Uneven service levels in Los Angeles

City of Los Angeles Street Operations maintenance workers fill potholes on Alameda Street near downtown Los Angeles as part of “Operation Pothole.”

City of Los Angeles Street Services maintenance worker Ralph Jackson prepares a pothole to be filled on Alameda Street near downtown Los Angeles as part of “Operation Pothole.”

Norah Bustamante, with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, paints over tagger vandalism in Los Angeles. One of the group’s missions is to eradicate graffiti.

Norah Bustamante, left, and Barbara Rocha with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps load up paint rollers to cover graffiti in an alley on West Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles.

Volunteers carry a discarded toilet and cardboard litter as they help clean up Kingsley Drive in a monthly gathering organized by the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council. The group conducts monthly cleanups to remove debris not picked up by the city.

A team of volunteers clean up Kingsley Drive in a monthly gathering organized by the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council.

Volunteers load a discarded cabinet into a dumpster as they help clean up Kingsley Drive in a monthly gathering organized by the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council.