Project1_Layout 1 4/13/15 12:51 PM Page 1
“The Weavers (2),” mixed media on paper by Annie Stromquist
“Bird Dreams XVII,” monotype “Sunrise at the Lagoon,” watercolor on by Gail Werner Yupo paper by Dorte Christjansen
“Primary Couple,” oil pastel on paper by Carol Roehmer
For more about these and other artists participating in the Biennial Mid-City Studio Tour, see page 15
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and the City of Signal Hill
VOL. 36 NO. 51
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
40 years after the war
Vietnam veteran shares personal narrative of pain and redemption
CJ Dablo
May 22, 2015
Brown’s revised budget addresses working poor, education, drought Cory Bilicko
Staff Writer
A week before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Army veteran Richard Burton recalled the days when he was a young kid just out of high school and drafted to serve in Vietnam. It’s been 40 years since Saigon fell and the U.S. withdrew its presence from that country, but the painful memories of that conflict in Southeast Asia had left their mark on Burton and many other men and women who served in the armed forces. On a late Tuesday afternoon at a coffee shop near Long Beach’s Bixby Park, the 68-year-old eagerly flipped open a scrapbook full of clippings and pictures from his Army days. He reached for a picture that’s dated 1968– a younger Burton with hair cropped down to a government-issue crew cut. Attired in baggy Army fatigues, he stood in front of a helicopter and squinted in the sunshine. At the time, he was about 21 and stationed in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. He served in the 17th Air Cavalry in various roles. He piloted the Courtesy Richard Burton helicopters, maintained them and U. S. Army veteran Richard Burton was about 21 years old when this photo even fired the guns sometimes. He was taken while he was stationed in the Central Highlands in Vietnam back recalled the blasts of rockets and in January 1968. mortar fire that would awaken him any time between 2am and 4am. He remembered the friends who lost their lives. Back then, he said, they didn’t often make any announcements when there was a casualty. They’d simply clean out a locker when it would happen. That’s how he would know. There were protestors stateside who criticized America’s role in the war and threw tomatoes at Burton and the other soldiers in Oakland as they were about to board their ship, Burton said. The lack of support and the memories of combat took their toll on him when his tour of duty finished. “It was bitter for a long time,” Burton said. “A long time. I think a lot of us were stuck. And some of the soldiers… from [the] Vietnam era [were] really stuck. They don’t know what to do. You can see it….still homeless, still with addictions.” Those dark feelings didn’t easily leave Burton. Shortly after his military service, Burton said he tried to seek counseling and request medical services from the local Veterans Administration (VA) Long Beach Medical Center, but he was rejected. He was told at the time that his injuries CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune weren’t service-connected. “I didn’t know what to do,” Burton said. Putting the painful memories of the Vietnam War behind him, U. S. Army veteran Richard Burton, now 68, volunteers full time at the VA Hospital see VETERAN page 12 in Long Beach.
Weekly Weather Forecast Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
A shower in the morning
Clouds, then sun
Low clouds, then sun
Clouds and sun
Lo 58°
Lo 60°
Lo 59°
Lo 58°
69°
70°
72°
71°
Managing Editor
Though Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget revisions last week garnered mostly praise from around the state, particularly from educational institutions that will benefit, some who work in early childhood education are feeling slighted. The governor released a revised state budget on May 14 that aims to reduce debt and save billions of dollars, while directing funding to assist low-income Californians, improve schools, prevent tuition increases and address drought and climate change, according to Brown’s office. “Another recession is on the way– we just don’t know when,” Brown said in a statement on May 14. “That’s why this budget locks billions into the Rainy Day Fund and pays down debt. At the same time, this budget spends more than ever on schools and creates a new tax credit to help California’s working poor.” The revision also continues to focus on the key elements of the January budget: carrying out the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), federal healthcare reform, public-safety realignment, the Water Action Plan and the cap-and-trade expenditure plan. According to the Governor’s office, when Brown took office, the state faced a “massive” $26.6-billion budget deficit and estimated annual shortfalls of roughly $20 billion, which, compounded over a decade, have now been eliminated by a combination of budget cuts, temporary taxes and the recovering economy. To further that debt reduction, Brown’s budget revision would set aside $3.8 billion in 2015-16 consistent with the voter-approved Proposition 2 Rainy Day Fund, of which $1.9 billion is directed to pay down existing debt and long-term liabilities. The other $1.9 billion will be saved in the State’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing its balance to $3.5 billion. Additionally, the revision repays $765 million owed to local governments. To provide fiscal relief for Californians with incomes less than $6,580 and no dependents or $13,870 with three or more dependents, the revision establishes a state earned-income tax credit (EITC), designed to complement the federal EITC. The credit is expected to benefit 2 million individuals, with an average household benefit of $460 and a maximum benefit of $2,653, according to Brown’s office. This investment builds on other actions from the governor to “dramatically” expand Medi-Cal healthcare coverage, raise the minimum wage, extend paid sick leave to millions of Californians, expand California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program grants and direct billions more in funding to students with the greatest needs through the LCFF. Helping the “working poor” California State Board of Equalization Chairman and Franchise Tax Board Member Jerome E. Horton commended Brown for proposing the state EITC, adding that it will help lift nearly 2 million of the state’s poorest workers out of poverty. However, Horton also said the federal tax credit still needs to be a resource for many Californians. “The state earned income-tax credit will stimulate our economy by rewarding the strong work ethic of our state’s working poor, but it is a mistake not to invest in efforts to recapture billions in federal EITC that remains unclaimed annually,” Horton said in a May 14 statement. “With the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, the Board of Equalization and Franchise Tax Board assisted more than 288,000 taxpayers [to] capture upwards of $114,045,240 in federal EITC. With a fraction of the $384 million the governor is proposing to spend, we can help even more poor people recapture billions of dollars in federal refunds. The majority of California taxpayers submitted their returns and made their contributions in April. We are now responsible for spending that money wisely to avoid greater demands for even larger contributions.” Horton was not the only voice who commended Brown’s proposal but included a caveat. Dr. Paul Song, executive chairman of the Courage Campaign, a California-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that “fights for a more progressive California and country,” said that, during his tenure, the governor has done “a courageous job” in returning the state’s budget to financial stability and fiscal sanity, but he called on Brown to invest in programs that are more inclusive of all Californians. “We are excited to see that the budget continues that trend by making investments in our schools and in our state’s most economically vulnerable, like with
Something new at Bixby Knolls Car Wash Something new at
see BUDGET page 18
May 22 through May 26, 2015
Tuesday
Partly sunny
73° Lo 59°
This week’s weather forecast sponsored by:
1347 Redondo Ave. Long Beach, CA (562) 494-1333
Self-wash Bixby Knolls CarService Wash Amenities: Amenities: • •Oatmeal Shampoo Oatmeal Shampoo • •Tearless Shampoo Tearless Shampoo • •Conditioner Conditioner • •Flea & Tick Flea & Tick • •Deodorizer Deodorizer • •Rinse Rinse • •Dryer Dryer • •$10.00 $10.00
Bixby KnollsDetail Detail Center Center Bixby Knolls &Car CarWash Wash &
@ Atlantic Avenue ••562-595-6666 577577 E. Wardlow Rd.Rd. E. Wardlow @ Atlantic 562-595-6666