COMMUNITY COURT ON DOCKET.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer In an effort to revitalize Van Nuys, city officials and community members gathered Tuesday to discuss plans for a community court to deal with public safety and quality-of-life issues. ``I never thought that when I graduated from law school that I'd become more of a social worker wearing a black robe,'' said Commissioner Mitchell Block, in front of about 100 community members and others at the Van Nuys Elementary School elementary school: see school. auditorium. ``Finding a solution to our social problems is the most direct, effective way to effect positive change.'' Along with Block on the dais were Van Nuys Supervising Judge Paul Gutman; Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . Van Nuys Division Capt. Bob McNamara Bob McNamara, born August 6, 1961 in Toronto, Ontario, is the general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League and a former goaltender in the minor leagues. ; Bill Weiss Bill Weiss is a baseball historian and statistician. He has served as the official statistician for the Pacific Coast League, and edited a weekly newsletter for the California League for over thirty years. , the head of the Van Nuys Public Defender's Office; Rick Schmidt, head of the City Attorney's Van Nuys office; Marie Tolbert from the Volunteer Center; and City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski Cindy Miscikowski represented the 11th District on the Los Angeles City Council for two full terms from 1997 through 2005. Previously, she was an aide to Councilman Marvin Braude and the Executive Director of the Skitball Cultural Center in its beginning stages. . Officials will select members of the community to sit on a community advisory board to help design community service programs for offenders - such as health care and unemployment services. The federal Bureau of Justice Assistance Noun 1. Bureau of Justice Assistance - the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse BJA has agreed to provide the city with $1 million in seed money for community courts in Van Nuys and one that serves downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row. Officials chose a part of Van Nuys area that sits in the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative, an area that has been the focus of a recent $3 million revitalization project. Officials would also be able to reduce costs by using the Van Nuys courthouse as a primary site for the adjudication The legal process of resolving a dispute. The formal giving or pronouncing of a judgment or decree in a court proceeding; also the judgment or decision given. The entry of a decree by a court in respect to the parties in a case. program. If the pilot programs are deemed a success, city officials hope to open them at other locations across the city. McNamara sees this new program as a quest to provide better services to the Van Nuys community. ``What I think this represents is the taking of the community policing aspect of our job to the next level,'' he said. ``I can't think of a better partnership and example of community-based government than what you see right here.'' |
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