The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works will once again host a series of Earth Day Events in conjunction with the Board of Supervisors throughout the months of April and May. These enriching events allow students, community groups and civic leaders to work together to plant native trees and shrubs and to educate the students on how to preserve the beautified greenery and to protect the local watersheds. Some events will also have students participate in eco-fairs and recycling demonstrations.
Each Earth Day event is filled with educational elements to help students understand how their everyday activities can affect our environment. The following is a summary of each upcoming Earth Day Event.
Date:
April 21, 2008
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Supervisorial District:
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Third District
Location:
Studio City
Along Valleyheart Drive between Fulton Avenue and Coldwater Canyon Avenue
Activities:
Planting 294 California Native Flowers and Trees
Participating School:
Carpenter Elementary School
Number of Students and Grade Level:
65 – 4th grade students Date:
April 23, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Supervisorial District:
Supervisor Michael Antonovich, Fifth District Location:
Unincorporated Altadena Adjacent to Las Flores Debris Basin
Activities:
Planting 344 California Native Shrubs and Trees Participating School:
Loma Alta Elementary School
Number of Students and Grade Level:
71 – 5th and 6th grade students Date:
April 24, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Supervisorial District:
Supervisor Gloria Molina, First District Location:
La Primaria Elementary School 4220 Gilman Road
El Monte, CA 91732 Activities:
Planting 299 California Native Flowers and Trees, L.A. County Fire "No Way Out" booth and other educational booths, Watershed Model Presentation
Participating School:
La Primaria Elementary School Number of Students and Grade Level:
60 – 2nd and 3rd grade students Date:
April 24, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Supervisorial District:
Supervisor Yvonne Burke, Second District
Location:
Ballona Creek At the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Ballona Creek on the southeast bank of the creek.
Activities:
Planting 234 native shrubs and trees and painting reusable grocery bags. Participating School:
Farragut Elementary School
Number of Students and Grade Level:
48 – 3rd and 4th grade students
Date:
May 22, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Supervisorial District:
Supervisor Don Knabe, Fourth District
Location:
Hill Classical Middle School
1100 Iroquois Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90815
Activities:
Planting 322 California Native Shrubs and Trees, Eco-Fair, essay and photo contest.
Participating School:
Hill Classical Middle School
Number of Students and Grade Level:
TBD

Just Be Ready: Prepare Together – Emergency Preparedness Campaign Outlines 10 Essential Items For Your Earthquake Kit

A recent study by a group of earthquake experts states that there is a 67% chance that a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake will strike the greater Los Angeles area sometime in the next 30 years. Los Angeles County would like to encourage people to evaluate their disaster readiness.

The 10 Essential Items, as recommended by the Emergency Survival Program in LA County’s Office of Emergency Management, include:

1. Water

2. Food

3. Cash and Important Documents

4. Clothes

5. Flashlight

6. First Aid Kit

7. Medicine

8. Radio

9. Toiletries

10. Tools

These essential items will help ensure that people have access to basic essentials when other resources may not be available during an emergency. It is also vital that families put together a Communications Plan, in case they are separated or at work or school when a disaster strikes. This plan should include information on how to contact each other and designate a safe place to meet.

For more information on earthquake and disaster readiness, call (866) 999- 5228 or visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov

Bilingual Public Health staff is available Monday to Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman has announced the promotional appointment of Daryl L. Osby to the position of Chief Deputy of Emergency Operations. He is the first African-American chief officer to be appointed to the rank of Chief Deputy in the history of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Osby joined the Department 24 years ago and has served in all ranks, most recently as Deputy Chief of the East Regional Operations Bureau, where he was responsible for emergency service delivery and management, performance and personnel management, training, budget and community issues related to the region’s 76 fire stations serving 33 cities and several unincorporated communities. In his new position, Osby will serve second in command to the Fire Chief and will be responsible for the Department’s entire emergency operations.

His executive level experience also includes leadership, development and management of the Special Operations Bureau, including the Department’s ocean lifeguards, Air Operations, fire suppression camps and technical rescue services. Osby has also worked in several emergency management positions throughout his career and has been an Incident Commander on an Incident Management Team for the last five years. He was a top commander of many headlining incidents, including the Commerce train derailment, the 2003 California fire siege, the 2005 Topanga Fire and the Catalina Island fire in May 2007. Following Hurricane Katrina, Osby was deployed to Louisiana for 18 days to assist the City of New Orleans in developing a continuity plan for their city government and managing recovery efforts.

Osby holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University and is a candidate for a Master of Science Degree in Emergency Services Administration at California State University, Long Beach. He has instructed at Clark Atlanta University, Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute, for the last decade and previously taught at the James Shern Fire Academy in Los Angeles. He is also a State-certified incident commander and chief officer.

Throughout his career, Osby has been actively engaged in community and mentoring activities throughout the Los Angeles region. He has been the recipient of many awards and commendations from local and State entities for his related work. He currently directs three youth-oriented foundations, including Los Angeles Junior Firefighters Foundation, Youth for Excellence Foundation and Firefighter ABCs. He serves on the board of directors of the African American Museum and Learning for Life. He is a member and former president of the Stentorians, a firefighter organization, and former member of the board of directors for the Inglewood YMCA.

A long-time resident of Pomona, Osby and his wife, Margaret, have two daughters, Stephanie, 22, and Nicole, 17.

A fifth member of the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department’s Most Wanted Delinquent Parents, surrendered himself in court yesterday to avoid arrest on an outstanding warrant.

Joseph A. Italia turned himself in to LA Superior Court Judge Dennis Landin in Department 82, located in the Central Arraignment Court facility downtown. Italia is the fifth of 10 child support offenders originally included on the County’s "Most Wanted" list to be arrested or to surrender to court in the last three weeks.

The bench warrant for Italia’s arrest was issued in September, 1999, after he failed to appear for a hearing on a probation violation. Italia had been placed on probation in 1997 after entering a plea of "no contest" to a charge of contempt of court [Penal Code section 166 (a) (4)] for failing to support his son.

In court, Judge Landin sentenced Italia to 180 days in the county jail; that sentence was stayed on the conditions that Italia make a lump sum payment of $5,000 on or before July 8, that he resume making payments of current support in the amount of $220.00 and that he pay an additional $225.00 per month on arrears. Italia was ordered to return to Department 82 on May 29 for the court to review his progress.

Prior to his appearance, both Italia and his attorney had been in contact with District Attorney Investigators working arrest warrants on behalf of the Child Support Services Department. Last Friday, Italia made a "good faith" payment of $10,000. At the time he made the lump sum payment, agency records show that Italia’s outstanding balance of unpaid support was more than $264,000. Until last Friday, Italia hadn’t sent a payment for support since September, 1999.

The County’s Most Wanted List for child support evaders was launched by Supervisor Don Knabe, District Attorney Steve Cooley, and Child Support Services Department Director Steven J. Golightly on Tuesday, March 18. Since the existence of the Los Angeles County Most Wanted website was announced, the names and photos of 4 new parents have been added, with more expected as those on the list are arrested or surrender.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement today in response to the County’s Chief Executive Officer’s recommendation to close and/or reduce clinic services throughout the County, as a means to balance the County’s Department of Health Services Fiscal Year 2008-09 Budget:

In the upcoming fiscal year, our Department of Health Services is looking at a budget shortfall of up to $300 million. In an effort to balance the budget, the CEO has brought forward a recommendation that calls on this Board to close or reduce services at most of our health centers and comprehensive health centers throughout the County. And although, this is only a starting point of the conversation, I am shocked by the proposal and deeply concerned by it.

It is true that this plan will generate millions in savings, but what it fails to address is the effect that closing clinics will have on our already overworked emergency rooms. With the recent overcrowding issues at Harbor-UCLA and the closures of the emergency rooms at King-Harbor and Daniel Freeman Hospitals, the system can ill-afford any further strain. The emergency care system at both private and County hospitals is already in a fragile state, and further increasing the workload of our emergency rooms is creating a time-bomb waiting to explode. We need to be opening more clinics in the County, not closing them.

I will be introducing a motion at Tuesday’s Board Meeting that will ask the CEO to come up with a comprehensive list of all possible options to balance the Health Department’s budget. We have some very difficult decisions on the horizon, but this proposal should be viewed as our last resort and not just a quick fix.