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Los Angeles City Council Budget & Finance Committee to Vote on Motion to Draft Ordinance Banning Alcohol Ads on L.A. Public Property



MEDIA ADVISORY
For events occurring February 10, 2014



C
ONTACT: Michael Scippa 415 548-0492
                                                                     Jorge Castillo 213 840-3336

 
Los Angeles City Council Budget & Finance Committee to Vote on Motion
to Draft Ordinance Banning Alcohol Ads on L.A. Public Property

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (February 8, 2014) – Former Massachusetts First Lady Kitty Dukakis will join Alcohol Justice, youth, adults, and community organizations that make up the Coalition to Ban Alcohol Ads on Public Property in Los Angeles (www.NoAlcoholAds.org) at a Los Angeles City Council Budget and Finance Committee hearing Monday, February 10, 2014, where a motion to draft an ordinance to prohibit alcohol ads on city-owned and controlled property will be heard. They will encourage passage of the motion introduced and supported by Council Member Paul Koretz.  If passed, the City Council will then vote to require the City Attorney to write the actual language of the ordinance.

What:        Budget and Finance Committee Hearing

When:        Monday, February 10, 2014 2 p.m.

Where:       Room 1010, Los Angeles City Hall, 200 North Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Who:           Speakers Include:

  • Paul Krekorian, Chair Budget and Finance Committee
  • Mitchell Englander, Committee Member
  • Paul Koretz, Committee Member
  • Bob Blumenfield, Committee Member
  • Mike Bonin, Committee Member
  • Kitty Dukakis, former Massachusetts First Lady
  • Jorge Castillo, Advocacy Director, Alcohol Justice
  • Christine Lee, Youth Services Manager Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Inc.
  • Sarah Blanch - Project Manager, Institute for Public Strategies
  • Richard Zaldivar – founder, The Wall – Las Memorias Project
  • Ruben Rodriguez, Executive Director, Pueblo y Salud, Inc.
  • Janice Boafo - Program Operations Supervisor, Tarzana Treatment Center
  • Terry Marquez, Chair, Boyle Heights Stakeholders Association, NW
  • Jerry Grenard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University
  • Dennis Hathaway, President, Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight
  • John O. Whitaker, Jr., CDS, CATC II, President, Paso Por Paso
  • Kevin M. Key, Community Organizer, United Coalition East Prevention Project

  • Why: 


    § Lawmakers should work to ban alcohol advertising on property that government controls, including public transportation vehicles and street furniture and restrict alcohol advertising in out-of-home locations elsewhere as well

    § Despite claims of economic necessity, revenue from alcohol ads comprises less than 1% of reporting agencies’ operating revenue

    § The City of Los Angeles, which has succeeded in getting alcohol ads off transit vehicles, should now finish the job by banning them from all public property to play a positive role in reducing exposure to alcohol ads to protect youth and reduce alcohol-related harm to all residents and visitors of the city

    § Families and youth utilize city owned and controlled property on a daily basis, such as school buildings, recreation centers, libraries and bus shelters

    § Last December, UCLA, Center for Alcohol Marketing to Youth, & Dr. Jonathan Fielding submitted clear and compelling evidence that alcohol advertising on city owned property encourages youth alcohol consumption which leads to harm

    § The L.A. County Department of Public Health has recommended reducing alcohol advertising in public spaces and in areas commonly seen by minors as a way to help discourage underage drinking

    “We are grateful to former Councilmember Alarcon and now Councilmember Koretz for their leadership on this important health and safety issue,” stated Jorge Castillo, Advocacy Director at Alcohol Justice. “We look forward to swift passage of the motion and can almost see the day when residents, visitors and especially our youth are no longer assaulted by alcohol ads on L.A. city-owned property.”

     

    Coalition Members include:

  • American Indian Movement – WEST
  • Alcohol Justice
  • Asian American Drug Abuse Program Inc.
  • Boyle Heights Stakeholders Association
  • Boyle Heights Coalition for a Safe & Drug Free Community
  • California Hispanic Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
  • Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight
  • Community Coalition
  • Institute for Public Strategies
  • Koreatown Youth & Community Center
  • Mexican History Foundation
  • Mothers of East L.A. (MELA)
  • Personal Involvement Center, Inc.
  • P3 Partnership for a Positive Pomona
  • Phoenix House
  • Pillar of Fire Church
  • Paso por Paso
  • Pueblo y Salud
  • Saving Lives Drug and Alcohol Coalition
  • Sycamore Grove School
  • Tarzana Treatment Centers & AWARE Coalition
  • The Wall – Las Memorias Project
  • United Coalition East Prevention Project
  • Woman’s Christian Temperance Union
  • Women Against Gun Violence
  • Writers In Treatment

  • Supporters include:


  • Michael & Kitty Dukakis, former Massachusetts Governor & First Lady
  • Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council
  • California Council on Alcohol Problems
  • California Alliance for Retired Americans
  • Center for Living and Learning
  • County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators’ Association of California
  • Crescenta Valley Drug & Alcohol Prevention Coalition
  • Cri-Help
  • Day One Pasadena
  • Dr. J. Benjamin Hardwick
  • Monsignor John Moretta
  • NCADD East San Gabriel & Pomona Valleys
  • Public Citizen
  • Resurrection Church Neighborhood Watch – Los Angeles
  • San Fernando Valley Partnership
  • Venice Neighborhood Council

  • For More Information go to: www.AlcoholJustice.org and www.NoAlcoholAds.org

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