Sun Newspapers | Seal Beach Local News

A look at super city ‘case study’

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November 7, 2011

Update—The super city case study will not be on the Dec. 14 Orange County LAFCO agenda. Other news media had reported that the case study supporting the super city proposal would be on the agenda of the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission. However, Joyce Crosthwaite, executive officer for Orange County LAFCO, said the agency’s December agenda is full.

Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach told the Sun that if the item is on the agenda, it will most likely be a receive and file item. For background on the case study, see the story below.

As previously reported, the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission has issued a report that says merging three Sun Region communities into a single city would save the public about $2.5 million.

However, the report does not mention any costs associated with combining three communities—Seal Beach, Rossmoor and Los Alamitos—into one. The report did say the combined debt of the super city would be approximately $48.5 million.

LAFCO is a county commission, mandated by state law, that oversees municipal and county border issues, annexations, community mergers and governance. Moorlach, in addition to being a member of the OC Board of Supervisors, is the current chairman of LAFCO. He is one of three supervisors who sits on LAFCO.

Seal Beach Mayor Michael Levitt said he had not seen the report and did not consider LAFCO to be unbiased when producing figures on the subject.

Seal Beach Councilwoman Ellery Deaton questioned who would actually save money under the merger. “Which taxpayers? Los Alamitos’? Rossmoor’s? The County’s?” Deaton asked.

“Seal Beach has managed its finances well and has so far weathered the storm others have not. Big government invariably costs more because of larger bureaucracies and less accountability. Certainly the county suffers from being ‘Big Government’ compared to our little town. We will not take on the county’s problems and make them ours,” Deaton said.

“The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) retained an independent consultant, GST Consulting (Orange County), to analyze the benefits of the Super-City idea for Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, and Rossmoor,” wrote Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach in a Thursday, Oct. 27 e-mail to his constituents.

“ As expected, there would be significant financial savings,” Moorlach said.

Moorlach has advocated creating a “Super City” from the three Sun Region communities since 2007.

A look at the report

According to the report, eliminating 16 full time positions in management and administration would save taxpayers $2.5 million.

“All data is from each agency’s Fiscal Year 2010/2011 budget, Fiscal Year 2009/2010 audited financial statements, and other public documents,” said the GST report. The document’s author was not identified by name. The report, “Shared Services Case Study,” an administrative draft fiscal analysis, was dated June 18.

“The financial savings depicted are based on the maximum potential savings found through a LAFCO consolidation and are likely to decrease if there were to be functional consolidation through contractual arrangements for shared services,” the GST report said.

The GST report said that the study assumed the debts of the three separate communities would be combined. According to the report, the combined debt and long term liabilities of the super city would be $48,488,269.

The report looked at General Fund revenues and expenses based on the 2010/2011 budgets for all three Sun Region communities. According GST Consulting, the combined revenues of the three communities would be $40,735,720. The combined expenses would be $37,979,265.

The report projected a net surplus for the super city of $2,756,455. GST Consulting said the surplus would be about $2.6 million higher than the combined cities and the Rossmoor Community Services District. The figures include county expenses for Rossmoor that are not part of the RCSD budget. The county revenues for Rossmoor are approximately $1.3 million. The county expenses for Rossmoor are more than $1.4 million.

“The revenue increase can be attributed to the Motor Vehicle License Fee (MVLF) allocation for the Rossmoor community if included under consolidation,” the report said.

The report also projected a $1.7 million decrease in salary and benefit costs if the two cities and one unincorporated community were combined.

The report did not mention any costs that might be associated with creating one city out of three.

“Constraints” against the super city were covered in one paragraph. “Analysis is needed to determine if any ‘meet and confer’ and/or other negotiations under each bargaining unit’s MOU [memorandum of understanding] will be required,” the report said. “Additionally, there are differences in salary and benefit packages between each city, the county and the RDSD. Additional analysis would be needed related to how the re-alignment of salaries and benefits might occur.”

Gary Thompson, of GST Consulting, said that logistical costs of municipal consolidation would only be looked at if the county and the three communities decided to go ahead with the merger.

Thompson said that most costs associated with consolidation were one-time only costs.

Thompson was not aware of any recent municipal consolidations in California.

Thompson said the intent of the study was to look at long-term savings. He pointed out that the report assumes there would be no changes at the staff level. “That was intended to be a snapshot,” he said.

He said a more detailed study would be required to look at savings at the staff level.

Background on the report

The media first reported on the GST Consulting report last week.

“The report was commissioned on March 31, 2011 and was finalized in late August or early September. The total cost of the contract was $8,900. GST Consulting has worked for LAFCO on the Rossmoor incorporation, the islands fiscal models and this project,” said Joyce Crosthwaite, executive officer for Orange County LAFCO.

Crosthwaite said the report was generated as part of the commission’s shared services program.

“It’s getting a lot of interest from cities,” Crosthwaite said.

She said that under the program, LAFCO provides listings services that cities and special districts can share those services.

As for the GST report, she said the some of the Local Agency Formation commissioners were interested.

“The chair was particularly interested,” she said.

Asked if she knew which commissioners were interested I the report, Crosthwaite said that all the commissioners were interested I the shared services program.

In August, the Sun Newspapers reviewed LAFCO’s meeting minutes for all of 2010 and from January to August 2011. There was no mention of hiring a consultant to analyze the financial issues of merging the three communities in any of those documents.

At the time, Moorlach explained the lack of references to the super city proposal in LAFCO minutes by saying “it hasn’t been a priority.”

On Monday, Oct. 31, Crosthwaite, said the report was not mentioned in the minutes of LAFCO meetings because she has been authorized to enter into contracts for less than $10,000.

The GST report is not yet available on the LAFCO Web site, according to Moorlach.

Supervisor Moorlach e-mailed a copy of the report to the Sun immediately after it was requested.

New Sunday blog at sunnews.org

For the Sun

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November 6, 2011

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Starting this week, the Sun wil post blogs on Fridays and Sundays. The Sunday blog, by Assistant Editor Charles M. Kelly, will be about writing. This week, Kelly describes the punishing and dreary problem of dealing with too many capital letters. It sounds trivial—unless you spend two or three hours of your work week changing unncessary capital letters to small ones.

Click on “blog” at the right to go to the page.

Healing Hearts to help heal pain of tragic event

For the Sun

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November 4, 2011

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Healing Hearts to help heal pain of tragic event

Seal Beach resident Kathi Powelson taped up a simple message to the window of Salon Meritage two days after the shooting.

“Please join us on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Marina Park to brainstorm ideas on how we can help the victims of the shooting,” the note said.

Two days later, about 15 volunteers, some with children in tow, showed up at the park eager to come up with ideas. The volunteers, most of whom are from Seal Beach and surrounding cities, are ready to provide service to the families of the victims of the Salon Meritage shooting.

Jim Watson, owner of the Seal Beach shopping center, and longtime Seal Beach resident joined the group. Powelson is working with city officials and the city’s Chamber of Commerce liaison to connect with the families.

After an almost two hour meeting, the group named themselves “Healing Hearts.”

“The focus of our group is to provide service to the victims’ families and survivors of this tragedy,” said Powelson, an adapted P.E. teacher in the Montebello school district. “We’d also like to recognize the first responders, many of whom were traumatized by the shooting.

All of these families are going to need a lot of assistance in many different ways and we are here to help them – now and in the coming months.”

Volunteers are willing to perform the following tasks: Cook/purchase meals to be delivered, run errands, child and pet care, school tutoring, help with making phone calls/sending out mails, help at funerals/after funeral receptions, including cooking, busing tables, setting up/breaking down tables and chairs, helping with flowers, etc.

Professional services that can be offered include crisis counseling at no charge (by a licensed therapist), massage therapy at no charge (by a professional medical massage therapist), laughter Tai Chi, lactation consultation (if there are any nursing moms who are survivors) and media relations consulting.

During the casual meeting, community members took the opportunity to talk about the massacre and how it’s affected them personally. One woman described how her husband, a 36-year veteran firefighter nearing retirement, was a first responder during the shooting.

“Even though he’s trained for this, nothing prepared him for what he saw,” said Cindy Hooper, his wife who attended the meeting.

Due to Hooper’s input, members of the group are also planning activities geared toward emergency personnel on duty that day and visits to local police and fire stations.

“Our group recognizes that we will help in any way that we can if the families or survivors want the help,” Powelson said. “If the families do not want our assistance, then of course their privacy will be respected.”

The newly formed group welcomes additional volunteers interested in helping out.

With the holidays coming up, there are also plans to make cookies, create “prayer bear blankets,” and provide whatever support and comfort families may need.

For more information, please contact Kathi Powelson at jkcspowelson@yahoo.com.

Sun blog updated

For the Sun

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November 4, 2011

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Assistant Editor Charles M. Kelly wrote this week’s blog on the Ghost Town Syndrome. (It’s a bad thing.) Every Friday, the Sun posts a new blog on its Web site. With rare exceptions, Sun blogs are exclusive to our Web site and seldom reprinted from the Sun Newspaper.

Sun receptionist engaged to native Californian

Milestones

For the Sun

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November 4, 2011

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Sun receptionist engaged to native Californian

Cara Niedergall, of Seal Beach, the receptionist and admin. assistant at the Sun Newspapers, daughter of Glenn and Erin Niedergall of Slippery Rock, Penn., is engaged to Daniel Howard, born and raised in Southern California. The wedding is set for Dec. 31, in the Pittsburgh, Penn. area.

The couple met in March through a mutual friend on a surf trip, while Cara was out visiting. They became friends over long-distance and Dan began pursuing Cara in courtship.

Cara moved out to California in May for other reasons, but the relationship became more serious. They were engaged in Seal Beach on July 6.

Crime log update

For the Sun

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November 4, 2011

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The newest Sun Crime Log has been posted online. Visit the Crime page on this Web site.

Crime Log: Man in tree prompts call to Leisure World Security

Crime

For the Sun

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November 4, 2011

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Crime Log: Man in tree prompts call to Leisure World Security

There was a man in her tree. It was well past midnight and there was a strange man in her tree with a flashlight.

According to the Seal Beach Police Department log, it was Friday morning, Oct. 21, when a Leisure World woman living in Mutual 15 spied the suspicious man outside her home.

She called Leisure World Security.

It is not clear from the police log if Leisure World had a patrol unit in the area at the time or dispatched one. In either case, Leisure World Security confirmed that there was indeed a man with a flashlight in a tree on McKinney Way.

At 3:34 a.m., Leisure World Security called the Police Department. Police dispatched unit 241. The officer got the man out of the tree and arrested him for public drunkenness.

To make a comment on this story at the Sun Newspapers’ Web site, go to www.sunnews.org.

SBPD collects 150 pounds of prescription meds

The Seal Beach Police Department collected over 150 pounds of prescription drugs in four hours on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The local collection was part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The drop off location was in front of police headquarters, with a drive thru style collection station.

This allowed the community to drop off their old, expired and unwanted prescriptions or over the counter drugs without leaving their cars. Participants were asked to remove the patient information from the container.

“The community response has been overwhelming to this joint effort between the Seal Beach Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,” said Interim Police Chief Robert Luman.

“After only four hours, well over 150 pounds of old, expired and unwanted prescriptions (for) over the counter drugs were dropped off today. Prescription drug abuse is at an all time high and we are proud to provide this service to the community to help properly dispose of these medications,” Luman said.

Crime Log Compiled
by Charles M. Kelly

IN SEAL BEACH

Monday, October 17

Traffic Hazard—8:15 a.m.—Montecito Road and Rossmoor Center Way—The caller said a large trash bin truck was parked east of Montecito Road, blocking the lane of traffic. The caller said the bin was a hazard for vehicles turning on to Rossmoor Center Way from Montecito Road. Unit 106 determined that the vehicle was at the location for a roof removal. Cones were set out. Unit 106 determined that no further police services were necessary.

911 Hang-up—10:15 a.m.—17th Street—The caller was an elderly woman having television problems. She was advised to call Verizon FIOS.

Bike Theft Supplemental—11:55 a.m.—1st Street—A citizen provided police with the serial number for a bike that was reported stolen in July. Report taken.

Traffic—2:48 a.m.—Anderson and Pacific Coast Highway—The caller requested community service officers to keep traffic moving. The media was holding up traffic at the location. At 2:58 p.m., unit 442 advised dispatch that traffic was flowing at that time.

Tuesday, October 18

Suspicious Occupied Vehicle—4:14 a.m.—Old Ranch Parkway—The caller was delivering newspapers and saw a suspicious van in the parking lot. The vehicle was occupied by at least one person. Police unit 206 determined that the individual in the van was working at the location and got there early.

Disturbance, Customer—10:44 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—According to the caller, a customer was sleeping. He was asked to leave. He became upset. He was verbally abusive and kicked the door. Police unit 207 contacted the suspect and advised him to leave. He said he would comply.

Municipal Code Violation—1:44 p.m.—Fir Avenue—The caller said a man was sleeping in a van. Police unit 106 contacted the man in the van. His wife was cleaning the house and he was waiting for her. No further police services were necessary.

Wednesday, October 19

Vehicle Burglary—5:54 a.m.—Southshore Drive—The crime occurred sometime between 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 18 and the time of the call to police. The caller said his vehicle window had been smashed. Loss: unknown at that time. Report taken.

Petty Theft—5:46 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—The vehicle was unlocked, making it a case of petty theft rather than a vehicle burglary. Loss: a GPS device valued at $250.

The crime apparently occurred between 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 18 and 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19.

Report taken.

Disturbance, Juveniles—9:30 p.m.—A Row, Surfside Colony—The caller, relaying second-hand information, said juveniles were jumping their skateboards and making noise in front of the location. Police unit 207 contacted three skateboarders. They were advised of the noise complaint and were warned against making a disturbance. They said they would comply.

Disturbance—10:26 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said a woman was driving around the parking lot, yelling at pedestrians.

The caller said she parks, moves to a new spot, then drives up to pedestrians and yells. Police unit 206 contacted the woman in the vehicle. She had been yelling on her cell phone. The officer determined no further police services were necessary.

Thursday, October 20

Fraud Report—7:58 a.m.—Fir Avenue—Someone was using the caller’s credit card to make purchases on the Internet.

Disturbance, Juveniles—8:16 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said six juveniles on bikes and scooters, all boys, were loitering and being verbally abusive with an employee inside the business.

Police unit 206 advised the boys to go and they said they would comply.

Saturday, October 22

Disturbance—1:01 a.m.—Main Street—The caller reported loud music coming from the location and wanted the music turned down. The call was cancelled before a unit could be dispatched. Police unit 206 was already in the area and advised dispatch that the band had shut down the music.

Petty Theft Report—1:07 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—Loss: two large moving boxes, possibly taken from the caller’s old address. The caller did not know where the theft occurred—at the caller’s old home or the caller’s new home. One of the boxes contained art supplies and costume jewelry. Report taken.

Sunday, October 23

Animal Noise—8:18 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller said a dog had been barking for the past four hours. The caller did not know if the residents were home. Police tried to call the residents, but the call went to voice mail. Police unit 207 left a note.

Animal Noise Report Follow-Up—8:44 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—Police contacted the dog owner in the 8:18 p.m. incident listed above. The caller agreed to take the dog inside. Matter solved.

IN LEISURE WORLD

Thursday, October 20

Scam—10:39 a.m.—Del Monte Drive, Mutual Unknown—A Leisure World man said he was getting calls from people who said that he won a million-dollar prize and a Mercedes-Benz. He said they wanted him to wire them $225 to confirm his identity. He declined. Since then, he has received two calls on the same subject. The man was advised to call the police if anyone unfamiliar shows up at his residence asking to contact him.

IN LOS ALAMITOS

Friday, October 21

Petty Theft—7:01 a.m.—Los Alamitos Avenue—The caller reported that a man in his 70s with gray hair and blue jeans was checking out in the cashier stand in front of the caller and that the man took the caller’s $10 gift card. The caller said the suspect was standing in the doorway and threw the card back at the caller. All parties were contacted and counseled.

Petty Theft—9:36 p.m.—Green Avenue—The caller said that some juveniles had just stolen a mountain bike from the caller’s garage and were headed toward Noel. The juveniles were reported to have been drinking in the alley prior to the theft and there were still some juveniles in there. No suspect information. The stolen bike was a specialized mountain bike, valued at $500. Report taken.

Tuesday, October 25

Disturbance, Juveniles—6:49 p.m.—Orangewood Avenue—The caller said that approximately four teens were on the baseball field and caller requested that they leave the area as they were not supposed to be on the property. The juveniles told police they were not aware that they were not allowed to play baseball on the field and left without incident.

Thursday, October 27

Mischief Against Vehicle—11:16 a.m.—Howard Avenue—The caller reported that sometime between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m., hard-boiled eggs were thrown at his car. The caller had no information on the suspects. Minor damage was found on the rear passenger door. No report was desired, but extra patrols between the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. were requested.

Possible DUI—6:03 p.m.— Los Alamitos Boulevard—The caller reported seeing a woman vomiting in a parking lot as she sat sat behind the steering wheel. Police determined that the woman was drunk, but had a sober friend there to take care of her and that the intoxicated woman was not driving.

Screaming—11:03 p.m.—Howard Avenue—The caller said a man was running up and down Howard Avenue while screaming. He was last seen running east on Howard Avenue. The caller could not make out what the subject was saying, but said he was “screaming at the top of his lungs.” A second caller said the screaming could be heard coming from a residence and that two individuals may have gone back into an apartment, as he heard two males screaming at each other. The second caller then reported hearing shots being fired near Howard Avenue. The responding officer found a disturbance between two brothers who were drunk. Everyone involved was counseled.

IN ROSSMOOR

Monday, October 24

Fraud Report—9:05 a.m.—Wembley Road—The caller said someone opened up a credit card in his name.

Identity Theft—12:23 p.m.—Bradbury Road.

Burglary Report—3:39 p.m.—Martha Ann Drive.

Tuesday, October 25

Burglary Report—9:10 a.m.—Martha Ann Drive.

Petty Theft Report—9:39 a.m.—Martha Ann Drive.

Suspicious Circumstances—2:01 p.m.—Druid Lane—The caller said a male driver stopped in front of the caller’s house and took photos twice that day.

Wednesday, October 26

Suspicious Circumstances—4:55 a.m.—Martha Ann Drive and Piedmont Avenue—The caller said two women were standing at the corner. The caller thought this was suspicious because the caller did not believe they belonged in Rossmoor. The caller said the suspects were both wearing T-tops. No further description.

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—8:38 a.m.—Kensington Road—It turned out the vehicle and its occupants were related to construction at Bostonian Drive and Piedmont Avenue.

Grand Theft Report—11:52 a.m.—Martha Ann Drive—A contractor reported the theft of a fireplace.

Thursday, October 27

Disturbance—9:24 p.m.—Montecito Road—The caller said a neighbor was harassing him by not allowing him to get back inside his apartment.

Friday, October 28

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—9:13 a.m.—Salmon Drive—The caller saw a man sitting in a vehicle in front of the school. She thought it was odd that the man would be there at that time when school starts at 8 a.m. It turned out the occupants of the car were working on the renovation of the school.

Vandalism Report—10:25 a.m.—Montecito Road.

Lost or Stolen Plate—11:01 a.m.—Martha Ann Drive—The caller said his car license plates had been stolen and he was now getting parking citations in Long Beach.

Ted Apodaca of the News-Enterprise contributed to this article.

Rossmoorgate: Supervisor Moolach’s missteps

For the Sun

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November 3, 2011

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Rossmoorgate: Supervisor Moolach’s missteps

Everyone in Rossmoor knows that John Moorlach represents District 2 on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and is the chairman of the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, better known as LAFCO.

Everyone in Rossmoor believes that John Moorlach does not well represent them.

Everyone in Rossmoor knows that John Moorlach is interested in the annexation of unincorporated areas in Orange County—particularly Rossmoor to Los Alamitos and/or the consolidation of Rossmoor, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos.

Everyone in Rossmoor now knows that John Moorlach is a sore loser.

John Moorlach, in his Sun Opinion on Oct. 27, 2011, berates the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. Could it be that he has lost to them a couple of times in the past?

The latest loss was a lawsuit instigated by Moorlach to invalidate the retirement plan Orange County made with the Association of Orange Deputy Sheriffs.

Moorlach lost at the lower court, and then on appeal. The Supremes declined to hear the appeal. When the AOCDS asks for legal fees because they were the winning party, it will cost the county a few more million dollars. Moorlach had been counseled not to initiate the lawsuit, but went ahead anyway.

Moorlach believes that the Rossmoor Cityhood lost because of the efforts of the deputies. Not so! Rossmoorians know what they can afford and Cityhood was one idea that would have been too expensive for Rossmoor. They wisely voted it down.

Were the sheriff’s deputies concerned about their jobs? Yes, they were and still are. But that is what unions are for and the AOCDS is a union. Unions protect their members and speak up for them. After all, it’s a tough world out there and without an organization behind him the common man can’t do much to help himself.

Sunset Beach doesn’t want to be annexed to Huntington Beach. If they have a legal angle (Prop 218) and have a good attorney to represent them pro bono, then let them go for it.

Schadenfruede * is wrong. It is wrong to gloat over John Moorlach’s missteps when he believed he was doing his job. But Rossmoorians can’t contain a small smile.

Schadenfruede* (glee at another’s misfortune). At a Los Alamitos City Board meeting in October, it was disclosed by their city manager that some of the owners of the Rossmoor Village had been contacted. Additionally, a financial statement had been received from LAFCO. It is called Case Study—Administrative Draft Fiscal Analysis. It entertains the cost savings that may come about with a consolidation of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and Rossmoor. It’s not going to happen in Moorlach’s lifetime. The last city consolidation was done forty years ago. The Holiday Activities Section of the News listed two ice rinks, both father away than the Rinks on Westminster just east of Valley View. The Rinks has public skating every day and is reasonably priced.

Joyce Bloom is a longtime Rossmoor resident and former member of the Rossmoor Community Services District Board of Directors.

Letters to the Editor: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011

For the Sun

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November 3, 2011

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Letters to the Editor: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011

Clarification:

The Oct. 27 Sun News story, “City Asked to Give $2 Mill for LW Grant,” contained paraphrased statements from Councilman Miller that may be unclear.

During the meeting, Miller said: “When you talk about staff time, the staff time is way behind now. I mean, I have outstanding issues for the staff, and this tragedy we have just had has really taken our staff time. I don’t think there is any staff time available in my opinion, but I am not staff.”

About Supervisor John Moorlach’s opinion piece:

John Moorlach just doesn’t get it. Of course our lawsuit seeks to overturn the forcible annexation of Sunset Beach by Huntington Beach. He seems to think that Sunset Beach residents who oppose the takeover by Huntington Beach and the imposition of taxes, all without the consent of voters and taxpayers in Sunset Beach, are merely dupes of the Association of Orange County Sheriffs (AOCSD), who want to continue to serve our area.

He implies that our lawsuit against Huntington Beach/LAFCO is really a project of AOCSD; that we are being led and financed by that organization.

Untrue.

Taxation and annexation are linked; a city cannot operate if some of its residents don’t pay city taxes.

But if taxation inevitably follows annexation and our California Constitution, by means of section 218, forbids coerced taxation, then annexation cannot be forced on a community. It must accept the annexation before taxes can be imposed.

Moorlach is the current chairman of LAFCO; but he has ignored the advice of LAFCO’s legal staff.

Here is a quotation from the annexation report that Ralph Anderson and Associates prepared for LAFCO in connection with our annexation:

“It should be noted, however, that in the view of LAFCO legal staff the Utility Users Tax could be imposed only if the annexation were processed as a normal inhabited unincorporated area requiring a vote of the Sunset Beach electorate. Since it is being pursued as an ‘island’ annexation, not involving a vote of those being annexed, Proposition 218 would bar the imposition of this tax to this area according to LAFCO.”

The solution is so simple that even John Moorlach should be able to understand: just give residents of Sunset Beach a voice in their future governance.

Let us vote to accept Huntington Beach or not.

If annexation is accepted by a majority of our community, we will go along willingly with the increased taxes that follow.

But as Americans, we do not like to be told what to do, and will continue on our journey through the court system, with the help of the Howard Jarvis Organization.

Gretchen Hoad

Sunset Beach

Memorial

We would like to expand upon Jan Jones idea, given in the Sun’s Sidewalk Talk (Oct. 20), regarding “should there be a permanent monument for the shooting victims of 10/12/11.”

Jan suggested “something like a living rose garden or a tree.”

We would like to suggest a memorial on the existing city property at the corner of Fifth Street and Marina.

It is a beautiful location, already zoned as parkland, and appropriate for this use. The memorial could contain benches, bushes, perhaps a fountain—all of which can be discussed at a later time. We just wanted to put forth the idea, an idea that was initiated by our neighbors, families and friends.

With this note, we are asking for the community to join us in this effort. Please contact your council representative to help move this project forward.

Ron and Patty Sesler

Seal Beach

Kudos for the Sun staff

I just wanted to compliment you and the Sun Newspaper on the beautiful front page cover in the Thursday, Oct. 20 edition of the Sun Newspapers.

I think it’s a fitting tribute to those who have been lost in the salon tragedy and to those left behind. My heart goes out to the entire Seal Beach community, a place where I once worked and called home. Take care.

Elizabeth Deering

Administrative Assistant

Rossmoor Community Services District

Bill Thomas gives veterans a voice

For the Sun

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November 3, 2011

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If you missed the Thursday, Nov. 3 “Veterans Voices” column by Bill Thomas, don’t worry. It’s here online on the Opinion page of this Web site. This time, a Korean veteran tells his story.

Veterans Voices: Robert J. Coronado: U.S. Army in Korea

For the Sun

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November 3, 2011

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Veterans Voices: Robert J. Coronado: U.S. Army in Korea

Youth

Phoenix, Ariz., is my hometown, ever since 1930.

I attended the local grade schools, and graduated from Phoenix High School in 1948.

For my early interest in drawing, I worked on a correspondence course in art, along with my work in a little grocery store which was tremendously different than the big supermarkets of today.

I graduated from Phoenix College with an associate of arts degree in engineering followed up by graduating from the University of Arizona with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.

Military

As World War II wound down, my primary interest was to enlist in the Air Force, but I joined the U. S. Army and served in Korea in 1951-1952.

My duties were in medical aid and later transferred to Headquarters where I served in the Security Platoon.

I was in the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division.

Two great distinctions about the 3rd Division is they served valiantly in Europe in World War II.

Audey Murphy was in the 3rd, of which he was one of the most decorated soldiers, and a movie was made of his life.

The other great notable fact about the 3rd is that division became one of the first Army units to serve in Iraq.

Civilian life

After service in the Army I attended Phoenix College, majoring in engineering while at the same time I worked for the U.S. Post Office in the Parcel Post Annex.

Due to my short stature, the interviewer doubted that I could lift and toss heavy bags of mail into piles. On the job, I showed I could even toss the bags to the top of the piles.

In late 1958, I drove to California in my Chevrolet coupe. I lived in Manhattan Beach until I moved to Huntington Beach in 1967 while I was employed with McDonnell Douglas.

My bride-to-be, Tess, had come to the States from Dublin, Ireland, in 1968, and moved to California. We met at a party. We married in 1970, having recently celebrated our 41st anniversary.

During the 1960s-1990s, I worked in the growing aerospace industry with Hughes Aircraft, Douglas Aircraft, McDonald Douglas Astronautics, North American Rockwell, Rockwell International and Aerojet Manufacturing Company. Also, for three years, I worked at Smith Tool Company, in the oil industry, (Some of these companies were the same except when they merged with other companies and changed the company names.)

Some of the highlights of my working career were my participation in Zero-G Flight Testing on the Skylab Program Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; also in a task force program at Kennedy Space Center on the Saturn-Apollo Program.

I had the pleasure of witnessing the Launch of Apollo 8 to the moon at KSC in December 1968. I also enjoyed my work participation as the Apollo landed on the moon.

I retired at the end of 1993.

Veteran life

I am a member of the Seal Beach American Legion Post 857, and Seal Beach Post 4048 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I serve as chaplain in both Posts.

I also served a one-year term as junior vice commander and one year as Commander of VFW Post 4048.

One of my great pleasures is the camaraderie of the great guys in the Post and the Ladies in the Auxiliary. and our contributions to our Veterans and the community.

Veterans, we need new members. Come join us. You’ll be glad.

Bill Thomas of Rossmoor is a Veteran of World War II, and Past Commander of VFW Post 4048, and American Legion Post 857. For more information, e-mail vvbthomasvets@gmail.com.

Los Alamitos is backed into corner

Sports

For the Sun

-

November 2, 2011

0

Los Alamitos has their backs against the wall in terms of making the playoffs, after a 35-21 loss to Newport Harbor in a Sunset League football game on Friday at Newport Harbor.

The Griffins tried to rally in the second half, after a slow start, but came up short after pulling to within 28-21 with 3:32 left in the third quarter.

The Griffins (5-3, 1-2) had two more possession but could not close the gap, including missing a field goal after moving the ball to the Sailor 17 yard line.

After an interception with 5:35 left in the game, Newport Harbor was able to shut the door by eating up most of the final 5:35 with a 12-play drive that forced the Griffins to burn their final two timeouts and resulted in an A.J. Sweis five-yard touchdown run for the final 35-21 margin. Titus Hasson, who led the Sailors with 255 rushing yards, had 69 yards on 10 carries on the drive.

“We didn’t make enough plays, we had time we just didn’t make plays,” Barnes said.

The Griffins found life in the second half as they were not caught off guard on an onside kick attempt, and turned it into a short drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Lagarde to Kendall Holmes that cut the lead to 28-14.

The Griffins grabbed momentum quickly as Lagarde hit Josh Caiquo for a 43-yard completion to the Sailor 15 yard line. Two plays later,

The Griffins held the Sailors on the ensuing possession and this time drove 73 yards in 14 plays to cut the lead to 28-21 on a 15-yard touchdown run by Paul. Lagarde connected with Caiquo on a key 22-yard completion for a third down.

The Griffin defense contained the Sailor offense for most of the second half and the offense got the ball back late in the third for a chance to tie the game. This time they drove to the Newport Harbor 17 yard line. Lagarde connected with Holmes on a fourth-and-eight play for a 23-yard gain to the 15 yard line. But a two-yard loss and two incomplete passes forced the field goal try that sailed wide.

The Sailors (4-4, 2-1) moved into a tie for second place with Huntington Beach.The Griffins are now in a fight for a top three finish and a playoff berth. The Griffins will host the Oilers on Friday at Long Beach Veteran Stadium at 7 p.m.

The Griffins would then finish the regular season at Marina on Nov. 10.

By Ted Apodaca

Los Alamitos has their backs against the wall in terms of making the playoffs, after a 35-21 loss to Newport Harbor in a Sunset League game on Friday at Newport Harbor.