The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 162

B4 FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1998 LOS ANGELES TIMES Asu miliary ci ccvi clopments across Los Angeles County Community News File Growing Up NEWS IN Official Business COURTS AND GOVERNMENT .1 fees. Phil Riley watches his grandson Wyatt, Yaroslavsky Foes Seek Probe of Fund-Raising In an unusual alliance, three challengers to county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky filed papers with the state Fair Political Practices Commission and the district attorney Wednesday asking that the veteran politician be investigated for possible campaign fund-raising violations. C.J. McDonald, Shane McLoud and Casey Peters signed the petition alleging that Yaroslavsky, who is running for a second supervisorial term, illegally bundled campaign contributions, violated the contribution limit and received of campaign contributions from lobbyists. Yaroslavsky, through a spokesman, vehemently denied the allegations and portrayed the petition and a related news conference Wednesday as an attempt by the virtually unknown candidates to gain publicity for their campaigns.

None of the opponents has raised more than a few thousand dollars; Yaroslavsky has more than $1 million in his campaign war chest, according to campaign filings. The three challengers alleged that lawyers who worked for a law firm that employs registered county lobbyists made illegal contributions to Yaroslavsky designed to skirt the contribution maximum, that the wives of lobbyists made improper contributions and that Yaroslavsky's reelection campaign broke campaign fund-raising laws by asking lobbyists for donations. MTV Awards to Be Broadcast From L.A. Chalk up one more awards show for Los Angeles. The MTV Music Awards will be broadcast from Universal Studios in September, the latest in a string of high-profile entertainment events to select Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. made the joint announcement Wednesday. Among the other entertainment events that have recently chosen Los Angeles include the Academy Awards, the AFI Film Festival, the Country Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. tea Highway 39 in Angeles Forest to Reopen After 2 Decades The state Department of Transportation has agreed to reopen a section of California 39 in Angeles National Forest that has been closed for more than two decades, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. The California Transportation Commission has included nearly $3 million in its latest budget to open half the 4.5-mile roadway, which begins in Azusa, to allow more recreational use of the area, said Caltrans spokeswoman Marge Tiritelli.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2002 and will take two years, she said. However the agency is a long way off from restoring the entire roadway through the mountains. Tiritelli said that would require $48 million more, but the additional funds are not available. Last week, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich announced that he will ask the Board of Supervisors to send a letter to Caltrans to ask that the entire highway be reopened so it connects with California 2, Angeles Crest Highway. Bassett School Board Considering Lawsuit Over Building Funds The Bassett Unified School Board is reviewing possible legal action against a corporation it created last year to oversee more than $11 million of school construction.

The board voted Monday to establish a special litigation committee to conduct the review against the Bassett Unified School District Financing Corp. because it refused to release funds for construction, said school board President Brenda Johnson. "These are public funds. This is unbelievable," Johnson said. The corporation was established to sell certificates of participation to raise money for school improvements.

Its officers include board member Delia Rios and former board members Alfred Cobos and Toni Giaffoglione. Originally, only school board members could be officers. But in November, after Cobos and Giaffoglione were defeated in the election, the bylaws of the corporation were rewritten to allow them to retain their positions. In January, Rios wrote the board that the district could not get the money without the officers' authorization. Rios did not state why the financing corporation refused to release the money.

The school board Monday appointed all its members to the litigation committee except Rios. The Bassett school district serve? Valinda and parts of La Puente. Carson Woman Killed in Crash With Truck on Freeway A 72-year-old Mar Vista woman died Wednesday in a crash on the northbound San Diego Freeway in Carson when she lost control and slammed into a tractor-trailer truck, authorities said. There were no other injuries. California Highway Patrol Officer John Tye said the woman was traveling northbound when a rear tire on her 1976 Chevy Camaro blew out about 10:48 a.m.

He said the vehicle spun out, hitting several cars and came to a stop when it struck the truck near the Wilmington Avenue off-ramp. Tye said the woman, whose name is being withheld pending notification of relatives, died almost instantly. He said investigators believe the woman was traveling at an unsafe speed. 1 V'v LORISHEPLER Loe Angeles Times boy climbs a sand hill in Long Beach. Whittier Union High School District, will receive a monthly salary of $9,675 and a $325 monthly stipend for health benefits.

Former Supt. John Rindone was fired in January. Long Beach Man Is Arrested in Fire That Killed Woman Detectives arrested a man in connection with an apartment fire in Long Beach that killed a woman last week and nearly killed a 2-year-old. Long Beach police officers took Frederic Kenyatta Williams, 26, into custody Tuesday after stopping his car at Anaheim Street and Orange Avenue, police spokeswoman Maria Lopez said. Williams, a transient from New York, apparently knew the woman, whose body was so badly burned that the coroner's office has hot identified it yet, Lopez said.

A retired firefighter rescued a boy from the April 3 fire, which officials say was deliberately set. Williams will be arraigned today in Long Beach Municipal Court on charges of murder, attempted murder and causing a fire, investigators said. Long Beach Authorities Identify Bodies From Apparent Murder-Suicide Authorities have identified the bodies of two people found in an apartment in an apparent murder-suicide. Fatisha Shantae Pettus, 22, and Erick Lamont Means, 25, of New York, were discovered Tuesday by Long Beach police who received a call from Pettus' employer reporting that she had not been to work for two days and did not respond to her pager, officials said. An apartment manager in the 4700 block of Clair Del Avenue let investigators into Pettus' apartment, said police.

Both had gunshot wounds to the head. Santa Monica Homeless Activists Ordered to Perform Community Work Two homeless activists have pleaded no contest to charges that they trespassed on the grounds of the vacant Flamingo Hotel in November. Jennafer Waggoner and David Busch, who represented themselves Tuesday in Santa Monica Superior Court, entered pleas of no contest to misdemeanor trespassing charges, said Norman Wegener, Santa Monica deputy city attorney. If the two perform 50 hours each of community Service before a July 7 sentencing hearing, Wegener said, the charges against them will be dismissed. Waggoner; 27, and Busch, 42, were arrested Nov.

19 for allegedly trespassing at the beachside hotel, where they were providing meals and shelter to dozens of homeless people who they said could not find other places to escape the rain. Of the plea agreement reached with the city attorney's office, Waggoner said: "Fifty hours of community service is not punishment for us. We gladly take that on. That's our mission." South Pasadena Officials Regroup After Judge Refuses to Block Sale of Houses City officials opposing the sale of 11 surplus Caltrans houses to a charity and a housing agency regrouped Wednesday to plan a new strategy after a judge rejected the city's legal appeal. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Jaffe on Monday denied the city a 2, overcome one of life's obstacles as the the Getty Education Institute of the Arts, is the culmination of a project that took 51 middle school students from around the country on tours of Los Angeles to record their impressions on film.

'Eye Spy L. brought together creative young minds nationwide," said Leilani Lat-tin Duke, director of the Getty Institute. "Using their artistic skills, they explored and discovered the unique characteristics of a city new to them." Among the highlights of the exhibition are installations of the ocean-liner-shaped Coca-Cola building, the lobby of the Bradbury Building, the Woolworth sign on Broadway and the popcorn wagon on Olvera Street. The show ends May 1. Eagle Rock Police Warn About Thieves Posing as Maintenance Workers Police are warning residents of Eagle Rock and Highland Park that thieves posing as maintenance workers have talked their way into elderly people's homes to steal jewelry and cash.

The scam usually involves two or more suspects who say they need to turn off the water or adjust a pipe, LAPD Det. David Kennedy said. "The suspects have also gained entry by helping the victim carry in groceries or requesting a drink of water," Kennedy said. "Once inside, one or more of the suspects will distract the victim while the other one moves around the house, freely removing easily concealed items." The suspects include men and women, and their descriptions vary, Kennedy said. Lawndale Centinela High School District Extends Interim Chiefs Contract The Centinela Valley Union High School District has extended the contract of interim SupL Lee Eastwood through June 30.

He was hired in February as an assistant superintendent in charge of business affairs. He was appointed to the interim job after the departure of Robert Aguilar, who worked as a consultant to manage the district and resigned to conduct the search for a permanent superintendent. Eastwood, former superintendent of the LORI SHEPLER Los Angeles Times streets in downtown Los Angeles. i JAi Culver City 50 Children Take Part in Bring Family to Work Day More than 50 children, siblings and other relatives of Culver City municipal employees participated Wednesday in the city's first Bring Your Family to Work Day, officials said. Children competed in a chalk-drawing contest on the plaza in front of City Hall, and all participants were invited on tours of Fire Station No.

1, the Culver City police station and City Hall, said' Randi Joseph, public information officer. "We felt it would be really encouraging for people who work for the city to have their families know what they do for a living and how important their work is," Joseph said. The city hopes to repeat the event annually, she said. Downtown Off-Duty Officer Hired as Guard Kills Gunman Outside Nightclub An off-duty Los Angeles police officer, moonlighting as a security guard, shot and killed a gunman who allegedly wounded a person outside a downtown dance club early Wednesday, police said. The shootings occurred at 2:50 a.m.

near Club Las Palmas, 950 S. Broadway, LAPD Officer Jason Lee said. Officer Frank Guzman was inside the club when he heard gunshots and rushed out to the sidewalk where he saw a man standing over and pointing a gun at a wounded person, Lee said. "Officer Guzman, in defense of the bleeding woman, fired six shots at the suspect," Lee said. The man, whose name was not released, fell and dropped his gun, Lee said.

"But the suspect grabbed for the gun again, and was shot twice more," he said. Downtown 3-D Photo Exhibit Showcases Youths' Views of Urban LA. A three-dimensional photo exhibit of urban portraits of Los Angeles is on display at the Central Library. The "Eye Spy L.A." show, sponsored by I a leisurely break at 5th and Flower nary injunction to stop Esperanza Charities and Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services from taking permanent possession of the properties and rehabilitating them. The city opposes the sale, preferring that the houses be sold to individual homeowners.

Assistant City Manager Anne Mcintosh said the judge ruled that allegations presented by an attorney for the city, who charged that an Esperanza Charities official forged documents, were not relevant. The charity organization has denied the allegations. Beatrice Siev, a city transportation commissioner, said the judge threatened to hold Donald Johnson, the city's attorney, in contempt if he submitted another similar motion. It was the second time Johnson had unsuccessfully submitted the motion. The houses became surplus property after Caltrans altered the route of the proposed Long Beach Freeway extension.

Westchester Real Men Cook Foundation Sets Free Prostate Cancer Screenings A nonprofit organization seeking to educate men over 40 about prostate cancer will hold a forum Saturday with free screenings and information on prevention, treatment and nutrition. Sponsored by the Real Men Cook Foundation, a center for early detection of the disease, the second annual public forum on prostate cancer will feature a round-table discussion with doctors, a video presentation and a question and answer period. The results of the confidential screenings will be available two weeks after the event Staff from the Charles Drew Medical Center, the USC School of Medicine and other health professionals are donating their time. The forum is free and open to the public. It will be from 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m. at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton at 5711 West Century Blvd. For information: (310) 822-1982. 1 I Highbrow Art A sculpture dwarfs pedestrians taking.