Crime Drops Again Citywide

Yesterday I joined LAPD Chief Beck, Mayor Villaraigosa, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and my colleagues on the City Council to announce that crime is down in the City of Los Angeles nearly 7 %. Violent Crime is down 11% and Property Crime is down nearly 6%.

Homicides dropped below 300 for the first time in decades and our City is the safest it has been since 1952. I want to thank Chief Beck and all the men and women of the LAPD for the sacrifices they make each and every day to protect us and make our city safer.

Special recognition to Captain Anita Ortega, Captain William Murphy and Captain Todd Chamberlain and their officers for their work in Council District 14. Crime continues to drop in all divisions in our district.

I also want to thank all those working in intervention and prevention programs. Gang crime in our city dropped 11% in 2010. Programs like our highly successful Summer Night Lights program are having an impact. Since 2008, gang crime has dropped 40% in the areas around the parks that offer the program. In the area around Highland Park Recreation Center, where the program was offered for the first time in 2010, gang crime fell 68%.

Despite a tough economy, we are making headway against crime in the City of Los Angeles. Let’s continue the fight in 2011.

Surplus Food: Connecting Those Who Have it With Those Who Need it

With our City’s new Surplus Food policy in place, creating a cultural shift in getting people to think about donating surplus food is as important as any policy we create.

We know the demand is there, especially in tough economic times where we are seeing the faces of those needing emergency food services change to include more children and families – including adults who might have once donated food themselves.

We know the supply is dwindling, but there is still plenty out there. With 5 million tons of good, edible food ending up in landfills every year in California we have to start thinking about donating surplus food the same way we think about recycling.

National Public Radio’s Karen Grigsby Bates did a report on our program and the need to do more. Go to our website, HelpFeedLA.org for more information on Surplus Food donations.

Operation Pothole to Launch This Weekend

As the Chair of the Public Works Committee, I wanted you to know that Operation Pothole will take place this weekend, and I want to encourage all City of Los Angeles residents to call 311 to report potholes in their area.

With the recent rains causing road damage, we’ll have 50 crews working throughout the City filling potholes on Saturday and Sunday, but we need your help to ensure that the Bureau of Street Services knows where the potholes are located.

The expanded crews will work to fill 10,000 to 15,000 potholes throughout the City this weekend.

So if you see a pothole, call 311 and let them know where it is located.

Let's Start the New Year off by Recycling Holiday Trees

As the holidays end I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and remind City of Los Angeles residents about the need to properly recycle their Christmas trees. Each year Americans dispose of 30-35 million Christmas trees.

This is why the Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Sanitation and I want you to know that we have expanded our Christmas tree collection program to make it easier for you to properly dispose your dried Holiday trees.

Simply remove all ornaments, decorations, tinsels and stand from the tree, and then place it inside the green waste bin for regular pick-up on collection day. If your Christmas tree is too big to cut and place it inside the green waste bin, simply place the tree next to your green waste bin.

If you live in a multifamily building, place your Christmas tree at the curbside on the day of collection by the Bureau of Sanitation.

Recycling Christmas trees prevents hundreds of thousands of trees from ending up in our landfills. All collected Christmas trees will be recycled into compost and mulch, which helps the environment while making our city greener.

Please visit the Bureau of Sanitation website at http://www.ci.la.ca.us/san/tree-recycle.htm for more information on Christmas Tree Recycling.