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| LAFD: Off duty death - Captain John E. Lawrence Posted: 20 Dec 2008 09:10 PM CST Firefighters Mourn the Passing of Captain John E. LawrenceThe men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department welcome you to join firefighters and friends of the LAFD on Saturday, December 20, 2008 in celebrating the life of Captain John E. Lawrence, who passed away unexpectedly while off duty. Saturday,December 20, 2008 10:00 AM LAFD Air Operations/Fire Station 114 16617 Arminta Street Van Nuys, California 91406 Interment: Immediately following the Memorial Service Oakwood Memorial Park 22601 Lassen Street Chatsworth, California 91311 Reception To Follow: Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Station 28 11641 Corbin Avenue Porter Ranch, California 91326 In Lieu of Flowers, Donations are Kindly Requested: Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen's Fund 815 Colorado Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90041 . As seen in the video above, Captain II John E. Lawrence was an active member of the Los Angeles Fire Department on the cusp of retirement. A 34-year LAFD veteran, he was widely respected in the community as well as within the ranks of the Fire Service. He will be greatly missed. Comments: Are welcome and feel free to leave comments here but additionally The LAFD Blog will be best place for your on-line condolences and are welcome via this comment link at the LAFD Blog They will be printed and shared with his family. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| News: Great Southern California ShakeOut Successful Posted: 20 Dec 2008 07:54 PM CST Results Are In: Great Southern California ShakeOut Successful, Sets U.S. Record! Now Planning for 2009 Los Angeles - It's working! On November 13, 2008 more than 5.47 million people in southern California participated in The Great Southern California ShakeOut, now officially the largest earthquake drill in the Nation's history - and according to some community leaders, a success that should be practiced every year. "This is the best single effort in emergency preparedness in my nearly 20 years in the business," wrote Mike Martinet, Executive Director, South Bay Office of Disaster Management (Area G). "I hope that we can continue to use this scenario or some variations thereof for years to come." The Great Southern California ShakeOut was a week of events, including the drill, all based on the 7.8 Magnitude San Andreas Fault earthquake scenario. All the resources, tools and information are still readily available at http://www.shakeout.org/. Much of the concept and organization came out of the Earthquake Country Alliance, a public-private partnership, which includes the US Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center, California Office of Emergency Services, Caltech, State Farm, City of Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design, and many other partners. When organizers of The ShakeOut concluded the historic week of earthquake preparedness events, including millions taking part in the "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" drill, they convened a meeting of emergency managers and community leaders to examine value of the effort. When asked what could be done better, the participants overwhelmingly supported the idea of turning it into an annual day or week of disaster preparedness activities. "We didn't know when we set out to do this, if anyone would participate," said Lucy Jones, Chief Scientist of the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project. "They did, and we're now getting calls to do something annually." The requests to continue the effort have been so constant over the past month that the Earthquake Country Alliance has agreed to look into expanding into a statewide organization. "We certainly have heard many ideas of how we can get more people involved - and we'd like to do just that!" said Mark Benthien, Executive Director of the Earthquake Country Alliance and Outreach Director for the Southern California Earthquake Center. "We hope that an annual ShakeOut-like drill will be part of an expanded statewide earthquake awareness program for many years." One month after the Great Southern California ShakeOut, people are still talking about what they did during the ShakeOut Drill. Emergency managers and community leaders are talking about what worked and what could have been done better, and where to go next. Among their suggestions: improved communications with citizens groups, neighborhood watch groups, and the public; getting more buy-in from the top-level in many organizations, businesses, and educational institutions; and giving people more time to get ready. When asked what worked in the ShakeOut, numerous participants told organizers how the effort was based on comprehensive and multidisciplinary science, coupled with materials that explained and visualized it so clearly, and led by established experts that gave ShakeOut credibility and made people take it seriously. Despite the seriousness, many considered the experience to be fun. ShakeOut organizers received many photos from around the region showing people under tables and desks performing Drop, Cover, and Hold On - smiling. MORE SHAKEOUT FACTS AND QUOTES How does more than 5 million people compare to other drills around the world? The massive annual earthquake drills in seismically hyper-active Japan draw an estimated 800,000 participants, while a May 2008 drill in South Korea may have involved as many as 8.2 million people. Organizers here hope to expand the level of participation and range of life-saving preparedness activities in 2009! ShakeOut Total Participants: 5.47 million
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| Posted: 20 Dec 2008 07:41 PM CST Trial ordered for ex-Riverside County employee accused of embezzlementA former county employee was held to answer on embezzlement charges Friday and his bail was lowered. Steven Vaughn, 63, has been at the Robert Presley Detention Center since January 2007, when he was arrested on $1.2 million bail. On Friday evening, his family was working to post the new bail of $50,000, said Deputy Public Defender Addison Steele.  After a preliminary hearing held over parts of two weeks, Judge J. Thompson Hanks declared the prosecution had enough evidence to proceed to trial on charges of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds and conflict of interest. Hanks also lowered the bail. Steele argued the initial bail amount was excessive. The prosecution alleges the theft occurred between 1999 and 2004 with losses estimated at $1.2 million. The criminal investigation also led to an audit of Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department that found inadequate financial oversight. Co-defendant Michael Burton served as the Riverside County Fire Department communications and technology director at the time and was sentenced Dec. 12 to seven years and four months in prison. Vaughn, a retired sheriff's lieutenant, was being paid by the Fire Department in a classification for volunteer firefighters. At the same time, he was working for his son's company, Aslyn Communications, according to testimony. Vaughn requested county contracts for his son's company, totalling more than 400 invoices and $170,000. |
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