Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Happy Holidays to You and Yours!

Dear Friends: From my family to yours, I want to wish you a joyous and happy holidays and a prosperous New Year. The holiday season gives us the opportunity to take pause and give thanks for all our blessings, enrich our faith and strengthen our commitment to community, family and friends. Happy Holidays to you all!

José

Monday, December 19, 2011

Historic First Street Bridge Re-Opening Ceremony



Join me tomorrow for the long awaited Re-Opening of the Historic First Street Bridge. Ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. for the City’s first-of-its kind historic bridge widening project. Built in 1929, the First St. Bridge is the eastside’s gateway to Downtown. It was closed to westbound traffic so the bridge could be widened for the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, which links Boyle Heights to Downtown.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Department says Power to be Restored to All Soon

DWP says they expect full service to all customers in 10-12 hours. If you live on a block where your neighbor has power but you don't, call Dial 800-DIAL-DWP or text the message "off@ladwp" to 84469.

Include in the text message your name, street address and neighborhood.

I would add that if you have power and your neighbor doesn't, you might want to check in with them in case they a need a way to contact DWP. Thanks for looking out for one another.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Latest CD14 Power Service Update

Friends: I spoke directly with LADWP GM Ron Nichols who said currently there are approximately 14,500 CD 14 residents without power, but with crews working 24-hours that will be reduced to about 2,000 by tomorrow morning. Hopefully, not too much longer after that we’ll get the rest of the service restored. I thank you for your patience. My staff and I have been working on getting service turned back on and trees removed from the start and will continue to do so.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Update on High Winds Aftermath-Water Conservation Called Off for Northeast

Friends: Please continue to be on alert as High Wind Warnings and Red Flag warnings are in effect at least through tomorrow. LAFD is recommending people stay indoors. If you have a downed power line between homes, call 911 and stay indoors. The water conservation call for Northeast Los Angeles has been lifted. Los Angeles County has declared a state of emergency.

See below for latest information from the City of Los Angeles' Department of Water & Power. Best, Jose

Urgent Water Conservation Alert for Northeast Area of
Los Angeles Lifted

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has lifted an urgent water conservation alert for the communities of Mt. Washington, Hermon, Monterey Hills, Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Montecito Heights. This area had previously been urged to restrict water consumption to essential uses only as water pumping infrastructure that supplies water to these communities had been affected by a power outage today. Power to the pumps has been partially restored and the immediate threat to water supply in this area has passed.

LADWP crews are making temporary repairs to the affected equipment and returning it to regular service. Customers may notice some reduced water pressure but this is temporary and will subside as the infrastructure comes online.

LADWP asks residents in these communities to continue conserving water, where possible, until at least tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reports approximately 130,000 of its 1.4 million electric customers are without power as high winds continue to cause outages in several neighborhoods. Approximately 127,000 of these customers are located in the Los Angeles Metro Area and the remaining 3,000 are in the San Fernando Valley. Power has already been restored to more than 80,000 customers since the wind storm began last night.

LADWP currently has over 100 crews responding to over 1,000 separate incidents and has called in crews from out of state and from other remote areas in the State of California to assist in restoration efforts.

LADWP crews are working in extremely dangerous conditions to restore power and are working as quickly and safely as possible to do so. At this time, the current estimated time of restoration for customers experiencing outages is 24 - 48 hours. Many customers will experience shorter outages, but customers experiencing outages should be prepared for up to 24 - 48 hours. LADWP asks for the patience of our customers as we work around the clock to restore service during this major wind storm.

The following areas and neighborhoods have the highest number of customers impacted:

SOUTH
South Los Angeles: 6,500
Green Meadows: 5,500
Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw: 2,400

CENTRAL/DOWNTOWN
East Hollywood: 7,500
Hollywood Hills: 5,300
Los Feliz: 5,100
Hollywood: 4,400
Chinatown: 1,700

EASTSIDE/NORTHEAST
Highland Park: 12,800
El Sereno: 11,300
Glassell Park: 9,800
Cypress Park: 9,300
Eagle Rock: 2,800
Griffith Park: 5,200
Boyle Heights: 3,800
Lincoln Heights: 3,000

VALLEY
Van Nuys – 2,100

LADWP strongly encourages the public to be vigilant and cautious to stay safe during this storm. Stay away from any downed power lines and poles as well as downed trees and limbs, and protect children home from school today from the same. Beware of traffic signals that may be affected by power outage and proceed with extreme caution. Allow access for uniformed LADWP crews, all of whom carry Department-issued identification cards, so they may service infrastructure in need of repair.

In the event of a power outage:

· Stay calm.

· Have a flashlight and extra batteries nearby. Don’t use candles in a power outage.

· Turn off lights but leave one light turned on so you will know when your service is restored.

· Turn off and unplug appliances and other electrical equipment. Unplug heat-producing items like irons and space heaters. This helps prevent circuit overloading, which could delay restoration of service.

· Call us and report your outage at 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397).

If you encounter a downed power line:

· Report any downed power lines immediately by calling the LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). If you or someone else is in danger, call 911.

· Do not touch a downed or dangling wire or anyone or anything in contact with it. Always assume a downed line is still energized.

· If a power line falls on your car, stay in the car and wait for help. If you must get out, make sure you do not touch the metal parts of the car and the ground at the same time. The safest exit method is to open the door, stand on the door sill and jump free without touching the car.

· Stay away from metal fences, such as chain link fence, as there may be a power line down and touching the fence somewhere beyond your sight.

· If there is damage to the connection from the power pole to your house, you should go to the electrical box and turn off the main switch or shut off the fuse switch. Again, always assume electric lines are live.

· In case of an electrical emergency, stay calm and think before you act. Don't become a victim while trying to help others. Call 911.

· If someone is shocked or not breathing, apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR.) Then cover the victim with a blanket, keep their head low and get medical attention.

The public and members of the media are encouraged to check the Department’s news site at www.ladwpnews.com and Twitter page, @LADWP, for updates.

High Winds Update-Water Conservation Urged for Northeast LA



Hello, Friends:

Please stay diligent and use extreme caution when dealing with aftermath of high winds we are currently experiencing. Do not, under any circumstances, approach or handle downed power lines. Call 911 in case of emergency - call DWP at 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397) to report power outages or downed power lines.

Please read below for latest update from the Department of Water and Power, including a water conservation request for select NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES communities. Stay safe, Jose

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) reports approximately 129,000 of its 1.4 million electric customers are without power as high winds continue to cause outages in several neighborhoods. Approximately 123,400 of these customers are located in the Los Angeles Metro Area and the remaining 5,600 are in the San Fernando Valley. Current estimated time of restoration for customers experiencing outages is 10 - 12 hours.

LADWP currently has over 100 crews responding to over 1,000 separate incidents and are working to restore power as quickly and safely to our customers. We strongly encourage the public to stay away from any downed power line and downed trees and tree limbs. This is especially important with many children home from school today to keep them safe.

The following areas and neighborhoods have the most number of customers impacted:

EASTSIDE/NORTHEAST

Highland Park: 14,700

El Sereno: 9,900

Glassell Park: 8,400

Eagle Rock: 6,600

Lincoln Heights: 4,700

Cypress Park: 4,600

Griffith Park: 4,600

Boyle Heights: 2,000

WESTSIDE

Venice: 12,000

Del Rey: 7,700

Westchester: 7,200

Playa del Rey: 2,500

SOUTH:Green Meadows: 5,500

South Los Angeles: 4,800

Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw: 2,400

CENTRAL/ DOWNTOWN

Hollywood: 8,700

Hollywood Hills: 5,500

Los Feliz: 5,100

Chinatown: 2,100


VALLEY

Van Nuys - 2,400

The public and members of the media are encouraged to check the Department's news site and Twitter page, @LADWP, for updates.

The next outage update will be posted at approximately Noon.

In the event of a power outage:

* Stay calm.

* Have a flashlight and extra batteries nearby. Don't use candles in a power
outage.

* Turn off lights but leave one light turned on so you will know when your service is restored.
*Turn off and unplug appliances and other electrical equipment. Unplug heat-producing items like irons and space heaters. This helps prevent circuit overloading, which could delay restoration of service.

*Call us and report your outage at 1-800-DIAL DWP (1-800-342-5397).

If you encounter a downed power line:

* Report any downed power lines immediately by calling the LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397). If you or someone else is in danger, call 911.

* Do not touch a downed or dangling wire or anyone or anything in contact with it. Always
assume a downed line is still energized.

* If a power line falls on your car, stay in the car and wait for help. If you
must get out, make sure you do not touch the metal parts of the car and the
ground at the same time. The safest exit method is to open the door, stand
on the door sill and jump free without touching the car.

*Stay away from metal fences, such as chain link fence, as there may be a
power line down and touching the fence somewhere beyond your sight.

*If there is damage to the connection from the power pole to your house, you
should go to the electrical box and turn off the main switch or shut off the
fuse switch. Again, always assume electric lines are live.

*In case of an electrical emergency, stay calm and think before you act.
Don't become a victim while trying to help others. Call 911.

*If someone is shocked or not breathing, apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
(CPR.) Then cover the victim with a blanket, keep their head low and get
medical attention.

LADWP Urges Water Conservation in Area of Northeast Los Angeles
LADWP reports that a power outage in the northeast area of Los Angeles has affected water pumping infrastructure that supplies water to the following communities:

Mt. Washington
Mt. Hermon
Monterey Hills
Cypress Park
Glassell Park
Montecito Heights

Customers in these areas are strongly urged to conserve water as much as possible until further notice. Low water pressure may be experienced during this event. Residents are asked to use water only for drinking and sanitation purposes only. Water should not be used for washing dishes, laundry and outdoor irrigation.

The boundaries of the affected area are:

York Boulevard on the north
Eagle Rock Boulevard on the west
San Fernando Road and Mercury Avenue on the south
Collis Avenue on the east

This notice is a precautionary measure as LADWP Power System crews are currently on-scene and working to safely restore power service to the affected equipment.

We will provide additional updates as the situation develops and power is restored.

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