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Eastview Little League
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Kids play ball in April 2004 at a site which no longer exists. |
Eastview Little League photo gallery (now historic, April 2004)
Related information on Knoll Hill
Through the generosity of the DiCarlo family in 1985, the Eastview Little League has had a long-time baseball field in which to play ball. By 2004, it became apparent that they would no longer be able to play at this field—since the property of the now-defunct bakery was purchased by Target, which planned to raise their field for a new store. The last year that Eastview played in this location was in 2007.
Unfortunately for the children and the community, the process of finding a new home for Eastview has been mired in controversy. Backroom deals and meetings failed to bring in strong community support and instead polarized segments of the community who were acting without knowing the specific problems the other was facing in finding a solution.
These challenges are not yet satisfactorily resolved, and the clock is ticking on whether the little league team will be able to play ball in 2008. At the same time, there are serious Environmental Impact Report problems concerning a proposed new site for the little league team on Knoll Hill. The Knoll Hill location has been mired in controversy and disputes since the late 1970s. With the Eastview Little League management selecting this site for next season's play, they inadvertently stepped into a difficult situation. Since Knoll Hill is largely owned by the Port of Los Angeles, this controversy has also been thrust on the lap of the Harbor Vision Task Force. The Task Force has been deeply troubled by the way the Port has conducted the planning process.
Regardless of what the outcome of this issue will be, like almost every Southern California Community, San Pedro Bay communities (including San Pedro, Wilmington and Long Beach) suffer from not having enough open space for all the diverse needs these communities have. To help build livable communities, we have the responsibility of helping plan for and provide the diverse open space needs and responsibilities that a community has, for everything from organized ball play to nature preserves.
And, as much of Southern California, our problems are rooted in extent to which we have had our communities sprawl within our own backyards, fencing off and building over most of the available land. As a result, we need to find ways to make multiple uses of land so we can get the most service out of the the sparse available acres.
If we work as fast as we possibly can, we may be able to green all of San Pedro and Wilmington's middle schools in the next three years. As we replace asphalt with grass, we can create the opportunity for neighborhood ball fields that children can use in school when it is in session and can use through the parks department when school is out of sessions. Organized league play could certainly step in to help provide programs and a little fund-raising can help ensure every child who is interested could play, regardless of ability to pay. Though this will not solve Eastview's short-term problems, it can help build a long-term solution for the league.
Building livable communities can in turn improve the quality of our lives and help us combat global warming and sprawl.