LOS ANGELES - Backers of a proposed initiative that could dramatically increase taxes on commercial and industrial properties by undoing some protections imposed by 1978's Proposition 13 submitting thousands of petition signatures Tuesday in hopes of getting the issue before voters in 2020.Members of Schools and Communities First, the statewide coalition backing the ... Read more →
L.A. County takes step toward capping rents at mobile home parks
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday indicated its intent, on a 3-1 vote, to temporarily cap rents at mobile home parks in unincorporated areas, though the proposed ordinance requires a second vote and will not take effect any sooner than Oct. 4.Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted against the ordinance and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas abstained ... Read more →
L.A. County expanding mobile shower program
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors signed off Tuesday on a plan to offer more mobile showers for people living on the streets or in their cars.Pilot programs are currently running in Whittier and Pasadena. New locations for the showers have yet to be identified, but may include sites near Metro stations. The expansion will make use of county-owned ... Read more →
Extensive DCFS involvement and 12 social workers didn’t save Lancaster boy
LOS ANGELES - At least a dozen social workers managed reports of abuse and neglect in Anthony Avalos' family before the 10-year-old boy died in Lancaster, alleged at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, but a county report presented Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors could not say what might have been done differently to save him.The review by the Office of Child ... Read more →
Report: State to audit LACDCF
LOS ANGELES - California state officials will conduct an audit of L.A. County's Department of Children and Family Services to determine, in the aftermath of the death of a 10-year-old boy allegedly tortured by his mother and her boyfriend, whether the agency is doing enough to protect children, it was reported Thursday.The California legislative audit committee approved a ... Read more →
State commits ‘strike team’ to help L.A. County prepare for November election
LOS ANGELES - State officials will send a technology "strike team" to Los Angeles County to ensure compatibility between state and local voter databases and guard against future problems with county voter rolls, the registrar-recorder/county clerk said.The assist comes after a software mismatch resulted in more than 118,000 people being omitted from printed voter rosters ... Read more →
LA County takes next step toward deputy body-worn cameras
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to hire a consultant to work out the details of outfitting deputies with body-worn cameras, with the sheriff's department and a watchdog agency at odds about how much it will cost and how long it will take."We are a little late to the party," Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, echoing comments by ... Read more →
Missing L.A. County voter names blamed on software bug
LOS ANGELES - Software misconfigurations were identified as the cause of more than 118,000 people being omitted from printed voter rosters in Los Angeles County during the June 5 primary election, according to an outside review released Wednesday.The report from IBM Security Services also concluded the omissions were not the result of any cyberattack, and that there was no ... Read more →
LA County tracks progress on homelessness, child welfare, justice reform
LOS ANGELES - A semi-annual report on Los Angeles County's priority issues -- justice reform, child protection, health integration, homelessness, environmental health and immigration -- highlighted some major initiatives and wins, but forced taxpayers to read between the lines to understand the challenges ahead."This is a remarkable set of accomplishments across six diverse ... Read more →
LA County prepares to ban e-cigs at county parks
LOS ANGELES - Smoking has been banned at Los Angeles county parks for more than a decade, and the Board of Supervisors Tuesday took the first stop toward extending the prohibition to include e-cigarettes and marijuana.A motion co-authored by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis highlights the use of e-cigarettes by teens as a growing public health concern.Selling ... Read more →
Homeless individuals face deadly struggle in extreme heat
LOS ANGELES - Record-setting temperatures in recent weeks -- which may have caused the deaths of some homeless people -- prompted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to call Tuesday for a coordinated emergency response to extreme weather events.Supervisors Hilda Solis and Kathryn Barger co-authored a motion directing the county Homeless Initiative team and Office of ... Read more →
LA County looks to boost school safety, prevent campus violence
LOS ANGELES - Back-to-school orientation in Los Angeles County will include training to prevent school violence, as the Board of Supervisors looks to expand a program that identifies and deals with threats on campus.Supervisors Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger co-authored a motion aimed at strengthening the School Threat Assessment Response Team, a 10-person team of mental ... Read more →
LA County backs move to mandate California corporate board seats for women
LOS ANGELES - Legislation to require California-based public companies to fill at least one of their board seats with a woman by the end of 2019 picked up the backing of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl recommended supporting Senate Bill 826, saying that 25 percent of California public companies large enough to be ... Read more →
LA County approves plan to register more voters in jail, on probation
LOS ANGELES - Mindful that many county jail inmates and probationers have the right to vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the creation of a task force to register as many of those voters as possible in advance of the November election.Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl co-authored the motion, saying they were determined to ... Read more →
New judges named to LA County bench
LOS ANGELES - Gov. Jerry Brown Friday announced the appointment of Miguel T. Espinoza and Alison Mackenzie to the Los Angeles Superior Court bench.Espinoza, 39, of Los Angeles, has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2017. He was a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office from 2008-17 and held several positions for Hillary ... Read more →
L.A. County approves stormwater Tax for November Ballot
LOS ANGELES - A plan to tax property owners to fund the federally-mandated clean-up of local waterways will go before Los Angeles County voters in November, based on a 4-1 vote Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.Supervisor Sheila Kuehl championed the measure, dubbed the Safe Clean Water Program, for a parcel tax that, if passed, is expected to raise $300 million annually ... Read more →
L.A. County pushes back against hate crimes
LOS ANGELES - Pointing to a rising level of hate crimes and concerns about under-reporting, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to develop an educational campaign against racism and discrimination and to review related sheriff's department policies.Supervisor Hilda Solis recommended that the Office of Inspector General lead a group to evaluate whether ... Read more →
Notice of General Municipal Election in Palmdale
PALMDALE - A General Municipal Election will be held in the City of Palmdale on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, for the office of Mayor and two City Council seats, the City Clerk's Office announced. The Mayor’s seat is a citywide election for a full term of two years. The two City Council seats are four year terms and will be for District Three and District Four. Council District ... Read more →
LA County leaders expand legal fund to include separated migrant children
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday expanded a legal defense fund for immigrants accused of being in the country illegally to also be used to help children and parents who have been separated at the border by federal authorities."Los Angeles County has not stood idly by as this administration abuses children and their parents who are simply ... Read more →
LA County considers locking out illegal dispensary operators
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County officials are looking for new ways to crack down on cannabis businesses operating in unincorporated areas, including Quartz Hill, Littlerock and Lake Los Angeles, where they remain illegal under a county ban.Despite California voters' majority support in 2016 for making weed legal, local jurisdictions are allowed under state law to prohibit ... Read more →