Recently in Carson Category

Organ recipient Tammy Rusznak of Torrance helps decorate the Donate Life Rose Bowl parade float in Pasadena Saturday.

On Saturday members of two South Bay families along with dozens of others help decorate the Donate Life Rose Parade float.

The locals participating were:

*Tammy Rusznak of Torrance, a kidney recipient who received the organ from her sister, San Antonio, Texas resident Tracy Meinert on July 16, 1986.

*The Arellano family of Carson, who honored their late son and brother, Eddie Arellano. The family donated his organs - the donation helped four people who needed transplants - after he died.

Eddie's mom Clementina Arellano, dad Emiliano Arellano, sister Ana Arellano Binder and brother Victor Arellano helped decorate a floragraph on the float honoring him.

The float includes 72 floragraphs of organ donors like Eddie.

More about the parade is here.

Parts of North Carson, Westchester and Harbor City make it difficult for largely low-income residents to get healthy meals because of a lack of supermarkets, according to data recently released by the federal government.

Dubbed "food deserts," these neighborhoods are home to a total of 13.5 million Americans in a "low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store," according to a definition that was part of a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About 85 percent of food deserts are in urban areas.

An interactive map that was part of the USDA report shows food deserts in east of LAX, in Carson north of the Artesia (91) Freeway, and in Wilmington near Harbor College and Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park and in a Harbor City corridor along Normandie Avenue (including the Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center.

As California Watch reported last week, the data comes from the 2000 census but should be updated later this year with information from the 2010 census.

Five candidates are vying for two seats on the Carson City Council in Tuesday's election. For the past few months, that's meant five campaigns -- five sets of election signs, hyperbolic glossy mailers and lots of luncheons, door knocking and claiming ownership of issues ranging from prayer at council meetings to fixing potholes.

Residents got a healthy dose of the ugly side of politics as well. One thing you can count on in hotly contested races is some last-minute mudslinging to disparage candidates in the minds of the voters just before they head to the polls.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and Carson Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes, who is running for reelection, responded to a mailer from the Mexican American Democratic Club that blasts Davis-Holmes. The mailer claims she supports Arizona Senate Bill 1070, legislation passed last year that makes it a misdemeanor crime for illegal immigrants not to carry certain identification. Opponents viewed the law as a form of racial profiling. Latinos make up the largest voting block in Carson, and all the candidates actively court votes from that group.

Davis-Holmes never opposed SB 1070. On May 18, 2010 she and Councilman Mike Gipson voted against a city resolution opposing that legislation because they wanted stronger language in the opposition argument. Davis-Holmes and Gipson advocated for the city to cancel all business and travel related to the state of Arizona because of the law, but the rest of the council approved a scaled-down resolution.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Quicksilver

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Quicksilver announced in early July it had signed local icon Mulligan Man, who stands, driver in hand, overlooking the 405 freeway at the 18-hole Dominguez Golf Course in Carson. Mulligan Man was fitted for the summer with a fresh pair of Dane Reynolds' signature striped board shorts.

Word is Mullligan Man - or "The Guy" as he's known around the popular golf course - is back to his regular outfit of slacks, baseball cap, blue polo shirt and that mysterious smile.

It should be noted that Mulligan Man, who stands 20 feet tall and is made of fiberglass, wasn't always so iconic. He once was relegated to the course's driving range, where he served as a target for practicing golfers.

 

Here was Quicksilver's announcement in July of the historic signing:

Quiksilver is proud to announce their newest team rider, The Mulligan Man. Straight out of Carson, California, The Mulligan Man is widely known and one of the most visible personalities in Southern California. After years of mutual respect, the decision to bring The Mulligan Man on the team was a no brainer. The only challenge, getting the right boardshorts to keep him going all summer. The Mulligan Man wisely chose Dane's Cypher Brigg Board Short and we made it happen. Look for The Mulligan Man off the 405 in Southern California, throw him a shaka, and help us welcome him to Quiksilver.

Welcome to the team Mulligan Man 

Carson politics got a national attention Saturday, when the
investigation of Mayor Jim Dear's alleged misuse of the mute button
to control public comments became a question on NPR's "Wait, Wait
Don't Tell Me." The question was part of the show's lightning round,
when the panelists are asked questions from the week's news. The
program will be repeated at 11 a.m. on Sunday on KPCC-89.3. 

Reporter Sandy Mazza covered the story for the Breeze last week. 

Readers, so much news today:

Residents of the bezene- and methane-contaminated Carousel housing tract in Carson are grappling with what to do now that many neighbors have brought a suit against Shell Oil, which once operated a tank farm on the site.

A pedestrian died Sunday morning in Rancho Palos Verdes when an 18-year-old motorist lost control of his car and jumped the curb, striking and killing the 49-year-old man.

Gardena-based Serra High School's football team took it all in the state bowl game Saturday at Home Depot Center. Whooo hooo! Watch the team prepare for the big game.

Officials at Los Angeles International Airport are stepping up efforts to crack down on aggressive solicitors who pursue donations from jet-lagged and confused passengers as they exit the airport.This year, authorities have arrested more than 130, and plan on getting tougher during the holiday travel rush.

Meanwhile, more than 2 million passengers are set to pass through the hub this season.

South Bay charities make their final pitches for holiday-time donations during a very rough economy. But here's some good news: One cash-strapped South Bay charity once on the verge of closing has earned a reprieve, thanks to our lovely and generous Daily Breeze readers.

Local kitty lovers are infuriated over a recent court ruling ordering Los Angeles to stop paying and supporting programs that spay or neuter stray feral cats.

Readers, wake up from your turkey and retail coma to catch up on local news:

Plans for a high-density senior housing complex in the heart of Torrance have resurfaced.  Again.

How did you spend Thanksgiving? Volunteers at Torrance church offered food, comfort and friendship to South Bay folks.

Bravo shoppers for bucking a dismal economy and flooding stores this morning in search of bargains. Our own business columnist Muhammed El-Hasan shares his Black Friday experience from last year.

And while you're out shopping, why not pick up an athletic ball to bring to the Breeze's annual holiday ball drive, which supports local youth-focused nonprofits?

A jury has found that William Sadowski was legally sane when he killed a Los Angeles International Airport police officer in 2005. Now, he's headed for a lifetime in parole, rather than a mental institution.

One Palos Verdes Estates young lady has reached what could be the highest echelon of academic honor, earning a prestigious Rhodes scholarship.

After more than a year of fighting for a dog park on The Hill, it looks like a Palos Verdes Estates couple is finally starting to see some success.

Thanksgiving is sooo yesterday. Bring on Christmas, and visits from Santa Claus throughout the South Bay.

Readers, so much news this morning:

A Carson man was arrested this morning in connection to a Harbor College break-in, but another man escaped.

Trial began Monday for Brandon Manai, the Torrance man accused of throwing his wife of just 13 days over a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff in July 2005.

Los Angeles Unified School District leaders have instigated a a hiring freeze, and slashed other expenses like travel, conferences and eats at district meetings as the district faces a deficit of up to $60 million this year.

Looks like El Segundo's new fire station is almost finished after a few delays.

Los Angeles International Airport traffic in October increased for the second month in a row. Whoo hoo!

More than 2 million drop-side cribs manufactured by an arm of the El Segundo-based Mattel have been recalled.

Readers, we are brimming with news:

A large swine flu clinic in Carson saw a low turnout Monday, but workers at the Home Depot Center were prepared just in case.

Speaking of which, did you see this weekend's story about an otherwise strapping Redondo Beach man who nearly died of H1N1?

Los Angeles County Superior Court jurors found a man guilty of murdering an airport police officer, but now they must decide if William Sadowski was insane at the time of the 2005 crime.

A burglar  jumped from rooftop to rooftop to evade Hermosa Beach police, but was caught hiding under a tarp Monday. Whoops.

Movie industry groups are opposing El Segundo's proposed revisions to its filming ordinances, ironically designed to be looser and attract more production to down.

Check out this pretty public art installation in Redondo Beach.

Robinson Elementary student Dalton Phillips won a ride in a Manhattan Beach fire truck for his entry in a safety contest.

I don't know about you, the last things I wanted to be called in high school were "pit bull" and "beast," but these Bishop Montgomery volleyball players like their nicknames.

Having beaten the city of Carson three times in court, eccentric mobile home baron James Goldstein has the whip hand in ongoing settlement negotiations. Goldstein is demanding $150 million for the city's failed efforts to stop him from subdividing two mobile home parks.

So what does he plan to do with the money? Style Section L.A. has the answer (via LA Observed):

You've got the ultimate party house already, why build a nightclub?

I get requests all the time for parties here, and I'm also a person that's been going to nightclubs all my life, so it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time.  Whether I end up using it a lot or not, it's something I've always wanted to do: design my own nightclub.

It's not clear whether the negotiations will result in a deal. The latest concept is for the city to facilitate the sale of the two parks to a non-profit group, possibly using some redevelopment money to close the deal. Goldstein would get a significant fraction of what he's been asking for, but most of it would come from the sale of bonds. So far, however, the two sides are still pretty far apart on a sale price.

The parties have met twice with a professional mediator, but no meetings have taken place recently and none are scheduled. The city is waiting for a response to its latest offer.