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Plan
neighborhood commercial area and we thought we could increase capacity there.” The planners did hear opposition at the neighborhood council level earlier this year, but that was during the summer. “At that point the EIR [environmental impact report] had already been completed,” Lawrence explained. Principal City Planner Ken Bernstein, who heads the unit Lawrence works in, stepped in to explain that this sort of planning glitch is not unusual—indeed, it’s part of the reason the process is structured as it is. “It’s important to point out that the draft plan, and what was presented to the community at the hearing this week, represent preliminary recommendations only,” Bernstein said. “Indeed, the public response and public input is the very purpose of holding a public hearing and open house in the community at this stage in the process.” As for the dog that didn’t bark—the lack of any serious objections to the intensive work done on downtown San Pedro, Bernstein said, “The entire team that has worked on this plan has done considerable outreach over more than a 5-year period. And the plan is very clear that part of the vision of this new community plan is to reinforce the downtown area and enhance the connections between downtown and the waterfront, and we did not hear any significant objections to those goals and policies.” Finally, Lawrence explained that the 2010 census information was included in the updated draft EIR, but was not used to recalculate the planning baseline. “We’ve received comments
Change Agent
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
The Port of Los Angeles has selected The LA Waterfront Alliance as the developer for the Ports O’ Call opportunity site, Executive Director Geraldine Knatz told the Harbor Commission at a special meeting on Dec. 20. This means that the Port will enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement, but it does not guarantee that the development will take place. If the process falls apart for whatever reason, the Port would return to the remaining pool of six other developers to select a second option, Knatz explained. While some also-rans seemed promising, the rejected proposals included two that clearly were not: One for an outlet mall, and another focused on a dozen chain restaurants. Both would ignore and erase San Pedro’s culture and history, a direct violation of the spirit of the Urban Land Institute study on Ports O’ Call redevelopment. A fact, which to its credit, Port staff brought to the attention of all the developers. The Waterfront Alliance is a partnership between the Ratkovich Company of Los Angeles developer Wayne Ratkovich, which has done major large-scale projects and San Pedro-based Jerico Development company, which has specializes in smaller-scale adaptive reuse of fully restored, historic commercial properties in San Pedro and Long Beach. One such project is the Brown Brothers Building on 6th Street. For full story, go to www.randomlengthsnews.com.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Janice Hahn and 33 other members of Congress called on Speaker John Boehner, Dec. 19, to bring legislation banning high capacity ammunition clips to the floor for a vote before the end of this Congress. Since January, Hahn has been a co-sponsor of H.R. 308, the “Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act,” which would ban the types of high capacity ammunition clips used in the recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The bill presently has 140 co-sponsors. “There is absolutely no justification for why these types of ammunition clips are so easily available,” Hahn said. “They were designed to kill as many as people as possible as quickly as possible and they have no business being on our streets.”
Beck Vows to Increase Police Presence at Schools
LOS ANGELES—On Dec. 17, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck announced plans to increase the presence of the LAPD at the city’s more than 540 public elementary and middle schools, in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn. The idea is to have uniformed officers visit public school campuses daily basis. Charter and private schools that want to participate will be included. Beck said he and his aides are in the process of developing the details of the strategy, which will be implemented when students return from winter break. The amount of time the LAPD will take at the schools will be brief, because the visits will take place as part of regular patrol duties. About 1,200 police officers would be diverted to 457 elementary schools and 86 middle schools in Los Angeles, an ambitious goal given that the department already is strained and short-handed. The officers visiting the schools probably would not shift much so that they can build a rapport with students, staff and faculty The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced it too would be increasing patrols around schools in its jurisdiction and making regular visits to the campuses. Most of the schools are in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Long Beach Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell is taking similar measures, having police do foot patrols on school campuses of his city.
Supt. Deasy Pledges Safety Review
LOS ANGELES—On Dec. 17, Los Angeles School District Superintendent John Deasy pledged to review safety protocols in response to the Newtown, Conn. shooting that killed 20 children, seven adults and the shooter.
Would Be Copycats Arrested for School Threats
LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Police Department arrested Kyle Bangayan, Dec. 16, for allegedly threatening schools in Los Angeles on a Facebook post. He allegedly made some threats against a number of elementary schools on the social media site. Bangayan, 24, was taken into custody after police search his parents’ home in east Hollywood area of Los Angeles, where they found nine firearms, including handguns, rifles and a shotgun. Bangayan, a resident of Pomona is in custody in lieu $500,00 for bail. But prosecutors declined to file charges because the comments had been too vague. The Diamond Bar Police Department also is investigating allegations that a 14-year-old student at Canyon View Junior High School threatened to bring a gun to campus and kill a teacher this past week. The incidents come on tail of the recent massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., where a man killed 20 children and six adults before committing suicide. Other areas in the country are cracking down on similar threats. The Associated Press reported that police in Indiana arrested a high school student who threatened schools, removing six guns from his home. Another teenager was arrested in Tennessee for allegedly posting similar threats online was arrested. Another teenager, also in Tennessee was arrested after allegedly calling an elementary school and threatening it with a bomb, CNN reported.
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The Local Publication You Actually Read December 28, 2012 - January 10, 2013
machista culture, she completed her second year of studies as an accountant at the Universidad Autónoma de México—an anomaly for women who don’t come from well-off families in that country. “The opportunity was for the man, not for the woman,” said Carrera, who did not complete her degree. “I think that having a certain amount of education has helped me because it allows me to visualize a better life for my children.” Dissatisfied with her life in Mexico, she decided to follow her boyfriend, who lived in the United States. Her now husband has become one of best supporters. But not every woman is as lucky, she said. “We are meant to be mothers, to be wives, to be daughters, to be sisters but we never take time to inspire ourselves in saying, ‘We are women, lets take time for ourselves,’ and that is where there is so much conformity and we stay like ‘unlit,’” she said. The preparation of women can create change in a system that often keeps women from living life to their full potential, she said. Carrera believes her mission is to prepare more leaders, educate and train others to take the rein and create change. “I believe in many things but I believe that to accomplish all of my goals, I have to first meet the basic ones, which are my family,” said Carrera, the mother of three. “If (a) woman prepares herself and provides a good direction to the children, she can create a healthy family and at the same time educate other women.”
Port Picks Local Developer For Ports O’ Call
Hahn Call for Ban on High Capacity Ammunition
LAUSD has more than 1,000 schools. Deasy estimated that, so far, it appeared that fewer than 10 campuses lack a secure perimeter. Still, he said, additional measures would be undertaken to make campuses more secure. He sent three school police officers to Connecticut to learn about the tragedy and how the district can better prevents such situations.
DESIGNS
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on this and we will be taking a look at all these comments, and responding in the final EIR, and addressing this in the staff report on the plan,” Bernstein added. “These are points we are considering.” As for what comes next, the staff will complete its report in February, with a hearing before the Harbor Area Planning Commission in early March, followed by a city council hearing before the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, before going to the full city council. That hearing would probably not be held in the Harbor Area, as several commentators had proposed, the planners explained, because more than one project would be heard in a single session.
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