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About socalgovgis - Michael Carson

Michael Carson, GIS Manager (retired) for the City of Burbank and President of Southern California Government GIS User Group. Currently teaching GIS at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

Evictions Map

With the end of eviction protections put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, many in the LA area find themselves at risk of being evicted from their rental homes for not paying their rent.

The City of Los Angeles released an interactive map showing where the evictions are occurring. Some hotspots are Hollywood, Fairfax, Downtown LA, Koreatown, Canoga Park, and the North Hollywood Arts District. Click below to check it out. Hover over an area to get more info about the evictions.

Tropical Storm Hilary Road Closures

After quite a bit of rain from Tropical Storm Hilary, and I got over 7 inches, here is some information about road closures in unincorporated LA County:

And here is another interactive map, this one from the City of LA:

Also see the US Forest Service page on road closures: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/angeles/conditions/?cid=FSBDEV3_027722

Here are some rainfall totals: https://ktla.com/news/california/tropical-storm-hilary-how-much-rain-has-fallen-so-far/

Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Pro

For those of you that were familiar with the book “The GIS 20: Essential Skills”, here is the successor book “Top 20 Essential Skills for ArcGIS Pro”.

The new book is written by our very own Bonnie Shrewsbury and Barry Waite. Bonnie is the GIS Manager for the City of Manhattan Beach, and Barry was the GIS Manager for the City of Carson before he retired. Both Bonnie and Barry currently teach a GIS course at USC for graduate-level planning and public policy students.

Bonnie and Barry would like to thank all those who gave them case studies or have been guest lecturers over the years.

With this book, you can start using ArcGIS Pro quickly and successfully. The book will be available in September and you can currently pre-order one now.

GIS @ Rio Hondo College

Join us for a new Fall semester of 2023.  Located at the 605 & 60 freeway, Rio Hondo’s 24th year of GIS offerings are scheduled to start August 19th for both online & hybrid (one evening a week). Several optional field sessions are scheduled on Fridays or Saturdays. 

  • Introduction to GIS (GIS 120) two offerings, online or Hybrid (once a week on campus)
  • GIS 150 – Small Unmanned Aircraft System (& Photogrammetry)
  • GIS 220 – GIS Applications
  • GIS 221 – Cartography Design and GIS
  • GIS 280 – Geospatial Prog & Web Services
  • GIS 281 – Crime Mapping and Analysis

For more information, visit http://www.riohondo.edu/gis . Also a short video about the Rio Hondo GIS Program https://bit.ly/3DLLuVL 

Geography of Mars @ CSULB

Looking to take an interesting Geography course? Try out GEOG 441/541, Geography of Mars, at CSULB.

The class requires only that a student has taken introductory physical geography or general geology or a comparable course, so that they have a basic understanding of how our home planet “works.”  From that, they will acquire deep familiarity with Mars as an actual place to them, learning about Mars’ tectonic, geomorphic, and meteorological processes and the regional landscapes they produce.  They will be able to understand a lot of the martian research frontier by the end of the class and a few may be inspired to intern at JPL!

This is a “once in an academic lifetime” opportunity for students!

Here is a link to the flyer for the course —  https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/mars/MarsFlyerF23.pdf

Fireworks 2023!

While driving through Fillmore over the weekend, I noticed the firework stands that were being put together. Ah yes, July 4th is just a few days away. That means there will be fireworks again!

Use the app to view cities in LA, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino County that allow the sale and discharge of fireworks.  Included are days and times when fireworks will be sold and when you can light them up, as well as links to city websites and telephone numbers.  Data was collected from municipal codes, websites, and/or contacting each city. Data provided as is.  Some cities are allowing sales to start today AND allow you to discharge them now as well!  Check it out and be safe!