A Norco-based church has filed papers in federal bankruptcy court saying it will pay $50 million in cash for the financially troubled Crystal Chathedral in Garden Grove on the condition that family members of cathedral founder Robert H. Schuller resign from the organization’s board of directors.
A letter and plan filed by My Fathers House Church International is one of several proposals offered to the cathedral’s board of directors, which was reorganized this week. On Saturday, Crystal Cathedral spokesman John Charles said he did not believe the proposal was “a viable plan.”
According to a letter of intent filed Thursday, the Norco church would accept resignations from all Schuller family members and their bankruptcy lawyers if the proposal were accepted.
“There will be a respectful transition that allows everyone to leave with dignity, so everyone wins,” said founding Pastor Mark A. Thomas, who leads the church with his wife, Kimberley.
The Fathers House Church broadcasts a twice-a-week program called “Latter Day Kings,” which officials say draws at least 10,000 viewers. The church would also set up an escrow fund to repay the cathedral’s debts, using 75% of donations received monthly.
The letter said that the “current church administration is perceived as self-serving.”
“A church can never prosper as a business once it has lost the trust and support of its “parishioners,” the letter read.
Thomas said in a phone interview Saturday that his church would evaluate staff members through the period of transition.
“We’re not coming in to hit people on the head and say goodbye on the first day,” he said.
He said that Robert H. Schuller will continue to be honored. “It is not a cut-off of what Dr. Schuller has done, it’s a continuation,” he said.
A bankruptcy hearing before Judge Robert Kwan is scheduled for Aug. 1 in Santa Ana.
--Nicole Santa Cruz
Saturday, July 30, 2011
$50 million offer for Crystal Cathedral
Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 211
Angel in the infield: César Corona photographs Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick, playing against the Dodgers on June 25. The Angels won that day, 6-1, at Dodger Stadium.
Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. For the first week of August, we challenge you to go mobile. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.
Buena Park police officer dies after training exercise
A 31-year-old Buena Park police officer who showed signs of fatigue during a training exercise died Saturday at an Orange County hospital, authorities said.
Officer Daniel Ackerman was participating in a SWAT physical fitness test Friday at about 8:15 a.m. when he was rushed to St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Buena Park Cpl. Andy Luong said. He died about 3:40 a.m. Saturday.
Ackerman, a resident of Irvine, appeared to be in good physical shape. “We just don’t know until the autopsy is completed,” Luong said.
Ackerman began with the department as a police Explorer in October 1995 and became a reserve officer in April 2001. He was hired full-time in June 2005. He is survived by his mother, sister and 2-year-old daughter.
The SWAT fitness test takes place every six months and involves an obstacle course and distance running.
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Bankrupt San Diego toll road to be purchased by regional government
-- Corina Knoll
San Diego County regional government to buy bankrupt toll road
A San Diego regional government organization has agreed to purchase the bankrupt State Route 125 toll road near the U.S.-Mexico border for approximately $345 million.
Opened in November 2007, the 10-mile toll road in southern San Diego County was described initially as an example for Los Angeles and other traffic-beset regions on how a private-public partnership could build new roads and ease congestion.
Instead it became a cautionary tale about risky assumptions, and the stubborn opposition of motorists to paying tolls. In March 2010 the road's operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, noting that traffic counts were less than 50% of projections.
Tolls were based on the size of vehicle and distance of the trip. For most cars, a short trip has cost 85 cents, the entire 10-miles, $4.
The road stretches from State Route 905 near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry north through eastern Chula Vista to State Route 54 near the Sweetwater Reservoir.
The San Diego Assn. of Governments, governed by a board composed of officials from the region's 18 cities and the Board of Supervisors, voted in closed session Friday to make the purchase, once a public hearing is held.
Under the new ownership, the road won't be free but tolls will be reduced, officials said.
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-- Tony Perry in San Diego
Photo: Choir members from Bonita Vista High School cavort along the South Bay Expressway, a.k.a. State Route 125, at the toll road's dedication in November 2007. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times
Car slams into parked police cruiser, injuring 4 LAPD officers
Four LAPD officers responding to a party call in West Hills were hurt -- one seriously -- early Saturday morning when a woman apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of a sports car and collided with one of their parked patrol cars, authorities said.
The accident took place about 2 a.m on Fallbrook Avenue just north of Victory Boulevard. Two officers were outside their patrol cars and two others were nearby when the sports car, a late-model black Jaguar, slammed into one of the cruisers, police said.
The impact led to a chain reaction in which two officers were hit by their patrol car, which hit another cruiser, injuring the other two officers.
Three officers were taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. One was in serious condition with unspecified internal injuries and a broken leg. There other two officers were treated at the hospital and released.
Investigators determined that the woman, who was also taken to the hospital, was not intoxicated. She too was treated and released.
"The officers were extremely fortunate not to have suffered more devastating injuries than they did," said LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger.
"Although the collision remains under investigation, the incident serves as a reminder to all motorists of their obligation to remain attentive and alert whenever they're behind the wheel."
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-- Andrew Blankstein (Twitter: @Anblanx)
Man still seeks surgery after taking knife to his stomach hernia
A man who used a butter knife to try to remove a football-sized hernia protruding from his stomach is still trying to get doctors to treat him, his wife said.
For several days now, Maria Demestihas told the Glendale News-Press, she's been at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, pleading desperately with doctors to treat the hernia.
Her husband, Nicholas Demestihas, was taken to a hospital earlier this week after he attempted to perform surgery on himself. Doctors addressed the knife wound but left the hernia alone. Maria Demestihas said her husband’s schizophrenia has made it more difficult for him to solicit surgery.
“The issue is the money because we don’t have insurance,” she said. “If he had insurance, they would do it right away.”
--Veronica Rocha, Times Community News
Photo: Glendale resident Maria Demestihas holds a photo of her husband, Nicholas, at their home on Wednesday. He attempted to perform surgery on himself with a 6-inch butter knife. Credit: Roger Wilson / Times Community News
459,000 marijuana plants removed, 100 arrested in huge crackdown
Federal authorities said they have made 100 arrests in a crackdown on marijuana cultivation in Mendocino National Forest.
At a press conference Friday, Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for the northern district of California, said the forest is "under attack" by armed drug traffickers.
"People don't go hiking in the summer" for fear of coming across the marijuana cultivators, she said. "I tell people be careful when they go hiking. This is an intolerable situation and it has to be stopped."