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Hacienda Heights Residents To See Lower Trash Fees

Beginning tomorrow, residents of Hacienda Heights will see a reduction in the costs of trash, green waste and recycling collection. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe announced that a 7-year franchise agreement was recently awarded by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to Valley Vista Services, Inc. Under the agreement, Valley Vista Services, Inc. will be the exclusive waste hauler for the unincorporated community of Hacienda Heights.

In this economic climate, residents will be pleased to see better trash and recycling services at a much lower monthly rate, said Supervisor Knabe. This new agreement offers residents top quality service features that are unique to the Hacienda Heights community.

Among the highlights of the agreement is a reduction in trash collection fees, a fee discount for qualified seniors, and a number of new services. The new services include: an annual curbside clean-up event (including electronic waste), four special community clean-up events per year, two on-call bulky item collections per year in unlimited quantities (including electronic waste) at no extra cost, and free roll-out services for qualified elderly and/or disabled residents.

Residents will also be receiving three 96-gallon containers, including- (1) refuse, (1) green waste, and (1) recycling container (smaller containers are available upon request) and an extra green waste container and/or one extra recyclable container upon request at no extra cost.

For more information, contact the Franchise Hotline (800) 993-5488 or www.CleanLA.com

Paid Internships In The Arts Now Available

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently approved a motion to provide $250,000 for the 2010 Los Angeles County Arts Internship Program. The program is for Los Angeles County-based nonprofit performing, presenting and literary arts organizations interested in mentoring an undergraduate college student for ten weeks during summer 2010.

The guidelines and application for the program are now available on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s Web site.

The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Grants of $2,500 to $3,500, depending on organizational budget size, to be used to pay interns are awarded to successful applicant organizations.

Organizations interested in this program should review the guidelines before beginning an application. Several aspects of the program have changed due to decreased funding:

Only arts organizations that possess 501(c)(3) status are eligible for the program, including municipal arts agencies and municipal performing arts organizations.

Each organization may request only one full-time intern.

Organizations with budgets over $1.5 million are required to provide a $500 match.

Organizations with budgets over $4 million are required to provide a $1,000 match.

The purpose of the County’s program is to provide undergraduate students with meaningful on-the-job training and experience in working in nonprofit arts organizations, while assisting arts organizations to develop future arts leaders.

Child Support Services Outreach Event

Parents who owe past due child support are invited to a special community outreach event on Saturday, April 3. Parents will be able to make payment arrangements, have a suspended license released and receive information about services offered by Los Angeles County departments.

The Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department (CSSD) is holding Let’s Seal a Deal on Your Past Due Child Support, at the South Coast Botanic Gardens from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Staff from CSSD will be present to talk to parents about their child support cases and negotiate arrangements for past due payments. Payments can be made by cash, check or credit card.

Parents also will be able to get job and free service information offered by other County Departments including: Public Social Services, Military and Veterans Affairs, Community and Senior Services, and Children and Family Services.

The Department of Child Support Services wants to help parents act responsibly in eliminating past due child support which is important for their families, said CSSD Deputy Director Lori Cruz, who will be present at the outreach. This is a special opportunity for parents to come in and talk to us and work out some arrangements.

CSSD assists families and children in Los Angeles County with free child support services. CSSD basic services include establishing, modifying and enforcing child support obligations including medical support. Other services include free paternity testing, collecting child support and locating parents.

The South Coast Botanic Gardens is located at 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard in Palos Verdes Estates. For more information visit http://www.cssd.lacounty.gov or call (866) 901-3212.

L.A. County Animal Shelters Open Easter Sunday

The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control would like to remind the public of its extended shelter hours. The County’s shelters are now open on Sundays, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The shelters will also be open on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010 to accommodate families looking for a new pet.

The Department is using every opportunity to increase pet adoptions. Opening on Sundays gives us an additional opportunity to showcase the many wonderful animals at our shelters, said Director, Marcia Mayeda.

The six Los Angeles County animal shelters are open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday, 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The addresses of the shelters are as follows:

Downey Animal Shelter – 11258 South Garfield Avenue, Downey 90242

Carson Animal Shelter – 216 West Victoria Street, Gardena 90248

Baldwin Park Animal Shelter – 4275 North Elton Street, Baldwin Park 91706

Lancaster Animal Shelter – 5210 West Avenue I, Lancaster 93536

Castaic Animal Shelter – 31044 North Charlie Canyon Road, Castaic 91384

Agoura Animal Shelter – 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills 91301

The Department’s Pet Stop Adoption Center in Lancaster is open

Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday (including Easter), 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Antelope Valley Pet Stop* – 42116 4th Street East, Lancaster 93535

*Please note that this facility only houses dogs immediately available for adoption and is not a shelter.

Each location has a wonderful selection of animals just waiting for a new home. Be sure to visit one of our locations this Easter. For more information, visit our website, http://animalcare.lacounty.gov or stop by your local animal shelter.

Tuberculosis Is Not A Thing Of The Past, But A Current Threat

As nations around the globe observed World TB Day this week, the Los Angeles County Health Officer reminds residents that despite the popular misconception that tuberculosis (TB) is a thing of the past; TB impacts millions of lives worldwide every year. Drug-resistant forms of disease are an ongoing concern for Los Angeles County.

Though efforts to manage, treat and eliminate tuberculosis have met with remarkable success in Los Angeles County, we are not immune to more serious forms of this disease, said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer. There were 116 local cases of drug-resistant TB between 1998 and 2008, which reminds us that TB is an ongoing threat. Through rapid diagnostic methods, timely reporting of cases to Public Health and appropriate care for all individuals, we can work toward one day eradicating this disease.

The number of cases of all forms of TB in the County has plummeted from a peak of 2,100 in 1992 to 706 cases in 2009. Worldwide, more than 9 million cases are still reported annually, and more than 1.5 million people die of tuberculosis each year. Cases of TB in the County appear to be largely contracted abroad, with the vast majority occurring in foreign-born individuals. Though the prevalence of the disease in the U.S. has declined over the past century, Los Angeles County – as a major hub of international travel, commerce and immigration – cannot expect to be unaffected by an illness that so strongly affects the U.S.’s neighbors.

If not treated properly, TB can be fatal. It is particularly dangerous for medically vulnerable individuals. Patients who are immuno-compromised, such as those who are HIV-infected, and those who have other medical conditions, such as diabetes or cancer, are among the most likely to develop significant complications.

For further information about TB, please visit any of the following websites: Stop TB Partnership (http://www.stoptb.org), and the Los Angeles County TB Control Program (http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/tb).

Opera Tales Returning to Fourth District Libraries

Supervisor Don Knabe announced that the highly-acclaimed Opera Tales program will soon be returning to Fourth District County Libraries. Opera Tales is a LA Opera program that introduces children and families to the world of opera at local libraries. Supervisor Knabe established the partnership between the LA Opera and the County of Los Angeles Public Library, and provided funding to bring the free family performances to libraries in the Fourth District.

This year, German Opera Tales features five professional opera singers who perform musical moments from such German opera stories as Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, and Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel in celebration of LA Opera’s Ring cycle and the Ring Festival LA.

Fourth District County Libraries that will host German Opera Tales:

Rowland Heights Library: Saturday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m.

Los Nietos Library: Tuesday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m.

Hacienda Heights Library: Saturday, April 24 at 2:30 p.m.

Angelo M. Iacoboni Library: Sunday, April 25 at 2:00 p.m.

Norwalk Regional Library: Tuesday, April 27 at 4:00 p.m.

Lloyd Taber-Marina del Rey Library: Thursday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m.

Hermosa Beach Library: Friday, April 30 at 3:00 p.m.

For information on library locations or future programs, please call

(562) 940-8422, or visit the County Library Web site at www.colapublib.org.

Volunteers Needed For Census Event In Rowland Heights

Volunteers are needed this Saturday, March 20 at Carolyn Rosas Park in the unincorporated community of Rowland Heights for the Rowland Heights Census Community Walk. The Community Walk is part of Los Angeles County’s effort to increase participation in the 2010 Census and achieve a complete and accurate count.

The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. with an hour-long training for the volunteers, followed by the Community Walk from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers will go out into the hard-to-count portions of Rowland Heights to make sure that residents fill out and turn in their forms. Free lunch and a t-shirt will be provided for all volunteers.

Carolyn Rosas Park is located at 18500 Farjardo Street in Rowland Heights. For more information on the event, please call (909) 594-6561.

County Hosting Census Assistance Centers

The County of Los Angeles will host centers within a number of its facilities to assist residents who have questions about the Census, need help in filling out their Census forms, or need a Census form.

Questionnaire assistance centers will be staffed by Census representatives to answer questions regarding the Census form. Be Counted Sites will provide residents with a new Census form if they have lost their form or never received one. Hours vary by location, and some sites will serve only as a questionnaire assistance center or a Be Counted Site, so residents should call before visiting.

There are 67 centers located at County libraries, parks, health centers, senior centers and fire stations open to assist the public. In addition, the County Public Social

Services Department will provide assistance at 21 of its offices to clients already visiting those facilities.

Fourth District Census Assistance Centers

Deane Dana Friendship Park: 1805 W. 9th St., San Pedro – (310) 519-6115

Rancho Los Amigos: 7601 E. Imperial Hwy., Room 103, Downey – (213) 974-1148

Los Nietos Senior Center: 11640 E. Slauson Ave., Whittier – (562) 699-9898

Office of Public Safety: 12951 Juniper St., Downey – (213) 974-1148

Registrar Recorder/County Clerk: 12400 Imperial Hwy., Norwalk – (562) 562-2704

San Pedro Service Center: 769 W. Third St., San Pedro – (310) 519-6091

Schabarum Regional Park: 17250 E. Colima Rd., Rowland Heights – (626) 854-5560

Hermosa Beach Library: 550 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach – (310) 830-0231

Lomita Library: 24200 Narbonne Ave., Lomita – (310) 830-0231

Paramount Library: 16254 Colorado Ave., Paramount – (562) 868-0770

Los Nietos Library: 11644 E. Slauson Ave., Whittier – (323) 722-5621

Hacienda Heights Library: 16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights – (626) 960-2861

Rowland Heights Library: 1850 Nogales St., Rowland Heights – (626) 960-2861

Disasters Happen. Prepare Today. Learn Here,

In less than a year, Los Angeles County residents have faced earthquakes, floods, wild fires, debris and mud flows, mudslides, winter storms, pandemic flu, and the effects of a tsunami.

Los Angeles County has prepared a comprehensive guide to emergency preparedness intended to help the residents of Los Angeles County better prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

The Emergency Survival Guide has 100 color pages of helpful tips and information for residents to prepare for fires, floods, earthquakes, pandemic flu, terrorism, extreme weather, and tsunamis. There is space to record household emergency plans including out-of-state contacts, family evacuation gathering points, and the location of utility shut-offs. The Emergency Survival Guide also includes checklists for gathering emergency supplies that will help individuals, families, pet owners, businesses and communities survive and recover after a major disaster.

The Emergency Survival Guide is available online at http://lacounty.gov. Additional information on preparing for disasters is also available on-line at www.espfocus.org.

Residents and business owners, including persons with access and functional needs may also call 211 LA County for emergency preparedness information and other referral services. The toll-free 2-1-1 number is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. 211 LA County services can also be accessed by visiting http://211la.org.

Blue Butterfly Release Planned For Palos Verdes This Weekend

Tomorrow morning, Supervisor Don Knabe will join community leaders for the release of endangered Palos Verdes blue butterflies into restored coastal sage scrub habitat at Deane Dana Friendship Community Regional Park and Nature Center (Friendship Park) in San Pedro.

The Palos Verdes blue butterfly is a small, colorful, thumbnail-sized butterfly that was federally listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1980. The release of endangered Palos Verdes blue butterflies at Deane Dana Friendship Park is one component of ongoing multiple partnership efforts to recover this endangered native species in southern California.

Recovery actions include the restoration of the butterfly’s habitat by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy at Friendship Park, and captive-rearing at Defense Fuel Support Point San Pedro and The Urban Wildlands Group and America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College.

Deane Dana Friendship Community Regional Park and Nature Center is located at 1805 W. 9th Street, San Pedro, CA 90732. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and admission is free. In the event of rain, the butterflies will not be released but will be available on display inside the Nature Center.