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Public Health to Distribute 60,000 Free Gun Safety Locks in LA County

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Public Health to Distribute 60,000 Free Gun Safety Locks in LA County

To address the public health crisis of gun violence, the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention, housed in the Department of Public Health, has made 60,000 gun safety locks available to the public; free, no questions asked.

Free gun safety locks will initially be available at six county medical facilities:

  • Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
  • High Desert Regional Health Center
  • Los Angeles General Medical Center
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center
  • Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
  • Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Later this year, gun safety locks will also be made available at Los Angeles County libraries.

In Los Angeles County, a child is killed or injured by gun violence every 30 hours. A number of these incidents involved guns that were left loaded and unlocked. Across the country, an estimated 4.6 million children live in households with loaded and unlocked firearms. Unlocked guns are used to hurt or kill others and also to harm oneself. In 2022, the county experienced more than 300 suicides involving firearms.

Details: lockedandunloaded.org.

Barger Spotlights Availability of Free Parkway Trees During Earth Month

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Barger Spotlights Availability of Free Parkway Trees During Earth Month

 

Now that Earth Month has arrived, Supervisor Kathryn Barger wants residents living in Los Angeles County’s unincorporated communities to know they can obtain and plant a parkway tree at no cost.

Parkway trees are trees planted adjacent to the edge of a roadway within the county’s road easement and therefore in the public right-of-way. Tree planting services are coordinated by Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Works, which has an urban forestry unit that helps residents select and plant trees.

Parkway trees play a vital role within the urban ecosystem, creating a cooler climate, contributing to cleaner air and they help raise property values.

The Department of Public Works can help residents get a parkway tree planted along the streets in their neighborhood, offering a handy Tree Services Locator that confirms eligible communities and equips residents with a menu of trees that are permitted and suitable for their neighborhood.

Interested residents can dial 626-300-2080 or visit the Department of Public Works’ tree planting webpage to get the process started.

Details: A brochure of the program is available here.

 

EPA Warns Farmworkers about Risks of Dacthal

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On April 1, EPA announced its next steps to protect people from the herbicide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate or DCPA, or Dacthal.

EPA is warning people of the significant health risks to pregnant individuals and their developing babies exposed to DCPA and will be pursuing action to address the serious, permanent, and irreversible health risks associated with the pesticide as quickly as possible. EPA has also issued a letter to AMVAC, the sole manufacturer of DCPA, restating the risks the agency found and stating that due to the serious risks posed by DCPA, the agency is pursuing further action to protect workers and others who could be exposed. EPA is taking this rare step of warning farmworkers about these concerns while it works on actions to protect workers because of the significant risks the agency has identified.

DCPA is an herbicide registered to control weeds in both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, but is primarily used on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.

DCPA is undergoing registration review, a process that requires reevaluating registered pesticides every 15 years to ensure they cause no unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. In May 2023, EPA released its assessment on the risks of occupational and residential exposure to products containing DCPA, after the agency reviewed data that it compelled AMVAC to submit, which had been overdue for almost 10 years. The assessment found concerning evidence of health risks associated with DCPA use and application, even when personal protective equipment and engineering controls are used. The most serious risks extend to the developing babies of pregnant individuals. EPA estimates that some pregnant individuals handling DCPA products could be subjected to exposures from four to 20 times greater than what current DCPA product label use instructions indicate is considered safe. EPA is concerned that pregnant women exposed to DCPA could experience changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, and these changes are generally linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ and impaired motor skills later in life.

Also of concern are risks to developing babies of pregnant individuals entering or working in areas where DCPA has already been applied (especially post-application workers involved in tasks such as transplanting, weeding and harvesting). Current product labels specify that entry into treated fields must be restricted for 12 hours after application. However, the evidence indicates that for many crops and tasks, levels of DCPA in the previously treated fields remained at unsafe levels for 25 days or more. EPA also identified potential risks for individuals using golf courses and athletic fields after DCPA was applied. Spray drift from pesticide application could also put developing babies at risk for pregnant individuals living near areas where DCPA is used.

Supporting documents are available in the DCPA registration review docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0374 on the Regulations.gov.

Read EPA’s Response to AMVAC’s Mitigation Proposal.

Life After Mother: Magical Thinking, a Sense of Disbelief

Lyn Jensen
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Life After Mother: Magical Thinking, a Sense of Disbelief

 

“Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.” Joan Didion opens her memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking with these words.

She and her husband, fellow writer John Gregory Dunne, sat down to dinner, December 30, 2003, and he died of a heart attack. For a year she couldn’t give away his clothes and shoes. Of course she knew he was dead — but he might need them. He might “come back.” She calls such behavior her “magic trick,” her year of magical thinking. She compares it to a reaction to a death notice, if you don’t let the messenger in, you don’t hear the news — then the news can somehow be more readily denied.

To explain such thinking she turned to medical literature, to studies showing that grief is not simply an emotion, but has a physical component. From Bereavement: Reactions, Consequences, and Care by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, she learned that the most frequent immediate responses to death were shock, numbness and a sense of disbelief. In her case, the disbelief lingered.

Another study she consulted was the Institute of Medicine’s 1984 compilation which found, “like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, automatic nervous, and cardiovascular system; all of these are fundamentally influenced by brain function and neurotransmitters.”

She even consulted Emily Post’s etiquette for funerals. Post advised the bereaved should sit in a sunny room, preferably one with a fire in the fireplace, and someone should stay at the house during the funeral, to tend the fire and serve (not offer, serve) cups of hot tea or hot soup to the mourners upon their return.

Didion commented, “As I read it I remembered how cold I had been in New York Hospital the night John died. I had thought I was cold because it was December 30 . . . but I was also cold because nothing in my body was working as it should.”

My experience with my parents’ deaths is not like what Didion experienced with her husband. I lost both of them emotionally decades before I lost them to death. I didn’t consciously grieve for either one. Didion’s book, though, helped me understand how grief may have affected my sub-consciousness. I still sometimes physically balk at using common household items that used to belong to my parents. When I moved into my mother’s house, for weeks I avoided the bathtub — the same tub I used thousands of times in my youth — until I forced myself to. Such behavior is a mystery unless grief explains it.

Only on December 31, 2004, did Didion’s grief become less immediate, less raw, “I realized today for the first time that my memory of this day a year ago is a memory that does not involve John.” All the past year her life had been built around, this time, last year, her and John. To live herself, she had to relinquish the dead, let him become the photograph on the table.

 

City Controller Report: Unhoused Deaths in Los Angeles City Decrease by 22% in 2023

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City Controller Report: Unhoused Deaths in Los Angeles City Decrease by 22% in 2023

LOS ANGELES — According to data released April 1, the total number of deaths of unhoused people in the City of Los Angeles decreased from 1,167 deaths in 2022 to 900 deaths in 2023, representing a 22.9% decrease. However, it is unacceptable for any unhoused Angeleno to lose their life on the streets of Los Angeles. The data was compiled by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia and obtained from the LA County Medical-Examiner Coroner.

In 2023, tent encampments came down in every council district. The mayor’s office press release reported “thousands” more Angelenos came inside than in 2022 thanks to action with the city council, county and LAHSA; and this week, the city conducted two Inside Safe operations that brought more than 40 unhoused Angelenos inside, in East Hollywood and San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles is also building more housing to confront this crisis. Mayor Bass expanded Executive Directive 3 to use publicly-owned land to build more housing faster and to address RV encampments by increasing the city’s capacity to tow, store, and dismantle surrendered vehicles. More than 14,000 units of affordable housing are now being accelerated as a result of the executive directive to streamline their development. Mayor Bass first signed Executive Directive 3 in February 2023.

Details: Click here to view the map released this morning by City Controller Mejia.

GATHERING POWER III (Indian market booth), 2024: A LIVING INSTALLATION with Laurie Steelink

Melina Paris
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GATHERING POWER III (Indian market booth), 2024: A LIVING INSTALLATION with Laurie Steelink

GATHERING POWER III (Indian market booth), 2024, is a living multimedia installation assembled by artist/curator/cultural practitioner Laurie Steelink. The principal framework for installation are Steelink’s Indian market booth walls, originally constructed to present her work at SWAIA’s Santa Fe Indian Market and the Autry Museum’s American Indian Arts Marketplace.

In 2022, Steelink re-configured her market booth to function as a mixed-media installation for the exhibition California Biennial: Pacific Gold at the Orange County Museum of Art and titled it GATHERING POWER (Indian market booth). In her 2023 exhibition Spirit is Alive Magic is Afoot at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech University she re-configured the installation as GATHERING POWER II (Indian market booth). With each exhibition, the installation addressed through visual means and programming the First and existing Peoples of the surrounding land including the citizens of the Acjachemen Nation (California) and the Monacan Nation (Virgina). GATHERING POWER III (Indian market booth), 2024, will be reconfigured live over six weeks at Steelink’s live/work space Cornelius Projects. During that time the multimedia installation will expand physically and conceptually, as Steelink assembles new work while respectfully honoring the land she is situated on, the unceded territory of the Gabrielino-Tongva. Steelink invites conversation and considers the activity an integral layer to the overall work. A small scale/space-appropriate Indian Market with Native Artists will take place at Cornelius Projects, April 13 and 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This exhibition/project was made possible through a grant from Arts United and the San Pedro Arts & Cultural District. The purpose of the San Pedro Arts and Cultural District Coalition, Arts United, is to create a framework to combine efforts to promote San Pedro’s authentic cultures, artists; including but not limited to visual, performing, digital artists, culture bearers, galleries and entertainment venues with a unified approach to advocacy, marketing and programming. The following San Pedro organizations also received funding: The San Pedro Ballet, The San Pedro Skatepark Association, Feed and be Fed, Freedom4U.

Multidisciplinary artist Laurie Steelink identifies as Akimel O’otham, and is a citizen of the Gila River Indian Community. She currently resides in the coastal community of San Pedro on the unceded territory of the Gabrielino-Tongva. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she is part of a generation that was impacted by one of the last vestiges of the so-called U.S. Government’s active attempts at full hegemonic assimilation of Native Americans through the promotion of adoption programs of Native infants into white families.

GATHERING POWER III (Indian market booth), 2024, is on view to April 28 at Cornelius Projects, open Saturdays and Sundays 11a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment.

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 13 and 14, and by appointment.

Cost: Free

Details: corneliusprojects.com

Venue: Cornelius Projects, 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Tyrone Tyars Family Files Lawsuit Against Machista Bar

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Tyrone Tyars Family Files Lawsuit Against Machista Bar

 

SAN PEDRO — The family of Tyrone Tyars (33) has filed a lawsuit after he was shot and killed inside the Machista Bar bar in San Pedro, Jan. 20. After an altercation inside the bar between several parties, a woman fired multiple rounds, striking three patrons, police said. Tyars died at the scene.

A 35-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man were also shot and transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

Channel 7 News reported Tyers family members said that he went to the bar after receiving an urgent call from his girlfriend, indicating she was in trouble and needed his help.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined the Tyar family to announce the lawsuit March 30. They are calling for the bar to close following what they noted as multiple shooting incidents and public safety concerns at the location.

An 18-year-old woman Estrella Rojas, has been arrested and charged for the murder of Tyars.

Two Major LA Transportation Routes on the Road to Repair

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Two Major LA Transportation Routes on the Road to Repair

Hahn Asks for Fixes to Dangerous 105 Freeway Intersection

LOS ANGELES — Supervisor Janice Hahn is asking the State of California to make immediate safety improvements to the dangerous intersection where the I-105 abruptly ends in Norwalk at Studebaker Road. The intersection had 12 severe crashes in 2023, including two fatalities.

Crashes at the intersection have become so common that the medical facility which operated at the intersection was forced to close due to the number of cars that have crashed into it. Last year, Hahn’s office convened representatives from the City of Norwalk, Caltrans, and other agencies to find ways to work together to deliver safety improvements, and since then Norwalk and Caltrans have been discussing what can be done.

Hahn sent a letter to California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin on April 1, asking the State Transportation Agency to work immediately to install more lighting, signage, and rumble strips along the I-105 freeway leading up to this intersection as a means of preventing future accidents.

Read full letter to Secretary Omishakin here.

 

POLA And CALTRANS Begin Work On $130M. State Route 47 Interchange Project

SAN PEDRO, Calif. – March 13, 2024 – The Port of Los Angeles and California Department of Transportation or Caltrans in March began work on a $130 million transportation project to reconfigure a major interchange at State Route 47 (SR 47)/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro.

The interchange reconfiguration will reduce travel times, alleviate congestion and improve motorist and pedestrian safety at this highly traveled roadway juncture

The SR 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard interchange currently provides access to San Pedro, Wilmington, Terminal Island and services the West Basin Container Terminal.

The reconfiguration project will replace an existing southbound SR 47 off-ramp from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, currently located on the south side, with a new off-ramp located on the north side. Additional improvements include realigning the existing on-ramp to northbound Interstate 110 connector; modifying the northbound SR 47 off-ramp onto Harbor Blvd.; and modifying the northbound SR 47 on-ramp onto the bridge toward Terminal Island.

Street improvements will include realignment of Knoll Drive to accommodate a new on/off-ramp system. Front Street and Harbor Blvd. will be upgraded to feature new curbs, storm drain improvements, street lighting, traffic signal updates, bike lanes, and ADA-compliant curb ramps and crosswalks.

The project is expected to be completed by 2026. Global construction and development firm Skanska was selected through a competitive bid process to work with the port on the project.

Motorists and the public will be kept updated on related traffic impacts with road signs throughout the duration of the project.

Grant funding for the project includes $49.3 million under Metro Measure R; $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Port Infrastructure Development Program; and $13.4 million from California’s Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP). The remaining project cost will be covered by the port.

Details: https://www.portoflosangeles.org/references/2024-news-releases/news_031324_sr_47_construction

Mayor Bass Bolsters Executive Directive 3 for Rapid Housing Development, RV Encampment Solutions

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Mayor Bass Bolsters Executive Directive 3 for Rapid Housing Development, RV Encampment Solutions

 

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass expanded Executive Directive 3 to use publicly-owned land to build more housing faster and to address RV encampments by increasing the city’s capacity to tow, store, and dismantle surrendered vehicles. Los Angeles is also building more housing to confront this crisis. More than 14,000 units of affordable housing are now being accelerated as a result of the executive directive to streamline their development.

Since Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 3 into effect in February 2023, the city has been able to identify sites that can be utilized for up to 500 tiny home beds through a $33 million state grant adopted by city council last week, moved the Go For Broke and First Street North Project to fruition after more than 20 years of predevelopment on city-owned land, and launched interdepartmental working groups to reimagine how city-owned land can facilitate more cost efficient and accelerated production of affordable housing.

The updated directive accelerates the building of permanent and interim housing on publicly-owned land that is owned by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Metro and the Los Angeles Community College District, in addition to land owned by the City of Los Angeles. This update ensures that redevelopment projects, such as the Jordan Downs Redevelopment Project, will meet their deadlines.

Mayor Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness on her first day in office to confront homelessness with the urgency it requires. As part of Executive Directive 3, she directed city departments to conduct an inventory of unused and underutilized city property that could be used for temporary or permanent housing with on-site services. The city administrative officer submitted an analysis of more than 3,000 sites which the mayor’s office has evaluated, which led to a $2.9 million grant award from the Southern California Association of Governments to support Executive Directive 3’s efforts.

Read the expanded Executive Directive here.

LA County Proposes ‘Senior Safe Home’ Initiative for Elder Abuse Survivors

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LA County Proposes ‘Senior Safe Home’ Initiative for Elder Abuse Survivors

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors last week approved a proposal by Supervisor Janice Hahn to explore creating a Senior Safe Home to protect victims of elder abuse.

One in ten seniors have experienced some form of elder abuse which can range from financial, emotional, physical, sexual, or psychological. On average, a tenth of these victims face homelessness due to the abuse. However, no facilities in LA County are dedicated to providing refuge to these survivors, with only one such facility existing west of the Mississippi.

With Supervisor Hahn’s proposal, the LA County Department of Aging and Disabilities will take the lead on developing a roadmap to creating a senior safe home. The model would be similar to a domestic violence shelter, providing a secure location where survivors would be protected from abusers and would have their own rooms with wraparound supportive services.

The Aging & Disabilities Department will work with the Departments of Public Health, Health Services, Mental Health, Public Social Services, CEO Real Estate, Homeless Initiative and community stakeholders to provide a 180-day feasibility report back to the Board of Supervisors. This report back will include substantiated elder abused data from the last five years, the development of site-specific criteria, and a pilot project funding model to help establish sustainability.

The idea of an LA County Senior Safe Home would build on the concept brought to Hahn’s office by the Long Beach Senior Citizen Advisory Commission. While the City of Long Beach recently explored how to create a senior safe home, they were unable to provide this resource, showing the need for collaboration with the County.

Details: Read full motion here.

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