Neena Strichart/SignalTribune

Bob’s Big Boy at 1898 Willow Ave., pictured with recently removed signage

Your Weekly Community Newspaper January 6, 2012VoL. 33 No. 31

Serving BixBy KnollS, California HeigHtS, loS CerritoS, Wrigley and tHe City of Signal Hill

James H. McJunkin, whoserved as the Port of Long Beachgeneral manager from 1977 to1988, died Monday, Jan. 2.

McJunkin, 82, first joined thePort in 1963 in the OperationsDivision. He was later promoted

to assistant gen-eral managerbefore succeedingThomas J. Thor-ley as the Port’stop executive.The position ofgeneral managerwas later renamedexecutive direc-tor.

UnderMcJunkin’s lead-ership, the Port ofLong Beachbecame one of thelargest seaports inthe world and thenation’s second-busiest containerport. He oversawthe developmentof the WorldTrade Center

complex and is credited with help-ing spearhead some of the mostsignificant trade-related projectsin the region, including the Inter-modal Container Transfer Facility(ICTF) rail yard and the Alameda

Corridor rail expressway.McJunkin was born in Gallup,

New Mexico, on Jan. 29, 1929. Heattended grade school on a Navajoreservation in Arizona, highschool in Winslow, Arizona, andgraduated from the University ofArizona, Tucson, in 1951. Hejoined the U.S. Navy and first sawLong Beach from the deck of aNavy hospital ship.

Before being hired by the Port,McJunkin was director of theNorthern California Ports and Ter-minals Bureau and also served astraffic manager for the Port ofSacramento. After retiring fromthe Port of Long Beach, McJunkinworked many years as a consultantto the maritime industry.

McJunkin and his wife Maryare the parents of four children:Sarah, Martha, James and Joseph.The couple lived in Long Beach.

Services are scheduled for Fri-day, Jan. 6, at 10:30am at St. Cor-nelius Catholic Church, 5500 E.Wardlow Rd. Burial will follow atAll Souls Cemetery, 4400 CherryAve.

Former Port chief executive diesJames H. McJunkin, 82, helped usher in new era for Long Beach

Courtesy Port of Long Beach

Under McJunkin’s leadership, the Port of Long Beachbecame one of the largest seaports in the world and thenation’s second-busiest container port.

T R I B U N E

At Tuesday’s Signal Hill Councilmeeting, members of the Counciland other City staffers took turnsvoicing despair and frustration overthe pending loss of its redevelop-ment agency.

“It’s really the worst possible out-come,” City Attorney David Aleshiresaid, noting several partnerships theSignal Hill Redevelopment Agency(RDA) had forged with major retail-ers that created the auto center,Costco and two Home Depot proj-ects. “Much of the developmentthat’s occurred in town would nothave occurred,” Aleshire added.

Signal Hill’s redevelopmentagency and the other agenciesthroughout the state had been cre-

ated to oversee development projectsthat eliminated blight and providedaffordable housing.

Last week, the CaliforniaSupreme Court issued a decision thatupheld the law called AB.1x 26 andvalidated the legislature’s power todissolve redevelopment agencies. Italso ruled that another law (ABx127) was invalid. ABx1 27 wouldhave allowed redevelopment agen-cies to continue if they could makevoluntary payments to the state.

There’s not much time left forredevelopment agencies. The origi-nal legislation had called to endredevelopment agencies by Oct. 1.The Court had extended the deadlineby four months, and now the agen-cies are scheduled to shut down byFeb. 1, according to the City attor-

ney.Over the past year, Governor

Jerry Brown had called for an end toredevelopment agencies, whichrelied on a portion of local propertytax dollars. Under ABx1 26, whenredevelopment ends, the redevelop-ment agencies’ share of the property-tax money would be redirected toother agencies and to school districtsand community college districts.

Brown’s office released a state-ment last week. The governor saidthat the court’s ruling “validates akey component of the state budgetand guarantees more than a billiondollars of ongoing funding forschools and public safety.”

Councilmember Ellen Ward

Signal Hill City Council blastsdecision to end redevelopment

see RDA page 4

CJ Dablo

Staff Writer

After five years in SH, Bob's Big Boy closes

Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant fansare in mourning these days as theSignal Hill eatery closed its doorsless than two weeks ago on Christ-mas Eve. Located at 1898 WillowAve., the restaurant opened for busi-ness in December 2006 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included alarge crowd of anxious well-wishersand local public officials. After a lit-tle more than five years catering toarea diners, Bob’s has closed up itsSignal Hill shop, at least for now.

According to Steve Facione, vicepresident of Development for BigBoy Restaurants International LLC,the organization would entertain thenotion of a new franchisee to takeover the establishment. “Signal Hillis a great community, and we’d con-sider coming back,” he said. “If wereceive an application for a newfranchisee, we’d certainly considerit. We’d look forward to serving you

again at the home of the originaldouble-deck cheeseburger.”

When asked why the locationclosed, Facione responded that it hadbeen a “tough decision” for the fran-chisee, but he offered no otherdetails.

A local spokesperson for thefranchisee agreed that the decisionwas indeed difficult. “The rent wastoo expensive [to continue],” saidthe franchisee’s representative. “Wetried to renegotiate our lease butcould not. We turned in the keys lastSaturday. Times are tough, andeverybody has to work together.”

Signal Hill Chamber PresidentTerry Rogers was saddened to learnof the restaurant’s closing. “It is agreat loss to our community becauseBob’s Big Boy is an icon,” she said.“[Nevertheless], it’s a wonderfulopportunity and a great location fora new tenant.”

Requests for comments by theproperty owner have not beengranted.

Neena Strichart

Publisher

Photo by Cory Bilicko

The Los Angeles River bike

path, as seen from Wrigley

2 SigNAL TriBuNE JANuAry 6, 2012NEWS

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$500 OFFwhen you purchase

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EYE ONCRIME

Crimes reported by the LBPDDec. 28 to Jan. 3

Council Districts 6 (North ofPCH)

7 & 8 (East of the L.A. River &North to Del Amo Blvd.)

Friday, Dec. 30

Felony arrest

2:30am– 3000 block of PasadenaAvenueOfficers responded to a report of anadult male suspect burglarizingvehicles in the parking lot of a localhospital. Officers established aperimeter, located the suspect andtook him into custody without inci-dent. Officers located the vehiclethe suspect had broken into andmade contact with the victims toadvise them of the incident.

Saturday, Dec 31

Felony suspect arrested

4pm– 700 block of W. 31st StreetTwo adult female suspectsassaulted and robbed an adult malevictim inside of his home. Officersresponded to the scene andsearched the area. Officers quicklylocated the suspects a short dis-tance away, took them into custodywithout incident and recovered thestolen items. The victim sustainednonlife-threatening injuries to hisupper body during the assault.

Assault

10pm– 4800 block of DaisyAvenueA group of adult male suspectsapproached three adult males onthe street and shot several rounds atthem. None of the victims wasinjured in the attack.

The Long Beach police and firedepartments announced Thursday thattwo arrests have been made for threefires set to Christmas trees in residen-tial areas, putting lives and property atrisk.

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, at approxi-mately 7:30pm, a Long Beach PoliceEast Division officer responded to thealley in the 1500 block of ShermanPlace to assist the Long Beach FireDepartment (LBFD) with a Christmastree fire. Firefighters extinguished thefire, and the officer began investigatingthe incident.

A second East Division officerresponding to assist discovered

another Christmas tree engulfed inflames in the 2300 block of E. 15thStreet and observed a male juvenilefleeing from the scene. The officerbegan setting a perimeter, and then,using the fire extinguisher from hisvehicle, was able to put out that fire.The fire department then respondedand extinguished a third fire located inthe alley in the 1500 block of StantonPlace.

Through information provided bywitnesses, officers were led to a resi-dence in the 1600 block of StantonPlace. At the residence, the assistingofficer recognized one of the minors, a14-year-old from Long Beach, as the

male subject who fled from the firescene shortly beforehand, and he wasdetained. A 15-year-old female in theresidence was also detained, and bothwere subsequently arrested. TheLBFD arson investigator responded tothe scene and began his investigation.

Both minors were transported tothe LBPD’s Youth Services Sectionand were booked for arson of property.

Every year, the Long Beach FireDepartment responds to dozens ofChristmas tree fires. Some of thosecause further damage to surroundingstructures and/or vehicles. Any fire,especially those set to Christmas trees,have the potential to cause seriousinjury or death to people, as well asdestruction to homes, businesses, andautomobiles, due to the trees beingextremely dry and highly flammable.

The punishment for arson is up tothree years in state prison, lifetime reg-istration as an arsonist and one strike,not including penalties that are muchmore severe for incidents causinginjury or death, damage to adjacentstructures, vehicles, or other property.

The LBFD suggests the following,in order to minimize the risks ofChristmas-tree related fires:

• After the holidays, remove the treefrom the household as soon as possi-ble.

• Bag the tree in plastic, and store itin an open area such as a back yardand away from any structures or heavyvegetation. If a yard is not available,place the bagged tree at the curb wheretrash is normally collected.

On Saturday, Jan. 7, the City ofLong Beach's Department of PublicWorks’ Environmental ServicesBureau will be offering a Christmastree pick-up service. Christmas treeswill be picked up from all residenceswithin the city of Long Beach thathave City refuse service. Trees must beplaced where trash is normally col-lected by 7am.

In addition, the EnvironmentalServices Bureau has established 12free tree-dropoff locations throughoutthe city, which will be availablethrough Friday, Jan. 6. Trees disposedof in either manner must have all dec-orations and stands removed. Treesover 12 feet should be cut in half.Flocked trees are acceptable. A com-plete list of drop-off locations andadditional information are available atlongbeach-recycles.org.

Those who see suspicious individ-uals or activity is encouraged to call 9-1-1 immediately. Anonymous tips maybe submitted via text or web by visit-ing tipsoft.com.

After arson arrests, LBPD and LBFD warn of dangers associated with Christmas-tree fires

Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune

At a 2010 fire demonstration at the

LBFD Training Center, firefighter

Steve Yamamoto set fire to a Christ-

mas tree to show the dangers associ-

ated with the holiday fixtures. The

LBFD is stressing the risks related to

after-season Christmas trees, and the

LBPD is emphasizing the punish-

ments that come with deliberately

setting fire to discarded trees.

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JANuAry 6, 2012 NEWS SigNAL TriBuNE 3

Steve Shaw

gET yOur HANDS DirTy!What Tree-plantingWho Organized by Camp Fire Bixby Knolls AssociationWhere Atlantic Avenue at 45th StreetWhen Sunday, Jan. 8 from 9am to 1pmMore info The Camp Fire Bixby Knolls Association will be planting 16desert willow trees along Atlantic Avenue in coordination with the BixbyKnolls Business Improvement Association, the City of Long Beach andOSH Long Beach. Arborist Jerry Rowland will guide volunteers in plantingthe trees. To volunteer, wear work clothes and bring shovels, gloves, water-ing containers (or two gallons of water), a snack and water to drink. ContactJoanne Pon Rubin (562) 505-4085, ponrubin@aol.com.

HOur (AND A HALF) OF POWEr (LuNCH)What Business networking lunchWho Organized by the Long Beach Chamber of CommerceWhere Forbidden City Restaurant, 6380-A East Pacific Coast Hwy.When Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 11:30am to 1pmMore info Featured speaker will be Dr. Sean Setty, director and chief ofPediatric & Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Miller Children’s Hospitaland Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Cost is $15 for Chamber membersand $30 for non-members. RSVP is recommended. Register and pay onlineat lbchamber.com.

HuMPDAy NETWOrKiNgWhat Professional networking group meetingsWho The Success NetworkWhere The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St.When Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 7:30am to 9am More info The group emphasizes professional connections, a positive atti-tude, and a personal touch. The meeting is open to small-business leaderswho seek networking opportunities with other professionals interested ingrowing their businesses through quality relationships and referrals. Thegroup meets on the second Wednesday of every month for breakfast anddiscussions or presentations. Breakfast is $20, cash only. No membershiprequired. For information and to RSVP contact Katja Jones thesuccessnet-worklb@gmail.com or (562) 833-4599.

MAKE yOur ENgLiSH TEACHErS PrOuDWhat Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association Literary SocietymeetingWho Open to the publicWhen Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7pmWhere Elise’s Tea Room, 3924 Atlantic Ave.More info The book to be discussed will be Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Con-nell. There will also be 25 paperback copies of Black Warriors: The BuffaloSoldiers of World War II by Ivan J. Houston with Gordon Cohn availablefor sale, since that title will be the February book selection. The books willbe $12 each, cash or check. Call (562) 595-0081 or email info@bixby-knollsinfo.com.

rEMEMBEriNg KiNgWhat 20th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith CelebrationWho Presented by the Gospel Memorial Church of God in ChristWhere 1480 Atlantic Ave., LBWhen Sunday, Jan. 15 from 3pm to 5pmMore info The community-wide, multicultural gathering will includemusic and a reception. Call (562) 983-1665.

NOW HEAr THiSWhat Free hands-on exhibit of hearing devicesWho Presented by the Hearing Loss Association of Long Beach/LakewoodWhere Weingart Senior Center, Craft Room, 5220 Oliva Ave., LakewoodWhen 10am to noon on Friday, Jan. 20More info Exhibit will include information on how devices work andwhere they can be purchased. Call (562) 425-5651 or visit hlalongbeachlake-wood.org.

FOr THE WOMEN WHO HAVE SErVEDWhat Female veteran community outreach eventWho Conducted by United States Veterans InitiativeWhere 2001 River Ave., LBWhen Friday, Jan. 20 from 2pm to 3pmMore info The event is to open to female veterans needing help with find-ing shelter, supportive services, and jobs. Needed are donations of clean,gently used professional clothing, as well as professionals working inhuman resources who can lend an afternoon of meeting job-seekers andreviewing résumés to offer feedback. Contact Jaclyn Paxton, job developer,at (562) 388-8005 or JPaxton@usvetsinc.org.

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Lawmakers can’t and won’t sim-ply brush aside warnings againstselling bonds to begin California’svoter-approved high-speed rail sys-tem, Assemblymember BonnieLowenthal, chair of the AssemblyTransportation Committee, saidTuesday. Lowenthal says officialwarning against funding high-speedrail will be considered “very seri-ously” but is “unlikely to be the finalword.”

“This is the panel called for in theinitiative. These are the peoplewhose expertise we’ve sought,” saidLowenthal, D-Long Beach. “We willof course take their advice very seri-ously.”

Lowenthal added, however, thatthe report from the California High-Speed Rail Peer Review Group willnonetheless have to compete withthe many voices calling for a quickstart to the bullet-train project, thosewho think the train not only prom-ises to keep California competitivein a global market, and those whobelieve jobs from the project willgive the state an economic shot inthe arm.

“You can’t ignore a warning likethis,” said Lowenthal. “But thatdoesn’t mean it will be the finalword, either.”

Transportation chair ofAssembly acknowledgeshigh-speed rail warning

On Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, an adultmale subject was pronounceddeceased at a local hospital afterattempting suicide in the Long BeachCity Jail, according to a news releaseissued Wednesday by the Long BeachPolice Department (LBPD).

On Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, LBPDpolice officers arrested 33-year-oldAndrew Dodson at his Long Beachresidence on a drug charge and trans-ported him to the Long Beach PoliceDepartment. He was booked andprocessed without incident and placedinto a jail cell at approximately9:05pm. A jail detention officer mak-ing rounds discovered the inmate, whowas alone at the time, hanging fromthe jail cell bars by his sweatpants atapproximately 10:53pm. He wasimmediately freed from the bars, andjail staff, including a registered nursewho is staffed in the facility, beganlife-saving efforts without delay,according to the LBPD.

Long Beach Fire Department para-medics responded and took over life-saving efforts while transporting himto a local hospital. He was placed inICU and listed in critical condition,where he remained until he was pro-nounced deceased on Jan. 1, 2012.

Homicide detectives were notifiedand responded to the jail to conduct aninvestigation once Dodson was found,

and the investigation remains ongoing.The Los Angeles County Coro-

ner’s Office is also conducting aninvestigation into the incident to deter-mine the official cause of death, whichis standard procedure with in-custody

deaths.Anyone with information regard-

ing this investigation should contactLong Beach Police Homicide Detec-tives Scott Lasch and Donald Good-man at (562) 570-7244.

LB City Jail inmate succumbs to suicide attempt

PuBLiSHEr/EDiTOr-iN-CHiEF

NEENA R. STRICHART

ASSOCiATE PuBLiSHEr

STEPHEN M. STRICHART

MANAgiNg EDiTOr

CORY BILICKO

ACTiNg DESigN EDiTOr

STEPHANIE RAYGOzA

ADVErTiSiNg CONSuLTANTS

BARBIE ELLISEN

JANE FALLON

MARK MCCORMICK

STAFF WriTErS

CJ DABLO

VIVIAN MALAUULU

RACHAEL RIFKIN

COLuMNiSTS

JENNIFER E. BEAVER

CAROL BERG SLOAN, RD

CuLTurE WriTErS

DANIEL ADAMS

VICKI PARIS GOODMAN

ADMiNiSTrATiVE ASSiSTANT/WEBSiTE MANAgEr

TANYA PAz

CONTriBuTiNg PHOTOgrAPHEr

MATT SUN

iNTErN

MICHAEL ORELLANA

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RDAcontinued from page 1

Last Friday, I received an email from VickiParis Goodman, our longtime entertainmentwriter, about her own experience with the sub-ject of my column last week– Judd McIlvain.Below is her email:

Neen, I really enjoyed your column today.Judd McIlvain once did me a huge (and veryimpressive, I thought) favor…

It must have been 1992 or 1993, and I’dfallen in the kitchen of my Carson Street apart-ment in Bixby Knolls. I had been standing ona step stool trying to take the curtain downfrom over the kitchen sink. The bar was stuckand, in my infinite impatience, I tugged at it…hard. When it gave way, I went flying off thestep stool and onto the floor, landing on theside of my knee. I’ll never forget the excruciat-ing pain. I thought I’d broken my leg in a hun-

dred places. When the paramedics arrived,they were training seven– yes, seven– of thehunkiest firemen you’ve ever seen. But Idigress…

So, after Long Beach Memorial hadaddressed what turned out to be a severe kneesprain, fixing me up with a cast and crutches,I made the appropriate claim to my medicalinsurance through Kaiser Permanente. Monthslater, Kaiser had been experiencing variouslabor strikes and was taking forever to processmy claim. In the meantime, I had been receiv-ing bills from the ambulance company andLong Beach Memorial. Finally, I began toreceive letters threatening to take my accountto collections. Well, given that I am just a tadcompulsive about debt acquisition and billpaying, having never missed a bill payment ofany kind, and, in fact, having never even made

a late payment, this lack of timely attention tomy claim was rather upsetting to me.

In a concerted effort to save my 800+ FICOscore without resorting to paying the billsmyself, I decided to dispense with the hithertoineffective weekly calls to Kaiser claims pro-cessing and take more aggressive action. Icalled the famous TV consumer advocate JuddMcIlvain to see if his reputation for helpingout the “little guy” was deserved.

About a half hour after calling Judd’soffice, I received a call from Kaiser claimsprocessing. The apparently shell-shockedwoman on the phone anxiously assured me thatthe claim had been fully paid. She thenearnestly beseeched me to call her directly if Ishould ever experience another claims prob-lem in the future and begged me not to com-plain about Kaiser to Mr. McIlvain ever again.

Thoughts from the Publisherby Neena Strichart

OPiNiON

blasted the decision to end theRDAs.

“There’s a few cities that misuseit, but we’re one of the cities thatuses it in the correct way,” Wardsaid, describing how Signal Hill hadused the RDA to clean up the numer-ous abandoned oil wells. Coun-cilmember Ed Wilson also decriedthe state’s move.

“We were getting over $13 mil-lion in tax increment to the city,”Wilson said. “With elimination ofredevelopment, that means we’ll gofrom that $13.6 million to somethingless than $700,000. So it’s hard forme to understand how anyone wouldthink that’s a good thing for this citybecause that money that we weregetting was being reinvested in thecity for the citizens and the busi-nesses within the city.”

There are tough decisions thatwill be made soon. City ManagerKen Farfsing said in a Tuesday-evening interview that, with thepending February deadline, the staffwill be looking at how the dissolu-tion of the RDA will affect the City’sbudget. The Housing Authority andthe RDA will be meeting to considerresolutions about a successor agency,according to Farfsing. Decisions alsohave to be made concerning RDA-owned property which must now besold. Farfsing said that the RDA pur-chased a few properties includingdilapidated metal buildings and twoother office buildings. Farfsing esti-mates the properties’ value totaledaround seven to eight million dollars.

The City hasn’t entirely given upits fight over redevelopment. Farfs-ing and Aleshire said that the Cityfiled another lawsuit in partnershipwith the City of Cerritos that chal-lenges another aspect of ABx1 26concerning loans. Farfsing con-firmed that, in 2008, Signal Hill hadloaned to the RDA $10 million topurchase property that was contami-nated and required clean-up inpreparation for development.According to Farfsing, the legisla-ture had declared all loans betweencities and agencies invalid unlessthey were made within the first fewyears of the agency’s formation.Farfsing said that Signal Hill wouldnot get the $10 million back and theproperties that had been purchasedby the RDA would be sold. The pro-ceeds from the sale would go back to

the state of California.“So it’s, in a way, like double

jeopardy,” Farfsing said. “You’rebeing penalized twice….The courtsreally need to take a very seriouslook at that loan issue.”

On Tuesday, the Council mem-bers were united in their overall crit-icism of the legislators who favoredending redevelopment. With the lossof the agency scheduled just weeksaway, Wilson advocated a midnightplea to those who wanted to keepSignal Hill “prosperous.” Wilsonsaid that some legislators did notintend to end redevelopment. Headvocated for people to request thattheir legislators overturn their law.

Wilson shared a catchphrase totell legislators: “If you did notintend," Wilson said, "then you mustrescind.”

Other City Council highlights:

Anthony giniewicz

Anthony Giniewicz was posthu-mously honored Tuesday when themayor issued a proclamation to rec-ognize the former police officer.Giniewicz was shot in 1985 while hewas helping another police officerduring a confrontation with robberysuspects. He died last month fromcomplications sustained from thoseinjuries. Former Commander JamesButzbach accepted the proclamationon behalf of Giniewicz’s family.

Transfer facility right-of-way

The Council adopted a resolutionthat approved vacating of a specificalley between California and Oliveavenues as part of the developmentplans for EDCO Transfer Services.According to a staff report from thepublic works director, vacating theright-of-way will allow develop-ment, and the City will no longer beresponsible for its maintenance.

No loan forgiveness

The Council and RedevelopmentAgency adopted resolutions thatdeclared that the City did not forgiveany loans to the RDA.

Compensation disclosure

The City manager issued a reportto clarify the stipulations of a statelaw that required disclosure for com-pensation of members of a legisla-tive body when they attend serial orsimultaneous meetings. Signal Hill

Council members are also membersof the RDA and Housing Authority.According to the City manager’sreport, members of the Signal HillRDA receive $24 per meeting andmembers of the Signal Hill Housing

Authority receive $6 per meeting.The City manager reported that theseamounts are below the state statutesand verbal announcements of theircompensation would not be requiredat meetings.

CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune

Former Commander James Butzbach (center) receives a proclamation fromSignal Hill Mayor Larry Forester (left) on behalf of the family of former policeofficer Anthony Giniewicz, who was shot in 1985 while helping another policeofficer during a confrontation with robbery suspects. Giniewicz died last monthfrom complications sustained from those injuries. Also pictured is Police ChiefMichael Langston (right).

Courtesy SHPD

Anthony Giniewicz was posthumously honored Tuesday when the mayor issued

a proclamation to recognize the former police officer. Giniewicz was shot in

1985 while he was helping another police officer during a confrontation with

robbery suspects.

C O M M E N T A R Y

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Fighting for kids, against gangs in Long Beach(Part 3 of a three-part series on gangs in Long Beach)

by Doug HaubertLong Beach City Prosecutor

JANuAry 6, 2012 SigNAL TriBuNE 5OPiNiON

Over the past two weeks I havewritten about the gang problems thatare endemic to Long Beach and haveplagued our city for years. This is thethird part of my three-part report onwhere we stand in our battle withstreet gangs.

While the gang problem is grow-ing in some communities (a 40-per-cent national growth in gangmembers over the last three years,according to FBI statistics), LongBeach is making momentousprogress. Last year, LBPDannounced that gang murders andgang-related shootings dropped 53.8percent and 13.5 percent, respec-tively.

But we have many miles yet togo.

I told readers the stories of twogang members who made headlinesin 2011. Bryan Soriano-Gutierrez, anactive gang member– and just 18years old– was shot multiple timesand left to die on a central LongBeach sidewalk around midnight onone August night. Soriano-Gutierrezwas murdered four weeks after I methim while I was on a ride-along withLBPD.

The same day Soriano-Gutierrezwas killed, in a courtroom in down-town Long Beach, jury selection

began in the murder trial of TomVinson, the gang member accused ofkilling high-school student MelodyRoss. That jury found Vinson, 18,guilty of murdering Ross. Vinson,who claimed he was aiming at mem-bers of a competing Long Beachgang, was sentenced last month tospend the next 155 years in prison.

These personal stories have res-onated powerfully with people.Gang life kills real people. There aretwo common fates of those who joina criminal street gang: death on thestreets, or life in prison. These fatesare sadly and poignantly illustratedby retelling the stories of Vinson andSoriano-Gutierrez.

My office does not prosecutemurder cases, but we have a signifi-cant role in fighting gangs by initiat-ing gang injunctions that prohibitcertain “public nuisance” activityassociated with gangs. Workingclosely with LBPD, my office hashandled over 200 gang prosecutionsin the past 18 months, directing ourefforts at the most active and danger-ous gang members. FBI statistics saygangs are responsible for about halfof all violent crimes in most jurisdic-tions, and up to 90 percent in somecities, so targeting gangs is an effi-cient use of resources.

The fight against gangs does notstop there, however. That is only thebeginning. Police and prosecutorsneed to keep looking at ways to stopgangs from their most destructivegoal– the recruitment of kids.

My office launched an initiativeaimed at truancy prevention becausegangs recruit kids who are not inschool. Some studies suggest the pri-mary age for getting “jumped” intostreet gangs is 11 to 15 years. Gangs,especially in neighborhoods where agang presence has existed for multi-ple generations, prey on truants anddropouts.

One study estimates 80 percentof gang members are schooldropouts. Of the most active gangmembers in Long Beach, I am confi-dent well over 80 percent of themdropped out of school. Vinson andSoriano-Gutierrez almost certainlyfall into this group.

Keeping kids in school not onlykeeps them off the streets, but itmakes it harder for gangs to recruitthem. It also gives kids the possibil-ity of a future, a future that does notinclude death on the streets or life inprison.

More and more studies are show-ing a strong correlation betweenteenage truancy and juvenile delin-

quency, and these studies are com-pelling. As many as 75 percent of alltruant high-school students willeventually drop out of school. InCalifornia, a staggering three-fourthsof all prison inmates are high-schooldropouts.

The California Department ofEducation identified truancy as “themost powerful predictor of juveniledelinquent behavior.” The Office ofJuvenile Justice and DelinquencyPrevention reports that truancy cor-relates with substance abuse, crimi-nal activity, and gang involvement.For many juveniles, all three of thesethings– substance abuse, criminalactivity, and gang involvement– areentirely interrelated.

If that was not enough reason tofocus on keeping kids in schools,studies also suggest dropouts aremore likely to become the victims ofviolent crimes. In San Francisco, a2010 study looked at murder victimsunder the age of 25 and found that94 percent of them were high-schooldropouts. That means kids who dropout of school are not just more likelyto commit crime, but they are statis-tically at higher risk to be found onthe business end of a loaded gun.

My three-part column on fightinggang violence has come to an end. I

wrote this to remind all Long Beachresidents that gangs are a communityproblem, not just a problem affectinga few areas. This is high-stakes busi-ness. If you think for a moment thatgang members only kill other gangmembers, just remember the tragicdeath of Melody Ross.

The Gang Life does not need toperpetuate itself. Indeed, there ishope, and police and prosecutors,working with school officials andcommunity-based organizations,have come a long way. We still havea long way to go. We need to keepour targets set on the most activegang members through gang injunc-tions, while keeping kids in schooland out of gangs through truancyprograms. One day at a time, onechild at a time.

This strategy is not exciting, norwill it yield big headlines. However,when I read the headlines created in2011 by the murder of Bryan Sori-ano-Gutierrez, or the murder convic-tion of Tom Vinson for killing of Ms.Ross, the most important headlinesare ones I am seeking to prevent.

Comments may be sent to prosecu-tor@longbeach.gov.

I am writing in response to your story “LB’s plastic-bagban expanding in 2012,” published Dec. 30, 2011.

I invite Vice Mayor [Suja] Lowenthal to spend a coupleof hours with me on a tour of Long Beach’s less affluentialneighborhoods, during which time I will gladly show her thatplastic bags are the least of the items littering the streets,parks and alleys. During our excursion, I will be more thanhappy to collect all kinds of litter, other than plastic bags, forher which date back prior to August of 2011.

Ms. Lowenthal’s opinion that the plastic-bag ban hashelped make Long Beach a cleaner city is simply wrong. If Long Beach

was truly interested in becoming a cleaner city it would reex-amine its recycling and street-sweeping programs.

Twice every week, the street sweepers pass my house col-lecting little but the occasional fallen branches and leaves,while depositing miasma and a disgusting wake in theirshadow. Why not cut down on the days they operate incleaner neighborhoods and focus on the dirty alleywayswithin the city?

On Dec. 31, the day following the Signal Tribune’s pub-lication of “LB’s plastic-bag ban expanding in 2012,” I readthe weekly published column within the Los Angeles Timeshome section, “Can I Recycle... New Year’s Party Items?,”which informs readers regarding various items which can orcannot be put within their city’s recycling bins. From the

nine areas listed this week, including Los Angeles, SantaMonica, Torrance, Glendale, etcetera, shamefully LongBeach had the most restrictions on what can go into theirpurple bins and thus the “reddest” city on the green colorchart.

Long Beach’s plastic-bag ban is nothing more than a self-promoting public relations attempt at trying to make itselflook better. Instead of banning a useful item, which most res-idents already recycled, it would do well for Vice MayorLowenthal and the rest of the City Council to cross the colorwheel and actually BE “green.”

Carmen Lourdes Valdés

Long Beach

Thinking green but seeing red

The City of Signal Hill has along history of redevelopment suc-cesses. The Agency was created in1974 to deal with the blight createdby 70 years of oil field operationsand to induce development in orderto create a tax base for the City.The Agency is the financial enginethat has assisted the City in creatingfinancial stability and has led to thedevelopment of our wonderfulcommunity.

The oil field created soil con-tamination, irregular lot sizes,pipelines that are no longer in useand wells that needed to be aban-doned. The Agency was instrumen-tal in creating the Signal Hill Auto

Center, which commenced in 1989and now encompasses six dealer-ships and involved land consolida-tion, demolition and soilremediation to make the center pos-sible. The Agency’s ability toassemble property, clean it up andmarket it led to the development ofTown Center East, West, and North,which include Costco, Home Depotand Fresh & Easy. Not only do theAuto Center and Town Centersgenerate sales-tax dollars, whichallows the City the ability to pro-vide a high level of service to itsresidents, they generate many pri-vate jobs. The Agency also playeda crucial role in the development of

the hilltop homes. The Agency hasalso been responsible for the devel-opment of six affordable housingprojects, such as Las Brisas I andII.

In light of these successes andthose successes of the other 400agencies across the state, the Legis-lature passed two pieces of legisla-tion in its 2011-12 session thatwould eliminate agencies (ABx126) unless agencies made paymentsto the State (ABx1 27). The Cali-fornia Redevelopment Association,together with the League of Cali-fornia Cities, sued the State as tothe constitutionality of these lawsand their violation of Proposition

22, passed by the voters in Novem-ber 2010 to prohibit future “raids”from redevelopment. The worst-case scenario occurred, and theCalifornia State Supreme Courtruled that ABx1 26 was constitu-tional and that ABx1 27 was uncon-stitutional.

The Supreme Court decisionwas announced on Dec. 29, 2011,and all agencies will cease to existon Feb. 1, 2012. The law providesfor a successor agency to work withan oversight committee to dissolvethe agency of its assets and prop-erty. In the meantime, Signal Hill’sRedevelopment Agency will haveto cease its property clean-up pro-

gram, including the program to re-abandon leaking oil wells. Therewere other projects in the works,including the development of addi-tional retail, that will be terminated.

Agencies and cities alike, alongwith supporters of redevelopment,will be working with the CaliforniaRedevelopment Association and theLeague of California Cities, alongwith members of the Legislature, inthe coming months to determine ifthere is a way to reinvent redevel-opment in California. Redevelop-ment and economic developmentare crucial for Signal Hill and itsability to continue to be “the littleCity that could and did.”

What’s next for redevelopment?by Larry Forester

Mayor of Signal Hall

We want to say “thank you” to everyone who con-tributed to making Bixby Knolls an even better com-munity this year and tip our hat to the Bixby Knollsbusinesses and wish them all success and prosperityin 2012. We also thank our community members forparticipating in our events and programs, and sup-porting our business corridors.

Special thanks also goes to the BKBIA board ofdirectors and community liaisons; Krista Leaders andMorgan Wraight; Councilmembers Rae Gabelich andJames Johnson, and their staff; the RedevelopmentAgency; North PAC; Jim Hansen; Alissa Sablan; our

Strollers, Supper Clubbers, and Literary Society read-ers; the Knolls Ranger & Bixby Belle; Duke andDuchess of Bixby Knolls; Martin Howard; USC Tro-jan Football; Cal Heights ReLeaf & Clean Streets;Kelly Bray; Jesse Brown; the musicians, artists,poets, and performers; local media partners; all thegeneral good-doers in the neighborhood; and Annie,my dog.

Blair Cohn

Executive Director

Bixby Knolls Business improvement Association

A million thanksAs we celebrate the new year, I wanted to take a moment to speak to the many

community volunteers who helped move Long Beach forward in 2011. You built a new park with private grant funds, improved air quality with sev-

eral tree plantings, and participated in neighborhood clean-ups that beautified ourcommunity, among other projects.

As the saying goes, it is easier to criticize than organize. You could have satback and complained about the many challenges facing our city, but instead yourolled up your sleeves and went to work. You are the unsung heroes of LongBeach.

On behalf of all the residents of the 7th district, thank you for your service. Ithas been an honor working with you over the past year to make Long Beach abetter place, and I look forward to many more great projects to come in 2012.

James Johnson 7th District Councilmember

Jobs well done

6 SigNAL TriBuNE JANuAry 6, 2012COMMuNiTy

Question: My computer is runningsluggish. I have just installed a freeregistry cleaner that’s supposed tomake my PC run faster. It’s evenslower now. What’s the problem?Answer: I’ll bet you’ve over med-icated your PC. There is a tendencyto keep installing free software fromthe internet in order to optimize yoursystem performance or to fix errors.The problem is, this new programhas no idea what similar programsare running in the background. Youhave now compounded and over-whelmed your system resources inthe interest of enhancing your PCperformance. Somewhat ironic don’tyou think?

You only need (1) antivirus; (1) spy-ware remover; (1) registry cleaner,Etc. My recommendation is to installa “Security Suite”. Symantec,McAfee, CA, TrendMicro. They alloffer security packages. Pick onepackage and get rid of the freebeesand for your peace of mind, don’t letit expire. Most are one year con-tracts. 100s of viruses are writtendaily. We are always one step behindthe bad guy.Remember the golden rule: Nothingis for free. The internet is not yourfriend anymore. Beware.

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Oscar winner lends his storytelling skills to LB Playhouse competition

Photo by Cathy Merenda

Academy Award-winning songwriter Paul Williams opens the Long BeachPlayhouse's storyteller competition with a story of his own.

Long Beach Playhouse concludedits year of hosting local story-telling onThursday, Dec. 29 with a competitionthat had the top two storytellers fromeach of its spring, summer and fallshows invited back to compete onstagein front of several hundred theater-goers.

The rules of the game were simple:share a six-minute, true story that hap-pened to you, either read or said.Locals submitted theirs online,describing their tales in a few sen-tences. Mariana Williams, producer ofthe event, chose the stories showingthe most variety in subject matter. Bel-mont Music Studios donated $100 forthe winner of each of the four events.

Williams’s husband, AcademyAward-winning songwriter PaulWilliams, was a guest storyteller whoopened the show with a couple offunny stories of his own. (The couplelive in Naples.)

Celebrity judge Alan Kalter, theannouncer from The Late Show with

David Letterman, also took the stageafter the intermission. Kalter regaledthe standing-room-only audience witha story about an audition he went on,which he exited by entering a closet.

The winner of the competition wasHitoshi Horoda, who was born inJapan and now resides in Signal Hill.The IT security engineer describeshimself as a father, USC graduate,Toastmaster and surfer. His tale was ofan adventure surfing a huge wave inJapan and coming onto shore as a surfhero. Unbeknownst to the onlookers,he was rescued by the coast guard justout of sight. Upon receiving the prize,he said, “You gave me the great oppor-tunity to speak, and it will stay deep inmy heart for the rest of my life that Idid the contest with such a large audi-ence.”

The show featured stories on awide range of subjects from the topstorytellers: Bobby Lux, Jeanie Frias,Jared Wilson and Hosoda. Pam Hum-mel had qualified but was unable toattend when her daughter’s team wona sports event. Poet Autum Brown hadalso qualified, but she had moved tothe East Coast.

FreeSpirit Yoga, 3910 AtlanticAve., will celebrate its 10th anniversaryserving the Bixby Knolls communityon Saturday, Jan. 7 from 3pm to 6pm.

The celebration will feature livemusic with DVine1, appetizers, draw-ings to win yoga series, and a toast toring in the New Year. New ownersVeronica Silva and Denise Birtch wel-come the entire community to theevent. Attendees can also receive 15percent off all yoga series that day.

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JANuAry 6, 2012 SigNAL TriBuNE 7NEWS

California State University, LongBeach (CSULB) has been named toKiplinger’s Personal Finance’s list ofthe top 100 best values in public col-leges for 2011-12. The ranking recog-nizes four-year institutions thatcombine outstanding education witheconomic value.

The annual public school rankingswere released Tuesday, appearing inKiplinger’s February 2012 issue andonline at kiplinger.com/links/college.

CSULB appears at number 98 onthe list and is one of 11 Californiainstitutions to make the rankings.Three other CSU campuses wereamong the top 100: San Diego State(77), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (83)and Cal Poly Pomona (91). The otherseven California schools were Univer-sity of California campuses.

Selected from a pool of more than500 public four-year colleges and uni-versities, schools in the Kiplinger 100were ranked according to academicquality, including SAT or ACT scores,admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year

graduation rates, which most schoolsreported for the class that entered in2004. The editors then rank eachschool based on cost and financial aid.Academic quality carries more weightthan costs.

“We’re extremely pleased to onceagain be recognized by Kiplinger’s asone of the best value public colleges inthe country,” said CSULB President F.King Alexander. “Access to highereducation begins first and foremostwith the ability to afford a collegedegree, and at Cal State Long Beachwe continue to work to hold downcosts to students wherever possible.However, if the state’s support ofhigher education continues to erode asit has in the last three years, access andaffordability to the state’s colleges anduniversities will become more andmore challenging for its residents.”

Alexander also noted that theKiplinger ranking clearly shows stu-dents and their parents that the highprice tag of many colleges and univer-sities nationwide has little to do withthe quality of the education experience

being offered.According to the magazine’s

report, the total cost of private collegeshas recently averaged almost $39,000a year, more than twice the averageannual in-state sticker price– roughly$17,000 – at public schools. In fact, athird of the public schools onKiplinger’s top-100 list charge aboutthe same as or less than that averageamount, an indication of the emphasisKiplinger’s places on affordability.

Kiplinger’s assesses quality andaffordability according to a number ofmeasurable standards. This year,Kiplinger has revamped the rankingsto give more weight to academicvalue, such as the percentage of stu-dents who return for sophomore yearand the four-year graduation rate. Costcriteria include low sticker prices,abundant financial aid and low aver-age debt at graduation. While the cri-teria have shifted, the overall focus onvalue remains the same.

“As states cut funding for highereducation and tuition continues toclimb, the word ‘value’ becomes moresignificant than ever,” said Jane Ben-nett Clark, senior editor at Kiplinger’s

Personal Finance. “This year’s top100 public schools deliver strong aca-demics at reasonable prices. Weapplaud these institutions for tighten-ing their belts without compromisingquality.”

Web visitors will find special inter-active features including FAQs aboutthe public colleges ranking, aslideshow of the top 10 schools, anddata sortable by criteria such as state,tuition cost, average debt, student/fac-ulty ratio, and admission rate. Addi-tionally, Kiplinger’s top-200-rankedprivate colleges and universities of2011-12, announced in November2011, are featured in a companion BestCollege Values report.

CSuLB ranked among nation’s top 100 best values

Courtesy CSULB

Cal State Long Beach appears at number 98 on Kiplinger’s PersonalFinance’s list of the top 100 best values in public colleges for 2011-12.

On Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, atapproximately 11:35pm, officersfrom the Long Beach PoliceDepartment (LBPD) were involvedin a shooting in the area of PacificCoast Highway and Cherry Avenuethat resulted in injury to a maleadult, according to a news releaseissued by the police department.

Officers working a two-officercar were on patrol in full uniformand in a marked black-and-whitepolice vehicle when they heard agunshot coming from the 1700block of Cherry Avenue. Theydrove to the area to investigatewhen they came across a group ofsubjects. One of the subjects, iden-tified as 33-year-old ChhannChhaim of Long Beach, attemptedto walk away from thae officersand refused to stop. The investiga-tion later revealed that, prior to theofficers arriving on scene, he hadfired his weapon into the air. AsChhaim walked away from thearriving officers, he dropped ahandgun. A second subject in thegroup, identified as 25-year-oldSongha Lewis and also from LongBeach, picked up the gun andstarted running down the sidewalkin the direction of one of the offi-cers, and an officer-involvedshooting occurred, according to thenews release.

Lewis was transported to a localhospital, where he is listed in criti-cal but stable condition, and he isin custody on a no-bail burglarywarrant. Detectives will be pre-senting a criminal case to the LosAngeles County District Attorney’sOffice with a request that he becharged with assault with a deadlyweapon on a police officer, posses-sion of a loaded firearm in public,and a probation violation.

Chhaim was arrested andbooked for ex-felon with a firearm,discharging a firearm, possessionof a loaded firearm in public by agang member, and resisting arrest.He is being held at the Long BeachCity Jail on $35,000 bail.

No officers were injured duringthe incident.

In addition to the LBPD’s ongo-ing investigation, the Los AngelesCounty District Attorney’s Officeis conducting an independentinvestigation, which is routine forall officer-involved shootings thatoccur in LA County. Anyone whomay have information regardingthis incident is asked to contactLBPD Homicide Detectives ScottLasch and Donald Goodman at(562) 570-7244. Anonymous tipsmay be submitted via text or webby visiting tipsoft.com.

One man arrested, another hospitalized with pendingcriminal charges after Dec. 31 officer-involved shooting

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Long Beach, California resi-dent Johanna Nutt, who currentlyresides at Vista Del Mar SeniorLiving, turned 100 years old onDec. 31, 2011. Vista Del Mar staffhosted an afternoon party the daybefore her birthday in honor of hercentenarian status and in celebra-tion of six other residents whohave birthdays this month.

Born in Eureka, South Dakota,on the last day of 1911, Nutt was afirst-generation American born toGerman immigrant parents whocame to America from Odessa,Russia; she speaks both Germanand English.

Nutt was married twice. Hersecond husband, Lloyd Nutt,adopted her only son, VincentCasper. After the couple moved toLos Angeles, they both worked forRockwell International.

She says they both loved tobowl and were in multiple leagues.She did not retire until 1977, whenshe decided to move to HuntingtonBeach to be closer to her grand-children, Geoffrey and Gregory.She has three great-grandchildren:Kendra, Katrina, and Vincent.

Johanna was very active in hercommunity until, at the age of 90,she was no longer able to drive.

Now, she loves to play bingo,cards and with puzzles.

Johanna’s friends shared theirreflections of the birthday celebra-tion. Kelly Cabana, activity direc-tor, said the attendees enjoyedtheir drinks and loved singingalong with the party’s entertainer,Joe.

Stella Weldy echoed that senti-ment. “It was a beautiful party,and I loved singing along withJoe,” she said. Catherine Donaghycalled Johanna “the star of theday,” and Johnetta Nolan said, “Itwas nice, and I’m glad the cakewas not chocolate.”

Local senior becomes a centenarian

Courtesy Vista Del Mar

Johanna Nutt (left), a resident of Vista Del Mar Senior Living, celebrated her 100thbirthday on Dec. 31, 2011. Also pictured is Sadie Bowers, who is celebrating herbirthday too.

The Campaign TrailThe Campaign Trail

Mike Kowal, a candidate for the 8th district Long Beach Council seat prior to theredistricting process drew him out of that district, has chosen to endorse termed-out, current 8th District Councilmember Rae Gabelich for that position, stating thathe hopes she will consider launching a write-in campaign. In an email sent to theSignal Tribune Thursday, Kowal said, in the event that Gabelich does not conducta write-in campaign, he recommends that voters familiarize themselves with allother candidates before endorsing. “The 8th district has achieved much successover the past several years,” he said. “We cannot allow this momentum to slow.There are many competent, capable and credible residents who would do an excel-lent job and hopefully will consider taking on this very important position. For now,I suggest that anyone not feeling strongly about any of the declared candidates waituntil the filing period closes before endorsing, donating or voting.”

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Representatives from ToyotaMotor Sales, USA recently visitedMiller Children’s Hospital LongBeach to present a check for a$45,000 grant. The grant will helpfund a Child Life specialist for thepediatric emergency department(ED) at Miller Children’s for every

single day of the week, includingweekends.

Child Life specialists are part ofthe unique Child Life program thatis offered free of charge to pedi-atric patients and families to pro-vide a safe, secure andpediatric-friendly environment.

This particular position will helpreduce the negative impact of hos-pitalization through distractiontechniques and medical play. ChildLife specialists talk through proce-dures in words kids understand anduse dolls to “show” young patientswhat procedures may happen tothem, to help normalize the scari-ness of an ED visit for children andfamilies. This position is critical,since being in an “emergency set-ting” can be particularly traumatiz-ing.

In the ED alone, this particularspecialist sees more than 20patients per day and more than7,000 patients per year on average.The Child Life program at MillerChildren’s is one of the few pro-gram s of its kind to be offered at achildren’s hospital with a goal ofreducing anxiety produced by thestress of hospitalization and under-standing of medical procedures.

“We are so grateful for the con-tinued partnership with ToyotaMotor Sales for this grant,” saidRita Goshert, manager of the pro-gram at Miller Children’s. “ChildLife is an indispensible part of theED healthcare team for our patientsand fa milies. This grant will allow

us to provide a Child Life special-ist in our emergency departmentseven days a week.”

For more than 19 years, ToyotaMotor Sales, USA has been sup-porting Miller Children’s in somecapacity, from helping to purchasemedical equipment to capital cam-paigns such as helping build out

the new Miller Children’s pavilion.“The relationship we have with

Toyota is so valuable,” said JimNormandin, president, MemorialMedical Center Foundation. “Welook forward to partnering withthem in their future philanthropicendeavors.”

grant from Toyota will fund specialist to help MillerChildren’s patients cope with their treatments

Courtesy Miller Children’s

Rita Goshert (far left), Child Life program manager at Miller Children’s

Hospital and Kathy Lingle (far right), board member, Memorial Medical

Center Foundation, accept a check from Les Unger, director, Toyota Motor-

sports for a $45,000 grant that will help fund a Child Life specialist for the pedi-

atric emergency department at Miller Children’s for every single day of the week,

including weekends.

Right when Long Beach resi-dents have put away their holidaycheer for another year, local non-profit organization New Genera-tions NG is preparing to unwrap awarm welcome for neighbors andfriends.

As a part of the City of LongBeach Peace Week activities, “TheGift” will be held from noon to3pm on Saturday, Jan. 8 at Wash-ington Middle School soccer field,located at 1450 Cedar Ave.

“The Gift” offers a carnival of

fun for families and neighbors.Families can play games, watchperformances and even get a mini-makeover with free haircuts andmanicures. Visitors can enjoydozens of activity booths whileparticipating in jalapeño-eatingcontests and win prizes.

New Generations NG is hostingthe event with the Long BeachNeighborhood Services Bureau,City of Long Beach DHHS Weedand Seed Program, Worship Centerof Long Beach and other local

groups and businesses. “It’s been a tough time for

many people in Long Beach,” saidAlma Campos, co-founder of NewGenerations NG. “This event willgive families a chance to relaxwhile we provide them the gifts ofkindness and community support.”

Peace Week, created by SixthDistrict Councilmember DeeAndrews, is a week of selectedactivities designed to unify anduplift the community.

Long Beach nonprofit and community partners to host free event for families

JANuAry 6, 2012 SigNAL TriBuNE 11COMMuNiTy

For those searching for a betterway to stick to 2012 weight-lossresolutions, the answer may besimple... tie a string around yourfinger.

The better your memory andother thinking skills, the betteryour chances of losing weight andkeeping it off.

According to a new study led byDr. John Gunstad, associate profes-sor of psychology at Kent StateUniversity, memory and othermental abilities clearly influencethe amount of weight people lose.

“The results of our latest studyindicate that better performance ontests of memory and executive

function is linked to greater weightloss in persons who have weight-loss surgery,” said Gunstad. “Webelieve this effect comes from abetter ability to stick to the diet andexercise habits that promote weightloss. But these findings should notbe misinterpreted to indicate thatcognitive impairment automati-cally leads to negative outcomes.Instead, it might encourage cogni-tive screening to help identifythose people who might benefitfrom additional support to helpthem reach their weight-lossgoals.” (These findings will appearin an upcoming issue of the journalSurgery for Obesity and Related

Diseases.)In short, if you plan to lose

weight and keep the pounds at bay,you need a plan and helpfulreminders to stay on track, accord-ing to Gunstad. After talking withyour doctor to identify the bestweight-loss plan for you, usingstrategies such as planning yourmeals well in advance or usingalerts on your smartphone mightmake a big difference.

“Some people appear to have abetter ability than others to keepthemselves on task,” Gunstad said.“Fortunately, a little planning canhelp those of us that have a hardertime doing so still achieve ourweight-loss goals.”

John Gunstad, Ph.D. is an associ-ate professor in the Kent State Uni-versity Department of Psychology.

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The North Long Beach Com-munity Action Group (CAG) willhost a forum for candidates seek-ing a seat on the Long BeachCouncil representing the 8th dis-trict, currently held by RaeGabelich, who will be termed out.

The forum will take place Sun-day, Feb. 12, from 5pm to 7pm atthe Expo Arts Building, 4302Atlantic Ave. Doors will open at4:30pm, and refreshments will beserved.

Members of the media and res-idents will be given the opportu-nity to ask the candidatesquestions. Members of CAG willroam the audience with a micro-phone to field questions from thefloor. The candidates will beallowed a two-minute opening anda two-minute closing, according toCAG President Dan Pressburg.The topics will be the budget andpensions, neighborhoods, publicsafety, infrastructure, business,and the Port.

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12 SigNAL TriBuNE JANuAry 6, 2012BuSiNESSES & SErViCES

P u B L i CN O T i C E S

TST3932tS #: Ca-11-439259-Ct order #: 796713 notiCeof trUStee’S Sale yoU are in defaUltUnder a deed of trUSt dated 10/28/2004.UnleSS yoU taKe aCtion to ProteCt yoUrProPerty, it May Be Sold at a PUBliC Sale.if yoU need an exPlanation of tHe natUreof tHe ProCeeding againSt yoU, yoUSHoUld ContaCt a laWyer. a public auctionsale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier’s checkdrawn on a state or national bank, check drawn bya state or federal credit union, or a check drawn bya state or federal savings and loan association, orsavings association, or savings bank specif ied inSection 5102 to the financial Code and authorizedto do business in this state, wi l l be held by dulyappointed trustee. the sale will be made, but with-out covenant or warranty, expressed or implied,regarding t i t le, possession, or encumbrances, topay the remaining principal sum of the note(s)secured by the deed of trust, with interest and latecharges thereon, as provided in the note(s),advances, under the terms of the deed of trust,interest thereon, fees, charges and expenses of thetrustee for the total amount (at the time of the ini-t ial publication of the notice of Sale) reasonablyestimated to be set forth below. the amount may begreater on the day of sale. BenefiCiary MayeleCt to Bid leSS tHan tHe total aMoUntdUe. trustor(s): tri le, a Single Man recorded:11/04/2004 as instrument no. 04 2857867 in bookxxx, page xxx of official records in the office ofthe recorder of loS angeleS County, California;date of Sale: 1/19/2012 at 09:00 aM Place of Sale:Behind the fountain located in Civic Center Plaza,400 Civic Center Plaza, Pomona Ca amount ofunpaid balance and other charges: $338,669.29the purported property address is: 2501 teMPleave #304 Signal Hill, Ca 90755 assessors Par-cel no. 7214-021-043 the undersigned trustee dis-claims any l iabi l i ty for any incorrectness of theproperty address or other common designation, ifany, shown herein. i f no street address or othercommon designation is shown, direct ions to thelocation of the property may be obtained by sendinga written request to the beneficiary within 10 daysof the date of first publication of this notice of Sale.if the trustee is unable to convey title for any rea-son, the successful bidder's sole and exclusiveremedy shal l be the return of monies paid to thetrustee, and the successful bidder shall have nofurther recourse. if the sale is set aside for any rea-son, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled onlyto a return of the deposit paid. the Purchaser shallhave no further recourse against the Mortgagor, theMortgagee, or the Mortgagee’s attorney. date:Quality loan Service Corp. 2141 5th avenue Sandiego, Ca 92101 619-645-7711 for non Saleinformation only Sale line: 714-573-1965 or loginto: HyPerlinK "http://www.priorityposting.com"www.priorityposting.com reinstatement line: 619-645-7711 ext. 3704 Quality loan Service, Corp. ifyou have previously been discharged through bank-ruptcy, you may have been released of personal lia-bi l i ty for this loan in which case this letter isintended to exercise the note holder’s rights againstthe real property only. tHiS notiCe iS Sent fortHe PUrPoSe of ColleCting a deBt. tHiSfirM iS atteMPting to ColleCt a deBt onBeHalf of tHe Holder and oWner of tHenote. any inforMation oBtained By orProvided to tHiS firM or tHe CreditorWill Be USed for tHat PUrPoSe. as requiredby law, you are hereby noti f ied that a negativecredit report reflecting on your credit record may besubmitted to a credit report agency if you fail to ful-f i l l the terms of your credit obligations. P90753512/23, 12/30, 01/06/2012

TST3933trustee Sale no. 452059Ca loan no. 0021242615tit le order no. 882712 notiCe of trUStee’SSale yoU are in defaUlt Under a deed oftrUSt dated 9/14/2005. UnleSS yoU taKeaCtion to ProteCt yoUr ProPerty, it MayBe Sold at a PUBliC Sale. if yoU need anexPlanation of tHe natUre of tHe Pro-CeedingS againSt yoU, yoU SHoUld Con-taCt a laWyer. on 1/13/2012 at 9:00 aM,California reConveyanCe CoMPany as theduly appointed trustee under and pursuant to deedof trust recorded 09/27/2005, Book n/a, Pagen/a, instrument 05-2321675, of official records inthe off ice of the recorder of loS angeleSCounty, Cali fornia, executed by: gerZain Bar-rera, a Single Man, as trustor, CHaSe BanKUSa, n.a., as Beneficiary, will sell at public auctionsale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier’s checkdrawn by a state or national bank, a cashier’scheck drawn by a state or federal credit union, or acashier’s check drawn by a state or federal savingsand loan association, savings association, or sav-ings bank specified in section 5102 of the financialCode and authorized to do business in this state.Sale will be held by the duly appointed trustee as

shown below, of al l r ight, t i t le, and interest con-veyed to and now held by the trustee in the here-inafter described property under and pursuant tothe deed of trust. the sale will be made, but with-out covenant or warranty, expressed or implied,regarding t i t le, possession, or encumbrances, topay the remaining principal sum of the note(s)secured by the deed of trust, interest thereon, esti-mated fees, charges and expenses of the trusteefor the total amount (at the time of the initial publi-cation of the notice of Sale) reasonably estimatedto be set forth below. the amount may be greateron the day of sale. Place of Sale: BeHind tHefoUntain loCated in CiviC Center PlaZa,400 CiviC Center PlaZa, PoMona, Ca legaldescription: as more fully described in said deed oftrust amount of unpaid balance and other charges:$373,843.74 (estimated) Street address and othercommon designation of the real property: 2298roSe ave 112 Signal Hill, Ca 90755 aPn num-ber: 7215-004-053 the undersigned trustee dis-claims any l iabi l i ty for any incorrectness of thestreet address and other common designation, i fany, shown herein. the property heretoforedescribed is being sold “as is”. in compliance withCali fornia Civi l Code 2923.5(c) the mortgagee,trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent declares:that it has contacted the borrower(s) to assess theirfinancial situation and to explore options to avoidforeclosure; or that it has made efforts to contactthe borrower(s) to assess their f inancial situationand to explore options to avoid foreclosure by oneof the following methods: by telephone; by UnitedStates mail ; ei ther 1st class or cert i f ied; byovernight delivery; by personal delivery; by e-mail;by face to face meeting. date: 12/20/2011 Cali-fornia reConveyanCe CoMPany, as trusteeCaSiMir nUneZ, aSSiStant SeCretary Cali-fornia reConveyanCe CoMPany iS a deBtColleCtor atteMPting to ColleCt a deBt.any inforMation oBtained Will Be USedfor tHat PUrPoSe. Cali fornia reconveyanceCompany 9200 oakdale avenue Mail Stop: Ca2-4379 Chatsworth, Ca 91311 800-892-6902 forSales information: (714) 730-2727 or HyPerlinK"http://www.lpsasap.com" www.lpsasap.com (714)573-1965 or HyPerlinK "http://www.prioritypost-ing.com" www.priorityposting.com P909223 12/23,12/30, 01/06/2012

TST3934notiCe of trUStee'S Sale tS no. 11-0103610tit le order no. 11-0086306- investor/insurer no.105289483 aPn no. 7217-026-034 yoU are indefaUlt Under a deed of trUSt, dated09/01/2005. UnleSS yoU taKe aCtion to Pro-teCt yoUr ProPerty, it May Be Sold at aPUBliC Sale. if yoU need an exPlanationof tHe natUre of tHe ProCeeding againStyoU, yoU SHoUld ContaCt a laWyer." noticeis hereby given that reContrUSt CoMPany,n.a., as duly appointed trustee pursuant to thedeed of trust executed by tyrone t. fong andKeiKo SaegUSa, HUSBand and Wife aS JointtenantS, dated 09/01/2005 and recorded9/15/2005, as instrument no. 2005-2230931, inBook , Page ), of official records in the office ofthe County recorder of los angeles County, Stateof California, will sell on 01/23/2012 at 11:00aM, Bythe fountain located at 400 Civic Center Plaza,Pomona, Ca 91766 at public auction, to the highestbidder for cash or check as described below,payable in ful l at t ime of sale, al l r ight, t i t le, andinterest conveyed to and now held by it under saiddeed of trust, in the property situated in saidCounty and State and as more fully described in theabove referenced deed of trust. the street addressand other common designation, if any, of the realproperty described above is purported to be: 2417MaxSon CoUrt, Signal Hill, Ca, 90755. theundersigned trustee disclaims any liability for anyincorrectness of the street address and other com-mon designation, i f any, shown herein. the totalamount of the unpaid balance with interest thereonof the obligation secured by the property to be soldplus reasonable estimated costs, expenses andadvances at the time of the initial publication of thenotice of Sale is $560,136.18. it is possible that atthe time of sale the opening bid may be less thanthe total indebtedness due. in addition to cash, thetrustee wil l accept cashier 's checks drawn on astate or national bank, a check drawn by a state orfederal credit union, or a check drawn by a state orfederal savings and loan association, savings asso-ciation, or savings bank specified in Section 5102of the financial Code and authorized to do busi-ness in this state. Said sale will be made, in an ''aSiS' ' condit ion, but without covenant or warranty,express or implied, regarding tit le, possession orencumbrances, to satisfy the indebtedness securedby said deed of trust, advances thereunder, withinterest as provided, and the unpaid principal of thenote secured by said deed of trust with interestthereon as provided in said note, plus fees,charges and expenses of the trustee and of thetrusts created by said deed of trust. dated:12/28/2011 reContrUSt CoMPany, n.a. 1800tapo Canyon rd., Ca6-914-01-94 SiMi valley,Ca 93063 Phone: (800) 281 8219, Sale information(626) 927-4399 By: trustee's Sale officer reCon-trUSt CoMPany, n.a. is a debt collector attempt-

ing to collect a debt. any information obtained willbe used for that purpose. aSaP# 415626712/30/2011, 01/06/2012, 01/13/2012

TST3935notiCe of trUStee'S Sale tS no. 11-0104138tit le order no. 11-0086389 investor/insurer no.167705290 aPn no. 7215-028-032 yoU are indefaUlt Under a deed of trUSt, dated05/16/2007. UnleSS yoU taKe aCtion to Pro-teCt yoUr ProPerty, it May Be Sold at aPUBliC Sale. if yoU need an exPlanationof tHe natUre of tHe ProCeeding againStyoU, yoU SHoUld ContaCt a laWyer." noticeis hereby given that reContrUSt CoMPany,n.a., as duly appointed trustee pursuant to thedeed of trust executed by JoSe antonio gUi-tron, a Married Man aS HiS Sole & SePa-rate ProPerty, dated 05/16/2007 and recorded5/25/2007, as instrument no. 20071274638, inBook , Page ), of official records in the office ofthe County recorder of los angeles County, Stateof California, will sell on 01/23/2012 at 11:00aM, Bythe fountain located at 400 Civic Center Plaza,Pomona, Ca 91766 at public auction, to the highestbidder for cash or check as described below,payable in ful l at t ime of sale, al l r ight, t i t le, andinterest conveyed to and now held by it under saiddeed of trust, in the property situated in saidCounty and State and as more fully described in theabove referenced deed of trust. the street addressand other common designation, if any, of the realproperty described above is purported to be: 2109oHio avenUe, Signal Hill, Ca, 90755. theundersigned trustee disclaims any liability for anyincorrectness of the street address and other com-mon designation, i f any, shown herein. the totalamount of the unpaid balance with interest thereonof the obligation secured by the property to be soldplus reasonable estimated costs, expenses andadvances at the time of the initial publication of thenotice of Sale is $1,057,380.02. it is possible thatat the time of sale the opening bid may be less thanthe total indebtedness due. in addition to cash, thetrustee wil l accept cashier 's checks drawn on astate or national bank, a check drawn by a state orfederal credit union, or a check drawn by a state orfederal savings and loan association, savings asso-ciation, or savings bank specified in Section 5102of the financial Code and authorized to do busi-ness in this state. Said sale will be made, in an ''aSiS' ' condit ion, but without covenant or warranty,express or implied, regarding tit le, possession orencumbrances, to satisfy the indebtedness securedby said deed of trust, advances thereunder, withinterest as provided, and the unpaid principal of thenote secured by said deed of trust with interestthereon as provided in said note, plus fees,charges and expenses of the trustee and of thetrusts created by said deed of trust. dated:12/29/2011 reContrUSt CoMPany, n.a. 1800tapo Canyon rd., Ca6-914-01-94 SiMi valley,Ca 93063 Phone: (800) 281 8219, Sale information(626) 927-4399 By: trustee's Sale officer reCon-trUSt CoMPany, n.a. is a debt collector attempt-ing to collect a debt. any information obtained willbe used for that purpose. aSaP# 415766912/30/2011, 01/06/2012, 01/13/2012

TST3936notiCe of trUStee'S Sale trustee Sale no. :20100015001492 title order no.: 100140651 yoUare in defaUlt Under a deed of trUSt,dated 06/08/2005. UnleSS yoU taKe aCtionto ProteCt yoUr ProPerty, it May BeSold at a PUBliC Sale. if yoU need anexPlanation of tHe natUre of tHe Pro-Ceeding againSt yoU, yoU SHoUld Con-taCt a laWyer. ndex WeSt, llC, as dulyappointed trustee under and pursuant to deed oftrust recorded on 06/16/2005 as instrument no.05 1410779 of off icial records in the off ice of theCounty recorder of loS angeleS County, Stateof California. exeCUted By: randy PlatiMer, Will Sell at PUBliC aUCtion toHigHeSt Bidder for CaSH, CaSHier'SCHeCK/CaSH eQUivalent or other form of pay-ment authorized by 2924h(b), (payable at t ime ofsale in lawful money of the United States). dateof Sale: 01/19/2012 tiMe of Sale: 11:00 aMPlaCe of Sale: By tHe foUntain loCatedat 400 CiviC Center PlaZa, PoMona, Ca91766. Street addreSS and other common des-ignation, i f any, of the real property describedabove is purported to be: 2341 oCean vieWdrive, Signal Hill, California 90755 aPn#:7215-014-070 the undersigned trustee disclaimsany l iabi l i ty for any incorrectness of the streetaddress and other common designation, i f any,shown herein. Said sale will be made, but withoutcovenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regard-ing title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay theremaining principal sum of the note(s) secured bysaid deed of trust, with interest thereon, as pro-vided in said note(s), advances, under the terms ofsaid deed of trust, fees, charges and expenses ofthe trustee and of the trusts created by said deedof trust. the total amount of the unpaid balance ofthe obligation secured by the property to be soldand reasonable estimated costs, expenses andadvances at the time of the initial publication of the

notice of Sale is $944,972.72. the beneficiaryunder said deed of trust heretofore executed anddelivered to the undersigned a written declarationof default and demand for Sale, and a writ tennotice of default and election to Sell. the under-signed caused said notice of default and electionto Sell to be recorded in the county where the realproperty is located. for trUStee Sale infor-Mation PleaSe Call: agenCy SaleS & PoSt-ing 2 3210 el CaMino real, SUite 200 irvine,Ca 92602 714-730-2727 ndex West, l.l.C. MayBe aCting aS a deBt ColleCtor atteMPt-ing to ColleCt a deBt. any inforMationoBtained Will Be USed for tHat PUrPoSe.ndex West, l.l.C. as trustee dated: 12/22/2011ndex West, l.l.C. 15000 Surveyor Boulevard,Suite 500 addison, texas 75001-9013 telephone:(866) 795-1852 telecopier: (972) 661-7800 aSaP#4161454 12/30/2011, 01/06/2012, 01/13/2012

TST3939notiCe of trUStee'S Sale trustee Sale no.731024Ca loan no. 5303811490 tit le order no.090209533-Ca-MaiyoU are in defaUlt Undera deed of trUSt dated 07-11-2006. UnleSSyoU taKe aCtion to ProteCt yoUr ProP-erty, it May Be Sold at a PUBliC Sale. ifyoU need an exPlanation of tHe natUreof tHe ProCeedingS againSt yoU, yoUSHoUld ContaCt a laWyer. on 01-20-2012 at11:00 a.M., California reConveyanCe CoM-Pany as the duly appointed trustee under and pur-suant to deed of trust recorded 07-18-2006, Book, Page , instrument 06 1574569, of official recordsin the off ice of the recorder of loS angeleSCounty, Cali fornia, executed by: edUardo eMoraleS, a Married Man aS HiS Sole andSeParate ProPerty, as trustor, MortgageeleCtroniC regiStration SySteMS,inC.(MerS), (Solely aS noMinee for lenderfirSt MagnUS finanCial CorPoration, anariZona CorPoration, and lender'S SUC-CeSSorS and aSSignS.), as Beneficiary, will sellat public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash,cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank,a cashier's check drawn by a state or federal creditunion, or a cashier's check drawn by a state or fed-eral savings and loan association, savings associa-tion, or savings bank specified in section 5102 ofthe financial Code and authorized to do businessin this state. Sale will be held by the duly appointedtrustee as shown below, of all right, title, and inter-est conveyed to and now held by the trustee in thehereinafter described property under and pursuantto the deed of trust. the sale wil l be made, butwithout covenant or warranty, expressed or implied,regarding t i t le, possession, or encumbrances, topay the remaining principal sum of the note(s)secured by the deed of trust, interest thereon, esti-mated fees, charges and expenses of the trusteefor the total amount (at the time of the initial publi-cation of the notice of Sale) reasonably estimatedto be set forth below. the amount may be greateron the day of sale. Place of Sale: By tHe foUn-tain loCated at 400 CiviC Center PlaZa,PoMona, Ca 91766. legal description: ParCel1: lot 99 of traCt no. 51830, in tHe City ofSignal Hill, CoUnty of loS angeleS, Stateof California, aS SHoWn on tHe SUBdivi-Sion MaP reCorded on oCtoBer 31, 2000 inBooK 1254, PageS 1 to 11, inClUSive, ofMaPS, in tHe offiCe of tHe loS angeleSCoUnty reCorder, aS CorreCted By Cer-tifiCateS of CorreCtion reCordedJanaUry 25, 2001 aS inStrUMent no. 01-0133596, reCorded May 29, 2001 aS inStrU-Ment no. 01-925100 and reCorded oCtoBer17, 2001, aS inStrUMent no. 1973026, all intHe offiCial reCordS of loS angeleSCoUnty ( ' 'offiCial reCordS''). exCePtingtHerefroM; all oil, oil rigHtS, natUralgaS rigHtS, Mineral rigHtS, and otHerHydroCarBon SUBStanCeS By WHatevernaMe KnoWn, togetHer WitH aPPUrtenantrigHtS tHereto, WitHoUt, HoWever, anyrigHt to enter UPon tHe SUrfaCe of Saidland nor any Portion of tHe SUBSUrfaCelying aBove a dePtH of 150 feet, aSexCePted or reServed in inStrUMentS ofreCord. ParCel 2 : non-exClUSive eaSe-MentS for aCCeSS, ingreSS, egreSS,drainage, MaintenanCe, rePairS and forotHer PUrPoSeS, all aS deSCriBed in tHeaMended and reStated deClaration ofCovenantS, ConditionS, reStriCtionS andreServation of eaSeMentS for BixByridge, reCorded on MarCH 1, 2000 aSinStrUMent no. 00-0313402. (tHe ''deClara-tion''), and tHe notiCe of addition of ter-ritory and SUPPleMental deClaration ofCovenantS, ConditionS and reStriCtionS(PHaSe 7), reCorded on JUly 24, 2002 aSinStrUMent no. 02- 1730181, (tHe ''notiCe''),BotH of offiCial reCordS, and aS May BeaMended and reStated, and tHe MaP.amount of unpaid balance and other charges:$1,024,884.98 (estimated) Street address and othercommon designation of the real property: 2101ridgevieW terraCe drive Signal Hill, Ca90755 aPn number: 7217-029-010 the under-signed trustee disclaims any liability for any incor-

rectness of the street address and other commondesignation, i f any, shown herein. the propertyheretofore described is being sold "as is". in com-pl iance with Cali fornia Civi l Code 2923.5(c) themortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorizedagent declares: that i t has contacted theborrower(s) to assess their financial situation andto explore options to avoid foreclosure; or that i thas made efforts to contact the borrower(s) toassess their f inancial si tuation and to exploreoptions to avoid foreclosure by one of the followingmethods: by telephone; by United States mail ;either 1st class or certified; by overnight delivery;by personal del ivery; by e-mail ; by face to facemeeting. date: 12-28-2011 California reCon-veyanCe CoMPany, as trustee reginaCantrell, aSSiStant SeCretary Califor-nia reConveyanCe CoMPany iS a deBt Col-leCtor atteMPting to ColleCt a deBt. anyinforMation oBtained Will Be USed fortHat PUrPoSe. California reconveyance Com-pany 9200 oakdale avenue Mail Stop: Ca2-4379Chatsworth, Ca 91311 800-892-6902 for Salesinformation: (714) 730-2727 or www.lpsasap.com(714) 573-1965 or www.priorityposting.com aSaP#4158054 12/30/2011, 01/06/2012, 01/13/2012

TST3940notiCe of trUStee'S Sale tS no. 11-0108099tit le order no. 11-0088135 investor/insurer no.078876671 aPn no. 7216-020-121 yoU are indefaUlt Under a deed of trUSt, dated10/26/2004. UnleSS yoU taKe aCtion to Pro-teCt yoUr ProPerty, it May Be Sold at aPUBliC Sale. if yoU need an exPlanationof tHe natUre of tHe ProCeeding againStyoU, yoU SHoUld ContaCt a laWyer." noticeis hereby given that reContrUSt CoMPany,n.a., as duly appointed trustee pursuant to thedeed of trust executed by SaMUel B. radWine,an UnMarried Man, dated 10/26/2004 andrecorded 11/1/2004, as instrument no. 04 2814503,in Book , Page ), of official records in the office ofthe County recorder of los angeles County, Stateof California, will sell on 01/30/2012 at 11:00aM, Bythe fountain located at 400 Civic Center Plaza,Pomona, Ca 91766 at public auction, to the highestbidder for cash or check as described below,payable in ful l at t ime of sale, al l r ight, t i t le, andinterest conveyed to and now held by it under saiddeed of trust, in the property situated in saidCounty and State and as more fully described in theabove referenced deed of trust. the street addressand other common designation, if any, of the realproperty described above is purported to be: 2604eaSt 20tH Street #306f, Signal Hill, Ca,90755. the undersigned trustee disclaims any lia-bi l i ty for any incorrectness of the street addressand other common designation, i f any, shownherein. the total amount of the unpaid balance withinterest thereon of the obl igation secured by theproperty to be sold plus reasonable estimatedcosts, expenses and advances at the t ime of theinit ial publ ication of the notice of Sale is$440,068.40. it is possible that at the time of salethe opening bid may be less than the total indebt-edness due. in addit ion to cash, the trustee wil laccept cashier 's checks drawn on a state ornational bank, a check drawn by a state or federalcredit union, or a check drawn by a state or federalsavings and loan association, savings association,or savings bank specif ied in Section 5102 of thefinancial Code and authorized to do business inthis state. Said sale wil l be made, in an ' 'aS iS' 'condit ion, but without covenant or warranty,express or implied, regarding tit le, possession orencumbrances, to satisfy the indebtedness securedby said deed of trust, advances thereunder, withinterest as provided, and the unpaid principal of thenote secured by said deed of trust with interestthereon as provided in said note, plus fees,charges and expenses of the trustee and of thetrusts created by said deed of trust. dated:01/06/2012 reContrUSt CoMPany, n.a. 1800tapo Canyon rd., Ca6-914-01-94 SiMi valley,Ca 93063 Phone: (800) 281 8219, Sale information(626) 927-4399 By: - trustee's Sale off icerreContrUSt CoMPany, n.a. is a debt collectorattempting to col lect a debt. any informationobtained wil l be used for that purpose. aSaP#4165046 01/06/2012, 01/13/2012, 01/20/2012

TST3941notiCe of trUStee'S Sale tSg no.: 5588290tS no.: Ca1100231812 fHa/va/PMi no.:aPn:7216‑018‑037 yoU are in defaUlt Undera deed of trUSt, dated 03/26/04. UnleSSyoU taKe aCtion to ProteCt yoUr ProP-erty, it May Be Sold at a PUBliC Sale. ifyoU need an exPlanation of tHe natUreof tHe ProCeeding againSt yoU, yoUSHoUld ContaCt a laWyer. on January 26,2012 at 11:00 aM, first american trustee ServicingSolutions, llC, as duly appointed trustee underand pursuant to deed of trust recorded 04/09/04,as instrument no. 04 0861916, in book , page , ofoff icial records in the off ice of the Countyrecorder of loS angeleS County, State of Cali-fornia. executed by: alBerta a SoUSeda, a Sin-gle WoMan,. Will Sell at PUBliC aUCtionto HigHeSt Bidder for CaSH, CaSHier'S

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CHeCK/CaSH eQUivalent or other form of pay-ment authorized by 2924h(b), (Payable at time ofsale in lawful money of the United States) insidethe lobby of the building located at 628 north dia-mond Bar Blvd., Suite B, diamond Bar, Ca. al lright, title and interest conveyed to and now heldby it under said deed of trust in the property situ-ated in said County and State described as: aSMore fUlly deSCriBed in tHe aBove Men-tioned deed of trUSt aPn# 7216‑018‑037.the street address and other common designa-tion, if any, of the real property described above ispurported to be: 1999 Stanley ave Unit 2,Signal Hill, Ca 90755. the undersignedtrustee disclaims any l iabil i ty for any incorrect-ness of the street address and other common des-ignation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will bemade, but without covenant or warranty,expressed or implied, regarding title, possession,or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principalsum of the note(s) secured by said deed of trust,with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s),advances, under the terms of said deed of trust,fees, charges and expenses of the trustee and ofthe trusts created by said deed of trust. the totalamount of the unpaid balance of the obl igationsecured by the property to be sold and reasonableestimated costs, expenses and advances at thetime of the initial publication of the notice of Saleis $34,427.72. the beneficiary under said deedof trust heretofore executed and delivered to theundersigned a written declaration of default anddemand for Sale, and a written notice of defaultand election to Sel l . the undersigned causedsaid notice of default and election to Sell to berecorded in the County where the real property islocated. if the sale is set aside for any reason,the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only toa return of the deposit paid. the Purchaser shallhave no further recourse against the Mortgagor,the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee's trustee. thebeneficiary or servicing agent declares that it hasobtained from the Commissioner of Corporationsa final or temporary order of exemption pursuantto Cali fornia Civi l Code Section 2923.53 that iscurrent and valid on the date the notice of Sale isf i led and/or the t imeframe for giving notice ofSale specified in subdivision (s) of California CivilCode Section 2923.52 applies and has been pro-vided or the loan is exempt from the requirements.date: 12/31/11, first american tit le insuranceCompany first american trustee Servicing Solu-tions, llC 3 first american Way, Santa ana, Ca92707 original document signed by authorizedagent, Chet Sconyers -- for trUStee'S SaleinforMation PleaSe Call (916) 939-0772.first american trustee Servicing Solutions, llCMay be acting as a debt Collector attempting toCollect a debt. any information obtained may beused for that purpose. nPP0194568 01/06/12,01/13/12, 01/20/12

TST3931 / 2011 147453FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the following person is doing business as: tHeCorPorate HiPPie, 33 Cerri tos ave., longBeach, Ca 90802. registrant: MeliSSa rUiZ, 33Cerritos ave., long Beach, Ca 90802. this busi-ness is conducted by: an individual. i declare thatall information in this statement is true and cor-rect. Signed: Melissa ruiz. the registrant has notbegun to transact business under the f ict i t iousbusiness name or names listed herein. this state-ment was filed with the county clerk of los ange-les County on december 13, 2011. notiCe: thisf ict i t ious business name statement expires f iveyears from the date it was filed in the office of thecounty clerk. a new fictitious business name state-ment must be filed prior to that date. the filing ofthis statement does not of itself authorize the usein this state of a fictitious business name in viola-tion of the rights of another under federal, state,or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Busi-ness and Professions Code). Pub. the Signaltribune: december 23, 30, 2011 & January 6, 13,2012.

TST3930 / 2011 148357FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the fol lowing persons are doing business as:natUral BlendSSS, 2532 e. 220th St., longBeach, Ca 90810. registrant: 1. andreSvalleS, 2. aleJandro valleS, 2532 e. 220thSt., long Beach, Ca 90810. this business is con-ducted by: a general Partnership. i declare thatall information in this statement is true and cor-rect. Signed: andres valles. the registrants havebegun to transact business under the f ict i t iousbusiness name or names listed herein. the regis-trants started doing business under this fictitiousBusiness name on december 14, 2011. thisstatement was fi led with the county clerk of losangeles County on december 14, 2011. notiCe:this f ictit ious business name statement expiresfive years from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. a new fictit ious business namestatement must be filed prior to that date. the fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorizethe use in this state of a fictitious business namein violation of the rights of another under federal,state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq.,Business and Professions Code). Pub. the Signal

tribune: december 23, 30, 2011 & January 6, 13,2012.

TST 3926 / 2011 134480FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the following person is doing business as: fix-iteCH, 1810 Junipero ave, Signal Hill, Ca 90755.registrant: alariC greenfield, 1810 Juniperoave., Signal Hill, Ca 90755. this business is con-ducted by: an individual. i declare that all informa-tion in this statement is true and correct. Signed:alaric greenfield. the registrant has not begun totransact business under the f ict i t ious businessname or names listed herein. this statement wasfiled with the county clerk of los angeles Countyon november 21, 2011. notiCe: this f ict i t iousbusiness name statement expires five years fromthe date i t was f i led in the off ice of the countyclerk. a new ficti t ious business name statementmust be filed prior to that date. the fil ing of thisstatement does not of itself authorize the use inthis state of a fictitious business name in violationof the r ights of another under federal, state, orcommon law (see section 14411 et seq., Businessand Professions Code). Pub. the Signal tribune:december 16, 23, 30, 2011 & January 6, 2012.

TST3925 / 2011 146372FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the fol lowing person is doing business as:Metro SHelving ProdUCtS, 425 e. oceanBlvd. #220, long Beach, Ca 90802. registrant:deSign teaM aMeriCa, inC., 425 e. oceanBlvd. #220, long Beach, Ca 90802. this businessis conducted by: a Corporation. i declare that allinformation in this statement is true and correct.Signed: dennis apodaca, President. the regis-trant has begun to transact business under the fic-titious business name or names listed herein. theregistrant started doing business under this ficti-tious Business name on december 1, 2011. thisstatement was fi led with the county clerk of losangeles County on december 9, 2011. notiCe:this f ictit ious business name statement expiresfive years from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. a new fictit ious business namestatement must be filed prior to that date. the fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorizethe use in this state of a fictitious business namein violation of the rights of another under federal,state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq.,Business and Professions Code). Pub. the Signaltribune: december 16, 23, 30, 2011 & January 6,2012.

TST3937 / 2011 148617FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the following person is doing business as: JWPSolar reSearCH, 20950 normandie ave., Unitl, torrance, Ca 90502. registrant: JaMeSPalKo, 24221 neece ave., torrance, Ca 90505.this business is conducted by: an individual. ideclare that al l information in this statement istrue and correct. Signed: James Palko. the regis-trant has begun to transact business under the fic-titious business name or names listed herein. theregistrant started doing business under this ficti-tious Business name on december 16, 2010. thisstatement was fi led with the county clerk of losangeles County on december 14, 2011. notiCe:this f ictit ious business name statement expiresfive years from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. a new fictit ious business namestatement must be filed prior to that date. the fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorizethe use in this state of a fictitious business namein violation of the rights of another under federal,state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq.,Business and Professions Code). Pub. the Signaltribune: december 30, 2011 & January 6, 13, 20,2012.

TST3942 / 2011 147098FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

the fol lowing person is doing business as:infiniti CoMPUter ServiCeS, 5943 e. SpringSt., long Beach, Ca 90808. registrant: antHonyveloni, 1357 e. 23rd St., apt. 16, Signal Hill, Ca90755. this business is conducted by: an individ-ual. i declare that all information in this statementis true and correct. Signed: anthony veloni. theregistrant has not begun to transact businessunder the fictitious business name or names listedherein. this statement was fi led with the countyclerk of los angeles County on december 12,2011. notiCe: this f ict i t ious business namestatement expires five years from the date it wasfiled in the office of the county clerk. a new ficti-tious business name statement must be filed priorto that date. the filing of this statement does notof itself authorize the use in this state of a f ict i-t ious business name in violation of the rights ofanother under federal, state, or common law (seesection 14411 et seq., Business and ProfessionsCode). Pub. the Signal tribune: January 6, 13,20, 27, 2012.

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14 SigNAL TriBuNE JANuAry 6, 2012CuLTurE

The Expo Arts Center, 4321 Atlantic Ave., willhost a free blues concert on Friday, Jan. 6 from6:30pm and 9:30pm in the main hall.

Raspin, a singer whose CD We Do What We Dois available in Starbucks locaitons around the coun-try, will be the featured performer. At 53, after 28years of running a publishing firm that produced twoLos Angeles monthlies, Boulevard and Gorgeous,he’s retired to focus on his true love– music.

As a magazine publisher, he was known to makeconnections within diverse pockets of the L.A. pop-ulation, so that the appeal of his magazines crossedover a multitude of cultures and attitudes. Now he’s

bringing that same approach to the problem of howa musician gets his music heard in the chaotic con-text of modern times. It all starts with the tried andtrue: live performance, connecting directly with peo-ple and giving them a needed respite from the every-day cavalcade of electronic entertainment.

“It’s all about the people, about building your fanbase,” he said. “It’s about connecting. The thingpeople talk about most is a feeling of love, of com-passion and forgiveness.”

The free concert is sponsored by the BixbyKnolls Business Improvement Association.

BKBiA’s free blues concert to spotlight Starbucks featured artist raspin

Courtesy Expo

After 28 years of working in publishing, blues singer Raspin has retired to focus on his true love– music.

HoW To AVoID PRoBATE

ELiZABETH ArNETT VOZZELLAAttorney at Law • (562) 426-9876

Probate is a very costly and long process that can last from 9 to 18months in most cases. Fortunately, there are several alternatives availablethat remove the asset from one’s probatable estate while that person is stillalive. Naming a beneficiary on life insurance policies, IRA’s, 401(k)’s, andannuities before your death assures the asset is transferred straight to thechosen beneficiary. Joint Tenancy is where the owner of the asset names aco-owner of an account or real property. Caution: Joint tenancies have risksas the co-owner has the same rights to the asset as the original owner and aloss of Stepped-up valuation.

Pay-on-death Accounts are similar to naming a beneficiary in that thebank account owner completes banking paperwork which names the person(s)

who will receive the bank account upon the bankowner’s death.

Lifetime Gifts given during your life avoids probatebecause probate only applies to those assets owned attime of death. A Living Trust is very beneficial whendealing with titled real property and other assets. A com-plete estate plan included in the Living Trust includesmany ancillary documents that protect you financially, phys-ically and allows for peace of mind.

Celebrations of the new yearwill continue right into the FirstFridays art walk in Bixby Knollson Friday, Jan. 6, which meansplenty of food, music, art,strolling, shopping, and socializ-ing. Attendees may also bear wit-ness to the crowning of the kingand queen of the 2012 Long BeachMardi Gras celebration– 7th Dis-trict Long Beach CouncilmemberJames Johnson and 8th District

Councilmember Rae Gabelich,respectively. The coronation willbe conducted at 8pm at The Fac-tory, 4020 Atlantic Ave. (The Feb-ruary 3 First Fridays event will bea Mardi Gras-themed night.)

First Books at First Fridays,which will take place at DanaBranch Library, 3680 AtlanticAve., at 5:30pm will give kids theopportunity to enjoy a book pre-sented by guest reader Pastor Amy

Aitken from the Cal HeightsMethodist Church, with entertain-ment from the Downtown Clown.

Also for kids, there will be ascavenger hunt in six locations:Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, RoyRobbins Gifts, Averyboo Arts,Bixby Exchange, EmbroidMe, andIt’s a Grind.

The reggae-flavored DougMeans Project will kick off itswinter tour at First Fridays. The

Expo Arts Center, 4321 AtlanticAve., will feature galleries, music,and interactive art activities.

The Big Red Bus will transportFirst Fridays attendees to all theparticipating locations. Bella Cosa,3803 Atlantic Ave., will provideinformation about First Fridays,maps, and restaurant recommenda-tions from from 6:30pm to 8pm.

When the businesses start toclose, First Fridays After Hours

begins across the district. Nino’sItalian Restaurant will host a mixof music, dancing, and late-nightdining. The Factory and EJ Mal-loy’s will also go late into thenight with dinner, drinks, music,and community mingling.

-------------------------MORE INFORMATION

firstfridayslongbeach.com

reggae and blues, a clown and a coronation... it’s got to be First Fridays

The Expo Arts Center, 4321Atlantic Ave., will once again hostimages from The Peace Projectduring the January First Fridays artwalk, as a one-day exhibit from6pm and 9pm. In November of2011, Gallery Expo and The Whole9 Gallery, based in Culver City,brought the exhibit to the ExpoArts Center, and many peoplerequested that the project be

brought back to Long Beach foranother look, according to GalleryExpo curator Douglas Orr.

The Peace Project (thepeacepro-ject.com), which was started byThe Whole 9 Gallery owner LisaSchwartz, led a coalition of part-ners (including UNICEF) to pro-vide 10,000 pairs of crutches andmobility devices to amputees in thecountry of Sierra Leone, which ishome to about 20 percent of theworld’s amputees. About threeyears ago, the RevolutionaryUnited Front began terrorizing thepeople of Sierra Leone by amputat-ing their hands, arms and legs. Theamputations were to serve as therebel trademark and a warning ofwhat they were capable of, accord-ing to a Dec. 3, 2011 ABC Newsstory. Most of the amputees areinnocent civilians who had nothingto do with politics or war.

The project will be featured inthe lobby of the Expo Arts Centerduring a free blues concert (seeside story).

“We have [been] so inspired bythe work that [The] Whole 9Gallery is doing that we wanted tobring some of that good will toLong Beach,” Orr said. “The PeaceProject is a great example of howartists and their art can have ameaningful and profound impacton the lives of people in needaround the world.”

Parking is located on the northside of the building and is free.

-----------------------MORE INFORMATION

thewhole9.com/thepeacepro-ject-home.phpgalleryexpo.net

gallery Expo to host images from ThePeace Project, which provided crutchesto Sierra Leone victims of amputation

Sponsored by:

“And cats in their fur-abouts watched the fires;and the high-heaped fire spat, all ready for the

chestnuts and the mulling pokers.” Gizmo,about 2 years old, seems to embody this passagefrom Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas inWales.” Christmas may be just behind us, butthe season continues, and he would be ideal tospend cozy winter snuggles with you, and love

all year round. Ask for ID#A453863 on the shel-ter side of Companion Animal Village at 7700

East Spring St., (562) 570-PETS.

Gizmo

Open Tuesday through Sunday11am-10pm for food

Crooner’s Lounge open until 2am!

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CROONER’SLounge

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Home of Aunt Connie’sfamous garlic sauce

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AZTECAMExICAN RESTAURANT

From the family thatbrought you Mexico City

Restaurant in Long Beach–Azteca Mexican Restauranthas been offering authenticMexican cooking for over

50 years!

Photo by Jeremy Fokkens

“Operation Rise” provided 10,000 pairs of crutches and replacement parts toSierra Leonean amputees on World Peace Day, as part of The Peace Project.They were distributed at eight sites across the impoverished country.

Courtesy Peace Project

Mural “Phoenix Rising,” by Steven Lopez, located at the Peace Project’s

office in Culver City

D o n ’ t D r i v e D i s t r a c t e dA R E M I N D E R F R O M

T H E S I G N A L T R I B U N E

JANuAry 6, 2012 SigNAL TriBuNE 15CuLTurE

5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach562-494-1014, opt. 1 - www.lbplayhouse.org

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door

Barefoot in the ParkOne o f the swee tes t odes to young l ove and commi tment ev er wr i t te n fo r theatre

Pay what you can - Jan 12$ 2 . 0 0 B e e r a n d W in e e v e r y T h u r s d ay !

NOW PLAYING AT

LONG BEACHPLAYHOUSE

Where everyone Plays a Part.

Orson’s ShadowAn elevating, smartly entertaining glimpse at the extraordinary foibles of extraordinary men.

Part of the Long Beach Playhouse’s NEW Collaborative Series

Monorom Cambodian Restaurantis a delight. Clean and bright, therestaurant is a welcome refuge amidthe Anaheim corridor’s “concrete jun-gle.”

Sam and I paid our first visit toMonorom late on Sunday afternoon ofthe New Year’s weekend. We weregreeted warmly by the proprietor, ProsChea. Flat-screen TVs mounted onopposite walls were playing a (pre-sumably) Cambodian concert or festi-val featuring the pleasing strains of theyoung female vocalists depicted onscreen.

Monorom’s menu is not as exten-sive as some I’ve seen, which is a goodthing. It makes it easy to choose. Andsince the featured dishes are soups,rice plates, and noodle dishes withmeat options of beef, pork, chickenand an array of seafood, the variety isstill plentiful.

As is usually the case when we arenot wholly familiar with a particularcuisine, figuring out what to order canbe daunting. Fear not, as Monorom’s

menu has good, if not perfect, descrip-tions of ingredients. And many of thedishes are pictured. We had little trou-ble deciding.

Sam and I ordered three dishes,which fed the two of us amply, andallowed us to take home a small quan-tity of leftovers. We chose the SourBeef Soup with Watercress ($9.75),the Ginger Chicken with Rice ($5.75),and a noodle dish with the curiousname “the Student” ($5.25), perhapsfor its popularity among the collegiatecrowd?

Our goal is generally to order acomplement of dishes as unlike eachother in flavor and texture as possible.It can be a crapshoot. On this occasion,we gambled and won!

The soup was hearty with a strongflavor of the ground beef. Lots ofmildly sour watercress greensimparted a healthy appeal to the“stew,” while sliced chilis and Thaispices added complexity of flavor anda good kick. Sam avoided the fewpieces of tripe he found in his serving,but I didn’t mind them. All in all, thissoup was a satisfying example of tastyCambodian comfort food.

The Student noodle dish remindedme of the bun noodle salad I so often

order at Vietnamese pho restaurants,except the Student wasn’t a salad. Softand tempting pan-fried noodles wereserved with green onions, mediumshrimp and miniature scallops along-side piles of fresh bean sprouts andchopped peanuts. The requisite fishsauce that has always been the crown-ing touch to that bun salad I love wasserved in a small bowl alongside. TheStudent proved a lesson in combiningall the ingredients provided in order tomaximize enjoyment of the dish.

Finally, the Ginger Chicken withRice. What a dish! Sam and I bothagreed it was our favorite. An abu-dance of shredded fresh ginger hadbeen stir-fried with chunks of leanchicken. The delectable dish was gar-nished with green onion and servedwith chili sauce. A hemisphere oflovely steamed rice accompanied thedish. I’d order it again and again.

Sam had ordered an item from thebeverage menu that caught his atten-tion– the iced Ovaltine ($2.50). If youlike the malty taste of Ovaltine, this isthe real deal. A staple of Khmer cui-sine, do you suppose? I wonder.

Monorom is open early in themorning for coffee. The entire menu isavailable at that time, too. But the very

nice proprietor told us the restaurantdoesn’t fill up until about 10am. I sup-pose the Ginger Chicken would makea delicious, if somewhat non-tradi-tional, breakfast. Why not?

We’ll be back to Monorom verysoon. The Lemongrass Chicken, amenu option I was unfortunately com-pelled to forego on this occasion, beck-ons. We also found Monorom’s pricesto be quite reasonable.

It is also worthwhile to check outthe restaurant’s website, as it is ratherimpressive. The site boasts “the bestKhmer cuisine in Long Beach.” I

wouldn’t know whether or not this is afair claim, as I haven’t tried many ofthe Cambodian restaurants in the area.But I wouldn’t be at all surprised ifMonorom is up there with the best ofthem.

Monorom Cambodian Restaurantis located at 2150 E. Anaheim St. (twoblocks east of Cherry) in Long Beach.Phone (562) 434-1919. Hours areMonday through Saturday from7:30am to 7pm; Sunday from 7:30amto 6pm. Visit monoromcambodian-restaurant.com.

Vicki Paris Goodman

Culture Writer

Monorom restaurant offers pared-down menuof hearty, affordable Cambodian comfort food

Mark McCormick/SignalTribune

Touch Van and Pros Chea of Monorom

Mark McCormick/SignalTribune

Monorom’s Ginger Chicken with Rice has an abundance of shredded, stir-fried fresh ginger and lean chunks of chicken.

16 SigNAL TriBuNE JANuAry 6, 2012