January 2010 Archives

Bryan and Janelle Benedict, the Torrance parents of a Haitian orphan they are trying to bring home, flew to Salt Lake City yesterday because they believed she would be on a plane to Utah. The Benedicts, extremely frustrated and worried about the safety of their 2-year-old daughter, learned at about 6 p.m. last night that the girl was not on the plane because her paperwork wasn't processed.

The girl, named Lovely, has been granted humanitarian parole, but the government in Haiti is extremely dysfunctional after a 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean country on Jan. 12.

The family is waiting word, but believes the girl will now be on a plane to somewhere "near" Miami. They planned to fly there next. Stay tuned ...

In an e-mail sent last night, Bryan Benedict had this to stay: "This is so frustrating! We just want Lovely home safe with us!"

A photo with today's story about the trash and sand erosion caused by the past week's series of storms showed some "oily sludge mounds" on Dockweiler Beach.
For the record, it's not oil.
There was a lot of confusion yesterday here in the newsroom and with some residents over whether there had been an oil spill on the beach.
Water microbiologists confirmed today that is is simply dark sand mixed with a lot of iron with a superficial layer of clay that was deposited there after dredging Marina del Rey several years ago. The storms exposed the clay and dark sand.

Pacific Hospital of Long Beach responded today to this article, which ran Sunday about a schizophrenic Lawndale woman who has been missing since the hospital discharged her more than two weeks ago.
Saron Belay, 37, is not capable of seeking help or calling her family, according to her family members. She hasn't been heard from since a taxi that was supposed to take her from the hospital to a transitional care facility in Norwalk dropped her off at the wrong address.
Here's what Laura Salas, director of patient and public relations at the hospital, said in a written statement:

"We at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach are very concerned that one of our discharged patients is missing as a result of a wrong address miscommunication. The miscommunication occurred when the private taxi company transporting the discharged patient gave the wrong destination address to the driver.

The taxi company in question has been used to augment our own transportation services at our expense for over 8 years and in that period we have never experienced an unfortunate incident such as this.

We will continue to review the details and will do everything possible to support this investigation and ensure that this never happens again."

A dead year-old, 7-foot-long female Risso's dolphin was found washed ashore at Cabrillo beach in San Pedro this morning.
Staff photographer Bernardo Alps (who is also president of the Los Angeles Chapter of American Cetacean Society) captured the image below.
Diane Alps, program coordinator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (and Bernardo's wife), said the dolphin is on ice at the aquarium awaiting a necropsy. Experts were not able to tell what caused the mammal's death. The scars are likely from hitting against rocks before washing ashore, she said.
Marine mammals rarely wash ashore and the storm may have pushed this one in, Alps said.
"When they die out at sea naturally, often they will sink," Diane Alps said. "With the storm it's hard to tell. Two Harbor seals and a sea lion washed up the first day of the storm.
Risso's dolphins are commonly spotted in the San Pedro channel, where they eat squid. Other dolphins regularly seen here are common, bottlenose and pacific white-sided.
Click here for more information about Risso's dolphins.

That's what a Los Angeles City official called the massive downpours experienced Tuesday and Wednesday, especially in some highly-impacted areas of San Pedro.

"Basically we had an excessive amount of torrential rain coming down in a very short time, it was equivalent to a 100-year storm ... The drains cannot handle that much," said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of the city's Bureau of Sanitation. "The system was overwhelmed."

He estimates that some areas got as much as 2 inches of driving rain in under 20 minutes.

City officials are now assessing the drain infrastructure around the intersection of Fourth Street and Grand Avenue in San Pedro, he said, to see if something can be done to ensure that the flooding that occurred this week doesn't happen in the future.

The Los Angeles County Supervisors will likely approve a motion Tuesday declaring a state of emergency due to the havoc caused by this week's storms, which left dozens of San Pedro residents homeless.

If approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the declaration will free up federal disaster relief funds and allow the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers to help with rebuilding and recovery. The county would also be able to access money under the California Disaster Assistance Act.

The supervisors will consider the motion at their 9:30 a.m. meeting Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles, and if approved, it will be sent immediately to the governor's office.

This week's series of storms have left many neighborhoods in a mess. But perhaps none more than the modest little residential area around Fourth Street and Grand Avenue in San Pedro.

I saw some guys playing beer pong outside an El Segundo bar recently. Good thing they weren't in Huntington Beach.

Last night it became illegal to play the drinking game in some of the city's restaurants.

The Orange County Register reports: "Say goodbye to the days of tennis tables, red cups and pingpong balls."

A Torrance family who adopted a 2-year-old girl from Haiti received what appears to be bad news Wednesday. A representative from the Joint Council on International Children's Services, which acts as a go-between for the families, U.S. government and Haitian authorities, sent Janelle Benedict of Torrance an e-mail stating that the U.S. State Department won't be assisting in bringing home Lovely, the daughter she adopted last summer.

The e-mail states that representatives from orphanages in Haiti have been asked to escort children who qualify for "humanitarian" deportation to the U.S. Embassy, where they will be flown to America on cargo planes. Some of the children, however, have been turned away, and there is no food or water at the Embassy in case the children get stranded there. The e-mail, from Rebecca Harris of the joint council, also asks parents to stop contacting members of Congress for help.

In response, Benedict wrote that, in essence, that the U.S. Embassy does not respect the orphanage directors, and that there will no doubt be long lines of children in a chaotic and unsafe environment. "We are extremely disappointed at this development, and worry for Lovely's safety," she wrote.

In the meantime, another 6.1 earthquake struck the region early Wednesday, raising more fears about the safety of their daughter in Port-au-Prince. Benedict said they are still waiting to hear about the condition of Lovely and other children at her orphanage.  

The U.S. Coast Guard just sent this over:

Coast Guard urges public to avoid going in or on the water as powerful storm system approaches

SAN PEDRO, Calif. -- The Coast Guard cautions members of the public in coastal locations around southern California to be aware of dangerous and rapidly changing weather conditions. Storm warnings, high wind warnings and small craft advisories remain in effect in the region through late tonight, Wednesday, January 20, 2010.

A storm warning means winds of 40 to 63 nautical miles per hour are imminent or occurring. Recreational boaters should remain in port or take shelter until winds and waves subside. Commercial vessels should prepare for very strong winds and damaging sea conditions and consider remaining in port or taking shelter in port until winds and waves subside.

A high wind warning means that sustained winds of 40 miles per hour or greater or gusts of 60 miles per hour or greater are expected. Strong south to southeast winds increasing through the afternoon will make navigation on the water difficult if not impossible.

The Manhattan Beach City Council sat down Tuesday night to decide on the future of Sand Dune Park but -- after nearly five hours of discussion -- couldn't decide on a solution.
At about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, the council sent the matter back to staff for more studying.
The dune won't be closed, but they did set some ground rules. The operative word is "re-purposed."
The 100-foot dune, which has become an international sensation for outdoor workout enthusiasts, will never again be a workout destination, Mayor Mitch Ward said.
Instead, the city will seek to return the land to nearby residents as a nature area.
"We're going to try to preserve it for limited use for a limited number of people," Ward said. "I think this will have a calming effect. We'll also be limiting the hours of operation."
Council members said they want to see some landscaping on the hill to both curb sand erosion and deter people from walking straight up and down the dune.
The dune was temporarily closed in August -- first, for temporary maintenance and then to hash out a way to curb problems caused by a huge influx of visitors to the residential community where the park sits.
Since the park was closed, five community meetings have been held to try to come up with a solution to the traffic congestion and parking nightmare caused by the dune's popularity.

See Friday's Daily Breeze for a full report on the council's next step on Sand Dune Park.

Dailybreeze.com will have an obituary later on the death of Jim Korthe, the lead singer of the rap-metal band 3rd Strike. The San Pedro man was 39.

Update: Jim Korthe obituary.

In case you forgot, the South Bay has some spectacular coastline. And there's all the more reason to get out on the ocean now that whale watching season has begun.
I was out on the Redondo Voyager this weekend and snapped a few pics (below).
We did get several glimpses of the migrating Pacific Gray whales very close to shore! 
Below are pictures of common dolphins, sea "dogs" a/k/a sea lions, Point Vicente lighthouse, and a lobster fishing boat.

For those of you following the effort to berth the USS Iowa, a World War II battleship, in the Port of Los Angeles as a permanent floating museum:

• Port officials are expected to get back to members of the Pacific Battleship Center -- the group heading up the campaign -- on Tuesday with more specific ideas on locations either in San Pedro or Wilmington. The group then will analyze those suggestions as the behind-the-scenes negotiations continue.
• Supporters are expected to launch a Web site soon as the movement gains more public interest and momentum.
• The issue could reach the Harbor Commission as early as the Feb. 11 meeting -- but that date is tentative.
• Look for more possibly high-profile political endorsements to be announced in the next few weeks.

Essentially, the group needs to convince the Navy to reopen bids for donation of the ship. To do that, they need a firm commitment of a home port in the Port of Los Angeles. That's also what's needed, supporters say, to jumpstart financial contributions. Two professional fundraisers -- one in California and the other in Iowa -- came on board this month to assist in the fundraising.

 The USS Iowa comes through the Panama Canal in 1990 being towed to the West Coast without a crew. 

A boat carrying seven fishermen was towed to safety today after it drifted off the coast of San Pedro for two days.

The occupants aboard the Saigon, a 60-foot boat, contacted the U.S. Coast Guard at 2:30 a.m. after being unable to start their engine since 1 p.m. Saturday, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young said.

The fishermen had been fishing off the coast of Ventura and were heading back to their home port in Wilmington when their engine died, Young said.

After trying unsuccessful to fix the problem, they radioed for help early today because of the deteriorating weather. They were 12 miles from land.

The Coast Guard sent a 41-foot utility boat from Los Angeles, hooked a line and towed them in. The fishermen were in good condition.

Rabbi Steven Silver of Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach sent this email to his congregation today with recommendations for making donations to help the victims in Haiti.

Here it is:

Dear Friends,

Shabbat Shalom. I do not send you this message frivolously; I respect the privilege of addressing you by email.

The recent photos of the devastation of Haiti have been shocking beyond words. In any country a disaster of this scale would be a nightmare; in Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere the situation is virtually unprecedented.

I know that many of you want to help in some way that is significant. The people of Haiti need our prayers and our material support.

I want to make three suggestions as to aid organizations to which you may want to make an online contribution:

• American Jewish World Service -- Haiti Emergency Fund
• Union for Reform Judaism
  
• Doctors Without Borders

Tonight when we light our Shabbat candles and cover our eyes for a moment of silent prayer we can feel comforted with the knowledge that we have in some small way given a helping hand to the Haitian People.

Warmly,

    
     Steven L. Silver, Rabbi

With Harbor Area Councilwoman Janice Hahn jumping into race for lieutenant governor, potential rivals are starting to think twice about taking a shot at the position.

According to the Fresno Bee, Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, might be getting cold feet.
Reporter E.J. Schultz spoke with Florez and this is what he said:

"The Shafter Democrat emphasized that he is still 100 percent in the race. But he said the next few weeks will be critical as he does more private polling on his chances of beating Los Angeles City Council Member Janice Hahn. Hahn, the sister of former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, enjoys high name recognition in voter-rich Southern California and has performed well in private polling.
"Janice Hahn is formidable, no doubt," Florez said. "I am going out to poll this next week and I'm anxious to see if the electorate has moved at all since her poll and I'm going to look at the poll and make a very informed decision."

 

So is he in or is he out?

The new balance of power on the Hawthorne City Council was on display at Tuesday night's council meeting as a law restricting council discussion was overturned.
Newly elected Councilwoman Angie English won a bid to get rid of a May 2008 ordinance that limited comments by council members to 10 minutes. The council then was led by Mayor Larry Guidi, and the ordinance was called "the Danny law" by then-minority members Councilmen Danny Juarez and Gary Parsons.
The nickname referred to Juarez's tendency to ask a lot of questions at meetings and discuss community affairs for more than 10 minutes. In 2008, Guidi and his supporters complained that Juarez talked too much during the meeting.
On Tuesday, Councilwoman Ginny Lambert -- who supported the 2008 ordinance -- jokingly referred to it as "the Danny law" and abstained from voting to repeal it. "You want us to be able to speak longer than five minutes?," Lambert asked English.
English said: "I feel that we all here as elected officials should have the opportunity to speak."
The vote was 4-0, with Lambert abstaining.

A 57-year-old pedestrian struck and killed Jan. 5 by a minivan in Gardena has been identified as Daryl L. King, police said.

King's family members, who live in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho, told the Daily Breeze he lived as a transient and had an alcohol problem.

His sister, Karen King, said the driver who struck him should not feel blame.

"Please let that family know that I don't want them hurting," she said.

The crash was reported at 10:35 p.m. in the 2500 block of Rosecrans Avenue. He was pronounced dead at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

The Carson sheriff's station has tapped into the "Twitter" social networking site to disseminate important information to the public.

"We believe we have an obligation to get information out to the public by whatever means is available," Sgt. Russell Shapley said. "Traditional media releases oftentimes take too long. By creating a Twitter account, we can avail traffic information, crime updates, Amber Alerts, or query the public for help in locating suspects almost immediately."

To find the Carson account, log on to "www.twitter.com" and follow "Carsonsheriff."

There's nothing new to report this morning on Sunday's likely murder-suicide in Manhattan Beach.

We have what we believe are the names of the couple involved, and photographs, but the coroner has not confirmed their identities.

A few people have commented on the story on dailybreeze.com. I'd like to talk to those who knew the couple.

Please contact me at 310-543-6655 or larry.altman@dailybreeze.com

A Mira Costa High School student's joint effort with a South Bay pizza restaurant chain collected about 1,300 sweat shirts for charity during a recent drive.

The drive, which ended on New Year's Day, easily outdid the goal of 1,000 sweat shirts.
Adam and Debbie Goldberg's Fresh Brothers pizza restaurants worked with 17-year-old Jason Jones' The Sweatshirt Project, collecting sweat shirts in their stores in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Marina del Rey.

Customers brought in sweat shirts to the stores and Fresh Brothers drivers picked them up from donors.

Jones, who began collecting and donating sweat shirts to two charities during the last two years, will distribute them next year.

Photo from Debbie Goldberg

Lawndale Councilman Jim Ramsey brought some laughter to the world on Tuesday's Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Ramsey's joke about the city's smelly garlic plants keeping vampires away was a big hit on local TV news programs. O'Brien thought it was pretty darn funny too. Fast forward to 10 minutes into the show:  

While many city officials have taken offense to the media's rough treatment of this issue, Ramsey has taken it in stride. He says the vampire joke is partially true because "there's bloodsuckers all over this town."

But he is getting weary of the spotlight, he says. "I stopped at the dentist and he asked me about it. I stopped at the liquor store to get some milk on the way home, and it's the first thing they say."

Rep. Jane Harman continued her barnstorming tour of the nation's cable news green rooms this morning, appearing with Gretchen Carlson on Fox & Friends:

The Daily Breeze's coverage of a relatively minor Lawndale City Council decision to replace some smelly Society Garlic plants became a local television news sensation this week.

The media attention mostly annoyed city officials -- except Councilman Jim Ramsey, who soaked up the spotlight. He is the only councilman who strongly opposes removing the plants.

People were so interested in Lawndale's decision to remove some of its 5,000 stinky garlic plants, that the story was picked up by the Huffington Post.

But the most interesting part of the story apparently became Ramsey's joke about the plants keeping away vampires.  People seem to think he might not be joking about this remark but, for the record, he IS joking.  He just looks really serious saying it on KTLA...

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is applauding the head of the Russian space agency for advocating a mission to deflect the asteroid Apophis, which is expected to pass close to Earth in 2029 and 2036.

In an interview on Russian radio last week, Anatoly Perminov said:

"People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people."

Apophis first came to public attention in 2004, when it was estimated to have a 2.7 percent chance of colliding with Earth in 2029. Such an impact would, indeed, be devastating -- 100,000 times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb.

But subsequent observations have shown that Apophis will pass harmlessly by in 2029. Scientists continue to track the asteroid because there is an extremely small chance -- 1 in 250,000 -- that it could hit Earth in 2036.

Rohrabacher, who has been warning of the dangers of an asteroid strike for some time, was heartened to hear of Perminov's interest in the subject. On Tuesday, he wrote a letter to the Russian bureaucrat:

"I want to congratulate you for taking the initiative on a very important challenge to mankind. I agree that a mission deflecting the Asteroid Apophis, which will come shockingly close to Earth in the coming decades, is critical for all people on the planet. You can count on me to try to make this a joint project with the United States."

Rohrabacher, that old cold warrior, goes on to invite Perminov to tour JPL in Pasadena with him.

Who has the movie rights to this?

Readers, so, so much news today:

Three gunmen held up 30 customers at a Hawthorne insurance company Wednesday, and sprayed a couple and their infant with mace.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police say violent crime in the area has fallen to its lowest rate in 50 years.

Torrance and Gardena are among the 10 clusters of autism cases discovered by UC Davis researchers in the state.

Plans to create public access trails into the Ballona Wetlands are back on track after the state budget crisis last year delayed the project.

The Port of Los Angeles' 22nd Street Park finally opens Saturday, concluding years of debate in San Pedro with trails, picnic areas and meadows.

Mira Costa High's girls soccer players beat their Chadwick counterparts Wednesday. See pictures of the match.

Over at The Corner, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton has credited Rep. Jane Harman with swaying the administration's policy on Yemen:

"The president was faced with a revolt from the Left," says Bolton. "Jane Harman, Dianne Feinstein, and Joe Lieberman were all pressuring him. Stopping the transfers was really the only choice he had. The bigger problem here is that he still doesn't realize that closing Gitmo is a mistake."

Of those three, only Lieberman is saying that closing Gitmo is a mistake. Feinstein and Harman have each sponsored legislation calling for the closure of Guantanamo.

Readers, here's your local news:

Fifteen customers of the Apple store in Manhattan Beach have been targeted since September by thieves who follow them away from the store and snag their new purchases.

In the wake of the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack, Los Angeles city officials are promising to beef up security at Los Angeles International Airport.

Only three South Bay school districts have submitted applications to receive a portion of up to $700 million competitive federal grant program.

More fall-out on the great Lawndale garlic-gate.

El Segundo's flasher has struck again -- the ninth time in recent months.

A beautiful historic San Pedro building celebrates its 85th birthday Thursday.

Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales may have had a rough 2009, but it still gained two No. 1 rankings.

Serra High's Robert Woods is the Daily Breeze's prep football player of the year. His leader, Scott Altenberg, is the coach of the year, and why don't you check out the rest of the All-area Team?

I'm not sure we need anyone advising local government officials to watch what documents they keep (it's already tough enough to get those that exist from them even though they all belong to the public, remember), but here's a timely topic.

Over the weekend, Rep. Jane Harman advocated that the administration hold off on transferring any more Guantanamo Bay detainees to Yemen. President Obama just announced that he is suspending the transfer of detainees to that country.

Readers, let's hit it:

A Redondo Beach woman has been arrested for allegedly executing a Ponzi scheme that targeted Latino women.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a 12-year legal battle waged against the city of Los Angeles by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California over the right to solicit donations at Los Angeles International Airport.

Massive South Bay employer Northrop Grumman will move its corporate headquarters to Washington D.C. by summertime 2011 to be closer to its customers. About 21,000 employees in the county will stay put.

The union representing LAX police officers are urging the federal government to use full-body scanners at airport security.

Hundreds of passengers aboard a giant Qantas Airbus A380 were stranded on an LAX tarmac for several hours Monday.

Hermosa Beach might add one more sport to its proud athletic heritage: beach tennis.

Sen. Jenny Oropeza has introduced legislation that would return funding for mammograms for low-income women.

Bishop Montgomery's lady ballers beat Mira Costa on Monday. Check out some pictures.

Rep. Jane Harman will be on CNN momentarily, but for now content yourselves with her appearance today on Andrea Mitchell's show on MSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

UPDATE: Harman was just on "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer, and got into a bit of an argument with Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., over whether the Guantanamo Bay prison ought to be closed. Hoekstra has taken some heat for sending out a fundraising letter that cited the Christmas Day attack, and at one point Harman held up his letter and quoted from it. Good partisan theater, for those who are into that kind of thing.

The Bakersfield Californian is the hometown paper of Democratic Sen. Dean Florez, who is running for lieutenant governor. In a story on Friday, the paper examined whether he has a chance against L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn:

In a nutshell, pundits say, no.

First there's the "near-impossibility" of a Central Valley resident building the name ID and fundraising base needed to take statewide office, said Vic Pollard, The Californian's former Sacramento bureau chief.

Then there's his most formidable primary opponent so far, Pollard said, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

She's a member of one of the best-known political families in Southern California. Hahn's father, Kenneth Hahn, was a legendary Los Angeles County supervisor while her brother James Hahn was L.A. mayor from 2001-2005.

There are a lot of voters and lots of money in Southern California, Pollard said.

"I would not be surprised if (Florez) drops out, unless he's got a longer-term goal in mind that would not be jeopardized by a loss for lieutenant governor," Pollard said.

Appearing on "This Week" today, Rep. Jane Harman said that the administration ought to hold off on repatriating Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay:

I believe the prison should close, but I also believe we should review again where we're going to send the detainees. I think it is a bad time to send the 90 or so Yemenis back to Yemen.

Watch the video here.