Leave Food Parcels for Pickup May 9

Every year, the United States Postal Service puts on their food drive in  May. This year that will be Saturday, May 9th.

The food that is gathered is distributed to area food banks, helping those in our own community. All you need do is put non-perishable food in a bag and leave it by your mailbox. The postal carriers will pick it up when they deliver the mail.

This year it is particularly important because of the state of the economy. There are many people who are struggling to make ends meet, but there are also a lot of people who can't even afford to eat. The Postal Service asks Chatsworth residents to  support the Stamp Out Hunger food drive.  For more details, click here.

Summertime Means Loud Party Time

By Danny Del Valle
Senior Lead Officer, LAPD
 
Summertime is here and with the great weather, loud party complaints will be on the rise. 

The LAPD has recently changed its enforcement policy on loud music party violators.  In the past when a citizen called police to complain about loud music at a party, police officers generally could not immediately give a citation for the noise. 

The LAPD enforcement procedure was that on the first response to complaints of music, officers were to gather the violator's information and give the violator a warning.  Officers would then have to call the station Watch Commander, give notification, and place the violator on a Loud Music Party List.

If officers were to respond to a loud party a second time, officers then had the option to cite the violator. 

Party calls can get out of control.  I have responded to many parties for loud music that started out with 50-80 partygoers, and turned into 200-500. The new procedure allows officers to cite loud party music violators on the first police contact.  Officers will have the discretion to cite or not.

Loud music party calls sometimes result in fights, shootings, stabbings, sexual assaults, and vandalism. The policy change (for the better) will assist officers with being able to crack down on parties before they get out of control.  Besides reducing the number of calls to which officers will have to respond before being able to cite, this will be a costly incentive to the violator to stop the out of control partying. 

Officers are not going to cite all loud music party calls, but if officers feel that the conduct will continue, or the party is just too overbearing, expect a citation.  Remember to call Valley Communications at 1 (877) 275-5273 for police to respond to loud music calls.  Please feel free to contact me at (818) 363-1726 with loud music party locations that are continuous problems, so I can track and monitor.

Note: The Neighborhood Watch meeting for Basic Car 17A23 is cancelled for May because of the planned LAPD Town Hall meeting [see next story].  Our meetings are 7 p.m. the 4th Thursday of each month at Saint John Eudes Church,  9901 Mason Ave.

Foreclosed Homes Attract Trouble

By Capt. Sean Kane
From the LAPD Devonshire Community Newsletter

One of the sad outcomes of the current economic crisis is the number of families who have lost their homes due to foreclosure.  A foreclosed home doesn't just affect the family that lived in it.  A foreclosed home may impact the neighborhood and community by attracting trespassers, fraudulent renters, theft, and vandalism.  No doubt, if you have one of these houses in your neighborhood you're concerned and want to know what you can do to prevent a foreclosed home from becoming a neighborhood nuisance.

Devonshire Area is going to be presenting, "The Impact of Foreclosure and Fraud," at our Annual Town Hall Meeting, 7 p.m., Thursday, May 28, 2009, at Shepherd of the Hills Church, located at 19700 Rinaldi Street, Porter Ranch.  We will have representatives from the Department of Building and Safety, the City Attorney's Office, and Devonshire Burglary Detectives.  I hope you'll be able to join us for an informative meeting.

For more details and Neighborhood Watch information, click here.

Only $300,000 Budgeted for Park Cleanup

Water Rationing Begins June 1

Chatsworth residents must cut their water-use by 15% beginning June 1 ... or face higher fees.

A new citywide ordinance requires that any amount of water used over the Tier 1 allowance willl be charged a rate that has increased by 44%.

Councilman Greig Smith's office is still in negotiation to exempt horse owners from the 15% water-use limit if they license their horses, said Matt Myerhoff, communications director.

The so-called Phase III limits will restrict outdoor irrigation to two days a week -- on Mondays and Thursdays only. "Phase III seeks to help customers cut their water use significantly and help the City continue to supply this precious resource for the necessities of life,"  according to Stephanie Interiano of the DWP's Public Affairs Division.

"California faces a drought for the third year in a row.  This, coupled with court-imposed limits on imported water, have resulted in significant water shortages," she said.

"Statewide reservoir levels are their lowest since the 1976-78 drought and currently stand at one-third of capacity. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the source for nearly 55% of Los Angeles' water, has indicated that there is a 40% probability that they will allocate less water to their member agencies.  If the allocation is 15%, this would mean that Los Angeles would need to conserve an additional 43,000 acre-feet or approximately 14 billion gallons. The LADWP is asking its 680,000 water customers to reduce their use by an equal amount," she said.

If your water bill does not currently show your Tier 1 water allocation you can get it by contacting the DWP directly at 1 (800) 342-5397, or email waterconservationteam@ladwp.com. Starting this weekend, the DWP website LADWP.com will have a special feature that allows residents to look up their usage tiers and rates by entering their address to determine if they are currently below or above the water-use limit. Councilman Greig Smith also has a water update here.

Under Phase III water rationing, it is illegal to:

• Water using outdoor sprinklers on days except Mondays and Thursdays;
• Use water to wash any hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways or parking areas except in incidences to protect public health;
• Allow runoff onto streets and gutters from excessive watering;
• Irrigate landscaping between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Permit leaks from any pipe or fixture to go unrepaired;
• Permit watering during periods of rain;
• Water outdoors for more than 15 minutes per watering station, 10 minutes for other irrigation systems;
• Allow for the washing of a vehicle without using a hose with a self-closing, shut-off device;
• Serve water to customers in eating establishments unless requested;
• Use water to clean, fill or maintain decorative fountains unless the water is part of a recirculating system;
• Permit large landscape areas to water without rain sensors that shut off irrigation systems;
• Install non-recirculating systems in new car wash and commercial laundry systems; and
• Install single-pass cooling systems in new buildings.

Click here  for a slide show by Nance Walker-Bonnelli, utility services manager for DWP, which explains the rules.