My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Winter Sky

A beautiful winter sky to start the new year.

From my Instagram Feed

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Outside my window ##Time-lapse ##clouds ##sky ##nature ##outdoors

♬ Dreamy – Elijah Lee

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Christmas lasagna

The traditional Christmas lasagna has been prepared with handmade pasta, homemade sauce, and lots of cheese and half consumed. 😀 Yum!

From my Instagram Feed

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In the garden ##timelapse ##garden ##sky ##trees ##clouds

♬ Timelapse – Guy McNulty

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New Design: San Fernando Valley Sunset 2020 from Douglas E. Welch Design and Photography [For Sale]

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One of the best ways of staying informed of civic information is by letting that information come to you — instead of searching it out each time. This week, I focus on 3 services  that provide up-to-the moment info on various aspects of civil life. These are all separate from the Amber Alert/Emergency Warnings we are all familiar with and do not have the accompanying emergency tones that startle us all. 

For me, I most often relied on the Notify LA system to advise me of Red Flag Alerts and their associated parking restrictions in hillside neighborhoods. When I was visiting computer clients more often int he past, this would let me know if I might need to reschedule appointments as I wouldn’t be able to park in the neighborhood if their driveway did not provide sufficient space. Even though I live in the flats of the SFV, I needed to remain aware of this information to prevent issues with my business — a great reason to sign up.

Notify LA Email and Text Messages

There are a variety of ways that the City of Los Angeles can reach you during an emergency. Residents are encouraged to sign up for all alert platforms relevant to where they live, work, and spend time in Los Angeles. Residents can provide multiple points of contacts, multiple addresses for alerts, and set language preferences by registering for the alert systems offered by the City of Los Angeles. 

Sign Up for Alerts

The City of Los Angeles strongly recommends subscribing to both of the following systems:

NotifyLA – Create an account to receive urgent notifications about local emergencies by phone, email, and/or text message. Subscribe to alerts for your neighborhood, schools, businesses, media, and other interest areas. Powered by Everbridge.

Log in to manage your settings – Learn more about NotifyLA

Nixle – Text your zip code to 888777 to opt-in or sign up online to receive email, text or voice messages with alerts and advisories from local law enforcement. This will sign you up to receive alerts from all agencies using Nixle in your zip code.

Sign in to modify your location or settings. List of local agencies using Nixle.

LADWP Outage Notices

LADWP now provides a 24/7 outage alert service for customers to receive outage information for up to three (3) neighborhoods. Notifications are for major incidents only. Customers have the option of receiving notifications via texts, emails or both. Messages will be sent after a significant outage occurs, when updates are available, and when power is restored. Please note that outages may affect only portions of a neighborhood, so you may receive an alert even if you are not experiencing an outage.

Create/Sign into Your LA DWP Account

SCAQMD Air Alerts

South Coast AQMD is helping Southern California residents learn to make clean air choices that will help reduce air pollution, including knowing when it’s important to curtail use of wood-burning fireplaces. 

Bad air quality can contribute to harmful diseases like asthma, lung disease and cancer in some cases. Smoke from residential wood-burning can aggravate health conditions. Check below for more information on how seasons affect air quality and steps you can take to help reduce air pollution, and to sign up to start receiving your air quality forecast and notifications today.

Sign up for Air Alerts

All of these sites also have Twitter feeds you can follow for similar information should you wish to receive alerts in that fashion.

So, just what is “civics” anyway?

Civics is defined as: the study or science of the privileges and obligations of citizens.

Civic education is the study of the theoretical, political and practical aspects of citizenship, as well as its rights and duties. It includes the study of civil law and civil code, and the study of government with attention to the role of citizens―as opposed to external factors―in the operation and oversight of government. — League of Women Voters of Delaware.

In order to have the government we want, we need to both understand and engage in civics activities in our local communities. I am dedicated to doing better in 2021. How about you? 

Recently Purchased: Red Chevy Art Board Print by Douglas E. Welch Design and Photography [For Sale]

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I have been going down the rabbit hole of archives lately and came across this Sanborn Fire Insurance Map last updated in 1955.

It is always fun to see what has changed and, in some cases, what has remained the same.

Direct link to map books at the Library of Congress

On Nextdoor I often see posts like “What is going on? Why are there helicopters overhead? Why am I hearing sirens?” and others. This is natural, as we all want to stay in touch with what is happening in our neighborhood and city,

There are several ways you can sort out what is going on and one great source is Twitter. Here in the San Fernando Valley, we have a great resource in @sfvscanner, an account that monitors scanner traffic and seeks to keep people informed of major events in their area.

I follow this account, among others, and even have notifications set up on my phone for each tweet that they post. This might be overkill for most people, though. You can also use it as an on-demand resource whenever something is happening and you want to know more.

That said, scanner traffic is notoriously of-the-moment and can show the confusion of an event in progress. It is important to not take everything mentioned as gospel, but rather as a reason to avoid particular areas where police and fire activity is occurring. They also delay or avoid posting information that is too sensitive at the moment to not compromise police operations. They will then post the information once the event has been completed.

By staying aware of public safety activities in our neighborhoods we can protect ourselves and our neighbors and help improve our civic life.

Additional Twitter accounts I follow include:

• LA Fire Department (@lafd)
• KNX News Radio (@KNX1070)
• Emily Valdez, KNX News Radio (@EmilyValdezKNX)
• Brian Douglas, KNX News Radio (@BrianDouglasKNX)
• CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE)
• ABC Eyewitness News (@ABC7)

So, just what is “civics” anyway?

Civics is defined as: the study or science of the privileges and obligations of citizens.

Civic education is the study of the theoretical, political and practical aspects of citizenship, as well as its rights and duties. It includes the study of civil law and civil code, and the study of government with attention to the role of citizens―as opposed to external factors―in the operation and oversight of government. — League of Women Voters of Delaware.

In order to have the government we want, we need to both understand and engage in civics activities in our local communities. I am dedicated to doing better in 2021. How about you?

New Design: Vintage Chinese Textile from Examples of Chinese ornament by Owen Jones (1867) on Tops, iPhone Cases, Prints, and More from Douglas E. Welch Design and Photography [For Sale]

Available exclusively from
DouglasEWelch.com/shop/331

*Redbubble has discounts when purchasing multiple items and also gives 10%-20% discounts on a regular basis. Check back often!

See More Products On These Sites 
DouglasEWelch.com/shop/follow | Instagram | Twitter

See my entire catalog
DouglasEWelch.com/shop/

Find more at @DEWDesignPhoto