Thursday, July 28, 2022

COVID: LA County Opts Against Reinstating Universal Indoor Mask Mandate

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Citing continued downward trends in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Los Angeles County scrubbed plans Thursday to re-impose a universal indoor mask-wearing mandate that would have taken effect Friday.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told reporters in an online briefing that the county’s average daily number of new COVID cases over the past week was about 5,900 per day, down from 6,750 a week ago. There were 1,239 COVID-positive patients hospitalized in the county as of Thursday, down from 1,329 a week ago.

She also noted that the average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus has been holding mostly steady.

According to Ferrer, the decline in new infection numbers is “potentially signaling a downward trend in cases.” She said hospitalizations have also begun declining “for the first time since mid-April.”

Declines in new cases and hospitalizations will likely also lead to a reduction in virus-related deaths, she said.

Ferrer had previously said that a new indoor masking mandate would be imposed if the county remained in the “high”

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

LA County Property Assessments Sees Record Jump of Nearly 7%

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The value of all assessed properties in Los Angeles County jumped by a record 6.95% this year, reaching a combined value of $1.89 trillion, the county Assessor’s Office announced Tuesday.

It’s the 12 consecutive year of increases in the tax roll, with this year’s total up $122 billion from last year’s overall assessment of $1.76 trillion.

“I am pleased to report the 6.95% increase in assessed property values in Los Angeles County shows we are slowly emerging from the pandemic that has been with us for the past two years,” Assessor Jeff Prang said in a statement. “Although the housing market is showing signs of leveling off now, it had been robust with low interest rates, inflation, and a high demand during the COVID restrictions.”

The county’s property valuation translates to about $19 billion in property tax dollars to fund public education, first responders, public health and other county, municipal and public education services.

Property sales contributed $69.6 billion to the Assessment Roll,

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

LA County Supervisors Push for Increased Monkeypox Vaccine Supplies, Funds

CITY NEWS SERVICE

In the face of limited supplies of vaccine and growing public concern, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to lobby federal health officials to bolster local supplies of monkeypox vaccines and boost funding for testing and administration of the shots.

Local health authorities have repeatedly insisted that the odds of contracting monkeypox in the general population are extremely low. But growing case numbers, particularly among gay men, have been heightening public concern about a disease usually restricted to the African continent but now being detected globally.

As of Tuesday, there were 218 known cases in Los Angeles County. That’s up from 120 last week. The county has also confirmed local transmission of the virus, noting that some patients had no known history of recent travel.

The county has been slowly expanding eligibility for the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine, but supplies remain extremely limited.

In a motion that went before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday,

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

LA County Supervisors Advances Ballot Measure for Removing Sheriff

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval Tuesday to an ordinance placing a measure on the November ballot that would give the panel authority to remove a publicly elected sheriff from office for cause.

The board approved the ordinance without discussion on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger dissenting. The ordinance will return to the board for final approval Aug. 2, then placed on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The board considered electing a sheriff after Lee Baca refused to step down after deputies were convicted in an inmate abuse scandal several years ago.

The ballot measure would give the board the power to remove a sheriff “for cause” on a four-fifths vote of the five-member panel. “Cause” is defined as “a violation of any law related to the performance of their duties as sheriff; flagrant or repeated neglect of duties; a misappropriation of public funds or property; willful falsification of a relevant official statement or document;

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Unique Visual Exhibit Displays Fourteen Decades of Altadena History on Annular Rings of 140-Year Old Deodar Tree

Planted in 1883, Deodar Tree #8 (also known as “Herbert”) on Altadena’s famous Christmas Tree Lane, lived through 14 decades of Altadena history before being cut down in 2017 due to drought damage. 

But Herbert was not to be forgotten; a thin slice of the tree’s trunk is preserved and is now the centerpiece in a professionally designed visual exhibit that will greet visitors at the Altadena Community Center, set to reopen to the public on Saturday, July 23, after a long closure due to the pandemic.

The exhibit also includes photographs, writings and other items that feature events tied to the rings on the slice of Herbert’s trunk – things that tell the story of how Altadena came to be. 

It was Altadena area volunteer René Amy who preserved this slice of the trunk, or tree cookie, and gave the fallen tree the name Herbert. When Amy later met retired exhibit designer Baeri Penn on a trail-clearing hike, they talked about the idea of creating a permanent exhibit that will include that piece of Herbert’s trunk.

Friday, July 22, 2022

New LA County Department Launches for Economic, Workforce Development

STAFF REPORT

Los Angeles County officials Thursday marked the creation of a department focused on economic and workforce development, as part of the dissolving of the former Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services.

The Department of Economic Opportunity aims to advance workforce equity and mobility by combining services that were previously performed by four different agencies in the county.

Kelly LoBianco, the former executive director for economic and workforce development at WDACS, was appointed the department’s new director.

“Thanks to the vision of our Board of Supervisors and the commitment of our county team and partners, we are proud to have created a new, centralized department that will empower all of our workers, small businesses and high-road employers, and communities,” LoBianco said in a statement. “As we continue to recover and look to the future, our charge is to advance workforce equity and mobility and drive inclusive and sustainable growth here in L.A. County.”

The department has 178 budgeted positions and is overseen by two county commissions: the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board and the Small Business Commission.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Supervisor Barger Announces LA County Contract with Pasadena Humane for Animal Care and Control Services in Targeted Regions

STAFF REPORT

Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced the unanimous approval by the Board of Supervisors for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control to enter into a contract with Pasadena Humane to provide regional animal care services to the residents of Altadena, and unincorporated La Crescenta, East Pasadena, and San Pasqual.

“I am delighted that the County will be working with Pasadena Humane to provide these critical animal care and control services for the communities of Altadena and unincorporated La Crescenta, East Pasadena, and San Pasqual,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “The proximity of Pasadena Humane to these areas will help pet owners reclaim lost pets more quickly, and facilitate drop offs for residents who find lost pets. In addition, this partnership should help improve public safety responses as officers will be readily available to respond to calls regarding aggressive dogs, animal abuse or neglect, law enforcement assistance and other animal emergencies.”

Under the contract approved by the Board of Supervisors today,

Saturday, June 25, 2022

In Wake of Roe Decision, County Health Dept. Stresses Its Options for Women

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Friday decried the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down Roe v. Wade, calling it “shocking in its disregard for the health, rights, and dignity of half of the U.S. population.”

At the same time, the health department highlighted the county’s “Safe Haven Abortion Project,” which “seeks to improve access to abortion and to the full spectrum of reproductive health services for Los Angeles residents and for people who travel here from states where abortion is no longer an option.”

“Access to the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion, is fundamental to the health of individuals, families and communities,” according to a health department statement.

Friday’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision striking down the 49-year-old Roe ruling sends abortion policy back to individual states, many of which have restricted or outlawed the procedure in recent months.

California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

LA County to Explore Possible Local Rules to Control Gun Sales

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed its attorneys Tuesday to investigate potential gun-control measures that could be implemented locally.

“There’s no doubt that we’re facing a gun violence epidemic in our nation,” Supervisor Janice Hahn, who introduced the motion asking for the report, told her colleagues. “There’s simply too many guns out in our communities.”

The motion calls for county attorneys to explore an array of possible local regulations, such as increasing the required age to purchase a long gun from 18 to 21, enacting a safe-storage ordinance similar to one in place in the city of Los Angeles, creating buffer zones between schools and gun stores, and banning people who are on the federal no-fly list from purchasing guns.

Hahn referenced gun-control rallies that were held across the country over the weekend, including in downtown Los Angeles. She said students and parents are “begging those of us who can to take action against gun violence.”

Thursday, May 12, 2022

$50,000 Reward Offered For Information in Fatal Shooting of 4-Year-Old Boy

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A $50,000 reward was available as of Wednesday for information leading to the person who fatally shot a 4-year-old boy in Altadena nearly six years ago in what detectives said they believed was prompted by a gang-related dispute.

Salvador Esparza III, who lived in Monrovia but was visiting family friends when the gunfire erupted, was shot about 10:40 p.m. July 5, 2016, in the 300 block of West Figueroa Drive near Lincoln Avenue, just a few blocks north of the Pasadena city line.

The gunman walked to the home and fired at least 13 rounds, striking the 4-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man, who was a family friend not related to the child, authorities said. Both were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where the boy was pronounced dead. The man survived.

“Detectives believe the shooting was the result of a gang-related dispute and Salvador was an innocent victim in this senseless act of violence,”