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Excerpts from the book: Los Angeles's THE PALMS NEIGHBORHOOD
Contrary to its own bylaws, the Westside Neighborhood Council has attempted to backtrack on its decision to adjust the northeast Palms border. For the story, go here.

Our diversity is our strength

The Palms–Village Sun
News, opinion and features about Historic Palms,
including Westside Village
www.PalmsVillageSun.info
This site is not affiliated with any group. Opinions are those of the writers.
Opinion Page / August 16–31, 2008
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THIS IS THE OPINION PAGE
OLDER OPINION ARTICLES
This site is owned and written by George Garrigues, who is solely responsible for its content.
Send him e-mail with corrections and comments
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An individual's actions should be presumed private,
while a government's actions should be presumed public.


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THIS IS MY LAST COLUMN
By George Garrigues

I am moving away from Palms, and this is the last issue of the Palms-Village Sun that I will post.

The publication of my book, Los Angeles's The Palms Neighborhood by Arcadia Press within the next few months makes it a fitting time for me to depart.

Behind me I leave some accomplishments that I hope my fellow Palmsians will be able to build upon. I don't mind claiming credit for these two:

• An agreement with the Lycée français de Los Angeles to open up its new high school campus on Exposition Blvd. at the top of Vinton Ave. for community use. I posted a story about that in September 2004.

• A decision by city planning authorities to maintain the traditional deep building setback lines on many of our streets, which will maintain the open character of our neighborhood. I told you about that in February 2007.

There are other accomplishments, too, where I helped out:

• The establishment of the Palms Neighborhood Council itself. Though Len Nguyen, now a field deputy to City Councilman was the guiding force, many others seconded him and worked hard to set up the Council.

• I dreamed up the name and established the www.Palms-California.us Web site and maintained it faithfully during the many months of the certification effort.

• I was secretary for the Interim Governing Body before certification and helped to write the bylaws.

(And we mustn't forget the others who worked so hard on that certification movement — people like Willie Bell, Mario Bruhwiler, Lori Donahoo, Sura Kadetz, Richard Leib, Ingeborg Prochazka, Terry Robinson, Eloy (Rod) Rodriguez, Bea Steelman, Alejandro Soschin and Josan Wright.)

* I was the first secretary of the Palms Neighborhood Council after certification, and I served briefly as president until I resigned as a reaction to some stress in my personal life — and lack of support by some of the people in the Palms Representative Assembly.

There were disappointments:

• I wasn't successful in helping my fellow Palmsians in northwest Palms (Westside Village — where I have lived for more than a dozen years) and in northeast Palms ("Area A") join with the rest of Palms in a unified neighborhood council.

I know I spent countless hours in passing petitions, writing letters, attending city meetings and generally making a nuisance of myself to many people over these matters.

All of this for the people of Palms, for few people in the neighborhood council gain any recompense other than the satisfaction of doing a good job.

For the border quagmire I blame:

  • The city's cavalier attitude in drawing indefensible boundary lines for the Palms neighborhood.
  • Prejudiced and dog-in-the-manger attitudes by unrepresentative homeowners' organizations who couldn't care less about the feelings of the residents in both disputed areas.

There are some folks who say that more progress on these boundary matters can be made without me in the picture.

I hope so. The people who live and work here deserve it.