March 23, 2018 | Vol. XL, No. 13 | Signal Tribune

Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill VOL. XL NO. 13

IN THIS ISSUE NEWS Signal Hill gets its first dog park.

Space for pooches and their people opens after four years of planning.

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COMMUNITY City of Long Beach hosts event to prepare for tsunamis.

Evacuation walk aims to prepare residents.

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Supervisor Hahn appoints former foster youth to Commission for Children and Families.

Tiffany Boyd is a Long Beach resident and “fierce advocate for foster youth.”

Your Weekly Community Newspaper

www.signaltribune.com

Business decision, or just following the law?

MemorialCare CEO says hospital closure is unavoidable but that residents and leaders are misunderstanding actual consequences.

Cory Bilicko Managing Editor

Five days after nurses and community leaders hosted a press conference to speak out against MemorialCare’s handling of the closing of Community Hospital, John Bishop, chief executive officer of MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and MemorialCare Community Medical Center Long Beach, told the Signal Tribune that there is much misunderstanding within the community as to the implications of the impending closure.

MemorialCare has included Community among its hospitals for seven years, but, last December, the healthcare system announced that the site would have to close because it sits on an active fault line.

Local leaders and healthcare workers have since rallied and formed a task force to explore ways to keep the hospital open.

However, on Friday, March 16, Community Hospital staff and elected officials used a press conference outside the facility to “demand Memorial Health System stop artificial moves, including the design to fast-forward an immediate

Cory Bilicko | Signal Tribune

Fourth District Long Beach Councilmember Daryl Supernaw addresses media and members of the public during a press conference on Friday, March 16 outside Community Hospital. Local nurses and community leaders hosted the event to demand MemorialCare “stop artificial moves, including the design to fast-forward an immediate emergency-room diversion, to hasten its unwarranted decision to close Community Hospital Long Beach,” according to a press release announcing the event. John Bishop, CEO of Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital, this week told the Signal Tribune that Community Hospital’s closure is unavoidable but “the notion that there is going to be a significant impact on the ability to serve the community because they’re going to have to drive three miles farther is simply not accurate.”

emergency-room diversion, to hasten its unwarranted decision to close” the hospital, according to a press release from

the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United announcing the event.

Long Beach Mayor Robert

Garcia was among the leaders at the press conference, and he emphasized the numbers of residents who rely on the hos-

A home worth fighting for

pital located in the 4th council district, just west of the traffic circle. see HOSPITAL page 13

Cambodians host petition-signing event, gather support to redraw LB council district boundaries to benefit community.

Sebastian Echeverry Staff Writer

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CULTURE Review of Long Beach Opera’s The Invention of Morel Show combines two unexpected modes: sci-fi and opera.

Sebastian Echeverry | Signal Tribune

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March 23, 2018

Congressmember Alan Lowenthal signs a petition that aims to rally support to redistrict the city so that the greater Cambodian community in Long Beach is in one council district.

A coalition of Cambodian organizations hosted a petition-signing event on March 18 at the La Lune Thmey restaurant, and invited the public to sign the petition and support the community’s cause.

A coalition of Long Beach organizations called Equity for Cambodians hosted a petition-launch event on March 18 at the La Lune Thmey restaurant to rally support to redistrict the city so that the greater Cambodian community is in one council district. Congressmember Alan Lowenthal, 7th District Councilmember Roberto Uranga and Senator Ricardo Lara’s office representative Suely Saro attended the event and were among the first to sign the petition.

Throughout the mid to late 1970s, the Khmer Rouge communist regime carried out a genocide of nearly 3 million Cambodians. Regime leaders felt that educated individuals– such as those with artistic, medical or political backgrounds– threatened their idea of an agriculture-based society.

Those who escaped “the killing fields” moved to the United States and settled in Long Beach, resulting in the second-largest concentration of Cambodians outside the Asian country itself.

During the petition-signing event, Laura Som, executive director of the MAYE Center, an organization that treats traumatized survivors, said families that lived under rule of the Khmer Rouge were oppressed see PETITION page 14

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NEWS

Signal Tribune

Signal Hill goes to the dogs

March 23, 2018

New dog park opens after four years of planning.

Anita W. Harris Staff Writer

On a breezy St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 17, the City of Signal Hill opened its much anticipated new dog park at 3100 California Ave. Across from the Gateway Center shopping mall, tucked under the Auto Center freeway sign and next to an oil field, the half-acre park features separate small- and large-dog areas, as well as benches, shade sails and 13 parking spaces.

Local resident Viron Vargas, who brought his dogs Bruno and Moose to the opening, said he was happy about the convenient new option for his canine companions.

“We’re really excited,” he said.

“It’s really close to home and perfect for us.”

Vargas also appreciated the artificial turf instead of woodchips used along with decomposed granite in the designated dog areas.

“That’s going to make it look a lot

The City of Signal Hill opened its very first dog park on Saturday, March 17 at 3100 California Ave.

cleaner than most other parks,” Vargas said.

A canine drinks from a fountain in the new Signal Hill Dog Park at 3100 California Ave. during its grand opening on March 17.

Councilmember Lori Woods concurred.

“It’ll hold up really well,” she told the Signal Tribune during the opening. “We don’t have to worry about turf.”

Another local resident, Kerry Castillo, attending the opening with her hospice-companion dog Scratch, appreciated not only the park’s location but its proximity to a local Petco store across the street.

“We live up the street,” Castillo said. “I’m so excited. We walk down here anyway. We used to walk down here and go to the Starbucks. […]

And the pet place is right here.”

Kelli Tunnicliff, public works director, told the Signal Tribune that she had inherited the project when she joined City staff in July of last year. Attending the opening with her two children and two dogs, she said she had done her best to expedite the park’s construction.

“I’m very happy this was my first

assignment,” she said. “It was challenging, to say the least. When I came on board, I said I’m just going to take the specs and […] plans, and we’ll just deal with everything as it comes. […] We’re very happy.”

The city council had approved awarding a construction contract on Sept. 26, 2017, to DD Systems, Inc., for approximately $729,000, including a 10-percent contingency.

At that council meeting, Tunnicliff

Photos by Anita W. Harris | Signal Tribune

displayed a map of the park’s design as approved by the Planning Commission, showing the small-dog area at about 2,000 square feet, the largedog area at about 4,500 square feet and the covered people area at the center at 315 square feet.

Then, in November, the council approved introducing a tax-deductible commemorative-brick program, see PARK page 19

March 23, 2018

Signal Tribune

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OPINION

Signal Tribune

March 23, 2018

COMMENTARIES

New Medicare cards are coming!

By Greg Dill Medicare regional administrator

Thoughts

from the

Publisher

By Neena Strichart

O

ur country observes March as Women’s History Month and has since 1987. According to the website History.com, the commemoration process began in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The next year, Congress continued the action by passing its own resolution mirroring that of President Carter’s.

Six years later, in 1987, the National Women’s History Project effectively lobbied Congress to expand the time-frame of the designation to include the full month of March.

In 2016, I attended Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell’s (D-Long Beach) annual Women of Distinction event. One important part of the ceremonies included the reading of an original poem by its author, a young woman by the name of Jaci Cortez. I was very moved by her talent. To honor the occasion of Women’s History Month, I share her words with you: “Enduring Woman” To those who are a Merit of society Those who are patient Those who are powerful communicators Those who are a strong community and home builders Those who hold high business ethics Those who are passionate for equality Society taught me that those are weak and fragile Who are those?

Those are you, someone you love or know, and me I learned from my role model that we are strong We were made to tolerate pain, but we transform it to strength When in stress we never give up but come up with fast solutions The distinction the world needs isn’t something money can buy Who are those?

They are Women!

The world needs to realize being or having a woman in our life is a privilege Sadly, this is something the world tends to forget That we are forever enduring women.

Starting in April 2018, Medicare will mail new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare, to help protect you from identity fraud.

Fraudsters are always looking for ways to get your Social Security number, so we’re removing those numbers from Medicare cards to make them safer.

Your new card will have a new Medicare number that’s unique to you. The new card will help protect your identity and keep your personal information more secure.

You can start using your new card as soon as you get it. Your Medicare coverage and benefits won’t change at all.

Medicare will automatically mail your new card– at no cost– to the address you have on file with Social

Security. So make sure your mailing address is up to date.

If your address needs to be corrected, contact Social Security at ssa.gov/myaccount or 1-800-7721213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778.

If Social Security has your current mailing address, there’s nothing else you need to do to receive your new card.

Mailing everyone a new card will take time. Your card might arrive at a different time than your friend’s or neighbor’s.

Once you get your new Medicare card, take these three steps to make it harder for someone to steal your information and identity: 1. Destroy your old Medicare card right away.

2. Doctors, other healthcare providers, and health plans approved by Medicare know Medicare is replacing the old cards. They are ready to accept your new card when you need care.

3. Beware of anyone who contacts you and asks for your new Medicare number or personal information, or for you to pay a fee for your new card. There are no charges whatsoever for the new cards.

Guard your card. Treat your new Medicare number like you treat your Social Security or credit-card numbers. Only give your new Medicare number to doctors, pharmacists, insurers or other people you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf.

Medicare will never call you uninvited and ask you see MEDICARE page 9

Five facts you might not know about Social Security

By Essie L. Landry Social Security public-affairs specialist

What kind of questions do you and your friends ask about Social Security?

When do my benefits arrive? What are Social Security work credits, and do they have anything to do with the way my benefits are figured? Will I be automatically enrolled in Medicare? Read on to find the answers to these questions.

1. Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due.

When you meet all the requirements for eligibility, the benefit check you receive is payment for the prior month’s benefits. For information on the payment of benefits, you can read our pamphlet, What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits, at socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10077.pdf.

To know when checks will be paid, you can save the Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments to your “Favorites” or print it by visiting socialsecurity.gov/

pubs/calendar.htm.

2. We don’t pay benefits for the month of death.

Social Security uses the same throughout-the-month rule to determine eligibility for the benefit that is due for the month of death. You must live through the full month to be eligible for the payment. See the pamphlet above in the section titled “If a Beneficiary Dies” at socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10077.pdf for more information about when a check is due.

3. Survivors benefits can replace a percentage of the worker’s earnings for family members.

The eligible family members of a retired or disabled beneficiary may receive a monthly payment of up to 50 percent of beneficiary’s amount. Survivors benesee SECURITY page 9

LETTERS, EMAILS, WEBSITE COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS Giving them Paws

No Kill Long Beach (formerly Stayin’ Alive Long Beach) has published our 2018 Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide to help Long Beach voters choose animal-friendly candidates in the April 10 election. Candidates can receive up to four Paws for their views on bringing much needed changes to the Long Beach Animal Care Services (LBACS) animal shelter, which was reviewed by the city auditor last December and found to have significant operational and management deficits that have affected LBACS’s ability to provide humane care to animals.

No Kill Long Beach (NKLB) has interviewed candidates, reviewed candidates’ surveys and examined current officeholders’ actions on shelter animal issues over the past four years to come up with our top picks for animal-friendly candidates. This is the third election in a row that we’ve published a voter guide as a service to the people of Long Beach.

NKLB’s goal is the saving of every healthy and treatable animal at the Long Beach shelter. Other cities– such as Austin, Texas; St. George, Utah; Kansas City, Mo.; and Washoe County, Nev.– are saving all of their healthy and treatable animals, and their cities are benefiting. A recent study found that Austin has accrued $157 million in benefits from increased business, tourism and brand equity as a result of going no-kill. With the recent audit, however, we have learned that many basic operations and programs in animal sheltering are not adequately managed at LBACS, in spite of the fact that Long Beach spends more per animal than Los Angeles, Sacramento and even Austin, the nation’s leader in animal sheltering with a 98-percent save rate for shelter animals.

We need strong leadership on city council to remedy these problems and make Long Beach a leader in animal sheltering. Our top candidate picks for the 2018 election: • Jared Milrad (District 7) received our highest, “4 Paws” rating. Milrad has an impressive personal and professional background in animal advocacy. A public-interest lawyer, he works for an animal-advocacy organization and has worked extensively to advocate for animals in numerous settings. He would be a strong no-kill advocate for animals on city council.

• Gordana Kajer (District 3) received our very high “3 Paws” rating. Recently returned from a trip to Cuba volunteering with an animal-welfare agency, Kajer has a strong interest in animal welfare and would be a strong voice in obtaining no-kill status for our shelter and a positive future for our city’s shelter animals.

• Rich Dines (District 5) received “2.5 Paws.” His views on performance goals and accountability are well suited to addressing the many management problems the audit brought to light at LBACS. We believe he would be an advocate for our shelter animals.

We encourage voters to consider the welfare of shelter animals when voting this election. Can Long Beach be a no-kill city? With strong leadership on city council, you bet we can.

No Kill Long Beach’s full voter information guide can be found here: goo.gl/BaMsnw.

Patricia Turner Director No Kill Long Beach

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Neena R. Strichart

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS

Barbie Ellisen Katherine Green Sharon McLucas

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Stephen M. Strichart STAFF WRITERS

CJ Dablo Anita W. Harris

MANAGING EDITOR

Cory Bilicko

CULTURE WRITERS

Adam Buchsbaum Rachael Rifkin

ONLINE EDITOR

Denny Cristales EDITORIAL INTERN

Izzie Hallock

DESIGN EDITOR

Sebastian Echeverry COLUMNIST

Zoe Adler Claudine Burnett Blair Cohn

The Signal Tribune welcomes letters to the editor, which should be signed, dated and include a phone number to verify authenticity. Letters are due by noon on the Wednesday before desired publication date. The Signal Tribune reserves the right to edit l­etters for grammar, language and space requirements. Letters must be 500 words or fewer. The Signal Tribune will publish no more than one “pro” letter and one “con” letter on a particular topic in a single issue. The Signal ­Tribune does not print letters that refer substantially to articles in other publications and might not print those that have recently been printed in other ­publications or otherwise presented in a public forum. Letters to the editor and commentaries are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Signal Tribune or its staff. Although the editorial staff will attempt to verify and/or correct i­nformation when possible, letters to the editor and commentaries are opinions, and readers should not assume that they are statements of fact. Letter-writers will be identified by their professional titles or affiliations when, and only when, the editorial staff deems it relevant and/or to provide context to the letter. We do not run letters to the editor submitted by individuals who have declared their candidacies for public office in upcoming races. This policy was put in place because, to be fair, if we publish one, we would have to publish all letters submitted by all candidates. The volume would no doubt eliminate space for letters submitted by other readers. Instead, we agree to interview candidates and print stories about political races in an objective manner and offer very reasonable advertising rates for those candidates who wish to purchase ads. The Signal Tribune is published each Friday with a circulation of 30,000. Yearly subscriptions are available for $50.

1399 E. 28th St., Signal Hill, CA 90755 (562) 595-7900 www.signaltribune.com newspaper@signaltribune.com

March 23, 2018

COMMUNITY

Signal Tribune

Cash in hand in the 7th District

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Campaign reports outline Uranga’s financial edge in re-election bid for LB City Council.

CJ Dablo Staff Writer

Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga has managed to build a substantial war chest in his quest for a second term on the Long Beach council dais. Just a few weeks before the city’s primary nominating election on April 10, Uranga’s ending cash balance on Feb. 24 totaled $41,551.05, according to his most recent campaign-finance reports.

The incumbent for the 7th District raised and spent much more money compared to his long list of opponents. Jared Milrad, Kevin Shin, Oscar Delacruz and Chris Sereno have

all qualified to run against the councilmember, however they have not yet come close to Uranga’s fundraising efforts, according to the reports available on the Long Beach City Clerk’s website.

The 7th-district councilmember’s combined finance reports from 2017 and through Feb. 24, 2018 show that Uranga raised a total of $76,816 in contributions and spent a total of $59,196.70.

Uranga does have a separate officeholder account from his initial 2014 run for office, however it is unclear whether he can use those funds for his current campaign. On Feb. 24, Uranga’s officeholder’s account

posted an ending cash balance totaling $26,490.53.

Uranga’s substantial bank accounts have not deterred his opponents.

Campaign rival Milrad is way behind Uranga in his finances, but he did still raise a significant amount of money quickly. Uranga began his campaign earlier.

Milrad raised a total of $16,335.01 and spent a total of $10,128.08, according to his combined finance reports from 2017 and the current year through Feb. 24. He reported an ending cash balance of $8,853.31 as of see CONTRIBUTIONS page 17

AROUND TOWN SEW WHAT? What Meeting Who Hosted by the Long Beach Chapter of the Embroiderers Guild of America When Friday, March 23 at 11am Where Long Beach City College, 1305 E. PCH More Info Cara Varnell, an art conservator specialist, will discuss how to preserve and restore textiles.

Email Christa Barry at barrychen99@gmail.com.

MOVIE AND MUNCHIES What Health-education lecture Who Hosted by Long Beach Medical Center When Friday, March 23 at noon Where Houssels Forum, 2801 Atlantic Ave. More Info Orthopedic surgeon Amandeep Bhalla will answer questions on spine aging. Wonder Woman will be screened after the lecture. Free lunch will be provided. To register, call (562) 9331650.

RACING TOWARD A BETTER LIFE What Fundraiser Who Hosted by Soroptimist Long Beach When Saturday, March 24 from 5pm to 9pm Where Los Alamitos Race Course, 4691 Katella Ave. More Info The Guys and Dolls-themed event will raise money to fund educational grants and scholarships for local women building a better life for themselves and their families. Tickets cost $100 and can be purchased through soroptimist-longbeach. org. Dinner is included.

EGGS WITH THE ELKS What Monthly breakfast Who Hosted by Elks Lodge #888 When Sunday, March 25 from 8am to 11:30am Where 16426 Bellflower Blvd.

More Info The cost is $7 per person and includes eggs to order, full breakfast buffet, waffles with toppings, coffee, orange juice and drink specials at the bar.

TEE OFF! What Fundraiser Who Hosted by MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital When Sunday, March 25 from 10am to 2pm Where Ernie Howlett Park, 25851 Hawthorne Blvd.

More Info Each participant who pledges $20 gets to hit three balls. The money raised will benefit the Jonathan Jaques Children’s Cancer Center. Donations accepted. For more information, visit millerchildrens.org/events.

ROCK OUT! What Fundraiser Who Hosted by The Rock Club When Sunday, March 25 from 1pm to 4pm Where Tracy’s Bar and Grill, 5511 E. Spring St. More Info Money raised will benefit the nonprofit’s mission to create a music-education program for atrisk youth, veterans and individuals struggling with social adjustment. Visit musicistheremedy.org.

THIS LAND IS OUR LAND What Meeting Who Hosted by Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust When Tuesday, March 27 at 7pm Where Kettering Elementary Auditorium, 550 Silvera Ave. More Info The meeting will include statements

from the 3rd District council candidates and a featured presentation from Cassandra Davis, manager of the Citizens Sea Turtle Monitoring Project for the Aquarium of the Pacific. Email elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.

BREWING UP A GOOD TIME What Beer-brewing event Who Hosted by the BKBIA When Wednesday, March 28 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm Where Dutch’s Brewhouse, 4244 Atlantic Ave. More Info Attendees will have the opportunity to brew their own beer. Visit bixbyknollsinfo.org.

THE NEXT SUPPER What Supper club Who Hosted by BKBIA When Monday, April 2 at 6:30pm Where The Pan, 3350 Long Beach Blvd.

More Info These monthly dinners benefit local businesses. Email info@bixbyknollsinfo.com to RSVP. BLUE FOR AUTISM What Discussion Who Hosted by MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach When Wednesday, April 4 from noon to 1pm Where 2801 Atlantic Ave. More Info Gary Feldman, medical director of the Stramski Children’s Developmental Center, will speak on the impact of autism. Attendees are encouraged to wear blue for a photo opportunity.

Email Beatrice Jimenez at bjimenez@memorialcare.org.

TAKE A HIKE What Hike Who Hosted by Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust When Saturday, April 7 from 8am to 10am Where Meet at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and 1st Street More Info Ecologists will lead the nature walk to see red-tailed hawks, cooper’s hawks and ospreys.

Visit lcwlandtrust.org.

POP ART What Pop-up art festival Who Hosted by Dramatic Results When Saturday, April 7 from 3pm to 7pm Where Dramatic Results Studio, 3310 Lime Ave. More Info The festival will feature live music and an art gallery. Admission costs $25, which includes two-drink tickets. Visit dramaticresults.org.

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS What Jazz showcase Who Hosted by Millikan High School When Wednesday, April 11 from 3pm to 9pm Where 2800 Snowden Ave. More Info The event will showcase the musical talents of Long Beach students. Tickets cost $5, and food and refreshments will be available. Call Rudolf Picanco at (562) 425-7441.

CRACK A BOOK What Book club Who Hosted by the Bixby Knolls Literary Society When Wednesday, April 11 at 7pm Where Elise’s Tea Room, 3924 Atlantic Ave. More Info The featured book is Lolly Willowes

by Sylvia Townsend Warner. Email info@bixbyknollsinfo.com.

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Signal Tribune

NEWS

March 23, 2018

Preparing for the potential high tides ahead Long Beach’s 2nd annual tsunami-evacuation walk, resource fair simulates emergency scenario and urges residents to be prepared for such a disaster.

Denny Cristales Online Editor

The campaign trail Ninth District Long Beach council candidate Mineo Gonzalez has stated his intention to continue his campaign. In a phone interview with the Signal Tribune, Gonzalez said that, despite a bogus website announcing his resignation from the campaign, he is still moving forward to seek election to the seat.

Seventh District Long Beach council candidate Kevin Shin has garnered the endorsement of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, according to an email from the candidate’s campaign.

Seventh District Long Beach council incumbent Roberto Uranga has received the endorsements of Congressmembers Alan Lowenthal and Nanette Barragán, according to his campaign.

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia has endorsed 5th District Long Beach City Councilmember Stacy Mungo for reelection, according to her campaign.

Long Beach Community College Board Candidate Uduak-Joe Ntuk has announced that his campaign has received the endorsement of Long Beach Unified School District Board Member Felton Williams and 6th District Long Beach Councilmember Dee Andrews.

Ricardo Lara, current senator for California’s 33rd District, has received the endorsement of the California Democratic Party in his bid to become insurance commissioner.

Most Californians are worried about the “big one” erupting throughout the state and causing widespread seismic damage to infrastructure and injuring or taking human lives. However, the ramifications of such a potential earthquake, perhaps off-shore, could have ripple effects that manifest into a tsunami.

A tsunami is a series of strong waves that strikes in large volumes.

According to experts at a tsunami-evacuation event last Saturday, a tsunami is an average of five to six feet, with a force comparable to a human being repeatedly throwing themselves at someone.

In such a natural disaster, are residents ready?

The City of Long Beach’s Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department, the Long Beach Fire Department and experts from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sought to inform the public about being pre-

pared at the 2nd annual Tsunami Evacuation Walk and Resource Fair event on March 17.

Long Beach 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price hosted the event at Will Rogers Mini Park ahead of California’s Tsunami Awareness Week from March 26 to March 30.

“It lets people know that we have plans in place and departments here committed to educating people on what to do when we have emergency disasters, whether it be a tsunami, an earthquake and any other kind of emergency,” Price told the Signal Tribune on Saturday. “Educating ourselves helps us prepare for the various types of emergencies.”

Allie Bright, the City of Long Beach’s disaster-preparedness analyst, explained to the Signal Tribune that the tsunami-walk route simulates an evacuation for a distant tsunami that is causing flooding in the city.

The walk began at Will Rogers Mini Park, which, in this mock scenario, was called the inundation zone, an area in which the flooding of the tsunami is visible. Moving out of the park, the group walked through the Colorado Lagoon bridge and arrived at its destination at the Recreation

Park Community Center, where experts from SCEC, FEMA and the OES provided more information about tsunamis. The group then walked back to the “inundation zone,” where the event concluded.

“It’s just showing people some possible routes in their neighborhood that they can take, explaining what an inundation zone is, kind of what a tsunami is [and] what we would expect in Long Beach,” Bright said.

Price stressed the significance of residents signing up for Alert Long Beach notifications so they can be informed of any emergency warnings in the area and how to respond accordingly. Sign-ups to Alert Long Beach are at longbeach.gov/disasterpreparedness/alert-long-beach.

The good news for the ill-prepared is that getting ready for all disasters, such as earthquakes, explosions or floods, simply involves applying the same strategy– packing a first-aid kit, complete with medicines, a flashlight, power sources, food and water. Preparing for one disaster means being prepared for any disaster, said Reggie Harrison, director of the City of Long see TSUNAMI page 12

Incumbent Robert Garcia has announced the following endorsements in his campaign for re-election as mayor of Long Beach: U.S. Senator Kamala Harris; California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom; Attorney General Xavier Becerra; Secretary of State Alex Padilla; Controller Betty Yee; Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon; California Senate Leader Kevin de León; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti; Congressmembers Alan Lowenthal and Nanette Barragán; Long Beach Firefighters Association; Long Beach Police Officers Association; Long Beach Lifeguards Association; Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council; Long Beach Teachers Association; IBEW Local 11; Ironworkers Local 433; Laborers, Local 1309; Long Beach IAM; Operating Engineers Local 12; Painters and Allied Trades Local Union 256; Service Employees International Union (SEIU)–United Health Care Workers-West; Southern California Pipe Trades; Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters; Teamsters Local 848; and UFCW Local 324.

Animal advocacy group No Kill Long Beach (NKLB, formerly Stayin’ Alive Long Beach) has published its third electoral Animal Welfare Voter Information Guide ranking the candidates according to their views on reforms needed at the Long Beach animal shelter, operated by Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS).

Candidates were asked to respond to a nine-question survey about their views on program changes at the Long Beach animal shelter the group says will save lives. No Kill Long Beach received 14 responses to the survey– a return rate of 88 percent.

District 7 candidate Jared Milrad and District 3 candidate Gordana Kajer received the group’s highest rankings of “4 PAWS” and “3 PAWS,” respectively.

“Jared Milrad is a public-interest lawyer with impressive personal and professional experience in animal advocacy,” said Patricia Turner, Ph.D., spokesperson for No Kill Long Beach. “We believe he has the know-how and the commitment to turn Long Beach into a no-kill city.”

Kajer has expressed a commitment to shelter animals, according to NKLB, since she recently volunteered with an international organization in Cuba that does spay/neuter surgeries.

“We believe she will advocate for our shelter animals and has the ability to bring about the changes we need to become no-kill,” Turner said.

The election comes after a review of ACS by the city auditor revealed problems at ACS that should be of concern to the people of Long Beach.

“The city auditor’s review of Long Beach Animal Care Services released this past December revealed multiple problems at the city shelter, ranging from poor practices of animal care, to personnel issues, to problems with veterinary protocols,” Turner said. “Now, more than ever, it’s clear that we need people in office who will take these problems seriously and enact much-needed change at the Long Beach animal shelter.”

The auditor’s review will be released in two phases. The first phase, released in December, made 173 recommendations for improvements at ACS, many of them targeting basic shelter operations that are currently below-standard. It also commented on the City’s lack of an effective adoption program.

“The City still doesn’t have a strong adoption program in place, in spite of Mayor Garcia’s promise back in 2014 to substantially increase local adoptions,” Turner said.

Garcia received the group’s highest “4 PAWS” rating in 2014 and won the run-off election by just over 2,000 votes, but he has made little effort to change problematic policies and programs at the shelter since he took office, Turner said.

“Long Beach now has a chance to become a national leader in animal sheltering,” Turner said. “We are asking the public to vote for those candidates who will seize that opportunity and make us the truly animal-friendly city we know we can be.”

NKLB’s rankings of candidates are based on interviews, responses to a candidate survey and the records of past action, in the case of current office holders, Turner said. Its guide and candidates’ responses can be found at goo. gl/BaMsnw.

Denny Cristales | Signal Tribune

The Tsunami Evacuation Walk and Resource Fair on March 17 included a walk route, which simulated the evacuation of residents from a distant tsunami that is flooding the city. In the mock scenario, Will Rogers Mini Park was deemed the inundation zone, the area where flooding is visible, and the group’s destination at the Recreation Park Community Center was a safe zone.

Signal Tribune

March 23, 2018

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Event to honor contributions to downtown Long Beach Photos by Hajra Saeed

On and off the runway

Izzie Hallock Editorial Intern

Local students had the opportunity to walk the runway and celebrate their achievements at the annual Cameo Fashion Show Extravaganza on Saturday, March 17 at The Westin Long Beach. The students were recognized for their involvement with the mentorship program that the professional auxiliary branch of the Long Beach Assistance League, or Cameo, offers. Volunteers with the auxiliary become mentors who eventually provide one-onone support to help local high-school students and Long Beach City College re-entry women with academic endeavors and extra-curriculars. The mentees, with guidance from their mentors, learn about financial-aid opportunities for college, apply for paid internships and tour educational institutions such as the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. Nearly 600 tickets were sold, and the money raised during the event will fund activities and services that the program provides for its students. The show’s theme was “La Dolce Vita,” and according to Hajra Saeed, Cameo’s press and public-relations chairman, it resembles the mentorship program in a way.

“We were just talking about that our goal in mentorship is to provide a good life and a good future for our students,” Saeed said. “So, [the theme] gives them the tools for success.”

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance (DLBA) will host its annual Celebrate Downtown community event on Thursday, March 29 from 5pm to 9pm on North Promenade between 3rd and 4th streets. The event will address Downtown’s growth and progress with attention to the revitalization of The Streets (formerly City Place) and a glimpse into what’s to come.

“The Streets is experiencing a renewed energy, and we’re excited for the stimulus effect of these new business offerings to Downtown,” said Kraig Kojian, president and CEO of the DLBA. “While downtown has a character all its own, its story is always evolving, and The Streets is a great representation of this fact.”

A highlight of the program will be the presentation of the Spirit of Downtown Awards to commend five honorees for their contribution to the vitality of downtown.

The Spirit of Downtown Awards were established in 2012 to posthumously recognize Long Beach community leaders Mark Bixby, Shaun Lumachi, Larry Allison and Bill Baker, all whom “embodied passion, dedication and inspirational leadership,” according to DLBA. This year’s program will continue in that tradition by recognizing the following recipients: Arts Council for Long Beach represented by Griselda Suarez, Dale Warner of Hamburger Mary’s, Javier and Hilda Ortiz of Kress Market, Studioneleven and Retail Design Collaborative represented

by Allan Pullman and Michael Bohn, and Summer And Music (SAM) produced by Justin Hectus, Ashley Hectus, and Rand Foster. SAM will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this summer.

“These individuals and organizations have significantly influenced and shaped the positive trajectory of downtown Long Beach,” Kojian said. “The recognition of their accomplishments speaks volumes to the collaborative spirit that is strong within our community. The Spirit Award is a public way to honor their contributions.”

Celebrate Downtown 2018 is sponsored by The Streets and Beachwood Brewery. The event is open to the public with free entry, but an RSVP is required to info@ dlba.org or by calling (562) 4364259. Two hours of free parking are available at The Streets parking structures for all guests.

Source: DLBA

The Signal Tribune wishes our readers a happy spring!

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CULTURE

Signal Tribune

March 23, 2018

Theatre review

Long Beach Opera’s The Invention of Morel Adam Buchsbaum

whom he dubs Faustine (played by a wonderful Jamie Chamberlin) from their party and lusts for her. Side note: haven’t we learned Faustian bargains are bad, Fugitive? This ominous naming does not bode well for his future Othellian projections onto her.

Morel’s haunting plot is fascinated with the experience of time– how the past, present and future are all in constant conversation. Copeland uses the music well to render the island’s strange time-loops. Evocative of a computer code error, these loops segments are clever without being unnecessarily redundant. Credit must also go to the cast’s abilities.

The opera’s namesake character Morel (Nathan Granner) is particularly compelling as a mad scientist with deranged ideas.

Culture junkies will notice echoes of many old and new works in Morel’s dreamlike world, a testament to the enduring preoccupations of the original book and the production’s direction. You may notice hints of Lost, or The Tempest, or even The Great Gatsby if you look close enough. Copeland and Moore have created an exciting brew of new and old influences– opera and sci-fi, the 1940s and the contemporary– worth a look for fans of mysterious plots and operatic craft.

Culture Writer

The Invention of Morel combines two unexpected modes– science fiction and opera– into a fascinating, metaphysical tragedy. Composed by Stewart Copeland (The Police’s co-founder and drummer, as press releases are keen to mention) and with a libretto by Jonathan Moore, Morel filters a classic science-gone-awry tale through themes of alienation, obsession and control.

Morel is adapted from an acclaimed Argentine novel of the same name written by Adolfo Casares in 1940 and mostly follows its plotting.

We begin with two men in rags, their flesh rotting, as they mirror each other. They frame the tale by reading from a journal recounting their life on a hellish remote island. These aforementioned characters, the Narrator (Lee Gregory) and the Fugitive (Andrew Wilkowske), are one and the same– the same man across time between the Future and Present in a dialogue with himself. This dualist conceit implies the themes of the Jungian shadow self– in other words, the darker impulses of our personalities that we must master– and self-destruction that follow.

The stage’s set is modernist and spare. This gestures at the hallucinatory, surreal tone of the production. The music smoothly moves in and out of serious, traditional tones and more danceable, airy moves that keep the audience on their toes and match the unsettling atmosphere.

Dissonant modernist flairs give way to Latin-inspired beats in a seamless, engaging medley. Add to this the ever-thickening plot, whose tightly scripted beats allow fun, rapid shifts

Photo by Liz Lauren

David Govertsen (Stoever), Barbara Landis (Duchess), Valerie Vinzant (Faustine), Nathan Granner (Morel), Kimberly E Jones (Dora) and Scott Brunscheen (Alec/Ombrellieri) in Long Beach Opera’s The Invention of Morel

in the opera’s style. The plot does hinge on a particularly juicy twist, so it’s best to avoid too much detail.

Suffice it to say, the production’s Shakespearean echoes and vintage, ‘40s sci-fi aesthetic meet in a sur-

prising climax.

The singing is polished and beautiful, as to be expected. The opera style lends a fittingly eerie flavor to the careful plotting. Indeed, Morel is at its core a tale of obsession

and alienation. Visions of a party of indolent, rich socialites haunt the lonely, voyeuristic Fugitive. A megalomaniacal mad scientist Morel leads on the rich partygoers. Amid them, the Fugitive spies a woman

The Invention of Morel continues at the Beverly O’Neill Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., with shows on Saturday, March 24 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 25 at 2:30pm. Tickets are $49-$150. For reservations and information, call (562) 470-SING (7464) or visit longbeachopera.org/ tickets.

NEWS

March 23, 2018

Man killed, another injured in car accident in traffic circle One man was killed and another was injured on March 16 when the vehicle they were in collided with a tree, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).

At approximately 6:55pm that day, LBPD officers were dispatched to the area of Los Coyotes Diagonal and Outer Traffic Circle regarding an injury-traffic collision. Early reports indicated a vehicle had struck a tree and split into two.

When officers arrived, they found the driver had been ejected from the vehicle and was lying in the roadway on eastbound Los Coyotes Diagonal. The passenger was still in the vehicle but was pronounced deceased at the scene by Long Beach

Fire personnel.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a 54-year-old male resident of Long Beach was driving a 2017 Maserati Quattroporte at a high rate of speed when he turned left from southbound Outer Traffic Circle to eastbound Los Coyotes Diagonal. The driver lost control of the vehicle while completing the turn and collided with a tree, which sheared the vehicle in half, according to police.

The vehicle came to rest in front of 4600 Los Coyotes Diagonal.

The driver of the vehicle was transported to a local area hospital where he remains in critical condition.

The passenger has been identified as a 42-year-old male from Buena Park. His identity is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Both occupants were wearing their seatbelts, police said. The driver had a valid license. Alcohol is being investigated as a factor in the collision.

Those with information regarding the collision are asked to contact Detective S. Fox of the Long Beach Police Department Collision Investigation Detail at (562) 5707355.

Source: LBPD

Signal Tribune

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Bill to increase funding for K-12 vocational/ career technical education to $500 million passes Assembly Education Committee The Assembly Education Committee voted 6-0 to pass Assembly Bill 1743 by Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D–Long Beach) Wednesday.

The measure would increase funding for vocational/career technical education (CTE) programs in K-12 schools from $200 million to $500 million each year, on an ongoing basis.

“As a teacher and chair of the Assembly Education Committee, I am confident that securing ongoing funding for K-12 CTE programs benefits our students and our state,” O’Donnell said. “Vocational/CTE programs engage students who might otherwise drop out of school

and strengthen our economy by better preparing our students to join the California workforce. Current funding for CTE expires this year, which means we must act now, or we risk leaving our students and our state behind.”

O’Donnell has received bi-partisan support for the effort from 25 colleagues who have signed on as joint or co-authors, according to his office. AB 1743 would increase annual funding for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant program.

The bill now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Source: O’Donnell’s office

Medicare

continued from page 4

to give us personal or private information to get your new Medicare card.

Scam artists may try to get personal information (like your current Medicare number) by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, or for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1800-633-4227).

Your new Medicare card will be paper. Paper cards are easier for many providers to use and copy, and they save taxpayers a lot of money. Plus, you can print your own replacement card if you need one.

Carry your new card and show it to your healthcare providers. Doctors, other providers and healthcare facilities will ask for your new Medicare card when you need care.

If you forget your new card, you, your doctor or other healthcare provider may be able to look up your new Medicare number online.

If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan (like an HMO or PPO), your Medicare Advantage plan ID card is your main card for Medicare, you should still keep and use it whenever you need care.

However, you also may be asked to show your new Medicare card, so you should carry this card with you too.

If you don’t get your new Medicare card by April 2019, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.

Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Territories.

Security

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fits usually range from about 75 percent to 100 percent of the deceased worker’s amount. Visit our Understanding the Benefits publication for an explanation of the amounts family members receive at socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10024.pdf.

• Work credits determine eligibility for benefits, but your lifetime earnings are used to calculate your monthly benefit amount.

Retired workers need 40 work credits to be eligible for benefits, but your work credits alone do not determine how much you will receive each month. When we figure your retirement benefit, we use the average of your highest 35 years of earnings. See Your Retirement Benefit: How It Is Figured at socialsecurity.gov/ pubs/EN-05-10070.pdf.

• If you receive retirement benefits before you reach age 65, you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare.

Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or skilled-nursing facility following a hospital stay. It also pays for some home health care and hospice care. Medicare Part B (medical insurance) helps pay for services from doctors and other healthcare providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment and some preventative services. When you’re already receiving retirement benefits, we automatically sign you up for Medicare Parts A and B when you turn age 65. You can then decline Part B if you choose, since it requires a monthly premium. If you are not receiving retirement benefits as you approach age 65, you should contact Social Security three months before age 65 to sign up for Medicare Part A and B. Even if you don’t want to retire at 65, you should sign up for Medicare only. For more details, check out our Medicare page at socialsecurity.gov/medicare.

Landry is the Social Security public-affairs specialist for the Sierra West area.

Beginning April 1

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March 23, 2018

March 23, 2018

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Tsunami

COMMUNITY

March 23, 2018

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where there are multiple large numbers of people. That’s about doing the greatest good for the greatest number. What we have though is [...] our bedroom communities and our other community areas and groups that need help too. They will rely on their neighbors. Neighbors helping neighbors will be a critical component of that first initial 24 to 48 hours until we get additional resources.”

Neighbors helping neighbors is something that involves a proactive approach versus a reactive approach, Heflin said, also emphasizing the importance of helping without being put into harm’s way. He praised programs such as the Community and Emergency Response Team (CERT), a free training that is offered in the community and educates the public about disaster preparedness. CERT is available in Signal Hill Denny Cristales | Signal Tribune and Long Beach.

During the City of Long Beach’s 2nd annual Tsunami Evacuation Walk and Resource Fair event on March 17 at Will Rogers Mini Heflin also offered Park, Jake Heflin, the Long Beach Fire Department’s public-information officer, said every dollar spent in emergency preparedness residents a piece of adis equivalent to $7 to $10 in response and recovery. Any individual who takes the time to be ready for a natural disaster would be vice he normally shares relieving pressure off the fire department in that situation, Heflin said. during community presentations– Grab a reusBeach’s Disaster Preparedness and next month, Harrison said. whelmed in such a scenario. He asable bag, place an old pair of shoes Emergency Communications DepartBased on multiple studies, every sured that officers will respond when and a flashlight inside of it, and tie it ment, in an interview with the Signal dollar spent on preparedness equates and where they are needed, but servTribune. to saving $7 to $10 in response and ing a large city would require extra to the bed post. As an example, when an earthquake happens and then ends, He advised packing enough sup- recovery, according to Jake Heflin, manpower. plies to at least be self-sustained for Long Beach Fire Department pub“We live in a city of a half a mil- at the base of the bed will be the esseven days. lic-information officer. Heflin told the lion people, and we have roughly sential belongings needed to go out “We’re only going to be as impact- Signal Tribune that protecting one’s about 124 firefighters on-duty every deal with the impact of the incident.

“Many of the reports state that one ful as our residents are prepared,” family from harm in a natural disaster day,” Heflin said. “If you do the quick of the No. 1 types of injuries that we Harrison said. “Our first-responders is an independent decision. math, that’s roughly one firefighter for have from earthquakes are cut feet are going to find themselves in situa“The individual has to take ac- 5,000 residents. There’s no way that tions that won’t allow them to get all tion,” he said. “They can learn about we will be able to support the com- from broken glass, because it happens across the city. There will be pockets this stuff, and this is a great event to munity when disaster strikes to the at night, you roll out of bed, you step of areas that are not going to be easy learn the information, but when you degree that they expect. We will pro- on glass, and now you are part of the to get into, especially when you talk go home after the event, really what vide those services to those areas– we problem and not the solution. Now about a tsunami that’s going to wipe it boils down to is, ‘Are you going to talk about triage, doing the greatest somebody has to come and take care out a lot of the road, infrastructures, take the steps to get ready?’” good for the greatest number– so a of you. These are small things that are so even getting an ambulance into an In the event of a large-scale, cata- lot of services and resources that we easily attainable and achievable, but area is going to be difficult. So, we en- strophic disaster, Heflin admitted that will provide are going to be at the we have to start somewhere.”

Forrest Lanning, seismic-hazards courage neighborhoods to be self-sus- the fire department would be over- hospitals, the high-rises, the schools, program manager with Federal Emertaining.”

Harrison emphasized that, if a natural disaster did strike and evacuation was the best option, the efficient method of escape is to use a bike, not any type of vehicle, because the streets would become inundated with residents trying to flee.

He said Long Beach is a complex city in terms of disasters, because of its significant infrastructures– one of the largest ports in the country, an airport and downtown destination– and, notably, earthquake fault lines that run throughout the city. These are the things Harrison’s department is aware of when it comes to anticipating the consequences of a disaster.

The City is also working on Map Your Neighborhood, a program that would allow residents to literally map out their surroundings and identify the resources and risks in their community.

“Part of the understanding is knowing who are the plumbers in their neighborhood, who are the electricians, who are the nurses, the doctors, who are the teachers?” he said.

“Those are resources that, if neighborhoods recognized are there, they can create a plan for how they are going to be able to help others, such as some of the neighbors who would be at risk, like the elderly, like people who are dependent on electrical, medical needs or for kids that are home alone.

Neighbors that are understanding the resources and the risks are going to better prepare them in the event of a major emergency or disaster.”

The program will begin its pilot

gency Management Agency (FEMA) region 9, told the Signal Tribune before the event that tsunami awareness is a relatively new concept that started gaining momentum in the minds of locals when the destructive 2011 off-shore Japan earthquake formed a tsunami that not only impacted Japanese citizens, but had ripple effects throughout the Pacific Rim. The impact of a tsunami that traveled from the opposite side of the Pacific resulted in some significant damage to property and land, such as Santa Cruz Harbor.

“So, that’s just a reminder of the potential that can happen,” he said.

“You don’t get that many significant tsunamis, so it does fade out of people’s memories, it does fade out of people’s minds, and they don’t kind of realize that it’s a threat.”

If a tsunami had a chance to form at a closer source– say, Alaska– Southern Californians would have even less time to prepare for the potential series of waves that would be heading their way. However, the benefit of tsunamis, as opposed to earthquakes, is that warnings are issued hours before the threat arrives. A tsunami that stems from Alaska would still take about six to seven hours to arrive in LA County, Lanning said.

“So, there is warning, but there needs to be a mechanism on making sure everyone knows about that hazard when there is a tsunami on its way,” he said. “Thankfully, tsunamis offer a good amount of time in which we can alert people.”

Lanning said it’s essential that the major cities’ emergency-operations managers maintain excellent communication with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, one of two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tsunami centers in the United States.

Lanning explained that the center sends out different levels of alerts depending on the significance of the threat. For instance, a “watch” alert warns residents that there is a chance that a tsunami could be on its way, but it’s not certain, while a “warning” notifies of a high likelihood that a tsunami will strike the area.

The SCEC, based in USC, primarsee TSUNAMI page 13

NEWS

March 23, 2018

Hospital

Signal Tribune

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continued from page 1

“Thousands of patients come to this hospital for important service and the best level of care,” Garcia said. “And to keep this hospital open, to keep this emergency room open, is incredibly important to us here in Long Beach, and we stand with all of you today in this effort.”

Seventieth District Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, who once represented the 4th District on the city council, also attended the press conference and called the closure of the hospital “a win for Memorial, but a loss for Long Beach and the greater community.”

“The closure of this hospital puts lives in threat,” O’Donnell said. “We need an emergency room on the east side of Long Beach. MemorialCare, keep this hospital open, keep this emergency room open.”

After thanking the hospital’s nurses and doctors for their work, the assemblymember was critical of MemorialCare’s timing.

“I get that this is a business decision, but the fact of the matter is– the mayor alluded to it– MemorialCare should have given us more notice,” O’Donnell said.

In a phone interview Wednesday, however, Bishop said the move to close Community has nothing to do with business and everything to do with following the law.

“I know Pat has come out and said that he thinks that we are doing this in a manner that’s designed to effectively eliminate a competitor, but nothing could be farther from the truth,” Bishop said. “If we wanted to eliminate a competitor, we would have allowed the hospital to close back in 2011. This is simply and purely about the ability to comply with seismic law, and we do not think that the services– particularly the behavioral-health services– going away is a good thing at all. It’s very unfortunate that we’re in this position where neither we nor any other acute-care provider can continue to run it as an acute-care facility. So, we will be doing our best to mitigate the impact. We are expanding our emergency department, as is St. Mary’s and College, and we will be continuing to try to collaborate with the City to find a way to take care of the members of our community.

The notion that we are stepping away and intentionally imperiling the health of our community is just absolutely not true.”

One of the concerns expressed by residents

is that not having an ER at Community will mean longer ambulance drives to hospitals on the west side of the city. However, Bishop explained that Community Hospital currently does not treat trauma patients and has not done so since MemorialCare acquired the hospital.

“They’re not a stroke-receiving center.

They’re also not a cardiac-receiving center, so, most acute patients have, since we acquired Community back in 2011, gone to St. Mary’s in Long Beach,” Bishop said. “So, there is no change there. So, the notion that there is going to be a significant impact on the ability to serve the community because they’re going to have to drive three miles farther is simply not accurate.”

He added that Community does not have obstetric services, so mothers in labor are not taken there, nor does the hospital receive patients who have been in car accidents or are victims of gunshot wounds, or stroke patients, since Long Beach Memorial is the stroke-receiving center in the area.

“If you are having a cardiac event that requires intervention, whether it’s a bypass or a stint, you cannot go to Community,” he said.

“The only cardiac services Community has are what are called medical cardiology, whether it’s something that can be managed by a medical process and not an interventional one. So, [patients needing] the more acute services– for stroke, trauma, cardiac and all pediatrics and obstetrics– already do not go there and have not gone there since 2011.”

When asked for his reaction to O’Donnell’s calling the closure a “business decision” on MemorialCare’s part, Bishop said such a move would have been unwise from a business and public-relations standpoint.

“When we first became aware of the severity of the seismic concerns, I met with many of the elected officials, including Patrick O’Donnell, to tell them that, at a minimum, it was going to have a different footprint,” Bishop said. “And it was only after we got the second independent seismic study– and that was [the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development] and their conclusion that there was no way to have an acute-care facility there– that we then proceeded to make the announcement. But the City knew back in 2011 that there was a fault

there. We have been very transparent throughout the process that the facility was going to need to look different because it was on a fault, and we wanted to do our due diligence to make sure that we exhausted all options to continue as acute-care. There is nothing about this that is a business decision. It would be a terrible business decision, a terrible public-relations decision. There’s nothing about this that actually is a decision, unless you consider whether we comply with seismic law to be a decision, and I don’t. We are going to follow the law.”

Information that MemorialCare provided Wednesday evening indicated that an independent study looked at local emergency departments and determined that Community’s emergency-room visits represent only about 10 percent of total ER visits in the area.

“Over half the area’s ER visits are considered low acuity, and these patients can be seen in other settings such as at more than two dozen urgent-care centers and federally qualified health centers located in Long Beach,” according to an email from Richele Steele, a spokesperson for MemorialCare. “The study also revealed an excess of 800 licensed hospital beds in the area each day and low occupancy among hospitals. The study found that Community Medical Center’s service area has seven acute care hospitals within a short travel distance, all with large numbers of available patient care beds and excess capacity. It showed a low combined occupancy rate of only 56 percent of licensed inpatient beds. This means, on average, area hospitals have about 800 licensed hospital beds vacant and available for additional patients each day.”

The information Steele provided also indicated that the study found it likely that the need for acute-care inpatient hospital beds will decrease even more because of an industry-wide shift from inpatient settings to outpatient care settings, continued reduction in the average length of hospital stays and increasing population health initiatives that are meant to improve the overall management of individual patients.

“Therefore, the conclusion is that nearby area hospitals could absorb the number of acute-care hospital patients currently served by Community Medical Center,” Steele’s email concluded.

Despite those figures, Bishop said Memori-

alCare is creating an additional nine emergency-department observation beds, which are expected to be ready by late 2019.

“We’re also increasing the size of what we call an observation unit on one of our patient floors, so what it effectively does is it takes patients that would otherwise be in the emergency department for an extended period of time and moves them up to a patient floor, thereby creating more capacity in the emergency department,” Bishop said. “We have already done that. We’re also creating a prioritization process to get patients that are brought in by the Long Beach Fire Department and EMS prioritized patient placement so they can get the paramedics back out in the field more quickly, and we are also going to be performing community education around the appropriateness of an emergency-department visit versus urgent care, because half of our current emergency-department visits could go to an urgent care.”

Bishop said the car accident that occurred in the traffic circle just hours after the press conference at Community is a perfect example of the misunderstanding that exists.

“That was a traffic accident that never would have and never will go to Community,” he explained. “That is a trauma case that would go to Long Beach [Memorial] or St. Mary’s. There is zero impact to the potential closure of Community Hospital related to that traffic accident.

People assumed that they would go to Community. Never have and never will.”

Nevertheless, Bishop expressed disappointment in losing the site.

“We’re also very saddened by the fact that Community cannot meet seismic laws,” he said, “and we will continue to work with the City and the other stakeholders– and not only find the best path forward and the highest and best use for that facility– but to continue to educate folks to understand that this was not a decision, but it is effectively the fact pattern that is before us– that we all need to make the collective best decision as to how to move forward.”

When asked if, at this time, there is any chance that Community Hospital could remain open, Bishop was straightforward and clear in his response.

“No,” he said. “There is no chance.” ✦

Tsunami

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ily studies how and why earthquakes occur and what their effects are on

Jubilee Jubilee is the Rita Moreno of the dog world—a senior who’s still beautiful and who certainly can move around with the best of them. She’s an 8-yearold boxer mix who dances around that new Play Yard like a real hoofer! She gallops after tennis balls and responds to commands like “sit” and “shake.” She loves treats but still keeps her girlish figure. And when the performance is over and the stage lights are down, Jubilee will sit down with you and absorb all the love she can soak up. Meet Jubilee on the shelter side of the Companion Animal Village at 7700 East Spring St., (562) 570-PETS. Ask for ID#A603989.

(The usual suspects contributed to this rescue)

society. As communications manager for the SCEC, Jason Ballmann handles the “effects” side of the studies, in which he analyzes what the repercussions would be if a certain city endured an earthquake and what could be done to prepare for an event ahead of time.

Ballmann said Long Beach has a history of tsunamis, although they have not been “huge, devastating tsunamis.” The Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management has a 2012 database of tsunami events that have occurred in the area, dating back to the 9th century, at bit. ly/2u8Mx1d.

He said the worst Long Beach could expect in a tsunami is about five to six feet of water.

“Imagine water about your height coming at you,” Ballmann told the Signal Tribune. “That’s a series of waves, not just one wave that is that height, but other waves that are that height too. We all want people here

to be prepared for inevitable tsunamis.

And, maybe it’s only going to be one or two feet, but that’s enough to create strong currents out in the bay of San Pedro, off the coast of downtown and the Alamitos Beach area and also at Alamitos Bay.” Evacuation from a tsunami involves context. Boaters, for instance, or any other people who engage in maritime activities, ironically might have better luck going out into the ocean during a tsunami instead of going back to land, Ballmann said.

“It depends if you’re distant,” he said. “But, also, if you have time, you may want to take it back to the shore and evacuate by foot. [...] Tsunamis start to rise in energy once they hit the slope, once they hit the coastal area. As they get closer to shore, they shoal, which means their energy has to go somewhere, so it rises up. If you’re out on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you won’t even feel a tsunami. It’ll just look like another pass-

ing wave. Most tsunamis are caused by big, undersea earthquakes and, when those plates shift underneath the ocean floor and shift up a bunch of water, that causes that water to go out radiately. It goes up vertically and goes out radiately all around. That’s how a tsunami is generated.”

Ballmann said residents can find

more information at tsunami.org.

“We want people to bounce back as fast as possible– that’s called resilience,” he said. “If you’re prepared, then surviving an earthquake, surviving a tsunami, that’s the easy part. It’s doing everything ahead of time so that is the easy part. And, your recovery should even be easier.” ✦

Denny Cristales | Signal Tribune

Reggie Harrison, director of the City of Long Beach Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department, said that he advises residents to pack enough emergency supplies in the event of a disaster so that they could sustain themselves for at least seven days. Harrison shared emergency advice with residents at Will Rogers Mini Park and at the Recreation Park Community Center for the City of Long Beach’s Tsunami Evacuation Walk and Resource Fair on March 17.

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Sebastian Echeverry | Signal Tribune

Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga makes comments supporting the idea for Cambodians to redistrict the Long Beach City Council boundary lines during a petition-signing event on March 18 at the La Lune Thmey restaurant. A coalition of Cambodian organizations called Equity for Cambodians launched the petition to gather public support to redistrict the greater Cambodian community under one district.

and never allowed to protest for what they believed in– speaking up against the Khmer Rouge sometimes meant death. The MAYE Center aims to heal genocide survivors through meditation, agriculture/farming, yoga and education (MAYE).

Som said she began to notice that her meditation students– survivors of the genocide who are now mostly seniors– began to rediscover their own voices and opinions, which the Khmer Rouge once sought to forcefully silence.

The petition to gather support for council redistricting is a physical embodiment of that voice, Som said. The idea is to have a representative in a leadership position who reflects the greater Cambodian community in the city.

She said a council district with a majority of Cambodian voters in its boundaries keeps the community alive, gives them voting power and helps make Long Beach their home.

“Healing yourself isn’t enough,” she said. “Standing up for your community is what it means to be alive.”

The plan to redistrict began when members of the MAYE Center participated in a course that teaches about local governments called the Civics, Organizing and Government (COG) program.

One of Som’s students, Vy Sron, noticed that the Anaheim corridor– where a majority of Cambodians reside in Long Beach– was divided between the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th districts.

Data collected in the 2016 U.S. Census shows that Long Beach has a population of 469,793 people.

The Cambodian population stands

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at 17,641– 4 percent of the total population. Fifty-two percent of Cambodians in Long Beach currently reside in the 6th district.

Som said that readjusting the 1st, 2nd and 4th council district lines would allow for a stronger presence of Cambodians in the 6th district in time for the 2020 election.

Ultimately, it is up to the city council to decide which district a majority of the Cambodian residents will find themselves in, however, Som and other coalition members say they are inclined to believe it will be the 6th district.

An Equity for Cambodians memo states that Section 103 of the Long Beach City Charter allows for the City to change district lines every five years or whenever the council feels that it is necessary.

In 2011, the City adopted its redistricting criteria.

Item seven of the document states that “splits in neighborhoods, ethnic communities and other groups having a clear identity should be avoided.”

Despite this statement, the City divided the Cambodian community in 2011. Most of the area was divided between the 4th and 6th districts due to the use of Gardenia Avenue as the north-south dividing line, according to the memo.

Som told the Signal Tribune during a phone interview Wednesday that the initiative to redistrict fits the criteria needed to be put into action. She said that individuals afraid of the change may not agree with the plan.

“There might be some pushback from those that are affected,” she said.

During the event, Uranga said the Latino community has undergone a similar situation. The councilmember referred to that community’s efforts in the early 1990s to have a seat on the city council designated for a Latino or Latina. These efforts were successful and resulted in the election of Jenny Oropeza to the 1st district in 1994.

Congressmember Lowenthal also made comments during the event and showed his support for redistricting.

“This is a major step toward democracy,” he said.

“Now, it’s time for them to be active, to have their own representation.”

Lowenthal was the first to sign the petition. Shortly after, Uranga and Saro added their signatures alongside the congressmember’s.

During the event, Charles Song, Equity for Cambodians coalition co-chair, said that anyone could sign the petition. He stressed that the signatures were only to show the city council how much the community supported redistricting. Those who signed did not have to be registered voters.

The petition also aids in sparking interest on the topic among the Cambodian community.

The coalition is hoping to present the petition with signatures to the city council on April 24.

“This is an opportunity for all of us to give a voice,” Song said. “We need a massive petition, and we are going to take it straight to City Hall.” ✦

March 23, 2018

Hahn appoints former foster youth to County Commission for Children and Families Los Angeles County 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn on Tuesday appointed Long Beach resident Tiffany Boyd to the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families. Boyd spent 10 years of her childhood in foster care as a client of the Department of Children and Families and is thought to be the first former foster youth ever appointed to the commission, according to Hahn’s office.

While searching for a candidate for the appointment, Hahn prioritized finding a candidate with firsthand experience in the foster-care system, according to Hahn’s office.

“Tiffany spent much of her childhood in foster care, so she understands the challenges facing our foster youth,” Hahn said. “Her lived experience allows her to see things advocates and allies would miss. She is going to be an incredible advocate for children across the county and an asset on the Commission for Children and Families.”

Boyd is a Long Beach resident and “a fierce advocate for foster youth,” according to Hahn’s office.

In addition to being a member of the National Foster Youth Institute’s Leadership Corps, Boyd is starting her own nonprofit with the goal of forming a mentorship network composed of current and former foster youth. She is also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public administration at California State University Dominguez Hills.

“My first-hand experience gives me an understanding of how the decisions that are made affect those they are created to help and allows me to have compassion and empathy for those who I am advocating on behalf of,” Boyd said. “I plan to contribute my professional and personal experiences to the discussions and efforts within the group and serve as a representative for other current and emancipated foster youth as their member on the Commission.”

The Commission for Children and Families advises the Board of Supervisors on strengthening service delivery systems and enhancing partnerships to create safer and more secure futures for Los Angeles

LIVES LIVED

Mark Knoop 57 Carl Cortright 72 Anne Graves 92 Frank Valverde 81 Gail Gaydos 63 James King 69 Leonard Mungai 79 Thomas Stimmell 90 Donna King 70 George Richards 70 Marion Wilson 104 Robert Fowler 45 Patricia Beard 76 Terrall Magee 53 Cathy Blocker 62 The families were assisted by McKenzie Mortuary. For more details on service dates and times, contact (562) 961-9301.

Courtesy Hahn’s office

Tiffany Boyd

County’s at-risk children and their families. There are currently 35,000 children and youth in LA County that receive child welfare services from the Department of Children and families, according to Hahn’s office. Just over 17,000 of them live outside their homes in a foster care or group home setting.

“Although we can’t definitively say, we’re fairly certain that Tiffany’s appointment represents a historic ‘first’ for LA County,” said Bobby Cagle, director of DCFS. “Having a former foster youth as dedicated as Tiffany is an important step for the County, DCFS and the Commission for Children and Families. Needless to say, we’re thrilled to have her and we are looking forward to hearing her voice at the table. “ Tamara N. Hunter, executive director of the Commission for Children and Families, said she has had the opportunity to work closely with Boyd as part of the LA County Foster Youth Bill of Rights and Services project and has witnessed her passion for and commitment to improving the child welfare system.

“I am looking forward to partnering with Ms. Boyd in her new role and enthusiastic about the ways in which she will contribute to the Commission and our mission,” Hunter said. “Speaking more broadly, as someone who has been in the foster-care system, Ms. Boyd represents one of the most important stakeholder groups and lends a vital perspective that should inform decision making regarding at-risk and systems-involved children, youth and families.”

Source: Hahn’s office

March 23, 2018

Signal Tribune

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TST5640 / 2018 045420 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: BGM ENTERPRISE, 2301 E. 10th St., Long Beach, CA 90804.

Registrant: EDGAR ORTEGA, 2301 E. 10th St., Long Beach, CA 90804.

This business is conducted by: an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. Signed: Edgar Ortega. The registrant has not begun to use this fictitious business name. The registrant began using this fictitious business name on . This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on February 23, 2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 2, 9, 16, 23, 2018.

TST5641 / 2018 053792 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: THE BEAUTY COLLABORATIVE, 3633 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807. Registrant: ROYAL PACIFIC COSMETICS, LLC, 3633 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807. This business is conducted by: a Limited Liability Company. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. Signed: Leopold R. Barrit, Manager. The registrant has not begun to use this fictitious business name. This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on March 5, 2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2018.

TST5645 / Case No. BS172487 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STANLEY MOSK COURT, 111 North Hill St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

PETITION OF Katherleen Shaw.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: KATHERLEEN SHAW has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing her name as follows: Present Name: KATHERLEEN SHAW, to Proposed Name: KATHERINE CRIM. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: May 1, 2018; Time: 10:30A M; Dept. 44, Room 418. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2018 ___//ss//___ Edward B. Moreton, Jr., Judge of the Superior Court Dated March 5, 2018

PUBLIC NOTICES TST5644 / Case No. TS021052 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE, 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220.

PETITION OF Mechael Darling Carrizales.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: MECHAEL DARLING CARRIZALES has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing her name as follows: Present Name: MECHAEL DARLING CARRIZALES, to Proposed Name: MICHELLE DARLENE CARRIZALEZ. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: April 17, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. A, Room 904. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2018 ___//ss//___ Brian S. Currey, Judge of the Superior Court Dated February 26, 2018 TST5643 / Case No. TS021049 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE, 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220.

PETITION OF Panfila Chavira.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: PANFILA CHAVIRA has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing her name as follows: Present Name: PANFILA CHAVIRA, to Proposed Name: MARIA PANFILA CHAVIRA. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: April 12, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. A, Room 904. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2018 ___//ss//___ Brian S. Currey, Judge of the Superior Court Dated February 26, 2018 TST5647 / 2018 059158 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: KEMNER WINE, INC. DBA THE WINE COUNTRY, 2301 Redondo Ave., Signal Hill, CA 90755.

Registrant: KEMNER WINE, INC., 2301 Redondo Ave., Signal Hill, CA 90755. This business is conducted by: a Corporation. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. Signed: Randall S. Kemner, President. The registrant has begun to use this fictitious business name. The registrant began using this fictitious business name in January, 2018 . This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on March 9,

2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 6, 23, 30, & April 6, 2018.

TST5649 / 2018 054366 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: SUGAR ART WORKS, 5243 Klondike Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712. Registrant: KATHERINE DIANE MALEKI, 5243 Klondike Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712. This business is conducted by: an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct.

Signed: Katherine Diane Maleki.

The registrant has not begun to use this fictitious business name. This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on March 5, 2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 16, 23, 30, & April 6, 2018.

TST5650 / Case No. TS021051 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE, 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220.

PETITION OF Veda Denise Barnett.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: VEDA DENISE BARNETT has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing her name as follows: Present Name: VEDA DENISE BARNETT, to Proposed Name: VEDA DENISE BARNETT MACK. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: April 12, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. A, Room 904. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 16, 23, 30, & April 6, 2018 ___//ss//___ Brian S. Currey, Judge of the Superior Court Dated February 26, 2018 TST5648 / Case No. TS021032 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE, 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220.

PETITION OF Deaosaya Airron Peters.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: DEAOSAYA AIRRON PETERS has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing his name as follows: Present Name: DEAOSAYA AIRRON PETERS, to Proposed Name: DEONSAY ARRION PETERS. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name

should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: April 24, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. A,. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 16, 23, 30, & April 6, 2018 ___//ss//___ Maurice A. Leiter, Judge of the Superior Court Dated March 8, 2018 TST5646 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 3/16/2007.

UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state will be held by the duly appointed trustee as shown below, of all right, title, and interest conveyed to and now held by the trustee in the hereinafter described property under and pursuant to a Deed of Trust described below. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by the Deed of Trust, with interest and late charges thereon, as provided in the note(s), advances, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, interest thereon, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee for the total amount (at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale) reasonably estimated to be set forth below. The amount may be greater on the day of sale.

Trustor: KIMBERLY BLUE, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN Duly Appointed Trustee: Zieve, Brodnax & Steele, LLP Deed of Trust recorded 3/21/2007 as Instrument No. 20070636444 in book , page of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, California, Date of Sale:4/12/2018 at 9:00 AM Place of Sale: Vineyard Ballroom, Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles-Norwalk, 13111 Sycamore Drive, Norwalk, CA 90650 Estimated amount of unpaid balance and other charges: $429,501.02 Note: Because the Beneficiary reserves the right to bid less than the total debt owed, it is possible that at the time of the sale the opening bid may be less than the total debt owed.

Street Address or other common designation of real property: 2535 CALIFORNIA AVE, 1 SIGNAL HILL, California 90755-3306 Described as follows: As more fully described on said Deed of Trust.

A.P.N #.: 7211-004-033 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address or other common designation, if any, shown above. If no street address or other common designation is shown, directions to the location of the property may be obtained by sending a written request to the beneficiary within 10 days of the date of first publication of this Notice of Sale.

NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property.

March 23, 2018

NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call (800) 280-2832 or visit this Internet Web site www.auction. com, using the file number assigned to this case 17-48690. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale.

Dated: 3/9/2018 Zieve, Brodnax & Steele, LLP, as Trustee 30 Corporate Park, Suite 450 Irvine, CA 92606 For Non-Automated Sale Information, call: (714) 848-7920 For Sale Information: (800) 280-2832 www.auction.com

_______________________________ __ Christine O’Brien, Trustee Sale Officer THIS FIRM IS ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION WE OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE EPP 24917 Signal Tribune Pub. dates 03/16, 03/23, 03/30/2018

TST5638 / 2018 040925 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: SUPER SUDS LAUNDRY, 250 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802. Registrant: 1. SANFORD LEE SIMMONS, 2. LINDA GAY SIMMONS, 2255 Westwind Way, Signal Hill, CA 90755. This business is conducted by: a Trust. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. Signed: Linda Gay Simmons, Trustee. The registrant has begun to use this fictitious business name. The registrant began using this fictitious business name in June, 1996. This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on February 16, 2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune: March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2018.

TST5639 / 2018 044292 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as: RED DOOR LIVING, 3646 Long Beach Blvd., Suite 103, Long Beach, CA 90807. Registrant: DORIAN BOLICK, 5477 E. Centralia St., Long Beach, CA 90808.

This business is conducted by: an Individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. Signed: Dorian Bolick. The registrant has begun to use this fictitious business name. The registrant began using this fictitious business name in April, 2011. This statement was filed with the county clerk of Los Angeles County on February 22, 2018. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). Pub. The Signal Tribune: February 23, & March 2, 9, 16, 2018.

March 23, 2018 TST5651 / Case No. NS034237 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, GOVERNOR GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN COURTHOUSE, 275 Magnolia Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802.

PETITION OF Damion Keith Noriega.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: DAMION KEITH NORIEGA filed a petition with this court for a decree changing his name as follows: Present Name: DAMION KEITH NORIEGA, to Proposed Name: DAMION KEITH SAMUELU. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: April 27, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. S27, Room 5400. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 23, 30, & April 6, 13, 2018 ___//ss//___ Patrick T. Madden, Judge of the Superior Court Dated March 14, 2018

TST5652 / Case No. TS021065 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, SOUTH CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE, 200 W. Compton Blvd., Compton, CA 90220.

PETITION OF Elizabeth Yvette Johnson.

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: ELIZABETH YVETTE JOHNSON has filed a petition with this court for a decree changing her name as follows: Present Name: ELIZABETH YVETTE JOHNSON, to Proposed Name: ELIZABETH YVETTE MCLEMORE. 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: May 3, 2018; Time: 8:30A M; Dept. A, Room 902. The address of the court is the same as above. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, THE SIGNAL TRIBUNE, 1399 E. 28th, Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755: March 23, 30, & April 6, 13, 2018 ___//ss//___ Brian S. Currey, Judge of the Superior Court Dated March 20, 2018

TST5653

NEWS

Signal Tribune

Contributions

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Feb. 24.

Shin only began posting any financial activity in the first two months of this year, however he has also gained considerable ground within a short time frame. Shin raised $10,348.95 and spent $7,247.36 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24. His ending cash balance totaled $3,101.59 as of Feb. 24.

Very recently, he gave himself an extra cash boost. Shin loaned $8,000 of his own money to his campaign on March 16.

Delacruz and Sereno have not posted any specific financial activity because they are not required to do

so. Candidates who have raised or spent below a specific threshold are not required to file detailed reports.

Both Delacruz and Sereno filed short forms in February that stated they have not received nor spent more than $2,000.

Martin Martinez Saldaña and Emily Quest initially filed their intent to run for Uranga’s office, however, the city clerk’s office did not list these two individuals among the qualified candidates for the April election.

Uranga still maintains one more advantage over those who desire to run against him. In addition to his efforts to raise money for his own

political campaign, Uranga has managed to win support from political-action committees (PACs) tied to labor. PACs associated with local unions including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFLCIO Council on Political Education and the Long Beach Firefighters Local 372 have spent thousands of dollars in support of Uranga in this campaign season.

So far, the AFL-CIO has outpaced the other PACs in expenditures for the 7th District’s primary race.

The Signal Tribune will report on labor’s influence on the local races for city council in a future story. ✦

EYE ON CRIME Crimes reported by THE Signal Hill Police Department

Thursday, March 15 9:11pm Burglary 1200 block E. Hill St. Friday, March 16 9:31am Battery 1900 block Cherry Ave.

person; carrying loaded handgun/ not registered owner; disorderly conduct; under influence 3500 block E. PCH (suspect arrested) 12:34pm Battery 700 block E. Spring St.

4:42pm Indecent exposure 2700 block Cherry Ave.

12:45pm Grand theft 1800 block E. Willow St.

11:13pm Grand theft– motor vehicle 2600 block Panorama Dr.

2:48pm Grand theft 2500 block Cherry Ave.

Saturday, March 17 12:34pm Forgery 3300 block E. PCH

5:51pm Force or assault with weapon– not firearm; threatening crime with intent to terrorize 2500 block E. Willow St. (suspect arrested)

11:18pm Inflicting corporal injury on spouse/ cohabitant 2300 block Lemon Ave. Sunday, March 18 6:39am Carrying concealed weapon on

Monday, March 19 1:15am Battery 2800 block Walnut Ave. 7:57am

Identity theft 1700 block E. Hill St. 10:41am Grand theft– motor vehicle 1000 block E. Burnett St. 12:07pm Grand theft– motor vehicle 2700 block Cherry Ave. 1:22pm Grand theft– motor vehicle 2200 block E. Willow St. 5:45pm Auto burglary 1900 block Discovery Way 8:25pm Burglary 2000 block Orizaba Ave. 11:31pm Burglary 2500 block E. PCH Wednesday, March 21 8:47pm Stolen vehicle recovered 1000 block E. Burnett St.

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CA attorney general warning consumers of immigration scams California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has issued a consumer alert warning Californians to be wary of scam artists or untrained immigration consultants who prey on immigrants by falsely representing themselves as legally qualified to assist with immigration matters. The consumer alert urges those who need help navigating the immigration process to seek assistance from licensed attorneys or legal aid organizations– not from notaries or immigration consultants.

“Scam artists who pose as immigration attorneys should be ashamed of themselves,” Becerra said. “Just as dangerous are immigration consultants, who are not trained or legally allowed to help with a consumer’s immigration case, but do so and often botch the job, landing consumers in removal proceedings. All Californians– regardless of immigration status– have rights. At a time when the Trump Administration is

Happy Spring!

NEWS M 23, 2018 Long Beach Playhouse to host its 28th New Works Festival

sowing fear among hardworking immigrants throughout our state, the California Department of Justice will do everything in its power to ensure that those rights are upheld.”

The consumer alert can be found at oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/ agweb/pdfs/consumers/consumer-alert.pdf. It is also available in Spanish at oag.ca.gov/sites/all/ files/agweb/pdfs/consumers/consumer-alert-spanish.pdf.

The California Attorney General’s office indicated it has a long history of pursuing scammers who prey on individuals needing legal assistance or advice on their immigration status. Most recently, the office prosecuted immigration consultant Oswaldo Rafael Cabrera, who operated Coalición Latinoamericana Internacional and harmed consumers by misleading them, taking their money, damaging their immigration prospects and sometimes causing their deportation, according to Becerra’s office.

In December 2016, the California Attorney General’s Office formally charged Cabrera with felonies including conspiracy to violate the Immigration Consultants Act, grand theft and attempted perjury. On Feb. 22, Cabrera pled guilty to several felony charges and was sentenced to more than five years in state prison.

Source: Becerra’s office

Women In Business

Linda Ikeda Pastry Chef

Xavier Becerra

File photo

The Long Beach Playhouse will kick off its 28th annual New Works Festival (NWF) in its Studio Theatre on Friday, March 23.

New Works is a national competition for plays that have never been produced. A call for scripts is made, and playwrights submit their works to the Playhouse. The New Works committee reads all of the submissions and chooses the two plays it thinks have the best chance to go on to full productions, according to the Playhouse.

“We receive as many as 100 submissions from playwrights each year,” said Madison Mooney, executive director of the Long Beach Playhouse. “We are honored to read their plays and appreciate the willingness of the authors to put forth their work for our review.”

This year’s winners are Happy Thanksgiving by Tim Boland and Men Overboard by Rich Orloff.

The former imagines holiday conversations by family members who did and did not vote for Donald Trump. Men Overboard observes a family preparing for a boy’s bar mitzvah.

The two staged readings will take place on March 23 and 24, with one script performed each night. Fol-

lowing the presentation, a facilitated discussion will take place with the audience. This year, two theater professionals, Cecilia Fannon and Lorin Howard, are providing written critiques to the two winning authors.

“Because these plays are performed as readings, the focus is on the words and inflection,” said Laura Clagett, co-chair of the New Works committee. “The audience pays attention in a different way because there’s nothing to distract from the script.”

Playhouse board member and New Works co-chair Anna Kate Mohler said, “The feedback and discussion between the actors, director and audience can be lively and thought-provoking. It’s a chance for the audience to see the artistic process from many perspectives. We are pleased that Tim Boland is expected to attend the performance. Unfortunately, our other author had previous commitments but looks forward to hearing about the reading of his play and receiving the feedback from Fannon and Howard.”

New Works productions include formal auditions for the roles, and actors have been cast for each play.

Happy Thanksgiving, which is directed by Sheridan Cole, features Jack Murphy, Susan Stangl, Holland Renton, Lawrence Ingalls, Ellen Beiser and Prince Johnson.

Men Overboard, directed by Reed Flores, includes Joshua Johnson, Michael Kaye, Jaxson Brashier, Russell Malang, Caitlin Barry and Gary Douglas in its cast.

“One of the most important things we can do is encourage playwrights. New Works exemplifies what it means to be a community theater,” said Sean Gray, artistic director for the Playhouse. “I encourage the public to attend. It’s a chance to see something new and actually participate in the dialogue about the plays.”

Tickets for the shows are $10 and can be purchased online at lbplayhouse.org or in person at the box office or before the show.

The box office is open Wednesday through Saturday from 3pm to 8pm and Sundays from 1pm to 2pm for scheduled matinees. The Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit lbplayhouse.org or call (562) 494-1014.

Source: LB Playhouse

Goodwill SOLAC appoints community leaders to its board of trustees Goodwill, Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County recently named two community leaders to its board of trustees: Mike Murray and Ardel Guillamas Avelino.

“Their individual and combined expertise is significant to continuing and growing Goodwill’s mission to provide education, skill development and job opportunities for people with barriers to employment,” states a press release about the appointments.

Murray worked for GTE/Verizon for over 35 years, starting in operations as a departmental clerk and advancing to positions from public & external affairs to philanthropic program evaluator, as well as managing grant requests submitted to

GTE. His most recent position prior to retirement was director of Government & External Affairs with Verizon in Southern California.

Murray has held numerous leadership positions in Long Beach, including: chairman of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce; president of Better Learning After School Today; president of Leadership Long Beach; co-chair of the Long Beach 10-Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (adopted 2010); chairman, US VETS Long Beach Business Advisory Council; president of the Long Beach Education Foundation; and United Cambodian Community Board.

Avelino is a registered nurse and is currently the senior director for St. Mary Medical Center, with ad-

ministrative oversight of clinic operations. He has vast knowledge and extensive experience in the realms of quality, compliance, patient experience, program management and clinical operations, according to Goodwill SOLAC. Avelino has served on various clinical and operational leadership roles for the past 15 years, exclusively at St. Mary Medical Center, and is a member of the honor society of nursing. He is a graduate of Long Beach City College’s nursing program, where he also served as adjunct faculty for nearly 10 years, teaching critical care and leadership.

Source: Goodwill SOLAC

March 23, 2018

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managed by the Signal Hill Community Foundation. The bricks will be placed at the entrance and other places in the dog park.

Community Services Director Aly Mancini told the council that funds raised from sale of the bricks will offset the park’s project costs and generate additional revenue for the foundation to use for park amenities, programs, services and events.

The council further approved a zoning amendment for the dog-park portion of the property on Jan. 23, changing its use designation from “commercial general” to “open space.”

Staff also shared a “negative declaration” report with the council at that meeting, indicating that the dog park would not significantly impact the environment.

During the park’s grand opening Saturday, Mayor Ed-

ward Wilson unveiled a plaque commemorating the park and also cut a ribbon at the main gate of the dog area, surrounded by several local dogs and their people.

In his speech, Wilson recognized the efforts of city council members, commissioners and staff, among others in attendance.

“This dog park has been many, many years in the making,” he said. “It’s a true testament to the hard work of so many people.”

He also acknowledged the cooperation of Signal Hill Petroleum in relocating their oil-production facilities from the property, as well as the architects, construction team and project managers.

“It is our hope,” Wilson said before unveiling the official plaque, “that this little dog park will provide big fun for all of our furry friends.” ✦

Photos by Anita W. Harris | Signal Tribune

Small dogs enjoy a dedicated area of the new Signal Hill Dog Park at 3100 California Ave. during its grand opening on March 17.

Signal Hill Mayor Edward Wilson (center, with scissors), cuts ribbon during the March 17 grand opening of the Signal Hill Dog Park at 3100 California Ave.

Dogs and their people await the opening of the new Signal Hill Dog Park at 3100 California Ave. on March 17.

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