Author: Carla Rivera

Two Cal State Stanislaus students said Tuesday they found documents in a trash container outside an administration building relating to an upcoming fundraising appearance by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, including arrangements for accommodations, security and “air travel for two between Anchorage, Alaska and the event city.”

Ashli Briggs and Alicia Lewis, who previously had spoken out against the Palin visit, said they were informed of “suspicious activity” taking place at the administration building last Friday and that after deciding to look around, they and other students saw trash being placed in the container. Inside, they said, they found shredded and intact documents, including some that appear to be parts of the contract between the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, which represents Palin, and the university foundation that is hosting her.

The nonprofit foundation had refused to provide details of Palin’s June 25 appearance, including her speaking fees.

Briggs and Lewis, both political science majors, spoke at a Sacramento news conference Tuesday that was attended by state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), who is seeking information about the terms of the contract with Palin.

The Palin visit has become a test case for Yee and other open-government advocates who believe there should be more transparency in the foundations and other nonprofit groups affiliated with public universities and colleges. Yee is sponsoring legislation, SB 330, that would require those groups to adhere to California’s Public Records Act.

The groups argue that as private, nonprofit organizations, the state law doesn’t apply to them. In the case of Palin’s appearance, Cal State Stanislaus Foundation President Matt Swanson has said no public funds are being used for her compensation and that the Washington Speakers Bureau requires that the financial terms remain confidential.

None of the documents disclosed Tuesday refer directly to Palin or say how much she is being paid. Yee said the fee could be as high as $100,000 based on information about her compensation for other recent appearances.

According to the contract addendum, dated March 16, the “speaker” will be provided with “roundtrip, commercial air travel for two between Anchorage, Alaska and event city,” “a one-bedroom suite and two single rooms in a deluxe hotel,” as well as a “laptop computer and printer (fully stocked with paper) and high speed internet.”

“For Q&A the questions are to be collected from the audience in advance, pre-screened and a designated representative shall ask questions directly of the speaker,” the documents said.

Other stipulations spell out the terms for autographs, photographs, recording, lighting, bottled water and “bendable straws.”

The students said they will give the documents to state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

“Turning over this information to the attorney general is important so that any wrongdoing can be addressed and prevented from reoccurring in the future,” said Lewis. “If this helps push for financial transparency on college campuses, then those of us involved know we did the right thing.”

— Carla Rivera

Photo: L.A. Times file

One man was killed and two others wounded when the car they were in was fired on by someone in a pickup truck in Northeast Los Angeles over the weekend, police said Sunday.

The incident occurred about 11:05 p.m. Saturday near Monterey Road and Huntington Drive. The victims managed to drive to the home of a nearby family member where police in the area were flagged down.

The three were then taken to a hospital where Victor Infante, 23, was pronounced dead. The other victims were being treated for injuries, police said. Their names were not released, and information about their condition was not available.

Police have not determined a motive for the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact LAPD Hollenbeck homicide Dets. Jose Ramirez or Ron Chavarria at (323) 342-8969 or the Hollenbeck watch commander at (323) 342-4100.

–Carla Rivera

Residents living on the U.S.-Mexico border were shaken Sunday by a magnitude 4.6 earthquake, part of a cluster of moderate aftershocks stemming from the magnitude 7.2 quake that jolted Baja California a week ago, authorities said.

Sunday’s quake struck at 9:42 a.m. and was centered about 29 miles south southeast of Mexicali, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No damage or injuries have been reported.

In a 19-hour period from about 5 p.m. Saturday through noon Sunday, automated seismographs registered at least 17 quakes of magnitude 3 or above with epicenters near Calexico or Mexicali, said Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the USGS’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

“It’s pretty much expected that after a large, shallow main shock there is almost always going to be a busy series of aftershocks,” Blakeman said. “We sometimes see these go on for weeks or even months, but as time goes by the aftershocks get smaller and less frequent.”

Aftershocks from the 7.2 earthquake have been recorded as far north as Santa Monica Bay off the coast of Malibu. The April 4 quake killed two people and injured more than 230 others. Centered 30 miles south of the border, it caused 45 buildings in Baja to collapse or partly collapse, authorities said.

— Carla Rivera

Sheriff’s investigators were searching for clues Sunday in the death of a woman whose body was found by a passerby in an Alhambra park.

The woman was identified as Shi Donglei, 31, of San Gabriel. Donglei’s body was discovered near a flood control channel in Story Park on Chapel Avenue at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of death had not been determined pending the results of an autopsy, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said.

Anyone with information was urged to contact Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500.

— Carla Rivera

Roads in the Angeles National Forest and in mudslide-prone foothill communities affected by the Station fire will be closed beginning early Monday due to the threat of heavy rains from a late-winter storm approaching Southern California, authorities said.

Angeles Forest Highway from Aliso Canyon Road to Angeles Crest Highway, Big Tujunga Canyon Road from Vogel Flats to Angeles Forest Highway, and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road from Angeles Forest Highway to Angeles Crest Highway will be closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles.

The closures will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Residents in the burn areas will not be able to use the roads until the closures are lifted, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works said. The roads will reopen after the threat of rain has passed and safety inspections are conducted.

Parking also will be restricted on posted streets in La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta until the rains have passed, authorities said.

The National Weather Services said the unseasonably strong storm could dump up to 3 inches of rain on south-facing mountains and foothills, with the heaviest rains across the burn areas expected between midnight and 6 a.m. Monday.

— Carla Rivera

California state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on Wednesday accused Cal State Stanislaus officials of violating the public trust by failing to disclose documents about an upcoming fundraising appearance by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Yee has asked the state attorney general to investigate.

Yee and the nonprofit group Californians Aware filed public records requests with the university last week seeking documents relating to Palin’s appearance at the school’s 50th anniversary gala June 25, particularly how much she is being paid to speak. A campus official said there were no such documents. But Yee’s office acquired a March 29 e-mail sent by a university vice president about the Palin appearance, which Yee said should have been disclosed. 

The university responded Wednesday that it did not provide the campus e-mail because it was circulated to faculty and staff and that the public records request excluded documents prepared for public release.

— Carla Rivera

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday will consider amending a new policy that limits the ability of students who live in the district to attend school elsewhere, a contentious issue expected to draw scores of parents to the afternoon meeting.

In February, Los Angeles schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines moved to limit the types of permits issued to families seeking attendance in other districts, allowing exemptions only for students whose parents work within the boundaries of the other school district and for students who would complete fifth, eighth or 12th grades next year.

Last year, L.A. Unified granted permission to more than 12,200 students to enroll in 99 other districts, including Torrance, Culver City and Santa Monica-Malibu. Cortines estimates that the district is losing $51 million in state per-pupil funding, money that could help to close a $640-million budget shortfall.

Families are able to appeal permit denials to the Los Angeles County Office of Education. But many parents are mounting an aggressive campaign to persuade L.A.’s school board to scuttle or modify Cortines’ policy revision. They argue that they should be allowed to seek better schools no matter where and complain that the announcement came too late for them to apply to magnet and charter schools.

Board members Steve Zimmer and Tamar Galatzan support the superintendent’s plan to allow students in the fifth and eighth grades to continue at their schools, but the board members are proposing that all high school students remain in their schools of choice until graduation.

Hundreds of parents are expected to attend a rally before the scheduled 1 p.m. meeting at the school board’s downtown office.

Some districts that have enrolled L.A. Unified  students have argued that permit students should not be forced out and have complained that they, too, are being shortchanged.

— Carla Rivera

Thousands of college students and faculty rallied Monday in Sacramento in support of higher education,  another in a series of recent actions throughout the state designed to highlight the effects of budget cuts.

The demonstration was organized by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges and drew about 5,000 participants who marched from a ballpark in West Sacramento to the north steps of the state Capitol to protest fee increases, canceled classes and employee layoffs at community colleges, California State University and the University of California.

Several legislators spoke to the crowd, as did community college Chancellor Jack Scott, who thanked the students for making their voices heard and encouraged them to continue lobbying the Legislature and governor to support education funding.

The state’s 112 community colleges — which make up the largest system of higher education in the nation — sustained about $520 million in budget cuts in 2009-10. Student speakers shared personal stories about the effect of budget cuts and vowed to continue putting pressure on lawmakers.

“The message was to invest in education; students will pull California out of this recession,” said Reid Milburn, a history major at Sacramento City College and president of the student senate group. “But our second message is that with almost 3.5 million students in all three segments of higher education, it’s up to us to continue to advocate for education and not just come up here for one day, for one big march.”

Earlier this month, students and faculty at more than 100 campuses in California and across the nation held mostly peaceful protests opposing education cuts.

In a statement after Monday’s rally, California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss said:

“At a time of difficult budget cuts, the governor’s budget proposal prioritizes education and protects higher education from further cuts and fee increases. We must do everything possible to ensure that every student wishing to pursue higher education has the access and the resources necessary to earn a degree and build a brighter future. I urge the Legislature to listen to these students and adopt a budget that shares the governor’s commitment to fully fund education in the state.”

— Carla Rivera

A youth was killed in a shooting on a Pasadena street Sunday, police reported.

About 9:50 a.m., police saw a 17-year-old man running near the intersection of Tremont Street and Fair Oaks Avenue. The officers discovered that he had seen shot, said Pasadena police Lt. Chris Russ.

He was taken by paramedics to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he later died. His name was withheld until family members could be notified.

Police are investigating the involvement of two men seen in the vicinity before the shooting, Russ said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department at 626-744-4241.

–Carla Rivera

A microquake with an estimated magnitude of 2.2 jolted residents from Inglewood to Claremont at 8:33 p.m. Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. 

The quake was centered about two miles east of Culver City in the Baldwin Hills area, said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

More than 100 people in southwest Los Angeles, Inglewood, Culver City, Claremont and other areas contacted the USGS to report feeling the sharp jolt. No damage was reported.

The epicenter was near the northern end of the Newport-Inglewood fault, which on land extends for about 46 miles from Newport Beach to Culver City. The Newport-Inglewood fault produced the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake in 1933, which killed 120 people.

— Carla Rivera

A fatal collision and a large pothole closed freeways and caused motorists major delays near downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Southbound lanes of the Harbor (110) Freeway near Olympic Boulevard were closed for several hours after a four-car crash was reported about 5:45 a.m., according to the CHP. A man was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no reports of other injuries, and investigators have not yet determined the cause of the accident, said CHP Officer Krystal Carter.

That crash may have triggered a second one, which involved an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, Carter said. The CHP opened the far right lane of the 110 Freeway and the transition road to the Santa Monica (10) Freeway at 7:20 a.m., and all southbound lanes reopened at 8:45 a.m., Carter said.

On the Santa Ana (101) Freeway, southbound lanes just north of East 1st Street were closed after a pothole was reported at 11:55 p.m. Saturday, according to the CHP. The depression measured 4 feet in diameter and was about 6 inches deep, Carter said. No injuries were reported, but 20 to 25 vehicles were stranded on the right shoulder with flat tires, Carter said.

Caltrans was working to repair the pothole, but there was no estimate of when the freeway would reopen, Carter said.

— Carla Rivera

A stretch of Mulholland Drive eroded during rain storms earlier this month remained closed Sunday due to fears that upcoming weather could further undermine the roadway, officials said.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation closed the busy road in both directions between Bowmont Drive and Skyline Drive citing the approaching rain, which is expected to continue Sunday night into Monday morning. The road will be closed indefinitely, said Cora Jackson-Fossett, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

Westbound Mulholland east of Coldwater Canyon Avenue had been closed since Feb. 8, after heavy rains began washing away silt from under the road surface producing a depression 35 feet wide and 10 feet deep, Jackson-Fossett said.

The Public Works Department is seeking about $600,000 in emergency funds from the city to repair the damage, Jackson-Fossett said.

— Carla Rivera

A woman suffered a head injury while hiking in Runyon Canyon on Sunday and was airlifted to a hospital by firefighters, officials said.

Los Angeles City firefighters received an emergency call at 9:07 a.m. from a companion of the injured hiker who guided firefighters to a trail near the 7300 block of Mulholland Drive, said fire spokesman Devin Gales.

Firefighters descended several feet down the side of the trail and found the unidentified hiker who was conscious but suffering from a head injury, Gales said.

Rescuers were able to bring the hiker back up the trail, and she was then airlifted to UCLA Medical Center.

The condition of the hiker was not immediately available.

Fire officials had no information on how the mishap occurred.

Gales said the rescue took about 35 minutes and included one engine, three rescue trucks and two helicopters.

— Carla Rivera

A man was fatally stabbed during a confrontation in Compton early Sunday, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.

The incident occurred in the 300 block of South Burris Ave. at about 12:50 a.m., said Sheriff’s Deputy Edmundo Hummel.

The victim, whose name was not released, was visiting a friend when he was confronted by three other men, one of whom pulled a knife and stabbed him. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

Anyone with more information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

— Carla Rivera

Map: There have been 105 homicides within two miles of this stabbing since Jan. 1, 2007, according to the Times’ Homicide Report database. Click for an interactive map of homicides in Los Angeles County.

The family of a Wilson High School honors student who was fatally shot after a homecoming football game has filed claims against the Long Beach Unified School District and the city of Long Beach alleging that the agencies failed to take adequate security measures to protect students’ lives and safety.

Melody Ross, 16, was allegedly struck by a stray bullet when two groups of rival gangs members confronted each other near the school at Ximeno Avenue and 10th Street on Oct. 30, 2009. Two other men were wounded in the shooting, which occurred about 10 p.m.

Two 16-year-olds were arrested and charged as adults with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The claims against the city and school district were filed in January, said attorney Ron Makarem. No damage amounts were included. Such claims are usually filed as a prelude to a lawsuit, said Makarem.

Makarem said the death could have been avoided and alleged that there was no law enforcement monitoring the large crowds exiting the gates and that the area was dimly lighted.

"They should have known that there might be the potential for problems and something could have been done and should have been done for protection," he said.

City of Long Beach officials could not be reached for comment. Long Beach Unified spokesman Chris Eftychiou said the Board of Education received the claim Jan. 14 and at a subsequent meeting voted to reject it.

— Carla Rivera

The U.S. government has awarded $2.88 million to a California State University program that trains students in Arabic, Persian, Russian and other languages that are considered critical to national security, commerce and cultural understanding.

The funding is part of a defense spending bill recently signed by President Obama.  Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) as well as U.S. Reps. Laura Richardson, Ed Royce and Diane Watson helped solicit the funds for the Strategic Language Initiative, which operates on five CSU campuses, each focusing on a different language

They include Cal State Long Beach (Mandarin Chinese), Cal State Fullerton (Persian), Cal State L.A. (Korean), Cal State Northridge (Russian) and Cal State San Bernardino (Arabic). The new money will help expand the program this year to San Francisco State (Mandarin Chinese) and San Jose State (Arabic).

"Usually, most students in language programs are pursuing teaching, literature or linguistics," said KimOanh Nguyen-Lam said, the initiative’s executive director. "Our goal is to graduate a large number of students from all disciplines and majors who can then use the language to collaborate with professionals from different regions of the world."

Since its creation in 2006 on the Long Beach campus, more than 250 students have graduated from the intensive, 18-month courses, which are integrated with academic majors geared to jobs in defense, intelligence, diplomatic and business fields. Students can also study abroad with some doing fieldwork and interning in local businesses and industries.

Nguyen-Lam said one unique feature of the program is that students are able to acquire in only a few months language skills that would normally take three to six years. Among graduates, two Mandarin majors were offered positions in Chinese companies, said Nguyen-Lam, and a graduate studying in Amman, Jordan, was offered a job at a law firm there.

The program, which uses classroom and online instruction, is open to Cal State students at all 23 campuses as well as students from the University of California, community colleges and private schools.

— Carla Rivera

The fate of the fire-damaged auditorium at Garfield High School may be decided Tuesday as the Los Angeles Board of Education considers a plan to pay for the rebuilding of the historic structure.

The auditorium was gutted in a May 2007 arson fire. A 17-year-old Garfield student was convicted of setting the blaze, sentenced to juvenile camp and ordered to pay restitution. The fire caused an estimated $30 million in damage to the East Los Angeles landmark.

Since then, the Los Angeles Unified School District has been mired in a dispute with insurers over the scope of reconstruction. The two sides have engaged in mediation without progress, which has frustrated school administrators, students and community members.

Now the district is proposing to separate the insurance claim and use a financing mechanism called Certificates of Participation, which would eventually be repaid with future insurance payments, private funds and other sources. The district would use money from the general fund for the project — estimated to cost $54 million — until the other funding sources become available.

The plan calls not only for rebuilding the auditorium using design features that mimic the 1925 structure’s original architectural details, but razing and rebuilding the attached administration building to meet current state codes.

If Tuesday’s proposal gets the go-ahead, the district will return by June with a final design plan and an environmental study for the board’s approval, district officials said.

— Carla Rivera

Skiers, snowboarders and others seeking a day of recreation on Southern California’s snow-packed mountains ran into a mountain of delay as traffic, flooding and mudflows blocked just about every route to resorts.

The Angeles Crest Highway north of La Cañada Flintridge remained closed Sunday because of mudflows and unsafe conditions from the week’s storms, the California Highway Patrol reported. Meanwhile, a stretch of Highway 138 near Wrightwood was closed because of flooding, and more than 100 stranded cars blocked a section of Route 330 near Running Springs.

Access by buses and semi-trucks was restricted on many roads, and chains were required on cars, said Highway Patrol dispatcher Daisy Vargas.

But many were not deterred. Even before the lifts on Mountain High opened at 8 a.m., Route 138 leading to Wrightwood was filled with a long line of cars strapped with snowboards and skis, moving bumper to bumper.

"Congested. Extreme delays," warned electronic highway signs on Interstate 15. Traffic started backing up on the 15-to-138 connector, moving at a snail’s pace the entire eight miles up a one-lane road to Mountain High.

— My-Thuan Tran at Mountain High

California Community Colleges and Southern California Edison have launched a $1-million green jobs initiative to help train financially needy students for jobs that benefit the environment.

The gift from the electric utility will provide $2,000 scholarships to students at 10 colleges offering "green" education and job training in six key areas in which workforce demand is expected to grow. Those sectors include solar panel installation, water and waste water management, transportation and alternative fuels, biofuels production and farming, green building and energy efficiency, and environmental compliance, such as air quality and pollution prevention. It is the first time that Edison has aimed grants specifically at expanding job opportunities in eco-friendly technology, said SCE President John R. Fielder.

"It seemed to be a good fit with our focus on the environment and renewable energy and providing workers for Edison as well as other companies in the region," Fielder said. "We think we know a bit about the kinds of jobs needed."

Recent reports have documented a growing green economy, especially in California, where the number of green companies increased 45% from 1995 to 2008, according to Next 10, a nonprofit group based in Palo Alto, Calif. The Pew Charitable Trusts reported recently that the growth rate of green jobs nationwide was 9.1% from 1998 to 2007, compared with a 3.7% increase for all jobs during the same nine-year period.

The Edison initiative will provide $100,000 to each of 10 grant recipients: Cerritos College in Norwalk, Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, El Camino College in Torrance, Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Long Beach City College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Rio Hondo College in Whittier, San Bernardino Valley College and Ventura College.

Los Angeles Southwest College is developing a new associate’s degree program in environmental science and technology with the first three courses offered this spring, said Alistaire Callender, an instructor who developed the program. "This [grant] is really helpful, especially when we’re starting a new program," Callender said. "And in this economy, students can use every bit of assistance they can get."

— Carla Rivera