The city can't afford to hold this year's Echo Park Lotus Festival, reports the Eastsider LA blog, which means that the event will be canceled unless the community or a private organizer steps forward. Additionally, the LA Times reported yesterday on suggested cuts coming to the city’s parks department, noting the following could be affected:
"Maintenance at scores of sports courts and fields would be scaled back to once or twice a month instead of once a week. Some fields would be refurbished every two years instead of annually, and there will be less money for rodent control at athletic fields, such as those in Griffith Park. At many city pools, officials are looking at slicing daily operations by two hours daily and closing some year-round pools on Sundays....In parts of Griffith Park and Runyon Canyon, officials are considering cleaning up less frequently after dogs in the off-trail areas — from every two weeks to once a month — and reducing trail maintenance. City workers would motor-sweep the L.A. River bikeway 35 weeks a year instead of weekly."
The Daily News also weighs in on the parks issues, quoting city officials who worry that gangs will move into "unclaimed parts" of the potentially understaffed parks. Perhaps the rodents could be hired to patrol the parks? Additionally, if some parks drop organized sports at certain parks, City Councilwoman Janice Hahn said "she was concerned that it might require a youngster to travel several miles to participate in a sports league."
