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LOS ANGELES (AP) The city of Los Angeles is violating thecounty health code in its Skid Row area by allowing the nation'sdensest population of homeless people to live on streets infestedwith rats, human excrement and used hypodermic needles, the LosAngeles County Department of Public Health has found. An extensive agency inspection of the downtown district foundnearly 90 rats' nests, mostly around street planters, people livingin about 60 tents on sidewalks some with animals and 90piles of human waste. The inspection last month focused on eightblocks of the 10-block district. On one block alone, close to 30piles of excrement were noted. The department ordered the city to clean up the area by this weekand will start making routine inspections, roughly every week, toensure hygiene is maintained, said Jonathan Fielding , county director of public health. "There are clear health risks," he said. "Conditions seem to havebeen exacerbated there. There are more people, more material ofdifferent kinds on the sidewalks." Some 800 people bed down on Skid Row sidewalks nightly, and 3,000others cram into its shelters and special housing. During the day,they teem into the streets. Most are mentally ill or substanceabusers. The May 21 Health Department report underscores the precarious conditions that homelessadvocates have long decried. Inspectors found 13 hypodermic needles strewn on the ground anddisposable rubber gloves tucked under tree roots. They also foundpeople were disposing of human waste including vomit, feces andbuckets of urine in storm drains. The crowded, unsanitary conditions make the area a high risk forcommunicable disease. Four cases of meningococcal disease croppedup in March 2011, and outbreaks of staph infection were reported in2005, inspectors said. The report recommended the city install more trash cans and publictoilets, provide soap, water and hand basins, and step up wastecollection. The city must implement a vermin-control program in the area andmonitor for hypodermic needle litter, the report said. Inspectors also noted the desperate condition of many of Skid Row'sresidents, including one man observed crawling across the street onhis hands and knees, another eating out of a trash can and manyunkempt people living amid garbage and debris. They recommendedincreasing efforts to get more social services to people. Sanitation workers have been intensely cleaning the neighborhood toremedy the violations, and are developing a maintenance plan, said Jane Usher , special assistant city attorney. Public health officials have conducted inspections of Skid Row inthe past in response to specific complaints, but this was the firstcomprehensive look at the neighborhood's overall sanitation,Fielding said. The inspection last month was requested by the city attorney'soffice as it gathers evidence in a bid to overturn a federaljudge's order last year prohibiting the seizure of homelesspeople's property from sidewalks without notice. The city says the order is making it difficult to clean up the areaas sanitation workers are not sure what is personal property andwhat is trash. Meanwhile, nearby businesses and residents havecomplained about the proliferation of furniture and shopping cartsand people living in tents as police have stopped removing tentsdue to the order. "The deposits on sidewalks have reached a crisis point," Ushersaid. "Conditions have deteriorated." Fielding said the county Health Department will continue to pressthe city on the problems. "The city has demonstrated a willingness to address the concerns,but ultimately, it is our responsibility," he said. For homeless advocates, who have long criticized the city's neglectof Skid Row, the violations are a black eye for the city. Attorney Carol Sobel , who sued the city over the destruction of homeless people'sproperty, said providing toilets, trash bins and soap to people hasnothing to do with confiscating people's belongings, includingimportant papers and medications, without warning. "This really is a condemnation of the city," she said. "The countyis saying, 'Come out and clean it.'" Residents said they hoped the cleanups would be ongoing. "I've been trying to get the county Public Health Department outhere for years," said community activist Jeff Page , who goes by General Jeff. "It's not like Skid Row suddenly gotdirty and infected. It's always been like this. But at least it'ssomething." ___ Contact the reporter: twitter.com/ChristinaHoag. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Rechargeable Nimh Batteries , Alkaline Battery Chargers Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Lifepo4 Rechargeable Battery today!
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