AIDS Walk Los Angeles to Take Place in City of West Hollywood on Sunday, October 16
Photo by Troy Masters
WEST HOLLYWOOD – The annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles returns to West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard, beginning at 9 a.m. on Sunday, October 16, 2022.
Due to the AIDS Walk, there will be limited street and lane closures in West Hollywood. Drivers should expect delays and plan accordingly.
Street closures will occur as follows:
- N. San Vicente Boulevard between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Santa Monica Boulevard between N. Doheny Drive and N. La Cienega Boulevard: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lane closures will occur as follows:
- Southbound lane at the intersection of N. La Cienega Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Both northbound lanes at the intersection of N. Doheny Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Westbound lane on Melrose Avenue between N. Robertson Boulevard and N. Doheny Drive will be limited to local access. Vehicles will not be allowed to enter the intersection at N. Doheny Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard.
Additionally, the West Hollywood Park dog parks and basketball courts will be closed on Saturday, October 15, 2022 and Sunday, October 16, 2022.
To avoid traffic and parking delays, event participants are encouraged to use alternative modes of transportation such as ride sharing services or Metro. Some public parking structures/lots will offer a limited amount of parking at the following locations for a fee on Sunday, as follows (please note that some locations are not immediately adjacent to West Hollywood Park):
- Kings Road Parking Structure, 8383 Santa Monica Boulevard
- La Jolla/Havenhurst Lot, 1043 N. La Jolla Avenue (metered)
- Orange Grove Lot, 1114 N. Orange Grove Avenue
- Spaulding Lot, 7718 Santa Monica Boulevard
- Queens Lot, 8459 Sunset Boulevard
- Sunset Lot, 8775 Sunset Boulevard
- West Hollywood Park Five-Story Parking Structure, 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard, enter from N. Robertson Boulevard/El Tovar Place (due to the N. San Vicente Boulevard closure).
AIDS Walk participants can hop on one of several Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) bus lines that connect to the City of West Hollywood, including: 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 212/312, 217, and 218.
More information regarding lines is available at www.metro.net and Metro will post service advisories regarding route changes for the event at www.metro.net/service/advisories.
AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the world’s first walk to fight HIV and AIDS and benefits APLA Health (formerly AIDS Project Los Angeles), which provides world-class LGBTQ+ empowering healthcare, support services, and HIV specialty care in Los Angeles County.
38 years ago, a group of fed-up activists, patients, advocates, and friends put their soles on the line to shake the government into action during the AIDS crisis. Since that first Walk in 1985, hundreds of thousands of walkers and their supporters have raised more than $92 million to combat HIV and AIDS. These funds are a vital lifeline that sustains APLA Health’s programs and services benefiting more than 18,000 individuals living in Los Angeles County, which continues to have the second largest number of people living with HIV in the country.
To register and for more information, please visit www.aidswalkla.org or email [email protected] or call or text (213) 201-9255.
City of West Hollywood will Host a Community Forum about Proposition 1, a California Ballot Proposition and State Constitutional Amendment that, if Approved by Voters, would Enshrine Reproductive Freedom in the California Constitution
The City will host A Community Forum on Prop 1: Abortion in California, a moderated panel discussion about Proposition 1, a California Ballot Proposition and State Constitutional Amendment that, if approved by voters, would establish a Constitutional right to reproductive freedom in California, defined to include a right to an abortion and a right to choose or refuse contraceptives.
The Community Forum on Prop 1 will take place on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 7 p.m. at the City of West Hollywood’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. Due to limited space, advance registration for in-person attendance is requested; please RSVP on the forum’s Eventbrite page.
The Community Forum will be broadcast live on Spectrum Cable Channel 10 in West Hollywood, livestreamed (and available for future viewing) on the City’s WeHoTV YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/wehotv, and livestreamed on AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Roku platforms by searching for “WeHoTV.”
City of West Hollywood Governmental Affairs Liaison Hernán Molina will moderate the panel discussion; panel participants will include:
- Joey Espinoza-Hernandez, Public Policy Director for the Los Angeles LGBT Center;
- Luckie Fuller, Founder of Invisible Men and member of the City of West Hollywood’s Transgender Advisory Board;
- Jamie Kennerk, Public Affairs Specialist for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles; and
- Onyemma Obiekea, Policy Analyst for Black Women for Wellness (BWW) and its sister organization, Black Women for Wellness Action Project (BWWAP).
Proposition 1 will appear on the November 8 General Election Ballot for California Voters. It was authored by the President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate, Toni Atkins, D-San Diego and co-authored by the Speaker of the California State Assembly, Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood. Proposition 1 is a direct response to the June 2022 Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, ruling that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.
The City of West Hollywood was the first city in the nation, in 1991, to declare itself pro-choice. More than three decades later, West Hollywood continues its efforts to vigorously defend women’s reproductive rights and access to healthcare. The City has continually supported state and federal legislation protecting and advancing women’s reproductive rights and access to healthcare.
The City of West Hollywood regularly monitors policies and proposals that impact West Hollywood’s residents, including women, LGBTQ residents, people with disabilities, seniors, people of color, and immigrants, among others, and the City will continue to be a champion and defender of health equity and reproductive freedom.
In May 2019, the City Council of the City of West Hollywood, unanimously approved a Resolution to denounce anti-choice legislation in Georgia and other states, such as Alabama. With approval of that Resolution, West Hollywood became the first city in the nation to enact financial sanctions and act against states that have passed extreme anti-choice legislation.
In September 2021, the City Council of the City of West Hollywood unanimously approved a Resolution denouncing the Texas law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy (SB 8), developing additional financial sanctions until such time as the new law is revoked, and declaring the City of West Hollywood a safe harbor for reproductive freedom.
For more information, please contact Hernán Molina, the City of West Hollywood’s Governmental Affairs Liaison, at (323) 848-6364 or at [email protected].
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
Temporary Art Installation by Artist Kean O’Brien on the Third Floor of the City’s Aquatic and Recreation Center at West Hollywood Park
A two-part temporary art exhibition by artist Kean O’Brien, as part of its Art on the Outside Program, on-view on the third floor of the City’s Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC) at West Hollywood Park, located at 8750 El Tovar Place.
Phase one of the exhibition, I use ____ pronouns, will be on-view through December 2022. Phase two of the exhibition, In Finite Space, will be on-view from January 2023 through December 2023.
I use ___ pronouns began in 2011 when Councilmember John D’Amico commissioned the artist to paint a mural on his office wall at West Hollywood City Hall that included the phrase “I use male pronouns.” At the time, pronouns were not a part of the mainstream conversation in the way in which pronouns are today.
The installation at the ARC beckons the viewer to understand their relationship with their own pronouns, which is an inclusive act to the transgender and non-binary community. The artwork material is gold vinyl lettering and is 15-feet long.
In Finite Space, scheduled for installation in January 2023, includes two 5×7 foot cyanotypes and a gold-leafed, hand-drawn text work on paper. The artwork explores the liminal and expansive sky that holds infinite space for the liberation of marginalized bodies. O’Brien considers both the body as landscape and the landscape as a human body.
At a time when gender is in revolution, race politics are being interrogated and resisted, where bodies are seen as sites of controversy, and bodies are trying to cross borders all over the globe, we can see that our own bodies are also deeply linked to the environments and the people that hold them.
Artist Kean O’Brien (he/they) is a transgender, chronically ill, disabled, artist, educator, and academic living between Chicago and Los Angeles. As a multimedia artist working in interdisciplinarity between photography, painting, found images, installation, and writing, he focuses on the nuance of gendered construction, whiteness, the body as landscape for survival, death, grief, and trauma.
His academic writing explores the current landscape of higher education from an abolitionist, decolonial lens. He has a longstanding commitment to radical pedagogy, community building and grassroots organizing.
He holds an MFA from California Institute for the Arts, a BFA from the School of the Art Institute Chicago and is currently a doctoral candidate in social change at Fielding Graduate University for Education Leadership.
The Art on the Outside Program is the City’s temporary art program that installs rotating artworks throughout the city. The artworks can include sculpture, murals, digital art, and other outdoor works. Most exhibitions remain on display between six months and three years. All projects are subject to the Art on the Outside Program Review and Approval Process.
The program is funded through the Public Beautification & Art Fund. Please note: the Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC) at West Hollywood Park is open and the I use ____ pronouns artwork is viewable, but the swimming pools at the Aquatic Center are temporarily closed to complete final construction tasks for the new swimming facilities. An update about reopening of the pools will be posted at www.weho.org/pool.
The City of West Hollywood’s Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Human Rights Speaker Series, Library Exhibits, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), WeHo Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads. For more information about City of West Hollywood arts programming, please visit www.weho.org/arts.
For more information about contact City of West Hollywood’s Arts Manager, Rebecca Ehemann, at [email protected] or at (323) 848-6846.
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
City of West Hollywood will Begin Distributing Drink-Spiking Test Strips in Partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s WeHo Life Program
The City of West Hollywood will begin distributing drink-spiking test strips in partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s WeHo Life program to West Hollywood nightlife establishments.
Drink-spiking test strips are designed to detect the possible presence of “date rape” drugs, such as GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) or ketamine. The test-strip user drops a small amount of drink liquid on the testing patch, which turns dark blue if drugs are present.
Outreach staff from the WeHo Life program will begin test-strip distribution efforts on Friday, October 14, 2022. The program will partner with local nightlife venues to ensure test strips are available on an ongoing basis for interested patrons.
The immediate aim is to inform and educate community members and businesses that drink-spiking test strips are a tool for personal safety that can be used anywhere at any time. The City and the Center hope that personal experience with using test strips will encourage nightlife patrons to purchase, carry, and use them on a regular basis.
The West Hollywood City Council approved a plan to purchase and distribute drink-spiking test strips earlier this year following reports of individuals feeling that they had been drugged (“roofied”) at West Hollywood nightlife venues.
The City Council convened a Study Session on Nighttime Safety on Monday, August 22, 2022 and, on that day, members of the City Council joined with members from the City’s Public Safety Commission, LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, Transgender Advisory Board, and Women’s Advisory Board, as well as City staff members and public safety personnel, in a successful activation to walk to local bars and distribute drink-spiking test strips.
The City of West Hollywood is home to a large number of entertainment-oriented businesses, such as restaurants, lounges, bars, and nightclubs; there are more than 200 establishments in the City.
Reopening after pandemic-related restrictions has been an encouraging return to normalcy, but it has also brought into focus safety concerns at nightlife venues. Public safety is always the City of West Hollywood’s number-one priority and the City takes patron safety concerns very seriously.
The City of West Hollywood has, for many years, partnered with the Los Angeles LGBT Center on its WeHo Life program, which provides health education and harm reduction information and materials to West Hollywood community members and businesses.
The WeHo Life program provides condoms, linkage to HIV/STI testing and treatment, fentanyl test strips, and other health/wellness information to the entire community. Now, the WeHo Life program adds outreach efforts to distribute drink-spiking test strips to businesses and patrons in West Hollywood, with a focus on prevention and harm reduction.
The City has several initiatives in place to assist in creating and maintaining a safe environment in nightlife establishments. The City’s Community Safety Department has developed a training manual for owners and managers of bars, lounges, and clubs.
The West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station’s Entertainment Policing Team (EPT) is a team of Sheriff’s Deputies who are primarily focused on entertainment- and alcohol-related law enforcement issues in the City and, on a nightly basis, the EPT actively patrols approximately 60 bars, nightclubs, and hotels and liaises with management of nightlife establishments.
West Hollywood became the first city in California to pass an Ordinance, in late 2021, to require Bystander Intervention training for personnel in business establishments that serve alcohol for onsite consumption.
The Bystander Intervention training program launched in March 2022. Provided by the Rape Treatment Center (RTC) at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, the training is an educational course that addresses the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assaults and date rape drugs. The training also promotes the proactive role that onsite alcoholic beverage sales establishments can take in the prevention of sexual assaults.
The City and the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station urge anyone who believes they are a victim of any crime – or anyone in the community with any public safety concerns – to reach out to the Sheriff’s Station 24/7 at (310) 855-8850.
Additionally, the City’s Block by Block Security Ambassadors program leverages the effectiveness of local law enforcement and works in collaboration with the Sheriff’s Station. The Block by Block Security Ambassador Hotline provides access to free, 24/7 support by phone or text at (323) 821-8604.
In an emergency, always call 911.
For more information, please contact Andi Lovano, the City of West Hollywood’s Community & Legislative Affairs Manager, at (323) 848-6333 or at [email protected]
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
City of West Hollywood Seeks Community Feedback on First-Ever Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy
The City of West Hollywood is launching registration for focus groups, an online survey, and a series of engagement opportunities to inform the City’s Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Strategy. These will include public meetings, community pop-ups, and focus groups to gather feedback from community members and residents. Engagement activities will take place online and in-person through November 2022.
The City of West Hollywood embraces a progressive and proactive approach to public safety and community well-being. After hearing concerns from the community about crime, mental health and addiction, income inequality, housing insecurity, and more, the West Hollywood City Council in November 2021 directed City staff to develop a CSWB Strategy. An initial CSWB Strategy was developed earlier this year and, at its regular meeting on Monday, August 15, 2022, the West Hollywood City Council unanimously adopted ten strategic priorities as part of this.
Feedback provided by community members during engagement activities will help the City to develop a final CSWB Strategy later this year.
There are many ways to participate:
- Share feedback in an online survey – The CSWB survey will open on Monday, October 24, 2022 and will close on Monday, November 7, 2022. A link to the survey will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb.
- Take part in a focus group – To increase engagement and amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); LGBTQ+ community members; people with special needs and/or disabilities; Russian-speaking community members; seniors (ages 55+); transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community members; and women; the City will be hosting seven focus group sessions to gather feedback from these traditionally marginalized communities in October and November. No professional or specific experience will be required to participate and compensation for participants will be offered via gift cards. More details and a link to the online application are posted at www.weho.org/cswb.
- Join a community meeting – The first CSWB community meeting will take place in-person at the Aquatic and Recreation Center at West Hollywood Park (Doheny Room), located at 8750 El Tovar Place, on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The second meeting will take place virtually via Zoom from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, 2022. The presentation and a link to the Zoom meeting will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb prior to this session.
- Drop by a community pop-up – The CSWB project team will be visiting the West Hollywood Youth Halloween Carnival (Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard) and the Helen Albert Certified Farmers’ Market (Monday, October 24, 2022 at the Plummer Park north parking lot) and will be riding aboard The PickUp (Saturday, October 22, 2022 along Santa Monica Boulevard) to gather feedback from community members. Event specifics are provided on the City’s calendar at www.weho.org/calendar and full details are available at www.weho.org/cswb.
Additional information about the Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy, including links to the CSWB survey, applications for focus group participation, and community meeting registration details, will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb. Stay informed about the project by signing up for e-updates on that page as well.
About the CSWB Strategy:
The first phase of this process began in early 2022 and included the participation of members of the City Council; City staff; City Officials and residents who serve on City Commissions and Advisory Boards; representatives from neighborhood watch and residential association groups, the business community; and contracted safety and social services providers; as well as the participation of a consultant specializing in CSWB strategic planning.
In the initial phase of work, the City defined what Community Safety and Well-Being means for West Hollywood, how the City and its community partners have worked together over the years to address CSWB challenges, and how the City can enhance its current approaches to reducing crime to ensure resources are being targeted where and when they are needed most.
After receiving approval of the initial Strategic Priorities, the City began working on community engagement activities to validate and refine the CSWB Strategy. Staff anticipates providing an update about the engagement process and findings to the West Hollywood City Council in December 2022.
For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s Community Safety and Well-Being strategic planning process, please send an email message to [email protected].
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
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