August 23, 2018 

City News Service 

A Los Angeles City Council committee today recommended more centralized oversight and inspections of oil wells, while also taking a step that would prevent the reopening of a South L.A. oil field which closed when residents complained that fumes were making them sick.

The City Council has been exploring numerous ways to control or limit the operations of oil wells in the city. A recent report from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health put the number of active wells at over 880.

The Energy, Climate Change and Environmental Justice Committee forwarded three motions to the full council, including one that would prevent an oil field operated by AllenCo Energy Co. on land leased from the Los Angeles Archdiocese from reopening by implementing a little-used law that allows the city to terminate oil drilling districts that have been inactive. The AllenCo

field in University Park, located in Councilman Gil Cedillo's District One, has been inactive since 2013, and a report from the Board of Public Works noted that the city could terminate any oil district that had been inactive for a year.

“This motion aims to align land use in our district with the current needs of our community,'' Councilman Gil Cedillo said when he introduced the motion last year. ``Times have changed and the primary concern for the communities I represent is that they live in a healthy and environmentally just neighborhood. This includes communities that are free of potentially harmful oil emissions or the potential for an oil leak. We are fighting to ensure our residents all over the district have the same quality of life.''

AllenCo voluntarily closed its oil field, at 814 W. 23rd St., in 2013 after health complaints, but Cedillo's office said the company was making efforts to reopen it.

AllenCo officials could not be reached for comment.

In 2016, City Attorney Mike Feuer said the oil field must remain closed until the operator shows it has adhered to all regulations, with even the smallest leak potentially triggering another closure.

Feuer sued the company in early 2014 and obtained an injunction forcing the facility operators to follow all relevant regulatory laws. AllenCo also agreed to pay $1.25 million in penalties, split equally between the City Attorney's and District Attorney's offices.

The committee's action would direct the city attorney's office to prepare and present an ordinance repealing the oil district where the AllenCo site is located.

The committee also moved forward a number of recommendations on centralizing the city's efforts to regulate the industry.

The Board of Public Works noted in a report that the city currently has a decentralized inspection model conducted by multiple departments over various time frames, and that there is no centralized information system for coordinating the inspections nor systematic method for sharing of data within each relevant department.

The report, which the committee approved, proposes a new annual oil well and gas facilities compliance inspection program to be coordinated by the Department of Public Works, specifically the Board of Public Works' Office of Petroleum and Natural Gas Administration and Safety.

The committee also approved a related motion seeking a number of reports and recommendations on how to centralize oversight of the oil and gas industries.

August 23, 2018 

City News Service 

A total of 7,448 homeless families and individuals are now in permanent housing due to the first full year of funding from Measure H, Los Angeles County officials reported today.

In addition, 13,524 people entered crisis, bridge and interim housing funded in whole or in part by Measure H in the first full year of implementation, including 2,179 individuals who were provided with interim housing after they were discharged from institutions such as jails or hospitals.

Measure H, a half-cent sales tax that was approved by county voters and went into effect in July 2017 is expected to generate $355 million annually for 10 years in funding dedicated to fighting homelessness.

“When voters approved Measure H, they trusted us to deliver tangible results,” Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Sheila Kuehl said.

“These first-year numbers are very encouraging. While we still have a lot of work ahead, providing permanent housing for 7,448 people experiencing homelessness and temporary housing for 13,524 more is a great start, and we will continue to build on it.”

Officials also said that more than 300 Measure H-funded homeless outreach workers, including those assigned to 36 multidisciplinary outreach teams, are now working across the county.

“The epidemic of homelessness is still a crisis, but we are making noticeable progress,” Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said. “Mobile showers, criminal expungement, and most importantly, building affordable housing is essential for restoring dignity, self-confidence and placing our most vulnerable residents into sustainable housing. Thank you to L.A. County voters for supporting Measure H to fund these critical services for those suffering from homelessness, and to help prevent homelessness before it begins.” 

August 16, 2018 

City News Service 

Police today identified three young men who were arrested in the July 1 shooting death of a community and anti-gang activist in South Los Angeles.

Garry Dorton, 48, of Los Angeles was gunned down around 7:30 p.m. July 1 in the 4500 block of South Van Ness Boulevard and died at a hospital.

The suspects, who were booked on suspicion of murder, were identified as Brandon Dixon, 24, and Dejone Wright, with bail set at $8 million and $7 million, respectively, and 18-year-old Omario Guerrero, who’s being held without bail, according to police.

Dorton was a community intervention worker for Soledad Enrichment Action Inc., a nonprofit founded in 1972 by mothers in East Los Angeles who had lost their sons to gang violence, according to the group's Facebook page. SEA provides services to high-risk individuals, families and gang-affected communities in Southern California.

At a news conference at the LAPD’s 77th Street Station this morning, Eula Hooks said her grandson was killed on her birthday.

“It’s hard for me to talk about it because it was on my birthday,” Hooks said. “I even awaken at night, thinking about my poor baby.”

Earlier, SEA posted a statement about Dorton, calling him “a wonderful man” who “spent his life fighting to prevent the senseless violence that took his life ... He worked with young people in South Los Angeles to help them avoid the kind of life he had at their age — one where violence was the norm, not the exception.”

Dorton often worked with film productions in South Los Angeles, according to the nonprofit, which said he “negotiated with various communities in which the production would take place — which often crossed enemy territories — to ensure the safety of the shoot, but he would also devise ways in which youngsters from the various territories could be persuaded to work together as part of the production.”

“... His death is tragic, but his life was a marvel. His was a story of redemption. He managed to turn his life around in ways that few people — even those with many more resources and privileges than he ever had — could do,” according to the SEA. “Through his strength and perseverance, he saved himself and then he dedicated his life to saving others. His is a life that even as we mourn should be celebrated — always.”