Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council May 2022: Issue #5
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Message from the President
Jeffrey Hartsough
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Welcome to the Ziff Flyer, the newsletter for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council (SONC).
Just a few things to report and let you know what’s happening.
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First Things First – Mother’s Day.
It’s simple – we all have Mothers. Celebrate Mother’s Day. Think about, appreciate, and be thankful for all that mothers do. We sometimes take for granted that Mom is there and all that Mom does. Look around, see, and observe all the moms and recognize all that they do. Moms are great.
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Jeffrey Hartsough
President of SONC
Community Interest 2
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VOTE on June 7th
Please VOTE on June 7th. Be an informed and knowledgeable voter. Primary elections are being held at the Congress, State, County, and City levels. There is a lot going on. And you have less than a month to figure it all out and to make your vote count. Ballots will be in the mail shortly. Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in our democracy. Again, please VOTE.
Free Movies in the Park
SONC is looking forward to the return of the SONC Summer Series – Movies in the Park. We hope to see you at the Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Park on June 25, July 23, and August 20 for fun evenings and movies in the park.
Welcoming Spring and Earth Day
I want to thank all the families that adopted trees on Saturday, April 23rd. SONC’s annual Hello Spring – Free Tree Adoption event was a great success. Two hundred, yes, 200, trees were adopted. The fruit and shade trees are looking forward to their new homes and the care and nurturing they will be given by their new families. Thanks to LA City Plants and the LA Conservation Corps for their support and help. If you’re interested in learning more, check out www.cityplants.org.
Another great success on Saturday, April 23rd was the outpouring of volunteers to help clean up the entire length of Ventura Boulevard all across the Valley. Spearheaded by the Volunteers Cleaning Communities (VCC) organization, volunteers picked up trash and debris along the Boulevard to help make our Sherman Oaks community even more beautiful. SONC looks forward to working with VCC to develop a program that will focus on Sherman Oaks. We’ll be looking for volunteers. Think about what simple things you and your neighbors can do to help our community.
SONC Elections 2023
It seems a little early, but I want you to keep in mind that SONC elections are not that far off, elections are scheduled for the Spring 2023. Please become involved in your community. Learn about your Neighborhood Council. More on this over the coming months.
As we continue to be challenged by the pandemic and all the daily challenges and complexities of life in Los Angeles, please be respectful and kind to others. Kindness is important.
Thank you for being an engaged member of our Sherman Oaks community and of the San Fernando Valley.
Please stay safe. Pray for Ukraine.
Jeffrey Hartsough
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To view webinar details,
May 3rd, 2022, 6:00pm
May 5th, 2022, 6:30pm
May 9th, 2022, 6:30pm
May 10th, 2022, 6:30pm
May 16th, 2022, 6:30pm
May 17th, 2022, 7pm
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Please see calendar*
Please see calendar*
May 19th, 2022, 6:30pm
May 24th, 2022, 7pm
May 25th, 2022, 6:30pm
*=Visit Committee page to confirm date & time.
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Not sure what area you live in and who your
Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council representative is? Email SONC.Newsletter@gmail.com with your address or cross-streets with the navigational direction -- we will help you out!
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You may have noticed our intro photo above in the masthead kind of looks like a familiar spot somewhere in Sherman Oaks! Well it is, or was! This is a view from the early 1970's looking northwest from high up on the corner of Ventura Blvd and Sepulveda Blvd. (Sepulveda is on the lower right). Directly in the center is where the very popular Sherman Oaks Galleria is located today. Off in the distance, the interchange of the 405 and 101 Freeways is visible, with the Sepulveda basin further on, and the Santa Susana Mountains off in the background at the north side of the valley.
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Virtual SONC Meetings – Join Us
On March 12, 2020, the City, in response to the pandemic, suspended all meetings, activities, and events of SONC. We missed the annual Spring Tree Giveaway. We missed you at our meetings. In May 2020, SONC began to hold “virtual” meetings. These “virtual” meetings are held by way of teleconferences and video conferences.
Information about the meetings and how to “join in” is available on the SONC website: www.shermanoaksnc.org. Please give us your feedback and comments.
The next SONC Board meeting
will take place on May 9th, 2022 at 6:30pm.
We hope that you will join us for a Q & A with California State Assembly District 44 Candidate Barry Curtis Jacobsen.
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May 9th, 2022 -- SONC Board Meeting
To join SONC's virtual board meeting on
May 9th, 2022 at 6:30pm.
By Telephone:
By the Internet:
(1) Follow link:
(2) Press “Enter”
Or from a Zoom “Enter the Meeting” Screen:
(2) Press “Enter”
(3) Enter your Email Address and Your Name, and
(4) Press “Enter”
Did you miss a SONC Meeting that you wanted to attend?
SONC meetings that are conducted using the Zoom Video-teleconferencing platform are now being recorded for playback. All recorded meetings are playable by clicking the associated meeting date links found on the committee page on the SONC website.
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You can subscribe to SONC's
Early Notification System via the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to receive all agendas for both board meetings and committee meetings.
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We want your input on Metro's Draft 2022 Public Participation Plan!
Every three years, the Federal Transit Administration requires that Metro update its Public Participation Plan as part of its Title VI Program Update.
Metro has updated their 2019 Plan for 2022 and wants public input to help make this Plan the best it can be!
This Plan also guides all of Metro's outreach efforts to gather important public input on possible changes to fares, bus and rail service, new projects in planning, construction and other programs, and plans and initiatives that we want to ensure your voice is heard on.
The Plan is open for public comment from April 27 until May 27, 2022. Read the Plan and tell us what you think!
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SONC Outreach Committee
Harold Shapiro, Chair
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In celebration of Earth Day weekend, on Saturday April 23rd, 2022 the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council in partnership with Los Angeles City Plants conducted a free tree giveaway event at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks War Memorial Park.
200 trees in 5 gallon pots were distributed to the 100 plus residents who showed up to adopt. The varieties of young trees included fruit bearing Pomegranates and Persimmons, while shade trees included African Sumac, Olive, Sweet Bay, Peppermint, Pink Trumpets, Crape Myrtle, Chinese Flame, Chinese Pistache and Bronze Loquat.
The SONC 'Say Hello To Spring Tree Giveaway' was an annual event conducted every year, traditionally in late March, but was put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year's giveaway event was the first held since 2019.
While all the trees from this year's Earth Day Giveaway event were distributed at the park on Saturday, residents can still obtain free shade trees, delivered to their homes, directly from City Plants. Visit the City Plants website at https://www.cityplants.org for more information and to order on-line.
SONC members helping out at the Earth Day Spring Tree Give Away event (from left to right:) Cheryl Shapiro, Harold Shapiro, Christy Adair, Howard Katchen, Jeffrey Hartsough, Kira Durbin, Lindsay Imber, Stacey Segarra-Bohlinger and Thelma Mericle. Also hosting but not pictured were Lisa Petrus, Pamela Harris, Barbara McDermott, Penny Johnson, and Cissy Varkey-Altamirano. For more pictures from this event please visit the gallery page.
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SONC Green & Sustainability Committee
Kathy Shaffer, Committee Member
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Sustainable Living
Approximately 40% of CO2 emitted worldwide is from buildings. Of those emissions, 28% are from building operations that include heating, water heating and gas appliances. The other 12% is from embodied carbons- the CO2 generated from extraction, transport, manufacture and installation of building materials.
Home electrification, as well as “intelligent efficiency” are viable options for new construction as well as retrofits when appliances are due to be replaced. The time to research and plan for electrification is BEFORE your current HVAC, water heater, dryer, stovetop or oven are no longer working.
Check out these websites for more information:
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Our Green & Sustainability Committee meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month. Please join us for our next Virtual meeting in June to help with local and city wide issues.
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Budget Advocates
Howard Katchen
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Current Budget Advocate activities
Our focus at the moment is on meeting with City departments senior staff and drafting recommendations and reports about our thoughts on their budgets and the services they provide Angelenos.
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Once we get a better feel on what is coming, we will start drafting the annual White Paper and hope to have it and the reports out to everyone by January.
The Budget Advocates are always looking for people to work with us on our various projects shining a light on the City budget process and ensuring that the City prioritizes the services our tax dollars are supposed to provide
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LA City Council Reviews Mayor's 2022-23 Proposed Budget
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The Los Angeles City Council will be conducting a Public Hearing on and consideration of the Mayor’s Proposed Budget for the City of Los Angeles for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The Public Hearing and consideration of the Proposed Budget is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at 10:00 am, in the John Ferraro Council Chamber, Room 340, City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Mayor Eric Garcetti's Summary presentation of the City of Los Angeles' proposed 2022-2023 Fiscal budget can be viewed on-line here.
Listening To, Attending,
and Providing Public Comment
City Council meetings will be broadcast live on Cable Television Channel 35, on the internet at https://clerk.lacity.org/calendar, and on YouTube. The live audio of the hearing will be available via telephone at: (213) 621-CITY (Metro), (818) 904-9450 (Valley), (310) 471-CITY (Westside), and (310) 547-CITY (San Pedro Area).
Members of the public may also attend City Council meetings in-person. Public comment will be taken in-person, only, and not via teleconference. Please note that, pursuant to Mayoral directives, proof of Covid-19 vaccination or proof of a negative Covid-19 test within the prior 72 hours will be required to enter the City Hall building, and indoor masking will be required regardless of vaccination status. Written comments may be submitted to the Office of the City Clerk prior to the hearing. Please reference Council file no. 22-0600 in all correspondence.
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Subscribe to SONC's
Early Notification System via the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to receive all agendas for council meetings and committee meetings.
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Please check out this next section as it has information from CD4, LAUSD, Sherman Oaks Library and all our partner organizations that are seeking volunteers. Stay informed and share!
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Here is what's happening in the neighborhood
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Senior Emergency Meal Program:
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Now through June 2022, adults aged 60+ living in the City of Los Angeles can get up to 2 meals delivered per day to their home from the Department of Aging’s emergency supplemental meal program for seniors.
To sign up, please call the Senior Emergency Meal Hotline at (213) 202-5669
and/or
The meal service is as follows: 1 "meal box" is 7 meals consisting of breakfast and lunch. Meal boxes are either delivered weekly or 2 meal boxes can be delivered 2 times a week for a total of 14 meals. A robo-call, text, or email will be made to each client the day before each delivery.
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CD4 Transportation & Traffic Safety Requests
Councilmember Raman understands the importance that transportation issues have to our quality of life. The Council office wants to ensure that constituents' voices are being heard for requests related to transportation and traffic safety in our district. Ultimately, voicing concerns will potentially lead to the city undertaking improvements that will make our community safer and more accessible.
The CD4 office is currently using an on-line form to receive and track requests from constituents. The form is accessible here. Please fill out this form with any transportation and traffic safety requests.
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Los Angeles Unified School District Updates from Tammy Ramirez
Deputy Director of School and Community Engagement
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Hello Sherman Oaks Stakeholders,
I am filling in today for my colleague, Tammy Ramirez, who is currently out on parental leave. I’m happy to share that she delivered a healthy baby boy at the end of March! I’m stepping in this month to share a few updates on behalf of School Board Member Scott Schmerelson.
The first update is related to summer school. LAUSD is once again offering free, in-person summer school options to all families who want it. The registration window is now open. To learn more about the offerings and register your student(s), visit https://achieve.lausd.net/summerschool. I also want to highlight that the District will also be offering virtual enrichment courses free of charge. Click here to view the course offerings. The enrollment window for enrichment opens May 23.
This month, elections for the next LAUSD Student Board Member will be held via Zoom from 5 to 6 PM on May 11. LAUSD high school students will be able to meet the nine finalists and cast their vote. I’m excited to share that five of the finalists are from the San Fernando Valley.
Lastly, at a recent School Board meeting, the Board of Education approved the instructional calendar for the 2022-23 school year. For your information, the school year will begin on August 15, 2022 and end on June 15, 2023.
Please do reach out if you have any questions
Tara Vahdani
Policy & Outreach Deputy
Office of Board Member Scott M. Schmerelson
Los Angeles Unified School District
Gender Pronouns: She, Her(s)
Office 213.241.8333
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Sherman Oaks Martin Pollard Branch
Public Library Updates:
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Join us for another great used book sale at the Sherman Oaks Library to benefit our very own local library. The book sale will again be held outside on the patio and lawn in front of the library on Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 12 noon - 4:00 PM.
Select from a large assortment of quality children's books, fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, LPs, CDs and DVDs. Most books and media are $1 or less.
We have a one-time special offer for everyone who comes to the sale. Each person may choose up to 5 free LPs. Additional LPs may be purchased for $.25 each.
Sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Library.
And on May 16, at 6:15 pm, please join us for a free online storytelling event.
Watched Lord of the Rings? Then you've seen New Zealand. But there's so much more to this amazing country than its gorgeous scenery.
Even before Middle Earth, there were the Maori, the original people of New Zealand. Join us as we take a peek into their culture with songs, stories and a few surprises. You'll learn about their ceremonial dance, the haka, why the Maori rub noses upon greeting each other and even how the world was formed by the separation of Ranginui, the Sky Father, and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother.
Our guest speaker, popping in all the way from New Zealand is Louisa Tipene Opetaia, Of Māori and Samoan descent, Louisa was born in Aotearoa, New Zealand but calls herself a "global citizen" having spent many years living and working overseas including Australia, Japan and even Oceanside, California. She currently lives in South Auckland and works as the Cultural Affairs Coordinator at the United States Consulate General.
Use the link below to register for this free online event.
We hope to see you soon
Sherman Oaks Friends of the Library
SHERMAN OAKS FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY is an independent nonprofit organization serving the community by supporting the Sherman Oaks Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, through advocacy, financial and volunteer activities, and special events such as this.
Portions of this program will be photographed and/or recorded. By attending, you consent to your likeness possibly being used in electronic media for any purpose, including commercial and promotional. If you or a child in your care do not want to be photographed or recorded, please turn off your camera. Thank you.
For more information on the Sherman Oaks Public Library please visit their website:
Algunas partes de este programa serán fotografiadas y/o grabadas. Al asistir, das consentimiento de que tu imagen puede ser utilizada en medios electrónicos para cualquier propósito, incluidos comerciales y promocionales. Si tú o un menor bajo tu cuidado no desean ser fotografiados o grabados, apaga tu cámara web. Gracias.
For ADA accommodations, call 213.228.7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al 213.228.7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento
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Los Angeles City Planning
Revised Draft of Wildlife Ordinance Released
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On April 22, City Planning released a revised draft of the Wildlife Ordinance. The revised ordinance aims to promote wildlife habitat and connectivity within the Santa Monica Mountains between the 405 and 101 freeways, with the overall goal of maintaining essential habitat and wildlife corridors for animals and plants that are important to LA’s urban ecosystem.
The revised ordinance incorporates community feedback gathered over the last several years, including public comment that was received after the initial release of the ordinance. You can view the draft of the ordinance here.
For more information visit the LACP Wildlife Study here:
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Free Sustainability Webinars
From the Los Angeles County
Dept. of Public Works
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A series of free webinars to beautify your home and garden is being offered during the months of May & June by the LA County Dept. of Public Works. The Smart Gardening Webinars are approximately 45 minutes long followed by a 15-minute period to answer questions and take orders for compost bins. For those who are unable to attend, they have posted videos of the sessions. There are four core subjects being offered:
Intro to Composting: Learn about backyard and worm composting to create a rich soil amendment to nourish your garden.
Water-wise Gardening: Create a beautiful drought-tolerant landscape and learn about grasscycling to fortify your lawn.
Organic Gardening: Build healthy soil, grow herbs and vegetables, and address plant pests and diseases using organic methods.
Small-space Gardening: Learn to grow plants in containers and set up a small-space worm composting system.
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Masks are still required on
public transit in LA County:
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In a press release shared April 21, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced that masks will continue to be required on any public transportation within Los Angeles County. This includes buses, subways, trains, taxis, and ride-shares. Masks will also continue to be required within transit stations, airports, terminals, and any other indoor area serving as a transportation hub.
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Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power
is Offering Free Landscaping Design Services
to Transform Your Turf
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Are you interested in saving water and money on your bill? As an LADWP customer, you can get free landscape design services for transforming your landscape to be more drought tolerant. The design can be submitted along with your turf replacement rebate application. Planting and irrigation plans are provided at no cost to LADWP customers who wish to remove turf and replace it with low water use California Friendly® and native plants. The rebates for removing lawns and water hungry plantings are still in effect. With the coming hot summer months, and new watering rules going into effect, the time is right to replace.
The provided plans can be given directly to a licensed contractor for installation and also included is a simple guide on how to best hire a landscape contractor. The plans will include a storm water capture feature, such as a rain garden, in the design. Irrigation plans include use of water efficient drip irrigation systems.
Your newly installed garden will capture and reuse stormwater, recharge groundwater, prevent polluted runoff from flowing to the rivers and ocean, and provide food and habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Once your newly installed plants have been established, you will see the savings on your water bill.
To learn more about this free design program and to apply, visit the LADWP web site at:
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Volunteer with NHIFP
Take advantage of helping out your community.
North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry is looking
for volunteers.
To sign up, please visit:
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LA Food Bank Pantry
If you are interested in volunteering with the
LA Regional Food Bank, please visit this link here.
Questions, concerns, please email:
amartinez@lafoodbank.org
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L.A. Works
Join L.A. Works and learn about all the volunteer opportunities available here in our great City of Los Angeles!
Facebook - @laworks
Twitter - @LAWorksNow
Instagram - @laworksnow
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Volunteer with
The Valley of Change
The Valley of Change presents a volunteer opportunity on the Second Saturday of the month from 8:30 - 11:30 AM.
For more information please visit,
Stay connected:
IG: @TheValleyofChange
Twitter: @ValleyChange
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Interested in joining the LAPD Volunteer program?
For more information about Van Nuys Neighborhood Watch News please visit this link.
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Get Involved!
What interests you?
If you live, work, own property, own a business or belong to a non-profit organization, school or religious institution in Sherman Oaks, you are a stakeholder in Sherman Oaks. We hold monthly Board of Directors and various committee meetings which you are invited to attend to learn about and participate in your community. Join SONC's Mailing List today.
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The SONC Summer Movie Series In The Park Returns in June!
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Enjoying the Ziff Flyer? Have any feedback?
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Guide to Free Resources
