LACEA Alive July2003 10.qxd - Employees Club of California

C i t y E m p l o y e e s C l u b o f L o s A n g e l e s

SERVING OVER 17,000CITY AND DWP EMPLOYEES

October 2005Vol. 4 n No. 10

Cent. Hospital:Lots of HistoryComing Downn This City landmark with a rich history is slated fordemolition.

Story by Jackie David, Personnel Dept.Photos courtesy the personal collection of Dr. Alan Cowen

PERSONNEL — Los Angeles’ famous and histori-cal Central Receiving Hospital, at 1401 W. SixthStreet, will be demolished in a few months. Along

with the dustand rubble willbe many, manymemories —very personalfor those whoworked or weretreated there —and a lot of his-tory for eventsincluding as theAssassination

See Hospital, 6

Dr. Charles Sebastian (right, holding shov-el) breaks ground in 1956 for the CentralReceiving Hospital, slated for demolition.

nEmployees from Bldg.and Safety, LAFD, Harbor,DWP rush to the Gulf States inrescue effort in the wake ofHurricane Katrina.

CITY — When our nation called, Cityemployees answered … and saved lives.

Two teams of City employees were dis-patched to the Gulf States region. First, onAug. 29, the LAFD Swift Water Rescue

City Employees Club of Los Angeles350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700Los Angeles, CA 90071

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDPermit #30391

Los Angeles, CA

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Question of the Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Red Cross Hosts Blood Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Rec and Parks Swim Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Hyperion Treatment Division Says Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7Working Matters: Domestic Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Karen Sisson Celebrates Move to Mayor’s Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9LAX Hosts Picnic for Employees, Families and Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10DWP Dance Champs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13DWP Promotes Virzi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Picture Perfect Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Piper Tech Hosts Barbecue for Building Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15LAPD Centurions Hosts Annual Benefit Softball Game.............18-20LAPD Hosts Annual Health Fair .............................................21Lifes Important Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23DWP Salutes William Mulholland.........................................24-25Police Protective League Hosts Appreciation Day ....................26-27CDD Sells Burgers as Fundraiser for March of Dimes ...................28Henry Pena Retires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Events 411: Halloween-themed Events in October....................30-31LAX Airport Police Dispatchers Have a Picnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Club Crew Visit Legoland.......................................................33

Travel Talk: Viva Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33History Comes Alive!............................................................34Barbecue Raises Funds for Henry Medina Memorial Scholarship..........35Robert Saenz Retires .........................................................36-37Little Tokyo Library Branch Opens ...........................................38Retirees Section: The Best Years.........................................39-44LAFD Opens Fire Station 77 in Sun Valley .................................45LA Councilmembers Lead Efforts for Katrina Relief......................46Brittany Stephens Wins Club Scholarship ...................................52Chief Wilson Retires from LAX Airport Police .............................53Councilman Tom LaBonge Hosts Barbecue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54-55Department of the Month:LAHD ......................................56-61Harbor Says Farewell to Interns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Coloring Contest for Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Tommy Scott Memorial Fund ................................................64Where in LA? Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Alive! Around the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66LA Sparks Timicha Kirby Giving Back.....................................67Entertainment Section!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-70Join These Clubs: Club Listing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Cooking with the Club .........................................................72Classified Ads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Ticket Express Discount Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Club Store: Club Merchandise...............................................75

Inside This Issue

Parks, GatorsAnd BuildingCommunitiesn Rec and Parks GM Jon KirkMukri talks at length aboutstable leadership, City serviceand his vision of the future ofhis department.On Aug. 25, Club CEO John Hawkins sat down withRec and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri for

a fun, honest and in-depth chat as partof an occasional series of Alive! inter-views. At the time of the interview, Recand Parks was in the headlines everyday, trying to catch an alligator inLake Machado. — Ed.

Alive!: First, about thelatest news, the gator.

Is it in a Rec andParks lake?

The Alive! Interview

See Interview, Page 48

See Katrina, Pages 46The City's Urban Search and Rescue Teamlooking for survivors in Katrina's rubble.

Dept. of the Month

HousingDepartmentSee pages

56-61

Hurricane Katrina

Rescue EffortInHarm’s Way

Robert Sepanian, Urban Search and

Rescue Team Member(Building & Safety

Dept.), on the scene inMississippi. The hotel

in the backgroundwas rammed by a

floating casino.

2 October 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! www.cityemployeesclub.com

by John HawkinsPresident and CEO, The Club

In City and Gulf,Heroes Abound

is published monthly by:City Employees Club

of Los Angeles350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700

Los Angeles, CA 90071Telephone: (800) 464-0452

John Hawkins and Robert Larios, MANAGING EDITORS

John Burnes, EDITOR

JJLA Associates, DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Alive! is the official publication of the City Employees Club ofLos Angeles, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA90071. Postage paid at Los Angeles, California. CONTACT US:[email protected] SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Alive!is included with membership in the City Employees Club ofLos Angeles. INQUIRIES: [email protected], or(213) 620-0388. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections toCity Employees Club of Los Angeles, 350 S. Figueroa St.,Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

Alive! does not accept advertising from persons or organiza-tions believed to be unreliable or financially irresponsible.Alive! is not responsible, however, for the performance ofadvertisers, the delivery or quality of their merchandise orservices, or the legality of any particular program. Beforemaking any purchasing decision, we recommend you consultadditional sources as needed. Please contact the Club if youhave any bad experiences with an advertiser. LACEA manage-ment reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to refuse anyadvertisement.

THE CLUB’S BOARD

Michael P. Biagi, ChairpersonChief, Landside Operations, Los Angeles World Airports

Regner Globus, Vice ChairpersonProperty Manager, Los Angeles World Airports

David Muraoka, Secretary/TreasurerPrincipal Detention Officer, Van Nuys Jail

Robyn L. BarnesSenior Management Analyst,Fire and Police Pension System

Michael B. LeightonDirector of Publishing Services, Gen. Services

Rita RobinsonDirectorBureau of Sanitation, Public Works

Maria G. RomasantaExecutive Assistant, DWP

INSURANCE SERVICES BOARD

Joannie MukaiHarbor Department

Rose HylandOffice of the Controller, Retired

Andrew Virzi, Jr., DWP

Marilyn McGuire-HollyPublic Works: Bureau of Sanitation, Retired

City Employees Club (800) 464-0452of Los Angeles City Employees Club (213) 620-0398of Los Angeles FAXCity Employees (213) 978-1636Deferred CompensationCity Employees Benefit Office (213) 9781655City Employees (213) 473-7200Retirement System or (800) 779-8328City Paymaster (213) 978-7480City Personnel Office (213) 847-9240City of L.A. Clerical (213) 487-9887 EXT. 340and Support Services Union, Local 3090Commuter Services (213) 978-1593DWP Credit Union (213) 580-1690

or (800) 300-9728DWP Employees Assn. (213) 367-3146DWP Health Plan & Medicare (800) 831-4778DWP Information (213) 367-4211DWP Intake Magazine (213) 367-1361DWP Paymaster (213) 367-1106DWP Personnel (213) 367-1934DWP Retirement Plan Office (213) 367-1712

Engineers and (213) 620-6920Architects AssociationFire and Police Pension System (213) 978-4545Local 347 (213) 482-6660L.A. City Bureau of Sanitation (800) 773-2489Bulky Item Pick-up & RecyclingLos Angeles Federal (213) 485-5000Credit UnionLos Angeles Firemen’s (323) 254-1700Credit Union or (800) 231-1626Los Angeles Fire (323) 464-2727Department MuseumLos Angeles Firemen’s (213) 380-2900Relief AssociationLos Angeles Police (800) 872-2843Federal Credit UnionLos Angeles Retired Fire and (888)288-5073Police AssociationRetired L.A. City (213) 255-9082Employees, Inc.Ticket Hotline (888) 777-1744Whistleblower/ (800) 824-4825Complaint ProgramWorker Compensation (213) 847-9405

Have a number you’d like us to include?Send it in: [email protected]

Numbers YOU CAN USE

October 2005 • Volume 4 – No. 10

Great Ticket Discounts!Some of the cheapest tickets in town, with no markup! Call the Ticket Guy Hotline: (888) 777-1744.These are just some of the attractions available to you:

For more information go to www.cityemployeesclub.com or call (800) 464-0452

CLUB Member Benefits

Best WesternSave up to 20 percent whenyou stay at any one of morethan 4,000 Best Western hotelsworldwide. Call (800) 441-1114 and use the Club’s MVPnumber: 00150810.

DunnEdwardsPresent your L.A. CityEmployees Club Cardat the time of purchaseat any Dunn-Edwards Paint store (32 area locations), and you’ll receive a20 percent discount on all Dunn-Edwards Manufactured Paint Products.

Alive! NewspaperGet the best-readnewspaper forCity employeesdelivered to yourhome. Everymonth you getCity news,coupons, recipes,retirements,babies, weddings,the Departmentof the Month…and…

Club InsuranceYour life and wellbeing are important to theClub. Get peace of mind with the Club’s stronginsurance programs:

• Term Life Insurance ($10,000 - $300,000)

• Spouse Life Insurance ($10,000 - $300,000)

• Long Term Disability • Short Term Disability Insurance

($700 - $2,000 benefit per month)

• Long Term Care Insurance• Cancer Insurance ($10,000 - $50,000)

• Group Rated Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance

• Group Rated Auto and Homeowners Insurance

All active or retired City of Los Angeles andDWP employees are eligible to become mem-bers of the City Employees Club of Los Angeles.

Office DepotBulk purchasing plan can save youup to 40 percent on selected items.Call the Club’s office at (800)464-0452, or [email protected], to link your credit card.(Your Club card will not work with this ben-efit. You must call to link your credit card.)

Up to

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OFFUp to

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…don’t forget about those great

Alive! contests!

PartnershipsTake full advantage of the Club’s strong partnerships for:• Auto and Homeowners Insurance:

(800) 640-1712 (press 3)

• Travel Discounts: (888) 652-6400

• Auto Buying Service: (626) 818-4222

• Home loans, and more: (866) 527-7222

Enterprise Rent-a-CarYou can save when you book through the Club’sexclusive deal with Enterprise. To make yourreservation, go to www.enterprise.com.Make sure to use customernumber 32W2864 whenmaking your reservation andthe PIN will be: CIT.

YourNewest

Benefit

To join, call (800) 464-0452.

1-800-flowers

Building and Safety, DWP, Harbor, the LAFD and the LAPD are justsome of the Departments answering the call for help from our fel-

low municipal employees in the Gulf States. The Club, in its finest tra-dition, will give you this complete story with pictures in the next Alive!Even as I type this, the Club staff is collecting literally thousands of pic-tures and conducting numerous interviews with your fellow City employ-ees that were called into action. In the next issue we’ll give you first-hand

accounts of the devastation that confronted theseCity employee heroes. As you can see from the frontpage, we’re just giving you a taste this month, butstay tuned for the November issue were we’re goingto go all out.

Getting back to this issue, make sure you read the very up-front andentertaining interview with Jon Mukri, our fearless leader of Rec andParks. You’re guaranteed to find out some very fascinating things aboutJon that you never knew before (bet you didn’t know he spent nine yearsin the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Service ... or that his favorite candy is aSnickers bar!). I hope you’ll be as intrigued as I was by his leadership andvision that are making our Department of Recreation and Parks thefinest in the country. E-mail me and let me know what you think aboutour new interviewing style; we hope you like it.

And, as always, make sure you indulge yourself in the other stories thatinvolve the proudest workforce in the country ... the City of Los Angelesworkforce.

Until next month,

— [email protected]

Hurricane Katrina

Rescue EffortSee Pages 46-47

www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n October 2005 3

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I did not like licorice.

– Anne Walker, Legal Clerk, City Attorney, 25.5 years.

I hated black licorice! – James Brown, LAX SACU, 3.5 years.

Pennies, candy corn and hygiene tools.– Alex Carbajal, Clerk Typist, Harbor, 7 years.

I hate caramel.-– Kathy Dade, LAFD, Management Analyst, 6 years.

Mini toothbrushes, fruits and jelly candies.– Kedren Pilgram, Clerk Typist, Harbor, 5 years, Club Member.

Black licorice. – Alicia Marquez, Housing, 23 years.

Mexican candy. My mom would alwaysround up the Mexican candy and throw itout because of the high lead content.– Ramon Orona, Harbor, 1.5 years.

Pretzels and cookies.– Alfredo and Rosie Reyes. Alfredo works for PublicWorks and has been with the City for 5 years.

Our moms would never let us go trick-o-treating.– Flor Esguerra, Housing, 21 years, and Carol Medina,

City Attorney, 8 years.

QUESTION of the Month?Introducing a new feature in Alive!

Our Club Counselors are all over the City, every day, serving our Club Members. While we’re out, we’ll be asking City employees a fun question. Keep your eyes

open… you never know when we’ll be asking you what you think!

QUESTION:

What trick or treat did you hate to get during Halloween?

Hahn ThanksThose Who HelpedSnag Reggie Jr.

While I have always know that we have thebest employees in the world, our City employeeshave really outdone themselves over the past sev-eral weeks as we have all worked together to cap-ture “Reggie” the alligator in Lake Machado atHarbor Regional Park.

Our park rangers, lifeguards, animal controlofficers, police officers and firefighters have beenworking daily to keep park visitors safe andrespond to a situation that, let’s be honest, noneof us were prepared for.

In fact, with one call to our firefighters fromFire Station 85, we were able to catch a smalleralligator, “Reggie Jr.,” in the County flood controlchannel near the lake. As soon as we called thefirefighters, they responded, assessed the situa-tion, devised a plan and executed it safely, quick-ly and flawlessly. Thanks to our firefighters, wewere able to keep both Reggie Jr. and the publicsafe.

Thanks to all our City employees for all yourhard work.

— Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Club Member

She’s Glad to Know That CityEmployees Helped in the Gulf

I want to send my heart-felt sympathies andthoughts to all those who have been affected bythe Katrina Hurricane in Louisiana andMississippi. As an American, I felt that the leastI could do is send relief donations to theAmerican Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity,Feed the Children and Save the Children. I lookat my kids and feel a horrifying chill to think thatthere are children over there suffering. I wish Icould do more. I understand some of our ownCity colleagues have been sent to the shatteredareas, which is great to know that the City of LAis making a difference.

—Georgina Glascow, Gen. Services

That’s right, Georgina. Please read our cover (andrelated) stories this month, and make sure to staytuned for next month, too. —Ed.

Hal Is Causing All Sorts ofAdventures at the Bingo Hall

Welcome to Alive, Hal Danowitz! “AdventuresWith Hal” is the talk of the neighborhood overhere in Simi Valley. I hope to see more of his arti-cles in the months to come. I took my newspaperto my bingo hall and the girls and I enjoyed thenew retiree pages. Thank you so much.

— M. Flowers, Retired, LAFD

She’s Grateful to ConnectVia Alive’s In Memoriam

It was so nice to see my Uncle Judd’s name inyour “Life’s Important Moments.” Uncle Juddwas my mother’s cousin, and he was always verykind to his cousins and their children. I didn’tknow Uncle Judd as well as I might have or whathe did for the City of Los Angeles, but he will bemissed by his family in the Portland metro area(he had lived here for about 15 to 20 years now).I’m taking your article with me to a family gath-ering we are having for him tomorrow.

—Lauren D. Van Bishler, Portland, Ore.

And He Kind of LooksLike Harrison Ford, Too

My grandbabies always sit down and readAlive!, and this time we were pleasantly surprised.The photo of Hal with the salmon caused a stir atthe house. My grandkids just recently saw theIndiana Jones movies and thought that Hal wasthe real life Indiana Jones. Silly kids! I had noidea that there are real-life adventurers like Hal.That was a delightful story.

— Ray Smith, Retired

Hal Does the Traveling forThis Arm-Chair Adventurer

I just finished reading Adventures with Hal!What a great idea for those of us who are arm-chair travelers. I could imagine myself enjoyingmy stay at the Canadian lodge with great mealsand good companionship. Keep up the goodwork, for this is something all of us can enjoy!

—Angela Johnson, Club Member

He Really Appreciates City’sStatus of Women Commission

I really enjoyed reading the article fromExecutive Director Paula Petrotta of the Statusof Women. It is so good to know that there is agroup of employees that pursues the reductionand prevention of domestic violence in the City.Before the article in Alive!, I had no clue thatthere was such a commission. I wonder howmany other City agencies/departments there arethat few of us know about.

— Tim Pirozzi, DWP

He Shutters With Joy OverThe Picture Perfect Winner

The picture contest winner, Frank Avila, hadan amazing photo! What truly stands out is thesize of the desert dune. I am inclined to say thatthis might be the best photo I have seen in thiscontest in a long time. Does anyone know whatSony digital camera Frank used? I want one!

—Harry Glaus, Rec and Parks

WRITE TO US TODAY! Send your letters by email [email protected] or conventionally:

The Club World Trade Center350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90071

LETTERS To the Editor

In Hynda Rudd’sHistory Comes Alive!column last month,we ran the wrongphoto depicting SamLeask, the City’s firstChief AccountingOfficer. Here is thecorrect photo.

CorrectionsIn the Department of the Month feature in theSeptember issue of Alive!, the photo creditswere incorrect. The credit for all the great pho-tos in the Department of the Month feature —and we know what hard work it is — goes toDWP Customer Contact Center employeeDaniel Nakasone (right). Daniel was given a bigassist by Ron Henderson, who carefully anddutifully made sure we received them all in goodorder. A big Club thank you goes to you, Danieland Ron. We couldn’t have done it without you!


YEScould run b/wif no space forcolor

40% OFF Discount given to all City, DWP, Fire and LAPD personnel.

City Hall Draws Bloodn Red Cross hosts blood drive at City Hall.

Story by Liz Montes, Club Counselor. Photos by Robert Larios, ClubCommunications and Marketing Director

CITY HALL — The American Red Cross held a Blood Drive for CityEmployees Aug. 9 and 10 at City Hall Main Media Room. The event wasopen to all City Employees interested in participating, and many took timeout of their busy schedules to donate blood. They were given special treatsafter donating blood.

Congratulations to all who took part in this important event.

Albert Andersen, Accounting Clerk, Office of Finance, 18 years gives blood.

Martha Rios, Clerk Typist, LAPD, 4 years, Club Member.

Karen Tran, System Analyst II, City Clerk, 4 years. Rob Sandiford, Sr. Systems Analyst.

Rachawn Baker,PersonnelDepartment, 1year.

Tony Argento,Signal System

Electrician,DOT, 23 years,Club Member.


n LAFD’s John Arce is promotedto Inspector.Story and photo by Beverly Haro, Club Counselor

FIRE DEPT. — Former Firefighter John R. Arce, previ-ously assigned in the Disaster Preparedness Section,Bureau of Emergency Services, was promoted to Inspector I and is assigned to theCentral Industrial Unit.

The badge presentation took place Sept. 6 in theJulie Bennett Conference Room, City Hall East. Johnhas been with the Fire Department since 1986. Hiswife attended the badge presentation.

Congratulations, John! From left: Fire Marshal Jimmy Hill and Inspector John Arce

Brenda Edwards.

Sharonn Williamson.

KudosDWP — Two women featured in last month’sDepartment of the Month feature deserve a spe-cial Club shoutout for the excellent way they con-duct their business, as evidenced by customertestimonials.

Customer M.W. from Los Angeles had greatthings to say about Sharonn Williamson: “Ms.Williamson was professional, patient, and most ofall has such an upbeat personality, she trulyenjoys her job. It was a pleasure talking to her thisafternoon. She is awesome and the DWP rocks.”

Ms. Brown, DWP customer, had great thingsto say about Brenda Edwards (above): “Ms.Edwards was patient, polite and pleasant; shedidn’t make her feel rushed, advised her on whatto do, and took the burden off of her. She shouldbe your employee of the month.”

Good going, Sharonn and Brenda, and thanksto DWP Customer Contact Center ExecutiveKevin Shost for letting us know.

The Rec and Parks swim team that recently took second place in an important national swimming meet in Atlanta in June.

n Rec and Parks swim team comesin second in national meet.

REC AND PARKS — A team of 50 swimmers andfive coaches from the City of Los Angeles SwimTeam, organized under Rec and Parks, took animpressive second place finish at the 14th annualChris Silva Championship Swim Meet in AtlantaJune 26.

Congratulations to swimmers David Ortiz,Erika Crispin, Jackie Regalado and Luis Ortegafor earning top honors in their age categories.

The team finished just behind the City ofAtlanta team, the defending champion.

The tournament was created in memory ofChris Silva, the first African American to repre-sent the United States in international swim-ming. It’s the second largest minority swim com-petition it he nation.

According to Rec and Parks, the road toAtlanta was full of obstacles for these young

swimmers, the largest being financial. To com-pete in Atlanta, the swimmers and their parentsheld fundraisers including bake sales and carwashes, and sought donations from the commu-nity. Another obstacle was preparation: Theswimmers practiced five days a week at theExposition Park Intergenerational CommunityCenter (EPICC) on Menlo Avenue, once the his-toric site of the 1932 Olympics swimming com-petition. EPICC is a $30million newly renovatedfamily complex operated by Rec and Parks. TheAmateur Athletic Foundation donated $3 millionto renovate the swim stadium pools and provideongoing grant funds to ensure that inner-cityyouths be provided with quality programs thatopen the door of opportunity for future competi-tive competition.

The Club congratulates everyone involved inthe great effort.

Water MarkBadge of Honor


The Pump Projectn About the Modernization and Rehabilitation of Primary Battery D at Hyperion Treatment Plant.

Project: Well Done!

Engineering (not in order): Phong Do, Thu Do, Hi Sang Kim, Karen Ko, Hansong Lee, Ernesto Libunao, Ching Loong, MiguelMedina, Dipak Patel, Richard Sabath, Charles Senaya, and Tony Soung.

Paint Shop (in order): John Crawford, Richard Debry, David Karlsson, Arthur Parks, Timothy Strople, Bobby Washington andGilbert White.

Instrument Shop (not in order): Manuel Alberto, Abhai Bhatia, Tam Nguyen, Robert Robinson,Yoshihiko Taniguchi and Renato Tupas.

Maintenance Carpenter Shop (not in order): Jeffrey Crane, Clayton Hoppes, Kirk Johnson, Ted Piper, Matt Poire, JamesSantiago, Nelson Stanford, Frederick Stangl and Jason Tyler.

Administration and Purchasing (not in order): Diane Jones, Yolanda Mitchell, Robert Morales, MeeHae Oh, Susan Roth,Tamara Washington and Kai Wong.

The pneumatic pumping system for PrimaryBattery D (PBD) created major operational

and maintenance problems for many years. Thefrequent breakdowns of the pneumatic pumpsand other parts (mechanical, instrumentation,etc.) in the system required extensive mainte-nance and caused poor treatment and high costs.The odor and routine complaints by the neigh-bors became a significant issue. The PBD gallerywas very crowded with high noise level andunsafe environment for inspection and mainte-nance. The pneumatic pumps were unable to pro-vide sufficient capacity for plant flows. Thisincluded handling increased flow demands dur-ing the construction of other primary batteries(A, B and C), which were already in progress.Furthermore, there was not sufficient time avail-able to use the conventional method of planning,bid and award processes to hire a consultant/con-tractor to plan, design and construct the PBDproject. Thus, the modernization of PBD had tobe a priority project in multiple phases because ofall of the problems at the primaries.

The project was carried out in-house on a fasttrack by a task force consisting of HTP plant per-sonnel. They took on the responsibility for plan-ning, searching modern technology, designing,purchasing, construction, startup and operationsof a new system. A major accomplishment of theproject was the phasing of the demolition of theold pneumatic pump system and construction ofthe new one in the cramped gallery. This was toprovide necessary capacity for primary treatment,until Battery A was completed. The pneumaticsystem consisted of many valves, several hundredfeet of 12-inch pipe, 22 pneumatic pumps, andthree compressors that powered them. The newsystem consists of three centrifugal pumps, 12modulating valves and more than 100 othervalves, density meters, flow meters and severalhundred feet of piping. Each of thecentrifugal pumps hass u f f i -

cient capacity to handle the flow previously han-dled by 11 pneumatic pumps. Since operationsbegan in May, at any time one centrifugal pumphas been in operation, one has been available asa backup, and one has been available for mainte-nance.

The task force included the Hyperion DivisionMaintenance, Operations and EngineeringSections, with assistance from Administration.They went well beyond their normal duties andundertook to complete this long-term project in ashort time by performing many activities thatordinarily would have been performed by consult-ants and contractors with expertise in planning,design and construction.

The crucial benefit is that Battery D, alongwith the newly built Battery A, can reliably pro-vide all the primary processing needed by theplant. It has increased the plant capacity for peakinfluent flows, which has made it possible for thecontractor to begin construction on Batteries Band C without a costly delay. A further costreduction was provided by the early start of thework on Battery D, forestalling the expenditureson parts and labor needed to maintain the oldsystem during a bid and award process. However,there are other benefits as well. On the technicalside, they include a great reduction in mainte-nance and energy costs, and a safer and muchless crowded gallery. Moreover, the improvedmechanical, instrumentation, electrical, andplumbing will improve the process control, hencereducing the system odors and resultant com-plaints from the neighborhood. This project hasalso established a new sense of teamwork amongthe participants. This especially includes morale,motivation, and improved cooperation betweenoperations, maintenance, and engineering per-sonnel.

Close to $2 million has been saved in designand construction. Close to $70,000 will be savedin yearly maintenance costs. Close to $40,000will be saved yearly due to energy efficiency.There will also be cost savings due to operationalimprovement.

The primary innovations in this project areorganizational, procedural and application of thelatest technology. The project was completed inabout one third of the time and at one third orless of the cost that would have been required bythe conventional bid and award process.Moreover, maintenance on the new system isnow conducted proactively, which reduces manycosts and risks imposed by the previous constantneed for reactive maintenance. By eliminatingthe pneumatic pumps and the air compressors,the HTP task force also eliminated high noiselevels and other unsafe conditions in the gal-leries. The new system also benefits the envi-ronment by improved energy efficiency andbetter primary treatment, and benefits theplant by increasing the flow capacity enoughto allow other contracted construction toproceed as scheduled.

Since many other wastewater plantshave similar pneumatic systems, much ofwhat was done at HTP should be applica-ble at these plants. It should make it eas-ier for them to follow our example of sav-ing money and time in relying on in-

house expertise to modernize and optimize theirequipment and treatment processes.Rita Robinson, Director, Sanitation; and

Steve Fan, Plant Manager.

n Hyperion Treatment Divisionsays thanks for success of bigproject.

Story by Michelle Moreno, Club Events GuruPhotos by Robert Hollingsworth, CivilEngineer Drafting Tech, Hyperion

PUBLIC WORKS — Saying thanks to all theemployees who worked hard to complete the suc-cessful Battery D Pumping SystemModernization project, Hyperion TreatmentDivision held a recognition luncheon July 14.

See the sidebar story (below) for details on the project.

Congratulations to all!Recipients other than those shown below

include:n Labor/Grounds: Jeffrey Davis, Luis Figueroa

and Derrick Hall.n Liquids/Ops: David Czechowski, Donna Doss,

Daniel Gomez, CJ Granados, Virgil Jordan,Jeff Smith, Jerry Sohk and Charles Sweet.

The Club thanks Robert Hollingsworth forproviding the photographs; Rita Robinson,Director, Sanitation; Steve Fan, Plant Manager;and Event Committee Members Susan Roth,Ernesto Libunao, Reza Iranpour, James Woosleyand Hi Sang Kim.


Weld Shop (not in order): Todd Cromwell, Dennis Flinn and Timothy Hall.

Liquids/PMG (not in order): Howard Alger, David Bell, Reginald Brown, Rick Crittenden, Abraham De La Cruz, Oscar De LaPaz, Oscar Espineda, Edmond Gregory, Jimmie Harrison, Harry Khachadrian, Sarafin Malabanan, Ronald Samonte, JamesSkow, John Smith and Sandor Varga.

Operations (in order): Ronald Bell, Joaquin Chamberlain, Art Duarte, Jensen Liang and James Woosley.

Planning Group (not in order): Esfandiar Ahoraian, Jeff Campbell, Ernest Flores, Robert Garde, Harold Gies, Daniel Gregg,Marcus Lyons, Brian McCormick, Francisco Perlas, Pedro Sierra, Julian Stotland, Dave Vaughn and Milo Zverina.

Pipe Shop (in order): Gregory Alvarado, Frank Arambula, Patrick Brown, Martin Cezere, John Fendler, Albert Fong, DerickGordon, Hugo Guevara, Neil Hotchkis, Joseph Keller, Gregg Kushiner, Thomas LaRoux, Richard Lorenz, Quanglam Ly, MarioMira, Kenneth O’Guinn, David Patron, William Piworski, Alfred Ramirez, Nick Terrell, John Uehlinger, Leroy White, MikeWilse and Marvell Zachery.

Mechanic Shop (not in order): Jose Alvarez, Robert Bates, David Fernandez, Rafael Gomez, Jason Kelleher, Edgar Laita,Michael Mack, Vincent Mackay, Vincente Ruiz, Uwe Russman, Steven Vosburg, Ollie Veasey and Gabriel Viado.

Machine Shop (not in order): Robert Bowers, Roger Banuelos, Julian Duron, Owen McCabe, Bhupinder Mudhar, AmadorRodrigues and Raymond See.

Equipment Shop (not in order): Joseph Champion, Lester Christian, Michael Girouard, Christopher Jenkins, John Parrish,Jack Rich, Dennis Walker and Carvellia Woodard.

Electric Shop (not in order): Marcus Acosta, Wilson Carter, Michael Harrison, Richard Klapproth, Donald Rogan, ScottSchwab, Darrell Sullivan and Ronald Wasson.

Plant Management (not in order): Douglas Bohlmann, Michael Elder, Ameer Faquir, Efrain Gonzalez, Reza Iranpour, AntonioPulido, George Raymond, Bahram Roshanian, Mihran Sarkisian, Mark Starr and Noel Williams.


Call the peopleyou can trust:The City Employee Clubof Los Angeles. We havebeen offering the highestquality group rated insur-ance plans exclusively to active and retired City employees for over75 years.

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Spousal and domestic abuse – it seems like aworld away, doesn’t it? Yet, if you look at sta-tistics, they say it is literally closer to home (orwork) than you or I might think. Color Linesmagazine reports that one out of four womenbecomes a victim of domestic violence in theirlifetime. That includes women in the work-place. An LAPD report states that in 2001,there were some 60,000 domestic violencecalls to enforcement agencies in Los AngelesCounty.

Be aware though, that domestic violencecan affect both sexes and can occur in same-sex relationships as well. (For purposes of thisarticle, I refer to the victim as female sincewomen are the most common victims.)

That brings us to thenext question: What,exactly, is domestic vio-lence? Where exactlydoes it begin? Do youhave to have a brokennose, black eye or bro-ken rib to qualify as avictim of domesticabuse?

Studies show thatdomestic violence is apattern of abusivebehavior that can esca-late. According to theCity’s Domestic Policymanual, domestic vio-lence is defined as:

“Intentionally or reck-lessly causing orattempting to cause psy-chological, emotional,financial and/or physicalinjury, including but not necessarily limited tosexual assault, threatening, harassing, stalking,or making annoying phone calls by a personwho is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant,former cohabitant, a person with whom thevictim is having or has had a dating or engage-ment relationship or a person with whom thevictim has had a child.”

While some behaviors are not criminal, theycan still impact the workplace. Here are a fewexamples of such behavior:

n Isolation: Isolating a victim is a behaviorthat gives the abuser control. This makes itdifficult for the victim to accept promotionsor work-related trips – especially when theabuser insists on taking the victim to andfrom work or restricts contact with co-work-ers outside of work hours.

n Harassment: The abuser may call the vic-tim/employee at work repeatedly, call co-workers at home, send inappropriate e-mailto work, stalk or embarrass the victim inpublic.

n Economic Control: The abuser may takethe victim’s paycheck, refuse to give moneyto the victim or may interfere with the vic-tim’s ability to maintain a job.

n Threats and Intimidation: The abusermay threaten to call or come to the victim’sworkplace, may threaten to harm the victimor those close to her.

n Passive/Aggressive Behavior: The abus-er may fail to convey messages from workand may not take the victim’s job seriously.He or she could also do things to causetrouble at the victim’s workplace.

Believe it or not, there are indicators out-side the obvious broken nose or swollen eye.Reduced productivity at work, for example,can be a key factor. The employee may seemdistracted, may have trouble concentrating,

may be chronically late or absent and/or beobsessed with time. The employee may alsoappear anxious, upset, depressed or emotion-ally distressed.

Another red flag is an employee who suffersfrom chronic health problems and/or repeatedphysical injuries. This employee may try tohide these injuries with inappropriate orexcessive clothing or makeup (long sleeves inwarm weather or sunglasses indoors.) Thelong and short of it is, changes in normalbehavior and work performance could be asignal for help.

There are many abuse indicators that alone,or in combination with others, may whisper orscream out: I am being abused but please don’t

notice me. I’m ashamed. Idon’t want to be judged.Leave me alone. I’m scared.I’m hurting. I’m trapped. Idon’t know what to do.

So, let’s say you are atwork and notice a few ofthese indicators in a co-worker and want to offerhelp. What can you do?First of all, understandthat it is not your job tosolve their problems. Youcan offer assistance byproviding informationand sources of help.Whatever the case, knowthat the situation dictatesthat you approach it deli-cately and confidentially.Here are a few sugges-tions as to how to talk tosomeone who is being

abused:

n Relax. Be yourself. Let the victim knowyou care.

n Gently ask direct questions about the situa-tion. (Gently is the key word here.) Givethe victim time to talk. Listen. Listen.Listen. Give respect what the victim has tosay.

n Don’t rush into providing solutions.

n Don’t judge. The victim may be ashamedand may fear being judged by you.

n Let the victim know it is not her fault.Assure the victim that there’s never anexcuse for physical violence in any relation-ship.

n Encourage the victim to seek medical atten-tion, if appropriate.

n Encourage the victim to develop an emer-gency safety plan at work and at home.

n If the victim opts to stay in the relationship,continue to be supportive while expressingconcern for the victim’s safety.

Use phrases like:

n I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.

n I am concerned for your safety and the safe-ty of your children.

n There are resources in the City and in thecommunity that can help you.

n Let me know if you want to talk again.

There are a lot of resources for victims ofdomestic abuse. A good number to keep onhand for you as an employee and/or supervisoris the number to the Domestic ViolenceResource Team or DVRT: (213) 978-0300.

In the end, you or I could be all that isstanding between an employee and aprecipice over which a victim of domesticabuse hovers. Be sensitive. Be there. Statisticsshow, it could be you or me.

Domestic Abuse Could Be Close By

WORKINGMATTERSby JACKIE DAVID, Public Information Director, Public Safety Division, Personnel

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From left: Ester Lee, 8 years; Fred Tagle, 25 years; and DaoLahoree, 15 years.

From left: Michael Biagi, Club Chairman of the Board;Karen Sisson, Chief Financial Officer; and Ramon Olivares,Sr. MA II, 15 years.

Kudos to Karenn Karen Sisson celebrates as she moves to Mayor’s office.

Story by Liz Montes, Club CounselorPhotos by Angel Gomez, Member Services Manager

AIRPORTS — Friends and coworkers gathered Aug. 11 at the LAX Administration Building to wishKaren Sisson well as she departed Airports to become Deputy Mayor of Finance for Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa.

The event was combined with a pin ceremony for employee dedication.For the last nine years, Karen has served as the Chief Financial Officer, Airports. There, she was

responsible for the development and implementation of an Interim Financial Plan following 9/11,which resulted in an “AA” rating by Standard & Poor’s, Airports’ first double-A rating of any generalairport revenue bond. She managed a staff of 110 people in the Accounting Operations, FinancialReporting and Financial Planning Divisions, and the Rates and Charges, Internal Audit and DebtManagement Sections where she was responsible for an $800 million operating budget and a $1.4 bil-lion capital improvement program spanning four airport- LAX, Ontario, Palmdale, and Van Nuys.

From left: Renee Little, Executive Administrative Assistant, 6 years;Karen Sisson, Chief Financial Officer; Samantha Lee and BernadetteReyes, Secretary, 10 months.

From left: Mike Jeppson; John Kantz, Financial Manager, 5 years; KarenSisson, Chief Financial Officer; and Cora Salao, 18 years.

From left: Rhonda Morgan, 6 years; Valeria Hunter, Sr. MA,13 years; and Larry Rolon, 19 years.

From left: Angela Wan, Finance, 1year; and Rachel Barrica, Finance, 13years.

From left: Yolana Young, 21 years; and ErrickaJordan, 5 years.

From left: Marian Consul-Reyes, Fiscal Systems Specialist, 8 years;Bernadette Reyes, Secretary, 10 months; Sally Domingo, Secretary, 8years; and Renee Little, Executive Administrative Assistant, 6 years.

Karen gets a goodbye hug.

From left: Valeria Hunter, Sr. MA, 13 years;and Karen Sisson, Chief Financial Officer.

From left: Jens Rivera, Airport Manager; Karen Sisson, ChiefFinancial Officer; and Donna Erie, Secretary, 12 years.

From left: Mike Jeppson, who received a30-year Service Pin; and Karen Sisson,Chief Financial Officer.

From left: Beth Lingat, who received20-year Service Pin; and Karen Sisson,Chief Financial Officer.

From left: Dao Lahoree, whoreceived a 15-year Service Pin; andKaren Sisson, Chief Financial Officer.

L.A. CityEmployeesZero Down Home Loans

A new Consumer Awareness Hotline describes threenew home loan programs that enable Los AngelesCity Employees to purchase $350,000 to$1,000,000 Old Spanish to Contemporary stylehomes in L.A. County without a down payment. Formore information, call this 24-hour hotline for aFREE recorded message:

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The kids have a good time at the picnic.

From left: Patsy Clark, Policy Control, 28 years; SandyLaunius, Terminal Operations, 5 years; and Alex Sassoon.

From left: Marilyn and Haidee Jimenez.

From left: Ross Williams, Street Cleaning, 10 years; MichaelMims; Patricia Mims; Teann Mims; and Jas Mims.

Marilyn Wells, Maintenance, 24 years.

From left: Christina Maldonado; Julie Luedano; LorenzoMaldonado, Garden Caretaker, 7 years; and Vanessa Luedano.

From left: Vern Williams, Airport Police, 2 years; and MarkCorral, Airport Police, 5 years.

A few kids get some free things from Officer Mark Corral.

Front row, from left: Donato Campos, Custodial, 5 years;Ruben Samaniego, Custodial, 10 years; Robert Stewart,Maintenance Laborer, 7 years; and Michael Walsh,Maintenance Laborer, 19 years. Back: Kenny Buyard, 2months; and Albert Duenas, Construction andMaintenance, 17 years.

From left: Shelia Murphy, Rajani Sihgh and KennethMurphy.

Chris “The DJ” Smith,Landscape Department.

Shirley Hoffman,Community Relations.

People line up to get their food.

Kids enjoy the games!

Back row, from left: Sharon Sauls, Airport Police, 6 years;BaShaun Nero, Rec and Parks; and Tracy Warren. Front:Brianna Nero; Ginina Goods; Ginia Goods; Julius Goodsand Wayne Sauls.

From left: Concepcion Cortez Ruiz, Custodial; Joanna Diaz,Custodial; Maria Magana, Custodial; and Jose Canales,Custodial.

From left: Phyllis Hayes, Airport Police, 30 years; EfremCharles, Traffic, 7 years; Dave Rose, Construction andMaintenance, 22 years and Ricardo Jimenez.

Eric Williams, Airport Police, 9.5 years, with Rasta. Henry Victor, Deferred Comp., helps a guest.

From left: Leatrice Pickens, Oscar Smith and Jimmy Sparks.

LAXPicnicn LAX hosts picnic foremployees, families andfriends. Club donates prizes.

Story by Liz Montes, Club CounselorPhotos by Angel Gomez, Member ServicesManager

AIRPORTS — LAX held its annual EmployeePicnic Aug. 13 at Westchester Park. Guestsenjoyed barbequed food, games and music.

Hundreds of raffle prizes were given awaythroughout the day, including bikes, televisions,kitchen accessories and different electronics. TheClub donated Magic Mountain and Legolandtickets.

The picnic once again was a big success!Congratulations to the employees who put ittogether, and the Club thanks them for the invitation.

City Employees Work Hard

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senting the following California admitted insurers: • Alliance United Insurance Services • Allied Insurance Co.• Civil Service Employees Insurance Co. • Explorer Insurance Co. • F.A.C.T. • Hartford Insurance Co. • InfinityInsurance Co. • Mercury Insurance Group • Millennium Insurance Co. • Progressive Insurance Co. • Safeco

No matter what you own,you can insure it!

Another great benefitoffered to members of theCity EmployeesClub of Los Angeles

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As little as $2.75 per pay period!*Get $50,000 to $300,000 of life insurance coverage at affordable group rates for City and DWP employees.

Fair pricing built right in!If we collect more premium than we end up needing for claims and expenses, we give the excess back to you! For 75 of our 77 years, insured members have received a Term Life premium refund!

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Make this the day you better protect your family’s financial future.

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00306101-1536 R04/05

The underwriting risks, financial obligations and support functionsassociated with the products issued by The United States LifeInsurance Company in the City of New York are solely itsresponsibility. The United States Life Insurance Company in theCity of New York is responsible for its own financial condition andcontractual obligations.

This is a summary of benefits only and is subject to the terms,conditions, limitations and exclusions of group policy no. V-189,706.

© 2005 American International Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Underwritten by:

The United States Life InsuranceCompany in the City of New YorkNew York, NYA member company of American International Group, Inc.www.agac.com

Administered by:

The City Employees Club of Los Angeles350 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 700Los Angeles, CA 90071-95141-800-464-0452


DWP Promotes Virzin Andrew Virzi isAssistant Controller at DWP.

Andrew Virzi Jr. has been promotedto Assistant Controller in theDepartment of Financial Systems,DWP, it was announced by DWPCFO Ronald Vazquez.

Virzi is also a board member forthe City Employees Club of LosAngeles.

The statement from Vazquez said:“I am pleased to announce the

appointment of Andrew Virzi Jr. to theposition of Assistant Controller,Department of Financial Services,DWP.

“His responsibilities will includeAccounts Payable, Payroll andTimekeeping, Cashier’s Office andFinancial Systems.”

Congratulations, Andrew!

Dance Champs at DWP

n DWP Dance Club welcomes dance champions forone-day workshop. Holiday show set for Dec. 1.

DWP — Bob Powers and Julia Gorchakova, 12-time U.S. Rhythm Champions andthree-time World Mambo Champions, are scheduled to hold a one-day dance work-shop on Nov. 5 at the DWP Cafeteria Conference Center. The one-day workshop issponsored by the DWP Dance Club.

Also, the Dance Club has scheduled its annual show for 11:30 a.m. Dec. 1 in theDWP Cafeteria.

The DWP Dance Club is in its sixth year. Practice sessions are held from 11:30 to12:15 Tuesdays and Thursdays. Styles include salsa, cha-cha, rumba, bolero, swing,samba, tango, swing and other ballroom dances. The Dance Club is free to all DWPemployees and City workers who can attend during their lunch break.

Interested parties should contact Lourdes Zerrudo, (213) 367-1405 or [email protected]

Bob Powers and Julia Gorchakova in performance.

If you have a family member in the military and would like to honor them inAlive!, please send in a photo and include their name, their branch of militaryservice, where they’re stationed, your City department, and any other informationabout them that you would like to include, to:

Alive! Military Service RecognitionCity Employees Club350 S. Figueroa St. Suite 700Los Angeles, CA 90071

Honor ThoseWho Serve

Gilbert Gastelum is anOperations Specialist in thePersian Gulf aboard the U.S.S.Princeton. Steven Gastelum,Private First Class with the 10thMountain Division, was to bedeployed to Iraq Sept. 12. Gilbertand Steven are sons of LoriGastelum. “I’m proud of my sonsand the sacrifice they have madefor our country. Please includemy sons in your prayers.”

CLUB PHOTO FEATURE

The Club in the

Armed Forces


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EASY VACATION PLANNING!Call for all travel — Cruises, Tours, Spas, Hotels & ResortsOfficial Club Partner — Personalized service for all Club Members

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CLUB MEMBERS: Call (888) 652-6400 for all your travel needs – individuals, groups, meetings and incentives.

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this is a wonderful part-time or full-time opportunity that can earn you thousands of extra dollars.Pay only the $495 fee for training and affiliation, and then a yearly association fee.

To learn more, contact Kristy Adler at the number below or go to www.cruiseandresort.comand click on “Join Our Team” at the bottom of the Home page.

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John’sPicturePerfectContest

• The contest is open to all Club members ingood standing. Non-members are welcome tosubmit, but only Club members are eligible towin the monthly prize.

• If your photograph does not win, you are wel-come to re-submit.

• Winners are chosen by Club staff. All deci-sions will be final.

• You must certify (if asked) that you indeedtook the picture. No ringers!

• Photos can be submitted either on paper ordigitally. Please don’t send both.

• If you want your print photo returned, pleasewrite your name, address and phone numberon the back of your photo.

• Photos can be of any subject matter: vacation,portraits, families, landscapes, still lifes, pets,etc. Subject matter must be appropriate for Alive!

• Paper prints can be mailed to: Picture PerfectContest, Alive!, City Employees Club of Los

Angeles, 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700, LosAngeles, CA 90071

• Digital photos optimally should be between100K and 2 megabytes in size and may bee-mailed to:[email protected]

• The contest is all in good fun:The Club cannotbe responsible for delays in delivering Alive!,or for delays in the transmission of responses.

Rules:

For October, there are three winners.Keep sending in your amazing photographs!

We have winners …and lots of great images!Start snapping today, and send us your bestresults! Three winners will receive a giftcertificate to Target.

“Here is a picture of my oldest daughter, Aislinn, 4. She is riding a pony atthe Chatsworth Farmers Market. Last month, the pony rides and pettingzoo were moved out of the market into an adjacent dirt lot. Aislinn enjoyedbeing able to ride the pony about 500 yards to Devonshire and back. Onthe trip back, the train came through, much to her surprise and delight.Unfortunately, the proprietor of the pony rides did not like the new loca-tion, and has since quit attending. How do you explain that to a four-year-old? I hope you enjoy the picture as much as she enjoyed having it taken.”

KJ Hoerricks, LAPD

“I am a Security Officer with DWP, Transferred from City Hall Security. Mypassions are exotic sport cars with awesome power, real estate and longwalks with my wife.I’ve admired the Dodge Vipers for a few years. Last year my wife and Idecided to start searching for our dream car. She wanted red, I wantedblack. We found a black one with only 8,800 original miles.The next day we bought it. After placing new Michelin Pilot Sports on itand installing a cat-back exhaust system, we were ready for our vacationto Morro Bay and Palm Springs.The unique, special curves and unbelievable power make this a special toyfor us.”— Matt Valentine, City Hall

NEXT DEADLINE: October 12Read the rules below, and happy snapping!

WINNER!

WINNER!

WINNER!

W I N $25T A R G E TG i f t C a r d

T h r e e PRIZES

We HaveWINNERS!

“This was in Hollywood, at Western Avenue and, funnily enough, Fountain Avenue!”

Jenny Arzate, Rec and Parks


From left: Frank Alvarado, Roofing Supervisor; SteveKramer, Senior Roofer; and Joseph Carota, Roofer.

From left: Al Williams, Roofer; Ricardo Menchaca, Roofer;and Raul Melendez, Roofer.

From left: Raul Vasquez, Roofer; Jaime Curie, MaintenanceConstruction Helper; and Dan Hanor, Roofer.

Event Coordinators, from left: Tony Perez, Senior Roofer,Team Advisory Staff; and Alex Loaiza, Concrete Supervisor.

From left: Mac Tamayo, Sign Painter; Tony Corralejo,Cement Finisher; Bruce Pedro, Mechanic Repairer; andAbe Williams, Welder.

From left: Luis Barajas, City Craft Assistant; Francis Seale,Cement Finisher; Rick Navarrette, City Craft Assistant; andLeonard Carter, Maintenance and Construction Helper.

From left: Raul Guttierez, Carpenter; Victor Rodriguez,Carpenter; and Ricardo Babonoyaba, Cement Finisher.

From left: C.T. Cooper, Electrician; Sandra Castillo, LeadElectrician; Tu Nguyen, Craft Assistant; and Rudy Acevedo,Electrician.

From left: Joe Hernandez, Carpet Installer, and Alex Bunko,Carpet Installer.

From left: Ernest Ballesteros, City Craft Assistant; DeanZambory, Mechanic Repairer II; Javen Borgwardt,Mechanic Repairer; and Cole Kayser, Equipment Operator.

Management Team and Events Sponsors, from left: Superintendent Raul Macias; Tony Perez, Senior Roofer; Reinaldo Brito, Supervisor; Alex Loaiza, Concrete Supervisor; Dan Eason, GeneralSupervisor; Timothy Herrera, Acting Supervisor; Sid Salehpour, District Supervisor; Frank Alvarado, Supervisor; Carlos Rodriguez, Senior Roofer; and Steve Kramer, Senior Roofer.

PiperSaysThanksn Piper Tech hosts barbecue forBuilding Maintenance CentralShops employees.

Story and photos by Michelle Moreno, ClubEvents Guru

GEN. SERVICES — The Superintendents andSupervisors of the Piper Tech BuildingMaintenance Central Shops held a barbecue fortheir employees in appreciation of their hardwork and dedication. The event, which was com-pletely sponsored by management, was held atthe Piper Tech Cafetorium Aug. 18.

Each member of management stood up andshared a small speech thanking their team fortheir great work.

Thanks to Alex Loaiza, Concrete Supervisor,and Tony Perez, Senior Roofer, for coordinatingthe event and inviting the Club.

From left: Steve Diaz, Craft Assistant, and Chris Davis, CraftAssistant.

Welcome to the barbecue.

of U.S. Senator Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy, whowas initially treated at Central Receiving andquickly transported across the street to the GoodSamaritan Hospital for brain surgery, where hedied. It was also the Central Receiving Hospitalthat provided emergency and paramedic servicesto Angelinos for some 120 years.

There is much to know from that building justeast of downtown. And much to be proud of.

A lot of this history comes to life by interviewingDr. Alan Cowen, also known as Deputy Chief AlanCowen of the LAFD. Dr. Cowen is probably theonly living historian left from an era that birthedthe life-saving systems we have today: 9-1-1, para-medics and emergency rooms. Alan is retired andworks full time teaching emergency medical servic-es at Los Angeles Valley College – a staid existencefor him, when compared to the thrill of his 32 yearsof paramedic work with the City. He is chairman ofthe Department of Emergency Services for LosAngeles Valley College.

Alan began working for the City in 1967 whenhe was 21. He was promoted through the ranksto become the City’s Chief Paramedic. He wasthe last Paramedic Chief in the EmergencyServices Bureau of the LAFD.

Alan’s StoryIt begins with a major smallpox epidemic that

hit what was to become one of the largest andmost progressive metropolitan areas in the world:the City of Los Angeles. The epidemic sweptthrough Los Angeles in September 1868, and theCity quickly built a hospital in Chavez Ravine toaid smallpox victims. It was a small hospital. Dr.Henry F. Orme was the City’s Health Officer.

Dr. Orme did an outstanding job handling thesmallpox epidemic and, after a year, resignedfrom his post. The Los Angeles City Council pre-sented him with a Resolution for his work withthe Smallpox Epidemic of 1868. Chavez Ravinecontinued to care for smallpox victims even afterOrme’s departure. Thus, with this pain, was bornLos Angeles’ Emergency Services.

It was a time of horse-drawn buggies. ThePolice Department was in charge of just abouteverything, including accidents and medicalemergencies. Chavez Ravine Hospital was a longway to travel to bring accident victims to for care.It most certainly was a much shorter ride to theonly police station in town: the Central PoliceStation, at 326 West First St. And so it was thatthe Central Police Station became an EmergencyHospital of sorts, although it was never officiallycalled that until much later.

Just like Chavez Ravine, the Central PoliceStation was staffed with one doctor: Chief PoliceSurgeon Granville MacGowan. Later, in 1890,the City Council recognized the need to houseemergency victims, so the City converted a roomat the Central Police Station specifically for thispurpose. Emergency power was provided alongwith a surgeon and staff to give emergency med-ical care to a quickly growing clientele. It wascalled the Emergency First Aid and OperatingRoom. A police ambulance, an open horse-drawn- buggy, was also provided.

The Central Police Station served 562 patientsin 1889. It was also at this time that Chief PoliceSurgeon Granville MacGowan, like his ChavezRavine predecessor, became the City HealthOfficer.

The reputation of the Central Police Station asa provider of emergency care continued to grow.Accident victims poured in. In a single year,between 1889 and 1890, the number of patientstreated at the Central Station grew to 3,515. Dr.Ernest Bryant became the Chief Police Surgeon.

Los Angeles’ population was at 65,000 andgrowing. The Central Police Station buildingmoved to First and Hill Streets to become theCity’s first Emergency Receiving Hospital, pro-viding emergency medical services for 31 years,from 1896 to 1927.

In 1907, the Police Department continued touse patrol wagons, pulled by horses, as ambu-lances. There is a story of an ambulance drivernamed Bill Plischke who, it is said, through hisinteresting voice and tone, could communicatethe severity of an emergency to his horses. Storiesare that his voice alone, through commands,prompted his horses to move from a walk to a gal-lop – much to the delight of his needy passengers.Other well-known Police Officer ambulance driv-ers at the time were Jack Hills and Jack Mart.

Los Angeles forged ahead. It hired its firstnurse in 1908, a gentleman named Charles“Charlie” Whitehead. Services expanded. Wherethere was once only a single doctor, there wasnow a Surgeon, Charlie and two other policenurses running the one-room Central PoliceEmergency Receiving Hospital.

On Dec. 14, 1910, the City Council officiallyrecognized the Receiving Hospital as a separateDepartment in the City and thus provided fund-ing. The Department, in turn, also provided carefor the City’s Firemen (there were no womenfirefighters) and Police Officers, while continuingto serve as an emergency receiving hospital.

The official Central Receiving Hospitalwas finally established four years laterand, in 1914, the one-room facility

came to be called what it was formany years: The Central

Receiving Hospital.The City

also pur-

chased its first motor-driven ambulance in 1914.It was called The Premier and had what no otherambulance had: an enclosed capsule for patients.For the first time in Los Angeles’ history, patientswho were taken for emergency care now had thecomfort of much-needed privacy.

Charlie was appointed Chief Police Nurse in1916 and became the first nurse, in the City, tobecome a Chief.

Central Receiving continued to work furiouslyto care for its patients. It was still a one-roomHospital. Between 1920 and 1921, it cared for29,957 patients. Five years later, in 1926, thenumber of patients ballooned to an astounding67,210, practically matching the population of theentire City of Los Angeles.

In 1927 it became increasingly apparent thatchange was in order. Chief Surgeon EdwinGoodrich, who now headed the hospital, moved itto 1337 Georgia St., where it became known asthe famous Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.Another major change happened: nurses, for thefirst time, began to accompany police officers inthe ambulances.

Georgia Street Receiving Hospital functionedfor 30 years, from 1927 to 1957.

Also, between the late 1920s and early 1930s,three smaller branch hospitals were established totake care of Los Angeles’ growing population:Lincoln Heights Receiving Hospital, HollywoodHeights Receiving Hospital and Van NuysReceiving Hospital.

There’s a little piece of medical or seat-belt his-tory that can be noted at this time. In 1952,Ambulance Attendant Jack Gilson was killedwhen he was thrown out of an ambulance in a col-

lision. Gilson was the third Ambulance Attendantkilled in this manner. After Gilson’s death, Dr.Charles F. Sebastian from Georgia StreetReceiving Hospital devised a series of straps toprevent ambulance occupants from being thrownout of the vehicle in a collision. He ordered theybe installed in every ambulance. The City outfit-ted its 13 ambulances at a cost of $976.30. (Couldthis be how the seatbelt was born?)

The New BuildingThings really began to move along in 1957.

The Georgia Street Receiving Hospital moved toits final location: 1401 West Sixth St. The otheraddress for this same facility; i.e., the other sideof the hospital, was 500 S. Loma Dr.

The new Central Receiving Hospital openedits doors in 1957. Norris Paulson was mayor. Itcost $1.5 million to build and retrofit the new37,000-square-foot facility. Its first floor had sixemergency treatment rooms. It had six otherrooms with 15 beds. Patient numbers were up to107,000 a year. It was and continued to be thecenter where up to 20 physical exams were con-ducted per day for Police Officers and Firemen.

Dr. Charles F. Sebastian was Superintendent.His chief nurse was Vera Cooper. His PrincipalNurse was RN John Stickles. The ChiefAmbulance Attendant was Harold Patton. JimLogan was the Assistant Chief AmbulanceAttendant. He had two Senior AmbulanceAttendants: D.V. Harris (who recently passedaway in his late 90s) and Paul Clum.

In fact, it was Patton who hired Dr. AlanCowen in 1967, when Cowen was 21 years old. “Iknow it’s ancient history, but I remember Pattonlike it was yesterday,” Cowen says fondly. “He


History Made at Central Hospital

The 1956 groundbreaking for the soon-to-be-demolished Central Receiving Hospital included (holding the shovel) Dr.Charles Sebastian, Superintendent, and, in uniform, Chief Ambulance Attendant Bob Roberts.

Continued from Page 1

Hospital

A 1954 Ford ambulance.

Part of the City’s ambulance fleet in front of the Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, taken most likely in the 1930s.

was short and stocky and looked a lot like theactor Spencer Tracy. Patton was a hard-boiledegg, an old ambulance guy who ran a tight ship.He demanded and we gave.”

A large commemorative event was held in1968 at 1401 West 6th St. (Central ReceivingHospital’s final location) to celebrate the hospi-tal’s 100th birthday (remember the smallpox epi-demic of 1868?). “It was an event to remember,”Alan remembers. “We had everyone there. Wehad photos of folks when they were young andnewer photos taken many, many years later. Tothe many attending, it was their last officialevent.”

“It’s good to remember those who staffed thehospital — those who helped create what today isLos Angeles’ Emergency Services.” Here aresome of them: n Robert Roberts, or Bob Roberts (as he was

called by many) began his career with theCity as an ambulance driver in 1928. Hemoved up the ladder to become ChiefAmbulance Attendant for some 20 years.He retired in 1957 after almost 30 years ofservice.

n Superintendent M.X. Anderson beganworking at the hospital at 25 and eventuallyran Central Receiving in 1950s.

n Leon Boudreay was Anderson’s ExecutiveOfficer.

n Anderson’s Assistant Superintendent wasDr. Kearney Sauer.

n Ambulance Attendant Max Behrman, whoattended to Senator Robert F. Kennedyafter he was shot.

n Dr. Bazilauskas.n Dr. Rooneyn Dr. Swainn Dr. Handsn Dr. Soskinn Dr. Saverinn Dr. Douglas Arterberry n Dr. Phillip Anderson, who was approximate-

ly 25 years old when he began working atCentral Receiving in 1967.

“Central Receiving was amazing at renderingFirst Aid, considering we didn’t have the tools ortechnology at the time,” Alan says. “CPR wasunknown. Our tools, equipment and supplieswould be considered ancient by today’s stan-dards. Our ambulances looked like ‘ambu-lasauruses.’ Yet, I watched our people stop hem-orrhaging and do so many things to save count-less lives. We absolutely saved lives, without adoubt, lots of lives. It was and continues to be anhonor to have been a part of that.”

On July 1, 1970, after some 120 years, theEmergency Ambulance Service was transferredfrom the Central Receiving Hospital System tothe Los Angeles Fire Department. Medical emer-gency responders became known as paramedicsin 1970, and 9-1-1 came into being 15 years after.

“It pains my heart to know that the CentralReceiving Hospital will soon be torn down. It is,to me, a real historical landmark,” Cowenlaments.

In 1996, Deputy Chief Dr. Alan Cowen organ-ized and emceed a Central Receiving HospitalReunion. Physicians, ambulance attendants,nurses, ambulance drivers and other Receiving

Hospital employees from yesteryear came fromall parts of the country to attend the reunion. “Itwas like going back in a time machine,” Alanrecalls. “These ambulance drivers, attendants andnurses were all the grandparents, the ancestors ofemergency medical services in the City and they,we, were all joined by the common bond of help-ing people in emergencies.”

Time moves on. Progress must be made.Amongst the rubble of what was once the CentralReceiving Hospital will arise a brand new PoliceStation – back to where and how CentralReceiving first began.

Wanna be heard? Do you have any greatmemories of the Central Receiving Hospital orthe City’s early paramedic service? Let us know:[email protected]


The current Central Receiving Hospital under construction in 1956. The hospital is scheduled to be razed.

Dr. Alan Cowen (right) presents a historic photo to Nate Rubin, who is deceased. The photowas taken in 1990.

1968: Dr. Alan Cowen and Nurse Florence Matthews.

A patient under treatment at the Central Receiving Hospital, circa late 1950s.

Dr. Alan Cowen (right) is promoted to LAFD Deputy Chief.

Nurses/former nurses at a Central Receiving Hospital reunion in 1996.

The Central Receiving Hospital’s Dispatch System, circa the 1960s. Thissystem was the predecessor to the modern 911 system.

1988: The top LAFD staff. Chief O’Manning is second from left; Dr. AlanCowen is second from right.

Former ambulance drivers at a Central Receiving Hospital reunion in 1996.

Shirlene Mills, Commercial Field Representative, DWP, 30years, with Nisan H. Kazman, Management Assistant, 18.5 years.

Dodger coach Manny Mota helps out kids likeJoey Trevino the basics of baseball.

Mayor Antonio Villiaragosa was the first mayor to attendthe Swing-a-Thon.

From left: Jaime Chacon, Newton Division, 10 years; Joe Broussard, South Bureau, 4.5 years;Fernando Aleman, 77th Station, 5 years; Angel Gomez Jr.; and Noel Magpoc, West LA, 8 years.

Actor Yancy Arias took pitches for the home run derby.


Officer Mike Scott and singer Jamie Jones.

Officer Cesar Corona gets ready to take the ball deep intoleft field.

The opposition was ready as well.

Officer Barlow and Officer Daniels.

Swing-a-Thon volunteers and participants.

The CRO unit.

Officer Irma Foster.

n LAPD Centurions hosts annualbenefit softball game. Club co-sponsors the event.

Story by Arlene Herrero, Club Counselor, and OfficerMike ScottPhotos by Angel Gomez, Michelle Moreno and RobertLarios, Club Staffers

POLICE DEPT. — For the fifth consecutive year, the LAPD’sCenturions baseball team was swinging for the fences in thename of charity, and hit a home run.

The event was the annual LAPD Swing-a-Thon benefitsoftball game, featuring celebrities and raising funds to pur-chase food and toys for needy kids during Thanksgiving andChristmas. There was also a Lifetime Achievement Awardpresented to former LA

Dodgers and 1965 World Champions Maury Wills andSweet Lou Johnson.

The event took place Aug. 27 at ElCariso County Park in Sylmar.

More than 3,000 disadvantagedLA-area kids were invited to attendand were “spoiled” with free profes-sional sports clinics, interactive gamesand activities, public safety displays, afree health clinic, free digital finger-printing, free food vouchers, contests,back packs, and giveaways.

Guests included Dodger coach Manny Mota, Dodgerbullpen coach Jon Debus, former LA Dodger Rudy Law, for-mer Raider great Rod Martin, former USC Heisman Trophywinner Charles White, and Grammy Award-winning singerfrom the group All for One, Jaime Jones. The Centurionsbaseball team consists of sworn police officers.

The event was expected to raise approximately $10,000.Congratulations to everyone involved in this great

event, and thanks to Officer Mike Scott for his assistancein putting together this article.

Aden Gomez, son of Club Member Services ManagerAngel Gomez, poses on a police motorcycle.


The LAPD Centurions baseball team was anxious to get the game started.

Kids of all ages enjoyed the baseball game in the stands.

From left: Areen Ibranossian, Special Assistant to the Mayor; LuisSanchez, Area Representative; and Douglas Nelson, AreaRepresentative.

From left: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Swing-a-Thon CoordinatorOffice Michael Scott and LAPD Chief William Bratton.

Actors Vince Lozano, Eddie Velez and Julio OscarMechoso.

From left: Football star Charles White and football star Rob Martin with nephew,Andrew Harrison, show some USC Trojan pride.

Angel Gomez Jr., son of Club Member Services ManagerAngel Gomez, poses on a police motorcycle.

Oscar Bocanegra of West LA Station, 4 years, teaches kids

how to catch ground balls.

Hitting a Home Run

From left: Sgt. Archambault, Valley Traffic, 29 years; Andy Lira; and David Lira.

The Club proudly hanged its banneras one of the sponsors of the event.

— More photos from the Swing-a-Thon on the next page.

Here’s How ToLower Your MonthlyMortgage Payment

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SPECIAL – Could you be overpaying on your mortgage andnot even know it?

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This informative FREE Recorded Message will answer a lot ofthe questions you have about refinancing, and give you informa-tion about a FREE Refinance Home Loan Finder Service thatshows you:

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mortgage payments and give you cash back.• How to refinance your mortage with no out-of-pocket costs to you.

You can get all the details in a FREE Recorded Message by calling

1-800-369-1025 ext. 8601


From left: Officer Michelle Rodriguez; six-year oldattendee Megan; and Officer Julian Almaraz.

Officer Chris Porter, LAPD Recruitment, 10 years, andOfficer Guessferd, LAPD Recruitment, 23 years.

Officer Mike Scott gives away themany gifts from sponsors and othersto those who attended. Officer Herman Rodriguez, South Traffic, 4

years. helps out Manny Mota with a battingclinic.

The intensity of the game is taking a toll on the players.

continued...

Singer Jamie Jones with wife, Hanna, and children.

The crowd forms around the rock-climbing towers.

Representing Blue Cross were, from left: Lynette Coleman,Management Account Consultant, and Jessy Garibay,Employer Service Representative.

From left: Alma Becerra, Sr. Clerk Typist, 16 years, ClubMember; and Maria Andrade, Sr. Clerk Typist, 3 years, Club Member.

From left: Linda Hundertmark, Detective, 16 years, and Brad Peters, Police Officer, 28-plus years, investigating reflexology.

From left: Linda Hundertmark, Detective, 16 years, and Brad Peters, Police Officer, 28-plus years, investigating reflexology.

From left: Dave Cedeno, Detective, 17 years; and OrvinPerez, Clerk Typist, 8 years, Club Member.

The L.A. Police Relief Association, Inc.From left: Julia Lira, Sr. Clerk Typist, 17 years; and RosieSaucedo, Clerk Typist, 3 years.

From left: Club Member Services Manager Angel Gomezwith Valerie Lockhart, Management Analyst II.

From left: Ellen Kanda, Administration and TechnicalServices Bureau, with Lieutenant Gloria Vargas.

Belinda Gomez, Detective, 20 years, is all smiles as she hasher blood sugar tested.

The LAPD Federal Credit Union. From left: Tiffany Liaw, Accountant I, New Club Member,with Martha Archila, Accounting Clerk, Club Member.

Club Counselor Arlene Herrero provides Rina Aragon withsome insurance information.

To Your

Health!

From left: Sandra Brito, Detective II, 16 years, ClubMember; Rachel Moody, Sr. Clerk Typist, 16 years; andEva Montoya, PA II, 17 years, Club Member.

Derek Khuu, Property Officer, 1 year, with Acupuncturist/Dr. Francis C. Yu.

Providing healthy refreshments for everyone were, fromleft: Marleen Caudillo, Management Analyst, 4 years, andEva Montoya, PA II, 17 years, Club Member.

L’Keva Harris, Crime ScenePhotographer, upgradesher Club products.

Detention Officer LilianWoodfin-Parker upgradesher Club products.

Lee Masters, Senior PoliceServices Representative.

Officer Jose Salcedo,Police Officer II, 15,5years, Club Member, signsup at the Club table.

Welcome New ClubMember Donna Shibuya,Management Analyst II.

Welcome New ClubMember Juan Becerra,General Services Custodian.

Sgt. Nick Aldana at theJuice Plus+ booth.

Wilma Dela Cruz,Secretary, 19 years, completes her form for the glucose test.

Matthew Klein, RetiredLAPD, receives Club lunchbag for joining the Club.

Welcome New ClubMember Napoleon Fuller,Mail Services DeliveryDriver.

Charlotte Broughton,Police Officer, 10 years,stops by the Club booth.

Henry Victor III, DeferredCompensation was also onhand to provide checkupson Deferred Compensation.

n LAPD hosts annual health fair.

Story by Arlene Herrero, Club CounselorPhotos by Arlene Herrero and Michelle Moreno, Events Guru

POLICE DEPT. — On Sept. 1, the LAPD sponsored its annual health fair and screening.The event took place at the Parker Center lobby and first floor. It marked the fourth consecutive year

that the Club has participated.Participants were able to take part in reflexology, acupuncture, utilize the Elizabeth Center’s Cancer

Detection mobile and come away with many free goodies for a better health.The Club thanks Marleen Caudillo, Randy Kipnis and Tom Brennan for their assistance.


Births

Births: Send us the following information: full name of the newborn, date of birth, name of par-ents, job title of the parent(s) who work(s) for the City or the DWP, your phone number and ababy photo. Send to [email protected]

Life’s Important Moments

Share your moments!


RetirementsNAME TITLE DEPT. #YEARSTomas Abutal N/A DWP N/AOlivia Adams N/A DWP N/AFrank Alvarado N/A DWP N/ASandra Anguiano Council Aide Council 16Blanca Angulo Clerk Typist Animal Services 20Carmine Baffo N/A DWP N/AChristopher Bassett Electrical Engr. Associate Public Works 36Gerald Berman Sr. Mgmt. Analyst Library 30Perfecto Bertulfo Electric Station Operator DWP N/ALarry Billoups Mech. Repairer Airports 34Dan Bitterman N/A DWP N/ABarbara Borkowski Senior Clerk Typist DWP N/ADon Branham N/A DWP N/AKent Brinkmeyer Sr. Librarian Library 29Warren Charbonnet N/A DWP N/AJames Colleran Building Repair Supv. DWP N/ADeborah Collins Sr. Construction Inspector Public Works 20Edith Cornine Police Service Rep. LAPD 22Michael Coutu N/A DWP N/AEligah Crain Garage Attendant LAPD 37Emiliano Cruz Sr. Build. Opr. Engr. Gen. Services 25Janet Daniel Child Care Center Dir. Rec and Parks 30Robert Duarte Building Repairer DWP N/ANeil Duddy Electrical Tester DWP N/ABarbara Eubank Storekeeper DWP N/ACheryl Fair Police Service Rep. LAPD 21Wai Chong Fong Electrical Repairer DWP N/AMary Gaffney Messenger Clerk Library 7Joseph Garner Ref. Collection Truck Operator Public Works 25Arthur Gibford Sr. Traf. Supervisor Transportation 37Carol Hamilton-Watkins Mayoral Aide Mayor’s Office 18Aiko Hanami N/A DWP N/AMarzette Henry Sr. Gardener Rec and Parks 30Robert Houston Water Service Worker DWP N/AStephen Hutchinson Sr. Mgmt. Analyst CDD 31Henry Isaac Water Utility Worker DWP N/ABeda Jardenil N/A DWP N/ATerrance Jarvis Water Utility Operator DWP N/AErcelle Johnson Clerk Typist Public Works 10Laura Johnson Police Adm. LAPD 32Richard Johnson N/A DWP N/ADelano Jones Special Officer Airports 24Ronald Jones Automotive Supervisor LAPD 28William Jones Ref. Collection Truck Operator Public Works 25Robert Jordan Machinist DWP N/ADavid Kabashima Assoc. Zoning Admin. Planning 36William Koepcke Deputy City Atty. City Attorney 20Marylouise Kundert Sr. Clerk Typist LAPD 12Marton Leaderman Management Analyst CDD 36Sandra Levine N/A DWP N/AJerry Limbourne Heavy Duty Equip. Mech. Airports 21Caroline Lorenzo Information Systems Mgr. ITA 25Grace Louis-Case Sr. Cust. Svcs. Attn. Gen. Services 20Karen MacDonald Police Psychologist LAPD 25Dave Mansker Equip. Mechanic Gen. Services 25Charles Maurer Senior Hydrographer DWP N/ARonald Maytorena Systems Analyst LAFD 12Aaron McCullough Investment Officer Treasurer 23James McKay Ref. Collection Truck Operator Public Works 17Irene Mendoza Council Aide Council 12Carmen Miraflor Geog. Info. Sys. Supv. Planning 25Gilbert Mora Stores Supervisor Gen. Services 20Gary Nyberg N/A DWP N/AEsther Nelson Legal Secretary City Attorney 16Richard Nemecek Instrument Mech. Public Works 30Stephen O’Brien N/A DWP N/AGeorge Phetteplace Truck Operator Public Works 12Estes Phillips Special Prog. Associate Rec and Parks 4Aida Quon Management Analyst LAPD 30Kathy Rainey N/A DWP N/ADavid Ramirez Motor Sweeper Public Works 37Alexis Raymundo Accounting Clerk LACERS 17Richard Rees Garage Attendant LAPC 45

Alive! and your City Employees Club wishes to thank each and every one of the following, whohave spent many years making Los Angeles the great city it is. Congratulations, and enjoy yourwell-deserved rewards!

William Richey N/A DWP N/ARobert Rivera Management Analyst LAPD 20Ricky Roberts N/A DWP N/ARobert Saenz Commercial Field Supervisor DWP N/AJames Sanborn Pr. Clerk Bldg. and Safety 19Richard Sawyer Water Utility Worker DWP N/ARichard Shary N/A DWP N/AStephen Simmons Carpenter Gen. Services 15John Smith N/A DWP N/AMark Smith N/A DWP N/AEfryem Soliman N/A DWP N/ADavid Staufer Instrument Mechanic SupervisorDWP N/AJalal Sudan Sr. Mgmt. Analyst Public Works 36Lorenza Sunshine N/A DWP N/ARosauro Taracena Accountant Gen. Services 25Themla Tellis Rec. Supervisor Rec and Parks 34Hildegard Throop Sr. Clerk Typist LAPD 9Vagram Topadzhikyan Electrician LAPD 20Luciano Torres Gardener Caretaker Rec and Parks 30Charles Towsley N/A DWP N/AAlvin Trunell N/A DWP N/AWilliam Vestal Perform. Arts Prg. Coordinator Cultural Affairs 33Reuben Wilson N/A DWP N/AWillie Woods Custodial Serv. Attn. Rec and Parks 28Stephen Yancey N/A DWP N/ASeung Yoo Data Process Tech. ITA 30Andrew Yoshida Welder Supervisor Airports 35Richard Zurfluh Air Cond. Mech. Supervisor Public Works 28

*

Jacob Matthew Bernal, born Aug. 25 toRamon Bernal, Senior Recreation Director I,and Nicole Bernal, Recreation Director , bothwith Rec and Parks.

Duncan Mobley Carter, born July 24 in SimiValley. His dad is Ryan Carter, LAFD.

Joseph Rickley, born June 14 at the Good SamaritanHospital. He is the son of Jeff and Linda Rickley. Lindaworks at Rec and Parks.

Dasha Faith Krumer, born April 11(her daddy’s birthday) to Sergeant

David Krumer, LAPD.


Welcome New Members!

The Club gives a great big welcome to these new members, who recently joined the Club:

New Members*

Bruce AsberryMaria BanualesTerrence BarberLeonor BarcenasMaria BarrazaGail BebeeJulian Benjamin IIIMaria BenjaminsIann BerensenRodolfo BiscochoKenyatta BonnerJaven BorgwardtJames BratcherEzio BriascoWilliam BrockmanLaChan BrownJanet Buluran-

LavillesVernon ButcherDuane ByrdVeronica CamachoJacob CamelloCecilia CanoAdelfa ChanYolanda ChavezAngelica ChavezDaniel ChaviraTisha ClarkEdith CornineBertha CruzMichael EspinozaJose EstradaThomas EstradaTamura Fatherree

Richard FavelaUthai FloresStanley FowlerEliseo GalarzaAbigail Garcia-

HidalgoImelda GomezNorberto GuerraMartin GutierrezGerry GuzonDarrin HayesAnita HendersonLovell HendersonAntonio HernandezKevin HollandRobert Holquin IIJimmy Hughes Sr.Ayman JabbouriDonna JacksonRoger JekaJodie JenningsRickey KirkShirley KrummeFrankie LaCountAnne LiuMichael LoaizaElizabeth LopezFrank ManwarrenJoe MarinoArmando MartinFrancisco MartinezLuthereen MooreReece MorganJosefina Olmos

Raul OrnelasMark PedersonErick PinedaSheree PowersLouie PuentesVeralicia RamirezAnnie RamosDannie RollinsRico RosasAbram SantosArthur Shorter Jr.Valentina Silva

SipingTitus SmithCora SmithMonique SpightMark StainbrookLeo StekkingerRowland TatumEugene ThompsonShermalyn

ThompsonMaria TolentinoOscar UngsonWinfred VanLingenChristine VelaquezJames VickersRomus WalkerTimothy WallsHenry WilliamsHubert Williams Sr.Eric Yoshida

Did you get married? Have a baby? (Yea!) Get a promotion? (Hooray!) Retire? (Ahhhh.) We want to hear from you. Share your news with the world! Send all notices and digital photos to: [email protected] paper notices and print photos to: Alive! 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90071

* Promotions

Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends ofthe following current and retired City employees who have passed away:

Kevin Alvarez Public Works 1

Calvin Biby Harbor 14

Gerald Brown ITA 36

Thomas Brown ITA 30

David Castaneda Air Support 26

Ivan Cloos Rec and Parks 13

Isabelle Coleman City Clerk 41

Kevin Cooper Gen. Services 5

Joseph Cowan LAPD 0

Albert Davis Public Works 17

Robert Delesbore Public Works 25

Lawrence Demoulin Public Works 21

Henry Deramus LAPD 19

Ann Donnelly LAPD 27

Ralph Doran Public Works 30

Thomas Edwards Gen. Services 24

Rocco Esposito Transportation 16

Rosalie Feuerstein Library 23

Hilda Garcia City Planning 16

David Garrett Planning 27

Sandy Goldman LAPD 7

Gregory Gray Gen. Services 24

Karen Hai Finance 5

Arthur Head Fire Department 25

Robert Herbert LAFD 20

Maxine Hjelte Rec and Parks 36

Richard Howarth Public Works 10

William Hunter Airports 18

John King Public Works 22

David Lewis ITA 30

Kevin Outlaw Gen. Services 31

David Patyuk Transportation 5

Luis Robins Building and Safety 42

Terry Runyon Gen. Services 24

David Santilli Gen. Services 12

Charles Scott Rec and Parks 35

Robert Scott Public Works 38

Anna Shelton Rec and Parks 25

Gilbert Spencer Public Works 34

Lawrence Stagg Public Works 12

Eugene Sullivan Public Works 34

Bobby Taylor Rec and Parks 30

Joan Tholl Planning 30

Ace Traiger Gen. Services 10

Raymond White Public Works 18

Flora Williams Airports 22

Ralph Worthington Animal Services 22

Catherine Zimmerman LAPD 24

In Memoriam

Jodi Wakefield,promoted to Captain, Patrol Division, Commanding Officer of CentralCommunity Police Station, LAPD. Prior to being Captain, she was LieutenantII, assigned to Employee Relations Group. She has 21 years of City Service.


A life-size replica of the Elizabeth Tunnel, a project whichset a record for hard-rock tunneling 604 feet in one monthand a section of the L.A. Aqueduct’s original steel-rivetedpipe, approximately 90 inches in diameter.

A brass needle valve used in hydroelectric generation atDivision Creek Power Plant 1.

A souvenir bottle of water from the L.A. Aqueduct’s open-ing celebration in 1913.

Historic portrait of William Mulhollandduring his time as “The Chief” of theCity’s Water Bureau of the Departmentof Public Service, which later becamethe Los Angeles Department of Waterand Power.

Crowds gather to watch the first release of water flow down the L.A. Aqueduct on opening day in 1913.

William Mulholland, Chief Engineer of the City’s WaterBureau of the Department of Public Service (that laterbecame the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power).

At the opening ceremony: Vince Foley – Chairman,Retirees’ Health Care & Benefits Committee of the DWPRetired Employees’ Association and Carlos Solorza, Retiredafter 35 years of service at DWP.

William Mulholland’s engi-neering tripod and surveytools.

From Pipe Dream to Legendn DWP salutes William Mulholland with anniversary tribute designed and built largely by department employees and Water and Power Associates.

A Watershed Idean DWP Security Officer comesup with the idea for the exhibit.Next up: a stamp.DWP — Last year, when DWP SecurityOfficer Robert Correa was doing research forhis Master’s degree from the University ofLaVerne, he discovered that the 150thanniversary of the birth of WilliamMulholland — the subject of his research—was coming up this year.

So he wrote a letter to the Board of Waterand Power Commissioners, proposing amemorial to Mulholland, which led ultimate-ly to the department’s current exhibit.

Correa thought of it as a way for currentDWP workers to get to know the visionaryleader who helped create the modern LosAngeles. “Mr. Mulholland is one of myheroes,” Correa wrote. “He was a visionarywho got things done.”

Next comes a stamp: Correa also wrote tothe United States Postal Service, suggestingthat Mulholland was a perfect candidate fora stamp. There were no more openings thisyear, the Post Office wrote back, butMulholland has been added to the roster latein 2006 or early 2007.

From left at the opening ceremony: Robert Correa, DWP Security Officer, 5 years; Catherine Mulholland,granddaughter of William Mulholland; and DWPGeneral Manager Ronald Deaton.

Photos by Summy Lam, Club IT Analyst, and members of the Club staff

DWP — Commemorating the 150th anniversaryof the birth of William Mulholland, the DWPdedicated an exhibit to his honor Sept. 8 in thelobby of the John Ferraro Building. The exhibitdescribes the life of Mulholland, from growing upin Ireland, leaving school at an early age andimmigrating to the United States and LosAngeles.

The exhibition is at the DWP’s headquartersbuilding, 111 North Hope Street, Los Angeles,on the lobby level. The exhibition is openMonday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m..Doors close at 5 p.m. The exhibition is free andopen to the public.

From a sleepy pueblo of 9,000 people to aworld-class city of nearly four million, LosAngeles’ growth has been indelibly linked with itswater supply. The man who did more than anyother to bring this liquid gold to Los Angeles wasWilliam Mulholland, chief engineer and generalmanager of the city-owned Bureau of WaterWorks and Supply (now the Los AngelesDepartment of Water and Power). Septembermarked the 150th anniversary of the birth of thisunique individual.

The story of Los Angeles would be very differ-ent today had it not been for the visionary think-ing of Mulholland and other City leaders. Aslocal water sources were being depleted and thecity’s population increasing in the early 1900s,Mulholland determined to satisfy the City’s grow-ing thirst by building what became one of thegreatest engineering marvels of all time—the LosAngeles Owens River Aqueduct.

In Los Angeles he first became a DeputyZanjero of the private Los Angeles City WaterCompany and eventually became the Company’sSuperintendent. The self-educated civil engineer

was an aqueduct builder because of his work onthe Zanja Madre, Crystal Springs Conduit andMain Conduit, bringing water from the LosAngeles River to the central part of the City.After the City took over the private water compa-ny and Muholland became the Superintendent ofthe City’s waterworks system, he continued hisaqueduct building with the Los Angeles OwensRiver Aqueduct and the Colorado RiverAqueduct. The exhibit also includes the activitiesof Ezra Scattergood, the first head of the City’selectrical system, especially as related to the con-struction Hoover Dam and Power Plant supply-ing hydroelectric energy to Southern California.

The Water and Power Associates, Inc. assistedThu Pham, DWP Graphic Manager, in identify-ing, cataloging and collecting the photos and arti-facts for the exhibit. The activities included thehistorical technical coordination with the photosand artifacts. The members of the Associates whoparticipated in this activity were Victor Murillo,David Oliphant, Le Val Lund and Jim Wickser.Many of the photos and artifacts came from thepersonal collection of Catherine Mulholland,granddaughter of Mulholland, who is also amember of the Associates.

The Water and Power Associates, Inc. is a non-profit, independent, private organization incor-porated in 1971 to inform and educate its mem-bers, public officials and the general public oncritical water and energy issues affecting the citi-zens of the City, Southern California and theState of California. The Associates is teaming upwith the Department to establish a Departmentlearning center and museum to preserve the his-tory of the Department and to educate theDepartment’s employees and the public on waterand electricity and its value to the lively hood ofthe City. The Associates welcomes anyone inter-ested in this activity. Those interested should con-tact Thu Pham, (213) 367-1340, or DavidOliphant, (818) 363-9601.

The DWP Creative Team that helped research and produce the exhibit, from left: Lucia Alvelais, Manager of Advertising andPublications; Darlene Battle, Manager of Media and Community Relations; Kim Hughes, Public Relations Specialist; RobertRozanski, Chief Administrative Officer; Bob Schaefer, Manager of Graphics; Terry Wasson, Public Relations Specialist; CarolFort, Clerk Typist; Art Mochizuki, Photographer; Avo Davidian, Management Analyst II; Walter Zeisl, Public, Manager ofEnvironmental Communications and Educational Services; and Adriana Rubalcava, Executive Assistant to the GeneralManager. Middle: Gale Harris, Public Relations Specialist; and Carol Tucker, Public Relations Specialist. Front: BrianTownsend, YSA Student Worker; Kirby Liu, YSA Student Worker; Mark Gonzalez, YSA Student Worker; and Pete Garra,Photographer.

The DWP employees who built the exhibit, far back row, from left: Derrick Fisher, Boris Milutin, Kow Bowles, JackKashirsky, Ken Mix, Ruben Carrera, Dave Packard, Robert Morales, David Ginsburg, Kent Shumawn and Akbar Fonooni.Middle: Darell Cole, Boris Milutin, Ron Deaton, Dean Lund,Richard Stiong, Ed McCormick, Juan Cervantes Louie Lesseosand Socorro Nuno. Front: Carlos Luevano, Damion King, Fred Barker and Chris Logie.

Members of the Water and Power Associates, who researched the exhibit and helped put ittogether, from left: Victor Murillo, Jim Wickser and LeVal Lund. Not pictured but instrumentalin bringing the exhibit to fruition: Catherine Mulholland and Dave Oliphant.


Catherine Mulholland: “Good morning, after-noon, forever.

“I think if my grandfather were here today, hewould certainly say, ‘I’m hearing a lot of blarney.’

“I’m glad we’re all here to share this wonder-ful occasion and I want to thank the Departmentof Water and Power for undertaking this project,and I also would like to thank the members ofmy family who are in attendance here today.

“This is a month of celebration, September,and it’s been not only a month of tragedy for thenation in many ways, but I noted thatMulholland and the City of Los Angeles share abirth month, September. When my grandfatherwas born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1855, this littlePueblo way far away was only 74 years old. So,when he arrived, he really came to a town thatwas ready to grow a little. And he joined in andmade his contribution, which we’ve heard about.

“Mulholland probably would have beenastounded at being remembered today. I wasasked to say what would he have thought. Well,it’s always hard to speculate on what the deadwould say, but people seem able to do it. I wouldsay that he would be astounded and then wouldquickly go on to the subject of the need forunderstanding our water history and the needfor treasuring it and taking good care of it, forthat’s what he considered his chief mission inlife: find the water and then conserve and pre-serve the resource.

“I grew up in a family on a ranch in the SanFernando Valley, when agriculture dominatedthe San Fernando Valley before World War II.[For] my father, William Mulholland’s oldestson, on our ranch, wasting water was rankedright along with the seven deadly sins. Letting awater hose run unnecessarily in the yard wasvery disapproved of; leaky faucets in the house[were] instantly attended to. I was aware, from atiny child, that the water came from a long dis-tance. I was frequently taken up in our old car,up to the Cascades there at the north end of theSan Fernando Valley, and my dad would say,‘That’s Grandpa’s aqueduct.’ So I, you can say,almost breathed that lesson in with my child-hood.

“Today, I meet people who, when I’m intro-duced and they hear the name Mulholland, theysay, ‘Oh, you must be related to the highway.’And then I say, ‘No, I was named for my grand-father. He was a big water engineer. He broughtwater to L.A.’ And they say, ‘Oh, yeah, like in themovie, Chinatown.’ I encountered this kind ofexchange at check stands in grocery stores andplaces like that, so I realized that the need foreducation about our water history is of primaryimportance, especially as we continue to growand water is such a finite source. So I applaudthe department in all its efforts and hope it willcontinue education. I hope education continuesin the schools and so forth.

“Mulholland, I think, has become one of theCity’s grandfathers … like many grandfathers,some people have loved him and some have not.And many stories have been told about him.Some are true. Some are not. I think I felt some-where in my late life a sense of mission about try-ing to get the story as straight as I could get itbecause I’d read so much that seemed not tosquare with what I thought was true, and it’s

been a great and rich experience to discoverwhat a profound adventure this was for a greatmany people, to bring this City from a pueblo of9,000, as we’ve said, to the metropolis it is today.

“So, today, I would like to wish happy birthdayto my granddad and to the City and all its peo-ple. And I would like to close by quoting or cit-ing the words of an engineering professor atU.C. Berkeley, who once said, ‘Californiansshould never forget that they owe much of theirsuccess to two great Roman engineers who hap-pened to be Irish, John O’Shaughnessy of theHitachi project, and William Mulholland of theLos Angeles Aqueduct.’ I say to them, to theCity and to all of us what the Irish say when theylift their glass, they say, ‘Sláinte,’ which means‘health and good wishes.’ Thank you.”

Ron Deaton: “I’d like to take this opportunity tothank the hardworking Water and Poweremployees who have put together both this pro-gram and the exhibit. The exhibit that we’reabout to go to next upstairs is really, I think, abeginning of an exhibit that we want to do as faras the history of Water and Power up to the cur-rent and then looking to the future as well, to usethe lobby, perhaps, more as a public space thanwe have in recent years, more like it was 40 yearsago when I first came here.

“Also, we’d like to thank, as well, the retireeswho worked hard on this. There were the waterand power associates, as Tom said, Le Val Lundand all of you, I appreciate very much the timeand effort that you’ve spent researching.As onetold me, they just can’t stay away, and I thinkthat has to do with a bit of the culture of theDepartment of Water and Power. In many ways,and this is more personal, 40 years ago when Ifirst started here, Mulholland seems to me to bekind of a guardian angel or shadow that’s overme at all times; his dedication and vision anddetermination to deliver solutions to the prob-lems of the City of Los Angeles is, I think,unparalleled. L.A. needed water and he deliv-ered. A century later, I think our needs and ourrequirements, as citizens in the City, may be dif-ferent, but I think that he has given us the wis-dom and the approach that we should meet thechallenges with the same dedication, the samedetermination and the same vision thatMulholland demonstrated.

“And I think there’s another part of him that[was] humble. Mulholland always acknowledgedand credited his employees for the work theyhad done and, in return, they affectionatelycalled him the Chief. These are core values inthe department, and we inherited them fromWilliam Mulholland. And they’ll be passed downthrough the years.

“I’d like to quote his quote when the waterstarted coming down [the aqueduct]. He spokeat the opening ceremonies. You all heard someof his quotes but, according to the L.A. Times,which is, of course, a questionable issue — butit’s the only quote I have — ‘I speak not formyself alone but for my associates in this greatwork. We appear jointly at this expression is onbehalf of us all.’ I think I’d like that to be yourlasting thought of him. He was a true gentlemanand a visionary for this City. Thank you.

‘Grandpa’s Aqueduct’n Catherine Mulholland, granddaughter of William Mulholland, and DWPGM Ron Deaton give their remarks at the opening of the department’sMulholland tribute Sept. 8. Here are excerpts.

Catherine Mulholland, granddaughter of William Mulholland.


Police Protective League HostsAppreciation Day for Central Division.Story and photos by Arlene Herrero, Club Counselor

POLICE DEPT. — Aug. 25, the Police Protective League thanked the Central Division employees with a lunch of In-N-Outburgers. The event was in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication to duty.

Protective League Treasurer Paul M. Weber said the event was also a membership outreach.More than 600 burgers were served, according to Police Protective League Director Corina Lee. Officers can check their

current insurance coverage and learn of new benefits that will soon become available.The Club thanks League President Robert Baker, League Secretary Ted Hunt, Treasurer Paul Weber and Directors

Corina Lee, Peter Repovich, Luther Lutz for their assistance.

From left: Peter Repovich, LAPPL Director, with Sgt. ChrisDavis, 25 years.

Officer Thai Ngo, 9 years.

Checking his insurance benefits with Sandy is AdrianLopez, Police Officer II, 7.5 years.

Back, from left: Officer Willie Carter, 24 years, ClubMember; and Officer Ted Hunt, 30 years; LAPPL Secretary.Front: Regina, 8.

From left: Luther Lutz, LAPPL Director; Melissa Hornby,Police Officer, 10 years; and Paul Weber, LAPPL Treasurer.

From left: Officer Matt Shuck, 18 years; Officer StephenBell, 7 years; and Officer Ted Hunt, LAPPL Secretary.

From left: Lt. Al Jackson, 21 years, with Lt. EmmanuelHernandez, 31 years.

Kosal Bun, Police Officer II, 9 years.

From left: Officer John Vasquez, Police Officer II + 2, 12years; and Melanie Gay, Sr. Clerk Typist, 7 years, ClubMember.

From left: Sgt. Richard Thomas, 22 years, and Officer DanSchmidt, 10 years.

From left: Rau Galluccio, Police Officer, 10 years; and JohnRice, Police Officer III, 8 years.

From left: Soliman Motagally, Storekeeper II, 21 years;Louis Abraham, Storekeeper II, 20 years; and Steve Terry,Equipment Mechanic, 1 year.

From left: Lendell Walker, Custodial Service Attendant, 18years, Club Member; and Straleshia Hampton, CustodialService Attendant, 5 years.

Back, from left: Maurice Dix, Equipment Mechanic, 8 years;and Marty Meza, Equipment Mechanic, 5 years. Front:Davoud Derogar, Equipment Mechanic, 14 years; and BJJenkins, Custodial Service, 21 years, Club Member.

From left: Sgt. D.A. McCallum, 15 years, and Sgt, JerryChaney, 15 years.

From left: Sgt. Mark Kelly, 17 years, Plan & ResearchDivision, with Officer Justin Scott, 9 years.

From left: Lisa Folsom, Secretary, 17 years; CamilleCarapetian, Account Clerk II, 10 years; Steve Eisenberg,Automotive Supervisor, 22 years, Club Member; and DollySevilla, Sr. Clerk Typist, 21 years, Club Member.

Proudly holding the 2005 Cops for Tots shirt are, from left:Officer Abe Rangel, Motor Officer, 17 years, Club Member;and Officer Tony Stewart, Motor Officer, 11 years.

From left: Sandy Avila, LAPPL Insurance Admin.; CorinaLee, LAPPL Director; Officer Tyler Fox, 3 years; OfficerNevile Gordon, 7 years; and Yolanda Rivera, LAPPL Admin.

Director Corina Lee explains to Officer Gordon the impor-tance of a Living Trust.

In separate events, threedepartments celebratewith In-N-Out burgers.


Police Protective League HostsAppreciation Day in West L.A.Story and photos by Arlene Herrero, Club Counselor

POLICE DEPT. — The Police Protective League threw an appreciationday in the West Los Angeles Division Sept. 1 for outstanding serviceand dedication to duty.

The event was also a membership outreach, according to TreasurerPaul M. Weber.

More than 150 In-N-Out burgers were served, according toDirector Corina Lee. Officers could check their current insur-ance coverage and learn of new benefits that will soon becomeavailable.

The Club thanks League President Robert Baker, LeagueSecretary Ted Hunt, Treasurer Paul Weber and DirectorsCorina Lee, Peter Repovich, Luther Lutz for their assistancewith this story.

Matthew Montgomery, Plumber, GeneralServices, 4 years.

From left: Avonette Rodgers, PSR, 38 years; and Linda Brice,Records Clerk, 2 years.

From left: Peter Repovich, LAPPL Director; and Ulysses Taylor,Motor Officer, 15.5 years.

From left: Frank Pettinato, Police Officer II, 37-plusyears; and Yolanda Rivera, LAPPL Admin Assistant.

Bill Heider, Police Officer III, 16 years.

Leon Mims, Sergeant, 24 years.

Randy Cordobes, Detective I, 14 years.

From left: Gino Damiano, Police Officer II, 5 years;Corina Lee, LAPPL Director.

Robert Casey, Police Officer II, 7 years.

Andrea Moore, MA II, 24 years.

Nino Lacunza, Police Officer II, 5.5 years.

Cesar Orozco, Police Officer II, 3 years.

Sgt. “Andy,” Bomb Squad.

Steve DiSabato, Police Officer II, 10 years.

The building sign.

CDD sells burgers as a fundraiser for the March of Dimes.Story by Beverly Haro, Club CounselorPhotos by Summy Lam, Club IT Analyst

CDD — The Community Development Dept. sold In-N-Out burgers in order to raise funds for the March of Dimes.The sale took place Sept. 1 on the Garland Building Patio. Housing employees were also present to support the cause.

Good going!

From left: Jessica Domanay, Clerk Typist, CDD, 10 years,and Lynda Dostal, Senior Management Analyst, 10 years.

From left: Jacque Salazar, Clerk Typist, CDD, 5 years; andAndrew Wong, Systems Analyst, 3 months.

From left: Mae Abeleda, Chief Accountant, CDD, 25 years,and Ofelia Reyno, Chief Auditor, 20 years.

From left: Evangelina Masud, Secretary, Housing, 14 years,and Brenda Delcid, Paralegal, Housing, 3 years.

From left: Suzan Davis, CDD, and Abigail Ramirez, CDD,were in charge of the tickets.

From left: Maricruz Diaz-Klein, Management Analyst II, 2years; Sandra Lopez, Management Analyst II, 10 years;Rodel Dela Cruz, Accountant I, 10 months; and DanHaecker, Housing Inspector, 4 years.

The In-N-Out Truck is ready for the fundraiser.

CONTINUED...


On the left side: Rene Fregoso, AC Mechanic, 2 years, Club Member. Right side, from left:Gary McAngus, Painter, 21.5 years; Curt Anderson, Sheet Metal Worker, 3 years; andFrancisco Marquez, Craft Assistant, 2 years.

Ted Fernandez, MA II, Club Member, signs the retirementcard.

From left: Jose Estrada, Carpenter,3 years, Club Member, andStephen Joyce, Sr. Plumber, 34years.

A Good Deedn Friends, family celebrate and raise money for Henry Pena.

Story and photos by Arlene Herrero, Club Counselor

HARBOR – The party had two purposes–to cel-ebrate the career of Security Officer HenryPena as he retires from the Harbor Dept. Heretires after 19 years of City service.

But it also raised money for Henry, who suf-fered a stroke and was unable to attend the party.

The celebratory hot dog luncheon tookplace Aug. 24 at the Construction andMaintenance Yard at the Harbor.

Henry’s son, Jason, was on hand to acceptthe award and the monies raised. The entireefforts of the Harbor Department raised$3,555, which, according to Emma Gonzalez,was by far from what she recalls the largestsuccessful fundraiser.

Director of Construction and Maintenanceand Club Board Member Joannie Mukai gavethe green light for this event, and EmmaGonzalez, Steve Joyce, Bill Davis, ReneRodriguez and Holly Carlson ran with the it,selling raffle tickets, getting donations and cooking.

Some 450 hot dogs, 40 pounds of chili, 12 cases of soda, 600 tickets, 250 bags of chips, andsheetcake were enjoyed by everyone. The Club also donated items for the raffle.

Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this excellent cause.

Many line up for the luncheon honoring Security Officer Henry Pena.

Cooking hot dogs were, from left: Guy Pugliese, Plumber, 25years, Club Member; Francisco Marquez, Craft Assistant, 2years; and David Jaime, Plumber, 3 years, Club Member.

Serving cake was Dan Hargrove,Plumber, 20 years.

From left: Joe Foreman, Electrician, 16 years, and TimBuxton, Carpenter, 5 years.

From left: Ron Price, Tinman, 7 years, and James Henning,Electrician, 8 years.

From left: Bill Klingemann, Plumber, 2 years, Club Member;Brian Nelson, AC Mechanic, 3 years; and Herb Galvez,Plumber, 6

From left: Steve Ealguta, Mechanical Helper, 1.5 years;Carlos Rodriguez, C&M Helper, 5 years; and Jeff Morrill,Plumber, 3

From left: Joseph Bulquerin, Electrician, 3 years, and GeneThompson, Electrician, 3.5 years.

From left: Teodoro Lopez, Electrician, 6 months; SalvadorGutierrez, Electrician, 2.5 years; and Dave Heersema,Electrician, 10

From left: James Meek, Electrician, 3 years, Club Member;and Javier Estrella, Electrical Craft Helper, 3 years, ClubMember.

On the left side: Willie Brown, Carpenter, 5 years; and Andy Robateau, Carpenter,5 years. Right side: Enoch Samuel, Carpenter, 8 years, Club Member(with hat);and Ernesto Chavez, Carpenter, 8 years.

Left side: Ed Kim, Environmental Specialist, 1 year, Club Member; and JoannieMukai, Director of Construction & Maintenance, Club Board Member. Right side:Scott Bulpitt, Crane Maintenance Supervisor, 20 years, Club Member; and RichardRiingen, GIS Specialist, 4 years.

From left: Arturo Garcia, Gardener Caretaker, 2.3 years; ErnestoGonzalez, Gardener Caretaker, 2 years, Club Member; Andres Herrera,Roofer, 2.5 years (on phone); Armando Ortiz, Roofer, 3 years; LorenzoNegrete, Roofer, 6.5 years; and Stacy Allen, TelecommunicationsPlanner, 25 years.

From left: Holly Carlson, Sr. ClerkTypist, Club Member, and EmmaGonzalez, Secretary, Club Member. From left: Steve Karsten, Plumber,

5 years, and Rene Rodriguez,Lead Carpenter, 9 years, ClubMember

Rene Rodriguez and Holly Carlsonthank everyone for their participa-tion.

Joannie Mukai presents the retirement card, and HenryPena’s son, Jason, accepts the card and plaque on behalfof his dad. From left: Joannie Mukai, Director ofConstruction and Maintenance, and Jason Pena, son ofSecurity Officer Henry Pena.

Even the retirees came out to show their support. Standing, from left: Ben Rico,Welder, 18 years; Larry Reed, Tool Room Worker, 34 years; Tilly Hatanaka, Welder,25 years; Roger Stewart, AC Mechanic, 28 years, Club Member; Ron Breezley,Sheet Metal Worker, 32 years; Guy Pugliese, Plumber, 25 years, Club Member; andJim Nozaki, Equipment Supervisor, 30 years. Seated: Joannie Mukai, Director ofConstruction and Maintenance, Club Board Member, and Calvin Chin, CabinetMaker, 32 years. All coincidently worked under Director of C&M Joannie Mukai.

From left: Martin D. Chavez, HR DevelopmentOfficer, Club Member; and Russ Gallivan, C&MSupervisor, 22 years.

A photo of Security Officer Henry Pena.

www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n September 2005 29

30 September 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! www.cityemployeesclub.comw

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Know of any great City events? Let me know!

I’ll be happy to include your event in my monthlycolumn. (Listings are limited to City events, with anemphasis (although not exclusively) on families.Make sure to include dates, times, locations, costs(if any) and contact information. Email me at:[email protected] or callme at (800) 464-0452.

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SpooktacularOctober IsShaping UpHello folks!

Welcome back to Events 411! Guess what?It’s that wonderful time of year – my favoritetime of year – it’s Halloween time! Yes, it’s timeto get out your costumes, decorations andcandy and make appointments for future dentistvisits, because Halloween is coming and it’scoming quick. Even though this year,Halloween does take place on a Monday, it’s stillgoing to be an awesome time because there areso many things to do. Just look at the Eventssection this month – it’s humongous – and thecrazy thing is these are just a few events. So ifyou haven’t made any plans yet, let’s see if wecan find something fun for you to do.

First off, the daddy of all amusement hauntsis back – Knott’s Scary Farm. That’s right – whensunset hits, the friendly kid characters ofSnoopy and the gang disappear and the ghouls,witches and monsters of Halloween come out togreet you. The Ticket Guy managed to grabsome great discounts on this very cool and veryscary attraction. If you have yet to experienceKnott’s Scary Farm, you definitely need to doso. However, be warned: It’s not for the chickenor the squeamish or the party-poopers. It’s pret-ty scary but what would October 31 be without scary?

Speaking of scary, there are tons of greathaunted houses throughout the City. I didn’tknow how many there were until I started myresearch. I’ve listed some great Websites belowfor further Halloween information, so be sure tocheck these out. Unfortunately I have yet toattend one of these haunts so if you have a greatexperience, be sure to share with me. An evenbetter idea would be to send in a photo of youat one of these events or even in your Halloweencostume. If you do, I’ll make sure we publish itin the December issue.

If you’re looking for something fun and safefor the kids, the Rec and Parks is sponsoringseveral Halloween events throughout theirparks. I managed to list only a few, so be sure tocheck out their Website or your local park forany event information.

Well, that’s it from me. I thank you for takingthe time to read Events 411 and I wish you awonderful safe and scary Halloween! See yaaround the City!

If you know of any events occurring in theLos Angeles area or have any opinions or sug-gestions on the events listed, please send them in:[email protected]

For more information about events aroundLos Angeles, visit these Websites:

www.culturela.orgwww.experiencela.comwww.losangelesalmanac.comwww.laweekly.comwww.olvera-street.comhttp://beaches.co.la.ca.usFor more Halloween information, check

these links out:www.hauntedhouse.comwww.hauntworld.comwww.alleycatscratch.com/halloween/www.laparks.org

BYMichelle Moreno,

City Events Guru

Knott’s Halloween HauntIf you haven’t been to Knott’s Halloween Haunt, then youdefinitely need to go. Knott’s Berry Farm transforms itselfevery night into a scary experience filled with cool mazesand awesome shows. The Club has some great discountsfor you so make sure you buy them from us.Date(s): Through Oct. 31Time: Sun – Thur: 7 p.m. – 1 a.m.Fri – Sat: 7 p.m. – 2 a.m. Site: Knott’s Berry Farm

Buena ParkCost: $42 - $48

$26 - $35 (Club Prices - call for specific date price)More info: (714) 220-5200 or www.knotts.com

8th Annual Fall Harvest Festivalat Underwood Family Farms Games, a corn maze, contests, pumpkins and more! Comeand bring the family for some festival fun. Date(s): Through Oct. 30Time: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.Site: 3370 Sunset Valley Rd., MoorparkCost: $7/weekend, $3/Mon-Fri, free/kids (2 and under)More info: (805) 529-3690 or www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com

Halloween Harvest Festivalat Pierce College Come and brings the family for some great fun. There willbe food, entertainment, pumpkins and a seven-acre cornmaze. Date(s): Through Oct. 31Time: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Site: 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills Cost: TBA More info: (818) 999-6300 or www.halloweenharvestfestival.com

Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patchand Harvest FestivalHayrides, face painting, music, food and lots and lots ofpumpkins! Bring the family for a day of fun at the FaulknerFarm.Date(s): Oct. 1 - 30Time: 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.Site: 14292 W. Telegraph Rd., Santa PaulaCost: Weekday: $1/general, free/children under 3

Weekend: $2/general, free/children under 3Free parking

More info: 805-525-2226 or www.faulknerfarm.com

Spooky House 16Haunted Theme ParkCome and experience this huge haunted mansion withseveral cool attractions, a live-themed horror movie “Deathby Megaplex” and much more. Matinee shows arerecommended for children (3-10). There is also a nightclubwith live bands.Date(s): Fri – Sun: Oct. 7 – 31

Nightly: Oct. 25-31 Sun & Sat: Oct. 8 – 30, Children’s Matinee showsFri – Sun: Oct. 1 – 31: Club 13 Nightclub

Time: Matinee Shows: noon – 4 p.m. Mega Scary Session: 7 p.m. – midnight (Fri. and Sat.)Mega Scary Session: 7 – 10 p.m. (Sun – Thurs)Site: 19401 Parthenia St., Northridge (cross street is Tampa)Cost: $15/single attraction

$20/4-attraction ticket $26/4-attraction VIP ticket,

private entrances and no waiting $8.50/children’s matinee $10/club cover charge

More info: (818) 888-8570 or www.spookyhouse.com

The Fright Gallery in BurbankBring your friends and experience 14,000 square feet ofHalloween fright. Kid-friendly version available.Date(s)/time/cost: TBA (See Website for further information)Site: Media City Center Mall

201 E. Magnolia Blvd., BurbankMore info: (818) 840-8408 or www.thefrightgallery.com

2005 ScreamFest Horror Film andScreenplay CompetitionWant to see new scary movies as well as some of the classicscary movies of our time? Come and enjoy the annualScreamFest. See Website for movie listings.Date(s): Oct. 14 - 22Time: 7 p.m. - MidnightSite: Lowes Cineplex, Universal City Walk, Universal CityCost: $11/general admission

$200/all movie pass$300/all festival pass, includes films and parties

More info: (310) 358-3273 or www.screamfestla.com

Second Annual HalloweenHorror Fest - SCAREPLEX “Be prepared to be scared to the brink of insanity as youtravel through four horrifying mazes located throughout thehaunted grounds of Fairplex. Scareplex is brought to you bythe creators of Queen Mary’s Shipwreck and is guaranteedto give you a full night of fright! Take a break from thehorror and party in Scareplex’s private dance club.”(Website)Date(s): Oct. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28-31 Time: 7 p.m. – midnight Site: Pomona Fairplex

1101 W. McKinley Ave.Cost: $20More info: (949) 660-1988 or www.scareplex.com

Fall Festivalat the Farmer’s MarketEnjoy live country music, a pumpkin patch and lots ofpumpkin carving, crafts and gardening demonstrations atthe famous Farmer’s Market.Date(s): Oct. 15 & 16Time: Sat: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Sun: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Site: 6333 West Third St., Los AngelesCost: FreeMore info: (323) 933-9211 or www.farmersmarketla.com

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch “Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch brings joy, family fun, fresh-farm goods and the latest and best Halloween merchandiseand carving tools to the heart of Los Angeles…kidsanxiously anticipate the arrival of the patch, kicking off thefun of the Halloween season with Mr. Bones and theHalloween giants, the jumpin’ pumpkin, moon bounce,pony rides, petting zoo and facepainting.” (Website) Date(s): Oct. 15 - 31Time: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.Site: 10250 Wilshire Blvd. Los AngelesCost: FreeMore info: (310) 276-9827 or www.mrbonespumpkinpatch.com

Pumpkin Locomotionat Descanso GardensBring the kids for hayrides, country fair animals,scarecrows, and plenty of pumpkins. Date(s): Through Oct. 22-23Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Site: Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr., La CañadaCost: $7/adults $5/senior and students $2/children (5 -12),

free/children under 5More info: (818) 949-4200 or www.descansogardens.org

Calabasas Pumpkin Festival “There’s plenty of fun for the whole family including craftvendors, a classic car show, kids carnival games, inflatablerides, live stage entertainment, plenty of eats and treats, abeer garden, and more! And of course… don’t forget thepumpkins!” (Website)Date(s): Oct. 23Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Site: Juan Bautista De Anza Park

3701 Lost Hills Rd., Calabasas Cost: Free More info: (818) 222-5680 or www.calabasaspumpkinfestival.com

Dia de los Muertos en HollywoodA festival of the dead. Come and experience live musicaland dance performances, a procession, spectacular altars,Mexican cuisine, 20-foot walking skeletons, torch-lit pathsand more at the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery.Date(s): Oct. 25Time: 4 – 11 p.m.Site: Hollywood Forever Cemetery

6000 Santa Monica Blvd., HollywoodCost: FreeMore info: (323) 447-0999 or www.ladayofthedead.com

Hallowed Haunting Grounds –Final ShowCome and experience the last year of this tribute toHalloween at a home in Studio City – a tradition since1973. Suitable for children. Date(s): Oct. 28-31Time: 7 p.m. – midnightSite: 4343 Babcock Ave., Studio CityCost: FreeMore info: www.hauntinggrounds.org

11th Annual KidspacePumpkin Festival “Every year, Kidspace is pleased to offer a safe, funHalloween carnival for children and families, with rides,games, crafts, children’s costume contests, food and liveperformances by local artists.” (Website)Date(s): Oct. 29 -30Time: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Sat)

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Sun)Site: Brookside Park

480 N. Arroyo Blvd., PasadenaCost: Free to attendMore info: (626) 449-9144 or www.kidspacemuseum.org

Boo at the ZooBring the kids for trick-or-treating at the zoo.Date(s): Oct. 29-30Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Site: Los Angeles Zoo

5333 Zoo Drive, Los AngelesCost: $7/adult, $4/child (discount prices at Club Headquarters)

$10/adult, $7/senior, $5/child (ages 2 to 12),free/children (under 2)

More info: (323) 644-4200 or www.lazoo.orgCity Sponsor: Los Angeles Zoo

2005 Howl’oween Paradeand Costume ContestHalloween isn’t just for humans -- for all you pet lovers,bring your pets to the annual Howl’oween parade andcostume contest. Date(s): Oct. 30Time: Begins 1 p.m.Site: Livingston Park (Livingston Drive and Park Avenue),

Belmont ShoreCost: Free to attend

$10/dog participantMore info: www.hautedogs.org/howloween

West Hollywood HalloweenCarnivalBring along your friends (not intended for kids) and enjoyone of the biggest Halloween carnivals in the world. Seeunique and fun costumes in this Mardi Gras-style streetcelebration. Date(s): Oct. 31Time: 6 p.m. - ?Site: Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega and

Doheny Drive, West HollywoodCost: FreeMore info: www.visitwesthollywood.com

Haunted Houses:Looking for a Haunted House to attend nearyour area? Here are just a few:

Grimmstone Cemetery in Van Nuys If you’re in the neighborhood during trick-or-treating, makesure to visit this cool yet scary cemetery.Date(s): TBATime: Sunset – ?Site: 6706 Blewett Ave, Van Nuys Cost: FreeMore info: www.grimmstonecemetery.com

Old Town Haunt – Pasadena’sBiggest and Scariest HauntedHouse Come and enjoy a dark and scary tour through thecatacombs of Old Town Pasadena.Date(s): Oct. 6-9, 13-16, 20-23, 25-31Time: 7 – 10 p.m. (Sun – Thurs)

7 p.m. – midnight (Fri and Sat)Noon – 4 p.m. (children’s matinee, Sat and Sun)

Site: 20 N. Raymond at ColoradoCost: $12.50, $18.50/VIP, $7/child - matineeMore info: www.oldtownhaunt.com

Terry Haunt in Anaheim Come for this scary tradition where a house turns into aHalloween nightmare.Date(s): Oct. 31Time: 6:30 – 11 p.m.Site: Few Blocks South of Disneyland. Exact address to be

announced on Website. Cost: FreeMore info: www.terryhaunt.com

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*Events subject to change. Please call to confirm date and time information. Halloween-themed Eventsin October

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Haunted Houses:CONTINUED

The Haunted Vineyard in Ontario Come and enjoy the ultimate haunted house of the inlandempire located on a 100-year-old vineyard.Date(s): Oct. 6-9, 13-16, 20-31Time: 7 – 10 p.m. (Sun – Thurs.)

7 p.m. – midnight (Fri and Sat)Site: 3099 Gausti Rd.Cost: $12More info: (866) 677-CIFX or www.thehauntedvineyard.com

Thousand Oaks Haunted Housefeaturing “Circus of Screams” Come and enjoy either a really freaky circus or a frightfulhouse – or if you’re adventurous, then why not try both.There’s also a family-friendly version.Date(s): Oct. 6-9, 13-16, 20-31Time: 6 – 10 p.m. (Sun – Thurs.)

7 p.m. – midnight (Fri and Sat)Noon – 4 p.m. (children’s 3-D matinee, Sat and Sun)

Site: 215 N. Moorpark Rd.Cost: $10/haunted house or Circus of Screams

$16/both attractions$4/extra for VIP

More info: (805) 208-3706 or www.thousandoakshaunt.com

Whitecliff Road Haunted Manor inThousand Oaks Come for a “graveyard and pet cemetery, animatronics,SFX sounds and lighting and lots of fog” (Website)Date(s): Oct. 29-31 Time: 5 – 11 p.m. Site: 1077 Whitecliff Rd.Cost: TBAMore info: (818) 681-3750 or www.vannoordhaunt.org

Witch’s Castle in Studio City If you’re in the neighborhood during trick-or-treating,make sure to visit the Witch’s Castle.Date(s): Oct.31Time: 6 p.m. – ?Site: Studio City. Exact address to be announced on Website. Cost: FreeMore info: www.witchcastle.com

Free Halloween Events Sponsoredby Recreation and Parks:

*Events subject to change, please call toconfirm.

Only a few are listed, so please call yourlocal park to see if they have somethingplanned.

For more information, go to website:www.laparks.org

October 31:109th St. Recreation Complex1464 East 109th St., 90059(323) 566-4561Time: TBA

Algin Sutton Recreation Center8800 South Hoover St., 90044(323) 753-5808Time: 6 p.m.

Aliso Pico Recreation Center370 S. Clarence St., 90033(323) 264-5261Time: 5:30 p.m.

Banning Recreation Center1331 Eubank Ave. 90744(310) 548-7776Time: 5 - 8 p.m.

Boyle Heights Sports933 Mott St., 90023(323) 264-5136Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Branford Recreation Center13310 Branford St., 91331(818) 893-4923Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Carlin G. Smith Recreation Center511 W. Avenue 46, 90065(323) 225-4960Time: 5:30 p.m.

Central Recreation Center1357 E. 22nd St., 90011(213) 485-4435Time: TBA

Chatsworth Recreation Center22360 Devonshire St., 91311(818) 341-5482Time: 4 – 8 p.m.Fee: $1

Costello Recreation Center3141 E. Olympic Blvd., 90023(323) 485-9111Time: 5 – 9 p.m.

Cypress Park Recreation Center2630 Pepper Ave., 90065(213) 485-5384Time: 5:30 p.m.

Encino Community Center4935 Balboa Blvd., 91316(818) 995-1690Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Fernangeles Recreation Center8851 Laurel Canyon Blvd., 91352(818) 767-4171Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Granada Hills Recreation Center16730 Chatsworth St., 91344(818) 363-3556Time: 5 – 9 p.m.

Harvard Recreation Center1535 W. 62nd St., 90047(323) 778-2579Time: 5 – 9 p.m.

Panorama Recreation Center8600 Hazeltine Ave., 91402(818) 893-3401Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Reseda Recreation Center18411 Victory Blvd., 91335(818) 881-3882Time: 5 – 9 p.m.

Rustic Canyon Recreation Center601 Latimer Road, 90402(310) 454-5734Time: 4 – 7 p.m.

Slauson Recreation Center5306 Compton Ave., 90002(323) 233-1174Time: TBA

Wilmington Recreation Center325 Neptune Ave., 90744(310) 548-7645Time: 5 – 8 p.m.

Woodland Hills Recreation Center5858 Shoup Ave., 91367(818) 883-9370Time: 4 – 8 p.m.

Other Halloween-Themed Amusement Parks:Magic Mountain’s Fright Fest www.sixflags.com

The Queen Mary Halloween Terror Fest(Weekends)www.queenmaryshipwreck.com

Aquarium of the Pacific’s Scarium of thePacific (Oct. 22-23)www.aquariumofpacific.org

Legoland Brick-or-Treat (Oct. 22, 23, 29-31)www.lego.com/legoland/california

Non-Halloween Eventsin October*Events subject to change. Please call toconfirm date and time information.

*Please note some events run throughNovember

Romance at theMark Taper Forum

“Romance is an outrageous farce about cherished issues,from our judicial system to the peace process, fidelity,religious tolerance and world peace, presented in verballydexterous Mamet style.” (Website) Date: Through Nov. 13 Time: 8 p.m. (Tues-Fri), 2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m. (Saturdays)

2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. (Sundays)Site: Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.Cost: $30 - $55Club Special: $25, shows (9/29-10/13) if you mention Code 6445

and ask for Linda in group sales.More info: (213) 628-2772 or www.marktaperforum.com

Edge of the World Theater Festival “EdgeFest produces the Edge of the World TheaterFestival, an annual showcase for the work of Los Angeles-based theater artists and the Los Angeles History Projectand the Los Angeles Future Project, which commissionnew works about Los Angeles history and for youngaudiences, respectively.” (Website) Date: October 6-23Time: Vary, See Website for performance informationSite: L.A. Theatre Center

514 S. Spring St. Cost: $15/general or $8/Edgefest PassportMore info: (310) 281-7920 or www.edgeoftheworld.org

KTLA Kid’s Day atExposition Park

Bring the kids for a celebration dedicated to them. Therewill be entertainment, famous personalities, rides, food andmore. Date: Oct. 15Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Site: 3980 S. Menlo Ave., Los Angeles Cost: FreeMore info: 213) 485-3010, (888) LAPARKS or www.laparks.orgSponsor: Rec and Parks

Autumn Sea Fair atCabrillo BeachBring family and friends for a day of games, contests,music, exhibits, demonstrations, arts & crafts, films andvideos. There’s also a Queen of the Sea contest.Date(s): Oct. 16Time: 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.Site: 3720 Stephen White Dr., San Pedro

Call to reserve and arrange for parking Cost: FreeMore info: (310) 548-7562 or www.cabrilloaq.org (To enter contest,

call ext. 5011, Larry Fukuhara)

Tarfest at the L.A. Miracle Mile

“TarFest continues its explosive growth, bringing togetheran ever-widening range of music, art and film, withadditional venue support, increased program participation,and higher quality production. This year’s programmingwill take place in Hancock Park, as well as at SubudHouse and the Craft and Folk Art Museum… with little orno admission charges.” (Website) Date: Oct. 21 - 22Time/cost: TBASite: Vary along Miracle Mile, Los Angeles (Wilshire Blvd)More info: www.tarfest.com

NovemberDia De Los Muertos Celebrationat Olvera Street

Come and enjoy live performances, exhibitions, children’sworkshops, and a colorful ancient ceremony celebratingthis Latin tradition. Date: Nov. 1 - 2Time: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Site: Olvera St., Downtown Los Angeles Cost: FreeMore info: (213) 625-5045 or www.olvera-street.com

AFI Fest 2005: Los AngelesInternational Film Festival

The American Film Institute is hosting the longest runningfilm festival in Los Angeles with over 100 internationalfilms. Date(s): Nov. 3-13Time: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.Site: ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Blvd. at Ivar,

HollywoodCost: $11/regular screening, $7/weekday matinee More info: (866) AFI FEST or www.afi.com

Public Star Parties atGriffith ObservatoryBring family and friends for a day of stargazing, planetwatching, and astronomy education!Date(s): Nov. 5Time: 2 – 10 p.m.Site: Griffith Observatory Satellite, Northeast corner of

Griffith Park, Los AngelesCost: FreeMore info: (323) 664-1181 or www.griffithobs.orgCity Sponsor: Rec and Parks

Dia De Los Muertosat Canoga ParkCome and enjoy live music, a classic car show,performances, art exhibits, altar contests, raffles, children’spavilion, a procession, food, and more in celebration ofthis Latin tradition. Date: Nov. 6Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Site: Sherman Way, between Canoga and JordanCost: FreeMore info: (818) 246-4892 or www.mainstreetcanogapark.org

The Drowsy Chaperone at theAhmanson Theatre

“This fabled 1928 Gable and Stein musical classic tells thetale of a pampered Broadway starlet who wants to give upshow business to marry. Her producer sets out to sabotagethe nuptials or it’s curtains for him. Enter the chaperone,the debonair groom, a dizzy chorine, the Latin lover, and acouple of gangsters. Ruses are played. Hi-jinks occur, andthe plot spins completely out of control!” (Website)Date: Nov. 10 – Dec. 24 Time: 8 p.m. (Tues-Fri), 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. (Saturdays)

2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Sundays) Site: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.Cost: $35-$80Club Special:

$40 (any available seat) shows (through 11/10 – 11/23)if you mention Code 6452 and ask for Linda in groupsales.

More info: (213) 972-7231 or www.taperahmanson.com

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Dispatcher Isabell Gallegos withher husband, Luis.

Seated, from left, are Chris Smith (husband of SeniorCommunications Operator Dawn Smith), Danyell Wilbornand Dispatcher Rodney Williams. Standing: PrincipalCommunications Operator Kimberly Tolson, Luis Gallegos(husband of Dispatcher Isabell Gallegos), DispatcherIsabell Gallegos and Malaika Santiel.Dispatcher April Douglass-Lawson and her family.

Jalani Smith (daughter of Lt. Carolye Smith) andJoshua Joseph (son of Senior CommunicationsOperator Santosha Joseph).

From right: Communications Operator Danyell Wilborn and Malaika Santiel with friends Kimmy, Mia, Samesha and Aurmora.

DispatchersPicnicn LAX Airport PoliceDispatchers have a picnic inWestchester.AIRPORTS — The LAX Airport PoliceCommunications Unit held its first summer pic-nic July 31 to increase morale and reinforce fam-ily unity. Gathering at Westchester Park, dis-patchers and their families enjoyed food, refresh-ments and games.

Principal Communications Operator KimberlyTolson, the unit’s supervisor, presented commem-orative key chains containing a photo of fallenAirport Police Officer Tommy Scott to AprilDouglass-Lawson, Monica Tucker and RodneyWilliams. These operators were on duty whenOfficer Scott was killed.

The communications unit was joined by otherAirport Police officers, who stopped by duringthe picnic.

From left: Airport Police Officer Mark Almaraz, PrincipalCommunications Operator Kimberly Tolson and AirportPolice Officer Michael Woodard.

From left: Dispatcher SupervisorDawn Smith with her son, Corey.

From left: Airport Police Officer Raymond Woods,Communications Operator Danyell Wilborn, Airport PoliceOfficer Devin Staten and Communications OperatorMalaika Santiel.

From left: Dispatchers Bruce Minton, Monica Tucker andRodney Williams.

Front: Communications Operator I Danyell Wilborn.Standing, from left, are Senior Communications OperatorSantosha Joseph, Principal Communications OperatorKimberly Tolson and Dispatcher Isabel Ballegos.

Dispatchers Rodney Williams and Monica Tucker.

Facing camera are Santosha Joseph’s sons Deon and Xavier, with SeniorCommunications Operator Dawn Smith’s daughter Joi Beard.

Senior Communications Operator DawnSmith with her daughter Joi Beard.

Dispatcher Rodney Williams.

Dispatcher Monica Tucker’s mother, Phyllis, and brother,Emmanuel.

Principal CommunicationsOperator Kimberly Tolson.

Zaire Joseph, daughter of the sis-ter-in-law of SeniorCommunications OperatorSantosha Joseph, enjoys a snack.

Senior Communications Operator Santosha Joseph, with sister-in-law Eva Joseph

Lakers and

Clipper Tickets Available!

Please Call

Ticket Guy For Details

1-888-777-1744


Ticket Guy working hard.

Block Partyn Club crew pays a visit to Legoland.

Story by Michelle Moreno, Club Events GuruPhotos by Michelle Moreno and Navin Cotton, Club Ticket Guy

Ticket Guy stands in front of a car made of Legos.

Ticket Guy shows his love for the Lego Shaq. Events Guru stands next to a Lego Mummy.

THE CLUB — Once again, the Ticket Guy and I,in our great commitment to the Club, decided topartake in some off-site investigation for you, ourwonderful Club members. July 21, we packed upour cameras and notepads and headed off tounknown territory — Legoland (talk about dedi-cation!)

After the 90-minute drive on the freeway, wemanaged to find our way to Carlsbad – home ofLegoland. As we made our way throughout thepark, we noticed that the majority of attendeeswere children, which was quite strange for us,considering that we are twenty-something-year-olds. However after exploring several of the coolmodels made out of Legos, as well as taking atour of the Lego Factory, we were suddenly trans-ported back to our childhood and found our-selves asking each other, “Remember when youcould get Legos in Happy Meals?” Well, do you?

We continued the day, experiencing some ofthe neat rides that the park has to offer, includingThe Dragon in Knight’s Kingdom and the LegoTechnic Test Track in Imagination Zone (whereTicket Guy and I experienced a wee bit of motionsickness). We ended the day taking a tour of ourfavorite attraction: Miniland USA. Here, you can

see model replicas of several regions of the U.S.,including Washington, D.C., Florida, California,New Orleans and New York City (if you lookclosely, you can spot a little Lego man sitting ona toilet in the restroom).

All in all, TG and I agreed that Legoland is acool place to visit if you have kids under 12;teenagers might prefer to stay home. If you areplanning on going, here are a few tips:

n Make sure you watch out for the Legoland Exitsign on the freeway. It’s a bit small and there isonly one.

n Try the apple fries! They are awesome!

n Don’t eat before you go on the Lego TechnicTest Track

n Pay close attention to all the small details inMiniland USA – you never know what youmight find.

We hope these tips help. We’d especially like tothank our Tour Guide, Jennifer Stout, AccountExecutive, for giving us an awesome tour ofLegoland (and especially providing lunch).Thanks, Jennifer!

by Tony Adler, President, Cruise and Resort, Inc.Club Travel Partner

OFFICIAL CLUB PARTNER

Talk

Call your Club representatives at (888) 652-6400Julie, David or Kristy – to talk about any travel destination. Be sure to mention that you

are a Club member for your maximum discounts. We value your business and look forwardto the opportunity to assist you.

Tony Adler

Viva Las Vegas!Looking for Fun?

Travel

Do you like the bright lights and excite-ment of Las Vegas? I sure do! Even

my children love Las Vegas and they areway too young to gamble. Having been toLas Vegas twice in the last month, Ithought I would use this column to bringyou up to date on what’s going on in thisclose-by vacation spot.

I wonder if you have heard of Lake LasVegas? It is a master-planned communitywith a large man-made lake and a town thatresembles an Italian village. There are twomajor resort hotels at Lake Las Vegas – theRitz-Carlton and Hyatt Regency. Both areluxury properties with large rooms, goodfood and are attractive to people who wantto escape the hustle and bustle of the strip.(It’s about a half-hour drive to the striphotels.) We stayed at both properties andfound them to each have their own advan-tages. Kids prefer the pool with a waterslideat the Hyatt. The Hyatt Regency also hasits own small casino for the adults. TheRitz-Carlton connects to a larger casino inthe beautiful village. It is great fun to strollin this little town on a lake. Even more fun– Lake Meade and Hoover Dam are just ashort drive from Lake Las Vegas. We tookthe kids on rented wave runners on LakeMeade and had a blast!

I must admit that I like being in the cen-ter of the action more than the relaxedresorts by the lake. I love the casinos, theshows and the 24-hour-a-day excitement. Iam energized by the decadence that is LasVegas. Just a week after our Lake Las Vegastrip with the kids, my wife and I had thepleasure of staying at the Bellagio. TheBellagio is beautiful, as is Steve Wynn’s newresort appropriately named Wynn. Thereare many similarities between the twoproperties, and most people touring thehotels are doing their own comparisons.You simply can’t go wrong with either one.In the same category of upscale deluxeVegas strip properties, we would be remissif we didn’t include the Venetian, FourSeasons, the new all-suite tower at CaesarsPalace, and new all-suite wing of theMandalay Bay Resort called The Hotel atMandalay Bay. Maybe just a notch belowwould be the MGM and Mirage resorts.

Here are a few signature features of thevarious properties:

Bellagio – Magnificent water show infront of the hotel flowing to the sounds ofopera and popular classical music.

Wynn – Keeping up with the owner’shigh standards can’t be easy, but every-thing is flawless here, including someamazing restaurants. They have a Ferraridealership in the hotel that people pay tobrowse in!

Venetian – The shops at the GrandCanal are a sight to see. They do an unbe-lievable job of making you feel like you aretruly in Venice!

Four Seasons – Tucked on the top floorsinside the main Mandalay Bay tower is theFour Seasons, complete with its own lobbyand separate quiet entrance into the casi-no. It combines a true oasis with easyaccess to all the action. Combine that withthe famous Four Seasons service and youhave a real winner!

Caesars Palace – Once the original luxu-ry hotel in Las Vegas, it has gone through

many transformations over the years. Thelast one has brought the property up to thestandards of its newer competition. Thebrand-new all-suite tower is terrific. Theremodeling of the casino has opened upwhat used to be a rather confining space.The new food court for casual dining is thebest in Vegas.

The Hotel at Mandalay Bay – Another all-suite property that is a trendy hotel withina hotel. All suites have plasma TVs for yourviewing pleasure. The lighting and atmos-phere is similar to that found in IanSchrager hotels. If you’re really “cool.” thismight just be the place to be seen.

MGM Grand – MGM calls this hotel “TheCity of Entertainment.” It is actually oneof the best laid-out hotels architecturallythat we have visited. Ask us to upgrade youto a Bungalow Suite for a lot of extra roomand just a few extra dollars. Don’t misstheir famous lions roaming a glass-enclosed habitat in the casino!

Mirage – The hotel even smells like apiña colada! You will feel like you areentering a tropical paradise. Don’t miss thevolcano that erupts several times each hourin front of the hotel, and the baby whitetigers on display near the entrance.

For entertainment, the shows are moreelaborate than ever. Cirque du Soleil hasseveral extravaganzas featuring their lim-ber acrobats in shows like O, Zumanityand Ka. Last month we saw the Broadwayshow Mama Mia at Mandalay Bay andloved it. Top magicians including DavidCopperfield and Lance Burton appearregularly. Celine Dion, Barry Manilow andElton John have shows that keep them inVegas much of the year. Other top starsmake Vegas their temporary home at leasta few times annually. The shows are not asinexpensive as they once were, but theyare usually worth the money. Today’sshows also offer everybody a fairer oppor-tunity to get the best seats. In the olddays, it was all about who you knew andhow much you tipped. Today, most show-rooms sell tickets with real seat numbersso you have none of the anxiety of won-dering where you will be sitting.

I could visit a different restaurant everynight for months in Las Vegas and never bedisappointed. I would also gain quite a bitof weight, but that’s another story. Some ofthe best celebrity chefs in the world nowmake Las Vegas their home. Each hoteltries to outdo the others with their foodofferings. If you like high-quality big buf-fets, it is worth a trip to Dishes at TreasureIsland or the buffet at Bellagio. If you onlyhave a few minutes and want to grab aquick lunch, the food park at CaesarsPalace takes fast food to a new level.

Viva Las Vegas! Call Cruise and Resortwith any questions and for reservations.Please don’t think that Las Vegas reserva-tions are too small to bother us with. Weappreciate all your business! We want toassist you with hotels in Las Vegas just asmuch as we want to help you plan cruisesor tours. Remember that we are your ClubPartner for travel. Not only can we bookyour member reservations at any hotel,resort or cruse line, we can often save youmoney and offer you additional Club ben-efits. Your Club membership means younever pay extra for this service.


Alive!Comesby Hynda Rudd,

City Archivist (Retired),and Club Member

About the City ArchivesA section of City Clerk’s Office, Records Management Division.

CITY CLERK: Frank Martinez

RECORDS Management Officer: Todd Gaydowski

ARCHIVIST (acting): Jay Jones

PHONE: (213) 585-3512

LOCATION: C. Erwin Piper Technical Center, 555 Ramirez St., Space 320, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Rob (Robert) Freeman, a SeniorManagement Analyst in the Emergency

Preparedness Department working on a proj-ect to design and construct a new EmergencyOperations Center near Temple and AlamedaStreets, was the second City Archivist for theCity of Los Angeles from 1987-94. At UCLAworking toward Master’s degrees in historyand library science, in 1986, he wrote hisMaster’s thesis Living to Tell the Tale: TheStory of the Los Angeles City Archives. Whiletoday he is making history for the City, hispast contributions about the history of theCity Archives are as monumental as his cur-rent contributions. The following, for themost part, are excerpts from RobertFreeman’s Master’s thesis. We thank Rob forhis permission to publish these excerpts fromhis fine work.

As a unique resource for information onthe history of Los Angeles, the Los AngelesCity Archives is one of Southern California’sbest-kept secrets.Many local histori-ans know little ornothing about LosAngeles’ finemunicipal archives,a literal treasuretrove of primarysource materials onthe City’s past.Established in 1980as a part of the CityClerk’s recordsmanagement pro-gram and located inthe C. Erwin Piper Technical Center it is nearOlvera Street and Union Station, theArchives is situated in an area steeped in localhistory. The land on which the PiperTechnical Center sits was once the vineyardof City pioneers Jean Luis Vignes and JuanRamirez. Ramirez inherited the land throughhis wife Petra Avila’s (Abila) family whoowned the land for a number of generations.

The Archives boasts a diverse group ofrecords, some of which document the City’searly history. Historians of the City’s Mexicanera (1821- 46), transition period to Americansovereignty (1846 - 50) and early Americanperiod (1850 - 76) will find several key recordseries which illuminate Los Angeles’ Hispanicheritage, role in the Mexican-American Warand gradual Anglicization under UnitedStates rule. We are fortunate indeed thatthese records have survived the ravages oftime intact and that they have lived to telltheir tale.

Perhaps the most fascinating series of his-torical records in the City’s Archives is a mis-cellany of documents known simply as the“Los Angeles City Archives” volumes of“Untitled Records.” The first seven volumesof this series cover the years 1827 - 71 andconsist of a variety of documents includingminutes to the meetings of the Ayuntamiento(the Mexican era council); petitions and cor-respondence to the Ayuntamiento and copiesof their responses; deeds of land; censusrecords from 1836 and 1844; and legalrecords such as ordinances, resolutions andcriminal cases.

The seven earliest “Los Angeles CityArchives” volumes consist of documents,

which are written predominantly in the cryp-tic, provincial Spanish of Alta California(Upper California) circa 1840. Readingthrough the original document is a tediousexercise for even the most fluent student ofSpanish, as they contain many abbreviationsand inconsistencies. Fortunately, translationsof the seven volumes were prepared in the1890s by the City at the urging of theSouthern California Historical Society. Thesefaithful translations are in excellent conditionand are available to read the fascinatingaccounts in English.

Former Mayor Stephen C. Foster and for-mer City Attorney Frank Howard indexedthe volumes according to subject in the early1870s. This first effort at arranging and index-ing the City’s archives was a boon to munici-

pal officials of thelate 19th century andis a blessing forresearchers in the20th. More impor-tantly, the indexingwork of Foster andHoward laid thefoundation for futureindexing services bythe City Clerk’sOffice. An importantprecedent was set formaking municipalgovernment records

available and accessible. Today, the CityArchives can proudly boast there are fourmore sets of indexes beyond the FosterHoward first recorded lists that cover theentire history of the City of Los Angeles. Themost current is the automated Council FileIndex.

In addition to the Los Angeles CityArchives volumes, others of great importanceare: City property assessment registers, 1856- 67; tax records 1857 - 66; business licenserecords, 1856 - 59; abstracts of titles to land,1835 - 95; deeds of land to and from the City,1849 - 95; and personal papers of early pio-neer, Abel Stearns 1828 - 90, including hisnaturalization records.

The history of the City’s written constitu-tion, the City Charter, dates back to 1878. In1997 two Charter Commissions were formedto re-evaluate the then current 1925 Charter,one being an appointed group and the otheran elected body. Their joint work provided thebasis for a new 2000 Charter passed by theelectorate that became effective July 2000.The records of the two Commissions are nowhoused in the City Archives.

The City Archives also contains several keyrecords series that document Los Angeles’early American period. These include min-utes to the City Council meetings; ordi-nances; resolutions; Council petitions andcommunications; annual reports of most Citydepartments; minutes to City commissionssuch as Public Works, Public Utilities andTransportation, Planning, Recreation andParks, Police and Fire; and reports of specialCouncil committees.

In 1850 the City’s Common Council iden-

tified the historical records from the Mexicanperiod and provided for their protection. TheCouncil was anxious to preserve the City’sdocumentary heritage for practical and per-sonal reasons. Records affecting title to landwere highly valued. During the 1850s and1860s, United States land grant hearingsrelied heavily on such documentation to veri-fy claims made by California ranchers andlandowners.

In 1846 the “pueblo archives” of LosAngeles consisted of the records of theAyuntamiento, including letters sent to theMexican council, copies of their replies,maps, petitions for land and legal records.United States officials began collecting gov-ernment records in Los Angeles following theAmerican invasion of August, 1846. Thearchives then were kept by the Governor’ssecretary. Governor Pio Pico provided fortheir protection while in Los Angeles, butbetween 1846 and 1848 the records of theMexican government of Alta California,along with those of the pueblo of LosAngeles, met with an unfortunate fate.

In an appearance before the United StatesLand Commission in Los Angeles(November 12, 1852), Abel Stearns testifiedthat in 1846, the California and Los Angelesarchives were boxed and depositedat the house of Don Luis Vignesin this City. When CommodoreRobert F. Stockton of theAmerican Forces, orderedthese records to be turnedover to the UnitedStates, some docu-ments were seized.The records were taken toSan Pedro, then toMonterey by theUnited Statesauthorities.

Today, portionsof the provincialarchives ofCalifornia arelocated in suchrepositories as theNational Archives, theCalifornia StateArchives, the BancroftLibrary, the HuntingtonLibrary, the Los AngelesCounty Recorder’sOffice, and the LosAngeles City Archives.The municipal or“pueblo” archives of LosAngeles have survivedfor the most part tomake up the first compo-nent of the Los AngelesCity Archives. Beginningin 1849, the CommonCouncil assumedresponsibility for thecare of the City’s docu-mentary heritage. Weare fortunate thatthese records have

lived to tell the tale.The City Archives is fortunate to have the

original inventory of the pueblo archives men-tioned by Abel Stearns. Stearns completedthis inventory of municipal records in June of1850 and submitted it to the Council as out-going president of that body. The records helists date from 1835 to 1850 and consist pri-marily of minutes of Ayuntamiento andCommon Council proceedings, propertyrecords, registries of City licenses, financialledgers, petitions to the Ayuntamiento, corre-spondence, and registries of marks andbrands of cattle. Most of these materials canstill be found in the City Archives today. Theone notable exception is the registry of cattlebrands and marks that are now with LosAngeles County records.

Today’s archival collection beyond theCouncil Minutes, Council Files andOrdinances since 1850 includeAdministrative and Municipal Code informa-tion, annual reports, budgets, departmentand elected officials records, election records,financial records from the Auditor, Controllerand Treasurer, maps, photographs and localmunicipality records prior to annexation intothe City of Los Angeles. These recordsinclude: Eagle Rock, Hollywood, San Pedro,Tujunga, Venice, Watts and Wilmington.

Tales From the City Archives

… that OlympicBoulevard wasoriginally called10th Street? The City Council changedthe name in 1929 in antici-pation of the 10th OlympicGames, which came to LosAngeles in 1932.

LA Archives Has Own Story to Tell

o o

The Archives boasts adiverse group of records,

some of which document the City’s

early history.

n

O

From left: Amber; Jesus Lopez, Traffic Officer, 8 years; andCelina Estrada, Traffic Officer, 5 years.

For Henryn Annual barbecue raises funds for the Henry Medina Memorial Scholarship.

Story by Beverly Haro, Club CounselorPhotos by Summy Lam, Club IT Analyst

TRANSPORTATION — Traffic officers and the Medina family held their annualHenry Medina picnic Aug. 21 at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro. Henry Medinawas the first traffic officer killed in the line of duty in May 1997.

Henry Medina was heavily involved with youth and promoting education. Traffic Officers and theMedina family put together an annual picnic to help raise money for scholarships.

Pat Medina, Henry’s widow, is the Chaplain for Transportation.Traffic Officer Paul Parrish has been able to secure Fort MacArthur for the past eight picnics

because he is retired with the U.S. Navy. J.P. Shanks, son of Sgt. Cheryl Shanks, designed the HenryMedina Scholarship T-shirt when he was 13 years old. The theme for the scholarship is “Transportingus to the future.”

DOT traffic officers prepared the food. The barbecue consisted of chicken, ribs, links, potato saladand beans. Pat Medina heads the scholarship committee that has already given thousands of dollars toCity employees’ children.

The City Employees Club sponsored the raffle. The event consisted of prizes, a swimming pool, andpicnic games for the children.

Congratulations to all on the success of this excellent annual event.

William Mejia, Traffic Officer, 3.5 years, and family.

Lucie Godinez, Club Member, Traffic Officer, 4 years, and family.

The family of the late Henry Medina.

Attendance prizes.

The balloon toss. Club Members Lois Thomas and Barbara Bowers serve the children.

Sgt. Cheryl Shanks, Club Member, 9 years, with J.P. Shanks.

Beverly Samuel, Club Member, Traffic Officer, 17 years, and family.

Manuel Hernandez, Traffic Officer, and family.

From left: Lois Thomas, Traffic Officer, 25 years, andBarbara Bowers, Traffic Officer, 20 years.


From left: Dorothy Holmes; Edwina Chism, Club

Member, Traffic Officer, 7.5 years; Gaynell

McPherson, Traffic Officer, 5 years; and Lois

Thomas, Traffic Officer, 25 years.

Janice Norwood, Club Member, Traffic Officer II, 6 years, and family.

Paul Parrish, Traffic Officer, 34

years, with his fiancé, Sharon.

So Long, Bobn Robert Saenz retires after31 years with DWP.

Story and photos provided by Gail Seltzer,Valley Meter Reading

DWP — Bob Saenz, who spent his entire Citycareer with DWP, retired with no less than twoparties. His office retirement party took placeAug. 1.

Bob started as a Meter Reader with DWP. Hisprofessionalism and superb work ethic soon wasrewarded with a promotion to Field Service, andthen he was promoted to Field Investigations,then another promotion to Revenue Security. Hisfinal promotion was to Valley Meter Reading asSupervisor in charge of the entire unit. If Bobwere to continue on with DWP, there is no telling

how far up the ladder he would have gone.Actually he would probably be at the very toprunning the place. He has the knowledge andcapability, no doubt on that. The Department islosing a valuable asset in Bob.

But after 31 years of excellent service, all withDWP, Bob decided it was time to retire and startthe next chapter of his life. He plans on perfect-ing both his golf game and his gambling. He lovesthe slots! Bob and his beautiful wife, Marygene,plan to do a lot of trips to Palm Springs and LasVegas.

Robert is respected by management, his peersand his subordinates. I can honestly say that Bobwas one of the hardest working people you willever meet. Not only that, but he was an amazingsupervisor and overall just a great guy. He wasalways fair with the employees, continuously andhonestly concerned about their safety in theoffice and especially out in the field. He alwayshad an open door policy and really took the timeto listen. Any time there was a problem, Bob wasright there to take care of it. No job was too bigor too small for Bob. He provided superior cus-

tomer service to our internal and outside cus-tomers.

Because of Bob’s popularity, he not only hadone open house but two. One was in the Metro

Field Office where he once worked, and one wasin the Valley Field Office where he worked at thetime of his retirement. Both times the roomswere packed with people wanting to wish Bob

well. The following Saturday, his sis-ters Pat and Sylvia gave him a sur-prise retirement party at Pat’shome. Over 100 people includingfamily, friends and DWP employ-ees and retirees came to celebrate.The two sisters went all out for thisparty. There were caterers, a DJ, adance area, a margarita machineand a canopy with 15 tables under-neath it. There was so much foodand drinks, the party could havegone on for days.

No one deserves such a grandsend off as Bob. You can tell thathe was overwhelmed with all thisattention. He had no idea that somany people love and care abouthim. His successor has somemighty big shoes to fill.

Robert Saenz, DWPretired after 31 years of service.


Craig Karr and Sheri Griffin.

Jeff Hunt.

Thomas Jamentz. Jesse Trejo, Shanti Bolden and Luis Terrazas.

Kim Davis.

Mitch Martinez.James Gudea, Meter Reader.

Pete Anguiano, Meter Reader and hero(he recently came back from Iraq).

Mattie Long, Meter Reader.

Linda Libertine, Meter Reader.

Dennis Mariglia, Meter Reader.James Gakic, Meter Reader.Al Cardiel, Commercial FieldRepresentative.

Valeri Muratov, Meter Reader.

Al Thornton, Commercial FieldRepresentative.

Carmen Erickson, Re-reader.

Bill Henry, Meter Reader.Charlene Valdez, Customer Service Representative.

Kevin Daugherty, Sr. Meter Reader

From left: Patricia Saucier, Sr. Meter Reader; and BeverlyWhitaker, Sr. Meter Reader.

Jay Zoller, Meter Reader.Porfirio Salazar, Meter Reader.Allan Gardner, Meter Reader. Scott Sorrell, Meter Reader.Frank Luna, Meter Reader.


Greg Vasquez, Patrick Alonso and Ricardo Herrera.

Larry Whitaker and Jorge Navarro.

Shanti Bolden and Cory Boekhaus.

Lora Eggan.

From left: Bill Feig, Team Leader, and Michael Mitchell,Meter Reader.

David Suarez, Sr. Meter Reader.

John Sims, Meter Reader.

From left: Cory Boekhaus and Louis Ciminieri,Meter Readers, “The Bad Boys of ValleyMeter Reading.”

Luis Replaces Bob

n Luis Terrazas is promoted toposition held by Bob Saenz, whoretired.

Information and photo provided by GailSeltzer, Valley Meter Reading, DWP.

DWP — The Valley Meter Reading Group withthe DWP has promoted Luis Terrazas toCommercial Field Supervisor. Luis will be replac-ing Robert Saenz, who retired Aug. 1.

Luis will supervise 58 Meter Readers, threeRe-readers, four Senior Meter Readers, sixTeam Leaders, two Customer ServiceRepresentatives, one Coordinator and oneAssistant Supervisor. Many people in ValleyMeter Reading hoped Luis would be the suc-cessful candidate.

Luis started out as a Meter Reader in June1982. After three years, he was promoted toTeam Leader. Seven months later, he was pro-moted to Field Service Unit. After one year, hemoved to Field Collections, and after four years,he was promoted to Field Investigations. Hespent five years there and then moved toRevenue Security for three years. He then waspromoted to Assistant Supervisor of the MetroMeter Reading Group. After two years, anotherpromotion brought him to the Valley as TrainingSupervisor. And now, after 3.5 years, Luis earnsanother promotion to Supervisor of the ValleyMeter Reading Group.

Congratulations, Luis!

Luis Terrazas.

PREPARE TODAY FOR YOUR NEXT

JOB INTERVIEWA practice interview will help you get the jobyou want. Your interview skills will improve andyour confidence will increase. So will your score!

Contact: Retired Senior Personnel Analyst BobCutler, of the Department of Public Works, forcost and details at (310) 937-5678, or [email protected] today.


Cutting the ribbon.

From left: Fontayne Holmes, City Librarian; Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa; and Jan Perry, Councilmember, District 9.

Taiko drummers entertain the crowd.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Gary Lee Moore, CityEngineer, Bureau ofEngineering.

Rev. George Nishikawa.

Robert Chick, President, Board of Library Commissioners.

Minyo dancers.

n Little Tokyo library branch opens.

Story by Beverly Haro, Club CounselorPhotos by Summy Lam, Club IT Analyst

LIBRARY — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa,Councilmember Jan Perry, Library BoardPresident Robert Chick, City Librarian FontayneHolmes and other dignitaries helped open theLittle Tokyo branch of the Los Angeles PublicLibrary Sept. 8.

The new 12,500-square-foot Little Tokyobranch facility is more than double the size of theprevious library and provides more space forbooks, people and computers. It features specialareas for children, teens and adults; a multipur-pose meeting room; and garden areas. The newlibrary also provides patrons with 21st century

technology through computer workstations thatlink patrons to the LAPL’s Website, catalog, anda vast array of databases on the Internet.

The Little Tokyo branch is part of the largestand most ambitious library infrastructureimprovement project in the nation, and was fund-ed by Proposition DD, a 1998 bond. The pro-gram expands or improves 28 branches citywideand creates four new branches in communitiescurrently without library service.

The new branch is at 203 S. Los Angeles St. inLittle Tokyo. It is one of the last libraries to open.

The event began with taiko drummers andminyo dancers. City Librarian Fontayne Holmeswelcomed the crowd, followed by Rev. GeorgeNishikawa’s invocation.

Refreshments were provided by Friends ofLittle Tokyo Library.

A Library in Little Tokyo

Jan Perry, Councilmember, District 9.

From left: Vivienne Khan, Children’s Librarian, El Serenobranch; and Jeni Zambrano, Sr. Librarian, Malabar branch.

From left: Gloria Wong, Clerk Typist, Little Tokyo branch;Laura Contin, Sr. Librarian, Cypress branch; Gloria Russo,Clerk Typist, Benjamin Franklin branch; and Oleg Ross,Clerk Typist, Eagle Rock branch.

From left: Kiley Smith, Student; Larry Kuromiya, Friends ofLittle Tokyo Library President; Rev. George Nishikawa; GaryLee Moore, City Engineer, Public Works Bureau ofEngineering; Robert Chick, President, Board of LibraryCommissioners; Jan Perry, Councilmember, District 9;Mayor Villaraigosa; and Fontayne Holmes, City Librarian.

The new Little Tokyo branch of the Los Angeles PublicLibrary.

The Little Tokyo branch.

From left: Alex Banares, Clerk Typist, Controller; LeonorKuratomi, Payroll Supervisor, Controller; Chinh Luong,Accounting Clerk, Controller; and Daisy Vasuthasawat,Accounting Clerk, Controller.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa admires the view from the library.

At last year’s annual meeting, Beverly andJoe Etheredge, Retired LAX, Club Member.

FOR

RET

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FOR

RET

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S O

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FOR

RETI

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ON

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Ed Harding, RLACEI President

• Upcoming Events Listing

• Members News

• Smart Money Column

• Adventures With Hal Danowitz

• Volunteer Opportunities

• Crossword Puzzle Contest!

• Important Phone Numbers

• Question of the Month Feature

• Thought for the Day Feature

• Poetry Contest

YearsBestBestBestThe

A N E W S e c t i o n f o r R e t i r e d C l u b M e m b e r s


Ed Harding is the President of

Retired Los Angeles City

Employees, Inc. (RLACEI), one of

three major retirees associations

for the City of Los Angeles.

Contact him: (805) 584-9417.

I N S I D E :

Ed Harding, RLACEI Presidentreports: “Our Annual Meeting and

Elections will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct.6, at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks SeniorCenter, 5056 Van Nuys Blvd. You cancome at noon for a free lunch only if youhave made reservations.

“Our Nominating Committee Chair,Dave Wilkins, recently suffered a heartattack, so Hal Danowitz will present thenominations for six director positions onour Executive Board. I hope all of Dave’sfriends will send a get-well card to him at1000 Fairview Ave., Apt. 5, Arcadia, CA91007.

“The Presidents’ Council met recentlyfor our quarterly get-together. TheCouncil is comprised of the Presidents ofthe three L.A. City Retired Employees’Associations – LACERS, DWP and Fireand Police Pensions. We meet to discussareas of mutual concern, and to explorehow we can, together, help all retirees ofthe City.

“Much of the discussion revolvedaround the Proposed Medicare Part Dprogram, the new prescription drug bene-fit scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. It seems

that the federal government isfinally recognizing that

many of us belong togroup health plans, and hasprovided ways for our provi-sions. Basically, if our

employer- or union-sponsored

plans already have prescription drug bene-

fits that are actuarially equivalent, or supe-

rior to, Medicare Part D, then we can be

‘blanketed’ into Med D without individu-

ally signing upon having to pay the premi-

ums associated with the new program.

“There are several options that our plansponsors may choose. Watch for instruc-tions from your respective plans as to whataction, if any, you must take. Do not enrollin any outside plan touted by the hun-dreds of vendors that will be deluging youwith offers.”

H A V E N E W S ?If you have news about retirement activities that

you’d like to share, call Phil Skarinat (818) 784-0130, or write to

5301 Norwich Ave., Van Nuys, CA

91411 or fax (818) 906-3722.

Make plans to attend the annual RLACEI AnnualMeeting. You can enjoy the annual meeting just likethese retirees did last year.

- SEE “UPCOMING EVENTS,” PAGE XX FOR DETAILS

Medicare Part Dto Allow for OptionsBy Phil Skarin, Publicity Chair, RLACEI

RLACEI Annual Meeting– October 6, 2005

At last year’s annual meeting, Cleone Vrabel,Retired LAPD, and her husband, Michael.

The B

est Ye

ars


n Cruising Northern Europe and heading toward the 100-country mark.

Our travel group, consistingof Evelyn and I, our

daughter Effie and son-in-lawPierre, and Evelyn’s cousinsDon and Myrna, decided it wastime to plan our next adven-ture. We had already been toAfrica and South America andwe were looking for some newcountries to visit. As of nowthere are 315 recognized countries and there isthe Travelers’ Century Club, which you canjoin if you have visited at least 100 of the coun-tries. The trip we picked was a cruise toNorthern Europe, including three new coun-tries for Don and Myrna and six new countriesfor Evelyn and I. After this trip we would havean even 50 countries.

After some research we choose CelebrityCruise Line’s ship the Constellation. We chosethis cruise because it was a 14-day itinerary(most of the others were 12 days or less) andleft and returned to Dover, England. Portsincluded Copenhagen, Denmark;Warnemunde, (Berlin), Germany; Stockholm,Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg,Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; andKlaipeda, Lithuania. We selected a concierge’socean-view stateroom with a veranda. Wedecided on the concierges level because it pro-vided a larger stateroom and a few other bene-fits including special boarding lines and priori-ty for getting on and off the ship. Except forthe larger stateroom I’m not sure it was worththe extra cost.

I booked our air travel with United Airlinesand used mileage to upgrade to business class.The cruise left on Saturday, so we planned ourtravel to arrive in London on Friday morning.Using the Internet I booked a room for one-night at the Central Park Hotel (49/67Queensborough Terrace, London).

The ship left from Dover, which is about110 miles from London, so we needed trans-portation to the dock. Celebrity did offer anairport pickup and also transportation fromLondon to the dock, but it would haverequired taking a taxi to the train station and Ididn’t want to handle the luggage that much.With six of us traveling, I figured I could get acar service to take us to the ship at about thesame cost as the cruise line transfers. Againusing the Internet I contracted a couple ofcompanies and compared prices and selectedone to pick us up at the airport and also to takeus from London to Dover and return. I gavethem a credit card number and received con-firmation. The three couples were all travelingto London separately so three airport pickupswere required.

The cruise line had sent us information on

the various shore tours that were available ineach port, and we had a meeting to decidewhich ones to book in advance. We chose only

to book the all-day tourof Berlin and two full-day tours in St.Petersburg. Wethought we could dothe other stops on ourown or book the shiptour after we got onboard.

It has become a tra-dition on our trips toenjoy a cocktail hour

before dinner in our stateroom, so each of usmust bring the fixings. The ship won’t sell youbottled liquor to drink on board so we bringour own, including martini shakers and olives.

We landed in at London’s Heathrow Airporton time, and after clearing customs and immi-grations we looked for our ride to the hotel.They were nowhere to be found. We checkedwith the information desk and even tried to callthe phone number we had been given, but tono avail. Finally we took a taxi to the hotel. Theothers were there to meet us and had also notbeen picked up at the airport. After checkingin, we asked the hotel concierges to try to con-tact the transfer company tofind out if they we going to takeus to Dover the next day. Bythis time we didn’t have muchhope and knew we had beenscammed. Because I had used acredit card I was pretty sure wewould get our money backwhen I got home (which wasthe case; the credit card credit-ed my account with no prob-lem). We booked another com-pany to take us to Dover, whichwas recommended by theconcierges.

With that settled, we madeplans to meet for dinner and Evelyn and I wentto our room for a nap. The room was okay forone night but I wouldn’t want to stay longer.The price was right at about $150 for the night.

Just a word about prices in London – veryexpensive. The menu prices looked like dollars,but were in pounds and the pound was about$1.80. This meant a $10 hamburger in theStates cost $18 in London.

On the way to dinner we stopped in a pubfor a drink and then found a good Chineserestaurant, which we chose because it was fullof people.

The next morning, after our included conti-nental breakfast, we were picked up for ourdrive to Dover.

It was Saturday and it took us almost anhour to get outside of London. The driver toldus that during weekdays cars are charged fivepounds to enter London so on Saturday morepeople come into town. The drive to Dover

took about an hour and forty-five minutes. After reaching the docks we unloaded our

luggage and I asked the driver to pick us up intwo weeks and drive us back to London.

We entered the terminal and found the spe-cial boarding process for concierge passengerswas not working because the “computers weredown,” so we had to stand in line with every-one else. This wasn’t really a problem, but itgave us something to complaint about.

Our stateroom was very nice, located amid-ships; it had a king-size bed and lots of storagespace, which is unusual on most cruise ships.There was a seating area with a couch and TVand then the veranda, which had a table andchairs. The bathroom was also good size. Onthe table was a bottle of champagne providedby the ship and a bottle of wine that was sentby my travel agent. We had fresh flowers inboth the room and bathroom and a basket offresh fruit. These were replaced each day. Eachday at 5 p.m. we received a plate of canapés.Our room steward came by to introduce her-self and asked what kind of pillow I would like,there was a selection of about five or six types.

Before the ship sailed we participated in themandatory lifeboat drill and then returned toour cabin to unpack and get ready for cocktailsand dinner.

We had the late sitting din-ner which started at 8:30 p.m.,but first we needed to find abar that we liked when were wewere not having martini hourin our stateroom.

We found one that was closeto the dining room and had atable that could handle six peo-ple without too much trouble.

We made our way to the din-ing room and found our table,which was close to the frontand provided a nice view of theocean. Our waiter, Bernard,was the best waiter on the ship

and he tried to provide good service, but hav-ing to feed 1100 guests (second seating) at onetime proved difficult for the kitchen. Mostdays were did not leave the dining room untilat least 10:30 p.m. We complained, but therewasn’t much that could be done. There was analternative dining area, which was casual din-ning, which we used towards the end of thecruise, when we got tired of the regular diningroom.

After dinner we went to the show room,which was giving a preview of the entertain-ment on board the ship for this cruise.

The next day was at sea on our way toCopenhagen.

To be continued next month…

Retiree adventurer Hal Danowitz writes a monthly column

on his travels and welcomes your questions or comments.

Send them to [email protected]

The Dover Light House.The Dover Light House.


Halfway Toward The Century Mark

Hal’s wife, Evelyn, over the whitecliffs of Dover.

By Hal Danowitz, Secretary, RLACEI

Retiree HotlinesWho to call? Following is a list of contactsfor RLACEI and for the DWP:

City Employees Retirement System:(213) 473-7200

RLACEI Retirement Counselors:

• Edward Harding (805) 584-9417

• Phil Skarin (818) 784-0130

• Robert Wilkinson (818) 886-1000

• Jerry Bardwell (818) 782-5568

• Harold Danowitz (310) 472-0224

• Jack Mathews (310) 762-1942

• Helen Salgado (323) 728-4930• (membership)

• Americo Garza (562) 928-2051

• Neil Ricci (310) 394-1971

DWP Retirement Plan Office: (213) 367-1722

RLACEI Officers for 2005Edward Harding, President

Robert Wilkinson, First Vice President

Kenneth Spiker, Second Vice President

Hal Danowitz, Secretary

Jerrry Bardwell, Treasurer

Committee Chairpersons for 2005Bob Wilkinson, AuditJerry Bardwell, BudgetDavid Wilkins, BylawsKen Spiker, Legal and LegislativeHelen Salgado, MembershipPhil Skarin, PublicityTom Stemnock and Phil Skarin, GolfAmerico Garza, PicnicAmerico Garza, Holiday Party and InstallationJack Mathews, Senior CitizensNeil Ricci, HealthDavid Wilkins, NominatingNeil Ricci, Special Needs for RetireesHal Danowitz, Parliamentarian

DirectorsThomas StemnockAmerico GarzaHelen SalgadoPhil SkarinDave WilkinsJack MathewsNeil Ricci

The Constellation.

The Best Years



Retiree Question of the MonthAlive! asked retirees...

The Best Years

RLACEI WebsiteHal Danowitz asks you to visit our Website at:

www.rlacei.com to find out the latest

retiree news.

?What is your

favorite hobby?


Working with a computerand playing music.—Bill Ramirez, who retiredfrom the LAFD in 1998.

Cooking.—Pam Wall, husband ofretiree Dave Wall.

Candle making, rid-ing my bicycle andvolunteering at amedical center.—Martha Harl, who retired fromPersonnel in 1998 after 29 years.

Reading nonfictionintellectual novels (no

paperback romances!)—Laura Ramirez, wife of Bill Ramirez,

who retired from the LAFD in 1998.

Restoring oldcars and

building andflying model

airplanes.—Dave Wall, retired

from Public WorksEngineering in 1996.

Playing thepiano and com-

posing music(ragtime).

—Fred Hoeptner, retiredfrom Public Works in 1996.

Doing a little garden-ing and woodworking!—Wayne Kubo, who retired fromPublic Works Engineering after 30years of service.

I like to go on outings,especially parks likeGriffith Park.—Mary S. Castro.

Photography andcooking.—John Wolsiffer, retired fromRec and Parks in 1992.

PlayingChess.

—Shig Arima, whospent 20 years withCity Planning, retir-

ing in 1985.

RLACEIUpcoming Events:Annual Corporation Meeting & Elections— Thursday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. (lunch at noon with a pre-reservation)at the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Senior Center,

5026 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Christmas Party and Installation of Officers— Thursday, Dec. 8, noon to 3 p.m.at the Grace E. Simons Lodge

28th Annual Retirees Golf Tournament — Tuesday, June 6, 2006at the Alhambra Golf Course.

Change of Address?If you change your address, notify HelenSalgado at 323-728-4930, or write toher at 5423 Dewar St., Los Angeles, CA90022. If you need a new green mem-bership card, send her SASE.

Traveling and watching baseball.— John Lane, who retired fromGeneral Services in 1986.

The B

est Ye

ars


Financial Advice

$ The SmartMoney

Eric Garcia, Smith Barney

P l a n n i n g a n d M a n a g i n g Yo u r R e t i r e m e n t

A N E W S e c t i o n f o r R e t i r e d C l u b M e m b e r sA N E W S e c t i o n f o r R e t i r e d C l u b M e m b e r s

RLACEI MEMBER NEWS:

Tremain Trenair is an Alderman in Powhatten, La.

Gaetano Toppolo said, “I enjoy reading your column.”

Charlotte Haydel writes, “After retiring, I moved toAtlanta. I have flown to Athens, cruised theMediterranean Sea, and [took] a family trip toCancun. I love Atlanta.”

Hollis Pifer writes, “I got to a lot of doctors and dosome of the things they tell me to do. Our retire-ment is on a lake where we have been for 30 years.My address is 22001 Arrowhead Lane, LakeForest, CA 92630.”

Agapita Lobdell writes, “Thank you for all you do.”

George Ohara writes, “My wife, Emmi, and I cele-brated our 50th wedding anniversary last year. Iretired from L.A. Trade Tech. College July 1 after33 years as an adjunct instructor. I shot a CleanMatch (no misses) with the ‘Silver Queen MineRegulators’ last month. The club is a CowboyAction Shooting organization.”

Maria Batiste has moved to 184 Edison Dr.,Stockbridge, GA 30281. “What a huge change, butI’ve adjusted. The housing market is great, butthere is more to life than real estate.”

Wesley Cox writes, “I enjoy living here in PasoRobles, close to my son, Bob. I’ve made many newfriends here, especially those I’ve met at the SeniorCenter. He’s at 651 Nickerson Drive, Paso Robles,CA 93446.”

Louis Robins passed away on Aug. 25. He and Iboth graduated from U.C. Berkeley, worked for theCity for 40 years, and retired in 1987 as PrincipalStructural Engineers. He [was] in Building andSafety, and I [was] in Public Works.”

If you have any news about a retiree that you would like to share, send it to:

Phil Skarin 5301 Norwich Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91411

or call (818) 784-0130.

What is the Roth IRA?As a savings alternative to the Traditional IRA, the

Roth IRA provides the opportunity to invest yourafter-tax dollars, benefits from tax-deferred growthand, most importantly, receive tax-free distributions atretirement. This IRA also gives investors greater flexi-bility to use their retirement assets to helpfund intermediate- to long-term goals,such as first-time homeownership andhigher education, as well as a comfort-able retirement.

Who is eligible to open aRoth IRA?

Eligibility to contribute to a RothIRA depends solely upon your level ofearned income or that of your spouse.In 2005, if your adjusted gross income(AGI) is below $95,000 (single) or$150,000 (joint), you may make a full annu-al contribution to a Roth IRA of up to $4,000 or 100 percent of income, whichever is less. Partialcontributions are permitted for singles whose AGI is between $95,000 and $110,000 and marriedcouples whose AGI is between $150,000 and $160,000. An additional $500 “catch-up” contributionis permitted for individuals age 50 and older.

Two major pluses: There is no age limit on who can contribute to a Roth IRA, and participationin an employer-sponsored retirement plan has no impact on contributions to a Roth IRA.

Are contributions to a Roth IRA tax deductible?No. All contributions to a Roth IRA are nondeductible, regardless of income.

How are distributions from a Roth IRA taxed?One of the great benefits of a Roth IRA is that your funds aren’t tied up, since you may withdraw

your contributions at any time without tax or penalty. Withdrawals of accumulated earnings on yourRoth IRA contributions are tax-free and penalty-free if held for five years or more and any one ofthe following applies:n over age 59.5n used for first-time homeownership ($10,000 lifetime limit)n disabilityn distributed to beneficiaries upon IRA holder’s death

Ordinary income taxes are due when:n one of the above situations occurs, but the account is open less than five yearsn used for qualified higher education expenses incurred by the IRA holder or an immediate fam-

ily membern used for medical expenses exceeding 7.5 percent of AGIn used for health insurance after receiving unemployment compensation for more than 12 weeksOrdinary income taxes and a 10 percent penalty are due when accumulated earnings are with-

drawn for any other reason.What happens when you convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?Income and tax considerations arise when converting a current Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

First, your AGI must be $100,000 or less (filing jointly or singly) to be eligible for a conversion. Ifyou are married, you must file jointly. Second, the taxable amount of the converted funds (fromearnings and deductible contributions) is subject to ordinary income taxes, but no penalty, in theyear of conversion. Converted funds must remain in the Roth IRA for five years from the conver-sion to receive the favorable tax treatment on distributions. Any distributions from a RothConversion IRA before the five-year period will be subject to a 10 percent penalty.

Which IRA is appropriate for you and your family? To find out if a Roth IRA makes sense for you,contact your tax or financial adviser and request a comparison between a Roth and a Traditional IRAand the effects of a conversion using your specific IRA balance and tax situation.

Answers toFrequentlyAskedQuestionsBy Eric Garcia, FinancialPlanning Specialist, FinancialConsultant, Smith Barney ClubPartner

n Hello, Club members.It’s good to be back. Thismonth, let’s talk aboutRoth IRAs.

All IRAs allow annual contribu-tions and tax-deferred growth.

However, complexities arise withrespect to who can establish theseaccounts, as well as the tax implica-tions of distributions. The Roth IRA,created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of1997, has many investors askingabout its potential tax and retire-ment planning benefits. Here aresome answers to the most frequentlyasked questions.

Eric Garcia is a FinancialPlanning Specialist with SmithBarney located in Pasadena,Calif., and may be reached at(626) 683-4621.

Smith Barney does not provide taxand/or legal advice. Please consultyour tax and/or legal advisors forsuch advice. Smith Barney is adivision and service mark ofCitigroup Global Markets Inc.Member SIPC.

This article is based, in whole orin part, on information providedby the Planning ServicesDepartment of Smith Barney.

Send Eric your questionsat [email protected]. Use“Smart Money” in thesubject line.

The Roth IRA:

The Best Yearswww.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n October 2005 43


Poetry Contest!Our tenth annual Retirees Poetry Contest

deadline has been extended to Oct. 15.

Poems can be of any style, subject or

length. There are separate categories for

retirees and spouses.

Every entry will win something.

Send typed entries to:

Phil Skarin

5301 Norwich Ave.,

Van Nuys, CA 91411-3910.

And remember that Alive! will publish

all winning poetry submissions,

where possible, in an upcoming issue.


The Alive! Crossword PuzzleFor Retired Members, Created by Club Events Guru Michelle Moreno

Crossword puzzle contest rules:1. Mail your completed puzzle (and your guess at the theme) to

the Club Headquarters, 350 S. Figueroa, Suite 700, Los Angeles 90071

2. Deadline: The 10th of the month.3. Anyone can enter, but only Club members with valid

Club registration numbers can win.4. This puzzle is for retired Club Members.5. It’s all in good fun: The Club is not responsible for delays in

delivery of Alive! or the transmission of entries.

w s w

TH O U G H T F O R T H E D AY:

When we see someone who is obviously

very ill, or has been in an accident, our

response would be to call 911 on our cell

phone so that the paramedics would come

and take them to the nearest emergency

hospital.

But there are other kinds of hurts people

have such as loneliness, depression, low

self-esteem, bereaving, feeling unworthy.

These kinds of hurts may not be very

obvious, so it may take some reaching out to

people to know who is hurting, and to give

them the comfort and assistance that

you are able to.

The point is that anyone who is hurting is

your neighbor, and you should love them. So

don’t be afraid to “reach out.”

—Phil Skarin

w s w

ACROSS2. (2 words) “Master of Suspense”8. (2 words) Death in form9. (3 words) Candy Chant

11. “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” antagonist15. (2 words) Demon child of Mia Farrow17. (3 words) British holiday celebrated with bonfires and effigies19. (2 words) “Here’s Johnny!”20. “It’s Alive!”22. (3 words) Catholic holiday created to honor the dead24. (3 words) An ancient fruit game tradition28. (3 words) October 31st symbol29. (4 words) Latin holiday honoring the dead30. Norman Bates31. (2 words) Famous ghost residence in Long Beach32. (2 words) Werewolf’s alarm clock

DOWN1. (5 words) “Brains!”3. Home of spirits4. (2 words) “It’s the Great Pumpkin, _____”5. Can only be killed with a silver bullet6. RIP marker7. Transylvania resident

10. Theatre haunted by Howard Hughes12. “Mistress of the Dark”13. Witch’s pot14. (2 words) Barnabas Collins show16. (2 words) She is believed to haunt the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel18. A spider’s home21. He hides in your closet and under your bed23. (2 words) Salem Witches Comedy starring Bette Midler25. Scary hello26. Origins are in the Celtic Festival of Samhain27. (2 words) Red & Yellow candy favorite created in 1898

This month’s theme:

1 2 3 4 5

6 7

8

9

10 11 12

13

14

15

16

17 18

19

20

21

22

23

24 25 26 27

28

29

30

31

32

ACROSS

2 (2 words) "Master of Suspense"8 (2 words) Death in form9 (3 words) Candy Chant11 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" antagonist15 (2 words) Demon child of Mia Farrow17 (3 words) British holiday celebrated with

bonfires and effigies19 (2 words) "Here's Johnny!"20 "It's Alive!"22 (3 words) Catholic holiday created to honor

the dead24 (3 words) An ancient fruit game tradition28 (3 words) October 31st symbol29 (4 words) Latin holiday honoring the dead30 Norman Bates31 (2 words) Famous ghost residence in Long

Beach32 (2 words) Werewolf's alarm clock

DOWN

1 (5 words) "Brains!"3 Home of spirits4 (2 words) "It's the Great Pumpkin, _____"5 Can only be killed with a silver bullet6 RIP marker7 Transylvania resident10 Theatre haunted by Howard Hughes12 "Mistress of the Dark"13 Witch's pot14 (2 words) Barnabas Collins show16 (2 words) She is believed to haunt the

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel18 A spider's home

21 He hides in your closet and under your bed23 (2 words) Salem Witches Comedy starring

Bette Midler25 Scary hello26 Origins are in the Celtic Festival of

Samhain27 (2 words) Red & Yellow candy favorite

created in 1898

And here’s the contest: The first retired Club Members to com-plete the puzzle and send in the correctresults will win a Ralphs grocery gift cer-tificate for $25.

But: You also have to tell us what thetheme is. The theme could relate to:

n The Cityn The Clubn A topic of interest to retirees, from

the past (or the present)

Here’s a new fun feature for Alive’s retired readers… and a new contest!Introducing the Alive! Crossword… a monthly puzzle with a theme relating to the City of Los Angeles and the Club.

We’ll print the answers the following month.

So grab your pencil, and let the fun begin!

Solution:

MC J A M E S D E A N

C A T AR B Y E B Y E L O V E

S P L I T A IH H N

R D U C K T A I L G R O D YA R Z E SL B E W E T R A G S U NP U P O O D L E NH D I U SE D S H N EL Y U L B R Y N N E R I TL H E A P O BI L O V E L U C Y T J A C K I N T H E B O XS L L T P UO L A B A LN Y M A N T L E O A C T O R E

O D L O I VB N N V N F A

C O O P E R A L I C E I RS O S S C DS S T E L L A

Last Month’s Answers

The B

est Ye

ars


Retirees on the Move

A N E W S e c t i o n f o r R e t i r e d C l u b M e m b e r sA N E W S e c t i o n f o r R e t i r e d C l u b M e m b e r s

Get Involved!By Michelle Moreno, Club Events Guru

October*Please note that some events are ongoing andrun through November.*Events subject to change,

Volunteer at the Los Angeles Zoo There are several volunteer opportunities availableat the L.A. Zoo, from docents to office work tospecial events. If you like animals and kids, thisevent is for you.

Date(s): DailyEvent Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Volunteer Time: VariesLocation: 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles Contact: (323) 644-4703 or

www.lazoo.org/volunteering.html

Project Angel Food “Project Angel Food’s mission is to nourish thebody and spirit of men, women and childrenaffected by HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses.The Project Angel Food Program delivers freenutritious meals prepared with love.” Volunteeropportunities include: delivering meals, preparingmeals at the Hollywood location, assisting in theoffice and participating in events.

Date(s): Mon. – Fri., Sun.Event Time: 8 a.m. – noon, 1 - 4 p.m. Volunteer Time: 2-4 hoursLocation: 7574 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood Contact: (323) 845-1816 or

www.angelfood.org

Reading to Kids If you like reading and like helping kids learn,then this opportunity is perfect for you. TheReading Club meets every Saturday and provideschildren with a great educational experience.

Date(s): Saturdays (Call to confirm)Event Time: 9 a.m. – noon Volunteer Time: 3 hoursLocation: Elementary schools near

Downtown L.A. Contact: (310) 479-7455 or

www.readingtokids.org

Feed the Soul While Helping Feedthe Hungry at L.A.’s Food Bank“We need to make care packages for women withinfants, children and senior citizens. If you want tovolunteer this is a great way to help out your com-munity.”

Date(s): Saturdays (call to confirm)Event Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Volunteer Time: 3 hoursLocation: L.A. Food Bank, 1734 East 41st St.,

Los AngelesContact: (323) 234-3030 or

www.lafightshunger.org

Tutors for Santa Monica Children “Tutor elementary school children in reading andwriting. Training provided. Work with children inclassroom or one-to-one after class. Tutors work inSanta Monica schools where half of children fromlower income families.”

Date(s): Through Nov. 30Event Time: Vary Volunteer Time: 1 hour/weekLocation: Vary throughout

Santa Monica schools Contact: WISE America Reads

(310) 394-9871 x452

Hospice Volunteer Opportunity “Do you enjoy working with an energetic team inthe office? This is an opportunity to enjoy beingwith an energetic team who are each working toserve each patient and family member we haveduring the end of life’s journey.” Several volunteeropportunities available.

Date(s): Through Dec. 20Event Time: 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Volunteer Time: 4 hours/monthLocation: Odyssey Healthcare,

1900 W. Garvey Ave. #200,West Covina

Contact: (626) 851-4000 or www.odsyhealth.com

Autry National Center Museum Docent “Docents are tour guides who commit to providingenjoyable experiences for visitors of all ages. Joinscholars, curators and educators as we explore theAmerican West through history and artifacts at theMuseum of the American West in Griffith Park.”

Date(s): Through Nov. 30Event Time: 1 – 4 p.m.Volunteer Time: 4 hours/weekLocation: 4700 Western Heritage Way

Los Angeles Contact: (323) 667-2000 x2

or www.autry-museum.org

Retired Teachers for PawprintsLiteracy Plus Foundation“Pawprints Literacy Plus Foundation helps fightilliteracy by using animal stories to involve kids –and adults including seniors – in reading and cre-ative writing, plus listening and speaking exercis-es. We are looking for: Ability to work effectivelywith youngsters grades 1-12 (any combination ofgrade level useful). Must be proficient in languagearts, able to manage discipline without a heavyhand. Ability to talk with others in the L.A. com-munity, to help in fundraising efforts – trainingprovided for both program and fundraising.”

Date(s): Through Dec. 31Event Time: Vary Volunteer Time: 10 hours per weekLocation: Brentwood VillageContact: (310) 471-5048

or www.inaspawprints.com

Public Education Ambassadorsfor Multiple Sclerosis Associationof America “Public Educational Ambassadors use their com-munication skills to represent the MultipleSclerosis Association of America and America’sCharities at public speaking events. These eventsinclude workplace giving campaigns, health fairsand regionally organized public education events.We are looking for people who have good publicspeaking skills and can convey our mission to peo-ple in a public setting.”

Date(s): Through Dec. 20Event Time: Vary Volunteer Time: 3 hoursLocation: Vary Contact: (800) 532-7667 or www.msaa.com

Event Assistant forFlintridge Foundation “Assisting Flintridge Foundation CommunityServices Team members in preparing, setting upand processing payments for CS workshops/lunch-eons. Volunteer helps in greeting guests and staysfor luncheon. The volunteer position offers achance to meet new people while helping the com-munity in a pleasant environment.”

Date(s): Through Nov. 30Event Time: 10:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Volunteer Time: 6 hours/monthLocation: 1040 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena Contact: Volunteer Center of L.A.

(626) 449-0839 or www.flintridgefoundation.org

Latino Book and Family Festival This “weekend event promotes literacy, cultureand education in a fun environment for the wholefamily. Volunteers are needed to assist with set upand breakdown, to staff the booths and differentvillages such as the Children’s Village, to directguests, etc. Minimum age for volunteers is 18.”

Date(s): Oct. 22-23Event Time: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Volunteer Time: 4 hoursLocation: Pomona, Call for more info.Contact: Volunteer Center of L.A.

(818) 908-5066 or www.vcla.net

2005 Make a Difference Dayin Panorama City “We need volunteers to help beautify PanoramaCity by cleaning up, picking out trash and debrisand more. This event will begin from PartheniaPark, along Roscoe, Sepulveda and Van NuysBoulevards and other surrounding streets. Thiscould be a wonderful event for your group, yourfamily and friends!”

Date(s): Oct. 22Event Time: 8 a.m. – noonVolunteer Time: 4 hoursLocation: Panorama City, Call for more info.Contact: Volunteer Center of L.A.


L.A. Cancer Challenge “This is a 5-K to 10-K run/walk benefiting a non-profit whose mission is to create awareness of pan-creatic cancer research needs and ongoing fight ofvictims for a cure. Volunteers duties on day ofevent vary from setup to breakdown, cheeringwalkers and runners, assisting at the registrationdesk, staffing water stations and more. Help is alsoneeded before the event day for promotional, mar-keting, data entry and administration work at theNorth Hollywood main office. These hours can beflexible, nights and weekends.”

Date(s): Oct. 30Event Time: 5 a.m. – noonVolunteer Time: 4 hoursLocation: West Los Angeles

Call for more info.Contact: Volunteer Center of L.A.


Give ofYourself...and Get BackBy Michelle MorenoClub Events Guru

Hello retirees!

Welcome to Retirees on theMove – our newest editionto “The Best Years.” Myname is Michelle, a.k.a.“Events Guru,” and I’mhere to give you some con-structive suggestions foryour free time, should youhave some (we know thatretired doesn’t necessarilymean retiring!) Everymonth I will post somegreat events, activities, vol-unteer opportunities andmore. And please don’t for-get about volunteering …the Club feels that givingback is important.) So nowthat we’re done with intro-ductions, let’s get started.

There are several greatvolunteer opportunitiesout there just waiting foryour participation.Anything from creatingmeals for the sick, tutoringchildren, teaching the pub-lic about animals, beingkind to those who aredying, to feeding the poor.These are great ways tolend a helping hand tothose less fortunate.

So make sure you keepan eye out for Retirees OnThe Move every month.Also, if you would like tolist some events or oppor-tunities, please send themin to [email protected] or 350 S.Figueroa St. Suite 700, LosAngeles, 90071. You canalso call me at (800) 464-0452. Thanks for readingand have a great October.

Some of the listed volun-teer opportunities werefound at:

www.idealist.orgwww.volunteermatch.org


Firefighters from Fire Station 77 receive an award from CouncilwomanWendy Greuel.

A front view of Fire Station 77.

Firefighters on horseback watch the ceremony.

From left: Thomas with Councilwoman Wendy Greuel,Second District.

Manny Figueras repre-sented Senator RichardAlarcon, 20th District.

LAFD Chief WilliamBammatre.

Gary Lee Moore, CityEngineer.

Jay Grodin, President ofFire Commission.

Alex Padilla, President,City Council.

FIRE DEPT. — Sun Valley received its newest firestation, 77, in a grand opening ceremony Sept. 17at the site of the new facility, 9224 Sunland Blvd.

Master of Ceremony was Battalion Chief LouRoupoli, Community Liaison Officer. The invo-cation was led by LAFD Chaplain Deron Jones.The National Anthem was sung by Teri Akahoshi,daughter of Capt. Akahoshi.

Dignitaries in attendance included MayorAntonio Villaraigosa; Councilmembers AlexPadilla, Wendy Greuel and Tony Cardenas;Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez; Fire ChiefWilliam Bamattre, Yolanda Fuentes,Commissioner, Board of Public Works; and GaryLee Moore, City Engineer.

Old Fire Station 77 opened in 1941 and servedthe Sun Valley, Sunland and Tujunga communi-ties, mainly farmlands and orchards. The fire sta-tion was built at a combined cost of $35,625 forland and construction. The lot was just less than18,000 square feet, and the building itself wasjust more than 4,200 square feet. The kitchen wasremodeled in 1978 and electric apparatus doors

were added in 1979. However, the fire stationwas too small and did not allow flexibility to effi-ciently house the necessary equipment and per-sonnel. It was overcrowded and antiquated.

By comparison, the new station sits on one andone quarter acres of land and the building itself is15,000 square feet. This station’s district coversand area of approximately14 square miles.Specific hazards to this district include heavybrush, large industrial complexes, residential andvarious recycling and reprocessing facilities. Withthe ever-increasing population and call load, it isanticipated that by 2010, response will increaseby 10.7 percent, while the population is expectedto increase by 23 percent.

The new facility provides ample space to houseadditional staff and equipment, including anEMS District Office and an Explorer Post. Thisfacility can also be used as a staging area forlarge-scale emergencies. New Fire Station 77 hasthe capacity and capability to expand to meet theneeds of this area for the next 50 years.

Tony Cardenas,Councilmember, SixthDistrict.

A firefighter from Fire Station 88 talks to the public.

Assemblywoman CindyMontanez, 39th District.

A Fire Explorer grills for the crowd.

Yolanda Fuentes,Commissioner, Board ofPublic Works.

From left: Alex Padilla, President, City Council;Councilwoman Wendy Greuel; Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa;and Thomas.

The crowd inside the new Fire Station.

Open for Servicen LAFD opens Fire Station 77 in Sun Valley.

Story by Bev Haro, Club Counselor, Photos by Summy Lam, Club IT Analyst

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

From left to right: Captain Arnett, 27 years; Firefighter Maricano, 1 year; Engineer Donckels, 24 years; Firefighter/Paramedic Dula, 19 years

Paramedic Captain Richard Griffin

Fire Station 77


The City Kicks In

in Harm’s Way

Councilmembers contribute to the American Red Cross relief effort.

From left: Councilman Greig Smith; a representative of Ralphs; CouncilmenTony Cardenas and Dennis P. Zine; Council President Alex Padilla;Councilwoman Wendy Greuel; and another representative of Ralphs.

From left: Councilmembers Bernard Parks, Jan Perry and Dennis Zinepitching the relief effort to all who drove by City Hall.

Part of the LAFD’s team sent to the gulfstates was the department’s Swift WaterRescue Team. Below is an overview of theteam, written by Capt. Bud Gundersen.— Ed.

A 15-year-old boy rides his bicyclealongside the L.A. River. He stares downin fascination at the raging water below.The normally dry and dull concrete LARiver has come to life with a vengeance.Reaching out to save his falling bicycle,the boy falls into the water and floatsdownstream mile after mile while res-cuers try in vain to save his life.

Los Angeles is home to 470 miles offlood control channels and more than2,000 miles of storm drains. Over thepast decade, L.A. County has averagedmore than 100 channel incidents withsix drownings per year. One third of thedrownings are “would-be” rescuers whofall in and become victims themselves.In order to minimize the loss of life fromwater related emergencies such as theone mentioned above, the L.A. CityCouncil established a River Rescue TaskForce back in 1992. Rescue techniquesand technology were researched anddeveloped by our Fire Department.Today, the LAFD has a true state-of-the-art swift water rescue program.

Swift Water Rescue Teams are activat-ed and pre-deployed to strategic loca-tions whenever heavy rains are predict-ed. The teams do not work alone, but areone part of a total system that includesthe coordinated efforts of all surround-ing agencies and jurisdictions. The

LAFD works closely with surroundingfire departments, lifeguards and policeand sheriff departments. All LAFD firecompanies are trained and equipped fora land-based river rescue. All fire com-panies carry flotation rings, throw bags,personal floatation devices and helmets.The Swift Water Rescue Teams do theactual in water rescue when possible.

Dispatching emergency resourcesahead of a rapidly moving victimrequires extensive preplanning and coor-dination of forces. Waterways aremapped and variable water speeds arecalculated. Accuracy in predicting thevictim’s rate of travel is essential for asuccessful rescue. First responding firecompanies are dispatched to the report-ed sighting location and two separatedownstream floatation points, whererescue sites will be established. A riverrescue dispatch consists of one AssistantChief, one Battalion Chief, two taskforces (hook and ladder truck along witha two piece engine company), three sin-gle engine companies, one rescue ambu-lance, two helicopters and two swiftwater rescue teams. SWR teams consistof four LAFD members and two L.A.County Lifeguards. This adds up to 57emergency personnel per dispatch!

Victim travel and rescue points arecalculated using: 1) The elapsed timefrom the first victim sighting until actu-al reporting. 2) The elapsed time fromcall reception to dispatch. 3) Maximumriver flow speeds. 4) A 7-minuteresponse time. 5) A 3 1/2 minute setup

time. This information is used by ourdispatch computer to recommend setuplocations and rescue points. Float timesfor each downstream location providerescuers with an approximate time forvictim arrival. The actual victim’s loca-tion will be verified and updated byshore-based personnel and helicopterobservation. Methods of rescue at dif-ferent locations are preplanned.

Rescue techniques very according tochannel size, wall angles, water depth,flow speeds and available access. Firstresponding fire companies will attempt aland-based rescue using throw bags,floatation rings, tension lines and 2.5-inch fire hose, which is inflated with airand suspended above the water. SwiftWater Rescue Teams will perform in-water rescues using ropes, rescueboards, nets and rescue watercraft(Yamaha personal watercraft are cur-rently in use.) Controlling motorizedwatercraft in narrow channels with fast-moving water is extremely difficult anddangerous. Helicopters are also used asan integral part of the rescue force andcan affect a rescue in many situations.

As the speed of the flowing waterincreases, so does the difficulty and dan-ger of a rescue operation. Water movingat 10 mph will exert 400 pounds persquare inch (psi) of pressure on a sta-tionary object in the water (such as aperson who is trapped, pinned or tryingto hold on to a rescue line.) Water at 20mph will exert 1600 psi on a stationaryobject. Even the strongest swimmer can-

The LAFD’s Swift Water Rescue Team

n Here in L.A.,Councilmembers leadefforts for Katrina relief.

Photos by Angel Gomez, Robert Lariosand Arlene Herrero, Club Staffers; andEva Kandarpa, Aide to CouncilwomanJan Perry

COUNCIL — In two separate efforts, theCity Council raised money to assist inKatrina relief efforts.

Both efforts took place Sept. 7.In the first, Councilmembers Bernard

Parks and Jan Perry headed a joint effortbetween the City of Los Angeles and localmedia outlets, raising $80,000 for theSalvation Army’s hurricane relief effort.

The relief drive took place at the CivicCenter . Perry and Parks began their dayearly at City Hall, standing with volunteersto collect donations from passing cars onthe street. They were joined throughout theday by their Council colleagues.

In another effort on the same day,Councilman Dennis P. Zine was joined byCouncilmembers Wendy Greuel, TonyCardenas, Greig Smith and CouncilPresident Alex Padilla at a Ralphs GroceryStore in Woodland Hills to encourage LosAngeles residents to make cash donationsto the American Red Cross at all localRalphs stores.

Ralphs has partnered with the AmericanRed Cross to collect cash donations via col-lection canisters at their local stores. Thecouncilmembers each made a $100 cashdonation to the cause.

Engineers,Firemen andOthers in GulfContinued from Page 1Katrina

Team was dispatched. And then, on Aug. 31, theLAFD’s Urban Search and Rescue (USA&R)Task Force (CA-TF1) was deployed. TheUSA&R is a 70-member team staffed by LAFDpersonnel, Structural Engineers from theBuilding and Safety, canine search handlers fromthe Department and civilian ranks, and doctorsfrom private industry. The US&R Unit coordi-nates the training and development of this multi-agency response system.

LAFD Firefighter Brian LaBrie, a member ofthe department’s first team to be deployed, theSwift Water Rescue team, told the Signal newspa-per in the Santa Clarita Valley that the situationin New Orleans was the worst he had ever seenin his 17-year career. LaBrie was also quoted say-ing that, their first night in the water, his teamrescued 197 adults and 40 children.

The LAFD’s USA&R team was also employedin New York in the days following 9-11.

FEMA (the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency) deployed USA&R task forces andIncident Support Teams to areas in Alabama,Louisiana and Mississippi impacted byHurricane Katrina, including teams fromCalifornia, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland,Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

The deployment of the two City teams came asa direct response to a formal request made throughthe California Governor’s Office of EmergencyServices. There had been some controversy nation-wide about the deployment of rescue forces. OnMonday, Aug. 29, Michael D. Brown, then-UnderSecretary of Homeland Security for EmergencyPreparedness and Response and then-head of theFederal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), urged all fire and emergency servicesdepartments not to respond to counties and statesaffected by Hurricane Katrina without beingrequested and lawfully dispatched by state andlocal authorities under mutual aid agreements andthe Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

In addition to the personnel, the LAFD sentfour LAFD vehicles, three inflatable boats, tech-nical rescue equipment and supplies to the GulfCoast via military air transport.

The Los Angeles Fire Department teammeshed closely with local, regional, State andFederal resources in responding to acute life safe-ty needs created by storm activity. Along withskill and experience, these specially trained LosAngeles Firefighters, all certified in multipleforms of water rescue, brought compassion andsupport to the many who have been affected bythis monumental storm.

The brave City employees dispatched to theGulf started returning to Los Angeles the week ofSept. 12. Alive! plans to have a comprehensivereport on their heroism in the November issue.


Officer Taylor helps in the Civic CenterSalvation Army Katrina relief effort.

LAPD Mechanics Louis Trinidad and Douglas Lee present acheck to Councilwoman Jan Perry in support of HurricaneKatrina Relief. $500 was donated to The Salvation Army fromSEIU 347 Chapter of LAPD Motor Transport Division.

Councilman Dennis Zine con-tributes $100 to the AmericanRed Cross relief effort.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel expresses her thoughts onthe Katrina disaster and asks the City to pull together tohelp fellow Americans.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa assists the relief effort.

From left: Councilman Bernard Parks, Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa and Councilwoman Jan Perry collect moneyfor the Salvation Army.

Councilmen Bernard Parks and Dennis Zine collected hun-dreds of dollars.

Councilwoman Jan Perry and City employees fromdozens of departments were seen at the Civic Centerrelief drive. Photo provided by Eva Kandarpa, PressDeputy, Office of Councilwoman Jan Perry.

Councilwoman Jan Perry and City employees from dozensof departments were seen at the Civic Center relief drive.Photo provided by Eva Kandarpa, Press Deputy, Office ofCouncilwoman Jan Perry.

not fight this type of pressure.Victims either are forced down-stream, pinned and crushed, or lift-ed to glide on top of the flowingwater as they hang on to an objectsuch as a rope. Channel speeds canreach 30 mph, where a victim canfloat the length of a football field in6.5 seconds. This type of rescuework is not for the timid.

Swift Water Rescue Teams are astrong life-saving asset to our City.However, they are not confinedstrictly to local use. The teams canalso be activated and deployed toother jurisdictions when seriousfloods conditions threaten lives.

An equally important part of theSwift Water Rescue Program is pre-vention and education. If you haveyoung children, it is imperative thatyou teach them the dangers and con-sequences of playing in and aroundour local waterways. Additionally, ifyou should happen to view a floatingvictim in one of our waterways,immediately note the number of vic-tims, ages, color of clothing, timelast seen and the exact location. Ifpossible, give the victims a flotationdevice. Car seat cushions or any-thing handy that floats could be alifesaver. Call 911 immediately. Timeis of the essence in swift water res-cue. Hypothermia can rapidly immo-bilize even the strongest swimmer.

The City Responds to Katrina

Coming in November

First-handreports and

photos from theCity’s rescue

efforts.


Jon Mukri: That’s one of our 390 parks, theHarbor Regional Park, Lake Machado. Abouta month ago we got word that there could bean alligator in the lake, but we couldn’t seeit, and so a weekago Friday, notthis past Fridaybut two weeks ago,we actually had our firstsighting. That’s when everything started. Weshut down the lake and called in AnimalServices. I spoke to the Zoo. I spoke to RonDeaton at the DWP, because he provided theboats. The Zoo is going to provide the home,at least temporarily. So it’s a team effort.

Alive!: It’s really an inter-departmental effort.

Jon Mukri: Huge, huge, like I said, we haveeverybody down there, the LAPD, too. Youcan’t believe it. If you go down there and see it,it’s like the O.J Simpson trial. The wholeCriminal Courts building, they called it O.J.’sTent City. You go down to Lake Machado, weprobably have nine or 10 news vans with satel-lite dishes, helicopters, probably have 2,000 or3,000 citizens lining the lake, waiting.

Alive!: Is this the biggest situation like this interms of media attention and inter-departmen-tal cooperation?

Jon Mukri: Probably, yes, since I’ve beenhere. [The media] said they love stories like

this: an August fluff story, a human-inter-est story. I have spoken to people in

England; it’s on BBC. Somebody saidthey saw it in Germany, so it’s gettingworldwide attention. It’s the biggestmedia circus we’ve had.

It’s fun … but [public safety is] ourbiggest concern, obviously. When itwas reported to us, we researchedit and secured the lake to keeppeople safe. I also have a strongconcern about the environment ofthe lake, because people are goingto start throwing [things] at them.My understanding was that [spec-

tators] were throwing [food] inthere. This poor little alligator – well,

not little, six feet

long – it should not be harmed. So we havealmost three competing interests down there. Icalled the mayor the very first day, [and toldhim] that we had a positive sighting. He sup-ported catching it, safely.

PA S T A N D F U T U R E

Alive!: How long have you been the GM of Rec and Parks?

Jon Mukri: I came here February almost twoyears ago, so it’s about 19 to 20 months.

Alive!: In your message on the Rec and ParksWebsite, your last line I believe says that you wantLA’s Rec and Parks to be the best in the nation.

Jon Mukri: That’s correct.

Alive!: When will you know that this hasoccurred? What will Rec and Parks look like andwhat are your goals and initiatives to get there?

Jon Mukri: Rec and Parks has a long historyin the City of Los Angeles. We were the firstmunicipal Rec and Parks department in theUnited States over a hundred years ago. We’vebeen the innovators in various programs. We’revery proud of a program called Class Parks.There’s 47 Class Parks. They’re geared towardsat-risk youths in areas of urban impact. Wehave aquatics programs, soccer programs; wehave 37,000 kids in our basketball program, Ithink. I believe we are pretty damn good.

I also know we’re probably the largest munici-pal recreation and parks [department] in theUnited States, in terms of programming. Mygoal is to put us back on the map as the indus-try leader; I believe we are. Part of that is justpreaching our praise right now, getting outthere and showing what we’re doing. Part of itis going out and refining the training of ouremployees, letting them know just how impor-tant they are and how they fit in to the bigscheme. You know, it could be just as simple assome of our gardener caretakers and how theymaintain a park. That impacts on the quality ofthe experience, and the quality of the experi-ence transcends back into the neighborhood.That neighborhood now is better for that.

I also want to shift the focus. Everybody mightthink of Recreation and Parks as volleyballs,baseballs and soccer balls, but we’re muchmore than that. We’re into building communi-ties. We need to keep the cultural identity ofour neighborhoods. We have over 390 parksand over 425 square miles [of parks]; one sizedoes not fit all. We have the largest Asian festi-val on the West Coast, the Lotus Festival. Thenext three weekends we have the AfricanMarketplace at EPICC; we have a Salute toRecreation in the Valley, we have the IranianFestival out in the Sepulveda Basin, and the

Persian Festival on New Year. We are thereto build communities. And so I think

when you say, “How can webecome the best?” we

become the best by

letting the people know that we’re much morethan just the baseball field they see out there.

We have to start a better training program ofour employees, with higher-end freezes: therehave been five or six general managers in thelast 10 years and probably 20 assistant generalmanagers. There hasn’t been stable leadershipand vision.

I firmly believe we are one of the best munici-pal recreation programs. I also believe we canhave a bigger impact on gangs, crime andneighborhoods than LAPD. We’re more impor-tant to the communities than any other munic-ipal agency in this City. So that’s what we haveto do, to get out to the communities and havethem believe they can make a difference.

Alive!: How many employees work for Rec and Parks?

Jon Mukri: Okay, I’m going to give you threenumbers. We have 2,000 full-time positions,8,000 part-time positions and over 13,000 vol-unteers. When I say volunteers, these are peo-ple who have gone through extensive back-ground checks, they’ve gone through extensivetraining and they’re actually on site working.These are not just people who sign up for ariver cleanup. We have over 23,000 peopleworking in Recreation and Parks. And todaywe have over 74,000 kids in our day camps. So,it’s a large operation.

G R I F F I T H PA R K

Alive!: Griffith Park gets a lot of use.

Jon Mukri: We advertise it as the largestmunicipal – city – park in the United States.We have debates on that all the time, but for acity park, it’s pretty big.

Alive!: Ten years from now, will it look differ-ent? Will there be any improvements?

Jon Mukri: Griffith Park is over 4,000 acres.Working with the community, we are endeav-oring to put a master plan into all our majorparks – Griffith Park being the first one. Rightnow you have the Greek Theatre; theObservatory, undergoing extensive renovation;three golf courses; a merry-go-round; tenniscourts; a baseball field; museums; the largesteamers and the train museum and the trainride; and the pony ride. There’s a lot there.

As we look ahead, because we know the popu-lation’s going to grow, we want to figure outwhat really should be there, what it should looklike. We would love to keep it in its currentstate, meaning the historical perspective, theenvironmental [perspective], and the variouswilderness areas. But it’s getting constant use;we have joggers and equestrians using it. Thereare extensive paved roads used by bikers andjoggers and hikers. I mean, it’s huge.Surrounding Griffith Park is a very nice com-munity. If you go a few miles out you have verydense apartment-type living, so this is the onlygreen space they can have.

Our goal is to main-tain that historic

fabric but try to planfor the future,

because there will beadditional use there. As

much as we would like to, wecan’t just keep it as it is today.

Rec and Parks Builds Communities

Jon Kirk Mukri, General Manager, Recreation and Parks.

Continued from Page 1Interview


T H E O B S E R VAT O R Y

Alive!: Is the Observatory the biggest projectyou have going on right now?

Jon Mukri: Right now it’s the biggest both intime and in money and people. It’s a completerenovation of the exterior skin. We’ve added a brand-new auditorium below ground.Leonard Nimoy donated a lot of money to it.We have the Samuel Oschins,… we have theAnnenbergs … it’s a $40 or 50 million effort.Inside, it’s going to be all brand new, also.

Alive!: Is there an opening date?

Jon Mukri: May 14, 2006, Mother’s Day.

Alive!: Is there a lot of interest?

Jon Mukri: If you look at the history of theGriffith Park Observatory, the telescope in oneof the domes is the most viewed telescope inthe history ofthe world. Sothere’s tons ofinterest there.Whole familieshave grown upgoing to theObse r va to r ysince the1930s. In factwe’re gettinginternationalinterest, localinterest, VisitorBureau inter-est. [They’reasking] when isit going toopen, what’sgoing to be inthere, what’snew. And as wesee it comingcloser to completion, you’re going to see a lotof interest. We expect the same interest thatthe Getty had when they opened up their artmuseum. One of our big concerns is thatthere’s going to be so much interest we’regoing to have some crowd control problems.

Alive!: That was a big piece of L.A. when it shutdown. It’s one of the icons of LA. When you talkabout the Hollywood sign, the theme building atLAX, and the Chinese Theater, the Observatoryis right there.

Jon Mukri: You’re right, 100 percent. Let meactually give you something else to go alongwith what you’re saying. In Disneyland theyhave a mural, and it shows the face of L.A. 50years hence. The Observatory is on it. Isn’t thatamazing? So you’re right, there’s a culturalidentity of the Observatory to Los Angeles. It’spart of our fabric.

And inside, just the exhibits alone are going to[cost] well over $8 million, so they’re all goingto be brand new, although we’re going to keepthe pendulum.

Alive!: The Laserium is out?

Jon Mukri: Right, but there’s a state of the art[media production] going in there. Basicallyit’s going to be a Steven Spielberg-type produc-tion; it’s going to be the first in the world, bet-ter than anything that’s out there. Being on thebleeding edge of technology scares me a littlebit, but it’s going to be different. The wholeshow is going to be completely different; it’sgoing to be much better. We’re scripting itright now. We have professional animatorsdoing a heck of a lot of work. We had to actu-ally find a place that had thecomputing power to do thiswork, it’s that impressive.

Alive!: It’s the best of the City, as far as I’m con-cerned; it’s as powerful as the Hollywood sign.You can’t have one without the other.

Jon Mukri: No you can’t. Dr. Ed Krupp,world-renowned astronomer, is the curator.

Alive!: He’s been at it for how many years?

Jon Mukri: He’s been there well over 30years. I think he was born for this. Some peo-ple are just destined to do something.

Alive!: This will be the crowning achievementof his career. He’s given the opportunity to re-imagine what the whole experience will be forthe future.

Jon Mukri: His footprint will be on this cityfor the next hundred years. I call him “my madscientist.” We have the DWP working up there… Sanitation. Building and Safety, ITA. It isreally a lot of departments pulling together.

Alive!: It’s thebest of the Citypulling togetherfor a fantasticproject. It’s aspowerful as theHollywood sign.

Jon Mukri: Andthat dome. Thecenter dome wasbrand new about ayear ago [and] wasall shiny copper.

Alive!: Are theygoing to shine itup before [theopening]?

Jon Mukri:No, no, no.

Alive!: It is what it is.

Jon Mukri: Dr. Krupp is a stickler. He wantsto maintain that historical [feel] as much aspossible. Here’s this guy, he’s not very tall andhe’s kept himself in good shape. He’s notheavy, and he’s just the human dynamo. He’sjust fantastic.

Alive!: He’s the Tesla Coil.

Jon Mukri: Yes, but he keeps going on, andhe’ll have you enthralled.

E X P L O S I V E G R O W T H

Alive!: Do you have a favorite green space in the City?

Jon Mukri:Oh geez …well, I was bornand raised inPacoima, andso [I grew upv i s i t i n g ]Hubert Humphrey Park or Ritchie ValensPark, but then my parents moved to the westside, so then it was Mar Vista Park.

But I do have some parks that I think reflectthe culture and the growth of L.A. One of myfavorite parks is a very small disadvantagedpark, Lou Costello Park. It was donated to usby Lou Costello, of Abbott and Costello fame;he gave us the property because his youngestson unfortunately drowned, so he wanted todonate a park with a pool to teach safety. It’s inEast LA. It’s one of my favorite ones because it

really reflectswhat peoplecan do. It hasa senior cen-ter, a pre-

school, an after-school program and teenclubs. It’s very small park.

Alive!: Isn’t that why the parks system was cre-ated in the very beginning, for the youths, forthe community?

Jon Mukri:: Correct.

Alive!: Not just to have a green spot to havepicnics on, but to draw the community togetherand help kids.

Jon Mukri: The whole idea of hav-ing parks throughout the City wasto provide an area where the com-munity could gather in a non-threat-ening area. You’re not going to havea picnic at a police station or a firestation or City Hall. You go to thepark and have fields where you canhave active family recreation. That’sexactly what it was all for.

What’s happening now in the City,in every city across the UnitedStates – our population’s growing atevery single level. We have morechildren under 18 than we ever hadbefore. We have more active adultsbetween 18 and whatever, than weever had before, and we have a more

active senior population. We have probably400 seniors over the age of 90 registered in ourclubs right now, and probably 20 of them areover 100. So we have a young population, wehave an active adult population, and we haveactive seniors. So that’s one of the problemswe’re having now: We need to grow and meetthat challenge.

After the Alive! interview, from left: Jon Kirk Mukri, General Manager, Recreationand Parks, and John Hawkins, Club CEO.

On population:“Our population’s growing at every single level.

We have more children under 18 than we ever

had before. We have more active adults

between 18 and whatever, than we ever had

before, and we have a more active senior popu-

lation. We have probably 400 seniors over the

age of 90 registered in our clubs right now, and

probably 20 of them are over 100. So we have a

young population, we have an active adult pop-

ulation, and we have active seniors. So that’s

one of the problems we’re having now: We need

to grow and meet that challenge.”

On the Griffith ParkObservatory: “There’s a state of the art [media production]going in there. Basically it’s going to be aSteven Spielberg-type production; it’s going tobe the first in the world, better than anythingthat’s out there. Being on the bleeding edge oftechnology scares me a little bit, but it’s goingto be different. We’re scripting it right now.We have professional animators doing a heckof a lot of work. We had to find a place thathad the computing power to do this work, it’sthat impressive.”


— continued next page

T H R E E B I G G E S T N E E D S

Alive!: So what is the biggest need at Rec and Parks?

Jon Mukri: The biggest need of Recreationand Parks is probably threefold. Obviously weneed more parks; we need more space andmore active playgrounds. When I grew up inL.A. we probably had maybe one soccer fieldin the entire 425 square miles of LA, and thatwas predominantly a sport played by the moreaffluent members of our community, it waskind of a niche sport. Now today we needmore soccer fields. I’m not meeting the needsof soccer right now.

You can see right around here in downtown LAwe have population growth. I know for a factabout two miles away it’s the densest area forpopulation west of the Mississippi. We needmore green space, where people can come outof their apartments instead of being in the stair-wells and picnic with their kids on the park.

[Secondly], we obviously need a better-educat-ed staff to meet the challenges. We need to“do” community, what we call “CommunityNeeds Assessment.” [We need] to pound ondoors if that’s what’s necessary, to find out whatthe community wants us to be, wants us to looklike. Don’t think of me on the top of any orga-nizational chart. This is what I did at GeneralServices, too [he was the General Manager ofGeneral Services prior to coming to Rec andParks]. Put me on the bottom. I work for every-body in theorganization tomake their lifeeasier, the com-munity beingon the top. Andso if I need toget out there I’llpound downdoors.

[ T h i r d l y , ]unfortunately,we have a gangproblem inL.A., and someof our parks arevery distressed.They’re in theheart of very disadvantaged neighborhoods, sowe need to work on the safety of the parks.We’re doing that with better lighting. We’reputting remote cameras and better patrols –both the LAPD and our own park rangers.

PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Alive!: Does Rec and Parks ever consider pub-lic-private partnerships?

Jon Mukri: That started a long time ago inL.A., and so it’s nothing new. Most of the base-ball leagues are done by the Little League, butthey’re on Rec and Park facilities. We deal withthe AYSO all the time on soccer, and there’sother soccer leagues coming up.

Have you seen the T-shirts that say, “The won-derful outdoor world”? That’s a urban campingprogram sponsored by Disney; we worked withthe Disney Corporation. There’s a guy atDisney, he felt it’d be a great idea in our Cityparks to have overnight camping for the kids.In our parks we actually have overnight camp-ing. We bring rangers and naturalists, some ofwhom donated sleeping bags.

We deal with Nike. Nike just sent me a$50,000 check the other day. They do cleanupsin our parks, and we brand some of our parks.You may see a Nike swatch or sign as you walkin a park. You may go to a park and you’ll seea sign that’ll say “Nike.” You may see a back-board that has “Fox Sports” on it.

We need to do more. I need to do what thelibrary did with Friends of the Library. Weneed to really get out there, because we needto do a better job maintaining our fixed facili-ties.

Another aspect is that the LA Unified SchoolDistrict is building schools all over, so we’retrying to break down barriers on both sides todo more joint use. They have existing schoolswhere we have joint use. We have hundredsand hundreds of permits, but there’s a wholebunch of new schools going in. I met withthem the other day and they said, “We’re notputting in swimming pools, do you need swim-ming pools?” And I said, “Yes.” “Well, we’llbuild them if you program them and we canuse them.” So there’s a lot of joint use of pub-lic-public partnership and public-private part-nership going on right now. It’s the only waywe are going to survive, because the need isjust skyrocketing.

G E M S O F T H E C I T Y

Alive!: We talked about Griffith Observatory andGriffith Park. What are some of the other gemsin the City?

Jon Mukri: You have the Cabrillo Aquariumin San Pedro, and that’s a Rec and Park facili-ty. It brings students in. It’s educational, it’srecreational, it just went through a major reno-vation, and it probably ranks against anymunicipal aquarium in the country. We have

an unfair advan-tage in L.A.: theweather. Wemaintain [parks]12 months of theyear.

We also are look-ing at genderequity. And weare putting in uni-versal access play-grounds. One isclose to the zoo inGriffith Park. Weput [another] oneon Lincoln Park.Anyone physicallydisabled can come

in. Anybody with a disability, grandparentswho are wheelchair-bound, can actually go outthere now. We’re doing fantastic things.

And the Hollywood sign is Rec and Parks, bythe way.

We have campgrounds out-side LA, in SanBernardino. At MammothLakes, we have anothercamp, Camp MountainHigh. So we actually haveactive campgrounds out-side of the City of LosAngeles. In fact the MountainHigh campground got like 180inches of snow. We just opened it upwithin the last month. That’s how much snowis there.

On partnerships: “I met with [L.A. Unified] the other day, andthey said, “We’re not putting in swimmingpools, do you need swimming pools?” And Isaid, “Yes.” “Well, we’ll build them if you pro-gram them and we can use them.” So there’sa lot of joint use of public-public partnershipand public-private partnership going on rightnow. It’s the only way we are going to survive,because the need is just skyrocketing.”

Jon Kirk MukriBirthplace: Los Angeles

Education: St. Monica High School, Santa Monica (he was the “most valuable player on the basketball team in 1968”); Loyola MarymountUniversity, Westchester; USC, Los Angeles; University of California,Irvine.

Marital status: Single

Family: Four children, two grandchildren.

First job with the City: Assistant General Manager, General Services.

Favorite movie: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Love, Actually.

Music: “There’s not a type of music I don’t like.”

Favorite place to go Viva Fresh Restaurant, on Riverside Drive,on Friday nights: where I listens to country music.

Favorite band: The Rolling Stones

Can you dance? “Not a lick.”

Favorite candy: Snickers bars.

Favorite phrase: “Every day is a holiday; every meal’s a banquet.”

Favorite heroes: The Founding Fathers of the United States.

Any regrets: “Not yet, not a regret yet.”

Best advice he ever got: “Support your people.”



Kids playing at the Cabrillo Aquarium in San Pedro

Jon Kirk Mukri, GeneralManager, Recreation and Parks.

INTERDEPARTMENTAL EFFORTS

Alive!: Do you work with Cultural Affairs?

Jon Mukri: We do work with Cultural Affairs.Cultural Affairs [has] a few museums, theWatts Towers, and a few cultural events, but weshare some facilities [including] the FrankLloyd Wright House, Barnsdell Park; we do aprogram up there. Cultural Affairs used to bepart of Recreation and Parks, just like the zoo.I don’t know when all these things started split-ting up, but I think we need to look at comingunder more of an agency that looks at allaspects of the community, not just Recreationand Parks – Children, Youth and the Family,Department of Aging. Sometimes we competeat the budget table. We compete for grants,and then sometimes we cross wires.

N A V Y M A N , C I T Y M A N

Alive!: What’s the best thing about being a Cityemployee?

Jon Mukri: I spent 22 years in the Navy asyou know, and I came to the City two daysafter I retired from the Navy.

Alive!: Two days?

Jon Mukri: I retired January 1 and I camehere January 3. Don’t ask me why. When I leftthe Navy, I had plenty of leave on the books, Icould’ve taken two months off and not misseda beat. But I think this job is the best job I’veever had in my life, and the reason is, we affectpeople, real people, every single day.

When I was at General Services, it was won-derful. I loved it. We did everything internal tosupport the City, and I really felt great about it.

This is completely different. I never worked asmany hours a week in the Navy as I do here.My day starts at 5:30 every single morning.And you say, “Every … single … morning?”Every single morning [including] Saturdaysand Sundays; you can look at my schedule, Ithink we have the Wheelchair Tournament thisSaturday, which starts awfully early in themorning. And with the neighborhood councilsand community, we interact every night. Lastweek I was down in Venice Beach, and the nextday I was catching Harry the Alligator. I’venever put in this many hours. But I thinkwhat’s gratifying about the City is youhave real positive results. We’reaffecting people in the communi-ty, we’re developing future lead-ers in the department, and I’llalso tell you if I were marriedand had a family at home Icouldn’t do this job, it’s thatintense. But it’s gratifying. It’s longhours, but it’s fun.

Alive!: What was your first job with the City?

Jon Mukri: Assistant General Manager atGeneral Services, I came there after I retiredfrom the Navy at El Toro, as, let me think ofthe title, Commander of Western Bases Area

Logistics Officer. [As part of] of the FirstMarine Expeditionary Force, we figured out allthe logistics, so it was a huge job. And so I justgot to a point in time in my military careerwhen I wanted to retire. At the time I was mar-ried and I was in bed eating donuts with mydog, drinking coffee, Sunday morning. I saw anad in the paper in the back of the Business sec-tion of the LA Times. I applied for an AssistantGeneral Manager job with the City of LA, andthe rest is history, I applied and it took about ayear and a half and various interview process. Iworked for Randall Bacon at GSD, and AlvinBlain actually worked for me. I promoted AlvinBlain three times there. So that’s how I cameto the City.

I was able to parlay 22 years of military experi-ence. I started out as a naval aviator, I spentnine years in nuclear submarines, I …

Alive!: You spent nine years on a nuke sub?

Jon Mukri: Right, yeah,I’ve got pictures ofmy nukes. “41 forF r e e d o m . ”“Make turnsfor 40, or maketurns for 20knots …” It allcomes back toyou sometimes.But [when] I start-ed, I was the SupplyOfficer on the US NathanHale, SSBN 623. At the time, supply peoplewere the scum of the earth. And what hap-pened was, when I stopped flying, when theVietnam War ended, I just said, “Send me toschool, I’ll be a supply officer.”

Alive!: You flew during Vietnam?

Jon Mukri: Yeah.

Alive!: Where did you fly?

Jon Mukri: Just in the training command, butwhen they stopped bombing in the north in‘73, all of us in the flight school wanted to juststop. I flew all the trainers that they had, T34s,T28, TSTs. I was being trained, I never got mywings but we were weeks away.

Alive!: Have you flown since then?

Jon Mukri: Nah. You have to understand,when you fly a high-performance Naval air-craft and you’re doing aerobatics, bombingruns and simulated carrier falls, boring holes inthe sky just doesn’t excite me.

When I was in flight school, my buddy fromCleveland and I would go up and we’d switchour radios to the local Country and Western[station], and we’d just have a ball. They werepaying [me] to do this. It was a blast.

Alive!: Did you ever get launched off a carrier?

Jon Mukri: Not off a carrier, but they did sim-ulator launches and they did simulated ejec-tion seats. But then I went into submarinesbecause I had a lot of science when I was in

college. I was going to be a doctor –I was pre-med at Loyola – so I

had all the math and all thescience. When I graduatedfrom supply school, I wasone of nine guys who wentto sub school in Groton,Connecticut. After that, I

stayed nine years on subs,went on all of them. We even

went on a diesel sub, the USSTrout, that we sold to Iran. I was

part of the turnover crew. But then theShah was overthrown. You want to talk about aweird time: They [the Iranians] actually kickedus all off the [boat], went out and hung twoguys, and came back in port, because the [vic-

tims] were anti-Shah. Talk about a weird timein life.

And as a supply officer I actually became theship’s diving officer, which was unheard of.

Alive!: Usually officers don’t do that.

Jon Mukri: Yeah, I was Command DutyOfficer in port and under way, I was Officer ofthe Deck Submerged, Surface and Submerged,I was a Battle Stations OD. At the time theCommodore asked me if I wanted to go to

Nuclear Power School, and I actually metAdmiral [Hymen] Rickover. He was a littletiny guy; he just, you know, ruled the roost.And so I spent nine years doing that. Andthen later on as I got more senior I said,eventually this ride’s going to end. I hadn’t

saved a nickel, you don’t save a penny, youget paid nothing and you’re all over the world.

I went over to Manila. I worked at the embassywhen Marcos was the [president]. [I wasthere] three-and-a half years, I actually workedfor Marcos.

I went to the Admiral and said, “Where the helldo you see the Philippines?” [on his preferencesheet]. He said “We need somebody to gooverseas,” and I said “Fine, send me toBermuda, send me to Germany, send me toScotland, I’ll do any of that.” He says, “You’regoing to the Philippines.” I said “Look,Admiral” … and it was a very short interview.He says, “You’re going to the Philippines.You’re going to go there, and in six months ifyou don’t like it, you give me a personal phonecall and we’ll do something about it.” I count-ed down the days, and just about came to thesixth month and I said, “This ain’t bad.” I wasthere when Aquino was assassinated. It was astrange time.

Have you ever seen An Officer and aGentleman?

Alive!: Yeah.

Jon Mukri: That’s exactly what it was like, theMarine Drill Instructors. They were going toteach you how to be an officer, and it’s veryintensive. Of the 140 guys who came, I thinkthere were 15 of us who were actually commis-sioned. That was the attrition rate, in 16 weeks.Almost overnight, half the people just couldn’ttake it. The psychological and physical[demands] were just unbelievable.

Later, Gatorn LAFD captures rogue alligator, places it in care ofAnimal Services.

REC AND PARKS — On Sept. 8, one compa-ny of Los Angeles Firefighters, one UrbanSearch and Rescue team, and one BattalionChief Officer Command team under thedirection of Battalion Commander DarenPalacios, responded to the intersection ofPacific Coast Highway and the HarborFreeway on a reported alligator sighting in aflood control channel near Machado Lake inthe Wilmington area.

Upon arrival, Firefighters found a smallalligator approximately two or three feetlong in the flood channel. Firefighters werefamiliar with this alligator and had beensummoned several times over the past fewdays to assist Rec and Parks and private alli-gator handlers with two separate alligatorsightings in this area.

Rec and Parks had set up nets in the areain an effort to catch this alligator.Firefighters, using ingenuity, developed aplan to move the nets into position at oppo-site ends of the channel to box the alligatorin. As the alligator struggled to get past thenets and back to its safe location, it becametired and less combative.

In an effort to catch the alligator in arelaxed state, a firefighter was placed on theend of an aerial ladder and extended approx-imately 60 feet over the alligator’s position.The firefighter skillfully lowered a hand heldnet into the water and was able to capturethe alligator and bring it ashore.

No injuries were reported.The alligator was initially placed in the

care of Animal Services. The animal’s finaldestination was to be determined by thatagency.

At press time, it is unclear as to whetherthis alligator is the same one that caused astir in the Lake Machado area in August.

Admiral [Hymen] Rickover.

Jon Kirk Mukri during his days as a Navy pilot.

Alive!: You passed the 20-year mark.

Jon Mukri: 21, almost 22 years. I just decid-ed I wanted to stay in L.A. I had no jobprospects, that’s the scary thing. When thegreen eagle’s paying you for 22 years, it gets alittle scary.

B U I L D I N G G O O D C I T I Z E N S

Alive!: Getting back to Rec and Parks one lasttime, what is key to the Department’s future?

Jon Mukri: It’s amazing what we do in Recand Parks. Our real key is to be an active par-ticipant in building good citizens and buildingleaders of the future. I’m really trying to shifttowards cultural and community development,to get the communities actively involved intheir parks.

Alive!: Jon, thank you very much.

Jon Mukri: No, thank you.

The USS Nathan Hale




n Brittany Stephens, daughterof Club Member RobertStephens, has earned the prize.Two others are also awarded.

THE CLUB — Brittany English Stephens wentfrom a competitive athlete to seriously injuredhiker to budding scientist … and then to ClubScholarship winner.

Brittany, who won the $3,000 scholarship, wasthe choice of the Club’s Scholarship committee.Hundreds of applications were submitted.

Winners of the $1,000 scholarship prizes wereAlan Le, son of Anh Le, Public Works, andTremeshia Casey, daughter of MarinettaHughes, Airports.

Brittany attends UCLA. She graduated fromCalabasas High School last May. Her father,Robert Stephens, is an Electric Station Operatorfor the DWP.

At Calabasas, she was on the Honor Roll allfour years, graduating with a GPA of 4.2. She wasan AP Scholar, a Golden State Scholar and aGold Seal bearer. She was the co-president of the

Earth Resource Club, the co-president of theTutoring Center, a student election poll worker, astream team member for Heal the Bay, a volun-teer for the Mountains Restoration Trust, a read-er and director for the Recording for the Blindand Dyslexic group, and a member of the SonriseYouth Group. She was the salutatorian for hergraduating class.

She was also involved in soccer, track andcross-country until she was seriously injured. Inher scholarship application essay, she wrote: “Iinjured both my knees three years ago, hikingoutside Yosemite … here I was, reduced to thecouch, crutches and casts. Throughout my life, Ihave been remarkably competitive, and I haveheld extremely high expectations for myself andstrived fiercely to achieve them …

“But the small act of getting through a day ofschool became a trying experience, where justputting on a smile was difficult. I needed help togo anywhere because lifting my casted leg wasdifficult and painful, yet the emotional side wasmuch more traumatizing.

“After injuring my knees and being ratherimmobile, a backpacking trip through the Sierrasseemed unlikely, but I met this challenge head-

on, deciding to do everything possible to achievemy goal. Heaving my 50-pound pack, I reachedthat summit and achieved a victory I neverthought possible. By refusing to give up, I learnedthe importance of endurance and faith.”

“We are honored to be able to award this schol-arship to Brittany,” said Club CEO JohnHawkins. “When the scholarship committee rec-ommended her for the top prize, I was blownaway. We want to encourage her further studiesand activities as much as we can.

“She speaks to the quality of our ClubMembers,” Hawkins said.

Awarded $1,000 awards were Tremisha Caseyand Alan Le. Tremisha, the daughter ofMarinetta Hughes, Airports, is a junior at EmoryUniversity in Atlanta. At Emory, she is a memberof the National Society of Collegiate Scholarsand an inductee onto the National Dean’s list.She is a mentor for at-risk youths, a teacher anda volunteer at several area nonprofits.

Alan, the son of Anh Le, Public Works, attendsUCLA. At Simi Valley High School, he carried a4.55 grade point average. He participated in anacademic decathlon, was the president of the KeyClub, the activities director of the Interact Club,

a member of the California ScholarshipFederation, and took part in the mock trial pro-gram and track and field. He has been a lab assis-tant, and he volunteers his time with a number oforganizations.

Congratulations to the winners, and bestof luck to everyone who applied.

Brittany English Stephens, winner of the 2005 ClubScholarship.

Brittany Takes Top Prize With Club Scholarship

NewsbriefsCLEANER PORT

The Port of Los Angeles announced that thevoluntary Vessel Speed Reduction Program(VSRP), which calls for ships to reduce theirspeed to 12 knots or less within a 20-mileradius of the ports of Los Angeles and LongBeach, saved more than 100 tons of nitrogenoxide (NOx) from going into the air in the firstquarter of 2005. This translates into an averagedaily savings of 1.1 tons of NOx.

“We are very pleased with the amount ofNOx being eliminated with the Vessel SpeedReduction program,” said Port InterimExecutive Director Bruce E. Seaton. “But wecan do better. We want the compliance zoneincreased to 40 nautical miles, which is theinfluence area used by the Southern CaliforniaAir Quality Management District to determinebasin emissions.”

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beachimplemented the voluntary VSRP in 2001 as ameasure contributing to the ozone reductiongoals in the 2003 State Implementation Planfor Marine Vessel Emissions ControlStrategies. Currently, nearly 70 percent of ship-ping lines calling at the ports participate in thevoluntary program.

LIBRARY E-MAILThe Los Angeles Public Library is offering

new e-mail services. You can be automaticallynotified by e-mail when your materials areoverdue and when items you have reserved areready for pickup. These notices are in additionto the “courtesy e-mail notices” that are sentout four days prior to materials being due.Notices can also be sent out in Spanish. Toreceive all of these notices, an e-mail addressneeds to be entered into your patron record. Toadd an e-mail address, please visit any branch,or use the Change of Address Form.

PREPAREDNESS FUNDS:Andy Mitchell, Director of the Department

of Homeland Security’s Office for DomesticPreparedness, presented the Harbor Dept.with a symbolic check for $11.4 million for thefifth and latest round of security funding. ThePort of Long Beach also received a symboliccheck for $12.8 million. At the ceremony, mod-erated by U.S. Coast Guard Captain of thePort Peter Neffenger, Mitchell presented thechecks to Noel Cunningham, Port of LosAngeles Director of Operations andEmergency Management, and CosmoPerrone, Port of Long Beach Director ofSecurity. The Port Security Grant Program wasdesigned to address key national priorities byhelping to protect ports against small craft,underwater attacks and vehicle-born impro-vised explosive devices.


527Chief Bernard Wilson poses with his colleagues.

Chief Bernard Wilson receives a certificate from Kim Day,Executive Director, Airports.

From left: Shermona Richards and Marlo Richardson.

From left: Erin Henning; Janice Guevara; Martha Vasquez;and Ginney Pruitt.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson and Randy Parson, FBI.

Chief Bernard Wilson receives a certificate from the Council District.

From left: Larry Henderson, Airport Police; and AndreConey, Airport Police.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson and Ana Hinojosa, AreaPort Director.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson and Cliff Wallace, TSA.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson; Joe Santoro, Rio HondoAcademy; and Barbara Keith, Rio Hondo Academy.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson and Margaret Jeter,American Airlines.

From left: Laponda Fitchpatrick, Chief Bernard Wilson andJanice Guevara.

From left: Lt. Leon Nixon, Los Angeles Airport PoliceSupervisors Association, with Chief Bernard Wilson.

From left: Chief Bernard Wilson and Phyllis Hayes,Association of Airport Employees.

Chief Bernard Wilson gives his farewell speech.

Chief Bernard Wilson admires a gift from his staff.

Hail to the Chiefn Chief Bernard Wilson retiresfrom LAX Airport Police.

Story and photos by Liz Montes, ClubCounselor

AIRPORTS — Chief of Los Angeles Airport PoliceBernard J. Wilson retired after 30 years of Cityservice to pursue new opportunities. A receptionwas held in his honor Aug. 18 at the LAX FlightPath Museum in Westchester.

Wilson was appointed Chief of Airport Policein April 1999. At the same time, he was designat-ed to hold the federally mandated position ofAirport Security Coordinator for LAX. In bothroles, he has been responsible for physical securi-ty of the six-square-mile airport facility with atotal population of travelers, non-traveling visi-tors and airport employees estimated at morethan 140 million annually.

Wilson has served as a key decision-maker fornumerous major crisis incidents, including air-craft accidents, labor disputes, bomb threats, nat-ural disasters, industrial accidents, terrorist inci-dents and major crime events. As an instructor inaviation security, terrorism and traveler victimiza-tion, Wilson has instructed hundreds of policeand security officers from around the world. InFebruary, he received an Executive Certificatefrom the State of California Commission onPeace Officer Standards and Training, the high-est level of certification awarded by the agency toa California police chief or sheriff following com-pletion of rigorous education, training and testingat the law enforcement executive level.

The Club congratulates Chief Bernard Wilsonfor all he has given to the City, and wishes himmuch happiness in the next phase of his life.

EARN EXTRA INCOMEFor more info, please contact:

www.Bedasa.igi-art.comEmail: [email protected] call Daisy (909) 467-0181Independent Member


From left: Arvin Lopez, Engineering; Chris Guerrero, Engineering; Raul Garcia, Engineering; Councilman Tom LaBonge; Jerry Del Rosario, Engineering; and Ann Karling, Engineering.

LaBongeCooksn Councilman Tom LaBongehosts barbecue for FourthDistrict-area employees.

Story by Liz Montes, Club CounselorPhotos by Angel Gomez, Member ServicesManager

COUNCIL — Councilmember Tom LaBongeand the staff of the Fourth District invited CityEmployees to a barbecue Aug. 11 at the GriffithPark Ranger Station. Hundreds of CityEmployees from the Los Angeles Zoo, Rec andParks, Gen. Services, LAPD, LAFD and otherdepartments enjoyed the complimentary barbe-cue.

The event allowed Councilmember LaBongeto say thanks to all City workers who work in hisdistrict.

The Club thanks the Councilman’s office forinviting us!

From left: Saba Engineer, Engineering; Kendrick Okuda, Engineering; Jeff Joley,Engineering; and Art Newborn, Street Lighting.

Recycling, from left: Richard Whiteman, Rickie Munoz, Eduardo Gonzalez and Carlos Sanchez.

From left: Alvin Blain, General Manager, Gen. Services; Michael Leighton, Gen.Services; Dave Chan, ITA; and Lonney Ferguson, ITA.

From left: Jane Kolb, Rec and Parks; Tony Royster, Gen. Services; andDebbie Ramos, Gen. Services.

From left: Richard Villalobos; Tom LaBonge; Joe Tafoya, Park Ranger; and Gerardo Rodriguez.

From left: Richard Pineda, Gen. Services; Tom LaBonge; Mona Curry,Gen. Services; and Pierre Riotoc, Gen. Services.

Street Services, from left: Marion Chapman, Kirk Bible andMike Carter.

From left: Mark Allen, LAPD; Jeannie Kim, City Attorney; San Salazar, LAPD; and RedFalconer, LAPD.

From left: David Aguirre and Joe Drabinski. Front: Kenneth Cassidy, LAFD. Back row, from left: Joe Drabinski, Park Ranger; Albert Torres, Park Ranger; David Aguirre,LA Zoo; Herman Landry, LAPD; and Al Garcia, Park Ranger.

From left: Rita Robinson, Sanitation, Club Board Member; Fabio Arias;and Yolanda Gardner.


From left: Chillie Morado, DOT; Sean Harrington, DOT; Anna Martinez, City Clerk; and Ceci Rogers, Gen.Services.

From left: Raul Gutierrez, General Services; Deanna Berman, Tom LaBonge’s Office; andVictor Rodriguez, General Services.

Representing Engineering, from left: Josh Fong, Rafael Villegas, Lydia Gonzalez and Renee Ellis.

From left: Yin Wong, Gen. Services; Herm Landry, LAPD; Darrel Jones, Gen. Services; CraigGreene, DOT; and Richard Flores.

Lot Cleaning, from left: Doug Donovan, Mark Ortez, Milo Maroney, Gerald Lozanoand Charles McKinzie.

From Tom LaBonge’s office, from left: Alice Roth, StaceyMarble and Dorothy Perez.

From the LAPD, from left: Catherine Massey, Jon Kasper, Maria Gray, Paula Davidson and Al Lopez.


Workplace Professionalism Award recipients: Iliana Noriega,Maricela Lopez, and Stefanie Hernandez with Intern Programcoordinators Martin Chavez and Rosio Becerra.

Jacob Haik, Field Representative for Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Club Member, discusses the intern program withUSCG Chief Gruszkowski as family, friends, and guests prepare for the 2005 ITA Intern Culmination Ceremony.

The Port Police’s Claudia Romero and Sgt. Al Guerreroshare a light-hearted story regarding their intern HectorSerrano. Both Sgt. Guerrero and Claudia Romero are Club Members.

Career Impact Award recipient Tatiana Trujillo with the USCoast Guard’s Chief Robert Gruszkowski, Cmdr. ChrisHogan, Carolina Gapuz and Captain Paul Wiedenhoeft.

Martin D. Chavez, Human Resources Development Officer,Harbor, created the highly successful intern program. Hegreets the guests with the the Port of Los Angeles in thebackground.

The ITA Intern Class of 2005, front row, from left: Rosio Becerra, Intern Coordinator, Hector Serrano, Mireya Limon, Tiffani Mercado, Iliana Noreiga, Gabriela Jeronimo, Jennifer Diaz, Alejandra Sigala, Maricela Lopez, Monica Lopez, Stefanie Hernandez,Jane Jimeno and Martin Chavez, Harbor Department. Back: Catherine Perdomo, Aracely Morales, Alexander Sanchez, Georgina Jaramillo, Tatiana Trujillo, Melvin Urias and Lorenzo Atkins.

Outstanding Student Award recipient Jane Jimeno with theHarbor Department’s Human Resources Development OfficerMartin Chavez and Rosio Becerra, Intern Coordinator.

Martin Chavez presents Jane Jimeno the 2005 InternProgram Outstanding Student Award.

Farewell to Internsn Harbor hosts a reception to saybon voyage to the current crop ofinterns.

Story by Arlene Herrero, Club Counselor,with additional information provided byMartin Chavez, Harbor Photos provided byMartin D. Chavez, Harbor

HARBOR — On Sept. 1, the Harbor departmentcelebrated the culmination of the fifth SummerInternship Program for students from theInternational Trade Academy (ITA) at BanningHigh School in Wilmington. The Port has been asponsor of the ITA since its founding by formerHarbor Board Commissioner Carol Rowen andthe internship program created by the Port’sHuman Resources Development Officer, MartinChavez. The intern program also employed col-lege intern Rosio Becerra, a Public Relationsgraduate from California State UniversityDominguez Hills, to assist in preparing the stu-dents for their internship and coordinating theemployers and presenters for the program.

The students earned an opportunity to com-pete for jobs at the Port and with internationaltrade industry employers by maintaining academ-ic and attendance standards, as well as by passingthe Test of Adult Basic Education administeredby Los Angeles Harbor College. Returningemployers included California CartageCompany, Conoco-Phillips, Pasha Stevedoringand Terminals, Hugo –Neu Proler, Moffatt &Nichols Engineers, Computer ConsultingOperations, Spirit Cruises, U.S. Coast Guard,and SSA Marine. First-time employers in atten-dance were DCA Civil Engineering, PriceTransfer and Watson Land Company.

Martin Chavez greeted the Intern Programparticipants and guests, and then introduced thePort’s Interim Executive Director and BanningHigh School Alum Bruce Seaton. Alex Ayala, LosAngeles Unified School District - District 8,

Director of High Schools, followed Seaton. Mr.Ayala expressed his appreciation to the Port andthe employers for their support to the BanningHigh School ITA students and providing themwith a valuable work experience.

The Club, the LA Federal Credit Union(LAFCU), and Western Medical Group(WMG), sponsored the student awards. TheOutstanding Student award, presented to thestudent who had exceptional attendance, partici-pated in every workshop and displayed profes-sionalism through out the program, was awardedto Jane Jimeno, Price Transfer, who also receivedtwo tickets to a Los Angeles Dodgers game fromWMG. As the Outstanding Student, MissJimeno also represented her class by presenting aspeech to the guests regarding the internship pro-gram experience they received during the sum-mer. The Outstanding Achievement award waspresented to the student who showed great poiseand maturity in the workplace – Iliana Noriega,SSA Marine, and a gift certificate to Best Buyfrom LAFCU.

Due to the success of the ITA and the positiveimpression the students have made, LesliePatterson, Director of Development – CSUDominguez Hills, made a surprise announce-ment during the ceremony that the Universityhad received a grant to develop a global logisticsprogram that would provide scholarships andpaid internships. Additionally, two $1,000 schol-arships from Boeing would be granted to stu-dents who participated in the ITA intern programwho chose to attend CSUDH.

The Club congratulates and wishes all the ITAInterns good luck and great success in theirfuture. We also thank the employers and The Portof Los Angeles for “Opening the World Todayand Preparing for Tomorrow” by giving the stu-dents an opportunity to learn and earn during thesummer of 2005.

The following recipients received two AMC movie passes

from The Clubn CAREER IMPACT:

Tatiana Trujillo, USCG;

n WORKSHOP EXCELLENCE:Each Friday students are given exer-cises in word analogies, writing essays,analytical exams, and reading compre-hension. This award was garnered byJane Jimeno, Price Transfer; and

n WORKPLACEPROFESSIONALISM:The students who displayed properbusiness etiquette at work, during theworkshops and gained an understand-ing on how to interact in the workplacewas presented to StefanieHernandez, Harbor Department –Financial Management, MaricelaLopez, Conoco-Phillips, IlianaNoriega, SAA Marine, and RoxanaCorrea, Marine Exchange.


Adults, get your crayons out! It’s time for another

Adult Coloring Contest!

Why let your kids have all the fun?!

When Alive! presented the first Adult Coloring Contestearlier this year, you responded … huge! Almost 100Club Members sent in artwork.That’s fantastic! Let’s seeif you can top it.

So, here’s another contest, just in time for the holidays.Deadline: Dec. 10.

The prize: a $100 Target gift card. So get coloring, andhave fun!

It’s a Coloring Contest!

for Adults!for Adults!• Winning contestants must be Club members in

good standing. Everyone is welcome to submitresponses, however. (Responses without Clubmembership numbers will be accepted but noteligible for the winning prize.)

• Deadline is Dec. 10.

• Responses can be delivered by mail or in per-son at the Club World Headquarters. Address:City Employees Club, 350 S. Figueroa, Suite 700,Los Angeles 90071.

• All responses must be completed by the personindicated: no ringers (including your children!)

• Winning responses will be determined by offi-cial Club personnel. All decisions will be final.

• The contest is all in good fun: The Club cannotbe responsible for delays in delivering Alive!, orfor delays in the transmission of responses.

Deadline for submission:

Dec 10, 2005

PLEASE COMPLETE:

Name: __________________________________________________________________________

Job title and department with the City: ______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________________________________

WIN

Rules of the Club’s Adult Coloring Contest:

Club Membership Number:

Send Entries to:Club Adult Coloring ContestCity Employees Club of Los AngelesWorld Trade Center350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700Los Angeles, CA 90071

PLEASE PROVIDE

$100TargetGift Certificate


The Memorial Bike Ride participants.

For Tommyn Airport employees come together for bike ride to raisemoney for Tommy Scott Memorial Fund.

Story by Liz Montes, Club CounselorPhotos by Angel Gomez, Member Services Manager

AIRPORTS — On Aug. 13, more than 30 LAX Airport Police Officers and employees cametogether to raise money for the Officer Tommy Scott Memorial Fund. Officer Scott died in theline of the duty April 29.

Officer Andre Munn and Masis Sossikian organized the Bike Ride to help raise money forthe memorial fund. They were able to raise more than $1,000. The Bike Ride started at theAirport Police parking lot and ended at the Pike in Long Beach. Officer Scott’s father, step-mother and brother were also in attendance to show their support.

Congratulations to all involved in this worthwhile effort. The Club thanks Officer AndreMunn for his assistance with this story.

Sgt. Robert Foston, 2 years.

Mark Ricks, Airport Police, 2 years.Howard Cakmbliss, Airport Security, 4 years.Percival Valdenor, Airport Police, 3 years.Jose Sanabria, Airport Police, 6 years.

Sgt. Michael Edwards, 26.5 years; and Olga Edwards,LAPD, 20 years.

Marvin Earle, American Airlines employee.

The family of the late Officer Tommy Scott, from left; Joann Scott, stepmother; Hubert Scott, father;and Hubert Cornell Scott, brother.

Sgt. Tyrone Mccoy, 26 years. Airport employees admire the motorcycles on display.

Miguel Morante, Airport Police, 6 years.Manny Portillo, Airport Police, 21 years. Andre Munn, Airport Police, 19 years.


Drexton Perona.

Rick (“Strike Dog”) Stricker, Airport Police, 3 years.

Michael Cayton, Airport Police, 7 years.

Jacques Le Veaux, Boeing employee.

Sgt. Dan Romo, 17 years.

From left: Captain Brian Walker, 14 years; Tracy Walker;Brian Walker; Nyah Walker; and Breeana Walker.

Michael Robertson.

R&B • SOUL • OLDIES • ROCK • LATIN • REGGAE

JAZZ • BLUES • HIP HOP • GOSPEL • COUNTRY WESTERN

A.K.A. Papi-Chulo(323) 376-6615

Chris the D.J.NewsbriefsDOWNLOAD AUDIOBOOKS

The Los Angeles Public Library announceda new service that allows cardholders to down-load e-Audiobooks from the Internet, 24 hoursa day and 7 days a week. Listeners can choosefrom a selection of 400 titles in fiction, narra-tive nonfiction, business, biography, self-help,language instruction and more. New titles willbe added on a continuous basis. Available titlesrange from recent bestsellers to classics. Usersmay listen to e-Audiobooks via computer orlaptop; burn to CD for playing in the car or onstereo; or transfer to many portable devices. e-Audiobooks circulate for 21 days and will beavailable for free Internet downloading 24hours a day through the Library’s website. Amaximum of five titles may be checked out. Alink to the e-Audiobook Catalog is availablefrom the LAPL Catalog page, under LibraryResources and from e-Audiobook entries in theLAPL Catalog. e-Audiobooks are not availablefor downloading on library computers.


Where in LA?Where in LA?

The winner of last month’s contest is:

Timothy Cruz,ITAHere is his response: The photo in theJuly issue of Alive! depicts two bridges. Inthe forefront is the bridge that marinersand most people nowadays refer to as theHenry Ford Bridge, and railroaders affec-tionately refer to as the Badger AvenueBridge. The bridge in the backgrounddepicts the Commodore Schuyler HeimBridge, also known as Highway 47/Highway103. Both bridges cross over the Cerritos Channel, Los Angeles. The bridges are bor-dered to the east by the City of Long Beach and to the West by the City of LosAngeles. The actual address beneath the railroad bridge is 801 Henry Ford Ave.

On a historical note, the Henry Ford Bridge was originally named the Badger AvenueBridge after the street that ran parallel to it, Badger Avenue. When the Ford MotorCompany built its plant near the bridge, it was renamed the Henry Ford Bridge. Theoriginal bridge comprised of a two-lane road with a railroad track parallel to it. It current-ly feeds the Alameda Corridor.

The current Henry Ford Bridge has towers that rise approximately 200 feet, a draw

WINShell Service Stations

$50GIFT CERTIFICATE

Contest Rules:1. Winning contestants must be Club members in good standing. Everyone is welcome to submit respons-

es, however. (Responses without Club membership numbers will be accepted but not eligible for thewinning prize.)

2. Responses can be delivered by mail, fax, e-mail or in person (phone responses will not be accepted).3. Winning responses will be determined by official Club personnel. All decisions will be final.4. The contest is all in good fun: The Club cannot be responsible for delays in delivering Alive!, or for

delays in the transmission of responses.

New Photo … New Great PrizeGet ready for another great contest.

We wish you could all win!For August, we’re offering a great prize: a $50 gift certificate for Shell Service

Stations. All you have to do is send in a correct and substantial answer (in yourown words) to [email protected], and you could win!

The Clubmemberwhogives usthe mostcom-

What is this?

Where in LA?Where in LA?

The winner of last month’s contest is:

Ken Moody,ITA (he has won twomonths in a row!)Here is his response: This month’sWhere in LA is a photo of the old VeniceCity Hall. The mission-style building, locat-ed at 681 Venice Blvd., is leased from theCity of Los Angeles to a group calledBeyond Baroque. Beyond Baroque is thehome of the Venice Poetry Workshop, thelongest-running poetry workshop in Southern California.

There were no runners-up this month.

Thanks Ken!

WINShell Gift Certificate

$50

Contest Rules:1. Winning contestants must be Club members in good standing. Everyone is welcome to submit respons-

es, however. (Responses without Club membership numbers will be accepted but not eligible for thewinning prize.)

2. Responses can be delivered by mail, fax, e-mail or in person (phone responses will not be accepted). E-mail address: [email protected]

3. Winning responses will be determined by official Club personnel. All decisions will be final.4. The contest is all in good fun: The Club cannot be responsible for delays in delivering Alive!, or for

delays in the transmission of responses.

New Photo … New Great PrizeGet ready for another great contest.

We wish you could all win!For October, we’re offering a great prize: a $50 gift certificate for Shell Service

Stations. All you have to do is send in a correct and substantial answer (in yourown words) to [email protected], and you could win!

The Club member who gives us the most complete, detailed descriptionof the object related to the City of Los Angeles wins the great prize!n This month’s deadline: October 12. See complete list of rules. n Thanks for playing, and good luck!

Send your response along with your Club card number by e-mail([email protected]), by fax (213-620-0398) or by surfacemail (350 S. Figueroa, Suite 700, Los Angeles 90071).

What is this? Where is this?

Alive! Around the WorldTake the Club with you, wherever you go! Club members are a well-traveledbunch. Bring your copy of Alive! with you. Snap a photo with you holding acopy, send it in, and we’ll publish it. Send to [email protected]

Congratulations, Martin, Lorean and Marviana!

Alive! Around the World

Congratulations, Nancy, Myrna and Margie!

Myrna Diaz, Harbor, took her family (andher copy of Alive!) to the Grand Canyon.She’s shown here with her daughter,Abegail, in front of the Grand CanyonRailway Hotel in Williams, Ariz. “ My familywent on summer vacation, and we took theold train going up to Grand Canyon.”

Nancy Cammarata, LAFD, reports: “We took theClub with us to Italy!

“Attached is a picture of my family taken during atrip we took to Rome in August. We are standing infront of Trevi Fountain. I’m on the far left, and mydad, Jim Fryman (retired from DWP in 1989) is at thefar right.” Back row, from left: Nancy Cammarata,Jim Cammarata, Patricia Fryman and Jim Fryman.Front: Tiffany Cammarata and Chelsea Cammarata.

Alive! visits King Tutwith Margie Castro, DWP.


REC AND PARKS — Three years ago,after playing basketball nearly herwhole life, after playing profession-ally as a member of the LA Sparks,after coaching in the college ranks,Timicha Kirby faced somethingnew: uncharted territory.

“In 2002, I was diagnosed withlupus. I can still share and help,even though I can’t play anymore.”

And so she did, turning to whatshe knew: helping as a part of Rec and Parks. Shehad spent her summers working for the depart-ment while in college, and then here and thereduring her professional playing and coachingdays.

But now it was time to concentrate, andgive back.

Timicha (pronounced Tamika) is a RecreationAssistant in the Metro/Pacific Region MunicipalSports division, helping to run Girls Play LA, partof Rec and Parks’ Raise the Bar program, whichaims to achieve gender equity through continu-ous commitment to girls and women in sports.

The refocusing of her life came to full fruitionthe weekend of Sept. 10 and 11, at the firstTimicha Kirby Summer Classic. The two-day bas-ketball tournament for girls was held at PanPacific Recreation Center and the WestwoodRecreation Complex. More than 400 girls on 36basketball teams came together in a spirit of com-petitiveness and positive focus. The tournamenthad a waiting list.

According to statistics she provided, one out ofevery six girls is obese and one out of every fourhigh-school girls has low self-esteem. The Recand Parks girls basketball tournament was creat-ed to combat those trends and show girls they,too, can succeed.

Timicha’s programs serve more than 20,000girls every year, and the numbers keep increasing.“And they all want to play basketball and soft-ball!” she says. “You can’t help everyone, but atleast you can help some of them. They take [self-esteem] away with them.

“I love to see them all participate. Seeing allthe hard work come together makes it worth it.Every day is good, as long as I get to work withthe girls.”

She grew up learning how to play basketball onany court she could find, including several Recand Parks facilities in Compton. “I was always atthe parks, playing,” she says. “Wherever there wasa court.”

And now it’s important to give back.“Giving back is very simple. Somebody helped

me, so I want to help in return. This is whatmakes me happy.”

Timicha Kirby (right) prepares to hand out trophies at her first SummerClassic girls basketball tournament.

The first Timicha Kirby Summer Classic girls basketball tournament held at the Pan Pacific Recreation Center and theWestwood Recreation Complex (above).

ALL IN A

Day’s Work

Timicha Kirbyoverseeing thefirst TimichaKirby SummerClassic girlsbasketball tour-nament Sept. 11at the WestwoodRecreationComplex.

Timicha Kirby (back, right) stands behind a team from Mar Vista, one of the winning teams from her firstSummer Classic girls basketball tournament

Timicha Kirby prepares to hand out trophies at her firstSummer Classic girls basketball tournament.

Timicha Kirby sees the fruits of her hard work after hand-ing out trophies at her first Summer Classic girls basketballtournament.

“Every day isgood, as long as

I get to workwith the girls.”

n Former LA Sparks player Timicha Kirby was forced out of the game she loved becauseof illness. Now, at Rec and Parks, she has a new game: giving back.

Her Game: Giving BackW

IN-W

IN

Join inthe FunTicket Guy and Events Guru want you tojoin in the fun. If you do, you could win aprize! Here are the details:

1. Submit a review (100 words or less, with a rat-ing between 1 and 5) of a fun movie (eitherbecause it’s really great or really bad). Makesure it’s on next month’s theme. Be creative!If we print your review, we’ll send you a $10Blockbuster gift certificate. Send reviews [email protected]

2. Answer the trivia questions. The first toanswer correctly will win a $10 Blockbustergift certificate. Send your responses to [email protected]

3. Anyone can respond, but only Club Memberswith a valid Club membership number are eli-gible to win.

4. The feature is all in good fun: The Club is notresponsible for delays in delivering Alive! or inthe transmission of replies.

Rating SystemNNNNN Must See/Must Buy

NNNN Rent

NNN Watch on cable

NN Wait for it on Network TV

N Break out the home videosand make your own movies) please e-mail it to [email protected]

Movie of the MonthThe ShiningDescription: A psychological horror movie inwhich Jack Nicholson and his family becomecaretakers of an isolated and haunted hotel overthe winter. Rated R.

EG: This film isn’t as scary in modern times as itmust have been back in the ‘80s, but it’s still afreaky film. Those twin girls are pretty scary, andsome of those scenes are just plain disturbing. Imay not have jumped out of my seat at times,but I definitely would not like to hang aroundJack Nicholson. It’s a classic film, and the actingby Jack is excellent. “Here’s Johnny.” I give it a 4(out of 5).

TG: You’re easily scared. Scaring you is as easy asboiling an egg. I do agree, this movie is a classic.The little boy with the imaginary friend quotingthe famous line “Redrum” … can someone sayfreaky? Jack is at his best in this film. Hey, what-ever happened to Shelley Duvall? Wasn’t sheOlive Oyl in Popeye, starring Robin Williams?Come to think of it, Popeye and The Shiningcame out in the same year. Now that’s scary!Anyhow, I give this movie a 4.35 (out of 5): 4points for Jack, .2 for Little Boy, and .15 for theChef who saves the day.

Capsule reviews ofother movies to watchthis month:

The ExorcistMy Score: NNNNN

This movie may not be classi-fied as a “Halloween” movie,but to me this is one helluvahorror movie!

Linda Blair stars as Regan, ayoung girl who is possessed by the devil. The spe-cial effects were awesome. The whole movie wasawesome. I remember my brother and his girl-friend snuck me into the drive-in, so I could seethis. It was rated “R” and I was in my early teens.My folks were mad as heck, but I was thrilled tosee this movie and could not wait to tell everyoneat school about it.

—Gail Seltzer, DWP


THE CLUB GUIDE TO HOME ENTERTAINMENT

HalloweenMy Score: NNNN

On Halloween night, a killerwith a mask (not Jason fromthe Friday the 13th movies)with a knife is after babysitterJamie Lee Curtis. She can run,

but can she hide? This is a movie not to watchalone! I gave up babysitting after this movie!

— Patricia Saucier, DWP

Nightmare on Elm StreetMy Score: NNNN

Freddy Krueger is able to hauntyou in your dreams. I do notknow how he can do that, but itsure does scare the heck out ofme. He picks on teens since,when Freddy was one, he was

bullied by the kids at his school. After watchingthis movie, I did not want to go to bed! Anothermovie you should not watch alone.


“TG”The Ticket Guy

Also known as Navin Cotton

“EG”The Events GuruAlso known as Michelle Moreno

n In the October installment ofthis new column, TG and EGexplore cinematic gore.

By Ticket Guy (Navin Cotton) and EventsGuru (Michelle Moreno)

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.”Hello readers, welcome back to “Who’s Got

The Popcorn” – your guide to home entertain-ment, or, as we like to say, the forgotten films ofthe past. Once again, we are Ticket Guy andEvents Guru – two crazy moviegoers who loveto hear about your favorite films.

In honor of Halloween, we have chosen hor-ror films as our theme for the month. We justlove horror movies, especially with Halloween

treats, of course. As we sit here,we begin to think of allthose scary movies of thepast that we’ve seen and allthe crazy clichés thatcome with them. (This iswhere the Jerry Seinfeldin us comes out.) Take,for example, the scantilyclad girl running throughthe woods. Why does shealways have to fall down?Exactly what does she tripover? Here’s another one: Ifyou were to hear creepynoises coming from upstairs, isn’t

your first instinct to run out of the houseand not up the stairs (get out, notcheck it out, is our motto). Lastly,why is it that the killer can moveas slow as molasses yet he alwayscatches up to his victim? Hecould have one leg, be limping,walking through sand, yet in theend, he’ll get ya. (Hint, hint,

Friday the 13th.)Despite some of these cheesy

clichés, or maybe even because ofthem, we have come to love horrorfilms and all the emotions theyinvoke in us. Plus, who can’t forget

those cool quotes that come with them:

“Brains… brains.” “Do you like scary movies?”Or: “They’re heeeere.” These quotes rock, andso do the movies they come from.

So this Halloween, grab yourself some pop-corn, rent some horror flicks, get a date (if youcan’t, don’t worry, pets count), turn off the lightsand enjoy a scary night. This is TG and EG say-ing, “One… two… Freddy’s coming for you…”


TRIVIA CONTEST

Congratulations to Dan Basilgo, LAPD,who won a gift certificate by answering lastmonth’s trivia questions. Look to the bot-tom for the correct answers.

Trivia Questions for October1. Exactly how many Friday the 13th films

are there? (Freddy vs. Jason doesn’tcount.)

2. Who is this famous female horror filmheroine of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s?(Hint: Related to Janet Leigh)

3. Which character likes liver, fava beansand chianti?

4. In which film is Kiefer Sutherland afraidof sunlight and holy water?

5. In which film did the main characterreceive his wife’s head in a box, in themiddle of a field? (Hint: They dated inreal life.)

See JOIN THE FUN for details on submitting your answers.

Trivia Answers from September1. Casablanca (1942) and Old School

(2003)

2. Good Will Hunting (1997), BestSupporting Actor (Robin Williams)

3. Steven Spielberg is Drew Barrymore’sfamous director godfather.

4. Dan Basilgo came up with nine BratPack actors: Judd Nelson, MareWinningham, Anthony Michael Hall,Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, MollyRingwald, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedyand Demi Moore.

5. Will Ferrell was a part of Saturday Night Live

In Theaters

Radio GolfBy August WilsonMark Taper ForumMy Score: 4 (out of 5)

This drama is the tenth and finalplay that chronicles the black experience in 20th-century America by the prolific playwright AugustWilson. This piece takes place in 1997 inPittsburgh’s Hill District. It is the time of prosper-ity, where we find Harmond Wilks, a well-to-dorealtor on the verge of becoming Pittsburgh’s firstblack mayor. He is also spearheading a redevelop-ment program that would tear down what appearsto be an abandoned home. But things are notalways what they seem, as Elder Joseph Barlowenters the scene. This play covers a lot of sensitiveissues, and our characters find themselves at thecrossroads of the future and their past.

The show has great and powerful performanc-es by veteran stage actors Rocky Carroll,Anthony Chrisholm, James A. Williams, DeniseBurse and John Earl Jelks.

— Dan Basilgo, LAPD

Menopause, the MusicalBy Jeanie LindersCoronet Theatre, WestHollywoodMy Score: 5 (out of 5)

Ladies, run, don’t walk, to go see this show! It is90 minutes of nonstop fun and laughs. Whetheryou have a long way to go before menopause, arealready there or have been through it, there isn’tany part of this musical you won’t love. I haveseen it six times this year and will surely go backagain. This is a great show and will make you feelso good! Bring your guy; he will enjoy it, too!

It plays indefinitely at the Coronet Theatre.— Gail Seltzer, DWP

—Theater—

Movie Reviews by Fellow Club Members

The 40-Year-Old VirginRated RAdultsMy Score: 5 (out of 5)

An unexpected delight forgrown-ups; leave anyone under17 at home. Side-splittinglyfunny and a comedy with a

nice plot for a change! Don’t miss this one!— Patty Saucier, DWP

40-Year-Old-VirginMy Score: 3 (out of 5)

Okay … so here I am, sitting in the theatre withmy 16-year-old daughter. The movie starts and italmost instantly becomes evident that this movieis not for the prudish or faint of heart and trulydeserves its R rating. I instantly felt I shouldn’t bewatching this with my kid! I did find the movie tobe hilarious (albeit raunchy), and I would recom-mend it to those who enjoy comedy films … justdon’t take the kids!

— Debbie Winger, LAFD

Red EyeRated PG-13Adults and adolescentsMy Score: 5 (out of 5)

I loved it! This movie grabs youfrom the start and has you sit-ting on the edge of your chairthroughout the whole movie.

There is a very good story here with great drama,great action and even greater suspense. RachelMcAdams was absolutely fantastic in her role.

— Gail Seltzer, DWP

Broken FlowersRated RAdultsMy Score: 0 (out of 5)

It should be illegal to chargemoney to see this movie. I keptwaiting and waiting and waitingfor the movie to get better, but it

just finally ended. I cannot remember the lasttime I saw a movie that I hated more than thisone. I remember hating The Life Aquatic, whichoddly enough also starred Bill Murray, butBroken Flowers is even worse! Don’t waste yourmoney or time. Do not even bother renting thisone. Can I use the word “suck”? Because thismovie sucked!


ValiantRated GFamilyMy Score: 3 (out of 5)

This is a cute animation film,which is basically for kids. It isnot in the same league ofFinding Nemo or Shrek, but not

painful for the parents to also watch. And it’s notvery long, which is also a plus! So enjoy spendingtime with the children and go see this movie.


The Great RaidRated RAdultsMy Score: 5 (out of 5)

If you’re a history buff, youshould see this movie. My hus-band is a history buff, and hesaid this movie was very accu-

rate according to history. It’s based on a truestory. What a surprise for Hollywood. It is about500 POWs during World War II who have beenentrapped in a Japanese prison camp for severalyears. The POWs had given up hope of being res-cued. The US Army Rangers were able to set upa plan and rescue them. This movie is very educa-tional and definitely worth seeing.

— Stephanie Lazarus, LAPD

Four BrothersRated RAdultsMy Score: 3.5 (out of 5)

This movie is about four broth-ers who avenge their mother’sdeath after she was killed duringa business robbery. Mark

Wahlberg plays one of the brothers. My workpartner had seen this movie and did not like it. Soof course I was not expecting much, but I reallyenjoyed it. It was suspenseful and had sometwists to the plot. The movie had a lot of violentscenes, so I would not take young kids. If you likeaction movies with suspense, go see this movie.

— Stephanie Lazarus, LAPD

Transporter 2Rated PG-13Adults and adolescentsMy Score: 3.5 (out of 5)

I never saw the first one. I don’tknow if you have to, but I don’tthink so. But after seeing this one,I definitely would like to see the

first one. I loved Jason Statham! I give him a 5!There were some really good action scenes hereand I liked the story of this guy wanting to protecta child. The story of a hit man going to such lengthsto kill one politician was nuts in my opinion.


The ManRated PG-13Adults and adolescentsMy Score: 4 (out of 5)

I went in, not expecting much. Itseemed like a recycled story, but Ireally enjoyed the crazy chemistrybetween Samuel L. Jackson and

Eugene Levy. I laughed out loud several times, andthat alone for me is worth the price of admission.


100 Words or Less!

The BirdsMy Score: NNNNN

Alfred Hitchcock at his best.Birds start attacking the people.You are not even safe inside yourhome! Ever since this movie, Ihate birds! And every time I am

driving and see a bunch of birds on the telephonelines, all I can think of is this movie! It is a constantreminder. I hate that I am haunted by this movie.


The Beast With Five FingersMy Score: NNNN

I just love the old black and whitehorror films of the 1930s, ‘40s, and‘50s, and this one is no exception.The movie is more a murder mys-

tery/supernatural thriller than it is an actual “hor-ror” film, but it is truly entertaining. Peter Lorredoes a great job of of playing the not-to-be-trust-ed assistant of a deceased pianist. The true star ofthe film, though, is a severed, undead hand (pre-sumed to be that of the dead man) that createshavoc and plays really creepy piano music. Theending is silly but the movie is a true classic anddefinitely worth watching. Great Halloween nightfun!

— Debbie Winger, DWP

JawsMy Score: NNNN1/2

The theme music alone gets myheart beating faster. ComposerJohn Williams created the score.I love it! The movie takes placeduring the summer in a

Massachusetts resort town. A great white shark isattacking the swimmers, and Roy Scheider,Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss team up to killit. I love when Roy Scheider, after seeing this giantshark, says “I think we need a bigger boat.” Thatis one of the funniest lines ever! This is the secondfilm that Steven Spielberg directed. Steven startedout amazing and just got better, if that’s possible.

—Brenda Mitchell, DWP

Next Month’sTheme:We have chosen Thanksgiving forNovember’s Theme of the Month.Please submit your review (100 wordsor less) to [email protected]. If we publish it, we’ll send you a $10 certificate to Blockbuster!

C R I T I C’S C O R NE R

Book ReviewsThe Monkey and the Crocodile (A Folk Tale about Forgiveness)by Colin PearceTyndale House Publishers27 pagesChildrenMy Score: 4 (out of 5)

The King of the jungle calls all the animals topay their rent. All is well except for the croco-dile, who said, “I don’t want to pay my rent.”The King gives him until the next full moon topay, saying, “I am giving you extra time becauseI am kind.” At the first opportunity, the croco-dile tries to trick the tiniest monkey but themonkey is smarter than the crocodile, whichends up in a dungeon.

This tale is based on the Bible story Matthew18: 23-34. It is very witty and well written; youforget it is for children. I like reading it over andover.

– Barbara Johnson, Personnel

The Enchanted Fluteby Angela McAllisterDelacorte Press/Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing24 pagesChildrenMy Score: 3 (out of 10)

Queen Pernickety is a fusspot and overworksboth her servants and subjects. She must havethe best of everything for herself and her daugh-ter, Princess Olivia. For Olivia’s birthday, anenchanted flute was crafted where, “whoever lis-tens to the music of this flute will hear the soundmost dear to his heart.” When more of thesemagical flutes are created the Queen has themdestroyed. This makes Princess Olivia and theflute listeners now hear the sounds their heartsmost fear.

This is another charming book with wonder-ful artwork; a good read.

— Barbara Johnson, Personnel

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Princeby J.K. RowlingScholasticXX PagesFamilyMy Score: 5 (out of 5)

This long-awaited sixth book in the Harry Potterseries is far darker and definitely more thought-provoking than the previous five books, but that’sto be expected, as there is a developing mysterythat unfolds slowly throughout the entire seriesand we are getting closer to the finale. In short, itis about Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts; and ofcourse, we get the anticipated answers to the twobiggest questions raised by this book: Who is thehalf blood prince? And which main character dies?However, true to J.K. Rowling’s usual style, readersare kept in suspense until the very end of the novel.After reflection, I believe that most readers will con-clude that this is the best book of the series so far.

– Kimberly Azmi, Gen. Services

Book Reviews by Fellow Club Members

C R I T I C’S C O R NE R

100 Words or Less!

To all our movie (in theaters),book and theater reviews, here arethe rules: Keep it short and fun!

n Keep all reviews to 100 wordsor less (but try to come close;try to write more than a sen-tence or two)

n Your own comments are moreimportant than a long plot sum-mary.

n Give us your score, on a scaleof 1 to 5. Use this format: My Score: X (out of 5). (And not everythingis a five!)

n Make sure to give us your nameand City department (or retired)

n Have fun!


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C L U B C O R N E R

Join These GroupsA club is forming in the SantaClarita area for fly fishingenthusiasts with all levelsof skill. CallTheodore J.Aquaro, (661) 513-1595.

Established in 1971, the Los Angeles CityEmployees Asian AmericanAssociation (LACEAAA) wasformed to represent employ-ees of Asian/Pacific Islanderdescent and assist in protect-ing them from discriminatoryacts in their application to,and employment, with theCity; and advance employ-ment, education, economic,and social concerns ofAsian/Pacific Islanders in

City service; and resolve unique work-relatedproblems of any Association member. Call (213)847-2229 or write to LACEAAA, P.O. Box 86323,Los Angeles, CA 90086 or visit us atwww.laceaaa.org.

In 1980, the Los Angeles Filipino Association ofCity Employees (LAFACE) was organized toserve as an advocate to the fast-growing numberof Filipinos in City service. Its primary goal is topromote the general advancement of Filipinos inthe City. LAFACE works cooperatively with otherminority groups in promoting equal employmentopportunities in the City. LAFACE does not limitits function to assisting Filipinos in acquiringemployment, promotion, and passing examina-tions in the City, but also to promoting the eco-nomic, educational, social, and cultural advance-ment of Filipinos in the community.

The Association of City Employees withDisabilities (ACED) is committed to the recruit-ment, employment, retention and promotion ofpersons with disabilities. Also, ACED counselsand represents employees faced with discrimina-tion on the job. Call Joe O’Toole at (213) 847-9213.

The mission of the Los Angeles Association ofBlack Personnel (LAABP) is to motivate, encour-age and educate individuals to realize theirdreams and move forward in their career withinCity government. Contact Steve King at (213)580-5387 or write to LAABP, P.O. Box 53822, Los Angeles, CA 90043-0822.

The Los Angeles City Employees ChicanoAssociation (LACECA) was established in 1971and was the first City recognized employee

Affirmative ActionAssociation. Membership isopen to anyone interestedin supporting the goals andobjectives of the organiza-tion. LACECA is dedicatedto promoting equal employ-ment opportunities in ourworkplace, City governmentand community.

It sponsors and supports a variety of trainingevents and seminars to assist employees in theircareer development. Meetings are usually heldthe second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at5:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room ofthe Personnel Department Building, 700 E.Temple Street. Contact Carlos Portillo, (310)547-4610, email [email protected] orwrite to LACECA, P.O. Box 53590, Los Angeles,CA 90053.

Established by the City Council as the officialrepresentative for female City employees, theAffirmative Action Association for Women(AAAW) has been representing women for morethan 25 years. The AAAW is an employee advo-cate organization that gives particular attentionto the advancement of women and minorityemployees of the City of Los Angeles. Its mem-bers, both male and female, serve on associa-tion, department, and Citywide committees thatfocus attention on personnel policies and prac-tices and support a continuing commitment toequal employment opportunities as a basic prin-ciple of the City’s merit system. Call (213) 847-AAAW, write to AAAW, P.O. Box 53488, LosAngeles, CA 90053, or visit the Website atwww.la-aaaw.org.

LAMAAA is a professional organization of munic-ipal and local government accounting, fiscal andauditing practitioners with a membership of morethan 300. The conference was a City-sponsoredevent. All those who participated were either Cityor DWP employees.

THE GROUP’S MISSION IS:n To develop members and assist them

acquire the necessary skills to promotethemselves towards better positions andresponsibilities.

n To promote and perpetuate the prestige andprofessional status of municipal account-ants and auditors.

n To assist each other and develop profes-sional camaraderie, team spirit and cooper-ation among its members.

n To develop and improve educational tech-niques in management, commercial, propri-etary, governmental accounting and audit-ing.

IT ACCOMPLISHES ITS MISSION BY:n Present experts as guest speakers at

monthly meetings.

n Host trainings, seminars and other educa-tional programs.

n Publish online newsletters and other infor-mational materials.

n Provide opportunities for members to knowand network with their colleagues in otheragencies and departments.

BE A MEMBER:LAMAAA membership is open to all currentemployees of the City who are either performingaccounting, auditing or fiscal functions or havethe required educational background or degreein accounting but are in a different job classifica-tion. Applicants must fill out a membership appli-cation form and submit it with a $10 donation tothe LAMAAA representative in his/her depart-ment.

Anglophiles, unite! Join President MichaelBarnes (who works for Harbor Dept.) in celebrat-

ing all things British, withfun social events and net-working. “We do all kind ofdifferent things, fromwatching live soccer, play-ing cricket and teachingHighland dancing, to namea few.” The Club meets inGarden Grove. Go towww.britclub.org for more

info.

The DWP Dance Club is for anyone (men, too)who likes to dance. The club, in its sixth year,practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 –12:15 p.m. during lunch hour. The annual showfor employees is scheduled for Dec. 1 in thecafeteria. The following styles are taught: salsa,cha-cha, rumba, bolero, swing, samba, tango,swing and other ballroom dances. Free to allDWP employees and City employees. ContactLourdes Zerrudo: (213) 367-1405, [email protected].

DWP Dance Club

The British and Dominion Social Club

Los Angeles MunicipalAccountants and Auditors Assoc.

Affirmative Action Association for Women

Los Angeles City Employees ChicanoAssociation (LACECA)

Los Angeles Association of Black Personnel

Association of CityEmployees with Disabilities

Los Angeles Filipino Assoc. of City Employees

LA City Employee’s AsianAmerican Association

Fly Fishing Enthusiasts

Douglas Shur,President

Jackie Zarate, President

Michael Barnes,President

Alive! offers this space every month for Club members to invite other Club membersto join their group. It could be work-related, or social, or all about your hobbies.Whatever it is, send us a notice at [email protected], and we’ll postthe notice free … as a service to our members!

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CookingCookingwith thewith the ClubClub

Send Us YourRecipes!

If you would like your recipe published in

the next issue of Alive!, you may fax your

recipes to (213) 620-0398 or e-mail us at

[email protected].

Meatballs from Jones—Barbara Jones, Rec and Parks

INGREDIENTS:2 cups ketchup1/2 cup water1/2 cup white vinegar1/2 cup honey2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon dried minced onion1/4 teaspoon pepperDash garlic powderDash cayenne pepper1 package (38 ounces) frozen,fully cooked meatballs

DIRECTIONS:In a Dutch oven, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer,

uncovered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, thaw meatballs in microwave according to packagedirections. Stir into sauce; heat through.

Jenny’s Hot Cider — Jenny Smith, Airports

INGREDIENTS: 1 tsp. whole allspice16 whole cloves4 sticks of cinnamon1/3 cup brown sugar1 gallon cider

DIRECTIONS:Combine cider and brown sugar in large saucepan. Put spices in

cheesecloth or muslin (tie with string) and simmer in cider and brownsugar mixture.

Or combine ingredients in large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduceheat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Strain.

Peter’s Piping Hot Stuffed Peppers—Peter Langley, Gen. Services

Hungarian hot peppers stuffed with a cream cheese mixture and Italian sausage. PrepTime: approx. 15 Minutes. Cook time: approx. 20 minutes. Ready in approx. 35 minutes.Makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS: 1/3 cup ground Italian sausage1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened3/4 tablespoon garlic salt3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese1 teaspoon dried oregano1 teaspoon dried basil1/3 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs1 tablespoon olive oil6 Hungarian hot peppers, cored and seeded

DIRECTIONS:Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medi-

um high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and setaside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).In a medium bowl, mix together the sausage, cream cheese, garlic salt, Romano cheese,

oregano, basil, bread crumbs and olive oil.Stuff the peppers with the sausage mixture. Place on a baking sheet, and bake in the pre-

heated oven 20 to 25 minutes, until the stuffing is lightly brown and bubbly.

The Lowe-Down Cheese Ball—Tim Lowe, Retiree, DWP

INGREDIENTS:1 pound bacon2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened3 tablespoons mayonnaise1 green onion, chopped1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:In a large skillet fry the

bacon. Remove the baconfrom the skillet and drain onpaper towels. Chop or breakthe cooled bacon into smallpieces.

In a medium-size mixingbowl, combine cream cheese,bacon, mayonnaise and greenonions. When mixed well,form two balls out of the mix-ture. Cover and refrigerate 3to 4 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, roll thecheese balls in the choppedpecans.

by our ownRobert Larios

Carrera-Style Pumpkin Soup— Helen Carrera, Retiree

INGREDIENTS:4 1/2 pounds sugar pumpkin2 cups chicken broth1 cup heavy creamsalt and pepper to taste1 dash ground nutmeg4 cups seasoned croutons

DIRECTIONS:Cut the top off of the

pumpkin and remove theseeds and strings. Carve outthe flesh of the pumpkinuntil the shell is about a half-inch thick. Be careful not tomake any holes in the skin –the pumpkin is the servingbowl. Steam the pumpkinflesh in a saucepan with aninch of water over medium

heat for 20 minutes. Removefrom heat, drain and setaside to cool slightly.

In a saucepan over medi-um heat, cook the chickenbroth until warm. Puree thepumpkin flesh and graduallystir into the pumpkin broth.Slowly bring the mixture to aboil. Mix in the cream thenseason with salt, pepper andnutmeg. Remove from heat.

Pour soup into the pumpkinshell and garnish with crou-tons. Top with the pumpkincap.

Incredibly, October has rolled around thecorner, and we are slowly creeping into themajor holiday season. Along with all theholidays, there are countless food-basedmonthly observances. I bet few of youknew that besides Halloween, October isknown as caramel month, cookie month,pasta month, pickled pepper month, pizzamonth, popcorn poppin’ month, pretzelmonth and seafood month. I have won-dered who decided to observe these foods,but why complain when it is best to enjoy.

Although it would make sense to sharewith you cookie or pizza recipes, I thoughtit would even more sense to publish thefine recipes of our readers. It is so excitingto have the participation of City employeesfrom the various City departments as wellas retired employees in this month’sCooking with Club. Let’s begin withJenny’s Hot Cider, it’s full of warm love andnatural ingredients. Barbara Jones fromRec and Parks has a great tasting meatball

recipe that has be handed down from hermother and refined by her to its currentingredients. City Retiree Helen Carreraknows her stuff about pumpkins andpumpkin soup. She pointed out to me thatit is very important to use salt and pepperto accentuate the flavor of the pumpkin.Tim Lowe from the DWP shares a veryquick and easy recipe that is best for anyoccasion. Personally, I’d even have this forbreakfast, it’s so good. Peter Langley sendsus his recipe called Peter’s Piping HotStuffed Peppers. He tells us that if youhave trouble finding Hungarian peppers,you may substitute with other pepper vari-eties. George Mattel delivers a masterfulpotato casserole that reminds me of mymom’s cooking. Hold on to this recipebecause it could be one the year’s best.

That’s all for October! Thanks for thegreat recipes and keep them coming.Happy Halloween!

City Employees AreReally Cooking

The Incredible Potato Casserole—George Mattel, LAPD

INGREDIENTS:1/4 cup butter6 tablespoons all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper2 1/2 cups milk3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese6 large russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices1 small onion, finely chopped1 pound cooked ham, chopped1 (16 ounce) package frozen cauliflower1/4 cup crushed cornflakes cereal

DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees

C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.To prepare the cheese sauce, melt butter in

a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whiskin flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix inmilk, and stir constantly until thickened. Mixin cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese, and con-tinue to stir until smooth. Reduce heat to low.

Layer potatoes in the bottom of the pre-

pared baking dish. Layer onion and ham overpotatoes. Top with cauliflower. Cover with thecheese sauce.

Bake covered 1 hour in the preheated oven.Remove cover, sprinkle with crushed corn-flakes, and continue baking 10 minutes, untilvegetables are tender and surface is bubblyand lightly browned. Allow it to cool about 10minutes before serving.

Disneyland AnnualPassport (Premium) Regular Price: $349.00 — Club Price $314.10Valid 365 days (1 yr from date of activation) at bothDisneyland Park and California Adventure. 10% merchan-dise discount at select locations throughout DisneylandResort. Free Annual Parking Pass for the Mickey & Friendsparking structure. 10-15% dining discount at selectDisneyland Resort restaurants. Special Rates at the Hotelsof the Disneyland Resort. One year subscription to DisneyMagazine

Disneyland Annual Passport (Deluxe) Regular Price: $229.00 — Club Price $206.10Valid 320 pre-selected days (1 year from date of activation) at both Disneyland Park andCalifornia Adventure. 10% merchandise discount at select location throughout DisneylandResort. Annual Parking Pass for the Mickey & Friends parking structure for an additional $40.10-15% dining discount at select Disneyland Resort restaurants. Special Rates at the Hotels ofthe Disneyland Resort.

Not Valid: 9/3-4, 11/24-26, 12/24-31/2005

Hot Ticket Deals!

__Universal Studios - Adult/Child- $49.00 $31.00 x = $_Universal Studios - Annual Pass $80.00 $53.00 x = $_Wild Animal Park - Adult $26.50 $21.00 x = $___________

Through 3/31/06 Child 3-11 $19.50 $15.50 x = $_

Gift CertificatesGolf ‘n Stuff $26.50 $11.50 x = $___________See’s Candies Gift Certificate (1 lb.) $12.40 $9.75 x = $___________Mulligan’s Family Fun Center $15.00 $10.00 x = $$15 Gift Certificate_______

SUB TOTAL

Shipping & Handling Tickets: Standard Mail* $2.25 x 1 = $___Tickets: Certified Mail $3.50 x 1 = $___

TOTAL (please include shipping)

Discount Tickets by Mail, Phone, Web site & FAX

This is your chance to enjoy the entertainment options you love—all at discounted prices—as a benefit of membership in the Club.

We’ll send you back your tickets by mail. • ALL TICKETS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. PRICES MAY CHANGE.

• DO NOT SEND CASH – ALL SALES ARE FINAL – NO REFUNDS.

• When visiting Club offices, only the first 15-minutes of parking will be validated. The CLUB strongly encourages thatmembers phone in orders before visiting our office.

• Orders will be processed as soon as received.

• Tickets must be mailed to your home address.

• City Employees Club of Los Angeles cannot be held responsible for money or tickets lost in the mail.

• For your convenience, the Club accepts VISA or MasterCard.

• Maximum 12 tickets per event/theatre/attraction per order.


$

DISCOUNT TICKET Order Form for City Employees Club of Los Angeles members.

Ticket Guy

Navin Cotton,“Ticket Guy”You can call or email yourcomments, concerns: EMAIL:[email protected]: (800) 464-0452If any member is participat-ing in any local theatre pro-ductions, sports events, orvolunteer events, let meknow and I’ll try to put an adin next month’s issue.

$

BY MAIL:Complete the order form below and mail to:

Ticket Guy City Employees Club of Los Angeles

350 S. Figueroa St., Ste. 700Los Angeles, CA 90071

BY PHONE: (888) 777-1744

BY FAX: (213) 620-0398

BY WEB SITE: Go to www.cityemployeesclub.comand click on Club_Discounts.

To Order:

Member InformationMember’s name

Home Street Address

City State Zip

Home Phone Work Phone

Club Member Number

Make all checks payable to the City Employees Club of Los Angeles.

Allow 3 to 7 days for delivery.

Theatre Tickets **AMC - RESTRICTED TICKETS $9.00 $5.50 x = $___________AMC - GOOD ANY TIME $9.00 $7.00 x = $_

Small Popcorn $3.25 $2.25 x = $Small Drink $3.25 $2.25 x = $

Krikorian Theatres -GOOD ANY TIME $9.50 $6.00 x = $______Regal/Edwards Cinema/United Artists

RESTRICTED TICKETS $9.00 $5.50 x = $___________Regal/Edwards Cinema/United Artists

GOOD ANY TIME $9.00 $6.50 x = $___________Imax at Exposition Park - Adult $7.50 $5.00 x = $___________Imax at Exposition Park - Child $4.50 $3.75 x = $___________Cinemark Theatres- Restricted Tickets $8.75 $5.50 x = $___________Cinemark Theatres -GOOD ANY TIME $9.50 $6.50 x = $______Loews Cineplex /Magic Johnson $8.50 $5.50 x = $___Loews Cineplex /Magic Johnson (Good Anytime) $8.50 $7.00 x = $___________Loews Cineplex Odeon (Universal Cineplex ONLY) $8.50 $6.00 x = $___________(No Restrictions) - Includes $1 Off concession coupon

Mann Theaters- Restricted (Mon-Thurs) $9.00 $5.75 x = $___________Mann Theaters - GOOD ANY TIME $9.00 $7.00 x = $_Pacific Walk/Drive In $9.00 $5.50 x = $_The Bridge Cinemas $11.00 $9.00 x = $_

Theme Parks / Attractions **Aquarium of the Pacific - Adult $18.75 $14.95 x = $___________

Through 12/31/05 - Child 3-11 $9.95 $8.95 x = $___________Boomer’s Family Fun Centers - All day Pass $20.00 $14.00 x = $California Adventure - Adult $56.00 $45.50x = $____

Through 12/17/05 - Child 3-9 $46.00 $40.50 x = $Catalina Island Express (Round Trip) - Adult — $41.00 x = $

- Child — $34.00 x = $Catalina Sightseeing - Adult — $17.75 x = $__

- Child — $9.00 x = $_____

Disneyland - Adult $56.00 $45.50 x = $___Through 12/15/05 except 7/17 - Child 3-9 $46.00 $40.50 x = $_

Disneyland 1-Day Park Hopper - Adult $76.00 $58.50 x = $- Child 3-9 $66.00 $53.50 x = $

Disneyland/California Adventure $349.00 $314.10 x = $Premium Annual PassportDisneyland/California Adventure $229.00 $206.10 x = $_Deluxe Annual Passport - Black out dates apply

Knott’s Berry Farm - Adult $45.00 $23.95 x = $- Child 3-11 $32.00 $14.95 x = $__________

Legoland - Adult/Child - Through 1/31/06 $41.95 $29.95 x = $________Los Angeles Zoo - Adult $10.00 $7.00 x = $_

- Child 2-12 $7.00 $4.00 x = $___________Medieval Times - Adult $46.65 $39.65 x = $ ___

Offer expires 12/29/05 - Child 12 and under $32.40 $29.40 x = $________Movieland Wax Museum - Adult $12.95 $7.50 x = $_______

Buena Park Location_ - Child 4-11 $6.95 $4.95 x = $__________Ripley’s Believe It or Not - Adult $8.95 $6.50 x = $_______

Buena Park Location_ - Child 4-11 $5.95 $3.95 x = $_________San Diego Zoo - Adult $32.00 $25.00 x = $___________

Through 3/31/06 - Child 3-11 FREE $15.75 x = $___________Sea World San Diego - Adult $50.95 $34.00 x = $___________

Through 12/31/05 - Child 3-9 $40.95 $34.00 x = $Six Flags Magic Mountain - Adult $47.99 $22.00 x = $_

Through 12/31/05 - Child under 48” $29.99 $15.00 x = $_Six Flags Magic Mountain -Adult & Child $20.00 $20.00 x = $_Private Party Club - 7pm - 1am

Retail ClubPrice Price Quantity Total




Choice of 2 tours: Avalon Scenic, Casino, DaytimeGlass Bottom Boat or Sea Rocks Cruise. Seasonal.Ticket not valid 5/27-30, 7/1-4, and 9/2-5, 2005.Black out dates apply.

Ticket not valid 5/27-30, 7/1-4, and 9/2-5, 2005.Black out dates apply.

Expiration date 1/31/06.Black out dates apply.

Expires 12/31/06.

* When using Standard mail, please be aware that the Club cannot be responsible for tickets lost in the mail.** Please be aware that black-out dates and restrictions may apply to the use of discounted tickets.

Use StubHub! Try Ticket Guy first. But if you’re looking forthat special ticket to asporting event or con-cert, Ticket Guy recom-mends using StubHub,the great alternative toTicketMaster or brokers.And Club members geta $10 discount! Log on to www.stubhub.com/cityemployeesclub or call (800) 563-1690

Payment Methodm Check or Money Order enclosed (please paper clip to order form)

Make checks payable to City Employees Club of Los Angeles

m Credit CardPlease charge $______________ (enter total from above form) to my credit card.

m MasterCard m VISA CVV Code:*

No. Exp. /Cardholder Name_____________________________________________________________

Cardholder Signature__________________________________________________________

*Last 3 digits on back of card, after account number.

FREE for OCTOBER


Orange with City Seal: $12.50 each

Orange with City Seal and City ofLos Angeles script: $12.50 each

Black with City Seal and City ofLos Angeles script: $12.50 each

Dark Blue with City Seal:$12.50 each

Khaki with City Employees Club ofLos Angeles logo: $7.00 each

Dark Blue with City Employees Clubof Los Angeles logo: $7.00 each

Black with City Seal: $12.50 each

High qualityembroideredball caps!

City SealWatchesThese watches have been metic-ulously crafted using only high-quality quartz movements inhypoallergenic casings.

Mens FullColor CitySeal, BlackBandMODEL: #1245PRICE: $36.00

Ladies FullColor CitySeal, BlackBandMODEL: #2245PRICE: $36.00

Mens SilverColor,EmbossedCity SealMODEL: #1051PRICE: $54.46

Mens GoldColor,EmbossedCity SealMODEL: #1673PRICE: $76.54

Black/Silver ColorPendant, EmbossedCity SealMODEL: #1494-XBKPRICE: $43.23

TO ORDER CLUB STORE MERCHANDISE:Call the Ticket Hotline: (888) 777-1744.The Ticket Guy is waiting foryour call! –or– Complete the order form below.

• Club Store •OFFICIAL CLUB MERCHANDISE

Mens Silver Color,Embossed City Seal,Leather BandMODEL #1161-XSBPRICE: $64.97

SOLD OUT!

SOLD OUT!

BY MAIL:Complete the order form below and mail to:

Ticket Guy City Employees Club of Los Angeles

350 S. Figueroa St., Ste. 700Los Angeles, CA 90071

BY PHONE: (888) 777-1744

BY FAX: (213) 620-0398

BY WEB SITE: Go to www.cityemployeesclub.comand click on Club_Discounts.

To Order:

Member InformationMember’s name

Home Street Address

City State Zip

Home Phone Work Phone

Club Member Number

Club Store Order FormHATSCITY SEAL Hat (with seal only) ____q Orange $12.50 x = $q Black_____ $12.50 x = $

CITY SEAL Hat (with “Los Angeles”) ____q Orange $12.50 x = $q Black - SOLD OUT $12.50 x = $q Dark Blue - SOLD OUT _____ $12.50 x = $

CLUB LOGO Hat ____q Dark Blue $7.00 x = $q Khaki_____ $7.00 x = $

CITY SEAL WATCHESMens Black/Silver Color Pendant, Model #1494-XBK $43.23 x = $Mens Silver Color, Leather Band, Model #1161-XSB $64.97 x = $Mens Silver Color, Model #1051 $54.46 x = $Mens Full Color Seal, Black Band Model #1245 $36.00 x = $Mens Gold Color Pendant, Model #1673 $76.54 x = $Ladies Silver Color, Model #2051 $54.46 x = $Ladies Full Color Seal, Black Band, Model #2245 $36.00 x = $

BOOKLos Angeles, Views of the Past & Present $25.00 x = $

SUB TOTAL

Shipping & Handling Hats $2.25 for 1 to 3; $1.25 for each above 3 = $___

Watches $3.00 for 1or 2; $2.00 for each above 2 = $___

Book $5.50 x = $___

TOTAL (please include shipping)

Make all checks payable to the City Employees Club of Los Angeles.

Allow 3 to 7 days for delivery.

$

$

Ladies SilverColor,EmbossedCity SealMODEL: #2051PRICE: $54.46

Price Quantity Total

NEW!Los Angeles, Views of the Past & PresentAn excellent example of what Los Angeleslooked like in its humble beginnings com-pared to the present day. Photographs bythe world famous George Ross Jezek.

Club Discount Price...................$25.00($32.95 Retail)

City Seal and Club Logo Hats!

All Club

copies signed

by authors

Marc Wanamaker

& George Ross

Jezek!

Payment Methodm Check or Money Order enclosed (please paper clip to order form)

Make checks payable to City Employees Club of Los Angeles

m Credit CardPlease charge $______________ (enter total from above form) to my credit card.

m MasterCard m VISA CVV Code:*

No. Exp. /Cardholder Name_____________________________________________________________

Cardholder Signature__________________________________________________________

*Last 3 digits on back of card, after account number.

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Discount Tickets • Buy tickets by Phone,

Mail, or Web site• Theme parks and attractions

(up to 70% off)• Movies - all major screens

(up to 70% off)• Plays, musicals, the arts, sports

events

Alive! Newspaper• Births, weddings,

retirements, deaths• Free Classifieds• Retirees Corner• Department of the Month• DWP news• Opinion column• Movie reviews• Organized Club information• Cooking Recipes

Group Rated Insurance Products

• Term Life Insurance• Long Term Disability • Short Term Disability Insurance• Long Term Care Insurance• Cancer Insurance• Legal Services Plan• Group Rated Accidental Death

& Dismemberment Insurance• Group Rated Auto and

Homeowners InsurancePlus…• The Famous “Refund Check”• Pet Insurance

More Benefits• Free Notary Service• Scholarships• Employee-of-the-Year Award

Meet the Club TeamThese are the faces behind the Club. Our staff is dedicated to helping our members receive the maximum bene-fit from their membership. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions about your Club, our counselors areready to help.

Liz MontesMember ServicesCounselor

Beverly HaroMember ServicesCounselor

Arlene HerreroMember ServicesCounselor

Need help? Find your CounselorWhen contacting the Club, ask for the counselor that handles your department.

Michael AndersonInformation Technology Manager

LeighThompsonController

Brian G.TrentChief Financial

Officer

Robert LariosDirector of

Communications &Marketing

John HawkinsPresident & CEO

Trinh PhamSenior

Accountant

MichelleMoreno

AdministrativeAssistant

Sara FamaI.T. Coordinator

Navin CottonVendor Relations

Coordinator“Ticket Guy”

Lupe MedinaAdministrative

ServicesRepresentative

Aging, Department ofCommunity Development DepartmentDWP Admin.DWP Financial Services ExecutiveDWP Marketing and Customer ServiceDWP Water ServicesEmployee Relations BoardEnvironmental Affairs, Department ofFire DepartmentLibrary DepartmentNeighborhood Empowerment, Department ofPensions, Department of Fire & PolicePersonnel DepartmentTransportation, Department ofStreet Services, Bureau ofZoo Department, Los Angeles

Accounting, Bureau of [Formerly]Animal Regulation, Department ofAirports, Los Angeles WorldChief Legislative Analyst, Office of theCity Administrative OfficerCity AttorneyCity ClerkColiseum, Los Angeles MemorialCommunity Redevelopment AgencyContract Administration, Bureau ofController, Office of theConvention Center, Los AngelesCouncil District # 1-15Cultural Affairs, Department ofDepartment on DisabilityDWP Integrated Support ServicesEl Pueblo De Los AngelesFinance, Office ofHousing DepartmentManagement/Employee Services,Mayor, Office of thePlanning, CityRecreation and Parks, Department ofStreet Lighting, Bureau of

Building and Safety, Department ofDWP Energy ServicesDWP Water Services (Aqueduct So. District)Engineering, Bureau ofGeneral Services, Department ofHarbor DepartmentInformation Technology AgencyPolice DepartmentRetirement System, City Employees’Sanitation, Bureau of

Questions? We’re here to help.Call between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. (800)464-0452

MEMBERBenefits

Summy LamIT Business Analyst

Alan BoundInformation Technology Programmer

Cecilia TalbotClaims

Administrator

Jessica SeguraClaims Assistant

Angel GomezMember Services

Manager

Howard PompelMember Services

Counselor

2004 President’sAward Recipient

2003 President’sAward Recipient

LACEA Alive July2003 10.qxd - Employees Club of California

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Transcript of LACEA Alive July2003 10.qxd - Employees Club of California