Alhambra PRESS MONDAY, APRIL 1 - APRIL 7, 2013
FREE
VOLUME 2, NO. 13
Monterey Los Angeles County men’s central jail teaches Park PD to inmates how to train & care for (rescued) dogs hold zero tolerance distracted driving enforcement operation during April As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Monterey Park Police Department will be actively ticketing those texting or operating hand-held cell phones during the month of April. Drivers who break the law and place themselves and others in danger will be cited with no warnings. The current minimum ticket cost is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279. Last April, over 57,000 tickets were written statewide for texting and hand-held cell use. There were nearly 450,000 convictions in 2012. Whether it’s a ticket or a crash, as the campaign theme states, “It’s Not Worth It!” Distracted driving is a seriPlease see page 4
outdoors on grass lawns adjacent to the jail and they have access to dog crates in their jail dorm. Eight dogs have already been successfully trained and adopted by loving families. Not surprisingly, most of the dogs have been adopted by either jail employees or civilians who provide inmate
On Wednesday, April 3 at 6:30 pm, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) will convene and moderate a town hall to discuss the causes of gun violence such as the horrendous shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The discussion will include federal legislation that has been proposed to put in place universal background checks for all gun sales, improve mental health treatment and the quality of records in the background check system, and other proposals being debated by Congress. Congressman Schiff will be joined by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, former State Senator Jack Scott, Dr. Anand Pandya, Loren Lieb, and an invited representative from the NRA. “Since Newtown, Congress has been debating steps that we can take to prevent future gun violence and tragedies from occurring,” said Rep. Schiff. “It’s my hope that we can take steps to crack down on
Please see page 4
Please see page 7
-Courtesy Photo
Inmates at the Men’s Central Jail are participating in a unique program known as the “Custody Canine Program.” Dogs are being housed with the inmates who learn to apply canine training and housebreaking skills to prepare them for adoption. The county jail inmates volunteer for the specialized program, which is offered through the Education Based
Incarceration Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. This program started in August 2012 as a partnership with Belmonte’s Dog Training and Equipment. Inmates are given two hours of instruction per week by staff from Belmonte’s Dog Training, learning how to properly train and care for the dogs. Two dogs are intro-
duced and placed in an inmate dorm that houses 36 inmates. This allows for 18 inmates to share a structured list of duties with each of the dogs that starts each day at 6:30 a.m. and concludes at 7:30 p.m. The entire training process takes approximately 3-5 weeks for each pair of dogs. Adding to the dogs’ comfort and safety, they spend part of their day
Rep. Adam Schiff to host town hall on gun violence
3 Dead in Governor Brown convenes ‘Mostly Mozart’ Burbank Philharmonic 2 separate state military council Saturday, April 20 - 7:30 p.m. motorcycle and Inexpand an effort to protect nia.” April may traditionally the military’s California is home to be known as the month of role in national security 29 federal military installa- “showers” leading to May’s accidents vital and California’s economy, tions and the Department flowers, but when the BurGovernor Edmund G. of Defense directly employs bank Philharmonic presents in Brown Jr. today established more than 236,000 people in “Mostly Mozart” on SaturGovernor’s Military California. The Governor’s day, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. Council and appointed for- Military Council will work to at the Hall of Liberty in Monterey the mer Congresswoman and protect California’s military Burbank, California, the sun Secretary of State El- installations and operations will be shining regardless of Park and Under len Tauscher as chair. amid ongoing Department the weather, promises the re“California plays a of Defense budget cuts, and nowned orchestra’s Music Hacienda crucial role in our nation’s leverage changes in federal Director Steven Kerstein. defense, and military bases military strategy to position “The great classical and activities are vital to our the state to continue innova- composer Antonin Dvorak Heights state’s economy,” said Gov- tion and leadership in its mili- once famously remarked Two men and a woman were killed in two separate motorcycle accidents Tuesday in Hacienda Heights Please see page 6
ernor Brown. “As federal priorities shift to cyber security and new military technology, this Council will work to expand defense-industry jobs and investment in Califor-
tary mission. “California’s military infrastructure is critically important to national security,”
that ‘Mozart is sunshine,’ ” Kerstein explains, “and I couldn’t agree more. For this concert we’ll present
Please see page 2
Please see page 3
-Courtesy Photo