LOS ANGELES COUNTY I: Supervisor Urges State Intervention in Trauma Crisis

      In the latest step to obtain state funding for Los Angeles County's ailing trauma care system, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky threatened Friday to place an initiative on the 2002 ballot to "commandeer state money for local health needs" if the state fails to provide some financial relief for the county, the Los Angeles Times reports. The initiative, which is still in the planning stages, would earmark hundreds of millions of dollars from the state's tobacco settlement for local trauma services. Calling the proposal "a 'grenade' left on the table" for state politicians, Yaroslavsky vowed to move forward with the plan unless the county receives "satisfaction from the governor and the Legislature on these issues." Accusing the state of making a "calculated decision" to refuse aid to the county despite a $13 billion state surplus, Yaroslavsky said he will develop and circulate the ballot language this fall, and will begin fundraising and gathering signatures unless the state takes action. On Tuesday, county supervisors are scheduled to discuss how to keep the "tottering" system running for the next two years, but they warn that only state aid can keep the network running in the long term (Riccardi, 9/9).