Issues

Additional Graffiti Clean Up Services Coming to Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights

Graffiti cleanup services will soon be offered in the communities of Rowland Heights and Hacienda Heights seven days a week thanks to a recent expansion of community services approved after a request by Supervisor Don Knabe.

Currently, graffiti cleanup crews operate in the two communities during weekdays only.

Today’s approval will now extend that coverage to include Saturdays and Sundays. Although crews will focus efforts on graffiti near schools, parks and major intersections, the crews will also be available to respond to individual service calls.

This service extension will go a long way to removing graffiti in these communities, said Supervisor Knabe. By focusing on rapid cleanup of these crimes, I confident we will take a positive step forward to curbing the escalation of graffiti incidents.

For graffiti removal in the unincorporated areas of the Los Angeles County, including Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights, anyone can contact the County’s Graffiti Hotline at (800) 675-4357.

The graffiti removal hotline is available with live operators 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Marina del Rey Dredging Project Update

The dredging has been proceeding very smoothly with no significant problems to report. Approximately 1/3 of the total 250,000 cubic meters in the Marina del Rey north entrance area has been dredged up to date. The full dredging operation is still scheduled for completion on or about March 15, 2007. The Marina del Rey Harbormaster will continue to keep the north entrance closed to boating traffic until it is safe to resume such traffic. A good description of the dredging project can be found at the following website:
www.spl.usace.army.mil/marinadelrey.htm

DCFS Unveils Outreach Program to Assist Homeless Families

New Social Work Team Located Near Skid Row

In an ongoing effort to enhance services to homeless families the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has formed the Skid Row Assessment Team. The team is located at Union Rescue Mission, the Midnight Mission and the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health in the Skid Row area.

DCFS will manage and monitor the partnership with other Los Angeles County departments and Beyond Shelter – a non-profit program that combats poverty and homelessness among families with children – to service up to 500 homeless families from Skid Row. The 12-month pilot project will have social workers walking the streets of Skid Row to assist families in relocating from the crime-ridden and drug-infested streets. The experienced team will initially consist of two DCFS supervising social workers and six DCFS children’s social workers. Eight additional staff will be brought on in the near future.

The project goal is to move homeless families into permanent housing in residential neighborhoods. These families will also be provided with needed services including job training, employment, support for locating new housing and assistance with overall case management services to ensure that they do not return to homelessness. Multi-disciplinary assessments will also be made in order to determine child safety issues and what needs the parents have with respect to financial, medical, mental health and substance abuse services, in efforts to preserve their family unit whenever possible.

Families in need of shelter, services or referrals will be referred to DCFS, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services staff who are located at the Union Rescue Mission or Midnight Mission. Each family will be assessed and screened for services.

The DCFS Skid Row Assessment Team was created as a result of a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ motion in December 2004. In June 2006, the Board allocated $80 million to the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. As a result of this allocation, the Board approved $5.7 million for the Skid Row Families Demonstration Project administered between the County and Beyond Shelter.

Los Angeles County Adopts Green Building Construction Plan

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a series of changes this week to building design policies for County construction projects. The new standards will require all new County buildings over 10,000 square feet to meet strict sustainability guidelines set by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

Among the sustainability rules adopted by the Board are requirements that buildings commissioned by the County include drought-resistant landscaping, water use efficiencies, natural indoor lighting and recycled construction materials whenever appropriate. The County Data Center, currently under construction in the Fourth District on the campus of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, was designed to meet the new standards and will be the first County facility to apply for LEED certification once construction is complete.

This is an opportunity for Los Angeles County to be a leader in sustainable construction. We already own or operate over 5,000 buildings, from animal shelters to office buildings, to fire stations and we are building dozens of new facilities every year, said Supervisor Don Knabe. Using sustainable design techniques in the construction of these buildings will have an important impact in reducing the use of resources needed to operate our facilities.

The new construction policies adopted this week are not the only changes the County has made in the area of sustainable operations recently. The use of recycled water for landscape irrigation is already occurring at several County parks and golf courses. At Supervisor Knabe’s direction, the Department of Public Works is currently investigating ways to expand uses of recycled water for other purposes across the County.

Long Beach Courthouse to Gain Expanded Services at Free Legal Center

Less than eight months after its grand opening, the free Self-Help Legal Access Center at the Long Beach Courthouse will soon benefit from new and expanded services. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved additional funding for the facility today which will be used to pay for additional staff, including lawyers, paralegals and support staff.

The Center is part of a larger public outreach project undertaken by County leaders to improve access to justice for all members of the community. The Center’s staff can assist the public in completing legal forms, offer legal options and provide information that helps the public understand court rules and procedures.

The Long Beach Center is joined by four other existing Legal Access Centers at other Courthouses throughout the County. Since the first facility opened in the Van Nuys Courthouse in 2000, the centers have combined to serve over 100,000 Los Angeles County residents. All residents of Los Angeles County with business at the Long Beach Superior Courthouse are eligible to access the Self-Help Legal Center, regardless of income.

Free Self-Help Legal Access Center Coming to the Torrance Courthouse

Fourth District residents looking for help with navigating through the Superior Court system will soon have another free resource available. This comes after Supervisor Don Knabe and his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors approved funding to open a free Self-Help Legal Access Center (SHLAC) inside the Torrance Courthouse.

All residents of Los Angeles County with business at the Torrance Superior Courthouse are eligible to access the Center, regardless of income. Although exact hours of operation have not yet been set, the agreement requires the Center to be open during regular court days and hours.

I am very happy that we will be bringing a second Self-Help Legal Access Center into the Fourth District, said Supervisor Knabe. My colleagues and I on the Board of Supervisors are committed to providing excellent service to the residents of Los Angeles County, and these Centers will provide residents, who might not have the ability to pay for an attorney, with free access to basic legal resources and information.

The SHLAC is not a new concept in Los Angeles County. Six other Centers already exist and have proven highly successful in other parts of the County. The Fourth District’s first Center opened last April at the Long Beach Courthouse and has been a big success.

While employees and volunteers of the SHLAC will not be able to provide legal advice or offer direct representation, staff members will be able to provide information on preparing forms, service of process, courtroom procedures and appropriate courtroom demeanor.

County Homeless Needs Your Help

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) will be conducting a Homeless Count throughout the County. LAHSA is actively recruiting volunteers to help with the Count.

Tasks could include actually going out on the streets during this time to count the number of observed homeless, coordinating surveys of homeless persons, coordinating deployment of volunteers, etc.

This is an incredible opportunity to give housing to the homeless. Before approval of this program, we had virtually no way to ensure that homeless men and women leaving our hospitals would receive safe housing or appropriate care, said Supervisor Knabe. I am grateful to the City of Los Angeles for their help with my proposal and I look forward to hearing the results of this pilot program.

Los Angeles County Provides New Radar Speed Trailers to the CHP

Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that the County of Los Angeles has purchased 10 new radar speed trailers for use by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) exclusively in the County’s unincorporated areas.

The radar speed trailers were purchased by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works with a $160,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The trailers will be utilized by the 10 CHP Southern Division offices servicing the unincorporated communities of Los Angeles County, and will be temporarily set up at locations where speeding problems persist. Under the California State Constitution, the CHP is charged with providing traffic enforcement in the unincorporated areas of California’s counties.

Within the Rowland Heights community, the CHP is planning to deploy the trailers on streets that have been previously identified as having problems with speeding drivers, such as Saleroso Drive, Fullerton Road, Colima Road, Pathfinder Road, and Victoria Avenue.

These radar trailers will help to ensure that motorists driving through our unincorporated communities are mindful of the speed limit in the area and follow it, said Supervisor Knabe.

Maintaining safe traffic flow throughout our communities is a priority with the Department of Public Works and I am very pleased to be able to provide the CHP with these trailers, explained Don Wolfe, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Knabe Congratulates New Port Director

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe offered his support and congratulations this morning to Geraldine Knatz, the newly named Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles. Knatz comes to her new job after serving as Managing Director of Development for the Port of Long Beach.

Geraldine is a great choice and I have truly enjoyed working with her over the years, said Supervisor Knabe. She has a strong knowledge of the issues facing our two port complexes that comes with the 24 years she spent at the Port of Long Beach and her several years with Los Angeles Harbor Department before that. Geraldine also shares my support and interest in the future of the Alameda Corridor and I look forward to working with her in this new role.

Both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are located within the Fourth District, which Supervisor Knabe has represented since 1996.

There are many challenges ahead for whoever was ultimately selected to lead the Port, said Knabe. We must continue to find ways of keeping this complex competitive in an increasingly aggressive global market and, more importantly, we must work to constantly improve and upgrade the security of our ports from the ongoing threats of terrorism. I know Geraldine will do an excellent job in both areas.

26 Arts Groups from the Fourth District to Receive Grants from the Arts Commission

Five talent groups from the Fourth District will perform in the 47th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, a performance that is a gift to the community from Supervisor Don Knabe and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The free performance is at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday, December 24 from 3:00-9:00 p.m. Inspirational Voices of Free! of San Pedro, Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers of Hermosa Beach, Golden State Pops Orchestra and Sheridan Singers of San Pedro, Grupo Folklorico Sabor de Mexico from Torrance and Khmer Arts Academy from Long Beach will be among 1,500 performers in choirs, music ensembles, and dance companies.

"This is such a wonderful opportunity for the public to see the talent that exists in our community," said Supervisor Knabe. "It is fantastic to see how everyone comes together to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season."

Holiday Celebration information is available online at
www.holidaycelebration.org or by calling 213-972-3099. The web site includes a complete program listing with selections to be performed by each group.

Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Patrons may come and go throughout the six-hour performance. Free parking is provided under the Music Center. Reservations for tickets to the show or parking are not necessary. Those who cannot attend the show in person can watch the live broadcast on KCET, Channel 28.