Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, right, dropped by the Veteran Affairs West Los Angeles Healthcare Center for the Grand Opening of the Veteran’s Village Diner, a self-help project launched by New Directions, Inc., a long-term substance abuse treatment program and social-service agency serving more than 800 homeless vets annually. The Diner is a restaurant employing formerly homeless veterans on the VA’s Brentwood campus, and serving healthy fare for VA personnel and other Westside residents, will use its proceeds to assist the male and female veterans to get back on their feet and get their lives back on track. Joining Yaroslavsky here are John Fitzgerald, Jr. Acting Associate Director for Administration and Support, Veterans Administration, West Los Angeles; and Toni Reinis, Executive Director, New Directions, Inc. (9/5/03)

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, left, is joined by Board of Supervisors Chair Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (center) and four children to celebrate the launch of “Healthy Kids,” a historic program to provide free or low-cost health coverage for eligible children ages 5 and younger in the County of Los Angeles. Sponsored by First 5 LA, a not-for-profit organization funded by Prop. 10, the voter-approved tobacco tax initiative, “Healthy Kids” – initiated by Yaroslavsky as a past Chair of the First 5 LA Commission - will extend health coverage to young children living in homes with incomes under 300% of the federal poverty level ($55,224 for a family of four). An estimated 73,000 children in kindergarten or younger lack health insurance in the County of Los Angeles. “Healthy Kids” will offer comprehensive coverage including routine doctor visits, immunizations, hospital care, dental and vision care, and more for at least a five-year funding cycle. (9/8/03)

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (center), Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, thanks with a handshake federal Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta (lower left) as Supervisor fellow MTA Board member Gloria Molina beams. Mineta visited the MTA’s Gateway Center headquarters to announce a federal transportation funding grant of some $45 million which had been promised for Southern California transit projects, including reimbursement for the Metro Red Line subway extension to North Hollywood and underwriting at least eight new Metro Rapid and local buses. (9/13/03 )