JANUARY ARCHIVES
1998

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Board Adopts Yaroslavsky Call to Launch 1998 "The Year of Healthy Children" Campaign - On January 6, the Board unanimously approved Supervisor Yaroslavsky's motion to declare 1998 "The Year of Healthy Children," and directing the Department of Health Services to work with other appropriate departments to develop a plan of action to coordinate all major program initiatives in 1998 affecting the health of children in Los Angeles County. Copies of the proclamation will be sent to all 88 cities in Los Angeles County, and the Governor, the Legislature, and the Los Angeles County congressional delegation will be informed and encouraged to support the effort. Similar legislative actions are expected to follow.

Yaroslavsky Speaks to Islamic Center Congregants - On December 14, 1997, Supervisor Yaroslavsky spoke before assembled congregants at the Islamic Center of Southern California, where he appeared at the invitation of Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. Al-Marayati, and others in the Muslim community, had been moved by Yaroslavsky's first person account of a visit to the tomb of Jewish mass murderer Baruch Goldstein outside Hebron, which appeared in a March, 1997 issue of the Jewish Journal, a weekly Los Angeles community newspaper. Los Angeles Times political columnist Bill Boyarsky subsequently devoted an entire article to Yaroslavsky's visit, praising its message to "put aside divisions" and work together to make Los Angeles "a less hostile place to live."

Yaroslavsky Announces Reopening of San Fernando Health Center at New Site - The San Fernando Health Center, part of Los Angeles County's Valley Care Network, has reopened to serve patients at a new interim facility at 604 S. Maclay Avenue in the City of San Fernando. The Center was the oldest and busiest County health center prior to the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which forced its relocation to temporary quarters in a pair of trailers on N. Brand St. The Maclay Avenue site will serve until a new permanent facility is completed at Pico and Mission Streets in San Fernando by the year 2000. Patients may obtain further information by calling (818)365-6341.

Board Adopts Yaroslavsky Call to Conduct Management Audit of Department of Children and Family Services - Responding to concerns voiced by children's advocates, social workers, and County Children's Commissioners, Supervisors Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe won approval for a joint motion initiating the first comprehensive management audit of the Department of Children and Family Services, focusing particularly on workload and case management issues. Yaroslavsky noted that despite a massive increase in resources made available to the DCFS during the last two years, a failure to meet hiring goals in a timely manner coupled with skyrocketing attrition have hampered the department's ability to bring caseloads down. Reforming the Department, Yaroslavsky said, "has to be our top priority."

Yaroslavsky Presides Over Rededication of San Fernando Courthouse - On January 15, 1998, nearly four years to the day after the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake severely damaged and red-tagged the San Fernando Courthouse, Supervisor Yaroslavsky was joined by District Attorney Gil Garcetti, Presiding Judges of the Municipal and Superior Courts, other officials and some 350 guests to rededicate the newly repaired facility. In January 1996, Yaroslavsky's intervention was essential in forcing a consortium of insurance companies to honor their policy and reimburse Los Angeles County taxpayers some $16.07 million to complete the repairs in a timely manner. See press release for additional details on the project.

Yaroslavsky Announces Hollywood Bowl Park-and-Ride Program for Summer 1998 Season - Supervisor Yaroslavsky has announced Board approval for the Hollywood Bowl park-and-ride and shuttle program for the Summer, 1998 concert season. Operating from June to October, the program includes 14 sites Countywide, six of them in the Third Supervisorial District:

Shuttles:

Park-and-Ride in the Third Supervisorial District:

blueball.gif (924 bytes) Yaroslavsky Announces Commission Appointments in January (+ designates reappointment)

blueball.gif (924 bytes) Yaroslavsky Motions Adopted in January

01/06/98 COMPETITIVE BIDDING OF TELEPHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS
A motion to competitively bid out the contract for Sheriff's inmate telephone services, potentially bundled with a similar Probation Department contract, to save money

01/13/98 WILDERNESS PRESERVATION
The Board gave final approval to an ordinance initiated by Yaroslavsky that will help protect sensitive hillside and designated Significant Ecological Areas from overdevelopment by requiring a conditional use permit (CUP) to relocate lot lines between three or more contiguous parcels. Yaroslavsky noted that while existing law requires a CUP to develop in these areas, an existing loophole permits an unlimited number of such lot-line adjustments - potentially creating new subdivisions without adequate review of siting and infrastructure needs.

01/20/98 OVERTIME SPENDING BY COUNTY DEPARTMENTS
Noting that both the State Auditor and Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller have recently raised concerns - first voiced in a motion by Yaroslavsky adopted in April, 1997 - about County overtime spending in Probation, Children's Services, Fire and the Sheriff's Department, among others, Yaroslavsky won approval for a motion to tighten up accounting and approval procedures to curb excessive overtime expenses. To rein in runaway costs, Yaroslavsky warned, the "culture of overtime has got to change."

01/20/98 PROTECT WILDERNESS AREAS BY REVISING AND UPDATING COUNTY'S "RECREATION AND RESORT" ZONING DESIGNATION
Over the last few years, complaints about noise and traffic generated by banquet and entertainment venues in residential areas of the Santa Monica Mountains have called attention to problems with archaic County zoning regulations governing these "recreational and resort" uses. Adopted in the 1920s - and hardly revised since - existing codes are out of sync with today's accepted land use and environmental protection policies. In response, the Board adopted Yaroslavsky's motion to initiate public hearings and a full-scale review by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission and affected County departments to ensure the continuing utility of this zone in the mountains, and better protect both natural habitats and the tranquil rural lifestyle cherished by local residents.

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