girls, has parents angered.

Damn right. And I hesitate over saying that because I passionately believe in free speech. But even though technically no laws have been broken here, people feel terrorized. I think I would, too.

And they're fighting back, posting about his whereabouts, likely not an easy task because he lives mostly in his car and posts to his blog from library computers. If he's spotted in public, parents yell things at him.

How do you feel about this? What would you do if this was your neighborhood, your child, possibly? I must say I'm on the fence about what should be done, if anything. I know I'd likely feel frightened and uncomfortable, but is that feeling enough to push legal action on a man who technically hasn't done anything? Should laws be changed so that he technically has done something illegal? And what effect does that have upon the future?

On the other hand I've recently been the victim of some pretty awful online stalking, and I know how helpless one can feel when this sort of thing happens. I confess I really don't have any answers here. Do you?

LinkLove, Emphasis On "Love": Ava Cipriani Benefit Auction

Patti — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:53:00 GMT

Ava Cipriani is a three-year-old girl undergoing treatment for neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer that is generally not diagnosed until it has already reached a critical stage. She was diagnosed in spring of 2006 and still has a year of treatment to undergo.

Through January 31, Monkeyhouse Toys and Art Gallery in Los Angeles is hosting Wishing Well, a display of art toys, sketches, paintings, and other items donated to benefit Ava's rapidly accruing medical debt. When the show closes, the works will be placed on ten-day auction through eBay.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, check out the crazy creatures and works of art at Monkeyhouse. And if you're not, consider placing a bid to help this little girl and her family get through a difficult and frightening time.

via BoingBoing