COUNCILWOMAN GREETS VALLEY WESTSIDE NATIVE TOURS NEWLY CREATED DISTRICT.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer The transformation of the San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's newest City Council member already has begun. ``I sent out e-mails telling everyone that I'll be a Valley girl by July 1,'' Councilwoman Ruth Galanter Ruth Galanter was a city councilwoman from Los Angeles. She served as President Pro-Tempore and President of the city council. said this week after touring her new council district, which stretches from Lake Balboa to Pacoima. And a Valley girl she will be, thanks to the new political boundaries approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council Galanter, who had been bitterly opposed to giving up her Westchester- Venice seat for the new one resulting in the fifth district wholly in the Valley, is now accepting of the change - even looking forward to it. ``This is a completely different area from what I've represented and has issues I haven't had to deal with before,'' Galanter said. ``But it's like a new job, and I am looking forward to it.'' Galanter and her top aide, Niki Tenant, cruised the district for several hours to get a sense of the area and the 250,000 people she will now represent. ``I was trained as an urban planner An Urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of public health and safety in an urban setting. They work with local governments or private property owners (often with land developers) to formulate plans for the short- and long-term , and one of the things that taught me was how to drive around a community and understand it by looking at what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. ,'' Galanter said. ``You look at what's there, the kind of cars that are parked on the streets, how homes are maintained, where apartments are, where there are vacancies. You look for industrial land and vacant land to get a sense of what can be done.'' Initially, Galanter said she was pleased to see that some progress was being made in the district on various public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. projects, but she also saw a lot of vacant space that could be used for other purposes. And the one advantage she has in being a short-termer in a new district is she can speak without fear of future repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl . ``I think the people of the Valley are going to be surprised by me and what I want to do in a short time,'' Galanter said. ``But I will have to make sure the bureaucracy understands that as well. ``One of the problems and one of the potential messages the council sent with their action is don't worry about Ruth. She'll be gone in a year.'' Don Schultz of the Van Nuys Homeowners Association said he believes the challenges of the district will be less than what Galanter had to face in representing the area around Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX . ``But we do have issues like the Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. ,'' Schultz said. ``What I'm looking forward to is we'll have someone with experience, and we hope she'll continue with the work we've been doing with targeted neighborhood initiatives, community courts and program like that. ``I've already talked to her and she seems to really care and she asked us to put together a list of the top things we need.'' Galanter said she is to meet with other council members who represented the area to learn about ongoing issues as well as community organizations that are involved in various projects. She is looking to open a field office as soon as possible and has taken steps to change her Web page to reflect her new district. The area is not without controversy. ``She is going to face a lot of issues that have been out there,'' said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who is losing a portion of her district to Galanter. ``The main one is Van Nuys Airport. That is always an issue.'' Other matters will involve Van Nuys redevelopment, gangs and crime. ``Some of these are issues we all have to deal with,'' Galanter said. ``And as for Van Nuys Airport, fortunately, I've been dealing with a lot of the people for years and am familiar with the arguments.'' That came from her role as chairwoman of the council's Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees Los Angeles World Airports Los Angeles World Airports or LAWA is the airport oversight and operations department for the city of Los Angeles, California. This department owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport, LA/Ontario International Airport, Palmdale Regional Airport, and Van . One thing she did notice, Galanter said, is the way streets are suddenly cut off. ``There are a lot of streets that go nowhere because they run into a freeway or flood control channel Flood control channels are a series of large, concrete, and empty (except when a flood is actually present) open-air channels that extend a ways below the street levels of some larger cities, so that if and when a flood occurs, the flood will run into the channels, and proceed to be ,'' Galanter said. ``And the Tujunga Wash is something that needs work in a hurry. ``I'm not sure what we can accomplish in such a short time, but I'll be working.'' CAPTION(S): photo, map Photo: GALANTER Map: THE NEW VALLEY DISTRICT SOURCE: City of Los Angeles
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