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Long Beach, CA — Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is urging her constituents to take steps to prevent the spread of avian flu after the Department of Public Health confirmed eight cases of the disease in birds in Los Angeles County, including at least five cases in her district in Long Beach and Cerritos. Avian flu currently poses low risk to humans but is highly contagious among birds and is responsible for deadly outbreaks in wild bird populations and at poultry farms.

“So far, experts have identified eight birds with avian flu in LA County and there are undoubtedly many more birds infected,” said Supervisor Hahn. “We need to take simple precautions to help prevent the spread of this virus among birds and to protect ourselves and our pets.”

The Department of Public Health recommends the following precautions:
• Avoid contact with wild birds, even if they don’t look sick.
• Avoid surfaces that may be contaminated with saliva or feces from wild or domestic birds.
• Keep dogs and other pets away from wild birds.
• Take down birdfeeders and birdbaths that may lead birds to congregate.
• Do not handle sick or injured birds. Contact your local animal control agency for help.
• Bird owners should seek veterinary attention for their own animals if they seem sick.
• People with backyard chickens, ducks or other poultry should remove water and food sources that feed wild birds (bird feeders, bird baths, etc.).
• People with backyard flocks should keep poultry feed away from wild birds and rodents.
• People who handle pet birds or backyard poultry should thoroughly wash their hands and clean and disinfect footwear before and after coming into contact with their birds.

Wild birds infected with avian flu may have no symptoms or may have neurological signs (including swimming in circles, head tilt, or tremors), respiratory distress, or sudden death. Domestic birds may have swelling of the head and eyes, diarrhea, weakness, respiratory distress, and loss of appetite.

San Pedro, CA – Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn has released the following statement reacting to the leaked audio of a conversation between Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, and Kevin De Leon, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera and calling for Nury Martinez to step down from her position as Council President:

“The racism, bigotry, and cruelty revealed in this leaked audio is appalling. Words matter. The anti-Black prejudice on display in this conversation compromises the confidence any residents had in these councilmembers’ leadership. Councilwoman Nury Martinez must step down from her position as President of the council immediately, before her colleagues have to do it. And how sad that Mike and Sean’s young son Jacob, who is the grandson of the late great ILWU labor leader Dave Arian, was was the brunt of such heartless and vicious words. What this city now needs is a Truth and Reconciliation process with real accountability and repair. I love this city and we need to find a pathway forward where all people can feel represented equally.”

Los Angeles, CA – Today the Los Angeles County Metro Board of Directors unanimously approved a proposal by Supervisor Janice Hahn to create a “Southeast LA Transit Improvement Program.” The new $29.5 million program will deliver bus shelters, lighting, and real-time bus arrival information at bus stops throughout Southeast LA communities.

“Many of my constituents in Southeast LA depend on our buses — and they tell me how hard it is to wait for the bus at stops that don’t have shade from the sun or lighting at night,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “They don’t know when the next bus is coming, and sometimes they don’t even have a place to sit. With this new, nearly $30 million program, we are going to improve bus stops across Southeast LA, adding things like shelters, lighting, and screens with real-time arrival information, and we will make taking the bus a safer and more pleasant experience.”

This new program comes after Hahn led the Metro Board in reversing a long-standing plan to widen the 710 freeway this past May. The widening plan had received strong pushback from local environmental and community advocates and was not supported by state and federal transportation agency partners. Instead, Hahn is leading a new effort at Metro that will invest in improving transit and mobility for residents living and commuting along the 710 corridor stretching from the Ports of LA and Long Beach to the Southeast LA communities, while cleaning the air and improving goods movement for the Ports.

“Over the year, Metro has made precedent-setting progress on re-imagining the 710 South corridor. We have shifted our focus from moving cars and goods to serving residents with equity in mind. In line with this shift in focus, the Metro Board has passed Supervisor Hahn’s motion which helps to advance several projects that improve mobility throughout the corridor, including an active transportation project in East Los Angeles. We must continue to uplift projects like these through the work of the 710 South Task Force,” said Metro Board Member and L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, representing the First District, who co-authored Hahn’s motion to accelerate the new SELA Transit Improvement Program.

“Today’s action is a step in the right direction to ensure that the mobility, prosperity, and safety needs of residents are met,” said Metro Board Director and Whittier City Councilmember Fernando Dutra who also co-authored today’s motion. “I am excited about these opportunities and appreciate the work led by our residents, locally elected officials, and community organizations.”

The new program also received support from local leaders who called into the Metro Board meeting.

“Our neighbors, comadres, and students deserve to have quality bus service,” said Bell Councilmember Ali Saleh. “They ride these buses regularly and don’t have any other ways to get to places like work or the grocery store. Some of our residents wait hours for buses. Supervisor Hahn’s motion is exactly the type of investments that we need to be making in our SELA region.”

“As community leaders, we need to continue advocating for our residents who do not have the luxury of driving a car,” said Lynwood Councilwoman Marisela Santana, also Vice President of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. “What I continue to hear from residents is the need to invest in better bus service and this motion does that.”

“A lot of our SELA cities, like Huntington Park, don’t have enough resources to make these critical investments in our communities,” said Huntington Park Councilmember Karina Macias, “so this motion gives us the support that we need to improve bus service for our most vulnerable riders. “

To fund the Southeast LA Transit Improvement Program, Metro will pursue grant funding which is currently available at unprecedented levels at both the state and federal level. New improvements to bus stops can be expected to be made in late 2023 and early 2024.

Downey, CA – Downey-based commercial real estate broker Gil Legaspi serves as Supervisor Janice Hahn’s appointee to the Los Angeles County Tax Assessment Appeals Board.

“The Tax Assessment Appeals Board has an important role as an impartial arbiter that settles disagreements between taxpayers and the Assessor’s Office,” said Supervisor Hahn. “As my appointee to this Board, Gil Legaspi needs to not only understand tax law, he needs to be someone that the taxpayers can trust to make a fair decision.”

Gil Legaspi is a Commercial Real Estate Broker and entrepreneur. For 22 years, Gil has represented investors in the acquisition, management, and development of commercial investment properties. In addition to his role on the Appeals Board, Legaspi also serves on the Legal Affairs Board of the Downey Association of Realtors, as an Ambassador to the Downey Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Downey Rotary Club.

“I am very grateful to Supervisor Janice Hahn for the appointment to the LA County Tax Assessment Appeals Board and I am looking forward to serving Los Angeles County for many years to come,” said Legaspi.
The LA County Tax Assessment Appeals Board is a 3-member panel created by the Board of Supervisors to hear and settle property tax assessment disputes between taxpayers and the County Assessor’s Office. Acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, the Board is charged with making impartial decisions to settle these disputes as well as equalize the County’s property tax roll.

San Pedro, CA – Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn released the following statement after the release of the 2022 Homeless Count results:

“These results are disheartening. They are frustrating to the many people across this county who have dedicated years of their lives to addressing this crisis and they are frustrating to the taxpayers who have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in solutions. This isn’t just about a number. It is about 69,000 people who are suffering, many in dangerous conditions, without adequate shelter, during a heatwave no less. This count may contain signs of progress, but no one is going to celebrate when there are this many people sleeping on our streets. More cities need to step up and build tiny homes. It is a model that works.”

San Pedro, CA – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn regarding County policies to prevent the taking and sharing of photos of human remains by first responders.

Hahn’s motion comes days after a federal jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $30 million to Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, and Chris Chester for the failure of the County Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department to have adequate policies and practices in place to prevent the taking and sharing of photos of the remains of their spouses and daughters who were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in January, 2020.

“In the aftermath of this public trial and massive verdict, it is important that the County strengthen Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department policies and training and take any steps necessary to prevent this type of conduct from ever occurring again,” said Supervisor Hahn.

The motion passed today directs County Counsel, in consultation with the Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Department, to provide a confidential report back in 45 days with an analysis of, and any recommendations for, policies and training procedures that address the proper conduct of first responders regarding photographs of human remains in the course of their duties as first responders.