The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 310

B6 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER II, 1991 LOS ANGELES TIMES VALLEY NEWS Branching Out Word Wars I and II Contribute to Turmoil at Ventura City Hall DAVID BUTOW For Tho Times A tree doubles as playground and her sister, Kelly, 8, during a As he spoke, Monahan blurted: "Would you shut your damn mouth and let me ask a question?" Monahan, a former mayor of Ventura, later explained his anger. "He would not let the city manager answer my question," Monahan said. "I couldn't believe it; the audience couldn't believe it. They've got me outnumbered six to one, and it seems as though when I bring up a subject matter, they want to shove it right down my throat." But Francis said: "This is not a1 fight between me and Jim; Jim has purposely alienated the whole council." Francis said two sessions with consultants on professional courtesy 18 months ago, which cost the city $7,000, have failed to temper Monahan's personality. "It's his political objective to discredit this council and, if he has to do it in a kamikaze fashion, that's what he's going to do," Francis said.

"I think it really comes down to a matter of self-control for Mr. Monahan on a number of personal fronts." Other council members lamented the bad light that the tiff casts on the council. "I was embarrassed and I'm sure that most of the council was, and I think that a lot of people watching it were embarrassed," Councilman John McWherter said. "I'm very disappointed in the conduct that has taken place, the foul language and everything else, and it's certainly not something I hope continues," Tuttle said. "I think that for the last two years, Monahan's goal has been to disrupt the council wherever possible because he feels that by making us look bad, there will be changes in the next election." Monahan shrugged off that charge.

"I think that we're always going to have clashes on certain subjects that you disagree on," he said. "I don't think that you're supposed to sit there and bite your tongue if you disagree." Meanwhile, council critic Russum said he does not know what he said to offend the secretary. Baker refused to name the city employee or repeat the remark Russum allegedly made to her. "The only thing I could think of was I said, 'You're a beautiful young Russum said. He said he told a friend with him: "In that dress, she looks just like my wife when she was that age." But Baker said Russum made a specific reference to a part of the woman's anatomy.

Worst-Case Videos By MACK REED TIMES STAPP WRITER With council members flinging curses and cookies around their chambers and the city manager accusing a gadfly of sexually harassing a secretary, Ventura City Hall has been less, than peaceful lately. A long-smoldering feud between Mayor Richard Francis and Councilman Jim Monahan flared during a council meeting at the end of last month when Monahan shouted, "Shut your damn mouth!" after Francis cut him off. And City Manager John Baker says, one of his female employees was the subject of a sexual remark by council critic Ray Russum, who has denied making such a remark and told Baker in a letter, "Shut your lying mouth." Russum had threatened a lawsuit over the allegation. In the case of Francis and Monahan, many council members said they are hoping that the static between the two will simply die away on its own. The two have often sparred when Monahan, an unabashedly pro-business councilman, has fouhd himself on the losing side of 6-1 votes in a council dominated by slow-growth members.

But Monahan and Francis' ideological differences escalated into a sniping match last month as the council discussed the status of beach volleyball courts at the foot of Seaward Avenue that were bulldozed last year for a state dune-reclamation project. When Monahan asked Baker to describe plans to replace the Councilman Gary Tuttle. offered to explain. Francis gave Tuttle the floor. Monahan protested.

"I addressed the question to Mr. Baker." But Francis said, "I'll control who speaks, but Mr. Tuttle, you're a council member; you get priority over the city manager." When Tuttle began explaining that the city is planning to discuss the project soon with state parks officials and the Coastal Commis-, sion, Monahan stalked into the anteroom behind the council chambers. There, he angrily upset a tray of cookies, Monahan said. Monahan retook his seat.

Tuttle finished speaking. "I appreciate the fact that you actually did something rather than just bitch about it," Francis told Tuttle in a remark that he later admitted was a dig at Monahan. fNO MORE Ventura County Deputies Learn to Handle Street Violence From Tapes That Shoot Back iff's deputies say the state-of-the-art system is more than worth it, Husband said. "At a range, you're shooting at stationary objects," Husband said. "This makes it as realistic as possible, where you're actually confronting situations." Sheriff's deputies are scheduled for the drills about twice a year.

The room is also used for academy training and is available for practice by deputies, Husband said. In addition, the video room may be rented for $26 an hour by law-enforcement officers county-wide. During a recent practice, Deputy John Miller stood about 12 feet from the screen, poised for action. The room came alive with a video of a sports car on the highway, its passengers involved in a heated argument. "You observe the vehicle driving erratically and pull over," the voice on the video intoned.

When asked what he wanted to do, Miller chose to walk up to the car on the driver's side. As he neared, the driver yelled at his girlfriend, "That's it, man, I've just had enough!" "I've really had it with you, recent outing at Chatsworth Park. J.D.!" the blond woman responded before reaching between the seats to grab a revolver. She fired once at her companion then turned toward the camera and blasted the officer. Miller fired but too late.

Thes computer showed that he had been felled by the shot. "Great," Miller responded. "Ruin my day." Running through the scenario again, Miller decided to approach the car from the passenger side. This time, he was ready when the woman pulled the gun. He shot her in the back of the head, which a supervisor said was appropriate under the circumstances.

Husband said the video comes as a surprise to recruits who do not realize how fast they must make decisions when confronted by potentially dangerous criminals. It teaches them to keep their eyes on suspects' hands, to determine who is a threat and to learn basic shooting skills, he said. And although not every scenario ends in a shootout, each simulates the unpredictability of the street. "It creates a stressful environment," Husband said. in a written motion asking Dodd for relief.

Warner Ridge is a 21.5-acre parcel in Woodland Hills owned by an investor group consisting of the Spound Co. and Johnson Wax De- velopmentCo. The developers have sued the city, claiming a January, 1990, City Council decision to zone their land for residential development violated state zoning and environmental laws and also destroyed the value of the property. The Warner Ridge group had sought to develop 800,000 square feet of office buildings on the site. In her Todd issued six; separate directives to Picus, including warnings that she "refrain from personal and abusive re-: marks" and that she attend "to conclusion" future depositions and "answer all proper questions as necessary to complete the NO BAG NO HASSLE WITH MICROWAVES! PICUS: Judge Scolds Councilwoman Our unique patented microwave process will wood-bearing structures of termites.

And its Alternate choice for a Safe linvironmenl apparatus for Katie Twarowski, 6, left, the laser hits and alters the ending based on how severely the suspects are wounded, said Lt. Craig Husband, who heads the training academy. "Depending oh how well you do, sometimes they die, or sometimes they come back up and shoot you," Bryce said. "It really gets your' heart beating, and, of course, you don't want to shoot the wrong person." Each of the 16 different-story lines including a search for a drug lab in a deserted building and a gang fight in a dark alley has about 30 possible endings, said Sheriff's Department, technician Bob Boles, who operates the computer program. New scenarios for the Apogee System are continually developed by the manufacturer, ICAT Inc.

of New Mexico. The department bought the. $30,000 system in 1987 to provide more realistic training for recruits entering the Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center and to help the department's 600 sworn personnel brush up on their skills, Husband said. Such systems are used in fewer than 5 of the departments nationwide, but sher 'It could be a nightmare. Not only will it impact Sherman Oaks adversely, but anyone who tries to use the boulevard will find it a RICHARD CLOSE Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

Department and the RTD have been notified of the proposal and approved it, Washington said. The city Department of Transportation is still reviewing the plan, said transit engineer Al Abaisa. Collision With Car was making a left turn onto Calvert, Officer Joanna Needham said: The man was pronounced dead at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills. The driver of the car, Carri' Carson, 24, of Burbank was not injured, Needham said. Police said' no citations were issued because it was unclear who was at fault.

deadly chemicals KNo need to drill holes in wall to inject nitrogen or other gases 'Unique microwave process is hassle-free for residents No moving out overnight ''No removing linnsenlimls By CAROL WATSON TIMES STAI'P WRITER The 10- by 20-foot projection room at the Ventura County sheriff's training academy doesn't look intimidating. But when the lights go down, deputies say, their hearts pound and their palms get sweaty. The room is used to show training videos that portray lifelike crime situations. Viewing deputies, using guns with blanks, must decide whether to shoot suspects in scenarios ranging from routine 'traffic stops to assassination attempts on foreign dignitaries. "It's very realistic," Assistant Richard Bryce said.

"I've died a few times. I' got stabbed The training video is run by a computer operator using a program that changes the criminals' actions depending on what the deputies say or do. Revolvers similar" to the ones deputies carry on the streets are specially outfitted with lasers for the video practice sessions. When fired, the revolvers project the lasers onto the movie screen. The computer registers where BOULEVARD: Street Closure Sought for Oct.

20 Fair Continued from B3 proceeds will be split, with going to the chamber and the rest to four elementary schools. At Jeast two parent-teacher organizations already are discussing how the money might be used to buy "supplies, officers for those groups said. Ventura Boulevard has been shut down for shorter events, such as a Studio City 10K run in 1989, officials said. Emergencies such as the rupture of a water main earlier this year have occasionally forced motorists to abandon the heavily traveled road. However, city officials said they could find no record of a daylong closure such as the one proposed for Sherman Oaks.

The Department of Public Works is researching how the Closure would affect parking and traffic. The public works board will vote on the issue and make a recqmmendation to the City Council. Three agencies affected by the closure Police Department, Fire Motorcyclist, 18, Dies in A 18-year-old Winnetka man was killed Tuesday when his motorcycle hit a car at Winnetka Avenue and Calvert Street, Los: Angeles police said. The mat), whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, was headed south on, Winnetka about 7i20 a.m. when his: motorcycle collided with a car that; kNo rqof release is required.

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Picus said Tuesday that her decision to walk out of the deposition was "a bit like hanging up the phone on an annoying person" and that she did not regret it. She said attorneys for Warner Ridge were "deliberately harassing me" with questions. Picus has al- i ready provided six days of testimony in the case, and is scheduled to give three more. In their request for the order, the Warner Ridge attorneys denied harassing Picus but said they repeatedly tried to have her clarify her responses to a question concerning her past positions on the project. "Such obstructionism threatens plaintiff's ability to get essential evidence necessary for its case and plaintiff has no choice but to seek the court's help," Warner Ridge attorney Robert McMurry argued Sound Off The Valley Edition of The Times welcomes the views of Letters or phone calls should be as brief as possible and are subject to condensation.

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