Mar. Archives

March 2004

A Message from Supervisor Yaroslavsky on March 2, 2004 Voter Approval of Propositions 57 and 58: The County of Los Angeles, like the 57 other California counties, dodged a bullet when state voters approved overwhelmingly Propositions 57 and 58 on March 2, 2004. Now, the hard work really begins. Taken together, these measures will provide $15 billion in new bond financing to assist cash-strapped state and local governments this year, and to establish some modest controls on future borrowing and spending. But make no mistake: these measures alone are no panacea. Economists and budget experts widely agree that the state’s structural deficit – the underlying and ongoing imbalance between revenues and expenditures – has yet to be addressed. Our 2004-5 fiscal budget is still in jeopardy, significant budget cuts and fee hikes are still on the table in Sacramento, and Gov. Schwarzenegger is refusing to categorically rule out possible tax increases. The governor is right not to do so: California must face next year's deficit squarely and honestly, and doing so without robbing local governments is essential.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky presents a symbolic check to Lisa Klinger, President, Topanga Enrichment Program, representing a $10,000 contribution of Third District funds to underwrite supplementary classroom materials for children attending Topanga Elementary School. Yaroslavsky’s local grant complemented additional recent federal funding grants for the school’s programs. (3/22/04)

Ridgeline Protection Ordinance Gets Public Hearing – On Wednesday, March 23, 2004, the County Planning Commission held the first public hearing to consider adoption of a new ridgeline protection ordinance long championed by Supervisor Yaroslavsky. The proposed ordinance would help preserve scenic and biological resources in hillside and ridgeline areas governed by the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan, set new standards requiring a Conditional Use Permit for extensive grading and cutting, and require minimum setbacks for developments near significant ridgelines. The ordinance represents the first serious effort by the County of Los Angeles to protect the scenic ridgelines in the Santa Monica Mountains; the public hearing will continue before the Planning Commission on April 28, 2004. Click grading and significant ridgeline ordinance for further information on the ordinance and the hearing.

Announcing the 2004 Inaugural Season in the brand new Hollywood Bowl shell, Supervisor Yaroslavsky joins, from the left, LA Philharmonic President Deborah Borda; Ming Fung and Craig Hodgetts of the Hodgetts+Fung architecture firm; and John Mauceri, Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The replacement shell harks back to the classic look of the 1920s, and for the first time will be large enough to accommodate the full symphony orchestra with a state-of-the-art acoustic design. Click Hollywood Bowl Calendar for the performance schedule; click Bowl shell to learn more about the project itself. (3/11/04)

MTA Orange Line Project Moves Ahead – The MTA’s innovative trans-San Fernando Valley busway project, christened the Orange Line, continues to progress. On completion, the dedicated 14-mile busway will link Warner Center to the North Hollywood Metro Rail subway station. On February 26, 2004, plans for a new Warner Center park-and-ride lot took another step forward when the MTA Board approved updated environmental documents required for the proposed acquisition of a former Boeing Aircraft Company site for a major new MTA park-and-ride lot serving West Valley commuters on the Orange Line. The new park-and-ride lot would be bordered on the north and south by Vanowen St. and Victory Blvd., and on the east and west by Variel Ave. and Canoga Ave. Click Orange Line park-and-ride project for more details, and click Orange Line to learn more about this project and follow its development.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky honors Dr. David G. Lynch, “father of the Hemispherical Resonator Gyro,” a sophisticated high-performance spacecraft and missile guidance navigational instrument, at Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Navigation Systems Division dedication of its new HRG manufacturing center in Woodland Hills. Northrop relocated the facility from Goleta, near Santa Barbara, to consolidate Division operations in Woodland Hills where the Division, with nearly 2,000 employees, is headquartered. Company officials noted that this gyro, capable of sensing minute changes in vibration patterns on a thin-walled glass shell to gauge its movement, supports long-term space missions in applications including communications, earth sciences studies and deep space exploration. (3/17/04)

County to Fund Year-Round Homeless Shelters – Adopting a motion by Supervisor Yaroslavsky, the Board of Supervisors on March 9, 2004 released $2 million in funding to carry out a plan by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to provide 241 beds for the homeless in several year-round shelters situated throughout the County. Yaroslavsky called the action “a major step forward in our efforts to support a continuum of care for our homeless population.” Click homeless services for a report on the Board’s final action on the item.

Visiting the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to kick off the County’s “Healthy Parks” campaign, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is joined by Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Stan Lee, Park and Recreation Commissioner for Burke’s Second District and a member of the Board of Directors for the County’s Parks Foundation. The Board of Supervisors declared April as “Healthy Parks Month” as part of an effort to raise awareness of the role that parks and their community partners play in reducing childhood obesity and promoting health and fitness activities. Yaroslavsky noted that the County’s most recent Health Survey last year found that more than half of the adults and children surveyed in a random sample of some 14,000 respondents considered themselves obese or overweight. County health officials say that combined public and private health care spending in the County related to obesity has grown to nearly 10% of total health care costs, a rate comparable to tobacco-related health care expenses. Obesity is one of the fastest growing health problems among the County’s youth, while the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, historically associated with middle aged adults, has also been rising among County teens. Click food insecurity report for the latest County findings on the relationship between nutrition, fitness, obesity and related health issues.
(3/26/04)

Board Approves Yaroslavsky Plan to Seek Federal Funding Flexibility for Child Welfare Services – On February 17, 2004, the Board of Supervisors approved Yaroslavsky’s proposal to seek new federal funding flexibility for the County’s child-welfare system. Currently, the funds can only be used to care for children removed from their parents and placed in foster care, group homes or with relatives. County officials are working with the State of California to obtain a "waiver" of the funding restrictions to demonstrate more effective ways to use the funds to improve children's safety, permanency and well-being. Examples would include in-home services provided by community agencies aimed at preventing abuse and neglect; family conferences to assist families to develop their own plans for safety and support; and therapeutic foster care homes that specialize in caring for children with mental health, emotional and/or behavioral issues. Click final action for more details on the Board’s action

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (right) and County Library Margaret Donnellan Todd honor Stuart Feigin for his generous donation of some $10,000 in stock for the benefit of the West Hollywood branch of the County Public Library located a block away from the elementary school he attended as a child. Weigin, a former resident of West Hollywood who paid weekly visits to the library while growing up, attended UCLA and later worked for many years in Silicon Valley as a programmer and software designer before embarking on a highly successful career as a venture capitalist. (3/16/04)

Board Opposes Constitutional Amendment Barring Same-Sex Marriage - On Wednesday, March 3, 2004, the Board of Supervisors approved Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's motion to oppose a federal constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriages. Yaroslavsky noted that laws governing marriage have always been a matter for the states to decide, and that with multiple court actions pending to clarify the legal situation, "an amendment to the United States Constitution is unnecessary and represents a diversion of precious time and resources that would be better used to address the more pressing issues facing our nation."

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (center) pays a visit to Calvert Street School in Woodland Hills for a nationwide "Read-Around" program of classic Dr. Seuss stories to a group of schoolchildren. Dropping by to read from the Seuss favorite, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!", Yaroslavsky lent his talents as part of the "Read Across America" campaign to promote reading and literacy, celebrating the "Seussentennial" (the 100th birthday) of author Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, who died at the age of 87 in 1991. (3/04/04)

Yaroslavsky Announces March Commission Appointments (+ designates reappointments)

3/9 - Jeffrey D. Jennings, Esq.+, Beach Commission
3/3 - Hope Boonshaft+, Los Angeles County Citizens' Economy and Efficiency Commission; Marlene Bronson+, Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission; Annie E. Cho+, Los Angeles County Citizens' Economy and Efficiency Commission; Theodore J. Eckberg, M.D.+, Developmental Disabilities Board (Area 10-Los Angeles); Ernest J. Friedman+, Quality and Productivity Commission;
Jerry Lubin+, Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission; Alma K. Martinez+, Library Commission; Leonard Unger, Esq., Board of Investments (Rotational)

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky offers opening remarks as state Attorney General Bill Lockyer listens intently during a public hearing Yaroslavsky convened to consider the implications of Tenet Healthcare's announced sale of 19 hospitals throughout California, four of them in the County of Los Angeles. In his opening remarks, Yaroslavsky told members of the County's Emergency Medical Services Commission, "If we had had an earthquake, and 4,287 hospital beds were closed, it would have been declared a disaster. This decision by Tenet, which is exclusively their decision, and not a federal decision, is a disaster." The EMS Commission is to report back to the Board with its findings. (3/4/04)