"Program discontinuance" fails to sit well with students

In an effort to cut about $2 million from its 2013-2014 budget, Long Beach City College announced that they would discontinue 19 programs, including photography, welding, recording arts and aviation maintenance, and eliminate up to 30 full-time teaching positions.

Over 200 students, employees and supporters gathered at the LBCC Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the Liberal Arts Campus with signs and posters in hand and several of them lined up to talk to the trustees when the floor was opened up to the public.

“I am here today to demonstrate to you the importance of photography in our society and for the need of the photography program here at Long Beach City College. Photography is the most widely observed form of communication in the world today. One cannot go through a day without seeing a photograph or an image just the way you can a painting or a sculpture.

Photographs are everywhere: from billboards and posters to newspapers and magazines, websites, businesses,” LBCC student and photography major Christopher Serrano said during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

“It also has many uses such as advertising, fashion, fine arts, documentation, celebration, photojournalism and entertainment. Uses for photography are so vast that the jobs for the future are going to be directly or indirectly associated with photographs and photography. This is where the LBCC program is vital in training students such as myself and these fine people out here,” he said as he pointed toward the crowd of supporters.

The process of deciding which programs are done away with is determined by a planning committee made up of LBCC faculty, staff and administrators. That committee then developed a criteria guideline on how to choose which types of programs could face elimination.

“We're serving less students and we haven't changed our expenditures but, the reality is that our revenues are not going to go back up to where they were three years ago so we have to adjust our operating budget to reflect the reality of our current revenues,” LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley said in an interview with the Long Beach Post.

As for the elimination of faculty, several students took to the podium and spoke about one of their beloved mentors Sports and Wellness Specialist and Intramurals advisor Walt Webber.

“For the past six semesters, LBCC has been my home and through out the duration of being here I’ve met thousands of amazing people that have helped turn my life around. People I call my LBCC family. I’m here to address the board on the classified positions being eliminated from Student Life. At the last board meeting you all voted to eliminate the intramurals advisor position. We feel that our traditions were taken away. The reason we feel this way is because Walt Webber is part of our family,” LBCC student Kimberly Thomsen.

She added that Webber has been around for several years and has instilled empowerment, education and traditions among the students and clubs at the community college.

“He’s worked countless hours with students to keep our LBCC traditions alive and I understand the dynamics of the college is changing, but our culture should live forever. We students need our backbones. We need our Student Life classified support staff,” Thomsen said as her voice quivered.

In a August 2012 budget memo, LBCC Vice President Ann-Marie Gabel said, “The estimated maximum amount of cuts that we plan to make for the 2013-2014 fiscal year will be $8.4 million.”

These cuts, referred to as “program discontinuance,” are in addition to the $5 million cut in Spring 2012 that resulted in the layoffs of 55 employees and reduction of 96 classified positions.

Other programs that are in danger of being eliminated include air conditioning and refrigeration, auto mechanics, auto body, carpentry, computer proficiency for academic success, diagnostic medical imaging, diesel mechanics, film, human services (alcohol and drug services), interior design, medical assisting, physical geography, radio and television, real estate and sheet metal.

There are currently about 26,000 students enrolled at LBCC and most of the programs being cut are only offered at the Pacific Coast Campus.

Long Beach Public Library Budget Slashed by Ben Novotny

Long Beach’s 12 public libraries have been hit hard by the city wide budget cuts, receiving back very little of the extra money they had to give to the city to cover a deficit.

            “The police, the firefighters, and the libraries all have to give money to the city because we are all in a general fund”, said Bayshore Library Branch Supervisor and Adult Librarian Debi Vilamder.  “This year we had to give $17.8 million but on top of that the libraries had to find another $1.2 million to give to the city for a deficit which means when they do that then we’re cutting”.

            The $1.2 million the city’s libraries had to give is due to a reported $18.5 million budget deficit the city of Long Beach is facing.

            Even though the Long Beach Public Library system received two thirds of the extra money they gave to the city, not much it can be used to buy new books, hire new staff, our restore the budgets of each library.

            $400,000 of the money we get back is going to be used to buy checkout machines”, said Vilamder. “We are only getting back $56,000 to restore the budget at our library”.

            Bayshore Public Library has been one of the libraries hit hard by the budget slashing.

“This year we’re losing our children’s librarian, so we have no children’s storytime” said Vilamder. “They are taking the children’s librarian from this library and taking her back to the main Long Beach Public Library”.

Vilamder says it’s not just losing the children’s librarian that is hurting Bayshore Public Library, but also the fact that staff support is also being cut dramatically.

 “They’re also cutting the hours of our page staff” said Vilamder. “The pages are the ones that put the books back on the shelf and they also work the front desk when the clerk isn’t here or I’m not up here. They’re cutting 55 hours of paging time down to 30. The budget cut this year cut 400 hours of clerk time for the entire Long Beach Library system”.

            Viladmer admits that the cutting of paging hours have made things harder for the staff at Bayshore Public Library.

            “For us cutting paging hours means a lot of work because that means we have to cover lunches, we have to do a lot of things when there are only two full time people, the rest are just part time”, said Vilamder.

            Getting less money back from what they gave to the city also means that Long Beach’s public libraries have less money to actually buy books for people to read and to check out.

            “Our book budget was slashed $90,000 citywide so that’s less money that can be used to buy items”, said Vilamder.

            Even though the public libraries in Long Beach have been hit hard by the budget cuts, Vilamder says they were guaranteed some relief by the city.  

            “The city is eventually going to give the libraries more clerk hours to help”, said Vilamder. “They said they will give us 25 extra clerk hours and they’re going to give us another adman intern which is 20 hours to help with some programming”.

            Vilamder says that budget cutting at Long Beach’s public libraries has been happening for quite some time now.

            “From 1959 when all the libraries were built to the early 1970s Long Beach got 75 percent of the oil”, Vilamder said. “Then the state of California said no we don’t want you to get all of that so after that we only got 25 percent of the oil. The oil is what funded the schools and the libraries. That’s why we have so many libraries because we were getting so much of the oil money at that time”.

            Vilamder says that what used to happen was people working in the library would retire and then that person’s position wouldn’t be filled again by another person.

            “What happens usually is we don’t necessarily have to lay off someone”, said Vilamder. “What happens usually is someone retires so we just lose that position. We don’t gain it back”.

            Despite all the stress the budget cuts have caused to Bayshore Public Library, Vilamder is thankful from the support that the libraries are getting.

            “We have a lot of community support”, said Vilamder. “Our community is behind all the libraries and we have a lot of friends of the libraries and foundation so they are all behind the libraries and helping to support them”.

 

Grocery Giants Slash Hours

     Murrieta grocery shoppers will need to adjust to new store hours at several big chain supermarkets across the city.

Photo credit: Aaron Cordova

    Despite the trend of other retail stores changing their operating hours depending on the season, these core grocery stores serving the Murrieta and Wildomar areas have held the same 6 a.m.-to-midnight schedules for over a decade, but that’s all changing now.
 
 Since last week, a total of four popular grocery stores-- two Albertsons and two Ralphs- have reduced their hours, both opening one hour later in the morning and closing one or two hours earlier in the evening.
  
“It’s definitely annoying” says Kristen Andrews, an employee at a Mexican restaurant adjacent to Ralphs. “Now if I really needed anything before we open or late after we close, I’d have to go to Wal Mart across town.”
  
She, along with her coworkers, were surprised by the sudden shift in hours of the major chains. “We didn’t even know what happened, Ralphs always opens at six” She said. “It was really convenient, but I guess I’ll have to plan things differently.”
  
Katherine Gonzales, a cashier at Ralphs on Alta Murrieta Road explained the sudden change at the store she has worked at for over twelve years.
  
“We’re a slower store” she said, in comparison to other Southern California Ralph’s locations. “The company wanted a change, and the new hours are from here on out.”

  Luckily for employees at her location, working hours have not been reduced and no lay-offs have been implemented. “The employees love it” she said. “They get to go home earlier and get out before midnight now.”
 
 As for shoppers, some have found the surprise to be irksome.
  
“In the beginning it affected a lot of people on their way to work who would come in at 6:00a.m. to get their morning coffee and cash for the day.”
  
In consideration of any inconvenience experienced by loyal customers, Ralphs has made efforts to try and accommodate shoppers unaware of the change.
  
“If customers are in the store at closing time, we don’t kick them out” Gonzales explained. “[Employees] have to stay after closing anyways.” 
  
Referring to how the stores would handle the confusion of shoppers, Gonzales assured that the change was not intended to annoy anyone, and that Ralphs will do what is necessary to prevent headaches, saying “one guy with his wife came in right before we close at 11:00 and stayed almost until midnight, so I had to stay here and wait.”
 
 All the same, she is among the more lucky grocery store employees who will suffer far less than competitor grocery chain Albertsons staff members.
 
 Manager Jim Parsons has worked at Albertsons on Cal Oaks Road for two years, but has been in the grocery industry for nearly 40.
  
“It was a business decision,” Parsons stated regarding Albertsons new hours of operation.  “It was something that had to be done.”
  
Albertsons has suffered significant financial loss lately, which has been publicized along with the news of many store closures throughout the state. To avoid such drastic measures, Murrieta Albertsons have followed company policy of adjusting hours based on shopping trends in the area.
  
Parsons explained that “each store had say in what hours would be adjusted based on busy times, like if a school is nearby they might keep early opening hours but close earlier at night.” This strategic policy gave individual locations the freedom to cater to their guests’ needs. “If we see a drastic change in business at certain times, we might adjust,” said Parsons.
 
 A decline in business was also the cited reason for amending the operating hours at Albertsons. Unlike Ralphs, though, the store has already experienced more severe losses, like “big cutbacks in hours,” said Parsons, speaking on how his employees and co-workers have suffered in recent weeks. “A lot of people were laid off.”

    The customers are the greatest priority, says Parsons. He acknowledges that everyone operates on their own schedules, and it is important for Albertsons to make life easier for customers by providing merchandise when they need, and have time to get it.
 
 “It used to be a lot different” Parsons said. “A long time ago, [grocery store] hours were much less than today,” and even with the recent earlier closing time, shoppers have more options than in years past. “It was closing at 9:00, and no holidays,” Parsons stated. “On Sunday it was 10a.m. to 6p.m.”
 
 Late-night or early-morning Murrieta shoppers still have options if needed, such as Winco Grocery Store on Winchester in Temecula, which is open 24 hours every day.

Los Angeles Residents Upset Over Endeavour Route (Kellie Reince)

Los Angeles residents are upset over the loss of 400 trees through 12 miles of urban landscape as the final segment of the Space Shuttle Endeavor travels its way to the California Science Center, where it will be put on display.

On October 12^th, the concluding journey will be celebrated with a two-day parade, from Los Angeles International Airport to the Science Center, but raises concern in the community.

This voyage must be completed through the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood since freeways lack the adequate width to serve the shuttle’s 78-foot wingspan. An airlift was unmanageable because of the shuttle’s weight.

Ficus Trees Line the Streets of Inglewood, CaPhoto Credit: waltarrrrr/Flickr

Work crews have been clearing the path in South Los Angeles for weeks, removing trees and dismantling utility poles.

Angry Los Angeles occupants believe that cutting down so many trees not only impacts their local environment, but also eliminates shade since the trees were full-grown and mature. There are millions of trees in Los Angeles County, but this voyage is an entire 12-mile path that is now stripped.

“We just wake up to our tree being cut down,” said Tina Field, a resident who grew up in the neighborhood, “our childhood was taken away, it’s really heartbreaking.”

Fields, among many offended tenants, feels robbed of her landscape and curious why a more practical alternative was not utilized.

“It just doesn’t seem all that right,” Field said.

The California Science Center Museum defends its decision to transport the shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles as the best possible means for preserving the aircraft.

The Science Center released a statement through their official website:

“We picked routes through the cities that would have the least impact on surroundings. We’ll be using a state-of-the art Endeavour Transportation System that will allow us to maneuver precisely around trees, light poles and utility poles wherever possible. Pruning is also another tool being utilized in this effort.”

The California Science Center promises to replant two trees for every one tree removed.  This serves minimal short-term purpose to the people who live off these streets.  It is inconvenient to cut down perfectly healthy trees for a temporary purpose. By replacing the loss with two adolescent trees, it will take numerous years to get back what the Los Angeles occupants had.

The demolition plan to cut down the trees was approved during a public hearing at the Board of Public Works meeting. Community members packed the Board of Public Works meeting at City Hall to voice their concerns. Final approval was granted to the California Science Center.

The concern with such an impactful approval is the lack of following standards through an Environmental Impact Report, or EIR. The California Environmental Quality Act requires this report for any project that  “may have significant effect on the environment.”

Bulldozing hundreds of trees in an urban Los Angeles area falls under this category. Yet, the Science Center placed more focus on acquiring their new NASA exhibit instead of following appropriate procedures. Some LA residents take pride that the shuttle will be placed at the California Science Center, others are not convinced that it’s meant to be there.

 “We need those trees and not for furniture or houses but to sit where they are helping keep the air clean,” said Candice Armstrong, a resident of Inglewood, “They give animals a place to live. Let the Endeavour find another way to its final resting place; or change the final resting place.”

Placing the Endeavour at the California Science Center puts a primary focus on monetary benefits for the State of California versus its environmental impact on the plant and animal life in the area, a city highly polluted as is.

“The shuttle is a non-living piece of equipment,” said Armstrong, “It is not more important than a living tree. Why don’t people listen to what is going on with our earth?”

The California Science Center states that $500,000 will be spent in cutting down the trees and planting new ones in the area. The anticipated boost in tourism is a main driving force behind the final journey from LAX to the museum.

The Endeavour is a monumental part of United States history. Built after the loss of the shuttle Challenger in 1986, the Endeavour became NASA’s fifth space shuttle orbiter. It made its first flight in 1992 and in its 25 missions; it orbited the Earth over 4,600 times and completed 299 days in space.

“Being able to visit the Science Center and view American history from space right here in Southern California is unbelievable,” said Armstrong, “but if they can put a man on moon then they can deliver to it the Center without cutting our trees down. Seems like a shortcut.”

 - Kellie Reince

Los Angeles Ranked Among the Dirtiest Cities in America

Photo Credit: Rosetta Ragusa

 

 The city of Los Angeles is the fourth dirtiest city in the nation according to Travel + Leisure Magazine’s September issue.

 Los Angeles is known for its rich culture and unfortunately its high levels of smog is putting it on the dirtiest city list.

The city for years has been criticized for its ever present smog that most residents can see hovering above the downtown buildings. In fact, the American Lung Association has ranked Los Angeles in the top three for having the most damaging air pollution in the nation. The California American Lung Association issued a State of the Air report for 2012 based on an A thru F grading scale and Los Angeles received a letter F grade for its air cleanliness and overall quality.

“Growing up and living in LA I never thought I would have to worry too much about the air and my health. I never actually thought about it because I took the air for granted almost. It’s weird to think that people smoking cigs and big trucks that I see on the 5 freeway are ruining the air and making all of the city dirty. I sometimes can’t breath as well as I like to or should be allowed to but that’s what the city has come to. I mean we have other problems like too much trash on the street and homelessness but we need clean air right now. It’s kind of scary to think about all of this,” said Gloria Martinez, resident of Los Angeles since 1982.

In addition, Los Angeles had over 100 days of red flag smog days with health warnings for those that have respiratory diseases. These red flag warnings are becoming even more present recently along with orange flag warnings as well. The California American Lung Association links an F grade city with serious health consequences such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and even premature death.

“I am 75 years old and I eat healthy and do what I can to be healthy but I always have more than a hard time breathing in my own house. I’ve lived here for more than 15 years and I love where I live to be honest. You asked me if it’s because of the dirty air and I am glad you asked me that because I think it could be that but I also think it’s other life style choices people have that cause themselves to be sicker than the average person. My husband smoked two packs a day and to be honest that could be the reason why I have this problem but you never know really. I would like to say that Los Angeles is not that bad but I also hope things start changing,” said Trine Boisel.

The nationwide Group Against Smog and Pollution is not surprised that Los Angeles is among the dirtiest cities in America.

“The city of Los Angeles has a lot of smog which makes it the dirtiest to live in as a result. Everyone sees that on a daily basis because that part of the west coast has perfect geography for smog to exist in. This part of California has huge mountains around it and makes it very difficult for pollution to escape and get out of.  Also, China has coal burning particles that are making their way to the coast nearest to Los Angeles and this just contributes to the dirty air and the dirty city. You know I read an article today about how Carmageddon shut down really helped Los Angeles in so many ways. This is true because less cars on the road means better air and I think that could be why there is so much smog in that city. I think that when that freeway was shutdown it just showed everyone that less smog is a result of less cars on the road,” said Jamin Bogi, a member of the Group Against Smog and Pollution.

The city of Los Angeles is not giving up on their fight for clean air and a clean city for its population of over 3 million. Although this community issue has been around for decades there is still hope for a cleaner city. There are dozens of different private and public groups rallying for a clean city and healthier people.  To name a few: Breathe California of Los Angeles County,  California Air Resources Board, Coalition for Clean Air, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

           

Residential burglars in the city of Cerritos on the rise

When a visitor is at the door, life is put on hold for a few seconds. For some it may just be a Jehovah’s Witness leaving a The Watch Tower Magazine at their doorstep or a UPS worker leaving a shipment form behind. However, some may encounter a far greater distraction when a residential burglar attempts to methodically break into their home.

According to the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station, some Cerritos residents have encountered scammers in the recent weeks who pretend to either trim trees, check for gas leaks or water leaks in order to prey on vulnerable households.

Cerritos has the highest number of home burglaries in the Los Angeles County, said 24-year-old Cal State Dominguez Hills pre-law major and Cerritos resident Raffi Norberg.

“My neighbors right across the street got hit, and basically everything was taken by the burglars,” said Norberg.

The home invaders strategically plan their way into houses. A man in a blue shirt and khaki uniform knocks at the door and attempts to talk himself into the homeowner’s backyard. Meanwhile, the driver of his van is waiting for access to the resident’s front door. The main man claims he is contracted by the city of Cerritos. However, the city claims it does not hire personnel to perform such inspections.

Norberg said that he has created a sort of theory, in which the watchdogs of the city aren’t only limited to the Sherriff’s department and residents, but the workers as well.

“One of the reasons is probably because we hire gardeners to cut our grass, so they see who’s home and not. Then they sell the information to gangs who then carry out the crime.”

“Since a large population of Cerritos residents are old and have lots of savings, which they like to keep at home rather than a bank since they are from an older generation, they are easy targets,” he added.

According to 23-year-old Cerritos resident Lawrence Ervin, burglars have visited in his neighborhood's cul-de-sac.

“The burglars slit the window and took guitars, Xbox game console, camera and other valuables from my home,” said Ervin.

“I got a toolbox jacked from my garage, too,” he added.

The Safer Cerritos website, among other city of Cerritos websites lists a residential burglar scam post from an incident on Sept. 25. The breaking news post describes the main suspect as Hispanic or Eastern European in his early 40s with black hair and brown eyes at a 5’5” and 150 pounds stature and build.

The city's Community Safety Division reported an increase of vehicle thefts and burglaries in Cerritos and surrounding cities in recent months. 

L.A. Times lists the L.A. County Sherriff’s weekly crimes reported in its cities. Cerritos had 30 reported crimes from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26, which include all burglaries and thefts with the exception of one aggravated assault.

Cerritos ranks at a higher rate in property crimes over violent crimes as compared with surrounding cities, which include Artesia, La Mirada and Lakewood, among others. There are 195.5 crimes for every 10,000 people and 953 property crimes and 55 violent crimes within the last six months. Out of the 953 property crimes, 18.9 percent are burglary related and 45.2 percent are theft related.

However, burglary and theft can be prevented. Neighborhood Watch signs are posted around all neighborhoods in an effort to "protect property and ensure safe neighborhoods, according to its website. However, each resident should be in charge of letting potential burglars know they are aware of their surroundings.

An unlocked or opened door resulted in 22  of the 38 residential burglaries from last August. There are an average of 4.7 home robberies each week in 2012.

Norberg said that he and his family have taken preventative efforts with their locked doors, dogs and overall vigilance.

“Maybe people need to learn to cut their own grass,” he said.

If you hear a motor running, dogs barking or other suspicious sounds, make it known you are aware of them by checking outside with precaution or by calling the Cerritos Sherriff’s Station at (562) 860-0044. To join or start a Neighborhood Watch group, call the Community Safety Division at (562) 916-1266.

Taking Out the Trash

Taking out the “Trash”

By Eric Bryan

Signal Hill resident Manuel Mejia shakes his head over the overflowing dumpster behind his apartment complex, a trash bag full of recyclables hanging limply from his right hand.

“You’d think it’d just be second nature at this point, you know? You just have a recycling bin.”

A mixture of recycleables and trash, just hours after trash pick up.

Mejia’s problem is not unique. Throughout several lower income areas in the greater Long Beach area, there is either no provided recycling can, or there is such low maintenance of it that the environmental incentive is lost.

“We had bins at the Wrigley place, sure,” says former Wrigley resident Eve Knezevich, “but there was no upkeep. We’d put our bottles and cans in the bin, and either it would get picked over in the night, or we’d find just regular trash over it anyway. After a while, we didn’t bother.”

Certain aspects, residents admit, cannot be controlled.

“I guess I didn’t really mind when the homeless would take the cans or whatever,” says Knezevich, “but the amount of trash that got strewn in the process was a mess the recycling and garbage guys wouldn’t pick up. And we didn’t want to, so it just sat there.”

However, in other cases such as Mejia’s, the problem of not having any receptacle at all is much more pointed.

“I’ve put in calls to my landlord, and didn’t hear anything. I put in calls to the city and got nothing back either. I go to the recycling centers sometimes, but I don’t have time usually.”

The city of Long Beach recently instilled the Recyclebank program, which provides coupon incentives to recyclers in the city, hoping to instill “green values” in residents throughout.

“That sounds like a great idea,” says Mejia, “but I’ve never heard of it.”

This was a problem throughout poorer areas. While there has been made a significant online campaign made, many residents of lower income areas, lower Signal Hill and Wrigley in particular, who may not have access to the internet, have not even heard of the program. A search through both Mejia's apartment complex, and Knezevich's neighborhood found very few citizens aware of the program, and none of them with any sort of documentation of it.

"I guess that wouldn't make sense, to have flyers," said Knezevich, "but I think more people would know about it if there was something tangibly given out.

“I’d be more than happy to try a new way to recycle, whatever the incentive,” says Mejia, tossing his cans and bottles into the dumpster, “but it’s got to work for everyone.”

Information about Long Beach’s branch of Recyclebank can be found at https://www.recyclebank.com/recycle.