Wilshire Highlands

Dear Friends and Colleagues: 

This is to inform you that the Budget and Finance Committee will be recommending to City Council that the NC funding program be reduced to a total of $1M for next year - this roughly breaks down to $11,200 instead of the $50,000 per NC.   There was no change to the current rollover policy and no changes to the Mayor's proposed 20% reduction for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.  The City is faced with a budget deficit of roughly $500M and the Council recently approved moving ahead with the process of laying off over 400 people.  This is the time for Neighborhood Councils to educate and advise your elected officials as to the importance of the NC funding program as they move through their deliberations.

The Budget and Finance Committee will convene on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 to finalize their complete recommendations to send forward to the City Council.  The full City Council will then begin holding special meetings to consider the Committee's budget recommendations on Monday, May 18, 2009.   On or before June 1, 2009, the Council must approve or modify the Mayor's proposed budget and submit it to the Mayor for approval.   The Mayor then has 5 days to act on the budget as adopted by Council.  Updated Budget and Finance Committee Agendas and City Council Agendas can be found on the City's home page, City Meetings and Agendas calendar.   

If you wish to express your opinions and concerns about the Mayor's 2009-2010 Proposed Budget, you can appear for public comment at both the Budget and Finance Committee and full City Council, submit Community Impact Statements via the City Clerk, or send your letters and emails to your elected Councilmember.   You can also follow the deliberations on your home computer via Live Streaming Audio here, or on LA CityView, Channel 35, for live coverage.

This document provides interim guidance and will be updated as needed. State and local health departments should contact CDC Influenza Division Epidemiology and Prevention Branch at (404) 639-3747 (Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM or the on-call epidemiologist at (770) 488-7100 (all other times)

BACKGROUND
To date, human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been confirmed in residents of California, Texas, and Mexico. Illness signs and symptoms have consisted of influenza-like illness - fever and respiratory tract illness (cough, sore throat, runny nose), headache, muscle aches - and some cases have had vomiting and diarrhea. These cases had illness onset during late March to mid-April 2009. However, cases of severe respiratory disease, including fataloutcomes, have been reported in Mexico. The potential for exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions or invasive bacterial infection with swine influenza virus infection should be considered.

The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus that has infected humans in the U.S. and Mexico is a novel influenza A virus that has not previously been identified in North America. This virus is resistant to the antiviral medications amantadine and rimantadine, but is sensitive to oseltamivir and zanamivir. Investigations of these cases suggest that on-going human-to-human swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is occurring.