Seniors and their families will get help and learn how to protect themselves against elder financial frauds at a free forum being presented by Supervisor Don Knabe and the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The "SMARTER SENIORS FORUM" will be held on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at San Pedro Service Center, located at 769 West Third Street in San Pedro.

Representatives from several agencies will provide information and help, and will take complaints from seniors who are victims of fraud. Topics will include the following:

– Telemarketing fraud, fake lotteries and prizes, and phony charities

– Identity theft, collections, and credit problems

– Real estate fraud, foreclosures, and reverse mortgages

– Financial abuse by caregivers, family members and conservators

– Living trusts, wills, and conservatorships

– Insurance policies, coverage and schemes

– Special property tax programs for seniors

– Cash advance loans and instant tax refunds

Other participating agencies include the Los Angeles County Department of Community and Senior Services, California Department of Corporations, California Department of Insurance, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Educational materials will be distributed by Los Angeles County Area Agency on Aging and the Community Outreach for Independent Living.

April is not only tax time but the perfect opportunity to consider how much hard-earned money smokers spend on cigarettes and the health dangers caused by using tobacco products.

Every time you buy a pack of cigarettes, you tax your wallet and your health, said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Public Health Director and Health Officer. If you smoke a pack a day, you spend nearly $1600 per year on cigarettes. Every day you continue to smoke you risk cutting years off your life, which is not the kind of deduction that benefits us during tax season or any other time.

Fortunately, for the 80 percent of smokers who want to quit smoking there are proven methods to help you kick your addiction, added Fielding. And most of the resources, information, and help are free and accessible.

LA County residents who are currently addicted to tobacco, have already quit, or want to help a friend or relative quit, can visit www.LAQuits.com for information and resources about quitting smoking. In addition, free and confidential telephone counseling to help quit smoking is available to all Californians by calling 1-800-NO-BUTTS. The service also provides experts available to help youth quit and assists people who are trying to quit chewing tobacco.

Quitting smoking is not easy, but it is possible especially with professional help, added Fielding. There are experts who can provide smokers with the encouragement, tools, and techniques to quit.

Studies conducted by researchers at the 1-800-NO-BUTTS helpline have shown that smokers who used the telephone counseling service were twice as likely to quit smoking as those who tried to quit on their own.

Additional resources for those trying to quit smoking or thinking about it, include:

– www.TobaccoFreeCA.com – a service of the California Department of Health Services with quitting resources, discussion boards and encouraging e-cards.

– www.LastDragLA.com – information on Los Angeles County cessation classes specifically for gay and lesbian smokers.

– American Cancer Society – cessation resources at (800) ACS-2345 or www.cancer.org

– American Lung Association – quitting assistance available at (800) 586-4872 or www.LungUSA.org

– American Heart Association – tobacco cessation information at (800) 242-8721 or www.AmericanHeart.org

– American Legacy Foundation’s BecomeAnEX.org – a nationwide service to help smokers quit, www.BecomeAnEX.org

– www.SmokeFree.gov – resources, including online chat with smoking cessation specialists, from the National Cancer Institute.

– Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Tobacco Control and Prevention – information and data on tobacco use in LA County, www.LAPublicHealth.org/tob

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently unveiled the new Just Be Ready: Prepare Together mobile education outreach program. At the center of the program is a multicultural and multi-language public education campaign that encourages residents to create a family communication plan and put together an emergency preparedness kit.

The emergency preparedness kit should include the ten essential items: Water, Food, Cash & Important Documents, Clothes, Flashlight, First Aid Kit, Medicine, Radio, Toiletries and Tools. In collaboration with the Office of Emergency Management the 10 essential items were recommended by the Emergency Survival Program (ESP).

The award-winning Just Be Ready: Prepare Together campaign was specifically developed for the highly diverse residents of Los Angeles County reaching multicultural and multilingual communities. Campaign materials will be produced in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Khmer, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Armenian, Russian, Arabic and Farsi.

More information on program is available online at
www.lapublichealth.org.

Thomas (Tom) R. Martin, a long-serving South Bay community leader and field representative for several elected officials, passed away this morning at the age of 61 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Tom was a prominent figure in the South Bay and Beach Cities for over thirty years, serving as a field representative to former State Senator Bob Beverly for twenty-six years and as a field deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe for nine years.

He was a California native, attended grammar school in Manhattan Beach and finished high school in the South Bay. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1967 with a degree in Political Science and Public Administration. After a tour of duty in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, Tom returned to the South Bay to work for Senator Beverly from 1969 to 1996. He joined Supervisor Knabe’s staff in 1996 and served until his battle against cancer forced his retirement in 2005.

Tom was involved in numerous community service clubs and organizations, including the Navy League, Rotary, The City of Hope, YMCA, South Bay Symphony Association, Redondo Beach Beautification Committee, the South Bay Juvenile Diversion Project and the Jaycees. He once served as president of the Manhattan Beach Coordinating Council and Beach Cities Council on Aging.

He served a term as a trustee on the Beach Cities Health District. In 1994, he was named recipient of the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year award, and in 2000 was honored by the Torrance Chamber of Commerce with the J. Walker Owens Outstanding Volunteer award.

In 1999, The Los Angeles Times featured an extensive ‘Column One’ profile of Tom and the unique aspects of his work as a field representative to an elected leader. More recently, over 100 community leaders, council members and Mayors gathered last month to honor Tom by dedicating the Lifeguard Headquarters on the Manhattan Beach Pier in his name.

Tom always displayed the qualities that are the foundation of a truly remarkable public servant – character, trustworthiness, honor, and courage. He used these attributes every day in his lifetime of service to the communities he loved so much, said Supervisor Don Knabe. Tom Martin was a friend and a professional in the truest sense.

Tom is survived by his wife Jeri, stepsons Brian and Jimmy, and stepdaughters Teri and Leisha. In lieu of flowers, the Martin family requests donations be made in Tom’s honor to the 1736 Family Crisis Center, (323) 737-3900, or the Los Angeles County Junior Lifeguard Program, (310) 939-7214.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has accepted a donation of 120 cherry trees and a stone memorial marker to Schabarum Regional Park with an estimated value of more than $10,000, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

The donation was made by Dr. Jane Gu and Dr. Ron Gu who are physicians that reside in Rowland Heights. In 2003, their son, Jeffrey Ron Gu, died in a hiking accident in South America. In their son’s honor, they have made this donation to the County.

Jeffrey Ron Gu will be remembered for his passion for God, love for people, enthusiasm for life, love of his family and friends and dreams of improving our world through philanthropy.

This is a very touching tribute to their son, and I am honored that the Gu family has chosen Schabarum Park for this memorial, said Supervisor Knabe. Visitors of the park will be able to enjoy these beautiful trees for generations to come, and we are very grateful.

The Gu family will be honored by the Board of Supervisors for their generous donation at the next Board of Supervisor’s meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2007.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has re-launched an expanded version of its STD Hotline, which has been a powerful prevention weapon against sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week, the Hotline, 1-800-758-0880, gives callers instant access to a wealth of STD information in both English and Spanish, access to free condoms, and contact information for more than 50 free and low-cost STD and HIV test sites throughout the County. The Hotline also provides access to health educators Monday through Friday during business hours from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. enabling callers to order free educational materials as well as condoms, and even tips on how to tell their sexual partners about an STD.

In addition to information on nearby test sites, the STD Hotline can provide key information on STD prevention facts – and myths – even at 2:00 a.m. Other key features of the Hotline include referral information for free Hepatitis A and B immunizations, information on emergency contraception, and resources for health providers.

Other public health tools include the www.inSPOTLA.org website that enables users to anonymously contact sex partners to inform them of possible STD exposure, and the STD Program’s own website, www.lapublichealth.org/std, where additional information and materials, including digital slide presentations and reports, are available to the public.

The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors will again offer its popular Outdoor Adventures programs in Burton Chace Park, 13650 Mindanao Way, Marina del Rey, beginning March 22. Bird Watching, Harbor Kayaking, and Surf Kayaking will offer exciting experiences for individuals and families.

Bird Watching will take groups to various sites in the Ballona Wetlands, where they will have the opportunity to observe various bird species compete for resources in the shoreline and vegetation habitat. 2007 dates and times are: March 22, 4 pm; April 26, 9 am; May 24, 4 pm; and June 28, 9 am. Excursions are presented at no cost, but pre-registration is suggested. Each outing is approximately two hours long.

Harbor Kayaking offers leisure outings in the Marina harbor for anyone 10 years and older, including families, for whom double kayaks are available. Class size is limited to 15 participants. Outings are from 11:30 am to 1:45 pm. Dates are March 24, April 21, May 26, June 16, July 28, August 25, October 27, and November 10. Cost per outing is $25.00 from 10 to 18 years of age, and $30.00 for participants 19 or older.

Surf Kayaking will provide participants with the opportunity to kayak through the Marina del Rey harbor and head out to the North Jetty, where they will surf the waves aboard sit-on-top kayaks. Los Angeles County Lifeguards will instruct the outing. Pre-registration is required, as class size is limited to 10 participants. All classes are held on Saturdays from 8 am to 11 am on March 24, April 28, May 26, June 16, July 28, August 25, October 27, and November 10. Cost per outing is $25.00 ages 10 to 18 years, and $30 ages 19 and older.

For all programs, call (310) 822-8530 to register or to obtain additional information.

The County of Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court seeking an injunction to enforce nuisance

abatement on a homeowner in the unincorporated community of Rowland

Heights, Supervisor Don Knabe announced this week.

The private property, at 19368 East Heritage Place in Rowland Heights,

is located in a residential zone, but is currently being operated as an unlawful boarding house. The residence, which is only legally authorized to be a single-family dwelling, has been converted into a

nine-bedroom boarding house without the required permits and licenses for approval. The owner has also kept the property in an unsanitary condition that provides for a possible shelter for rodent and mosquito

infestations.

A taskforce of County inspectors has inspected the property on numerous

occasions, and demanded that the owner and caretaker of the property rectify the multiple existing violations. When the demands of the inspectors were repeatedly ignored, the case was referred to County

Counsel’s Code Enforcement Unit. The County’s lawsuit will seek an injunction requiring that all of the nuisance conditions on the property be corrected.

"The owners of this property have ignored and disregarded the law for far too long," said Supervisor Knabe. "This will hopefully give our Code Enforcement Team the ability to stop them from violating the law

any longer."

A 45-day public comment period for the revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) relating to the Termino Avenue Storm Drain Project in Long Beach will begin on Thursday, March 1, 2007, and conclude on Monday, April 16, 2007.

Because of the broad community interest in this project, Supervisor Knabe has made the 566 page Draft EIR available at his website at www.Knabe.com. In addition, hard copies of the report will be available for review at the following locations:

County of Los Angeles
Department of Public Works

900 South Fremont Avenue

Alhambra, CA 91803

City of Long Beach Main Library

101 Pacific Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90822

Brewitt Neighborhood Library

4036 East Anaheim Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90804

Some of our residents might have difficulty getting to the library during business hours, said Supervisor Knabe. Our website is a great way to get this information to them on an extremely important public works project going on in their community.

There will also be two public meetings held in March to solicit input from the community on the content of the Draft EIR. The first meeting will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2007, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the following location:

Lowell Elementary School Auditorium

5201 East Broadway

Long Beach, CA 90803

The second meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 27, 2007, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the following location:

Jefferson Leadership Academies Auditorium

750 Euclid Avenue

Long Beach, CA 90804

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is proposing to construct an underground storm drain system to accommodate necessary increases in the capacity of the existing storm drain system.

Los Angeles County public health officials announced this week that they have recently recorded an increase in cases of the flu and flu-like illnesses being seen in local hospital emergency rooms and doctor offices. At the same time, County health leaders reminded local residents that there is still time to get a flu shot since the flu season typically runs through mid-May.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, influenza accounts for more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the United States on average each year. Receiving the flu shot is the most effective way to prevent the flu and its complications.

Los Angeles County residents are urged to contact their regular provider of health care to arrange for a vaccination against the flu. People who do not have a regular health care provider or who are otherwise unable to obtain the vaccine may contact their local public health center.

For information regarding the hours and locations of Los Angeles County Public Health Centers and other clinics that offer flu vaccination, visit
www.lapublichealth.org or call the Los Angeles County Information Line: 211.