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NC Almanac - August 19-26 |
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2002
Nearly 1,000 residents, business owners and employees came to the Central Library and elected the first ever Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council board of directors.
Almost 900 absentee ballots were collected.
Because of its unique mix of workers and residents, the NC decided to hold the election on a workday.
Volunteer Leslie Taplin said, "For a lot of people, it was clear that it was the first time they'd ever voted."
Every night for several weeks, volunteers distributed absentee ballot applications, sometimes until 1 a.m.
At the polling place, social service providers, the homeless, and members of the arts community were the most heavily represented stakeholders.
USC professors Christopher Weare and Juliet Musso wrote in the Daily News that the 800 people who attended the first Congress of Neighborhoods at the Sheraton Universal Hotel provided proof that people want to get involved and reform the system. With the historic vote on secession nearing, the professors reminded readers that although the new NCs would be advisory, we should not confuse legal authority with political power.
2005
The Northridge West NC joined the Citizens to Preserve Northridge in collecting 1,000 signatures to oppose the building of a Wal-Mart in the community and pledging to fight the project in court over its impact on traffic. A new decision by the Court of Appeal required cities and Wal-Mart to study the potential economic impact of its proposed store on surrounding businesses.
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