April
2003
Want
to show support for the troops? Here are three websites to tell
you how:
www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html -
This site, Defend America, allows you to send your thanks to members of
the U.S. military.
http://www.operationuplink.org/ -
Use this site to donate a calling card to help service members stay in
touch with family and friends.
http://www.metrodc.org/care.html -
This program, Operation USO Care Package, sponsored by USO World Headquarters,
sends care packages to servicemen and women overseas.
SARS
Hot-line Established – Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
has announced that the County’s Department of Health Services
has recently established a new hot-line at (800) 989-5255 to
provide reliable, up-to-date information on the increasing global
health threat posed by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a virulent
lung infection caused by a previously unknown viral pathogen.
For further information and the latest information on SARS on-line,
click CDC SARS
Page.
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Justice for Janitors
Pilgrimage and Mass for Cesar Chavez – Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky (center) prepares to join the Justice for Janitors
Pilgrimage and Mass for Cesar Chavez, founder of the United
Farmworkers and leading civil rights advocate who passed
away in 1993. Also participating, among many others, were
Roger Cardinal Mahony (third from left); Rocky Delgadillo
(right of Yaroslavsky), City Attorney; Councilmember Alex
Padilla; Mayor Jim Hahn; and on the far right, State Sen.
Richard Alarcon. (3/31/03)
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State
Awards $332 Million Transit Funding Guarantee to Los Angeles
County – On Wednesday, April 3, Supervisor
Zev Yaroslavsky announced that the California Transportation
Commission unanimously approved a $332.2 million funding request
by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for Southern California
transit projects during the next five years. Calling it “a
great day for Los Angeles transportation,'' Yaroslavsky, an MTA
Board member, had testified in Sacramento urging the Commission
to approve the package. Under the deal, he said, the MTA would
borrow the $332.2 million and be repaid by the state roughly
$317 million for the principal, covering the interest payments
itself from local funding. Yaroslavsky said projects to be funded
would include the Eastside Light Rail ($191 million), the San
Fernando East-West Metro Rapid Transitway ($98 million), more
buses ($27.8 million) and extra light rail cars ($15.4 million).
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Grand Avenue Improvement
Project – Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (center) and his
Board colleagues gather to officially launch a two-block
street improvement and beautification project to complement
the scheduled October 2003 opening of the new Walt Disney
Concert Hall at the Music Center of Los Angeles County. Fronting
both sides of Grand Avenue between Temple and Second Streets – spanning
the full length of the Music Center complex from the Ahmanson
Theatre to the Walt Disney Concert Hall - the project will
feature wider, unobstructed sidewalks, pocket parks, and
an entirely new landscaping and tree-planting scheme. Pictured
from left to right, front row: Larry and Eris Field,
longtime Music Center donors who contributed to the project;
Supervisors Gloria Molina, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Yaroslavsky,
and Don Knabe; Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry,
representing the area; and Andrea Van de Kamp, Chair of the
Music Center of Los Angeles County. Back row: David Janssen,
Chief Administrative Officer for the County of Los Angeles;
Stephen Rountree, President of the Music Center; and Supervisor
Mike Antonovich. (3/25/03)
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Ford Announces Summer
Season – The County’s John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
has unveiled its 2003 Summer Season of programming. Running from
May 30 to November 1, the Ford’s most ambitious season yet
comprises some 75 performances of 63 different events over 22 weeks,
embracing world culture, dance, theatre, classical music, jazz,
bluegrass, cabaret, film and family fare. Click Ford
Amphitheatre 2003 Season for full details on programs,
transportation, dining opportunities and other information.
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Richard Lillard Outdoor
Classroom Dedication – Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky joins
surviving family members of naturalist and ecologist Richard
Lillard to dedicate in his memory a new outdoor classroom
in Studio City for the study of plants and riparian habitats
along the Los Angeles River. The facility is the first of
many such projects planned as part of an extended Los Angeles
River Park by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Yaroslavsky
helped to secure funding for the project through a 1996 County
park and open-space ballot measure he sponsored. Joining
Yaroslavsky, from the left, are Mrs. Louise Lillard; daughter
Monique Lillard; and grandchildren Louis and Richard. (3/22/03)
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County
Open-Government Efforts Advance – Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky notes continuing progress in County efforts he spearheaded
in April 2002 to open County government and improve access to information
and public participation in the decision-making process. Printed
transcripts linked to video broadcasts of weekly Board meetings
are now posted within 24 hours on-line at http://lacounty.info/transcripts.htm.
An extensive archive of audit reports on various departments and
County policy issues may be found on the Auditor-Controller's website
at http://auditor.co.la.ca.us/recent.asp
West Hollywood Library Project Moves Ahead – On March
18, 2003, the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with the City
of West Hollywood to pursue plans to fund and construct a new County public
library. Under the arrangement, the City will submit a grant application
for state matching funds under a 2000 voter-approved bond measure. If approved,
the grant would help fund a new 42,000 sq.ft. facility, approximately 75%
of it dedicated to library use, to replace the County’s aging 1962
library building affording barely 5,000 square feet of space. Highlights
of the proposed new library include: a large adult reading area; homework
center; three designated special collection areas; a 100-seat community
room; career development center; conference and study rooms; teen center
with dedicated study room; spacious children’s section with storytelling
room; and extensive computer access with Internet stations. The new library
will be built on land currently owned by the City and the County, adjacent
to two County-owned properties which include the old library site. Click West
Hollywood Library for additional details about the project.
 Yaroslavsky
Announces April Commission Appointments (+ designates
reappointments)
04/08/03 Joseph
A. Cislowski+, Library Commission
04/08/03 Fred
A. Flores+, Los Angeles County Veterans’ Advisory
Commission;
04/08/03 Jacquelyn
McCroskey+, Policy Roundtable for Child Care
04/08/03 Ronald
D. Rosen+, Los Angeles County Arts Commission
04/01/03 Arlene
Friedman, Ph.D., Commission on Alcoholism |