Northridge Vision 2025

CSUN's “Acasola A Cappella” group kicked off the second-annual Matador Day of Service as approximately 400 CSUN students and volunteers took to the streets on Sept. 10 in a school-wide effort to clean the campus and neighboring communities.   Matador volunteers spread out around campus and the surrounding community after gathering at Bayramian Lawn.   The event, which was designed to clean up campus and the neighboring Northridge community, was a huge success and much bigger than in 2015, said co-event organizer Don Larson. Students gathered at Bayramian Lawn at 8 a.m. for free breakfast and to meet their groups. The volunteers spent the rest of the morning doing beautification projects such as street sweeping, litter pick up and weed removal. After their projects, students returned for free lunch, games and a chance to win prizes. “Last year was primarily for freshman students, but this year everyone could join in,” Larson said. “This year we had about 400 p...

The end of the summer sees a number of projects completed or nearing completion.    Northridge Sparkle and Council District 12 have coordinated a series of projects that include a new design for the Parthenia median area, including the installation of a new illuminated flag pole, which will be dedicated this fall.   At the same time, the median will be landscaped with drought tolerant plants, improving its appearance and saving water. Don Larson, co-chair of Northridge Sparkle, is promoting the flag dedication event as, “healing all Americans after the November vote”.    The flag pole installation has been made possible through the donation of services by various city agencies, including the Bureau of Street Services, as well as a number of individual donations of time and money.   The drought tolerant landscaping is the result of a grant from the Department of Water and Power. Phase Three street repairs by the Bureau of Street Services...

According to the LA Times, homelessness increased in 2015 in the city and county of Los Angeles, leaving nearly 47,000 people in the streets and shelters despite an intensive federal push that slashed the ranks of homeless veterans by nearly a third, according to figures released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Nearly two-thirds of the homeless people tallied countywide, or 28,000, were in the city of Los Angeles, representing an 11% jump in January from a year earlier, a report from the agency stated. The county's homeless population grew 5.7%. Homelessness has increased steadily since 2013, as local officials struggle to identify funding for billion-dollar plans they approved this year to solve one of the region's most intractable problems. Tackling the local homeless issue is the goal of a program which highlights the cooperation of Northridge Sparkle and the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission.   Like other programs of the SFV Rescue M...

Saturday, June 11th inaugurated the first event of the newly constituted San Fernando Conservancy of the Museum of the San Fernando Valley. Six homes from the Corbin Palms housing development, designed by the renown midcentury architects Dan Palmer and William Krisel were opened to the public by their proud owners. The homes, built between 1953 and 1955, were precursors to their most well known work, their famous “butterfly” houses built in Palm Springs for the Alexander Construction Company. The Corbin Palms homes, which featured five original floor plans, plus a sixth house which was rebuilt as a two story home by the owner after a fire, share an open plan design, which makes relatively small homes seem larger as the outside spaces are brought inside by the use of many large windows, as well as an almost organic relationship to the lot, dotted with many small courtyard spaces. The homes on display share a common love of modern design and a dedication to preserving the midcen...

The first of a series of four summer art events on the evening of May 7 th has proved to be an instant success.   Due to the organizational skills of CJ Berina and his partners at Collective Lifestyle, the street was buzzing with activity in the early evening hours.   Music, dance, art and crafts were aplenty on Reseda Blvd at the intersection of Reseda and Rayen.   To revitalize a neighborhood, you need to involve the neighborhood.   This cannot be accomplished by just that simple recognition.   Each of the preceding events on the boulevard (first, the opening of the street improvements, then the three holiday events coordinated by CD 12) built upon each other to create the success of May 7 th .   That success would not have been possible without the others. What CJ Berina has been able to accomplish was to build on that success and program in a way that would speak to the hardest demographic to capture:   the young.   The street ...

 I am including this event from our neighbors in Canoga Park, because their summer art events were one of the influences on our own Reseda Blvd activities.  Make sure to check out at least one of their summer events.  Since 2011, the Canoga Park Improvement Association and 11:11 A Creative Collective have produced the Canoga Park Art Walk which brings over 200 artists, artisans, musicians and performers into the streets of Downtown Canoga Park. The artwalk season begins June 2016 and will be held on June 16th, July 21st and August 18th.  Initiated by the Canoga Park Improvement Association, supported by the  Canoga Park Neighborhood Council and produced by 11:11 ACC, Third Thirsdays in Canoga Park is the one and only artwalk of its kind in the San Fernando Valley.  Creatives from all over the Valley and beyond join in to take over the streets of Downtown Historic Canoga Park.  Over 200 artists and vendors fill booth spaces to show off and s...

Citrus Sunday is an annual, one-day citrus fruit collection drive sponsored by Councilmember Mitchell Englander, the local North Valley neighborhood councils, the Valley Interfaith Council and Food Forward.   Now in its 10 th year, the event collects thousands of pounds of ripe, fresh fruit that otherwise would go to waste and donates it to a number of local food banks.   With an over-abundance of citrus fruits in our area, Citrus Sunday is an easy and effective way to provide struggling San Fernando Valley families with healthy food that otherwise would go to waste Citrus fruit is specifically selected for the drive because of its abundance in the area, due to the agricultural history of the San Fernando Valley.   Right now, thousands of North Valley residents have ripe oranges, lemons and grapefruit right in their own back yards in quantities too large for their personal consumption.   If you are one, it’s easy to participate in this wonderful event! Just pi...