1,000 March in Westwood for Child Care

More than 1,000 people marched under a hot afternoon sun through the streets of Westwood on Sunday as part of a statewide “Care for the Children” campaign.

The one-mile walk--which included many parents pushing their toddlers in lightweight strollers--was sponsored by the California Children’s Council, a nonprofit group whose aim is to educate the public in child-care services.

Simultaneous marches, also sponsored by the group, were held in Eureka, Oakland, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara on Sunday.

The Westwood march was led by actor Danny DeVito and his wife, actress Rhea Perlman. The couple, both of whom are best known for their television performances on “Taxi” and “Cheers,” respectively, have two young daughters.

After the march, the crowd gathered behind the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard to hear several speeches, including remarks by Mayor Tom Bradley and Rep. Mel Levine (D-Los Angeles).

Many of the children at the march made hand-prints with paint on a yards-long roll of paper that is to be delivered by DeVito and Perlman to Gov. George Deukmejian on Thursday as part of an appeal for child-care funding.

Bradley urged Sacramento lawmakers to propose new legislation, blasting the governor for vetoing a child-care bill in 1984.

Levine said he plans to propose a bill in the House this week that would offer employers tax credits for providing child-care facilities.