County Briefs: Faster Veteran Death Certificates Approved; Funding Allocated for Blue Line Rail Car Installation

Barger Spearheads Push to End Delays for Grieving Veteran Families

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger introduced a motion that secured the board’s support in urging federal lawmakers to back legislation requiring Department of Veterans Affairs or VA physicians to sign veteran death certificates within 72 hours of notification.

The Board of Supervisors approved the motion, emphasizing the need to eliminate unnecessary delays that often leave grieving families waiting weeks—sometimes months—just to access essential documents and benefits.

The issue, while technical on paper, has very real consequences. When a veteran passes away, their family often cannot access financial accounts, survivor benefits, or even begin funeral planning without a signed death certificate. Under the current VA system, that wait can stretch up to eight weeks, compounding emotional grief with logistical hardship.

In a recent letter sent to Congressional leaders, the Veterans Survivor Coalition made their stance clear. “This issue is not complicated, nor does it require extensive debate—it is simply a matter of ensuring that VA physicians, who were the primary doctor for the veteran, sign the death certificate within 72 hours of notification,” the letter stated.

As of now, no federal law exists to guarantee this 72-hour timeframe. Supervisor Barger believes this needs to change. Her motion directs the county’s chief executive office to support federal legislation that would establish the 72-hour rule. 

County Allocates $1.5 Million for Historic Blue Line Rail Car Installation in Long Beach

LONG BEACH /LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate $1,500,000 to a pedestrian-friendly makeover of a four-block section of 1st Street in Downtown Long Beach.  The planned centerpiece of the project will be Blue Line Rail Car #100, the first rail car to operate on the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line when it opened in 1990.

The project, administered by the City of Long Beach, will transform a four-block section of 1st Street in the downtown core into a pedestrian-friendly mobility corridor connecting the newly redeveloped Civic Center at Pacific Avenue eastward toward the East Village Arts District at Elm Street. Construction is expected to begin late this year and to last nine months.

Construction of the Blue Line — Los Angeles County’s first light rail line — was made possible by Proposition A, a half-cent sales tax that Hahn’s father, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, fought to place on the ballot. Voters approved the measure in 1980. Kenneth Hahn later lobbied for the Blue Line, connecting Long Beach with Los Angeles, to be built first.