Latest news with #FieldAct
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How state earthquake regulations changed the face of this SLO County high school
At a recent basketball game in Atascadero, I noticed banners celebrating the high school's 100th-year anniversary. But when I began to research newspaper clippings on the subject, I quickly became confused. A combined high school district was formed in a 1920 election that consolidated districts in Atascadero, Santa Margarita and Pozo. The measure won overwhelmingly, according to the Daily Telegram of March 1, 1920. The totals were 512-4 in favor. At the time, it was named the Margarita Black Union High School District. The mascot name, Greyhounds, was selected in a contest and announced in the Daily Telegram on Dec. 16, 1933. 'The selection met approval, since it conveyed the idea of the school colors, gray, with orange and at the same time indicating speed and cunning, and a determination to win the race,' the article said. The May 14, 1935, Daily Telegram carried a note that the student body had requested a name change. They made a unanimous appeal to the county Board of Supervisors asking the name be changed to Atascadero High School, which was granted. So after being completely confused, I sent an email to Stacey Phillips, executive assistant to the superintendent of the Atascadero Unified School District. Phillips, Lon Allan and others wrote a book on the history of the school, 'AHS: The first 100 years.' Phillips said the move to form a high school district began in 1919, and the first class of five girls graduated in 1921, the same year the original high school building was dedicated. COVID disrupted the actual century celebration, so it's a case of better late than never. In January 2017, the school was in the process of tearing down the last of the old buildings and cracked open a time capsule buried in the walls. A story by Lindsey Holden documented the contents of the 95-year-old copper tube: newspapers, photographs, coins and blueprints. It was lucky to last that long. There aren't many century-old school buildings in California. When an estimated 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Southern California in March 1933, many schools collapsed. The moderately large earthquake was one the of largest modern-era quakes at that time. Unreinforced masonry walls fell into piles around buildings. One child was killed, though the toll would have been much higher if it had struck during school hours, instead of shortly before 5 pm. The Long Beach quake produced photos of catastrophic failures, and the Field Act was the result. Schools had to be built or retrofitted to a higher standard. Many of the old, stately buildings were torn down. The bell tower at Atascadero was one such structure to be removed. And because of that, one of the original Atascadero High buildings was once caught in a strange legal limbo. Phil Dirkx wrote this story Sept. 12, 1972. An Atascadero school building is unique because of its unsafe condition. It has become a precedent-setting case. The building in question is the old gym-theater building on the Atascadero High School campus. It was built in 1922. It was rehabilitated in 1934, the year after the state Field Act set the standards for earthquake safety for school buildings. At the time it was believed to meet the requirements of the Field Act. However, in recent years engineers hired by the Atascadero Unified School District have declared it unsafe for students to use, according to the standards in the Field Act. Since then the students have been generally kept out of the building except for an Air Force ROTC class that will meet there this year with the doors open and on a limited basis. The Atascadero Unified School District has applied for a state loan which is available to replace buildings that have been condemned because of the Field Act. The amount of the loan is based on the square feet of the building being condemned. The gym-theater building has 18,126 square feet. If this can qualify for replacement under the state loan program, it can approximately double the amount that can be financed. District Supt. David Gray says that without the gym-theater square footage, the district can borrow enough to build the library-instructional materials center it is planning at the high school at a cost of about $275,000. If the gym-theater can qualify, the district would also be able to borrow enough to build a music room, agriculture shop and other shop additions. This would mean the total cost of the new construction at the high school would be between $500,000 and $600,000. The district hired the State Office of Architecture and Construction to examine the building in August. The engineers from that department declared the gym-theater unsafe for student use under Field Act Standards. Gray says that this makes the big building the first school building in the state to be declared unsafe despite its having been rehabilitated after the Field Act was passed. Gray said that because of the precedent-setting nature of the case, the State Office of Local Assistance was unable to make a decision on the loan application. He will have to take it before the local Allocations Board. This board is made up of two state senators, two assemblymen, the director of the Office of Local Assistance, the associate superintendent of Public Instruction and the deputy director of General Services. Gray said he will appear before this board in Sacramento on Sept. 20.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The Last Century of Fires, Floods and Destruction Bring on Disaster Déjà Vu
SOMETIMES we feel as if we've seen it all. L.A. has been attacked by aliens and zombies in the movies but none of that compares to the real-life destruction we saw in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Insurance companies describe wildfires as an act of God, and God has been busy destroying SoCal over and over for the past century. We always come back stronger. New regulations following the 1933 earthquake strengthened school buildings. After scores died when the L.A. river jumped its banks, the Army Corps of Engineers built a concrete channel so that would never happen again. California's governor has made 57 disaster declarations this decade with more than half being wildfires. Here's a look back at some of L.A.'s biggest natural and man-made disasters.1928 ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER Soon after the giant dam structure a few miles north of Santa Clarita was built, it failed, killing an estimated 450 residents and ending the career of William Mulholland, who first brought a water supply to Los Angeles.1933 LONG BEACH EARTHQUAKEJust a month after the 6.4 quake that destroyed much of Long Beach and killed 120 people, the state adopted the Field Act. This early building code outlined new regulations to help make structures, especially hospitals and schools, safer. Twenty thousand homes were destroyed or seriously damaged, with damage estimates of $50 million — or $1.2 billion today. 1934 CRESCENTA VALLEY FLOOD A month after wildfires swept through the San Gabriel mountains, a foot of rain fell on the barren land, causing a flood that quickly swept through north Glendale. On Dec. 31, 1933, flood waters overtook the American Legion Hall, where a crowd, including volunteers from the Red Cross, had taken refuge. Twelve were killed at the hall and local historians say that 284 death certificates were signed in the Montrose community alone.1938 LOS ANGELES FLOOD Throughout L.A. history, floods have killed more people than fires or earthquakes. After five days of rain, some 115 people were killed and 6,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Damages are estimated at a billion dollars in today's money. A few months later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began pouring concrete to channel the river to avoid another disaster. 1992 LOS ANGELES RIOTS The most devastating civil unrest in American history left 58 dead and more than $1 billion in property damage that was spread all over Los Angeles County. The fires, looting and destruction stretched from Pacoima to Long Beach.1994 NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKELos Angeles was jolted awake at 4:31 a.m. by the 6.7 magnitude temblor, which carved a wide path of destruction. Freeways collapsed, apartments pancaked and reconstruction took years. In the end, 72 were dead and damages were estimated at $20 billion.2017 WILDFIRESThere were 29 wildfires across Southern California, including the massive Thomas Fire, that December. One firefighter and one civilian were killed, and more than 1,300 buildings were destroyed. Damages were estimated at $3.5 billion. 2020 COVID-19 Even though masks and sanitizer are not as prevalent as they were four years ago, COVID continues to have a big impact on our lives. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reports that 14,840 Angelenos have died from the disease, with the total number in the county somewhere over 36,000. _
