July 22, 2010

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Water and Power Commissioners today approved a revised proposal to change the City of Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Ordinance. The proposed changes, which were approved by the Board and will now be forwarded to the City . . . → Read More: Board of Water and Power Commissioners Approve Revised Changes to City Water Conservation Ordinance]]> Watering Days to be Based on Street Address, Rebates Increased, and Phases of Ordinance Simplified

July 22, 2010

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Water and Power Commissioners today approved a revised proposal to change the City of Los Angeles’ Water Conservation Ordinance. The proposed changes, which were approved by the Board and will now be forwarded to the City Council for review, will simplify the law’s water conservation phases and change the schedules for permissible outdoor watering with sprinklers.

The proposed changes will consolidate two phases in the current Ordinance, bringing the total number of phases down from six to five. Phases of the Ordinance correspond with severity of water shortage, with each increase in phase containing stricter conservation measures.

The proposed changes will also shift the days on which watering with sprinklers is allowed for odd and even-numbered addresses under Phases I, II and III of the proposed new ordinance.

“These changes respond to a direct request from the City Council and are intended to provide greater flexibility to our customers while they continue saving water,” said Lee Kanon Alpert, President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. “The Commission has requested and staff has agreed to keep us regularly informed on how the changes are being implemented and whether our conservation targets are being met.”

Presently, Los Angeles is in Phase III of the current Ordinance, restricting LADWP customers to outdoor watering with sprinklers twice-weekly. The proposed new Ordinance would allow watering three times per week on specific days based on street address, and with specific time limits based on type of watering nozzle.

Under the proposed new Phase II restrictions, customers whose street addresses end with an odd number – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 – will be permitted to use their sprinkler systems on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, before 9 a.m.and after 4 p.m. Customers whose addresses end in even numbers – 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 – will be permitted to do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Addresses ending in fractions will be treated as whole numbers and observe the same day restrictions as others on their same side of the street, (ie: 4321 ½ would be regarded as 4321, an odd-numbered address.)

Sprinkler time limits under the new Phase II restrictions will be based on the type of nozzle used in the system. Spray head sprinklers and bubblers, which are non-conserving models, will be limited to 8 minutes per cycle and one cycle per day per watering station. Standard rotors and multi-stream rotary heads will be limited to 15 minutes per cycle and up to two cycles per day per watering station. The typical single-family home has non-conserving spray head sprinklers.

In an effort to better assist our customers, LADWP will increase the rebate on water-conserving sprinkler nozzles to $8/nozzle, which covers the purchase price. Please visit www.LADWP.com/rwr for more details.

All other components of the Ordinance, including the prohibited uses of water, will remain the same. Watering with sprinklers will continue to be restricted to hours before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m., regardless of the watering day. Hand-watering, using garden hoses fitted with shut-off nozzle devices, remains permissible any day of the week before 9:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.

On May 18, the Board approved proposed changes to the Ordinance that recommended shifting watering days based on street address as a means of minimizing pressure fluctuations in the water distribution system. On July 6, the Los Angeles City Council referred the matter back to the Department with motions to merge Phases II and III of the current Ordinance and include three designated watering days per week for even- and odd-numbered street addresses under a revised Phase II in the new Ordinance. The policy changes approved by the Board today respond to the City Council’s requests.

The proposed changes will go into effect upon approval by City Council and concurrence by the Mayor.

Starting July 18, 2010, the Los Angeles Public Library will begin a five-day-a-week service schedule at the Central Library and all 72 branch libraries.

Central Library service hours will be: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; closed Sunday, Monday . . . → Read More: New Library Hours (effective 7/18/2010)]]>

Los Angeles Public Library Begins New Five-Day Service Schedule on July 18, 2010

Starting July 18, 2010, the Los Angeles Public Library will begin a five-day-a-week service schedule at the Central Library and all 72 branch libraries.

Central Library service hours will be: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; closed Sunday, Monday and holidays.

Branch library (including the Granada Hills Branch) service hours will be: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; closed Sunday, Monday and holidays.

The Library’s Web-based resources are available 24 hours a day at www.lapl.org.  For more information about library locations and services visit www.lapl.org.

The change to five-day service is the result of a reduction in library staff and other cuts made to reduce the city’s budget deficit.

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest population of any library in the country through its Central Library, 72 branch libraries, over six million books and other items, state-of-the-art technology, and its Web site (www.lapl.org). These resources and more than 18,000 public programs provide everyone with free and easy access to
information and the opportunity for life-long learning.

With an unemployment rate over 13% in the City of Los Angeles and 1 out of 5 young people aged 16-24 out of school and out of work, our youth jobs programs are more important now than ever before.

This summer, be one of hundreds of private-sector business and non-profits with access to subsidized youth employees through HIRE L.A.’s Youth (click . . . → Read More: Hire L.A.’s Youth]]> With an unemployment rate over 13% in the City of Los Angeles and 1 out of 5 young people aged 16-24 out of school and out of work, our youth jobs programs are more important now than ever before.

This summer, be one of hundreds of private-sector business and non-profits with access to subsidized youth employees through HIRE L.A.’s Youth (click here for the informational page).

How to participate:
-Commit to provide a safe, secure and meaningful worksite for an employee aged 16-24
-Provide on-the-job training for six weeks (July-August, 2010) without paying a dime
-Cash in on your investment!  You have the option to hire your fully trained employee for full- or part-time work at the end of the program.

All wages and workers compensation costs are covered by the program.  Sign up today for subsidized youth employment – at no cost to you!

Deadline to Register is June 30th.  Register at www.HIRELAyouth.com or 213-580-7599

It’s now even easier to report graffiti to the City so it can cleaned up fast.

In addition to calling 311, you can now report graffiti directly using the City’s online 311 function at http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm. Just enter the exact address and a report and clean-up order are automatically generated.

The City also is making efforts to explore today’s rapidly evolving technology to . . . → Read More: New Technology to Fight Graffiti]]> It’s now even easier to report graffiti to the City so it can cleaned up fast.

In addition to calling 311, you can now report graffiti directly using the City’s online 311 function at http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm. Just enter the exact address and a report and clean-up order are automatically generated.

The City also is making efforts to explore today’s rapidly evolving technology to make it faster and easier for citizens to report graffiti and other non-emergency problems. The City now has its own iPhone application to report problems. The application was created by Citysourced in a public-private partnership and can downloaded for free on iTunes. It allows iPhone users to take snapshots of graffiti, potholes, illegal dumping and other issues. Using the iPhone’s GPS system, the photo and the exact location are automatically sent directly to the City’s 311 system. It even notifies the user when the problem is resolved.

To download the app or see pictures of how it works, visit http://itunes.apple.com/app/citysourced/id336854714.

The application should be available for Blackberry, Android, Palm, & Windows Mobile 7 platforms this year.

Neighborhood Alert –  RD 1728

Quadrant area between Lindley/Yolanda and Chatsworth/Rinaldi

AM hours residential burglary activity – Midnight to 4 AM

Granada Hills has had at least 4 residential burglaries occur in the very unusual hours of the night.

These incidents are definitely out of the norm as residential burglaries are generally daytime occurrences, when residents are away at work.

1. VISIT www.LAstormwater.org/survey 2. TAKE the five minute survey and give us your thoughts about the program – what they are doing well and where they need to improve. 3. Get FREE Stuff! Every person who takes the survey will receive an organic cotton . . . → Read More: FREE Tote Bag | Take the LA Stormwater Survey!]]> The City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program is conducting a customer satisfaction survey and they need your input!

1. VISIT www.LAstormwater.org/survey
2. TAKE the five minute survey and give us your thoughts about the program – what they are doing well and where they need to improve.
3. Get FREE Stuff! Every person who takes the survey will receive an organic cotton tote bag.