Page 2 February 13, 2014 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion By Gerry Chong Sinister Sam stood in a half-crouch in a New York City alley, furtively glancing from left to right to see if the cops had spotted him and ready to run if need be. His hat was pulled down low over his eyes and he twirled his waxed mustache, waiting for a target. Sure enough, a Rube came walking past the alley, gazing up at the giant buildings. “Ppssstt,” said Sam, flipping open his coat. “Wanna buy a gen-u-wine Rolex for $19.95?” The Rube walked by smiling, but the persistent Sam followed. “Okay, how about a health care plan where you don’t have to pay any premiums until you get sick?” Skeptically, the Rube asked, “How’s your system work, Sam?’ “Okay, wise guys like you stay on the sidelines, not buying insurance until you need it. When you’re ill, you can’t be rejected and you can’t be charged an exorbitant premium when you do enroll. What’s more your penalty for not enrolling early is a small fraction of one month’s premium, so it’s insignificant. “Like rounding up cattle, the government caused cancellation of 50 percent of all individual insurance plans and 60-75 percent of all employer-provided plans, forcing up to 100 million privately insured people into the government corral. The insurance companies then rope and brand the new enrollees with a 40 percent premium hike to make up for guys like you. Even those who have had their insurance cancelled and reinstated have their premiums jumped by 25 percent. “To help new enrollees pay for these premium hikes, the government offers Police Reports MON 1/27/14 TO SUN 2/2/14 ROBBERY 139TH AND JEFFERSON AVE STREET, HIGHWAY, ALLEY 01/29/14 18:00 ROBBERY 4300 W 136TH ST STREET, HIGHWAY, ALLEY 01/29/14 18:46 ROBBERY 12000 FAIRMONT COURT DRIVEWAY Fri 01/31/14 15:52 Property Taken: black purse, $500, $5000, black Iphone CARJACKING W 133RD ST/S HAWTHORNE BL STREET, HIGHWAY, ALLEY 02/02/14 01:06 BURGLARY - FIRST DEGREE 5300 W 141ST ST HOUSE 01/27/14 11:29 Property Taken: Black Sony Laptop, Grey Portable Printer, Silver Video Camera, Vhs, Blk Dell Laptop, 24k Gold Necklace “Teardrop” Pendant, 24k Gold Necklace With White/Gld Rope BURGLARY - COMMERCIAL 2700 W 120TH ST GROCERY, SMALL STORE SHOPPING CENTER 01/27/14 14:24 BURGLARY - COMMERCIAL 3100 W ROSECRANS AV 01/29/14 03:35 Property Taken: $100 taken from cash register #2, $100 taken from cash register #3, (11)Metro PCS cell phones BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 4900 W BROADWAY HOUSE 01/29/14 10:00 Property Taken: 1 Silver Dell Laptop, Unk Mod/Ser#, Approx 6pcs Misc Jewelry, Approx 6 Misc Credit Cards HAWTHORNE PD RECEIVES GRANT FOR SPECIAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND CRASH PREVENTION The Hawthorne Police Department has been awarded a $130,000.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through special enforcement and public awareness efforts. The grant received by the Hawthorne Police Department will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life. The Hawthorne Police Department will use the funding as part of an on-going commitment to keep our roadways safe through both enforcement and education. Chief of Police Robert Fager states, “The long-standing partnership and trust afforded to us by the Office of Traffic Safety is significant. Through these annual grant endeavors, we can focus targeted resources and efforts to equally educate our community as well as safeguard our motorists and pedestrians.” The grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. While traffic deaths from all causes declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010 in California, state and federal officials anticipate that figures will show a BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 3100 W 139TH ST APARTMENT/CONDO 01/29/14 18:00 Property Taken: Currency Jewelry/Precious Metal Apple Mac Pro Laptop, White Wi/Fi Ipad 16gb, U.S Currency, Jewelry Boxes Contaning Misc Ladies Jewelry, Misc Ladies Necklaces, Silver With Sand Color Stone Ring BURGLARY - COMMERCIAL 14500 S HINDRY AV GROCERY, SUPERMARKET WAREHOUSE 01/30/14 12:10 Property Taken: White Gold Womens Watch, With Diamonds ATTEMPT BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 14100 S KORNBLUM AV APARTMENT/ CONDO 01/30/14 20:11 BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 12500 S FONTHILL AV HOUSE 01/30/14 21:45 Property Taken: (7) GOLD BRACELETS, 14K ATTEMPT BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 5300 W 138TH PL HOUSE 01/29/14 14:30 BURGLARY - RESIDENTIAL 13700 S CHADRON AV APARTMENT/ CONDO 02/01/14 00:33 Property Taken: Large Screen Tv, Small Flat Screen Tv, Xbox 360, Digital Tablet, Red Pair “Adidas” Shoes, All Black Pair Of Nike Jordan Shoes BURGLARY - COMMERCIAL 2700 W 120TH ST GROCERY, SMALL STORE 02/02/14 16:20 • Police Briefs slight rise in 2011. DUI deaths remain the largest sector, at nearly 30 percent of traffic fatalities. Recent trends show increases in two new categories – distracted driving and drug-impaired driving. ‘D.U.I. / DRIVER LICENSE CHECKPOINT’ CONDUCTED ON FRIDAY, JAN. 31ST The Hawthorne Police Department’s Traffic Bureau conducted a ‘DUI / Driver License Checkpoint’ on Friday, January 31st, 2014, from 8:00 PM to 2:00 AM, at the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue & Isis Avenue, City of Hawthorne. The California Highway Patrol’s West Los Angeles Division assisted in the checkpoint. The following is a summary of the results from the checkpoint. A total of 1,593 vehicles went through the checkpoint. Eight drivers were arrested for DUI, four drivers were cited for driving with a suspended license and 16 drivers were cited for driving unlicensed. A total of 11 vehicles were towed. Funding for this checkpoint was provided to the Hawthorne Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies. If you see a Drunk Driver, call 9-1-1.• subsidies based on a claimant’s declared income up to $94,000. But since the IRS cannot audit every claim, the President says the government will provide subsidies on an ‘honor system.’ No one knows, therefore, what impact the subsidies will have on the enrollees’ net policy costs…or the national debt.” Scratching his head, the Rube asked, “But what if the ‘un-sick’ can’t afford the new skyrocketing premiums even with government subsidies--what will happen to them?” “The federal government has already thought of that,” replied Sam, “by increasing funding to state-run Medicaid programs for the poor.” “And what about the insurance industry?” the Rube wondered. “If the un-sick don’t buy insurance early, won’t the industry go broke?” “Nope,” said Sam. “The law includes a taxpayer bail-out for insurance companies if this mega-scheme collapses. The bottom line then is that the federal government will bear the ultimate responsibility as the payment source of all health care costs--first through unquantifiable taxpayer subsidies on skyrocketing premiums, or second through federal government grants to state-run Medicaid programs, or third, by promising to bail out insurance companies devastated by this Machiavellian scheme. In any of the three eventualities, the government will be the ultimate single payer health care underwriter, exactly as the President had planned from the beginning. Simply put, this is the greatest entitlement program of all time, so be the wise guy, Rube. Buy insurance when you need it…no sooner.” “Okay Sam. Flip open that coat of yours and let me have one of those Rolexes.” • Career Full of Accomplishments Thrown Away by Lies By Cristian Vasquez When Senator Roderick Wright was found guilty of perjury and voter fraud a few weeks ago, it was a good day for the American justice system. I won’t deny that the news did cause a bittersweet reaction in me. It was bitter because Wright has a well-deserved reputation for helping small businesses and advocating for lowincome children. However, it was sweet because the Senator did break the law and we finally see an elected official being held accountable for his or her actions. In the end, despite the crime being committed and the reputation that he built being tarnished forever, it was a good day for the State’s legal system because it proved that we are capable of convicting a popular, well-liked person of a crime. Wright is the first member of the State Legislature to be convicted of a felony since the Shrimpscam sting of the 1990s. With Wright scheduled for sentencing on March 12, he could face more than eight years in jail along with being banned from ever being an elected official for life. Not surprising, the Senator plans to appeal the verdict. Despite his plans to shake the verdict off, it was refreshing that a jury found Wright guilty of lying about where he lived during his run for State Senate in 2008. Much hoopla is made about voter fraud when it relates to the people casting a vote. Some states (mostly in the South) have worked toward passing laws to require a voter identification card or making the process to register to vote a lot more complicated. All of this is to ensure that only legally qualified individuals cast a ballot. Someone who is not qualified to vote will go to jail upon casting a ballot. As rare an occurrence as this is, just as rare is a politician going to jail for voter fraud. While there is still much to be determined in this case, it is encouraging that a guilty verdict came back considering the failure of other juries to do the same with elected officials accused of the same type of crime. Los Angeles’ Richard Alarcon has dealt with his own issues regarding the same type of voter fraud and not much happened with regards to consequences. If anything, Alarcon can file (if he hasn’t already) for his pension given his years of service. Senator Wright has been found guilty and now I hope that he is punished for his crime. It would also be nice to see laws that make these residency requirements to run for office easier to verify. If millions of innocent Americans have been put at risk of disenfranchisement due to the very, very unlikely in-person voter fraud scenarios, then the possibility of politicians committing voter fraud via false residency should be treated no differently. What Wright did was wrong and it is great that he was caught and convicted. Unfortunately, everything he accomplished prior to this conviction will from now on be easily overlooked. • “If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.” ~ Maya Angelou
Lawndale 02_13_14
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