Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Councilmember Ryu Wants to Expand Ballot Drop-Off Access, Make Al Fesco Program Permanent, and Incentivize Telecommuting

City Councilmember David Ryu has introduced motions to make it easier to drop off ballots for the November election, make the City’s outdoor dining program permanent, and incentivize telecommuting options for workers.

Mindful of the upcoming November election, this has been a busy week for CD4 Councilmember David Ryu as he seeks to make it easier to drop off ballots and make permanent programs developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryu won the support of the City Council for his motion to incentivize private businesses to offer more telecommuting options. The motion seeks to encourage businesses to adopt remote work policies, allowing more workers to work from home, and reducing commuter traffic, carbon emissions, and smog. If implemented, the practice would make permanent the 20 percent improvement in the city’s air quality that resulted from the Safer at Home order.

Motion to Expand Ballot Drop-Off Access

Pan Pacific Park was a voting center for the March Primary.

Ryu also introduced a motion this week instructing the City Clerk to report on options to expand ballot drop-off centers for the November 2020 election. Ryu’s motion seeks to put ballot drop-off locations throughout the City, so voters can safely deposit a mail-in ballot without relying on the US Postal Service.

“Americans have fought and died to secure the right to vote, and we won’t let Donald Trump or his enablers take that away,” Ryu said in a press statement. “California is fortunate to have universal mail-in voting, but during the COVID-19 pandemic and cuts at the USPS, we need to expand our resources to ensure every Angeleno can vote easily and safely.”

With COVID-19 still active, alternatives to in-person voting have become crucial to that ensure everyone, including seniors and immuno-compromised people, can still cast their ballots.

Ryu’s motion comes as Democrats in the U.S. Congress have challenged Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee, who has proposed cuts in services that have been centered mostly in urban areas, greatly affecting small businesses and communities of color and possibly resulting in voter suppression. DeJoy, who testified before a Congressional panel on changes to the USPS this week, announced a “pause” to planned changes at the USPS on August 18.

“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it.”

“Americans have fought and died to secure the right to vote, and we won’t let Donald Trump or his enablers take that away,” Ryu said. “California is fortunate to have universal mail-in voting, but during the COVID-19 pandemic and cuts at the USPS, we need to expand our resources to ensure every Angeleno can vote easily and safely.”

The motion was seconded by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and referred to the Rules Committee.  You can read the full text of the motion here.

Permanent Outdoor Dining Motion

Al Fresco dining on Larchmont Blvd.  Le Petit Greek, Village Pizzeria and Vernetti Italian Restaurant have all expanded into the street for safer, socially distant dining. (photo from Le Petit Greek)

Also this week,  Ryu introduced a motion to establish a permanent version of “LA Al Fresco,” a program launched by Mayor Eric Garcetti earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.  The program allows restaurants more outdoor seating by expanding into parking lots, sidewalks, and other areas. Ryu had also introduced legislation in May seeking outdoor, sidewalk, and parking lot dining before the Mayor announced the LA Al Fresco program.

“LA Al Fresco has been a lifeline to our local restaurants,” Ryu said. “It’s a resource that should be permanent in the City of Los Angeles. We need more programs that cut through red tape to support local businesses and give communities a new sense of vibrancy. I commend the Mayor for creating LA Al Fresco, and I think it should be here to stay.”

Currently, 1,586 Los Angeles restaurants are participating in the program, which Mayor Garcetti recently extended to the end of 2020. Restaurants can apply and receive approval in as little as one day. In its most recent phase, LA Al Fresco will dedicate 55% of program resources to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) businesses or located in areas that have experienced disproportionate job loss due to COVID-19.

Ryu’s motion seeks a “permanent Al Fresco program that allows a streamlined outdoor dining permitting process” for interested restaurants.  Ryu also introduced legislation to establish a local wage-replacement program earlier this month.

Read the motion here.

City Council Approves Ryu Motion to  Cut Pollution with Telecommuting Incentives

We’re fortunate to always be able to work from home . This bee stopped by to check out a story.

Finally this week, the Los Angeles City Council approved a motion introduced by Ryu to incentivize telecommuting options among private businesses. The motion seeks to encourage businesses to adopt remote work policies, allowing more workers to work from home, reducing commuter traffic, as well as carbon emissions and smog.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to adapt a remote work and telecommuting model,” Ryu said. “This also happens to be the more climate-friendly model, and it should be the future of work in Los Angeles. I’m proud to see the City Council take this step to tackle climate change, reduce traffic and build a healthier future by changing the way we commute.”

The motion instructs City departments and agencies to report back on the health and economic costs related to unhealthy levels of smog, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5, one of the most harmful forms of air pollution. The motion also seeks a cost comparison on telecommuting versus traditional work settings, including the cost of renting office space, furniture and utilities. It further seeks financial and tax relief options to incentivize private industry to adopt flexible work schedules and increased telecommuting options.

After decades of progress, the air quality in Los Angeles has been worsening in recent years, disportionately harming Black, Latino, and Asian communities. Los Angeles had 153 days of unhealthy PM2.5 levels in 2019, which has been linked to respiratory illnesses like asthma. According to Physicians for Social Responsibility, air pollution related illness costs Los Angeles roughly $22 billion a year.

Los Angeles saw significantly cleaner air at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Safer at Home order. A recent study from UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability found a 20 percent gain in air quality in Southern California, and statewide traffic reductions of 80 percent since the Safer at Home order took effect.

Those gains may be short-lived, however, without progressive policy changes. Immediately following the financial crisis of 2008, global CO2 emissions decreased by 1.4 percent, only to rise by 5.9 percent in 2010.

 

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Patricia Lombard
Patricia Lombard
Patricia Lombard is the publisher of the Larchmont Buzz. Patty lives with her family in Fremont Place. She has been active in neighborhood issues since moving here in 1989. Her pictorial history, "Larchmont" for Arcadia Press is available at Chevalier's Books.

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