Helicopter Noise Law Would Protect Westsiders From Buzz Endured By The Rest Of L.A.

george_abrahams

Dennis Romero is actually attacking the Representatives for "South L.A., Boyle Heights, Northeast L.A., the East Valley and Mid-City" for believing that "working class Los Angeles does not deserve 'peace and quiet'" because only "when wealthy Westsiders and West Valley residents speak up, [do] their government representatives listen".

ziggykruse2005

I love helicopters and their noise does not bother me. What bothers me, though, is that this article makes valid concerns about safety issues into a racially motivated divide.

If people in East LA, South LA or even downtown can't get their politicians to listen to them, then perhaps the good people in those areas need to stop voting for the "same old - same old" and start voting people into offices (local or statewide) that they feel can make a difference.

I've flown over the areas depicted here, and being close to the hills just so one can see "Charlie Sheen's" shiny behind does raise the question on how low one can go.

Staying at about 3,000 feet above those areas is nothing a good camera lens can't cover.

abramsrl

BTW, the Hollywood Hills and Los Feliz are not Westside communities.

abramsrl

This yellow journalism falls way way way below the standards of LA Weekly. In fact, it is the definition of Yellow Journalism.

"Yellow journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers." Wikipedia

This helicopter regulation is based on many community meetings where the residents presented facts to support their position that many of these helicopters do pose a problem, more than only noise. Had Romero attended any of these community meetings, then perhaps he could written something coherent rather than turn the ban into some type of race issue.

Perhaps Mr. Romero is so ill informed that he does not know that many Black people live in the hills, as well as Mexicans, and Gays, and all sorts of people. Their incomes are most likely higher than the incomes near 42 nd Street, but that does mean that the helicopter ban is some type of discrimination against others.

djromero moderator editortopcommenter

@abramsrl Actually, places west of downtown are Westside, in my opinion (Google my thoughts on Eastside vs. Westside).

For the record I live deep in the Westside. That's not the point. My point is that South L.A. and true Eastside (east of downtown) residents have been complaining about helicopter noise for decades, noise that's much worse than it is on the Westside. This has nothing to do with your meetings. What I'm saying is that when Westsiders, hill residents, and West Valleyites cry, politicians listen. The same can't be said for South L.A. folks.

abramsrl

@djromero @abramsrl Facts are nice. Perhaps you should include them in your article. Just because you think everything west of downtown is Westside does not mean that the term Westside applies to that whole area. Words have meaning and it would be better journalism to use words as people use them in every day life.

Westside is a generic term which generally starts around Beverly Hills and goes to the beach. West LA is understood to mean the area between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. BTW, where is Central Los Angeles? Have you bothered to learn LA's geography? Look at City Planning maps on line. Hollywood is in Central area.

"Politicians Listen to Constituents!!!" Wow, what a horrible thing. You should have made it a banner headline. How terrible. We must stamp out this evil trend towards democracy. What do you want? all politicians to be like to Garcetti?

Tell Maxine Waters that she isn't responsive to her constituents. What a demeaning and prejudiced position to paint all the office holder in South L.A. as not listening to their constituents.

Again, your article was Yellow Journalism and does great harm to LA Weekly.

djromero moderator editortopcommenter

@abramsrl http://www.laprogressive.com/3-morning/

http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2012/08/will-the-eastside-get-a-chance-to-sound-off-on-helicopter-noise/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120405160344AAqx3gr

http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2011/11/police-search-leaves-many-sleepless-in-silver-lake/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nelalist/message/5054

Yawn.

djromero moderator editortopcommenter

@abramsrl @djromero Sorry, my bad. What's west of downtown, the city's center, has obviously moved over time.

In terms of making this a "race-ethnic" issues, perhaps you should re-read the piece. I don't mention race or ethnicity.

In terms of Garcetti's representation of Hollywood or alleged lack thereof we've reported extensively on that.

In terms of people and their LAPD choppers: I'm sure many residents of the south and east sides appreciate and demand a solid police response, but people have been complaining about LAPD helicopters circling their neighborhoods for decades. The milieu has even made it into film. Google it. So only Westsiders, hillside residents and West Valley folks complain about helicopters while South L.A. residents love them?

As a Westsider myself, I've seen both types, and I can tell you, the LAPD flies much lower and louder than any news chopper I've seen. LAPD choppers go lower and circular. News choppers fly high and hover in place.

never said the department uses helicopters to torment people.

You seem to be battling half the time against things I never said.

abramsrl

@djromero @abramsrl If you want to go back to the late 1800's and early 1900's, then Hollywood would be considered west, but this is 2013. I did not say that West LA was the only area west of Beverly Hills.

Your article still was Yellow Journalism. It also had more than a tinge of race baiting. The Hills had a unique problem and the residents organized and approached their representatives for relief. You are the one who turned it into some sort of "race-ethnic" issue where Blacks and Mexicans and other Hispanic minorities do not have the same vigorous level of representation -- or maybe they do. You presented no facts to support your idea.

CD 13, for example, has found Garcetti deaf to residents as he hears only what the developers want in his pursuit to make Hollywood like Times Square. Hollywood is not in South LA. Unresponsive elected officials is not a phenomenon limited to certain parts of Los Angeles -- it exists wherever we have elected officials. Making elected representative responsive to the people is a huge problem and your pretending that it applies only to minorities is absurd.

Much of your article was similarly silly. You seem to think that people who live in South Central LA do not want police helicopters. The copters are used to follow criminal suspects. Are you suggesting that the LAPD should not bother following suspects and let them break into people's homes? Mostly likely not. You didn't bother to think through the implications of what you were writing as you have some type axe to grind, as evidenced by your lat sentence.

The LAPD does not use its helicopters to torment people in South L.A.

djromero moderator editortopcommenter

@abramsrl @djromero Actually angry guy, west of downtown is the historic westside, and a UCLA professor agreed with me.

Read this and learn: http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/07/westside_eastside_la_debate.php

West Los Angeles is a proper city community formerly known as Sawtelle. It does not go from Beverly Hills to Santa Monica. (What about Century City, Palms, Beverlywood, Rancho Park, Cheviot Hills, Brentwood, Westwood, etc. etc.).

There is no such formal community as "Central Los Angeles." There's Mid-City, Koreatown, Wilshire Vista, Hancock Park (the original Westside) and more.

I'll battle with you over the L.A. map any day.

Yeah, sorry pointing out that one part of town gets government action while a richer, whiter area does. That's such yellow journalism. Horrible.