LOS ANGELES — Sweat streamed down the faces of children during 10 a.m. recess Wednesday at Lockwood Elementary. Boys' cheeks flushed red as they played kickball. Girls found a sliver a shade beneath a handball wall to jump rope. With morning temperatures soaring into the 90s, this would be their last outdoor foray on their asphalt playground in East Hollywood.
It was Day 1 of what is forecast to be the longest and hottest heatwave this year, and the Lockwood asphalt would radiate too much heat for them to play safely. But such is the sizzling heat problem at this campus, which holds the No. 1 ranking on L.A. Unified's "Greening Index," a long list of schools in desperate need of green space and shade.
At Lockwood there is 162,059 square feet of hardscape, and only 1,049 of green space — and a few spindly trees in planter boxes.
