Daily Breeze back issues from February 2009:
Jump-starting America
Feb 01, 2009 ... If the sheer size of the $819 billion stimulus bill passed by theHouse last week doesn't overwhelm Americans, the ambitious sweep ofspending within the 647-page document should grab their attention. The House package goes a long way toward its primary goal of jump-starting a ...
Monday's Letters to the Editor
Feb 01, 2009 ... College's plan too massive I am fairly new to this part of Rancho Palos Verdes and liveright across the street from Marymount College. Not wanting to beone of those "not in my neighborhood" kind of people, I attendedseveral Planning Commission meetings to learn more about ...
Redondo runners celebrate Super Bowl
Feb 01, 2009 ... A wave of 10 K runners take off from the start of the 31st AnnualRedondo Beach Super Bowl 10 K/5 K Sunday race at Portofino Way andHarbor Drive on Sunday. Brian Livingston won the 10 K with a time of30:46.6. An estimated 10,000 ...
Changes at Interior
Feb 01, 2009 ... The new sheriff, as he's calling himself these days, will belaying down the law on ethics and accountability at the U.S.Department of the Interior.And boy, does recently confirmed Secretary Ken Salazar have amess to clean up.Salazar's first priority, and rightly so, is ...
Palestinian myth machine in high gear
Feb 01, 2009; ... 'I srael has committed the war crime of the 21st century," crieda Palestinian representative. Using massive force against a crowdedrefugee camp, Saeb Erakat claimed, the Israelis had "massacred"hundreds of Palestinian civilians. A CNN reporter used the figure of300-400 dead. Peter ...
The 'why' of suicide-murders eludes us
Feb 01, 2009 ... I hear from so many good people. Concerning the suicide-murders in Wilmington and my column, NeilProffitt wrote, "These 'statistical anomalies' matter because theyinvolve human beings. When even one of us veers from that identityby some aberrant behavior like murder, it is just ...
Plans to revive old Hawthorne mall stall
Feb 01, 2009; ... The immense Hawthorne Plaza mall has sat mostly vacant for years,begging for tenants or some kind of overhaul, but its owners and adivided City Council are at an impasse over what to do about theblighted property. City of Hawthorne The owner, Arman Gabay's The Charles Co., sent a ...
Lawndale: Tree dedication is today
Feb 01, 2009; ... Jane Addams Middle School will host a tree dedication ceremonytoday in front of the campus gymnasium lobby, 4535 W. 153rd Place inLawndale. The event begins at ...
The Soap Opera Scoreboard
Feb 02, 2009 ... ALL MY CHILDREN: Brot impresses Greenlee, Taylor and Frankie withhis ability to soothe Emma after she suffers a minor burn. Jakeadmits to Taylor he regrets not knowing what might have been betweenthem. Ryan is disturbed by Dr. Sinclair's apparent vendetta againstAnnie after she makes it ...
It's hard not to rely on the material world for support
Feb 02, 2009; ... Part 2 of a three-part series on materialism. Last week's column addressed the concept of "materialism," andthe fact that, contrary to popular usage, it has a much broaderdefinition than a person or society's focus upon "things," inparticular, purchasable things. Rather, ...
Media failed to examine realities of Gaza occupation
Feb 02, 2009; ... Any objective report card on the American media coverage ofIsrael's war on Gaza would have a grade of "C" at best. For the most part, the mainstream media reported on the conflictas a "tit for tat" between two equal opponents, with the blameresting squarely on the Palestinian ...
Mr. Know-It-All: The 411 on Stradivarius
Feb 02, 2009; ... Question: I don't know anything about violins. In fact, I don'tknow much about any stringed instrument. I do know the nameStradivarius, and that it's a top-quality violin. I figureStradivarius is the name of the violinmaker. When was he born?Where? How many instruments did he make? ...
In the Classroom: Students at Point Fermin examine something fishy
Feb 02, 2009; ... » BLOG: South Bay education news Learning can be a messy business. The students in a fifth-grade class at Point Fermin ElementarySchool found that out the hard way Wednesday as they dissected amackerel to identify its internal organs. "Did everyone find your ...
The Freshman: Freedom is nice, but it's not always filling
Feb 02, 2009; ... In almost every way, coming to LMU has given me more freedom andmore independence.I can do what I want, when I want. My mom never reminds me tostudy; my dad never tells me to take out the trash. I can stay upuntil 3 a.m. night after night, eat pizza at every meal and partywith ...
Gas Co. union's deal avoids strike
Feb 02, 2009 ... Southern California Gas Co. and an employee union some 5,000members strong reached a tentative agreement that averted a strikethat was to have started at midnight, a union spokeswoman saidSunday. "The settlement literally came together in the last minute," saidMary Gutierrez of ...
Cheap tech: New $10 laptop to be unveiled
Feb 02, 2009; ... India is poised to unveil the ultimate in credit-crunchcomputing: a 500-rupee ($10) laptop. A government-developed prototype, due to be shown for the firsttime Tuesday, will mark the most ambitious attempt yet to bringcomputers to the developing world and to bridge the "digital ...
Measure B: A cost differential
Feb 02, 2009 ... Measure B burden falls on city of L.A. No wonder Los Angeles city officials waited so long to releasefinancial data about Measure B, the solar initiative on the March 3city ballot. The first independent analyses were far fromflattering. Last week, our sister newspaper, the ...
Hey, MTA! Speed it up!
Feb 02, 2009 ... MTA offers help for bike commuters, but program should beaccelerated. In a region clogged with traffic and plagued with air pollution,we should celebrate people who choose to commute by bicycle. And, ifat all possible, we should make their trip a little easier. Afterall, that's ...
Tuesday Letters to the Editor
Feb 02, 2009 ... Wrong choice for Treasury The Senate's approval of Timothy Geithner as treasury secretaryshould be an outrage to all Americans who pay taxes. A few years ago while he was in college, my son worked fordishonest restaurant owners (unbeknownst to him) and then washounded by ...
CEO's office decorated with greed
Feb 02, 2009; ... It was the wastebasket. That did it for me. No, you can't justify $87,000 for a rug and you can't justify$35,000 for a commode - yes, a commode - but you really, reallycan't explain $1,400 for a wastebasket. Made out of parchment. Who buys a wastebasket that can catch ...
Cut the red tape on infrastructure
Feb 02, 2009; ... By Thomas V. McKernan The United States is poised to enact the largest economicstimulus package in history. The president and congressional leadershave told the nation they intend to use stimulus funds to upgraderoads, bridges, mass transit and other infrastructure - ...
Why octuplets went from miracle to horror
Feb 02, 2009; ... When the story broke last week, hospital officials didn'timmediately know what to call eight babies born at the same time tothe same mom. They were, apparently, ready for seven but it was the surpriseeighth baby in a near-historic litter that surprised everyone in aworld where ...
Reserving a hotel career
Feb 02, 2009; ... » BLOG: South Bay business news In his early 20s, Tom Beedon worked three jobs that he creditswith sending him into a successful career. Beedon delivered newspapers in Orange County each morning, workedas a room service waiter at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Nigel for ...
Beating suit against Hawthorne police settled
Feb 02, 2009; ... RELATED LINKS: * » BLOG: Keep up to date with South Bay crime and court news * » BLOG: Track South Bay court cases * » South Bay crime stats Two people who claim they were beaten by Hawthorne police duringa raucous party in 2006 have settled their ...
Giving North MB an identity
Feb 02, 2009; ... Three years ago, fast food wrappers and empty liquor bottles werecommon early morning sights outside Alie Volk's El Porto clothingboutique. But these days, the blight has all but disappeared outside VolkHis & Hers, a change its owner largely attributes to a strengthenedbusiness ...
3 alleged drunken drivers crash into 4 police cars in Hawthorne
Feb 02, 2009; ... RELATED LINKS: * Beating suit against Hawthorne police settled * BLOG: Keep up to date with South Bay crime and court news * BLOG: Track South Bay court cases * South Bay crime stats Suspected drunken drivers made it easy for police officers to ...
First jet noise, then mold
Feb 03, 2009; ... The city of El Segundo will redo some work performed tosoundproof a home against jet noise from the airport next door, butwhich resulted in sickening mold growth, its owners allege. City officials have agreed to replace the windows that Neal andLaura Jane Boushell believe were ...
2 local banks snag U.S. funding
Feb 03, 2009; ... RELATED LINKS: * » Bank of Manhattan * » MAP: BofM location * » Beach Business Bank * » MAP: BBB location * » BLOG: South Bay business news From the name, you might think that Bank of Manhattan was a WallStreet powerhouse ...
Galileo the star of year at Griffith
Feb 03, 2009; ... In 1609, a Tuscan astronomer fashioned the world's finesttelescope and aimed it at the heavens. What Galileo Galilei observed in Padua, Italy, would upend ournotions of the cosmos. "Galileo Galilei was the first modern scientist, and when helooked at the sky in 1609, his ...
L.A. police chief backing councilman
Feb 03, 2009; ... Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton on Monday endorsedCouncilman Jack Weiss in his race for city attorney in the March 3election. "Nobody has worked harder in my six years as chief on issues ofgangs, terrorism and forensics testing than Weiss," said Bratton,emphasizing that ...
Letter step to courthouse land swap
Feb 03, 2009; ... Redevelopment leaders on Monday paved the way for a major landswap that could lead to the relocation and expansion of a regionalcourthouse in downtown Long Beach. Under the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency action, a letter ofintent will be sent to the Judicial Council of California ...
Lining up for free breakfast
Feb 03, 2009; ... Diane Jackson used to visit the Denny's restaurant in Lawndale atleast once a week "until our pockets went empty" about four monthsago because of her tightening household budget. So when she saw the Denny's Super Bowl commercial promising afree breakfast on Tuesday, Jackson, 56, ...
Scammers steal $9M using ATM cards
Feb 03, 2009; ... Hackers orchestrated a highly coordinated, global attack on ATMcards involving the theft of a staggering $9 million from bankcustomers - and they could strike again, according to aninvestigation by FOX 5 TV in New York. Customers' personal information might also have been ...
'The Producers' navigates way to laughs
Feb 03, 2009; ... Musical Theatre West's ship has come in. And it's the "Titanic." (Cue rimshot) I kid, I kid. What can I say? I'm left giddy by the Long Beach company'sstaging of the unsinkable, Tony Award- winning, multimillion-dollar-grossing musical that needs nointroduction ....
DEA raids Marina del Rey medical marijuana dispensary
Feb 03, 2009; ... Federal narcotics agents raided a medical marijuana dispensary inMarina del Rey on Tuesday, but officials were not revealing anythingabout their investigation. The raid occurred about noon at Marina Caregivers, 730 WashingtonBlvd. "We are looking for violations of federal ...
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:Would suspending mail deliveries one day a week be a good way to control postal rates?"
Feb 03, 2009 ... Call 310-543-6691 or e-mail your thoughts. Answers should includeyour full name, hometown and telephone number. We will not publishyour phone number. Answers will be published ...
Redondo runners celebrate Super Bowl
Feb 02, 2009 ... A wave of 10K runners take off from the start of the 31st AnnualRedondo Beach Super Bowl 10K/5 K race at Portofino Way and HarborDrive on Sunday. Brian Livingston won the 10K with a time of30:46.6. An estimated 10,000 ...
Coping with crises
Feb 03, 2009 ... In the wake of the recent murder-suicide in Wilmington, thecounty Department of Mental Health has been working to providecrisis counseling and referral services to those traumatized by thehorrific deaths. But how much longer the department can provide services to fightproblems ...
A full plate on food safety
Feb 03, 2009 ... Americans have been subjected to a plateful of alarming anddisgusting food-contamination outbreaks in recent years.First, there were tainted cantaloupes, jalape os and spinach.Now, it's salmonella in peanut products that has savvy shopperssqueamishly double-checking ...
Wednesday's Letters to the Editor
Feb 03, 2009 ... Artificial turf has benefits I would like to comment on Carolyn Major's letter (Sunday)regarding the installation of artificial turf at our schools'athletic fields. Major asks, "Who benefits from this idea ?" I can think of acouple of groups of people. No. 1: the citizens ...
Moneywise: Bailing out financially errant kids
Feb 03, 2009; ... Not surprisingly, perhaps, most requests for advice from parentswhose children have gotten into hot water financially involvefamilies of means. Sometimes it's a minor issue - the overextendedcredit card. But other times it's a whopper, such as the recent casein which a college student ...
VCRs in the digital age
Feb 03, 2009; ... Q: VCRs in the digital age Are we going to have to buy new VCRs with digital tuners in orderto tape? This seems unfair to waste these perfectly good VCRs, whenwe paid good money for them. Please explain what the governmentexpects us to do. - JEAN TOBIAS Lawndale ...
My Turn: Breeze reporter's TV moment comes and goes, but byline remains
Feb 03, 2009; ... The clock was ticking. It was hot. 6 p.m. passed. 6:20. Where wasthe limo? Yes, limo. By 7 p.m., the time the show began, it was obvious nobody wascoming to get me. I was bumped. I went inside, took off my suit andleft an angry message for the producer. It wasn't the first ...
PV offers scholarship in memory of board member
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news The Palos Verdes Homes Association is offering scholarships inmemory of longtime board member Harry Brandel jr. to area highschool and college students pursuing a major in architecture, civilengineering, land-use planning or fine arts. At least one ...
Baby boy born with 12 fingers, 12 toes
Feb 02, 2009; ... A baby boy was born in California with six fingers on each handand six toes on each foot, KTVU-TV in San Francisco reported. Kamani Hubbard, the baby boy born to a couple in Daly City, has acondition called "polydactyly" - a genetic trait that causes theappearance of extra fingers ...
3 students selected for All-State Honor Band
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news Three local students were recently selected to play in the 2009California All-State Honor Band. Joining the band are Redondo UnionHigh School trumpet player Amelia Gould, Mira Costa High SchoolFrench horn ...
CSUDH offers accelerated law classes
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news California State University, Dominguez Hills and Southwestern LawSchool have partnered on two accelerated programs for studentsinterested in pursuing a career in law. The first lets graduatestudents finish a law degree at ...
Pacific Lutheran to accept foreign students
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news Pacific Lutheran High School in Torrance has recently beenapproved by the Department of Homeland Security to acceptinternational students. The ...
ECC Veteran Club seeks new members
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news El Camino College's Student Veteran Club is looking for moremembers to build a strong community of support for veterans. Theclub is open to veterans, faculty, alumni and students who are notinvolved in the ...
Cox Communications offers scholarships
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news Cox Communications and the Southern California Cable &Telecommunications Association are accepting scholarshipapplications through March 13 from high school seniors interested intelecommunications ...
Polygraph tests rarely necessary
Feb 02, 2009; ... Question: Can my employer require me to take a lie detector test?What if I refuse to do so because I think they're not accurate?- D.T. El Segundo Answer: The federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)precludes most private employers from using lie detector ...
Streetlight outages
Feb 02, 2009; ... Q: Streetlight outages The streetlights on Maple Avenue and Monterey Street have beenout for months. We have called Edison numerous times to report theproblem, but nothing is being done. How can we find out what's goingon and how to get them working again? It's not safe to come ...
Mattel to raise prices, cut spending
Feb 02, 2009; ... El Segundo-based toymaker Mattel Inc. said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent, much worse than analysts expected,as consumers cut spending even on toys during the weakest holidayseason in decades. Its shares fell 15 percent. Sales of Barbie, who turns 50 this ...
Magruder Middle School gets ham radios
Feb 02, 2009; ... BLOG: South Bay education news Magruder Middle School recently received ham radios andinstruction guides from the American Radio Relay League. The campusplans to create a radio club to give students hands-on experiencewith the technology. Students will be ...
Torrance board picks bond panel
Feb 03, 2009; ... The Torrance school board this week appointed a 13-membercommittee to oversee whether bond money is being spent according toplan. Board members on Monday also voted unanimously to move West HighSchool's graduation to the tennis stadium at the Home Depot Centerin Carson as the ...
BOOKS, BRICKS AND MORTAR:A branch grows in north Redondo Beach
Feb 03, 2009; ... With a few swipes from a backhoe and some whacks from cityofficials, the demolition of the Redondo Beach north branch librarygot off to a ceremonial start Tuesday before a crowd gathered in itsparking lot. The event was also a celebration of what's planned next -- anearly $6.4 ...
Old building becomes city's storage center
Feb 03, 2009; ... Although they once considered turning an old library into cityoffices or a temporary senior club, Lawndale officials have settledon using the area for storage instead. The City Council decided Monday to transform the 3,200-square-foot building near 146th Street and Burin Avenue ...
Rove defends Bush policies
Feb 03, 2009; ... Karl Rove came to Loyola Marymount University on Tuesday night totalk about the First Amendment, and the students and alumni on handmade the most of it. One man loudly denounced Rove as a "traitor" before he wasescorted out. A woman held up a pair of handcuffs and said she ...
Civic Center facility ready for its close-up
Feb 03, 2009; ... There's no longer a frenzied morning rush by regulars to plugtheir laptops into the scant number of electrical outlets that onceexisted in the circa-1971 Torrance main library. Rickety, towering book stacks have been removed from the centerof the floor, providing a brighter, airy ...
The Police Blotter: Local crime news
Feb 03, 2009; ... CARSON 1. Residential burglary: 8:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Jan. 22, 19700 block of South WadleyAvenue. A patio window was broken. Loss: jewelry box, jewelry,travel bag and money. 2. Residential burglary: 6 a.m. Jan. 17 to 11 p.m. Jan. 21, 21900 block of Vera ...
SP woman shot in head dies
Feb 03, 2009; ... A woman found shot in the head behind a popular San Pedrorestaurant has died, police said Monday. The woman, Ginie M. Samoya, 27, of San Pedro, died Sunday atCounty Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from her wounds. Samoya was found about 8:15a.m. in her Toyota Tercel parked in ...
Burial plans made for Wilmington family
Feb 03, 2009; ... Relatives of the Wilmington family that died in a murder-suicidelast week say burials will take place in California and Guatemala. Details were announced Monday at the Guatemalan Consulate in LosAngeles by 37-year-old Yolondo Lupoe, the sister of the man policesay shot his wife, ...
RB lagoon proposals on agenda
Feb 03, 2009; ... City officials in Redondo Beach will review plans Feb.17 forrehabilitating Seaside Lagoon. A handful of concepts presented in December were sent back tostaff members for revisions, mainly because of the price attached tothem ....
SP honorary mayor event begins Feb. 25
Feb 03, 2009; ... San Pedro's Honorary Mayor campaign will kick off Feb.25 with ashowcase of local businesses and other festivities. The event, sponsored by the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, ...
Man killed by exploding cell phone
Feb 03, 2009; ... A man has died after his cell phone exploded, severing a majorartery in his neck, according to reports. The man, thought to be a shop assistant in his twenties at acomputer shop in Guangzhou, southern China, died after he put a newbattery in his phone. It was believed that he may ...