COMMUNITY
Signal Tribune writer’s interview with Supervisor Knabe available on YouTube
Topics of discussion in Signal Tribune writer Michelle Lecours’s recent video interview with Fourth District LA County Supervisor Don Knabe included pharmacy-filled marijuana prescriptions, children being imprisoned by prostitution, and Southland budget woes. While Knabe is not against marijuana being used for medicinal purposes and being distributed from a pharmacy, he says the patients he’s
seen on video in the dispensaries look “pretty happy.� Child sex trafficking is something usually thought to be happening in Third World countries, but with access to the border and LAX, Los Angeles is almost “an ideal situation� for pimps to entrap at-risk children and offer them up for a price several times a night, Knabe says. On budget troubles, Knabe discussed health care and other services provided for county residents suffering
from the recession. Located in Belmont shore, Lecours HQ is the command center for Lecours’s video interviews of local politicians and power-players and her story-writing for the Signal Tribune. To watch Lecours’s video, go to youtube.com/watch?v=q-OQGxKF19E &feature=g-all-u .
City of Long Beach Health Officer Dr. Mitchell Kushner is urging residents to protect themselves from mosquitoes this Labor Day weekend and during the ensuing weeks until temperatures begin to drop. While outside celebrating the unofficial end of the summer season with backyard barbecues and trips to campgrounds, parks and beaches, residents should remember that the warmer weather creates an ideal environment for mosquitoes. West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. Human cases of WNV have been reported in nearby Los Angeles and Orange counties. Although no human cases have been detected in Long Beach this season, a WNV-infected bird was recently detected in central Long Beach. Additionally, there has been significant WNV activity recently in the mid-west. Avoiding mosquitoes can reduce the risk of exposure to WNV and other mosquito-borne diseases. Long Beach health offi-
cials are advising residents to take the following precautions: • Avoid mosquito-infested areas, especially at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. • Mosquitoes can breed in standing water. Eliminate standing water on property by dumping or draining water in neglected ponds, birdbaths, fountains, buckets, old tires or anything that can hold water. Dumping or draining water will interrupt the mosquito life cycle. • Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants while outdoors at dawn or dusk. • Use mosquito repellant containing DEET, Picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Residents should follow instructions on the label and consult with your child’s pediatrician for appropriate concentrations of DEET to be used on children under the age of 2. • Keep tight-fitting screens on doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering homes and check to make sure your window screens are in good condition.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, and drain water from pool covers. • Limit the watering of lawns and outdoor plants to twice a week to avoid run off to gutters and around sprinklers.
Public health officials remind residents to not invite mosquitoes to Labor Day celebrations Source: Lecours HQ
Report dead birds and dead tree squirrels to the California Department of Health Services by calling 1-877-WNV-Bird or online at westnile.ca.gov . For further information, contact the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, Vector Control Program at (562) 5704132 or online at longbeach.gov/ health and click on “West Nile Virus.� Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/lbwnv . Further information about the WNV may be obtained at the State of California Department of Health Services website at westnile.ca.gov, or at the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile . Source: City of LB
Department of Veteran Affairs accepting applications for new training program for unemployed veterans
The Department of Veteran Affairs is now accepting applications for the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), a new training and education program for unemployed veterans to improve and advance their skills for jobs that are in high demand. VRAP is managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor and allows qualifying veterans to receive up to 12 months of job training and educational assistance, equal to the full-time Montgomery GI Bill– Active Duty rate, currently $1,473. “During my time in Congress, I have been a strong supporter of the VRAP Program and have worked to secure funding for this program and others who aim to help our veterans,â€? said Laura Richardson, U.S. Representative for California’s 37th Congressional district. “It is important for us to give back to our veterans who have given us so much. Veterans today are having a harder time finding jobs than most Americans, and unemployment among veterans is 13 percent, well above the national average. After sacrificing their time and putting their lives on the line for us, the least we can do is ensure them a job upon returning home.â€? To be eligible for the program, a veteran must: • Be 35 to 60 years old, unemployed on the day of application, and not dishonorably discharged • Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment; • Not be enrolled in a federal or
state job-training program within the last 180 days • Not receive VA compensation at the 100-percent rate due to individual unemployability (IU).
The VA hopes to fill 45,000 application slots for the 2012 fiscal year before the Sept. 30 deadline but will continue to process new applications for the 54,000 slots available in the 2013 fiscal year. Potential applicants can learn
more about VRAP and apply online at benefits.va.gov/VOW or call VA toll-free at 1-800-8271000. Information about the Department of Labor’s programs for veterans is available at dol.gov/vets . Veterans can also visit the nearly 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers across the nation, listed at servicelocator.org, for inperson assistance. Source: Richardson’s office
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SIGNAL TRIBUNE
YouTube.com
Signal Tribune writer Michelle Lecours recently interviewed Fourth District LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, who discussed marijuana prescriptions, childhood prostitution, and the Southland’s budget.
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13-0327ps_gat-ne-13-003 Š2012 lacmta
AUGUST 31, 2012