Parks Los Angeles

The first off-leash dog park in West Los Angeles will officially open today, concluding a 10-year effort on the part of canine lovers to create a "free play" area for their pets. A ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the park at 1234 Pacific Ave. The park consists of a fenced two-acre plot on the east side of Westminster Park that will be split into two areas to separate big and small dogs. It will be open from sunrise to sunset.

The city Planning Commission has approved a proposal to build an assisted-living home for senior citizens, the first of its kind in the city, on the site of Old Agoura Park. The facility will offer 164 units for senior citizens who want to live in their own rooms but need daily assistance with preparing food, personal care and transportation, according to the plan submitted by Agoura Oaks L.L.C.

Despite the hopes of local business leaders, Minnesota Atty. Gen. Hubert Humphrey III will not visit the Valley to help rededicate the park named for his father, Hubert H. Humphrey, who served as vice president under President Lyndon B. Johnson. A Humphrey spokeswoman on Monday said the attorney general's schedule was booked. "In addition to being attorney general, he's also running for governor," said Holly Ziemer. "Something could change, but I kind of doubt it."

The earthquake-damaged Los Encinos State Historic Park will serve as a venue for family fun Sunday while raising money to repair and restore its buildings, the oldest of which dates back to the 1850s. Hosted by the Encino Chamber of Commerce and to be held at the 5-acre park, the picnic will feature tours of the facility, lectures on the park's historic significance, folk dances, sack races and other activities. Volunteers from the Los Encinos Docents Assn.

Crews digging two new lakes at Hansen Dam are trying to finish the project before the official completion date next April. Construction of a 1.5-acre body of water for swimming adjacent to a 9-acre lake for boating and fishing is costing $14 million, and would restore what was once a favorite destination for family outings.

City officials have pledged to move quickly on finishing Potrero Canyon Park, a project begun almost a decade ago and hampered by lack of funds and landslides. Kathleen Chan, project manager with the city Recreation and Parks Department, said contractors are working to complete a pathway from Pacific Coast Highway through the canyon to the Palisades Recreation Center at the top.

The Los Angeles City Council approved spending $4.5 million Tuesday for three San Fernando Valley youth projects and the purchase of 80 acres of undeveloped land in Sherman Oaks for a new park. The bulk of the money was earmarked for buying a rocky, tree-lined area in the Santa Monica Mountains near Mulholland Drive known as the Deervale-Stone Canyon land.

Two state senators and leaders of environmental groups called Friday for a moratorium on development plans for the sprawling Taylor Railroad Yard along the Los Angeles River, contending that potential parkland is being sacrificed for box-like warehouses. At a news conference on the river's edge across from the mainly vacant train yard, Sens. Richard G.

Despite fears of gang violence, a determined group of parents, teachers and neighborhood activists today will celebrate the start of a new children's baseball league at David M. Gonzales Park. "This is a good beginning," said Francisca Gutierrez, whose 10-year-old son, Jose, woke up at 5 a.m. on Friday because he was so anxious to play ball. "We need to fight to get a safe place for our children. If we are going to be afraid all the time, this isn't good for us."

A $14.5-million face lift, most notable for a purple carillon tower, was supposed to turn Pershing Square from bedraggled turf into a lovely and lively oasis for downtown Los Angeles. At its reopening four years ago, Mayor Richard Riordan praised the park as "a breath of fresh air, a vision of hope." Today, however, the mood at the park is more disappointment than hope.