By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern

The end of August concluded the California legislature’s law-making season, and a bill (AB1955) that would have stringently regulated elected officials’ income levels died while in the Senate– only weeks after Los Angeles Times reporters exposed the criminally large salaries that certain employees in the City of Bell had been earning.
As developments in Sacramento continue to reveal how oversight of small charter cities will be handled, the City of Signal Hill has continued to maintain fiscal transparency.
City Manager Ken Farfsing, as previously reported by the Signal Tribune, has released the salaries of Signal Hill’s highest paid employees, in addition to the wages of all the city council members.
How to most accurately communicate the council’s wages, according to Farfsing, is not a simple task. At the request of numerous news outlets and governmental agencies, he has decided to use the medical wage figure to portray the City Council’s annual compensation.
“There is a difference between base salaries and additional compensation the employees may receive,” the city manager said. “We want to get the full description of what employees make.”
By disclosing Medicare wages, additional sources of compensation, such as car allowances and taxable health benefits, are included in the total– factors that are omitted in gross or base wages.
“The Medicare wage includes taxable benefits and could be cash or the value of benefits like a city vehicle,” Farfsing said. Every year, councilmembers automatically receive an annual $2,400 car allowance, which is added into the Medicare wage.
Complications arise, however, when the officials decide how they will use their cafeteria allowance, an amount that ranges between $800 and $900 to pay for vision, dental, and other health insurance needs.
In Councilmember Larry Forester’s case, certain health needs were not met by the offered plan, so the annual cafeteria allowance was split into two even pieces– one half going to the City and the other to a deferred compensation fund. The deferred compensation from the cafeteria, however, is a taxable benefit that adds about $5,000 to the medicare wage.
Councilmember Ellen Ward’s Medicare wage is boosted thousands of dollars because California does not recognize same-sex marriage. By using their own salary to purchase health coverage for their companion, the councilmember must list the partner’s health insurance as a taxable benefit and under the Medicare wage– even though the money used to pay for that insurance is coming from the original gross wage.
“I thought it was important to show that it works different with domestic partners,” Farfsing said. “That’s the difficulty of dealing with these Medicare wages.”
Discussion about total compensation and whether or not it should include CalPERS retirement medical moneys will also be an integral factor in reflecting how much a city official actually makes, according to Farfsing.
In the wake of the City of Bell scandal and their excessive retirement compensation, agencies and cities in the same retirement pool, Compton being one example, are going to have to figure out how to pay for the Bell officials’ high retirement benefits.
However, a piece of legislation that did pass before the legislature’s August 31 deadline was AB1987, which would put an end to the public employee practice of pension spiking– the accumulation of vacation and sick time until the end of their occupation so their retirement benefit is boosted, sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars.
The last day for Governor Schwarzenegger to sign or veto any bills passed by the legislature before the deadline is Sept. 30.

Lillian Kawasaki

By Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer

(Part two of a two-part series)

If not for the work done by the Water Replenishment District (WRD), residents in the Long Beach-Signal Hill area and surrounding cities would be paying much more for water, and they would not have as much of it available to them. Even though WRD has been working quietly behind the scenes for more than 50 years to ensure a plentiful supply of groundwater, few people are aware of its existence or the work that it does.
Two weeks ago, (August 27), WRD held its second annual “Water 101 Forum.” The event– attended by 50 local government officials– was designed to update audience members on current federal and local water projects and legislation designed to address the state’s water challenges. Last week, the Signal Tribune reported on the comments made by the forum’s keynote speaker, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-39th District). This second installment in the series outlines the presentation WRD Board of Directors Vice President Lillian Kawasaki made at the forum.
Kawasaki noted that during much of the first half of the 20th Century, the pumping of groundwater was unregulated in the region, allowing cities, farms, businesses and residents to pump as much water as they wished from their own wells. She explained that the absence of regulations led to more water being pumped out of the underground aquifers than was being replaced by rainfall seeping into the ground. That, in turn, caused two things: seawater seeping into the freshwater aquifers, and ground subsidence– large areas of ground sinking to lower elevations.
Kawasaki explained that WRD was formed in 1959 by a vote of the people of this region to regulate the amount of water being pumped from the ground and to develop ways to replenish the underground water supply. Today, WRD manages groundwater supplies in a 420-square-mile area encompassing 43 cities with a combined total of approximately 4 million people– 10 percent of the state’s population. She noted that groundwater supplies 40 percent of the region’s total water demand, and that percentage will probably increase as water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River becomes scarcer and more expensive.
“It is not surprising that we pump out more groundwater each year than can be replaced naturally,” Kawasaki said. “A lot of this is due to urbanization– areas that have been paved over. In order to replenish the groundwater, we actually use local runoff (storm water), recycled water and also imported water.”
Kawasaki noted that the groundwater basin managed by WRD produces about 250,000 acre-feet of water per year. “An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons,” she said. “That’s about what two average families use per year.” She added that the amount of water produced in the basin each year is enough to supply about 125,00 average families.
Kawasaki stressed that the intrusion of seawater into the underground aquifers is one of the most serious threats to the region’s supply of fresh water. She explained that in order to stop the intrusion, WRD and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works oversee three separate water barriers, which consist of a network of wells where freshwater and highly treated recycled water are injected into the aquifers to keep seawater from encroaching further inland. Kawasaki added that, because the highly treated recycled water is perfectly safe and less expensive than imported water, WRD plans to one day use only recycled water in the water barriers.
“We are very fortunate in our area that we don’t have the kind of major contamination that we see in the San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel Valley,” Kawasaki said. “Both of those have very large superfund sites, and it is very difficult to get the kind of money needed to clean them up.” She acknowledged, however, that there are areas of contamination, which WRD and local water agencies are working to clean up.
Kawasaki also noted that WRD is not part of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), which imports water to the region, although sometimes WRD purchases water from MWD. “Nor are we a retail agency,” she said. “We do not deliver water into homes and businesses.” She explained that MWD supports the agencies such as city water departments that pump groundwater and deliver it to their customers.
An important part of that support, according to Kawasaki, is WRD’s safe drinking water program. She reminded the audience that years of improper disposal practices of industrial solvents allowed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to seep into the southern Los Angeles County groundwater aquifers from which drinking water is pumped.
Kawasaki explained that to deal with that problem, WRD established its wellhead treatment program in 1991. Under the program, WRD and the agencies it serves test water drawn from wells and use specialized equipment to remove VOCs from groundwater, allowing affected wells to meet public drinking water standards. Kawasaki noted that WRD purchases and provides treatment equipment to the groundwater producer as long as needed at an affected well.
During her approximately 30-minute presentation, Kawasaki also described WRD’s Water Independence Now (WIN) program and Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program (GRIP). WIN is a collection of projects designed to eliminate WRD’s need for imported water by capturing and conserving more storm water and increasing the use of recycled water for groundwater replenishment. GRIP is WRD’s strategy for maximizing federal funding with various WRD construction projects, water-conserving landscapes, contamination studies and other projects aimed at ensuring a reliable supply of safe drinking water for the region. WRD’s annual budget is approximately $60 million. Kawasaki noted that most of WRD’s operational costs come from pumping fees it charges to the agencies that pump groundwater from wells in the region.

More Information
(562) 921-5521
wrd.org

Survivor: Nicaragua contestant Na Onka Mixon is an elementary-school physical-education teacher and YMCA personal trainer who grew up in Long Beach.

By Brett Ashley Hawkins
Editorial Intern

As television viewers evaluate the shows they wish to watch this fall, one of Long Beach’s own will grace the small screen as one of the latest castaways on the 21st season of CBS’s Survivor. Appearing on Survivor: Nicaragua will be Na Onka Mixon, a 27-year-old elementary-school physical-education teacher and YMCA personal trainer who now resides in Los Angeles.
Mixon spent a large portion of her childhood and adolescence in Long Beach. “My time at Poly (High School) was the time of my life,” Mixon said. “I went to PAAL (Poly Academy of Accelerated Learning) my senior year and graduated with honors.” While attending Poly, Mixon played basketball and ran for the track team, earning four conference championships, three state championships, and MVP at the latter as a long jumper. She also took a place on Poly’s Associated Student Body as a member of the Student Commission and won the Miss Jackrabbit 2001 pageant. She asserts that although her life is now in Los Angeles, she frequently visits Long Beach to see her aunt, Karona Mixon.
Survivor premiered in 2001 and sparked the beginning of a major movement for reality competition programming. The show has been nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. The show’s premise involves a maximum of 20 strangers marooned in a remote location. While trying to survive the elements with their own outdoor skills, the castaways must vote to eliminate one person from the game every three days until only one remains. That one person claims the title of “Sole Survivor” and $1 million. “I thought it would be fun to try something new and out of this world,” said Mixon. “I am always into trying new things, and what better thing to try than Survivor?”
Every season of the show includes several twists to make that particular season special. For the season during which Mixon competed, the contestants were separated by age into two 10-member tribes. Mixon was a member of the La Flor Tribe, consisting of cast members under 30 years old.
Mixon hopes that Long Beach will tune in to Survivor. “This season is going to be like no other season,” said Mixon. “You can’t predict what will happen.”
Survivor: Nicaragua premieres Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 8pm on CBS.

As expected, during its Tuesday (September 7) night meeting, the Signal Hill City Council formally approved EDCO’s plan to construct a truck terminal and office facility on an approximately 2.5-acre site on the south side of 27th Street between California and Myrtle avenues.
The council’s approval came in the form of five separate resolutions adopting a mitigated negative declaration, a general plan amendment, a conditional use permit (CUP) and two zoning ordinance amendments necessary for EDCO’s plan to move forward. (EDCO is known locally as Signal Hill Disposal.)
The truck terminal and office building are designed to complement EDCO’s planned development of a recycling and solid-waste transfer station at 2755 California Avenue, a short distance from the planned truck terminal and office building. The council approved the recycling and transfer station in February 2009.
“EDCO subsequently expressed interest in constructing a complementary facility nearby to provide additional office space, maintenance bays and overnight truck parking opportunities,” said Scott Charney, planning manager. He noted that after the company had selected the parcel on 27th Street, the Signal Hill Planning Commission (on August 10, 2010) conducted a public hearing on the project’s entitlements. “Two owners of dwellings in the 2600 block of Myrtle Avenue spoke in opposition to the project citing concerns regarding traffic, parking, and property value impacts and potential noise, odor, debris and vector problems,” Charney said.
He added that during the planning commission hearing, EDCO representatives explained that the planned building would be strategically placed along Myrtle Avenue to act as a shield, the maintenance bays were oriented to face California Avenue and the site would be surrounded by perimeter block walls and landscaping to act as a buffer.
“More importantly, the company agreed to comply with the conditions dealing with traffic, parking, noise, trash, odors and vector control included in the CUP,” Charney said. “The commission expressed confidence in EDCO’s willingness to resolve any operational issues and, by unanimous vote, approved the project’s site plan and design review.” He added that the commission also recommended council approval of the project.
After Charney’s presentation, Steve South, EDCO’s president and CEO, addressed the council. “We think this is a terrific project, and we have had a lot of input by city staff,” he said, adding that company officials will always be available to discuss the concerns of city officials as well as residents. “Should issues arise, we would always be available to address them,” he said.
Councilman Mike Noll commended EDCO officials for doing their homework. “They have learned over the years what Signal Hill expects,” he said. “We expect quality, and EDCO is a quality company.”
Mayor Ed Wilson agreed, noting that EDCO is a good corporate citizen and a good partner of the city. “We appreciate that partnership and look forward to you completing this building,” he said.
The council voted 4-0 to approve EDCO’s plans.
In a separate action, the council also approved a third amendment to the CUP for the wireless telecommunications facility in the antenna consolidation area at 2411 Skyline Drive. The amendment allows Clearwire to install three microwave antennae and three panel antennae in order to provide Internet access to Sprint customers. Noll and Councilman Larry Forester expressed concerns about the nighttime maintenance schedules at the antenna site. They noted that residents in the vicinity had complained about crews making noise late at night. The CUP allows emergency maintenance to be done at the site at night, but the councilmen wanted to know what was the definition of emergency maintenance.
City Manager Ken Farfsing explained that the City had not really tried to define emergency maintenance but expected that the ten companies that operate antenna on the site would only do work that was absolutely necessary during late hours.
Clearwire representative Tim Kaczmar explained that a system failure is considered an emergency. “If it goes down, there has to be someone out there,” he said.
Dawn Krein, property manager for Crown Castle, the company that leases antenna space to the ten companies at the site, explained why it is important to keep transmissions functioning at the site 24 hours a day. “If the network goes down in the middle of the night, customers may not be able to dial 9-1-1,” she said.
In other actions, the council approved $6,726 from Measure R funds and $9,216 from Redevelopment Agency funds to pay for the city’s share of the sustainable cities strategy now being developed by the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, and it also approved modifications to the fees the city charges for the rental of sports fields. Starting Sept. 7, resident sport teams will pay $10 per hour for use of the fields and nonresident sports teams will pay $20 per hour.
The next meeting of the city council is scheduled for 7pm, Sept. 21 in the council chamber of Signal Hill City Hall.

Drivers should:
• Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in marked or unmarked crosswalks
• Not overtake and pass a vehicle that’s ahead when it has stopped  for a pedestrian
• Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians on sidewalks
• Obey the posted speed limit
• Not drive while distracted– examples include using a cell phone (which is illegal), reading, eating, drinking or applying make-up
• Stop and remain stopped for school buses with “flashing red lights,”  and opposing traffic must also stop unless a painted or raised divider separates the roadway
• Watch and obey crossing guards– they are there to protect children

Pedestrians should:
• Yield to vehicles on the roadway while walking outside the crosswalk
• Not cross between the intersections controlled by traffic signals (to do so would constitute jaywalking)

Parents should:
• Obey all parking signs and curb markings– they are designed to protect children and provide optimum traffic flow
• Follow school drop-off procedures and always drop children off on the curbside of the school
• Teach children to always cross the street at a crosswalk and look both ways before doing so

The Long Beach Police Department’s Traffic Section is committed to motorist and pedestrian safety, and traffic laws will be strictly enforced at and around schools. 

More Information
(562) 570-7209

Saturday, Sept. 25, 9am to 1pm
Appointment required
Target parking lot
1701 N. Gaffey St.
San Pedro

Saturday, Oct. 2, 9am to 2pm
Appointment required
Target parking lot
950 E 33rd St.
Signal Hill

For information or appointments, call (562) 495-2915.

1. Dump/drain
Eliminate standing water on property because that’s where mosquitoes breed.
2. Dusk/dawn
Avoid outdoor activities when mosquitoes are most active.
3. Defend
Wear CDC-approved insect repellent and long-sleeve shirts and pants when outdoors. Use properly fitted and well maintained screens on windows and doors around the home.

Contact the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District at (562) 944-9656 or visit glacvcd.org to report a green pool or to submit a service request. For additional West Nile virus information, visit westnile.ca.gov or call 1-877-WNV BIRD to report a dead bird or squirrel.

VALUING VOLUNTEERS
Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, 4600 Virginia Rd., is seeking new volunteers for a variety of programs at its “Volunteer Opportunities Coffee,” scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11 at 10am. Volunteers may work as living history characters, find out how to share Long Beach history and culture as a tour docent, learn about opportunities in the historic gardens, explore work on the historical collections and research needs or work in the museum shop. Staff and volunteers will also share information on the Rancho’s educational programs and events, including the award-winning fourth-grade school program Adobe Days Revisited, and seasonal family activities Christmas Candlelight Tours, Summer Concert Series and Mud Mania. Complimentary continental breakfast provided. For reservations call (562) 570-1755. Visit rancholoscerritos.org.

CAWFEE TAWK
Eighth District Councilmember Rae Gabelich will be joined by Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell for a community meeting on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10am to noon at Mirage Café, 539 E. Bixby Rd. Residents are welcome to share concerns and suggestions on issues affecting the neighborhood. Call (562) 570-6685.

CALLING ALL BOOKWORMS
Dana Neighborhood Library Book Club’s next meeting will be Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10am to 11am in the library, 3680 Atlantic Ave. The book that will be discussed is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Call (562) 570-1042.

HUNGRY?
Paramount Elks Lodge #1804 will host its 54th Annual Deep Pit BBQ on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 4pm to 8pm at 8108 E. Alondra Blvd., in Paramount. Adults $9 and children $5 (sold only at the door). Group ticket pre-sales are also available from the Lodge office at (562) 633-1804.

COMMUNITY IN ACTION
Eighth District Councilmember Rae Gabelich will be the guest speaker at the North Long Beach Community Action Group monthly meeting Sunday, Sept. 12 from 2pm to 4pm at the North Division Police Substation, corner of Del Amo Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue. Call (562) 570-6685.

BE PREPARED
The American Red Cross Greater Long Beach Chapter will conduct a free safety workshop on Monday, Sept. 13 from 6pm to 7:30pm at 425 Atlantic Ave. The workshop will cover how to create a family emergency plan, how to prepare a disaster supplies kit and first-aid kit, emergency preparedness tips,  how to achieve five days of self-reliance, the City’s Disaster Management Plan and Reverse 9-1-1 emergency notification system. RSVP to the Neighborhood Resource Center at (562) 570-1010 or email Scottie Hinkey at Sharron.Hinkey@longbeach.gov. Attendees are invited to bring canned food to donate to Food Finders to assist Long Beach neighbors during the current economic crisis.

THE NEXT SUPPER
The next restaurant for the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association’s Supper Club will be Baja Sonora, 3502 Atlantic Ave. The group will meet on Monday, Sept. 13 at 6:30pm. RSVP to info@bixbyknollsinfo.com. The concept of the Bixby Knolls Supper Club is to support local restaurants on Monday nights, which are typically slow.

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
The Good Neighbors of North Long Beach will meet at Spires Restaurant, 1935 Del Amo Blvd., on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7am. Guest speaker will be Jim Lewis from the Long Beach Rescue Mission, who will discuss the new permanent winter shelter and other services his organization provides.

YES, YOU CAN LOSE
The St. Mary Center for Surgical Treatment of Obesity will host a free “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Weight Loss Surgery” seminar Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7pm. The seminar takes place every second Tuesday in the Health Enhancement Center Parr Room, on the St. Mary campus at 1050 Linden Ave. The seminar is conducted by a bariatric surgeon and the Obesity Center’s clinical staff. The community is invited to learn about surgical weight-loss procedures and get their questions answered about the life-enhancing benefits the surgery can have on those suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, joint pain and sleep apnea. To register, call 1-888-4ST-MARY (888-478-6279). Call (562) 491-7935 or visit yesyoucanlose.com.

PAGE-TURNERS
The September book selection for the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association Literary Society will be The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. The next Society meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7pm at The Expo building, 4321 Atlantic Ave. Parking available along Atlantic and on Burlinghall. Refreshments will be provided. Visit bixbyknollsinfo.com.

TEA GARDEN
The Long Beach Garden Club’s program on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 9:30am will be a slide show trip through the English Gardens. Meet at St. Gregory’s  Parish Hall, 6201 E. Willow St. Tea and scones will be served afterwards. Call (562) 428-6552.

SCRABBLE SCRAMBLE
The Covenant Presbyterian Church will host a Scrabble Scramble Tournament on Friday, Sept. 17, beginning at 6pm. All proceeds benefit the local nonprofit Rising TIDE at Marguerite Kiefer Education Center, a program serving over 300 inner-city children and youth. Contact Sandra Lawler at (562) 432-4293 or sallas21@aol.com. 

Sylvia Quinones, owner of Salon Medusa, (pictured with fellow stylist Michele) wildly coifs Long Beach resident Natasha, age 9, for an evening on the town with family.

The vibrant handcrafted jewelry of Long Beach resident Vicki Williams was featured at Roy Robbins. Her work is a colorful variety of textures, colors, and shapes. Vicki is pictured here with boyfriend Bill Davis and Roy Robbins (right).

Photographer Linda Ivers (right) shows friend Laurie Angel some of her featured artwork at Roy Robbins Gifts and Stationery store.

Billing themselves as “acoustic jazz for all humanity,” TimbreLine entertained First Fridays participants at The Expo Building.