The Homeless Get a Helping Hand Fairfax High

Transcription

WWW.BEVERLYPRESS.COM
INSIDE
• Donation made
to WeHo Library.
pg. 3
Partly cloudy,
with temps
around 75º
Volume 21 No. 19
• Redistricting
forum held. pg. 4
Serving the West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities
May 12, 2011
The Homeless Get a Helping Hand Fairfax High Feels the Pain
of District Budget Cuts
n People Identified on
Hollywood Registry
Make Progress
n School Reaches Out to the Community for Help
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
I
W
n April 2010, nearly 100 volunteers fanned out across
Hollywood over three nights to
count the number of homeless
people living on the streets to
gauge the severity of the problem
and determine how to best use
available resources.
A little more than a year later,
the
Hollywood
Homeless
Registry has resulted in more than
35 people receiving housing and
new cooperation between the
agencies in Hollywood that aid
homeless people. Hollywood
4WRD, an organization comprised of numerous entities that
address the homeless situation in
Hollywood, is releasing the outcomes of the Hollywood
Homeless Registry at a ceremony
being held today at 1:30 p.m. at
the L.A. Film School. While 229
homeless people were counted
over the three nights and many
photo by Edwin Folven
have now been housed or directed
Sonny
Duron
(left),
managing
director
of
Social
Services
at Blessed
to available services, the job is far
Sacrament
in
Hollywood,
is
one
of
the
people
who
has
helped
James
from over, according to representatives. The registry is ongoing, Brown move from being homeless into temporary housing.
and since the count last year, the
number of homeless people has no intervention. Of the 413 people unaware, or have no ability, to
grown to 413, with 212 consid- on the list, 95 are veterans who are access the resources.
ered to be “vulnerable,” or likely eligible for federal aid, but live on
James Brown, a U.S. Army vetto die within five years if there is the streets because they are
See Registry page 20
hen Fairfax High’s
instrumental music director Ray Vizcarra came to
the school five years ago, there
were no music classes, marching
band or orchestra. Since then,
Vizcarra has built the school’s
music program from the ground up
into one of the most acclaimed programs in the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD), attracting approximately 100 students and
twice winning the LAUSD’s AllCity Band Championship.
Now, the district’s budget deficit
has put Fairfax High School’s
music program in jeopardy.
Vizcarra is one of eight teachers at
the high school who received layoff notices in March, and although
the district will not announce until
June exactly how many layoffs will
occur, the uncertainty has taken its
toll on Vizcarra and the other teachers, as well as students who particiSee High School page 21
Fairfax High School Jairo Solis performed on guitar with fellow student
Josie Sanchez (right) during an open house at the school on May 5.
Four Arrests Made in Murder on La Brea Council Wants DWP to
n Police Continue
Revamp Billing Policies
Search for
Additional Suspect
n Utility Re-designs
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
Bills to Make Them
Easier to Read
F
our arrests were made last
week in the shooting death of
22-year-old Lorenzo Smith,
who was killed while at a party in a
recording studio in the 1600 block of
North La Brea Avenue on April 17.
Known gang members Glen
Wagner, Miguel Estrada, Brittany
Jackson and Paul Benoit were
arrested on May 5 for the murder.
The LAPD is currently seeking one
other suspect, Kevin Anthony
White, who is believed to be in the
Compton/Lynwood area.
According to LAPD homicide
detectives, the gang members
began to argue and confronted
Smith, who was not a gang member, at approximately 3:12 a.m.
before drawing their weapons and
firing numerous shots. Smith died
at the scene, and another man was
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
T
photo by Jose Martinez
Octavia Smith, mother of murder victim Lorenzo Smith, appealed to the
public for information that will lead to the arrest of the remaining suspect.
seriously wounded. Detectives
believe the argument led to the
shooting.
“Words can’t even describe how
I feel today,” Octavia Smith, the
victim’s mother, said. “I know in
my heart that Lorenzo didn’t have
See Arrests page 22
he Los Angeles City
Council on Wednesday
unanimously passed a
motion to revamp Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power
(DWP) billing practices.
Councilmember Dennis Zine,
3rd District, chair of the Audits
and Government Efficiency
Committee, introduced the
motion on April 25 instructing the
DWP to address its customer
billing and collection issues.
According to Zine, there have
been reports that DWP bills have
been sent to residential customers
late with several months of utili-
ties charges due, requiring payments in the thousands of dollars.
Zine also requested that Los
Angeles City Controller Wendy
Greuel report on the feasibility of
conducting an independent audit
on the performance of the DWP’s
billing and collection practices,
specifically on the delay of issuing bills, to be completed at the
DWP’s expense.
DWP officials say the utility is
doing all it can to eliminate
billing delays and improve customer service, and has unveiled a
new billing format to correct
some of the issues.
“Our goal is to improve customer service at DWP,” said
DWP General Manager Ronald
Nichols. “Our prior, antiquated
bill format failed to give customers the information they need
"! "! !!!"!"
See DWP page 21
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
2 May 12, 2011
13 Chorale Concert
Calendar
T
he Ebell Chorale, the Hollywood
Master Chorale and the Los
Angeles Doctors’ Symphony will perform together for the first time on
Friday, May 13 at 8 p.m. at The Ebell
of Los Angeles. The program includes
music by Mozart, Berlioz, Brahms,
Fauré and Beethoven, and pays tribute
to Madge van Adelsberg, long-time
Ebell Chorale member. Tickets are
$20. 4400 Wilshire Blvd. (323)9311277, www.ebelleventtickets.com.
Cemetery Film
Screening
C
inespia presents an outdoor
screening of the 1958 film “Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof “ on Saturday, May
14 at 8:30 p.m. at Hollywood Forever
Cemetery. The film stars the late
actress Elizabeth Taylor in one of her
most memorable performances, and is
a screen adaptation of the Pulitzer
Prize-winning play by Tennessee
Williams. Gates open at 7 p.m.
Admission is $10. www.cinespia.org.
Glendale Pops/
Kenny Loggins
T
he Glendale Pops Orchestra presents “The Premiere” with special
guest Kenny Loggins on Friday, May
13 at 8 p.m. at the Alex Theatre in
Glendale. The show will feature highlights from the orchestra’s upcoming
six-concert season, as well as a performance by Loggins. Tickets are $33 to
$175. 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.
(818)243-2539,
www.glendalearts.org.
Infant Care Forum
R
esources for Infant Educarers,
(RIE) is holding its 22nd annual
“Infant/Toddler Conference” titled
“Educaring and Infant Mental Health:
Creating Secure Beginnings” on
Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 9:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Skirball
Cultural Center. The conference is
geared towards parents, teachers,
childcare professionals, doctors, nurses and other individuals who work
with infants and children. 2701 N.
Sepulveda Blvd. Visit www.rie.org.
14 Al Jolson Tribute
H
ollywood Temple Beth El presents “A Tribute to Al Jolson!”
on Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. Michael
Sherman will perform Jolson’s songs,
and there will be a screening of the
original “The Jazz Singer”. Tickets are
$10. 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd.
(323)656-3150.
Recovery Festival
T
he fourth annual “Festival of
Recovery” is scheduled on
Saturday, May 14 beginning at 8:30
a.m. at the Center for Inquiry West’s
Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood.
The event will offer information by
more than 30 self-support groups covering addictions, mental health and
more. 4773 Hollywood Blvd.
(323)666-4295, www.cfiwest.org/sos.
Book Party
photo courtesy of Gabriel Rinaldi
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) will perform in a concert
of works by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Bermel on Saturday, May 14 at 8
p.m. at the Alex Theatre in Glendale; and on Sunday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
in Royce Hall at UCLA. The performance will be conducted by LACO
music director Jeffrey Kahane, and will also feature the world premiere
of composer-in-residence Derek Bermelʼs homage to L.A.ʼs Latin
American community, “Mar de Setembro” (“September Sea”), performed
by Grammy-winning Brazilian vocalist, Luciana Souza (above). The Alex
Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale; UCLAʼs Royce Hall
is located at 340 Royce Dr. Tickets are $18 to $100. (213)622-7001,
www.laco.org.
A Capella Concert
Tickets are $8 in advance; $10 at the
door. 475. S. Curson Ave. (323)9341177.
T
West Adams Tour
he Park La Brea Residents
Association is holding a concert
titled “A Capella From Around the
World” on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30
p.m. at the Park La Brea Activities
Center. The concert will feature the
Westside Voices, which is comprised
of professional and amateur singers.
E
sotouric Tours is holding the
“Weird West Adams Crime Bus
Tour” on Saturday, May 14 from noon
to 4 p.m. The guided tour through an
area once known as “The Beverly
Hills of the Early 20th Century” focus-
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es on Jazz Age bootleggers, the
“Krazy Kafitz Family’s” litany of murder-suicides, attempted husband slayings, Byzantine estate battles and
bombings, and the Rosedale
Cemetery, site of numerous notable
burials and odd graveside crimes. The
tour departs from 2nd Avenue Park,
2nd Avenue and West 25th Street.
Tickets are $58. (323)223-2767,
www.esotouric.com.
B
ook Soup is hosting a book
release party on Saturday, May
14 at 2 p.m. for author Bill See’s “33
Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On
Floors. Chasing A Dream”.
The
event will feature readings, signings
and the music of Divine Weeks, the
band that is featured in the book. 8818
Sunset
Blvd.
(310)659-3110,
www.33days-thebook.com.
Gala Fundraiser
T
he
Society
of
Young
Philanthropists Los Angeles
(SYP LA) is holding its seventh annual gala on May 14 at 8 p.m. at The
Bank in Hollywood. The event will
benefit Shaare Zedek Medical Center
in Jerusalem, with proceeds going
towards building classrooms for children. The gala will include live entertainment, an open bar and more. For
information and location, call
(310)275-0483,
or
visit
www.sypla.org.
18 Jewish Theatre
T
he West Coast Jewish Theatre
presents playwright Murray
Schisgal’s “Luv” running from
Wednesday, May 18 through June 26
in Theatre 40’s Ruben Cordova
Theatre. The play stars Michael
Goldstrom, Betsy Zajko and Rob Roy
Cesar, and is directed by Howard
Teichman. Showtimes are at 8 p.m.,
Wednesday through Saturday; 2 p.m.,
Sunday. Tickets are $23 to $25. Ruben
Cordova Theatre, on the Beverly Hills
High School campus, 241 Moreno Dr.
(310)364-0535, www.theatre40.org.
Russian Style
Awards
T
he City of West Hollywood and
its Russian Advisory Board are
holding the 6th annual “Russian Style
Awards” Wednesday, May 18 from 6
to 9 p.m. Honorees include special
events coordinator Dina Gontar; attorney Boris Gorbis; L.A. County
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, 3rd
District; and pianist Diana Volman.
The guest speaker will be Dr.
Ludmilla Bess, and the event will feature a reception and entertainment.
Crystal Restaurant, 7901 Santa
Monica
Blvd.
(323)848-6496,
www.weho.org/specialevents.
‘Dracula’
L
.A. Theatre Works presents stagings of “Dracula” starring Dark
Shadows’ Ben Cross and David Selby
running from Wednesday, May 18
through 22 at the Skirball Cultural
Center. All performances will be
recorded to air on L.A. Theatre
Works’ syndicated radio theater series,
which broadcasts weekly on public
radio stations nationwide and at
www.latw.org. 2701 N. Sepulveda
Blvd. (310)827-0889, www.latw.org.
19 Artist Talk
T
he Tobey C. Moss Galley is holding a discussion titled “The Life
and Hand of Beth Van Hoesen”
Thursday, May 19 from 6 to 9 p.m.
The discussion coincides with an
exhibit of works by Van Hoesen running through June 30 at the gallery,
7321 Beverly Blvd. Reservation
required. (323)933-5523, www.tobeycmossgallery.com.
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3 May 12, 2011
Developer Gives $1 Million for WeHo Library
n Donation Will be
Used to Create the
ʻMani Family Floorʼ
L
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
T
he Mani family, longtime supporters of West Hollywood, has
donated $1 million to support the
new West Hollywood Library and
adjacent park expansion.
“From our first days starting out,
right through to today, we have
always had the incredible support
of this community,” Simon Mani
said. “We are honored to have the
chance to give back and to support
the new West Hollywood Library, a
new and vital cultural center that
will help build the future of this
community.”
The Mani family also launched
an additional $500,000 challenge to
others in the business community to
match their gift in support of the
new library, which will open in the
fall. For every $2 received in
response to this challenge, the Mani
family will donate an additional
dollar, up to $500,000.
The Mani’s transformational gift,
which was announced at a reception last week at Soho House, will
create the Mani Family Floor at the
new library. At the reception, L.A.
County
Supervisor
Zev
Yaroslavsky,
3rd
District,
announced a $250,000 pledge from
the County of Los Angeles. The
county’s Public Library system will
operate the new library facility.
“Libraries are free to anyone,
that’s what makes them so impor-
Koretz Authors Motion to
Ban ʻAnimal Millsʼ in L.A.
The new West Hollywood Library is nearing completion, and has
received a major boost with a donation by a local developer.
tant, but they aren’t free to operate,” Yaroslavsky said. “Every day
we see the value that libraries bring,
and we’re proud to work in partnership with the City of West
Hollywood to make this new
library and park expansion a flagship destination among county
libraries.”
The West Hollywood Library
and park expansion project will
result in a greatly improved park,
with an open-air court linking the
library, the park and San Vicente
Boulevard.
“The Mani Brothers’ donation to
the library fund is an exemplary act
of good corporate citizenship,”
West Hollywood Mayor John
Duran said. “The Mani’s involvement in the community and their
visionary transformation of their
properties continue to make the
Sunset Strip and West Hollywood
as a whole a better, nicer place for
residents and visitors alike. I am
truly appreciative of their efforts on
behalf of the city.”
Brothers Simon and Daniel Mani
immigrated to the United States in
1968 from Egypt. In 1970, they
founded the International Baking
Company in Los Angeles, which
they eventually sold to Sara Lee
Corporation in 1992 before founding Mani Brothers Real Estate
Investment Group in 1994. The
See WeHo Library page 22
os Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz, 5th
District introduced a motion on
May 6 calling for a ban on puppy,
kitten, chicken and rabbit mills
within the City of L.A.
Koretz’s motion also calls on
the Los Angeles Department of
Animal Services (LAAS) to conduct a study on banning the sale
of commercially-bred dogs, cats
and rabbits; examining the feasibility of creating a program
through which LAAS can work
with licensed pet stores to make
shelter animals available for
adoption; and creating a program
where LAAS publicly identifies
stores that excel in meeting rigorous humane requirements and
conditions in the kenneling and
sale of animals.
“Growing sentiment nationally
against puppy and kitten mills is
why I am going to introduce this
motion, so that we can begin regulating the mills and the stores
that provide an outlet for the dogs
and cats bred in such substandard
conditions,” Koretz said.
Koretz was joined at a press
conference after he introduced
the motion by Judie Mancuso,
president of Social Compassion
in Legislation, and Maggie Q,
star of “Nikita”. Mancuso said the
cost of euthanizing animals at
public shelters is roughly $300
million per year.
The City of West Hollywood
has already approved similar legislation.
photo courtesy of the 5th District Council Office
Councilmember Paul Koretz held a press conference at a county animal shelter after introducing a motion to ban ʻanimal millsʼ .
4 May 12, 2011
Robbery Suspects Investigated for Link to Murder Census Data Prompts Study
n Police Look for
on County Redistricting
Ties to Shooting of
MTV Executive
n Meetings are
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
Held to Gather
Public Input
P
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
olice investigating the murder
last Sunday morning of an
MTV music executive outside his
residence south of the Miracle Mile
are looking into whether the murder
is linked to a string of robberies that
have occurred throughout the MidCity, Wilshire, Koreatown and
South Los Angeles areas over the
past two weeks.
Thirty-year-old Gabriel BenMeir’s body was found by a resident who was walking his dog
around 6:10 a.m. on May 8 in the
5600 block of Packard Street. BenMeir’s body was lying face down
near the sidewalk, and investigators
believe he was shot while on his
way home between midnight and 1
a.m. Some neighbors reported hearing a shot around 1 a.m., but did not
report it to police. Homicide detectives with the LAPD’s Wilshire
Division are investigating the case,
and the motive is believed to be
robbery. Officials would not confirm whether anything was stolen
from Ben-Meir.
“The investigation is ongoing
and we are still looking at a lot of
different possibilities,” said Det.
Mark Holguin, with the LAPD’s
Wilshire Division. “It appears he
just had parked and was going
home.”
A
Flowers and candles were placed near the site where the body of
Gabriel Ben-Meir was found last Sunday.
Investigators said the shooting
may be linked to eight street and
business robberies that have
occurred, including three robberies
that were committed on Tuesday
night. Police arrested two suspects
on Wednesday for the robberies, but
have not yet linked them to the murder of Ben-Meir.
See Links page 21
Gun Buyback Program Takes
2,000 Firearms Off the Streets
O
“The residents
ver 2,000 firearms were collected last weekend as part of
the city’s Gun Buyback program.
An initiative of Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa’s Gang Reduction and
Youth Development Office, the
Gun Buyback rewards people who
voluntarily surrender firearms,
while engaging the community in
the common goal of reducing gun
violence.
“I would like to thank all the
Angelenos who joined us over the
weekend to take us one step closer
to securing a safer city for every
citizen,” Villaraigosa said. “In
helping us remove over six thousand dangerous weapons from our
streets, the residents of this city
helped to prevent the next tragic
shooting in our community.”
Villaraigosa, joined by Los
Angeles Police Chief Charlie
Beck, announced on Monday that
2,062 firearms were collected during the 2011 Gun Buyback, bringing the total number of firearms
collected through the program to
over 6,000 during the last three
years.
The Gun Buyback includes a
grassroots outreach campaign that
works with gang prevention and
intervention agencies, community
of this city
helped to prevent the next
tragic shooting
in our
community.”
-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
and religious leaders, and the
LAPD. The comprehensive outreach effort not only encourages
participation in neighborhoods suffering from high levels of gun violence, but also educates communities about the risks and dangers of
gun
and
gang
violence.
In exchange for surrendering
weapons, participants received a
pre-paid Mastercard gift card or a
Ralph’s gift card of up to $200. The
LAPD Gun Unit determined the
type and classification of the
firearm surrendered, and the
reward per firearm was dependent
on its type—up to $200 for assault
weapons—and up to $100 for
handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
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www.newmeizen.com
" ! " fter the United States
Census is conducted, as it
was in 2010, the process of redistricting follows to reflect the new
population data. New boundaries
for the Congressional, State
Senate, State Assembly, and
State Board of Equalization districts will be redrawn over the
next few months.
The state’s redistricting is
designed to prevent gerrymandering, where a political party
gains an advantage by manipulating geographic boundaries to
create partisan, incumbent-protected, and neutral districts.
Currently, 10 community
meetings have been scheduled
throughout the county to encourage public participation in the
State Board of Equalization
redistricting process. The county’s population must be evenly
divided into five supervisorial
districts for the County of Los
Angeles
Board
of
Supervisors. This process is separate from state legislature redistricting, which is currently under
consideration by an independent
panel.
A community meeting on the
county redistricting was held
Monday at West Hollywood
Park, and was attended by
approximately 25 residents. The
meeting offered information on
the redistricting process and how
people can get involved. For the
first time, citizens will be able to
draw their own boundaries for
supervisorial districts online via
the Los Angeles County redistricting site at www.redistricting.lacounty.gov.
“I’ve never seen this amount
of information pulled together
See Redistricting page 22
6 May 12, 2011
Prolific Vocalist Honored Hospital Names New Building After Benefactor
$636 Million Facility
on Walk of Fame
to Open in July
n
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
C
photo courtesy of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
Actress Jane Morgan was honored with the 2,439th Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 6 in the category of recording.
Morgan has appeared in numerous stage productions, including
“Mame”, “Kiss Me, Kate”, “Can-Can” and “The King and I”, and
recorded more than 40 hit records, including “Fascination”. Her star
is located at 6914 Hollywood Blvd.
WeHo Hosts
Yard Sale
T
he City of West Hollywood is
holding its first free citywide
yard sale titled “WehoGrnWknd”
on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday,
May 15. Residents will be holding
yard sales throughout the city, with
the locations and times listed at
www.weho.org. The city is also
sponsoring a document shredding
and e-waste collection on Saturday,
May 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
8300 Santa Monica Blvd. For
information, call (323) 848-6404, or
visit www.weho.org/wehogrnwknd.
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":6,7057 5:79 7+,7 5 hildren’s Hospital Los Angeles
announced on Monday it is
naming its new state-of-the-art hospital building the Marion and John
E. Anderson Pavilion in honor of
the Andersons, longtime supporters
who donated a $50 million gift. The
new hospital will be the most technologically advanced pediatric and
adolescent hospital in the nation
when it opens on July 10.
“We feel so fortunate to be able
to make this gift to the children of
Southern California and beyond,”
Marion Anderson said. “Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles saves lives
and offers hope to tens of thousands of children and families each
year. This gift is our way of saying
thank you to everyone at the hospital. This work is amazing, and John
and I can’t think of a more deserving institution.”
The $636 million, 317-bed hospital will further expand hospital
services, as well as increase its
ability to provide family-centered
care to children throughout the
region.
The opening of the Marion and
John E. Anderson Pavilion is the
culmination of the “Living Proof:
Marion Anderson joined children from the hospital at a ceremony
announcing the new name of the hospital building on Monday.
the Campaign for Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles,” which
launched in 2003 to raise funds to
build the new hospital building and
provide vital support for The Saban
Research Institute, as well as clinical and research programs. The
campaign raised more than $1 billion.
Every room in the new hospital
will have its own daybed to allow
parents and caregivers to spend the
night with their child. Eighty-five
percent of rooms will be private
and every patient room will have
Internet access. The new hospital
also includes a heliport with elevators that go directly to two trauma
rooms.
Chief of Surgery, Dr. Henri Ford,
called the new hospital a “dream
come true.”
“We’re going to be able to offer
children from all walks of life, the
best care,” Ford said. “There is no
children’s hospital that has a more
advanced or state-of-the-art facility
right here in Los Angeles.”
14 May 12, 2011
District Attorney Honors ʻCourageous Citizensʼ Jewelry Store Owners Get
L
Lengthy Prison Sentences
os Angeles County District
Attorney Steve Cooley recently
presided over the Courageous
Citizens Awards, which honored
three young adults who stopped a
suspect’s attack on his girlfriend,
and in a separate case, recognized a
woman who helped foil a distraction-style robbery.
Justine Garcia, 19; Deedee
Reyna, 18; and Michael Valle, 21;
were each presented with
Courageous Citizen Awards. In July
2009 while outside a movie theater,
Garcia and Reyna saw a suspect
strike his girlfriend and knock her to
the ground. The two young women
rushed to aid the victim, who called
out for help as her boyfriend continued to grab and pull her. Valle, who was working at a nearby shop, went outside to intervene.
He got between the suspect and the
victim, shielding the woman from
the attack. The assailant was arrested and charged with domestic bat-
tery. Garcia, Reyna and Valle went
on to assist in the criminal prosecution, attending multiple court hear-
Less than three
months later,
the defendant
pleaded no
contest to one
count of
robbery and
was sentenced
to nine years in
prison.
ings and testifying in court. The
accounts of the three witnesses
proved critical in securing a conviction, as the victim refused to testify
against her attacker. Courageous Citizen Award recipient Angela Casillas, 31, received
the honor for her role in foiling a
distraction-style
robbery
in
February 2010. Casillas was at a
store with an on-site check-cashing
business when a suspect attempted
to run away with approximately
$34,000. Casillas and a store clerk
struggled to detain the assailant,
who struck her in the arm and chest,
but he was eventually arrested and
all of the money was recovered.
Less than three months later, the
defendant pleaded no contest to one
count of robbery and was sentenced
to nine years in prison.
The District Attorney’s Office
presents Courageous Citizen
Awards several times a year to citizens who have performed extraordinary acts of valor and selflessness in
aiding victims, preventing crime,
capturing suspects and assisting in
criminal prosecutions.
Suspect Shot and Killed After Charging Officers
P
LAPD Force
atrol officers from the Los
Angeles Police Department’s
Olympic Division shot and killed a
suspect on May 9 who stabbed his
mother to death and charged the
officers when they confronted him.
The officers responded to an
assault with a deadly weapon in
progress call around 1:20 p.m. in
the 1500 block of South Arapahoe
Street. When officers arrived, they
were met by 85-year-old Maria
Gonzalez, who was screaming for
help and suffering from an injury
to her hand. Gonzalez told officers that
her grandson, 36-year-old Hector
Hernandez, walked into his 60year-old mother’s bedroom unannounced and cut her throat. As he
left the bedroom, he cut and injured
Gonzalez’s hand. She then ran
downstairs and out the front door. Officers entered the home and
found the suspect’s mother inside
her bedroom, unresponsive and suffering from multiple stab wounds.
They moved her outside to provide
medical treatment and began
searching the property. Upon
searching the backyard, they heard
screams coming from a rear guesthouse and were confronted by the
suspect, who had slashed his own
throat and was bleeding profusely. He charged at the four officers,
each of whom shot Hernandez one
time, striking him in the abdomen
and chest. The officers took the suspect into custody and called for
medical assistance, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect’s
mother,
Blanca
Hernandez, was also pronounced
dead at the scene. Gonzalez, the
suspect’s grandmother, was trans-
Suspect Charged in Murder of
Man at Volunteers Center
L
os
Angeles
Police
Department detectives have
arrested 52-year-old Marvin
Harkins for the bludgeoning
death of Raymond Sweet on
April 15. Sweet’s body was discovered
in his apartment at the
Volunteers of America center on
Wall Street in downtown Los
Angeles. The 47-year-old victim
sustained severe head injuries
caused by a hammer, which was
left behind at the scene.
Detectives followed several
“After
interviewing
Harkins, the
detectives
were
convinced he
was the man
responsible for
killing Mr.
Sweet.”
-Lt. Paul Vernon,
LAPDʼs Central Division
leads, including traveling to
Kansas to interview Sweet’s exwife, but ultimately the evidence
pointed to Marvin Harkins, a
local transient, as the probable
suspect. He had been the last
known person to visit Sweet
about three days before the body
was discovered, which coincided
with the approximate time of
death. Harkins was questioned
after officers picked him up on a
misdemeanor warrant on May 3.
“After interviewing Harkins,
the detectives were convinced he
was the man responsible for
killing Mr. Sweet,” said Lt. Paul
Vernon, with the LAPD’s
Central Division. “The murder
was apparently motivated by a
dispute between the men.”
Detectives were able to confirm from evidence and statements that sometime after April
12.
Harkins had been together
with Sweet in his room. Harkins
became upset with Sweet, and
left the room, but returned later
with a hammer that he allegedly
used to kill Sweet.
Harkins has been booked for
murder and is being held without
bail at the LAPD Metropolitan
Jail.
Investigation
Division
personnel are
investigating
the
officer-involved
shooting.
ported to a local hospital and treated for injuries to her hand.
LAPD Olympic Area detectives
are handling the investigation into
the initial homicide, and LAPD
Force Investigation Division personnel are investigating the officerinvolved shooting, which occurs
anytime an officer fires their
weapon. The investigation will
ultimately be reviewed by LAPD
Chief Charlie Beck, the Office of
the Inspector General and Board of
Police Commissioners, and the Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s
Justice System Integrity Division.
Central City
Boosters Honor
LAPD Personnel
T
he Central City Police Boosters
is holding a “Recognition
Luncheon and Awards Ceremony”
for the LAPD on Thursday, May 19
from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the
Wilshire Grand Hotel’s Golden
State Ballroom, 930 Wilshire Blvd.
The officers and police support
personnel being honored include
Sgt. Clifton Yamamoto, Officer
Tyrone Acosta, Det. Ignacio
Mendez,
volunteer
Steve
Needleman, clerk typist Michael
O’Connell, and reserve officer of
the year Tim Widmann.
The keynote speaker will be Los
Angeles City Attorney Carmen A.
Trutanich. The event provides the
businesses and residents in the
community with a forum to recognize and support the honorees for
their commitment and dedication.
For information, call the LAPD
Central Division’s Community
Relations Office, at (213)972-1876.
A
husband and wife who own
a Los Angeles jewelry store
were each sentenced on May 9 to
37 months in federal prison for
illegally importing and selling
counterfeit designer jewelry,
some of which tested positive for
hazardous levels of lead. A third
person who worked at the store
was sentenced to 30 months in
prison.
The three defendants pleaded
guilty in June 2010 to one count
of conspiracy and one count of
introducing and delivering a hazardous substance. The hazardous
substance charge was lodged
after lab tests showed some of the
counterfeit jewelry seized contained nearly 20 times the
amount of lead deemed safe by
the Consumer Product Safety
Commission for handling by
children. Despite them containing hazardous lead levels, the
items were labeled as “leadfree.”
The defendants included Il
Keun Oh, also known as James
Ken Oh, 58, of Hancock Park.
Oh was the co-owner of
Elegance Fashion Mart on East
Olympic Boulevard. Oh’s wife,
Jacqueline Oh, 56, also of
Hancock Park, was the co-owner
of Elegance Fashion Mart.
Jacqueline Oh’s brother, Joon
Yeop Kim, 48, of Koreatown,
was a manager at Elegance
Fashion Mart and was sentenced
to 30 months.
The case stemmed from an
investigation that began in 2007
when U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement’s (ICE)
Homeland
Security
Investigations (HSI) received a
tip that the jewelry store was selling counterfeit designer merchandise. During the course of the
investigation, ICE HSI agents
seized more than 25,000 counter-
“This sentence
is a reminder
about the high
price retailers
will pay if they
bolster their
bottom lines by
selling
counterfeit
goods.”
-Claude Arnold,
special agent in charge for
ICE HSI in Los Angeles
feit pieces of jewelry and accessories, including necklaces, rings,
bracelets, watches, hair ornaments and cell phone charms. The
investigation revealed that the
counterfeit goods were manufactured in Qingdao, China. If the
seized products had been genuine, they would have had an estimated retail value of more than
$18 million.
“This sentence is a reminder
about the high price retailers will
pay if they bolster their bottom
lines by selling counterfeit goods
that put the public at risk,” said
Claude Arnold, special agent in
charge for ICE HSI in Los
Angeles. “It should also make
consumers think twice before
buying fakes and knock-offs. You
may save some money up front,
but at what cost?”
Sales records recovered during
an execution of a search warrant
at the business in April 2008 indicated the defendants were also
distributing counterfeit items to
merchants in Texas, Florida,
Georgia and Illinois.
Police Seek Leads in Murder of
Victim on Sunset Boulevard
A 30-year-old victim was shot
and killed on Sunset Boulevard in
Echo Park on May 7, and police are
asking for the public’s help in locating three suspects.
The victim, Michael David, was
confronted around 12:30 a.m. by
the three suspects on the south side
of Sunset Boulevard near Echo
Park Street. One of the suspects was
yelling at David, although witnesses were unable to determine what
the suspect was saying. After a few
seconds, David ran northbound
across Sunset Boulevard and was
chased by the three suspects. The
victim ran approximately one block
along the north side of Sunset
Boulevard and then went south into
the roadway when one of the suspects fired a shot, striking David.
Immediately after the shooting, the
two suspects fled east on foot on
Sunset Boulevard.
David fell when he was shot, but
stood up and continued walking
toward the intersection of Logan
Street and Sunset Boulevard, where
he collapsed. The victim was transported by paramedics to a local hospital, but died at 7:42 a.m.
Detectives have no motive for the
shooting. The three suspects are
described only as Hispanic males in
their early 20s.
One of the
suspects was
yelling at David,
although
witnesses were
unable to
determine what
the suspect was
saying.
Anyone with information about
the murder is asked to contact
Detectives Arteaga or Linscomb at
(213)484-3639 or (213)484-3642,
respectively. During weekends and
off-hours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour,
toll-free hotline at (877)LAPD247.
POLICE
BLOTTER
The West Hollywood police
blotter was unavailable this
week because of problems with
the Crime Reports website.
15 May 12, 2011
Unusual Suspects Theatre Honors Yaroslavsky
T
ʻLittle House on the Praireʼ Star
Honored By Braille Institute
he Unusual Suspects Theatre
Company is honoring Los
Angeles County Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky, 3rd District, and
“Nip/Tuck” star Roma Maffia, at its
3rd annual benefit on Thursday,
May 19 in downtown Los Angeles. Proceeds from the event will support the ongoing efforts of The
Unusual
Suspects
Theatre
Company, an award-winning mentoring program that uses theatre arts
to reach underserved youth in the
juvenile justice system, foster care
or treatment centers. Yaroslavsky
has long been a staunch advocate
for theatre arts in Los Angeles
County,
and
for
its
demonstrated benefits in reaching
at-risk youth. He has consistently
supported efforts by The Unusual
Suspects to educate the public on
the plight of troubled youth in foster care and the juvenile justice system. Maffia has been supporting The
Unusual Suspects as a volunteer
and patron for more than 10 years.
She began her acting career in New
York in off-Broadway productions,
and has gone on to appear in television shows such as “Nip/Tuck”,
“Chicago Hope”, “Profiler” and
“Criminal Minds”, and films such
as
“Disclosure”
and
“Kingshighway”. The Unusual Suspects offers two
consecutive 10-week playwriting
and performance workshops where
youth develop self-esteem, tolerance, and the communication and
coping skills needed to make posi-
Los Angeles County Supervisor
Zev Yaroslasky, 3rd District, will be
honored at a May 19 benefit.
tive life choices.
For more information, visit
www.TheUnusualSuspects.org.
Cedars-Sinai Hosts Brain Tumors Conference
P
The cover of the May 15, 1980 issue of the Park Labrea News
featured actress Melissa Sue Anderson receiving an award from
Mrs. William F. Cannon, of the Braille Institute in Hollywood.
Cannon, a resident of Park La Breaʼs Fuller Towers, was honoring Anderson for her portrayal of a blind girl on “Little House on
the Prairie”. The accompanying article stated that Andersonʼs role
provided the public with an understanding of the challenges faced
by people with vision impairment. The Braille Institute is located
at 741 N. Vermont Ave., and offers numerous programs and services. For information, visit www.brailleinstitute.org.
atients, families and caregivers
are invited to attend an educational conference on brain tumors
on Saturday, May 14 from 8 a.m. to
4:45 p.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center.
The free program, titled
“Outsmarting Brain Tumors”, will
feature presentations by Dr. Keith
L. Black, chairman of the hospital’s
Department of Neurosurgery, as
well as many other treatment and
research experts. The morning session will include sessions such as
“Brain Tumor 101”, “The Role of
Radiation
Therapy”,
“Chemotherapy and Treatments”,
“Surgical Options”, “New and
Promising Research” and “Cancer
Vaccines and Stem Cell Therapies”.
Attendees may then choose from
three afternoon breakout sessions
covering specific conditions and
treatments. In a session titled “The
Consultants’ Corner”, doctors will
meet individually with patients, and
first come, first served reservations
will be available at check-in.
Interested individuals should bring
scans and medical documentation
for review.
The conference will be held in
Cedars-Sinai’s Harvey Morse
Auditorium, Plaza Level, South
Tower, 8700 Beverly Blvd. The
event, lunch and parking are free,
ʻCOACH for Kidsʼ Receives $500K
Donation to Aid At-Risk Children
GEANCO Foundation Hosts
ʻHelping Africa Rise & Walkʼ Event
C
edars-Sinai Medical Center has care is also a particular objective of
received a $500,000 grant from our Centinela Medical Care Fund,
the
California
Community from which this grant is being
Foundation (CCF) to support the made.” The grant marks the 11th year
hospital’s “COACH for Kids and
Cedars-Sinai’s mobile medical
Their Families” program. Over a two-year period, the grant clinics have received funding from
community
foundation.
will help fund primary healthcare the
and case management services by “COACH for Kids” is a fully“COACH for Kids” to vulnerable equipped mobile medical clinic that
children in underserved communi- brings high-quality, no-cost primaties in the Los Angeles area. ry
healthcare and case management
“Promoting and improving the services into neighborhoods. In
health and quality of life of children 2010, “COACH for Kids” provided
and adults, particularly those with- health services to more than 10,500
out adequate health insurance, has individuals at elementary and midalways been part of the mission of dle schools, community centers,
the
California
Community family homeless shelters and public
Foundation in Los Angeles,” CCF housing developments. For inforvisit
www.cedarspresident and CEO Antonia mation,
Hernández said. “Access to health sinai.edu.
BritWeek Presents ʻSpeed Dreamingʼ
Exhibit at Wilshire Variety Building
photo courtesy of Anthony Tran Photography
M
ore than 375 guests attended the “Helping Africa Rise
& Walk” benefit on April 29,
raising $50,000 for the GEANCO Foundation and its mission to
save Africa’s most vulnerable
women and children. Pictured at
the benefit were Afam Onyema,
CEO of GEANCO; Academy
Award-winning actor Djimon
Hounsou and his wife, Kimora
Lee Simmons; and Dr. Godwin
Onyema. GEANCO is currently
developing a hospital in Nigeria
and will lead an orthopedic medical mission to the country this
September.
The GEANCO Foundation
was founded by Onyema, who
was born in Nigeria and formed
the foundation to provide assistance in his home country.
Nigeria has the second largest
HIV-positive population in the
world and the largest population
of AIDS orphans in Africa. For
information,
visit
www.geanco.org.
T
he BritWeek Art Program, in
partnership with the British
Council and the L.A. Art Machine,
presents an exhibit by Marcos
Lutyens titled “Speed Dreaming”
running through May 23 at the
Variety Building, 5900 Wilshire
Blvd.
“Speed Dreaming” is a project
that explores automatist behaviors
at the convergence of machines
and the body-mind system. The
show includes a series of largescale automatist drawings performed by semiautonomous robots
as well as human guided machines.
It is part of the BritWeek Art program festivities occurring around
Los Angeles.
Lutyens is an “intermedia” artist
who has exhibited internationally,
including at the Venice Biennale of
Art and shows curated by the
Museum of Contemporary Art in
Los Angeles. The Variety Building
is located across the street from the
Los Angeles County Museum of
Art.
For
information,
visit
www.laartmachine.com.
but registration is required.
For information or to register,
call (800)CEDARS-1, or visit
www.cedars-sinai.edu/neuroptconf.
16 May 12, 2011
ʻAfternoon with Eveʼ Fashion
Show Benefits Local Charities
photo courtesy of the Assistance League
The Mannequins Auxiliary of Assistance League of Southern
California (ALSC) held its “Afternoon with Eve” fashion show, luncheon and boutique on May 3 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Jackie
Kruse, chair of the Mannequins Auxiliary, was joined at the event by
Wendy Taylor, chair of “Afternoon with Eve”, and Greer Saunders,
who arranged the boutiques for the fundraiser. The 2011 Eve Awards
were presented to Linda Bowling and Gloria Franks; and the Golden
Eve given to Rosemary Booth. Proceeds benefit the Assistance
League of Southern Californiaʼs Family Service Agency, Hollywood
Senior Multipurpose Center, Childrenʼs Services and Theatre for
Children.
ʻAmerican Spirit Awardsʼ Honors
Notable Filmmakers
Korean Cultural Center Holds 19th Annual
ʻJuried Art Exhibitʼ titled ʻContemporary Artʼ
T
he Korean Cultural Center,
Los Angeles (KCCLA) is
holding its 19th annual “Juried
Art
Exhibit”
titled
“Contemporary Art” running
through May 26.
The exhibit will include painting, drawing, photography,
mixed media and ceramic sculpture by 11 contemporary artists
selected from a national pool of
over 150 applicants. The participating artists were evaluated and
selected by a jury comprised of
Douglas Fogle, deputy director
of exhibitions and public programs and chief curator of the
Hammer Museum; Christine Y.
Kim, associate curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art; and
David Pagel, associate professor
of art theory and history at the
Claremont Graduate University,
and an art critic for the Los
Angeles Times.
The exhibition includes works
divided into two groups that
focus on personal themes and
diverse aspects of nature, or
human issues that reflect the
artists’ identity and concerns.
Since its debut in 1993, the
“Juried Art Exhibit” has become
one of the most popular and
acclaimed exhibitions at the center.
The KCCLA is located at
5505 Wilshire Blvd. For information, call (323)936-7141, or
visit www.kccla.org.
Beverly Hills Bar Association Celebrates
Entertainment Lawyer of the Year
photo courtesy of Steve Cohn
The Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors recently held its
“American Spirit Awards” ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel, honoring
key entertainment leaders in the community. Multiple Emmy-winner
Dorothy Petrie (left), joined honorees Robert Bassett, dean of the
Chapman Universityʼs Dodge College of Film and Media Arts; artist,
author, philanthropist Loreen Arbus; and producer Syd Vinnedge, at the
ceremony. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo was also honored, and accepted the award via video due to a death in the family.
Owners of Pinkʼs Hot Dogs
Recognized for Philanthropy
T
he Beverly Hills Hotel,
known as the Pink Palace,
will host a celebration on
Thursday, May 12 honoring
Pink’s Hot Dogs. Owners Gloria
and Richard Pink, and Beverly
Pink Wolfe, will be honored by
the Good Shepherd Center for
Homeless Women and Children.
The Pinks are being honored
for their support of Good
Shepherd’s mission to empower
homeless women and children to
move into self-sufficiency
through housing, employment
and support services.
The Good Shepherd Center is a
program of Catholic Charities of
Los Angeles.
The gala begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m.; followed by a
dinner, live auction and awards
presentation beginning at 7 p.m.,
with music by the Martini Kings.
The Beverly Hills Hotel is located at 9641 Beverly Blvd.
For information and to RSVP,
call (213)482-1834, or e-mail to
[email protected].
photo courtesy of Lee Salem
The Beverly Hills Bar Association recently held its Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Award celebration, honoring Ken Kleinberg.
The Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA) recently held its annual Entertainment Lawyer of the
Year Award celebration at the Beverly Hills Hotel. BHBA executive director Marc Staenberg (left),
was joined at the event by BHBA president, Stephen Raucher; honoree Ken Kleinberg; and Nevill
Johnson, chair of the BHBA Entertainment Law Section.
Kleinberg, founding partner of Kleinberg Lopez Lange Cuddy & Klein LLP, was named 2011
Entertainment Lawyer of the Year. Proceeds from the event support the bar associationʼs education and community outreach programs.
“Ken Kleinberg is widely regarded for his broad experience in international entertainment law
transactions,” Johnson said. Kleinberg specializes in business negotiations and legal matters for numerous members of the
entertainment industry. For information, visit www.bhba.org.
17 May 12, 2011
LAFD Holds Open Houses at Fire
Stations Throughout the City
The
Los
Angeles
Fire
Department is holding open houses
at fire stations throughout the city
on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m to
4 p.m. The LAFD designates the
second Saturday of May as “Fire
Service Recognition Day” to
increase awareness about services,
and this year the focus is on emergency preparedness. The events
will include demonstrations,
refreshments, live entertainment
and more.
Fire Station 27 and the adjacent
LAFD Museum will hold a pancake
breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
at 1327 N. Cole Ave. Those unable
to attend on Saturday due to religious observances are encouraged
to join LAFD personnel on Sunday,
May 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
Fire Station 61, 5821 West 3rd St. in
the Fairfax District; or Fire Station
58 at 1556 S. Robertson Blvd. in the
Pico/Robertson District.
For
information,
visit
www.lafd.blogspot.com.
Answers on Page 22
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Natural History Museum Hosts
25th Annual ʻBug Fairʼ This Weekend
T
he Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
(NHM) is holding its 25th annual “Bug Fair” on Saturday, May
14 and 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 5
p.m.
The event is the biggest bug
festival in North America, and
includes live animal presentations, workshops, crafts, bug
chef demonstrations, and cockroach races. Nearly 70
exhibitors will display and sell
thousands of items, including
live and preserved insect specimens, books on insects and
insect-related products. Visitors The Natural History Museum will
are also invited to view the May 14 and 15.
museum’s insect collections and
learn about the world of arthropods and arachnids.
Bug Fair” with special guest Dr.
In addition, the museum is Art Evans on May 14 at 6
holding its first annual “Bug p.m. Evans will give a lecture
Chef Cook-Off” on Saturday titled “Lust in the Dust”, and the
and Sunday at 11 a.m., 12:30 event will feature insect appetizp.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The ers from the Santa Monica
museum is hosting “A Taste of restaurant, Typhoon. Separate
hold its 25th annual ʻBug Fairʼ on
ticketed admission is required
for the event, call (213)763ED4U.
The NHM is located at 900
Exposition Blvd. For information, call (213)763-DINO, or
visit www.nhm.org.
18 May 12, 2011
Celebrities ʻRaceʼ to Erase
Multiple Sclerosis
photo courtesy of Gavina
Actress Paris Hilton was one of the celebrities who attended the
18th annual “Race to Erase MS” event at the Hyatt Regency
Century Plaza on April 29. Hilton is pictured with a representative
from Gavina and Don Franciscoʼs Coffee, which launched “Blend
to Erase MS” at the event, an exclusive and limited edition coffee
created especially for the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple
Sclerosis in support of its national “Orange You Happy to Erase
MS” awareness campaign. May is “MS Awareness Month”, and
Don Franciscoʼs Coffee will donate 20 percent of gross sales of the
limited edition coffee to the foundation through the end of May.
For
information,
visit
www.erasems.org
or
www.donfranciscos.com.
Portantino Bills Move Forward
A
ssemblymember
Anthony
Portantino (D-La Cañada
Flintridge) recently made progress
on three of his proposed bills,
including one to ban the “open
carry” of unloaded handguns,
another to preserve the fertility of
women and men being treated for
cancer, and a third which seeks to
eliminate outdated guidelines in
the insurance code that limits coverage for mammograms for
younger women.
Portantino’s AB 144 will make it
a crime to openly carry an
unloaded handgun in any public
place or street and was overwhelmingly approved in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, and
will now move on to a hearing by
the full Assembly later this spring.
Violations will be a misdemeanor punishable by up to one
year in jail and/or a fine of up to
$1,000. Law enforcement personnel are exempt, as are hunters and
others carrying unloaded weapons
under specified licensed circumstances.
The Los Angeles City Council
recently voted to back AB 144 and
is considering a similar law ban-
ning the open carry of guns in Los
Angeles. Portantino’s AB 428, was
approved in Assembly Health
Committee; asks insurers to provide fertility options for cancer
patients of childbearing age so that
after treatment, patients maintain
the ability to have children. It is
believed to be first-of-its-kind legislation in the nation.
Each year, 140,000 men and
women of reproductive age are
diagnosed with cancer or other diseases that have treatments that
affect fertility. Although most
insurance covers the consequences
of cancer treatments, such as
reconstructive surgery, losing
reproductive ability as a result of
chemotherapy and other treatments
is currently not covered.
Portantino’s AB 137 on mammograms was also overwhelmingly
approved by the committee.
Instead of basing the need for
mammograms only on a woman’s
age, AB 137 allows doctors to
order diagnostic tests based on a
more complete list of risk factors.
The bill also requires insurers to
notify women about when they
should begin screening.
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" !! ' ! "# Couple Donates $1M to L.A. Orthopaedic Hospital
L
os Angeles Orthopaedic
Hospital has received a $1 million gift from philanthropists
Meyer Luskin and his wife, Renee,
who are known for their commitment to children’s health, education and social welfare.
The award is the largest single
gift made by an individual benefactor during the hospital’s 100year history, and will help to
endow “The James V. Luck, Jr.,
M.D. President and CEO Chair”,
providing sustainability in leadership into the future.
“Renee and Meyer are dear
friends and longtime benefactors
to our institution and their support
will go a long way to help further
our mission of excellence in pediatric orthopaedic care, research
and education,” said Dr. James V.
Luck, Jr., president and CEO of
Los
Angeles
Orthopaedic
Hospital.
Los Angeles Orthopaedic
Hospital acts as a safety net of care
photo courtesy of Bob Carey
Philanthropists Meyer and Renee Luskin donated $1 million to Los
Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital.
in Los Angeles County, providing
approximately 60,000 patient visits annually. All children, regard-
less of their family’s ability to pay,
receive timely and quality care.
For information, visit
Pavley Authors Bill to Regulate Signature Stamps
S
en. Fran Pavley (D-Santa
Monica) has authored a bill that
would impose new regulations for
the issuance of signature stamps.
Banks issue signature stamps to
elderly or disabled adults who are
unable to physically get to a banking branch so they can use them on
official documents, but criminals
sometimes use the stamps to commit fraud. Pavley’s bill, SB 586,
would create a new framework for
the issuance of the stamps, including requiring that a bank employee
witness and sign all requests for
new signature stamps. Banks would
also be required to give customers
information on the risks associated
with the misuse of the stamps. In
addition, Pavley’s bill would double the penalties for physical and
financial elder abuse. The increase
in fines would be allocated to Adult
Protective Services in the county
where the abuse occurred.
“This $20 signature stamp cost my
mother three-quarters of a million
dollars and left her in financial
ruin,” said Liz Sanders of
Woodland Hills, who recently testified before the State Senate Public
Safety Committee in support of SB
586. “This has been heartbreaking.”
Sanders’ mother, Bette Isenberg of
Westwood, died at the age of 82
last August, but had been bedridden
and in need of constant care.
Sanders said her mother’s caregiver used a signature stamp to cash
checks, deplete her bank account,
and access her life insurance fund.
“She used the stamp to add herself to my mother’s Neiman
Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue
accounts by simply faxing over a
letter that was signed with this
stamp,” Sanders said. “She proceeded to charge over $80,000 on
dormant
accounts.”
Isenberg’s
caregiver,
Helen
Wofford, was eventually convicted
and sentenced to 32 months in
prison, but Sanders and Pavley are
concerned that there are many
other predatory caregivers out
there.
“We’re not doing enough to protect this vulnerable population,”
Pavley added. “This bill is a good
beginning.”
SB 586, which is sponsored by
AARP and the California Senior
Legislature, has been approved by
the
Senate
Public
Safety
Committee and is awaiting review
in other committees before going to
the full Senate for a vote.
LAUSD Open Enrollment Begins
T
he open enrollment application
process for the 2011-12 school
year is now underway, and the
deadline for applications is Friday,
June 3.
The district’s state-mandated
open enrollment policy enables students anywhere in the Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD)
to apply to any regular, gradeappropriate Los Angeles public
school with designated open enrollment seats. While the final numbers
are still being determined for the
coming year, it is anticipated that
approximately 9,600 seats will be
available at approximately 270
schools.
For information call the district’s
Master Plan and Demographics
office at (213)241-8044, or visit
www.lasud.net.
19 May 12, 2011
Actor Jackie Cooper
Remembered
Flowers were placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Jackie
Cooper after he died on May 4 at the age of 88. Cooper, who was a
member of the original “Our Gang” cast and a successful child actor
in the 1930s, went on to become a top television star in the 1950s,
and remained involved in film and television throughout the 1960s,
ʻ70s and ʻ80s as an actor, studio executive and award-winning director. Some of his early roles were in movies such as “The Champ”
and “Treasure Island”, and he later appeared in numerous television
shows including “Danger”, “The Great Adventure” and “The Twilight
Zone”. Later roles included appearances on “The Rockford Files”
and “Police Story”. He was memorable for his role as Perry White in
the “Superman” films series, and directed episodes of television
series such as “Simon & Simon”, “Magnum P.I.” and “Cagney &
Lacey”. Cooperʼs star is located at 1507 Vine St.
Hef Named ʻMr. Wonderfulʼ
photo courtesy of Vince Bucci
The Thalians, a non-profit organization dedicated to the improved
treatment of mental health conditions, honored Playboy founder
Hugh M. Hefner (center) with the annual “Mr. Wonderful” award at
its 55th anniversary gala on April 30 at the Playboy Mansion. Actor
James Caan (left) presented the award to Hefner, who was also
joined by Thalians chair, Ruta Lee. For information, visit
www.thethalians.org.
Shakespeare at Neighborhood Celebrates Elysian
Griffith Park
Park Expansion Grand Opening
A
$29,000 grant from the James
Irvine
Foundation
to
Independent
Shakespeare
Company (ISC), whose motto is
“classical theater for all”, has
allowed the company to create its
new “Players in the Park/Jugamos
en el parque” family program at
Griffith Park this summer. The preshow educational workshop series
will be delivered in both English
and Spanish.
The company will feature workshops before its three productions
of “The Merry Wives of Windsor”,
“Love’s Labour’s Lost” and
“Hamlet”. Of the nine pre-show
workshops, six will be delivered in
English and three in Spanish.
Materials in both languages will be
available at every event. All of the
full stage productions will be performed only in English.
“Though Shakespeare’s plays
were written in English, their cultural significance is transcendent,”
said Melissa Chalsma, ISC artistic
director. “Access and understanding of these works supports ISC’s
belief that classic plays are our cultural legacy and that like all great
art, they are a vital part of forming
bonds within our world.”
ISC’s 2010 season boasted a
record attendance of more than
13,000, making it the largest summer theatre event in the City of Los
Angeles. The productions are located near the carousel in a natural
amphitheater.
Admission is free but reservations are required for each workshop. For more information,
including complete schedule, call
(818)710-6306,
or
visit
www.iscla.org.
Easter Seals Starts
New Campaign
E
aster Seals Southern California
has launched the “Make the
First Five Count” campaign to
ensure that young children are able
to get a strong start in life at a time
when the State of California is
scaling back funding for children’s
services. The initiative is an awareness and advocacy campaign
designed to give children who are
at risk of developmental delays
from autism or other disabilities
the support they need to be ready
for
school.
“Proposed cuts to early childhood
intervention
programs
in
California would jeopardize our
children’s futures,” said Betty
Reckard, vice president of
Children’s Services at Easter Seals
Southern California. “Whether
your child has a disability, developmental delay or is typically
developing, the cuts will affect
every child. Too many young children don’t get the services they
need, when they need them most.”
According to Easter Seals
Southern California, millions of
young children with unidentified
disabilities enter school each year
with learning and health issues that
put them behind their peers and
have a lasting negative effect on
their ability to meet their full
potential needs. Through the campaign, Easter Seals is compiling a
petition that will be distributed to
members of Congress, asking them
to preserve funding for childcare
services. For information, visit
MaketheFirstFiveCount.org.
photo courtesy of the 13th Council District Office
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti joined community
members in Elysian Valley and Echo Park on April 28 to announce
the grand opening of the Elysian Park Expansion, located on the
border of the two communities off Riverside Drive.
“Elysian Park is a gem in our community and now itʼs getting bigger and better,” Garcetti said. “The expansion provides a new place
for kids of all ages to play everything from basketball to checkers in
a beautiful outdoor environment.”
The Elysian Park expansion adds an additional five acres of landscaped park space to the existing 600-acre park. The new space
includes two game courts, a childrenʼs playground, picnic tables, a
walking path, an outdoor classroom area, and new parking
spaces. The landscaping emphasized preservation of the existing
native oak and walnut trees. The park uses an irrigation system
that captures and treats storm water runoff. The total cost of construction was approximately $880,000, and was funded through
voter-approved Proposition 40 funds.
“Iʼm absolutely thrilled by this beautiful new park in our community.
And I know at least one kid who is excited about the park, my
grandson who couldnʼt wait for today,” said Cecilia Domiguez, an
Elysian Valley resident who participated in the community design
and planning process for the new park.
Dodgers Bat Girl Winner Named
M
ajor League Baseball and
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
have announced the winners of the
2011 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a
campaign to recognize baseball
fans who have been affected by
breast cancer and demonstrated a
commitment to fighting the disease.
The winner of the Honorary Bat
Girl Contest for the Los Angeles
Dodgers is Alicia Manzur, of
Upland, California, who will be
honored on the field at Dodger
Stadium before the game on
Saturday, May 14.
Manzur’s mom was diagnosed
with breast cancer when Manzur
was 13, and since she passed away,
Manzur has dedicated her time to
spreading awareness about the dis-
ease. She has participated in 10
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
walks and currently volunteers at
Los Angeles area Susan G. Komen
events. Manzur is a freshman at
California State University, Los
Angeles.
The Honorary Bat Girl program
was introduced in 2009 to raise
additional awareness and support
for the annual “Going to Bat
Against Breast Cancer” initiative,
celebrated on Mother’s Day.
In three years, nearly 4,000 testimonials have been submitted and
more than six million fan votes
have been cast.
For
information,
visit
www.dodgers.com.
20 May 12, 2011
Registry Helps Gauge Needs in Hollywood
From page 1
eran who at age 53 has been homeless on-and-off for three decades,
is one of the people identified
through the project who is now
receiving help. For the past three
months, Brown has been staying in
the Gilbert Hotel on Wilcox
Avenue through the help of an
organization known as Gettlove,
which links homeless veterans
with available resources. Brown
said without the help of Gettlove,
which operates at the Social
Services of Blessed Sacrament
center on Selma Avenue, he would
probably still be living on the
streets. Brown added that he is
more comfortable now than he has
been in years, and said he feels like
he has something to look forward
to in the future.
“I can’t say enough. They make
sure I get what I need,” Brown
said. “This is the sort of legitimate
support needed for people who
don’t have the means to support
themselves. I have never had a
chance to sit back and reflect on
things, so once I had a place to
stay, I was able to sit back and realize how good I have it.”
Brown, who is originally from
Wilmington, Delaware, joined the
army in 1976 after finishing high
school, and served three years.
Afterwards, he held a few shortterm jobs and moved to
Philadelphia. In 1981, Brown said
he was watching an episode of the
“Rockford Files” that showed “a
lot of sunshine and palm trees” in
Southern California, so he decided
to move west. Once he arrived,
Brown said he found out that it was
just as difficult to make ends meet
here as it was on the East Coast.
“The army was just a stop gap
after high school, because I really
hadn’t made the preparations I
needed to for the adult life. But the
army didn’t seem to be a good fit
for me, so after three years I ended
my association with the government and got out of the army. I was
basically on the streets,” Brown
said. “I managed to make it out to
Los Angeles on Labor Day, 1981,
and it instantly fell apart. I had no
information about the area. Pretty
quickly, my money ran out.
Somebody told me I could get
“We are now
looking at these
individuals as
our homeless
neighbors in
Hollywood and
how we can
come together
to help them.”
-Kerry Morrison,
executive director of the
Hollywood Entertainment
District
some help from the county, and
they put me up in a hotel downtown. I felt this vim and vigor to
get something going, but things
just kept getting worse.”
Brown said he stayed in hotels in
the skid row area for nearly 10
years, and worked on-and-off at
the organization that is now the
Fred Jordan Mission. Brown said
he never had a problem with alcohol or drugs, but just couldn’t hold
a job. He moved to San Francisco
James Brown (right), who is pictured with Blessed Sacrament Social
Services managing director Sonny Duron, said he has something to look
forward to now that he has received assistance from Gettlove.
Mayor Appoints New Member to
Parks Board of Commissioners
M
ayor Antonio Villaraigosa
has appointed Lynn Alvarez
to the Department of Recreation
and
Parks
Board
of
Commissioners. Alvarez is an expert in training,
program development, planning,
evaluation, and grantmaking services. She draws on over two
decades of experience as a program
officer at several major California
foundations, as a faculty member
of The Grantmaking School, and as
a public interest attorney. In her
former role as senior program officer at The California Endowment,
Alvarez led the development of a
new grantmaking program, the
implementation of a customer satisfaction survey, and the refinement
of grantmaking procedures. She
contributed to program and process
improvements, and managed multimillion dollar strategies in areas
focused on community health.
Alvarez’s foundation experience
also includes working at the
California Community Foundation
and the Peninsula Community
Foundation. As a program officer,
she worked extensively in the areas
of child development, education,
human services, affordable housing
and the arts. She also managed several grantmaking programs and
donor advised funds.
and later to Bakersfield, where he
also moved from job to job. After
returning to Los Angeles in the
mid-‘90s, he received help from
the All Saints Church in Pasadena,
Housing Works and the Catholic
Workers organization, which offers
shelter and assistance to homeless
individuals. He had a place to stay
at different shelters and programs
until 2005, when he started receiving federal Social Security payments, and he struck out on his
own again. From 2005 until 2011,
he was back living on the streets,
mostly in the Encino area, and
finally ended up in Hollywood.
“It was really tough being homeless. People don’t treat you very
well, and it is a very hard life,”
Brown said. “I hadn’t been able to
get to the VA (Veterans
Administration) in years, but then
this all happened. Now I have a
nice room to keep my stuff. I just
can’t say enough.”
Brown was linked with Gettlove
and Social Services at Blessed
Sacrament, which now provides
him with meals and other help.
Keegan Hornbeck, a housing coordinator with Gettlove, is helping
Brown navigate the process of
obtaining help from the Veterans
Administration, and he is currently
awaiting approval of a VA voucher
that will pay for 70 percent of the
cost of an apartment. Hornbeck
said veterans ending up homeless
is a big problem, and estimated
that one-in-four people living on
the streets in Hollywood are veterans.
“By identifying a large number
of veterans, it brought the VA to
the table to provide some help. The
homeless in Hollywood don’t use
those services, or don’t have the
ability to get over to the VA [in
West Los Angeles] to get services,”
Hornbeck said. “Through the registry, we learned that a high number of homeless people in
Hollywood are suffering from
mental illness, and now we can get
them the help they need. It allows
the veterans to use the resources
that they are entitled to.”
Kerry Morrison, executive
director of the Hollywood
Entertainment District (HED),
which is one of the organizations
that comprise Hollywood 4WRD,
said the homeless registry has
allowed for a comprehensive
approach to solving the problem.
In addition to Gettlove, Blessed
Sacrament and the HED, the group
includes People Assisting the
Homeless (PATH), The Los
Angeles Homeless Services
Authority (LAHSA), the Offices of
James Brown has been staying at the Gilbert Hotel on Wilcox Avenue
while he waits for a Veterans Adminstration voucher that will help him get
subsidized permanent housing.
Los Angeles City Council
President Eric Garcetti, 13th
District; City Councilmember Tom
LaBonge, 4th District, and Los
Angeles County Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky, 3rd District, among
others.
“We are now looking at these
individuals as our homeless neighbors in Hollywood and how we
can come together to help them,”
Morrison said. “Before, each organization was just working with
their own clientele, and there was
no comprehensive approach. We
are breaking down those silos, and
that is a big, big thing.”
Garcetti said he is encouraged
by the progress that is being made.
“This is a great example of our
Hollywood Homeless Registry at
work,” Garcetti said. “It enabled us
to identify James and find
resources to help him. It’s also a
good example of a public-private
partnership with the city, business
community, and private organizations such as Gettlove working
together to help James and others
like him get off the streets.”
Sonny Duron, the managing
director of Social Services at
Blessed Sacrament, which serves
approximately 225 homeless people a day, added that he is hopeful
more will be done in the future
because of the homeless registry.
Homeless individuals receive daily
meals, showers, free clothing and
numerous other services at the
facility, located at 6636 Selma Ave.
Duron added that his organization,
and the others, continue to add
people to the homeless registry as
they are identified.
“I think the homeless registry is
extremely important. We are getting several of the people who otherwise might have fallen through
the cracks,” Duron said. “This is a
huge population that lives in our
community that has been ignored
and neglected, and now people are
taking notice. It’s a problem that
exists right outside their front
door.”
For information on the Hollywood
Homeless Registry, visit www.hollywoodbid.org,
or
www.facebook.com/hollywood4wrd
CRA/LA Gives Green Light to Project on Wilshire
T
he board of the Community
Redevelopment Authority of
the City of Los Angeles
(CRA/LA) unanimously approved
a $169 million mixed-use project
at the southeast corner of Vermont
Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.
The project will now go to the Los
Angeles City Council for review
“This project is
a win for the
city.”
-Joan Ling, CRA/LA
commissioner
and approval.
The 491,000-square feet project
includes 17- and 22-story towers,
464 apartments, a public plaza and
park, 27,000 square feet of retail
space, 14,000 square feet of
restaurant space and 913 parking
spaces. The Vermont Project is situated on a large vacant lot across
Wilshire Boulevard from a Metro
Red Line subway station.
“This project is a win for the
city, it’s a win for the community,
it’s a win for the developer,” said
Joan Ling, CRA/LA commissioner. “I look forward to going to the
ground-breaking.”
The Vermont Project is projected to directly generate 250 perma-
nent jobs and 857 construction
jobs, and indirectly generate
another 150 permanent jobs and
642 construction jobs. The
CRA/LA will provide a $5 million
loan toward project construction,
and will reinvest another $12.5
million in site-specific property
taxes generated in coming years
by the development.
The plan calls for the developer,
J.H.
Snyder
Development
Company, to partner with area
non-profit organizations to build
another 96 affordable-housing
units in projects around the area.
Pending city approval, construction is expected to begin in early
2012.
21 May 12, 2011
High School Struggles With Cuts
From page 1
pate in the music program.
“My principal, Ed Zubiate, had
warned me about the layoffs, but it
didn’t resonate with me until I
walked back into my room and I
realized that when I came here, the
room was empty.” Vizcarra said.
“So much has changed in the lives
of these kids who have gone
through the program. I thought
about what would happen to the
kids, and it brought tears to my
eyes.”
Vizcarra’s plight illustrates a
problem throughout the district,
which is facing a $408 million budget deficit for the 2011-12 school
year. The district sent out
Reduction in Force (RIF) notices to
7,302 teachers, counselors, school
administrators, nurses, librarians
and classified staff members in
March, and is currently negotiating
with unions representing the
employees to reduce the number of
people who will be laid off. The
final decision must be made by
June 30, when state law requires
that the school district approve its
final budget for the upcoming year.
The LAUSD is hoping the unions
will agree to have their members
take 12 furlough days over the next
year to help balance the budget.
Zubiate said the prospect of layoffs has dramatically affected
morale at the school, which is
already struggling from previous
cuts over the past couple of years.
Zubiate said the average projected
student-to-teacher ratio next year
will be 42-to-one, and he added
that some classes now have as
many as 50 students in one classroom.
“It’s a disaster, that’s the way I
feel. There is talk that it will only
get worse for at least a year,”
Zubiate said. “Now they are looking at twelve furlough days, which
“It’s a disaster,
that’s the way I
feel. There is
talk that it will
only get worse
for at least a
year.”
-Fairfax High School Principal
Ed Zubiate
is about a six or seven percent cut
in pay. The teachers who have been
RIF’ed are all young, and got into
teaching because they are passionate about it. I brought each one of
them into my office to tell them
about the layoff notices because I
didn’t want them to find out in a
Students gathered in the quad during the open house, which also featured a discussion by the schoolʼs principal about future challenges.
DWP Comes Under Scrutiny
for Billing Practices
From page 1
to understand their water and
power use and the basis for the
costs on the bill. With the improved
bill format, our customers now can
better understand and manage their
energy and water use.”
Councilmember Zine commended the DWP’s efforts, but urged
continued oversight.
“I am encouraged by the fact that
the new DWP general manager is
taking a step in the right direction
and addressing the current complicated billing format,” Zine said.
“It’s refreshing and unusual for a
G.M. to be so responsive and willing to face these problems head-on.
That being said, we still have a
ways to go.”
The Energy and Environment
Committee (EEC) approved Zine’s
motion on May 3 and requested
that DWP create an outreach plan
and be accountable to its customers, and mandated the use of
single meters for water and power
at all new construction or major
rehabilitation. Zine and the EEC
will be monitoring the effectiveness of the new bill format to make
sure it is effective, otherwise, an
audit by the controller will be conducted at DWP’s expense.
The DWP also serves as the
billing agent for the City of Los
Angeles Department of Public
Works Bureau of Sanitation, so the
new bills will have color-coding of
DWP and City of Los Angeles
charges to differentiate between
services. DWP charges include
electric and water charges, and
Bureau of Sanitation charges
include sewer service, solid
resources (trash) and utility tax.
“This is the first step in a longerterm program to update the entire
customer information system at
DWP,” Nichols said. “By 2013, we
will have a system that will let us
be more responsive to customer
needs and inquiries as we replace a
40-year old information system.”
The DWP will report back to the
committee in 120 days on the
progress of its new bill format.
letter. That was one of the toughest
weeks I have had on this job.”
Zubiate outlined the problems to
parents and others who gathered for
an open house at the high school on
May 5. While students danced and
played music in the school’s quad,
and staffed booths promoting the
school’s programs, Zubiate wondered how he was going to continue to make ends meet in the future.
The principal said one of the reductions that is going forward is the
cancellation of summer school.
“For ninth graders who do poorly in their first semester, summer
school was a way for them to get
back on track,” Zubiate said. “If
they don’t get back on track, they
are pretty much done as sophomores. I won’t know what that is
going to do to us until next year.”
The principal also said that the
potential layoffs have caused
morale to plunge among teachers
and staff.
“I think everybody is upset,”
Zubiate added. “When something
happens to one person, they all
internalize it.”
Although the budget problems
have cast a dark shadow at Fairfax
High School, Zubiate said he is not
going to sit back and wait for things
to get worse to take action. He has
turned to the school’s development
office and other partners in the
community to fill some of the gaps.
Joyce Kleifield, development
director at Fairfax High School, has
been working full-time since last
September to build relationships
with the community to provide
funding and other support for programs. Kleifield’s salary is subsidized by the Greenway Arts
Alliance, a non-profit organization
that operates the Melrose Trading
Post and raises funding for arts programs at the school. Kleifield is
joined in the development office by
two other staff members who work
to bring alumni into the school to
host programs, and to indentify
grant funding that may be available.
Kleifield said the goal is to raise
$1 million a year for the school,
which could offset layoffs and the
Fairfax High School Principal Ed Zubiate is proactively taking action to
improve the situation at the school, and has formed a development
department and is reaching out to the community for help.
cancellation
of
programs.
Examples of the partnerships that
have already occurred include
alumni Rick and Jethren Phillips
providing approximately $5,000 to
pay for the Safe Schools
Ambassadors anti-bullying program, and a partnership with the
City of West Hollywood to use the
school’s auditorium for special
events, such as a concert by the
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
“The role of the development
office is to provide resources to the
school in as many forms as we can
get,” Kleifield said. “We have contacted alumni, we have been
fundraising and identifying other
resources. We are working hard to
build relationships. We want to
operate more like a university or a
private school.”
Kleifield added that there is
already a plan to hold a fundraising
concert at a future date to raise
funds to keep Vizcarra at the school
if he is laid off. In the meantime,
Vizcarra said he is moving forward
with making plans for the upcoming school year, and will deal with
being laid off when he hears the
final decision.
“I am still planning ahead and
hoping it is not going to happen,”
Vizcarra added. “I am thinking
about what competitions we are
going to enter next year. I have
heard from students, ‘if you’re not
here next year, I’m quitting.’ It
could be the demise of the program, but I hope it doesn’t happen.
We didn’t have a music program
here for twenty years until I came
here, and in five years we have
become the music program that
people use as an example. The
school district should take that into
consideration.”
Links Examined in Robberies and Murder
From page 4
The suspect arrested for the
robberies were not identified.
Ben-Meir was reportedly
shot with a shotgun, but
Holguin would not confirm it.
He had lived for several months
in an apartment in the neighborhood just south of San Vicente
Boulevard between Spaulding
and Stanley Avenues, just a few
feet from where he was killed.
Flowers and candles were
placed outside his residence on
Monday and Tuesday. Holguin
added that the shooting was
very unusual for the area.
“It’s just a quiet residential
neighborhood, right off a major
street,” Holguin added. “There
are no businesses around. A
crime like this there is unusual.”
Anyone with information is
asked to contact homicide
detectives with the LAPD’s
Wilshire Division at (213)4730446.
During weekends and offhours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour,
toll-free
hotline
at
(877)LAPD247.
Flowers were placed at the location where Gabriel Ben-Meir was shot
and killed last Sunday.
22 May 12, 2011
Arrests Made in Hollywood Murder
From page 1
a clue what was going to happen
that night. I assure you, this incident was totally unprovoked.
Justice will be served in this case.
I’m so grateful, I was promised
from the beginning that [the police
would] do their job and they did.”
Following Smith’s murder, a
multi-agency investigation was
launched by homicide detectives
from
LAPD’s
Hollywood
Division, LAPD gang and narcotics officers, gang deputies from
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department, Los Angeles County
Probation Office and the
California
Department
of
Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“These individuals that come to
Hollywood to commit violence
will be diligently pursued and
brought to justice, until the victim’s
City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, 4th District, comforted the mother of
the murder victim at a press conference on Wednesday.
Redistricting Meetings Held
From page 4
about the county on any website,” said Martin Zimmerman,
assistant CEO of the Chief
Executive Office. “It’s a treasure
trove.”
The board is expected to
approve by August any changes
to the existing boundaries, based
on recommendations from the
Boundary Review Committee
(BRC), whose members are
appointed by the supervisors. The
BRC must submit a recommended plan to the board by July 31,
and the board must adjust the
supervisorial district boundaries
before Nov. 1.
According to Zimmerman, the
redesigned supervisor districts
will look a little different than
they do now.
“It’s very likely some changes
will occur because the districts
have grown,” Zimmerman said.
“Now they’re ten percent out of
balance in population, which is
known as total deviation. By
making some changes, moving a
city or an unincorporated area,
that deviation should come
down.”
According to census statistics,
L.A. County Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky’s 3rd District grew
by nearly 60,000 people since the
2001 census. The district with the
biggest growth belongs to Los
Angeles County Mayor Michael
Antonovich, 5th District, which
saw an approximate 175,000
population increase.
The Board of Supervisors is
expected to adopt a redistricting
plan in August. Prior to adoption,
the board is required to hold at
least one public hearing on any
proposal to adjust the boundary
of a district.
According to Joel Bellman,
Supervisor Yaroslavsky’s press
deputy, in 1988 the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors was
successfully sued by the ACLU
and the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund,
which claimed Latinos were
being denied proper representation. The court ruled that the
board had gerrymandered some
districts. Later, the 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals upheld the ruling. As a result of the subsequent
redistricting, the first Latino individual, Gloria Molina, was elected to the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors.
“If population balance was the
only issue, then few changes
would be required,” Zimmerman
said.
photo courtesy of Narek Artonian
Approximately 25 people attended a meeting on redistricting held
on Monday at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium.
families receive the closure they
deserve,” said Captain Beatrice
Girmala, commanding officer of
the Hollywood Division.
The investigation led to 11
search warrants and 14 parole/probation compliance checks in
Compton and Long Beach. Last
Thursday, detectives made eight
arrests and recovered evidence
related to Smith’s murder.
During a press conference
Wednesday at the Hollywood
Community
Police
Station,
Councilmember Tom LaBonge,
4th District, comforted the victim’s
mother, who is a city employee.
“On behalf of the city council,
we extend our love to you and your
family for your loss,” LaBonge
said. “We remember your son on
this sad day. It could happen to
you, it could happen to anybody.”
Officer Brett Goodkin classified
the fatal shooting as a “senseless
gang murder.”
Hollywood investigators spoke
to several witnesses at the scene,
and were aided by video surveillance footage they were able to
show the sheriff’s department
investigators, who were familiar
with the suspects because their
jurisdiction covers the areas where
the gangs operate.
With one suspect still at large,
Police displayed a crime bulletin at a press conference on Wednesday
describing the suspects who were still being sought. One of the suspects
was arrested prior to the press conference, while police are still searching for an additional suspect.
the victim’s mother didn’t mince
words in a message to Kevin
White.
“Turn yourself in,” Smith said.
“Your days and hours are numbered.”
WeHo Library Project Gets Large Donation
From page 3
Mani family operates, manages,
and leases over 1 million square
feet of prime commercial property,
including 801 South Figueroa,
8439 Sunset Boulevard, 9000
Sunset Boulevard, 9201 Sunset
Boulevard, and 1401 Ocean
Avenue.
To date, nearly $6.25 million has
been raised as part of the
Library/Park campaign.
“This project was designed to
meet the needs of the community,
today and for decades to come,”
Councilmember John Heilman
said. “With our new facility, we will
not only expand our collections but
also offer job training at the Wells
Fargo Career Development Center,
computer and Internet access in the
Stuart Feigin Technology Area, live
performances at the Children’s
Theatre, study rooms, exhibit areas
and a coffee bar. It’s a strong reflection of the city’s rich intellectual,
literary and cultural diversity, and
we’re so proud to have the community’s support in creating a landmark facility that serves our passionate commitment to lifelong
learning.”
photo courtesy of the City of West Hollywood
A rendering shows how the West Hollywood library will look when it is
completed.
Heilman said he is impressed by
the rapid development of the new
library.
“I think it’s going to be more
than a library, it’s going to be a
community gathering place,”
Heilman said. “Its legacy will be its
use by the community; kids going
in to do their homework and adults
writing their next screenplay. I’m
really looking forward to it being a
gathering place.”
DWP Begins Using Power From Wind Power Facility
T
he Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power (DWP) began
receiving over 100 megawatts of
new wind energy from the Milford
II Wind Power Project last week,
providing enough clean green power
to serve 34,000 customers and avoid
emissions of about 122,000 metric
tons of greenhouse gas that would
otherwise come from traditional fossil fuel power.
That amount of greenhouse gas
emissions reduction is about the
same as removing over 23,000 gasfueled cars from the road each year
according to the DWP. The Milford
II project is an expansion of Milford
I, a 200-megawatt wind farm from
which DWP already receives 185
megawatts. Milford I began delivering renewable energy to Los
Angeles in November 2009.
“The Milford II Wind Power
Project is an example of DWP working smarter while boosting the
amount of renewable energy provided to customers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” DWP general
manager Ronald Nichols said.
Milford I and II will now provide
2.6 percent of DWP’s renewable
energy supply, which reached 20
percent in 2010.
Under an agreement between
DWP, the Southern California
Public Power Authority, and Milford
Wind Corridor Phase II, LLC, DWP
is prepaying for guaranteed energy
to be delivered during the 20-year
term at a reduced price of approximately nine cents per kilowatt-hour.
Answers From Page 17

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