NEIGHBORHOOD-SYSTEMS SCHOLAR WILL HEAD AGENCY.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer A USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. administrator who wrote her doctoral thesis on the city's budding budding, type of grafting in which a plant bud is inserted under the bark of the stock (usually not more than a year old). It is best done when the bark will peel easily and the buds are mature, as in spring, late summer, or early autumn. neighborhood councils Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems. They can be found in many cities throughout the world. was tapped Monday to head the agency that oversees Los Angeles' system of grass-roots democracy. Carol Baker Tharp, deputy director of the Civic Engagement Initiative at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , has spent years studying, training and mentoring L.A.'s neighborhood councils. "It's like I've been preparing my whole life for this job, and now I'm here and it feels fabulous. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing," Tharp said at a news conference announcing her appointment as general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment em·pow·er tr.v. em·pow·ered, em·pow·er·ing, em·pow·ers 1. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. See Synonyms at authorize. 2. . Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. said Tharp has the enthusiasm and expertise to help neighborhood councils achieve their potential. "The passion she brings to this endeavor -- I think it puts us in a very, very unique position at a time where we're at a crossroads in terms of how our neighborhood council movement is going to progress." Tharp expects to begin work March 12 after her expected confirmation by the City Council. While her specific salary will not be announced until she is confirmed, Villaraigosa's staff said she will receive between $128,000 and $192,000 a year. Villaraigosa also announced that he's named BongHwan Kim as assistant general manager of DONE. Kim is executive director of the Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services and a member of the Neighborhood Council Review Commission, which is conducting a yearlong year·long adj. Lasting one year. Adj. 1. yearlong - lasting through a year; "attending yearlong courses" long - primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or review of DONE and the neighborhood councils. Tharp and Kim will take responsibility for a $4.3 million budget and a 51-member staff that organizes and oversees the sometimes-troubled system of 88 neighborhood councils. The former general manager, Greg Nelson, retired last April and was succeeded by interim chief Lisa Sarno. She tried to address long-standing complaints about neighborhood council elections, conflicts of interest and finances, but some members quit because of what they perceived as her heavy-handed management style. The seven-year-old council system is also undergoing an analysis by the Neighborhood Council Review Commission to determine what works, what doesn't and what needs to be changed. Tharp and Kim garnered praise from some neighborhood council leaders. "They get it," said Jill Banks Barad, president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils. She sat on an interview panel that recommended Tharp and Kim as the top two candidates. "They understand we don't need another bureaucracy. They need to streamline the rules and procedures that are so burdensome to neighborhood councils." City Councilwoman Janice Hahn Janice Hahn is a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 15th district. Hahn was elected in 2001 and reelected in 2005, running unopposed. The 15th District encompasses the Los Angeles communities of Watts, Wilmington, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City, Athens on the , who heads the Education and Neighborhoods Committee, said she worked with Tharp in the late 1990s when the city adopted the charter changes that created neighborhood councils. "I really know and respect Carol," Hahn said. "I think if she really listens to what neighborhood councils would like to see happen and takes her cue cue, n a stimulus that determines or may prompt the nature of a person's response. cue Psychology Any sensory stimulus that evokes a learned patterned response. See Conditioning. from them, she can lead them into a very strong future." kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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