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

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Feb 08, 2014, 09:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

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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 resident, visitors and especially our youth are no longer assaulted by alcohol ads on L.A. city-owned property."

Coalition Members include: