Recently in Northridge West Neighborhood Council Category

So, it's after Halloween and your child has a costume he or she will probably never wear again. Why not let other children enjoy the costume next Halloween.

The Northridge West Neighborhood Council and the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold the inaugural "Halloween Hand-Over" event from noon-3 p.m. at George W. Hall Field, 18755 Devonshire St., Northridge.

You can turn in gently-used Halloween costumes, which will be donated to needy children in the community next Halloween.

At the the event, there will be music, hot dogs, beverages, popcorn and other treats.

Are you part of an organization in the western part of Northridge looking for some funding to do great things in the community?

The Northridge West Neighborhood Council's Web site now has a link where you can access and print out a form to request funding from the council, whose mission is to make the community a better place through support and money.

You'll need to provide information such as your organization's address, annual budget, year established, tax status (if applicable), purpose of funding and community benefit.

There's a fax number at the bottom of the form where you can send it once it's completed.

To download the form, go to www.northridgewest.org.

The Northrdige West Nrighborhood Council recently unanimously approved purchasing three "command boards" for police officers in the Devonshire Division.

They fit on a fence or on top of a car and help officers when writing reports. The boards cost $1,000 each.

A member of the audience at the council's meeting suggested the use of less-expensive clip boards, but board member Beverly Adler, who introduced the motion, said that regular clip boards are not sufficient.

For more information, visit www.northridgewest.org.

The Northridge West Neighborhood Council recently approved purchasing two banners that will advertise the council's meetings.

Dennis DeYoung, vice president of administraton on the council, proposed buying the banners, which he said will cost no more than $250.

They will be placed at two prominent locations in the community.

The council meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at Beckford Elementary School, 19130 Tulsa St., Northridge.

For more information, visit www.northridgewest.org.

Dennis DeYoung, a member of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council, recently posted the following to valleynews.com. While his headline says, "Kudos to Greig Smith for killing Las Lomas," he starts off by ripping into Richard Alarcon and the other four L.A. Councilmembers who did not approve striking down the controversial - and massive - Las Lomas development.

DeYoung's posting follows:

Shame on Richard Alarcon and his four other City Council buddies for voting for the horrible and ill-conceived Las Lomas housing project.

Alarcon is completely out of touch with the community and has sold out to the developer and labor unions that championed this disastrous project. Alarcon turned his back on all of the neighborhood councils and other groups that had already weighed against Las Lomas.

If 5,550 homes and 2.3 million feet of commercial space were proposed in Griffith Park (similar terrain and traffic issues), then I'm sure that Alarcon, Jose Huizar, Bernard Parks, Ed Reyes and Herb Wesson would have been appalled and aghast.

This project isn't even located within the city limits, yet Alarcon is afraid of the mere prospect of an unwinnable lawsuit to justify the development.

Perhaps those disgraceful five should have glanced at a map. The project is less than a mile away from the Sunshine Canyon Landfill that the City Council agreed to triple last year and just yards away from the very freeways that collapsed in the 1971 and 1994 earthquakes.

Add to that the scarring of the mountains, adding traffic to an area already choking in congestion, lack of water and electricity and you have a recipe for disaster. This project should have been nipped in the bud a long time ago.

Fortunately, we will never know how many millions of dollars and thousands of lives were saved this week by Greig Smith and the other nine Councilmen who voted to terminate Las Lomas.

We do know that a majority of the City Council had the cajones and smarts to do the right thing for our community. Hooray !

What we lack in our City Council chambers is accountability. I would hope that the few folks who bother to vote will remember how their Councilmen stood on this important issue.

If Alarcon is unwilling to act like a man, then he should find another occupation. Our beloved city needs decisive leaders, not labor union sellouts.

Whoever it was in the planning department that permitted this tragic development to get as far as it did showed the same lack of backbone as Alarcon and both deserve to be relieved of their duties.

The next meeting of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at Beckford Avenue Elementary School, 19130 Tulsa St., Northridge.

The main agenda item will be the proposed Las Lomas development in the North Valley.

The agenda for the Dec. 11 meeting will be updated the weekend before the meeting. To see it, go to www.northridgewest.org.

The Northridge West Neighborhood Council meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month.

For more information about the council, call (818) 366-5226.