PRESS RELEASE: ASSEMBLYMAN GATTO HONORS BEACHWOOD CANYON RESIDENT MEG GILL, OWNER OF ATWATER VILLAGE’S GOLDEN ROAD BREWERY AS SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Earlier this week, it was awesome to honor Meg Gill, of Golden Road Brewery, as our district's Small Business of the Year!

ASSEMBLYMAN GATTO HONORS BEACHWOOD CANYON RESIDENT MEG GILL, OWNER OF ATWATER VILLAGE’S GOLDEN ROAD BREWERY AS SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Sacramento, CA – Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) honored local business owner Meg Gill and Atwater Village’s Golden Road Brewery on Monday, June 16, 2014 at the California Small Business Day Awards Ceremony in Sacramento.  The annual awards ceremony honors the contributions of small businesses to the State of California. 

“Meg Gill and Golden Road Brewery are an inspiration to us all,” said Assemblyman Gatto.  “Her entrepreneurship creates jobs and helps other young women to believe that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible.”

Meg Gill, the co-founder of the Golden Road Brewery, was nominated by Assemblyman Gatto for her tireless dedication to building a successful small business that gives back to the community as much as it takes.  At 28-years-old, Gill is the youngest female brewery owner in the country, was recently named to Forbes magazine’s 30-under-30, and her brewery is the largest craft brewery in Los Angeles County.  But more importantly, in addition to building a vibrant small business, Gill and Golden Road co-founder Tony Yanow have also remained focused on building a vibrant Los Angeles.

"We're incredibly grateful for the support we've received from Assemblyman Gatto and the city of Los Angeles to help us, and fellow breweries, cultivate and drive demand for craft beer and its community-driven culture,” said Gill.  “In under three years, Golden Road has grown to more than 150 employees and brings 20,000+ visitors a week to our restaurant and pub.  Being recognized as the Small Business of the Year will help us continue to foster our commitment to local organizations such as Heal the Bay and the Greenway 2020 project.”

Founded in 2011, Golden Road Brewery produces and distributes its beers using environmentally sustainable production methods, and utilize their restaurant and brewery to create meaningful contributions to the community.  They have partnered with local nonprofit organizations, including Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation, to help support socially- and environmentally-minded projects such as producing a specific craft beer called the Greenway IPA to support the Los Angeles River Greenway 2020 project. 

“Local businesses and their owners are the backbone of a strong local and state economy,” said Gatto.  “It is important that we recognize these businesses for their innovative and positive contributions to our neighborhoods and economy.”

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly.  He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.  www.asm.ca.gov/gatto 

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Time marches on: Parking meters in political dispute

By John Howard - Capitol Weekly | 08/21/13 12:00 AM PST
(Editor's Note: The following story appeared originally in California City News.)

Most people know little about parking meters except that they always run fast.

But those meters have figured in a political dispute this year pitting motorists against the cities, the cities against the state and the drivers against just about everybody. Gov. Brown, meanwhile, has weighed in on the side of the drivers.

At issue is what happens when a driver parks at a broken meter? How is the charge set? Does the motorist get a ticket, even though the elapsed time is unknown? Some drivers say they get gouged and they have no recourse. Some cities say the meters are deliberately broken so drivers will escape paying.

For the cities, the answer is simple: It’s up to them to decide...

...The governor disagreed.

He signed legislation, AB 61 by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, requiring the cities to have a uniform policy statewide. The new law takes effect Jan. 1 and will remain in effect for three years unless otherwise renewed by lawmakers. It allows a motorist to park in a space with a broken meter for up to the maximum amount of time set by parking enforcement officials, without getting a ticket.

Gatto said his bill was prompted in part by an NBC report in L.A. that showed the city had issued 17,000 parking tickets in a single year for meters that were reported as malfunctioning.

“’Local control’ does not provide a right to fleece taxpayers,” he said in a written statement following the governor’s Aug. 12 action. “The question of parking at a broken meter should not be up for review or reconsideration every six months, nor should motorists be subject to confusing ordinances as they drive from city to city.”

Traditionally, the cities operate the meters, enforce the parking ordinances, set the rates and decide how to handle the money they collect. It’s been like that since the 1930s, when traffic-clogged, revenue-starved cities saw the potential in parking meters. In a city like Los Angeles, with some 38,000 parking meters and some $150 million annually from parking tickets, this means big money and major government activity that interacts in a direct way with the citizenry. At any one time, perhaps 10 percent of the meters are broken, although the breakage rate for the new electronic meters is far less -- of the thousands of new meters only a handful have broken, the city says.

In crowded, space-limited San Francisco, parking enforcement is aggressive, partly because it is seen as an anti-congestion tool. In San Francisco, they take parking violations seriously, with fines ranging from $46 for a simple transgression, $74 for an expired meter in the downtown core and $880 for misusing a handicapped placard.

The cities see parking enforcement as part of local jurisdiction. When meters are broken, a motorist can leave a note on the car explaining the situation, and that typically avoids a potential ticket – if the motorist doesn’t stay in the space longer than the legal limit that would have applied with the meter in place.

A flickr user, Atwater Village Newbie, posted this photo of a
broken parking meter, along with the question,
"Why are so many parking meters along Glendale Boulevard in
Atwater Village so often out of order?"
(Photo from www.flickr.com/)

The problem is, the meters get broken and aren’t speedily fixed.

“We have a severe problem with the meters always being broken,” said Luis Lopez, a board director of the Chamber of Commerce in Atwater Village, a community of about 16,000 in northeast Los Angeles. “The city of Los Angeles is not very quick to fix those meters. There could be a $250 fine for parking at a broken meter and the city wouldn’t fix them.” The high fine and the broken meters discourage people from parking and patronizing businesses, which is at the heart of Lopez’s concern.

“Parking is a big issue in our community. As far as business owners go, we rely on good parking,” he added.

Last year, a bill similar to Gatto’s AB 61 was approved, SB 1388 by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, which allowed cities to participate in to a statewide parking meter enforcement regulation. But Gatto said loopholes in the law enabled cities to restrict parking, prompting the latest bill.

The cities had signed off on the earlier legislation, because the locals could decide whether to opt in – or not.

“Triple A came to us because their members were expressing frustration because they didn’t know what the statewide policy was,” said Jennifer Whiting of the League of California Cities. “In some cities you could park, in some cities you couldn’t park. In particular, Mr. Gattos’ bill was promoted in the L.A. area, and L.A. had taken a second look at the ordinance.”

After receiving complaints from motorists, the L.A. City Council repealed the ordinance allowing ticketing at broken meters, but left open the possibility of revisiting the issue after six months. Gatto’s bill bars L.A. from looking at the issue gain in six months...

You can read the rest of the article by visiting Capitol Weekly's website HERE

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Mike Gatto chairs the Appropriations Committee in the California Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.

Atwater Village Named LA's Neighborhood of the Year

Congrats to Atwater Village for being named LA's "Neighborhood of the Year." (It beat out Silver Lake, which is also in my district...)

From Curbed LA:

Congratulations to Atwater Village, the winner of the 2012 Curbed Cup forLA's Neighborhood of the Year! The river-adjacent brunch zone, which this year got to work on less parking and more parks, was seeded low in the pack (at 11), but obviously just wanted it more--it beat out favorites Santa Monica,Historic Core, Hollywood, and finally Silver Lake to nab the title. (Sidenote: does this mean Silver Lake is cool again?) There is talk of a parade to celebrate the win; for grand marshal, we recommend either new resident/actor/ScientologistGiovanni Ribisi or a particularly good pain au chocolat from Proof.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/01/atwater_village_is_las_2012_neighborhood_of_the_year.php

[Mike Gatto] Sunnynook Park Highlights Cooperation in Tough Economic Times

Recently, I participated in an event that exemplified the great things we can accomplish through federal, state, local and community cooperation. This project—the groundbreaking for a new park—demonstrated when government and communities work together, we can preserve our environment and make our neighborhoods better.

On July 25th, I joined with Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Commander Col. Mark Toy; Los Angeles City Council members Tom LaBonge, Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes; representatives of the Bureau of Engineering; the Dept. of Recreation and Parks, and numerous community organizations to break ground on Sunnynook Park.  Senior citizens from the Griffith Park Community Center and cyclists on the Los Angeles River Bicycle Path will find the park particularly well situated as each will have a new place to rest and relax along the riverfront.

Sunnynook Park will be a 3.4 acre park located along the bike path on the narrow stretch of land between the Los Angeles River and Interstate 5. The park is located on land owned by the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power and CalTrans, using funds from the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy and the State Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation (EEM) Grant Program.  Plans have taken a cooperative effort by many government agencies as well as community organizations such as Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR).As part of the Los Angeles River Master Plan, Sunnynook will not only create more green space within our community but will also improve accessibility to the river, expand adjacent native habitat by removing invasive—exotic species and planting additional native plants—and provide river-related environmental education.

Sunnynook Park demonstrates that even in tough economic times, cooperation facilitates progress.  I invite you to share with me additional ideas of how State government can work with you to serve and improve our communities.

Read this article and more at the Los Feliz Ledger by clicking HERE

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Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Silver Lake.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto

Gatto Breaks Gound on Sunnynook River Park

Sunnynook River Park groundbreaking: golden shovels lifting ceremonial soil. Visible from left to right City Engineer Gary Moore, Councilmember Garcetti, Councilmember Reyes, Councilmember LaBonge, Recreation & Parks Assistant General Manager Kevin Regan, FoLAR founder Lewis MacAdams, and State Assemblymember Mike Gatto

July 25, 2012  Before a crowd of about 90, the city of Los Angeles broke ground on Sunnynook River Park this morning. The new Atwater Village park will be located in the mostly vacant area on the southwest bank of the Los Angeles River, between Glendale Boulevard and Los Feliz Boulevard – immediately downstream of the Sunnynook footbridge. The ceremonies were lead by Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, and included remarks from representatives from various city, state, and federal agencies and groups.

Friends of the L.A. River’s Lewis MacAdams speaks at the Sunnynook Park groundbreaking

Speakers included LaBonge, City Councilmembers Ed Reyes and Eric Garcetti, City Recreation and Parks Assistant General Manager Kevin Regan, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority’s Lisa Soghor, FoLAR’s Lewis MacAdams, Trust for Public Land’s Carolyn Ramsay, City Engineer Gary Moore, and Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Mark Toy.

L.A. Creek Freak wrote about the planned 3.4-acre Sunnynook River Park back in 2008 when it was being planned, and in 2009 when LADWP approved the park existing under their power lines. Though it’s not a big project, it’s been delayed a bit by state and city budget shortfalls.

Location of the planned Sunnynook River Park (from LAist)

It’s a fairly small all-natural, all-passive park, accessible mostly via the L.A. River bike path and via the footbridges that cross the 5 Freeway and the river. The site has had its problems over the years. It’s bordered by the 5 Freeway and the river, so it has been home to homeless encampments, mostly on the freeway-side of the site, maintained by the state transportation department Caltrans. Hopefully the park improvements can create a green space where everyone feels welcome and safe.

Construction gets underway now, and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.

Article from LA Creek Freak - Read this story at LA Creek Freak HERE 

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Mike Gatto is the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.  He represents the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.  He has served in the Assembly since June 2010.  E-mail Mike at: assemblymember.gatto@assembly.ca.gov, or call (818) 558-3043.

Website of Assemblyman Mike Gatto: www.asm.ca.gov/gatto