The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 77

LOS ANGELES TIMES rA22 MONDAY. MARCH 17. 1997 STILT: Quake Concerns (('(('((( i stJ L.J Military personnel monitor information transmitted from planes to WAR: System Test Continued from A3 would no longer need to establish a beachhead on hostile turf to erect its Joint-STARS receptors or to depend on cooperation from a nearby government Staffed with commanders of all four services, a warship could move swiftly into position in international waters when hostilities seem imminent "The Navy and Marine Corps don't need visas," said Cmdr. Dave Summer, coordinator of the Third Fleet's experiment to test Joint-STARS and other gear and tactics. With Joint-STARS, any move made by an adversary would be detected "in real time" and could be countered by massive firepower from offshore ships or attack planes from carriers or land bases, without the need to commit ground troops.

"This is going to allow us to focus our forces where we can do the most damage with the fewest American losses," Browne said of Joint-STARS and other information systems being tested. "We have an American public that will not tolerate losses, and that needs to be part of our equation." Browne and other military commanders hope that any potential adversary will back down without the United States needing to fire a shot when the adversary realizes how closely its movements are being watched. "This is information warfare," said Air Force Capt. Keith R. Jones, chief of contingency plans for Joint-STARS.

"We're going to win because we'll have way more information than the other guy could even dream of." Although it has not received the same hoopla as the B-1 bomber and other expensive weapon systems, Joint-STARS has been a major project for the Pentagon since the contract was awarded in 1985 to Long Island-based Grumman Aerospace Corp. That company was purchased three years ago by Los Angeles-based Northrop Corp. to form Northrop Grumman. During Operation Desert Storm, the two prototype Joint-STARS planes were rushed into action before final testing. Military analysts credited Joint-STARS with giving the United States a tactical advantage by allowing for more accurate air strikes and permitting commanders to monitor their troops in the field.

Continued from All A total of 13 hillside houses in the city collapsed in the quake. Nicolino Delli Quadri, a senior structural engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, says the great majority of those were stilt houses of the rod-braced variety. Three people died as a result of stilt houses coming down. In the earthquake's aftermath, department engineers formed a study group that identified stilt houses as the hillside homes "most vulnerable to earthquake damage." Delli Quadri says the floor beams of the stilt houses that collapsed were not attached to foundations; when the stilts and cross-bracing systems faltered, the floors simply slid forward and down the slopes. As a result of the survey, the 1996 Los Angeles Building Code requires the floor beams of any new stilt houses to be attached to street-level foundations, which involves minimal expense.

The requirement also applies to existing stilt houses undergoing reconstruction worth 50 or more of their value. In such cases, meeting the requirement costs about $20,000 to $60,000, Delli Quadri says. Yet it is concern over L.A.'s other principal source of disaster-fire that effectively has blocked construction of new stilt houses for more than a generation. A 1966 building code regulation governing construction in mountain fire districts, which include virtually all of the city's dramatic hillsides, requires the supports and undersides of buildings to be enclosed or made resistant to fire for at least one hour. Such fireproofing coating support structures with stucco, or fashioning them out of heavy timbers or concrete is prohibitively costly, unrealistic or both.

"To wrap all the stilts and un- 10 Injured When Car CAMPO, Hyundai sedan packed with 10 suspected illegal immigrants lost control and crashed into a boulder on a rural highway Sunday, injuring all of them, authorities said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known, although no one died at the scene, said U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Ron derfloor in stucco would be very cumbersome," says Delli Quadri. "I have not heard of it being done. The bracing rods are very flexible; they tend to vibrate and the stucco would tend to shake off." Architect Dion Neutra, who worked with his renowned father, the late Richard Neutra, on the design of almost 30 stilt houses, says such dwellings could be built on concrete support structures, 'Taut it would be extremely expensive." The solution has been to build hillside houses with long exterior walls dropping to the slope.

That complies with the building code, and creates considerably more living space in a house. It also makes a house visually much more intru-. sive on the hillside. "It creates an area under the house where fire can't get to, but it also creates an enormously unat tractive long, blank wall of stucco," says architecture historian Jeffrey Chusid. "Building regulations are often not sympathetic to building naturally in the hills." Not all stilt houses are created equal, and an earthquake can sort out the differences in no uncertain terms.

Bruce Gleason bought his Oak-field Drive home brand-new for $42,500 in 1967, late in the stilt-house era. Since then, he says, it's been "100 solid" through two major earthquakes, and has grown in value to about $335,000. Living in stilt houses is not for everyone. "It takes a certain type to be able to handle it, because even from wind there is a certain amount of movement," Neutra says. "Some people who bought those were sort of pioneering types, but everybody I've ever talked to who's lived in one has been thrilled with it, loved it" Crashes Near Border Henley.

The Hyundai Excel was traveling eastbound on Highway 94 near the Mexican border when its driver saw a Border Patrol vehicle. Agents reported that the car crashed as it was making a U-turn. Agents were not pursuing the vehicle, Henley said. Associated Press Funeral Diroctors A friend of the MOUNT SINAI MORTUARY 800600-0076 213469-6000 Amfrlrt FOREST LAWN MORTUARIES Glendale Long Beach Cypress Covina Hills Hollywood Hills (800)204-3131 Sunrise. $2,000 No.

Hoily- 2565 pp 1r795.00 COMPLETE TRADITIONAL JEWISH FUNERAL (800) 922-2244 ASK TOT aanans ring s-rs. Litera lure I ngelcs CO. Lmim DOCn UTT I Mortuary (310) 699-0921 Located at Row Hills Memorial Park in Whittier 11 I HI3 I' The Los Angeles Times now offers Display Obituary Notices with photographs. Please call the obituary Desk at 800-528-4637 Ext. 77241 or Ext.

77242 for full details i ANNOUNCE1VIENTS 1 Funeral Notices Westchester-Menorah Victor Vasarely; Leading Op Art Painter Lodge 572 F. A M. will assemble Thursday, March 20, 1pm at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Joint-STARS was part of an exercise, which ended last week, called Fleet Battle Experiment Alfa. Involved were the Coronado and the Benfold, one of the Navy's state-of-the-art, Aegis-class destroyers.

The experiment was designed to test two prospective methods of directing Navy firepower ashore: An "arsenal ship" stocked with 500-plus missiles, and a centralized system called "ring of fire" to decide which ship will hit which target. Also tested was a high-tech system of detecting in real time the launch of ballistic missiles like the Scud missiles used by Saddam Hussein to strike at American forces and terrorize the Israeli, civilian population. Developed by Aerojet Corp. of Azusa, the system detects a launch, predicts its impact point, and allows for immedi--ate warning and retaliation. Within two years the Navy hopes to have a ship-based missile capable of shooting down a Scud, to complement the land-based Patriot missile in the Army's arsenal.

Simultaneously with Fleet Battle Experiment Alfa, the Marine Corps conducted large-scale war games at Twentynine Palms to, among other things, test the use of hand-held Newton computers by troops in the field to report their positions and intelligence about "enemy" movements. Information from troops in the field was beamed to the Coronado elite group of artists who believed contemporary art should integrate the advances of science and technology. Experimenting with Expressionism, Cubism, then surrealism, Vasarely in 1955 launched into so-called optical art, based on creating optical illusions. Among Vasarely's best-recognized works is a three-dimensional portrait of President Georges Pom pidou, In 1971, Pompidou's widow inau- gurated the Vasarely Foundation in Aix-en-Provence, where 32 monumental-sized works of artists are exposed. But several years of court battles over the fate of the foundation, whose funds were mismanaged, left Vasarely and his family bitter.

The director was imprisoned for i several weeks amid allegations of 1 abuse of confidence, and the foundation was to be dissolved at the end of this month. Davis stayed with Autry's personal appearance tours for many years before retiring. In 1994 she received a "Golden Boot" award in recognition of her contribution to westerns. Born in McGhee, Davis at age 2 was named most beautiful baby in Arkansas. She later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied drama and dance and married fellow student Bob Davis.

They were divorced in 1952, six months after the birth of their daughter. Davis later married auto dealer Carl Guerriero, who died in 1982. She is survived by her daughter, Terrie, of Irving, Texas. Funeral arrangements at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills were "We've come a long way from Desert Storm, that's for sure," said Bill Guttabauro, a Northrop Grumman communications engineer aboard the Coronado. The amount of information provided by Joint-STARS has increased significantly since Desert Storm.

The clarity of the presentation on the screen has also improved. And the computer's memory has increased from three to 60 gigabytes. The 24-foot-long radar unit, mounted under the fuselage like a canoe, can distinguish between tracked and wheeled vehicles, and between moving and stationery objects, Air Force officials said. The radar can spot a single helicopter in flight and tell when an antenna such as that used by radar or missile sites is moving. The radar's sweep can encompass an area of 25,000 square miles in any weather while the plane stays 120 miles away, the officials said.

On video screens in the Coro-nado's operational center, the radar information from the Air Force E-8C is superimposed on a map of the area being scanned, allowing for pinpoint targeting. "The goal is to operate within the adversary's information loop," said Navy Capt Rick Williams, Third Fleet's assistant chief of staff for command, control, communication, computers and intelligence. Obituaries with their combination of bright colors and geometrical forms, that brought him fame. "Vasarely was the pope of Op Art and kinetic art," said Jozsef Sarkany, art historian at the Vasarely Museum in Pecs, Hungary, where the artist was born. "He thought that everybody is an artist" Born on April 9, 1906, Vasarely deftly wielded pen and paper by the age of 7.

As a young man, he entered medical school but quit in 1927 to study art. Vasarely was a regular visitor to the studio of Sandor Bortnyik, one of Hungary's leading artists between the wars. There he was introduced to the works of Kandin-sky, Le Corbusier and Chagall. In 1930, Vasarely moved to Paris, where he earned a living producing graphic designs and honing techniques that would help define his aesthetic code. By 1947, Vasarely was part of an From Staff and Wire Reports Actress Gail Davis, best known; for her role as a gun-toting, pig-tailed rancher in the popular 1950s television series "Annie Oakley," has died of cancer.

She was 71. Davis died Saturday at St. Jo-, seph Medical Center in Burbank. Her daughter, Terrie Manning, was with her at her death. A skilled rider and a crack Davis appeared in several Gene Autry westerns and did most of her own stunt work.

Autry created the syndicated "Annie Oakley" TV series for Davis in 1953, a children's western set in the town of Diablo. The show, the first western to star a woman, ran for four years and continued on into the '60s in re-. runs- Maurice Leonard November 13, 1913; died 1997. Beloved husband, father, and grandfather. internal medicine for Los Angeles and was cherished by his patients.

past President of the Los Society of Internal Medicine. received several awards service from the Heart Association. An generous, witty, and he was devoted to and medical practice. He and photography, and with his family. memorial service was 16.

A donation in his be made to the orga- Pacific Coast Highway at Avenue Redondo Beach to conduct memorial service for our late brother, Wayne Laughbaum Pry, P.M. Leon Leibowitz, W.M. Meyer Irvine, P.M., Sect. TED BANKS U.S. Navy video screens on USS Coronado.

where it was integrated with the Joint-STARS radar information to give Navy and Marine brass aboard ship a minutely detailed picture of the mock battlefield at the sprawling desert base. "There is so much information," Summer said. "The task is to get it out of the stovepipe, fuse it into a complete picture, separate what is important from what is not, and then get it to the war-fighters in a matter of minutes." Browne, a 33-year Navy veteran who flew the A-6 Intruder during the Vietnam War and commanded the carrier John F. Kennedy during Desert Storm, hopes a shared faith in technology like Joint-STARS will build trust among the sometimes competitive branches of the military. "Teamwork, you can build," Browne said.

"Trust you have to earn. Trust in the services is hard. I think we're getting better at it. If these systems help build that trust," they will be successful. Browne is having the Coronado retrofitted to include space for a joint command including high-ranking officers from other services.

Each Joint-STARS mission is led by an Air Force officer and an Army officer, and intelligence specialists from both services are in the planes to interpret the radar data and to add text. "The information that used to take hours to get now takes minutes," Jones said. "The information that took minutes now takes seconds. It's a tremendous jump in capability." BARROCAS, Samuel Malinow St Silverman Mortuary BKNNRA, Dorothy L. passed away March, 14, 1997.

She is survived by her loving friends: Alma and Lou Barba, Barbara Hudson, Anita and Lorraine Grissom, Annie Aquila, and Kathleen Lahti. Funeral Mass 10am, Tuesday at St. Bede Church, La Canada. Cabot le Sons, Pasadena directors BIN, Maria A. Dominguei Service Monday, March 17, 1997 at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Forest Lawn Mortuary GELFF, Lillian beloved wife of the late Morry: dear mother of Sandi Gelff and Bob (Marde) Gregory; loving grandmother of Micol. Funeral services will be held Monday, at Home of Peace Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested in Lillian's memory to: Jewish Home for the Aging, 18855 Victory Reseda, CA 91335. Malinow Silverman Mor- nizanon oi tuary directors GORDON, Goldie adored mother of Dr.

Lou Gordon, Ida Gurvin, and Edna (Abe) Tamarin; also survived by four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren Services 3pm, Tuesday at Mount Sinai Memorial Park. Mount Sinai Mortuary In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of choice. (ZWttHB GREENWOOD, Walleri S. Neptune Soclety-Burhank HARGREAVES, Rachel M. passed away March 13, 1997.

Survived by her sister, Ruth Schmitt; sons, John and J.M.; daughter-in-law, Janet; 6 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. Funeral Mass Wednesday, March 19, at St Philips Church, Pasadena. 12 noon. Interment at Resurrection Cemetery, South San Gabriel. Cabot a Sons, rasadena, Directors IN LOVING MEMORY OF Mortuary AUCE LEE TSING CHUN June 23, 1940- March 17, 1992 I love you and miss you, always.

STEWART. Neptune STRATTON. tour nusoana, wing Neptune INGELS, Raymond Martin born May 14, 1922 in Pueblo, Colorado; passed away March 13. 1997 in Al-hambra. He is survived by his wife, Reta, daughter, Karyn Rae Ingels and grandson, Max Rye Ingels, all of Monterey Park.

He was employed by State of California, Air Resources Board for 36 years as a chemical engineer. Visitation Wednesday, from 5pm to 9pm and Funeral services Thursday, 1pm, both at Risher Montebello Mortuary with interment in Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whitticr. Services under the direction of Risher Montebello Mortuary (213728-1201) KIZUKA, Ruth Jllsuko beloved mother of Allen Torakichi (Debbie), Joyace Yoko and Christine Michiko Kizuka; grandmother of Scott Shiyunichi and Eric Torakichi Kizuka, James II and Yoka Mae Jitsuko Townsend, and Joyce Asa, Frank Torakichi Kizuka and Michiko Emiko Chan; sister of James Tsutomu Kai and Sarah Yoko (Arthur) Tanimoto; sister-in-law of Albert Toshimi (Yoshi) and Dick Isamu (Jean) Kizuka, Grace Hiromi Kan and Masano (Earle) Holt Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 19, from 10am at Union Church, 401 East 3rd St, Los Angeles. Kubota Nikkei Mor-hiarr (2I37I9-U40) directors I.EVINE. Bill Hillside Mortuary 800W6-10M LEVITT, Faye passed away Saturday, March 15.

1997. Loving and beloved wife of 62 years of Mike Levitt; cherished mother of Audri and Stan Tendler, and Linda and Jerry Janger; devoted grandmother of Bettina (Patrick) O'Mara, Lance (Karyn) Tendler, Jeff, Lane, and Darren Janger; proud great-grandmother of Morissa, Olivia, and Man.i. She was dearly loved and adored by her family and friends and will live forever in their hearts. Services to be held 1pm, Monday. March 17 at Hillside Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: I.M.C., Jewish Home for the Aging, 7510 Tampa Reseda. CA gia. OBITUARIESFUNERAL l.fPKIS, Dr. Born on March 14, brother, He practiced 50 years in greatly He was a Angeles He i for distinguished American uncommonly humane person, his family loved hiking i traveled widely i A private held on Marcn memory may MARUKL Beloved Maruki; father Maruki, Setsuko (James) brother of Yuki Funeral at 767 E. tmi), OKUNEFF, March 13, Al; son Larry and and Warren Roston; Donations Lymphoma of America.

SCHERTLE, Forest Lawn SIEMSEN, wife of David; and Anna (Beverly) Yatabe; aunt Funeral Saturday, Memorial Ervin Butler Church Sotlery Society The Desk Monday 8:30 We on The the is 4:00 Ext. Ext. Call Ms. and or (213) Toll Free Ext. Cog In Memoriam STANLEY J.

KRAKOWIAK Feb. 5. 1919-March 17, 1995 Dad, it's been 2 years. We think of you everyday. Love Forever, Tony and Mom your cnoice.

DAVID D. MILAN Oct. 7, 1917-March 17,1971 Dad, I love and miss you John Shlgenorl 82. husband of Chiyoko M. of Dennis (Aileen) Maruki, and KathY Thurn; grandfather of Hayakawa.

Thursday, March 20, Fukui Mortuary Chapel, Temple SL, Los Angeles Angle Cemetery LotsCrypts Rose Hills. Garden of From Associated Press PARIS Victor Vasarely, whose strong geometric designs and use of optical illusions made him a master of Op Art, has died at age 90. His final years were soured by the financial misdeeds of a foundation carrying on his work. The Hungarian-born painter had suffered from prostate cancer for the past two years and died Saturday night at a private Paris clinic, said his daughter-in-law, Michele Vasarely. She said her father-in-law's decline in health coincided with the financial and legal woes of his Vasarely Foundation, which was scheduled to be dissolved at the end of the month.

One of the last survivors of the German Bauhaus school that emphasized functionalism, Vasarely designed everything from champagne bottles to university buildings. But it was his abstract works, Rest. Dbl. lot Sell $2400. Dave, Pp, 714498-4538 Inglewood Park 2 lots ea OBO 805-943-6244 pp 4 Burial Plots Forest Lawn WOOrJ.

Call MlCliael 818 761 Millie passed away 1997. Survived by husband, and daughter-in-law, Peggy Okuneff; daughter son-in-law, Alissa and 8 grandchildren. may be made to the Research Foundation Plot for sale at Hillside Memorial Park Plot 143, space 2. (808) 828-0304PP EDEN Mem. Parle 1 plot Court of Eter-nal light' $800 ODO PP 818789-7S44 Cyrstal Cathderal Mem Gardens.

Obi Plot.Grt Loc. $7800 David 4I5-8SS-1864 Cremation Service)! Charles K. Hollywood Hills Carol Jean 49; beloved daughter of Akira Yatabe; sister of Michael Yatabe and Barbara of Kara Yatabe. services were held on March 15 at Green Hilts Park Chapel with Rev. of the American Baptist officiating.

Fukul NEPTUNE SOCIETY 310831-0664 8167845-2415 800201-3315 Lot AngelM Burbank Gail Davis; Starred as 'Annie Oakley' on TV (ZlJoat lHHJ Donald S. BurbanK Cecil F. ITmvIljTRaNAivmSn MALLOV-MITTSN I Burbank Total 468 Free ALL A. 4 ORANGE (800) 286-6789 is Obituary is open thr-ough Saturday, am to 5:00 pm. are closed Sunday.

deadline for next day's publication pm daily. Call the Obituary Desk 800-5284837 77242 or 77241 For assistance regarding Obituary Notices Call Ms. Ryan For understanding and helpful service. (213)237-7241, (213) 237-7242 or ourToll-Free Number 1-800-528-4637, Ext. 77241 or Ext.

77242 Davis as "Annie Oakley" Gail Get the story. Get the Times? Times Obituary Information Ryan for understanding helpful service: (213)237-7242' 237-7241, or our Number I-80O-528 4637, 77241 or 77242 Angel co Sim cs ISIL. 1 1 ORANGE COUNTY Qf It I Call 7 1 4TU1E5 OC to Cos Anactco (Times VQ.