SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL

SIGNALT R I B U N E

Your Weekly Community Newspaper March 28, 2014Vol. 35 No. 43

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Experts say Long Beach and other low-lyingbeach cities should be prepared for tsunamisSean BelkStaff Writer

State officials, emergency responders and earthquakeanalysts warned this week that Long Beach and other low-lying beach cities of Southern California would be hit theworst if a large tsunami were to strike the coast.

Rare but plausible, the worst-case scenario would be a9.1 earthquake off the Alaskan peninsula causing the localregion’s sea level to suddenly rise five to 10 feet withinjust a few hours, according to a study released last Sep-tember by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The fast-moving wave would cause major flooding inlow-lying areas, such as Long Beach and nearby cities inOrange County, where waterfront homes and commercial

development are most vulnerable to tsunamis because ofthe lack of cliffs. Strong currents would also devastate har-bors and marinas.

Luckily, people within the tsunami-inundation zonewould only have to walk a few blocks to reach dry land,according to the study.

Still, experts say residents and visitors should be pre-pared for such an event that the study estimates wouldforce some 750,000 people to be evacuated statewide andcause one-third of the boats in California’s marinas andharbors to be damaged or completely sunk, resulting in$700 million in losses. The study estimates the state’s totaldamages, including business interruptions, would be $5

CJ DabloStaff Writer

Students at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School had the chance to witness asliver of the political process last week. At a forum hosted by the school on Thursdayevening, March 20, all 10 candidates who hope to become Long Beach’s next mayorgathered together on the auditorium’s stage to voice their opinions on a variety ofissues affecting the city. The event was moderated by Bea Antenore of the Leagueof Women Voters.

It wasn’t the first (and certainly wasn’t going to be the last) chance for the mayoralhopefuls to meet with the public, but according to teacher Wendy Salaya, the eventwas a “first” for her students– her school has never before hosted a mayoral-candidateforum.

Salaya teaches classes in government and macroeconomics at Wilson. In a tele-phone interview on Wednesday, she described how her students are now very enthu-siastic for the municipal election next month.

“They can’t wait to vote,” Salaya said of her students who are over the age of 18and eligible to cast a ballot. “They’re really excited…to be able to participate and tobe able to have an opinion and actually express their opinion by voting.”

She described how, in the days leading up to the forum, the students wrestled overwhich topics to cover. They eventually developed two questions which would beposed to all of the candidates. Other questions, written down by members of the audi-ence during the event, were handed to the organizers who would, in turn, assign arandom question to each of the candidates. Each candidate answered the same num-ber of questions.

Wilson High School’s first mayoral candidateforum offers students a taste of local politics

CJ Dablo/Signal TribuneWilson Classical High School hosted a forum in their auditorium on March 20 forthe Long Beach candidates who are running for mayor. It’s the first time Wilson hashosted such an event, and, according to one teacher, it’s generated some excitementfor a local election among the students…whether or not they are old enough to vote. see TSUNAMIS page 15

City asks residents to ‘think big’ duringcommunity-wide planning workshops

Ashley FowlerContributing Writer

The City of Signal Hill invited residents to the first of two workshops March 19 designed to update the City’s2006-2011 strategic plan.

The first of the strategic-plan visioning workshops featured presentations from the police department, Los AngelesCounty Fire and Public Works.

The last time the City updated its strategic plan was in 2006 and is “overdue” for an update, City Manager KenFarfsing said. “This is part of a series of workshops and information that we’re collecting to help guide strategic plan-ning,” he said.

The purpose of the workshops, Farfsing explained, is for residents to help the City provide a vision and goals forthe community. The City will also be using the results of theresident-satisfaction survey conducted at the end of last year. see WORKSHOP page 11

see FORUM page 12

Courtesy CGSThis tsunami-inundation map created by the California Geological Survey (CGS) shows the area of Long Beach (in red) thatwould be submerged in a scenario in which a large tsunami would be caused by a 9.1 earthquake off the Alaska coast.

Ashley Fowler/Signal TribuneDuring the first of two visioning workshops hosted by the City of Signal Hill, on March 19, consultant Bill Kelly explains

where the City’s money comes from and where it goes, with the general fund total revenues equaling $16,990,760.

Please join us at e Grandon March 31, 2014

(corner of Willow & Grand)6:00 p.m. cocktails, 6:30 p.m. dinner

Tickets: Per person: $100Table of 8: $750

Donation to AIDS Food Store

For ticket information, contactAIDS Food Store at (562) 434-3425

or Ellen Ward at (562 597-5963.

An evening honoringVice-Mayor Larry ForesterWe are celebrating his accomplishments living with AIDS for

twenty years. He was elected to Signal Hill City Councilin 1998 — serving as Mayor twice. He also serves on

numerous boards, non-profits and government agencies.

Ashley FowlerContributing Writer

U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) hosted a “community coffee” March 22 at the Expo Arts Center to updateconstituents on recent congressional actions and answer their questions.

“I am so grateful about how many people showed up on a Saturday morning just to talk about what interests them ingovernment,” Lowenthal said. “It’s wonderful.” About 50 people attended the Saturday-morning event.

He has hosted close to 100 community coffees in his 20-year career in Long Beach politics, Lowenthal said. “One of the biggest problems that

we have in our country is that peoplefeel government is not responsive totheir needs,” Lowenthal said. “Theordinary person feels like they are notlistened to, that only big interests arelistened to, and it’s meetings like thisthat you get a chance to sit down andhear what people are thinking.”

Lowenthal was elected lastNovember to represent the 47th Con-gressional District, which encom-passes Long Beach, Signal Hill,Lakewood, Cypress, Los Alamitos,Rossmoor, Garden Grove, Westmin-ster, Stanton and Buena Park.

In 1998, he was elected to the StateAssembly, representing the 54th Dis-trict. Then, he represented the 27thDistrict from 2004 to 2012 as a mem-ber of the State Senate.

“I didn’t come to ask for supportfor any particular plan, but I did wantto hear how people feel about theissues before Congress: the budget, thedebt, Affordable Care Act, immigra-tion reform and minimum wage,”Lowenthal said. “Not because I’mgoing to change my vote, but I wantedto know how my community felt onthose critical issues.”

The forum became the most heatedduring a discussion regarding theAffordable Care Act. There were con-cerns addressed about the initialincrease in premium fees some mem-

March 28, 20142 SigNal TribuNE NEWS

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Ashley Fowler/Signal TribuneU.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (center) addresses concerns from his constituents about the Affordable Care Act at his “communitycoffee” on March 22 at the Expo Arts Center.

To r e a d p r e v i o u s i s s u e s o f t h e S i g n a l Tr i b u n e , v i s i tw w w . s i g n a l t r i b u n e . c o m

Rep. Lowenthal hosts communitycoffee, gauges area’s attitudes

see COFFEE page 5

A three-judge panel of the SecondAppellate Court has unanimouslydenied a petition brought by SignalHill residents Carol Churchill andMaria Harris alleging that the ballotlabel for Measure U, also known as theTaxpayer’s Right to Know and Voteinitiative, was misleading and fraudu-lent, according to a press release issuedby the City of Signal Hill on March 25.

The press release indicates that thecourt found that Measure U’s propo-nents had failed to demonstrate entitle-ment to extraordinary relief.

If approved, Measure U wouldamend the Signal Hill City Charter torequire that all new and increasedtaxes, fees and assessments beapproved by a two-thirds vote of theelectorate.

The appeals court denial follows adecision made by Judge RobertO’Brien on March 20 finding that theproponents had “not shown by clearand convincing evidence that the labelmust be amended.” The judge ruledthat it was “not clear the subject ballotlabel is impermissible, false, mislead-ing or incomplete.”

Churchill and Harris, who aremembers of the organization SignalHill Community First, had alleged thatthe ballot label prepared by the cityclerk was “inaccurate, misleading,

incomplete and results in bias againstthe citizen initiative.”

“In preparing the ballot, the cityclerk relied word for word on the ballotlabel that appeared in the citizen peti-tions and was circulated by Signal HillCommunity First in gathering signa-tures to place Measure U on the bal-lot,” said Signal Hill City ManagerKen Farfsing. “We were not surprisedthat both Judge O’Brien and a three-judge panel agreed to leave the ballotlabel as is.”

At press time, a second lawsuitbrought by Signal Hill CommunityFirst was scheduled for a court hearingon Thursday, March 27. That lawsuitalleges that the city attorney has a con-flict of interest and cannot prepare theimpartial legal analysis. The petitionalso alleges that the impartial legalanalysis submitted by the city attorneyis prejudicial and biased. The propo-nents are requesting that the court sup-plant the city attorney’s analysis withtheir own legal analysis, according tothe City.

In a written statement to the SignalTribune, Harris said the appeals courtdecision has nothing to do with thesubstance of Measure U and that theCity of Signal Hill statement on theAppeals Court action is “wrong andmisleading.”

“What Carol Churchill and I didwas ask the appeals court to hurry theprocedures the courts use to hear theseelection problems,” Harris said. “Usu-ally these types of election problemsgo from the Superior Court to theappeals court. But, since the City isdoing everything it can to delay theSuperior Court process, we decided toask the appeals court for ‘extraordinaryrelief’ from it.”

Harris said she and Churchill askedthe appeals court to skip the SuperiorCourt entirely and hear their challengeto the City’s wording on the ballotlabel and impartial analysis prior to thedeadline for printing.

“It was a long shot,” Harris said.“Courts do not like to step on eachother’s toes. We had to do this becausethe City is deliberately using up timewith delays in order to stop us fromgetting accurate and unbiased descrip-tions of the Taxpayer’s Right to Knowand Vote initiative in the sample ballotbooklet and on the ballot itself. We’renot discouraged. We still have reme-dies available to us at the appeals leveland will continue to work to getprinted material to the voter that trulyis impartial and balanced.”Sources: City of Signal Hill, Signal HillCommunity First

March 28, 2014 NEWS SigNal TribuNE 3

Public Hearing onProposed Fare Changes

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You’ll You’ll avoid Stadium Express.Metro to Union Station and Want to reach Dodger Stadium Go Metro to Dodger Stadium

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GOT STUFF?What Donation driveWho Meals on Wheels and Rock for VetsWhere Long Beach Scottish Rite Parking Lot, 855 Elm St.When Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30 from 8am to 3pmMore info The donation drive aims to collect clean and gently used furniture, cloth-ing, housewares, accessories, small appliances and toys. Call (562) 439-5000.

WHEN THE SAINTS GO RUNNING INWhat 5th Annual 5K Run/WalkWho St. Anthony High SchoolWhere Shoreline Village in Downtown Long BeachWhen Saturday, March 29 at 8:30amMore info Cost is $15 for people 18 years and under, $30 for those over 18. Regis-tration will begin at 7am. The money raised will go to undeserved families in greaterLong Beach. Visit longbeachsaints.org .

RE-IMAGINE THE PARKWhat Bixby Park workshopsWho Hosted by 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal and the Departmentof Parks, Recreation & MarineWhere Bixby Park Community Center, 130 Cherry Ave.When Saturday, March 29 from 9am to 11amMore info Attendees will work with architects and park staff to update the existingpark master plan, redesign the playground and prioritize over $1.2 million in one-time funding set aside for high-priority park and playground projects.

DAMES, DOLLS AND FLAPPERSWhat Fashion showWho Assistance League of Long BeachWhere Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.When Saturday, March 29 at 10amMore info The theme will be “Dames, Dolls and Flappers.” The event will featurea luncheon with complimentary wine, a fashion show, live and silent auctions andmore. Ticket cost is $115. Proceeds will fund the Assistance League's mentor pro-grams. Call (562) 627-5650 or visit AALB.org .

STEP IT UPWhat 23rd Annual Long Beach State Step ShowWho The National Pan-Hellenic Council at CSULBWhere Walter Pyramid, 1250 N Bellflower Blvd.When Saturday, March 29 at 2pmMore info Fraternity and sorority members will participate in the largest student-produced step show in the western United States. This year’s theme is “BeachDaze...Kicking it Old School.” The annual event attracts over 4,000 spectators, rang-ing from high school students to families of all ages. Email zion.smith@csulb.edu .

COME CELEBRATEWhat Birthday celebrationWho Boys & Girls Clubs of Long BeachWhere John C. & Alice Wallace Petrolane Center, 1920 Lemon Ave.When Saturday, March 29 from 2pm to 4pmMore info Cake and refreshments will be served. Call (562) 595-5945.

EGGS WITH THE ELKSWhat Monthly breakfastWho Bellflower/ Long Beach Elks Lodge 888Where 16426 Bellflower Blvd., BellflowerWhen Sunday, March 30 from 8am to noonMore info Breakfast costs $6.50 per person and includes eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits with gravy, orange juice, assorted fruit, Belgian waffles and coffee.Call (562) 866-3027 or visit elks.org .

JAZZ IT UPWhat 9th Annual Jazz ShowcaseWho Millikan High School’s Orch-a-Band parent booster clubWhere 2800 Snowden Ave.When Wednesday, April 2 from 3pm to 9pmMore info The event will showcase the musical talents of Long Beach students.Entrance fee is $4 per person, and children under 5 are free. Refreshments will beavailable. Call (562) 425-7441 ext. 4142 or email RBhatia@lbschools.net .

FROM SHEEP TO SHIPSWhat Special presentationWho The Sierra ClubWhere Environmental Services Bureau, 2929 E. Willow St.When Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30pmMore info During the meeting, Larry Rich, the City of Long Beach’s sustainabilitycoordinator, will show the city’s transformation through Long Beach history and itschanging landscape and environment. The goal of the event is to provide the audi-ence will get a better sense of place of Long Beach through a new understanding ofthe natural environment and waterways prior to urbanization.

FA-LA-LAAAAWhat ConcertWho Long Beach Camerata SingersWhere California Heights United Methodist Church, 3759 Orange Ave.When Friday, April 4 at 7:30pmMore info The singers will perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Tickets cost is$30. Visit longbeachcameratasingers.org .

GIVE FOR A GOOD CAUSEWhat Donation drive Who Habitat for HumanityWhere Bixby Knolls Christian Church, 1240 E. Carson St.When Saturday, April 5 from 9am to 3pmMore info Appliances, electronics, exercise equipment, furniture, hardware andhome decor will be accepted. Items must be in sellable condition. Items will benefitHabitat for Humanity’s ReStore. Visit shophabitat.org .

CALLING ALL ART-DECO BUFFSWhat Loft Walk of the Walker Building and Big Red Bus TourWho Long Beach HeritageWhere 115 W. 4th St.When Saturday, April 5 at 4:30pm, 5:30pm and 6:30pmMore info The event will feature an Art Deco tour of downtown Long Beach onthe Big Red Bus with historian John Thomas. The tour will be followed by a walkingtour of the Walker Building. The event will end at the Federal Bar’s Art Deco ex-speakeasy, where wine and appetizers will be available to attendees. Cost is $55 foradults, $35 for students. Tickets will be held at registration the night of the event, andno tickets will be sold at the door. Call (562) 492-7019 or visit LBHeritage.org .

Appeals court rejects petition on Measure U

Congressmember Alan Lowen-thal joined nearly 160 of his col-leagues in Congress on Wednesdayin signing a “discharge petition”that would force a House vote onH.R. 15, a bipartisan comprehensiveimmigration reform legislativepackage that he cosponsored,according to a press release issuedby his office on March 27.

“We demand a vote because theAmerican people are tired of livingunder a broken immigration systemand seeing families broken apart,”Lowenthal said. “Today I stand withmillions of families across ourcountry to call for comprehensiveimmigration reform. We have abipartisan bill with wide supportfrom the American people. Now wesimply ask Speaker John Boehner tobring H.R. 15 to the floor of theHouse for a vote. This bill securesour borders, provides an earnedpathway to citizenship, andincreases economic opportunity forall Americans. I look forward tovoting yes on comprehensive immi-gration reform this Congress.”

When 218 members of theHouse sign the discharge petition, itwill trigger a floor vote on the bill,according to the press release. As ofThursday morning, 157 Housemembers had signed the dischargepetition, with more expected.

Cosponsored by 199 member ofCongress, including three HouseRepublicans, H.R. 15, the “BorderSecurity, Economic Opportunity,and Immigration ModernizationAct” is a comprehensive immigra-tion reform package introduced inOctober 2013 by CongressmemberJoe Garcia (D-FL). The Senate ver-sion of this bill, S. 744, passed theSenate on June 27, 2013 by a bipar-tisan vote of 68-32.

The House of Representativeshas failed to vote on any compre-hensive immigration reform legisla-tion during the course of the 113thCongress, despite numerous callsfrom members of Congress, Presi-dent Barack Obama, and the Amer-ican people, according toLowenthal’s press release.Source: Rep. Lowenthal’s office

Lowenthal seeksto compel House

vote regardingimmigration reform

Since starting the publication of this newspaper 14 years ago, I have faced many dilemmas. Somechallenges I have faced include what stories to run, whether or not to endorse candidates, which employeesto hire and which to fire, what policies to put in place when it comes to advertising and how to deal withletters to the editor. Recently, I found myself with a dilemma facing the latter.

Earlier this week, I received a call from one of our readers, who I will from this point forward referto as “Pat” in order to protect the actual person’s name and gender. Pat was very polite during our dis-cussion, but nevertheless made it very clear that he/she was quite concerned about a letter to the editorthat I had allowed to be printed in last week’s issue– March 21, 2014. The subject of that particular letterwas the demise of a cat that had belonged to one of our readers. According to the letter, the cat had beenrecently been killed by a coyote.

Pat wasn’t upset or unhappy about words bemoaning the loss of a pet being printed on the opinionpage, although I can understand why some readers might have felt that it was a glorified pet obituary,rather Pat’s concern was that the letter contained comments about what a shrewd bird hunter the cat hadbeen.

During our phone chat, I told Pat that I believe cats should be kept indoors and that my focus on theletter was how sad I thought it was that the cat had been allowed to go out where it could face such dangers

from roaming wildlife. Pat agreed that thedeath of the kitty was indeed sad, buthis/her take-away from the letter was thedeath and carnage of our feathered friendscaused by that very cat. When I suggestedPat write a letter to the editor, he/she hesi-tated out of fear of retaliation. Knowingthat our policy for letter writers has alwaysbeen to print the writer’s name, Patdeclined my offer. I could sense by Pat’stone of voice that a short conversation withme was not going to bring him/her satis-faction, so I came up with this idea: writeme a letter to my personal email, and I willinclude it in my column. I will not useyour name or gender, and I will carry youridentity with me to the grave. Bless Pat’sheart; he/she did just that. I thank Pat forbeing such a concerned and loyal reader.

Now, do not mistake my allowingPat’s letter as a scolding by me to the letterwriter who shared the story of his darlingkitty’s tragic ending. I believe he wrote theletter in the first place in order to warn oth-ers to keep their cats indoors. I am simply

allowing Pat to voice his/her concerns. I too am a cat- andbird-lover– always have been and always will be. Note toreaders: I will not make this a habit, so please don’t sendme anonymous letters– this is a one-time exception!

See below for Pat’s message to me…

This is written in regard to a letter to the editor from aDavid Czapiewski, titled ‘Amazing Graci,’ that appearedin the March 14, 2014 edition of the Signal Tribune. I feelcompelled to write this response, specifically in regard tothe two most concerning sentences, and I paraphrase,“Over the years she (Graci) would provide us with manypresents to show her love for us: assortment of birds, frogs,lizards, garden snakes, doves, finches, and even a hum-mingbird! She was diligent of keeping our yard free of……and opossum intruders.”

It is sadly ironic that as adept a predator as Graciapparently was, was given such a name, as there was nota shred of mercy, forgiveness, nor graciousness in herwhen it came to maiming and killing innocent backyardbirds and reptiles. Yes, cats are natural hunters; however, one can only hope that Mr. Czapiewski didnot have children in his home to teach and take part in his apparent glee each time Graci proudlybrought in yet another mangled and lifeless bird, lizard or other animal. If there are indeed childrenin the Czapiewski household, did they jump up and down with voracious merriment when Gracibrought in the tiny, dead hummingbird? Or did they mourn for it, before they quickly and unceremo-niously flushed it down the toilet?

One could dismiss this disturbing occurrence as “the circle of life” or “the law of the jungle,” oreven, as Woody Allen once said, that “nature is just one big restaurant.” However, nothing could befurther from the truth in regard to domestic cat owners who deliberately encourage such rapaciousbehavior.

Intentionally allowing and encouraging a cat, or a child, for that matter, to maim and kill guilelessnative animal species, or any other animal, (and, take pleasure in it) is, frankly, beneath contempt.

And, readers, do not fool yourselves into thinking that this occurrence, as so joyfully described by Mr.Czapiewski, is an anomaly– far from it. According to the Smithsonian Institution Conservation BiologyInstitute (Science News, 2/23/2013, ‘The Impact of Free-ranging Domestic Cats on Wildlife in the U.S.),statistical findings have shown that “Domestic cats kill more than one billion birds each year, many ofthem song birds”– and that is billion, not million (which is horrid enough).

In addition, animals, (including opossums, who are, by the way, not related to rats, but are the UnitedStates’ only marsupial (like koalas and kangaroos), are protected under California Penal Code 597(a),which states that it is unlawful to maliciously maim, harass or kill any animal within the state of California(which, obviously covers the city of Signal Hill).

As a child growing up during the early 1960s, (when humans were less aware of the damage thattheir pet cats can do when allowed to wander outside), our cat Crackerjack once brought in a beautifullittle Goldfinch– dead, of course. I vividly remember my mother woefully and respectfully wrapping it upin cellophane and putting it in the freezer so that we could take it to the Natural History Museum’s Depart-ment of Ornithology for preservation and educational purposes. This careful attention taught me animportant lesson– to be mindful of the existence of other living beings, not only ourselves.

God help, protect and respect our native backyard birds, reptiles, and mammals from domestic pred-ator cats like Graci and their owners.

PubliShEr/EDiTOr-iN-chiEfNeena R. Strichart

aDMiNiSTraTiVE aSSiSTaNTTanya Paz

culTurE WriTErSDaniel Adams Vicki Paris Goodman Gregory Spooner

cOluMNiSTSJennifer E. Beaver Kenneth McKenzie Shoshanah Siegel Carol Berg Sloan, RD

aDVErTiSiNg cONSulTaNTS Barbie Ellisen Jane Fallon

aSSOciaTE PubliShErStephen M. Strichart

DESigN EDiTOr/PrODucTiON MaNagErLeighanna Nierle

MaNagiNg EDiTOrCory Bilicko

The Signal Tribune welcomes letters to the editor, which should be signed, dated and include a phone number to verify authenticity. Letters are due by noon on the Tuesday before desired publication date. The SignalTribune reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, language and space requirements. Letters should be 400 words or less. The Signal Tribune will publish no more than one “pro” letter and one “con” letter on a particulartopic in a single issue. The Signal Tribune does not print letters that refer substantially to articles in other publications and might not print those that have recently been printed in other publications or otherwise presented ina public forum. Letters to the editor and commentaries are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Signal Tribune or its staff. Although the editorial staff will attempt to verify and/or correct information when possible, letters to the editor and commentaries are opinions, and readers should not assume that they are statements of fact. Letter-writers will be identified by their professional titles or affiliations when,and only when, the editorial staff deems it relevant and/or to provide context to the letter. We do not run letters to the editor submitted by individuals who have declared their candidacies for public office in upcoming races. Thispolicy was put in place because, to be fair, if we publish one, we would have to publish all letters submitted by all candidates. The volume would no doubt eliminate space for letters submitted by other readers. Instead, we agree to inter-view candidates and print stories about political races in an objective manner and offer very reasonable advertising rates for those candidates who wish to purchase ads. The Signal Tribune is published each friday with a circulationof 25,000. Yearly subscriptions are available for $50.

939 E. 27th St., Signal hill, ca 90755 (562) 595-7900 www.signaltribune.com newspaper@signaltribune.com

STaff WriTErSSean Belk CJ Dablo

SIGNALT R I B U N E

March 28, 20144 SigNal TribuNE OPiNiON

Thoughts from the Publisherby Neena Strichart

L E T T E R S , E M A I L S , a n d W E B S I T E   C O M M E N T S

Weekly readerSignal Tribune, the biggest little paper in the West. I look forward to Fridays because I know I will be getting a copy of “all

the news that’s fit to print” in the Signal Tribune. What a fun little paper you have– information about all the things that shouldinterest and concern the people living in your delivery area. I know a lot of hard work goes into the making of your weekly paper,and I applaud that hard work and appreciate all the information provided by it. I discovered several businesses I frequent just fromreading your paper and recognize the quality provided.

Keep up the good work, and stay busy. Vivian c. Nelsonlong beach

War storiesCongratulations to Mike and the amazing Long Beach/Rio

Hondo chapter volunteers [“LB Chapter of American Red Crossrecords most veteran interviews in nation”]. They, along with thesupport of the chapter, are making history by preserving it. The LongBeach area should be very proud of their community and volunteers.Way to go, Mike. Four hundred is just around the corner. We’reproud of you.

ian Whyte(website comment)

‘a’ is for...Long Beach taxpayers are literally being taxed to death in the

form of Proposition A. This tax measure is exorbitant and will placean egregious burden on people with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis,seizures, PTSD, various disabilities, etc. No other physician-pre-scribed medicine in California faces such punitive measures.

Additionally, it creates a precedent for any business to be taxed atprohibitive rates that will drive them to more business-friendly cities.And, it will empower the black market in providing cheaper, untaxedmedicine to desperate patients.

Revenues from this proposal may well end up fattening slushfunds for the greedy politicians that have proposed it.

Haven't Long Beach citizens been bled enough? A “no” vote onProp A will let City Hall know that we taxpayers want less frivolousspending and no more excessive taxes.

Diana lejinsadvocates for Disability rights

long beach

Voluntary commentaryWhat comes to your mind when you think of volunteers? Dedication? Commitment? Long hours? I am a volunteer. I have volunteered at Hughes Middle School for over seven years. I still volunteer there even though my last

child moved on to high school a year ago. I would venture to guess that I have logged over 10,000 hours at Hughes. According toMr. Uduak-Joe Ntuk, candidate for school board, the thousands of hours I have spent at Hughes were the indulgence of a privilegedperson.

Last Monday, I attended the LBCC candidates forum at which Mr. Ntuk told the crowd that his opponent, Megan Kerr, attendedover 60 school board meetings because she had the “privilege” to do so. He seemed dismissive of the value of volunteerism. Heseemed to suggest that Ms. Kerr, like me, and like so many parents in the LBUSD who can volunteer to coach, run clubs, raisemoney [and] write grants are somehow less qualified or knowledgeable than a person with a 9-to-5 job.

When I volunteer at Hughes, it is to help make it the best school it can be. The fact that I have “the privilege” to volunteer doesnot in any way taint my efforts, the quality of my work or my ability to create and maintain programs that serve students with excel-lence. The fact that I have “the privilege” to spend 12 hours a week working directly with students does not make me less informedabout the school, the students, and their needs– it makes me more so.

Mr. Ntuk is foolish to dismiss the contributions of volunteers who “have the privilege” to support our schools. Programs liveand die on the efforts of volunteers who raise millions of dollars for schools each year– PTA, boosters, festivals, fundraising sales,silent auctions, grants.

Anyone running for the LBUSD school board should honor and appreciate all volunteers. I suspect that Ms. Kerr, who hasattended these 60 school board meetings, deserves appreciation and respect rather than disdain– but I guess that’s politics.

Kimberly Petersonhughes green Team parent adviser

long beach

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bers of the community are seeing. There were also the suggestions from others that premiums will stabilize once moreyoung people enroll.

“We get people here from the furthest conservative to the furthest liberal,” Lowenthal said. “Some want moreprograms, some want no programs, some want government out of health insurance, others are just grateful theycan’t get kicked off for having a pre-existing condition.”

The tone in these meetings is always the same, Lowenthal said. It’s having someone to listen that he says hisconstituents appreciate most.

One of Lowenthal’s constituents, Nasser Sharif, said he attended the community coffee because he cares aboutwhat is going on in the district as well as in the Iranian community. Sharif said he wanted to meet Lowenthal andshare his community’s concerns.

“I think [the event] is veryimportant because most of the time,people don’t get a chance to meetface-to-face with members of Con-gress,” Sharif said. “It’s a greatopportunity to come and share theirstories and concerns. Not everyoneis able to get an appointment withtheir members of Congress. So thesemeetings are very important, not justfor the constituents, but for the Con-gressman to hear their stories aswell.”

Sharif said that the issue he wasmost interested in Lowenthaladdress was global human rightsabuses.

“Our foreign affairs issues areparticularly important to me,” hesaid. “Especially human rightsissues in Iran.”

“They know they are not goingto get their way every time, but it’sthrough meetings like this that theyget to hear all the different kinds ofissues and get to express what theyfeel gets ignored,” he said.

Helene Ansel, senior field repre-sentative for Lowenthal, said thatthese community coffees also drawin people who need help solving aspecific problem.

“A lot of times we get questionsthat really have nothing to do withthe federal level, and they just don’tknow, but we can point them in theright direction,” Ansel said.

Sometimes, there are issuesaddressed that he can help with, andLowenthal says its also just helpfulfor him to know what folks are fac-ing.

“Half the folks like one side ofthe argument, and the other half ofthe folks were on the other side,”Lowenthal said. “And that’s what’sso good about it, to listen to what’sgoing on.”

Lowenthal plans to continuethese community coffees so he hasaccess to as many residents as pos-sible.

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Ashley Fowler/Signal TribuneAfter U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal’s “community coffee” event on March 22, membersof the public pulled the Congressmember aside to seek his counsel more privately.

Coffeecontinued from page 2

Crimes reported by LBPD, Council Districts 6, 7 & 8

friday, March 21Battery3:51am- Atlantic Ave./Del Amo Blvd.

Saturday, March 22Grand theft auto3:53am- E. PCH/Cherry Ave.

Robbery of person12:24pm- 3400 block Long Beach Blvd.

Residential burglary11:04pm- 2800 block Golden Ave.

Sunday, March 23Robbery of person12:49am- Long Beach Blvd./W. PCH

Battery10:27am- Pacific Ave./W. PCH

Grand theft auto2:16pm- 2100 block Myrtle Ave.

Residential burglary7:17pm- 2400 block Atlantic Ave.

Assault8:42pm- Earl Ave./E. 25th St.

Robbery of person11:44pm- 2700 block Pacific Ave.

Monday, March 24Residential burglary9:48am- 2800 block California Ave.

Residential burglary10:49am- 2000 block Pacific Ave.

Stolen vehicle recovered7:28pm- 1800 block Henderson Ave.

Tuesday, March 25Residential burglaries (2)8:51am- 2000 block Pacific Ave.

Robbery of person9:03pm- 3700 block Locust Ave.

Crimes reported by SHPD, Citywide

Thursday, March 20DUI 11:56pm- E. Hill St./Temple Ave.

friday, March 21 Petty theft1:38pm- 900 block E. 33rd St.

Under influence of alcohol or drugs3:03pm- 2100 block Cherry Ave.Suspect in custody.

Injury hit-and-run6:46pm- E. PCH/Coronado Ave.

Residential burglary7:04pm- 2000 block E. 21st St.

Saturday, March 22DUI 2:15am- E. Hill St./Gundry Ave.

DUI 2:35am- Orange Ave./E. 23rd St.Suspect in custody.

Stolen vehicle6:37am- Obispo Ave./E. PCH

Petty theft with prior5:41pm- 2200 block E. Willow St.

Monday, March 24Residential burglary9:15am- 2100 block E. 21st St.

Residential burglary9:47am- 2800 block California Ave.

Petty theft1pm- 1800 block E. Willow St.Named suspect.

Non-njury hit-and-run1:11pm- 2500 block Orange Ave.

Forgery2:47pm- 2800 block Junipero Ave.

Residential burglary9pm- 2200 block St. Louis Ave.

Auto burglary11:30pm- Molino Ave./E. 20th St.

Tuesday, March 25DUI 1:50am- E. 29th St./Walnut Ave.

Residential burglary6:36pm- 2000 block E. 21st St.

EYE ON CRIME

The Boys & Girls Clubs of LongBeach will hold their annual fundraisingeffort at the Marine Stadium in LongBeach on Saturday, April 5. To celebrate75 years of “positively impactingyouth,” the event committee willattempt an unprecedented challenge ofraising $1,000,000 to help fund pro-grams after school, when adolescentsexperience the highest risk of crime, andto contribute to the endowment fund cre-ated in 2013, according to a press releaseissued by the organization.

This will be the first major charity-driven event in Long Beach targeting amore youthful demographic through areimagined event format and program,according to the event’s organizers. Asthe board’s youngest elected event chair,Trent Bryson aims to create an over-the-top experience for local residents andcorporate sponsors not traditionallylinked with fundraising events. Theevening will feature specialty sunsetcocktails, silent and live auctions, “deca-dent” cuisine and a live performance bythe Spazmatics.

To bring this year’s “All That Glit-ters” theme to life, the Boys & GirlsClubs have enlisted Ryan Choura ofChoura Events, a boutique event rentaland tenting agency, to transform MarineStadium into an exclusive tented affairfor the 500 expected guests. The eventwill use the same tent used at the GoldenGlobes’ Harvey Weinstein after-party.

“We’re putting a ballroom on thewater and building something that’snever been done in Long Beach,”

Choura said. “I think people would bedisappointed if they weren’t a part of thishistoric event.”

For 75 years, the Boys & Girls Clubsof Long Beach have helped over220,000 at-risk and in-need youth reachtheir full potential, according to theorganization.

“Events like this are invaluable to thefuture success of B&G Clubs in ourcommunity and will ultimately deliver amore self-sustaining method for fundingalternative, safe places for our kids to go,”said Barbie Barker, Boys & Girls Clubsof Long Beach Board president.

“There will be plenty of surprises,”Bryson said. “We aim to create an unfor-gettable evening that will propel theBoys & Girls Clubs into the next 75years.”

To purchase individual tickets, tables,or VIP cabanas, visit bgclublb.org/events . Sponsorship opportunities arestill available. Contact Joy Lodevico atJoyL@ bgclublb.org .Source: Boys & Girls Clubs

Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach aim for ‘over-the-top’ fundraiser

Harbor Commission meeting open to publicThe Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners will have its next regular

meeting at 6pm on Monday, March 31 at the Miller Family Health Education Cen-ter, 3820 Cherry Ave. The meeting will be open to the public and will also be avail-able online via live and archived webcast at polb.com/webcast . The meeting agendais available at the same webpage.

“This allows us to conduct the important business of the Port in the communityuntil our board room is completed,” said Dr. Noel Hacegaba, acting deputy execu-tive director and chief operating officer for the Port of Long Beach.

The City of Long Beach Harbor Department recently moved its headquartersfrom its previous administration building in the Port of Long Beach to interimadministrative offices near Long Beach Airport. A board meeting room is being pre-pared at those offices but is not yet ready for use.

The Harbor Commission directs the 450-person staff of the City of Long BeachHarbor Department in development and promotion of the Port of Long Beach.Source: Port of LB

March 28, 20146 SigNal TribuNE cOMMuNiTY

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Signal Hill Petroleum sponsored theEpic Robotz, a team of students from Val-ley Christian High, in the 14th annualFIRST Robotics Competition at the LongBeach Arena. The competition, whichtook place on March 21 and 22, featured66 teams from around the country vyingfor a chance to go to the national cham-pionship in St. Louis later this year.

The Valley Christian High team fea-tured 23 students on the team as well as 13adult mentors that help the students withtheir experience. The students designed andbuilt their own robot in six weeks, specifi-cally to compete in this competition. Thisyear’s competition featured robots that werebuilt to throw large balls through a goal orover a scaffolding to score points. ValleyChristian High finished 13 of 66 teams.

In addition to sponsoring the team, Signal Hill Petroleum provided them with a trailer as a mobile workshop and transportationfor the robot to the competition.

Signal Hill Petroleum’s communications specialist Stefanie Gillett attended the event.“One of Signal Hill Petroleum’s core values is STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs,

especially in our youth,” Gillett said. “By supporting an event like this, we help more children become aware of STEMcareers and open the door to more intelligent young minds joining the oil industry. A program like this encompasses somuch of what Signal Hill Petroleum believes in.”Source: SHP

SHPD plans ‘zero tolerance’of distracted driving this April

Educational Opportunity Center offering free programto help adults meet educational goals

The staff at Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) in Long Beach is looking for adults who want to go back to schoolor who need advice in road-mapping their educational goals.

The EOC staff, who have knowledge in GED testing, postsecondary advisement, financial-aid information and voca-tional education, are offering their services free of charge upon eligibility.

The EOC program is funded by the Department of Education and is designed to assist adult participants who want toenter or re-enter high school or pursue postsecondary education. Eligible participants are US citizens or permanent residentswho live within the target areas of the program and are 19 or older.

The program’s target areas include Signal Hill, Long Beach, Compton, Harbor City, Lomita, Lynwood, Paramount,Willowbrook and Wilmington.

The EOC office provides financial-aid workshops every Thursday from 1pm to 2pm that are open to those who areinterested in learning more about the program.

The Educational Opportunity Center is located in the Career Transition Center, 3447 Atlantic Ave., 2nd floor. For more information, contact Curglin Robertson at (562) 570-3715 or visit csulb/eoc.edu .

Source: EOC

As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Sig-nal Hill Police Department (SHPD) will be joining over 200 other law-enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol in a month-long“zero tolerance” enforcement and education campaign to curb those textingor operating hand-held cell phones while driving.

Officers will be on alert throughout the month for those who break the cell-phone laws, and special high-visibility enforcement operations to cite cellphone violators will take place every day during the month of April, accordingto the SHPD.

The increased enforcement and education aims to persuade drivers to rec-ognize the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number of peopleimpacted by this perilous behavior. The “It’s Not Worth It!” theme empha-sizes that a phone call or text isn’t worth a hefty fine or a collision. The currentminimum ticket cost is $161, with subsequent tickets costing at least $281.

“Driving a vehicle is operating ‘heavy equipment’ and requires the use ofall of our senses to do so safely,” said SHPD Chief Michael Langston. “Talk-ing on a cell phone or texting distracts the driver both mentally and physicallyfrom focusing on operating the vehicle safely. We take distracted driving veryseriously. Is that cell phone call or text message really worth $161, or worse,someone’s life?”Source: SHPD

Signal Hill Petroleum sponsors high-school robotics team

Courtesy SHPSignal Hill Petroleum communications specialist Stefanie Gillett (back row,fourth from left) with the Valley Christian High School Epic Robotz team duringthe 14th annual FIRST Robotics Competition at the Long Beach Arena

March 28, 2014 SigNal TribuNE 7cOMMuNiTYIn Living Color

Putting ‘spring’ in your steps for cleaning houseShoshanah SiegelColumnist

The idea of doingspring cleaning hasalways felt over-whelming and daunt-

ing. In order to relieve the anxiety, thisyear my husband and I have startedtackling a few cleaning projects eachweekend.

Ready to tackle your projects?Where to begin?

I would suggest tackling the inte-rior first. your list may differ frommine, but it will give you a startingpoint. you might be reminded aboutplaces that may have not made it onyour list. I hope that my article willgive you a game plan, and in the endyou will feel like you have lightenedyour load and can see your homesparkle.a room with a viewWash your windows. I suggest thatyou pick a cloudy day to wash them.If it is too sunny, the cleaning solutionwill dry too fast and you will havestreaks. My office is south-facing andgets bombarded by heat. Last week-end we put a film on the windows toreflect the sun’s rays. The job took alittle longer because it was not acloudy day and the solution kept dry-ing out. I am happy to report that myoffice was a lot cooler and I didn’tneed my window air conditioner eventhough it was hot outside.Don’t let it slideyour sliding glass doors are probablynot the first spot you’d think aboutcleaning, but you’ll appreciate thatyou have done so once outdoor enter-taining begins. One tool I use to cleanmany surfaces is a dry toothbrush toloosen debris, then a vacuum hose toremove it and, finally, a wet sponge tofinish the job. Now your doors areshiny-clean. For safety, you mightapply a fun decal so that your guestscan see that the door is closed.refresh your window treatmentsTo really feel like spring is here,change out heavy fabric window treat-ments for ones that are lighter andbrighter. However, if you have thesame window treatments year round,you can either have them cleaned pro-fessionally or clean them in your ownwashing machine. They might onlyneed a good going over with a vac-uum. For the sheer curtains, DonnaSmall, the author of Cleaning Plain &Simple, suggests putting them in thedryer on low with a fabric-softenersheet. For window shutters or blinds,I suggest cleaning them first with aduster or vacuum, then for a finishingtouch, use a damp sponge.Surfaces that may need yearlyTlcTake this opportunity to really cleansurfaces that you may not have doneon a daily basis. These include base-boards, door frames, walls and hard-to-reach places. If they are reallyworn and damaged, after a goodwashing, you might need to repaintthe surface. Down underUnless I am moving or need toreplace a new appliance, I usuallydon’t see under my refrigerator orstove. Spring cleaning might be thetime to address those areas. I havefound the lost sock and even moneyunder my washer and dryer. Whileyou have someone to help you moveyour appliances, it might also be theoptimum time to get help cleaningunder sofas and chairs.refresh where you sit Restore your leather and fabric furni-ture with the suggested cleaners.Rotate seat cushions and replacethose that have seen better days. Thisis a time to really clean your woodfurniture. However, be sure to checkthat you are using the right productfor the job.

No need to tread lightlyFrom the foot traffic of winter, now isthe time to refresh carpets, rugs andfloors. Wash or dry-clean rugs, hire acarpet-cleaning service or do it your-self by renting the equipment you willneed from a home-improvement store.Replace any worn pieces of wood ortile. Wash and wax floors. lighten it upUse micro fiber or lint-free cloth todust fixtures and bulbs. An extendableduster is great for hard-to-reachplaces, like ceiling fans. To cleangrimy bulbs, make sure they are coolto the touch. Use a lightly dampenedcloth with vinegar to do the job. Making the switch Clothing: Consider sending itemsthat you will not be using until nextyear to the cleaners and/or storethem away, leaving room for springand summer apparel. Bedrooms: Rotate and flip mat-tresses. Wash blankets, duvet covers,mattress pads and bed skirts. Havepillows professionally cleaned orthink about replacing them if needed.clean areas that you use mostThe two areas that seem to get usedthe most are bathrooms and kitchens. For bathrooms, go through yourmedicine cabinet and safely discardany outdated products and medica-tions. Clean out drawers andrearrange items. Replace worn bathmats, shower curtains and liners, orif they don’t need replacing, theymay benefit from a good wash anddry. To avoid purchasing duplicate itemsin your kitchen, take the time toempty out drawers and cabinets. Werecently cleaned out our catch-allutensil drawer and found about 30pairs of corncob holders, cutlery weforgot we had and knives that weredull and worn. Wipe the areas outand line with fresh shelf paper. Storewhat you use infrequently anddonate items that you no longer use.Discard old spices and items, likebaking powder. Clean the refrigera-tor and freezer. Throw away thoseitems that are covered in frost andyou are not able to identify. We callthese items UFOs (unidentified foodobjects). While you have the refrig-erator pulled out from the wall, thisis a great time to dust or vacuum thecooling coils behind the refrigerator.Safety firstIf you have difficulty rememberingwhen to change the various filters inthe house, or the last time you checkedthe batteries in your smoke and carbonmonoxide detectors, the day youchange the clocks for daylight-saving

time might be the perfect time to dothese tasks.Take your cleaning tasks outdoorsThe first task I would conquer is thegutters. Spring usually brings show-ers. So clean out gutters and down-spouts, allowing the water to have aplace to go to, other than staying stag-nant on your roof or down your walls.Clean and repair patio furniture, yourdeck, porch, barbecues, and otheritems you will be using in the upcom-ing seasons.

My wish is that you feel a littlemore confident about your springcleaning. Take it step by step. yourgoal is to have a healthy and happyenvironment for family and friends toenjoy.

Shoshanah Siegel provides color consultingas well as space planning, remodeling,upgrading and staging through her firm YourColor Diva. She can be contacted at (562)427-0440, shoshanah.siegel@gmail.com,and at her new website, yourcolordiva.com .

Shoshanah Siegel/Signal TribuneSome tools for combatting the sometimes daunting task of spring cleaning

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Imitating Life

A portrait of local artist Alex GarciaCory BilickoManaging Editor

Since I began profiling local artistsin June of 2011, I’ve found these folksin various ways: referrals from friends,press releases from local galleries andmuseums, Google searches, exhibitopenings and so on.

I met Alex Garcia at a downtownLong Beach wine bar while a friend andI were enjoying a few glasses before aconcert. I don’t recall which of us men-tioned our creative endeavors first, but,at some point, he referred to his art, andI asked to see some of it. It amused methat this young guy’s point of view wasso reminiscent of 1960s-1970s psyche-delia and that his influences seemedrooted in the rock bands of that era.

Born in Danbury, Connecticut onAug. 11, 1983 and having lived thereuntil high school, he later moved toGreenville, North Carolina. After serv-ing in the U.S. Marine Corps from May2008 to April 2012, he moved to LongBeach in September 2012.

“I have always wanted to live on the

West Coast,” Garcia said. “I love sunnyweather. I can’t stand rain and snow. Ilove how there are so many differentpeople and cultures. And mainly, Imoved here to try and get my art off theground and make a career out of it.”

Garcia said there are numerous rea-

sons he enlisted in the armed forces. Forone, between 2006 and 2008, it wasvery difficult to find a job as a recentcollege graduate.

“I had graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia in 2006,” hesaid. “I had been living with my mother

for about a year, and arecent college graduate’srésumé just wasn’t much ofan asset for me at the time.This does not mean the mil-itary was my last resort; mymother and I have alwaysgot along very well, andshe loved having me livethere. I also had plenty oftime to do some artwork,but I am a very restlessindividual if I don’t have ajob to go to.”

Throughout his life,he’s always liked the ideaof the Marine Corps.“you’ve seen all themovies, I’m sure, and I ama bit of a glutton for punish-ment, and the armed forceswere hiring,” he said. “I hadan overwhelming sense thatI was just too young to beworking in an office, and Ilove the USA. I figured itwas time to serve before Ispend the rest of my lifewondering, ‘What if?’”how would you describeyourself and what you doas an artist?I would first describe myself

as a person of habitand routine, andstrongly individualis-tic. I am hard-working,motivated and dedi-cated to whatever jobor mission is set beforeme. I believe my workethic reflects in my art.No work of art isworthwhile taking onunless it shows thattime, sweat and bloodwere put into it. What do you think ofthe art scene in longbeach?I love the art scene inLong Beach verymuch. There are lotsof creative people whorespect and appreciateart, all forms of it. Onthe East Coast, mystyle just doesn’t getmuch recognition. Itseems people on theEast Coast pay more attention to tame,more traditional styles such as– I hate tosay it– “hotel art.”What is your greatest obstacle to mak-ing art?My biggest obstacle, and I think the onlyobstacle I’ve ever encountered in my art-work, is time. I have never had a short-age of ideas. It seems I’m thinking ofnew ideas every day, every hour! Therejust simply isn’t enough time to get themall accomplished. But this is a verysuperficial worry– of course there is lotsof time in life, and there are many otherthings to do. Impatience is a youngman’s game.Do you have a “day job?”Well, of course. I’m not that good at artjust yet. I work at Allied Packing andRubber, which is near the Port of LongBeach. We make and sell industrial pipe,hose and gasket products, mostly for thePort engineers and shipping companies. What artistic training or educationhave you had?I don’t have any formal art education, Inever went to art school, I believe the lastart class I took was in my sophomoreyear in high school, about 15 years ago.That is not to say my friends, family,teachers and professors did not noticeand encourage me making art. In fact, Iam extremely fortunate to have had verysupportive people throughout my life.Without them I never would have pro-gressed to the level I am at.how did you learn how to create yourbeer-can sculpture? Was it trial anderror, or did you learn the techniquethrough someone else? Beer-can art was all kind of serendipity.It started while I was staying with an auntin Pasadena when I first came to Califor-nia and I visited abar which hadsome silly-look-ing model air-planes made outof beer cans.Very childish, butthey fit theatmosphere ofthe pub just fine.I thought tomyself, “I know Icould make thosebetter!” A fewweeks went by,and I found myjob in Long

Beach and settled into my routine, and Icame into contact with the gasket-mak-ing materials and tools we use at work.They are perfect, and I mean absolutelyperfect, for making beer-can sculptures.And that’s what I’ve been doing for thepast year or so. But, really, all I needed wasmy own space, time and the right materi-als, and I pretty much figured it out. I amnot the only person in the world whomakes beer-can sculptures, but I like tothink I’ve got my own technique. I’d beglad to teach anyone in detail, because thepossibilities are endless.how much art did you create duringyour service? I didn’t keep track of all the pieces I didin those four years. I’m estimating I didabout 40 to 50 in total. Of those, abouthalf were helicopter-blade paintings.They were very sought after. Ballpointpen became my favorite medium, justbecause I could take a drawing pad andpens anywhere. how has your service in the militaryinfluenced your art work?My time in the military influenced myartwork profoundly. It really became mysense of individuality and my sense offreedom. And really became almost abodily function. Since then, I just don’tfeel right unless I have piece in the works.It’s like coming home to a beautifulwoman, just seeing my work in progresson my desk and spending some time onit. I met a lot of young individuals whohad joined for the same reasons I had, andI made friendships that will last the rest ofmy life. And everyone I met influencedmy art and encouraged me.

Garcia may be contacted atgarcia.alexd@gmail.com .

March 28, 20148 SigNal TribuNE culTurE

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Reproduction of the album cover of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffitti, graphite pencil on paper

The artist with an acrylic painting he did on a helicopter tail blade as a gift to hiscommanding officer while stationed in Okinawa in 2009

“Desert Day Dream,” acrylic on paper

“Run Like Hell,” acrylic on paper

“Neptuna,” beer cans and cork board

March 28, 2014 culTurE SigNal TribuNE 9Signal Hill nonprofit gallery honors bird-rescue group, Signal Tribune editor for community contributions

Greenly Art Space, a nonprofitgallery in Signal Hill, honored thecontributions of two local entities dur-ing an awards ceremony on Saturday,March 22.

birds of a featherKimberly Hocking, the director

and curator of Greenly, presented adonation of $699.14 to South BayWildlife Rehab (SBWR), anothernonprofit dedicated to caring for Cal-ifornia native birds and educating thepublic about the natural world.Christina Jones, SBWR assistantdirector, accepted the check on behalfof the organization.

Hocking said Greenly had pre-selected the bird-rescue organizationto be the benefactor of the gallery’sfirst-ever fundraising exhibit.

“At Greenly Art Space, we valuecommunity and look for ways to part-ner with other nonprofits to encourage

awareness through the arts,” Hockingsaid. “For our first annual fundraisingart show, we wanted to explore theconcept of birds and the ways theyinspire us. As part of this, we invitedSouth Bay Wildlife Rehab, a localnonprofit working to rescue birds, tojoin us at the opening and share theirwork with the community. Theybrought three beautiful rescue birds tothe opening. We are thrilled to havebeen able to raise both funds andawareness for such a wonderfulcause.”

Each year, SBWR rehabilitatesmore than 1,000 sick, injured andorphaned birds for return to the wildand educates over 30,000 individualsabout wildlife and environmentalissues, according to the group’s web-site.

“The opening was a very excitingevent for us,” Jones said. “By parteringwith Greenly Art Space, we were able

to meet many individ-uals who weren’taware of our organi-zation and what wedo.”

She said the mon-etary contributionwill be used for somebasic needs of herorganization.

“One hundredpercent of all moneyreceived to South BayWildlife Rehab goesto the direct care ofbirds we take in,” shesaid. “It wouldinclude helping uswith paying for foodand medical care.”

State of the artThe other honor

Greenly bestowedthat evening was toCory Bilicko, manag-ing editor of the Sig-nal Tribune. Eachweek, Bilicko fea-tures a different local

artist in the newspaper, publishing afeature story or interview with the cre-ative individual, as well as highlight-ing one of the artist’s works on thefront page as the background imagefor the publication’s nameplate.

“We are very excited to present theFirst Annual Greenly Art Space Fel-lowship Award to Cory Bilicko foroutstanding service to artists in ourcommunity,” Hocking said. “AtGreenly, we value building commu-nity among artists by encouragingthem in their calling. Through hiswork featuring artists from ourcommunity, Cory is an example ofwhat it means to honor the work oflocal artists. Cory’s work with theSignal Tribune newspaper to pres-ent art and artists in color withattention to artistic detail is com-mendable and does credit to theartists’ craft.”

Bilicko has been featuring artistson the newspaper’s front page sinceJune 24, 2011.

“It was the proverbial necessitygiving birth to invention,” Bilickosaid. “We wanted an image for thefront-page nameplate that was color-ful– and legal to use. What betterway to ensure you’re using an imagethat is copyright-safe than to use oneof your own.”

That week, the newpaper pub-lished a close-up of a painting ofdragonflies that Bilicko had donefor his very first art show, whichhad just occurred three weeks prior.That painting, entitled “Aflutter,”also happened to be the very firstpiece he’d sold.

“Of course, I wasn’t going tofeature my own work every week,and I wondered, ‘How can I makethis work so that it has real valueand benefit to the greatest numberof people?’ Then the idea came tome that this could be a vehicle forpromoting local artists,” he said. “Ihad learned the power of support-ing creative individuals from mygrandmother, who, anytime Iwould draw something, would say,

‘Oh, hon. This is beautiful.’ Andshe’d put it on her fridge with amagnet. That made me feel special,and it certainly encouraged me tofoster my creative spirit.”

Bilicko says that, since the Sig-nal Tribune has been profiling a dif-ferent painter, illustrator, muralist,ceramicist, sculptor, mosaicist, jew-elry maker or tattooer each week fortwo years and nine months, to date,about 140 artists have graced thepages of the newspaper.

“I thank our publisher, NeenaStrichart, for trusting me and allow-ing me the freedom to pursue suchan endeavor, and our design editor,Leighanna Nierle, for helping me

make sure the artists’ works lookgood when we publish them,” Bil-icko said.

Included in Greenly’s award toBilicko were: a framed, handmademosaic piece that Hocking created; a$50 gift certificate to a local art-sup-ply store; a yearlong membership toGreenly; and the opportunity to co-curate an exhibit with Hocking basedon Bilicko’s own concept.

MORE INFORMATIONgreenlyartspace.com

sbwr.org(310) 378-9921

Sources: Greenly Art Space, SBWR

(From left) Cory Bilicko, managing editor of the Signal Tribune newspaper, andKimberly Hocking, director and curator of Greenly Art Space

Long Beach Chorale, Chamber Orchestra toperform ‘challenge’ of Mendelssohn’s Elijah

The Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah this weekend in two shows.Courtesy LBCCO

LONG BEACH LOCATIONS250 W. Ocean Blvd. | (562) 432-2211401 W. Willow St. | (562) 595-6138

The Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra (LBCCO) will present two performances of FelixMendelssohn’s Elijah Saturday, March 29 at 7pm and Sunday, March 30 at 4pm at Grace First PresbyterianChurch, 3955 Studebaker Rd. The Chorale’s 70-plus voices will be accompanied by a full orchestra.

In this work, regarded as one of the greatest choral-orchestral masterpieces in the repertoire, Mendelssohntells the Old Testament story of the prophet Elijah, how he helped steer the people of Israel away from theidol Baal and back to God, and how he was eventually swept up to Heaven in a chariot of fire.

LBCCO will be joined by a quartet of solo vocalists, with David Stoneman returning in the role of Elijah.“In recent years, we’ve been dreaming big, presenting concerts of a grander scope each season,” said

Eliza Rubenstein, LBCCO artistic director. “Elijah represents one of our strongest efforts to date. Thelevel of musicianship and stamina required for these performances sets a high bar, and the chorale hasrisen to the challenge.”

Tickets, which are $25 for adults and $15 for students, are available at longbeachchorale.org or by calling(562) 427-1931.Source: LBCCO

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Photos by David Hocking(From left) Kimberly Hocking, director and curator ofGreenly Art Space, and Christina Jones, South BayWildlife Rehab assistant director

For more information, call the Water Conservation Hotline:562-989-7350

Approved Watering ScheduleWatering is approved on the following days:

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10 SigNal TribuNE March 28, 2014cOMMuNiTY

Courtesy Poly High PTSAStan Epstein, Long Beach Poly High Parent Teacher Student Association(PTSA) auditor; Sharifa Batts, PTSA president; Sharon Coudyser, directorof Community Concerns at Long Beach PTA; and Rhonda Haramis, pro-gram facilitator/coordinator for the Bethune Transitional Center

Poly High School Parent-Teacher-StudentAssociation donates $1,000 to

homeless-children’s transitional center

The Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) at Long Beach PolyHigh donated $1,000 to the Mary McLeod Bethune Transitional Center,2101 San Gabriel Ave., on March 18.

PTSA President Sharifa Batts said her organization selected the centerfor the donation after hearing about its history of service to the community.Additionally, several of the high school’s students had benefited from thecenter’s services.

On February 9, 2006, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD)dedicated the center and its education of homeless children in the commu-nity to the legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and civil-rightsleader who started a school for African-American students in DaytonaBeach, Florida and became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In addition to focusing on academics, the transitional center providessupport with mental health, medical access, enrichment activities, schooluniforms, and a variety of needed school supplies. Source: Poly PTSA

The vintage store Warehouse 1333,1347 Redondo Ave., will host a night oftraditional Cambodian Art to benefitNew Hope For Cambodian Children, aresidential facility that is home toorphaned and abandoned children bornwith HIV, on Saturday, April 5. In addi-tion to a silent auction of photographstaken at New Hope, there will be adance performance by students from theKhmer Arts Academy, traditional musicby Cheeravath Aphipunyo, food fromCrystal Thai & Cambodian Cuisine, anda sampling of beers by Long Beach-based Khmer brewery, Stone TempleBeer Company.

The event coalesced around JoeLove, a yoga instructor and gymnastwho returned from New Hope For Cam-bodian Children (NHCC) with photosfrom his trip and inspiration.

“Last spring, I did a sensitivity train-ing with the Heart Touch Project,” Lovesaid. “They offer compassionate touchand healing to terminally ill men,women and children in the Los Angelesarea. When I found out they had an out-reach program to NHCC, I did not hesi-tate to go. I went with a group ofmassage therapists, nurses, physicaltherapists and holistic practitioners. Thekids had an eagerness to learn. Theywere physically strong and, like all kids,just wanted to play, laugh, and be free.By the end of my two weeks at NewHope, I had nearly every child that cameto class in a handstand, which really isthe ultimate pose of balance, strength,and flying.”

NHCC was founded in 2006 byJohn and Kathy Tucker, an Americancouple who had previously founded theLittle Sprouts program, which was thefirst to provide antiretroviral drug treat-

ment and residential care to Cambodianchildren infected with HIV. NHCC pro-vides care to 240 orphans and aban-doned children at its residential facilityand also provides social support to morethan 1,400 infected children and theirfamilies living throughout the country,according to a press release issued onbehalf of Warehouse 1333.

The fundraiser will include a silentauction of various donated items, and allfood and beverage sales will go towardthe effort, according to the press release.Also, all money raised from the sale ofphotos taken by the members of theHeart Touch Project will be donated toNHCC. Direct donations are also wel-come.

Award-winning dancer Prumsodun-tras Surya Ok is associate artistic direc-tor of Khmer Arts Academy. “We willbe presenting our Khmer Arts SalonSeries, a program of demonstration andperformance designed to introducediverse audiences to the art of Khmerclassical dance,” Ok said. “It is a greatopportunity for our students to con-tribute to their community. It will helpthem to understand what role they mayplay using art to elevate the lives of oth-ers.”

March Beagle, owner of Warehouse1333, said she is thrilled that her spacecan serve as a community and culturalgathering place. “I'm glad that our storecan help to bring our neighbors togetherin support of a great cause,” Beagle said.“Our goal is to raise $5,000 for NHCC,and have fun doing it.”

The event, sponsored in part by theThe LGBTQ Center of Long Beach,will begin at 5pm and end at 10pm.

Source: Warehouse 1333

Norma B. Hill, who made this silk scarf,is making another one specially for anupcoming art event to benefit NewHope For Cambodian Children, a resi-dential facility that is home to orphanedand abandoned children born with HIV.

This year’s board for the ExecutivesAssociation Long Beach include: (picturedfrom left) Craig Kotani (immediate past pres-ident) of Sawin & Kotani CPAs; ScottWilliams, attorney at law; Machelle Thomp-son (secretary/treasurer) of Keen Home Care;Kelly Williams (president); Kellie Sherrill(vice president) of Knightling Web Design;Kolby Pabst of Pabst, Kinney & Associates;and John Berg of Transcom Telecommunica-tions. (Not pictured is Rusty Deeble.)

“Our board is on a two-year rotation,”Sherrill said. “Half are re-elected each year,and the others are carry-overs from the yearbefore. We ask our board members to serve aminimum of six years, although most serve 9years, and to progress through the ranks intothe leadership positions of secretary/treasurer, vice president, president and immediate past president.”

The Executives Association of Long Beach was founded in 1922, and its sole purpose is to facilitate the creation of businessopportunities for its members, according to the organization’s website.

Business organization establishes new board of directors

The City of Signal Hill Community Services Department will host its annual event for pets and their humanfriends, Hounds on the Hill, in Signal Hill Park on Saturday, June 7 from 11am to 2pm, featuring vendor booths,pet vaccinations, activities for children, music, demonstrations and more. The goal of the event is to raise awarenessabout responsible pet ownership, including current laws regarding pets.

The City of Signal Hill is currently seeking pet-related vendors to promote their businesses. According to theCommunity Services Department, for “a small fee,” vendors will receive a 10-foot-by-15-foot space with a tableand two chairs to display or sell their merchandise or services.

Interested vendors should call (562) 989-7330. Source: City of SH

City of Signal Hill seeking vendors for pet event

Courtesy Kellie Sherrill

Cultural event aims to help orphaned,abandoned children born with HIV

“It is really important for residentsto really give us input at the City level,”Farfsing said. “If you really think aboutit, if we had not sat down with [thecommunity] eight years ago to talkabout strategic planning, we wouldn’thave had the idea that the communityneeded a new police station.”

In the last strategic plan, the City seta goal to add a new police station,which was completed in 2011.

“Strategic planning is really aboutdeveloping a vision,” Police ChiefMike Langston said. “Our new policefacility started as a vision over a decadeago when former Chief of Police DonPederson brought together a group ofconcerned citizens, the blue-ribbonpanel, who recognized the need for anew police facility and increasedstaffing levels within the police depart-ment.”

Council took those recommenda-tions, though it took some time toachieve them fully– it wasn’t until thisfiscal year that the department addedthe last officer that the blue-ribbonpanel had recommended back in 2001.

Langston said that in 2012, thePolice Department leadership teamused input from community members,City Council, City leaders and policepersonnel to develop a three-yearstrategic plan to help guide the depart-ment.

“We realize that there are things weneed to work on internally to improveour services overall,” Langston said.

Enhancing community relationswas one of the department’s primaryobjectives, and Langston mentionedseveral outreach improvements imple-mented that made him proud.

First, the police department re-established the neighborhood watchprogram that had “completely fallen bythe wayside,” he said.

Second, the police station will holdits first open house in May. Annually,the public will be invited to visit thefacility, take a tour and observe theinner workings of the police depart-ment.

Third, it was a priority for the policedepartment to develop a schoolresource officer program with the LongBeach Unified School District.

“Especially with the new middleschool,” Langston said. “We knewthere would be traffic issues and issueswith the students.”

In addition, the police departmentimplemented scheduling and payrollsoftware and plans to deploy electronicticketing, eliminating the time lostwhile manually inputting data. Thepolice department also employed auto-mated license-plate readers in the city.

“We hope and we think we’ve beendoing some things right,” Langstonsaid.

The results of a survey that the Cityconducted showed that the policedepartment had a favorable rating of 84percent.

“We did take note of some of theareas that were of concern for the pub-lic,” Langston said. “Obviously, trafficsafety and speed are always a concern,and we’re looking to see how we canbetter address those issues.”

Langston noted that homelessnesswas also a concern for the community.He said that the police department haspartnered with the Los Angeles Depart-ment of Mental Health to prepare amental-health initiative, assigning apolice officer to “provide direct serv-ices to the homeless and the mentallyill in hopes of getting them off thestreet.”

Fortunately, violent crime in SignalHill is “very low,” lower than the stateaverage, Langston said. Propertycrimes, specifically larceny, are whereresidents and police are experiencing aproblem.

According to the resident-satisfac-tion survey, 72 percent of residents feltit was extremely important that thepolice department receive the fundingthey need.

“If we were to lose any significant

funding, it would severely impact ourability to serve,” Langston said. “Wewere hit with a large budget cut, and ithas certainly affected us.”

Langston expressed his concernsabout the department’s ability to main-tain the quality of services they pro-vide. Currently, the department isshort-staffed by five or six officers.

In 2011, the police department hada collective 354 years of experienceamongst 31 officers, an average of 11.4years per officer. Today, the departmentemploys 36 officers with an average of8.4 years of experience per officer andtwo more officers are planning to retirethis year.

“They will take with them, collec-tively, 60 years of experience, and theywill be replaced by officers who don’thave any experience,” Langston said.“Our experience level will go down to6.5 years per officer. Those are thechallenges that we are facing, but weare training them and trying to helpthem get the experience they need tosuccessfully do their jobs.”

Langston said it takes officers agood five or six years to become fairlyconfident in their jobs out on thestreets.

BattalionChief RickyLewis of L.A.County Fire fol-lowed Langstonwith a brief updateon the fire depart-ment before hehad to depart themeeting earlyafter receivingreports of a firefrom his radio.

Lewisexplained that 75to 85 percent oftheir calls areemergency-ser-vice related. Theaverage responsetime for all calls is4 minutes and 58seconds.

In 2012, thefire departmentreceived over 900rescue and EMScalls, encompass-ing everythingfrom “wrestlingcats out of a tree,to trauma and

heart attacks requiringlife-saving provi-sions,” Lewis said.

Rescues alsodecreased from about900 to 800, Lewissaid. He credited CPRclasses and “othermeans of serviceavailable to the pub-lic.”

“The public canintervene prior to usgetting there,” Lewissaid. “And that couldmean saving a life orpreventing a moredeadly outcome.”

The fire depart-ment also providestours of the station.Residents can visitanytime. They offerfree blood-pressure checks, and the sta-tion serves as a safe house, a place tosafely surrender an unwanted newborn.

“We provide citizens with theopportunity to drop their infant offrather than drop them in the trash andleave them abandoned,” Lewis said.

After Lewis’s early departure,

Director of Public Works Steve Myrtershared with community members someof his department’s goals and chal-lenges.

The Public Works overall depart-ment budget is about $7.8 million, with

about half of that going to the waterutility.

The Department of Public Worksalso implemented the Capital Improve-

March 28, 2014 SigNal TribuNE 11NEWS

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Los Angeles County Fire Battalion Chief Ricky Lewis wraps uphis presentation before being called out to a fire.

Photos by Ashley Fowler/Signal TribuneDuring a March 19 visioning workshop, Signal Hill Police Chief Michael Langston describes someof the police department’s improvements since the last time the community met to discuss strategicplanning.

see WORKSHOP page 13

Workshopcontinued from page 1

The candidates and public safetyThe candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, and

many have different ideas about how to improve the city. Whenmoderator Antenore asked all of the candidates how they wouldwork with the police department to improve public safety andreduce gang violence, the candidates had the opportunity to setthemselves apart from their competitors. The candidates wereonly allowed about two minutes to answer the question.

Steven Paul Mozena emphasized his ability as a businessmanto create jobs and internships to lower the crime rate.

“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” Mozena said, describ-ing how kids need to be productive and make money. “If kidsare bored and they have nothing to do, they get into mischief…any Wilson High School student now can have a job or an intern-ship. I can create those jobs.”

Eric Rock said that the police already remove from parksthose individuals who look like gang members. He said he isconcerned about 22 recent law-enforcement shootings. Rock rec-ommended that police officers should live nearby.

“I would like for the law enforcement of Long Beach toreside within their jurisdiction, to reside within their cities,”Rock said.

Mineo Gonzalez suggested that the next mayor travel withthe police chief to the community every time a murder takesplace to determine how they can help. He recommended com-munication with families of kids who are at risk of gang influ-ence.

“But that’s why we need a leader to… call them out on theirparenting skills. We need to tell people, ‘This is your problem.This is your fault. This is your child,’” Gonzalez said, addinglater, “We need to make sure that the leadership we have is in thecommunity…letting the community know that we’re there forthem and we’re not ignoring them.”

Jana Shields said that her high-density neighborhood hasdealt with a gang problem. She described how the area becamesafe again due to a cooperative partnership between the public,the police and other entities.

“That sort of approach can be expanded citywide,” Shieldssaid, “because people in neighborhoods need to take ownership,need to be proactive and need to work in good [relationships]with our public-safety officers.”

Doug Otto lamented that, over the last four years, the Cityhas reduced the number of police officers, a drop from 1,020 to803.

“As a result,” Otto said, “we can’t do the enforcement thatwe’ve done before.”

He named areas in the police department that have felt thecuts: a youth-services division, a police-athletic league and agang-enforcement division. Additionally, he said that there areonly 20 officers in the Juvenile Investigations Section, suggest-ing that no staff are available to follow kids on their walk homeafter school to ensure their safety and to prevent youth fromcommitting crimes.

Damon Dunn said he agreed with Otto about the concernover the reduced number of police staff, but he challenged Otto’sestimate of the number of officers serving in the police depart-ment. Dunn said that the City is budgeted for 803 officers, but itreally has only 770 sworn-police officers. He explained the dis-crepancy has to do with overtime pay. He did agree that the Cityneeds to invest in more cops. Dunn also recommended a differ-

ent approach to addressing gang activities. “We have to start figuring out a solution to keep kids [from]

going into gangs,” Dunn said, explaining that the City should notonly rely on the police. He encouraged partnerships with eitherfaith-based communities or nonprofit organizations to offer men-toring to kids.

Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal praised the partnershipbetween the Long Beach Unified School District and the LongBeach Police Department, explaining how every campus alreadyhas security personnel and staff assistance. Lowenthal remem-bered that there was a time when the police chief had advisorycommissions to work with the community and that there werealso youth programs. She recommended to restore those pro-grams and to increase the number of law-enforcement person-nel.

She described how the department is really struggling with-out the 200 officers.

“It’s very difficult to keep up the work with such a smallforce,” Lowenthal said, “and losing the gang unit has been verydifficult.”

Councilmember Gerrie Schipske said that neighborhoodsafety is the City’s first priority. She criticized a Council decisionto reduce the police-department budget. She said her opponent,Vice Mayor Garcia, was part of that decision.

“One of the worst votes that was taken at this City Council(and that Mr. Garcia participated in)… was to cut the gang unit,to cut detectives and to cut the…resources we needed to getthose police back on the street,” Schipske said.

Garcia said that the City had gone through an economicrecession, yet at the same time, it also saw a 40-year low in crimerates. He said that although there is crime, the City is still headedin the right direction. He acknowledged that Long Beach needsmore police officers and that the budget will grow.

Like Dunn, Garcia advocated for other ways to address thegang problem. He recommended that the City additionally needsto have parks, activities, an investment in education, after-schoolprograms and ways to identify people who need support andtutoring.

“These are the types of things that get people together,” Gar-cia said, explaining that these areas are all part of public safety.

Richard Camp suggested that “it’s good for business whenthe gangs run wild on the north side of town,” especially wheneminent domain could be used to take over property. To addresspublic safety, he suggested that the City hire more female offi-cers. He remembered a particular officer in Belmont Shore whowas effective at her job.

“She was a very motherly figure with a gun,” Camp said,drawing a few laughs.

There were other questions at the forum. The candidates tack-led other topics including the breakwater, the controversy overwhether to retrofit or rebuild City Hall, concerns over racial ten-sions between black and Latino students, the Southern CaliforniaInternational Gateway Project and how to make the schoolsmore comfortable.

Student reactionThe event was an eye-opening experience for a few of the

students who talked with the Signal Tribune afterwards.Lukas Howe, a 17-year-old Wilson student and president of

the Associated Student Body (ASB), won’t be able to vote in thisApril’s municipal election, but he does have theability to talk to his family members who are eligi-ble to cast their ballots. He said in a telephone inter-view on Wednesday that he took flyers home toshare with his family and that he described to themhis impressions of the candidates. Howe liked Ottobest because of his involvement with the school andthe community. He also had positive things to sayabout Garcia.

Howe was asked to describe how a mayor couldreally improve the lives of Wilson High School stu-dents. He said he hoped that a new mayor willinvest in more after-school programs to keep stu-dents active. Howe said it is important for studentsto engage in their community, adding that, althoughkids already do volunteer now, there is a generalunderstanding that students feel that they must do itto graduate.

“I want to see if we can stimulate the minds ofstudents across the city at a younger age, or evenduring high school, to make them want to give backand make their community better,” Howe said.

Miko Phillips, an 18-year-old senior at Wilsonand part of the ASB, plans to vote in the upcomingelection. She still needs to register. She said in aninterview with the Signal Tribune that she’s plan-ning to vote for Lowenthal. Phillips said she likedthat the candidates were asked about racial tensionsbetween black and Latino students. She explainedthat Long Beach has a diverse population and thatshe wanted peace for everyone.

Phillips was one the volunteers at the forumwho played host to the candidates. She wasassigned to Shields. Phillips described how shefamiliarized herself with Shields’s campaign andthat night assisted her with signs.

Matthew Pearson, another 18-year-old Wilsonstudent, hung around the auditorium just after the

forum ended. The event turned out differently than he had antic-ipated.

“I [expected] a lot of verbal bloodshed from the candidates,”Pearson said in an interview with the Signal Tribune. “I was sur-prised they kept it very polite and organized.”

He had hoped that the medical-marijuana-tax issue wouldhave been addressed. Pearson also spoke freely about some ofhis other political ideas not related to the forum. That night, Pear-son wore a National Rifle Association badge. He said there ismisinformation about guns and automatic weapons in California,a state that is perceived to “not care much about the SecondAmendment.” He hopes that a mayor could help gun lobbyistschange that.

He said his two favorite candidates from the forum are Campand Rock.

Sometimes during the interview, he could have been joking,but he never cracked a smile nor broke away from the matter-of-fact tone in his voice. As the interview was about to end, Pearsonoff-handedly remarked he isn’t going to vote. He was asked why.

“I feel that although they sold me on certain issues,” Pearsonsaid, “all together as a package, I don’t feel like I could throw inmy vote with any one of them without feeling irresponsible.”

He wasn’t asked what he meant by “irresponsible.” Blamethe reporter. ß

12 SigNal TribuNE March 28, 2014NEWS

Richard Camp Damon Dunn

Robert Garcia Mineo Gonzalez

Bonnie Lowenthal Steven Paul Mozena

Doug Otto Eric Rock

Gerrie Schipske Jana Shields

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ment Program. The City will receive$14.9 million, 95 percent of which wasnot funded from City sources. Forexample, $6.2 million of the programcomes from grant funds from federalsources, intended mainly for road con-struction.

“A lot of our program has beenthrough our hard work in achievingand receiving grant money to helpextend our capital dollars,” Myrtersaid.

The Public Works Departmentoversees the maintenance andimprovement projects in the city. Thepark-maintenance division is responsi-ble for 29 acres, and the City trimsover 2000 trees annually. Public Worksalso maintains playground equipment,grounds, public art, and in turn, graffitiremoval. In addition, Myrter said hisdepartment manages more than 50structures and 80,000 square feet ofspace.

Public Works repairs and replacessidewalks, maintains alleyways, man-ages the city’s sign inventory andupdates street markings on a 35-milenetwork of streets and residential roadswith 32 signalized intersections.

New environmental requirementson the paint used for street markings,for example, is one ofthe kinds of chal-lenges that the PublicWorks Department isfacing.

“We used to usepaint that lasts fiveyears. Now it laststwo years,” Myrtersaid. “Our work onlyincreases with everynew regulation interms of the paint weare able to use.”

Myrter mentionedanother new regula-tion that is proving tobe a challenge for theCity.

Stemming fromthe Clean Water Actof 1972, MS4 storm-water permits aremeant to decrease thetoxicity of stormwater. Through theyears, the acceptablelevels of toxins in storm water havedecreased.

“Public works directors used to losesleep worrying about large stormevents. Will a storm event overwhelmour system? Will we able to protectproperty?” Myrter said. “And it’s actu-ally more complicated now. Now wehave to also worry about what’s in thestorm water. Will the contaminants inour storm water get pushed down thedrain? Will it violate the law?”

Storm water hits the ground cov-ered with contaminants, and it is sweptup into the storm drain.

“This newest permit requires us tomake sure the contaminants do notenter the storm drain,” Myrter said.“We are now required to come up withplans to remove these contaminantsover the next 10 to 20 years.”

The risk of non-compliance to thislaw is real and very expensive. If a cityis found in non-compliance, it wouldbe fined $10,000, as well as $10 pergallon of storm water at unacceptabletoxin levels.

“you can imagine how many gal-lons go down the storm drain, and howquickly, so there are real consequencesto non-compliance,” Myrter said.

The City spends about $700,000annually to improve storm water qual-ity, now. And Myrter projects that overthe next 10 years, this figure couldtriple.

“Ultimately, we’re going to needsome kind of water-treatment systemfor storm water over the next 10 to 20years to meet the requirements as theystand today,” Myrter said.

Each department concluded that theCity needs to go into planning modeand seek input from the community

regarding the challenges addressed inthe workshop.

The City of Signal Hill hired a facil-itator to help guide and collect informa-tion and input from the workshopattendees. Bill Kelly of Kelly Associ-ates Management Group is a retiredcity manager, and his firm does con-sulting for cities, counties, special dis-tricts and nonprofits with a focus onpublic service.

He led a brainstorm at the conclu-sion of each department’s presentationand asked the residents how theywould update the ‘06-‘11 strategicplan.

“The world has changed a bitsince the plan was done,” Kelly said.“And what I’ve been told is thatwe’re in the worst recession since theGreat Depression in the 1930s, andthat has had an impact on all cities inthe US, especially California. Salestax has taken a beating, your propertytaxes have probably taken a big beat-ing, but more importantly, the thirdleg of the stool has fallen off, andthat’s called no more redevelop-ment.”

Kelly said most people think thatproperty taxes pay for city services,but only six cents per dollar actuallygoes to the City of Signal Hill, about$770,000 annually.

The police department spent $7.7

million a year, which is 43 percent ofthe general fund budget, Kelly said.Another large portion is PublicWorks, about $4 million, 23 percent,and the remaining is allocated forother city services.

Currently, sales tax produces onlyabout $8.3 million.

“When the economy goes bad,people don’t buy things, and revenuefrom sales tax goes down,” Kellysaid. “That’s a huge impact. yoursales tax basically only pays for yourpolice department, now. What paysfor Public Works, libraries, etcetera?you have a very fragile budget interms of how you can put this wholething together.”

However, Kelly said that thestrategic plan for the city is predi-cated upon dreaming big. He askedresidents to think about the city’sstrengths and weaknesses, opportuni-ties for projects, and some threats thatmight get in the way.

“Too many citizens in too manycities think they want to base theirvisioning on how much money theyhave, and that’s a mistake,” Kellysaid. “Money can be found, but youhave to create the vision first. Don’tthink small. you’ve got to think big.”

Next week, the Signal Tribune willprovide information on the feedback

the community shared after the afore-mentioned presentations. The Citywill host its second visioning work-shop at 7pm on Wednesday, April 2,at the Signal Hill Community Center,1780 E Hill St., with topics including

community services, communitydevelopment, economic developmentand finance.

MORE INFORMATION(562) 989-7379

March 28, 2014 NEWS SigNal TribuNE 13

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ciTY Of SigNal hillTST4607 NoTICE oF PUBlIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, the Planning Commissionof the City of Signal Hill will conduct a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. in the City CouncilChamber at City Hall, 2175 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill, California, to consider the fol-lowing:

NEW AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP

SITE PLAN & DESIGN REVIEW 14-01 FOR A BMW AUTOMOBILE SALES ANDSERVICE FACILITY AT 1660 E. SPRING STREET IN THE SP-4, AUTO CENTERSPECIFIC PLAN, ZONING DISTRICT. THE FACILITY DESIGN INCLUDES:

• 31,996 SQ. FT. OF SHOWROOM AREA• 10,656 SQ. FT. OF PARTS STORAGE AREA• 35,158 SQ. FT. OF SERVICE/REPAIR AREA• 338 PARKING SPACES

APPLICANT: AHT Architects for Sonic Development, LLC

ALL INTERESTED PERSONS are hereby invited to attend this public hearing to pres-ent written information, express their opinions or otherwise present evidence on theabove matter.

If you wish to legally challenge any action taken by the City on the above matter, youmay be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the publichearings described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Cityprior to or at the public hearings.

A NEGATIVE DECLARATION 03/14/14(1) has been prepared in conjunction with thesubject project based on an initial study finding of no significant environmental impactsassociated with the project.

The Negative Declaration, as well as relevant material, may be inspected by the publicbetween the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and on Fri-days from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Community Development Department locatedon the lower floor of City Hall. Written comments may be submitted to the CommunityDevelopment Department during the public review period from March 14, 2014 to April7, 2014.

THE FILE and associated documents for the proposed project may be reviewed bythe public between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday,and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays, in the Community Development Departmentat City Hall.

FURTHER INFORMATION on this item may be obtained at the City of Signal HillCommunity Development Department located at 2175 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill,

California, or by emailing Selena Alanis, Assistant Planner, at salanis@cityofsignalhill.org or calling at (562) 989-7341.

Posted in accordance with S.H.M.C. Section 1.08.010 on: March 28, 2014Mailed to property owners within a 100’ radius: March 28, 2014

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Workshopcontinued from page 1 1

Ashley Fowler/Signal TribuneDirector of Public Works Steve Myrter addresses some of the challenges his department faces due tonew environmental regulations.

TST4595APN: 7217-013-038 T.S. No. 005932-CANOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE IMPORTANTNOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: YOU ARE INDEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED2/11/2009. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TOPROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BESOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED ANEXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THEPROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULDCONTACT A LAWYER On 4/3/2014 at 9:00 AM,CLEAR RECON CORP., as duly appointedtrustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trustrecorded 2/24/2009, as Instrument No.20090256340, in Book N/A, Page N/A, of OfficialRecords in the office of the County Recorder ofLos Angeles County, State of CALIFORNIA exe-cuted by: JOAQUIN O. VELASCO, UNMAR-RIED MAN OSCAR VELASCO AND REGINAVELASCO, HUSBAND AND WIFE WILL SELLAT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDERFOR CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK DRAWN ONA STATE OR NATIONAL BANK, A CHECKDRAWN BY A STATE OR FEDERAL CREDITUNION, OR A CHECK DRAWN BY A STATE ORFEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIA-TION, SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, OR SAVINGSBANK SPECIFIED IN SECTION 5102 OF THEFINANCIAL CODE AND AUTHORIZED TO DOBUSINESS IN THIS STATE: VINEYARD BALL-ROOM, DOUBLETREE HOTEL LOS ANGELES- NORWALK, 13111 SYCAMORE DRIVE, NOR-WALK, CA 90650 all right, title and interest con-veyed to and now held by it under said Deed ofTrust in the property situated in said County andState described as: AS MORE FULLYDESCRIBED ON SAID DEED OF TRUST Thestreet address and other common designation, ifany, of the real property described above is pur-ported to be: 1918 ORIZABA AVENUE SIGNALHILL, CA 90755 The undersigned Trustee dis-claims any liability for any incorrectness of thestreet address and other common designation, ifany, shown herein. Said sale will be held, but with-out covenant or warranty, express or implied,regarding title, possession, condition, or encum-brances, including fees, charges and expenses ofthe Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deedof Trust, to pay the remaining principal sums of thenote(s) secured by said Deed of Trust. The totalamount of the unpaid balance of the obligationsecured by the property to be sold and reason-able estimated costs, expenses and advances atthe time of the initial publication of the Notice ofSale is: $617,924.17 If the Trustee is unable toconvey title for any reason, the successful bidder’ssole and exclusive remedy shall be the return ofmonies paid to the Trustee, and the successfulbidder shall have no further recourse. The bene-ficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore exe-cuted and delivered to the undersigned a writtenDeclaration of Default and Demand for Sale, anda written Notice of Default and Election to Sell.The undersigned caused said Notice of Defaultand Election to Sell to be recorded in the countywhere the real property is located. NOTICE TOPOTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are consideringbidding on this property lien, you should under-stand that there are risks involved in bidding at atrustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, noton the property itself. Placing the highest bid at atrustee auction does not automatically entitle youto free and clear ownership of the property. Youshould also be aware that the lien being auctionedoff may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bid-der at the auction, you are or may be responsiblefor paying off all liens senior to the lien being auc-tioned off, before you can receive clear title to theproperty. You are encouraged to investigate theexistence, priority, and size of outstanding liensthat may exist on this property by contacting thecounty recorder’s office or a title insurance com-pany, either of which may charge you a fee for thisinformation. If you consult either of theseresources, you should be aware that the samelender may hold more than one mortgage or deedof trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTYOWNER: The sale date shown on this notice ofsale may be postponed one or more times by themortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pur-suant to Section 2924g of the California CivilCode. The law requires that information abouttrustee sale postponements be made available toyou and to the public, as a courtesy to those notpresent at the sale. If you wish to learn whetheryour sale date has been postponed, and, if appli-cable, the rescheduled time and date for the saleof this property, you may call (800) 280-2832 orvisit this Internet Web siteWWW.AUCTION.COM, using the file numberassigned to this case 005932-CA. Informationabout postponements that are very short in dura-tion or that occur close in time to the scheduledsale may not immediately be reflected in the tele-phone information or on the Internet Web site.The best way to verify postponement informationis to attend the scheduled sale. FOR SALESINFORMATION: (800) 280-2832 Date: 2/28/2014 CLEAR RECON CORP. 4375 Jutland DriveSuite 200 San Diego, California 92117 TAC:968017 PUB: 3/14 3/21 3/28/14

TST4605TSG No.: 7354658 TS No.: CA1200248173

FHA/VA/PMI No.: APN: 7148-001-030 PropertyAddress: 3300 CALIFORNIA AVENUE SIGNALHILL, CA 90755 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALEYOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OFTRUST, DATED 09/15/2003. UNLESS YOUTAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROP-ERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IFYOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THENATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINSTYOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On04/17/2014 at 10:00 A.M., First American TitleInsurance Company, as duly appointed Trusteeunder and pursuant to Deed of Trust recorded09/22/2003, as Instrument No. 03 2782876, inbook , page , , of Official Records in the office ofthe County Recorder of LOS ANGELES County,

State of California. Executed by: NICHOLAS L.LIDDI JR. AND DIANE P. LIDDI, HUSBAND ANDWIFE AS JOINT TENANTS, WILL SELL ATPUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FORCASH, CASHIER'S CHECK/CASH EQUIVA-LENT or other form of payment authorized by2924h(b), (Payable at time of sale in lawful moneyof the United States) Behind the fountain locatedin Civic Center Plaza, 400 Civic Center Plaza,Pomona CA All right, title and interest conveyedto and now held by it under said Deed of Trust inthe property situated in said County and Statedescribed as: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED INTHE ABOVE MENTIONED DEED OF TRUSTAPN# 7148-001-030 The street address andother common designation, if any, of the real prop-erty described above is purported to be: 3300CALIFORNIA AVENUE, SIGNAL HILL, CA90755 he undersigned Trustee disclaims any lia-bility for any incorrectness of the street addressand other common designation, if any, shownherein. Said sale will be made, but withoutcovenant or warranty, expressed or implied,regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, topay the remaining principal sum of the note(s)secured by said Deed of Trust, with interestthereon, as provided in said note(s), advances,under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees,charges and expenses of the Trustee and of thetrusts created by said Deed of Trust. The totalamount of the unpaid balance of the obligationsecured by the property to be sold and reason-able estimated costs, expenses and advances atthe time of the initial publication of the Notice ofSale is $283,409.18. The beneficiary under saidDeed of Trust has deposited all documents evi-dencing the obligations secured by the Deed ofTrust and has declared all sums secured therebyimmediately due and payable, and has caused awritten Notice of Default and Election to Sell to beexecuted. The undersigned caused said Noticeof Default and Election to Sell to be recorded inthe County where the real property is located.NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you areconsidering bidding on this property lien, youshould understand that there are risks involved inbidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding ona lien, not on the property itself. Placing the high-est bid at a trustee auction does not automaticallyentitle you to free and clear ownership of the prop-erty. You should also be aware that the lien beingauctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are thehighest bidder at the auction, you are or may beresponsible for paying off all liens senior to thelien being auctioned off, before you can receiveclear title to the property. You are encouraged toinvestigate the existence, priority, and size of out-standing liens that may exist on this property bycontacting the county recorder’s office or a titleinsurance company, either of which may chargeyou a fee for this information. If you consult eitherof these resources, you should be aware that thesame lender may hold more than one mortgageor deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TOPROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown onthis notice of sale may be postponed one or moretimes by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or acourt, pursuant to Section 2924g of the CaliforniaCivil Code. The law requires that informationabout trustee sale postponements be made avail-able to you and to the public, as a courtesy tothose not present at the sale. If you wish to learnwhether your sale date has been postponed, andif applicable, the rescheduled time and date for thesale of this property, you may call (916)939-0772or visit this Internet Web http://search.nationwide-posting.com/propertySearchTerms.aspx, using thefile number assigned to this case CA1200248173Information about postponements that are veryshort in duration or that occur close in time to thescheduled sale may not immediately be reflectedin the telephone information or on the Internet Website. The best way to verify postponement infor-mation is to attend the scheduled sale. If the saleis set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at thesale shall be entitled only to a return of the depositpaid. The Purchaser shall have no furtherrecourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee orthe Mortgagee’s attorney. Date: First AmericanTitle Insurance Company 6 CAMPUS CIRCLEWESTLAKE, TX 76262 First American Title Insur-ance Company MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBTCOLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT ADEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED MAYBE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE FORTRUSTEES SALE INFORMATION PLEASECALL (916)939-0772NPP0228668 To: SIGNALTRIBUNE 03/28/2014, 04/04/2014, 04/11/2014

TST4596NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTERESTATE OF CANDY D. NALL aka CANDICED. NALLCase No. BP150083

To all heirs, beneficiaries, credi-tors, contingent creditors, and persons whomay otherwise be interested in the will orestate, or both, of CANDY D. NALL aka CAN-DICE D. NALL

A PETITION FOR PROBATE hasbeen filed by Edward H. Nall in the SuperiorCourt of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATErequests that Edward H. Nall be appointed aspersonal representative to administer theestate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests thedecedent's will and codicils, if any, be admittedto probate. The will and any codicils are avail-able for examination in the file kept by thecourt.

THE PETITION requests authorityto administer the estate under the IndependentAdministration of Estates Act. (This authoritywill allow the personal representative to takemany actions without obtaining court approval.Before taking certain very important actions,however, the personal representative will berequired to give notice to interested personsunless they have waived notice or consented

to the proposed action.) The independentadministration authority will be granted unlessan interested person files an objection to thepetition and shows good cause why the courtshould not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will beheld on April 9, 2014 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 5located at 111 N. Hill St., Los Angeles, CA90012.

IF YOU OBJECT to the grantingof the petition, you should appear at the hear-ing and state your objections or file writtenobjections with the court before the hearing.Your appearance may be in person or by yourattorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or acontingent creditor of the decedent, you mustfile your claim with the court and mail a copy tothe personal representative appointed by thecourt within the later of either (1) four monthsfrom the date of first issuance of letters to ageneral personal representative, as defined insection 58(b) of the California Probate Code,or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or per-sonal delivery to you of a notice under section9052 of the California Probate Code.

Other California statutes and legalauthority may affect your rights as a creditor.You may want to consult with an attorneyknowledgeable in California law.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file keptby the court. If you are a person interested inthe estate, you may file with the court aRequest for Special Notice (form DE-154) ofthe filing of an inventory and appraisal of estateassets or of any petition or account as providedin Probate Code section 1250. A Request forSpecial Notice form is available from the courtclerk.Attorney for petitioner:DAVID D. HISKEY, ESQ.SBN 110679HISKEY LAW FIRMA PROF CORP414 N PLACENTIA AVEPLACENTIA CA 92870

TST4604APN: 7211-026-150 Property : 2599 Walnut AveUnit 329, Signal Hill, CA 90755 Title Order No. :130228193 Trustee Sale No. : 2200-010550-F00NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE YOU ARE INDEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATEDJuly 01, 2004. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TOPROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BESOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED ANEXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THEPROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULDCONTACT A LAWYER. On April 10, 2014, SagePoint Lender Services, LLC, as duly appointedTrustee WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TOHIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIER'SCHECK/CASH EQUIVALENT drawn on a state ornational bank, cashier’s check drawn by a state orfederal credit union, or a cashier’s check drawn bya state or federal savings and loan association, orsavings association, or savings bank specified inSection 5102 of the Financial Code and author-ized to do business in this state, or other form ofpayment authorized by 2924h(b), (Payable at timeof sale in lawful money of the United States). Thesale will be made, but without covenant or war-ranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, posses-sion, or encumbrances, to satisfy the obligationsecured by said Deed of Trust with interest andlate charges 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. Theundersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for anyincorrectness of the property address or othercommon designation, if any, shown herein. Allright, 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 BELOW MEN-TIONED DEED OF TRUST Executed by:RICHARD ECHAVARRI A Single Man Recordedon July 08, 2004, as Instrument No. 04 1736989,of Official Records, in the office of the CountyRecorder of Los Angeles County, California Dateof Sale: April 10, 2014 at 09:00 AM Place of Sale:at the Vineyard Ballroom of the Doubletree HotelLos Angeles-Norwalk, 13111 Sycamore Drive,Norwalk, CA 90650 The street address and othercommon designation, if any, of the real propertydescribed above is purported to be: 2599 WAL-NUT AVE UNIT 329, SIGNAL HILL, CA 90755APN# 7211-026-150 The total amount of theunpaid balance of the obligation secured by theproperty to be sold and reasonable estimatedcosts, expenses and advances at the time of theinitial publication of this Notice of Sale is$248,450.74. The beneficiary under said Deed ofTrust heretofore executed and delivered to theundersigned a written Declaration of Default andDemand for Sale, and a written Notice of Defaultand Election to Sell. The undersigned caused saidNotice of Default and Election to Sell to berecorded in the County where the real property islocated. If the Trustee is unable to convey title forany reason, the successful bidder’s sole andexclusive remedy shall be the return of moniespaid to the Trustee, and the successful bidder shallhave no further recourse. If the sale is set aside forany reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be enti-tled only to the return of the deposit paid. The Pur-chaser shall have no further recourse against theMortgagor, the Mortgagee, or the Mortgagee’sAttorney. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: Ifyou are considering bidding on this property lien,you should understand that there are risksinvolved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will bebidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placingthe highest bid at a trustee auction does not auto-matically entitle you to free and clear ownership ofthe property. You should also be aware that thelien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If youare the highest bidder at the auction, you are ormay be responsible for paying off all liens senior tothe lien being auctioned off, before you can receiveclear title to the property. You are encouraged toinvestigate the existence, priority, and size of out-standing liens that may exist on this property bycontacting the county recorder's office or a titleinsurance company, either of which may chargeyou a fee for this information. If you consult eitherof these resources, you should be aware that thesame lender may hold more than one mortgageor deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TOPROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown onthis notice of sale may be postponed one or moretimes by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or acourt, pursuant to Section 2924g of the CaliforniaCivil Code. The law requires that information abouttrustee sale postponements be made available toyou and to the public, as a courtesy to those notpresent at the sale. If you wish to learn whetheryour sale date has been postponed, and, if appli-

cable, the rescheduled time and date for the saleof this property, you may call (800) 280-2832 orvisit this Internet Web site WWW.AUCTION.COM,using the file number assigned to this case 2200-010550-F00. Information about postponementsthat are very short in duration or that occur closein time to the scheduled sale may not immediatelybe reflected in the telephone information or on theInternet Web site. The best way to verify postpone-ment information is to attend the scheduled sale.Date: March 10, 2014 Sage Point Lender Serv-ices, LLC 400 Exchange, Suite 110 Irvine, CA92602 949-265-9940 David Garcia FORTRUSTEE'S SALE INFORMATION PLEASECALL (800) 280-2832 or visitWWW.AUCTION.COM SAGE POINT LENDERSERVICES, LLC MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBTCOLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT ADEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED MAY BEUSED FOR THAT PURPOSE. NPP0228078 To:SIGNAL TRIBUNE PUB: 03/14/2014, 03/21/2014,03/28/2014

TST4591 / 2014 050923FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as: CASA LADERA, 1106 E. La Dera Dr., Long Beach, CA90807. Registrant: BRUCE G. ALTON, 1106 E.La Dera Dr., Long Beach, CA 90807. Thisbusiness is conducted by: an Individual. Ideclare that all information in this statement istrue and correct. Signed: Bruce G. Alton. Theregistrant has not begun to transact businessunder the fictitious business name or nameslisted herein. This statement was filed with thecounty clerk of Los Angeles County on Febru-ary 25, 2014. NOTICE: This fictitious businessname statement expires five years from thedate it was filed in the office of the countyclerk. A new fictitious business name state-ment must be filed prior to that date. The filingof this statement does not of itself authorizethe use in this state of a fictitious businessname in violation of the rights of anotherunder federal, state, or common law (see sec-tion 14411 et seq., Business and ProfessionsCode). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 7, 14,21, 28, 2014.

TST4592 / 2014 055971FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following persons are doing business as:RABID BLACK, 2116 E. 64th St., LongBeach, CA 90805. Registrants: 1. BRIT-TNEY YUEN, 2. REGINA DELREAL, 2116 E.64th St., Long Beach, CA 90805. This busi-ness is conducted by: a Joint Venture. Ideclare that all information in this statement istrue and correct. Signed: Brittney Yuen. Theregistrants have not begun to transact busi-ness under the fictitious business name ornames listed herein. This statement was filedwith the county clerk of Los Angeles Countyon March 3, 2014. NOTICE: This fictitiousbusiness name statement expires five yearsfrom the date it was filed in the office of thecounty clerk. A new fictitious business namestatement must be filed prior to that date. Thefiling of this statement does not of itselfauthorize the use in this state of a fictitiousbusiness name in violation of the rights ofanother under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 7, 14, 21, 28, 2014.

TST4597 / 2014 040370FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:HALCON CATERING, 818 W. Gardena Blvd.,Gardena, CA 90247. Registrant: SUYAPA A.FLORES, 1602 W. 218th St. #15, Torrance, CA90501. This business is conducted by: an Indi-vidual. I declare that all information in thisstatement is true and correct. Signed: SuyapaA. Flores. The registrant has begun to transactbusiness under the fictitious business name ornames listed herein. The registrant beganusing this fictitious business name on Febru-ary 13, 2014. This statement was filed with thecounty clerk of Los Angeles County on Febru-ary 13, 2014. NOTICE: This fictitious businessname statement expires five years from thedate it was filed in the office of the countyclerk. A new fictitious business name state-ment must be filed prior to that date. The filingof this statement does not of itself authorizethe use in this state of a fictitious businessname in violation of the rights of another underfederal, state, or common law (see section14411 et seq., Business and ProfessionsCode). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 14, 21,28, & April 4, 2014.

TST4598 / 2014 066173FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:BILL'S TOP SHOP, 1929 E. 28th St., SignalHill, CA 90755. Registrants: PATRICIA VAN-WINKLE, 1929 E. 28th St., Signal Hill, CA90755. This business is conducted by: an Indi-vidual. I declare that all information in thisstatement is true and correct. Signed: PatriciaVanwinkle. The registrant has begun to trans-act business under the fictitious businessname or names listed herein. The registrantbegan using this fictitious business name in1929. This statement was filed with the countyclerk of Los Angeles County on March 12,2014. NOTICE: This fictitious business namestatement expires five years from the date itwas filed in the office of the county clerk. Anew fictitious business name statement mustbe filed prior to that date. The filing of thisstatement does not of itself authorize the usein this state of a fictitious business name inviolation of the rights of another under federal,state, or common law (see section 14411 etseq., Business and Professions Code). Pub.The Signal Tribune: March 14, 21, 28, & April4, 2014.

TST4585 / 2014 048562FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:COCAH JEUELS, 2147 1/2 Myrtle Ave., LongBeach, CA 90806. Registrant: SHAMEKA LATISHANDERSON, 2147 1/2 Myrtle Ave., Long Beach,CA 90806. This business is conducted by: an Indi-vidual. I declare that all information in this state-ment is true and correct. Signed: ShamekaAnderson. The registrant has not begun to trans-act business under the fictitious business name ornames listed herein. This statement was filed withthe county clerk of Los Angeles County on Febru-ary 24, 2014. NOTICE: This fictitious businessname statement expires five years from the dateit was filed in the office of the county clerk. Anew fictitious business name statement must befiled prior to that date. The filing of this state-ment does not of itself authorize the use in thisstate of a fictitious business name in violation ofthe rights of another under federal, state, orcommon law (see section 14411 et seq., Busi-ness and Professions Code). Pub. The SignalTribune: February 28, & March 7, 14, 21, 2014.

TST4599 / 2014 068641FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:DUTCH BOY BOOKKEEPING, 3218 FaustAve., Long Beach, CA 90808. Registrants:DAVID GOODWIN, 3218 Faust Ave., LongBeach, CA 90808. This business is conductedby: an Individual. I declare that all informationin this statement is true and correct. Signed:David Goodwin The registrant has not begun totransact business under the fictitious businessname or names listed herein. This statementwas filed with the county clerk of Los AngelesCounty on March 13, 2014. NOTICE: This ficti-tious business name statement expires fiveyears from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. A new fictitious businessname statement must be filed prior to that date.The filing of this statement does not of itselfauthorize the use in this state of a fictitiousbusiness name in violation of the rights ofanother under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 21, 28, & April 4, 11, 2014.

TST4600 / 2014 059637FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:R.M. WELDING & FABRICATION, 8504 Fire-stone Blvd. #320, Downey, CA 90241. Regis-trant: RONDY ROSHA MASON, 8504Firestone Blvd. #320, Downey, CA 90241. Thisbusiness is conducted by: an Individual. Ideclare that all information in this statement istrue and correct. Signed: Rondy Rosha Mason.The registrant has begun to transact businessunder the fictitious business name or nameslisted herein. The registrant began using thisfictitious business name on March 5, 2014.This statement was filed with the county clerkof Los Angeles County on March 5, 2014.NOTICE: This fictitious business name state-ment expires five years from the date it wasfiled in the office of the county clerk. A new fic-titious business name statement must be filedprior to that date. The filing of this statementdoes not of itself authorize the use in this stateof a fictitious business name in violation of therights of another under federal, state, or com-mon law (see section 14411 et seq., Businessand Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Trib-une: March 21, 28, & April 4, 11, 2014.

TST4601 / 2014 060136FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:HONEYSUCKLE, 3199 E. Pacific Coast Hwy.,Suite 101, Signal Hill, CA 90755. Registrant:VICHITRA MADY, 1923 E. Luray St., LongBeach, CA 90807. This business is conductedby: an Individual. I declare that all informationin this statement is true and correct. Signed:Vichitra Mady. The registrant has not begun totransact business under the fictitious businessname or names listed herein. This statementwas filed with the county clerk of Los AngelesCounty on March 6, 2014. NOTICE: This ficti-tious business name statement expires fiveyears from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. A new fictitious businessname statement must be filed prior to thatdate. The filing of this statement does not ofitself authorize the use in this state of a ficti-tious business name in violation of the rightsof another under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 21, 28, & April 4, 11, 2014.

TST4603 / 2014 073673FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:LOAN DOC CLOSERS, 15911 La Forge St.,Apt. C, Whittier, CA 90603. Registrant: MARIORAMIREZ, 15911 La Forge St., Apt. C, Whit-tier, CA 90603. This business is conducted by:an Individual. I declare that all information inthis statement is true and correct. Signed:Mario Ramirez. The registrant has not begunto transact business under the fictitious busi-ness name or names listed herein. This state-ment was filed with the county clerk of LosAngeles County on March 19, 2014. NOTICE:This fictitious business name statementexpires five years from the date it was filed inthe office of the county clerk. A new fictitiousbusiness name statement must be filed prior tothat date. The filing of this statement does notof itself authorize the use in this state of a fic-titious business name in violation of the rightsof another under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 21, 28, & April 4, 11, 2014.

TST4608 / 2014 074294FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:TURBO AUTO REPAIR, 1752 Pine Ave., LongBeach, CA 90813. Registrant: DENYSSELOPEZ, 1752 Pine Ave., Long Beach, CA90813. This business is conducted by: an Indi-vidual. I declare that all information in thisstatement is true and correct. Signed:Denysse Lopez. The registrant has not begunto transact business under the fictitious busi-ness name or names listed herein. This state-ment was filed with the county clerk of LosAngeles County on March 20, 2014. NOTICE:This fictitious business name statementexpires five years from the date it was filed inthe office of the county clerk. A new fictitiousbusiness name statement must be filed prior tothat date. The filing of this statement does notof itself authorize the use in this state of a fic-titious business name in violation of the rightsof another under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 28, & April 4, 11, 18, 2014.

TST4606 / 2014 073507FICTITIoUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENTThe following person is doing business as:MOBILE MATH TUTOR, 6615 Monlaco Rd.,Long Beach, CA 90808. Registrant: RODNEYBREMER, 6615 Monlaco Rd., Long Beach, CA90808. This business is conducted by: an Indi-vidual. I declare that all information in thisstatement is true and correct. Signed: RodneyBremer. The registrant has not begun to trans-act business under the fictitious businessname or names listed herein. This statementwas filed with the county clerk of Los AngelesCounty on March 19, 2014. NOTICE: This fic-titious business name statement expires fiveyears from the date it was filed in the office ofthe county clerk. A new fictitious businessname statement must be filed prior to thatdate. The filing of this statement does not ofitself authorize the use in this state of a ficti-tious business name in violation of the rightsof another under federal, state, or common law(see section 14411 et seq., Business and Pro-fessions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune:March 28, & April 4, 11, 18, 2014.

14 SigNal TribuNE March 28, 2014Public NOTicES

billion to $10 billion. “It is a very plausible event … it’s

not that frequent, but it’s also not reallycrazy,” said Lucy Jones, a USGS scien-tist who headed the study, known as theScience Application for Risk Reduction(SAFRR) Tsunami Scenario.

Jones, who also led the first “Shake-Out” earthquake scenario in 2008,spoke during a lecture on tsunamis atthe Aquarium of the Pacific in LongBeach on Monday, March 24. Thesold-out event, which included a panelof experts, coincided with TsunamiPreparedness Week. The event alsotook place just days before the 50thanniversary of the Great Alaska Earth-quake, which triggered a tsunami onMarch 27, 1964, killing a total of 16people in California.

About three years ago, teams of sci-entists, first responders and otherexperts began modeling the tsunamiscenario after the Alaska earthquake.The study, however, was later extendedto take into account the 2011 tsunamithat was triggered by the Tohoku, Japanearthquake that resulted in the

Fukushima nuclear disaster. Thattsunami didn’t produce much floodingin California but caused millions ofdollars in damages to marinas, particu-larly in the Crescent City Harbor,according to experts.

A tsunami causing the sea levelalong California to suddenly rise fivefeet is rare and only happens aboutevery 100 to 200 years, Jones said.However, she noted that such an eventwould damage harbors and marinas,spreading debris throughout the area.Jones said a tsunami would also impactthe ports of Long Beach and Los Ange-les, which receive 40 percent of thenation’s imports.

“This isn’t just a Long Beachissue,” Jones said. “This isn’t even justa California issue. It’s of incredibleimportance for the whole UnitedStates.”

Patrick Lynett, an associate profes-sor at USC’s department of civil andenvironmental engineering who ana-lyzed ocean currents for the study, saidlarge vessels, such as container shipsand cruise liners, will be “mostly safe.”He added, however, that it would causemajor disruptions at the ports becauseof strong currents and smaller boats at

marinas would be the most damaged.“Along the West Coast in 2011, we

had a lot of damage in harbors, butyou didn’t have a lot of flooding,”Lynett said. “The reason that you haveall this damage in harbors is because,even if the water doesn’t go very high,it still goes very fast.”

He said the worst place for a boatto be during a tsunami is navigating in

and out of the harbor “gates,”where there would be thestrongest currents.

“That’s a particularly bad areato be,” Lynett said. “you reallydon’t want to be a ship makingyour way through the gatebecause the currents there aretremendously strong and they’reswirling … If you have time toget out of the harbor before thewave comes, great, get out. If youdon’t, stay in the harbor, tie yourboat up, straighten the lines andjust leave. you don’t want to bein the water while the tsunami ishappening.”

He added that the Long Beachbreakwater won’t make much ofa difference in a tsunami, sinceit’s “quite permeable” and thedisplaced water would still rush

through it. Coastal cities across the state

are currently preparing evacuationplans in the event of a tsunamiwhile maritime officials are work-ing with new maps developed by

the California Geological Survey(CGS) that outline maximum tsunami-inundation zones.

Rick Wilson, senior engineeringgeologist for the CGS, said the studyconcluded that neither of California’snuclear power plants would likely bedamaged by such a tsunami. However,he said a large tsunami still wouldimpact other power plants and facili-ties. Wilson added that the State hasposted blue signs on some beachesand coastal communities to make peo-ple aware that they are in a tsunami-inundation zone.

“It doesn’t happen often, but when[a tsunami] does happen, especiallywhen there’s a high tide, we see thepotential for more flooding,” Wilsonsaid.

In Long Beach, the inundation zoneextends from the Queen Mary to justsouth of Ocean Boulevard. Under thescenario, areas submerged would bethe Aquarium, the Long Beach Con-vention Center, Shoreline Village, thePike and the Alamitos Bay Marina.

Jones said more than 20,000 resi-dents in Long Beach who live in theinundation zone would have to beevacuated, adding that the zoneincludes some schools, daycare cen-ters and adult centers that should haveadequate evacuation plans in place.

The National Oceanic and Atmos-pheric Administration (NOAA) hastwo hours from the time the earth-quake hits to issue a tsunami warning,

she said. Thereafter, residents havetwo hours before the tsunami touchesdown to evacuate the area, which inmost causes means moving aboutthree blocks inland.

“If we handle the warnings right,nobody will die,” Jones said. “… yousurvive a tsunami by not being in atsunami.”

Jeff Reeb, director of emergencymanagement for the County of LosAngeles, said it’s important to encour-age the public, particularly peoplewith disabilities, to be prepared for amajor tsunami in order to minimizeany loss of life.

He said people should stay con-nected through cell-phone notificationsystems, such as Alert LA and Nixle,as well as social media. Reeb addedthat residents and business ownersshould learn the appropriate steps totake when tsunami warnings comeforward, such as preparing go-to kitswith important records and other valu-ables.

“What we encourage everyone todo is, of course, be aware of your sur-roundings, whether you’re visiting ourAquarium or down in one of ourcoastal areas,” Reeb said. “When thewarning comes, it is time to move.Whether you walk or run or ride, it’stime to go.”

MORE INFORMATIONconservation.ca.gov

usgs.gov

Tsunamiscontinued from page 1

March 28, 2014 SigNal TribuNE 15NEWS

Courtesy CGSThis photo taken by staff of the California Geological Survey shows the devastation toboats and marinas left behind from the tsunami caused by the Tohoku, Japan earthquakein 2011. Though the tsunami did not produce much flooding, the fast-moving surge didcause millions of dollars in damage to boats and marinas along California, particularlyin the Crescent City Harbor.

Sean Belk/Signal TribuneA panel of experts conduct a lecture at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on March 24 regarding the threat of a largetsunami hitting the California coast. Pictured, from left, are: Lucy Jones, scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey; PatrickLynett, associate professor with USC; Jeff Reeb, director of emergency management for the County of Los Angeles; and RickWilson, senior engineering geologist for the California Geological Survey.

March 28, 2014 SigNal TribuNE 16

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