Concerned about neighborhood coyotes? Interested in learning how to help keep them away? Then join this family-friendly Coyote Safety webinar on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 from 12pm to 1pm! Pasadena Humane’s expert Wildlife Manager will share information about the urban coyote and demonstrate humane hazing techniques so that you can peacefully – and safely – coexist with coyotes.
For registration or more information, visit the registration page here.
09/01/2020
Caring for your emotional well-being is especially important right now, and LA County’s Department of Mental Health (DMH) is here to help. DMH’s newly expanded Help Line (800-854-7771) is free and confidential for all of LA County’s 10 million residents. The County strives to meet the linguistic needs of its diverse communities and offers assistance by providing services in your language of choice. Callers can be referred to:
8/31/2020
August 22nd would have been the 100th birthday of famed writer and public library advocate Ray Bradbury. In celebration of the Bradbury Centennial, South Pasadena’s Poet Laureate Ron Koertge has recorded a poem written in remembrance of Bradbury, and the Library is participating in the national Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon. From August 22 through September 5, 2020, you can view a complete reading (in 3 parts) of Bradbury’s classic novel “Fahrenheit 451” featuring William Shatner, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, Rachel Bloom, and many others, including South Pasadena-based Emmy winning actor James Reynolds. View a short promo featuring James Reynolds here and stream the reading here. Enjoy Koertge’s “In Memoriam” here. For more information, visit the Library’s Ray Bradbury Collection website.
Cathy Billings
Library Director
08/31/2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has come at a great cost to LA County’s economy. As we navigate the Road to Recovery, LA County reminds small businesses, non-profit organizations, and micro-enterprises that the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund is a resource worth knowing about. Especially now, that the fourth round of it’s application period is quickly approaching.
The LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund currently includes $3.2 million in grants for small businesses, non-profits and micro-enterprises facing economic challenges due to COVID-19. Funded by LA County, the City of LA and the Union Bank Foundation, this resource looks to provide eligible applicants with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
The fourth round of grant funding will open on Monday, August 31.
Don’t miss your opportunity to apply – the application is available in 12 different languages. To apply for a grant or ask questions, visit LACOVIDFund.org or call 833-238-4450.
8/28/2020
While COVID-19 changed many of LA County’s summer activities, LA County Parks is offering a new twist on the summer tradition of Parks After Dark.
LA County Parks is creating scenic routes at 10 parks in LA County for families to safely walk and ride on, while maintaining physical distancing needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This “open streets” concept is happening at various locations:
Join us at one of these LA County Parks locations for a dose of exercise, fun, and time outdoors. Bikes, scooters, and skateboards are welcome! And, don’t forget your protective equipment or face coverings, so we can all stay safe. For locations and schedules, visit LA County Parks at parks.lacounty.gov/padinmotion.
You can also follow @lacountyparks on Twitter & Instagram for in-the-moment updates.
8/28/2020
The County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, the LA County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS), and the Commission on Human Relations jointly announced the launch of the “L.A. vs Hate” initiative to report and end incidents of hate and hate crimes in LA County. This announcement comes as 211-LA continues to receive reports of hate – from January through July 2020, 256 total calls reporting hate, including 27 calls as a result of COVID-19 – and is part of a multi-year mission by the Board of Supervisors to end acts of hate in the County.For more information on the “L.A. vs Hate” initiative, including shareable community-centric graphics ready-made for social media, please click here.“Los Angeles County stands united as a voice for victims of crime,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said. “It’s our duty and privilege to join in this effort to encourage acceptance and advocate for victims. When our communities speak up for their neighbors, we are all stronger.”“In Los Angeles County, there is no place for hate. Now more than ever, we must all work together to combat the pandemic and take care of one another. The alarming spike in hate incidents in our County, particularly aimed at our Asian Pacific Islander communities and communities of color, requires a robust and creative response. That’s why I am proud of the LA vs Hate campaign’s innovation for partnering with local artists and organizations like Las Fotos Project to perform art interventions and produce marketing materials which aim to combat hate,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis.“The L.A. vs Hate initiative is just one of the many strategies the County has embarked upon to dismantle racism and bias in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and community gathering places,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “This work preceded recently elevated demands for racial justice and aligns with the County’s current efforts to establish an antiracist policy agenda. The L.A. vs Hate initiative provides every Angeleno with tangible actions to undertake if they witness or are victimized by a hate crime or bias-motivated incident.”“Over the last four years, we have watched as a few prominent Americans have repeatedly condoned hate speech and violence against others,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “This campaign reasserts that we are a nation of empathy, inclusion, tolerance and love, and provides a creative counterforce to hateful messages that have grown more and more frequent and loud.”“Even before this pandemic began, hate crimes in LA County were on the rise, reaching their highest point in a decade last year,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “All of our residents need to know they are valued, that they belong, and that the County is taking action to protect them and respond to this growing threat. By stressing to our local communities the importance of reporting hate and connecting hate victims with supportive services, the LA vs. Hate campaign is one way that we will achieve that goal.”The “L.A. vs Hate” campaign has three components:
By inviting artists and their communities to participate in art interventions inspired by the principles of “L.A. vs Hate,” the campaign uses art and community organizing to reach County residents in an authentic and meaningful way. Through this virtual medium, the campaign builds understanding within individual, diverse communities about what constitutes hate and how to report it.“Standing up to hate is not easy – but by supporting our communities in their efforts to resist and report hate, we are confident that L.A. County will become a more safe and inclusive space for the more than 10 million people who live here,” said Robin Toma, Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations.The strategies and programs offered by the network partner agencies reflect deep experience in serving a wide range of diverse County residents, including those vulnerable communities who are particularly targeted for hate acts in the largest number of 211 calls: youth of color, immigrants, disabled youth, and since COVID-19 related backlash, Asian-Americans. Some of the network partner agencies include the Anti-Defamation League; Antelope Valley Partners for Health; Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A. (CHIRLA); Hate Violence Prevention Partnership of L.A. (includes Bienestar, Brotherhood Crusade, California Conference for Equality & Justice, and Muslim Public Affairs Council); Not In Our Town; and San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Inc.“ADL Los Angeles is proud to be a part of L.A. vs. Hate as it reflects ADL’s tradition of calling out what divides us and shining a light on what unites the diverse communities that are the fabric of Los Angeles. L.A. vs. Hate will empower communities to identify hate and to mobilize effectively to counteract it, “ said Matt Friedman, the Senior Associate Regional Director for ADL Pacific Southwest Region.Individuals reporting to 211-LA may choose to report anonymously. Callers are also offered the option to be referred to follow up services including legal aid, trauma counseling, and advocacy support. In the first six months of this year, 87% of residents calling 211-LA to report hate requested follow up services.For over 70 years, the LA County Commission on Human Relations has worked to inform, support, train, and mobilize county residents to transform prejudice into acceptance, tranquility into justice, and hostility into peace.
8/28/20
Last week, LA County’s Department of Public Health (DPH) reported an increase in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in LA County. With an increase of nine additional cases, LA County’s total MIS-C cases is now 25.
MIS-C, a rare condition affecting children under 21 years old who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or had COVID-19, presents itself in different ways. While not all children will have the same signs and symptoms, most children with MIS-C have experienced persistent fever, fatigue, and the inflammation of different body parts, including inflammation of the: heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
It is important to note no children with MIS-C in LA County have died.
MIS-C may begin weeks after a child has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). The child may have been infected from an asymptomatic person and, in some cases, the child and their caregivers may not even know they had been infected. Most children diagnosed with MIS-C have had laboratory evidence of past, or current, COVID-19 infection and the majority have had no underlying medical conditions.
Last week’s additional nine cases showed:
If you believe your child may be displaying MIS-C symptoms, contact your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, dial 2-1-1 and LA County will help connect you to one.
If you’re unsure about the symptoms you’re seeing, and don’t have a primary care provider, you may also contact our COVID-19 Nurse Advice Line at (844) 804-0055. This free service is provided by LA County’s Department of Health Services (DHS) and is available 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
For more information on guidance, reopening protocols or a list of what is open or remains closed in LA County, visit DPH at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus.
LA County’s Department of Public Health (DPH) and Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) are working together closely to ensure registered voters in the County know what to expect & how to safely prepare for November’s election. To that end, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk wants you to know:
Additionally, DPH has released guidance so voters and election workers, alike, can stay healthy during the voting process. The following are highlights from today’s DPH Guidance for Voters, Election Officials and Election Workers:
Visit DPH at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus for more information on guidance, reopening protocols or a list of what is open or remains closed in LA County.
08/27/2020
We encourage you to join LA Metro at any of six public hearings https://www.metro.net/projects/nextgen/events/ being held between August 19-27 to review the July 2020 Updated NextGen Bus Plan.
Your comments and input have been vital in this process and helped staff make adjustments that include some additional coverage and convenience while fine tuning some service frequencies and enhancing customer safety and overall service.
You can stream the hearings or call-in where you will have access to live translations in Mandarin, Spanish, and Russian.
Public hearing details and the various options for submitting comments are available here. Anyone can participate so please share this with family and friends.
Visit metro.net/nextgen to learn more.
08/26/2020
LA County continues to increase access to testing in our communities that need it most. Data shows that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts certain communities more than others. Specifically, low income communities and communities of color. That is why increasing equity and access to testing is critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and advancing us on our Roadmap to Recovery.
LA County is committed to continuing our efforts countywide to ensure that those who are most vulnerable and impacted are supported. If you think you need a test, appointments are available through your primary care provider, online or over the phone by dialing 2-1-1.
08/26/2020
City Hall Scoop 