https://lacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/3db641e60de9451fa70e69dd5dadbce4
COVID-19 Map from the County of Los Angeles
Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council
Government Resources for Relief Due to COVID-19
FEDERAL UPDATE:
- Friday afternoon, President Trump signed the CARES Act – a $2 trillion economic rescue package that will provide relief to many groups affected by the coronavirus. This plan will offer assistance to tens of millions of American households affected by the coronavirus by providing stimulus payments to individuals, expanded unemployment coverage, student loan changes, different retirement account rules and more. To learn more, click here.
STATE UPDATE:
- Information about state information and resources for residents seeking financial assistance due to COVID-19 here.
- On Tuesday, Governor Newsom announced many financial institutions will provide relief for a vast majority of Californians during the COVID-19 crisis in the form of a 90-day grace period for mortgage payments and more. To learn more, click here.
COUNTY UPDATE:
- Information about county resources for residents seeking help due to COVID-19 here.
- County Health Officer orders directing SELF-QUARANTINE and SELF-ISOLATION and temporary closure of county beaches and hiking trails.
- LA Metro buses and trains are running on a reduced schedule. Latest schedule here. Passengers are asked to board/exit buses from the rear doors only.
- Metrolink schedule and service reduced. Latest schedule here.
CITY UPDATE:
- Information about city resources for residents seeking help due to COVID-19 here.
- Emergency eviction moratorium extended to April 19, 2020.
- 8 rec centers are up and running as temporary shelter for unhoused residents. 5 more estimated to come online by the end of the weekend. Hope of the Valley is the nonprofit partner helping to operate the Granada Hills and Northridge Park Recreation Center, which are both
- Coronavirus.lacity.org/
getconnected – for information about free and low-cost internet connections for all Angelenos. - Coronavirus.lacity.org/
medicalworker – if you are a medical worker and you’d like to volunteer to support the COVID-19 response. - Coronavirus.lacity.org/
laprotects – if you want to partner with the City to make more protective gear for first responders and essential workers. - Corona-virus.la – to see if you are eligible for COVID-19 testing.
SCHOOLS:
- 60 Grab N Go centers are open across the district. LAUSD students may pick up 2 meals daily per student. Visit lausd.net for more information, or call the following phone hotlines:
- For families: (213) 443-1300
- For school leaders: (213) 241-2000
- For employees: (213) 241-2700
BUSINESS AND EMPLOYEE RESOURCES
Mayor Garcetti Issues “Safer at Home” Emergency Order to Los Angeles
Mayor Garcetti issues “Safer at Home” emergency order – ordering all residents of the City of L.A. to stay inside their residences and immediately limit all non-essential movement. Coronavirus.LACity.org
El alcalde Garcetti anuncia la orden de emergencia “Más Protegidos en Casa”, ordenando a todos los residentes de la Ciudad de Los Ángeles que permanezcan dentro de sus residencias y limiten de inmediato las actividades que no son esenciales. Coronavirus.LACity.org
CA Senator Hertzberg: “Virus and the Valley: We’re in this Together”
March 17, 2020
Neighbors and Friends,
These are challenging days, and there will be more ahead. We’re doing all we can to help the nurses, doctors, and healthcare workers on the front lines of this crisis.
At the same time, I want to make sure that everyone in the San Fernando Valley gets the information and support they need. I’m especially concerned about our seniors and others who are most vulnerable to COVID-19.
With these regular updates, we hope to keep you informed about how our communities are addressing this outbreak, the services available, and suggestions to help keep yourself and your loved ones healthy and safe. If you have a specific question or concern, please click here to send an email for follow-up by my staff.
If anyplace knows how to handle a crisis, it’s the San Fernando Valley. We know that times can be hard, but we also know that challenges like these can bring out the very best in us. Let’s remember, we’re all in this together. — Bob Hertzberg
FIRST CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
Los Angeles County Public Health Department has identified confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northridge, Sherman Oaks and Encino. Officials reported a countywide total Monday of 94 cases, and of these, at least 15 likely due to community transmission. “We are seeing a significant increase in cases and evidence of community spread as more testing occurs,” said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “We are implementing more social distancing requirements and we expect everyone to do their part.” To see the breakdown of cases by city go to http://publichealth.lacounty.
LEGISLATURE TO ADDRESS EMERGENCY FUNDING
Lawmakers met Monday to consider setting aside $500 million to address the COVID-19 state emergency. Funds are expected to be used to lease and activate two hospitals, provide hotel beds for people experiencing homelessness, support local government efforts to reduce spread of COVID-19 among the homeless, buy hospital and public health surge equipment, assist hospitals and nursing homes, clean child care facilities so they remain open; and fund teams to support seniors during isolation. The Legislature is also expected to consider a measure providing $100 million to help schools address the emergency.
GOVERNOR CALLS FOR HOME ISOLATION OF SENIORS
Governor Gavin Newsom has called for those who are 65 or older and those with chronic conditions to isolate in their homes as they face the greatest risk from COVID-19. He also requested that visitation of patients in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, senior and assisted living homes be for “end of life” only.
VALLEY MEAL SITES FOR SENIORS CLOSED, MEAL DISTRIBUTION STARTING
While meal sites are closed effective Monday, packaged and frozen meals will be distributed at sites for older adults at some locations. See here for a map with detailed plans for each meal site. The Congregate Meal Program at the ONEgeneration Senior Enrichment Center, Canoga Park Senior Center and the Owensmouth Gardens Dining Center will hand out meals from noon to 1 pm. Learn more by calling (213) 482-7252 or at https://aging.lacity.org/
LOS ANGELES PARKS CLOSING ALL SENIOR CITIZEN CENTERS
Senior citizen centers are closed at all Los Angeles parks and recreation facilities. Dining centers for older adults will be contacting participants to provide information regarding meal distribution at the dining centers. Home delivered meals will continue to be delivered. Older adults can contact the centers they participate at directly or reach the LA City Department of Aging at (213) 482-7252.
SENIOR FOOD BANK OPEN TUESDAY
ONEgeneration will provide food bank service at 1 pm on Tuesday. Please call their main office at (818) 705-2345, or learn more at http://www.onegeneration.org/
LAUSD TO OPEN FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS WEDNESDAY
Starting Wednesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District will open family resource centers weekdays from 6 am to 6 pm. While locations and details are still being finalized, several will be in the San Fernando Valley, providing supervised places where children can learn, receive a meal, and engage with peers. Space will be limited, and the centers will carry out recommended public health measures, including social distancing, and checking the temperatures of children who attend. LAUSD will establish some grab and go locations for food distribution. For additional information go to www.lausd.net or call (213) 443-1300.
CA ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES PRICE-GOUGING ALERT
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has issued a price gouging alert. Under Penal Code Section 396, price gouging is illegal in all California communities during the declared state of emergency. California law prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10 percent, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business. You can report price gouging to the Attorney General’s office at (800) 952-5225 or https://oag.ca.gov/consumers. More information is available here.
MAYOR ISSUES MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS
Mayor Eric Garcetti has ordered a moratorium on evictions of residential tenants who demonstrate an inability to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include loss of income due to a COVID-19 related workplace closure, child care expenditures due to school closures, health care expenses related to being ill with COVID-19 or caring for a household member who is ill with COVID-19, or reasonable expenditures that stem from government-ordered emergency measures. Tenants will have up to six months to repay any back due rent. Learn more at: https://www.lamayor.org/sites/g/files/wph446/f/article/files/Mayor%20Garcetti%20Emergency%20Order%20-%20March%2015%202020.pdf
STATE TAX FILING DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF
State Controller Betty Yee announced that individual taxpayers, partnerships and LLCs will now have until June 15 to file their tax returns and pay any taxes owed. Those who have quarterly estimated payments due on April 15 will now also have until Jun 15 to make those payments. Taxpayers filing under this extended deadline relief should note “Coronavirus” on top of the tax return. The Franchise Tax Board will also waive interest, late filing, and late penalty fees. Learn more at www.ftb.ca.gov.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, DISABILITY, AND PAID FAMILY LEAVE
The California Employment Development Department has developed guidelines for those who are ill, caring for sick family members, or whose job has been disrupted by the Coronavirus. The guidelines address quarantine-related reduction of hours, missing work due to school closure-related childcare needs, and work loss due to age/underlying health-related isolation, among others. Learn more at https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_
PROTECTING YOUR COMMUNITY AND THE ONES YOU LOVE
Everyone has a role to play. So much of protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense things you learned as a kindergartner:
- Washing hands with soap and water.
- Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
- Follow guidance from public health officials.
- It is also important that anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, call their health care provider first before seeking medical care.
- Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.
REMEMBER, WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER
If you have a specific question or concern, please click here to send an email or call my office at (818) 901-5588. And please connect with me on Facebook and Twitter as my office continues to provide more information regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Bob Hertzberg
Representing the San Fernando Valley, CA District 18
Census 2020 – Are You Ready To Be Counted?
Census 2020 is around the corner. The results will determine not only our representation in Congress, but how more than $115 billion is spent every year on California schools, healthcare, housing, transportation, and other vital programs in our neighborhoods.
But we won’t get an accurate count in 2020 unless everyone participates.
Your 2020 Census invitation should arrive in your mailbox this month. To submit your responses online please use the user ID included in your mailing and submit responses at census.lacity.org.
Did you know…
- Los Angeles County is the hardest-to-count in the country.
- It is estimated that the City of Los Angeles receives billions every year in federal funding.
- Census data helps drive funding for programs like Medi-Cal, Title 1 grants, Special Education grants, SNAP (food stamps), Head Start, the repair and construction of highways, bridges, roads, and more.
- For the first time since obtaining statehood in 1850, California missed an opportunity to gain a seat in Congress after the 2010 Census by an estimated 13,000 individuals.
California & City of Los Angeles Declare Coronavirus Official Emergency
A declaration of a state of emergency is a preparedness measure. It authorizes government agencies to mobilize resources quickly to respond to any noted threat. For this reason, while there are still only a few known active coronavirus cases in California, Governor Newsom and Mayor Garcetti have declared an official state of emergency for both the State of California and the City of Los Angeles, to allocate the resources necessary to preparing for and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Please visit these links to learn what the City of Los Angeles is doing with regard to coronavirus, and to read the declarations from the Mayor and the Governor.
All the Census 2020 Information We Could Find
2020 Census Checklist
Penalties have increased for illegal dumping
Penalties have increased for illegal dumping. Dumping waste, materials, packaging, and equipment on L.A. streets, sidewalks, and alleys or in public bins is a crime and is subject to increased fines or criminal prosecution.
The City is cracking down on those who trash our sidewalks and streets. Penalties for violations under City and/or State law are punishable from a $200 fine up to as much as $25,000 and/or jail time.
Surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the City. Footage from these and private business cameras is being used as evidence in pursuing criminal cases against illegal dumpers.
Undercover and uniformed officers have been deployed in an effort to catch illegal dumping in real-time.
Citizen Reporting: the MyLA311 app has been updated to make it easier for witnesses of illegal dumping with evidence or first-hand information to report it to the City for investigation.
Collect $3,000 — Free — To Retrofit Your Home
When a big earthquake hits your area, your house might fly off its foundation and collapse if:
- It’s wood–framed
- Built before 1980
- Has a crawl space and/or a cripple wall
- It’s never been retrofitted before
The good news is that this year the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is offering as much as $3,000 each to 4,400 California homeowners to help pay for retrofitting their places.
There are an estimated 1.2 million homes across the state that could be vulnerable, according to the CEA. Considering it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in fixes, and years out of your house if your home is thrown off of its foundation, the program might be worth looking into.
More info here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6782011-Earthquake-Brace-Bolt.html#document/p1/a551657
We have all the details:
Primary sources:
New Vote Centers Open This Weekend, But Most Angelenos Have No Idea
From https://laist.com/latest/post/20200221/vote-centers-primary-election-polling-places
Election “Day” is so 2016. Californians have been voting by mail since the beginning of this month, and in L.A. and Orange Counties, voting in-person starts Saturday morning, when the first round of centralized “vote centers” will open.
Let’s recap the changes for WHERE to vote:
- Most neighborhood polling places are going away, so your old voting spot may no longer be there. Instead, you’ll probably have to travel a bit farther to a new vote center.
The first group of these centers is open for 11 days beginning this weekend. The rest open on Feb. 29th, through election day.
- You can go to any location in the county where you’re registered — and you don’t need to bring a mail-in ballot to surrender if you decide to vote in-person.
HOW to vote is also different in 2020:
- In L.A. County, most in-person voters will use a new ballot marking machine that prints a paper ballot. If you’d rather vote on paper at your kitchen table, you have until Tuesday, Feb. 25 to request a vote-by-mail ballot.
WILL THESE CHANGES LEAVE SOME VOTERS BEHIND?
New research is painting a troubling picture about whether Angelenos know about the new vote centers, spelled out in a 2016 law called the Voter’s Choice Act.
On Thursday, the USC Price-Schwarzenegger Institute published results from its California Issues Poll showing just over 37% of likely voters in the 15 counties implementing Voter’s Choice Act changes in 2020 were aware that where and how to cast ballots was changing.
In Los Angeles, 62.2% either didn’t know about the changes or couldn’t answer the question. In contrast, over half of respondents (51%) in Orange County knew about the changes.
GO DEEPER:
Photos from the CD12 Town Hall
Granada Hills Community Conversation with Councilmember John Lee – Sunday, February 16
Sunday, February 16
6:00 pm
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
12227 Balboa Blvd
Granada Hills, CA 91344
Please join your Granada Hills neighbors for an important discussion about Balboa Boulevard resurfacing, homelessness, public safety, and more!
— light refreshments will be served —
GHNNC Has Some Open Board Seats
Come join us! Please email [email protected] if you have an interest in helping us to improve Granada Hills North.
Draft EIR Report on the City’s Sidewalk Repair Program is Now Available for Public Comment
The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the City’s Sidewalk Repair Program is now available for public review and comment. The comment period closes on February 24, 2020.
The report is available on the City’s website at this link: https://sidewalks.lacity.org/environmental-impact-report. As one can imagine, this is a very large report but it is posted online in sections so you should be able to review or download it in pieces.
In addition, hard copies of the report are available at three public libraries in Council District 12. These are:
Granada Hills Library at 10640 Petit Ave., Granada Hills (map)
Mid Valley Regional Library at 16244 Nordhoff St., North Hills (map)
Chatsworth Branch Library at 21052 Devonshire St., Chatsworth (map).
Details on how to submit comments are available at this link:
https://sidewalks.lacity.org/
If you have any questions on how to submit comments, please send an email to [email protected].
The City will also be holding seven public meetings to discuss the EIR and receive public input. The two meetings closest to Granada Hills are here:
Sunland-Tujunga Branch Library
7771 W Foothill Blvd., Tujunga, CA 92042 (map)
January 29, 2020 at 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Reseda Recreation Center
18411 W Victory Blvd., Reseda, CA 91335 (map)
February 6, 2020 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Trash Pick-up Moved Forward by One Day Starting December 25th
🚨 HOLIDAY SERVICE REMINDER 🚨 – Due to the holiday, LA Sanitation offices will be closed on Wednesday December 25th. There will be no bin collection service on Christmas Day. If your collection day is normally on Wednesday, your bins will be serviced Thursday. If your collection day is Thursday, your bins will be serviced Friday. If your bins are usually serviced on Friday, collection will be pushed to Saturday. Sanitation will resume their standard collection schedule on Monday – December, 30th and Tuesday – December, 31st.
In addition, your bin collection services may be impacted during heavy rain, if it’s deemed too dangerous to attempt collections on your street/neighborhood. Collections will be completed as soon as streets are dry enough and safe to travel. Thanks for your patience! Please visit their website at www.lacitysan.org/holidayschedule for information about other holidays. Although the LA Sanitation offices will be closed on December 25th, their Customer Care Center is available to assist you twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year at 1-800-773-2489. Also, Marketing will have limited access to their social accounts during the holidays. Please call their call center with any questions you may have about their programs and services. We wish you a safe, healthy, and sustainable holiday season!
Granada Hills Tree Lighting Video
Video courtesy of Mark Hovater.
Prevent Fire Hazards: Water Your Christmas Tree Every Day
Before you rush out to work or to complete your shopping, please take a moment this morning to fill the reservoir stand of your natural Christmas tree with fresh water!
https://twitter.com/i/status/1208046952992137217
New Interactive Map Shows Homelessness and Housing Across LA County
Los Angeles County now has an interactive map allowing you to view the distribution of the County’s current homeless population, as well as sites where shelter or supportive housing already exists or is under development. Info on population numbers and density is drawn from the January 2019 Countywide Homeless Count. New info and capabilities will continue to be added to this map tool, which just launched Dec 12.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/400d7b75f18747c4ae1ad22d662781a3
Peach Fruit Fly Eradication Activities – Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, and Northridge
On October 31, 2019, the County Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures (ACWM) detected two Peach Fruit Flies (PFF), a major agricultural pest, in Granada Hills. In response, the ACWM will be implementing eradication efforts to prevent the growth and spread of the pest infestations, and protect backyard fruit, community gardens, and California’s commercial agriculture.
The eradication effort will include the use of an attractant to lure the flies to a “bait station”. Specifically, small spots of bait will be squirted onto street-side tree trunks, with approximately 600 such bait stations placed about eight feet up on trees. The flies feed on the bait and are killed by a small amount of natural pesticide in the bait. These activities will be occurring this month, and possibly extend into December, and will take place in parts of Granada Hills, Porter Ranch, and Northridge as shown in the map below.
Residents with questions about this or any exotic pest can call the California Department of Food and Agriculture Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.
LADWP Turf Replacement Program – Free Workshops and $3 per Square Foot Rebate
LADWP customers interested in transforming their lawns to drought-tolerant landscaping have a free resource in the form of hands-on workshops offered by LADWP’s Turf Replacement Program. The free workshops tach customers how to remove turf, grade soil for capturing rainwater, and the step-by-step process to create sustainable landscapes in their own yards.
LADWP’s residential customers are now eligible to receive $3 per square foot rebate for up to 5,000 square feet of turf removed (up to a potential $15,000 in rebates!).
For more information on attending or hosting a Workshop, visit www.lawnbegonedwp.com. For rebate and incentive details, please visit www.ladwp.com/landscaping.