DINING LAW UNDER FIRE; INSPECTORS CAN'T FORCE POSTING OF GRADES.Byline: Rick Orlov and Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writers Despite public fanfare over new, tough restaurant cleanliness laws, inspectors say they cannot force the restaurants in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. or other cities in the county to post failing letter grades. And the reason? Confusion among county officials over whether each city's government must approve the new inspection regulations for them to take effect. That means diners Diners can mean:
Some restaurants in the city of Los Angeles
``We've had a few people say no, but we think those are the ones with the lower grades,'' said Art Aguirre, director of environmental health for the county. Los Angeles is among 82 cities that pay county health inspectors to make sure their restaurants are clean, in addition to those in unincorporated Adj. 1. unincorporated - not organized and maintained as a legal corporation unorganised, unorganized - not having or belonging to a structured whole; "unorganized territories lack a formal government" sections of the county. When the county Board of Supervisors The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. The Board of Supervisors is the body governing counties in the U.S. adopted the rules in December, it did so with the understanding that cities would approve the law as well. But so far none of them - including Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. , Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. , Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. and Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach, city (1990 pop. 32,063), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1912. It is a residential and beach community with an oil refinery and nearby factories that produce transportation and electrical equipment, computers, and pottery. - have adopted an ordinance. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office said it is not sure whether the City Council needs to register its approval, and it has only now begun to research the question. ``This is the first we've heard of it,'' said Pete Echeverria, chief assistant city attorney of the civil branch. ``We've never had to adopt anything like that in the past.'' ``We're looking over the contract, but usually in something like this where a regulation is amended, they enforce it everywhere,'' he said. Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs Joel Wachs served for several terms as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 2nd district. He was first elected by defeating incumbent James B. Potter. While in office, Wachs chaired the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Environmental Quality & Waste Management said he was outraged to learn that the city might be responsible for delaying the posting of grades, and he asked the City Attorney to draft a law. ``I want to do that right away,'' Wachs said. ``What this really shows is the lack of coordination between the city and county.'' Wachs said he was under the impression that the city did not have to endorse a county health regulation. ``When this first came up, the City Attorney's Office told us we didn't have to do anything, that we gave up our rights when we turned everything over to the county Health Department,'' Wachs said. ``Now, we're being told we have to pass this ordinance.'' County public health officials conceded that they waited for the supervisors to adopt the rules before alerting the cities that they had to do so as well. ``Part of it was the urgency to get something in place,'' Aguirre said. ``We're going back now and checking with each city to make sure they know of the requirement.'' Officials weren't told Los Angeles city officials weren't told of the need for a new law until Jan. 23, and the matter was sent to the City Council's Arts, Health and Humanities Committee. Burbank and 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. officials said they were also unaware of the law but would determine what steps to take. Glendale is in a different position, because it does not contract with the county for health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract and does not have its own health department, said Sam Engel, code enforcement Code Enforcement is the act of enforcing a set of s, principles, or laws (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norms or customs. An authority usually enforces a civil code, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to officer for the city. ``We never adopted the county's health regulations and are in sort of a gray area,'' Engel said. ``The county inspectors have been going out to the restaurants here and they have been posting the grades. We look at it as an issue for the county Health Department.'' Three other cities - Pasadena, Long Beach and Vernon - have their own health departments and also are not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. by the regulation. The program that was adopted requires each restaurant to prominently post a letter grade of A, B or C, depending on the outcome of their inspections. Restaurants with a C can continue to operate. Those with scores below 70 percent also are allowed to operate but must post the full report to show where problems were found. For those restaurants in Los Angeles and 81 other cities, the county inspectors say they are powerless to make sure the grades are visible to diners. ``They have to comply with everything except the posting requirement,'' said Oscar Castro, director of environmental planning Environmental planning is a relatively new field of study that aims to merge the practice of urban planning with the concerns of environmentalism. Essentially speaking, while urban planners have traditionally factored in economic development, transportation, sanitation, and other and evaluation for the county Environmental Health Division. ``We cannot take action against them if they don't comply, except for the unincorporated areas of the county.'' Jacqueline Taylor, environmental health services manager for the north area of Los Angeles, said inspectors would not routinely notify restaurants managers or owners that they are not yet required to post the grades. ``We have asked them to post either the letter grade or the score grade as part of our county policy,'' she said. If a restaurant manager or owner refuses to post the grade, she said, ``Then the inspectors say that's not a problem.'' However, said John Schunhoff, the health department's acting chief of operations, ``This has a lot of public support, and I think most restaurants will want to comply with the grading policy and posting the grades, regardless of whether the city in which they are operating has passed the ordinance yet or not.'' When county health inspectors gave a B grade recently to Abe's Deli and Family Restaurant in Northridge, manager Jane Brayton promptly posted it in front of the building. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how crazy I am about that (score),'' Brayton said, adding she went along and posted the score thinking she was in compliance with the county law. When told she didn't have to post the sign, Brayton said, ``I had no idea we had a choice.'' Not knowing the rules Brayton said she was concerned that the program was enacted so quickly, giving restaurant owners little time to inquire about new rules and requirements. She said she received a letter Jan. 12 notifying her that the program would begin Jan. 16. Abe's Deli lost points because it lacked a chemical test kit for its dishwasher - a requirement she said she was unaware of before and has since corrected. If the health department had given earlier notice, she said, she could have addressed problems before the inspection. Nevertheless, she said, the grading system will benefit both diners and restaurants. ``I think it's a good program, though,'' she said. ``I think it should help to clean up a lot of restaurants around here.'' Jerry's Famous Deli Wikipedia is not the place for advertisement or self-advertising. Jerry's Famous Deli is a Los Angeles-based delicatessen famous for its huge menu, which boasts over 700 deli and traditional food items. in Studio City, which was closed overnight for health violations on Nov. 20, reopened the following day and received an A grade at its subsequent inspection. Owner Isaac Starkman said he supports the grading system. ``Overall, I see definitely improvement in basically improving and monitoring the health codes,'' he said. ``Obviously we're delighted to get an A. Everybody just needs to get on top of it.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Jerry's Famous Deli in Studio City displays its A grade from the county Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Phil McCarten/Daily News |
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