City of Angles

A A A Comments (5) By L.A. Weekly readers Saturday, Mar 6 2010

Now that L.A. charges for metered street parking until 8 p.m., including Sundays, people are tired and they sure as hell aren't going to take it anymore! Well, er, at least that's what they're muttering in response to Michael Goldstein's piece "Parking: A Fine Mess" (Feb. 26):

"My family and I lived in Southern California for many years," writes Cindy Henning. "We packed up our three small children two and a half years ago and moved to Clarksville, Tennessee. After reading this article I remember why we left. California is known country-wide as a money pit."

Julie, who has not yet moved to Tennessee, notes that "the parking fines in L.A. are out of hand and ludicrous. In general there is not enough parking for residents in this city. Poor apartment dwellers are at a huge disadvantage. The meter maid waits like a tiger ready to pounce on your car. The weekly street-cleaning forces people to move their cars at the crack of dawn and circle the neighborhood to find a spot."

And someone who wishes to be called ParkingTicketGame adds, "The fines associated with parking tickets and towing in large cities have got to be capped. They are getting to a point where they are ridiculous and go beyond what they were meant to do, which is to remind the motorist to follow parking regulations. As we at parkingticketgame.com research and see, these fines have become a multibillion-dollar–a-year industry all because a driver forgot to move a car or pay a meter."

Final word (at least this week) on this subject goes to Jocelyn, a former Angeleno: "When I was young and poor and living in La-La Land, I seriously LOST my car to the city of L.A. for a few unpaid parking tickets. The fines to get it back were so high that I had no choice but to surrender the car to the city. Now I'm old(er) and rich and live in N.Y. — and guess what? I still don't drive. Cabs and subways for me. Everyone asks me why I left all that sunshine and I tell them the city of L.A. took all my money and then stole my car. I am so happy to be free from all that car-owning bullshit. I'd rather be freezing in N.Y.!"

Freezing in N.Y. or getting iced in L.A. ... such is our choice. Or we could all join the Hennings in Clarksville, Tennessee. Hmmm ...

99 THINGS TO EAT IN L.A. BEFORE YOU GET YOUR NEXT PARKING TICKET
Between last week's cover story by Jonathan Gold ("99 Things to Eat in L.A. Before You Die," Feb. 26) and our annual foodie-heaven event, the Gold Standard, wherein many top restaurants serve a dish or two to event-goers, it was a fun week for L.A. food, if we do say so ourselves. But as anyone who has ever blogged about food knows, foodies are not necessarily nicies, and often they are less than satisfied.

David says, "It reads like the hipster list of what to eat in L.A. to be cool."

Matt says, "You seriously didn't include Roscoe's??? Are you crazy? And I know it's in big bad scary Watts, but you could have thrown in those monster burgers at Hawkins House of Burgers, too. But that's forgivable. Not including Roscoe's is completely unforgivable. You have no credibility with me."

Mike says, "Matt is right about Hawkins. What about grilled Dodger Dogs and Busy Bee Sandwich in San Pedro?"

HT says, "Foie gras?? You should have titled this '99 things to eat in L.A. before they are banned in California in 2012 because of health-code and animal-cruelty concerns.' "

JoeJejune says, "Where's the Persian food? Ghormeh sabzi, fesenjoon, tahdig???"

Charles wonders, "With such a huge Salvadoran community in L.A. and a pupusa spot on almost every block, I'm astonished, being Salvi, that there is no Salvadoran spot listed. Great list, but you even managed an Ethiopian spot. There are more Salvadorans on my block than Ethiopians in L.A."

What can we say? Reader Eddie Lin sums it all up for us: "You can never make everyone happy."

And remember, folks, there's always next year's list. Will Roscoe's be on it? Pupusas? Stay tuned ...

METER MAIDS HAVE FEELINGS, TOO, MAN
Okay, we lied —a few more words on the parking problem, these from the other side: "As a parking-enforcement officer for one of our local cities," writes Officer X, "I must take exception to the cartoon you chose to run on page 11 of your most recent issue (Feb. 19). The cartoon depicts us [parking-enforcement officers] as vultures. We certainly are an easy target but I can assure you, we're not 'out to get' anyone. We are just there (doing our jobs) as a result of bad behavior on the part of the person who parked over the allotted time, or where the sign said not to, or on the lawn, or blocking someone's driveway. You get the idea. If everyone obeyed the parking rules, we would just drive right by. A perfect day for us would be to write zero tickets, which the city wouldn't like, I'm sure (where I am we don't have a quota). The fact that we'd be out of a job if this were the case is not lost on us either. But that'll never happen due to the nature of human beings. Please, folks, if you don't want to see us, take responsibility and do the right thing. We thank you. Check out my blog ParkingIsSuchStreetSorrow.blogspot.com for more."

Well, that just proves it: Everyone has a blog!

SWEAR TO GOD, WE REALLY DO WANT YOUR LETTERS
Rant or rave, rain or shine, we don't care. But we do want a name and some contact info. No cowards here: readerswrite@laweekly.com.

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doris mandel 03/10/2010 5:50:00 AM

why don't you have a category under restaurants for the San Fernando Valley
doris mandel 03/10/2010 5:47:00 AM

WHEN YOU LIST ALL THE RESTAURANTS IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY, YOU DON'T HAVE ONES FOR SAN FERNANDO VALLEY.
Charles Klasky 03/07/2010 12:59:00 PM

PRESS RELEASE IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Charles Klasky 213.447.2864 Interviews Available with Board Certified Sleep Specialists Spring Forward without Losing a Step: Adjusting to Daylight Saving Time Each Spring, we move our clocks forward one hour as we return to Daylight Saving Time, and the joy of lingering summer evenings. Yet, for many Americans, that “lost” hour of sleep comes a very steep price. A recent survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) shows that more than one-fourth of America’s adults—about 50 million people—do not get enough sleep to stay alert the next day: for work, for driving, or for coping with the stresses of their daily activities. In fact, the same survey found that the average American adult gets only 6.9 hours of sleep, more than an hour less than eight hours of sleep, considered by many sleep experts to be necessary for good health and emotional well-being. Each year, the NSF sponsors “National Sleep Awareness Week®,” encouraging Americans to examine—and improve—their overall sleeping habits. This year, National Sleep Awareness Week® runs from March 7-14, culminating with the return to Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday, March 14. Sleep experts across the country will be participating in public educational programs, media interviews, and workshops, all in an effort to increase our awareness of the importance of sleep, improve the quality of our sleep, and how we can minimize the impact of the hour of sleep “lost” to Daylight Saving Time. Who Needs Sleep? • Adults who get 6 hours of sleep (or less) per night have a 70% mortality rate compared to adults getting 7 to 8 hours per night. • Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are estimated to cost Americans over $100 billion each year in lost productivity at work, medical expenses, sick leave, and work-related accidents. • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says about 100,000 police-reported crashes each year are caused by drowsy drivers, at an annual cost of 71,000 injuries, 1,500 deaths, and over $12.5 billion in property losses. This figure doesn’t even measure the social costs of lost, disrupted, or disabled lives. When clocks are set back an hour in the spring, car accidents go up. According to a 1998 study of the effects of daylight savings time, researchers found a 17% increase in the number of accidents on the Monday following the time change. Researchers offered two possible explanations of this dramatic increase in accidents: 1) drowsy driving because of the sleep deprivation; and 2) the lack of ambient light during the morning commute, since the sunrise was “delayed” one hour. However, since the accidents occurred throughout the Monday after Daylight Saving, the more likely conclusion is that the increase in accidents resulted from sleep deprivation. Dr. Yury Furman, Board Certified Sleep Specialist and Medical Director of Pacific Sleep Medicine in Los Angeles, says, “As sleep specialists, we want everyone to be more aware of the importance of developing and maintaining good sleep habits throughout the year—not just during these time changes. We also want to encourage adults and children tell their doctor about any problems they have sleeping, or if they experience periods of excessive daytime sleepiness.” Dr. Furman adds, “there are a number of simple steps we can all take to minimize the effect of the time change, and more quickly adjust to our new schedule. • Gradually advance your sleep schedule by going to sleep and waking up 15 to 20 minutes earlier each day for 3 to 4 consecutive days prior to March 14. • Spend 30-45 minutes before bedtime in a relaxing routine, like soaking in a warm bath, yoga or slow stretching exercises. • Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool. • Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol close to bedtime, as these substances can disrupt sleep. • Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. • When you first wake up, turn on all of the lights in the house. Remember, it will be dark outside when you wake up for the next six weeks. So, indoor lighting can help your body get a sense of “morning” and help you brain “wake up.” • Once you have established a regular bedtime and wake time schedule, keep to that schedule. • If you continue to experience trouble sleeping, or excessive daytime sleepiness, talk it over with your doctor. This may be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder, which can be harmful to your health. For more information: Pacific Sleep Medicine 6333 Wilshire Boulevard –Suite 402 Los Angeles, CA 90048 323-782-9894
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Spiffy 03/05/2010 5:27:00 PM

Can we have an article about outrageous traffic violation ticket costs next and what a racket that is? That is truly taxation without representation. Maybe you could do an article on where the LAPD stalks its victims....I mean, potential traffic law violators? Maybe it's time for me to move? My hometown doesn't seem to like me.