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VOLUME 7,
NO. 51
California adopts emergency drought rules, some already in effect in L.A. BY CITY NEWS SERVICE
C
alifornia officials Tuesday adopted a series of emergency drought rules to help the state conserve water, but many of the restrictions are already in place in the city of Los Angeles. The temporary rules adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday will be in effect for one year and are aimed at promoting water conservation and preventing unreasonable water waste. People who violate the rules could face up to $500 for each day in which the violation occurs. Among the new statewide rules already in effect in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s website, are prohibitions on watering lawns and landscapes during or within 48 hours of rainfall; watering in a way that causes runoff into streets, driveways and gutters; washing hardsurfaced areas such as driveways and sidewalks with potable water; and washing vehicles with a
hose that doesn’t have a shut-off nozzle. The statewide rules also prohibit people from using potable water to fill decorative fountains, lakes and ponds. People can use water to replace evaporative losses from fountains, lakes and ponds that have pumps to recirculate water. The rules also prohibit using potable water to irrigate turf on public street medians or publicly owned or maintained landscaped areas between the street and sidewalk. Los Angeles has remained in Phase 2 of the city’s Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance since 2009, according to the DWP. That phase limits plant watering to three days a week and limits cycles to up to eight minutes per station per watering day for non-conserving nozzle sprinkler systems, or two 15-minute cycles per watering day for conserving nozzle sprinkler systems. It also prohibits all outdoor watering between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
| Photo courtesy of Global Water Partnership/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Orange County prosecutor, Assembly candidate dies at 46 of COVID-19 A 46-year-old Orange County deputy district attorney planning to run again for the Assembly has died of COVID-19 complications, friends said last week. Kelly Ernby died last Sunday. She specialized in environmental and consumer law. She joined the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in October 2011, after being an associate with the Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher firm from 2002
through 2011. “I have a huge pit in my stomach right now and I am so sad for our loss,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in an email to staff. Ernby received a promotion about one month ago and “had one rung to go on the promotion ladder,” Assistant District Attorney Shawn Nelson told City News Service. In an email to staff, Spitzer said, “I have a huge
pit in my stomach right now and I am so sad for our loss.” Nelson said she was well-liked and had the type of personality to be close to Spitzer as well as Susan Kang, who was chief of staff for Spitzer’s predecessor, Tony Rackauckas, who was ousted by Spitzer in 2018 following a bitter campaign. “She could not have been more supportive of Todd and his efforts,” Nelson said. “And yet, to this day, she
remained very close friends with Susan.” Kang told City News Service she was still stunned by the news. “She was going to announce her candidacy this week for Assembly,” Kang said. Ernby was a political novice when she sought Kang’s help in her campaign for the 74th Assembly District seat in 2020. Ernby finishing last in the three-
candidate primary with 22.4%. Fellow Republican Diane Dixon, a Newport Beach councilwoman, was second with 25.2%. Democrat Cottie PetrieNorris defeated Dixon, 50.5%-49.5%, in the general election to win a second term. Kang said Ernby was “instrumental in a case that we did against a fetal tissue clinic” that was accused of illegally making a profit of
fetal tissue sales. “Without her I don’t know if we would have gotten the results we did on that case,” Kang said. “But she was the type of person if you gave her a case she was like a dog on a bone.” Nelson and Kang said Ernby argued cases several
See OC prosecutor Page 6