EDITORIAL L.A.'S ZOO STORY.FEW success stories shine in local government 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. . That's why it's noteworthy when something goes right like it has for the Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. . Five years ago, the zoo came close to losing accreditation. The situation was so bad, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the zoo for more than 100 violations. Today, thanks to the generosity of the public in approving two bond measures - Proposition A1, the parks bond, and Proposition CC, a $56 million capital improvement bond - that have financed the turnaround, the zoo is hailed as a model. Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. , who has waffled recently on so many issues like the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. and restoring the senior lead officer program, showed what he can achieve when he sticks to business, as he did in providing strong leadership to give the L.A. Zoo story a happy ending. How was the L.A. Zoo able to remake itself in such a short time? Accountability, for starters. Administrators now answer directly to City Hall and the mayor. Strong leadership. Riordan and Council President John Ferraro pushed to hire Manuel Mollinedo, an energetic director and well-respected expert the city brought in five years ago to reform the zoo. And money spent remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling so that today, exhibits reflect natural habitats, the zoo is being called a botanical garden and the docent program is considered the best in the world. The changes have attracted record numbers of people. We applaud Mollinedo and City Hall for focusing attention on the problem. Change is possible when leaders take control. |
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