LACBA Newsie Bits 7/28/17

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Next Meeting is Monday, August 7, 2017**

Open Board Meeting: 6:30pm

General Meeting: 7:00pm 

Location: Mount Olive Lutheran Church (Shilling Hall)
                 3561 Foothill Boulevard
                 La Crescenta, CA 91214

**The meetings of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association (LACBA) are open to the public. Everyone is welcome.

Thank you for your continued support of the LACBA. You can expect to find the following information in this month's newsletter:

Contents:

Beekeeping with Children

Agenda Item: 'Hive' Alerts

Colonies for Rescue

Urban Beekeeping Interview Request

Demonstration Requests

Save the Dates

Annual Honey & Recipe Contest 


1. Beekeeping with Children
LACBA Member Bernard Rene is looking to buy/rent/borrow a bee suit for a 6 year old, if that exists. . . Any ideas?

Please email: dumedrive@gmail.com with information. Thank you!


2. Agenda Item: 'Hive' Alerts
Sandra Helperin found a "large, thriving hive on a public walking path in West LA." She wrote the club, saying "It seems to me it could pose a hazard, but I want the bees to be safe. Who could move it?" Please email sandyhelperin@icloud.com to discuss with her.

This may be the same colony described in this alert, which was sent a week or so prior:
"Please send me information of a beekeeper to remove a bee hive from the Brentwood Farmers Market. It is on the sidewalk by the Brentwood elementary school in between Montana and San Vicente. Please email:booking2@ccfm.com" 

There was another alert about a "happy" hive at a historic Hollywood estate:
"We have this very happy hive that moved into a wall on our property about 6 months ago.... recently it has grown exponentially. We had to drain our fountain because it seems like hundreds of bees would go there to drink everyday. It would scare our clients.
We hate to disturb the bees because they are obviously thriving, but we have to get them moved to a place where they won't scare away customers.
Can you help us? Or recommend an urban beekeeper that may want to remove this hive and take it to a more suitable location? 
Thank-you, Steve" steve@theparamour.com 

If you are interested in responding to these requests, please do so. Also, at the next board meeting we will be discussing a mailing list/automatic response as an option for handling similar requests in the future. We can also discuss how to handle swarms and mentorship requests, if there is interest. Please join us at 6:30pm on August 7th at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church if you would like to participate in one or more of these discussions.


 3. Colonies for Rescue
There is a significant traffic to the website with inquiries such as this one:

"Bees love my maple tree. I have had at least 4 hives that I know if in the 20+ years I've lived here. We live very happy together. Unfortunately, the drought took its toll on the maple tree an it has died (I'm very sad). Before I have it removed I will need to have the hive removed. I live in Temple City (near Arcadia/Pasadena). I would rather have them removed rather than killed if possible. Please email or call Dawn Tarin: dawntarin@hotmail.com or 626-688-8009"

-and-

"Hello I am a firefighter with the City of Los Angeles, Assigned to Fire Station 37 in the Westwood Area 1090 Veteran Ave cross of Wilshire Blvd.We have a large honey bee issue inside our handball court at our fire station in two areas. In the Southwest corner, inside the structure, there is a large ball of bees larger then a basketball, which we can now see honey comb. These bees are entering through a silver dollar size hole below the roofline. We have an observation deck which sits above the handball court where the bees can be seen between the rafters about 8 ft from the upper deck. There is a fixed ladder which we use to gain access to the upper deck.
The other bee location is on the Northwest corner of the same handball court. These bees are entering through a baseball size hole in the exterior wall about 50 ft from the other location. This hole sits about 10 ft up the wall, where the bees are entering the wall. We do not see any activity on the opposite side of the wall, which leads us to believe the bees are living inside the wall.
We could contact our city services to have the bees removed, but their method in removal will most likely be the extermination of the bees. The bees have been in place for approximately two weeks without incident.
Please contact us on this matter. You can contact me directly or contact the on Duty Captain at the Fire Station. We would like to have the bees removed ASAP. Thank you for your time.
Brett Porter Los Angeles City Fire Department Fire Station 37 1090 Veteran Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 575-8537 brett.porter@lacity.org C: (805) 506-1386

If you are interested in responding to these requests, please do so. Also, at the next board meeting we will be discussing a mailing list/automatic response as an option for handling similar requests in the future. We can also discuss how to handle hives and mentorship requests, if there is interest. Please join us at 6:30pm on August 7th at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church if you would like to participate in one or more of these discussions.


4. Urban Beekeeping Interview Request
Vincent Zhang, a Product Design student at ArtCenter College of Design is wondering if he could get in touch with a beekeeper near Pasadena or within Greater LA. He is currently doing a project on Urban Beekeeping and would like to interview someone to learn more about it from a beekeeper's perspective. Please email: vtyzhang@gmail.com


5. Demonstration Requests
A synagogue located in Santa Monica and is looking for someone to do a demonstration at their open house. The presenters are welcome to sell any products that they may have. The date is August 27 from 2-5pm. Please contact Cindy Roth at cdrxla@aol.com or 917 923-7532.

The Calabasas Garden Group is interested in learning about bees and how they can help bring them back to our gardens to do their good work. They are wondering if someone would be willing to come to one of their monthly meetings to educate them about bees either on September (14th) or October (12th). If that doesn't work, they meet on the second Thursday of each month, except in July and August. They are behind the Calabasas Commons (shopping area) and close to Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley. Please contact Maxine Straus at booma@charter.net or (818) 222-7830 

Furthermore, if you are interested in leading or participating on an Education Committee, please join us before the 6:30 Board Meeting on August 7th at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church for an informal discussion of how the club can help and support you. Please arrive early to inform our President, Jeremy, that you'd like to be added to the agenda. If there's something special that you have in mind, please discuss your ideas with Jeremy at that time.


 6. Save the Dates
In addition to being honey contest season, every year our club has some major educational events for you to get involved with. Regardless of how much experience and education you hold; when you volunteer, you have an opportunity to both learn more about bees while also teaching others. Contact information is included in conjunction with the dates below so you can sign up and/or help out! 

July 31, 2017 - Deadline for Good Foods Awards Competition
Click the link to connect to Kathy Keatley Garvey's blog for more details.

August 27, 2017 – National Honey Bee Day is so special, there are 2 events on the same day: Setup for the LA County Fair at the Pomona Fairgrounds (RSVP to Cindy Caldera) + The Annual Honey & Recipe Contest at The Valley Hive Shop on Topanga Canyon Blvd. (more details below)

September 1-24, 2017 – Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona Fairgrounds – Please email Cindy Caldera to sign up for a shift or two. Many hands makes the work light!

November 14-16, 2017 – CSBA Convention, Lake Tahoe


7. Honey & Recipe Contest
Participating in the contest is simple, and anyone can enter. If you would like to enter your backyard honey, bring two 8oz jars -- one labeled, one unlabeled -- to the shop at 10538 Topanga Canyon Blvd in Chatsworth before August 27th. No honey to share, but you'd like to be involved? Cook or bake a honey dish and bring it in by 11am on the day of the event.

Special guests are invited to judge the event. After the winners are chosen, the honey and dishes will be available to taste. The extra honey will be raffled off and the proceeds will go to a bee charity chosen by The Valley Hive. An RSVP from you will help with planning the event. You can RSVP on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/events/892262614244944/) or send an email at info@thevalleyhive.com. You can also call 818-280-6500. The Hive is looking forward to hearing from you, but even if they don't, they wanted you to know that you are still invited to come.
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~Looking forward to sharing the buzz with you at the next gathering or in the Apiary!