L.A. City Hall, overrun with rats, might remove all carpets amid typhus fears
LA TimesLos Angeles City Hall draped with the American flag in 2017. City Council President Herb Wesson on Wednesday submitted a motion asking the city to report back on the “scope of vermin and pest control issues” at City Hall and adjoining city buildings. His motion doesn’t pinpoint an exact reason for the rats, which tend to seek shelter when it’s rainy and cold, but does note the demolition of the nearby Parker Center and “ongoing cleanup issues near the Civic Center complex.” Last year, county officials declared a typhus outbreak in downtown Los Angeles. City Clerk Holly Wolcott, who works on City Hall’s third floor, said a flea bit her ankle last fall. When Elizabeth Greenwood, a deputy city attorney, came down with typhus, she said she suffered a 102-degree fever, spells of vertigo and “the worst headache I have ever had in my life.” She works in City Hall East, a building connected to City Hall.
History of this topic
Long before City Hall rats, L.A. has struggled with the rise of typhus
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