Bass, Padilla honor wheelchair basketball birthplace
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA City Councilmember Imelda Padilla (D-Van Nuys, Arleta, Lake Balboa, Panorama City, Sun Valley, and the eastern portions of North Hills and North Hollywood) marked two years out from the Opening Ceremony of the 2028 Paralympic Games this weekend at Birmingham Community High School, the site of the first official wheelchair basketball game in 1946.
Bass officially designated the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard as “Wheelchair Basketball Square” and announced she is working with the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America and disability-focused nonprofit Muralism to install a mural honoring veterans and Paralympic athletes at the site.
The city is also offering free adaptive sports programming through its PlayLA initiative, and sidewalk repairs and curb ramp installations are set to begin next month near the Sepulveda Basin, which will host 3×3 basketball, skateboarding and BMX racing in 2028.
“My ‘Games for All’ vision is about ensuring that the Games are accessible and inclusive for all Angelenos,” said Bass. “I’m proud that we are already delivering on that — through art, through our infrastructure, and through sport. We will continue to honor and uplift the legacy of the incredible athletes before us to inspire and support the next generation of Paralympians.”
“I am incredibly proud to bring this historic celebration to Council District 6, where the first wheelchair basketball team played in this very gym. Growing up with rickets, I experienced firsthand what it means to navigate a world that was not always designed with people with disabilities in mind,” said Padilla. “As we work to make the 2028 Games truly accessible to everyone, we must ensure that Angelenos can move through our city, experience our public spaces and live their everyday lives knowing they were considered from the very beginning.”
On Nov. 25, 1946, the site — then the Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital — hosted the first official wheelchair basketball game, featuring the “Birmingham Charioteers,” an early wheelchair basketball team made up of World War II veterans and VA patients with various degrees of paralysis.
The Charioteers beat the hospital’s medical staff 16-6. Organized leagues followed by the late 1940s, and wheelchair basketball debuted at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960; it’s now played in nearly 100 countries.
Rodriguez hearing confronts racial gaps in maternal and reproductive health
Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando, Arleta, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Pacoima, Panorama City, North Hollywood, Valley Glen, Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills, North Hills), chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Latina Inequities, convened an informational hearing last week examining reproductive and maternal health disparities affecting Latina, Black and Indigenous Californians and what the state can do to close them.
The hearing, titled “Centering Equity: Advancing Reproductive Health and Improving Maternal Health Outcomes for Women of Color,” brought together California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Black Women for Wellness, the California Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Care Services, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ District IX, and Hispanas Organized for Political Equality.
“Each woman and birthing person has the right to decide if they want to become a parent — and that choice should not cost them their lives. Yet we continue to see preventable tragedies and federal cutbacks that are threatening the progress we have made,” said Rodriguez. “For too long, Latina, Black, and Indigenous people have carried the weight of a system that was not built with them in mind. Addressing reproductive health gaps and maternal mortality is a critical public health and civil rights imperative.
Presenters detailed current initiatives underway across state government, clinical practice and community health centers, and identified gaps that continue to put Latina, Black and Indigenous people at greater risk during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery.
According to the California Department of Public Health, Black families remain disproportionately affected by pregnancy-related mortality statewide, and disparities widen among pregnant people living in neighborhoods with the lowest health equity scores.
The hearing was part of the Select Committee’s broader effort to evaluate current state and community interventions and identify legislative and policy actions needed to close persistent gaps in reproductive and maternal health care for people of color in California.
Whitesides’ bipartisan bill would brace military bases for wildfires and floods
U.S. Rep. George Whitesides (D-Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, portions of San Fernando Valley) introduced the bipartisan Military Readiness Through Resilient Lands Act on Thursday alongside U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), legislation directing the Department of Defense to develop and maintain goals and metrics for assessing natural resources on military installations.
The bill responds to concerns that natural disasters and deteriorating environmental conditions on military bases can compromise operations and readiness. It would direct the Pentagon to evaluate and, where appropriate, deploy technologies to improve natural resources programs on installations; assess wildfire risk, fuel conditions, flood risk, ecosystem conditions and biodiversity to allow year-over-year comparisons; provide regular updates to integrated natural resource management plans; and expand an existing report to Congress on the progress and benefits of using those metrics.
“As our nation’s military continues to protect our country, it is imperative that our bases and installations are prepared for potential threats, including natural disasters,” said Whitesides. “If a wildfire strikes a military installation, like we saw in Camp Pendleton earlier this year, it could shut down its operations, putting all of us at risk. Through the use of advanced technology and cutting-edge monitoring systems, our military can better understand the natural resources that exist on their installations, and take preventative actions to protect the installation from threats like natural disasters.”
Carrillo to host Palmdale’s first veterans parade in November
Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale, Lancaster, Littlerock, Lake Los Angeles) is inviting Antelope Valley residents to save the date for the 1st Annual Veterans Parade, set for Saturday, Nov. 7, in Palmdale.
The inaugural event, hosted by Carrillo in partnership with the City of Palmdale and the Palmdale Sheriff’s Boosters, will feature Mayra Duarte as the Grand Marshal. Duarte is Palmdale’s 2026 Veteran of the Year, named by the city and Vets 4 Veterans Antelope Valley. She’s a U.S. Air Force combat veteran who served 10 years and deployed to Iraq, and she now works supporting Antelope Valley veterans, youth and families through Vets 4 Veterans.
“Veterans have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our nation, and this parade is an opportunity for our community to come together to honor their commitment and service,” said Carrillo. “We look forward to celebrating our veterans and recognizing the impact they continue to make in our communities.”
Lineup begins at 8 a.m. at East Avenue S and Hillcrest Drive, with the parade stepping off at 10 a.m. and ending at Domenic Massari Park. More information is available at www.AVVeteransParade.com or through Carrillo’s Palmdale District Office at 661-266-3908.
