On Monday, October 3, the Los Angeles Department of Aging will give a free presentation on services available to older Angelenos, including:

• Financial assistance for prescription medicine
• Information and referrals
• Health insurance counseling and advocacy
• Elder abuse community education
• Senior employment training
• Multipurpose Senior Centers
• Family caregiver support

The presentation will begin at 11 a.m. at the Edendale Library (2011 W. Sunset Blvd.) in Echo Park.

The Echo Park Library will host a PSAT practice test this Saturday, and an SAT practice test in November. The tests are free, but advanced registration is required and students must bring their own calculators.

Times and dates are below. For more information, please call the Echo Park Library at 213/250-7808.

WHAT: PSAT Practice Test
WHEN: Saturday, October 1, 2011, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
WHERE: Echo Park Library, 1410 W. Temple Street

WHAT: SAT Practice Test
WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
WHERE: Echo Park Library, 1410 W. Temple Street

As part of the kick-off of the Pacific Standard Time initiative, many local museums are offering free admission on Sunday, October 2, including the following:

• 18 Street Arts Center*
• A + D Architecture and Design Museum
• Armory Center for the Arts
• California African American Museum*
• California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside*
• Craft and Folk Art Museum
• Eames House Foundation*
• Fowler Museum at UCLA*
• The J. Paul Getty Museum*
• Hammer Museum, UCLA
• LA> Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
• MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House
• Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
• Museum of Latin American Art
• Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
• ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives*
• Otis College of Art and Design, Ben Maltz Gallery*
• Pomona College Museum of Art*
• Santa Monica Museum of Art
• University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach
• Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University*

* Museums that are always free

On Saturday, October 1, join Friends of Atwater Village for a neighborhood clean-up.  Volunteers are needed from 8 a.m. to noon.

Participants are asked to sign in at Luis Lopez Automotive (2751 Fletcher Drive) to receive their assignments and supplies.

For more information, please contact Friends of Atwater Village at 323/913-2999 or favboard@friendsofatwatervillage.org.

The New ShopLA City Visa Platinum Plus Card rewards customers for shopping in Los Angeles.  The new card, available to all Southern California residents, is the first of its kind to offer triple rewards points for all purchases made in Los Angeles.

Besides the rewards, cardholders will also be able to help the city raise much-needed  revenue.  For every $10 raised in sales tax revenue, the city earns $1 to help support services like police, fire,  libraries, and public parks.

Apply for the card here, or by calling (877) MY-LAFCU (695-2328).

On November 12, bring your excess reusable shopping bags to  BNEATO Organizing’s reusable bag collection drive in Silver Lake and Echo Park.  The bags will be re-distributed along with tip sheets (in English and Spanish) on how to organize reusable bags for easy use.

The collection will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake (2730 Hyperion Avenue) and at Vons in Echo Park (1342 N Alvarado Street).

Put your extra bags to good use!

The second FILTER Magazine Culture Collide Festival will be held in Echo Park from October 6-9.  The event is a four-day music festival featuring artists from over 24 countries.

The entertainment lineup includes the band CSS from Brazil, Lindstrøm from Norway, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah from the United States.  The festival will end with the Toyota Antics Block Party, a free all-day event in Echo Park on October 9.

Culture Collide will take place at venues including The Echo, Echoplex, Taix, 826LA, The Church, Reform Academy, Co-op and Origami.

You can purchase wristbands for $20 here.

For more information, visit the event website here.

On September 28,  El Centro Del Pueblo is sponsoring an altar building workshop for Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican festival to celebrate loved ones who have passed away.

The workshop will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at El Centro Del Pueblo (1157 Lemoyne Street). All participants are invited to display their altars for free at the annual Commemoration of Dia de los Muertos and Echo Park Mariachi Festival on  October 15 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

TO R.S.V.P., or for more information, contact Lidia Martinez at lmecdp@yahoo.com or (213) 483-6335.

Glendale Boulevard between Riverside Drive and Rokeby Street/Waverly Drive is scheduled for closure beginning Monday, October 3, for the River Supply Conduit Improvement project.

Copies of a Detour Map, LADWP Contact List, and Metra bus detour routes are available here.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact Mary Olmos, Associate Project Manager at LADWP, at (213) 367-4475.

Looking for a job?

JobsLA.org is a free job posting board for businesses to post jobs, and for job seekers to search for them.  The site is sponsored by the Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board.  Visit the site to find great opportunities and to receive free job searching advice!