Parks and Environment

County Golf Courses to Offer Discount for Veterans

In honor of Veteran’s Day, all veterans with proper military identification will receive a fifty percent discount on green fees (excluding tournament play) all day on Thursday, November 11.

“As Veterans Day approaches, it is important that we recognize the many contributions that Veterans have made for our great County over the years,” said Supervisor Knabe.  “This is a small way that we can honor our veterans on this special day and thank them for the many freedoms we enjoy today.”

For more information on “Veterans Appreciation Day” 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

Trump National Golf Club: (310) 265-5000

County to Assist BP With Gulf Oil Spill Clean Up Efforts

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Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors will send one of its existing BeachTech 2000 sanitizer units to the Gulf Coast to assist British Petroleum (BP) with its Gulf Coast clean up efforts, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

Following the worst oil spill disaster on record, BP placed orders for new sanitizer units, however, orders could take several weeks to fill. Since BP would like to have the units in service right away, it requested the manufacturer of this sanitizer to ask its clients if they would be willing to immediately provide functioning BeachTech 2000 units to BP for the cleanup effort.

In exchange for releasing the equipment to BP, LA County will receive a brand new BeachTech 2000 sanitizer unit, with new warranties, valued at an estimated $50,000. The new BeachTech 2000 unit is currently being manufactured and is expected to be delivered October 2010.

“Given the devastating events that have occurred in the Gulf, it is more important than ever to take action and lend our support,”  said Supervisor Knabe. “This is an incredible opportunity for the County to help with the clean up efforts along the Gulf Coast.”

County To Improve South Bay Groundwater Monitoring System

Supervisor Don Knabe announced today that the Board of Supervisors approved Phase 2 of the communications system for the West Coast Basin Barrier Project. This project will greatly enhance the County’s ability to protect its groundwater supply from seawater intrusion.

The $3.41 million project will create an Automated Data Acquisition and Telemetry System that will enable the County’s Department of Public Works to remotely collect, store and analyze information on the operational conditions at facilities associated with the project. By creating a unified communications system between the wells, engineers can control the West Coast Basin Barrier remotely from a centralized monitoring facility. This will allow for more rapid changes in the injection system and better monitoring of the groundwater supply in the underground aquifers.

The West Coast Basin Barrier is comprised of 153 injection wells that stretch from the Palos Verdes Peninsula, north to Los Angeles International Airport. By injecting water into these wells, seawater from Santa Monica Bay is prevented from seeping into the critical freshwater aquifers underneath the Los Angeles Basin. Seawater intrusion is the movement of ocean water into fresh groundwater, causing contamination of the groundwater by salt.

In Phase 1 of the project, which was completed in April 2010, the County constructed a 12-inch-wide underground conduit which the future telecommunication controls of Phase 2 would eventually run through. The West Coast Basin Barrier Project is located in the Cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance. Access to adjacent properties will remain open during construction and traffic impacts will be minimal.

County’s New Conversion Technology Project Promises A “Greener” Future

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has given the green light to a series of demonstration projects designed to convert non-recyclable waste into clean energy. As approved by the Board, the Southern California Conversion Technology Demonstration Project will use state-of-the-art methods to break down virtually all solid, non-recyclable waste into renewable material, such as biodiesel and ethanol fuel.

The project will use a variety of processes, including anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, and gasification to convert currently untreatable waste into re-useable material. Once the demonstration phase has been successfully completed, the technology will eventually be installed at other County waste facilities.

While conversion technology has been implemented in Japan, Europe and Canada, the County’s demonstration sites will be the first of their kind in the United States.

The demonstration project phase will be undertaken at three waste facilities, two in Riverside County and one in Orange County. They include an anaerobic digestion project operated by Arrow Ecology and Engineering and CR&R in Perris, a gasification project operated by Entech Renewable Energy Solutions and Rainbow Disposal Co., Inc. in Huntington Beach, and a pyrolysis project operated by International Environmental Solutions and Burrtec Industries in unincorporated Riverside. Additional project sites are also being identified in Los Angeles County.

The Board of Supervisors has been at the forefront of efforts to evaluate and promote the development of conversion technologies as environmentally friendly alternatives to landfill disposal. About 135,000 tons of trash are sent to California landfills every day.

Conversion projects have the potential to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills, create local green jobs, produce renewable energy and turn trash into a resource. The demonstration project is supported by a broad coalition of local governments, residents, waste management agencies and environmentalists.

Terry O’Day, Executive Director of Environment Now, said that the future of trash management would see a dramatic shift away from landfills. As we make the shift, we should always look to see if the waste can be reduced, recycled and disposed of in the least harmful way, O’Day said.

These new technologies hold promise to reduce greenhouse gases, reduce diesel emissions, reduce the need for waste transport through our neighborhoods, and supply a source of base power that facilitates our transition to renewable energy. The demonstration projects should provide very useful data to evaluate these potential benefits, he added.

The projects are expected to be operational by 2012.

County To Continue Improving San Gabriel River Bike Path In Lakewood And Cerritos

Several sections of the San Gabriel River Bicycle Trail will soon be reconstructed in the Cities of Cerritos and Lakewood, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today. The project will be completed in four separate phases, and is being funded with over $2.5 million in Fourth District Capital Improvement funds. The reconstruction will also remove sharp turns and improve the sight distance, which will improve the level of safety for trail users.

Phase 1, which was completed on February 12, 2009, realigned and reconstructed 350 feet of the trail, at Del Amo Boulevard in City of Cerritos. Phase 1 also consisted of the relocation of the existing access gates and power poles, and the installation of trail signage, yellow centerline striping, and pavement markings.

Next is Phase 2, which will cost an estimated $336,000, will realign and reconstruct another 460 feet of the path just south of Del Amo Boulevard. Additionally, the existing reclamation waterline and street lights will be relocated, and trail signage, yellow centerline striping, and pavement markings will be installed.

Phase 3 has a budget of $1,080,000 and consists of the reconstruction of an approximately one mile segment of the trail and widening the existing bike trail from 10 feet to 12 feet wide from Del Amo Boulevard to Carson Street in the City of Lakewood.

Finally, Phase 4 will cost an estimated $1,350,000, and will realign and reconstruct a tunnel and 125 feet of the path at 183rd Street in the City of Cerritos. A new access ramp will be constructed on the north side of 183rd Street, which will follow the alignment of the current tunnel approach.

It is important that the bike paths along our riverbeds are safe, said Supervisor Knabe. The improvements will enhance the safety and increase enjoyment of the numerous residents and visitors who use the San Gabriel River Bike Trail.

This project is part of a larger capital investment plan that Supervisor Knabe announced during his annual State of the County address on November 4, 2009. At the event, Supervisor Knabe unveiled over $42 million in Fourth District Capital Projects that would be built in communities across the Fourth District in 2010.

Los Verdes Golf Course To Begin Capital Improvement Project

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation and American Golf, Los Verdes Golf Course Operator, are pleased to announce the commencement of the driving range practice facility renovation project at Los Verdes Golf Course located in Rancho Palos Verdes.

American Landscape Construction, the project contractor, anticipates the project to begin on May 17, 2010 and to be completed within ninety working days. The renovation project which costs $432,000 is funded by the Los Verdes Golf Course Capital Improvement Fund.

We look forward to the course improvements, said Supervisor Knabe. We know golfers and the surrounding community eagerly await this exciting project funded by the capital improvement fund that’s generated from a portion of all green fees paid by golfers. This facility will continue to provide the community with an excellent recreational facility for many years to come.

In 1998 the County of Los Angeles renovated the Los Verdes Golf Course driving range. An artificial turf was installed on the approximately four acre facility. Because of the natural elements such as sun, wind and rain, that surface has outlived its useful life.

Renaissance Faire Returns To Los Angeles County

The 48th Annual Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Where Fantasy Rules! returns to the Los Angeles County Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area on Saturday, April 10, 2010. The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire will take place every Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from April 10, 2010 through May 23, 2010.

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire has always been one of our more popular events and something people from far and near come to attend, said Russ Guiney, Director of County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. I am pleased about the continued success this celebration has experienced at our very own Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area.

The Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire initially moved to the lush, shady Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area six years ago and garnered instant recognition with thousands of fans who warmly welcomed the Faire back to Los Angeles County. In 2008, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a five-year contract allowing the Original Renaissance Faire to call Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area home until 2012.

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire embodies the 16th Century Elizabethan period with its presentation of a true English port-town faire and marketplace throughout 20 acres of shaded pavilions and thoroughfares. The 360 degree spectacular recreation of the Port of Deptford England casts 2,000 brightly costumed characters to delight the audience and to celebrate with laughter, savory foods, hearty ales, juices, games of skill and chance, hand powered rides, demonstrations of lost arts, such as glassblowing, by skilled artisans. Seven Parades cross the Faire grounds daily and 12 stages entertain continuously throughout the day.

In addition to producing the Faire, the organizers of the event also host a School Day program, which opens the Faire to more than 10,000 children from the Los Angeles School District. The Faire format on School Day will be tailored just for kids in an interactive structure.

Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, which is located at 15501 East Arrow Highway in Irwindale, is a United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Facility and a part of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation. For more information about Faire programming please call (626) 969-4750.

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.

Shoaling Reports At North Entrance To Marina Del Rey

The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors announced today shoaling has been reported at the north entrance to Marina del Rey from recent storms. Currently, the north entrance remains open to mariners with approximately 100-120 yards clearance. The majority of the entrance has approximately 15′ to 17′ depth.
The Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Department has placed additional Aids to Navigation (green buoys) and Hazard Buoys (white buoys) to guide boaters through the north entrance for a minimum depth clearance of 10′ at low tide. Mariners are urged to stay outside the buoy area and should use extreme caution when transiting the north entrance since conditions are changing and buoys can move. Attention to astronomical low tides during monthly full and new moon periods is advised, as well as staying clear of the jetties, and utilizing the south entrance to Marina del Rey. These areas will be monitored by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Marina del Rey Station.
For additional information, contact the Marina del Rey Harbor Master at (310) 482-6000 for north entrance shoaling updates or VHF Channel 16.