Mayor to Discuss Safety in Business Area

Mayor Richard Riordan will speak Tuesday about public safety during the monthly meeting of the Sepulveda and Van Nuys Boulevards Business Watch.

The main priority of the Business Watch, in which dozens of Valley businesses participate, is to increase safety in the Van Nuys area. The group has established a weekly street cleanup program and a graffiti task force and has installed public phones on Sepulveda Boulevard in its efforts to battle crime.

Tuesday’s meeting, which will be held from 11 a.m. to noon, is free and open to the public. It will take place at Economy Office Furniture, 6300 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Van Nuys.

Riordan’s appearance at the Business Watch meeting will be one of four events he is scheduled to attend in the Valley on Tuesday.

At noon, the mayor will be at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys, where the Los Angeles Kiwanis Club will celebrate its 82nd anniversary.

At 1:30 p.m., Riordan will be joined by officers from a Los Angeles Police Department bicycle detail in Studio City for a walking tour of Ventura Boulevard. The mayor will meet with area business owners to discuss their rebuilding experiences after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

At 3 p.m., the mayor will talk to employees at the Disney Online offices in North Hollywood about the entertainment industry’s role in the growth of the local economy.