Daily Breeze back issues from February 2008:
How about a small tax hike?
Feb 01, 2008; ... Not even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls his draconian budgetproposal for the next fiscal year fantastic. In the weeks sinceSchwarzenegger submitted it, the plan has been attacked byeducators, environmentalists, law-and-order activists and advocatesfor the poor, an almost unprecedented ...
Torrance woman charged in teen sex
Feb 01, 2008; ... A 38-year-old Torrance woman has been accused of having sex witha 16-year-old boy on five occasions last fall, authorities saidThursday. Brenda Ann Mitchell was arraigned last Friday in the Torrancecourthouse on five felony charges - one count of unlawful sexualintercourse with ...
RPV temporarily bars trails access
Feb 01, 2008; ... Daniel Martinez drives from his Carson home to the Palos VerdesPeninsula nearly every morning to do one thing: ride his mountainbike in the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve. Since pedaling through the network of dirt trails winding downthe hillside with spectacular views of the ...
Trial set in RB home invasion
Feb 01, 2008; ... In a case where the traditional roles of victim and criminal aresomewhat interchangeable, a judge determined Thursday that twopeople should stand trial in a violent home-invasion robbery inRedondo Beach that left a beaten, naked man taped to a bedpost. Amadi Zaid, 28, and Paula ...
Democrats hold barbs for GOP
Feb 01, 2008; ... Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama struck a friendly tonethroughout their debate at the Kodak Theatre on Thursday night,rarely attacking each other and saving their sharpest lines for theRepublicans. The mood was established early, when Obama spoke of hisfriendship with Clinton, ...
Part's design is blamed in LAX blast
Feb 01, 2008; ... General Electric's "inadequate design" of a widely used enginepart led to an explosion on an American Airlines jetliner during aground test nearly two years ago at Los Angeles InternationalAirport, according to a report released Thursday by the NationalTransportation Safety Board ....
Perfect Attendance
Feb 01, 2008; ... The long-sleeved yellow T-shirt is frayed, faded and showing afew holes, but David Harper wouldn't get rid of it. It was the souvenir he got three decades ago after registeringfor the inaugural Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10K Race. And it remindshim of the many races that followed - ...
Manhattan Beach School District trustee rejects peers' censure
Feb 01, 2008; ... An outspoken and polarizing Manhattan Beach school board memberwith a history of controversial behavior has been censured by hispeers and asked to step down from his seat. The move Wednesday night was a climax to a period of growingstrife between Bill Eisen and fellow trustees, ...
Regional airport panel disbands
Feb 01, 2008; ... The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, created morethan two decades ago to find a regional solution to air trafficdemands, was unceremoniously disbanded for the second time Thursday. Three remaining members of the panel agreed to dissolve the groupdue to a lack of ...
Tix for Dodgers Coliseum game to go on sale
Feb 01, 2008 ... Individual tickets will go on sale Saturday for the Los AngelesDodgers' March 29 exhibition game against the World Series championBoston Red Sox at the Coliseum -- a game expected to draw baseball'slargest crowd since 1959. The Dodgers are advising fans to treat the game like a ...
Chinese New Year theme of First Thursday
Feb 01, 2008; ... San Pedro will ring in the year 4706 next week with traditionalChinese food, dance and art as part of this month's First Thursdayevents. The Chinese New Year celebration is another way organizers hopeto provide entertainment and culture that will entice more people toattend the ...
A Sexy Debut
Feb 01, 2008; ... Female mannequins plastered with vintage photographs of musicianJim Morrison and paintings by Frida Kahlo are part of a debutexhibit at the D& D Gallery, a new art studio in downtown San Pedro. The sensual and colorful exhibit, "Intimate Expressions - a Bodyof Work," by artist ...
Port Police eye new station, more officers
Feb 01, 2008; ... Los Angeles Port Police are looking forward to constructionstarting later this year on a new $40million headquarters buildingin San Pedro that they say will enable them to hire more officers. Cmdr. Ralph Tracy said that the new station at Fifth and Centrestreets will bring ...
Rabbi likes to mix people with his coffee
Feb 01, 2008; ... On a recent, blustery Wednesday morning, Rabbi Charles Briskinsat on the patio of a Starbucks, sipping coffee and chatting withmembers of San Pedro's Temple Beth El, as he has been doing everymonth for the past year.The casual conversations are part of an effort by Briskin ...
Court places Britney Spears under temporary conservatorship
Feb 01, 2008 ... A Superior Court commissioner placed Britney Spears and herestate under temporary conservatorship Friday, a day after the popstar was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Her father, James Spears, was named conservator of Spearsherself. The father and an attorney, Andrew Wallete, were ...
What could you do with Exxon Mobil's $40.6 billion profit for 2007?
Feb 01, 2008 ... What could you do with Exxon Mobil's $40.6 billion profit for2007? Here are a few options: * Pay for a year's tuition and board at Harvard for about900,000 students. * Buy 156 Boeing 747-400s or 812 Boeing 737-600s. * Keep it and move up to No. 4 on ...
BUDDING ARTISTS
Feb 01, 2008; ... A group of preschool-age children chatter excitedly as they dunktheir brushes into jars of paint and slather the goo onto largepieces of construction paper. Parents standing a few feet away talkquietly with each other while keeping a steady eye on their youngartists. It's a ...
When Presidents Came to Town
Feb 01, 2008; ... Editor's note: This article is based on information found in TheNational Archives, Fort MacArthur Museum, The New York Times, LosAngeles Times, Daily Breeze, The Washington Post, "An American Life"by Ronald Reagan and at the Web site www.whitehouse.gov. Long before ex-President ...
Sports games
Feb 01, 2008 ... Girls basketball Feb. 4: San Pedro vs. Gardena at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 5: Mary Star at St. Paul at 7 p.m. Feb. 6: San Pedro vs. Carson at 3 p.m. Feb. 7: Mary Star vs. St. Monica at 7 p.m. Feb. 8: San Pedro at King Drew Medical at 5:30 p.m. Boys basketball ...
Sports events
Feb 01, 2008 ... Mary Star baseballThe Mary Star of the Sea High School baseball team will hold analumni game Feb. 16 at 11a.m. at Fromhold Field in San Pedro. Interested alumni can e-mail fee5ways@aol.com or call the highschool at 310-547-1138.Bogdanovich Recreation ...
A link to Evil Knievel, Carson and Cameron
Feb 01, 2008; ... We'll get to Evil Knievel in a moment. First, the phone call. Norma Brutti is the essence of energy and joy; her calls bring alot of both. This one centered on Johnny Royal. They'd run into eachother and, as is the norm, stories had flowed. As they caught up,one of the stories had ...
Things to Do Calendar
Feb 01, 2008 ... How to submit calendar items: Submissions for events or listings are due two weeks in advanceof the event. Be sure to include the time, date and location for theevent. Please include a contact phone number in case we have anyquestions. WRITE: 5215 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, ...
Wagner band to do 1st gig since TV show
Feb 01, 2008; ... Local bluegrass band Cliff Wagner & The Old #7 returns to the SanPedro stage next Saturday for its first performance since Decemberwhen it was knocked out of a reality TV competition. Cliff Wagner, the band's founder and lead singer, and his fourband mates, guitarist Craig ...
Residents vocal over loss of McCowans
Feb 01, 2008; ... San Pedro is a place where history doesn't just come alive; it isalive. Especially when some of that history is killed. A crowd of about a hundred jammed the meeting of the Coastalneighborhood council last Monday to express their displeasure (I'mputting it mildly) about the loss ...
Education Briefs
Feb 01, 2008 ... DANA MIDDLE SCHOOL & WHITE POINT ELEMENTARYA magical wayto raise money Dana Middle School and White Point Elementary School will co-host a magic show & raffle fundraiser at 7 p.m. Friday. Magician Brock Edwards will perform illusions and tricks,including ...
L.A. city measure would preserve important funding source
Feb 01, 2008 ... We can't say we understand all the minutia about municipalutility taxes and how they are affected by current litigation,changing federal tax rules and new Internet-based technologies. Butwe do know that these issues need to be straightened out so citiesknow what's legal and what's not ....
Sports scores
Feb 01, 2008 ... Girls basketballSan Pedro lost to Banning 59-51 on Jan. 25 and to Narbonne 62-23on Monday. The Lady Pirates also lost to Washington on Wednesday, 63-27. The team is now 2-7 in the league and 9-14 overall. Mary Star defeated St. Anthony 45-31 on Jan. 24 and St ....
Want to go?
Feb 01, 2008 ... What: Art education classes for children ages 2 to 13 , includingspecialty classes for crafts, oil pastels and watercolors, "FunNights" with art, movie and dinner, "Special Kids Time" program forchildren in special education. Where: KiDazzle Art Studios, 1931N. Gaffey St., Suite ...
College prop solves nothing
Feb 01, 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 ...
Propositions 94-97
Feb 01, 2008 ... Propositions 94-97 The measures would boost the number of slot machines in the stateby more than 25 percent, to about 77,000. The state would receivebetween 15 percent and 25 percent of the profits from the newmachines ....
Angels Gate Park's future is mapped
Feb 02, 2008; ... Wrapping up months of work, a citizens panel has put its stamp ofapproval on a master plan for one of San Pedro's most spectacularocean-view parks. Included in the proposal for Angels Gate Park are areas for anAmerican Indian friendship circle and arbor, sports fields, a newgift ...
Air quality at 10 major U.S. ports is harmful
Feb 02, 2008; ... Diesel pollution, long identified as a health risk for SouthernCalifornia port communities, is the top contributor to air qualityproblems in cities surrounding the nation's top 10 ports, a newstudy finds. The study, funded by a company involved in the research anddevelopment of ...
Lane Victory worker injured
Feb 02, 2008; ... Firefighters on Friday rescued a maintenance worker who fell 12feet down a narrow shaft in the SS Lane Victory's cargo hold at itsSan Pedro berth. The 28-year-old man slipped on a ladder while descending into theshaft to clean a fuel tank about 12:30 p.m., firefighters said ....
Female port clerk wins 2nd lawsuit
Feb 02, 2008; ... Jurors awarded a female dockworker $1.2 million in damages Fridayfor on-the-job harassment resulting from her promotion at a marineterminal in the Port of Long Beach. Katherine McCoy, a 47-year-oldmarine clerk who has worked at Southern California ports since 1988,was awarded the sum ...
Frustration with Edison mounts in South Bay
Feb 02, 2008; ... Phyllis Schumacher worked her way around the block one Sundayafternoon, going door to door until she'd taken inventory of her ElSegundo neighborhood. An electrical surge the day before destroyed nearly $30,000 worthof solar power panels recently installed on Schumacher's ...
A first daughter campaigns in Carson
Feb 02, 2008; ... Facing an enthusiasm gap among younger voters, the HillaryClinton campaign dispatched its most valuable young surrogate -daughter Chelsea Clinton - to a Carson rally Friday. Clinton, 27, who was generally seen but not heard during herfather's presidency, answered questions at ...
When you can't cha-cha-cha, just smile-smile-smile
Feb 01, 2008; ... My mother e-mails that she loaned my Tyler Rose Festival costumeto some sort of gown exhibit. Could I contribute any fun facts oranecdotes about it? Well, let's see. The theme that year was antebellum. I was thelast "duchess" to make it to Tyler to pick out my dress from ...
Democratic Latino voters face tough choice
Feb 03, 2008; ... At a table filled with margaritas and tortilla chips, a group ofdisappointed volunteers from the defunct Bill Richardsonpresidential campaign recently debated whether to shift allegianceto Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Then a cell phone rang. "I just got a call from Hilda ...
Torrance weighs traffic speed increases
Feb 03, 2008; ... Torrance's advisory Traffic Commission is set to discussproposals to increase speed limits along a dozen sections of roadsat its Monday night meeting. The recommendations stem from a comprehensive $400,000 study oftraffic volume and accident data at 147 locations in the ...
Local hospitals cope with a critical nursing shortage
Feb 03, 2008; ... Before asking any questions, patients would often apologize. "They felt bad for disturbing us," said Dina McGee, a registerednurse at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. "People havethis expectation that nurses are too busy to talk." A few years ago, that was ...
RHE panel to review plan for downtown condos
Feb 03, 2008; ... A controversial Rolling Hills Estates condominium project will beback before the Planning Commission on Monday, the first time sincethe city abandoned its plans to recreate its commercial core. The downsized 75-unit Mediterranean Village on Deep Valley Driveis supported by ...
Once there were legends on this day - not just commercialization and overkill
Feb 03, 2008; ... Nobody, not the biggest sports yahoo in polyester bell-bottoms,not one team owner in the just-merging National and Americanfootball leagues, absolutely nobody saw this freight train calledthe Super Bowl coming. Actually, it was a lot less catchy than that. They called thatfirst ...
MB company offers hope with your bottle of wine
Feb 03, 2008; ... While shopping for wine at the grocery store, you come acrossbottles of chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Which do you buy? It may depend on whether you want to help fight breast cancer,AIDS or autism. In June, Manhattan Beach resident Jake Kloberdanz ...
Only losers deal the race card
Feb 02, 2008; ... "Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card - and Lose," my newbook, comes out Feb. 5, Super Tuesday. Unfortunately for formerPresident Bill Clinton and his wife, no one sent an advance copy. "Jesse Jackson," said Bill Clinton, "won South Carolina twice, in'84 and '88. And he ran ...
Daily Breeze election endorsements
Feb 02, 2008 ... We offer these recommendations for the nonpartisan issues inTuesday's election: Statewide propositions Proposition 91: This measure, which seeks to dedicate funding forroad improvements, is so redundant that its authors now oppose it.Vote No. Proposition 92: This ...
Political glass houses
Feb 02, 2008; ... That old saw advising those who live in glass houses not to throwstones is particularly true for politicians who denounce one anotherabout campaign contributors. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton ought tohave considered that when she called out her main rival ...
Mountain dangers
Feb 02, 2008; ... The deaths of three expert skiers in avalanches last weekendshould serve as a warning to all who take to the Southern Californiamountains in winter. No amount of outdoors expertise is sufficient in the face ofnature's extreme conditions. Even experts can succumb to naturalforces ...
Sunday Letters to the Editor
Feb 02, 2008 ... Is Elder a Republican? In his column on Jan. 20, Larry Elder wrote what he claimsDemocrats and Republicans believe (Comment page). This just goes toshow how honest he is. He said a few years ago he was not aRepublican but a libertarian yet all he does is attack the Democratsand ...
With something for everyone, Los Angeles thrives on tourism
Feb 02, 2008; ... Mario Lizada, a machinist visiting Los Angeles from Sydney,Australia, couldn't help but take advantage of all the bargains madepossible by the weak U.S. dollar. During a two-week vacation in L.A., he and his family shelled outthousands of dollars for clothes, electronics and ...
The Week Ahead in Business
Feb 03, 2008 ... MONDAY: President Bush's 2009 budget proposal expected to bereleased; News Corp. releases second-quarter financial results. TUESDAY: Walt Disney Co. releases first-quarter financialresults. WEDNESDAY: Labor Department reports on productivity and costs,fourth quarter; Cisco ...
Keep Coliseum's past alive
Feb 02, 2008; ... Sitting on the north side of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseumlast fall during a USC football game, halfway up from the field and35 yards from the west end, I realized I had sat in that samelocation many times to watch Major League Baseball as a teenager.The Dodgers spent their first ...
The Big Test
Feb 01, 2008; ... For San Pedro High School girls soccer coach Gerhard Weber,making it to the city playoffs was never a question of "if" but"when." "Before the season started, I congratulated my girls on winningthe Marine League championship," Weber said this week. He believes that the ...
L.A. closes in on spay/neuter law
Feb 02, 2008; ... Facing a raucous crowd of both supporters and opponents, the LosAngeles City Council on Friday gave preliminary approval to a far-reaching ordinance that would require city residents to spay andneuter their dogs and cats. The council voted 10-1 to adopt the controversial measure ...
Brief Items From Around the South Bay
Feb 02, 2008; ... GARDENA Police fire at a fleeing suspect A Gardena police officer fired twice at a man who resisted arrestlate Friday, but no one was hit, and the suspect surrendered about30 minutes later, police said. Police made a traffic stop for an unspecified reason at ...
Smart Spender
Feb 03, 2008; ... To get married cheaply, decide what you care about - whether itis photos, food or funk - and skimp on everything else. Be ruthless.Remember, people want to see you walk down the aisle, boogie alittle, and be a part of your first day as a married couple. Notmuch else matters ....
Some insurance policies are a waste of money
Feb 03, 2008; ... NEW YORK - Everyone should have health insurance, a homeowners'or renters' policy and auto coverage. Add life insurance if you havedependents and disability insurance if you're working. But that'swhere you should draw the line and keep your wallet closed for themany more types of ...
Foreign investors feel safe in U.S. real estate
Feb 03, 2008; ... Sometimes being stuck is a good thing. That's the case with the L.A. area's commercial real estatemarket, which remained a safe bet for foreign investors last year. They considered this area the third-safest place for their moneyin the United States for the sixth consecutive ...
Torrance's West High is 5th in decathlon
Feb 03, 2008; ... Maybe it was because they lost the hometown advantage. Or maybeit was just somebody else's turn. Whatever the reason, for the first time in four years, Torrance'sWest High didn't take first place in the final competition of theannual Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon, which ...
Celebrity safety zones?
Feb 03, 2008; ... That it took a major mobilization and days of planning for theLos Angeles Police Department to transport troubled superstarBritney Spears to the hospital for psychiatric treatment last weekshows how large a problem the paparazzi have become. But more troubling than a plague of ...
Future looks unhealthy
Feb 03, 2008; ... It's over. The state Senate Health Committee's decision (lastweek) to shoot down the governor's painstakingly prepared universalhealth care proposal is dooming any chance for reform. Californians probably won't see another universal health-care planfor years to come. Still, ...
McCain wins over voters but loses his charm
Feb 03, 2008; ... Usually the guy who's ahead finds it within himself to begracious to his competitors whereas the desperate runner-up goesnegative and reaches for any stick. So it was peculiar to watch JohnMcCain sneering and slicing his way through the debate with MittRomney at the Reagan Library. When ...
Monday Letters to the Editor
Feb 03, 2008 ... Homelessness is ignored I agree with Renee Safier of Redondo Beach ("Poverty must bepriority," Letters to the Editor, Tuesday) that the degree ofpoverty in this country is obscene. On such rainy nights, I wonder how the homeless are holding up inthe downpour. It's more than ...
Economy needs vision
Feb 03, 2008; ... Since the Fed gave another chop to interest rates last week,we've been hearing talk around the water cooler about refinancingmortgages. But that kind of talk is cheap, and mostly misguided. Sadly for mortgage holders, it is the market, not the FederalReserve Bank's actions, that ...
Fair tax play on an asset transfer
Feb 03, 2008; ... Even Nathan, who happens to be gay, admits that he is tiring ofthe gay-marriage debate.But what the Palos Verdes Peninsula resident is concerned aboutis ensuring that his assets transfer as smoothly as possible to hislife partner, should Nathan die unexpectedly or, as he puts ...
The best tech tools for your business
Feb 03, 2008; ... Technology awards tend to be real yawners because there are somany. But there's one annual competition I love because the winners inover two dozen tech categories are chosen by popular vote of smallbusiness tech buyers themselves. In other words, the folks who usethe stuff ...