So Richard, whatcha been doing?

OUNCILMEMBER ALARCÓN’S FIRST 100 DAYS – FIGHTING FOR THE COMMUNITY
AND THE CITY

Los Angeles, CA – Yesterday marked 100 days in office for Los
Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón. Sworn in on March 30, 2007,
as Councilmember for the Seventh Council District, Alarcón has spent the
past several months spearheading large initiatives for the Seventh
District as well as working on other city-wide projects.

On his first day as a City Councilmember, Councilmember Alarcón
introduced seven motions and resolutions, of which several have been
approved by the full City Council and others await status reports from
city departments. From his first day in office, Councilmember Alarcón
has not been afraid to take on projects, big or small, that serve to
benefit the communities of Los Angeles.

During his tenure, he has helped the Children’s Museum of Los
Angeles continue construction by working with the Mayor to create a
“matching loan” incentive, started the process of creating a park
at the Lopez Canyon Landfill site, re-created the Lake View Terrace and
Pacoima Community Advisory Committee which will work with the
Councilmember on local area projects, created an Ad Hoc Committee on
Ending Poverty in Los Angeles, is working with the CRA and community to
create a “vision” for the re-development of the San Fernando Road
and Van Nuys Blvd. corridors, introduced a motion to create a local
ordinance requiring the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, and
commissioned a report that will look at the status of Child Safety in
Los Angeles and what city departments are doing to improve safety for
children.

As Chair of the Education and Neighborhoods Committee,
Councilmember Alarcón is working with Neighborhood Council leaders to
increase the effectiveness of the Neighborhood Councils and help provide
opportunities for increased community involvement. Specific initiatives
he is spearheading include creating a series of booklets for
Neighborhood Councilmembers, working on expanding the Neighborhood
Councils budgetary options by supporting their ability to accept
donations and allowing Neighborhood Councils the option to make
donations to local non-profit organizations. Within his district,
Councilmember Alarcón meets with the Presidents of local Neighborhood
Councils on a monthly basis.

In addition to the legislative work, Councilmember Alarcón also
remains committed to providing the best constituent services possible,
and he and his office staff have been responsible for helping community
members by fixing sidewalks, having bulky items picked up, hauling away
abandoned cars, providing bus service to local students, helping
constituents navigate city bureaucracy and providing numerous other
neighborhood-related services. He has also hosted the Richie Valens May
Fest and Battle of the Bands, the Fourth of July Celebration at Hansen
Dam and continues to mentor local high school students through his Young
Senators program.

Specific motions and resolutions that Councilmember Alarcón has
introduced include:

CREATING A “VISION” FOR DISTRICT SEVEN REDEVELOPMENT:

§ Creating a community-driven “vision” for the CRA Earthquake
Recovery Zone within the district, which Councilmember Alarcón created
over 10 years ago in the aftermath of the Northridge Earthquake, and
which now has over $63 million available in redevelopment funds.
§ Instructing the Department of Rec & Parks to report back on the
potential uses for an abandoned City-owned building at 9540 Van Nuys
Blvd, so it can be used to benefit the community

POVERTY:

§ Creating an Ad Hoc Committee on Ending Poverty in Los Angeles.
(This Committee has been created, and Councilmember Alarcón is currently
putting together working groups to support the Committee’s work.)
§ Support for updating the Federal Poverty Guidelines to a formula
that takes into account regional cost differences and also asks the
Presidential candidates to take a position on this issue, either in
person or in writing to the Ad Hoc Committee on Ending Poverty in Los
Angeles.

CHILD SAFETY

§ Creating a study on the status of child safety in Los Angeles. The
study will be conducted by Los Angeles’ Commission for Children, Youth
and Their Families and will focus on how child safety is handled at all
City departments and recommend appropriate future guidelines. (The
motion has been approved by the City Council and the study is currently
being compiled.)

EDUCATION:

§ Asking the CLA’s office to look into the feasibility of
establishing a Department of Education within the City of Los Angeles.
Within this Department’s purview would be the ability to create and
administer City-run charter schools.

PUBLIC SAFETY:

§ Offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the capture
of the killer of Hector Balderas, who was found shot in Panorama City.
§ A $50,000 grant to the Los Angeles Police Department to be used to
combat gang violence in the Seventh Council District. (The LAPD is
determining how they could most effectively use the money.)

PUBLIC WORKS:
§ Creating a program to allow residents to pay for the 50/50 sidewalk
repair through a series of payments through their DWP bill, rather than
in one lump sum.

ENVIRONMENT:

§ Beginning the process of creating a park at the Lopez Canyon
Landfill area. Because parts of the landfill are still settling, the
project will be completed in stages. (The Bureau of Sanitation and Rec
& Parks are currently working with Councilmember Alarcón on this
project.)
§ Instructing the Environmental Affairs Department to create a
“Green Business Certification Program” that will reward
businesses operating in an environmentally sustainable manner. (EAD is
working on the ordinance; the motion will be heard in Energy &
Environment Committee this month.)

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

§ Allowing the City to offer an interest-free “challenge loan” of
up to $1.75 million to match donation collected by the Children’s
Museum of Los Angeles. (The loan was approved by the Council and the
CMLA was able to raise the funds needed to secure the loan, and thereby
assure that construction finishes on the building.)

NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS

§ Working with DONE to create "how to" guides for Neighborhood
Councils, the first of which will cover ideas for outreach and
increasing membership.
§ Supported programs for Neighborhood Councils to receive additional
donations as well as a system where they can donate to local non-profit
organizations.
§ Meets monthly with a coalition of District Seven Neighborhood
Council Presidents to discuss local issues and opportunities.

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY FAIR:

Councilmember Alarcón was dismayed to learn that the students who had
spent the last year or more raising livestock for the San Fernando
Valley Fair were being treated unfairly by the 51st Agricultural
District’s Board of Governors and ultimately were sent to a site 20
miles away from the fairgrounds. He introduced a series of motions in
support of the students and the San Fernando Valley. These motions
included:

§ Requesting that the Governor to create a 55th Agricultural District
in the San Fernando Valley and asking the State Joint Legislative Audit
Committee to conduct an audit of the 51st Agricultural Association.
§ Having the City Attorney to report on legal issues relative to the
San Fernando Valley Fair and for the CAO to report on money spent by the
City of Los Angeles for the San Fernando Valley Fair, which was hosted
outside of the City and even outside of the 51st Ag. District
boundaries.

This is only a partial list of the work that Councilmember
Alarcón has done in the first 100 days. Increasing child safety,
decreasing poverty, protecting our environment, creating safe
neighborhoods and crafting positive redevelopment opportunities continue
to be priorities for the Councilmember. He will continue to pursue
these goals, and others, in the months and years to come.

Councilmember Alarcón appreciates community input, and hopes
that residents of the Seventh District will continue to bring issues,
concerns and ideas to his attention.

Councilmember Alarcón is the Chair of the Education &
Neighborhoods Committee, Vice-Chair of Rules and Elections Committee and
sits on the Transportation Committee. He is also the Chair of the Ad
Hoc Committee on Ending Poverty in Los Angeles, which he created with
the support of the Council President. He represents the neighborhoods
of Pacoima, Sylmar Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills, North Hills,
Panorama City and Sun Valley.

# # #