Grunion Gazette 10-20-11

By Melissa Weaver As a Seal Beach resident, only steps away from the shooters ar-rest, I was on the phone with the Associated Press (AP) today as they tried to hurriedly piece to-gether one question: Why nine people were shot in cold blood. Unlike me, who searched for a more satisfying answer, they were only interested in facts. “Car or truck?” persisted one reporter for the second time. “Did the truck have a camper or not?… Can I talk to the neigh-bors, do they know more?” The neighbors did know more, enough to fi nd no solace in facts. Enough to know the boy some of them went to school with or who they saw around town years ago had done something unthinkable, something that couldn’t fully be

explained by facts — and worse, couldn’t be undone. They, like me, wanted to know why. Yes, why someone would be so inclined to try and kill not only the mother of his own chil-dren, but also eight people who crossed his path. That’s a total of nine people — nine lives — born into this world to a screaming mother and a, hopefully, beam-ing father. Nine people who have felt the wind on their face, the sun in their eyes, and the ground

beneath their feet — just like you and me. Not to mention other human experiences that most people have by adulthood: love, success (or at least the pursuit of it), and loss. Except I’m sure they never quite imagined the loss of their own lives being so soon or so tragic — done by such evil. Evil is a question and that question is why. To answer this why, people often analyze those who do evil. Take Hitler, as many claim his evil began from a father who pushed and shoved more than a father should, a mother he loved and worshiped more than a boy should, and anger and idle-ness that surfaced, again, more than such emotion should. But is that an excuse for an evil that demolished millions?

Does that answer the question? Can we ever answer why one’s actions are that evil? Perhaps that’s why when a man kills that many innocent people in a hair salon on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, all so-ciety can report on is the facts.

Maybe what kind of car he was in, or how many guns were in his passenger seat, is an answer with more sense than what the hell he was thinking.Melissa Weaver is a freelance writer with degrees from Biola University and USC.

Don’t you just love all this new tech-nology? It’s been pretty amazing to watch the legacy of Steve Jobs (R.I.P.), the iPhone 4S, go fl ying off shelves. I’ve been told you can talk to the thing and it will send a text message for you. Phones with voice recognition software — amazing. First we can’t write cursive, now we won’t be able to type at all. But I’m not complaining. All this new-fangled technology is allowing me to par-ticipate in the babyhood of my two new Colorado grandchildren, even though they’re 1,000 miles and a time zone away.

I get frequent pictures on my iPhone (an antiquated 3G version) from both moms. Every Monday, I get a full-blown electronic newsletter about Allison Grace Saltzgaver’s weekend, complete with pic-tures and narrative. Maria does this thing called Skype, which allows her to talk with daughter Charlotte while keeping tabs on new grandson Mekhi Busch and his doting older sister, Josephine. But the most fun are the little video clips sent to our phones. I’ve seen Alli-son roll over from tummy to back — a huge deal in babyhood, in case you didn’t know. I’ve watched son Alex get Allison to “talk” at two months old. I’ve watched and heard Josephine get her little brother to laugh out loud — surely the most joy-ous sound in God’s creation. When I was a new parent, the best I could do was send a picture through the mail to anxious grandparents. That involved not just taking the picture, but

also taking the fi lm to be developed (a process too complicated to explain here), then mailing the print. That mail usually took two or three days to go from place to place. Notice I said mail, not email. This in-volves a physical process that undoubt-edly will be a distant memory long be-fore Allison and Mekhi reach puberty, let alone adulthood. But let’s not talk about that. I have friends who work for that doomed delivery service. I understand that this increasing ability to visit intimately over long distances in real time, seeing the person you’re talk-ing to, is going to change the world. My doctor will be able to actually see that nasty rash without me actually going to his offi ce. I’ll soon be able to report how the interview subject mopped his brow or broke into tears under my close question-ing without actually being in the same room with them. Your interior decorator can show you curtain colors and wall-

paper samples without schlepping them over to your house. I know you’re skeptical. I was too at one time. After all, I was supposed to be in a George Jetson fl ying car by now. But this video conferencing and elec-tronic sharing has a much higher form of motivation than stuff like advanced, economic transportation. We’re talking grandparent power here. Grandparents who have resisted their children’s demand to learn how to use a computer suddenly become techno-geeks when it comes to seeing grandchildren. They’ve had a taste, and now they’ll de-mand more. Watching the grandbaby take the fi rst step, or hearing them say grapa for the fi rst time, is priceless. That, my friends, is motivation. Viva technology.

A community’s timbre is test-ed by tragedy. Seal Beach was sorely tested last week. And the community’s strength came to the forefront. Seal Beach’s police depart-ment was faced with an unthink-able situation when the 9-1-1 call came in that shots had been fi red at Salon Meritage. The small department had not been forced to handle a single homicide in the last year — now they faced a shooting that would make na-tional, even international, news. They got the job done, and with an understated profession-alism that deserves praise. That started with the arrest of the sus-pect just minutes away from the scene. Who hasn’t seen the home video capturing the arrest? It’s diffi cult to imagine what went through these offi cers’ minds as they confronted Scott Dekraai. It’s doubtful they knew the ex-tent of Dekraai’s rampage, but clearly they knew he was violent. They kept their cool, and were able to complete the arrest with-out incident (thankfully, Dekraai offered no resistance). Back at the shooting scene,

that same professionalism was in evidence in different ways. The larger law enforcement commu-nity came when called to assist, with offi cers and investigators from multiple jurisdictions on the scene within minutes. But it was the Seal Beach PD’s respon-sibility, and they handled it. Special mention must be made of Sgt. Steve Bowles. Bowles acts as Seal Beach’s public in-formation offi cer in addition to his regular duties, and he was the man who fi rst faced the mob of print, radio and television report-ers anxious to tell the story. Bowles was professional start to fi nish — offering all the in-formation he had, refusing to speculate about things he didn’t know and patiently and politely answering questions even when they had been asked before. It took a whisper from a fi refi ghter to allow Bowles to end that fi rst very diffi cult press conference. Moreover, Bowles conveyed the caring of the community for the victims, the shock and grief being shared. It was the fi rst in-dication of how the entire com-munity would come together to support one another.

That fi rst Wednesday after-noon, pastors and counselors rushed to the scene to help con-sole, to offer assistance in gath-ering information. Pastor Don Shoemaker of Grace Commu-nity Church did his duty as the chaplain of the Seal Beach Po-lice Department, and was joined by fellow clergy from all of Seal Beach’s other churches in an ef-fort to ease the pain, or at least help express the sorrow. Support certainly wasn’t limit-ed to clergy. Staff members from the churches, the city govern-ment, the chamber and just plain friends stepped up to help. Many people forget that details of life

don’t go away when tragedies strike, and these folks quietly helped make sure that children were cared for, food was pre-pared, communication contin-ued. Stress for supporters hasn’t abated in the last week. The vic-tims’ families continue to need help, and the community now enters the grieving and question-ing period of memorials and try-ing to move on. While the television cameras and newspaper photographers soon will stop coming to Seal Beach, the pain and sorrow will remain, and the need for com-fort and assistance will continue.

Just like a town trying to recover from a tornado or other natural disaster, it will take time for Seal Beach to return to a semblance of normal life. Our hearts go out to the vic-tims of this senseless tragedy and their families. In truth, all of Seal Beach is a victim here. Our gratitude goes out to those many professionals and friends who have stepped up to help, and who will continue to provide that support in the days and weeks to come. You have shown the tim-bre of the community. That timbre is strong, and will grow stronger through this sad experience. Thank you.

Page 2A October 20, 2011

Seal Beach SurvivesTragedy With Strength

Residents Left To Question Why

October 20, 2011 Page 3A

Help Tend ShoreTo The Editor, Greetings Belmont Shore neighbors! I was working in my front yard picking a few weeds about a month ago. It was a beauti-ful sunny Belmont Shore day. Someone walking by looked over at me and said, “It doesn’t get much better than this.” They were right — it doesn’t. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel incredibly fortunate that my wife and I are living here raising our family in this terrifi c com-munity. I’m sure many of you feel the same. Belmont Shore truly is a unique garden in the landscape of Southern California. And like any garden, it needs to be nur-tured and tended to fl ourish. And in the case of our neighborhood, it’s a community’s garden — and it’s up to us who live here to tend it. There’s a quote from former U.S. Vice President Hubert Hum-phrey, who said, “The imperson-al hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor.” Today, as Long Beach faces some of its most serious fi scal challenges in city’s history, these words ring even truer than they did when fi rst spoken some 50 years ago. On Sept. 29, I was given the chance to become better ac-quainted with others elected re-cently to serve on the Belmont Shore Residents Association (BSRA). We spent an evening together planning the group’s agenda for the upcoming year. These neighbors — your neigh-bors — are talented and dedicat-ed people who care greatly about our community and are ready to get to work. But they need your help too. If you haven’t done so, please join the Belmont Shore Resi-

dents Association. Information is available on the website at www.shoreresidents.org. If you are al-ready a member, consider bring-ing someone from your block to our next meeting; become a “friend” on BSRA’s new Face-book page or otherwise connect with the group in a new way. In the weeks and months ahead, the BSRA will be taking on some new initiatives in neighborhood advocacy, communications and membership, community service and social/fun outreach efforts as we attempt to “friend-raise.” The goals developed in these four topic areas can help build on our association’s strong existing foundation. But to be effective, will require the helping hand of our neighbors.

Please help tend this garden we call Belmont Shore.

Kurt BorstingBSRA President

Spina Bifi daTo The Editor, October is Spina Bifi da Aware-ness Month. Spina Bifi da is the most common permanently dis-abling birth defect, affecting about one out of every 1,000 newborns in the United States. What is Spina Bifi da? It’s a birth defect that results in the spinal cord protruding from a baby’s back. The back can be surgically closed before or after birth, but damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis, hy-drocephalus (fl uid on the brain), bowel and bladder issues, and

other challenges. What causes it, and how can it be prevented? No one knows what causes Spina Bifi da, but women can reduce their risk by up to 70% by taking 400 mcg of folic acid daily for three months prior to conception. Every wom-an of childbearing age should take a daily multivitamin. What are people with Spina Bifi da like? There is a wide range of outcomes. Some are barely affected, some are severe-ly disabled, and most fall some-where in between. Some use wheelchairs; others use braces, crutches, or walkers; and some walk independently. Most have normal intelligence. Spina Bi-fi da is only one part of them and does not defi ne them. They can

become teachers, doctors, musi-cians, athletes, or anything they want to be. What do you do when you see someone with a disability? Instead of looking away, make eye contact and smile. Instead of shushing children who ask ques-tions about a wheelchair or other differences, encourage children to ask the person about it, or an-swer with: “Some people’s legs don’t work the same as yours, so they need help to get around.” Emphasize people with disabili-ties are more like everyone else than they are different. If you would like to learn more about Spina Bifi da, visit www.spinabifi daassociation.org.

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By Jonathan Van DykeStaff Writer

There have been two arrests so far due to the Occupy Long Beach demonstration downtown, but both protestors and police have said the process has lacked

the animosity that has peppered similar movements around the country — at least for the time being. Occupy Long Beach started Saturday with some speeches and a march around downtown.

The Long Beach Police Depart-ment estimated that about 250-300 people were in attendance for the busiest part of the day. “While the mission of the Long Beach Police Department is to protect life and property, maintain order and ensure public safety, the police department also supports the right to every person to assemble and demonstrate in a lawful manner, which was the case in (Saturday’s) event,” said

Sgt. Rico Fernandez, LBPD pub-lic information officer. The demonstration began, and will continue to take place, in and near Lincoln Park, organiz-ers said. It is modeled after similar pro-tests around the country, which started in New York with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Lincoln Park closes at 10 p.m., so protestors are required by city law to vacate then and move to the sidewalk. Sunday, the demonstration continued, but this time some members of the Occupy Long Beach movement decided to try and set up tents and stay in Lin-coln Park after the 10 p.m. clos-ing time. According to LBPD officials, about 10 tents were set up. Dem-onstrators were warned that they would be arrested for breaking the law starting at about 9:45 p.m. and intermittently for the next hour, Fernandez said. Eventually, police arrested Ja-son James, 30, of Long Beach and a minor (whose name can-not be released) for camping in a public park past prohibited hours. Louis Rodriguez, 67, of Lakewood and Jonathan Allen, 27, of Seal Beach were issued ci-tations for the same offense, but released at the scene. There were no more arrests as of publication time. “I would say the first night went well in terms of police aggression or disrespect,” said Molly Haupt, freelance writer and volunteer for Occupy Long Beach’s media section. “They were certainly communicative with our police liaison. The big-gest part of our frustration was that about every hour (once they

left the park at night and moved to the sidewalk) they’d tell us something we could or couldn’t do.” She said this included not al-lowing people to lie down or sit on the sidewalk and telling dem-onstrators they couldn’t sleep with blankets on. “From what I’ve heard about the arrest, everyone was treated fairly,” she said. Both sides said that numbers of demonstrators has fluctuated from between 300 and 50-70 people depending on the day and time of day. “I’m really proud that Long Beach can be part of something so powerful that is taking place all over the country,” Haupt said. She said the movement would continue to appeal to the City Council to help them change the laws or receive permission to fully occupy Lincoln Park after hours. Fernandez said the attitude of demonstrators had changed a little bit since Saturday, but overall everyone had been fairly cooperative with police officers. So far, the department has used floodlights at night to monitor the group. As far as the varying rules of-ficers have required protestors to comply with, Fernandez said they were just following the laws Haupt said the movement plans on occupying the area for as long as necessary and in solidarity with bigger movements in places like New York and Los Angeles. “We don’t know where it will go from here,” she said. “But the fact that there has been no violence or disrespect is a good sign.”

Two Arrests Made In Occupy Long Beach Demonstration



Domestic violence should not and cannot be ignored — it’s a mantra that more and more peo-ple seem to be affirming to, said TuLynn Smylie. WomenShelter of Long Beach, which Smylie is the executive di-rector of, is an organizer of this week’s Candlelight Walk Against Domestic Violence — now in its fifth year. “Over the years, I think we re-ally have touched a nerve in the community,” she said. When the event first started five years ago, she said, there were about 60 to 80 people participat-ing in the walk downtown — that number has grown in leaps and bounds leading to this year. “I think the community is much, much more aware and in-terested in showing support for survivors and they are recogniz-ing the huge impacts of domes-tic violence in our community,” Smylie said. “I’m getting word that it is going to be a pretty big event this year, maybe about 500 to 600 people.” People will meet at the park near The Promenade and First Street at 6 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 21. The walk will take place from First Street, to Pine Av-enue, to Fourth Street and back along Third Street. “We’re going to read the names of all the victims killed in Los Angeles County (during the last year) — and that’s close to 50,

or almost one a week,” Smylie said. “That’s pretty tragic. And there are hundreds of people be-hind that who have been injured but don’t necessarily make the paper. “For each name we will light a candle for them and then we will quietly march through downtown and memorialize at least the memories of those we’ve lost.” Assemblywoman Bonnie Lo-wenthal and City Prosecutor Doug Haubert are expected to speak on the issue, and there will be other major officials present as well. Domestic violence is a pattern of assaultive behaviors — which could include something verbal, physical, sexual or financial — that one person commits on an-other in order to gain and keep control of that person, Smylie said. “It is a pattern of behavior in an intimate relationship between two people,” she added. “The whole issue is that it is not about sex and love, but rather power and control.” Smylie said the problem she runs into a lot from people is that they don’t think it is their place to intervene into a personal re-lationship — even though it can often spill into the lives of oth-ers. “I think the reason it tends to thrive is people don’t want to get involved,” she said. “Really and truly, the one rea-son it flourishes in our commu-

nity is because in the past we’ve all allowed it to be a private mat-ter between two people. As a so-ciety we can’t look past it. This is not about individuals, and I

think we’re realizing that as a so-ciety.” For additional information, contact WomenShelter directly at 437-7233.

WOMENSHELTER RAISES AWARENESS

Candlelight Vigil Sheds Light On Domestic Violence“We can’t just look past it. This is not about individuals,

and I think we’re real-izing that as a society.”

– TuLynn Smylie

SleepCenter“The Mattress Specialists”

SleepCenter“The Mattress Specialists”


By Harry SaltzgaverExecutive Editor

A two-year effort to craft a new billboard policy for Long Beach could be nearing completion to-night (Thursday) in a hearing be-fore the Planning Commission. A proposed ordinance creating a cap on the number of billboards in the city and a tradeout proce-dure for new or electronic bill-boards will be before the Plan-ning Commission. Development Services Director Amy Bodek said the ordinance is the result of a number of public meetings as well as studies and comments from the billboard industry. This ordinance addresses off-

site advertising; a separate or-dinance regulates on-premise signs advertising specific busi-nesses. While the City Council moratorium on new billboards in December 2009 came at least partially because of debate about proposed electronic billboards on Redevelopment Agency land. Proponents of that plan claim that constitutes on-premise ad-vertising. Bodek declined to of-fer an opinion on that debate. “This is specifically about the 358 billboards in the city at the last count,” Bodek said. “Through a cap and trade sort of agreement, this would allow electronic billboards at appropri-

ate sites. At the same time, there could be a reduction in the num-ber of billboards in residential areas, which is what we’re aim-ing for.” Long Beach’s existing ordi-nance was adopted in the 1970s. It did not address removal of nonconforming billboards in ar-eas where the signs would not be allowed under today’s laws. Under the new ordinance, bill-board companies would be re-quired to remove a ratio of old billboards to get a permit for a new billboard — in an eight-to-one ratio for a new electronic billboard and a six-to-one ratio for non-electronic.

It also would require the re-moval of four times the billboard space for conversion of an ex-isting billboard to an electronic billboard. The proposed ordinance also adds an entire section on light pollution prevention from elec-tronic billboards or message signs — one of the primary con-cerns of opponents in previous hearings. That section also addresses lighting of non-electronic signs, dealing with both the brightness and the direction of lights. In regards to electronic signs, there are limitations including prohibition of full motion vid-

eos, flashing messages and limi-tations on brightness. The dura-tion of each message must be at least 20 seconds. The restrictions are designed to reduce driver dis-traction. The City Council’s morato-rium on new billboards expires in December. Any action by the Planning Commission must be ratified by the City Council be-cause regulation of billboards is part of the city zoning code. The Planning Commission meeting starts at 5 p.m. tonight in council chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.

Billboard Policy Goes Before Planning Commission

Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS) in Long Beach is offering free counseling to any-one who feels they need it fol-lowing the recent shootings in Seal Beach. A spokesman for the center says normal reactions may in-clude uncontrollable crying, retelling the story, feelings of

shock dismay or a general in-ability to function. Research shows that a person does not have to be near the inci-dent to have this kind of reaction. Even residents without a direct relation to the incident may ex-perience problems. Free assistance is available by calling 427-7916.

Jewish Family Service Offers Counseling


By Stephanie MinasianStaff Writer

In order to encourage more students to attend college, it’s all about closing the achievement gap by raising the expectation levels of students, according to Damon Dunn. A group of 28 Long Beach high school seniors from the male and female academies at the six high school campuses across the city met Monday to discuss the op-portunities that await them at the new Future Business Leaders Academy (FBLA), led by Dunn and Long Beach Unified School District. The classes will be taught at Long Beach City Col-lege. “I’m really excited to be part of this,” said Quentin Brown, who is the Male Academy Coor-dinator for LBUSD. “I am hop-ing this leads to a wonderful ex-perience.” The program is molded around LBUSD’s academic and career success initiative, which outlines long-term goals for kindergar-ten through 12th grade students. FBLA aims to touch on the ca-reer side of the model, by prepar-

ing high school seniors for jobs in business and higher educa-tion. FBLA will host three Saturday sessions for the students at the Long Beach Small Business De-velopment Center, located on the LBCC campus. The classes are three hours long, and will teach students how to turn their inter-ests into a successful business; financial business planning; and learn how different businesses got started. “All of the skills you’ll learn here are transferrable to your life,” Long Beach Education Foundation executive director Judy Seal said to the group of stu-dents and parents Monday. “You should learn now, and apply it everywhere you go in life.” Dunn, a former NFL player, Stanford graduate and Republi-can candidate in last year’s race for California State Secretary, has funded FBLA for the next two years. He says he wanted to find a way to bring students with rough or troubled backgrounds an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of business, and moti-vate them to attend college after

graduating from high school. “It started with my story and how I grew up,” Dunn said. “My mom had me at 16 years old, and I lost three friends to murder by the time I was 16. I lived in a trailer with my uncles, who had both been in prison. My mom left me with my grandparents, and I had every reason to be a statistic, but through prayer, hard work, studying and mentors that fed into me, I was able to be a good student and it was a pivot point for me… This is why I’m doing this.” The FBLA curriculum also consists of learning how to in-vest money. Students will rep-resent each of their schools, and come up with an investment plan for $100, Dunn said. It could be a cookie or book drive, or what-ever they come up with, but the ending amount will be donated to the charity of the school’s choice. “I want them to risk it, and have

the opportunity to make profits. If they lose the money earnestly, I don’t care,” he said. “As long as they learned something about investing their own money.” After completing the program, each of the students will receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend the college of their choice. As part of the seamless education effort between LBUSD, LBCC and California State University,

Long Beach, College Promise, the seniors could receive their first semester at LBCC for free, and pay for the second semester from Dunn’s scholarship. “This means you could have your entire first year at LBCC paid for,” Dunn told the stu-dents. For more information about FBLA, visit www.futurebusi-nessleadersacademy.com.

More than 300 vendors and exhibitors will be on hand for the Long Beach Indoor Garden-ing Expo from noon to 5 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 23, at the Long Beach Convention Center. Exhibits include water-wise gardening, natural pest control, organics and environmentally friendly gardening. The event is planned to ap-peal to beginners as well as ex-perienced gardeners in the many fields of gardening, from produce to flowers.

Tickets are $10 and children younger than 12 are admitted for free. Visit www.indoorgar-deningexpo.com. The expo is sponsored by Maximum Yield, a global indoor gardening magazine. The convention center is at 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

Future Business Leaders Academy Aims Long-Term

Convention Center Hosts Gardening Expo


CHINESE CUISINE


By Ashleigh OldlandEditor

From a bird’s-eye perspective, photographer Daniel Beltrá said watching the cleanup effort dur-ing the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was akin to watching people try to clean an Olympic-size pool with cotton swabs. Beltrá’s images from the Gulf — often appearing otherworldly because of the sheen and colors of the oil on the ocean’s surface — are on display through Jan. 15 at the Aquarium of the Pacific, debuting the aquarium’s first art photography exhibit, “SPILL: Images From The Gulf.” Last week, Beltrá — known in-ternationally for his environmen-tal photographs taken on seven continents — visited the aquari-um and spoke about his career as a photographer, highlighting his Greenpeace assignment off the coast of Louisiana. He special-izes in aerial photography. “I’ve been working on con-servation and documenting our world,” said Beltrá, who was born in Madrid and has been photographing nature for more than two decades. “I want to shock you and make you see what is happening.” Aquarium of the Pacific Presi-dent and CEO Jerry Schubel said the photographs of the oil spill, most of which are shot from the air, give viewers a sense of scale in addition to a sense of beauty and devastation. “This aquarium believes

strongly in combining art and science as a powerful way to promote change,” Schubel said. “There is art and science behind these photographs.” Larry McKinney, executive di-rector of the Harte Research In-stitute for Gulf of Mexico Stud-ies at Texas A&M University, accompanied Beltrá last week at the aquarium. The two men worked togeth-er to educate aquarium guests about the more than 200 million gallons of crude oil spilt in the Gulf. “Scientists have trouble com-municating, but artists can really help with that,” McKinney said. “You may forget what I said to-night, but you won’t forget what you see.” Beltrá shared similar senti-ments and said part of what he hopes to accomplish with his photographs is to translate sci-ence into images that help tell a story. “Sometimes our world looks like science fiction from the air, but flying gives you a good per-spective of the cleanup,” he said. “We live in a wonderful planet and there are seven billion of us and we need to take care of our planet.” In addition to images of boats

and helicopters floating and fly-ing above the oil spill as well as fires and blackened beaches, Bel-trá does have some photographs taken on land. One of his favor-ite grounded photographs is an image of several oiled pelicans huddled together on a bed of straw — others include up close shots of oil on the sand. “SPILL: Images From The Gulf” is on display along the walls of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s lobby. The exhibit premiered in July 2010 in As-pen, Colo., and will continue to travel nationally and internation-ally through 2012. Images from “SPILL” have been featured in The New Yorker, TIME Maga-zine’s Year In Review and Out-door Photography, among other publications. The aquarium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.aquariumofpacific.org.

IMAGES OF THE GULF

Disaster Photos Combine Art, Science

REAL ART. Daniel Beltrá shows his aerial photos of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. His work will be on display at the Aquari-um of the Pacific until Jan. 15. —Gazette photo by Ashleigh Oldland



The potential El Dorado Dog Park will happen, supporters say, but where it will be still is very much up in the air. Last week, Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell and Fifth District Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske (who chronicled how she found the site) sent out public releases optimistically pointing to a plot of land near the El Dorado Nature Center as the future site of the dog park. It cur-rently is being used as a mainte-nance yard and is about 3 acres in size. However, Department of Parks,

Recreation and Marine Director George Chapjian said there still were some decisions to be made and problems to be discussed re-garding the dog park’s possible future locations. “What I’d like to do is sched-ule a meeting with the stakehold-ers before we go to the commis-sion,” he said. Potential destinations for a dog park have been narrowed down though — likely spots include a parcel near the El Dorado ar-chery area, a piece of land on the northeast side of Spring Street and the aforementioned mainte-nance yard, Chapjian said. Still, it appears most stakehold-

ers are pleased with the main-tenance parcel, and Chapjian said he believes that equipment can be moved to another nearby maintenance yard if that spot is chosen. “As long as they give us about 4 acres I’m all onboard,” said Mary Matthiensen, president of Friends of El Dorado Dog Park. “We already have people coming forward who want to help with the grass (and other landscaping issues).” The parcel also is near the Ani-mal Care Services Shelter, which may present an opportunity for partnerships and education at the dog park, officials said.

The Friends of El Dorado Park organizers said they merely need the okay from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine to get started — it is understood that the Friends organization will be putting the money up for im-provements to any land. Matthiensen said the group’s eventual goal would be to raise about $100,000 for improve-ments to begin a process to make a “Disneyland of dog parks.” She said they wanted an area as big as 4 acres because they expect a lot of dogs to use the park and it will make it easier to divide into sections for smaller and bigger dogs.

Chapjian said he hopes to have a stakeholders meeting within the next week or so, but he is now likely targeting the com-mission’s December meeting to present the options. One hurdle the maintenance yard land may face is pressure from the local Audubon Society, which officials said is concerned about impacts on wildlife there. O’Donnell has scheduled a stakeholders meeting of his own for 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at the proposed maintenance site. For more information about the potential dog park, visit www.ElDoradoDogParkFriends.org.

Juan Williams, author and po-litical analyst for Fox News, will speak on how the media limits political debate and the role of race in the national dialogue at

7:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, at the Carpenter Center, 6200 Atherton St. Williams, who was dismissed from National Public Radio in

2010 after commenting that Mus-lims in traditional dress boarding planes made him nervous, is the author of “Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate.” During his time at NPR, he was a senior cor-respondent and host of “Talk of the Nation.” Prior to joining NPR, he worked for the Washington Post as a writer and columnist for more than 20 years. He is the author of a number of books, including “Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary.” Following the speech, there will be a panel discussion and book signing. His speech is part of the CSULB Distinguished Speakers Series. Tickets start at $45. Students, faculty and staff tickets are $20. Preferred seating is $60 and a $100 sponsor ticket includes a reception and dinner with Williams. Go to www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/speakers.

Fox News’ Juan Williams Talks Media At Carpenter

Yard Near Animal Care Possible El Dorado Dog Park Site



The Federal Aviation Adminis-tration is hosting a second round of public information sessions about a proposal to change the air traffic control classification of Long Beach Airport. The proposals are being con-sidered to potentially increase the safety of the airspace in Long Beach, and would change rules and regulations for pilots coming into and out of the airspace. “Operations at and around LGB (Long Beach Airport) are safe now, but we’re always eval-uating procedures all over the country to see if there’s any way to increase the safety margin,” FAA spokesman Ian Gregor wrote in an email. Currently, LGB is within Class D airspace, and is one of the only airports of its size (serving at least one million passengers per year) that is not in Class B or C airspace. Gregor said the FAA began re-viewing Long Beach’s airspace in 2003 after an increase in air-line pilot reports of traffic con-flict warnings. Last year, initial proposals to change the air traf-fic control classification of Long Beach Airport were reviewed, and public meetings were hosted so that the proposal could be vet-ted and revised. “The goal of the proposed redesign is to better protect all aircraft arriving at and departing from LGB…” he said. “The pro-posal would not bar general avia-tion aircraft from any airspace, nor would it require GA (general aviation) pilots to fly anywhere they don’t currently fly. It would simply require some pilots to communicate with controllers in airspace where that requirement

doesn’t currently exist.” Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez has said the classification change is some-thing that has been bantered back and forth for some time. He emphasizes that the FAA is not considering the change because of a safety issue at LGB, but is simply looking into the classifi-cation change to determine if it would improve the safety condi-tions of the airspace. The classification change would not impact the airport or the airport’s noise ordinance nor would it impact air routes used by jets, turboprops or private pi-lots. A change to Class C would mean the airspace would increase in diameter and pilots, commer-cial and general, would need to communicate more with air traf-fic control operators based at air traffic controller centers near

San Diego. Air traffic controllers track planes, advise pilots about air traffic and provide safety alerts. During this second round of information sessions, Gregor said there are several revisions to the initial proposal — based on the first round of community meetings as well as brainstorm-ing sessions with groups such as the Southern California Airspace Users Working Group. Among the changes to the initial proposal, Gregor said the size of the Class C airspace around Long Beach Airport would be reduced and the height of the airspace ceiling would be raised from what was originally proposed. According to a release from the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association (AOPA), the initial designs for the Class C airspace in Long Beach narrowed options

for pilots navigating to stay clear of the area, thus reducing safety. Tom Kramer, AOPA manager of air traffic services, wrote in a release that the new design is smaller and mitigates some of the impacts from the original design. However, he added the FAA “still has not committed to a sweeping, full-scale review of the entire Southern Califor-nia area as requested by AOPA.” Kramer said AOPA is reviewing the Class C airspace proposal and seeks input from its members. Gregor said the FAA would

determine after these meetings whether to proceed with the re-vised proposal or make addition-al changes to it. If the proposal moves forward, there will be additional opportunities for the public to comment before the Class C airspace is officially es-tablished. The FAA is seeking public comment during the two infor-mal airspace meetings set to take place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 at the Holiday Inn Long Beach Airport, 2640 N. Lakewood Blvd.

FAA Hosts Public Meetings To Discuss Airspace Changes




The race to replace outgoing Fourth District Councilman Pat-rick O’Donnell gained another entry last week with Herlinda Chico fi ling papers to be a can-didate. Chico offi cially fi led her in-tent to run on Oct. 13. She said she has lived in Long Beach for about 12 years, and she and her fi ancé moved into their new home in the Fourth District about a year ago. “I’ve always really felt that it is important to be a part of your community,” she said. “I’ve worked for and with local gov-ernment for much of my career and I have always found it im-portant to be active in the com-munity.” Chico, who is a registered Democrat but noted that she was

not bound to any specifi c party guidelines, is the third candidate declared for the Fourth District. John Watkins and Daryl Super-naw have previously announced — O’Donnell has been termed out and will run for the state As-sembly. Her previous experience in Long Beach includes working as a legislative assistant to former Seventh District Councilwoman Tonya Uranga. “I want people to know that I do have a lot of experience to of-fer,” she said. “Being on the City Council is tough, but I’ve been there behind the scenes. “I can cut that (getting accli-mated to the position) time out. I’ve established a lot of relation-ships (in city government).” Chico said she has worked to support a number of different causes locally, including working

through neighborhood meetings, helping with cleanups, trying to educate the public on humane issues (spaying and neutering, rescuing stray animals) and the fi ght for equal rights concerning the LBQT community. She also has been an outspo-ken advocate for the workers rights dispute facing downtown hotels. “When I feel there is being an injustice or someone is wronged, I will stand up for them,” she said. Currently she works for the Central City East Association in Los Angeles — which is a busi-ness improvement district. She also is the executive vice presi-dent of the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club. Through all these connections and experiences, Chico said she felt it was time to support herself

as a candidate rather than work-ing for someone else this elec-tion cycle. “I think Councilman Patrick O’Donnell has done a great job, not only representing our work-ing families, but he’s really done a fantastic job making himself accessible to constituents,” she said, noting those were two areas she hoped to excel at as well. She said that if she were elect-ed, she would look at working

with non-general fund money to help further the cause of youth education and after-school pro-gramming, along with park ex-pansion — while also protecting the interests on Fourth District residents. “Anyone who puts his or her hat in the ring to be a representa-tive should be encouraged,” she said. “All of us are doing this be-cause we want to represent our community.”

A support group for HIV posi-tive individuals 29 and younger is now meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Parr build-ing at St. Mary Medical Center, 1055 Linden Ave. The group, Long Beach Real Time Positives (RT+s), is pre-sented by the C.A.R.E. program. “An HIV diagnosis can come to people at any age and from all walks of life,” Michael Burton, the program’s intake and out-reach specialist, said in a release. “But for younger folks who are just starting out and making long-term plans, HIV can impact school, career plans, or the abil-ity to establish and sustain new relationships.” For more information, call 624-4977 or visit www.carepro-gram.org.

HIV Positive GroupStarts At St. Mary

Chico Latest To Seek Fourth Council District Seat



The extra time the Belmont Plaza Pool will be closed this month will be worth the wait, of-ficials say.

“The pool holds a million gal-lons of water and several years ago we were losing 15,000 gal-lons a day,” said Sandra Gon-zalez, manager of planning and development for the Department

of Parks, Recreation and Marine. “Fast-forward to last year, and it was about 38,000.” While the department had tried stopgap measures in the past, she said, this year they decided to take some more time during the pool’s annual September mainte-nance closure to get to the root of the problem. “Places where we could see water coming out we were put-ting on Band-Aids, but we could see it getting progressively worse,” Gonzalez said. The regular maintenance shutdown began on Sept. 4 and it might continue all the way through this month, officials said, as opposed to its traditional one month. There are 92 “fill and return” lines that help re-circulate the water in the pool — and officials took the time to examine them all for leaks and cracks. What has

followed is a $300,000 project to replace all of those cast iron pipes with new pvc (polyvinyl chloride) pipes. “We are sure this will be fixing 98% of the problems we’ve been having,” Gonzalez said. The money to make the fix did not come from the general fund, officials said. It was actually ear-marked from the county back in 1996. The fix should save about $40,000 a year in extra water bill costs. Moving forward, officials said there is reason to be optimistic that bolder changes could be in order for the pool space. “Reinvesting in the Belmont Plaza Pool is long overdue,” Third District Councilman Gary DeLong said. “It has been need-ed for many years.” City management and parks officials will work together in the near future to come up with some plans for the area, he said, and presentations — or at least

a discussion — could come as soon as within 90 days. Money for any kind of proj-ect likely would come out of the Tidelands Funds. Gonzalez said she and staff have looked into possibilities like creating an outdoor pool or breaking apart the exterior of the complex and rebuilding it. DeLong said something like a retrofit for the current build-ing might be in order — the cost would need to be reasonable, perhaps in the lower millions. He noted that in the past proj-ects had been brought up that could cost as much as $40 mil-lion — and that was not likely to happen. DeLong said Fourth District Councilman Patrick O’Donnell has similar interest in the pool. Any plan would be preliminary at this point, but he said making these ideas more concrete would give the city an opportunity to re-ceive more public input.

The MedMob flash mob is coming to Belmont Shore at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at 5200 E. Second St. in front of the Chase Bank. The MedMob Movement, which invites people to medi-tate in public places, began in January in Austin, Texas, and has since formed in seven other cities including Long Beach — some at City Hall and on Ocean Boulevard. Tony Damico, one of the orga-nizers of the MedMob, said that they want people to see medita-tion as a viable, everyday prac-tice for sustaining mental and physical health. The event will include a 44-minute silent medi-tation followed by an 11-minute sound bath.

Meditation Mob WillFlash Belmont Shore

New Pipes Will Plug Belmont Pool Leaks


By Kurt A. EichsteadtEditorial Assistant

Halloween is less than two weeks away, so it’s not too early to start making plans. Some re-lated activities are already un-derway. The Gazette presents the latest information about scary (and not so scary) doings. A Halloween display to ben-efi t the homeless is on display at 434 W. 31st St. Donations of canned goods and non-perish-ables will be accepted and given to the Long Beach Rescue Mis-sion. A variety of Halloween attire is available at bargain prices at the Halloween Costume & Vin-tage Clothing sale, going on now at the AIDS Assistance Foun-dation Thrift Store, 2011 E. Fourth St. Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

and 11-3 p.m. Sunday. A Long Beach dentist is ask-ing children to pass up eating the candy they collect and donate it to our troops overseas. In exchange he’ll give them $1 per pound for candy brought to his offi ce and they’ll get a toothbrush as well. Candy can be dropped off from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at Dr. Bob Stella’s offi ce, 2700 N. Bellfl ower Blvd. The Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s recreation of the fa-mous radio show “The War of the Worlds” is scheduled for fi ve performances starting Thursday, Oct. 27. Showtime is 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 through Satur-day, Oct. 29, at the Richard Goad Theatre, 4250 Atlantic Ave. The show moves to the Petroleum Club, 3636 Linden Ave. for 7 p.m. performances Sunday, Oct. 30, and Monday, Oct. 31. Tickets

are $20 and $10 for students and children. Call 997-1494 or visit www.LBShakespeare.org. A Pumpkin Decorating contest and a costume contests for grades K-5 begins at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the Forest Lawn-Long Beach, 1500 E. San Antonio Dr. For more information, call (760) 328-3471 or visit www.forest-lawn.com. EJ Malloy’s, 3411 E. Broad-way, has its party starting at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. The $20 ticket includes a taco buffet, one beer or glass of wine, and more. Call 433-3769. The Paradise, 1800 E. Broad-way, has four days of Halloween festivities scheduled, starting with $1 shots and a DJ starting at 6 p.m. and a 1950s Haunted Malt Shoppe Party at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29. Saturday features the Blood Suckers Costume Night,

Sunday is Zombie afternoon, and Monday offers “Scary-oke” starting at 9:30 p.m. The Historical Society of Long Beach’s Cemetery Tour — “Where every plot has a story … and the Dead do Tell Tales” — begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Sunnyside and Munici-pal cemeteries, 1095 E. Willow St. Performances run continu-ously from 9 a.m. to noon and guided tours leave on the hour from 9 a.m. until noon. Admis-sion is $18, $12 for members, $5 for students and younger than 12 are free. Visit http://hslb.org. The Halloween Carnival re-turns for a second year from 11

a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, to Bixby Park, at the corner of First Street and Junipero Av-enue. Events scheduled include pumpkin contests, scary arts and grafts, an Edgar Allen Poe-try contest and costume contests. There’s a $2 entry fee for both the costume contest and the best home-decorated/home carved pumpkin contest. For more in-formation, call 983-8139. Centro C.H.A. hosts its annu-al Dia De Los Muertos art exhib-it fundraiser from 1 until 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at 727 Pine Ave. Money raised is for victims of domestic violence. Tickets are

City Celebrates Halloween With Specials, Events, Parties

(Continued on Page 16A)


$5 and include music and wine. Call 570-4722. La Traviata is hosting a mas-querade party on Oct. 29 featur-ing a free cocktail and DJ Getz. La Traviata opens at 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and they are at 301 N. Cedar Ave. Call 432-8022. The Long Beach Zombie Walk has moved downtown and starts at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Pine and Broadway. The Zom-

bie walk festival begins at 2 p.m., Zombie make-up is available and there will be live music with lo-cal bands including Potential Lu-natics. There will be an attempt to break the record for the largest choreographed “Thriller” mass dance at 7 p.m. For more infor-mation on all the activities, visit http://zombiewalklb.com. Registration is open for the Haute Dog Howl’oween Pa-rade that starts at 2:30 p.m. Sun-day, Oct. 30, at Livingston Park, 4900 E. Livingston Dr. This

year’s goal is to break the world record of costumed dogs in a pa-rade. For registration details and more information, visit www.hautedogs.org. It’s Trick or Treat on Sunday, Oct. 30, Buster’s Beach House. They’re having a costume contest with prizes including a cruise, gift cards and other prizes. Bust-er’s is at 168 N. Marina Dr. Call 598-9431. Cornerstone Church invites families to its Halloween event from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, at 1000 N. Studebaker Rd. The event is free and dinner will be available for a small fee. More than 30 businesses are scheduled to participate in Hal-loween in Downtown starting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31. The

Downtown Long Beach Associ-ates says the event, for those old-er than 21, will feature a variety of activities and discounts. Each participating location will feature a frightening clue in the window or near the entrance. Participants should find as many clues as pos-sible and write them down on a form available at the DLBA web-site (www.downtownlongbeach.org). Form should be turned in to the DLBA office by 5 p.m. Nov. 1 to be eligible for a $250 prize package. Trick or treating, face paint-ing, balloon art and live music will be part of festivities from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, at the Long Beach Town Center, at the intersection of the 605 Free-way and Carson Street. The first 500 children will get free Hal-loween bags.

(Continued from Page 15A)

Halloween

FOR LOVED ONES. A tribute alter is observed during the Dia de los Muertos Festival Sunday at the Museum of Latin American Art. —Gazette photo by William Johnson

2 Medium Pizzas $18.99+tax

2 Large Pizzas $21.99+tax

2 X-Large Pizzas $24.99+tax



As the undead amble the streets of downtown Long Beach this month, they’ll be on the prowl for human brains — and maybe a chance to dance and share a splash of brews and a taste of area restaurant fare among friends. The free Long Beach Zombie Walk Street and Music Fest is slated for Saturday, Oct. 29, and includes makeup artists, food, beer, vendors and live music as well as an organized “Thriller”-style Michael Jackson dance and ticketed Dead Man’s After Party with music from Johnny Va-tos’ Tribute to Halloween (with members of Oingo Boingo). Logan Crow, executive director of Long Beach Cinematheque, is organizing the event, which he anticipates to be a world record setter. “Let’s smash this world re-cord,” Crow said. “Last year we had just shy of 3,000 zombies, and at the time we had broken the west coast record. This year we are hoping this event is even bigger.” In addition to the general pub-lic, Crow said he has invited Long Beach Comic Con attendees and members of Thrill the World Mi-chael Jackson Club to participate in Zombie Walk, which is cel-ebrating its third year in Long Beach. Previously, the event took place on Fourth Street’s Retro Row, but Crow said the event outgrew that space. This time around, “Zombie Central” opens at 2 p.m. and will be located on The Promenade between Third Street and Ocean Boulevard — that includes make-up preparation, vendor booths, muralists, zombie beauty compe-titions and music with headliner Wild Pack Of Canaries. Crow said the Zombie Walk would begin between 7 and 8 p.m. and move from The Prome-nade to The Birdcage near Shore-line Village and back again. The Dead Man’s After Party takes place from 9 to 11:30 p.m. at the Press Telegram building (tickets are $15). Makeup artist Brian Stock and his company, Stock Makeup Ef-fects, is providing special effects makeup to customers seeking a professional look. Prices vary, and Stock said wannabe zombies (who need to provide their own clothing and hair styling) can do

a simple airbrush or opt for more complex makeup or even latex props such as glass or nuts and bolts, which can be glued to the body. “And we airbrush with a wa-ter-based makeup that is sprayed on and is washed off easily with soap and water in the shower,” Stock said. “And, if they want something extra, such as a part of their face to look ripped open, we can do that.” Zombies come is all shapes, sizes and color varieties, and Stock said the makeup varies depending on the type of zom-bie — perhaps the zombie has been buried for many years, or perhaps the zombie is more fresh and just starting to putrefy. “In general, we put a lot of makeup around the eye sockets and color the lips,” said Stock, who has done makeup for hor-ror films as well as events such as Shipwreck at the Queen Mary. “Zombies tend to feed on brains, so they tend to have a lot of blood running out of their mouth from fresh meals. But a more thriller-type of zombie that has just come out of the grave is more rotted

and has less blood on them.” For a person to transform into the walking dead for one evening, Stock said costuming ranges from simple to complex. He suggests those with a limited budget shop for zombie cloth-ing at a local thrift store and use makeup and blood made from household items — such as corn syrup and red food coloring. He suggests shredding the clothing and splattering everything with fake blood. “Zombies can be your every-day ordinary citizen to zombie doctors, nurses, policemen, fast food workers or celebrities,” he said. “Anyone can be a zombie, whether the look is unique, such as a zombie Walmart worker, or if you want to be an average zombie citizen. The possibilities are endless.” Stock said he hopes zombie lovers attend the event this year and help Long Beach break the world record. He added that the event is a unique, fun way to cel-ebrate Halloween because the tradition steps away from the av-erage costume party apple bob-bing.

City’s Undead Plan Downtown Walk

READY FOR A FRIGHT. This boy looks at his finished face painting job for last year’s Zombie Walk. —Gazette file photo



Paying homage to the national Make A Difference Day, Rick Rackers will be clothing 700 students in kindergarten through fi fth grade — from Burnett El-ementary School — with new school uniforms Saturday. The school, located in the Sixth City Council District, currently has 96% of its students in the free or reduced lunch program, and 29% of families in that zip code are below the poverty line. Those high statistics need to be addressed, according to Melissa Murchison, chairman of Rick Rackers, an auxiliary of the As-sistance League of Long Beach. “Its really nice to see these kids get the uniforms,” Murchi-son said. “A lot of them have

never had clothes with the tags on them, so it’s really nice to see.” The group of volunteers work throughout the year to clothe area students, as part of Opera-tion School Bell, which gives each child a backpack fi lled with socks, underwear, two shirts, two bottoms, a jacket and sweat-shirt, school supplies and books donated by Molina Healthcare Foundation, according to An-nette Kashiwabara, Director of Development for the Assistance League. “We have measurement kits and forms that the parents fi ll out, so each kid has the right siz-es,” she said. “On Saturday, the children and their families come out to receive the backpacks and clothing. It’s a really nice day.”

The clothes are donated and packed by corporate sponsors, such as Pop Chips, Minuteman Press and United Parcel Service (UPS) and volunteers. In June, the group clothes all of the kindergarteners in the Head Start Program before they begin school in September. This year, more than 1,500 kindergartners were given two new school uni-forms, socks and underwear be-fore the start of the year. When the Rick Rackers are not clothing Long Beach’s students, they are working in other philan-thropic fi elds, including award-ing scholarships to area nursing students. “We also do nursing scholar-ships. We give $4,000 for stu-dents to study at Long Beach City College,” Murchison said. “This past year, we gave four $1,000 scholarships, which cov-ers books and tuition, to nursing students.” The Assistance League of Long Beach is the largest branch

of the country’s 120 leagues, and works with four auxiliaries, in-cluding the Rick Rackers, to of-fer services to Long Beach Uni-fi ed School District’s students. “Our goal is to clothe 7,500 children through Operation School Bell,” according to Murchison. “We want to make a difference for them.” The auxiliary’s gala, the Rick

Racker Ball, is set for Saturday, Nov. 19. Tickets are on sale for $150 for dinner, drinks, live mu-sic and a photo booth. Sponsor-ships are still available to the evening. The ball is one of the organi-zation’s major fundraisers, with proceeds going toward programs in the league. “I think it will be a lot of fun,” Murchison said. “This is a vol-unteer organization. We only have two full-time employees and eight part-time workers. The rest is all run by volunteers.” For more about Make A Dif-ference Day, or the Assistance League of Long Beach, call 627-5650, or visit www.allb.org.

Rick Rackers Donate New Uniforms

NEW DIGS. Rick Rackers’ corporate sponsors pose alongside Rick Rackers volunteers and Assistance League of Long Beach offi cials while packing supplies, including new uniforms for stu-dents at Burnett Elementary School, as part of the national Make A Difference Day Saturday. —Photo courtesy Assistance League



With about 8,000 prisoners being released into Los Angles County during the next two years, organizers of the Long Beach Community Peace & Jus-tice Summit said their event was more important than ever. Presented by Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews, A New Way of Life Reentry Proj-ect and All of Us or None, the one-day seminar will focus on how to deal with the many who have been released from prison for low-level crimes, but who are struggling to acclimate back into society. “We got this together with the intention of talking about our ex-periences across the state,” said Susan Burton, founding director of A New Way of Life. “We saw

that there were rampant barriers, and what we feel is discrimina-tion happening with people who have criminal histories.” Burton said the focus of the summit would be on youth, em-ployment, welfare, housing and jobs as it applies to those coming out of prison. “All of these policies and prac-tices that excluded or made it very diffi cult to reenter the com-munity and have some sort of quality of life,” she said. Specifi cally, she said, in rela-tion to jobs her organization has worked to eliminate the box on applications that requires those previously convicted to check it. Part of the seminar will be dedicated to showing the stories of people who have tried to come back into society and live a nor-mal life.

“We want to demonstrate in real time, with real people, what is happening in Los Angeles County and Long Beach with folks who have experienced con-victions,” Burton said. There will be talks specifi cally regarding drug convictions — es-pecially concerning people being barred from welfare for having a drug conviction, an oddity since worse crimes do not ban people from receiving those benefi ts, Burton said. Organizers said they want to make this personal, and make it a plea to local and state offi cials who have the power to make a change. “The hope is that some fair-minded legislative person will pick that up and carry a bill,” Burton said. Since Oct. 1, some prisoners

have been released early into so-ciety (non-violent, non-sexual), but they have not been given any assistance, Burton said. “Los Angeles County is really ill-equipped to do this in a sensi-ble way,” she said. “We’re going to be doing some presentations on AB 109 (the bill that releases

low-level convictions over two years) and what the current peo-ple being released look like.” The free summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Long Beach Convention Center’s Sea-side Ballroom.Visit www.ANew-WayOfLife.org.

Although Allegiant Air doesn’t make its fi nal departure from Long Beach until next month, its three open fl ight slots already have been fi lled. Long Beach Airport offi -cials announced this week that the three open fl ight slots were awarded to JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and US Airways. All three airlines currently serve Long Beach (Alaska Airlines also fl ies from LGB). “We said we’d immediately fi ll the slots, and we did,” Mario Ro-driguez, airport director, said in a release. “Long Beach Airport has much more demand for slots than what we can provide.” Rodriguez said in an interview earlier this month that the market in Long Beach is strong and ap-pealing to many airlines. Passen-ger seat totals from Long Beach Airport have increased by 4% since last year, despite declining trends at other airports. JetBlue, Delta and US Air-ways each submitted requests for more than twice as many slots than were available at LGB,

which has 41 fl ight slots avail-able. Although new fl ight routes provided by the three air carriers have not been announced, the slots will be available for service starting Nov. 29, after Las Vegas-based Allegiant ceases service at the airport. Rodriguez said the silver lining on Allegiant leaving Long Beach is that the loss will not mean a

loss in destinations offered by Long Beach airport because Al-legiant’s routes to Las Vegas will be available through JetBlue.

—Ashleigh Oldland

Summit Discusses Released Prisoners

Long Beach Airport Fills Future Slot Vacancies


By Dr. Greg Perrault, DVM Many of you are aware that October is Breast Cancer Aware-ness Month for people and may have personally been touched by the disease. However, did you realize that cats and dogs also get breast can-cer? We refer to it as mammary cancer in veterinary medicine. Everyone loves petting their dog or cat. It relaxes the animal and also the person. Petting can also be a lifesaver for your pet. Mammary tumors are the second most common group of cancers in dogs, comprising 52% of all

tumors. Just as in humans, find-ing these lumps early is very im-portant. Of the mammary gland tumors diagnosed in female dogs, 41% to 53% are diagnosed as malig-nant. Mammary gland tumors are less common in the cat, but if they do develop, they are more likely to be malignant. Cats and dogs have five pairs of mammary glands extending from their axilla or armpit to the groin area. In the dog, the last two pairs are more likely to form tumors. Clinically, mammary tu-mors often appear as tissue nod-

ules or enlargements within the mammary glands. The best way to feel for lumps is to pick a time when your pet is relaxed. Very few dogs will ob-ject to a nice belly rub. Start by running your hands along each side of the mammary chains down the body, head to tail. Gen-tly knead the deeper tissue with your thumb and fingertips look-ing for blips as if you are search-ing for a BB or small pea. Most of the tumors will develop close to the nipples, but make sure to check the deeper tissue espe-cially in the last two glands since they are usually larger and have more mammary tissue. Also, check for any discharge from the nipples. Although not as common, male dogs have been known to get mammary tumors, so don’t skip the lump search just because your dog is a boy. What causes mammary tumors

in pets? The development of mammary gland neoplasms ap-pears to be hormone-dependent because the risk of developing a mammary tumor increases as the number of estrous (heat) cycles increases. Diet also has been implicated with mammary tumors. Mam-mary cancer is more common in obese dogs and dogs fed home-made meals consisting of higher proportions of beef and pork and lower proportions of chicken. Administration of certain hor-mones, such as progesterone and mixed estrogen-progesterone drugs will increase the cancer risk also. How can you help prevent these tumors? The number one

way to prevent mammary tu-mors in the cat and dog is early spaying. The risk of developing mammary gland tumors is be-tween 0.05% to 0.5% if the dog is spayed prior to the first estrous cycle, which occurs at 6 months old. Compare that to 26% if she is spayed after the second estrous cycle. It can’t be stressed enough that spaying your dog before 6 months of age nearly eliminates mammary cancer risk in your dog! Cats spayed before 6 months of age have a seven times re-duced risk of developing mam-mary cancer and spaying at any age reduces the risk of mammary

Breast Cancer Month Affects Pets Too

(Continued on Page 21A)


tumors by 40% to 60% in cats. Other factors that may reduce the incidence of mammary tumors include feeding a well-balanced diet and avoiding obesity. Mammary tumors in pets can be very aggressive and spread rapidly to the lymph nodes and lungs. Always bring new lumps

to the attention of your veterinar-ian. He or she may want to sam-ple the tumor with a fine needle aspiration and cytology or may recommend surgery right away. Spay your pets early and make the most out of those belly rubs so they can enjoy a long healthy cancer free life. Dr. Greg Perrault owns and oper-ates Cats & Dogs Animal Hospital in Long Beach.


With a deep love and apprecia-tion for the ocean, Long Beach resident Brianna Minniti decided it was time to do her part in keep-ing the beach a safe and clean spot for locals and visitors alike. She and her husband created Project Love the Beach as a way to bring family and friends together for a good cause. The couple married on the beach near the Belmont Pier eight years ago, and the spot holds a special place in Minniti’s heart because of it, she said. “My husband and I scuba dive, and are always aware of the ocean,” Minniti said. “We have a soft spot for it. The reason for the cleanup is unity and family, and being able to spend time to-gether, clean up the beach and spend a day together. It’s about getting to know community and friends.” The California Coastal Com-mission’s Adopt-A-Beach pro-

gram is sponsoring the cleanup’s supplies, and is donating garbage receptacles, gloves and three-hour parking for the cleanup. Minniti said she and her hus-band decided to plan a beach cleanup after taking a seminar series that discussed self-expres-sion and leadership. “In that class, we were trying to become powerful in the com-munity and really contribute to the world and society,” she said. “And, we’re in charge of coming up with a project to practice.” Those interested in attending Project Love the Beach can join Minniti on the pier between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Oct. 29, before the group will split up in both direc-

tions to clean up the beach. “I will have a clearly marked table, where people can sign in and get bags and gloves from Adopt-A-Beach,” she added. Minniti is still looking for business sponsors in the area to help out with donating food and water, she said, but if she is un-able to find nearby restaurants or businesses to help out, the group will host a potluck lunch to enjoy after the cleanup. “Long Beach is such a great community, and I’m so excited to be starting this project here,” she said. “I’ll have some information with tips people can do at home to be more water and earth con-scious. I’m very open and would love anyone who would love to share in the community.” The cleanup is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, starting on the pier. For additional infor-mation, or to sign up as a spon-sor, call Minniti at 276-3088, or email her at [email protected].

Love Inspires Couple’s Beach Cleanup“Long Beach is such a great community, and

I’m so excited to be starting this project

here.”– Brianna Minniti

READY AND WILLING TO HELP. Fletcher Rosenberg helps his dad Darren in quite the useful costume during Justin Rudd’s 30-minute cleanup. —Gazette photo by Geronimo Quitoriano


Pets

a revolution - in Cosmetics, Skin Care and Fragrance


Who would have thought that crime is all around us? If last week could speak, it would have said, “Maybe all the time.” First, someone broke into the computer lab at Rogers Middle School. Then, there was a shooting at a Seal Beach hair salon and the next day some-one pulled the fire alarm at our school. Makes us kids wonder. When are you really safe? “It’s especially creepy that it is all so close to my house”, said Rogers student Emily O’Brian. We first learned about the computer theft on Tuesday when teachers and students arrived at school to find four fewer com-puters in the computer lab. There was a double glass window bro-ken. Caution tape surrounded the area and the window broken looked like a frightful mosaic. Kids swarmed the area trying to find out what was going on. We wondered why someone would take computers from kids who want to learn. The economy must be bad. I felt that if the economy were better, this would not have happened. Then again, I also thought if I were a robber, I would steal more than four com-puters, especially because they are Apples. But the real tragedy came the next day. A man walked in a hair salon in Seal Beach and killed eight people and injured another. It was the worst mass killing in Orange County’s history. It made

me think of just going one day to have my hair done only to be shot. The salon was next to Mc-Donald’s and there was a Rog-ers Middle School fundraiser planned for that evening there. It was cancelled. No McRogers for us. “It’s crazy to think that we were so close to the shooting and it makes me realize what could happen to a innocent person,” Rogers student Madison Ste-phens said. “And to think that someone had the guts to break into our school and steal comput-ers makes me realize that could be our own houses that got bro-ken into next and there are some pretty insane people out in the world.” As if we weren’t on edge enough when on Thursday, just after school began, someone pulled the fire alarm at Rogers. Everyone left their first period classes calmly and went out to the nearby bluff. We’ve practiced this drill many times. But as I stood there looking down at my school, I thought — there are a lot of things that we can’t practice or prepare for.Zoe Mena is a seventh grader at Rogers Middle School.

Willard Elementary School students recently got free den-tal screenings courtesy of Long Beach BLAST and Molina Med-ical. The screenings took place dur-ing back to school night. The

screenings were provided by area dentists who work with the Children’s Dental Health Clinic, which was formed in 1932 to help underserved children.Along with the dental check-ups, health information was made available

to families and prizes were raf-fled off including school supplies and toys. Long Beach BLAST is a nonprofit that helps at-risk youngsters by providing men-tors, training and placement to college students.

Willard Elementary Smiles Big After Check-Ups

Keeping Safe In School: ReflectingOn Seal Beach Salon Shooting

“It’s crazy to think that we were so close

to the shooting...”– Madison Stephens


Serious fans have long realized that live theater is a collaborative art form. All the parts must fit together or the dang thing won’t fly. The world’s best written plays will flop if they aren’t directed properly; but even top-notch di-rection will fail without a wor-thy cast that understands the playwright’s intentions. Then to guarantee success, the com-bined script/director/cast must be given a first-rate production that includes set design, lighting, sound, costumes, et al — plus music and choreography when called for. Enter “The Robber Bride-groom,” which is outstanding across the board! Drop what you’re doing right now and call International City Theatre for reservations. I’m not kidding. This rowdy, bawdy, homespun, bluegrass yarn only runs through Nov. 6, and you’ll hate yourself if you miss it. Based on a Eudora Welty nov-

el, “The Robber Bridegroom” was recreated as a musical in 1970, with lyrics by Alfred Uhry (“Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” “Pa-rade”) and music by the wonder-ful Robert Waldman. Full of symbolism, inuendo, double entendre and social sat-ire, it put the names of Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone in lights on Broadway in 1975 — and is still delightful today four de-cades after it was written. Hosannas to Todd Nielsen for his fabulous direction and cho-reography. Kudos also to Gerald Sternbach for his direction of Waldman’s “down-home” mu-sic, to Stephen Gifford for his charming old barn set, to Donna Ruzika’s light design, and to Kim DeShazo’s terrific costumes. The fun and games begin even before the musical starts as char-acters wander off stage, roam through the audience, and inter-act with people up and down the aisles. Then the lights go out, and

everyone on stage is transported to a small town in Mississippi. After a rousing barn dance, all of the characters (and I do mean “characters”) begin telling tall tales about life along the Natchez Trace, circa 1795. ICT’s energetic nine-member ensemble is so infectious that high-voltage enthusiasm sweeps through the audience like wild-fire. Heading the cast are Chad Doreck as Jamie Lockhart (a charismatic robber who pretends to be a gentleman), Jamison Lingle who portrays Rosam-und (a poor little rich girl who dreams of being swept off her feet by Prince Charming), Mi-chael Stone Forrest as Clemment Musgrove (Rosamund’s addle-brained father, a wealthy planta-tion owner), and Sue Goodman as Salome (Rosamund’s wicked, greedy step-mother). Supporting roles are equally outstanding. Adam Wylie is an absolute riot as Goat (the town

simpleton), Michael Uribes is a hoot as Little Harp (a fumbling robber), Tyler Ledon plays Big Harp (the amputated, talking head of his younger brother), Ta-tiana Mac plays a big black raven and Airie (Goat’s half-wit sister), and Teya Patt is Goat’s and Ai-rie’s mother. When songs are titled “Steal with Style,” “ Prickle Pear and Lily Bud,” “Flop-eared Mule,” “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” “Poor Tied Up Darlin’,” and “Leather Britches,” you get a picture of the wild tale that is being told, and the territory this musical spoofs.

As expected, there’s a lot of fiddle playin’, do-si-do-in’, and tongue-in-cheek folderol in the plot; but tweaks of light-hearted social commentary also rear its head from the subtext. In short, you’ll be entertained and ener-gized by every minute of ICT’s superb production. “The Robber Bridegroom” plays at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sun-day through Nov. 6 at the Cen-ter Theater in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. For tickets, call 438-4610 or go on line at www.ictlongbeach.org.

ICT’s “Robber” Succeeds On All Levels

The Long Beach Yacht and Boat Show begins a four-day run at noon today (Thursday, Oct. 20) at Rainbow Harbor in down-town Long Beach. More than 50 exhibitors are scheduled to be on hand, includ-ing boat sales reps who will be offering trial rides. Highlights of the show include free sailboat rides to Catalina from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Making its first appearance following an inside and out reno-vation is the 1938 Atkin Yawl. Abby Sunderland, the young-est person ever to sail solo around the world, will be signing copies

of her autobiography, “Unsink-able,” throughout the show. Besides all boating activities, there will be an amateur dog show at 4 p.m. on Saturday with more than $500 in prizes. Show hours are noon to 7 p.m. today (Thursday) and Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12, with children 12 and younger admitted free. For tick-ets and more information, visit http://longbeachyachtclubboat-show.com. Sponsors are the Automobile Club of Southern California, Cal-ifornia Department of Boating and Waterways, Hendrick’s Gin and Glenn E. Thomas Dodge.

Yacht, Boat Show Takes Over Harbor


Coffee And Wine There’s a new coffee shop and wine bar celebrating its soft opening at Alamitos Bay Land-ing this month. Co-owner Raj Weerakkody, who also owns Royal Cup Coffee Shop & Sandwiches on Redondo Avenue as well as a location in Torrance, describes his business-es as romantic coffee shops fea-turing international cuisine. His newest venture, which will host a grand opening celebration next month, is located at 194 Marina Drive. “Everybody loves our coffee and food and we want to expand that,” Weerakkoday said. What will set the Alamitos Bay Landing Royal Cup apart from the business’ other locations, he added, is that Royal Cup on Ma-rina Drive includes a CA Wine Room. “We will have the same menu, plus 80 different California wines and beers as well,” Weerakkoday explained. What customers can expect to remain constant at any Royal Cup location is Louisiana fire-roasted coffee, fresh fruit smoothies and fusion-style food inspired by international cuisine, he added. Also, the business features art-work and music regularly by area artisans. Royal Cup Coffee Shop and CA Wine Room is open for breakfast, lunch and late night.

More details will be available online at www.royalcupcafe.com soon, but the website is undergo-ing an upgrade.

Hennessey’s Anniversary It’s been 35 years since Paul Hennessey founded Hennessey’s Tavern in Hermosa Beach. To-day, there are more than 10 res-taurant locations, including one at 143 Main St. in Seal Beach. Hennessey’s hosted an an-niversary party on Wednesday night in honor of the milestone, but even if you didn’t make it to the celebration there are dining specials nightly at Hennessey’s in Seal Beach — such as “Two Timin’ Tuesdays” two for the price of one burgers and break-fast entrees, or “Wine-Down Wednesdays” 50% off all bottles of wine. Hennessey, who modeled the restaurants — as well as his Lighthouse Cafe jazz club and The Fish Bucket — to fit a ca-sual beach atmosphere, credits his company’s success to “good food and ambience” rather than “flash-in-the-pan trends and gimmicks,” according to Hen-nessey’s website. “I saw the need for nice gath-ering places with relaxing en-vironments,” he wrote online. “Our restaurants are about our people.” Hennessey’s Tavern in Seal Beach is located at 143 Main St. For details, call 598-6456.

Halloween Skremes Krispy Kreme is scaring up some Halloween-themed dough-nuts this season for those look-ing to satisfy a craving for sweet treats. And there’s a Halloween contest to win Krispy Kreme prizes happening now, too. Krispy Skremes! Include jack-o-lanterns (pumpkin shaped doughnuts with orange icing) and spider webs (chocolate-iced doughnuts with filling and white webbing) are available through Oct. 31. And Krispy Kreme’s pumpkin spice (an old-fashioned doughnut made with pumpkin flavors and spices as well as orig-inal glaze) is available through Nov. 27. “Pair one of our wickedly tasty Halloween and yummy pumpkin

spice doughnuts with a cup of our delicious new coffee brew for a sweet end to a frightful evening of Halloween fun,” Ron Rupocinski, Krispy Kreme’s cor-porate chef, said in a release. Also, the store is hosting a Halloween Family Photo Con-test where customers can en-ter their costume-clad family photographs to win one of five “spook-tacular” prizes such as T-shirts, coffee, collectable hats, coffee mugs and free doughnuts. Photographs must incorporate a Krispy Kreme product in a cre-ative way. The deadline for the contest is Nov. 4. To enter, visit www.krispyskremes.com. There’s a Krispy Kreme at 4760 E. Los Coyotes Diagonal. For details, call 494-6224.


By Julian BermudezGazette Arts Writer

During the 1960s and 1970s, California experienced an era of significant social change. A youth-oriented countercul-ture demanded educational re-form igniting the Free Speech Movement of 1964. Inequality and racism led to the Watts Riots in South Central Los Angeles in 1965. And, that same year, Ce-sar Chavez organized the grape strike in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1966, the Black Panther Party was founded. The Stone-wall riots of 1969 in New York City galvanized the Gay Rights Movement in San Francisco. And, in 1970, Chicano stu-dents in Southern California led the Chicano Moratorium, one of the largest off-campus anti-war demonstrations in the country. This awareness of social liber-ation inspired artists to come up with new methods for art mak-ing. Whether or not they were ac-tive in the cultural, political

and environmental movements, many young artists yearned to move away from the art as object towards art as an idea. Enter the birth of Concep-tual Art, a new, non-commercial form of expression that included video, sound, performance, in-stallation and photographic doc-umentation. Paying tribute to what is now commonplace in the Art World is “State of Mind: New California Art Circa 1970,” Orange County Museum of Art’s contribution to “Pacific Standard Time,” the Getty Foundation’s area-wide collaboration of approximately 60 Southern California cultural institutions focusing on Los An-geles’s place in Modern/Con-temporary art. Co-organized with UC Berke-ley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the exhibit — on view through Jan. 22, 2012 — is the most comprehensive accumula-tion of Conceptual art and re-lated new genre from this crucial period in art history. More than 150 works are on view and include well-known names of the movement such Chris Burden, Allen Ruppers-berg and Bonnie Sherk. Other artists in the show in-clude Asco, Gary Beydler, Nancy Buchanan, Paul Cotton, Lowell Darling, Stephen Laub, Darryl Sapien, Susan Mogul, Ilene Se-galove, Fred Londier and Robert Kinmont.

Installations, works on paper, photographs, video and film, art-ists’ books, performance docu-mentation and other ephemera — as well as newly-discovered works and other materials from various archives — come togeth-er to create one of the best ex-hibits honoring a movement that was truly ephemeral. A few highlights from the ex-hibit include Barbara T. Smith’s “Field Piece,” a phallic-inspired installation of 16 fiberglass resin stalks resting on Ethafoam that light up when you step near them; Chris Burden’s early surveil-lance installation “Being Photo-graphed, Looking Out, Looking In, February 4-20” which has not been exhibited since the 1970s; and Bonnie Sherk’s “Sitting Still” series featuring the most complete documentation of the artist’s street performances. “State of Mind” is a wonder-fully over-the-top visual power-house that reminds its viewers of art’s limitless capabilities. Through the convergence of various media, the exhibit reaf-firms its founders’ underlying premise of “concepts as art,” cul-turally liberated from the canvas and the great white cube. The Orange County Museum of Art is at 850 San Clemente Drive. For more information, call (949) 759-1122 or visit www.ocma.net.

Orange County HighlightsConceptual Art Circa-1970

Foot Massage ................ $25/hr.Whole Body Massage ... $40/hr.


I guess there’s an audience for dance in Long Beach. I’ve been to several suppos-edly sold-out performances at the Carpenter Center, but none of them was as packed to the gills as the place was the other night for Ballet Maribor. The Carpenter has a dance series, three performances this season, and if they’re all as well-attended as this one, then dance in Long Beach consists of a lot more than just the “Nutcracker” at Christmas. Ballet Maribor is from Slove-nia, so we begin with a geogra-phy lesson. Slovenia is not Slo-vakia. Slovenia is the northwest corner of the former Yugoslavia, south of Austria and east of Italy.

And Ballet Maribor has been around since 1919. Their style could be charac-terized as minimalist modern dance, but that’s not the half of it. Choreographer Edward Clug has fashioned a stark, contem-porary interpretation of the story of Romeo and Juliet, woven in some tracks by the English al-ternative rock group Radiohead, and called the result “Radio and Juliet.” That’s what we saw on-stage at the Carpenter Saturday night. Forget Shakespeare. This was no literal, linear dramatic re-working of the familiar play, but more of an exploration of the themes of love, violence, light and darkness that permeate the

work. There is one female, the fabulous Tijuana Krizman, and I guess you could call her Juliet, but in this version the character becomes universal and iconic. There are also six guys, and even if the tallish one seems to be a sort of Romeo and the bald one moves in and out of Tybalt-like situations, the plot as we know it is not the point. Yes, there are fights and love duets along the way and the two lovers wind up dead at the end, but what hap-pens isn’t as important as how things look and how we feel. The dance was sharp and skill-ful, the expressiveness understat-ed but no less vivid and power-ful. The use of black and white video to frame the live action,

and to comment on points along the way, added to the atmosphere of alienation and detachment created by the dynamic but un-emotional movements. And that music by Radio-head was mesmerizing, holding the capacity crowd spellbound and heightening the impact of the dancers’ interactions. The group is not your average rock ensemble, and pianist Christo-pher O’Riley has featured some of their tunes on his recitals. Here the ever-shifting sound-scape, rather than accompanying

or commenting on the action, served as a counterpoint to the bare stage and its nameless oc-cupants. It was a powerful, important one-hour show. There are two more events on the Carpenter’s dance series, Doug Varone in February and Ballet Memphis in May, and if they’re of as high a quality as this initial offering, you and everyone else who ap-preciates good dance will want to check them out. Just make sure you get your tickets early.

SLOVENIA’S MARIBOR

Sold-Out Ballet Begins Dance Season


Residents of Long Beach help people all year through a variety of activities. Listed below are the results of some projects, as well as more opportunities to reach out to others. Long Beach Yellow Cab has received the Collaboration Award for last year’s “Pink Ride” pro-gram in support of Breast Can-cer Awareness. This year, they have painted two of their cabs pink and $1 per ride in the pink cabs will be donated to the cause. They also will be using their top signs to promote breast cancer awareness. Performance Plus Tire and Auto Superstore again is host-ing its annual food drive. Along with accepting food donations, they have an opportunity draw-

ing with prizes including Vizio 3D HDTV, a Sony Blu-Ray Disc Home Entertainment Center. Stop by with donations 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The Long Beach Hop Heads and Team Crash host a fundrais-ing event all day today (Thurs-day, Oct. 20), at Beachwood BBQ, 131 and ½ Main St. in Seal Beach. One dollar of every pint sold all day will go to research and support in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. The California Conference for Equality and Justice pres-ents its annual Dinner and Gene Lentzner Human Relations Award Celebration starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Old Ranch Coun-try Club, 3901 Lampson Ave. in

Seal Beach. Tickets are $75. Call 435-8184. WomenShelter is accepting donations of costumes, make-up, face-paint, candy and Halloween Treat Bags for its annual BOO-TIQUE. WomenShelter helps victims of domestic violence in Long Beach. Last date to drop off donations is Friday, Oct. 21.

Call 437-7233 for details on how to donate. The St. Lucy Fall Festival happens Friday-Sunday, Oct. 21-23 with a pumpkin patch, food, music, special children’s activi-ties and more. Hours are 5-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat-urday and 11 .m. to 8 p.m. Sun-day. The event takes place at St.

Lucy School, 2320 Cota Ave. Community Hospital of Long Beach honors Dr. and Mrs. Richard Wigod and the hospital’s Auxiliary Group at the Condit Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. Satur-day, Oct. 22, at the Hyatt Long Beach, 200 S. Pine Ave. Tickets are $175. Call 494-0576. The Los Angeles Universal Preschool program, which helps families have access to preschools at little or no cost, is holding an online auction between now and Oct. 28 help finance its activities. Visit www.biddingforgood.com/laup. Centro C.H.A. hosts its annu-al Dia De Los Muertos art exhib-it fundraiser from 1 until 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at 727 Pine Ave. Money raised is for victims of domestic violence. Tickets are $5 and include music and wine. Call 570-4722. A Halloween display to ben-efit the homeless now is on dis-play at 434 W. 31st St. Donations of canned goods and non-perish-ables will be accepted and give to the Long Beach Rescue Mis-sion. Between now and Oct. 31, Boston Proper women’s store will donate 10% of the selling price from the sale of two tops to the Susan G. Komen Founda-tion. The tops are specially de-signed to support the cause: the “Pink Tie-Dye Sparkle Tee” and the “Ribbons and Hearts” knit top. Boston Proper is at 425 E. First Street. Faith in Action/Volunteer Action for Aging is planning to deliver 1,200 meals to the needy for Thanksgiving, and they’re looking for volunteers to help with the project. The deadline for volunteers is Nov. 1. For mroe details, call 637-7103 or send an email to [email protected].

HONORING KLAUS BARTH. Attendees enjoy Klaustoberfest last Sunday at Alamitos Bay Landing. The event was a benefit for the Klaus Barth Foundation. —Gazette photo by Kevin Oules


get your costume for Halloween and donate it back after the sea-son.” Besides the cost savings, Guiss said those shopping at any of the four Goodwill stores in the Long Beach area will find costumes that are completely customiz-able. “For fun, I wanted to be a re-porter one day, but they don’t sell reporter outfits at costume stores,” Guiss said. “I went to Goodwill and had the hat and press pass and the undone tie. You can be more creative and unique with what you dress up as when you shop at a thrift store.” Halloween costume shoppers at Out of the Closet Thrift Store (3500 E. PCH) have half of the store to themselves as they dig through boxes of hats and browse racks full of costume parts — there are princess dresses, pirate hats, wigs, sequined leotards, masks, high heels for men and many unusual items the store

collects throughout the year. Out of the Closet store manag-er Matt Janoe said his customers find a mix of pre-packaged items as well as thrift store costumes and accessories. “We have brand new costumes and wigs and accessories, and we save anything that looks like a costume all year long,” he said. “Because we have both, we have a much bigger selection than a normal costume shop.” Staff at Out of the Closet works to pair pre-packaged costumes with thrift store accessories to make each look complete, Janoe said. He added that used items donated to the store are usually in very good shape because Hal-loween costumes are something most people only wear once. Out of the Closet has become known in the Long Beach com-munity for its loud window displays during the Halloween season, which include several costume displays set up as vi-gnettes — one mannequin this year appears to be picking out which head she wants to wear for

the day in a tribute to “Return to Oz.” “We do the windows up real big and showy, but not blood-curdling,” Janoe said. “We are on PCH, so there is a lot of street traffic, and we want to show people what they can do with a costume. We bust our humps trying to get them just right and get them fresh and interesting to people.” Halloween is the busiest time of year for Out of the Closet, and Janoe said the store needs twice as much staff and volunteers to keep up with the number of cus-tomers needing assistance before the holiday. “We get so busy we all just want to cry,” he said. “Business at least triples.” Trends this year include wom-en wishing to look like Katy Per-ry or Lady Gaga — Janoe said he prepared one window display by sewing peppermint muffin pins onto a bra and dipping a pair of hot pants into a bucket of glitter to achieve the right look. For men, Janoe said brown suits

from the ’70s are a big trend. But perhaps the best reason to shop thrift this year for Hal-loween is to benefit a good cause (and avoid paying sales tax in the process). Money spent at Goodwill supports job training and other programs, and 96¢ of every dollar spent at Out of the Closet benefit the AIDS Health-care Foundation. The Assistance League Thrift Shop, which helps pay for school uniforms and other services for Long Beach youngsters in need, is celebrating its 20th year in business on Fourth Street’s Retro Row. Tricia Atkinson, who has worked at the store for nearly a decade, said the store features a variety of Halloween costumes,

especially items that can be torn up and covered in blood-red paint for the Zombie Walk happening in downtown Long Beach. Atkinson said Halloween is be-coming a holiday that adults can celebrate as much as the younger generations, and she said busi-ness has increased through the years as more adults take part in costuming. “More and more adults are coming in looking for costumes for themselves,” she said. “We’ve got inexpensive items, and you can get more elaborate and more detailed and more unique with costumes and accessories pur-chased at a thrift store. Your cos-tume will be unique, and no one else will have the same one at the party.”

SPOOKY TABLEAU. This window at Out Of The Closet on Pa-cific Coast Highway takes its cue from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. —Photo by Mark Patterson


Halloween


tor of the Development Services Department. Ray and Amy Lin, owners of SeaPort Marina Hotel on the southeast corner of Second Street and Pacific Coast Highway, have been trying for eight years to get approval to redevelop the prop-erty. For the last four years, Da-vid Malmuth has been the lead developer on the project. “We’re working with the ar-chitects now to revamp the site plan to reduce the residential and the retail to make it consistent with the amendment approved last week,” Malmuth said Tues-day. “It will have the same look, the same feel, the same quality as the original proposal, but we have to make it consistent with what was approved.” What was approved was Op-tion 3 in the EIR, a slightly re-duced proposal that cuts the maximum number of residential units from 325 to 275. It also limits retail space to 155,000

square feet (down from 192,000 square feet) and eliminates a pro-posed 99-seat theater. It allows one 12-story building with oth-ers no more than six stories and a total average height of 55 feet (four stories). That option also includes 30% open space. The advocacy group Los Cer-ritos Wetlands Land Trust has led opposition to the develop-

ment, and representatives at last Wednesday’s hearing said repeat-edly that they would continue to fight it at the City Council and state Coastal Commission levels. Some members, including exec-utive director Elizabeth Lambe, also threatened legal action. As of Monday, no appeal of the EIR certification had been filed. However, anyone who op-

posed the EIR has 10 days from the hearing date to file that ap-peal. While the EIR certification was unanimous, the Planning Com-mission voted 4-3 to approve moving forward with Option 3. Commission Chair Charles Durnin voted no, saying he felt there was too much retail, which was the number one driver of

increased traffic. Commission-ers Alan Fox and Phillip Saumur both opposed the 12-story build-ing, saying six stories should be the maximum height. Current SEADIP zoning limits height to 35 feet, or three stories. The Nov. 17 site plan review will be part of the Planning Commission’s regular meeting that day.

of all proceeds that day going to the fund. Participating merchants include: Ark Pet Salon; Bill & Judy Griffihs, CPA; Criswell Salon; Dr. Blake, DDS; Dr. Rowell; Dr. Steven Gammer; Finbars Italian Kitchen; John’s Philly Grill; Koi Restaurant; McDonald’s; Na-maste Spiritual Center; Natural Radiance Skin & Body Care; Patty Swanson; Rich Foster, Law Offices; Salon D.M.; Seal Beach Nails; Seal Beach Podiatry; Se-renity Spa; Soncy; Sunset Physi-cal Therapy; Taco Bell; Thai Siam Cuisine; Well Springs; and Yucatan Grill. Others may be added before Monday. The following week, House of Synergy Salon & Spa will host a

cut-a-thon with free haircuts and chair massages, donating all the money to the fund. The event is Sunday, Oct. 30 at 4126 E. Ana-heim St. Call 342-4421 for ap-pointments. Other fundraisers and memori-als are expected, and will be pub-licized appropriately. The concern is in response to the worst mass murder in Orange County history. The shooting took place shortly after 1 p.m. Oct 12, with Dekraai shooting one man outside the salon, then entering the busy business. “This tragedy has touched the community of Seal Beach in many ways, one of which is the outpouring of sympathy and support for the families of the victims of this senseless act of violence,” said Gary Miller, mayor pro tem of Seal Beach, in

the release announcing establish-ment of the victims’ fund. “I’m pleased to announce that the city and the business community have come together to establish a fund which will benefit the im-mediate families of the victims of this crime.” The Seal Beach Police De-partment added a warning to the announcement that people wish-ing to donate should be careful to check who is asking for the donation. The fund at Bank of America has been endorsed by the city and the department. Donations can be mailed to the bank at 208 Main St., Seal Beach, 90740 or to the Chamber at 201 Eighth St., Suite 120, Seal Beach, 90740. For more information, call the Chamber at 799-0179 or the city at 343-8415.

and making art on the sidewalk and in select businesses. Beyond those displays, there will be chalk artists set up all along the sidewalk (mainly be-tween Covina Avenue and St. Jo-seph Avenue) for Justin Rudd’s eighth Belmont Shore Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest — which will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Online, for years, people would pass around images of chalk art that were taken all over the world,” Rudd said. “It was fascinating and I just thought I would try and create an event to

let those artists do their thing.” To avoid a messy cleanup, and to allow for transportation of each piece, the chalk artists actually will put their work on large 38-inch by 50-inch pieces of high-quality paper. The event is free to enter, and artists are provided lunch. Last year, there were about 80 artists who com-peted for the top prize. “There are no categories, so we keep it wide open to let them do what they do best,” Rudd said. Last year’s winner, Lori Escal-era, said she enjoys several par-ticular perks to working with a chalk medium. “I really like the whole experi-

ence of working outdoors, in the moment and with the commu-nity,” she said. Escalera said she has been working as a street painter since 1994, and noticed that the me-dium began to really take off in popularity in the mid-2000s. She generally works on pieces in-spired by master works of art — subjects that lend to an impres-sionistic style. “I love bringing works of art in this large scale and to where peo-ple don’t necessarily have access to it normally,” she said. “I hope everyone will consider coming out to see the fabulous artists.” Photos that were shot for

Rudd’s Say Cheese Long Beach event also will be on display in front of Chase Bank. For more information, or to signup, visit www.JustinRudd.com/chalk.html. For more information on the entire event, visit www.Belmont-Shore.org.


Shore Art


Victims


Second, PCH

WHAT: Belmont Shore Art Walk and Chalk Art ContestWHEN: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22WHERE: Second StreetCOST: Free

Today’s ObituariesBorodyanskaya, YudifBracken, James DavidDalton, Richard V.Edwards, PatriciaGarcia, IsmaelGarman, Robert W.Grammar, Mary E.Jang, Mun SeoqLittle, Edward JohnMcCarthy, John M.

Mitchell, Joseph LewisSchrotenboer, Joan D.Sherman, LorettaShoup, Dorothy P.Sobeck, Dolores RoseSwitzer, MargaretSwitzer, Robert LelandYagerlener, Edwin John

To submit material, call: Kurt Eichsteadtat 562-209-2094, e-mail to

[email protected], go online towww.gazettes.com or fax to 562-434-8826

LITTLE, Edward John, 1915-2011Edward John Little, 96, of Los Angeles, passed away Sept. 13. He was born in Jerseyville, Ill., and was a national defense contractor. Interment is at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SWITZER, Margaret, 1919-2011Margaret Switzer, 91, of Long Beach, passed away Sept. 30. She was born in Seal Beach and was a teacher. She is survived by her son, William, and her daughter, Marjorie. There was a service at Belmont Heights United Methodist Church. Interment is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

EDWARDS, Patricia, 1945-2011Patricia Edwards, 67, of Long Beach, passed away Oct. 3. She worked as a community advocate instructor. She is survived by her friend, Rosie Lee Davidson. Interment is at Forest Lawn in Glendale. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SWITZER, Robert Leland, 1918-2011Robert Leland Switzer, 93, of Long Beach, passed away Oct. 4. He was born in Long Beach and worked as a chemical engineer in Union Oil research. He is survived by his son, William, and his daughter, Marjorie. There was a service at Belmont Heights United Methodist Church. Interment is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Long Beach. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

MITCHELL, Joseph Lewis, 1934-2011Joseph Lewis Mitchell, 77, of Huntington Beach, passed away Oct. 4. He was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., and worked as an electrician. He is survived by his wife, Wray. Interment is at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

YAGERLENER, Edwin John1944-2011

Edwin John Yagerlener, 66, of Costa Mesa, passed away Oct. 1. He was born in Detroit and worked as a computer engineer. He is survived by his son, Christopher. Interment is private. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

GARCIA, Ismael, 1953-2011Ismael Garcia, 57, of Yorba Linda, passed away Sept. 17. He was born in Kingsville, Tex., and worked as a handyman. He is survived by his brother, Israel. Interment is private. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

BRACKEN, James David, 1964-2011James David Bracken, 46, of Long Beach, passed away Sept. 30. He was born in Peoria, Ill., and worked in banking as a regional manager. He is survived by his mother, Heather and his son, Adam. There was a service at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. Interment is private. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

JANG, Mun Seoq, 1955-2011Mun Seoq Jang, 56, of Whippany, N.Y., passed away Oct. 1. He was born in Korea and worked in dry cleaning supplies. He is survived by his wife, Choun He. Interment is at Washington Memorial Park, Mt. Sinai, N.Y. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SHOUP, Dorothy P., 1930-2011Dorothy P. Shoup, 90, of Huntington Beach, passed away Sept. 24. She was born in Dayton, Ohio and was a secretary for an insurance company. She is survived by her daughter, Janet Owen. Interment is at Glen Haven Memorial Park, New Carlisle, Ohio. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary. GARMAN, Robert Wayne

1918-2011Robert Wayne Garman, 93, of Mission Viejo, passed away Sept. 30. He was born in Indiana and worked in manufacturing as a business executive. He is survived by his daughter, Judith. Interment is private. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

GRAMMAR, Mary E., 1924-2011Mary E. Grammar, of Long Beach, passed away Oct. 2. She was born in Tennessee and was a teacher. She is survived by her friend, Madelyn Williams. Interment is in Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

BORODYANSKAYA, Yudif1919-2011

Yudif Borodyanskaya, 92, of Sherman Oaks, passed away Sept. 28. He was born in the Ukraine and was a physician. He is survived by his daughter, Zaika Natalya. Interment is at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SOBECK, Dolores Rose, 1925-2011Dolores Rose Sobeck, 86, of Fountain Valley, passed away Oct. 1. She was born in Missouri and worked as an oil company bookkeeper. She is survived by her daughter, Christa Merlo. Interment is at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SCHROTENBOER, Joan Dorothea1934-2011

Joan Dorothea Schrotenboer, 77, of Burbank, passed away Oct. 2. She was born in Michigan and worked as a hair dresser. She is survived by her son, Douglas Caarlson. Interment is in Riverside Cemetery in Hamilton, Mich. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

DALTON, Richard V., 1930-2011Richard V. Dalton, 81, of Long Beach, passed away Sept. 30. He was born in the Philippines and was an officer in the U.S. Navy. He is survived by his wife, Mildred. Interment is at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

SHERMAN, Loretta, 1957-2011Loretta Sherman, 53, of Long Beach, passed away Oct. 1. She was born in Los Angeles and was a caregiver for home health care. She is survived by her husband, Douglas. Interment is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Long Beach. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.

MCCARTHY, John M., 1943-2011John M. McCarthy, 68, of Long Beach, passed away Oct. 2. He was born in Gardena and worked as a wholesale plumbing manager. He is survived by his son, John. Interment is private. The family was assisted by McKenzie Mortuary.


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Grunion Gazette 10-20-11