Bell officials to vote on hiring interim police chief

The city of Bell may soon have a new interim police chief.

The City Council will vote Wednesday on whether to appoint the former police chief of Santa Cruz.

Steve Belcher would step into a position that has been vacant for more than a year and would oversee a department of about 33 sworn officers, according to a city statement. He would also conduct an assessment of the Police Department and make recommendations about its staffing and structure.

Belcher retired after a 32-year career. His name was on a list of qualified candidates supplied to the city by the California Police Chiefs Assn., which waived the $1,000 fee it usually charges for the service.

The appointment of an interim police chief is part of an ongoing effort to fill key positions in the wake of a salary scandal that led to criminal charges against eight former city officials.

Last week, the city hired Debra Kurita as interim community services director. Kurita has more than 30 years of city management experience in Southern California, according to the statement.

Bell  has also hired David Hill, a retired human resource director from the city of Anaheim, to help draft new human resources and personnel management polices, the statement said; he will perform the job without pay.

The new appointments will be part of an "interim management team" that will help the city recruit permanent replacements, the statement said. The team is expected to be in place for at least six months.

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-- Ruben Vives

 

Occupy San Diego protesters vow to remain camped out at City Hall

Several hundred protesters in the Occupy San Diego movement remained camped out late Saturday on the downtown plaza behind City Hall -- vowing to remain there indefinitely.

The protest is part of the nationwide uprising of anger aimed at a variety of economic and social issues, including high unemployment, greed, corruption and political paralysis.

There have been no arrests in San Diego, and police have been quick to say that the protesters are acting within their 1st Amendment rights. The march began Friday afternoon and, according to organizers, included more than 1,000 persons.

On the group's website, one organizer, Toby Benjamin, expressed satisfaction: "Congratulations, everyone! Our hard work has finally come to fruition –- the Occupation is here."

One sign at the plaza read: "Where's My Bailout?"

Another: "If San Diego Is Protesting, Something Big Is Happening."

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego 

Image: A sign from the Occupy San Diego protest. Credit: Fox-5 San Diego

Armenian spiritual leader visits L.A. area

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia and spiritual leader of Armenian Diaspora, visited Glendale Memorial Hospital Friday as part of a larger tour of Southern California.

Having proclaimed 2011 “The Year of the Armenian Child,” the pontiff bestowed blessings to some of the hospital’s patients, newborns and other visitors, organizers told La Canada Valley Sun.

The pontiff’s itinerary for his 20-day tour includes a lecture at UCLA and visits to local churches, schools and other organizations.

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-- Jason Wells, Times Community News

Photo: Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh Mardorosian of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Armenia, rear left, accompanied His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia, right, during a visit of 1- month-old twins Maneh, left, and Vahe, right, at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Friday. Credit: Rau Roa / Times Community News

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 281

Banner day: Arcadia High School flags add even more color to the L.A. County Fair in this Oct. 1 photo by Colleen Riemer.

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

Small fire at LAX causes evacuation at Terminal 6

A small fire at Los Angeles International AIrport forced the evacuation of part of a terminal Saturday.

The fire broke out in an elevator shaft at Terminal 6. Numerous firetrucks responded, and the blaze was quickly extinguished. No one was hurt.

An undetermined number of people at the terminal were briefly evacuated, according to an LAX official

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-- Sam Quinones

twitter.com/samquinones7

 

Camp Pendleton Marine lauded for bravery in Afghanistan

 

Two medals for bravery in Afghanistan were awarded this week to a Marine at Camp Pendleton -- a reminder of how intense the clash between U.S. forces and Taliban fighters has been in the insurgent stronghold of Helmand province.

Master Sgt. David Jarvis received a Silver Star for courage and leadership during a firefight in Sangin on Oct. 25, 2010, and a Bronze Star with a Combat V for valor for a series of similar actions from June to November of the same year.

Jarvis, 34, from Bremerton, Wash., was serving with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and is now a training officer. Before deploying to Afghanistan, he had served two tours in Iraq.

The Silver Star citation notes that during an hour-long firefight in which Marines were outnumbered, Jarvis repeatedly braved enemy fire to position his Marines and direct their counter attack. He used a rocket launcher to keep Taliban fighters from downing a helicopter that was attempting to rescue a badly wounded Marine.

The Bronze Star citation notes “extraordinary guidance, zealous initiative, and total dedication to duty” during 70 combat patrols, 40 firefights and five complex Taliban ambushes. Jarvis is credited with killing numerous Taliban fighters and saving the lives of Marines.

At an award ceremony on a parade deck at the sprawling base, Jarvis dismissed any notion of personal heroism.

“No single Marine wins battles,” the North County Times quoted him as saying. “No individual Marine fights alone. It’s a team effort.”

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Master Sgt. David Jarvis. Credit: Associated Press

 

Earthquake: 3.0 quake strikes near Lake Isabella

A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported Saturday morning 11 miles from Lake Isabella, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 11:55 a.m. PDT at a depth of 2.5 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was 11 miles from Weldon, 17 miles from Onyx, 37 miles from Bakersfield and 100 miles from the Los Angeles Civic Center.

In the past 10 days, there has been one earthquake magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

Read more about California earthquakes on L.A. Now.

— Ken Schwencke

Image credit: Google Maps

Two killed in accident near MacArthur Park; driver arrested

Two men died and another was arrested on charges of murder and drunk driving in an accident near MacArthur Park, west of downtown Los Angeles, early Saturday.

Coroner’s officials identified one of the men who died as Ryan Tauiliili, 24, of Garden Grove. The name of the other man, 29, was withheld pending notification of next of kin. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, David Young Lee, 27, was arrested on charges of felony drunk driving and murder, said Sgt.Jeff Siggers of the LAPD Central Traffic Division. He was hospitalized with a broken leg.

The car carrying the four men was headed east on Wilshire Boulevard at a high rate of speed. It overturned near Park View Street, next to the park. The two men who died were not wearing seat belts.

A fourth person in the car was wearing a seat belt and sustained minor injuries, and was not charged, Siggers said.

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-- Sam Quinones

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Burbank residents oppose adding Taco Bell in crash-prone area

As several residents oppose construction of a Taco Bell at the intersection of Buena Vista Street and Burbank Boulevard because of the number of accidents there, new traffic figures indicate the problem may be worse than first thought.

Earlier this year, Burbank officials looked at traffic-collision rates along Buena Vista from the beginning of 2006 to mid-2010 and found 20 accidents at the intersection with Burbank Boulevard, making it the second-most accident-prone intersection along Buena Vista.

But in the last year alone, police have logged 15 collisions at the intersection, Sgt. Robert Quesada said, making it the third-most dangerous intersection in the entire city. It tied with Hollywood Way at Magnolia Avenue, according to the Glendale News-Press.

The new figures could bolster the argument of residents who live near the proposed Taco Bell, who say the fast-food restaurant would make an already dangerous intersection worse.

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-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News

Snowmobile crossing near Yosemite may accommodate red foxes

Federal officials on Friday said they would move a newly designated snowmobile crossing on the Pacific Crest Trail just north of Yosemite if it interferes with a recently discovered population of Sierra Nevada red foxes in the area.

At least half a dozen Sierra Nevada red foxes, a species once believed to have been nearly wiped out in the 1920s, roam the high-country wilderness just west of Bridgeport, U.S. Forest Service biologists said.

The crossing was designated on Friday. It was chosen to minimize snowmobilers’ exposure to avalanche risk, provide access to Highway 108 near Sonora Pass and provide land managers with an opportunity to shift its location, if necessary, to accommodate the foxes, said Mike Crawley, Bridgeport district ranger for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

“If we happen to find a fox den or foxes nearby whose lives would be affected, we can move the crossing,” Crawley said. “There’s not a huge amount of wiggle room, perhaps a quarter-mile.”

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 directed the Forest Service to create a motorized winter crossing of the Pacific Crest Trail in accordance with the National Trails System Act. The act states that the crossing will not interfere with wildlife or harm the surrounding landscape.

Until last year, biologists believed the only known population of Vulpes vulpes necator consisted of roughly 20 animals clinging to survival in the Lassen Peak region, about 150 miles to the north.

Several red foxes have been sighted in recent months west of Bridgeport, and DNA analysis of scat collected in the area indicates they may be related, Forest Service biologist Sherri Lisius said. In addition, an adult red fox was struck and killed by a vehicle in January near the intersection of U.S. 395 and California 108.

“We don’t know much about the effects of recreation use on the Sierra Nevada red fox,” Lisius said.

Federal wildlife technicians have installed motion-sensitive cameras throughout the area and continue to follow tracks left in the snow in hopes of finding a den with pups.

The Sierra Nevada red fox lives at high elevations, eating small mammals and birds. It has a reddish head, back and sides; black backs of the ears; black "socks" on its feet; and a white-tipped tail.

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-- Louis Sahagun

Photo: Pacific Crest Crossing area north of Yosemite in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Credit: Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

 

 

 

 

Protesters picket Pasadena Bank of America over debit card fees

A small group of protesters with MoveOn.org demonstrated outside the Bank of America branch at Colorado Boulevard and Lake Avenue in Pasadena Friday afternoon, joining the wave of street protests around the country criticizing corporate America.

Maddie Gavel-Briggs, an organizer of Friday’s event, said her group targeted the bank because of its recent announcement that it would charge most debit card users $5 per month and because of larger concerns about the roles banks are playing in the political and economic troubles in the country.

“We felt it was time to draw attention to what these banks are trying to get away with and stand in solidarity with Occupy LA,” Gavel-Briggs said.

Rose Parade float builder shuts down, cites economy

A longtime float builder is bowing out of the Rose Parade, saying the company has been hit hard by cities and nonprofits that are no longer able to afford the giant displays.

Charisma Floats, a 25-year veteran of the New Year's Day tradition, is shutting down its Irwindale business, said Katie Rodriguez, who owns the company with her husband, Matt.

The couple bought Charisma Floats in 2009 in the midst of the credit crisis. In their early 30s, the new owners struggled to compete against heavyweight float makers such as Phoenix Decorating Co. and Fiesta Parade Floats.

Rodriguez said in an announcement that mounting debt, along with the loss of city and nonprofit floats, which made up the majority of clients, made it impossible to keep the business going.

"While sadly it has come to a premature end, we are grateful to have had this amazing journey," Rodriguez said.

She and her husband had worked in the float industry since they were young. They got engaged at the Rose Parade in 2004 and worked with their team year-round to bring alive elaborate creations using foam, steel and thousands of flowers.

A 2009 float honored the Tuskegee Airmen with an enormous, 17-foot-wide bald eagle and two fighter planes frozen in midair. In 2011, they paid tribute to Sept. 11, featuring 1,800 vials of flowers with the names of the attack victims and a fire hydrant pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

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Steve Lopez: It's time for Sheriff Lee Baca to step aside

-- Esmeralda Bermudez

Photo: Katie Rodriguez works on West Covina's 2009 Rose Parade entry.  Credit: Brian Vander Brug  / Los Angeles Times