2 HOPEFULS TAKE AIM AT SUPERVISOR YAROSLAVSKY HIT FOR ACTIONS ON CROSS, JAIL, HEALTH CARE.Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer Contending that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
Sheriff's Sgt. Randy Springer and San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. activist David Hernandez, a retired insurance adjuster and Valley Village resident, said Yaroslavsky and other supervisors have become so entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in their positions that they seldom listen to taxpayers' concerns. In particular, Hernandez said Yaroslavsky led a majority of the board in several votes rejecting public pleas that voters be given a chance to decide whether a Christian cross The Christian cross is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is generally seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols. should be returned to the county seal. In several 3-2 votes in the past two years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time supervisors ordered the cross removed after the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. threatened to sue the county, alleging the cross was unconstitutional. ``The county seal issue was the straw that broke the camel's back The idiom the straw that broke the camel's back is from an Arab proverb about loading up a camel beyond its capacity to move. This is a reference to any process by which cataclysmic failure (a broken back) is achieved by a seemingly inconsequential addition (a single straw). ,'' Hernandez said. ``It wasn't so much the initial vote, but the second vote to not put it in front of the people. That goes against everything I've ever been raised to believe in in this country. That's why I'm running for supervisor.'' Yaroslavsky said he voted not to place the issue on the ballot because the County Counsel's Office advised the board that the seal was unconstitutional. ``If the people voted to put the same unconstitutional seal back up, it would have the same result as what happened in San Diego, where a federal judge said after a referendum where the people voted to keep the cross on the hill that ... the cross had to be removed because it's on public property,'' Yaroslavsky said. If re-elected, Yaroslavsky said he wants to focus on keeping the county's public health system ``alive''; expand the Orange Line busway to the north part of the Valley; continue to purchase open space in the Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a low transverse range in southern California in the United States. Geography They run for approximately 40 mi (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County. and surrounding areas; ensure the county wisely invests its limited public safety dollars; and help the homeless. Yaroslavsky, who was elected to the board in 1994 after serving on the Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. , said he'd like to see the newly opened Sun Valley Middle School Sun Valley Middle School is located in Sun Valley, a section of Los Angeles, California, and is part of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). In April 1948, school officials announced that "the most charming of all the new junior high schools" in the Los Angeles system would health clinic serve as a prototype for other medical facilities, and also would like to open a pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. trauma center trauma center n. A medical facility that is designated to treat severe physical trauma as a result of the specialized training of its staff and the availability of appropriate diagnostic and treatment tools. in the Valley. Yaroslavsky, who served on the council from 1977 to 1993, said the county's health system is in better shape now than it was a decade ago, when a health department deficit nearly dragged the county into bankruptcy. In the past decade, Yaroslavsky said, the county and other agencies have acquired more than 10,000 acres of open space in the Santa Monica Mountains, including Ahmanson Ranch and Soka University. Yaroslavsky said the county's criminal justice system needs a lot of attention, especially improving the jails, probation camps and juvenile halls. He said the recent spate of jail homicides, riots and juvenile camp and juvenile hall escapes are a ``warning shot across all our collective bows.'' If elected, Hernandez said he'd like to ease jail overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. and end the early-release program by turning over to the federal government for deportation illegal immigrants who are arrested for minor crimes. ``I only see the situation getting worse with the sheer numbers,'' Hernandez said. Hernandez said he'd like to address the illegal immigration issue at the county level because it impacts county services. In other areas, Hernandez said the health department still faces a massive deficit in the years ahead, and instead of using taxpayer dollars to expand the subway system to Santa Monica, Hernandez would like to see officials explore construction of monorails at one-third the cost and time. Meanwhile, Springer, a 21-year Sheriff's Department veteran who also spent three years as a District Attorney's Office investigator, said if elected, he will work to restore the original 1957 county seal and ensure the county is prepared to defend against a possible terrorist attack. Springer also said he would like to re-establish the county's pornography commission to protect children from predators, as well as end the acceptance of unverified foreign identification cards as official ID by county law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). . ``The identification card allows criminals to go undetected and terrorists can use it -- to obtain other identification,'' Springer said. Springer said he would work to end welfare benefits to illegal immigrants, rebuild the emergency medical system, renovate the sewage system and end county spending on buildings. ``The things that matter should be paid for by cutting waste and by obtaining reimbursement that is already available but not obtained from the federal government,'' Springer said. ``I want to eliminate the excessive, misdirected government spending that has caused cuts to vital public services. I want to make Los Angeles a place that builds people, not monuments.'' troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com (213) 974-8985 CANDIDATES Los Angeles County Supervisor, 3rd District ZEV YAROSLAVSKY Occupation: County supervisor Residence: Los Angeles Age: 57 Funds raised: $900,000 Party: Democrat Web site: zev.co.la.ca.us/default.htm DAVID HERNANDEZ Occupation: Retired insurance adjuster Residence: Valley Village Age: 57 Funds raised: $25,000 Party: Republican Web site: www.dave4la.com RANDY SPRINGER Occupation: Sheriff's sergeant Residence: Northridge Age: 50 Funds raised: Not available Party: Republican Web site: www.springer4super.com CAPTION(S): box Box: CANDIDATES (see text) |
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