Featured photo by Kent Tolley
Artists Respond to SP Fire
SAN PEDRO — Six businesses were destroyed after a fire erupted at about 4 a.m. Nov. 2.
It took 146 firefighters more than two hours to contain the flame off the 500 block of Pacific Avenue and 6th Street, official from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Fire crews found smoke billowing from a one-story row of businesses.
A fire captain was hospitalized and treated for exertion.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and there was no estimate on the damage.
On Nov. 5, a group of artists responded by volunteering their services and creating a temporary mural painting on the corner of 6th Street and Pacific Avenue on boarded up buildings impacted by the fire.
That same afternoon arts district’s Tactical Urbanism Committee met. A couple of the participants in that committee were charged up.
“They were really charged up,” said Linda Grimes, who heads the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District. “But, these kids are really hungry and they want to make a splash in the community.”
Ricky Hernandez and his business partner, Ben Avila, offered to organize a crew.
“I contacted all the artists who I know,” Hernandez, 23, said. “We wanted to give back to the community.”
There were more than 20 artists who showed up.
Hernandez’s business, Modern Muralists, purchased the materials. The arts district is working to reimburse the artists for the materials.
The artwork theme was Phoenix Rising.
“We feel a phoenix rising from the ashes is a sign of rebirth,” Hernandez said.
Though the work is a temporary display pending repairs to the businesses, artists see it as an opportunity.
“It was an exercise for us and a demonstration for others,” Hernandez said.
The arts district wants to continue doing more murals in the corridor and hopefully pay the artists for their work.
LBPD Investigates Attempted Murder of CHP Officer
LONG BEACH — A man, who may shot at, but did not hit, a California Highway Patrol officer on Nov. 5, was found dead near railroad tracks.
The incident took place at about 1 p.m. Nov. 1. The Long Beach Police Department requested the assistance of the CHP with the search of an armed suspect near South Street and Cherry Avenue.
The preliminary investigation indicates a CHP motorcycle officer was eastbound on the 91 Freeway, west of Long Beach Boulevard, when he attempted to conduct a traffic stop for a carpool violation. The gold Ford Taurus exited the freeway at Long Beach Boulevard, and proceeded through a red light, initially at a slow rate of speed, then suddenly accelerated and drove away.
A vehicle pursuit ensued for about three to four minutes and ended at South Street and Cherry Avenue when the suspect vehicle collided into a cinder block wall.
The suspect exited the vehicle and ran eastbound on South Street. When the CHP officer attempted to contact the suspect, the suspect turned and fired at the officer who took cover behind his motorcycle. The officer did not return fire. The suspect fled southbound between businesses on South Street and out of the officer’s line of sight.
Long Beach Police received calls from businesses in the area regarding a male adult suspect attempting to rob employees at gunpoint and carjack a vehicle.
A short time later, during a search of the area, Long Beach Police found a man lying near the railroad tracks north of Market Street, with a handgun nearby.
The man matched the description of the suspect involved in the attempt murder of the CHP officer and the attempt robberies.
Long Beach Fire Department responded and determined the suspect dead at the scene. It appeared that the suspect sustained a self-inflicted gunshot injury.
The name of the suspect is not being released at this time. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will make positive identification and notify next of kin.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call (562) 570-7244 or visit www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
$50,000 Reward Issued In Murder Investigation of LBPD Officer
LONG BEACH — On Nov. 3, Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna announced a $50,000 reward and asked for the public’s help with the murder investigation of Long Beach Police Officer Franke Lewis who was killed about 40 years ago.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, at the recommendation of Supervisor Don Knabe, recently issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder. The Long Beach Police Officers Association and the Fraternal Order of Police increased the reward to $50,000. Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia is working with the Long Beach City Council in an effort to add an additional $25,000, which would raise the total reward to $75,000 if successful.
On Dec. 13, 1975, just before 3 a.m., 28-year-old Long Beach Police Officer Franke Lewis was murdered in the 6200 block of Cantel Street in Long Beach. Lewis had been with the department for about two years and was returning home after his patrol shift ended when he tried to stop a crime in progress and was murdered.
About 30 minutes prior to Lewis arriving home, Mr. Denis Gitschier was driving on the freeway, but began to feel tired. Gitschier pulled off the freeway, onto Cantel Street, and went to sleep in his car. He was awakened by a suspect or suspects violently beating him, possibly in an attempt to steal his car.
Based on the investigation, detectives believe Lewis arrived home, parked his personal car and, seeing this activity down the street, went to investigate. As Lewis approached, the suspect or suspects who had violently beaten Gitschier confronted Lewis, shot him, and fled. Residents called police after hearing the gunfire.
Lewis was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Gitschier was transported to a local hospital where he remained for several days due to the extent of his injuries.
Lewis’ duty weapon, police badge, and police identification were taken from his person on the night he was killed. On March 12, 1976, Officer Lewis’ police badge and police identification were recovered from a vacant residence at 915 South Acacia Ave. in Compton. Lewis’ duty weapon remains outstanding.
Long Beach Homicide detectives have revisited this case multiple times over the years. Most recently, detectives have spent time looking at the case, locating witnesses and conducting interviews across the country.
The investigation revealed at least one and possibly two vehicles with several male and female African-American occupants were in the area the night Lewis was killed. These occupants were not known to reside in the area. The vehicles are described as a mid-70s, black top, blue body 4-door Fleetwood Cadillac, and an early 60s white 4-door Fleetwood Cadillac.
Detectives have canvassed the East Long Beach neighborhood where the murder occurred and are looking for additional witnesses. They are hopeful the reward will prompt reluctant witnesses to come forward.
Anyone who may have lived in the Long Beach or Compton areas in 1975, or who may have been involved, or has any information about the murder of Long Beach Police Officer Franke Lewis is urged to call (562) 570-7244 or visit www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
Man Dies in Traffic Collision at 710 Freeway
LONG BEACH — A 35-year-old Long Beach resident died, Nov. 5, after he lost control of his car while driving southbound on the 710 Freeway.
The incident took place at about 12 a.m. Long Beach Police Department officers responded to a collision south of the 6th Street off-ramp. When officers arrived at the scene they found a vehicle overturned and the man dead.
Witnesses said that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it began to spin sideways. The vehicle slid toward the west curb, down the west embankment, overturned and crashed into a tree. The driver did not seem to have his seat belt on at the time and was partially ejected through the sunroof. No other vehicles were involved.
The identity of the driver is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.
Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is urged to (562) 570-7110 or visit www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
Amazing Women
Random Lengths News’ Diana Lejins is among the finalists being honored at with the Long Beach “Amazing Women” at 6th annual PressTelegram gala, Behind Every Woman Is an Amazing Story, Nov. 10 at the Centre at Sycamore Plaza in Lakewood.
The Long Beach-based photojournalist and advocate for people with disabilities. She became interested in advocating for people with disabilities because her parents and grandparents were deaf. Lejins has lived in Long Beach for about 30 years.
This events celebrates the lives and accomplishments of local women who are doing amazing things to help community, schools and businesses.
The program culminates a 3month selection process in which nominations were submitted by PressTelegram readers and 18 winners were chosen in six categories: arts and culture, business/entrepreneur, community service or volunteer, health and wellness, education and lifetime achievement.
A special “tribute” will also take place honoring Joan Van Blom. Winners will be honored at the gala with a special video presentation and award. Profiles will also appear in the Press Telegram, PressTelegram.com and www.presstelegram.com/AmazingWomen.
The finalists include:
Arts and Culture: Mina Barnes, Joan Hansen, Lisa Hartouni
Business and Entrepreneur: Kristi Allen, Dana Buchanan, Sofia Riley
Community Service or Volunteer: Crystal Angulo, Diana Lejins, Juanita Wilson
Education: Dr. Lyndsey Christoffersen, J. Cacilia Kim, Carrie Redflox
Health and Wellness: Sunny Daye, Kelli Johnson, Karen Taylor
Lifetime Achievement: Requeta “Ricky” Campbell, Julie Mendell, Phyllis Schmidt
Tribute: Joan Van Blom
Hall Endorses Malauulu
LONG BEACH – On Nov. 6, Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees candidate
Vivian Malauulu announced that her campaign for the Board’s Area Two seat in next
April’s municipal elections has secured a formal endorsement from local State Sen. Isadore
Hall. Hall’s 35th State Senate District includes portions of Long Beach.
Last week, Malauulu announced that her campaign had obtained the support of State Assembly
Education Committee Chairman Patrick O’Donnell. Her endorsements also includes Long Beach City College’s full and part-time faculty associations and classified staff, State Sen. Tony Mendoza, former State Sen. Betty Karnette, Teamsters Joint Council 42, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Pacific Shore Now Endorses Pearce for LB City Council
LONG BEACH — On Nov. 4, The Jeannine Pearce for Long Beach City Council Campaign is announced the endorsement of the Long Beach Chapter of the National Organization for Women, Pacific Shore NOW.
“It is the consensus of Pacific Shore NOW to endorse Jeannine Pearce for Second District of the Long Beach City Council, based on the fact that her work most closely aligns with the primary NOW issues,” stated Zoe Nicholson, president of Pacific Shore NOW, in the organization’s endorsement release.
Jeannine Pearce is a longtime 2nd District resident. Her priorities include supporting a thriving and growing local economy, building a clean and safe environment for resident.
Adopted at a young age, Jeannine grew up very poor. She moved out of her home at the age of 16 and has worked since then. She made the move from her home state of Texas to California with her husband in 2005. After a decade of working multiple jobs while going to college, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Long Beach State University with a degree in sociology in 2009. She lives near Retro Row with her husband, Ryan, and daughter, Jubilee.
POLA Communications Initiative Earns Top Honors
SAN PEDRO — On Nov. 4, the American Association of Port Authorities awarded the Port of Los Angeles the association’s top communications competition prize, the Dan Maynard Communication Award for Overall Excellence. The port also earned 21 additional awards as part of the AAPA’s 48th annual Communications Awards Program, which received a total of 126 competition entries from 28 ports around the country.
The Dan Maynard award is given to the port with the highest-scoring single entry regardless of category. Earning a nearly perfect score in the Special Events competition category this year – and the highest overall of any submission – was the Port of Los Angeles’ Lunar New Year Festival. This first-time event was created to honor Los Angeles’ many cultures and the port’s primary trade partners abroad. Attracting more than 3,000 visitors to the LA Waterfront, the festival was applauded by a judging panel from the Public Relations Society of America’s National Chapter.
The Port of Los Angeles was also recognized with six additional American Association of Port Authorities Awards of Excellence, six Awards of Distinction and nine Awards of Merit. The port’s Awards of Excellence included:
– STEM Funshop – This first-time event was organized to educate youth about the Port and maritime-industry careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an age-appropriate, positive and stimulating way. The event attracted more than 1,000 participants, double the expected number.
– Think Watershed Field Trips – These hands-on, science-based boat field trips were created by the Port to teach fourth through seventh grade students about the importance of environmental stewardship and sustainability in the maritime environment. The program reaches up to 15 schools (30 classes) and 900 students per year.
– Tall Ships Festival LA 2014 – Featuring ten tall ships and Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s giant Rubber Duck, the festival and its “parade of sails” attracted more than 277,000 visitors to the LA Waterfront over a five-day period this past August and generated an estimated $8.2 million in local spending.
– America’s Port® Video – This marketing video highlights Los Angeles’ position as the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere and as a global model for sustainability, security and social responsibility. Translated into five languages, the video emphasizes the key advantages of doing business with the Port of Los Angeles.
– School Boat Tour – Hosting more than 10,000 students this past year, the port’s free educational boat tour program for students 4th grade and above provides students with an up-front perspective and in-depth look at the Port’s daily operations and the global maritime industry.
– LAtitude – This high-quality, multi-media e-news magazine shares informative stories about business trends at the Port and how the Port works with its customers, cargo owners and the industry at large to create win-win opportunities.
The Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence trophy was awarded to the Port of Los Angeles during an awards luncheon on Nov. 4, 2015 at AAPA’s annual convention in Miami.
The annual AAPA Communications Awards Program has recognized excellence in port communications since 1966. The award competition includes 15 entry classifications, ranging from advertisements, to videos and magazines, to social media programs. Entries are judged by an independent panel of experienced communications professionals from the Public Relations Society of America’s National Chapter in Washington, DC.
LA Fails to Charge, Spend Developer Fees for Infrastructure
LOS ANGELES – City Controller Ron Galperin issued an audit that found the City of Los Angeles is failing to exercise its power to charge citywide development impact fees, which state law says can be collected from developers to mitigate their projects’ impacts on neighborhoods and defray the costs of public facilities and infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, libraries, parks and police stations.
In preparing their report, auditors in Galperin’s office compared Los Angeles with other western cities. In fiscal year 2013-14, San Francisco had $3.6 billion in permitted construction and collected $96 million in impact fees. Portland had $1.5 billion in permitted construction and collected $31 million. Meanwhile, Los Angeles had $5.3 billion in permitted construction but collected less than $5 million in impact fees. Based on these numbers, auditors said Los Angeles had the potential to collect tens of millions of dollars more in fees.
Also, when auditors looked at the fees the city had collected, they identified $54 million sitting in eight special funds whose balances had grown or remained stable over three years, which suggested the city was failing to spend the money it collected. Auditors cautioned that some unspent fees could be subject to challenges and/or refunds. Most of the fees the City charges are for neighborhood-specific purposes. In fact, the only citywide fees the city charges are for public art and fire hydrants.
The 1987 California Mitigation Fee Act allows cities to charge residential, commercial and industrial developers fees to pay for public facilities new developments necessitate. The fees can be used for many purposes, such as increasing fire and police protection, traffic mitigation, and the construction of libraries, parks, public art, child care facilities and affordable housing.
Developers who spoke with the controller’s office said their primary concern wasn’t having to pay mitigation fees, but the glacial pace of project approval — even when their projects generate jobs and revenues for the city — revenues that include impact fees.
In his report, Galperin called for the city to establish a comprehensive impact fee program and designate one department to take responsibility for making sure the funds are properly and efficiently used.
Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association President Richard Close concurred. “In high development neighborhoods like mine, we have a great need for new infrastructure, but City officials often tell us they don’t have the money,” Close said.
In preparing their report, auditors examined a three-year period ending in FY 2013-14. They identified seventeen funds established to hold development impact fee revenues. The balance of those funds at the end of the period was $68 million.
More information about the funds where impact fees are deposited, as well as the other 900+ City special funds, including fund contact information, can be found at controlpanel.la.
Link to audit: http://controller.lacity.org/Audits_and_Reports/index.htm
SoCal Company Pays $4 Million, Enters Agreement to Resolve Allegations that it Overcharged U.S. Military for Fruit, Vegetables
LOS ANGELES – On Nov. 2, Los Angeles-based Coast Produce Co., paid $4 million to resolve civil allegations that it fraudulently overcharged the U.S. military for fresh fruits and vegetables that it supplied to military dining facilities and Navy ships in Southern California.
As part of a second agreement with criminal prosecutors, Coast Produce Co. will implement various measures to ensure the company complies with its legal obligations.
Coast Produce Co.’s settlement agreements with the government resolve a civil lawsuit and criminal investigation into allegations that the company violated the federal False Claims Act and obstructed an investigation related to two contracts the company had with the Department of Defense to supply fresh produce to the military in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions.
The allegations against Coast Produce first surfaced in a “whistleblower” lawsuit filed in 2008 by an industry consultant. To resolve the allegations in the lawsuit, Coast paid a $4 million settlement on Sept. 2. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter unsealed and dismissed the civil lawsuit on September 17.
Under its contract with the Department of Defense, Coast Produce allegedly was required to charge only the current prices charged to Coast by its own suppliers for the fruits and vegetables (the “delivered price”), plus an additional fixed $1.50-per-unit distribution fee that included Coast’s profit. The lawsuit alleged that Coast Produce knowingly overcharged the military on the delivered prices in three ways: 1) by instructing two suppliers to provide inflated quotes for produce, which the company then submitted to the Department of Defense as pricing support, while simultaneously instructing the two suppliers to actually bill at their regular lower prices; 2) by charging the Department of Defense more than it paid for bananas and pineapples under long-term fixed-price supply contracts; and 3) submitting artificially high quotes to the Department of Defense – typically from vendors Coast Product had no intention of buying from – in order to set a payment rate, but then actually purchasing the produce it supplied at lower prices and keeping the difference.
The settlement arises from a qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit originally filed under seal in 2008 by Kevin Driscoll pursuant to the provisions of the federal False Claims Act. The U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated Mr. Driscoll’s allegations, elected to intervene in the lawsuit, and negotiated the settlement. Pursuant to the False Claims Act, Mr. Driscoll will receive $920,000.
In relation to the criminal investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Sept. 2 filed a criminal information against Coast Produce, alleging that the company altered or falsified records. The information alleged that Coast Produce provided false invoices to the Department of Defense when it requested evidence concerning the prices Coast was paying for produce it provided the military. The criminal information was filed pursuant to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, in which the government agreed to defer any criminal case against Coast Produce for a two-year period in return for the company’s agreement to implement various compliance and remedial measures during that period, among other things. If Coast Produce does not violate the agreement during the 24-month period, the government will not proceed with a criminal case against Coast.
In an ordered signed on Oct. 30, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson dismissed the information filed by the government, which can be refiled in the event of a breach of the agreement by Coast.
There is no allegation that the fruits and vegetables supplied by the company were unsatisfactory in quality. Coast Produce agreed to the civil settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. As to the criminal Deferred Prosecution Agreement, Coast admitted the facts attached, but did not admit that it committed any crime.