Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s Blog

I was glad to hear that the gang injunction I called for after the tragic death of Cheryl Green against the 204th Street and Eastside Torrance gangs was finally secured yesterday. These thugs have terrorized the Harbor Gateway for too long.

While this is an important step to keep the community safe, we need to provide programs that focus on gang prevention, job training and after-school programs throughout the city to make sure our young people do not join gangs in the first place.

Check out Larry Altman’s story in the Daily Breeze today for more details.

I am glad that my colleagues joined me yesterday in support of the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act, which was just signed by the President. The bill authorizes the U.S. to join MARPOL Annex VI, an international treaty that will reduce air pollution created by large diesel-powered, ocean-going ships by requiring low-sulfur fuels.

We know that ships represent the single largest source of emissions at the Port of Los Angeles. Although we are making strides locally, we still have a long way to go. While shippers may be voluntarily using low sulfur fuel here, they continue to burn dirty fuel outside our harbor and in most harbors around the world. The MARPOL treaty is an important step to secure a needed international solution.

I wanted to thank the community for coming to the planning department hearing on Ponte Vista that was held on June 26. Well over 600 people showed up to voice their opinion on the controversial project.

I was pleased to be able to testify and share where I stand on the project.  While I support a project at the Ponte Vista site, I do not support this project. It is simply too big for North San Pedro. I am asking the planning department to recommend a denial of the 1950-unit proposal and to ask the developer to rework this project and propose something that we can all agree will benefit this community long-term.

For those of you who couldn’t be there during public comment you still have an opportunity to make sure your voice is heard. The deadline for public comment is July 11. I encourage you to send your information to the city planning department by e-mail at david.olivo@lacity.org.

This past week I joined Watts Gang Task Force members Donny and Hank to celebrate the start of the Nickerson Gardens Moonlight Basketball League. I was so proud to work with the Housing Authority and Rec. and Parks to organize this league.

This basketball league offers an opportunity for communities from across the city to better know each other and improve relations with the LAPD. Additionally, it provides young men with activities for the next eight weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There are 12 teams in the league, including teams from the LAPD and communities of Pasadena, South Los Angeles and Wilmington.

I wanted to share a story in this morning’s Daily Breeze and a recent op-ed Connie Rice and Deputy Chief Charlie Beck contributed to the Daily News with everybody. There are a few key passages from the Daily Breeze article I would like to highlight:

“a review of the Fox 11 News story found major flaws that undermine its central allegations. Most notably, records and interviews show that the gang intervention workers identified in the report have not received city funding. Additionally, a convicted rapist was wrongly identified as a gang intervention worker, and Hahn was mistakenly accused of providing funds directly to gang workers.”

…

“(Charlie) Beck, the deputy chief, said the reassignment was not due to political pressure.

‘It had nothing to do with Janice Hahn,’ Beck said. ‘Her input wasn’t solicited or given.’”

While I know that most of you would never believe the horrible tabloid journalism that was exhibited on Fox 11 last week, it has been brought to my attention that a number of people are continuing the gossip and mistruths from those terrible pieces.  So, I wanted to drop you a quick note so that you could hear directly from me and also be prepared if you hear these things out and about in our community.

First, everyone must know that the allegations that I have assisted or funded gang members, which ran on Fox 11 last week are outrageous, ridiculous and false.  The entire story was based on statements made by desperate criminal gang members that would say anything to avoid going to jail.  I have never paid these gang members, never had them work for me nor have I ever helped them to get out of jail.

I also want you all to know that I do not condone hiring current gang members to do any gang intervention work in Los Angeles.  However, I do agree with Chief Bratton that the only way to ever get rid of gangs in Los Angeles is through the three-pronged approach-using suppression, prevention and yes, intervention. And I, of course, still believe that preventing kids from joining gangs in the first place is the only way to end the grip that gangs have on our young people.  This is why I support the Gang Alternative Program (GAP) which was founded by Angie Papadakis.

It is no secret that the current Bridges intervention program, as run by the Community Development Department, has oversight and accountability problems.  Residents of Los Angeles deserve to know how their tax money is being spent. I am pleased to say that the City Council has voted and by the end of the year, LA Bridges will no longer exist.  However, the good work of our intervention workers at Toberman Settlement House will continue in another way.  Under the Mayor’s office, gang intervention workers will go through thorough training and we will work closely with the LAPD to ensure that the people that are hired are not active gang members.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not touch on what has been happening in Watts over the past two years.  I have been working closely with community members in Watts and with the LAPD, and I am so proud that homicides in this community are down by 50%–this is truly unprecedented and historic.  For the first time, the community is working side by side with police officers to share information and keep the peace.  Our work in Watts has been praised by the LAPD, the City Attorney, Chief Bratton, the Mayor and the Police Commission.  It is currently being replicated all over the City, including in Wilmington and the Harbor Gateway.  It is unfortunate that Fox 11 would take the hard work we have been doing in Watts as an opportunity to smear my name and others in the Watts community.

I hope this helps to explain the terrible stories that ran on Fox.  It was truly irresponsible journalism.  I know I can count on you to help me spread the truth.

Also, you can read an op-ed regarding this in the LA Sentinel .

www.lasentinel.net/The-Harvest-is-Great-and-the-Workers-are-Few.html

Wow, the last few days have been really busy. I was in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with our federal officials to make sure California gets its fair share of federal money. It is simply not right that for every $1 we send to Washington we only get back .79 cents.

There are two areas where I think Washington is really letting us down, infrastructure and homeland security spending. As discussed in the recent DWP rate hikes, our infrastructure is aging and needs to be updated. Washington needs to help us ensure we have a structure of roads, railroad lines and airports that are needed to let our region thrive.

The Port of Los Angeles is a central economic engine for our country. As the primary entrance port for billions of goods for overseas it is particularly vulnerable to a terrorist threat. As a matter of fact, we receive fewer homeland security funds per capita than any other state. I was really shocked to here that per person Wyoming receives more than seven times the homeland security dollars than California does.

After arriving back at my favorite airport in the world, LAX, I quickly rushed down to join the Teamsters in there rally for workers’ rights. I was really honored to be the only public officials to speak to the teamsters at the rally. It was a privilege to march with these hard working men and women to the big “Hollywood to the Docks” event.

I was really impressed at the incredible turnout last night. The energy from the crowd was incredible. On a personal note, I was glad my son Danny (a member of the ILWU) was able to hear my speech honoring the hard working men and woman of the Labor movement.

I was on KCRW’s public affairs program “Which Way L.A.?” this evening. The only way we will ever win the war on gangs if by finally providing our young people with real alternatives to joining gangs. I look forward to hearing everybody’s thoughts!

Audio Link to Program

There was a great article in today’s Daily Breeze I wanted to share with everybody. I am really glad that the City Council, Controller Chick and the Mayor have worked together to put together this plan to address gang violence.

The article concluded with a section on the anti-gang tax I want to put on the ballot in November. An excerpt below:

Anti-gang tax

Councilwoman Janice Hahn said she was happy to see the mayor’s plan to dedicate more money to gang prevention and intervention.

“What’s important is that we’re taking action. We’ve done the studies, we’ve seen the reports, the evidence is in. We need to act,” said Hahn, who has proposed a $30-a-year parcel tax to raise $40million for anti-gang programs.

But Chick expressed some concern about proposing a tax when the tax and fee increases are on the horizon to help balance city and state budgets.

“The public is having hard times, too,” Chick said. “I just do not see how there is a whole running to the trough here and asking for more tax dollars.”

Police Chief William J. Bratton, who supported Chick’s recommendation that all anti-gang programs be placed under mayoral control, applauded the plan.

“If somebody says, `I want to take responsibility; you can hold me accountable,’ … he’s up for election in another year so if it falls apart you basically don’t elect him.

“It’s going to be a big, big plus,” Bratton said.

I am so honored to be a delegate for the woman who will be our country’s first female President! Last Sunday I attended a caucus where Hillary Clinton supporters in CD 36 gathered to select four delegates (one is an alternate) to attend the convention in Denver and vote for Hillary to be our nominee.

The energy and excitement of the election has simply been amazing. This nomination could come down to a fight on the convention floor. This being my first experience as a delegate on the floor, I look forward to representing Hillary and meeting my fellow Democrats from across the country. In this election we must protect a woman’s right to chose, education for every child and healthcare for all. I am proud to serve as a delegate for Hillary Clinton — the candidate with the experience to improve and protect our country.

Here is my op-ed that was in the Daily Breeze this morning.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are responsible for more than 40 percent of the goods moved in the nation. They contribute about $52 billion and half a million jobs annually to the Los Angeles region. But, this industry also costs lives every year, with port-related emissions causing 2,400 premature deaths and 1.1 million school absences throughout the state.

The ports are responsible for more air emissions than a half of a million cars, a refinery and a power plant combined. The asthma rate for children who live around the ports is twice as high as other areas.

I believe that both dirty trucks and the plight of the independent truck driver pose a huge risk for our ports and our ability to deliver goods efficiently and safely. For too long, it has felt as though the only people paying attention to this public health crisis were those of us who live in the Harbor Area, even though the statistics clearly show that truck pollution is truly a regional public health problem, not just a local issue. And pollution from trucks, which accounts for 40percent of the pollution in the harbor, has been one of the biggest challenges in terms of cleaning up the ports.

Trapped in a system

The current system is broken. Independent port drivers bear the entire burden for owning and operating their trucks, but they lack any ability to negotiate rates with the trucking firms used by the shippers. As a result, low-wage workers who take home roughly $29,000 per year after expenses, fuel, repairs and insurance, idle behind the wheels of diesel-spewing rigs that, on average, were built in 1994.

Most truckers, according to a recent Los Angeles Times story, can’t afford basic repairs and resort to having bald tires “re-treaded” by hot knives on the black market. Citing safety concerns, these drivers blew the whistle on lax regulation, hoping to change the “sweatshop on wheels” system they are trapped in. We must always remember that there is a human element in goods movement - and that includes the men and women who work on the docks every day, as well as the truckers.

Working with a wide range of stakeholders, L.A. port officials developed a thoughtful and innovative policy that would both drastically reduce health risks and provide a stable workforce to drive the trucks. The Clean Trucks Program adopted by the Harbor Commission last week will greatly improve efficiency at the port while reducing diesel emissions by 80percent in the first five years alone.

The port will soon replace or finance the retrofit of every dirty diesel truck working at the ports. They will ban older trucks from entering our port. But in order to protect the investment, we must implement strong standards that would require - and reward - the trucking industry for assuming full responsibility for the trucks. These companies will employ the truckers, providing them with fair wages and benefits, and also be responsible for maintaining the trucks to keep the air clean.

More green jobs

The Clean Trucks Program is also a great opportunity to create good jobs for people all over Los Angeles so that more people can benefit from our booming international trade industry. There is a training and workforce development component to this plan, and I hope that we can expand this to create green jobs relating to the port trucking and logistics industry.

We need to encourage business investment in clean alternative-technology trucks and all the associated jobs to build and maintain those trucks.

The Clean Trucks Program gets us one step closer to green growth at the port. We know the port will continue to grow, but we must ensure that the growth does not impact our health. This way, we can all breathe easier for years to come.