June Archives

June 2002

Board Approves Yaroslavsky Plan for Transitional Housing for Emancipated Foster Youth With Mental Health Needs – On 5/28, the Board approved Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s proposal to allocate $200,000 of Third District funds to complete the financing package for a much-needed transitional housing project in North Hills for “emancipated” foster youth – those turning 18 who are no longer wards of the County’s dependency system - with mental-health needs. A project of the National Foundation for the Treatment of the Emotionally Handicapped (Penny Lane), a nonprofit housing developer and service provider, the 16-bed project – known as Columbus House Transitional Housing - will house emancipated youth including residents of the MacLaren Children’s Center. The project will be financed with help from the County Departments of Children and Family Services, Probation and Mental Health, the City of Los Angeles and the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Click Penny Lane for a copy of Yaroslavsky’s motion.

Yaroslavsky Dedicates New Rancho Park DPSS Office – On May 2, 2002, Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky dedicated the long-awaited state-of-the-art Rancho Park District Office for the Department of Public Social Services, serving more than 32,000 public-assistance clients. The new facility, located at 11110 W. Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles, will enable participants to continue to apply for and receive benefits in Medi-Cal, Food Stamps, General Relief, and In-Home Supportive Services programs. Clients will also be able to participate in a Job Club offering computer terminals and job skills training, and electronic kiosks will provide information in several languages on programs, benefits and transportation. Designed to harmonize with and compliment the surrounding neighborhood, the office boasts a striking and innovative design that has been submitted for an architectural award. It is accessible by local buses, MTA, and freeway. Sited about half a mile from the location it formerly occupied since 1961, the building is the fourth new DPSS facility to open in the last 18 months. For further information regarding services at the Rancho Park Office, call (310) 481-5377.

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Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky (center) recently hosted a reception to celebrate the formal renaming of the County courthouse as the “Stanley Mosk Courthouse,” in recognition of the late California Supreme Court jurist, who passed away at the age of 88 in 2001. Mosk was the state’s longest serving judge, joining the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1943, and serving (with a break for World War II military service) until his election to state Attorney General in 1958. In 1964, Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown appointed him to the state Supreme Court, where Mosk served until his death. Mosk was widely heralded for his eloquent and courageous opinions, notably in the area of discrimination and civil rights, many of which anticipated national legal trends by many years. Joining Yaroslavsky, from the left, are Los Angeles Superior Court Supervising Judge Gary Klausner; Assistant Presiding Judge Robert A. Dukes; California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno; former County Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman; Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke; Kaygey Kash Mosk, Justice Mosk’s widow; California Court of Appeals Justice Richard M. Mosk, Justice Mosk’s son; and Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn. (6/10/02)

LAFCO Votes to Place Valley, Hollywood Secession Proposals on November Ballot – In a pair of votes on May 22 and June 5, the Local Agency Formation Commission formally voted to place secession plans for the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood areas on the November 5, 2002 ballot for consideration by City of Los Angeles voters. After a scheduled hearing for reconsideration by LAFCO, the Board of Supervisors and LAFCO itself will conduct protest hearings for the Valley and Hollywood secession proposals, respectively. If more than 50% of the registered voters do not protest in writing, final approval will be granted for the measures’ placement on the November ballot. Click Special Reorganization Chronology for the LAFCO Web page containing links to all relevant reports and documents.

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From the left, Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky joins Dolores (Mrs. Bob) Hope, entertainer Red Buttons, actress Connie Stevens, and Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge to dedicate the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel on the grounds of the Westwood VA Medical Center. On the occasion of the performer’s 99th birthday, Hope (who was unable to attend) was hailed for his more than 50 years of legendary USO tours to entertain American forces deployed around the globe far from their families, often in combat situations, from the earliest days of WWII through the Gulf War. (5/29/02)

Board To Sue City of Los Angeles Over City Center Redevelopment Project – On May 21, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize filing a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and its Community Redevelopment Agency over the City Center Redevelopment Project, a proposed effort to develop an 879-acre area that includes the downtown core, South Park, and City Markets areas of downtown Los Angeles. Challenging the City’s inclusion of 27 acres of non-blighted Staples Center parking lots approved last fall for development as the Sports and Entertainment District Project, County financial analysts estimated a loss to County taxpayers of $278 million in property taxes diverted to subsidize the redevelopment project over its 45-year life. The Board vote served notice that the County would proceed with the suit if the City did not rescind its approval of the proposed redevelopment area within four weeks. The County on May 1 formally filed a detailed Statement of Objections to the plan accompanied by a cover-letter summary, but the City Council subsequently approved the project on May 15 and again on May 22, 2002. An earlier CAO City Center Project Board letter from April 5, 2002 first outlined the County’s concerns and a suggested course of action.

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Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky (center) joins other elected officials and transit representatives in front of an MTA Rapid Metro bus to dedicate the new Campo de Cahuenga Way Bridge in Studio City. Yaroslavsky noted that the $34.6 million six-lane bridge and pedestrian walkway was intended to improve freeway access and reduce traffic on surrounding surface streets like Ventura Boulevard. In addition to the bridge’s freeway on- and off-ramps, the project includes a bus plaza and a widened Lankershim Boulevard, and more than doubles the available parking around the Universal City Metro Red Line subway station. Begun in 1999, the bridge was financed with local, state and federal funding as part of the expansion of the Metro Red Line subway system from Hollywood and Highland to North Hollywood. (6/10/02)

Board Set to Consider Health Service Cuts, Begin Budget Deliberations on Wednesday, June 26 – On Wednesday, June 26, 2002, the Board of Supervisors begins its annual budget deliberations, finalizing adoption of the County’s 2002-2003 Budget and considering a strategic redesign plan by the Department of Health Services for restructuring and consolidating the provision of health services throughout the County.

Yaroslavsky Announces Commission Appointments in June (+ designates reappointments)

06/18/02 Margaret Clark and Clarence W. Gieck, Solid Waste Facilities Hearing Board

06/18/02 Leslie K. Gilbert-Lurie+, Los Angeles County Board of Education

06/18/02 Andrew Robert Stern+, Los Angeles County Beach Commission

06/11/02 Howard R. Jacobs, Commission on HIV Health Services