In San Pedro, we have recognized the contributions of the Italian community with Via Italia and the role of the Croatian community with Croatian Place. San Pedro High School has been a part of our community for more than 100 years and it is time we formally recognized the role it plays in the community as well.

CITY COUNCIL COMES TO WILMINGTON
Councilwoman Hahn honors the Doug Epperhart, Diana Nave, Jack Babbit & Joe Gatlin, presidents of the Neighborhood Councils

I brought the entire City Council  to Wilmington on February 28 for the second time in history.  The first was in December of 2001 when I brought them down to see the Harbor Area.

We had a great community turn out at Banning's Landing Community Center. During the meeting we received a report from the Harbor Department about the long-awaited Wilmington waterfront project.  The entire City Council was impressed with the plan but urged the Harbor Department to move quickly.

I also honored 4 of our local neighborhood councils during the meeting for celebrating 5 years of service to the community. I honored the Wilmington, Coastal San Pedro, Central San Pedro and Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Councils for all of their accomplishments since being certified five years ago.

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ROSA PARKS AWARD


Councilwoman Hahn is presented the Rosa Parks Award from Eric Lee and Tyrone Freeman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

I was so humbled to receive the Rosa Parks Award at the 30th Annual Martin Luther King Gala Dinner, sponsored by Dr. King's own Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Parks a few times, and she has truly served as an inspiration to me my entire life.

Of all of the awards I have received since I was elected, this was definitely the most special. I dedicated the award to Charlene Lovett, the mother of Cheryl Green. Fourteen-year-old Cheryl was killed a week before Christmas as she stood with friends at 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Her mother, Charlene, has demonstrated such courage and love, encouraging peace and not retaliation. Charlene, like Rosa Parks, has really inspired me.

As part of building the new library, we entered into a mutually beneficial partnership with the LAUSD and the students at Narbonne High School. The library will provide a reading area designed for teenagers, two study rooms, a computer lab and a young adult librarian for the students. The LAUSD, in turn, will provide the library with an extension of the School Homework Club and a certified faculty member to coordinate the Club's activities, train peer tutors,and much much more.

This library will benefit everyone in the community. Narbonne students will use this library, senior citizens will us this library, and community groups will use this library. It will be a great resource for Harbor Gateway and for Harbor City.

Let's talk about how we can effectively spend $50 million a year. We can fund programs that work; like LA's Best after school programs. We know that if we give kids something to do after school, during those volatile hours of 3 pm - 6 pm, we can keep them out of trouble, and more importantly, keep them out of harms way. We could also fund a program, like the Gang Alternatives Program (GAP) that works with fourth graders to give them the tools to stay out of gangs. With this $50 million, we could have GAP in every school in Los Angeles. If we give kids these tools early on, we equip them to handle the constant gang recruiting that they face every day in many Los Angeles neighborhoods.

I think voters will approve this measure and agree that $5.50 a month is a small amount to pay to finally rid Los Angeles of gangs.