L.A.'S RELIEF EFFORTS EXPAND.

Byline: Troy Anderson and Lisa Sodders Staff Writers

Southland efforts to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina expanded Thursday with a 15-member Los Angeles County team heading to New Orleans and companies including Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson's launching programs to aid evacuees.

The county team includes former Santa Clarita City Manager George Caravalho, lauded for his response to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, who now oversees a $100 million effort to renovate Orange County's Dana Point.

``We'll assist the local officials in their recovery efforts and help them continue their governments to help get things better,'' Caravalho said in a telephone interview while en route from Houston to Baton Rouge, La.

Sheriff's deputies, firefighters, public works officials and public health experts also are part of the group and may be joined by as many as 45 additional personnel from the greater Los Angeles area.

``We did not hesitate when asked to help the city of New Orleans re- establish some semblance of local government,'' said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Gloria Molina.

The Los Angeles Fire Department's 80-member urban search and rescue team is set to arrive today in Louisiana, where the department's 14-member swift-water rescue team has already helped evacuate several hundred people.

Statewide, more than 1,500 California first responders, 700 National Guard personnel, 116 California Highway Patrol officers, eight swift-water rescue teams, eight urban search and rescue task forces and six disaster medical assistance teams have gone to the gulf states.

In Los Angeles, meanwhile, Johnson, the legendary former Lakers point guard, announced that his companies will assist the more than 300 families currently staying at the Los Angeles Dream Center, formerly Queen of the Angels Hospital, in Echo Park.

``You're one of us,'' Johnson told those gathered there on Thursday. ``We want you to understand that somebody loves you and cares about you.''

Johnson said he will host a food and clothing drive at the Magic Johnson Theatre from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, 4020 Marlton Ave., Los Angeles.

Save-On/Albertsons also has partnered with the foundation to donate gift cards and care packages, and Johnson himself is donating 5,000 pairs of tennis shoes from his Magic32 collection to Hurricane Katrina victims at the Dream Center and in Louisiana and Texas.

The Dream Center also is working with federal housing authorities and agencies to help evacuees find temporary housing and will host a job fair Sunday.

The county is also preparing to accommodate up to 2,000 evacuees and provide a variety of services as more than 400 volunteers started to clear out two Salvation Army warehouses in Bell to house 900 to 1,200 people.

``We're going to make this look like a Hilton hotel in six days,'' former Mayor Richard Riordan said. ``On the seventh day, we're going to have a big party.''

The state Assembly on Thursday introduced resolutions calling on the state Office of Emergency Services to conduct a review of its own disaster preparedness and planning, mirroring a call by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Washington, D.C., for every city to establish concrete emergency plans.

The Assembly resolution also directs the state Franchise Tax Board to evaluate the possibility of offering tax credits to California families who take in Katrina evacuees. And a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-La Caada-Flintridge, would allow California's community colleges to waive nonresident tuition this year for students from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama whose colleges have closed because of hurricane damage.

Some expressed concern, however, that the county's resources would be stretched thin.

``Unfortunately, they won't be able to meet the need and these same people will find themselves on the streets of L.A.,'' homeless advocate Ted Hayes said, noting that the county has 270,000 homeless people that need resources. ``And when their relatives back East find out how great it is here in L.A., I'm concerned about a human tsunami.''

But David Mince, a 50-year-old electrician and New Orleans evacuee now at the Dream Center, stressed that he and other hurricane victims really just want to find jobs and begin rebuilding their lives.

``We're not bums on the street,'' Mince said. ``We were productive citizens, with jobs, houses and cars, and it all flipped upside down in an instant.''

Darren Fountain, 33, of New Orleans and his fiance, Teaaka Burton, 28, and their children, Terrica Burton, 6, and Jarmal Sims Jr., 1, lost everything in the hurricane, and now are looking to start new lives in San Bernardino, thanks to the help of the Dream Center.

Burton hopes to find a job doing hair again, and Fountain, a waiter, is hoping to become a cook, and some day open his own restaurant.

As soon as they get settled, they want the Dream Center's Pastor Matthew Barnett to marry them.

``There are such good people here,'' Fountain said. ``They've welcomed us with open arms, like they've known us all their lives.''

Staff Writer Patricia Farrell Aidem contributed to this report.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

FYI 

The Los Angeles County Infoline at 211 is serving as a centralized resource for agencies assisting Hurricane Katrina evacuees as well as for those interested in donating or volunteering.

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(1 -- 2) Hurricane Katrina evacuee Michael Cross, 4, waits patiently, above, as Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson announces plans to aid evacuees. Below, the announcement was greeted with applause and cheers.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

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FYI (see text)