Signal
“Sunset at South Bay,”
oil painting by Lisa Wibroe
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Vol. 35 No. 11
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August 16, 2013
SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
Your Weekly Community Newspaper The Guidance Center’s new spot in Central LB promises better access to kids and families with mental-health needs CJ Dablo Staff Writer
When The Guidance Center had to pick a new spot for its new headquarters, the nonprofit organization followed the standard advice for real estate: location, location, location. The center moved into its new headquarters in July and celebrated its grand opening last week at 1301 Pine Ave. to offer mental-health services to kids and their families in the community. Patricia Costales, executive director of The Guidance Center, acknowledges that the main decision to move into central Long Beach had everything to do with what her organization knew its clients needed. The center also operates satellite clinics in Compton, San Pedro, Paramount and Catalina Island, but when it came to The Guidance Center’s presence in Long Beach, there was a major problem. The center had four offices in Long Beach, and while all of the offices were in Bixby Knolls, none of their clients lived in Bixby Knolls, according to Costales in a phone interview. She added that they also needed to have administrative staff working with them under one roof. “This feels like it was meant for kids,” Costales said of the new look of the center, a building that formerly housed the Long Beach Rescue Mission’s thrift store and extra office space. Costales described how the facilities had been completely gutted and built to suit The Guidance Center’s requirements. Only the ceiling and the walls are original, and there is plenty CJ Dablo/Signal Tribune of room for community meetings and plenty of space Baby dolls from The Guidance Center are used by counto grow, according to the executive director. selors in their play-therapy kits when they work on school see CENTER page 15 campuses.
More birds, mosquitoes found with West Nile virus in LB this year; one human death reported in LA County Sean Belk Staff Writer
A total of six dead birds in Long Beach have tested positive for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus this year, with reports showing up in eastern to western parts of the city, health officials said. Samples from three mosquito traps also tested positive for the virus in addition to one trap in Signal Hill. The reports come just as health officials have confirmed the first human death attributed to the virus in Los Angeles County this year. Local health officials reported that a Carson man in his late 70s recently died after being diagnosed with the virus, though he had other complications at the time. As of press time, there were only two other known West Nile virus-related deaths reported in California this year– one in Glenn County and one in Sacramento County. Vector-control officials note that the virus is most active in South Bay areas of Courtesy LB Health Dept. A vector-control inspector packages a dead crow to be tested for West the county, such as Torrance, Carson and Nile virus. The Long Beach Health Department utilizes 23 mosquito Lomita, yet it has also drifted into Long traps to monitor the prevalence of the virus throughout the entire city. see WEST NILE page 8
Weekly Weather Forecast August 20, 2013
August 16 through
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
81° 82° 83° 79° 79° This week’s Weekly Weather Forecast sponsored by: Low clouds, then sunshine
Low clouds, then sunshine
Low clouds, then sunshine
Low clouds, then sunshine
Mostly sunny
Lo 63°
Lo 65°
Lo 64°
Lo 66°
Lo 67°
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Photos by Cory Bilicko/Signal Tribune
Long Beach Police Department officers and Fire Department personnel maneuver between a triage location and the site of mass-shooting “victims” during the Aug. 13 “Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill” at Cal State Long Beach.
In wake of school shootings at Santa Monica and Sandy Hook, CSULB conducts multi-agency ‘mass casualty’ exercise Cory Bilicko
Managing Editor
The blood was just make-up, the screams for help only feigned, and the gunman at the center of it all nonexistent, but the more than 150 participants involved in the Aug. 13 “Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill” at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) were taking their assigned duties very seriously. The event was a multi-agency mock response that involved the CSULB University Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department, Long Beach Fire Department, St. Mary Medical Center, Lifeline EMS, Pacific College and
several university departments joining together to apprehend a hypothetical shooter and treat would-be victims. The focus of the exercise, according to the university, was primarily on the CSULB Student Health Center and its staff’s ability to perform triage in the field, but the exercise was also designed to test the communications of university personnel with external agencies, the media and the public. Terri Carbaugh, CSULB associate vice president of Legislative and External Relations, was stationed at the checkin tent for the event. At 9:45 that
see CSULB page 14
Dr. Jennifer Zweig simulates treatment on a “victim” during CSULB’s mock response to an active-shooter scenario on Aug. 13.