Public Facilities

They've been coming to Urartu Coffee for months, and every day it's the same. They sit. They sip. They smoke. It's hard to explain, the men say -- there's just something about the taste of tar joining java. But Jack Kakoyan, 28, and his friends may soon stop meeting at their usual table, where they spend hours socializing in the sun.

Los Angeles golfers who have complained about deteriorating carts on the city's seven public courses may not see changes any time soon. After an intense lobbying effort, the City Council rejected the recommendation of the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners to award a 10-year contract for cart rentals to a new concessionaire, Sherman Oaks-based Ready Golf Centers. It was the city's third attempt in six years to choose a concessionaire through a competitive bidding process.

The public will have an opportunity next week to advise the city on how to spend about $500,000 in federal funding it expects to receive this year--if Washington comes through. The Community Development Block Grant money last year went toward improving public facilities and social services and administrative costs. But federal officials cannot guarantee the city will receive its annual allotment because of continued haggling over the federal budget.

Los Angeles County officials celebrated this week the completion of $9.4 million in improvements at Zuma Beach in Malibu. Replacing the former drab beach entrance are Mission-style tiled archways--which were featured in Architectural Digest--that lead to 12 newly paved parking lots. Improvements also include remodeled bathrooms with space for changing into swimsuits. To allow the public to walk safely to two concession stands, a 12-foot-wide promenade was built.

A seven-year controversy over the display of a 27-foot-tall menorah in a Beverly Hills park may culminate in a sweeping ban on the public display of private art in city parks. At a City Council meeting Thursday, council members instructed City Atty. Greg Stepanicich to draft an ordinance that would forbid the overnight display of private art and other exhibits in public parks.

The city is seeking public comment on how to use federal grants that the city expects to receive this fiscal year to improve public facilities and public services in lower-income areas. All residents may attend a public hearing Sept. 30 to draw up a list of community needs and proposed projects for funding anticipated from the Federal Community Development Block Grant Program. The 6 p.m. meeting will be at City Hall, 33282 Golden Lantern, Suite 206.

It was the Judo McTwist that tripped up Erik Bianchi. The maneuver--a variation on a daring feat that few in-line roller-skaters can execute properly--entails rotating 540 degrees upside down and grabbing one's leg while speeding up a ramp. "I miscalculated," said the 16-year-old Garden Grove resident, who pulled a muscle in his left leg during the recent attempt. "I just got disoriented."

A sleek new visitors center at the Hoover Dam opened its doors to the public Wednesday, but no official celebration marked the long-awaited event. Long construction delays and controversial cost overruns now estimated at $91 million have dampened the Bureau of Reclamation's satisfaction with finishing the project. "We're just wanting to quietly transition to use of the facility," said Jack Delp, the agency's construction engineer.

A city ordinance allowing police to cite someone for having alcohol in a public place was altered this week after the city attorney's office warned that the statute overstepped the city's authority. The regulation was aimed mostly at drinking in places such as public parks and parking lots. But federal courts recently have made clear that only the state, not cities, has the authority to govern possession of alcohol, Deputy City Atty. D. Craig Fox said.