New Grafitti Teams in Harbor Area










Councilwoman Hahn paints out graffiti in San Pedro

Graffiti is a problem all over Los Angeles but has increased recently in San Pedro and Wilmington.  We know that tagging is often a sign of gang activity.  That is why I have been working with the LAPD to track the grafitti and crack down on gangs in our communities.

To address the increase in tagging, I will be funding dedicated graffiti removal teams in San Pedro and Wilmington.  No neighborhood should have to tolerate graffiti and these new 'tag teams' will identify hot spots in our communities and sweep them daily to remove any new tagging.

I will be providing an additional $100,000 to the Gang Alternatives Program (GAP), which is a currently a graffiti removal contractor with the city.  Working with the Council office and community groups, GAP will identify graffiti hot spots in San Pedro and Wilmington for daily removal for the next two years.

Everyone can get involved and report graffiti in their neighborhood.  If you see it, call GAP at 310/519-7233 or 311 to report it and get it removed.

Port Truckers:  The Broken Link in the Goods Movement Chain
Councilwoman Hahn with port truck drivers

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the economic engines of our region.  But, we must always remember that there is a human element to the goods movement industry.  It is the truck drivers that keep the goods at this port moving.  Every one of us relies on these drivers to get us the goods that we need every day. It is time we all started to pay attention to the plight of these truckers and their daily struggles.  These drivers have not seen a raise in 30 years.  Because of that, most of their trucks are old and not maintained.  We know that these trucks cause a lot of pollution.

Dirty trucks, as well as the ongoing plight of the independent trucker, pose huge risks at our ports and our ability to deliver goods efficiently and safely.   As I see it, there is a perfect storm brewing at our ports which is centered around the current working conditions of the men and women that drive the trucks that deliver goods to our nation.  These drivers have no health insurance; get paid by the load, forcing them to do whatever they can to get in that last load of the day including cutting through neighborhoods; and struggle to make enough money to pay their bills.  With these types of conditions, it is only a matter of time before this work force falls apart.

The ports recently adopted a new Clean Truck Program.  Beginning this year, trucks with engines older than 1989 will be banned from entering the port.  This is historic and will eventually decrease truck emissions by 80%.  But, it is my hope that the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will soon adopt the other piece of the program that will create a stable trucking work force by providing drivers with fair pay, benefits and a better quality of life.  The LA Times recently ran a story on the truckers.

Don't forget to visit our website for regular updates, announcements and information: http://www.lacity.org/council/cd15/

                                       Winter 2007/2008 Happy New Year!

I rang in the New Year in an very special way this year.  I had the honor of paricipating in the Rose Parde, riding on a float submitted by the Port of Los Angeles.  The Port's entry included
several different port related vessels.  I rode on the fire boat with Los Angeles Fire Chief Doug Barry.  It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was proud to represent the people that live in the Harbor Area.

Immediately following the parade, I jumped in the car and raced back down to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro to participate in another New Year's day tradition:  the swimming of the Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears.  For the sixth straight year I joined more than 1500 people in a New Year's dip in the Pacific Ocean.  It was cold.  But, it is always a "refeshing" way to start the New Year.

Councilwoman Hahn takes the plunge
Here's to a great 2008.  We have a lot to do and I look forward to working with you to continue to improve Los Angeles.  This year, I will work to finally clean up the air at the Port of Los Angeles, modernize our airport; and most importantly, fund gang prevention, intervention, after-school and job training programs so that we can finally grow up a generation of young people that will say no to joining a gang.

Conserving Water in Los Angeles
Over the past month, I have been working to see that the City of Los Angeles is prepared for the pending drought.  We are facing a serious water shortage in Southern California.  It is our duty to make responsible changes and upgrades to ensure we are doing all we can to conserve and use water smartly.  So, I have called for a number of water savings and reuse programs.

To start, I have called for better use of recycled water for irrigation or industrial uses, not for drinking.  I want to see new requirements for all new building developments, as well as significant remodels of multifamily properties, to utilize recycled water, or a "purple pipe" system for irrigation and industrial uses.  I also want Los Angeles to utilize recycled water for existing customers throughout the City.  Further, we need to do better at using waste water from the Hyperion and Terminal Island treatment plants for industrial and irrigation purposes in the South Bay.  Finally, we need a new rebate program to provide incentives to convert more customers to drought friendly landscapes.  

We can no longer ignore this pending crisis facing the City.  Every day we are dumping about 230 million gallons of waste water into the ocean.  It is time we seriously looked into how we can prepare for a drought.
 
More Good News in Watts


Councilwoman Hahn with members of the Police Commission & the Watts Gang Task Force

As I have written about before, good things are happening in Watts.  Crime is down do the hard work of the Watts Gang Task Force, a group of community members, police officers and service providers that meet every week.  The first week of the year, Mayor Villaraigosa, Chief Bratton and I came to Watts Towers for the annual crime update.  The news was good.  Crime is down citwide, and even more impressive, homicides are down 50% just in Watts.

A few weeks later, the Watts Gang Task Force was honored by the Los Angeles Police Commission for their hard work.  It was a great honor for me to be there and present their success story to the Commission.

 












Councilwoman Hahn with Noreen McClendon of CCSLA, Mayor Villaraigosa, Jeff Lee of Lee Homes and Sweet Alice Harris, community member

Now the crime is down, other great things are happening in Watts.  I joined the Mayor for the groundbreaking of  a new housing development in Watts.  Lee Homes, working with the non-profit group Concerned Citizens of South Los Angeles, is building 44 single family  homes in Watts.  This is the largest development of single family homes that any of us can remember in recent history.  The LA Times ran a story on the development.

Port Tsunami Ready
I am so pleased to announce that in coming weeks, the Port of Los Angeles will be "tsunami ready"--meaning that we have   warning systems, evacuation routes, and rescue plans in place. 

Following the Asian tsunami of 2005, I called on the port to work with the City's Emergency Preparedness Department and the Department of Transportation to create a preparedness and warning   system, as well as an evacuation plan.

The port is currently conducting public outreach and has mailed preparedness pamphlets to area residents, as well as businesses located in or near the port.  Meetings with local neighborhood councils and other community groups are pending.  Once outreach is complete, tsunami warning signs will be installed along the coast.  These signs will alert people to the dangers of a tsunami and will also provide them with instructions on how to get to highter ground quickly.

We know that a tsunami could be devastating, not only to human life, but also to operations at the port.  In the event of an earthquake on the Catalina fault, we would have less than 10 minutes to evacuate our port and coastal areas.  We must be prepared.  People need to know how to react in the case of a warning.

In addition to a tsunami plan, I have also called for a recovery plan at the port.  In the case of a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster such as a tsunami, we must be prepared to recover as quickly as possible.  Such a plan is vital not only to our local economy but to the national and world economies.  The Public Policy Institute of California found that a significant disruption at the ports could cost the national economy $45 billion-with 64% of the effects felt within the Los Angeles region.  We must have a plan to get back up and running as quickly as possible.