Mayor Weintraub's Sept. 25 Address

Press release from the City of Calabasas:

September 30 2020

SEE FULL ADDRESS BELOW:

With all the focus on brushfires lately, we tend to forget the threat of earthquakes is very real. Case in point, last weekend's magnitude 4.5 quake centered in South El Monte was Mother's Nature reminder that an earthquake can happen at any time. Fortunately, it was small enough to not cause any injuries or damage - just some frayed nerves for some.

Still, it is a good reminder to be prepared for ANY emergency.

The City of Calabasas has a great Emergency Preparedness Guide that you can see on the City's website at:
www.cityofcalabasas.com/home/showdocument?id=6763
Before an earthquake:

* Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them.
* Create a disaster preparedness plan.
* Identify your building's potential weaknesses and begin to fix them.

During an earthquake

* If you are indoors, stay there! Get under a desk or table and hold on to it (Remember: DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON). Stay clear of fireplaces, windows and appliances. Get out of the kitchen. Do not run downstairs or go outside because there could be a danger of items falling on you.

* If you are outdoors, get away from buildings, chimneys, power lines and stay in the open.

* If you are driving, carefully come to a stop and stay inside your car until shaking stops. Move far away from traffic. DO NOT stop under a bridge, overpass, trees, light posts, powerlines or anything that could fall on you. When the shaking stops, look out for debris on the road, broken pavement and bumps in the road.

We are continuing to try to assist residents with their EDD claims. It seems that this system continues to cause grief for many of those filing claims. I wanted to make sure everyone who was filing was aware that the California EDD is not accepting any new unemployment claims for two weeks. The agency is working to prevent fraud and figure out how to deal with a massive backlog of claims in its system. Nearly 600,000 Californians are caught in the backlog and are waiting for their claims to be processed. The agency says it hopes the pause will help clear that backlog while, at the same time, they put in place new training and procedures to stop fraud.

We are halfway through our great Calabasas Film Festival. It runs through Sunday. Yes, it's mostly online this year, but tonight, there's a drive-in movie at the King Gillette Ranch - it is a screening of the upcoming film Honest Thief, starting Liam Neeson. You have to buy tickets in advance. For more information, go to: www.calabasasfilmfestival.com

Halloween will look different this year - with trick-or-treating not exactly being encouraged. But the City of Calabasas is working to fill some of that void. We will have safe alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating for the whole family. Details will be on the City's website next week, so stay tuned.

I wanted to share a great leadership opportunity for Calabasas residents ages 14-21. Join the Mayor's Youth Council to learn about public service, develop Community programming relevant to issues impacting youth and build a stronger voice for Calabasas' future. We have had some great meetings this year with our young residents involved in the Mayor's Youth Council. But the members' terms are about to expire, and we will soon have openings on the Council. For more info, go to: https://www.cityofcalabasas.com/home/showdocument?id=18703

Slow but steady progress on the battle against COVID. The rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop. LA County is evaluating all the numbers but, so far, no changes are planned on guidelines for schools or increased capacities for businesses. The best thing we can do is continue to wear a mask and maintain social distancing guidelines.

Information for all Calabasas non-profits. Supervisor Kuehl has established a Discretionary Funding program that is intended to award grants to a variety of Third District (includes Calabasas) organizations for projects that promote and enhance the quality of life for Third District Constituents.

The deadline to apply for LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl's Discretionary Grants is less than two weeks away. Next Thursday, October 1st is the deadline! If you are a non-profit organization in the 3rd Supervisorial District, please consider applying: https://supervisorkuehl.com/grants/

Time for another update on the Census. I would like to give another plug for the Census. As of today, the self-response rate in Calabasas is 73.5% with the total response rate (self-response + follow-up visits/phone calls) for California at more than 97%. Great job. The Census ends next Wednesday. If you have not done so already, please complete your Census material at www.Census.gov

Your Census information is vital because it is what determines our representation in the halls of government and funding for many programs. Filling out the Census takes less than 15 minutes and it is private.

Have a great weekend.

Alicia

This press release was produced by the City of Calabasas. The views expressed here are the author’s own.