Free Turkey Dinner at the "Connected Non-Profit Barrio Action" this Evening (** take out orders accepted)

Holla from LA-32!! Its Free Turkey Dinner Time tonight at Tammy Membreno's "Connected Non-Profit Barrio Action Youth and Family Center".

Thanks to Tammy's continuing funding from the likes of the GRYD Program, you can call in your To-Go Order. **BTW, any support from CD 14 Councilman Jose Huizar for this event?

**Thanksgiving Update: Apparently he did.

The "Connected Non-Profit" Tammy Membreno's Barrio Action Youth and Family Center hosts "Explicit Master Artist" Andrew Cervantes

The "Connected Non-Profit" Tammy Membreno's El Sereno Barrio Action Youth and Family Center, along with the El Sereno Community Arts and the DONE-approving LA-32 Neighborhood Council, presented "Master Artist" Andrew Cervantes (without any background vetting?).

Would Mayor Eric Garcetti approve of Tammy Membreno Barrio Action's hosting of "Master Artist" Andrew Cervantes upon reviewing the "Artistic Content" of his Facebook Page? 

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Vindictive Behavior of former Founding Board of Neighborhood Empowerment Commissioner Tammy Membreno the "Root Cause" of Exhaustive Measures against the LA-32 NC?

Recent emails (and DONE complaint) chronicles the "Do as I Say, Don't Do as I Do, Vindictive Behavior" of former Founding Board of Neighborhood Empowerment Commissioner, current Executive Director of the "Connected Non-Profit Barrio Action" and LA-32 NC Vice-President (before quiting the board, again) Tammy Membreno (** with help of a certain "El Sereno Delusional Society"/ LA-32 NC Board Member).   

Wonder what Mayor Eric Garcetti would think of his Mayoral Supporter's racially-tinged, vindictive ,insensitive email comments, considering the attacks on his ethnicity during the 2013 Mayoral Campaign.



** Blogger's Note: As the LA-32 Neighborhood Council nears tonight's first meeting under the punitive "Exhaustive Measures" of "Disempowerment LA", Board Members of the occupied NC will be dealing with the "vindictive, root reasons" behind the subjective actions taken against the community-elective body, as caused by former Vice-President Tammy Membreno (who quit the board, again). Ms. Membreno is no stranger to the Insider Community of Los Angeles Politics, back from her time as a young staffer to late, legendary CD-14 City Councilman Art Snyder, serving as a founding Commissioner of the Board of Neighborhood Empowerment (appointed by then Mayor Richard Riordan) and according to community members, allegedly, parleying her relationship with former CD 14 City Councilman Richard Alatorre, into her current position as the Executive Director of the longtime El Sereno, "Connected Non-Profit" Barrio Action (** which currently has no Board of Directors listed on its Website). Over the years, Barrio Action has served as the Fiscal Agent for the likes of the Bicentennial Parade Committee, the El Sereno Farmers Market and Councilman Huizar's "Winter Wonderland". In recent years, the former DONE Commissioner has served on the last three incarnations of the LA-32 NC, including the current board. During the last NC Board incarnation, Ms. Membreno, who did not seek re-election after serving under the Presidency of Hugo Garcia (who's board dysfunction we previously noted), manage to get herself appointed to a board vacancy and elected President (overseeing the noted CLARTS Fund Townhall Meeting, that allegedly prompted her soon after resignation due to political pressure), to counter the possibility of Rose Hills Activist Anthony Manzano assuming the position. For whatever reason (maybe dealing with past threats against her?) Ms. Membreno has held the Manzanos (both former LA-32 NC Member Joe Manzano and son, current LA-32 NC Treasurer Anthony) in low esteem. Sadly, it was those past issues, in my opinion, that have metabolized into a personal, vindictive vendetta against the Manzanos (and those like myself who sought to mitigate the personal nature of the dispute), along with other political motives that divided the board and brought about "Disempowerment LA's" punitive actions, due, in part, to the misguided allegations and comments in the disclosed emails (and complaint) below---Scott Johnson in "Disempowerment LA-occupied LA-32". 

-------- Original message --------

From: Scott Johnson
Date: 11/18/2013 2:41 PM (GMT-08:00)
To: Castro Connie ,anthony manzano ,tammy membrano ,eddie santillan
Subject: Re: LA-32 NC Executive Committee Meeting
Good Afternoon Connie,

For most part, I am in concurrence with your request. That said, its disappointing that our outstanding fiscal issues will have to now wait until the New Year for resolution.

I STRONGLY recommend that you seriously explore removing the Budget and Finance Committee Members who did not show up to last Friday's meeting (Tammy Membreno, Yolie Garcia.

Its obvious that this issue has become personal to the likes of Tammy Membreno and Yolie Garcia (** Yolie and her husband Jorge of the "El Sereno Delusional Society", have a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles over the recognition of the Rose Hills Community), which inhibits objective resolution of these issues. The required paperwork is all ready to be submitted but it would seem that some committee members want Anthony Manzano to resign as Treasurer first, before working on the behalf of the NC to finalize the pending resolution. 

With respects,

Scott Johnson

LA 32 NC Recording Secretary

** Tammy gets subjective, threatening and deviates from the truth with her response (which did not merit a response).

Nov 18, 2013 

Hello Connie

I thought I would take a minute to address Mr. Scott Johnson's current concern with the budget and finance committee and his assertion that now the issue has become "PERSONAL" with the likes of Tammy Membreno.  

Personal would mean that I have a been in a position to share my personal life  AND A INAPPROPRIATE INVOLVEMENT with Mr. Manzano and thus our PROFESSIONAL INTERACTIONS CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM ONE TO THE OTHER.

If Mr. Manzano was interested in my input on all the REQUIRED WORK FROM THE TREASURER that needed to be turned in at the next meeting, well his inability and stubbornness to place a courtesy call to figure out if I could make the meeting, made it impossible for me to know and plan ahead. I found out that a meeting was happening after getting a notice TWO DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING.

It is obvious from your request to have Ms. Garcia and my self remove from the committee, that you are his "personal" adviser since he is not the one requesting it and he is the Chair of the committee.  I have been clear in my desire to have Mr. Manzano either step up and accept and own his mistakes or be removed from the role that obviously even with all your advise,  and direction cannot do on his own (or in this case with your help).

Let also be clear Mr. Johnson that I will not take a passive position on your verbage when you describe my activities on the board.  You have no reason to continue to use words such as "high jacking" and openly lie at meetings on what actually happened at other meetings. This kind of language is of course obvious from the previous email that went out to some board members from Mr. Marquez and it is interesting that the "verbage" being used by the likes of you is that same as that was in that email.  I am not going to sit there and wait for you to cue me in as to how I need to vote or what to do.  You will not take disparaging lies and make them your truth because unlike others, I will seek legal action against you.

Let me refresh your memory Mr. Johnson - the meeting of November 19, 2013, was TO SERVE AS THE MEETING IN WHICH BOTH THE BOARD AND BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WOULD COME TOGETHER TO RESOLVE AND APPROVED NEEDED ITEMS.
Mr.  Johnson, you currently have the upper hand on the board; people are listening to you and following you and your lead.  It really does not matter why, whether you have done favors for them or bring them into the fold, you should use this leverage to get things accomplish for this board.  If you do not like the questions, do not think that by you raising your voice and trying to intimate or trying to imply in any way that some of us should not hold a place on the board, will keep me quiet.

I am confident of my skills in my tool box.  And there are many other board members that are equally confident but are disappointed and demoralized from some of the actions on the board.

Please feel free to call me so that you can report accurately my positions and intentions as a board member.  You have my number.

** Tammy's board supporter and El Sereno Delusional Society Member Yolie Garcia backs up her Barrio Action Mentor .......
Nov 19, 2013

Fellow Board Members,

My intentions were to compose and send this email when I learned about the Budget and Finance (B&F) Meeting scheduled by the committee chair, Anthony Manzano.  I first found out about the scheduled B&F meeting when Anthony emailed the agenda to the entire Board on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.  Prior to this notification, I had no idea there was going to be a B&F meeting on Friday the 15^th.  

In fact, I was looking forward to the November 19 Special Meeting to work on unfreezing the funds and moving past this unnecessary waste of time.  I was able to confirm my planned attendance to the November 19 meeting because it was scheduled with time and not last minute. Unfortunately, now we will all need to wait to a later date since the November 19 meeting will not be taking place due to lack of quorum.

Contrary to Scott Johnson’s opinion, I was unable to make arrangements with a 2-day notice to attend a 5:30 B&F meeting on Friday.  Like many of you I work full time, like some of you I dedicate time to other organizations, and like a few of you I have school-age children.  

I find it disrespectful of Scott Johnson to request for me to be removed from the B&F committee for missing a meeting scheduled with little notice and no consideration or courtesy of asking B&F committee members if they were available to attend.  At no time did the B&F chair ask if the time and day of the meeting worked for the members.

In addition, we would not be having this issue if the chair had scheduled regular monthly meetings as the rest of the committee chairs.  I have constantly asked for regular monthly B&F meetings.  I have also stated that the B&F meetings need to be working meetings to prepare the mandated paperwork to DONE.

Scott needs to take an un-bias look at the record, of all the past meetings that have been nothing but a waste of everyone’s times because the Treasurer Anthony Manzano failed to fulfill his duty.  It’s absurd for Scott to blame me for the past 3 months of the NC budget being frozen.  Why doesn’t he say something about getting rid of Anthony Manzano?  Scott is okay with Anthony Manzano who is the one who got the NC budget frozen and has kept it like that for 3 months.  However, if I miss a last minute meeting, he thinks he can blame me as if it has all been my fault.  That’s just ridiculous reasoning.

So for Scott to try to turn this situation into a personal matter is far from the truth.  If anything, Scott’s statements clearly show that he has some personal issue against me and/or Tammy Membreño.  If he can’t be enough of a man to include me in his e-mail when he is talking about me then maybe he needs to keep his sorry excuses to himself.

For the record, Anthony Manzano needs to schedule regular monthly meetings with input from the other committee members and take the necessary documents/paperwork to complete the tasks before us. If the NC funds remain frozen, it is not because Tammy and I missed the last B&F meeting.

Sincerely, 

Yolie Garcia

** In late December, 14 of the 21 LA 32 NC Board Members, used their power granted to them via the LA-32 Bylaws, to call a Special Meeting where all the outstanding fiscal issues were resolved, without Tammy Membreno, Connie Castro, Edward Santillan or Yolie Garcia in attendance. But that did not end Tammy's vindictive behavior as we continue below.....

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HACLA to open new Library in Ramona Gardens Housing Project

 How does a much-maligned public agency such as the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles work to change its tarnished image? You start with projects that truly benefit the tenants of its city-wide properties. Thus, HACLA is getting into the library business.

 Responding to community member's desires to have a neighborhood facility where children can access books and other forms of literature, HACLA broke ground on March 13, 2012 in building its first library onits property in the City of Los Angeles.

Students from UCLA and community members turned out to catalog books, paint walls, build bookshelves and help in whatever way they could bring this new source of learning to the Ramona Gardens Community.

HACLA C.O.O. Ken Simmons (standing under the UCLA sign) greets UCLA students. Working with HACLA's Joel Lopez, community collaborators such as the Ramona Gardens Resident Advisory Council, City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks, Soledad Enrichment Action (SEA), Barrio Action Youth and Family Center, LAPD, along with students from UCLA, may this historic day a success.

Ramona Gardens RAC President Maggie Ortiz (in blue with daughter Kristy on right) was the brainchild for the library proposal. Maggie had campaigned to have a library place near the Ramona Gardens Community. Her hard woirk and building a coalition of the above mentioned groups, help achieve her dream. A formal opening is set for near the end of the month.

Your thoughts ..............

Scott Johnson in CD 14

HACLA & LAPD bring Christmas cheer to Ramona Gardens

Blogger's notes: We take a break away from our recent HACLA bashing, and reverse gears to praise the housing agency for their partnership with LAPD, in bring the Christmas cheer to the Ramona Gardens Housing Project on Tuesday evening.Working with a newly-elected Ramona Gardens Resident Advisory Council (** under the great leadership of Maggie Ortiz), GRYD Program Provider Barrio Action and City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks, HACLA and LAPD gave out presents to over 350 children residing within Ramona Gardens. LAPD highlighted the festivities by hauling out their specially-modified sleigh for the event. This event was an outgrowth of a new five year agreement between HACLA and the LAPD to provide 10+ specific officers to police the Ramona Gardens Projects, working with Civil Rights Activist Connie Rice's Advancement Project---Scott Johnson    

The cheerful staff of Barrio Action waiting to hand out some Christmas cheer. 

 Ramona Gardens parents and kids line up at sunset to get good tidings from Santa.

 LAPD Pacific Division Officer Marcy Garcia and LAPD Booster Monica Harmon. Officer Garcia grew up in the Ramona Gardens/ Hazard Park Community and it was her idea to bring the sleigh across town from its Pacific Division home, to the neighborhood of her youth.

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Feast or Famine for "Connected Non-Profits" ??

"Did Mayor Villaraigosa stiff Father Boyle's Homeboy Industries"

Memo to Celeste Fremon at Witness LA.

How can you be surprise that the former Tony Villar, now known to all as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, fail to keep a promise ??

Look if the guy could lie to his wife, then what would keep him from saying that the "Check is in the Mail", to the man he once equated to Jesus Christ, Father Greg Boyle ??

Non-profits like most for-profits entities are suffering through hard times made even worst by President Obama and those socialists that reign in Sacramento, but I digress.

Homeboy Industries has been held up as the shining example of what a non-profit, with an visionary front person can accomplish, with the sincere support of those in the public and private sector.

But sadly, sincere non-profits are being usurped by "connected non-profits", created by elite insiders, for the benefit of the exclusive few, not for the greater community.

And as you push Homeboy's "Virtual Carwash Fundraiser", which I'll link here, in the spirit of seeing a carwash use for something positive, and not for raising funds to bury another young life. Let me highlight how some "connected non-profits" use public money.

Take this motion on tomorrows City Council Agenda.

Barrio Action Summer Sports Activity - $10,000 --This activity will provide funding to

Barrio Action Youth and Family Center to support a summer sports program between July 1,
2009 and September 19, 2009, Sport activities will include basketball, volleyball and indoor
soccer. Funding will be used to provide a recreation coordinator and necessary sports
equipment A total of 200 youth will be served, (another handout to Tammy)

EI Centro de Ayuda-Youth Enrichment Project - $13,000--This activity will provide funding
to the EI Centro de Ayuda to support a community Youth Enrichment Project (YEP), YEP will
provide gang prevention and violence prevention services by working with at-risk youth and their parents on school campuses and in the broader community, engage and educate local
communities on these issues and to promote public policies that directly impact these issues,
Funding will enable YEP to focus on the community engagemenUeducation and policy
developmenUpromotion purposes of the Youth Enrichment Project, including costs associated
with holding community forums in northeast Los Angeles communities of Boyle Heights and EI Sereno, honorariums for key forum/community speakers, staffing the project, and publication of policy recommendations resulting from the forums, (Raul makes another Harley payment)

Then there is the new poster boy for "connected non-profits" Legacy LA.

But Celeste, while Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has yet to come through with the $500,000 for Homeboy Industries, let me share this little nugget of public funding coming their way from the proposed budget for the Summer Night Lights Program.

c. Allocate up to $210,000 for a contract with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC) to
manage youth squad and community program coordination team members providing services at the 16 SNL sites; (the same group DWP payed $100+ per tree to plant)

****d. Allocate up to $200,000 for the costs of shirts from Homeboy Industries for SNL.program participants and staff; and

e. Allocate up to $50,000 for custodial services, utilities and staff time directed towards the
operation of SNL at the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center by the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD);

So Celeste, not all is lost for Homeboy Industries, at least until Antonio's associates come calling for those franchise fees/ campaign contributions.

Your thoughts...........