Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Conny McCormack is pleased to announce the implementation this month of a new computer system for recording of property documents known as the Enterprise Recording Archive System (ERA).

The number of real estate purchases, re-financings and property transfers throughout the County has increased 75% over the past decade and all such transactions require recording with the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Department. Currently up to 3.3 million property documents are filed annually with the Los Angeles County RR/CC. The new ERA System allows greater automation of the numerous steps in the property document recording process. "Duplicative processes have been replaced with a single point of data capture which, coupled with electronic scanning of documents, reduces the time spent by staff keying data. As a result of implementing the new system, the County anticipates operational cost savings of approximately $1 million annually," McCormack said.

The development of the ERA system began in 2004 and was finalized at the end of 2006. It was designed, written, tested and implemented by RR/CC technical staff with the assistance of contract programmers. The new, state-of-the-art ERA system was designed to be compatible with advancements in electronic recording of property documents and to interface more seamlessly with the County Assessor’s systems.

Persons requiring multilingual assistance in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, or Vietnamese regarding information in this press release, may call (800) 481-8683.

A high-tech system designed to curb graffiti in Unincorporated South Whittier was credited for today’s arrest of a local teen accused of several incidents of graffiti vandalism, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

Early this morning, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies, using documentation obtained from the Graffiti Tracker program, served a search warrant at an apartment in South Whittier and found both the primary suspect and paraphernalia that could have been used in the crimes. Deputies reported that the suspect, a 16 year old male and self-proclaimed member of the Whittier 13 gang, confessed to the crimes and was taken into custody. He is currently being held at the County’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center. The Sheriff’s Department will be seeking a felony complaint for vandalism with the District Attorney’s Office.

Before the ‘Graffiti Tracker’ came along, a bust like this wouldn’t have been possible because there was no way of determining which vandals were doing the most damage or how much damage they were actually responsible for, said Supervisor Knabe.

The Graffiti Tracker system was created to capture and store graffiti data. The system gives law enforcement personnel real-time, street-level intelligence that allows them to not only focus on the worst graffiti offenders and their damage, but also to monitor potential gang violence that is associated with the graffiti.

The system was originally put to use in the City of Carson several years ago and was brought to South Whittier in early 2006. Today’s arrest is the first major bust in South Whittier for graffiti vandalism since the program went online.

Female High school golfers from across Los Angeles County’s Fourth District will tee-off Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at Supervisor Don Knabe’s Fourth Annual Girl’s Knabe Cup golf tournament being held at Lakewood Country Club Golf Course.

More than two dozen high school teams will be competing in an individual and team tournament and a chance to be the Girl’s Knabe Cup Champions. This year’s tournament will host several of the region’s top female golfers, including #12 Golfweek nationally ranked player Jane Rah of Torrance High School, 2004 Knabe Cup Champion Ashley Johnson of Mayfair High School.

Each player will receive a free lunch, range balls, as well as some great tee prizes. Additionally, first, second, and third place finishers will also receive trophies, windbreakers, and scrip for their outstanding play.

Lakewood Country Club Golf Course is located at 3101 Carson St. in Lakewood, Calif. The competition begins with a shotgun start at 1:00 p.m.

A newborn girl has become the 46th baby handed over under the Safe Surrender Program, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe announced this morning.

The two-day-old baby girl was safely surrendered Saturday, October 7 at County Fire Station 154 in the City of Covina. Firefighters at the station reported that the mother brought the baby in herself and remained at the station while paperwork and a health check were completed. Saturday’s surrender is the tenth Safe Surrender in Los Angeles County in 2006 and the 46th since the program began in 2001. Earlier in the year, a newborn was safely surrendered at nearby Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina on May 12, 2006.

The Safe Surrender Program in Los Angeles County was initiated by Supervisor Knabe and approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in June of 2002. It allows a mother or someone designated by the mother to surrender an infant that is no more than three days old, as long as the infant is healthy and shows no signs of neglect.

This case could have ended in tragedy, but because of the Safe Surrender program, this baby girl has a long life ahead of her, said Supervisor Knabe. I am happy this mother made the right choice for her baby.

As is standard practice, the newborn girl will be immediately placed in protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services and placed with a foster adoptive family.

Over 1,000 youth ages 5 to 15 will be angling for a prize catch at the Tenth Annual Knabe Katch Fishing Derby this Saturday, September 30, 2006. This year’s event hosted by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and the La Mirada Kiwanis Club along with the City of La Mirada and the County Department of Parks and Recreation promises to be a fun-filled day for the entire family.

The fishing derbies are always fun events that children and families look forward to and many return to participate each year, said Supervisor Knabe. Even if a child has never fished before, there are volunteers on-hand to show them the art of casting a line and the fun of putting a worm on a hook.

The event will begin at 7:00 a.m. with a free pancake breakfast, followed by the derby kickoff at 8:00 a.m. Children may take part in free fishing and angler safety lessons as well as other activities. Each child will also receive a free t-shirt and be eligible for prizes in several categories. This year’s fishing derby also includes a first-ever event, a community health fair will be held at La Mirada Regional Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday afternoon. The health fair will include free services, including glucose checks, vaccinations, blood pressure checks and dental checks.

La Mirada Regional Park is located at 13701 South Adelfa Avenue, La Mirada, California. For more information, call (626) 333-1369.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement regarding the results of the recent Federal inspection of King/Drew Medical Center:

The emergency health services provided by King/Drew Medical Center are absolutely critical to the communities served by this hospital. In the larger picture, these services are also critical to the safety net of our entire County. Los Angeles County has suffered the loss of several emergency rooms and hundreds of inpatient beds in the past decade as private hospitals have shutdown. Losing similar services at King/Drew would push the strain onto the few other hospitals remaining in that part of our County. We need to look at every available option to us to keep King/Drew open and I will carefully review the options put forth by our Director of Health Services, Dr. Bruce Chernof.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement in response to today’s Congressional announcement to fund construction of 10 additional C-17 military transport aircraft.

"I could not be more pleased by today’s announcement that new funding has been earmarked for the Boeing C-17 program. I want to thank Senator Jim Talent of Missouri for efforts to secure funding to construct 10 additional planes. Thanks also belong to Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Ken Calvert, the California Congressional delegation, Mayor Bob Foster of Long Beach and every elected leader and community leader who have fought hard for this program."

"We know the C-17 is essential to the military in the war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it is also important here at home for disaster response and homeland security efforts. As Senator Talent correctly pointed out in today’s announcement, our nation obviously does not have the supply of C-17’s that it truly needs, otherwise, the plane would not be operating at 186-percent capacity."

"Besides the huge potential hit the economy would take from the loss of 6,500 jobs at the Boeing plant in Long Beach, shutting down the C-17 could prove a costly error for National Security. Mistakes have been made in the past from shutting down aircraft production lines and we must make sure we do not make the same mistake again. Shuttering the C-17 plant means the United States would lose its last defense cargo aircraft production facility."

Supervisor Knabe currently serves as part of the C-17 "Red Team," a group of local, state and federal elected leaders that are fighting for the continued production of the C-17.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe issued the following statement today in response to announcement by the Boeing Company on the future of the C-17 program:

While I am disappointed by today’s announcement, I also know we are far from the end of the fight to save the C-17. Boeing must give its suppliers 34-36 months advance notification if it intends to end contracts and shutdown production of the C-17. I consider today’s announcement simply one initial step in what might potentially lead to a shutdown. 36 months is a long time and many things could happen in that time to reverse the fate of the program. The C-17 has already proven that it is essential not only to the military, but also to homeland security and disaster response. Obviously the nation does not have the supply of C-17’s that it truly needs, otherwise, the C-17 would not be operating at 186-percent capacity, as it is right now.

Besides the huge potential hit the economy would take from the loss of 6,500 jobs at the Boeing plant in Long Beach, shutting down the C-17 could prove a costly error for National Security. Mistakes have been made in the past from shutting down aircraft production lines and we must make sure we do not make the same mistake again. Shuttering the C-17 plant means the United States would lose its last defense cargo aircraft production facility.

It is now up Congress and the Department of Defense to provide funding for what the nation already knows: we need this plane. It is critical for the future of this program to continue with a commitment of additional anticipated funding. It is my hope that President Bush will step in to make that commitment a reality.

Supervisor Don Knabe today announced that the Board of Supervisors waived the court fees for a hearing room at the Southeast Norwalk Superior Court for the City of Norwalk’s Family Intervention Program.

The Family Intervention Team is a service provided by the City of Norwalk that offers families, schools, and youth with needed guidance and intervention to address the juvenile’s harmful behavior. During the hearings, the youth is given firm consequences for their continued adverse behavior and the intervention is continued through school visits, home visits, and more hearings as needed.

The City of Norwalk is providing a valuable service for these children and the program has great results said Knabe. Holding these hearings in the courthouse has a very strong impact on the minors and their parents because it shows them the seriousness of their behavior.

These hearings are scheduled to take place every Thursday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm in Hearing Room 104-D at the Southeast Norwalk Superior Court beginning on June 30, 2006 through July 1, 2007.

Supervisor Don Knabe today announced that the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved his appointment of Palos Verdes Estates resident Dr. Larry Gasco to the Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission.

Dr. Gasco is a recently retired social worker who received his Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of California, Los Angeles. During his 37 year tenure with the County he worked as a licensed clinical social worker for the Departments of Pubic Social Services, Health Services and Mental Health. He is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers, and he serves as the Chair of the Latino Constituent Committee to the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Program.

Dr. Gasco’s decades of experience and knowledge will be invaluable to this important commission, said Supervisor Knabe. We are very lucky to have him.