April 2011 Archives

A California physicians group that represents medical malpractice insurers has spent $51,092 on two political mailings to help the congressional campaign of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Cooperative of American Physicians disclosed the expenditures on April 22 and April 28.

Last year, the organization was one of several political action committees that banded together against Betsy Butler in the June Democratic primary for the 53rd Assembly District.

Butler, who won the primary and in November, the assembly seat, was targeted by the PACs because of her fundraising ties to the state's environmental nonprofits and trial lawyer's association.

Butler has endorsed California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Hahn's main rival in the 16-candidate May 17 election.

Hahn, whose campaign is heavily supported by those with interests in the city of Los Angeles, led all candidates in the first finance reports filed last month. Pre-election FEC reports are due May 5.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen is preparing to release a jobs blueprint to bolster her bid for a South Bay Congressional seat, while her campaign obliquely criticized the specific employment claims made by a rival's plan.

Bowen, a Democrat from Marina del Rey, intends to distribute her ideas to her supporters Thursday morning via email, social media and her website.

An advance copy of the plan focuses on crafting policies that spur job creation by investing in renewable energy, opening access to credit for small businesses, funding higher education and vocational training and passing clean energy legislation, among other details.

Last week, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, a San Pedro Democrat who along with Bowen is considered a frontrunner for the Venice-to-San Pedro 36th Congressional District seat, announced her own job-creation plan that she said would create 25,000 "green" jobs in the district by 2018.

Bowen campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said a political figure forecasting job-growth numbers is questionable.

Cue the low-key, cerebral Bowen, who has prided herself on being a "geek" and is apparently declining to promise thousands of jobs, even if it would sound good to voters.

"Her approach to the economic crisis is unlike other politicians that practically state they will create thousands of jobs - a stark difference," Vizcaino said.

Sixteen candidates are running to replace Democrat Jane Harman, who resigned in February to lead a Washington think tank.

The special election is set for May 17. All candidates appear on the same ballot, and if no one wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two go on to a July 12 runoff, even if they are in the same party.

 

Little more than two months after taking office, California Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, has proposed a new state law banning teens from indoor tanning salons. 

The "cancer-protection" bill, SB 746, will undergo its first review today (April 28).  Its first policy test will be Monday, May 2, with a hearing before the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee.

The health and safety measure intends to protect those under 18 from ultraviolet rays that have been linked to skin cancer, according to a statement from Lieu's office. 

Current state law bars those under age 14 from using ultraviolet tanning devices, but permits those 14-18 to use the beds with permission of their parent or legal guardian.

Research, and recent studies, however, show those who use tanning beds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma by 75 percent.    

Lieu will hold a press conference on the legislation in Sacramento at 11:30 a.m. today in room 1190 on the ground floor of the state capitol.  The bill is sponsored by the California Society of Dermatology & Dermatological Surgery and the Aim at Melanoma Foundation. 

Lieu assumed office in late February after a special election was held to replace the late Jenny Oropeza.  

  

South Bay residents:
If you've gotten a ticket for a moving violation such as speeding, running a red light or making an illegal U-turn and are surprised by the fine, please give me a call or e-mail.

Sandy Mazza: 310-543-6636
sandy.mazza@dailybreeze.com

Here's two not very good videos -- shot it with my iPhone -- of some of the music from today's Easter Sonrise celebration at First Lutheran Church of Carson. The paper sent me to the 7 a.m. service for our Easter coverage.

Every year, the congregants gather to celebrate Easter with jazz. I thought it was a pretty fun thing to do at church and would recommend it to all religions! Couldn't record it all and couldn't zoom in close, but enjoy a little bit. 

Happy Easter!

The story is coming soon to dailybreeze.com.

And the winner of the $25,000 prize is ... Laura Howard, a 29-year-old graphic design student at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

The judges of a nationwide contest organized by El Segundo-based Cereplast picked Howard's design for a new symbol to identify products made from bioplastics -- which consist of biological material such as vegetable oil and cornstarch, and are not petroleum-based.

Cereplast, which designs and manufactures these plastics, timed the announcement to coincide with Earth Day, which is today.

Howard's symbol resembles a flower, and incorporates a hexagon placed atop two leaves.

Cereplast's Make Your Mark competition was modeled after a 1970 contest by the Container Corporation of America that led to the creation of the now-universal recycling symbol.

"Obviously over time the recycling symbol has evolved," said Nicole Cardi, Cereplast's vice president and marketing and communication. "It's definitely become a symbol of also the green movement in a way."

The bioplastics signifier will be used initially by manufacturers utilizing Cereplast material, Cardi said.

The company announced its winner Thursday night at an event at the Herman Miller showroom in Los Angeles.

Cardi said more than 1,500 designs were submitted and 2.8 million public votes cast to determine the top 200 entries, which were then turned over to a panel of judges.

The Newsweek Daily Beast Co. announced Thursday that former Rep. Jane Harman will assume the seat of her late husband on the company's board.

Harman, the former representative for the South Bay's 36th Congressional District, is currently president and chief executive of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Sidney Harman died April 12 at age 92 in Washington due to complications from leukemia. Last year, he paid the Washington Post Co. $1 for money-losing Newsweek, while the Post Co. agreed to assume up to $10 million of the magazine's debt.

In November, Newsweek announced a merger with The Daily Beast, a news and opinion website.

The company also announced Thursday that Barry Diller has been named board executive chairman, the position Sidney Harman held before his death.

Both appointments are effective immediately.

"I have agreed to represent the Harman family's 50 percent interest in Newsweek and The Daily Beast and to join Barry Diller on the board," Harman said in a statement.

"The Harman family fully endorsed Sidney's vision to save and restore Newsweek, and to merge it with The Daily Beast," she continued.

"We are so pleased with the progress to date. As a director, I will work to support the best of journalism -- in print, digital and mobile. Our family will remain actively engaged and totally committed to the success of this enterprise."

If you live in the South Bay and have recently been ticketed for a moving violation like speeding or running a stop sign (and were surprised by the hefty fine), I want to talk to you!

Please contact me at sandy.mazza@dailybreeze.com.

Alice Crisci, a Redondo Beach resident who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 31, is hoping to ensure young cancer patients won't have to make the same excruciating choices she did four years ago.

Crisci, who started a nonprofit in the wake of her ordeal, will be in Sacramento next week pushing legislation, AB 428, that would extend health insurance coverage to all California residents to preserve their fertility prior to undergoing cancer treatment.

Roughly 70,000 young people are diagnosed with various forms of cancer throughout the United States each year, according to Crisci. The chemicals involved in treating the illness can destroy reproductive ability for these people.

Prior to treatment, Crisci opted to freeze some of her eggs, and also have some of them fertilized and frozen with donor sperm. The average cost of this procedure, however, is $14,000 for women.

Crisci is encouraging people to sign a petition to show support for the legislation. The goal is to get at least 5,000 signatures.

She is also inviting the public to attend a fundraiser April 30 in Santa Monica to raise money for cancer and fertility.

The multi-agency program that's been overseeing restoration efforts for Channel Island bald eagles -- which were essentially wiped out by ocean pollution that originated in the Harbor Area -- announced two big milestones today.

For the first time in 60 years, an eagle pair has nested on Anacapa Island. And also for the first time in more than six decades, a set of triplets was born to an eagle pair nesting on Catalina Island.

Those developments mark continuing success for a recovery effort launched in 2002 by the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program, which is the product of a decade of litigation against the former Harbor Gateway-based Montrose Chemical Corporation. The company dumped more than 100 tons of the chemical DDT into the ocean off White Point from the 1940s until 1971. Underwater cleanup efforts -- overseen by the EPA -- are just getting underway, more than 40 years later.

The eagles were affected by contamination from the DDT and other chemicals that climbed the marine food chain. The shells on their eggs became too delicate and would crack before chicks could be born. The white-headed birds disappeared from the Channel Islands.

In 2002, a restoration effort re-introduced eaglets -- from Alaska and other breeding program -- to the islands. The first eggs hatched successfully in 2006. Now there are a dozen breeding pairs.

Last week, a webcam was set up just in time for to see two chicks hatch in a nest kept by an eagle pair at Sauces Canyon on Santa Cruz Island. The camera is on a different pair than have been documented in the past, but it's still pretty cool!

Congressional candidate and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn on Monday released a "green" jobs plan, while her chief rival, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, touted a poll that claimed the race for a South Bay U.S. House seat is a dead heat with under a month to go.

Hahn said her plan, viewable here,  would create 25,000 new jobs by leveraging federal funding, streamlining regulations and investing in clean energy, among other measures.

Hahn, a Democrat, has been crisscrossing the 36th Congressional District as the May 17 special election approaches, even showing up on the public officials' stage at events like the dedication of the Wyland Whaling Wall on the Redondo Beach waterfront.

All-in-all, Hahn is looking - or trying to look - less like an L.A. city councilwoman from San Pedro and more like the congresswoman she hopes to be.

To get there, she'll have to beat 15 other candidates, including Bowen, a Democrat who lives in Marina del Rey and represented much of the South Bay in the state Legislature for 14 years.

On Monday, the Bowen campaign shared results from a poll it commissioned through Washington-based Feldman Group that showed Bowen and Hahn tied at 20 percent each. The poll of 451 registered, likely 36th District voters between April 4-7 had a margin of error of 4.9 percent.

Coming in behind the pair was Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin, a Republican, who had eight percent of those polled. Six percent of respondents chose Democrat Marcy Winograd of Santa Monica. Winograd got 41 percent of the vote in last June's primary against former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who resigned in February to lead a Washington think tank.

In a run-off matchup, the poll showed Bowen with a four percent lead over Hahn, 40 percent to 36 percent, with 16 percent undecided.

Hahn and Bowen are outstripping their competitors when it comes to campaign contributions in the short election season, according to the first reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Unless one candidate gets more than 50 percent in next month's primary, the race will go to a July 12 run-off between the top two vote getters regardless of party.

Beleaguered Vernon can't catch a break.

Vernon, population approximately 100, saw the State Assembly taking steps Wednesday toward dissolving the city into Los Angeles County. A bill seeking to break up Vernon is authored by Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, who called the city's corruption "the worst we've seen in this state."

Now Vernon is getting dubious looks from more-populous cities for leading The Mayor's Challenge, a competition between Southern California cities to save water and reduce pollution during April, Earth Month.

On Thursday, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach were sitting in second and third place, respectively.

Residents can make a pledge in the competition by going to www.mywaterpledge.com through the end of the month. The victor city's residents will be eligible for tickets to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim games and Disneyland as well as discounted passes to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

With prizes and pride on the line, some have complained that Vernon is too small to win the contest that is tabulated on a per capita basis.

Steve Creech, vice president of the Wyland Foundation, the nonprofit putting on the contest, said that if Vernon stays in first place it would be co-winner with another larger city.

"The remaining 99 percent of prizes available would go to the next city," Creech said. "And for that matter we would have to see if the vote from Vernon would be authenticated."

Fourth through 10th place on Thursday was occupied by Long Beach, Signal Hill, Villa Park, Gardena, Monrovia, Mission Viejo and Torrance.

A friendly but spirited competition has ensued between South Bay cities for the top spot in The Mayor's Challenge. Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin released a video on Wednesday urging residents to participate. Gin appeared in the video with someone dancing in a lobster suit.

Creech appeared sympathetic with Vernon's plight as the tiny city tries to makes its presence large in the contest.

"Somewhere in Vernon is a person who cares," he said.

Looking for a seaside pad with a bit of history? If you've got a cool $9 million to spend, look no further than Hermosa Beach.

The house used for filming exterior shots during the insanely popular "Beverly Hills, 90210" television series is really in the 90254 and has once again hit the market.

The three-story, pale-blue house is located on The Strand and listed for $8.9 million.

The 2,868-square foot home was built in 1915 and boasts 136 feet of beach frontage and looks like something you'd find in Cope Cod. It sits at the end of 35h Street and features a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom bungalow with a full laundry room, kitchen and enclosed patios. There are also two guest suites, each with a private balcony and - no joke - incredible ocean views.

 

 

The house has actually been on the market for a while - it first went up in 2010 and was originally listed at $10.5 million

The news comes as a recent sale of a massive Manhattan Beach compound set a record for highest home sale in the history of the South Bay, according to Mark McDermott of the Easy Reader. The home at 1600 The Strand sold for $10.9 million. Escrow closed Friday.

In 1998, the "90210" house was highlighted in a Daily Breeze article, shedding light onto some of the history of the famous residence.

 

From the article:

Even though filming at the home has long ended -- in fact, a total of only three days' filming took place in 1993 before a lawsuit by a neighbor ended it -- the house still lives on in the weekly show. Enough outtakes were shot to keep the characters in the house for years on end.

The television crews built a studio duplicate of The Strand apartment and shot multiple scenes there.

Several years before the Aaron Spelling show, the house was featured in the Kim Basinger movie, "My Stepmother is an Alien."

In the five-minute appearance, Basinger's character lands on the beach in a spaceship, and runs into a party at the home.

Although some neighbors find filming a nuisance, Steve Suard, who lives next door, doesn't mind it a bit.

"It was definitely fun. I got paid a lot of money to stay off my front patio," he said, recalling the filming days. "I used to say I live two houses from the corner, now I say I live next to the ` 90210 ' house."

 

The sequels to the highest-grossing blockbuster of all time will be shot and produced in Manhattan Beach.

James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have signed a deal for studio and office space at MBS Media campus at 1600 Rosecrans Avenue, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, had previously been based in Santa Monica, although much of the original film was produced in Playa Vista.

More from the Hollywood Reporter:

Cameron confirmed to THR the deal for space at the 1600 Rosecrans Ave. property, formerly known as Manhattan Beach Studios, in a brief interview at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas on Monday. The length and dollar value of the lease are not known.

 

The 580,000-square-foot studio and office facility, which houses 15 sound stages, also is likely to become the new home of Cameron's company, Lightstorm Entertainment. Sources said Cameron has been in the market for as much as 90,000 square feet of production and office space.

 The Manhattan Beach facility will be used by Cameron for motion capture photography and high-tech production of the next two films in the Avatar series, the news outlet reported.

The Oscar-winning director has been tapped to write and produce the two follow-ups to the original science fiction epic, which was shot in Playa Vista and New Zealand. Avatar 2 is expected to be released in December 2014 and Avatar 3 a year later.

The original Avatar film was released in 2009 and grossed more than $2.7 billion at the box office.

Local surfer Matt Mohagen has won the inaugural South Bay Big Wave Challenge.

He earned the title for riding a massive wave at Hammerland that was captured on film by Jeff Farsai. With the award, Mohagen received $1,000 in cash, a new Body Glove wetsuits and a 10-foot gun, shaped by Pat Readon.

Mohagen caught the 15-foot wave in January and accepted the award Friday evening during a ceremony at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse.

The Big Wave Challenge is sponsored by the South Bay Boardriders Club and given to the surfer documented catching the biggest wave in the South Bay between Dec. 1 and March 31.

 

The boundaries were from the D&W jetty in El Segundo to Indicators in Palos Verdes Estates.

Nominees, in addition to Mohagen, included Derek Levy, Marcelo Malinco, Tyler Hatzikian and Chris Rodriguez.

 

Here's a video of the winning wave:

 

 

Huge wave in Los Angeles, surfer Matt Mohagen, shot by Jeff Farsai from Jeff Farsai on Vimeo.

Politicians across the state, and those in the South Bay, are weighing in on the budget battle being waged this week in Washington, D.C.

Federal lawmakers, along with President Obama, are working to avoid a government shut down Friday at midnight if a spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year isn't approved. In the meantime, Republicans released a long-term fiscal plan that would reduce the deficit by $5 trillion over 10 years, but require deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.

U.S. Sen Barbara Boxer, D-California, released a statement Wednesday said the "Republican budget would give huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, all paid for by destroying Medicare for our seniors and denying health care to our most vulnerable children."

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a Democrat who represents Gardena, Hawthorne and Lawndale, is holding a rally Saturday at Jesse Owens Park in South Los Angeles. The event will draw attention to H.R.1, a spending plan passed by the House of Representatives in February that would cut $60 billion in federal spending over the next six months.

Waters, who voted against the measure, will call attention to potential cuts in housing, the elderly, child care, job training and other areas. The event is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the park, at the corner of Century Boulevard and Western Avenue.