On this date in 1776, rebellious colonials launched the first modern democracy, an experiment in government controlled by the people themselves. America succeeded so well that virtually the entire world later adopted democracy with its guarantee of personal rights.

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution.

The Criminal Grand Jury of Los Angeles County attends hearings brought by the District Attorney’s Office . The objective of this jury is to determine, on the basis of evidence presented by the District Attorney’s Office, whether certain persons should be charged with crimes an d required to stand trial in Superior Court. The Criminal Grand Jury is an accusatory body and not a trial jury; therefore, the burden of proof is much lower. Specifically, the Criminal Grand Jury must decide if there is a strong suspicion the individual committed the alleged crime.

The Los Angeles County Tobacco Control Program (TCP) is part of the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the Department of Health Services. It was established as a result of the tobacco tax initiative of 1988, Proposition 99/AB75, in December of 1989. The goal of TCP is to establish policies, health services, public education, and media conditions that support the reduction of tobacco use in Los Angeles County and the associated disease, disability, and mortality.

The programs and resources developed by the Education Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are designed to extend the museum experience in the fullest possible way to the widest possible audience, both present and future. These programs provide visitors of all ages with the opportunity to expand their experience with works of art in both the museum's permanent collection an d its special exhibitions.