The Los Angeles State Historic Park -- better known as the Cornfield -- has had a contentious past with activists fighting to turn this 32-acre abandoned rail yard east of Chinatown into a public amenity. More than a decade after the needs of the community triumphed over developer plans, the neighborhood has yet to see a park in full bloom. With luck, that time may soon be at hand.

On May 9, the Senate sub-committee on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation approved a $20.8 million budget for the Los Angeles State Historic Park (LASHP). The vote comes after a similar approval by an Assembly subcommittee on Resources and Transportation March 20.

If approved by Governor Jerry Brown this June, the funds would go toward Phase I of the park's construction, said Nidia Bautista, Legislative Consultant at the office of Senator Kevin de Leόn. It would fund "a gamut, from construction, sewer lines, all the infrastructure, and the interpretative services."

Los Angeles cyclists have yet another reason to celebrate this month. Apart from the generous $13.5 million promised by NBCUniversal, the city of Los Angeles is also giving due attention to another portion of the Los Angeles River bike path in San Fernando Valley.

In a meeting April 30, the City Council adopted an item to apply for a $11.5 million grant to construct an approximately 3-mile segment of the Los Angeles River Bike Path from Vanalden Avenue to Balboa Boulevard under the California Federal Lands Access Program. Councilman Dennis Zine, Council District 3, presented the motion alongside Councilman Ed Reyes, Council District 1.

If awarded the funds, the bike path would connect the river near its source in Canoga Park to the Sepulveda Basin, a 2,000-acre recreational area and flood control basin near Encino, in five to seven years.

Every mile is crucial, especially when building a bicycle greenway that would span the length of the 51-mile Los Angeles River from its headwaters in Canoga Park down to Long Beach.

In a deal championed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles cyclists have cause to celebrate as NBCUniversal agreed to put in $13.5-million toward a 6.4-mile stretch of bike path between Whitsett Avenue in Studio City to Griffith Park at Riverside Drive.

Currently, the path has some large sections completed -- 10 miles from Elysian Valley to Griffith Park and 17 miles from Maywood to Long Beach -- but there are still gaps throughout San Fernando Valley, and also from Vernon to downtown Los Angeles. Eric Bruins, planning and policy director for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), says the money is a "significant chunk" toward filling in the gaps on the Los Angeles River Bike path.

According to Joel Sappell, Special Projects Deputy at Yaroslavsky's office, the Department of Public Works "conservatively estimated that Universal's funding will be sufficient to do all of the planning, engineering, and environmental clearance for the entire 6.4 mile stretch so that we will have a 'shovel ready' project." It would also cover the actual construction of a 1.2-mile stretch between Lankershim and Barham Boulevards, adjacent to Universal property. Leftover funds would then be used to construct the remainder of the 6.4-mile segment. Construction should be done by January 2017.

Those looking to spend some time down by the river best get ready. Last Friday the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) received a letter of No Objection from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The letter, combined with the City Council approval of the project March 27, removes the last obstacle for the program to proceed with preparation for the pilot recreational zone in Glendale Narrows.

"This is a project that truly everyone played a part in. If we didn't have permission for Department of Transportation to change the parking, if we didn't have the City pay for signage, if we didn't have the California Fish and Wildlife to mitigate nesting we wouldn't have had a program," said Walt Young, MRCA Chief of Operations. "Anything could have stopped the program. Everyone played a critical role."

The NELA River Collaborative project builds upon the growing momentum of efforts already underway to transform the Los Angeles River into a "riverfront district" and to create a focal point of community revitalization. For more information on the collaborative visit www.mylariver.org

The dreams of creating a 100-acre green open space that truly connects to the Los Angeles River seem to be dying of a long, lingering disease. Last month, the Proposition O Citizens Oversight Advisory Committee (COAC) and Administrative Oversight Committee (AOC) approved zeroing out the funds set aside for the purchase of Taylor Yard's 44-acre G2 parcel. The committee agreed to move $11.455 million of the budget to another phase of the Albion Dairy Project, and the remaining $985,000 to Prop O Contingency funds.

This marks the second time Taylor Yard funds were used towards Albion Dairy. In 2009, $12.56 million of Prop O funds were similarly transferred to complete the acquisition of a 6.34-acre Albion Dairy property, bringing the total purchase price to $17.56 million, 12 percent over the property's appraised value of $15.9 million. What was once a formidable $25 million budget set aside to purchase and build what is repeatedly called the "crown jewel" of the Los Angeles River is now a line item that simply reads TBD.

Plans are underway to upgrade Johnny Carson Park, the 17.6-acre green space between Bob Hope Drive off the 134, just a little north of Los Angeles River. All Burbank needs is just a little more funding to proceed with the renovation.

Named after the famed "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson, the green space has been part of the Burbank urban fabric since June 1943. The park, originally named Buena Vista Park, was once part of a 51-acre purchase from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Portions of the large tract were later sold to St. Joseph Hospital and NBC in the '40s and '50s.

What remained became one of Burbank's largest and most utilized neighborhood parks that stretches 17.6 acres, 8.76 of which are city-owned. The park was later renamed in honor of the late night show host in April 1992, to coincide with Carson's retirement. Decades of use naturally led to wear and tear, which prompted the city to explore renovation that would improve energy and water efficiency in the park.

As real estate markets start to recover, so do developer ambitions. Since 2008, Save L.A. Open Space has been working to save the last remaining unprotected open space along the 22-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River within the San Fernando Valley -- but profit motives may hamper environmental efforts.

The organization is hoping to transform Weddington Golf and Tennis, a privately-owned green space in Studio City, into a 16-acre Los Angeles River Natural Park. Before that happens however, the organization first has to build public support, gain funding, and fend off other competing offers for the property.

Weddington Golf and Tennis sits on one of the lowest points in the San Fernando Valley, says Alan Dymond, President of Save L.A. Open Space. By preserving the land's green space and adding water quality infrastructure, the city would divert at least 200 acres of surrounding urban runoff, that toxic mix of sludge that makes it way toward the Los Angeles River and eventually out into our oceans.

Since the channelization of the Los Angeles River after the tragic flood of 1938, the concrete encased waterway has become the backdrop to a collective imaginary. The L.A. River has played itself in hundreds of productions, making itself known to the world through the reach of Hollywood's mighty tentacles even though many Angeleno's have never actually dipped their toes in its waters. As some of you might have heard, river activity is on the rise -- from lion(!) and coyote sightings, to a recreation zone planned for the summer of 2013.

In this review we go over a list of L.A. River sightings and events, and ask you to be the judge, critically assessing whether this river happening is fact or fiction.

The NELA River Collaborative project builds upon the growing momentum of efforts already underway to transform the Los Angeles River into a "riverfront district" and to create a focal point of community revitalization. For more information on the collaborative visit www.mylariver.org

It may not look like much now, but the Arroyo Seco Confluence -- where the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco meet -- could potentially be a crown jewel in the restoration of the Los Angeles River, if transformed to a fully realized Confluence Park.

Part of the Juan Baustista de Anza National Historic Trail, the area marks the Anza expedition of 1776 that led to the founding of a pueblo that would soon grow into Los Angeles. As Jenny Price points out in a 2010 L.A. Forum journal, not only does the site have historical value, but it is a "nexus" where Angelenos would inevitably meet.

"It's the meeting point for bikeways planned to Pasadena, to the Valley, and to downtown and into South L.A. The Gold Line ... will stop right here. The park connects up to the Taylor Yard and down to the Cornfield parks, which themselves connect to Elysian and Griffith Parks and to El Pueblo -- and would be an essential stop in the envisioned historic district in the central part of the city," wrote Price.

The NELA River Collaborative project builds upon the growing momentum of efforts already underway to transform the Los Angeles River into a "riverfront district" and to create a focal point of community revitalization. For more information on the collaborative visit www.mylariver.org

It only takes one look at the L.A. River-Arroyo Seco Confluence in Cypress Park to see why, despite increased support for revitalization around Los Angeles River, headway here has been moribund.

True to its name, at the Confluence, everything meets. As the river meanders its way downstream, the Metro Gold Line and Metrolink railways snake through its path, the 110 and the 5 dash across them. Industrial buildings line the riverside, making it more difficult for pedestrians to access the river. Layer after layer of infrastructure settles on top of the other, making matters more complicated for future redevelopments for the area.

"It's in a sad state now, candidly," said Timothy Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation. "But this proposal gives you an idea of how it can really be a gem for the whole Los Angeles river system."

The proposal in question comes from Yingjun Hu, a student at the University of Southern California's School of Architecture. For his thesis, Hu trained his eyes on this infrastructurally tangled space and proposed an urban riverfront landscape that would provide continuous green space, while still balancing the complex systems that exist in the area. Hu's study transforms a single-function flood control channel into a multi-functional corridor that would provide much-needed green space and habitat, while still fulfilling its role as a flood control channel. Hu employed a three-pronged approach to his proposal.