Yearly Archives: 2008

Junior Golfers Can Play At County Courses For $1 During The Month Of July

On a motion by Supervisor Don Knabe, July 2008 has been declared Junior Golfers Appreciation Month throughout Los Angeles County, and to salute the County’s young golfers, green fees have been reduced to $1.
Click here for a map of LA County Golf Courses

During the month of July, at all 17 County golf courses, junior golfers (18 and under) can play golf for $1, after 12:00 p.m., when accompanied with a regular adult fee, senior fee, twilight fee or super-twilight fee. In addition, each golf course will hold a free Special Skills Day including activities such as free lessons, clinics, skills challenge contests, and other such events that will improve and promote junior golf participation.

Youth sports programs have traditionally been valuable recreational activities for the young residents of Los Angeles County. Not only do they offer an opportunity for kids of all ages to learn new physical, social, and mental skills, but youth sports also serves as a deterrent to crime, said Supervisor Knabe. This is a great way for us to show our appreciation to all of our junior golfers who use our County golf courses.

For more information on Junior Golfers Appreciation Month contact your local County golf course.

Los Angeles County Golf Courses

Alondra Golf Course
(310) 217-9919

Altadena Golf Course
(626) 797-3821

Diamond Bar Golf Course
(909) 861-8282

Eaton Canyon Golf Course
(626) 794-6773

El Cariso Golf Course
(818) 367-6157

Maggie Hathaway Golf Course
(323) 755-6285

Knollwood Golf Course
(818) 363-1810

Lakewood Golf Course
(562) 429-9711

La Mirada Golf Course
(562) 943-7123

Los Amigos Golf Course
(562) 869-0302

Los Verdes Golf Course
(310) 377-7370

Marshall Canyon Golf Course
(909) 593-8211

Mountain Meadows Golf Course
(909) 623-3704

Santa Anita Golf Course
(626) 447-2331

Victoria Golf Course
(310) 323-4174

Chester Washington Golf Course
(323) 756-6975

Whittier Narrows Golf Course
(626) 288-1044

Free Summer Beach Shuttle Begins This Weekend

The Beach Shuttle which serves Playa Vista, Marina del Rey and the Venice Beach Pier for the summer will begin its free weekend service this Friday, June 27, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

The free Beach Shuttle will operate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays plus holidays from June 27 to September 1. The two clean-fuel shuttles will circulate hourly along the route on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sundays and holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Space is also available for bicycles on the Beach Shuttles so passengers can cruise along the bike path once they exit.

The Summer Shuttle program is a hassle free and relaxing form of community transportation, said Supervisor Knabe. Whether you want to use the services to attend the Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series or travel to Venice Beach to enjoy the restaurants and shops, the Beach Shuttle can get you there at a fraction of the cost of using gas in your car.

For more information on the Beach Shuttle call (310) 305-9545 or visit www.marinadelrey.lacounty.gov

Free Marina Del Rey Summer Concerts Begin July 10

The 8th Annual Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series kicks off Thursday, July 10, at 7:00 p.m. waterside at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey, Supervisor Don Knabe announced recently.

The concert series is presented free to the public by Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, and will offer Classical Thursdays, and on alternate weeks, Pop Saturdays, bringing to the Marina internationally famed artists from the worlds of pop and jazz. Popular KUSC personality Rich Capparela appears as series host.

The Classical Thursday series starts July 10, with the brilliant young Polish cellist Marek Szpakiewicz as soloist in the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, and music by Ravel, Poulenc, and Hindemith. July 24 introduces a new Night at the Opera event, featuring some of the nation’s most important operatic talents, finalists in the famed Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition. August 7 promises to be one of the most exciting symphonic programs the series has ever presented, including works by Gershwin, Ravel, Debussy, Shostakovich, and Respighi’s masterpiece Roman Festivals; and August 24 features the brilliant young pianist John Novacek as soloist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor.

The Pop Saturday series opens on July 19 with Grammy winning singer Melissa Manchester; followed on August 2 by Steve March Torm, a singer some critics predict will be the Sinatra of his generation. On August 16, The 5th Dimension will thrill audiences with their greatest hits; and closing the season on August 30 are Cleo Laine and John Dankworth in one of this series’ most popular concerts.

Sponsors of the Marina del Rey Summer Concerts are Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe; The Department of Beaches and Harbors; and The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey. KUSC classical fm 91.5 is the Media Sponsor. For further information call (310) 305-9545 or visit www.marinadelrey.lacounty.gov

Resource Fair To Be Held For County’s Foster And Probation Youth

The Los Angeles County Education Coordinating Council (ECC) is sponsoring its first-ever countywide Resource fair for five hundred youth ages 0-24, their caregivers, and those who work with these youth.

The event will provide vital information about county and community resources for after-school and summer enrichment programs, tutoring, mentoring, sports and arts programs, mental health services, early childhood education, workforce readiness, college preparation, libraries and literacy. Connecting youth and their caregivers to these valuable programs and services is an important start in helping to close the achievement gap between the county’s youth and other youth.

The fair will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the California Endowment’s Center for Healthy Communities facility, which is located at 1000 North Alameda Street in Los Angeles. For more information about the fair, contact (626) 333-1369.

The ECC was created by the Board of Supervisors in November 2004, and was charged with raising the educational achievement of foster and probation youth throughout Los Angeles County.

Norwalk Clinic Receives Funding To Provide For More Visits

The Norwalk Regional Health Center will be able to accept roughly 1,600 additional medical visits after the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with JWCH Institute, Inc., Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

The Norwalk clinic, which provides free and low-cost medical care and social services to the residents of the surrounding communities, will now be able to see over 1,500 more patients. These newly-funded visits will go primarily to uninsured or indigent adult patients that are not eligible for any publicly funded programs. According to the County’s Health Department, nearly 27,000 people in the City of Norwalk have no health care insurance.

Health centers like the one in Norwalk are absolutely vital to the County’s healthcare system, and the more patients they can see the better, said Supervisor Knabe. A clinic visit is substantially more cost effective than a trip to the emergency room, and by making our clinics more accessible we are reducing the strain on a very fragile ER system.

The $150,212 for the Norwalk clinic was part of a larger $2,075,708 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program Health Care Services Agreement with JWCH. PPP agreements are critical to the healthcare safety net of the County and through private partners like JWCH they provide primary, specialty, and/or dental care to the indigent, low-income, uninsured patient population throughout Los Angeles County. The Norwalk Regional Health Center is located at 12360 Firestone Boulevard in the City of Norwalk.

County Seeking Performers For Holiday Celebration

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission is currently seeking County-based youth and adult community and professional choirs, dance companies, and music ensembles to perform in the 49th Annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration.

The Arts Commission encourages all Los Angeles County-based performing groups representing diverse communities, traditions, and performing disciplines to apply for the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration. Proposed programming should be suitably themed for a multi-cultural holiday production. All performing groups are paid. Interested organizations are required to submit an electronic grant (eGrant) application, which is accessible via the Arts Commission website at www.holidaycelebration.org

Both the application guidelines and the eGrant application are available online now, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, August 6, 2008. If you have additional questions, please send an email to
www.publicevents@arts.lacounty.gov

The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration is a free public event that honors the spirit of many cultures and holiday traditions through music, song and dance and takes place every December 24th from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles. The stage production is also broadcast live on KCET, and an annual one-hour highlight broadcast is carried nationally on PBS.

New Series Of Property Tax Assessment Seminars Set

The County of Los Angeles is sponsoring a series of free seminars during July, August and September to assist property owners who feel their taxes should be lowered due to a decline in the value of their property. The 90-minute seminars will be offered at six locations: Culver City, El Monte, Glendale, Lakewood, Lancaster and Van Nuys. Additional seminars will be scheduled throughout the County on a year-round basis.

The seminars are intended to help taxpayers better understand the assessment appeals process, which many find confusing. The seminars will be of value to homeowners who are interested in learning about the assessment appeals process and to those who have already filed an appeal. The seminars will cover taxpayers’ appeal rights when and how to file an application for reduction in assessment. The seminars will also cover how to prepare for a hearing, what qualifies as admissible evidence, what will happen at the hearing and what to expect after the hearing.

The dates, times and locations of the sessions are as follows:

– Lancaster – Lancaster Library, 601 Lancaster Boulevard, July 16, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking at library.

– Glendale – Glendale Library, 222 Harvard Street, July 23, 10:00 a.m.

The library will validate three hours parking at the corner of Maryland and Harvard.

– Culver City – Culver City Library, 4975 Overland Avenue, August 18, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking behind the library.

– El Monte – Crippen Senior Center, 3120 Tyler Avenue, August 21, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking at the center.

– Lakewood – Iacoboni Library, 4900 Clark Avenue, September 22, 10:00 a.m. Parking at corner of Clark Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard.

– Van Nuys – Bernardi Senior Center, 6514 Sylmar Avenue, September 24, 2:00 p.m. Free parking, entrance on Hamlin Street.

Persons with disabilities who believe they need reasonable accommodation or help in order to attend a seminar may call (213) 974-1431. Hearing-impaired persons with TDD equipment may leave a typewritten message by calling (213) 974-1707 (TDD).

Schedules for the seminars may be obtained by calling (213) 974-4240 or on the Internet at http://bos.co.la.ca.us/SCRIPTS/publiced.htm

Knabe Calls For Conservation Efforts

Supervisor Don Knabe responded to rising gas prices and the statewide drought this week by directing County leaders to begin reducing commuting times for County employees and reducing water usage in County facilities.

In his first motion, Supervisor Knabe called for creative solutions to rising gas prices by updating County polices on telecommuting, offering flexible schedule options, and offering incentives to employees to use public transportation. With tens of thousands of employees, Los Angeles County is the largest employer in Southern California.

A second motion was introduced by Knabe in response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s proclamation of a statewide drought due to a severely low water supply, below-average rainfall, and court-ordered water restrictions. The motion asks for recommendations on how to immediately reduce water usage in hundreds of County-owned facilities.

Higher gas prices and lower water levels are both serious issues facing the County and our employees, said Supervisor Knabe. We need to be sure the County is doing everything possible to address these challenges with creative solutions.

In February 2007, Supervisor Knabe responded to the need to increase the use and longevity of the local water supply by creating the County’s Office of Water Recycling, which was tasked with doubling the region’s use of non-potable recycled water by 2030 – an annual increase of 54 billion gallons.

Summer Pools Open To The Public on June 21

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation has released its 2008 Summer Pool Schedule, and the pools at California High School, Cerritos Regional Park and La Mirada Regional Park will open to the public on Saturday, June 21, 2008.

Recreational swimming is free of charge and will be open to swimmers of all ages, Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (recreational swim begins at 12:30 p.m.) and Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This schedule is effective through, Monday, September 1, 2008.

It is very important to me that we have public pools open during the hot days of summer, said Supervisor Knabe. This is an excellent opportunity for the public to have free access to some great pools for the remainder of the summer.

For additional information about swim lessons, aerobics and other aquatic programs, patrons may contact the parks directly for details.

Opening Pools

California High School Pool

9800 Mills Avenue, Whittier 90604

(310) 965-8257

Cerritos Regional Park Pool

19700 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos 90701

(562) 403-7498

La Mirada Regional Park Pool

13701 Adelfa Avenue, La Mirada 90638

(562) 943-2534

Supervisors Approve Water-Saving Rebate Program

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a rebate program recently for the purchase of water-saving devices that will reduce water-waste both indoors and outside. Available to all Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts customers, the new program provides an incentive for customers to reduce water use.

This program is a win-win for Marina del Rey Waterworks customers – by purchasing and installing water-saving devices residential and business customers can qualify for rebate money and reduce their water bills, said Supervisor Knabe. But this program is also about conserving valuable water resources, and keeping excess water from running down the streets, picking up pollutants and depositing them into the Marina.

The rebate program offers money back for rotating sprinkler nozzles, smart weather-based sprinkler controllers, high-efficiency clothes washers, synthetic turf, ultra-low-flush or dual flush toilets, and waterless urinals purchased and installed on or after January 1, 2008. Rebates for the sprinkler nozzles are $4 each and for synthetic turf, residents and businesses are eligible for 0.30 cents per square foot or $13,000 per acre. All other rebates range from $50 to $150 for approved product models.

Facing the possibility of more dry years to come and limited supplies from Northern California, the new water conservation rebates will help Marina del Rey customers cut water waste even further, progressing toward the statewide goal of 20 percent reduction by 2010. For more information about the rebate program or water conservation, District customers can visit:

http://lacwaterworks.org/