LOS ANGELES — The day before the Academy Awards, Saturday, February 25, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., more than 260 students on 53 teams from 30 public, charter and private high schools throughout the city will compete at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) 20th Annual Science Bowl Regional Competition at the utility's downtown headquarters, 111 North Hope Street.

The winning team as the regional champion will travel to Washington, D.C. from April 26 to 30 to represent the city and compete at the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, the Science "Oscars" where it will face 68 other teams from more than 40 states.  LADWP regional championship teams are among the best in the U.S., having won four national titles and placed among the top five teams 10 times.  The trip to Washington, D.C. is funded by the Department of Energy.

Science Bowl demonstrates the LADWP's commitment to the city's youth and the Los Angeles educational community.  A proud LADWP tradition, Science Bowl tests students' reflexes, teamwork skills and knowledge of science, math and technology in a fun competitive atmosphere following a television game show format.

The participating students are among the best in the city.  The Science Bowl provides a venue that demonstrates through competition that science, math and technology are as exciting as sports.  The program enables students to showcase their talents and sharpen their academic skills.

At this year's competition students will vie for a combined $25,000 in college scholarship funds for themselves and prizes for their respective schools. First place team members will receive $1,000 Hitachi Scholarships as well as $2,000 for their school.  Other scholarships and awards are funded by First Wind, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and other sponsors.

This year, LADWP Science Bowl sponsors include not only First Wind, but also the Hitachi Southern California Regional Community Action Committee, the Hitachi Foundation, the Clary Corporation, Gelson's Markets, the Water and Power Community Credit Union, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Power and Energy Society, Metro LA Chapter, IEEE Industry Applications Society, Office Depot, the Engineers' Council, the Los Angeles Dodgers, LA CityView Ch. 35, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Energy.

LADWP has partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and other educational institutions for more than 30 years. Currently, in addition to Science Bowl, LADWP Educational Programs and partnerships include the Adopt-A-School Program, and an Electric Safety Program for grades 4-6.

LADWP provides science and math lessons as well as electric safety classroom and student activities on its website.  The utility also has produced with LA CityView Ch. 35, the Emmy-winning video "Outdoor Electric Safety" program which is offered to schools on DVD.

LADWP is the largest municipally-owned utility in the nation with more than 1.4 million customers. It has provided utility services to residents and businesses in the city of Los Angeles for more than a century.

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WALTER ZEISL
(213) 367-1342, cell (213) 923-6468
walter.zeisl@ladwp.com

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council yesterday approved an adjustment to the City of Los Angeles' Water Rate Ordinance, an action that will ensure that LADWP has sufficient revenues to complete upcoming projects necessary to comply with federal and state water quality regulations and meet compliance deadlines. The modifications include a 35-cent increase to the Water Quality Improvement Adjustment Factor, a component of the rate LADWP charges customers for water, which prior to this adjustment was insufficient to fund major legally mandated drinking water quality projects that are the subject of a compliance agreement entered into by the LADWP with the California Department of Public Health and United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"Keeping the water safe for our customers is the Water System’s top priority and to do that we need to comply with drinking water quality regulations,” said LADWP General Manager Ron Nichols. “Water rates in Los Angeles, even with this increase, remain competitive with other utilities in the region while allowing us to proceed with construction of urgently needed drinking water quality projects. It also protects our water customers from paying more over the long-term by avoiding significant penalties and fines that would result from failing to comply with legal mandates. We are grateful to the City Council for recognizing the urgency of this request.”

Compliance with State and Federal water quality regulations requires major investment in LADWP’s water distribution system, including nearly $600 million in new contracts that must be awarded in the next 12 months. The first of these contracts is for the Headworks Reservoir for $218 million, as part of LADWP's compliance requirement to cover, bypass or remove from service all 10 water reservoirs in the Los Angeles basin. Five have been covered or bypassed to date, and five more remain -- including Silver Lake and Ivanhoe, which will be replaced by the Headworks Reservoir.

The modifications to the Water Rate Ordinance approved by City Council today are subject to review by the Mayor, and are expected to take effect in late March 2012.

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners on Tuesday approved the implementation of a new program called First Source Hiring, a free job referral system designed to help local job seekers located in LADWP’s service area find employment with companies working on LADWP contracts. Administered by the LADWP Economic Development Group, the program will also benefit LADWP contractors by saving them the time and resources needed to find suitable candidates to hire.

Through a fully automated web-based job portal, job seekers can review job postings and complete online applications. Similarly, employers will be able to track applicants, prescreen, rank and sort candidates.

LADWP’s program expects to build on the success First Source has already had at other City Departments, including Los Angeles World Airports. The program will have a two-step implementation process beginning with a 12-month pilot program. During the pilot phase, it will only be open to LADWP contracts for professional services consisting of $500,000 or more in direct labor costs.

First Source Hiring replaces the former Job Opportunities Training Program, which focused solely on providing job skill training to unemployed or underemployed persons within LADWP’s service area. First Source is a more cost-effective workforce development program because it increases job seekers’ chances of finding full-time employment by directly linking them to existing employment opportunities.

For more information on First Source and participation requirements, prospective employers and job seekers should contact the LADWP Economic Development Group at 1-800-864-4409 or email edg@ladwp.com.

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