Edgardo Flores - RIPE

Los Angeles, CA— A missing 67-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s has been found safe thanks to the County’s L.A. Found program.

Bobbie Fisher, an Inglewood resident, was reported missing by her family Tuesday, October 8 at 8pm after being gone for several hours. In September of this year, Ms. Fisher’s family had enrolled her in LA County’s L.A. Found program which supplied her with a Project Lifesaver bracelet so that the Sheriff’s department could track her location if she went missing.

A LA County Sheriff’s Department Mental Evaluation Team responded to the scene and used a Project Lifesaver receiver to track her bracelet’s location to 304 E. Spruce Ave, approximately 2.5 miles from her home. She was found safe at 9:50 pm Tuesday evening and reunited with her family.

“Thanks to L.A. Found and the quick action of our LA County Sheriff’s deputies, Ms. Fisher was safely reunited with her family,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who championed the creation of L.A. Found. “Since launching L.A. Found, I have spoken to caregivers across the County who worry constantly about what might happen if their loved one wanders away and goes missing. This program works—if you have a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer’s, dementia, or autism, I encourage you to learn more about L.A. Found and see if a trackable bracelet is right for your family.”

“LA Found is more than a technological innovation – it’s a potential lifesaver for people living with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive impairments,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes Inglewood. “This initially frightening situation ended on a happy note, with Ms. Fisher being reunified with her family, thanks to LA Found.”

About L.A. Found

Wandering is a common problem associated with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and autism. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 60% of people with dementia will wander at some point while a study by the Interactive Autism Network found that 49% of children with autism will engage in wandering behavior. While most of these individuals are recovered, wandering cases can end in tragedy.

L.A. Found is a program established by the LA County Board of Supervisors in September of 2018 which aims to find people who wander quickly and reunite them with their families. It uses a system of voluntary, trackable bracelets given to individuals with Alzheimer’s, autism, dementia, or another cognitive impairment that puts them at risk of wondering. Each bracelet corresponds with a unique radio frequency. When a person wearing a bracelet goes missing, the LA County Sheriff’s Department Mental Evaluation Team can use a handheld receiver or receiver mounted on a helicopter to track the person’s location.

To learn more about the program and apply for a free trackable bracelet, caregivers can visit https://lafound.lacounty.gov/

Long Beach, CA — Today, the West Coast’s first Mobile Stroke Unit began operating in the City of Long Beach. 

This morning, Supervisor Janice Hahn and officials from UCLA including Medical Director, Dr. May Nour and philanthropist Henry Gluck held a press event to celebrate service for this expanded coverage area and give local press an inside look at the UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit.

The Mobile Stroke Unit is a specially-equipped ambulance, built with a mobile CT scanner, point-of-care lab tests, telehealth connection with a vascular neurologist, and therapies, all designed to deliver proven stroke treatments to patients faster than ever before. It is operated by UCLA and sponsored by the Arline and Henry Gluck Foundation. While the pilot was originally started on the Westside, Supervisor Hahn secured $1.5 million in county funding for the project so that the pilot program could be expanded to cities in Eastern LA County, including Long Beach.

“When it comes to a stroke, minutes matter,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “If a patient gets treatment quickly, they have a better chance of not just surviving—but also avoiding damage to the brain which can cause paralysis and inability to comprehend or speak language. With UCLA’s Mobile Stroke Unit, stroke victims here in Long Beach are going to be able to receive treatment in the field long before they ever get to a hospital.”

Long Beach is the latest expansion of the UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit pilot program. The unit is currently operating in: Santa Monica, Hawaiian Gardens, Signal Hill, Lakewood, La Mirada, Cerritos, Artesia, Bellflower, Paramount, Unincorporated Whittier, Beverly Hills, and rendezvous with suspected stroke patients in coming from Malibu to the city of Santa Monica.

“To be able to take care of stroke patients in the very first minutes after onset, when there is the most brain to save, is our ultimate goal,” said Dr. May Nour, the medical director of the UCLA Arline and Henry Gluck Stroke Rescue Program. “Recovery and quality of life for stroke survivors is of utmost importance. By providing treatment in the most efficient timing, we offer patients the greatest possibility of improved clinical recovery.”

 “Helping make this mobile stroke unit possible for the people of Los Angeles, and to support the research into this type of care, is such a privilege,” said business executive and philanthropist Henry Gluck, who is also chair of the UCLA Health System Board. “Through this, we can save lives today, while improving care in the future.”

Patients who are treated by the UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit in Long Beach will be transported to the most appropriate level-of-care stroke facility in geographic proximity, including Long Beach Memorial Hospital which is a Joint Commission Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center.

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Los Angeles, CA—Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to explore giving the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) greater authority to investigate deputy secret societies as well as subpoena power to review other matters involving the Sheriff’s Department.

“These reported secret deputy cliques are dangerous and I think they have no place in our Sheriff’s Department. They not only erode public trust and undermine the chain of command, we have seen them promote racism and violence,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion. “Giving our Inspector General the authority to investigate these secret societies could shed light on these deputy subgroups and help us ensure transparency and accountability within the Sheriff’s Department.”

“The existence of secret societies — or deputy gangs, as they’re sometimes called — not only diminishes public trust in our Sheriff’s Department but also undermines the very nature of constitutional policing,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the motion’s co-author. “This problem has been longstanding and intractable. The Board must consider measures to bring these secret societies out of the shadows and into the light, including potentially subpoena power for the Inspector General.”

LA County’s Inspector General, Max Huntsman, requested expanded authority in order to better understand the full extent of these secret societies, as well as the ability to issue subpoenas should the Sheriff’s Department continue to deny access to information and refuse efforts by the public to hold them accountable.

The motion passed today by the Board directs County Counsel, in consultation with the Inspector General, to develop recommendations to expand the authority of the Inspector General to investigate deputy secret societies within the Sheriff’s Department, as well as grant the Inspector General the ability to issue subpoenas in their ongoing review of matters involving the Sheriff’s Department, and report back in ninety days.

Los Angeles, CA— Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal by Supervisor Janice Hahn to study the potential economic impact of automation at the Port of Los Angeles.

“Too often we take the good paying jobs that our ports provide for granted,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “But we should be very worried about whether we are seeing the beginning of a larger move toward automation at our ports and in industries across the region and what that could mean for the future of good jobs in our communities.”

Last week, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved a permit that would allow the introduction of driverless cargo handlers in the APM Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. This action is expected to result in significant job loss. Supervisor Hahn has opposed this proposal and wrote a letter to the Commission citing her concerns about potential job losses associated with a move toward automation and the ripple effect job losses at the port could have on the larger economy.

“Port jobs don’t just support port families,” said Supervisor Hahn. “They in turn support grocery stores, sandwich shops, dry cleaners, and innumerable other businesses in and around the Harbor Area.  Automation is a threat to these jobs and therefore a threat to our community’s larger economic well-being. We need a better understanding of the potential impact that automation at our ports and automation more generally in other local businesses could have on the future of good-paying jobs in LA County.”

Ray Familathe, the President of ILWU Local 13, stressed the importance of ILWU jobs to the local economy saying that a recent report said that the incomes of ILWU members are 85% higher than the median income of local residents.

“I am scared because my husband works at the docks and I don’t know how we could possibly afford our mortgage if he lost his job today,” said Shannon Ross, a San Pedro resident who testified at the meeting. “Our community is right to be scared. These jobs are important to everyone. Not just the union members – our entire community will be egregiously impacted.”

The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion today that does two things. First, instructs the County to conduct an economic analysis of the potential impact that automation at our ports would have on jobs and the local economy.  Second, the Board will send a five-signature letter to the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Council supporting the ILWU’s efforts to oppose automation plans and protect local jobs.

Los Angeles, CA—Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Janice Hahn has released the following statement regarding the results of the 2019 Homeless Count. The count, which was presented by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority executive director Peter Lynn during the Board of Supervisors meeting, showed a 12% increase in homelessness in LA County since the previous year. The results showed that even while LA County’s homeless services system has been able to prevent and end homelessness for more than 20,000 individuals and families, many more people fell into homelessness.

I think a lot of us saw this increase coming. We can see in our neighborhoods—and on the sidewalks just outside this building—that there are more people sleeping on the streets and that homelessness is getting worse.

The homelessness crisis took years, even decades to create– and we knew it wouldn’t be solved overnight. But that doesn’t mean these numbers aren’t a disappointment.

Last year we reported the first decrease in our homeless population in years—largely because of Measure H—and many of us were hoping that was a trend that could continue.

But this report makes it clear that the homeless population is growing faster than the rate that we are housing people. LAHSA’s report says we were able to find permanent housing for more than 20,000 people last year.  If not for measure H– we would have seen much higher than a 13% increase– like our neighboring counties.

A lot of this work however, has not been visible.  Measure H services like Rapid Rehousing have been effective in preventing families from falling into chronic homelessness — but the work to lift chronically homeless individuals off the streets is taking much longer.  

Residents are seeing more encampments and more people sleeping on sidewalks in dirty, unhealthy, and heartbreaking conditions. They are frustrated with this problem and we need to give people answers about how we are going to get the chronically homeless, hardest to reach people, off the streets.

At the same time — we cannot focus entirely on chronic long-term homelessness if families continue to fall into homelessness at record rates.  We need to confront the larger problem of housing affordability head on.  This board has implemented a temporary rent stabilization ordinance for apartments and mobile home parks and plans to consider a permanent ordinance with stronger tenant protections. But we also have to recognize the limitations of these measures. They only apply to the County unincorporated areas and don’t apply to newer buildings because of the State’s Costa Hawkins law.  Until more cities implement their own rent stabilization ordinances, and the State rolls back Costa Hawkins—many renters across the County will continue to struggle with higher and higher rent — with no end in sight.

Moving forward, we should work more closely with our providers who are on the front lines of this crisis. We have to make sure they have every resource they need and that no bureaucratic policies stand in their way. We must challenge our smaller cities to invest in supportive housing solutions and embrace interim housing and bridge housing.

NIMBYism is a big part of the reason these projects aren’t coming online fast enough. And communities that resisted projects in their neighborhoods shouldn’t be surprised that the homeless population increased in their regions.  Homelessness is in every one of our communities. It isn’t going to go away unless these projects get built. 

We also have to take a critical look at our current Measure H allocations with the fresh perspective these new Homeless Count numbers provide. A few weeks ago, when we approved the $460 million Measure H funding for this fiscal year, we also asked that the CEOs office and the Homeless Initiative reevaluate the funding allocations when we got this final report. I think it is also important that LAHSA look critically at what these numbers may say about their own strategies and policies. If we can glean any insight into how to improve our system and make it more effective– we should.

This Homeless Count report presents serious challenges. But this Board has never been one to shy away from bad news or hard problems. It does not change this Board’s commitment to addressing this crisis. It means we have a clearer picture about the realities we face so we can start a new conversation about how to build on our efforts and help more people escape homelessness.

Hacienda Heights, CA—Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is announcing that habitats in two areas of the Puente Hills in Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights will be under new protections approved this week by the Board of Supervisors.  

2,789 acres in Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights will be designated “Significant Ecological Areas” (SEA) by the County of Los Angeles. The designation will add protections to the sensitive habitats and balance any future development with the priority of preserving natural habitats and the species that live there.

“The beautiful natural habitats that make up the Puente Hills are home to some of the last remaining native plants and animals in the region—but these natural habitats are shrinking,”said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “By officially designating these areas as Significant Ecological Areas, we can protect these habitats and preserve the wildlife corridor before it is too late.”

Protecting these areas from excessive development is important because the areas are a part of a wildlife safe corridor through the Puente Hills.  The corridor allows mountain lions, bobcats, deer, foxes, and other native animals to move freely across the Hills and promotes biodiversity and the long-term survival of the local fauna populations.

The updated SEA ordinance also protects 60 native tree species in addition to the beautiful native Oak Trees that are found in the Puente Hills.

“The SEA Ordinance program provides the Puente Hills with formal recognition by the county of the importance of habitat connectivity within the Puente Hills Preserve and the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor,” said Andrea Gullo, Executive Director of the Puente Hills Habitat Authority. “The SEA Ordinance strives to protect this special place by determining that it is worthy of protection and safeguarding for the bobcats, mule deer, coastal California gnatcatchers, red-tailed hawks and other animals that call this place home, as well as for the people that enjoy and benefit from this natural area.”

“To those of us battling to preserve the precious wilderness areas, these new rules will greatly help us continue to add to our protected lands and expand wildlife in our open spaces once again,” said Bob Henderson.

Downey, CA—Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn voted to approve a design-build contract for a Sports Center on the Rancho Los Amigos South Campus site in the City of Downey.

The Sports Center is part of a larger plan to redevelop 70 acres of the Rancho Los Amigos South Campus.  South Campus was abandoned 30 years ago after Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center consolidated their hospital campus.

The project is to be constructed on a 5 acre site, which will include three multipurpose sports fields, sports lighting, restrooms, a concession stand, an equipment storage room, office space for staff, and a surface parking lot. When completed, this facility will be leased to and operated by the City of Downey.

Today, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a design-build contract with Ohno Construction Company for the completion of the Rancho Los Amigos South Campus Sports Center project.

The project is budgeted at $12.12 million.  $10 million will come from Supervisor Janice Hahn’s 4^th District discretionary funding while the additional $2.12 million will come from the City of Downey and will cover aspects recently added to the project including synthetic turf, office space, and a multi-sport scoreboard.