Last night, I went to the Echo Park Improvement Association's monthly meeting, and the Dodgers were NOT on my mind. I was thinking about private matters, my car, my glasses, how much fun I've been having with my daughter recently. I was there to have a good time, or at least an informative one -- I hadn't been to an EPIA meeting in five years. I was curious about what some of the scheduled speakers -- real estate agents -- might have to say about density-zoning changes in the neighborhood in coming years. I never got to hear the real estate people (because the community announcements took over an hour). But I did get to hear about Big Foot. Or make that Big Feet (more on the plural later).

I'll admit I've gone frothing at the mouth (with good reason!) over the Dodgers Organization's high-handed treatment of Echo Park in regard to the Dodgers' inability to handle auto traffic without stomping on the neighborhood. The previous owners managed it, but the current company is a different story. Read, Billy Preston gate.

Last night at the Echo Park Improvement Association's monthly meeting, we all got a reminder of the problem. Not that any Dodgers reps were there. But a personable, young deputy for Ed Reyes, Suzanne Jimenez, did attend. Before the headline act -- which was real estate professionals -- Jimenez was one of the various folks to address the twenty-five or so people at Barlow Hospital's community room. She had a long list of announcements -- i.e., Reyes is opposed to a cheap-ass aluminum "temporary" cover for the reservoir that would cut off from public use 14 acres in Elysian Park (!); the councilmember is working to get the Boys and Girls club reopened on Patton St. (!). And more genuinely good stuff his office is up to. But then, one of her last announcements, delivered with a smile, made my jaw drop.

Jimenez reminded everyone in the room to "remember that March 31 is Opening Day for the Dodgers, and traffic will be hell, so if you don't need to drive," could you please stay home? I thought she had been about to say that if you were attending the game could you please walk to the stadium. But no, she meant what she actually said. Which was could the community just get out of the way, please? She went on to say that a lot of cars needed to get in and out of the stadium. I asked where it was that we were being asked not to drive. She shook her head and shrugged. "Sunset?" she said. "Around Dodger Stadium?" Excuse me? This is a solution? Who does her boss represent, the Dodgers? And this is exactly the problem. If the Dodgers & Co. can't handle the traffic at least as well as their predecessors, shouldn't our councilmembers be working to help make it work for the city? I'll re-state a few possibilities: expanded bus service; shuttles from Union Station; better incentives for car-poolers; public information campaigns regarding bus routes. Might be better than asking the people who aren't going to the game to stay inside until they say it's okay to come out. As the police say, this is a quality of life issue. ...

Now, speaking of cheap-ass aluminum short-sighted bad plans: The LADWP is draining the reservoir in Elysian Park. The department wants to cover it with a "temporary" (translation: 25 years) aluminum cover because it's the cheapest solution. Many, many people prefer the option of buried water tanks, with a grass covering, so the public could use the 14 acres. According to Suzanne Jimenez, Ed Reyes, for one, says the money-savings argument is "not a good enough excuse" for withholding land that could be used for recreation. Not to mention that it would be an eyesore from other parts of the park. A loss, not a gain.

The LADWP has agreed to listen to the community again on the matter. Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Logan Elementary School, 1711 W. Montana Street. Surveys will be available for the public. The dept. will also offer presentations on its plan to protect the water we drink from the reservoir and, of course, the issue of how to cover the basin.

Your choice again: aluminum or grassland.

If you want to see the site itself, you might consider taking the Echo Park Historical Society's excellent 2-hour walking tour of the east side of Elysian Park tomorrow morning (also at 10 a.m.). Then hightail it over to the DWP meeting. And, by all means, don't go quietly. ...