Schiff Wants L.A. River to Remain an Urban Waterway

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) describes why the Los Angeles River should continue with renewal projects.

Rep. Adam Schiff released this op-ed Thursday. It originally appeared on the Los Feliz Ledger: In the past, many viewed the Los Angeles River as little more than a concrete channel winding its way through our backyards, often dry and ignored. But we have now come to recognize that the river’s 32-mile journey through the heart of Los Angeles provides us with an excellent opportunity to unite our communities around a new and exciting waterway. In fact, the river is an asset with the power to connect hundreds of thousands of Angelinos.  In 2007, the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan breathed new life into the L.A. River. Under the plan, a renewed River would be a continuous, functioning ecosystem that supports native fish, bird and…

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Susan R

8:36 am on Sunday, May 6, 2012

Councilmember Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes are termed out office so they will leave office having done nothing.   more ›

Filmmaker Asks 'What is Riverly?'

Pasadena filmmaker John Palacio's eight-minute documentary "Riverly" focuses on the cultural impact on the Los Angeles River.

What is Riverly? Pasadena filmmaker John Palacio's short documentary seeks to answer that question with insights from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, Boyle Heights Mural Raul Gonzalez and John Arroyo of the Arroyo Seco Foundation. Featuring some stunning cinematography, Palacio's short documentary provides visuals of rarely seen corners of the Los Angeles River that serve as a backdrop for the interview subjects' commentary. "Los Angeles is Los Angeles because of this river," Garcetti says. "Downtown is here becuase of this river. It's not on the coast ... this is where the pueblo first came to." Added Arroyo, "it may not look like other rivers in London and Paris, the Thames the Seine, but it is what we …

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The View From Jack Smith's Street

Environmentalist Invites Locals to Try Life on the River

George Wolfe, President and Founder of L.A. River Expeditions, hopes to help Angelenos get up close and personal with the L.A. River in NELA-adjacent stretches of the iconic waterway.

The L.A. River is the most amazing place that Angelenos never see. A few months ago, I participated in a six hour clean-up of the L.A. River in the Glendale Narrows/Elysian Valley area near the Northeast L.A.-adjacent Los Angeles Bike Path.  There were islands, trees, vegetation and birds in the rocky bottom of the river.  Even after that short amount of time in the green riverbed, it was strange to climb up the steep concrete walls that line the waterway’s banks--the result of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “channelization” of the river after a catastrophic flood in 1938. Also strange?  I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 40 years, and this was the first time I was able to explore the river that is such a vital part of the city’s development…

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