On the dawn of the Great Depression, then-presidential candidate Herbert Hoover famously promised a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. Today, even as our nation muddles through our own Great Recession, one look at the 405 freeway during rush hour makes clear that as a nation and state, we have certainly managed to put a car in almost every garage. However, our ability to deliver on the chicken — and other healthy food items — is a challenge we absolutely must meet if we are to protect and improve the health of the people of California. While most would consider dietary choice one of the biggest hurdles to healthy living, California’s nutritional shortcomings extend beyond that of trans fat and caloric challenges, and into the disturbing realm of simple access to affordable, healthy food options. Even in the year 2011, there are urban and rural communities throughout the state whose residents do not have access to grocery stores that offer fruits, vegetables and dairy products. These communities, referred to as “food deserts,” are not only prevalent in California, but are cause for concern throughout the entire country. Residents of food deserts generally have higher incidences of premature death, and are susceptible to a variety of nutrition-related ailments, including heart disease and diabetes. Even though California’s farmers have an international reputation for their production of high quality, healthy fruits and vegetables, food deserts are a real public health problem in California. That’s why I authored Assembly Bill 581 , legislation that begins to eliminate food deserts, increases access to healthy foods and has the potential to create jobs in the local economies of food desert areas. Last year, President Obama initiated the Healthy Food Financing Initiative , a partnership between the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, to invest $340 million nationwide with the goal of eliminating food deserts across the country within seven years through innovative financing, grants and private sector engagement. AB 581 creates California’s own Healthy Food Financing Initiative, marking the beginning of an effort to assist communities of need through financing options, as well as partnerships with governmental agencies, non-profits and philanthropic groups. AB 581 also enables California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross to establish an advisory committee that will provide the Legislature with recommendations by July 1, 2012, on how to increase access to healthy foods. I have firsthand knowledge of the economic benefits that occur in communities that combat food deserts. I worked for nearly a decade to bring a full-service grocery store to the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood I now represent. The community — which was previously considered a food desert — is now home to one of the most profitable stores in the entire chain. Bringing that grocery store to the neighborhood benefitted both the public health and the local economy — something AB 581 stands to duplicate all over California. California’s farmers have been providing healthy food to people all over the world, and now the Legislature’s overwhelming bipartisan support of AB 581, coupled with Gov. Brown signing the bill into law, will increase access to healthy foods in underserved rural and urban communities, right here at home. So even if someone doesn’t have a car in their garage, they won’t have to look too far to find a healthy chicken — and vegetables — for their pot. Reprinted with permission from the “California Farm Bureau Federation’s AgAlert.” Read the original post: John A. Perez: New Law Will Increase Access to Healthy California Foods
Beverly Hills News
Posts Tagged ‘ california ’
One Arrested in Yorba Linda Slayings
Officers arrived at the Yorba Linda home after a 911 call and found two bodies. Photo Credit: OnScene Video Go here to see the original: One Arrested in Yorba Linda Slayings
Lohan signs on for nude Playboy spread
Gird your loins, folks, and get set to see a LOT more of Lohan – she’s dropping her laundry for Playboy magazine, according to reports. See the article here: Lohan signs on for nude Playboy spread
Father of actress Lindsay Lohan arrested in Tampa
In a Sept. 26, 2011 file photo, Michael Lohan attends the “Celebrity Fight Night” press conference in Beverly Hills, Ca. See original here: Father of actress Lindsay Lohan arrested in Tampa
City Firefighters Offer Tips on Disaster Preparedness
The Beverly Hills Firemen’s Association represents the city’s 77 full-time, professional firefighters and paramedics. The organization operates three stations 24-hours a day and responds to more than 6,000 incidents a year. The group would like to share the following safety tips with residents in an effort to help our community protect itself in case of an emergency: Discuss what to do in an evacuation. When told by officials, go immediately to a shelter as instructed or to the home of a friend or relative who lives out of the area. Find out about your local shelters beforehand. Know evacuation routes. Pre-establish several different routes in case certain roads are blocked or closed. Family members can become separated during an emergency. Be prepared by creating a plan for how to reach one another. Establish an out-of-area contact (such as a relative or friend) who can coordinate family members’ locations and information should you become separated. Make sure children learn the phone numbers and addresses, and know the emergency plans. Quiz children every six months so they remember what to do, where to go and whom to call in an emergency. Decide how to take care of pets. Pets are not allowed in places where food is served, so you will need to have a place to take your pets if you have to go to a shelter. Post emergency phone numbers (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) by the phone. Assemble a family disaster supplies kit that includes water, non-perishable food items, medical supplies and a flashlight, and keep a smaller one in the trunk of your vehicle. Do you have any other safety tips to share? Please post them in the comments section below. The above information is from the The Beverly Hills Firemen’s Association website . Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read the original here: City Firefighters Offer Tips on Disaster Preparedness
President Obama Tells Crowd He’s Done 60% of What He Wants to Do
President Obama has had a busy 24 hours in Los Angeles. So far, he’s spoken at two fundraising dinners in Hancock Park, eaten some classic SoCal fare , and is now heading to NBC studios to tape a segment with Jay Leno. We won’t know what he says to Leno until later, but CBS News reports that during his dinners, the President laid out what he’s accomplished so far during his tenure in the Oval Office. more › View post: President Obama Tells Crowd He’s Done 60% of What He Wants to Do
Diablo Cody at the 2011 Hollywood Awards
http://www.youtube.com/v/SVmXedbCWxw?version=3&f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata Diablo Cody talks to LA Times reporter Amy Kaufman at the 2011 Hollywood Awards. More here: Diablo Cody at the 2011 Hollywood Awards
Obama Mingles With Stars At Hollywood Fundraisers
LOS ANGELES — Actor Will Smith and basketball standout Earvin “Magic” Johnson for dinner and Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas for post-meal mingling. President Barack Obama waded into the domain of the stars Monday as he hit the California fundraising circuit in one of his busiest donor outreach trips of the season. Smith, in an elegant three-piece suit, and Johnson, the standout former point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, were guests at the home of producer James Lassiter and his wife, Mai. About 40 contributors, including actress Hillary Duff, contributed $35,800 each for a cozy dinner and a chance to chat with the president. Obama, eager to reinvigorate his supporters, ticked off his administration’s accomplishments. “Sometimes I think people forget how much has gotten done,” the president said as he urged his backers to rally once again, at the same time joking, as he often does, that he is older and grayer now. “This election won’t be as sexy as the first one.” The Lassiter dinner, followed by a larger affair at the home of Griffith and Banderas, were part of a three-day, fundraising-rich swing through Nevada, California and Colorado. California, however, is his biggest donor state and he raised about $1 million in the Los Angeles area alone during the past two fundraising quarters, according to an Associated Press review of contributions above $200. Testing a re-election theme, Obama is also telling donors that the country is suffering from an economic crisis and political crisis. “People are crying out for action,” he says. Pointing to elements of his $447 billion jobs plan that was rejected by Republican lawmakers, Obama said they likely would linger as campaign issues in 2012. “This is the fight that we’re going to have right now, and I suspect this is the fight that we’re going to have to have over the next year,” Obama told about 240 donors at a fundraising event earlier Monday at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. “The Republicans in Congress and the Republican candidates for president have made their agenda very clear.” The Las Vegas fundraiser attracted about 240 people who paid from $1,000 to $35,800 toward Obama’s re-election campaign and to the Democratic National Committee. The bigger donors met the president personally. Others at Lassiter’s Hancock Park home included Troy Carter, the manager of Grammy award winner Lady Gaga. The singer herself was a guest at a fundraiser last month at the Atherton home of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. The Griffith-Banderas event attracted about 120 donors and was aimed at Obama’s Latino supporters. It featured guests such as actress Eva Longoria and mayors Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Julian Castro of San Antonio. While in Las Vegas, Obama spelled out a plan to help homeowners refinance their homes even if their home values had dropped dramatically below what they owed on their mortgages. Obama ventured into a working class development in the Las Vegas suburbs that benefitted from a community revitalization program like one he is pushing Congress to approve now. But the president displayed campaign-style vigor, wading into the neighborhood crowd to shake hands and even lift a baby. His handlers reminded him it was time to leave, but Obama strode to yet another group of residents for one last hand shake, autograph and photograph. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Obama headed to a diverse neighborhood minutes from Lassiter’s home south of Hollywood and stopped at Roscoe’s, a popular Los Angeles chicken restaurant chain. Obama roved through the dining booths greeting customers, leaving at least one awestruck young boy holding his hand aloft after shaking the president’s hand. One man gave him a hug and a Hispanic man told his daughter that if she studied hard “you’ll be like him.” Most of his remaining time during this three-day Western swing is being spent raising money. On Tuesday he will tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” his second as president and fourth appearance overall. He also will attend fundraisers in San Francisco and Denver. Follow this link: Obama Mingles With Stars At Hollywood Fundraisers
California Billionaires
There are more California billionaires than ever, and the state of California has more billionaires than any state in America. In fact, one of every nine billionaires in the world is a Californian, officially making California the Billionaire Capitol of the World . Recognizing an apparent public fascination with magnates, barons, tycoons, moguls or wealthy business leaders, Californiality has compiled a list of 100 billionaires from California below. This blog does not speculate on the net worth of billionaires in California, which changes monthly.
It’s Food Day in L.A. So What Does That Mean?
It’s Food Day ! But wait, we eat every day so why an actual “Food” day? According to the non-profit that is sponsoring this day as dialogue they have some fairly straightforward (okay, awesome) goals. Plus, a few ways for you to get involved in the local “good food” movement. more › Visit link: It’s Food Day in L.A. So What Does That Mean?
