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December 2007
Protecting Public Lands
Congress Bars Future Sale and Commercial
Development at the West Los Angeles VA site;
Yaroslavsky Hails Historic Vote
On Wednesday December 19, 2007, Congress passed HR 2764, the omnibus budget bill that included long-sought legislative provisions protecting the 380-acre West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs property against sale, exchange, long-term lease and commercial development. That night, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky addressed a rally outside the VA (pictured above) to celebrate the historic vote. President Bush signed the bill into law on December 26, 2007.
Yaroslavsky worked closely with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Henry Waxman to win passage of this legislation. “Today’s action caps a years-long struggle to protect the VA site in West Los Angeles from the kind of development schemes that would have transformed these hallowed grounds into a real estate speculator’s dream,” Yaroslavsky said. “This legislation will permanently protect the site from such plans. It ensures that it will be preserved for the benefit of veterans in perpetuity.”
The West Los Angeles VA site was donated by private land owners in the late 19th century for an Old Soldiers Home to serve veterans of the Civil War. The VA facilities have served the needs of veterans of every war since then.
Praising Feinstein and Waxman's efforts, Yaroslavsky said that “Our Washington representatives used their skill and political clout to protect this vital institution.” He added, "In doing so, they answered the call of our veterans who deserved no less.”
Homelessness
Project 50 Completes Phase One
of Skid Row Homeless Effort
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky opens a special briefing for County and City staff on Project 50, an ambitious demonstration project to house the 50 most vulnerable residents of the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Yaroslavsky has championed the plan, modeled after a highly successful program to reduce homelessness in New York City, particularly in Times Square. That effort was coordinated by Common Ground, a New York social services agency, which was hired to shepherd the Los Angeles project through to completion.
In early December, Common Ground led a team of County, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other homelessness professionals to survey and identify every homeless person living on the streets of Skid Row. Each homeless individual was interviewed and ranked according to a “vulnerability index” that weighed their length of homelessness, health, mental health and other needs. The number one person on the list has lived on the streets for over 37 years and suffers from liver and kidney disease. The top 50 on the list averaged more than nine years of homelessness, and each has several chronic diseases. They were all deemed to be in danger of dying if they remained on the streets.
In mid-January, outreach teams will return to Skid Row to offer these 50 homeless persons permanent supportive housing. The County of Los Angeles and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will provide the supportive social services, including substance abuse treatment, health and mental health services. The City of Los Angeles has identified 50 federally rent-subsidized housing units which will be administered by the Skid Row Housing Trust. If successful, it is the County’s hope that the program can be expanded in Skid Row and other parts of the County where there are particularly heavy concentrations of highly vulnerable homeless persons.
View a Project 50 PowerPoint presentation here.
Malibu Fires
Officials Announce Suspect Arrests
in Corral Canyon Fire
Left to right: Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman, Sheriff Lee Baca and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky announce the identification and arrest of several young men whose nocturnal camping and party activities are suspected of starting the Corral Canyon fire on the weekend following Thanksgiving. The fire eventually scorched nearly 5,000 acres, consumed more than 50 homes, inflicted an estimated $100 million in damage and injured six firefighters. "It is illegal to set fires in the cave above Corral Canyon under any circumstances, whether there are Santa Ana wind conditions or not," Yaroslavsky declared, "and it's reckless on top of the illegality to set a fire anywhere in the mountains when there are Santa Ana wind conditions, as there were the night this fire broke out." (12/13/07)
In the Environment
Yaroslavsky Welcomes Green Xchange
Global Marketplace Conference
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky welcomes participants to the inaugural GreenXchange Global Marketplace Conference, an event designed to bring together public and private sector leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs engaged in buying, selling, manufacturing, financing, endorsing and legislating in the emerging field of green technologies, products, innovations and services.
The two-day conference included numerous panels, presentations and myriad networking opportunities for participants to “grow” their businesses and promote their policy initiatives. It also served as a “curtain-raiser” to hone the agenda for next year’s premiere GreenXchange Xpo, scheduled for October 1-3, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, billed by its organizers as “a multi-sector and cross-disciplinary exhibition marketplace allowing attendees to discover their complete portfolio of green solutions and market opportunities under one roof.” (12/11/07)
A Day Without A Bag
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky shows off a reusable canvas shopping bag to kick off “A Day Without a Bag” at the Grove at Farmers Market. The event was conceived as an education and holiday giveaway program mounted by a coalition of major retailers, local governments and regional environmental groups in the County of Los Angeles.
Yaroslavsky’s holiday message urged Southland shoppers to give a present to the environment this holiday season by foregoing plastic or paper grocery bags in favor of reusable totes like the one pictured above. The bags were distributed free to patrons at high-profile shopping centers throughout the region during the special day of in-store promotions and giveaways.
Yaroslavsky noted that County residents use more than 6 billion disposable plastic shopping bags each year. According to environmental group Heal the Bay, California municipalities spend nearly $50 million each year just to collect and dispose of plastic bag waste. Fewer than 5% of plastic grocery bags are recycled annually in Los Angeles, so the remainder consumes precious landfill space, litters public spaces and can harm animal life when the bags blow into waterways.
While paper bags are biodegradeable under some circumstances, they still require vast amounts of fossil fuels and water to produce, distribute and collect for disposal. Millions around the world have embraced heavy-duty reusable bags as a convenient, environmentally friendly alternative. For more information on safe and environmentally friendly solid-waste reduction and clean-up ideas, visit Clean LA. (12/20/07)
In the Community
Yaroslavsky Kicks Off El Proyecto Del Barrio
Toy Drive and Health Fair
On Saturday, December 15, 2007, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky helped kick off El Proyecto del Barrio’s traditional Navidad En El Barrio Christmas Food and Gift Distribution, Holiday Carnival and Health Fair at Calvary Lutheran Church in Arleta. The annual events offer a bit of seasonal cheer, along with a holiday meal and toys to more than 3,500 members of needy families. Keyes Automotive Group sponsors the events, and many of its employees volunteer for them.
El Proyecto del Barrio, one of the County’s leading nonprofit agencies offering health and human services to low-income communities, has been hosting the annual events since 1991. In addition to distributing food and gifts, the events offer medical and dental screening, immunizations, and plentiful information about how to obtain free health and human services throughout the year. Pictured here with Supervisor Yaroslavsky, from the left, are Corrine Sanchez, President and Chief Executive Office of El Proyecto del Barrio and Helen Madrid Worthen, El Proyecto board member. (12/15/07)
2007 In Review
Message From Supervisor Yaroslavsky
On December 4, 2007, I completed my one-year rotating turn as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and turned over the gavel to Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke. Below are my reflections given in an address to the Board of Supervisors on some of the highlights of the past year's accomplishments.
Perhaps the single most significant development this past year has been the change in our government structure and the hiring of our new CEO, Bill Fujioka - and the retirement of David Janssen, one of the great public administrators that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
Thanks to David’s fiscal stewardship and our Board’s committed spending discipline, the County will save millions of dollars in lower borrowing costs since Standard & Poor's Rating Services raised our credit ratings in June. Taxpayers will be reaping the benefits for years to come. For his part, Bill quickly stepped in to fill those shoes and hit the ground running. At the same time, we’ve implemented a new governance structure to evolve the way we do business into a more organized and efficient fashion, and while it's a work in progress, I think we're moving in the right direction.
The closure of King-Harbor Hospital was a very painful experience for all of us. But there's a silver lining to that cloud, and we are hopeful that the work now being done to bring new leadership there ultimately will enable us to reopen that hospital sooner rather than later under competent management.
In the environmental arena, we have taken steps here to construct our new buildings in a manner that meets "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) standards, emphasizing renewable energy resources to make us part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
We've made strides this year in our efforts to address the problems of homelessness. Earlier this year, the Board approved a framework in which all 88 of our cities can plug into the County's human resources delivery system if they want to, and we’ll provide the vital human services that are necessary to bring people out of homelessness and into permanent supportive housing.
The County of Los Angeles has demonstrated that there are a lot of things it does right and does well, and among them is emergency response. In my own district, I’ve had two major fires since late October. We have been victimized by high Santa Ana winds and dry conditions and brushfires, but we have also been blessed with incredible response from our fire department and neighboring fire departments from all over the region, as well as our law enforcement personnel.
On a more positive note, we have some exciting projects underway. The new Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will open February 9th. The new leadership of Museum president Michael Govan has been spectacular. He has attracted new people to the Museum family who have a stake in it and will elevate it into one of the finest institutions of its kind in the world.
Arts and culture, as we all know, are vitally important to our region. The Hollywood Bowl attained its highest attendance ever this past summer, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall remains an outstanding success. Los Angeles continues to be one of the premier locations in the world for cutting edge arts and culture. For several years now, we have employed more people in the arts than we employ in the defense industry. These are truly the golden years of the arts in Los Angeles, and we're very fortunate as a Board and as residents of this County to be living in them.
Finally, I'm thrilled that in her last year, Supervisor Yvonne Burke – who has served with great distinction as a member of this Board – will serve out the final year of her term as Chair of the Board. She is a historic figure in this country, and we are all privileged to have served with her on this Board. She has served with great distinction as a member of the State Legislature and as a member of Congress. I look forward to the coming year, and I know that we're all excited about capping her career in this way. She’s a great conciliator and a great leader, and we all wish her well. Thank you again for allowing me to chair this Board during the past year.
Thank you for reading our newsletter. If you would like to send a comment or a message to Supervisor Yaroslavsky, please send your message to zev@bos.lacounty.gov or just simply click here . | 
Los Angeles International Airport, Theme Building, Julius Shulman, 1962