September 19, 2013
Local News & Culture Marina del Rey
Westchester
Free S a n ta M o n i c a
P l aya d e l R e y
P l aya V i s t a Photo by Gary Walker
MR. RECYCLE AND CLEAN L.A. were part of an interactive event at the Hyperion Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey Sept. 16 at the grand opening of the Los Angeles Environmental Learning Center.
Bill to expand authority of Airport Police heads to governor By Vince Echavaria Legislation that would give Los Angeles Airport Police the same authority as other local police agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, has moved on to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown. Assembly Bill (AB) 128, authored by Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Westchester), which would expand the law enforcement powers of the police agency that patrols four Southern California airports, including Los Angeles International Airport, received
the approval of the state Senate and Assembly after prior versions failed at the committee level. Under the legislation, the Los Angeles World Airports police division would be reclassified from California Penal Code 830.22(d) to 830.1 status, a recommendation by the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). The LAPD, which operates out of a substation at LAX, and Los Angeles Port Police are currently classified as 830.1 agencies, identifying them as peace
officers. Bradford noted that with their existing classification, airport police officers lack the legal authority to perform rather routine duties such as seizing firearms at the scene of a domestic violence case, removing unsafe vehicles off the street, seizing explosive and incendiary devices, possessing explosives for canine training and enforcing laws related to false bomb reports. In some emergencies, airport police may have to call LAPD for assistance with such functions, (Continued on page 7)
Del Rey
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Playa del Rey
Interactive environmental center displays sustainability goals By Gary Walker High-ranking city officials joined students from the Los Angeles Unified School District and sanitation representatives at the grand opening of an interactive educational facility at the Hyperion Treatment Plant in Playa del Rey Sept. 16. The Los Angeles Environmental Learning Center is a 20,000-square foot learning laboratory, where children and adults can learn how the wastewater treatment plant functions, engage in interactive games and simulations designed to teach lessons in sustainability and receive a wealth of information on how city officials are planning their strategies for improving the region’s water quality. Braving an unseasonably hot morning, more than 100 people listened to city authorities talk about the history as well as the functionality of the new facility. Mayor Eric Garcetti told the
audience at a press conference prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony that it was possible to live a sustainable life in Los Angeles. “People say that we can’t live off what we have, but we can,” Garcetti said. The mayor talked about the history of Los Angeles and how water from the Owens Valley was used to transport water to Los Angeles approximately a century ago, and those same engineering techniques that export it from as far away as the Colorado River to be washed out in a more polluted way indicates “how we have our priorities backwards.” “But today we can begin to change that,” Garcetti continued. “We can change that through things like Proposition O, which refiltrates our water and puts it back into our aquifers.” Proposition O is a 2004 bond measure passed overwhelmingly by Los Angeles voters that allowed city officials to authorize
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•This Week•
PHOTO by Aleksy Volchek
LAX
M a r V i s ta
Page 11 Chad Kenney, a.k.a. Gojira at the inaugural Venice Music Crawl, one of two major Venice music festivals returning Saturday, Sept. 21.