September 2009 Archives

The Long Beach Police Department has launched a  new program designed to reduce the number of unsafe commercial trucks driving in and around the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
The Sept. 24th launch of the LBPD's Safe Trucking Enforcement Program, or S.T.E.P., was spurred by an increase in port traffic and public concerns, said Sgt. Dina Zapalski, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
Overseeing the program is a unit of 14 sworn personnel, including traffic officers and supervisors. Since its launch last week the unit has issued 49 citations for commercial violations and 52 citations for traffic violations, the sergeant said.
Police have also towed two vehicles and issued one misdemeanor citation, Zapalski added.
The program is an on-going effort and drivers can expect to see the increased police presence in the port area for the foreseeable future.
For more information, call the Traffic Safety Division at 562-570-7209.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to review the case against a former Long Beach School District official convicted last year in the brutal murder of his stepmother at her Bellflower home.
Joseph Ronald Schessler was convicted in June of 2008 of first-degree murder in the Nov. 17, 1989, slaying of Rosemary Schessler.
Rosemary was was shot in the back of her head and also stabbed in the neck and in the back inside the Bellflower duplex she shared with her husband, George Schessler.
Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation that Rosemary's murder was carried out by her stepson and his father, now dead, for financial gain.
Schessler was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The convicted killer was prosecuted for the murder after telling his wife and a longtime female friend that he and his father -- who died in 2003 -- were involved in a murder- for-hire plot to have his stepmother killed.
Police cracked the cold case by having Schessler's friend wear a wire and record Schessler as he spoke about the murder plot.
The former vice president of the California School Employees Association told his wife that he promised never to tell anyone about the plot while his
father was alive, but that he no longer needed to keep the secret.
Both his wife, who filed for divorce in 2007, and his friend testified against him in a trial that lasted only a few hours.

 

A security drill held early Tuesday at the Carnival Cruise dock near the Queen Mary included crews from a number of local agencies and jurisdictions, including Long Beach Firefighters and Lifeguards, Long Beach Police officers, the Los Angeles Port Police and the United States Coast Guard.

The group exercise and the agencies included are part of the Port Dive Operations Group, or PDOG as it's commonly called.  PDOG was developed to support the Coast Guard in increasing port security at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

During Tuesday's exercise, the teams simulated "sweeping" the piers to locate, identify, and mark any simulated hazardous underwater devices. The emphasis of the program is for the various agencies to work together to provide adequate resources and a unified command structure to efficiently address incidents within the port complex.

In addition to Tuesday's drill, PDOG teams also perform underwater searches, locate, and conduct recovery and salvage operations of planes, boats, and many other objects.

For more information and check out http://firechannel.org.

National Fire Prevention week will be held the second week of October and the Long Beach Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Prevention Association to offer a number of educational opportunities for residents and businesses to be fire safe.
National Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health program of its kind in the country and is in it's 87th year. For this year's campaign, "Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned," the LBFD will offer free open house tours at every Long Beach Fire Station from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 4, allowing residents an up close view of the equipment and facilities.
From Oct. 5-9th the LBFD will release a daily public service announcement with tips on fire safety.
And on Oct. 10th the LBFD Museum, 1445 Peterson Ave., will be open free to the public from 10 to 5 p.m.
Fire prevention pamphlets and information for adults and kids will be available. Firefighters will also be on hand to answer questions and to discuss fire safety, especially as it relates to home fire safety check lists and fire escape routes and the proper use of smoke detectors and space heaters.
It is estimated that roughly 3,000 people die every year in home fires and that roughly 20,000 people are hospitalized for burns, according to the non-profit NFPA.
For more information on National Fire Prevention Week and for tips on how to stay safe, go to www.nfpa.org or http://firechannel.org.
 

Members of the Downtown Long Beach Neighborhood Watch will meet with Long Beach Police Department officers and the Downtown Long Beach Associates to discuss ways that residents and businesses can avoid becoming crime victims.
Those who attend will learn how criminals choose their victims and commit their crimes as well as what crimes are the most prevalent in their neighborhood. Crime prevention techniques and technology will also be discussed with an emphasis on home and vehicle security, personal safety and identity theft.
The meeting is open to the public and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at The Cellar, 201 E. Broadway.
To RSVP or for more information contact Mary Coburn, the DLBA's operations manager, at maryc@dlba.org or call 562-485-3133.

The founders of We Love Long Beach are raising funds to help the family of Kaylee Alvarez, a 1-year-old girl who was killed the night of Oct. 11 when she was dragged by an alleged drunk driver for more than a mile.
Scott Jones, who founded the nonprofit We Love Long Beach with his sister Robin, said he hoped that the Internet community would pull together to help Kaylee's family, which is struggling with the cost of her funeral and with medical bills related to the injuries her 2-year-old brother Oscar suffered in the crash.

The Long Beach Search & Rescue Unit will host their annual recruitment night Sept. 22.

Young men and women between the ages of 15 and 18 interested in careers in in law enforcement, fire protection and emergency medical services are encouraged to apply. 

The program provides young adults an opportunity to serve the public during emergency situations while encouraging them to explore career possibilities in the law enforcement, fire protection and emergency medical services fields.  Long Beach Search & Rescue is an award-winning Learning for Life Explorer Post co-sponsored by the Long Beach Police Motor Patrol and Long Beach Firefighter's associations.

Search & Rescue Headquarters are located at 2247 Argonne Avenue, adjacent to the Long Beach Fire Department Training Center,.

At the event, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., will be displays of rescue equipment and live rescue demonstrations.

For more information, call LBPD Officer Eric Matusak at 562-244-9985 or visit firechannel.org/blog

Four men were arrested over the weekend for in connection with the an attack on a 23-year-old man, who was beat with with a blunt object, police said Tuesday.
The incident occurred at about 12:24 a.m. Sunday in the 100 block of Pine Avenue, said Officer Jackie Bezart, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
Police declined to identify the exact location of the attack other than to say it was an establishment in the poplar night spot.
Police and paramedics arrived to find the victim injured and he was taken to a local hospital. He is expected to survive.
Officers also found four suspects and arrested the men. They were identified and arrested on he following charges:

• Jose Valencia Barragan, 24, of Anaheim, assault with a deadly weapon.
• Uriel Valencia Jimenez, 24, of Anaheim, Battery
• Juan Carlos Nava, 20, of Anaheim, public intoxication
• Alejandro Valencia Jimenez, 22, of Santa Ana, resisting arrest.

According to suspects' booking sheets Barragan was being held on $30,000 bail, Alejandro Jimenez was being held on $10,000 bail, Uriel Jimenez was being held in lieu of $750 bail and Nava was released on $250 bail at 3 a.m. Sunday.

It's been a toasty couple of weeks for all of us in the greater Long Beach area, and throughout Southern California, but perhaps none more so than the staff at the crumbling Long Beach Courthouse.
While most offices and buildings in the area were cranking their A/Cs the courthouse -- due to a broken thermostat -- was pumping its heaters in several courtrooms and halls, making life miserable for not only the staff but the hundreds of people who go to the court every day for business.
Even the legendary courthouse rats were suffering as evidenced by one particularly large one that was found dipping into the water fountain in a fifth floor courtroom.
The ground-breaking date for the new courthouse, which is not expected to happen until at least 2012, can't come soon enough.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lakewood Station will treat Hawaiian gardens families to a free "Back-to-School BBQ" at Ferguson Elementary School tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 12.
There were be games and activities for the kids, free school supplies and free food and drinks.
The barbecue is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ferguson Elementary, 22215 Elaine Ave., in Hawaiian Gardens.
In addition to the kids' activities, there will be free health screenings for adults.
"This back-to-school BBQ will give Hawaiian Gardens' residents time (to enjoy) their neighborhood and (to get) to know their neighbors." Mayor Michael Gomez said in a press release issued about the event Friday.
"By participating in the BBQ, Hawaiian Gardens residents are supporting crime prevention efforts in our community while celebrating our community," Gomez said.