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November 2007
Malibu Fires
Message From Supervisor Yaroslavsky
The Corral Canyon Fire that broke out in the wee hours of Saturday, November 24, 2007 has proven to be the most devastating fire to strike the Malibu area in 14 years.
According to the latest information from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the fire was started by human activity and burned at least 4,901 acres before firefighters achieved 90% containment, with full containment anticipated by Tuesday, November 27. The Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information about the fire's origin to please contact them at (818) 878-1808.
Losses to date have been tallied at 53 single family homes and 35 outbuildings destroyed, with another 33 single family homes and 12 outbuildings damaged. There were 37 vehicles destroyed. Regrettably, one California state firefighter has been hospitalized with moderate injuries, and seven other firefighters suffered minor injuries.
All mandatory evacuations have been lifted and all roads are open in affected areas. The evacuation shelter at Agoura High School is slated to remain open until further notice.
I’m pleased to report that things are rapidly moving forward on the recovery front. On Tuesday, November 27, 2007, the Los Angeles County Operational Area in coordination with the state Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open a local assistance center (LAC) for fire victims. The LAC will serve as a one-stop source for disaster relief services, including information on how to replace records lost in the fire, file insurance claims and apply for assistance and housing. Various federal, state, county, local and private non-profit agencies such as Red Cross offering disaster relief, small business loans, building permits, health and social services and consumer protection advice will be represented at the local assistance center. It is located at:
Malibu Bluffs Park
24250 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu 90265
It will operate Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The hours and days are subject to change.
In the meantime:
Residents and business owners who sustained losses may begin applying for assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the speech and hearing impaired or by registering online at http://www.fema.gov.
The Los Angeles County Assessor’s office notes that properties suffering $10,000 or more in damage from the recent wildfires are eligible for a reduction in property taxes, while comparable replacement properties will be able to retain their pre-existing base-value assessments. Visit property tax relief for more information; download the application here.
Flooding and mudslides are always a risk in the winter storms that often follow the fire season. For mudflow protection advice, please contact the County’s Department of Public Works at (626) 458-6145 for an on-site assessment of affected properties.
Finally, I want to offer my sincere condolences to the firefighters injured and the residents displaced or dispossessed in this tragedy. Fortunately, our region has long experience with disasters of this kind and we are well-positioned to move forward quickly together to begin the healing, recovery and rebuilding process.
Sincerely,
ZEV YAROSLAVSKY
Chairman of the Board
Supervisor, Third District
Above photos by Williiam Foster, courtesy of Office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Yaroslavsky Calls For
Wildfire Safety Improvements
The earlier Malibu Canyon Fire that began on October 21, 2007 fortunately claimed no lives, but consumed six homes, damaged six others, destroyed a church and a business and charred 4600 acres. Fire officials identified the cause as sparks from broken power lines downed by ferocious Santa Ana winds preceding the fire’s outbreak early that Sunday morning. Could it have been avoided? On October 31, 2007, the Board of Supervisors adopted a motion authored by Supervisor Yaroslavsky directing County officials to recommend improvements to the strength and integrity of the power line system – particularly the potential undergrounding of power lines and poles in the County’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones – as well as any other improvements to enhance the County’s ability to prevent and withstand the spread of wildfires.
Homelessness and Housing
Board Approves “Project 50”
to Assist Long-Term Homeless
On November 20, 2007, the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a motion sponsored by Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky to identify the 50 most vulnerable, long-term homeless persons on LA’s Skid Row and assist them to move into permanent supportive housing with access to a full range of social services. These services include mental health care, substance abuse treatment, counseling and other programs. Yaroslavsky explained the concept behind the program: that by moving these most challenging members of the hardcore homeless population into housing, others will more readily follow. The strategy of confronting the longstanding culture of homelessness was pioneered by the New York-based social service agency Common Ground, which has enjoyed spectacular success in reducing the homeless street population in Times Square and elsewhere in New York. Yaroslavsky said he expects the program to develop a registry of participants and begin the outreach in a matter of weeks.
Menorah Housing Wins Federal Grant
for Affordable Senior Apartments
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has announced that a new senior affordable-housing project will soon be underway at the former site of a county Department of Public Social Services office at Pico and Veteran in West Los Angeles. On October 31, 2007, federal Housing and Urban Development officials notified Menorah Housing Corporation of the government’s agreement to subsidize the construction of 45 housing units under the federal Supportive Housing Program for the Elderly. Menorah Housing Corporation was established in 1969 by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles to develop and manage affordable independent-living senior apartment units. Since that time, the agency has developed and manages nearly 1000 apartment units in fourteen buildings geographically dispersed throughout Los Angeles County. Its programs house very low-income seniors on fixed incomes in safe and accessible housing which they would otherwise be unable to afford. Visit Menorah’s website and learn how to qualify.
Health
Annenberg Clinic Ribbon Cutting
Supervisor Yaroslavsky joins LA Free Clinic officials to cut the ribbon for the new Wallis Annenberg Children and Family Health Center at the LA Free Clinic/Hollywood Wilshire Health Center. Numerous benefactors, led by philanthropist Wallis Annenberg (at right, holding scissors) helped turn a proposal on paper into reality. Yaroslavsky noted that the facility will offer primary care services, health education classes, and dental care, accommodating an additional 20,000 patient visits to bring the total up to 100,000 patient visits per year at the site.
Nearly a quarter of the households in the clinic’s Service Planning Area earn less than the Federal Poverty Level, and nearly a third of the adults and 10% of the children lack health insurance. Yaroslavsky noted the clinic’s operating hours extend to 9 pm weeknights, a major boon to the mainly working families unable to take time off during the day. The clinic will also be open until 5 pm on Saturdays. Pictured here, left to right: Bruce Rosenblum, President, Friends of the Los Angeles Free Clinic, Karl Pettijohn, President, Board of Directors, Los Angeles Free Clinic, Sam Fischer, Chair of the Clinic’s 40th Anniversary Committee, Supervisor Yaroslavsky; Jeff Bujer, Co-CEO of the Los Angeles Free Clinic, Abbe Land, Co-CEO of the Los Angeles Free Clinic; and Wallis Annenberg. (11/2/07)
Yaroslavsky Welcomes Third District
Mental Health Community Forum
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky welcomes participants to the Third District Mental Health Community Forum at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, an event organized to provide the community with updated information on County programs carrying out mandates of the Mental Health Services Act, passed by voters as Proposition 63 in 2004. Yaroslavsky noted that the first phase of the Act, designated as the Community Services and Supports Plan, included a $130 million allocation to support Los Angeles County’s plan providing mental health assistance and programs to children, transitional age youth, adults and older adults. Phase Two, Prevention and Early Intervention, is in the beginning stages of the planning process, which includes participation from community agencies and organizations that have a vital role to play in the course of developing the County’s plan. Mental health officials estimate that Los Angeles County is in line to receive between $60 million and $70 million for implementing Phase Two. (11/8/07)
3rd District Services
Department of Children and Family Services
Celebrates Chatsworth Office Grand Opening
Supervisor Yaroslavsky (third from left) shares the ribbon-cutting duties with Trish Ploehn (second from left), Director of the County’s Department of Children and Family Services, to formally open the Department’s new Chatsworth office, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide a full range of child welfare services in the San Fernando Valley. The building houses some 400 DCFS staff members, who partner with other County departments such as Public Social Services, Mental Health, Child Support and Probation in meeting the needs of children and families in the County’s dependency programs. The San Fernando Valley is the largest population center served by any DCFS regional office. (11/09/07)
Joining Yaroslavsky, from the left: Dawna Yokoyama, DCFS Regional Administrator, San Fernando Valley; Rita Baer, Executive Director, Valley Trauma Center; Deborah Davies, Director of Programs, Friends of the Family; Lisa Mandel, Children’s Deputy for Supervisor Yaroslavsky; and Paul V. Freedlund, DCFS Regional Administrator, West San Fernando Valley.
Yaroslavsky greets advocates and volunteers staffing tables at the office’s Open House to share information about County and community programs to assist children and families in the dependency system.
Environment & Open Spaces
Yaroslavsky Dedicates Long-Awaited
Tujunga Wash Greenway Project
Top: A dismal-looking stretch of Tujunga Wash before improvements. Bottom: Left to right, State Sen. Alex Padilla, Supervisor Yaroslavsky, and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Executive Director Joseph T. Edmiston pause in their stroll along the streambed and greenway on the mile-long reach between Oxnard and Vanowen, while in the distance a local resident walks his dog.
On Wednesday, November 7, 2007, Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky was joined by Joseph T. Edmiston, Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and residents of the Valley Glen community to celebrate the grand opening of the eagerly anticipated $7 million Tujunga Wash Greenway and Stream Restoration Project.
The pride was evident as community members turned out in force to celebrate the project’s completion. With its new trails and meandering streambed, this joint project between the County of Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy brings plant and animal habitat, water quality enhancement, groundwater replenishment, and passive recreation to a one mile reach of the Tujunga Wash, one of the many local channels flowing into the Los Angeles River.
Both sides of the Wash (between Vanowen St. and Oxnard Ave.) now feature vibrant vegetation that is native to the Los Angeles River Watershed and pathways for walking and biking. To reintroduce a sustainable, healthy stream system into the park-poor community of Valley Glen, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District diverted water from the concrete channel that formerly fed directly into the Los Angeles River. In an average rainfall year, up to 325,000 gallons daily will flow through the Wash’s new naturalized streambed, improving water quality in the region by recharging enough groundwater into the San Fernando Valley Groundwater Basin to supply 760 families of four for an entire year.
For more information on this local tributary, visit Tujunga Watershed; to learn more about the larger Los Angeles River Watershed and the County Department of Public Works’ watershed management programs, please visit DPW’s watershed management page.
Board Approves Santa Monica Mountains
Local Coastal Program
On October 30, 2007, the Board of Supervisors capped two days of lengthy public hearings by adopting the Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Program. Crafted after months of discussions with state and local officials and area residents, the far-reaching plan strives to be a responsible blueprint to protect coastal resources and dramatically limit development in the Santa Monica Mountains, while fully protecting Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas and all other sensitive environmental resources in the Santa Monica Mountains. Through such efforts as reducing zoning densities and prohibiting ridgeline development, the Local Coastal Program will also help safeguard lives and property from wildfires and other natural hazards. Supervisor Yaroslavsky led the effort to adopt this historic plan. See motion for added conditions to the plan. See final action here.
Arts in the 3rd District
Santa Monica College Performing Arts Complex
Readies Its Debut
Pictured here, from the left, Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky, The Stage Artistic Director Dale Franzen, Santa Monica College President Dr. Chui L. Tsang and architect Renzo Zecchetto prepare to tour the school’s nearly completed Stage and Second Space theaters. The facilities are located on SMC’s former Madison satellite campus, north of the school’s main campus between 10th and 11th Streets.
The theaters are part of the school’s Madison Project, an ambitious effort that will eventually house the SMC Music Department, classrooms and facilities. The Second Space, a 99-seat black-box theater and rehearsal space, opened in August. The Stage, a 541-seat theater still under construction, will formally open in May 2008. The $45 million project was mostly paid for through two Santa Monica city bond measures, along with $5 million in private donations.
College officials anticipate using The Stage 45 days a year, freeing up the state-of-the-art facility for a variety of programs involving other local, regional and visiting performers and ensembles such as L.A. Opera, the L.A. Baroque performance group Musica Angelica and others. For further information about the facility and upcoming performance schedules, visit SMC Madison Project. (10/17/07)
Transportation
Yaroslavsky Talks Transit at VICA Business Conference
Pictured here with Yaroslavsky, from the left: Richard Katz, Board member, Metropolitan Water District and Metro; Councilmember Wendy Greuel, Chair, Los Angeles City Council Committee on Transportation; Rod Van Bebber, Senior Vice President, Distribution, United Western Growers; Rita Robinson, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation; and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. (11/8/07)
Board of Supervisors Chairman and Metro (formerly MTA) Board member Zev Yaroslavsky (at right) takes part in a panel titled “AB 32 & Transportation: How California Should Fight Gridlock and Smog,” examining the impacts of state global warming legislation and worsening traffic congestion on the Southern California region’s business climate and quality of life. The panel was part of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) 19th Annual Business Forecast Conference, held at the Universal Hilton in Universal City.
In the Community
Hope Lutheran Church Celebrates 65th Anniversary
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was among the many on hand to help celebrate the 65th anniversary of Hope Lutheran Church in Hollywood. Yaroslavsky is pictured here presenting Pastor Mark Rasbach with an official County greeting. Pastor Rasbach’s 26 years of ministry at Hope have been distinguished by a long history of community involvement, including service as an advisory board member of ANGELCARE (an international relief organization on behalf of children), and CHRISTIANS CONCERNED (an organization formed to confront anti-Semitism). After an arson fire destroyed the church building in 1983, Pastor Rasbach guided his congregation through the tragedy and helped spearhead the effort that in 2 1/2 years rebuilt the new church. He has hosted worldwide tours to the Middle East, Europe and Asia. (11/11/07)
Van Nuys Neighborhood Council Hears Yaroslavsky
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was an invited guest speaker for the November 7, 2007 meeting of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council to provide an update on County projects and activities of interest to the community, taking questions and later enjoying refreshments and conversation with those in attendance.
Commission Appointments
(+ denotes reappointment):
10/30 - Ronald D. Rosen, Esq.+, Los Angeles County Arts Commission
10/2 - Neal Kaufman, M.D.+, Los Angeles County Children and Families First Proposition 10 Commission (aka First 5LA)
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permits for transportation / utility service cut, industrial waste and filming