Wesson’s Green Jobs Initiative
Historic ordinance receives strong support
Los Angeles, CA -- The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously voted to adopt a historic green retrofit and job training ordinance authored by Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr. The ordinance establishes a program to retrofit city-owned properties to green conservation standards, and to create a job training program for workers from areas with high unemployment and poverty in the City of Los Angeles to be trained in green construction technology.
“The green economy is the wave of the future. This is the type of economic stimulus program that fits right in with President Obama’s vision for revitalizing our economy,” said Wesson. “In the wake of 11% unemployment in Los Angeles, we have an innovative approach to getting our local economy moving again.”
In addition to positioning the city to take on the green economy, this first-in-the-nation plan offers a way to revitalize the inner city by providing residents with a pathway to good-paying green jobs. It also saves public tax dollars through water and energy savings, as well as helps preserve our environment by reducing the city’s carbon footprint.
The plan targets about 1,000 of the city’s 1,300 city-owned buildings over 7,500 square feet that were built prior to 1978.
The program will be overseen by an Executive Director and a Green Retrofit Development Interdepartmental Taskforce within the Mayor’s office, and a Green Retrofit Development Advisory Council comprised of members of the community.
The $250,000 initially needed for staff and planning have already been identified. Plans to tap into $2 million in Community Development Block Grant funds and Workforce Investment Act funds to begin the Workforce Training Program are in progress. The establishment of this program also puts Los Angeles in an excellent position to compete for the $500 million in federal green jobs stimulus funds.
The city will also be seeking funds through state and federal grants, as well as utilizing the Department of Water and Power’s Energy Savings Program.
The relationship between the Los Angeles City Council’s three African American members—Bernard C. Parks and Jan Perry on the one side and Herb J. Wesson on the other—shows signs of combusting into an inferno that could deplete much of what political capital the city’s African American community has left.
The latest debacle is over the way Parks and Perry’s districts have been redrawn, but other sectors of the city also have a beef with the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The political road between Sacramento and Los Angeles City Hall was being well-traveled today, with Sen. Curren Price, D-Los Angeles, and former Assemblyman Gil Cedillo claiming City Council seats and another former assemblywoman advancing to a runoff election in hopes of representing another council district.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Showdowns in three highly contested Los Angeles City Council races will be decided today, while seven candidates will compete in a special election to fill a vacant San Fernando Valley-area seat.
In the 10 weeks since the March 5 primary, outside groups mostly representing labor unions have spent more than $1.7 million to influence three runoff races in which candidates in the south Los Angeles, eastside and Hollywood areas are battling for seats on the 15-member City Council.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Los Angeles City Council today unanimously approved $18 million to house the chronically homeless, after a vote on the issue last Friday was cut short when a councilman walked out of the meeting.
The construction of 136 units of “permanent supportive housing” that include counseling, health and financial planning services would satisfy the Jones Settlement, a deal struck in 2007 after six homeless people sued the city, challenging a law that made it illegal for them to sit or lie on sidewalks.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Outgoing City Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s chief deputy will be replacing his boss on the 15-member council, while a pair of Assembly members appeared to have narrowly earned enough votes to avoid a May runoff and win seats on the panel.
Rosendahl announced last year he was suffering from cancer and announced he would not run for a third term in the council’s 11th District. His chief deputy, Mike Bonin, easily outpaced three opponents to claim the seat.
