February 21st is the only LAUSD Re-Districting Community Meeting to be held in the San Fernando Valley (Covered by Districts 3 and 6).

Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 6pm
Sepulveda Middle School Auditorium (Evans Hall)
15330 Plummer St.
North Hills, CA 91343

Click here for the LAUSD district maps that are approved for the public’s input.

• BUDGET SURVEY RESULTS are being presented…and lots more.

• All LA stakeholders invited.

• Two Deputy Mayor’s are attending. Event runs from 8:30 am – Noon.

Please RSVP to joseph.hari@lacity.org or call 310-479-3823.

Want to tell the mayor how the city’s money should be spent?  Click here for a brief video created by Neighborhood Council members about the importance of the Mayor’s Budget Survey.  The deadline is quickly approaching; the last day for participate in the budget survey is Monday, February 27th.

The link to the Mayor’s 2012 Community Budget Survey is:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012LABudgetSurvey

A hardcopy of the survey can be found on the Mayor’s budget website at:
http://mayor.lacity.org/Issues/BalancedBudget/index.htm 

Do you know of a special place that has architectural, historical, social, or cultural significance in your neighborhood? Visit MyHistoricLA.org to share your ideas!

MyHistoricLA.org is a program of SurveyLA, the citywide Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey project (www.surveyla.org).

MyHistoricLA.org is a new and innovative public participation tool that allows you to contribute information about important historic resources in your community. This information is used by professional survey teams as they systematically conduct field surveys over a multi-year period.

MyHistoricLA.org is currently engaging in the following conversations…

• Can you tell us about a place in your neighborhood that makes it special?
• Can you identify and tell us about a club house or meeting hall that played an important role in Los Angeles history?
• Do you know the location and story of any buildings, structures, or landscapes associated with the agricultural history of the San Fernando Valley?
• What Los Angeles neighborhood do you think is the best example of Post WWII residential development and suburbanization?

It’s easy to sign in and join this exciting new citywide conversation. Please spread the word — through posts, tweets or old-fashioned emails — to all of your friends and neighbors who care about Los Angeles’ history and architecture.

The Mayor’s Office, in collaboration with the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, is proud to present to you this year’s Mayor’s Community Budget Survey!!

The link to the Mayor’s 2012 Community Budget Survey is:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012LABudgetSurvey

The survey link is live. Please take now.

A hard copy of the survey can be found at www.lacity.org. Once on the City’s website, under the Mayor’s name, click on “City Budget” and follow the prompt.

The City Council took action in support of Councilman Krekorian’s recommendation that NC elections not be postponed until 2014, but be available in Fiscal Year 2012-13. The next step will be deciding how to pay for it.

The Department was asked to report back to Council on a plan to administer elections along with a budget request. General Manager Kim responded that a report could be ready for City Council consideration as soon as 4-6 weeks. A timely decision on funding is critical so that planning can begin to offer elections within the desired time.

For more information see CF 11-1912.

The Boundary Review Committee for Los Angeles County has launched a website where residents can participate in the reapportionment of supervisorial districts.

The website, redistricting.lacounty.gov, informs residents about the reapportionment process and allows them to express their views.

It also includes background information on the Boundary Review Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on how the five districts should be redrawn.

Free redistricting software is also on the site to allow people to draw their own districts.

“Our goal is to educate and empower county residents to become involved in this process,” said Supervisor Michael Antonovich. “The website is user-friendly, enabling all residents to access information and develop plans.

The committee is composed of residents from throughout the county and nominated by individual supervisors.

This week the City Council changed the City’s ordinance regulating nuisance dogs, establishing a new hearing procedure and fine structure.

Before, a citation could only be issued for licensed dogs because the citation was attached to the license. The owner first had to be forced to get a license. Under the new code, Animal Control officers can now issue citations even if the dog is unlicensed. (The dog owner must still get a license.)

A dog is a “nuisance” if it barks continuously for 10 minutes or for 30 minutes in a three-hour period. The owner first receives a written warning allowing them to improve the situation. If it persists, a hearing is held where the owner could get a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for a third offense.

To report nuisance barking dogs, please call West Valley Animal Care Center at (888) 452-7381.

At 9:30 am on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, CSUN will have a spirited and eye-opening demonstration of the utility of this ExerCircuit for individuals of all ages and fitness levels.  It is an example of how the Parks and Kinesiology can partner to make the right selection of equipment and design a circuit to provide a 24/7 free opportunity to increase the physical activity of all our citizens.

Click here for the official invitation.
You will see some unique ways to modify the equipment with add-ons which could be “checked out” like a library book at the Parks and Rec office and you will witness how our Kinesiology students can guide a participant through the ExerCircuit educating the public about how to exercise and improve their health;  we hope this kind of interaction will lead to the Parks expanding their partnership with Kinesiology for job creation for our grads to help us solve this public health epidemic.

Recognize that physical inactivity and poor nutrition are poised to overtake tobacco as the number one cause of death in the US.  So, join us and celebrate this new opportunity for the CSUN community to live a healthier life and just maybe … get some ideas for other opportunities like this throughout our state and country. 

RSVP today!  It’s free.  It’s for YOU!

Many of our neighbors are aware of the incident on campus that occurred on Sept. 27, 2011 that prompted California State University, Northridge to activate its emergency protocols and notifications. The Cal State Northridge community experienced what is becoming an all-too-familiar event on university campuses. A witness alerted university police that a male outside the Oviatt Library had indicated he might have a gun. The suspect was subsequently arrested and charged with making criminal threats and no one was hurt.

Unfortunately, events of this type are becoming more common and similar events are likely to happen in the future. That is why the university has emergency protocols. We under­stand that those who live near campus may also want to know when issues arise on campus.

The university will be launching an emergency notification service to which neighbors and friends can subscribe to receive text messages, email updates and alerts similar to Twitter feeds from campus police. We will share sign-up information inviting you to subscribe as soon as the system is set up. Similar notifi­cations are already sent to CSUN faculty, staff, and students.

In the meantime, please remember:

Cal State Northridge’s Department of Police Services is an accredited law enforcement agency with 27 sworn police officers:
. For more information, visit http://www-admn.csun.edu/police
. To report campus emergencies or crimes, call police dispatch at (818) 677-2111

Cal State Northridge uses its Facebook and Twitter accounts to disseminate emergency notifications:
. “Like” Cal State Northridge at http://www.facebook.com/calstatenorthridge
. “Like” Cal State Northridge Department of Police Services at http://www.facebook.com/csunpolice
. Follow Cal State Northridge on Twitter @csunorthridge