February 2009 Archives

It's getting late in the race for Carson City Council, so it must be time for overt racial appeals.

In a last-minute campaign mailer targeted at the Latino community, Julie Ruiz Raber points out that 37 percent of the city is Latino, and yet she is "the only Hispanic candidate running for City Council." She goes on to note her support for the Carson Mariachi Festival, Cinco de Mayo and Cesar Chavez Day.

If this sounds familiar, it's because last week Mayor Jim Dear told a Filipino newspaper he would do what it takes to defend Philippine Independence Day from the budget ax.

The city staff has suggested slashing all these festivals in light of the $5 million deficit, because in tough times, they are a luxury.

But the council has resisted, and it's easy to see why. Imagine the mailers that would have gone out if an incumbent had voted to cut Juneteenth, or the Mariachi Festival, or the Dutch Quilting Bee. (OK, that last one is made up.)

Happy Friday, readers. Let's get to it:

Someone died in a Thursday evening plane crash at Torrance Municipal Airport. We're still working on this, and will get you some more details soon.

Surprise, surprise. South Bay home prices continued to slide last month, plunging to a level not seen for five years.

Meter parking in downtown Pedro has gotten more costly -- like 300 percent more expensive.

In our At Work feature, we profile the duties of a North Torrance High grad who sells secondhand clothing.

South Bay high school wrestlers head to Temecula this weekend for the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.

The Daily Breeze's op-ed page today has an interesting letter regarding Monday's endorsements for Manhattan Beach City Council election candidates.

In her letter, Bev Morse, a longtime Manhattan resident and one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet, disagrees with the Breeze's endorsement of Kathleen Paralusz for one of three available City Council seats.

Morse raises an issue that that has popped up in town as the March 3 election nears: Paralusz is the sister-in-law of incumbent Richard Montgomery, who also earned support from the Breeze's editorial board in his re-election bid.

The letter states: "Unfortunately, Kathleen Paralusz, bright and able, is Richard's sister-in-law, and many boards, such as those upon which I've served and presided, frown upon relatives serving together."

Though Montgomery and Paralusz see no problem with their family ties, plenty of people in town have concerns.

So, there had to be someone else who could have written this letter, especially considering that in March 2007, Morse and her husband both ran for City Council before she dropped out of the race, fearing that two Morses on the ballot would split votes.

Elsewhere in the South Bay that year, Redondo Beach saw a husband and wife run for council and City Clerk, respectively. Also, a husband-and-wife team ran for two council seats in Carson.

In a story we wrote about the sudden crop of hitched political candidates, Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton said, "Voters tend to apply common sense to things. The voters will probably have to decide -- are they comfortable with this."
 
And all three pairs lost.

There has been a flood of support from for Desmond from friends, family and South Bay residents touched by her story. 

Nearly 2,000 people have joined a Facebook page her family members created a few days ago called "Find Cori Daye Desmond's Killer". 

Here's a link to a home video they posted on that Web page:  Cori Desmond video

Detectives have not arrested any suspect in her slaying.  Desmond, a 28-year-old Torrance woman, was found murdered on the side of the road in the San Bernardino Mountain community of Running Springs on the afternoon of Feb. 16.  She was last seen leaving bars on Artesia Boulevard in Redondo Beach at about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 15.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved on Tuesday a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a suspect or suspects in the murder.

Anyone with information that might help solve the Cori Desmond slaying is asked to call WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME, or the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at 909-387-3589.

Here are some previous stories about the case:

Desmond sought bar entry on last night

Funeral services set for Cori Desmond 

A community mourns

Torrance woman found dead in Running Springs

Here's what's doing this morning:

Torrance Police next year will drastically reorganize how it enforces law in town for the first time in decades, a proactive move that will add more cops on the street when they are needed most.

Los Angeles Police Department officers tried to talk a suicidal 16-year-old girl into not diving off a San Pedro cliff Wednesday when she swore at them and suddenly jumped. Miraculously, she survived. Check out pictures of the dramatic rescue.

For the first time in years, Palos Verdes Estates has a competitive City Council election, including one candidate who years ago worked as an exotic dancer and months ago sued the city over her contested Halloween decorations.

Just two months into office, President Barack Obama could get a Gardena street named after him if one councilman has his way.

"Bling is out," Jack Kyser, chief economist for Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., told 200 business people at a Torrance Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday.

Mira Costa High's girls basketball team overtook Buena High in a fourth-quarter rally Wednesday. Watch the action here.

Rep. Laura Richardson was quoted in the Long Beach Press-Telegram today reacting to President Obama's speech:

"What stuck out was that he called for responsibility from not just financial institutions, but also people," she said.

Here's what's happening out there today:

Half a million single seniors in California don't earn enough to cover basic needs like food, rent and medicine, a new UCLA study. Los Angeles County seniors surpass the state's average, clocking 54 percent of singles not meeting the basics.

Members of the California Teachers Association gathered Tuesday at El Segundo High School to protest possible layoffs. Check out pictures here.
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Minutes after she was last seen in Redondo Beach, Cori Desmond tried to get into a closed bar but owners wouldn't let her in, said investigators, who still have no leads on the Torrance woman's death.

Narbonne High overtook San Pedro in a boys basketball face-off Tuesday -- see for yourself here.

And hey, did you know that the South Bay has a proud history of churning out pro basketball players?

Here's what's happening today:

Researchers now suspect climate change could have contributed to all those pelicans found sick a few months ago. They probably stayed north too long, and then encountered harsh storms on their way back.

About 50 firefighters worked Monday evening to knock down a blaze in an underground tunnel at the BP Carson Refinery. Though difficult to extinguish, the fire was minor, a spokesman said.

Police found a dead body beneath a Palos Verdes Estates cliff this morning.

El Segundo girls soccer team captain Courtney Hobbs keeps her cool -- even in hot situations on the field. Check out pictures here.

Manhattan Beach company 3 Phases Renewables provides green energy power to commercial and residential customers.

Please sir, can I have another? IHOP and Jack in the Box are handing out free food today.

Jane Harman has an op/ed today in the conservative Washington Times. She details the history of A.Q. Khan, the scientist who brought nuclear weapons to Pakistan, and who has been under house arrest since 2004 for selling nuclear secrets to rogue states. The Pakistani Supreme Court recently ruled that Khan should be released.

Harman calls on the Pakistani government to appeal that decision:

The Obama administration should promptly seek Pakistani permission to question Mr. Khan, and Pakistan should agree to appeal the Supreme Court decision and perhaps to undo the Musharraf pardon. The U.S. Congress can condition further aid to Pakistan on those events.

But, hopefully, appropriate Pakistani officials worry as we do that their civilians could become nuclear targets - as could NATO soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan or civilians in any number of Western countries. Questioning Mr. Khan and learning all the details of his past and present activities is crucial.

Here is a Feb. 10 statement from Robert Wood, a State Department spokesman, on this issue:

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg met with Foreign Minister Qureshi in Munich and expressed the U.S. government's deep concern at the decision to release A.Q. Khan. He sought assurances that the Pakistani government would take every step available to ensure that Mr. Khan did not pose a proliferation risk.

Happy Monday, party people. Let's start your week off right:

All things Oscars here, and check out red carpet pictures from one of our staff photographers here.

Los Angeles County planners are considering a pitch for a boat valet service in Marina del Rey, where vessel owners could call ahead and have their boats dropped into the water from a storage unit extended over the water. Needless to say, residents are not happy about the proposed hulking structure.

Laws governing catering trucks are getting even tighter on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

What would it be like to hear after a lifetime spent deaf? A a risky procedure usually performed only on adults has suddenly broadened Torrance 5-year-old Miles Ganalon's senses -- and his world. Check out pictures of Miles.

The tow-truck company owned by Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto has been named in a lawsuit from a Rolling Hills Estates man alleging he was assaulted by one of Scotto's drivers.

In the wake of Sen. Abel Maldonado's crusade against John Chiang's cubicles, the California Democratic Party is firing back.

From the press release:

The same Abel Maldonado who blasted the "pork spending" in this year's budget agreement has quite famously delivered the goods for his own district in the past.

Does anyone remember the "Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center" in Santa Maria???

It does look nice:

You need an aerial shot to see the pool:

There will be a debate tomorrow in the race for Mark Ridley-Thomas' seat in the state Senate. Assemblymen Curren Price and Mike Davis are the top contenders, along with five other candidates. The special election will be held March 24.

Here are the details:

Please make it stop.

In the South Bay, we've all been burned by rampant speculation that Rep. Jane Harman would be picked for some intelligence post in the new administration, such as CIA Director.

That didn't pan out. So we've all learned our lesson, right?

Well, here comes Sen. Susan Collins, the all-of-a-sudden-super-influential moderate from Maine, suggesting Harman for another post:

Collins said in an interview with the editorial board of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel that she does have someone in mind to replace (New Hampshire Sen. Judd) Gregg. She's assuming it won't be a Republican.

"My top choice on the Democratic side is a Congresswoman from California named Jane Harman," she said. "I've worked very closely with her. I think she would be terrific."

Looks like Harman is burnishing her reputation as every Republican's favorite Democrat. At first blush, it seems unlikely she would want to drop her terrorism portfolio to take on international trade.

But who knows.

File it under "speculation."

Here's what's happening this gorgeous morning:

San Bernadino County Sheriff's investigators still haven't identified any suspects in the killing of Torrance resident Cori Desmond, a spokeswoman said this morning.

Friends of the 28-year-old gathered Wednesday to mourn a woman who loved to cook and sing karaoke before she disappeared Saturday night and was found dead Monday in Running Springs.

Check out pictures of the vigil outside Redondo Beach's Bac Street bar, where Desmond was last seen alive.

The first day of a new fee system at the Port of Los Angeles prompted massive truck traffic snarls Wednesday.

Hermosa Beach is on the wagon as far as detailed reviews of how well its bars behaved themselves last year.

A discount carrier will let Los Angeles travelers fly to more exotic, small Midwest locales. Allegiant Air will come to LAX in May.

Palos Verdes High School soccer standout Elizabeth Caparis has that certain "wow" factor.

About 100 people, including a large contingent of Filipino veterans, gathered at Lake Street Park in Los Angeles today to celebrate the approval of lump-sum payments to those who served in World War II.

Under the economic stimulus bill President Obama signed yesterday, Filipino veterans in the U.S. will get $15,000 apiece, while those in the Philippines will get $9,000.

So how will they spend it?

"Do not spend it lavishly," veteran Gregorio Villanueva warned his fellow soldiers. "If you receive this money, spend it nicely."

These veterans are immigrants, and tend to live modestly. One man said the money would totally change his lifestyle, because now he will be able to give Christmas presents to his grandchildren.

Manuel Moran Realubit, 83, said he would deposit his money in the bank.

"I give thanks so much for this money the U.S. government is giving us," he said.

Gilberto Lladoc, 87, of Panorama City, said he would give the money to his wife and daughter. Lladoc said he enlisted a few days after the attack at Pearl Harbor and the Japanese invastion of the Philippines. After the Japanese took control of the islands, he fought as a guerrilla in the mountains.

"We had plenty of encounters with the Japanese," he said. "Sometimes we had no bullet, so we withdrew."

Congress rescinded benefits for Filipino fighters 63 years ago this week.

"For 60 years we are waiting for that approval," Lladoc said.

Others are disappointed that they did not receive equal benefits to U.S. veterans.

"It is not, to me, enough for what we have done," said Peping Baclig, a survivor of the Bataan Death March. "But it is a token of appreciation."

Gentle readers, let's get to it:

Torrance resident Cori Desmond spent the evening of Valentine's Day at a Redondo Beach bar, and was never seen again -- until Monday, when a motorist discovered the 28-year-old's body in a bag on a San Bernadino Mountain snowbank.

Economic forecasters predict Los Angeles County will continue feeling more painful financial pinching in 2009, with unemployment rates expected to hit almost 10 percent.

Rolling Hills Covenant Church parishioners gathered Tuesday to hand copy Bible verses as part of "Bible Across America," a project where Christians all over the country will completely transcribe the holy tome.

Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin put city-wide budget cuts in a positive light at his State of the City breakfast address Tuesday.

Leuzinger High School senior Jerry Evans is ready to lead his baller team mates to a winning season.

Let's get to it:

Add legal aid groups to the folks feeling the pinch from the worldwide economic meltdown.

Scattered showers should continue today in the South Bay, where just this morning I've seen hail, pouring rain and sunshine.

A new environmental analysis of Playa Vista's second phase, the Village, is out for your perusal.

A Torrance company makes a host of high-tech gadgets that keep you on time and on track.

San Pedro High's boys basketball team has been the surprise of the season, earning a Marine League title and garnering the No. 3 seeds in the new L.A. City Section Division II playoffs.

A follow-up note from last week: The final stimulus bill that passed the House and Senate did include $198 million for Filipino veterans of World War II.

There had been some doubt about whether the money would stay in the bill, because it had been targeted for removal by a group of centrist senators. But thanks mostly to Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the money stayed in the final bill.

Filipino veterans living in the U.S. will get $15,000. Those living in the Philippines will get $9,000.

Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont has suggested forming a truth commission to get to the bottom of abuses in the War on Terror. Karl Rove was on "The O'Reilly Factor" the other day, and had this to say about that:

But look, this is the kind of lunatic stuff that Leahy comes up with when he wants to get a little attention or placate the left. If he were serious, would he really be suggesting this? For example, is he suggesting that they get Senator Jay Rockefeller, his Democratic colleague, or Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Congresswoman Jane Harman, all of who were briefed on the enhanced interrogation techniques and other things that's he's upset about? Was he going to get them in front of the commission, say...

Rove thinks Leahy is not seriously proposing this, however:

But you know, America is still the United States of America. We're not some little dinky country in Central America run by colonels in mirrored sunglasses where this kind of thing where you take where the incoming regime goes and witch-hunt for the people for the previous regime. If we ever get that way, then we will have lost the greatness that is America. But that's -- look, I don't take this as serious...

Here's what's happening today:

Just because I'm working today, doesn't mean you are. Or the the folks at the postal service or courts. Check out a list of what's closed or rescheduled because of the holiday.

Police are looking for members of a robbery ring who made off with three shipping containers filled with about $650,000 worth of electronics last night after attacking a security guard at the Harbor Gateway industrial park.

About 90 people showed up to a South Bay-area church Sunday to get overdue electricity bills paid.

Torrance is hoping to amp up its tourism draw by capitalizing on its, um, prime location near Los Angeles International Airport and between Hollywood and Orange County.

Bishop Montgomery's basketball teams are in good shape for the CIF championship.

Who wants to trade places with the state controller, Torrance resident John Chiang?

A group of South Bay senior citizens are still meeting to tell their life stories after their "Write Your Own Life Story" class held for 20 years by Torrance Unified School District's adult education program was canceled.

For those of you who understand this sort of thing, here's the NTSB investigator's preliminary report on the plane crash that killed three people near Avalon on Feb. 5.

It doesn't say why the plane crashed, but has the initial facts. This is taken directly from ntsb.gov:

NTSB Identification: WPR09FA112
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, February 05, 2009 in Avalon, CA
Aircraft: BEECH A36, registration: N66819
Injuries: 3 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.


On February 5, 2009, about 1642 Pacific standard time, a Beech A36, N66819, collided with terrain near Avalon, California. Skyblue USA LLC was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot and two passengers were killed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage from impact forces and a post crash fire. The cross-country flight departed Avalon's Airport in the Sky about 1639, with a planned destination of Santa Ana, California. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed, but not activated.

A preliminary review of recorded radar data noted a secondary 1200 (VFR) beacon code at a mode C reported altitude of 1,600 feet mean sea level (msl) at the departure end of runway 22 at 1639. The airport's elevation is listed as 1,604 feet msl. The target made left and right turns; the maximum mode C altitude attained was 2,400 feet. The target decreased 600 feet in altitude over the last two returns, which covered 9 seconds. The coordinates for the last radar return were 33 degrees 23.0 minutes north latitude by 118 degrees 25.25 minutes west longitude. The coordinates for the accident site were 33 degrees 22.73 minutes north latitude by 118 degrees 25.27 minutes west longitude.

Investigators completed a preliminary examination of the wreckage at the accident scene. The accident site was in mountainous terrain. The debris path was along a magnetic heading of 058 degrees, which was toward rising terrain.

The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was the principle impact crater (PIC), which had symmetrical ground scars on its left and right sides. Green lens fragments were a few feet past the outer edge of the right ground scar. One propeller blade and pieces of the nose landing gear assembly were in the PIC.

The airplane came to rest inverted with the engine underneath it. Fire consumed most of the cabin area and center wing sections. Investigators identified all flight controls at the scene.

Maxine Waters was on "This Week" this morning, and was given the job of defending the stimulus bill. She had the following exchange with Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican with a gift for earthy turns of phrase:

GRAHAM: There are things in this bill that make the public want to throw up. They know it doesn't create a job. It just creates more government. And we blew it.

WATERS: I don't see anything in this bill that would make anybody want to throw up. This was exciting...

More interesting, however, was that Graham and Waters seemed surprisingly close on the issue of bank nationalization.

First, here's Waters on the topic:

WATERS: Well, we may get to that point. And I'm not opposed to that. But I think the discussion is just opening up. This is new for America.

And now here's Graham:

GRAHAM: Yes, this idea of nationalizing banks is not comfortable, but I think we have gotten so many toxic assets spread throughout the banking and financial community throughout the world that we're going to have to do something that no one ever envisioned a year ago, no one likes, but, to me, banking and housing are the root cause of this problem. And I'm very much afraid that any program to salvage the bank is going to require the government...

STEPHANOPOULOS: So what would you do now?

GRAHAM: I -- I would not take off the idea of nationalizing the banks.

WATERS: We've come a long way...

Indeed. Just last year, Waters got in a heap of trouble for suggesting a government takeover of the oil companies. Rep. Peter King noted the strange place we've all come to since then:

KING: And Lindsey and Maxine are almost on the same page, which -- I don't know what this means about the world.

GRAHAM: You may have to edit this program.

Party on, geeks!

Nerds worldwide are set to celebrate today at 3:31.30 p.m. PST -- or Unix epoch time 1234567890, a time-calculating methods used by computers operating on Unix-like systems that basically  counts the number of seconds elapsed since midnight on Jan. 1, 1970.

I think. Read this and this for yourself to get the complete details. This sort of thing is not my forte, likely because I write mostly about beaches and bars.

However, because of the latter, I happen to know that South Bay Unix fans are supposed to gather at Harry O's in El Segundo to celebrate this afternoon. So, why don't you stop in and celebrate?*

*Looks like Harry O's doesn't open until a few hours after 1234567890, so you'll have to find another place to party. Or you can drink at home. Alone.
 

Here's what's happening out there:

South Bay parents react to a Thursday court ruling decreeing that childhood vaccines don't cause autism.

Those brainiacs at West Torrance High School won the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon, and several other local schools did well enough to earn a spot at the state competition.

Turns out, Frank Torres, the man who barricaded himself inside his foreclosed Carson home this week, isn't exactly an ideal poster child for the home mortgage crisis, with a string of drug and theft arrests behind him.

Sooo cute: A bunch of Torrance school kids channeled Abraham Lincoln's hat, beard and brows to celebrate the president's 200th birthday Thursday.

Try as they might, Palos Verdes High's girls soccer team can't pry the crown off Mira Costa's team, which again won their match Thursday. Check out some pictures here.

The customers are the best part of working at a bowling alley, says Andy Cunningham, an attendant at the Gable House Bowl in Torrance.

Here's what's going on today:

Going beyond the usual food basket and collection plate donations, South Bay churches are doing their best to help parishioners desperate in the economy, including one congregation that will pay past-due electric bills for residents this weekend.

A group of Wilmington residents say an environmental study of a proposed truck expressway is flawed.

Los Angeles County will sue the state over delays in health and social services funding, supervisors decided Wednesday.

Banning High's boys soccer team earned a spot into the play-offs Wednesday, when it beat their San Pedro High counterparts, 1-0. Check out some pictures of the match here.

Yesterday the Senate passed a stimulus bill that includes $198 million for Filipino veterans of World War II.

I talked to Sam Icalina, an 84-year-old Filipino veteran from Carson who's been waiting for 60 years for some kind of compensation for his service. Summing up his views on the issue, he referred to the following Tagalog saying:

"Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo"

Literally, it means something like "What's the use of grass if the horse is already dead?"

In other words, the vast majority of Filipino WWII vets have died, and for them the compensation is too late.

Let's get this party started, readers:

Police are still looking for another suspect involved in a north Torrance police chase that resulted in a gunfire and a neighborhood being sealed off Tuesday night.

"I want to be heard," Frank Torres wrote on the roof of his foreclosed Carson home, in which he barricaded himself Tuesday when workers came to remove his possessions from inside. Check out pictures of the scene, and video too.

Fiesta Hermosa will be Fiesta Verde later this year, when the three-day event will power electricity generators with used vegetable oil.

Torrance-based Robinson helicopter broke a production record last year, despite a recession.

Leuzinger High overtook Redondo Union High's boys basketball team Tuesday. Relive the action here.

If you want more prep sports news, visit our Pure Preps blog. And while you're getting into new media, why don't you head over to Twitter and follow Breeze prep-ster Tony Ciniglio? He's twittering away as @breezepreps.
 

Nope, they're not, "Will you marry me?" And not, "Let's just be friends." And definitely not, "Your place or mine?"

Instead, try "I love Coffee Bean."

Whisper those sweet nothings to the barista at your favorite Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf between 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday when you buy a Caramel Mocha Bliss latte or ice blended beverage and you'll get another one for free.

The downside to this offer is that if your new boyfriend shows up on your doorstep Saturday with two of these frothy beverages, he's cheap. Unless diamonds are hidden in the whipped cream, of course.

Let's get it started, readers:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is calling for a mandatory water rationing plan. What are other South Bay cities and water agencies doing as the state enters its third year of drought?

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day, like this weekend.

Despite a near tragic economy, owners of Manhattan Village mall are moving ahead with expansion plans. Residents get first crack at the possible environmental affects of the project Thursday.

Redondo Union High School's boys basketball team takes on Leuzinger High tonight with only one returning varsity player player this season.

Adrian Vaughan has turned a passion for sneakers into a business by opening a Manhattan Beach shop that specializes in limited edition basketball and skateboarding shoes.

The latest from the Villaraigosa for Governor Mayor campaign:

"I'm not going to make a promise I can't keep," Villaraigosa told The Associated Press when asked whether he would complete a full term if re-elected.

If memory serves, Villaraigosa promised in 2003 that he would serve a full four-year City Council term, and that didn't hold. Evidently he has learned from past mistakes.

As the California Legislature remains grid-locked along party lines on a solution to the state's anticipated $42 billion budget deficit, one local city says it has the answer. Or not.

The Hawthorne City Council will likely sign a resolution Tuesday night opposing state budget cuts and criticizing "wasteful spending programs".

Led by Mayor Larry Guidi, who has been reportedly thinking about running for a state Assembly seat, the City Council first considered taking out full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee and Daily Breeze opposing the state Legislature's handling of the budget. The council backed off of that idea when it learned the cost of buying the newspaper ads.

 

Hawthorne has its own ongoing budget problems. It operates under a revolving deficit of several million dollars, which it usually plugs with one-time money. Next year, it expects to be about $3 million in the hole for its regular operating expenses. Of course, that's largely due to the sinking economy.

In any case, rather than outline ways to close the budget gap, Hawthorne's resolution is more of a list of complaints about programs it believes are unnecessary and state board members it believes are overpaid. Here are some snippets:

• Consolidate the Postsecondary Education Commission and the Student Aid Commission for a savings of $2 million.
• Eliminate the Department of Boating and Waterways.
• Eliminate the Court Reporters Board.

All of Hawthorne's proposals together add up to a few million dollars -- hardly a drop in the $42 billion bucket.

For a look at the proposed resolution, click here:  Hawthorne resolution opposing state's budget cuts

The House Democrats held a weekend retreat in Williamsburg, Va., which included singing, dancing and the electric slide.

According to the Washington Post, Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, got on stage to sing "I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor's disco hymn to women's empowerment.

The joke is almost too easy, but the Post makes it anyway. The paper notes that it's fitting that Richardson sang the song, given that she "so far has survived her home foreclosure and defaults crisis."

The tune is also a well-known gay anthem, so perhaps Richardson was building a bridge to a community that has had hard feelings towards her ever since her 1996 Assembly race. In that campaign, Richardson ran a mailer against Gerrie Schipske, accusing her of having a radical gay agenda. It has followed her around ever since, even though Richardson now supports gay marriage.

Sure enough, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the nation's most prominent gay politician, got out on the dance floor during Richardson's rendition. Frank, of course, heads the Financial Services Committee, and would be a good person for Richardson to be on good terms with.

Coroner's officials have identified the two passengers aboard a plane that crashed on Catalina Island last week.

The passengers were Marshall D. Goldberg, 39, of Florida and Amy Marie Judd, 25, of Idaho.

The bodies were recovered from wreckage discovered Friday morning on hillside on the west side of the island. The plane had taken off at 4:50 p.m. Thursday and did not reach its destination of Orange County.

The coroner's office has not official identified the pilot. Before the wreckage was discovered, the U.S. Coast Guard released his name as Mark Thomas Hogland, 49, of Dana Point.

Here's your morning scoop, South Bay:

Manhattan Beach's Roundhouse Aquarium has received a pretty significant grant from a group of local residents that will allow them to spiff up their mobile teaching efforts. Three cheers from sea urchins, star fish and crabs! Check out some pretty cool pictures, too.

Our Freshman, Juliana Stone, has started her second semester, and is now officially halfway finished with her Breeze columnist duties.

For school districts to survive California's fiscal crisis, it's gonna take more spending flexibility, administrators say.

A Torrance home for severely autistic children is one of hundreds of programs in jeopardy without public funding.

Hey, did you know the first in-vitro baby was born 25 years ago thanks to technology developed near Torrance? Now that octuplets woman knows who to thank. Want to know how exactly in-vitro fertilization works? Check out our graphic graphic.

Of Jerry Brown's 25 random things, #24 is probably the newsiest:

24. The first time I became Governor, I followed an Actor (Ronald Reagan).

(Hint, hint.)

Gavin Newsom hasn't done a "25 random things" yet, but he has posted this to his Facebook page:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco is planning to build a new recycling plant that will convert large batches of so-called "brown grease" into biodiesel.

Yuck.

Also on Facebook, Antonio Villaraigosa posted this story, which starts off talking about his divorce and the failed LAUSD takeover effort, before pivoting thusly:

And yet the Los Angeles mayor is soaring again in the City of Angels. He is running virtually unchallenged for re-election in March against a field of under-funded unknowns. He is widely discussed as a likely 2010 gubernatorial candidate.

The story quotes Villaraigosa downplaying the gubernatorial speculation. But the story itself contributes to such speculation, and here Villaraigosa is linking to it on Facebook, so is he in a roundabout way encouraging such speculation?

Meta.

Here's what's up today, peeps:

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a small plane that hasn't been seen since it took off from Catalina Island yesterday with three people aboard.

Lisa Simmons talks about life a year after her husband, Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer Randal Simmons, was killed in a stand-off. To continue her husband's legacy, the Rancho Palos Verdes resident has established a foundation to "empower the community by providing support in the areas of economic, development, education, health and wellness and global outreach."

Tech firm International Rectifier will close its El Segundo facility, a move that will cost 70 local employees.

A Chinese-built cargo scanner will get one more shot at the Port of Los Angeles, officials there decided Thursday.

You'll have to wait in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles office some other day because statewide they are closed today under order from the governor.

The other night I wrote about Karl Rove's talk at Loyola Marymount. In it, I mentioned a woman who "held up a pair of handcuffs and said she would like to see Rove wearing them."

Well, that woman has identified herself as Patricia Foulkrod, a film director, best known for the 2006 Iraq war documentary "The Ground Truth." She is also a member of Code Pink, best known for disrupting Congressional hearings and waving their blood-stained hands in Condi Rice's face.

You needed a ticket to get into the speech, and those mostly went to LMU students, staff and alumni. So how did Foulkrod get in?

I convinced a very nice LMU public relations person I was with a progressive online news show. Oh well.

I can confirm that the LMU public relations folks are nice people, but in the future they might want to check these things out.

Rove seemed quite used to this, and ready for it, and he launched into a 5-10 minute peroration on soldiers and marines he has met whose courage and grit inspired him. End of show.

Foulkrod's full account of her "citizen's arrest" is here.

Get it while it's hot, readers:

Funeral services were held Wednesday evening for the Wilmington mother and her three daughters who were killed last week by their husband distraught over being fired. The pastor prayed that relatives of the Lupoe family would find comfort.

A Palos Verdes Estates City Council candidate plans to spend more than $100,000 of her own cash on her campaign. Sheryl Ianitti's first big purchase is a giant billboard emblazoned with a quote from Abraham Lincoln on the corner of Western Avenue and Palos Verdes Drive North.

Los Angeles County legislative districts have the highest number of children without health insurance in the state, with about 15,000 living in the South Bay, according to data released Wednesday.

Narbonne High School football star Byron Moore had his pick of schools, but ended up choosing USC on Wednesday, college signing day for high school athletes. See pictures of the day's excitement here. Also, check out our database that tracks local signings.

Get down with the morning news, readers:

The pilot of an ultralight plane was uninjured when his aircraft flipped over this morning upon landing at Torrance airport was uninjured, fire department officials said. More on this coming soon.

In Lawndale, the bird-of-paradise is out, and the poppy is in. The city will drop from its logo the the former, shared with the city of Los Angeles, in favor of a poppy, which is a native species to the area.

It's library day at the Daily Breeze: Lawndale will turn its old library into storage space; Redondo Beach started demolition Tuesday on its aging north library, which will reopen in 2010; and Torrance reopens its main branch Thursday after an 8-month, $1.8 million renovation. Here's a sneak preview of the revamped Katy Geissert library in Torrance.

What do Carl Rove and Denny's Grand Slam breakfasts have in common? They were both free Tuesday in the South Bay. Watch Rove in action at Loyola Marymount University here.

Soak up the sun while you can, because rain -- and more typical winter weather -- is back tomorrow, forecasters predict.

So, Breeze crime reporter Larry Altman was on television last weekend, but what's he doing today?

We're watching the signings of more than 100 high school football players today, National Signing Day. Check out our database which tracks athletes by high school and college selection.

Let's get to it, South Bay:

Soundproofing work on Neal and Laura Jane Bushell's El Segundo home silenced neighboring LAX, but now the family is coughing and wheezing, ailments the couple attributes to mold that started growing soon after their double-paned windows were installed as part of the city's residential sound insulation program.

Two South Bay banks have received money under the Treasury Department's $350 billion bailout. And it's not the big names you'd think: Instead, try Bank of Manhattan in El Segundo and Beach Business Bank in Manhattan Beach, which snagged $1.7 million and $6 million, respectively.

The city of Hawthorne has settled a police brutality case for $1 million.

Speaking of Hawthorne, three drunk drivers there managed to plow their cars into four police cruisers over the weekend. Dude, they were sooo wasted, and the cops suffered minor injuries.

The secret to new Belamar Hotel manager Tom Beedon's success? Previous jobs spent delivering newspapers, working as a room service waiter, and working at a private club at Disneyland.

Let's get to it, people:

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, pronouncing six more weeks of winter -- not that you could tell by the sunny day we're having here in the South Bay, where temperatures should hit 79 degrees in Torrance today.

A group of Wilmington Middle School students are learning to sail for free with the help of a nonprofit group. Check out pics here.

Plans to redevelop the sprawling, long-vacant Hawthorne Plaza Mall are at a standstill, as its owners and city leaders can't agree on its fate.

An unlicensed driver who suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's Disease plowed into Charles Reis, and killed the 86-year-old as he walked to the Torrance Farmer's Market. The case illustrates how the courts struggle with how to punish elderly drivers in these situations.

Yay Steelers, but what about Brian Livingston? He won the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K run with a time of 30:46.4. Check out pictures of the race, and see full results here.

It's our first day in the Daily Breeze's new offices, right in the heart of Torrance. Make sure you update your address books with our new contact information: 21250 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 150, Torrance, CA 90503. Come by and visit us!