News-Pilot from San Pedro, California • 3

News-Pilot FRIDAY March 11 1994 Hrfiw AiraiM tro AS Banning High racial conflict defused CARSON 300 black Latino students in dispute By lunch the racial tension had increased About 300 students were involved" said Grace Strauther an administrator with the Los Angeles Unified School Districts Senior High Schools Division But there was no physical confrontation and no one got hurt" Lt Joe McCarthy of the Los Angeles Police Departments Harbor Division said commanders scrambled a bunch of people over to Banning but made no arrests Officers from the district police force also were dispatched to assist the schools two uniformed officers School was dismissed as usual at 2:40 pm but on a room-by-room basis so no large groups of students were allowed to form Strauther said the additional district police officers would remain at the campus over the next few days as well as other community relations specialists trained to defuse racial tension Despite sporadic racial fighting students said the atmosphere has calmed recently because of student communicators who advocated racial harmony and tolerance through forums rallies and heritage days During the 9:50 am break two small groups of blacks and Latinos confronted each other in a hallway and exchanged words before administrators stepped in and separated the sides Minutes later Principal Bea Lamothe announced over the public address system that she had canceled a scheduled noontime pep rally to honor the Pilot boys and girls basketball teams which captured the City-3A championships March 4 By Rick Redding STAFF WRITER About 300 black and Latino students squared off at lunchtime Thursday at Banning High School in Wilmington but no blows were thrown as police and administrators moved in to quell the racial tension The 12:40 pm confrontation apparently was an escalation of an incident earlier in the day during nutrition break at the campus 1527 Lakme Ave Clock ticking down for 23 PV Ticktockers Qr -v WW pz By Meredith Grenier STAFF WRITER At first glance the 23 members of Palos Verdes Ticktockers to be honored at Saturdays Medallion luncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire could be any high school seniors But take a closer look These 23 girls gave more than 15000 hours of volunteer service during their years in the Peninsula chapter of the National Charity League Thats an average of 6565 hours each And these volunteer jobs werent easy Sometimes the girls found themselves listening to suicidal people on the Community Helpline At other times they worked as aides at Willenberg Special Education Center in San Pedro Occasionally they comforted the elderly at Little Sisters of the Poor in San Pedro or cheered up sick children at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center In the end these girls from Peninsula High School Chadwick School and Santa Catalina School have made a difference at 30 South Bay agencies But ask any one of the volunteers and they will insist that they got back much more than they gave Theyll tell you how much they learned Verdes Ticktockers have given more than 15000 hours of community service Wi lm pay white ball gown making a low curtsy in front of her mother who then places a medallion around her daughters neck The 1994 Ticktockers includes Traci Arkenberg Kristin Ball Sarah Cann Carrie Docter Kim Gilchrist Ashley Gillman Amanda Gordon Jonna Harper Sarah Johnson Kiley Krekorian Katie Kur- City stops OT payments to ex-DWP chief SAN PEDRO I Democratic clubs meet The 42nd annual convention of Californias Democratic clubs is scheduled today through Sunday at the Sheraton Los Angeles Harbor Hotel in San Pedro About 200 members from 35 clubs will hear from Democratic political candidates and form an agenda on issues facing voters in the Nov 8 general election The convention is open to the public but there is a charge for admission For details call (800) 481-9356 SAN PEDRO I Volleyball club I holds car wash The Girls Division squad of the San Pedro Bay Volleyball Club will hold a car wash from 8 am to 2 pm Saturday at Americas Tire Co 25929 Western Ave San Pedro The club is raising funds for entry into the Asics Rainbow Hawaii Tournament and Nike Volleyball FestivalNa-tional Championships SAN PrDRQ I Library seeks older readers Volunteers are sought for the Grandparents and Books" program at the San Pedro Library Older adults who enjoy children and would like to assist two or more hours a week are asked to call chil drens librarian Giovanna Mannino at 548-77S0 Training sessions are scheduled from 9:30 am to noon March 22 and 29 and April 12 at the library 931 Gaffey St Volunteers will be given step-by-step instruction on how to read -aloud and present books to children along with how to use puppets and flannel board figures Bilingual skills are helpful but not required ROIJINO mils ESTATES I Vacant school space leased A private Japanese school has won a lease to nearly all of the remaining vacant space at the former Dapplegray campus in Rolling Hills Estates The Palos Verdes Peninsula School District board voted this week to lease 10 Dapplegray classrooms to Nishiyamato Academy for a school with a maximum 100-student enrollment To ensure the Peninsula school district will not lose students and state income to the private school the lease includes a clause penalizing the academy for enrolling more than 30 students who live within Peninsula school district boundaries The three-year lease will generate $67000 a year for the district which will spend about $40000 to refurbish the classrooms CimiDE IDWP names interim GM Kenneth Miyoshi has been named interim general manager of the city Department of Water and Power but has agreed not to seek the job permanently Miyoshi who has been with the I)WP for more than 36 years has been assistant chief engineer for power since 1982 He succeeds Dan Waters who retired Feb 1 banking spurs concern -v nick Krista Mahr Sheila Maloney Robyn Podell Tiffany Poe Allyson Reeves Krista Schnabel Kelly Sharman Jennifer Soil Kelsey Walker Shana Wallace Briar West and Logan Young The Medallion Luncheon committee is chaired by Marlene Young and co-chaired by Belinda Krekorian report charging that there is a problem with the DWPs overtime policies The report concluded that 468 DWP managers received an average of $4500 in overtime payments in 1992 In departments throughout the city 2732 managers have at least $78 million in overtime on the books with 93 percent of it earned by the 468 DWP managers Water and Power appears to have a problem" Hardys report said adding later There is no limit to the amount (of) compensatory time that may be accumulated" Hardy said at least one DWP manager who he could not identify has accrued more than 5000 hours of overtime worth at least $168269 Under current policy management employees paid less than $99000 can take overtime as cash or compensated time off request compensation for The charges against him arcwe from from security guard work he performed in 1992 for San Pedro High School football games at Daniels Field while on a three-hour off-duty break in the middle of an overtime shift Wynn failed to account for the off-duty break however in logging his hours with the department He said he wanted to simplify paperwork when on his time card he indicated he was on-duty during the hours he was working at the game a 1 These 23 members of Palos how fun it was how it propelled them into a career in health care For them the Medallion luncheon isnt so much a day to be honored but to say goodbye to their time as Ticktockers The theme is A Garden of Memories" Its a poignant reflective moment too for their moth head in 1990 This sham appointment should not stand and this waste of public funds should not be allowed Tuttle said Dan Waters was generously compensated when he accepted the position of general manager and his pension reflects that An additional $75000 may not mean much to DWP but I believe I speak for the general public when I say that enough is enough and this sham should not stand Tuttle said The demotion order was signed by Assistant General Manager Eldon Cotton who became acting general manager when Waters stepped down Dennis Tito president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners had in recent weeks refused to sign the order Cotton did not notify Tito or any of the other commissioners in advance of his decision to reclassify Waters As a result of the voluntary demotion Waters will stay on the city payroll receiving about $72 an hour without working for six months Cottons action also bumps up Waters proposed $110000 DWPA8 hours he allegedly worked a second job while on duty San Pedro Senior Lead Officer Jeff Hamilton awaits a hearing on similar charges He Wynn and Wilmington Senior Lead Officer Rob Faris were charged last ear with defrauding the department for what they said was an attempt to simplify their times cards for days they worked both an on-duty overtime shift and an off-duty security job Faris was cleared of wrongdoing Dec 10 Hamiltons hearing is scheduled for April 13 By Patrick McGreevy 10S ANGELES DAILY NEWS City Controller Rick Tuttle halted payments on $75000 in overtime to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Powers retiring general manager claiming they were made possible by a sham demotion to circumvent rules barring such payments Tuttles outrage was echoed by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and council members Joel Wachs and Laura Chick who noted public dissatisfaction with the DWP has been building over increased water charges in recent years Overtime prohibited As the DWPs general manager Dan Waters was prohibited by city personnel rules from receiving overtime in addition to his $165000 annual salary But on Feb 1 the day Waters stepped down as general manager a former subordinate signed an order reclassifying Waters as an assistant general manager it was reported Thursday That made Waters eligible to receive payment for 1044 hours of overtime accrued before he became department ers who fight dueling emotions: pride at their daughters accomplishments sadness that this chapter of their lives is over and soon they will be off to colleges and careers The lunch begins with an upbeat and sassy fashion show starring Ticktocker members It concludes with the elegant presentation of each girl in a Overtime By Patrick McGreevy LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS The $75000 in overtime claimed by retiring Department of Water and Power General Manager Dan Waters is just a fraction of the overtime DWP managers have been allowed to bank arousing concern about costly overtime policies City records show 468 DVT managers with salaries of $70000 or more have been allowed to accrue 218407 hours of overtime That works out to an average of at least $15649 each or $73 million total if paid out as in Waters case In addition the top 48 DWP managers who earn salaries of more than $99000 excluding the general manager have accrued an average of 2067 hours of overtime each That averages out to at least $98381 each according to records complied by the City Administrative Office Im pleased the board cleared me of these allegations" Wynn said Im glad 111 be back to serve the community which is what I came on the job for" Wynn however admitted he made mistakes when did not properly complete his time card and other pay request forms I should have known better as a superv isor to do the proper paperwork" he said Wynn will continue working at Harbor Division until Chief Willie Williams reviews the board's decisions If Williams authorizes a 15-day suspension What the hell is someone doing to justify banking over 2000 hours of overtime when theyre already getting a salary of $140000 a year? asked Councilman Joel Wachs who released the report Wednesday Dennis Tito president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners said the overtime policies are the result of generous contracts and policies negotiated with the union representing managers Tito said he would like to see changes that would make managers salaried employees with better pay but without the ability to earn overtime A ballot measure may be needed to remove managers from civil service so they can be held accountable he said We have to look into it" Tito said noting a private consultant hired by the commission is studying the issue The overtime issue was raised Wednesday when the City Chief Administrative Analyst John Hardy released a Wynn already will have served 10 days the length of time he was relieved of duty last year in anticipation of the trial board During the three-day hearing Wynn said dozens of community members testified on his behalf Harbor district Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr pledged support via a conference call from Washington Wynn said the department also found that between Sept 11 and Nov 25 of 1992 the period in which the alleged fraud occurred he worked 64 hours of overtime he did not Harbor Division sergeant cleared of fraud charge By Stephen Gregory STAFF WRITER A Los Angeles Folice Department hearing board Thurday found a Harbor Division sergeant innocent of charges he defrauded the department But the board comprised of three LAPI) officials with the rank of captain or higher found Sgt Steve Wynn guilty of improperly completing pay re- 3uests and recommended a 15-av suspension Wynn however was cleared of the more serious charge of collecting overtime pay for.