Daily Breeze back issues from January 2008:
Gunman kills 1 at party in Long Beach
Jan 01, 2008; ... Just moments after Jose Rosales led his family and friends in aNew Year's Eve countdown Tuesday, a gunman peeked over the sidefence of Rosales' Pine Avenue home and shot two guests - includingthe son of a California Highway Patrol officer - at point-blankrange, sources told the ...
There's new hope for Sun Valley landfill
Jan 01, 2008; ... Nearly five years ago, Los Angeles city officials sold 21acres inSun Valley at a rock-bottom price to a developer that pledged toturn the former dumpsite into the largest new industrial project inthe Northeast Valley. But despite promises of hundreds of good jobs and a youth ...
A judicial hangover
Jan 01, 2008; ... Ruling sets bad precedents for L.A. business, democracy. New Year's celebrations started early last week for Los Angelescity leaders and their special-interest handlers when a judicialpanel gave them good reason to break out the bubbly on Thursday. Too bad their partying will ...
Wednesday Letters to the Editor
Jan 01, 2008 ... Border fence bill gutted On the day that the Daily Breeze wrote an editorial titled "Avictory over secrecy" (Editorial page, Dec.25), lauding the factthat Congress had passed a new Freedom of Information Act, federallawmakers were passing a 3,500-page omnibus spending bill that ...
A phone call from a stranger allowed us to cruise like a king and queen
Jan 01, 2008; ... 'We won a free 10-day trip on the Queen Elizabeth 2," my wife,Joan, screamed to me on the phone in the middle of a work day in1972. I told her to calm down and tell me all about it. She said she had entered a contest from one of the local New Yorkradio stations, and if your name ...
Writers' strike trickles down
Jan 01, 2008; ... As screenwriters near their eighth week on the picket lines,South Bay businesses and residents who depend on the film industryfor their paychecks are feeling the strike's ripple effects. Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach is virtually empty. The TVshows filmed there - "CSI: ...
Tax tardiness
Jan 01, 2008; ... Public must pay taxes on time, and so should the IRS. Should you decide that April15 is an inconvenient time for payingyour federal taxes, and opt to wait until finances improve on May15, the Internal Revenue Service would be none too happy. Hefty penalties and nasty letters ...
'Our way of life' is on the line with global warming, author says
Jan 01, 2008; ... S. David Freeman isn't a man who holds back on what he'sthinking. With his long Tennessean drawl and Stetson hat, he may appearmore oil-slick businessman than environmental activist. But the 81-year-old president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners,also known as the ...
Police: It was a quiet New Year's Eve in the South Bay
Jan 01, 2008; ... It was a relatively mild New Year's Eve throughout the South Bay,with little more than the usual overnight alcohol-related arrests, afew bar fights, illegal fireworks and loud-party calls. "It's as quiet as it's ever been, it's really odd," said LosAngeles Sheriff's Sgt. Jeffery ...
Get ready for Torrance traffic delays
Jan 01, 2008; ... Motorists who use Plaza del Amo in Old Torrance - including themore than 2,300 students and staff at Torrance High School - mightwant to find alternate routes for the next four months. Beginning today, a sewer replacement project will causesignificant traffic delays on Plaza del ...
Starting the year off with a brrrrrrr
Jan 01, 2008 ... >> PHOTOS Hundreds of participants braved the chilly 53-degree water atCabrillo Beach in San Pedro ...
Hawthorne's former trash hauler cites more fraud
Jan 01, 2008; ... The owner of Hawthorne's former trash hauler, H&C Disposal,claims in court documents that eight former employees embezzled morethan $400,000 before the company declared bankruptcy in May. A federal bankruptcy court ordered an investigation into thecompany in November because it ...
'Variable pay' gains popularity
Jan 01, 2008; ... Being a worker isn't getting any easier. We're moving fromtraditional pensions to 401(k)s, full- scale health insurance to consumer-driven health plans and steadyannual salary increases to one-time "pay for performance" bonusesand incentives. Base salaries are expected to ...
2007's Best Photos
Jan 01, 2008 ... >> SLIDESHOW A look back at the South Bay's ...
USC rolls over Illinois in Rose Bowl
Jan 01, 2008; ... >> Get the ...
3 Pacific storms expected to bring rain, wind
Jan 01, 2008; ... The heaviest rain in Southern California in three years can beexpected to fall over the next four days, as a series of threepowerful Pacific storms will dump what the National Weather Servicethinks will be "quite impressive" precipitation. As much as 10 inches of rain could fall ...
Success of USC season will be judged by today's Rose Bowl results
Jan 01, 2008; ... USC coach Pete Carroll always says the Rose Bowl is the Trojans'yearly goal, but the reality is slightly more complex becausewinning the New Year's Day game barely meets the minimum standardfor a successful season. Thanks to expectations created by Carroll's success, the ...
Hit and run in Carson kills woman, one of her 4-year-old twins
Jan 02, 2008; ... A mother and her 4-year-old were killed, and her husband and andthe dead boy's twin brother were critically hurt in a hit-and-runcrash on New Year's Day, authorities said today. The driver whose pickup truck collided with the family's vanabandoned the truck and left. He was being ...
Talk shows are back tonight
Jan 02, 2008 ... Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien and CraigFerguson will host the first new episodes of their late-night talkshows in nearly two months today, but only Letterman and Fergusonwill be aided by their writers. All five shows were forced into reruns Nov. 5 at the ...
Police: Homicides in L.A. at 40-year low
Jan 02, 2008; ... Helped by a steady decline in homicides to near-40-year lows, LosAngeles streets by some measures haven't been this safe sinceEisenhower was president and American families watched "Howdy Doody"on black-and-white TVs. Pointing to year-end crime figures better than at any time ...
Making a spiritual journey through life and death
Jan 02, 2008; ... Editor's Note: John Bogert is on vacation but has selected someof his favorite past columns to run while he's away. This oneoriginally was published Dec. 17, 2006. The Rev. Teri Masters told me that I'd find her in the coffeeshop, where we planned to meet on a recent morning, by ...
Athens woman charged in fire
Jan 02, 2008; ... A woman who allegedly set fire to her house with five youngchildren inside now faces attempted murder and arson charges,prosecutors said Wednesday. Margarita Baltazar, 25, appeared in Inglewood Superior Court onWednesday for the alleged crimes stemming from last Thursday's ...
Powerful storms to hit South Bay
Jan 02, 2008; ... South Bay cities are bracing for floods and mudslides from threedays of storms expected to begin hitting the area late tonight orearly Friday. The storms are expected to dump more than 3 inches of rain andproduce thunderstorms, gale-force winds and ocean swells, accordingto the ...
Redondo Beach rock musician dies in crash
Jan 02, 2008; ... Kalina Noelle had known her son loved music since he was atoddler. At age 2, Matt Noel would pick up a red plastic guitar andkeyboard and pose for his mother's camera. As he attended school inRedondo Beach, he moved from trying out the trumpet and violin toplaying bass for a ...
Energetic start
Jan 02, 2008; ... With a spring in his step and the sun on his back, Dr. MartinVosseler set out from San Pedro on a 3,000-mile trek across Americaon Wednesday morning. The goal: to raise awareness about the environment and the needfor solar and other renewable energy sources. The 59-year-old ...
LAX remains nation's 4th-busiest airport
Jan 02, 2008; ... Los Angeles International Airport was the nation's fourth-busiest airport in 2007, logging 680,954 landings and takeoffs,according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by theFederal Aviation Administration. The figure represents a ...
Carson's Ford dealership shuts down
Jan 03, 2008; ... The giant electronic sign adjacent to the San Diego Freeway stillinvites passing motorists to stop by for a good deal on a car beforeit's too late. "Hurry We are closing down forever Come get your best dealwhile you can," reads the sign at Don Kott Ford in Carson. But ...
Deputies hunt suspect in fatal hit and run
Jan 02, 2008; ... Sheriff's deputies today hunted for a hit-and-run motorist whoplowed through a red light in Carson, killing a mother and her 4-year-old son and critically injuring his twin brother and theirfather. Nathan Mikasa died Wednesday morning, about 10 hours after theNew Year's Day ...
Water fears spark plan
Jan 03, 2008; ... With water supplies getting tighter, one Los Angeles citycouncilman believes the city needs to consider blocking newresidential development until regulations can be adopted to limitwater use in new projects. Councilman Dennis Zine said he offered the proposal becauseAngelenos ...
The big lie about what Will Smith said
Jan 03, 2008; ... On Dec. 22, the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record published anarticle summarizing an interview its reporter Siobhan Synnot hadwith the superstar actor Will Smith. Near the end of the highlylaudatory piece, the reporter wrote: "Remarkably, Will believeseveryone is basically good" and ...
Holiday rituals may reawaken mourning
Jan 03, 2008; ... Q uestion: My husband died seven years ago. I was fortunate tohave an extraordinary marriage for 44 years. Given that my life isrich with good health, family, friends and work, I expected to be"over it" by now. But I am not, particularly around holidays. Eachholiday we had special ...
Fearing cultural change
Jan 03, 2008; ... What's the matter with Iowa? Maybe I'm experiencing a little geographic jealously. When Imoved to California, I assumed that San Diego - as a border town -would be ground zero in the immigration debate. So when did SiouxCity, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids cut in line? If Iowa ...
Thursday Letters to the Editor
Jan 02, 2008 ... Learn from teen's death The death of Nataline Sarkisyan should serve as the catalyst forelimination of the insurance companies in health care and theconversion of health care to public funding in much the same wayeducation is publicly funded. The elimination of tons of ...
New laws are a start
Jan 02, 2008; ... The good thing about many of the new California statutes thattook effect Tuesday - or will take effect later in the year - isthat they can be strengthened in time. Many of the rules are rootedin good policy, but some of the penalties are about as strong as atwice-used tea bag ....
Community college proposition solves nothing
Jan 02, 2008; ... Count us among the fervent supporters of community colleges whoalso oppose Proposition 92. This Feb. 5 ballot initiative wouldamend the state Constitution to require guaranteed funding for two-year campuses but offers no way to pay for it. California is grappling with an estimated ...
Provide solar incentives
Jan 02, 2008; ... Washington lawmakers can - and should - start this new year rightby revisiting a key policy left on 2007's cutting-room floor:extending and improving tax incentives for installing solar energy. Solar power is a key to fighting global warming and reducing thenation's dependence on ...
State sues to keep green laws
Jan 03, 2008 ... COURTS: The move is in response to the EPA's recent decision thatgreenhouse gas limits are a federal matter. By Samantha Young The Associated Press SACRAMENTO - California sued the federal government Wednesday inits ongoing bid to set the country's first greenhouse ...
Calls are clogging commutes
Jan 02, 2008 ... CELL PHONES: A study suggests that yakking drivers move at slowerspeeds, adding to congestion on the road. By Seth Borenstein The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Drivers talking on cell phones are probably makingyour commute even longer, concludes a new study ....
Pot raid nets huge haul in Long Beach
Jan 03, 2008; ... Neighbors' complaints of a North Long Beach drug house led to theseizure of more than 200 marijuana plants - worth potentiallyhundreds of thousands of dollars - and the arrest of a 28-year-oldLong Beach man on Wednesday night. As members of the Long BeachPolice Department's Narcotics ...
Leno brings back 'Tonight'; chats up Huckabee
Jan 03, 2008; ... BURBANK - While scores of striking writers picketed outside NBCStudios on Wednesday, Jay Leno was yukking it up inside withRepublican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee and delivering anopening monologue the host penned himself. Huckabee didn't think he was crossing the picket ...
DMV says hit and run suspect has record of traffic violations
Jan 04, 2008; ... A man sought Thursday as the prime suspect in the hit-and-runkillings of a Carson mother and one of her twin 4-year-old sons hasfour convictions for speeding and running red lights since 2005. Roberto Carlos Paz, who remained at large, also was driving on alicense that expired on ...
Writer's thriller uses San Pedro setting
Jan 04, 2008; ... Southwest Marine on Terminal Island has become a ghost town usedmainly for filming since it closed two years ago. But in Andrew Rafkin's first novel, "Creating Madness," theabandoned, pre-World War II shipyard becomes the hub of U.S. effortsto fight terrorism. Rafkin's ...
Party planning for boys is easy: lots of food and turn them loose
Jan 04, 2008; ... Ah, Saturday night at the family bowling center. Or is that thefun-time family meeting place? The good-time recreation facility?God, does everything have to be so PC? It was a bowling alley. Look,I know that bowling alley owners want to upscale their businesseswith names that always seem ...
Lawyer challenges basis of charges Britney drove without valid license
Jan 02, 2008; ... An attorney for Britney Spears wants the city attorney's officeto prove that the pop star is a permanent California resident andsubject to state laws that require her to have a valid Californiadriver's license. Spears faces up to one year of probation if convicted in amisdemeanor ...
Huckabee scorned for 'Tonight Show' appearance
Jan 02, 2008; ... BURBANK - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee isscheduled to fly from Iowa to Southern California today to appear on"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, acampaign aide said. Huckabee will also have to cross a picket line at NBC Studios ...
San Pedro man fatally shot himself after firing at 2 patrol cars
Jan 02, 2008; ... A man who fatally shot himself inside a pickup truck after firingat two Laguna Beach patrol cars while driving along Pacific CoastHighway was identified today as a San Pedro resident, police said. Daniel Armijo Jr., 36, shot himself in the head yesterday afterhe pulled his gray ...
SP man shoots at police, then kills himself
Jan 02, 2008; ... A man who fatally shot himself inside a pickup truck after firingat two Laguna Beach patrol cars while driving along Pacific CoastHighway was identified Wednesday as a San Pedro resident, policesaid. Daniel Armijo Jr., 36, shot himself in the head Tuesday after hepulled his gray ...
Man killed at cemetery is first L.A. homicide of 2008
Jan 02, 2008; ... The first homicide of 2008 reported in Los Angeles occurred in acemetery when a 29-year-old man was shot to death, authorities saidWednesday. Jason Grey of Los Angeles died Tuesday of multiple gunshot woundsto his upper and lower ...
Boaters warned of rough seas
Jan 03, 2008; ... Recreational boaters should stay in port today and over theweekend because of rough seas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. "Recreational boating is not advisable for the next couple ofdays," said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Andy Munoz. "Those who do plan on boating should tell ...
Writers still plan to picket Golden Globes
Jan 03, 2008; ... Negotiations have begun for an agreement that would allowunionized writers to write for the Golden Globe Awards, organizerssaid today, but the Writers Guild responded by reiterating its plansto picket the ceremonies. Attorneys for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, ...
Turn off your sprinklers during storms
Jan 03, 2008; ... With major storms bearing down on the Southland, water officialsurges residents and businesses to shut off their sprinkler systemsand abstain from irrigating outdoors to help save water. "These storms are certainly a welcome way to bring in the newyear, especially after last year's ...
Transcript of Jay Leno's monologue for Jan. 2, 2007
Jan 03, 2008; ... 'The Tonight Show' host Jay Leno's monologue on his return totelevision Wednesday amid the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike. JOHN MELENDEZ, HOW ARE YOU? FOLKS, LETS GET RIGHT TO IT. A JEW, A CHRISTIAN, AND A MUSLIM, WALK INTO A BAR. THE JEW SAYSTO THE MUSLIM .SEE, I HAVE NO ...
Inkavote is back
Jan 03, 2008; ... Los Angeles County can use a flawed voting machine in nextmonth's election if it's upgraded to meet stringent new securitystandards, California's top election official said Thursday. Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the Inkavote Plussystem in August because the ...
Airport Police Officer and dog involved in 105 crash
Jan 02, 2008; ... California Highway Patrol investigators were called to anaccident on the eastbound Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway that involvedan Airport Patrol Officer and his canine partner. Neither wasinjured. The officer was driving home with his canine partner when hisdepartment-issued ...
Cost of port security project will climb
Jan 04, 2008; ... Costs soared by $3.5 million to install security improvements atthe Port of Los Angeles under a revised budget plan approvedThursday by the harbor commission. Technological upgrades and expanding the project's scope toinclude port tenants and public access areas were cited as ...
State imposes new vote dictates
Jan 04, 2008; ... SACRAMENTO - Just a month before the presidential primary,Secretary of State Debra Bowen imposed a series of new securitymeasures on Los Angeles County's voting system Thursday to thwarthackers and others who want to tamper with the results. Bowen had decertified the county's ...
Translation: educational help
Jan 04, 2008; ... A mother's tears gave Terese Jimenez her first understanding ofthe confusion and frustration that comes from having a child withspecial education needs. The Loyola Marymount University education professor was adoctoral student working on a reading program for young childrenwith ...
Taking on challenge of really short fiction
Jan 04, 2008; ... I love a challenge. Not pistols at 30 paces or swords at dawn,but they are part of this story. Now, upper-right corner of newspaper. (But first let me seguehere. I also love newspapers. I'm back.) OK, the challenge. Upper-right corner has a contest. It's sponsored by an outfit ...
FRESH START
Jan 04, 2008; ... Rolling Hills Prep girls soccer coach Frank Corona is faced witha few new challenges this season: Not only is this his first timeleading a girls team, but he has several players who have neverplayed soccer before."It keeps me on my toes," he said. "Especially knowing that ...
Getting in Rhythm
Jan 04, 2008; ... A new class offered at the Gray School of Music in San Pedro willteach musicians on the instrumental and historical differences inLatin American music.Instructor Gabriel Rosati will teach students the differencebetween Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian music, which may sound ...
Education briefs
Jan 04, 2008 ... All area schools Classes set to resume after winter break All LAUSD schools and Mary Star of the Sea Elementary and Highschools will resume classes Monday. Rolling Hills Preparatory Schoolwill start classes Wednesday. Seventh Street Elementary School ...
Reform or intrusion?
Jan 04, 2008; ... A measure approved last month by the Los Angeles City Councilthat calls for the city clerk to take over neighborhood councilelections has met strong opposition from some San Pedro leaderswhile others welcome the change. The measure, among others, was recommended by the ...
Catalina Way Back When
Jan 04, 2008; ... For some Southern California residents, the most they know aboutCatalina Island is that it can be seen from the coast on a clearday, perched on the horizon. "All Off for Catalina," a new exhibit at the Los Angeles MaritimeMuseum, aims to educate visitors about what it was like to ...
Winter Calendar
Jan 04, 2008 ... January Events Jan. 5: The Brad Dutz Quartet performs classical chamber jazzwith improvisation at 8 p.m. at the Rosalie and Alva PerformanceGallery, 1417 W. Eighth St., San Pedro. A $10 donation is suggested.Coffee and water will be provided at the show. Call for reservationsat ...
More Sports
Jan 04, 2008 ... SPHS boys basketball The San Pedro High School boys basketball team will host alumniplayers in two games Jan. 12. The junior varsity team will play alumni at 5:30 p.m., and thevarsity will play at 7 p.m. Alumni can contact coach John Bobich at310-413-1950 or coach Gary ...