Home / Media / News Stories

News Story Archive

News Story Manager

  • January

    Col. Mark Toy, commander of the Army Corps' Los Angeles District, receives a Jan. 7 briefing and inspects the area in Sepulveda Basin where vegetation removal in early December 2012 led to concerns from environmentalists and local residents.

    District commander addresses LA River Committee about Sepulveda clearing

    Col. Mark Toy, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, addressed the LA City Council Ad Hoc River Committee Jan. 28, telling members that despite not adhering to the District's best management practices to properly communicate vegetation management activities in the Sepulveda Basin, his focus is to identify and work with the right people to develop a consensus on ways to move forward with flood risk reduction, ecosystem management and recreation in the basin.
  • PHOENIX - Drew Savage, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Arizona/Nevada Area Office, speaks with business representatives during the first Business Opportunities Open House held Jan. 29 at the Phoenix office. The event was an open forum designed to let business owners learn about contract opportunities and to learn how to do business with the Corps.

    Arizona/Nevada Area Office hosts Business Opportunities Open House

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Arizona/Nevada Area Office hosted its first Business Opportunities Open House at its downtown office Jan. 29. The event was an open forum designed to let business owners learn about contract opportunities and to learn how to do business with the Corps.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, delivers last minute instructions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics students at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles Jan. 18. Bostick and Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, South Pacific Division Commander Brig. Gen. Michael C. Wehr and his district commanders visited the school during Great Minds in STEM's Viva Technology Day.

    STEM students building bridges to bright futures

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, delivers last minute instructions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics students at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles Jan. 18.
  • The Society of American Military Engineers featured U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick as their keynote speaker at Quiet Canon Country Club in Montebello, Calif., Jan. 18. Bostick addressed more than 100 SAME members and guests during their 27th annual joint breakfast meeting.

    USACE commander looks at lessons learned for the Corps way ahead

    The Society of American Military Engineers featured U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick as their keynote speaker at Quiet Canon Country Club in Montebello, Calif., Jan. 18. Bostick addressed more than 100 SAME members and guests during their 27th annual joint breakfast meeting.
  • Maj. Gen. William D. Frink, Jr., 79th Sustainment Support Command commander addresses fellow Soldiers, community members and civic leaders at the opening of the Army Reserve Center at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, Calif., Jan. 12. The facility is certified LEED Gold under guidelines established by the U.S. Green Building Council who rates a project for its design and achievement in categories like sustainability, water efficiency, energy conservation and design innovation.

    Historic Los Alamitos base now home to state-of-the-art headquarters

    For a sustainable future, Corps projects like this one are designed using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program. LEED is how the U.S. Green Building Council rates a project for its design and achievement in categories like sustainability, water efficiency, energy conservation and design innovation.
  • “Good vision and directing are the essence of leadership,” Col. Mark Toy tells Tier I and Tier II participants at the 2013 Leadership Development Program kickoff held Jan. 8 at the Los Angeles District headquarters.

    Future leaders kick off 2013 program

    “The most important qualities for a leader are to have a vision and to show people you care,” Col. Mark Toy said to 20 Tier I and Tier II members of Los Angeles District Leadership Development Program during the kick-off meeting held Jan. 8 at the District’s headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.
  • On Jan. 21, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Black Employment Program will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a day of service, not a day off.

    MLK holiday a day of service, not a day off

    On Jan. 21, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Black Employment Program will honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a day of service, not a day off.
  • Trash in the vegetative management area south of Burbank Boulevard. The five-year vegetation management plan is restricted to the 48 acres south of the boulevard and will reintroduce diverse, sustainable native species while maintaining the basin's primary function flood risk management.

    Work halts on Sepulveda Basin vegetation management project

    Work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's five-year vegetation management project for the Sepulveda Dam Flood Control Basin has been halted to host further discussion with the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Steering Committee and other stakeholders.

  • December

    TUCSON, Ariz. -- Col. Mark Toy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, speaks to the Tucson Post of the Society of American Military Engineers during a Dec. 19 meeting. Toy discussed the District and how the businesses represented by the SAME members could support the work the Corps is doing throughout its area of responsibility.

    LA District commander meets with Tucson engineers, lauds District members

    Col. Mark Toy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, attended the Society of American Military Engineers, Tucson Post’s, monthly meeting Dec. 19 to present information on the District and to let the assembled business leaders know how they can participate in Corps projects across the District’s area of responsibility.
  • FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District completed construction on a new bridge across Thorpe Rd which more than triples the flow capacity in the area. The "classic-looking" bridge project also contains retaining walls and the wing walls with a malapai rock veneer to provide aesthetic enhancement to the flood risk management project.

    Corps completes Thorpe Rd. Bridge

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District put the finishing touches on the bridge across Thorpe Road over the Rio de Flag in Flagstaff, Ariz. and reopened the thoroughfare to complete the project in December.
  • District Commander Col. Mark Toy unveiled two display boards Dec. 13 in the 12th floor conference room here. One for professional registrations and certifications and one for individual and organizational awards and recognition.

    District unveils display that recognizes employee professional development and personal achievement

    District Commander Col. Mark Toy unveiled two display boards Dec. 13 in the 12th floor conference room here. One that features professional registrations and certifications and one for individual and organizational awards and recognition.
  • PHOENIX - Bill Miller, a senior project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Regulatory Department in the Arizona-Nevada Area Office, speaks with a group of USACE tribal liaisons during the 9th Annual Tribal Nations Community of Practice meeting which ran from Dec. 5-7 at the Area Office. Meeting participants spoke on several topics including impediments to working with tribes, a discussion with USACE headquarters Office of Counsel on legal issues, regulatory issues and a presentation on Gregory Canyon

    LA District hosts meetings with tribal representatives, Corps tribal liaisons

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District hosted a series of meetings and training sessions the week of Dec. 3 to Dec. 7. Training included discussion from seasoned tribal liaisons and marked the first time the Corps brought together a Tribal Panel of tribal representatives who shared their ideas on how the Corps of Engineers can improve the way it participates with tribes.
  • Rep. Ken Calvert, center right, takes part in ground breaking ceremonies Dec. 8 for March Air Reserve Base's new 16,000 sq. foot airfield traffic control tower and base operations facility. Joining him are, from the left, Col. Tim McCoy, contract partner David Parkes, Col. Bo Mahaney, Moreno Valley Mayor Richard Stewart and David Van Dorpe, District deputy engineer for programs and project management.

    March ARB breaks ground on new airfield traffic control tower and base operations facility

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District joined community leaders Dec. 8 to break ground for the new March Air Reserve Base's nearly 16,000 sq. foot airfield traffic control tower and base operations facility.
  • ECCV operator Alex Watt and Emergency Operations Center intern Tito Carrillo spent a few hours getting the 47-foot vehicle, designed to serve as a temporary mobile command post, decked out for the evening's festivities. The District made its first appearance in the Seal Beach Christmas Parade which featured 110 marching groups and more than 3,600 participants Dec. 7.

    Seal Beach Christmas Parade: An opportunity to feature Corps capabilities and opportunities

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District made its first appearance in the annual Seal Beach Christmas Parade Dec. 7.

  • November

    WHY, Ariz. -- Shari Brandt, resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Tucson Resident Office, accepts a plaque of appreciation for the work done by the Corps from Jack Jeffreys, U.S. Customs and Border Protection patrol agent in charge of the Ajo Station, during a Nov. 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the station. The District served as the managing agent during construction of the new facility.

    USACE completes Ajo Border Patrol Station

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District participated in a ceremony Nov. 27 to cut the ribbon at the new Customs and Border Patrol Agency's Ajo Station. The facility covers more than 30 acres and contains more than 54,000 sq feet of working space. The new $30 million project is designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver standard.
  • LOS ANGELES -- Tomas Beauchamp-Hernandez writes notes while Terri Kaplan speaks with her team during a Nov. 8 breakout session at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Strategic Planning Meeting in which various teams worked through workable applications of the South Pacific Division's Implementation Plan. During the three-day event, LA District team members heard from leaders in industry, public service and academia about the aspects of leadership and how they can apply them to their daily work life.

    District’s leaders meet at Seal Beach

    Senior leaders and emerging leaders with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District met for a three-day planning meeting Nov. 7 - 9 to highlight District commander Col. Mark Toy’s vision of “Building Strong and Taking Care of People!” and discuss plans to continue that District imperative along with implementing directives from senior commands over the course of the next year.
  • Lt. Col. Alex Deraney, Los Angeles District deputy commander, and his wife Marisa visited the San Fernando–Santa Clarita Valleys’ Habitat for Humanity booth to learn about volunteer opportunities with the Habitat for Heroes program. The Deraneys said they like to keep their family involved in the local community and what better way than helping veterans. They represented the District at the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day parade Nov. 11 in Pacoima, Calif., which also featured a carnival and information booths for community groups and service organizations like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Veterans Administration providing information for veterans and their families.

    District Supports San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade

    Lt. Col. Alex Deraney, Los Angeles District deputy commander, and his wife Marisa represented the District at the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day parade Nov. 11 in Pacoima, Calif., which also featured a carnival and information booths for community groups and service organizations like the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Veterans Administration providing information for veterans and their families.
  • TUCSON, Ariz.- Col. Mark Toy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, ceremonially completes the project at the Nov. 2 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Tucson Arroyo Project Phase II B Park Avenue Basins project while a group of students from the nearby Highland Free School cut the ribbon with Ramon Valadez, the Pima County Board of Supervisors chairman. The project, developed in partnership with the Pima County Regional Flood Control District; the City of Tucson; the Tucson Unified School District and the Corps of Engineers is designed to provide for flood risk management and ecosystem restoration along the Tucson Arroyo within the Arroyo Chico watershed.

    District helps dedicate Tucson project

    Members of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District were on hand Nov. 2 for a dedication ceremony of the Arroyo Chico Tucson Arroyo Project Phase II B Park Ave. Basins. The project provides flood risk management in the area and it is also an ecosystem restoration project. The project runs along the Tucson Arroyo in the Arroyo Chico watershed.
  • PHOENIX - Rich Fontanilla, the Area Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Arizona-Nevada Area Office, receives the Chief of Engineers Award of Excellence for Environmental Design Nov. 1 from Col. Mark Toy, the LA District commander, for work done at the Tres Rios Environmental Restoration Project, Phase II Flow Regulating and Overbank Wetlands while U.S. Representative Ed Pastor and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton look on. In partnership with the City of Phoenix and Archer-Western Contractors, Ltd., and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.the Corps' project "does an outstanding job of natural treatment for wastewater effluent while providing valuable wetland habitat," according to the write up for the award.

    District project earns environmental design award

    Col. Mark Toy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, presented the Chief of Engineers Award of Excellence for Environmental Design to the City of Phoenix and representatives from the District’s Arizona-Nevada Area Office, Archer-Western Contractors, Ltd., and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., for work done at the Tres Rios Environmental Restoration project, Phase II Flow Regulating and Overbank Wetlands, during a ceremony held Nov. 1 at Phoenix City Hall.

  • District helps clean up Papago Park Military Reservation

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is helping clean up the remnants from a decades-old underground fuel tank at Papago Park Military Reservation. The District is working with a contractor on the site to operate and monitor a dual-phase soil vapor extraction system which is designed to remove hydrocarbon vapors from the ground while pumping out contaminated groundwater.