August Archives

August 2002

Board Adopts Yaroslavsky Proposal to Seek Voter Approval for “Trauma Tax” to Support County’s Ailing Emergency Response System – On Tuesday, July 30, Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky won Board approval to place on the November 5, 2002 ballot a trauma tax proposal asking County voters to enact a new Countywide parcel tax on buildings of 3 cents/sq. ft. annually (about $42.66 for the average single-family home) to shore up the County’s ailing trauma center network and emergency services. Yaroslavsky noted that the trauma system, inaugurated in 1983 and boasting at one time 22 participating hospitals, has shrunk to only 13 trauma centers today. Recalling how the trauma center at Providence Holy Cross Hospital saved the life of five-year-old Benjamin Kadish, seriously wounded in the 1999 assault on the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Yaroslavsky declared that “It’s worth every penny we spend to try to bring people back to life when they're on the precipice.'' Click trauma network to learn more about the trauma care system.

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Yaroslavsky Joins Public for “Government Day 2002”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky stops by to visit volunteers manning the tables for the Panorama City Mall’s 22nd Annual “Government Day,” a traditional event sponsored by Yaroslavsky’s office to help residents become better acquainted with all levels of government and available programs and services. This year, more than 40 participating federal, state, County and city agencies mounted displays and distributed information, including the County’s Departments of Health Services, Public Social Services and Family Support, the County Registrar-Recorder, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Los Angeles Police Department, the state Department of Insurance and the federal Social Security Administration. (7/27/02)

Board Votes to Shutter Antelope Valley’s High Desert Hospital, 11 Health Clinics and Four School-Based Clinics, Curtail Public Health Services – On August 20, 2002, moving to head off looming health budget deficits and potentially catastrophic service cuts and job losses, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the first of a series of service reductions proposed by the Department of Health Services (click initial DHS redesign plan for the detailed proposal, and final DHS recommendations for the adopted action plan). The DHS proposal to shutter High Desert hospital and 15 smaller clinics and curtail some public-health services was aimed at cutting costs, consolidating services and increasing efficiency in the County health system. The Board will consider a proposed second round of deeper health cuts in October, pending final adoption of the state budget and the results of other ongoing legislative and advocacy efforts aimed at securing additional health services funding for the County of Los Angeles.

Board of Supervisors Votes Unanimously to Place Valley, Hollywood Secession Questions Before City Voters in November – On Tuesday, July 30, the Board of Supervisors gave final approval to putting the proposed Hollywood secession question before Los Angeles City voters on the November 5, 2002 ballot. On Thursday, July 25, the Board gave final approval to submitting to City voters the question of whether or not to approve the detachment of the San Fernando Valley to form a new city. Click LAFCO resolution to read the full text of that measure.

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Yaroslavsky Announces New Lifeguard Tower Project
Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky (left) was recently joined at Dockweiler Beach by (from the left) Chief Lifeguard Mike Frazer and Beach Commission members Rosi Dagit, Hal Ross and Andy Stern to unveil the first of nearly 150 new state-of-the art lifeguard towers which will eventually be placed on the 18 public beaches across the County’s 76-mile coastline. Yaroslavsky said the new towers will afford greater beach visibility, quicker access to the water for rescues, and reduced maintenance costs. The $4 million project should be completed by 2004. (7/17/02)

Yaroslavsky Designates $100,000 to Rehab Historic Housing for Developmentally Disabled Tenants – On July 16, the Board of Supervisors approved a proposal by Supervisor Yaroslavsky to award a grant of $100,000 to the Ocean Housing Foundation, a joint project of the United Cerebral Palsy/Spastic Children’s Foundation and the City of Santa Monica, to provide 13 very low-income housing units for developmentally disabled tenants. The funding will help finance the rehabilitation of a historic 1928 Spanish Colonial Revival-style building at 1525 Euclid St. in Santa Monica, formerly a County-owned facility for the Department of Mental Health. Click housing grant for further details.

Board Clarifies and Strengthens Open-Meeting Policies – Also on July 16, on Yaroslavsky’s motion, the Board of Supervisors approved a package of recommendations to clarify and strengthen a series of actions taken at Yaroslavsky’s urging on April 2, 2002 to improve County compliance with state open-meeting and public-records laws. Yaroslavsky’s motion also asked County officials to return in 90 days with a status report on the successful implementation of the open-government reforms to consider further actions and codification of Board policies into statutory ordinances. For details, click legality of Board directives, Board deputy meetings, meeting procedures.

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Yaroslavsky, Judges Cut the Ribbon for New Santa Monica Court Juror Assembly Room
Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky joined, from the left, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court James A. Bascue, Judge Jacqueline Connor, and Judge Alan Haber to dedicate the new Santa Monica Court Juror Assembly Room. The 7,000-sq. ft. facility is totally accessible to people with physical limitations, and offers 17 modem outlets for computer users (two of them ADA-compliant), faxing/copying machines, overhead projection of orientation video presentations, separate TV-viewing room and juror locker room. Located at 1725 Main Street, the Santa Monica Court also boasts a patio with ocean view. (7/11/02)

Board Approves City of San Fernando Loan to Save Jobs – On July 9, the Board of Supervisors approved a $3 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Float Loan to the City of San Fernando Redevelopment Agency to save 130 permanent, full-time equivalent jobs at Oh Boy! Industries, Inc. in the City of San Fernando, maker of pizza and pasta food products. The County’s Float Loan Program provides financing to firms that create or retain jobs and to entities that increase services to low- and moderate-income persons in the County. More than half of the jobs saved will be held by low- and moderate-income workers, with the loan proceeds earmarked for working capital, account receivables, inventory, product development, debt restructuring and marketing. Click here for further details.

Yaroslavsky Announces Third District Public Works Projects:

Whiteman Airport Improvements – On July 16, the Board approved a $182,185 contract with A. A. Portanova & Sons, Inc., of Agoura Hills, for improvements to Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. The work will include the construction of an access road, curb, gutter, sidewalk, a water main, catch basins with connector pipes, curb drains, and a street lighting system. For further details, click release or Board paper.

Yaroslavsky Announces Commission Appointments in July (+ designates reappointments)

08/20/02 Marc W. Haupert+, Commission on HIV Health Services

08/13/02 Lester Breslow, M.D., M.P.H.+, Public Health Commission

08/13/02 Clare Bronowski, Esq.+, Los Angeles County Beach Commission

08/13/02 Bernard S. Weintraub+,Los Angeles County Commission on Aging

08/06/02 Carol Oughton Biondi+, Commission for Children and Families

08/06/02 Ki Suh Park+, Board of Governors, Department of Museum of Natural History

07/30/02 Joanne Baltierrez+, Los Angeles County Citizens’ Economy and Efficiency Commission

07/16/02 Rosi Dagit+ and Charles Hayes+, Los Angeles County Beach Commission

07/16/02 Stephen Rosmarin+, Los Angeles County Veterans’ Advisory Commission