August 2001

SuperScoopers Flying Back to Los Angeles County - On August 21, the Board of Supervisors approved a new five-year contract with the Government of Quebec to lease the amphibious CL-215T or CL-415 "SuperScooper" aircraft on an as-needed basis. The Board approved $2.2 million in annual spending authority, for a total of $11 million over the life of the contract. Yaroslavsky called approval of the SuperScooper lease "essential" to the District's fire suppression effort, which covers the annual brush fire season running from July 1st through November 30th, barring extreme weather conditions which can extend the season through December 31st. The Board approved the original five-year SuperScooper agreement in 1996. Fire officials said they would continue to evaluate other aerial attack resources as they become available, and will pursue joint-funding opportunities for the SuperScooper from other agencies. They noted that the agreement permits the Fire District to determine each fire season when conditions call for the use of the SuperScooper, with no obligation. The SuperScooper lease agreement is one of the components of the Contract Aircraft Program, which also includes a cooperative agreement with the Angeles National Forest to share costs for a helitanker, personnel, and air tanker base operations. For additional information, click SuperScooper contract.

Pacoima School Health Clinic Funded - Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has announced that the Board of Supervisors has allocated $190,000 toward a $250,000 partnership project with the Los Angeles Unified School District to establish a primary health-care clinic at Pacoima Middle School. Yaroslavsky said that the clinic would provide medical care, mental health and health education services to students and their families, and will screen all students and families for eligibility in government health insurance programs such as Medi-Cal and California's Healthy Families effort. Yaroslavsky noted that Pacoima Middle School has an enrollment of 2,000 students, more than 80% of whom are on the free or subsidized lunch program. Pacoima has been federally designated as a "medically underserved" community, with 83% of children living in households near or below the poverty level. Yaroslavsky said the Pacoima facility would be the fourth such clinic partnership serving the San Fernando Valley, with others operating successfully at the Vaughn Street Learning Center, Maclay Middle School and Kennedy High School. Plans to add a fifth clinic at Sun Valley Middle School are underway.

Board Acts to Establish Weed Management Area to Control Non-Native, Invasive Vegetation - Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has announced Board approval of his motion to create a Weed Management Area in the County of Los Angeles to control the dangerous proliferation of non-native, invasive vegetation. Yaroslavsky noted that throughout the western United States including Los Angeles County, non-native weeds have established themselves and are causing enormous economic and environmental harm. They can interfere with crop production, be poisonous to humans and livestock, or invade wildlands and farm “monocultures," which then interfere with and can eventually overtake native species of plants and wildlife. They also ruin land for grazing and outdoor recreation, and increase the risk of fires or flooding. Because invasive weeds don't respect jurisdictional or property boundaries, the concept of multi-jurisdictional "weed management areas" (WMAs) was born to consolidate and coordinate control and eradication efforts. Yaroslavsky explained that WMAs are local organizations that bring together public and private-sector landowners and managers within a targeted geographical area to coordinate efforts and expertise against common invasive weed species under a mutually developed common Memorandum of Understanding. Weed-control activities undertaken by WMAs include public information campaigns, receiving state and federal grant funding, and coordinating joint eradication, mapping, outreach, and other effective weed management projects.

Santa Monica Courthouse to Get New Jury Assembly Room - Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has announced Board approval of plans to construct a new jury assembly room for the Santa Monica Courthouse, located at 1725 Main Street in Santa Monica. Yaroslavsky said the much-needed facilities would replace the existing overcrowded quarters with some 5,600 square feet of comfortable, accessible jury assembly space in what had formerly been an underutilized cafeteria. Officials estimate the construction costs between $681,848 and $937,541, with a total cost projected at $1,650,000. Yaroslavsky said sufficient funds are available in the Criminal Justice Facilities Temporary Construction Fund. Court operations will continue uninterrupted, with potentially disruptive construction activities confined to nights and weekend shifts. Click jury assembly room for additional details.

Board Cracks Down on Noisy Parties with New Ordinance - Acting in response to public complaints and law enforcement frustration, the Board of Supervisors on August 14 gave final approval to a tough new anti-noise ordinance aimed at helping deputies crack down on noisy parties and other disturbances in unincorporated areas of the County. Click noise ordinance for additional details.

Yaroslavsky Wins MTA Approval for Chandler Blvd. Busway Project in Valley - On July 26, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky won approval on a 9-3 vote for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to proceed with developing a rapid busway project down the median of Chandler Blvd. across the San Fernando Valley. Yaroslavsky cited MTA staff reports showing that the $285 million busway would cut cross-Valley commuting time virtually in half, effectively linking Warner Center to downtown in less than an hour of travel time. The 14-mile long busway will run primarily on a former Southern Pacific/Pacific Electric Red Car right-of-way, and will have 13 station stops, including five park-and-ride lots, to serve major Valley destinations such as Valley College and Pierce College, and Van Nuys Government Center. Yaroslavsky noted that MTA planners term the project "a busway within a greenway," because the 100-foot right-of-way will be transformed into a greenbelt across the Valley, wide enough to accommodate landscaping with more than 4,000 new trees, bicycle and pedestrian paths, picket fencing, separation berms and soundwalls. Yaroslavsky added that quieter vehicles and sound insulation would minimize noise impacts on surrounding neighborhoods, and that new lighting, LAPD patrols, emergency phones and other improvements would enhance safety and security in the area. Click busway motion for further details.

Waxman Moves to Scrap West LA VA Land-Use Plan - Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky praised House approval of a budget amendment by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) that would prohibit the Veterans Administration from implementing a plan released in April 2001 which would permit extensive commercial development on the campus of the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Yaroslavsky, veterans groups, and local residents had criticized the VA plan for being hatched in secret with minimal public participation. The VA plans would have effectively scuttled the Cranston Act, a federal law that protects some 109 acres of the West LA VA property from sale and development.

Yaroslavsky Announces $1 Million Affordable Housing Project for West Hollywood - Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has announced approval of a $1,035,769 federal HOME loan to the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, a non-profit community housing development organization, to construct 24 units of affordable rental housing in the City of West Hollywood. The Havenhurst Apartments project, located on Havenhurst Dr. just south of Sunset Blvd., will set aside the low-income units for a period of 30 years for tenants eligible under federal guidelines. Six of the units will be targeted to disabled tenants with HIV/AIDS, six units for other disabled tenants, and 11 units for seniors, with a resident manager. Yaroslavsky explained that the Board of Supervisors, acting in its capacity as the County's Community Development Commission, actively solicits affordable housing proposals from developers applying for federal funding, which are periodically awarded based on a competitive process and the availability of funds. Click affordable housing for additional details.

Yaroslavsky Calls for Stepped Up Action to Combat "Endemic" Syphilis - Noting a substantial increase in reported syphilis cases among same-sex male partners in the first six months of 2001, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky called for stepped up efforts to combat what County health officials are calling "endemic" (continually present) levels of syphilis infection in the gay male population. Yaroslavsky's urgency motion, approved unanimously, instructs the health department to develop in two weeks an action plan and funding sources to enhance the public education and outreach campaign launched in the wake of the initial syphilis outbreak in March 2000.

Yaroslavsky Announces Commission Appointments in August (+ designates reappointments)

08/15/01 Sybil Brand+, Sybil Brand Commission for Institutional Inspections

08/15/01 Joseph A. Cislowski+, Library Commission

08/15/01 Ronald D. Rosen, Esq., Los Angeles County Board of Education

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