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INSIDE OPINION: Varying perspectives on 3 nPresident Bush’s proposals
Breathe in, breathe out — relax with yoga
sports: Titans face fifth-ranked 7 nArizona State in a three-game series
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beginning tonight at Goodwin Field
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F e b r u a r y 23, 2001
Identity fraud is hard to nCRIME: To protect against theft, authorities recommend a credit report check every six months By Patricia Rodrigues
Kathleen gutierrez/Daily Titan
The Downtown Disney District, which opened in January, left many people in line waiting for restaurants, shops and bars.
Downtown Disney debuts nENTERTAINMENT: New theme park offers a variety of entertainment geared toward adults By Kathleen Gutierrez Daily Titan Staff Writer
Although Disneyland’s California Adventure has gained much of the media’s attention recently, another facet to the Disneyland Resort is the new Downtown Disney District in the heart of Anaheim. Similar to Universal Citywalk, Downtown Disney is a gateway village of shops with a theme park anchoring one end. Downtown is sandwiched between Disneyland and Disney’s California
Adventure and is more of an adult hang‑ out than an extension of the Disney experience. Time to Play The downtown district stays open until 11p.m. each night, allowing plenty of time to play all along the strip. The new entertainment community holds six sit-down restaurants and a spat‑ tering of grab-n-go food places mixed in with shops for every interest. At night the Downtown District is alive with young hipsters looking for a party. The ESPN Zone is the place where most visitors start and is a sports fanatic’s paradise. Located at the entrance to Downtown Disney, the Zone hosts live radio broad‑ casts from inside the restaurant and pays homage to every sport imaginable.
LASIK technology improves eyesight nSCIENCE: Local nurse undergoes successful procedure to correct her vision By Darla Priest
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor One of Denise’s earliest memories took place at the circus. At the age of 5, her parents intro‑ duced her to the world of clowns, lights, bells and horns. Denise recalls only one thing — while other children watched the show, she could only hear the cheers and laughter. Her eyesight was so poor that she could not see the clowns jumping and playing. Everything was blurry. “That day at the circus only made me afraid of clowns,” said Denise Dandrea, who later became an Optometric Medical Assistant in Brea. Dandrea permanently corrected her vision 30 years later using modern lameller refractive surgery (LASIK). She went from one extreme to the other. “I couldn’t see past my fingers if I had them out in front of me,” Dandrea said. “It’s changed my life dramati‑ cally.” This laser surgery is performed using an excimer laser, which was first invent‑ ed to etch microchips more than two decades ago. The medical community later discovered that the laser can be
used to re-sculpt human tissue, in this case the cornea, with great precision. The laser vaporizes each microscopic layer of tissue. It does not cut or burn; instead, it breaks the molecular bonds between cells. The excimer is a “cold laser.” Dandrea said that before her proce‑ dure, she investigated many different doctors performing laser surgery. She also sought the advice of many eye care professionals before making her final decision to correct her eyes. Dandrea found a drastic difference in the quality of medical care, in both the staff and equipment. Not everyone uses state-of-the-art technology. “It’s scary when you find out what’s out there . . . I’ve seen a patient who had his eyesight ruined,” Dandrea said. Dandrea underwent surgery while working for Dr. Lisa R. Matsui, who currently practices inside the Brea WalMart. She received the procedure free of charge as a benefit of working for an eye doctor. During regular eye exams at her office, patients often ask Matsui about permanent eye correction procedures. “I tell them it has to be a personal decision to have the procedure done . . . there is always some kind of risk involved,” Matsui said. Dandrea said the procedure is still too new to have accurate data on the longterm effects. “I signed a ton of medical release forms,” she said. Dr. Thomas S. Tooma corrected Dandrea’s vision in the TLC Laser Eye
There is an upper level video game world, a ceiling-to-floor climbing wall, three bars and plenty to do. On the lower level is the Screening Room, a bar bigger than the dining area and gift shop combined. There is another side bar between the dining tables and the restrooms, and yet another mini bar at the top of the stairs in the game room. Inside tip: do not plan on making reservations. The ESPN Zone is a firstcome, first-on-the-waiting-list type of place. Welcome to the Jungle If sports sound unappealing, the Rainforest Café may be an ideal place, especially for those with a penchant for exotic décor. Rainforest is a two-story eating adven‑ ture complete with animatronic gorillas,
LASIK Procedure
occasional rain, and an aquarium as an archway into the lower level dining area. The bar on the lower level keeps the theme rolling with bar stools painted like animals, and creative names for their signature drinks. They take reservations in advance and recommend doing so as their wait-list is just as long as ESPN Zone on the weekends. “Weekend [reservations] fill up two weeks in advance and very quickly,” cashier Amy Strouse said. “It can get up to a four and five hour wait for dinner.” Strouse said the best time to visit is during the week for breakfast or lunch, but even then, the place is packed. “Since we’re so new we don’t have a quiet time,” Strouse said. “I guess you could say breakfast is our quiet time, but with the new park, there are still people
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By Terry Jolliffe
Daily Titan Staff Writer
Center in Newport Beach. “He [Tooma] is a very experienced doctor in LASIK surgery,” Matsui said. She also added that some centers are being hit with heavy lawsuits for mal‑ practice. “You want to go to a place with a good reputation,” Matsui said. Tooma is a scientific award-winning doctor, receiving the Corneal Epithelial
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IDENTITY/ 4
Police dog dies in his prime nANIMALS: Active K9 leaves behind a distinguished service record, assisting officers in numerous arrests
Graphic by Jason Grajewski
Special to the Titan ‑ A United States Secret Service agent tries to buy a new house and is rejected because he has $80,000 in delinquent credit card debt. The same agent, whose job it is to investigate these crimes, ironi‑ cally finds himself a victim. The crime is identity theft. Ron McCormick, a special agent with the U. S. Secret Service for two years, said, “It’s a new crime and law enforce‑ ment has a hard time developing and investigating these cases.” McCormick said the Los Angeles office receives about 10 reports of iden‑ tity theft a day and might work on one of those cases. The rest are referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency, such as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s office, which recently established a task force specializing in identify theft. “Usually it takes us about one month to develop a suspect,” McCormick said. “Right now I have about 15 open iden‑ tity theft investigations.” “We receive about 10 reports of iden‑ tity theft a day at the Los Angeles office. Of those, we might work on one case and we refer the rest to the appropri‑ ate local law enforcement agency. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s office recently established a task force specializing in identity theft. Usually it takes us about one month to develop a suspect. Right now I have about 15 open identity theft investigations,” he said. McCormick explained that iden‑ tity theft is one of the easiest crimes. Perpetrators start by obtaining basic information such as names, addresses and social security numbers of potential victims. “It’s very easy to get a lot of biograph‑ ic information through public records. The Internet also facilitates identity theft through databases such as Auto Track which provide complete personal data history for a small fee,” McCormick
said. “A good place to obtain identities is the trash can at your doctor’s office. Medical records have personal informa‑ tion that is essential to criminals, and records are not disposed of properly.” Criminals then check your credit report, and if they identify you as a target with good credit, they apply for credit cards in your name. “Out of 100 cards they apply for, they get 50,” McCormick said. “They build credit and then max them out.” The Secret Service has established a task force of 20 agents who con‑ centrate on identity theft committed by Nigerians. “The majority of our suspects are Nigerians. We deport them and after a few months they return to the U.S. under a new identity that can be obtained in Nigeria for a $5,000 fee,” said McCormick. Normally, victims first call the Federal Bureau of Investigation and usually get passed on to the Secret Service. The U.S. Attorney’s office decides whom to prosecute, deciding cases on the basis of monetary loss and the involvement of credit card transactions. “Even if the U.S. Attorney takes the case, the penalties are so low that there’s a minimal deterrence factor,” McCormick said. “A first time offender pleading guilty may get a sentence as little as three months.” “The hardest part of a case to work is when a credit card is used for cash advances at ATMs where there are no cameras or records,” he said. “Identity theft is hard to prove, so we charge the suspect with conspiracy, which is easier to prosecute.” The credit card companies have fac‑ tored in identity theft as an acceptable loss, which is less than 1% of their profits. This makes it a minor issue for them; therefore there is no incentive for an increase in consumer protection controls. Secret Service agent David Potosky advises victims of credit card fraud to immediately call their local police department. A police report is essential to document the crime. People whose identity have been stolen need to send
My son Jim’s law enforcement partner died nearly two months ago. On Dec. 26 to be exact. Nobody knew he had cancer. He hadn’t even shown any signs of illness until Christmas day when he began vomiting. Normally an indoor pet, Jim’s K9 partner Lukas, spent the night in the garage with a door open to the back‑ yard. The next day Jim found him hud‑ dled in a corner of the yard near death. He picked him up and rushed him to the veterinarian where they tried to save him using mouth-tomouth resuscitation, but to no avail. Lukas was 8 years old, by all signs physically fit and in the prime of his life. A beautiful German shepherd, Lukas was imported from Frankfurt, Germany when he was 18 months old. Previously kenneled until he arrived in the states, everything was foreign to him. To help him acclimate to his new surroundings, the handlers took him to the mall to experience entering buildings, escalators, elevators and stairs.
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In Germany, it is common to trans‑ port dogs in the trunks of cars, so when Luke first arrived, if anyone opened the trunk of a K9 car, he would automatically jump in. Considered one of the most trained dogs in law enforcement with nearly 800 hours of training, Lukas went on to capture in excess of 125 criminals whose crimes included armed rob‑ bery, auto theft, attempted first degree murder, commercial and residential burglaries, and drug sales.
Lukas’ most unforgettable pursuit was when he tracked a career criminal who bailed out of a truck used in a burglary. Lukas “doggedly” tracked him almost two miles over every terrain imaginable — down a street, behind a shopping center, down railroad tracks, through a swamp, an apartment com‑ plex, and a residential neighborhood and then finally into a heavily wooded
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terry Jolliffe/Daily Titan
Jim Jolliffe lost his canine partner, Lukas, to cancer in December.