2 SIGNAL TRIBUNE
NEWS
OCTOBER 29, 2010
LBPD now using bracelet technology to locate those with cognitive disorders THE NEXT SUPPER The next restaurant for the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association’s Supper Club will be Phil Trani’s, 3490 Long Beach Blvd. The group will meet on Monday, Nov. 1 at 6:30pm. RSVP to info@bixbyknollsinfo.com. The concept of the Bixby Knolls Supper Club is to support local restaurants on Monday nights, which are typically slow. HELP HOF’S HUT HELP Hof's Hut’s Los Altos location, 2147 Bellflower Blvd., will be hosting a fundraiser dinner to support Meals on Wheels of Long Beach on Nov. 3 from 4pm to 11pm. Fifteen percent of customer purchases will be donated back to Meals on Wheels. Valid for dine-in and take-out, as well as delivery purchases. All are welcome; no reservations are required. Call (562) 597-5811. A PIECE OF HISTORY The Long Beach Sierra Club will present a special program on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7:30pm in honor of Native American History Month. Linda Gonzales, a Tongva-Gabrielino/Yaqui, will speak on the history and culture of the LA Basin's indigenous peoples, with a special emphasis on the Long Beach area, home to one of the largest and most sacred of the settlements. The program is free and open to the public, and will take place in the meeting room of the Environmental Services Bureau, 2929 East Willow St. FAMILY FUN Westerly School has announced the launch of a new education series for Long Beach families. The first presentation of the three-part series will be “How Arts Education Builds Student Confidence,” a panel discussion from 6pm to 7:30pm on Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Westerly School Arts Village, located at 2950 E. 29th St. Featured panelists will include: Geraldine Walkup, Visual and Performing Arts Administrator at the Los Angeles County Office of Education; and Carlton Wilborn, artist, life coach, author, and inspirational speaker. Sponsored by Westerly School PTO, this informative and interactive parent education series is free and open to the public. The events are geared toward parents with children aged 5 to 17. Call (562) 981-3151. SHOPPING FOR A GOOD CAUSE The public may do their holiday shopping while enjoying home-baked goods at the Children’s Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s annual Holiday Faire, 9am to 5pm Thursday, Nov. 4 and Friday, Nov. 5. The Faire will be at Houssel's Forum at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, 2801 Atlantic Ave. Call Collette Anderson at (562) 618-7868. HONORING VETERANS The US Vets–Long Beach Advisory Council will host a luncheon entitled “Honoring Those Who Serve,” as a tribute to veterans, on Friday, Nov. 5 from 11am to 1pm at the Hilton International Ballroom, 701 W. Ocean Blvd. Cost is $75 per person. Business attire is required. Call (562) 388-8015. GET A HEAD START The Assistance League of Long Beach will have its annual major fundraising event, the Second Annual Holiday Gift Boutique, on Friday, Nov. 5 from 9:30am to 7pm, and Saturday, Nov. 6 from 9am to 4pm at the Philanthropic Center, 6220 E. Spring St. More than 35 vendors will be present with highquality gift items, including decorative home accessories, holiday décor, gourmet foods, scarves, purses, stationery, women’s and children’s clothing and more. Admission and parking are free. Major credit cards accepted. Drawings for door prizes will take place hourly. All proceeds will be used to support the League’s philanthropic programs. Call (562) 627-5650 or visit allb.org. CULTURE WITH A CAUSE A Dia De Los Muertos celebration and artists’ reception will take place Saturday, Nov. 6 from 6-10pm at the 2nd City Council Art Gallery and Performance Space, 435 Alamitos Ave. There will be music, dance, children’s art projects, a youth art exhibit, parade and festival. Concessions will be sold, and proceeds support a local charity. The event is free and open to the public. Call (562) 901-0997. COMMUNI-TEA The public is invited to Su Casa’s “Communi-Tea” Friend & Fund Raiser to end domestic violence. The event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 7 from 1pm to 3:30pm at Lakewood Youth Center, Del Valle Park, 5939 Henrilee St. in Lakewood. Cost is $20 for one admission or $25 for two, and $100 to host a table for a group or organization (up to 8 people). Admission includes tea or coffee, tea sandwiches, and sweets. Group recognition for Best Table Theme– arrange a group of 8 friends or club members to plan a theme, then bring decorations, tableware and serving pieces that carry out the theme. Table decorators will be admitted at 12:45pm, and prizes will be given to winners. RSVP by Monday, Nov. 1 to tlwhiteleather@juno.com or by calling (562) 866-8755. TAKE ACTION The 2008-2009 NUSA National Champions, The North Long Beach Community Action Group will have newly elected Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert as its featured guest speaker Sunday, Nov. 7 from 2pm to 5pm at the North Police Substation, 4891 Del Amo Blvd. This monthly meeting provides education, information and current events for the North Long Beach Community. The meeting is open to the public the first Sunday of each month (except for holidays). Call (562) 428-7710. CLASSICAL PERFORMANCE The Friends of Music at California Heights United Methodist Church will present a concert by the California Baptist University String Ensemble on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 4pm. The group, conducted by Dr. Angela Brand, will perform works by Bach, Mozart and others. The church is located at 3759 Orange Ave. Free-will offering. Childcare provided. Visit calheightsumc.org or call (562) 595-1996. NOVEL DISCUSSION On Saturday, Nov. 13, at 10am, the Los Altos Neighborhood Library Book Group will discuss Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, a sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to a Bronx hospital, while revealing the intertwined lives of twin brothers. New members are always welcome. The library is located at 5614 E. Britton Dr. Contact the librarian at cliff.phillips@lbpl.org or (562) 570-1045.
The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) has announced Safe Reunion/Long Beach, a program in partnership with EmFinders technology company, to help locate missing loved ones. The program was designed specially for those prone to wander due to cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and dementia. The LBPD receives and investigates missing-person reports on a daily basis, and timing is crucial in these investigations. While most missing-person cases have a happy ending with the person quickly located and returned home, some do not, and, in some rare cases, the missing person is never located. Typically, the chance of the person being located safely decreases the longer that person remains missing. The “EmSeeQ emergency locator system” by EmFinders will assist police with these often time-consuming in-
vestigations, and help locate and return the missing to their loved ones likely faster than before. The emergency locator system requires the person-at-risk to wear a bracelet, which can be activated after he or she is reported missing. The reporting party must first call the police and provide necessary information in order to generate a report. The report number is provided to the caller who then provides it to EmFinders via their toll-free number, and EmFinders activates the bracelet. The missing person’s location is then transmitted via cell tower to 9-1-1 dispatchers who can send assistance. Last Sunday, representatives from the LBPD and EmFinders unveiled the EmSeeQ device at the Long Beach Convention Center in conjunction with Maria Shriver’s March on Alzheimer’s. Starting Nov. 1, a limited quantity of free bracelets will be provided by
the LBPD to those suffering from a diagnosed cognitive disorder. This offering was made possible by a group of private donors led by Long Beach resident Coralyn Wahlberg, who provided the initial funding for Safe Reunion/Long Beach. The monthly cost for the 24-hour monitoring service is approximately $25. Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell sees many benefits of the department utilizing technology to increase community safety. “Safe Reunion/Long Beach is a great tool for returning loved ones home safely and for minimizing police resources, while locating a person who has a propensity to wander,” he said. For more information about EmFinders’ EmSeeQ emergency locator system, visit emfinders.com. To donate to Safe Reunion/Long Beach, contact the Long Beach Police Foundation at (562) 343-5111 or through lbpolicefoundation.org. ß
Uranga elected chair of Association of Community College Trustees Long Beach Community College (LBCC) Trustee Roberto Uranga has been elected to serve as the chair of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Uranga was elected last weekend at the annual Community College Trustee Leadership Congress in Toronto, Canada. “I’m extremely proud to have received this honor from an organization that advocates for our community colleges,” said Uranga. “I am humbled to be the
first Latino to serve in this capacity and honored to bring this recognition to Long Beach.” Uranga, currently the vice-chair of the ACCT, becomes the first Hispanic to serve as chair of the national board. The ACCT is a national nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the
United States and other countries. Uranga remains on the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees. He was first elected to serve on the board in 2000. Uranga was unanimously voted president of the Board in 2002 and 2006. “Trustee Uranga is a national leader in community college policy, and we are fortunate to have him as a member of our local governing board,” said LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “I am sure he will bring the same level of passion that we have seen here in Long Beach to the Association of Community College Trustees.” ß
Grant to help LBPD institute special traffic operations The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) is expanding its regular traffic enforcement with special operations funded by a recent $278,000 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Special traffic enforcement measures will include increased enforcement around intersections and traffic lights. “We have made progress, but there is still much work to be done in order to prevent the tragedies that are caused by impaired and distracted driving,” said Chief Jim McDonnell. This grant enables us to continue educating the public on the perils of drunk driving as well as the importance of refraining from texting and driving and using hands-free devices with cell phones.” The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant is designed to assist in efforts to deal with trafficsafety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. Traffic deaths from all causes declined in 2009 in California by 10.3 percent from 3,434
killed in 2008 to 3,081 in 2009. The state recorded 950 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2009, a 7.6-percent decline from 1,025 in 2008; however, DUI deaths remain at 31 percent of fatalities. “Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). “But as encouraging as this is, we can’t let up on the efforts to encourage and enforce traffic safety. Thousands are still losing their lives or being severely injured on our roadways.” The grant activities will target DUI offenders, drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, red light running, distracted driving, motorcycle safety, and seatbelt violations through the use of DUI/driver’s license checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, and special enforcement operations. The grant also provides funding for additional training of officers in driving under the influence detection and enforcement, as well as
supervising enforcement operations. For the second year in a row, special motorcycle safety enforcement operations will be conducted. In California, motorcycle fatalities have finally dropped following a decade rise in deaths. Motorcyclists killed in 2009 numbered 393, a 29-percent drop from 2008 statistics. However, California remains one of three states that still lead the nation in motorcyclist deaths. Long Beach police officers will be conducting specialized enforcement efforts throughout the course of the next year. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcycles. Officers will be cracking down on traffic violations, made by motorcyclists and other vehicle drivers, that result in far too many motorcycle collisions, injuries and deaths. “More people are making it home safely and alive each day,” said Murphy. “But to keep this trend going, we will continue to strive to meet our vision– toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.” ß
Additional police officers arrested in grand theft case Long Beach Police Department detectives have arrested an officer and a former officer of the department in connection with the Aug. 5, 2010 arrest of former officer Damian Ramos for grand theft of weapons. Ramos, a five-year employee with the department, handled a “found property” call at a Long Beach business, which turned over numerous weapons to him. However, the department discovered that not all of the weapons had been placed into evidence. Detectives following up on this confiscation of weapons determined that the number turned in by the business did not correspond with the number placed into evidence by Ramos. Upon learning of this discrepancy, the department launched an immediate and exhaustive investigation. Significant resources were devoted to the case to determine the
whereabouts of the missing firearms. As the investigation progressed, Ramos became the focus, which led to the service of multiple search warrants and his arrest. Since then, the investigation has been ongoing and additional information was discovered, leading detectives to the arrest of Officer Benjamin De Los Santos and former officer Derrick Dinsmore. De Los Santos, a six-year employee, was arrested Tuesday in Long Beach. He was booked for receiving stolen property, conspiracy, grand theft of firearms, embezzlement, and circulation of a false document, and is being held on $20,000 bail. Dinsmore, a former four-year employee, was arrested Monday night in the city of Walnut. He was booked for receiving stolen property, accessory after the fact, and preparing false documentary evidence, and is being held on
$20,000 bail. At the time of Ramos’s arrest, detectives believed he acted alone. However, during the course of the ongoing investigation, additional evidence was discovered that led detectives to determine that these two additional officers were also involved. “This is an unfortunate situation, but we are committed to ensuring that every investigation of misconduct involving any of our employees is thorough and complete,” said Chief Jim McDonnell. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Justice Integrity Division will be presented with this case and will handle the prosecution. De Los Santos has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. Dinsmore was dismissed from employment on Sept. 27, 2010 after his involvement in this investigation was discovered. ß