Dateline>City of Angels

Class envy is so unappealing, especially when it surfaces in local leaders who should know better. I’m referring to Monday’s L.A. Times article, “Griffith After the Ashes,” which reveals “competing visions” for the park’s rehabilitation. One always expects a tussle between environmentalists who want pristine, untouched nature preserves and recreationists who advocate some accommodation for hiking, swimming, golfing, etc. But apparently, according to the Times, at least one L.A. councilmember is also injecting class politics into the mix:

“Griffith Park is at a pivotal place,” said Councilman Ed Reyes, who thinks it’s time for the park to better serve lower-income youths who live a short bike ride away in areas such as Lincoln Heights. “I know it’s going to raise a lot of fireworks,” he added, “because people there now really treasure their sense of isolation and exclusivity…. Right now,” he said, “the knee-jerk reaction has been more, ‘This is mine, I want to keep it…. I paid my million, $2 million, $3 million for my house…’”

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In the wake of the Griffith Park Inferno, a new blog has popped up to keep Angelenos posted on the park’s recovery. It offers a wealth of information about closed trails (nearly all of them) and facilities. Despite the devastation, there’s thankfully still much to do within the park–although the best bike routes, trails and vistas will be on hiatus for months, maybe years.

But I question one park activity that’s also gone up in smoke: barbecuing. According to the blog, officials have prohibited smoking, fires, portable stoves, and even the use of designated picnic-area barbecue fixtures, until end of fire season.

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Already I’m having fun with the new WordPress blogging engine! In two days, I’ve accomplished more changes to the blog’s appearance than I ever could in two months with Radio. (Like adding the calendar and swapping the former “default apple banner” for the above photo of Angel’s Flight in Downtown L.A.) This may not seem a big deal to veteran bloggers, but for a technologically challenged writer, it’s pure excitement. The great thing about WordPress (so far) is that it’s delivering as promised: ease of use, an intuitive interface, and simple-to-crack template codes. Plus lots of online documentation about how to do it. I give it a big thumbs up… And, no, I haven’t been paid to endorse it.

I’m currently experimenting with different themes for my blog. The apple will be going away soon, replaced by something more appropriate. Yes, I know it’s probably better to completely build the site to my total satisfaction and then re-launch it all at once–but I like the learn-as-you-go approach.

After two years of running Radio Userland as my blogging software, I’ve decided to switch and start a new blog entirely. My decision is based mainly on poor customer service and sporadic support. About two weeks ago, coincidentally right as I ponied up my renewal money, the software (once again) quit working. E-mailing customer service, the Radio people made a few haphazard guesses about the problem–all of them wrong. Apparently unable to resolve my issue, they simply stopped responding to my help requests altogether. Over the past two years, I’ve found their “user community” to be less than helpful as well, with the exception of Julie Wiggins who helped me immensely in customizing my former blog.

After a lot of research I’ve taken the plunge and switched to WordPress. From what I read online, it’s a powerful and reliable open-source blogging tool, with plenty of documentation and user support. Plus it’s supposedly easy for an intermediate blogger to customize. Sounds just right for me.

In the coming month, I hope to rebuild my former blog with a fresh design and a host of new features. Bear with me.