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Rave Events At LA Coliseum To Pass Security, Planning Checks

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Rave events can still be held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the adjacent Sports Arena, but organizers will be required to submit detailed security and operational plans at least two months in advance for review by the Coliseum Commission, the panel decided Wednesday.

Coliseum Commission member Rick Caruso made a motion to re-impose a moratorium on raves that was enacted in June after 15-year-old Sasha Rodriguez, who attended the Electric Daisy Carnival at the Coliseum, died from complications of Ecstasy intoxication.

The commission voted in November to lift that ban.

But Caruso eventually agreed to a suggestion by commission member and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who said rave organizers should be required to submit plans 60 days in advance so the commission can review them. The commission would then determine whether to issue permits for the event.

Coliseum officials said there is only one rave planned at the venue between now and June — the Electric Daisy Carnival.

On Tuesday, Yaroslavsky and Supervisor Don Knabe, who is also a member of the commission, called for a new set of safety measures at all electronic music festivals. The measures are based on recommendations included in a Nov. 5 Department of Public Health report put together with help from police, promoters and public health officials.

The safety measures suggested by the report include:
— requiring rave-goers to be at least 18;
— giving wristbands to anyone 21 or older, so that concession workers could tell who was old enough to drink alcohol;
— instituting "cool-off" breaks during the show;
— closing all raves down by 2 a.m.;
— briefing event staffers about drug overdose symptoms and heat
exhaustion; and
— requiring that medical personnel be on site in case of an emergency.

Public service announcements would be made, and warnings about Ecstasy and other drugs would be given out.

Coliseum General Manager Pat Lynch said earlier that the commission lifted the ban based on reviews of how raves were successfully handled Aug. 21 and Oct. 23 at the Sports Arena. Permits for those raves had been issued prior to the moratorium being imposed.

About 80 people were arrested at the Love Festival at the Sports Arena, and 16 people were treated by paramedics or taken to hospitals. At Monster Massive in October, about 40 people were arrested, and 16 people treated for medical conditions.


(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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