Ed Reyes, Eric Garcetti, John Mukri, November 29, 2007
By Martin Cox (c)

Official word was delivered lakeside from a portable city lectern this morning: paddle boats for the people, at Echo Park Lake and MacArthur Park. Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Ed Reyes and Rec and Parks General Manager John Mukri and Maryanne Hayashi took turns telling a small crowd of watchers and camera operators about the value of the historic service. Mukri said Rec and Parks never intended to NOT revive the recreation...sometime: "From a sheer historical perspective, we knew we needed them back." Then he added that his department received more paddle boat emails "than anything." More emails, he said, than the Griffith Park fire of May generated. The people speak. Or type. Mukri said funds for the boats will come from R & P's internal operating budget.

Photo: November 29, 2007
By Martin Cox (c)

Garcetti: "Not everything is a money-maker, but this is a public good."

Praising Garcetti, and community activists such as Martin Cox, the Echo Park photographer and ships blogger who didn't let the matter drop, Ed Reyes said: "They used their tenacity" to get the recreation restored.

Service will resume on Saturday, Dec. 1. The "carbon-neutral" boats (read, "foot-powered"), as Garcetti described them, will be available weekends and holidays through the winter. Hours expand in spring, and in summer they'll be available seven days a week.

In honor of the announcement, the boats were sent out, for free, for about an hour. I had received an email saying that only two would be in use Thursday, but then it looked like they were all launching. Out they went. A pair of huge brown geese paddled after one of the boats, hoping for treats. They hadn't forgotten.

Photo: From shore, yours truly: Jenny Burman and Becky Koppenhaver, November 29, 2007
By Martin Cox (c)

Waiting for boats, November 29, 2007
By Martin Cox (c)