It seems like the promise of spring weather is waking up the City. It certainly seems that way based on all the events popping up. We're adding plenty of them to our Calendar page, so take a look and find some way to get together in the community. Whether an Earth Day celebration, the upcoming CicLAvia, or even our Council meeting, as long as there are ways to participate and enjoy the City, we'll be working to keep our calendar up to date. And be sure to come back regularly to see everything new on the horizon. If you use Gmail or Google Calendar, it's even easier to stay aware.

At every Board Meeting, we get a lot of great information from the community, our elected officials, and police and firefighters. Here's some of the highlights:

All of us love the great weather here in Southern California and our gardens do too. With plenty of sun and a long growing season, backyard gardners can wind up with a lot of produce on their hands. So if your green thumb is growing out of control, you may be thinking of cutting down on your planting this year or trimming those fruit trees. Instead, why not take pride in your skills, and plant a little extra. And when the harvest comes around and you have extra fruits and veggies, you don't have to beg your neighbors to take them. All that bounty can go the local shelter or soup kitchen.

If you missed the recent Free Museum Day, or just couldn't get to see everything you wanted, there are still some great offers for museums, art, and culture in Los Angeles. Visit http://discoverlosangeles.com/thearts/ to find 2-for-1 tickets, gift store discounts, and other coupons and deals for now through April 30.

There's a new way to save on prescriptions in LA County and it's completely free. Just get your own LARx card, show it at participating pharmacies, and get a discount from 5% to 42% on lots of brand name and generic medications. The savings will vary based on a number of factors, and the cards are only good at participating pharmacies. For more information, to get your card, or to find a pharmacy, go to http://forlarx.com/en/rxcard.aspx.

Right about now, the City is sending out notices about increases in the sewer service charge. This charge appears on your DWP bill, and is related to how much water you use in the winter time. Every winter, the City tracks your water usage and assumes that all that water is going down the drain, because we don't water our lawns much this time of year. This sewer charge goes to build and maintain our sewer system and the water treatment plants.

In many cities, homeowners or neighborhood associations are responsible for sidewalk maintenance. But, since 1974, Los Angeles has kept this responsibility for themselves. In difficult budget times, city leaders are considering changing this and making all of us responsible

Patch, the community-focused website, was at the Council meeting this Thursday and is hosting a video of one of public speakers at http://patch.com/A-mgf3. It's Susan Williams from 'Save a Heart, Save a Mind' talking about the work she's doing in the community and asking for support. Check out the video for an example of how the community and the Council meet when the public can speak. Thanks to Patch editor Craig Clough for his work on the video, and the accompaning report on the Council meeting.