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Over the past year-and-a-half, the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group and 39 stakeholders in local, regional, and state government, community-based organizations, environmental conservation and public health have been working with Southeast and South LA communities to develop a revitalization plan for the lower half of the LA River, which runs from Vernon to Long Beach. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance communities, bring urban parks and green spaces to underserved LA...

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office said the supervisor will remain focused on homelessness heading into 2018. Barger’s spokesman Tony Bell said this week that the county has had trouble working with the standard of care in connection with the state’s Lanterman Act and the homeless. “We’re looking at the definition of the gravely disabled,” he said. “A good percentage of the county’s homeless population are dealing with serious mental health problems. Allowing them to...

I met Susan Burton in 2010, but I had learned her name years before. I was doing research about the challenges of re-entry for people incarcerated due to our nation's cruel and biased drug war. At the time, I was in the process of writing The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - a book that aimed to expose the ways the War on Drugs had not only decimated impoverished communities of color but had also helped to birth a new system of racial and social control eerily...

Autumn has seen excruciatingly little rain, intensely low humidity, record heat and powerful winds that sparked what is so far the second largest wildfire in modern California history. "There is some evidence that the autumn on average in Southern California is going to be drier as the climate warms," UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said. The record warmth in California "is clearly a symptom of climate change," Swain said. "The likelihood of seeing record warmth and record heat waves is...

Microsoft announced earlier this month that the tech giant is broadening its AI for Earth program and committing $50 million over the next five years “to put artificial intelligence technology in the hands of individuals and organizations around the world who are working to protect our planet.” “At Microsoft, we believe artificial intelligence is a game changer,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer wrote in a recent blog announcing the funding . “Our approach as a...

Following a previous essay about my encounter with Harvey Weinstein, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed me for their 2017 Women in Entertainment issue. It is so important that the science we now have about trauma and resilience reaches a larger audience. At Echo Parenting & Education , we want people to understand that our relationships with one another, and especially our children, will determine whether we continue in these destructive cycles, or whether the trauma and abuse stop now.

L.A. Unified mental health experts say that self-care is the key to not simply surviving but thriving during the holidays and other times of stress. This means slowing down and taking time for yourself. Stretch your muscles before you get up in the morning, stick to your exercise routine and take time to take a deep breath and slow down. Through a grant from the California Endowment , funded by the David Lynch Foundation , students and staff at Gage Middle School are practicing...

Today's Press Democrat featured this promising article: "Sonoma County supervisors Tuesday created a new government office to help the region bounce back from this year’s devastating wildfires and assist with charting a formal vision for the long-term recovery of the local housing supply, the economy and other key areas. The new Office of Recovery and Resiliency will have its own budget and seven staff members, three of whom will come from the ranks of current county employees. Housed within...

Trauma -Informed Nonviolent Parenting Classes Parenting is one of the most creative and exhausting jobs you’ll ever have. Discover how to communicate in ways that deepen your relationship with your child and begin to model the skills that are proven to help your child succeed at school, have more rewarding relationships and enjoy a longer, healthier life. Yoga for Trauma Recovery This training combines physical practice with the latest science on trauma and recovery. You will learn basic...

The city of Los Angeles will launch a pilot program bringing mobile restrooms for the homeless to four sites across Los Angeles. The L.A. City Council approved the move Tuesday along with shifts in funding that will allow the city to continue operating some existing restrooms for homeless. The pilot will place a mobile restroom —meaning toilets, sinks, and showers — in Wilmington, Venice, downtown Los Angeles, and South Park. The mobile units will have varying hours, depending on community...

The report presented to the Board of Supervisors by staff with the County Equity Oversight Panel outlined in detail how employees from all departments, such as deputies and doctors, nurses and social workers, can file complaints of harassment, bullying, or retaliation related to everything from age, ancestry, religion and gender identity, to marital status and disability, for example. Such complaints can be made through e-mail, a hotline, or in person. With a $30 billion budget, Los Angeles...

Last year, a girl in Melody Gonzalez’s class at Las Palmas Middle School, in the San Gabriel Valley, started sobbing in class one day. Gonzales asked her what was wrong. The girl said her father had just been deported. “I felt terrible. There was nothing I could say or do. So I just listened,” said Gonzalez, who’s been teaching seven years. “I just tried to be there for her. I think the listening helped — now she knows she can come to me. … Just building that relationship with kids makes a...