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Thursday, February 20, 2014 75 CENTS FACEBOOK.COM/DAILYBREEZE TWITTER.COM/DAILYBREEZENEWS dailybreeze.com » LOS ANGELES COUNTY SPECIAL REPORT IN THE CENTINELA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Interim HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CONSTRUCTION sheriff has CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN STEERED TO A FIRM THAT IS no small BANKROLLING ELECTIONS FOR BOARD MEMBERS. task ahead With only 10 months, Scott looks to reforms

By Christina Villacorte christina.villacorte@ langnews.com @LADNvillacorte on Twitter Interim Sheriff John Scott is not wasting any time. Given only 10 months — at most — to lead the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department out of the mess left behind by now-retired Sheriff Lee Baca, he is scrambling to put reforms in place. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” Scott told the Los Angeles News Group during an interview this PAY TO week at LASD headquarters in Monterey Park. “I’m committed to transpar- ency, to ethical behavior, to en- suring that all of the rules are en- forced,” he added. “We don’t break the law to enforce the law.” Scott served 36 years at the LASD before retiring in 2005, frus- trated with the direction it was go- ing in. “It was painful,” he said about SHERIFF >> PAGE 5

PLAY STATE GOVERNMENT South Bay By Rob Kuznia [email protected] @robkuznia on Twitter cities prep for For a couple of moms from working- larger pension class families hoping to retain their seats on the Centinela Valley school board, it was a stark lesson in machine contributions politics. In a small room at the Proud Bird res- By Fenit Nirappil taurant near LAX, a group of maybe 15 The Associated Press had gathered to support Inside: The board members Sandra SACRAMENTO >> California’s gov- Centinela Suarez and Gloria Ra- ernment will increase the amount Valley school mos. Nearly everyone it contributes to state employee district has sharing finger foods pensions starting this summer, and rare access that day was connected cities and other government agen- to a gargan- to a community develop- cies will follow suit in two years, tuan cash ment corporation called to help cover the cost of benefits cow PAGE A9 TELACU, which bills it- CHUCK BENNETT — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER for retirees who are living longer. self as the fifth largest Voter-approved bonds generated millions of dollars to allow the Centinela Valley The board of the California Pub- Latino-owned business in California. school district to fund a massive makeover at Hawthorne High School. lic Employees’ Retirement System There were architects, lawyers, con- approved new assumptions for the sultants. And high-powered figures pension system Tuesday that effec- from TELACU itself. Everyone in at- the wives of both men. campaigns to elect their favored candi- tively increase contribution rates. tendance wrote out two checks for $99 All for two women in a tiny district dates who almost always win. Projections show workers are — the highest amount that can go un- that oversees just three comprehen- TELACU won, too. Since 2008, the expected to live an average of as reported in campaign filings — one for sive high schools in Lawndale and Haw- TELACU-backed Centinela Valley much as two years longer, driving Suarez, one for Ramos. thorne. school board has put two construction up the cost of paying benefits to Donors included President and CEO “It was kind of odd,” Suarez said. bond measures on the ballot totaling people until they die. Women retir- David Lizarraga, who at the time was “They were giving us money — I’m not nearly $200 million. Voters approved ing at age 55 in 2028 are expected chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Cham- used to any of that. … To tell you the both, and TELACU was awarded con- to live to 87. ber of Commerce and has since been ap- truth, I didn’t even realize they were tracts to manage the construction proj- Contributing more to CalPERS’ pointed by President Barack Obama to a giving for us at first.” ects. $282.5 billion pension fund means key administrative post in the U.S. De- The event was a window into the polit- Clem, president of TELACU Con- local governments will have less partment of the Treasury. Also included ical machine that has been picking lead- struction Management, did not return money to pay for services such as was John Clem, the TELACU executive ers in the tiny district since 2008. In the calls from the on Tuesday police, roads and parks. But delay- who heads up all the construction proj- two past contested elections, TELACU and Wednesday. But Centinela Valley ing payments to the pension sys- ects in the Centinela district, as well as has poured large amounts of money into CENTINELA >> PAGE 9 tem would cost more in the long run. “It was kind of odd. They were giving us money — I’m not used to any of that. Most county and city govern- ments surveyed by associations … To tell you the truth, I didn’t even realize they were giving for us at first.” agreed with CalPERS’ approach — Sandra Suarez, former Centinela Valley school board member to phase in the increase over five years and spread the total cost PENSION >> PAGE 6

INDEX Bridge...... D4 Classifieds...... D1 Comics..... A15,D4 Obituaries...... A8 Puzzles.....A14,D4 Ship Arrivals....D4 TV Listings.... A16 A NEWSPAPER8 17923 00001 3

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CENTINELA VALLEY Business corridor in El Segundo brings big money gundo is home to one of the corridor. The district has one middle school serve a to matriculate into the Cen- from yet another bond mea- By Rob Kuznia [email protected] largest concentrations of cor- passed two such bond mea- 4-square-mile patch wedged tinela Valley Union High sure — and the results are @robkuznia on Twitter porate behemoths in the na- sures since 2008, each worth between El Segundo and School District. (In recent expected to be spectacular. tion. It includes aerospace nearly $100 million. Hawthorne. years, most kids in the dis- Preliminary renderings of The Centinela Valley giants Northrop Grumman, These bonds have bank- That district, too, has lev- trict have opted to go to other Wiseburn High depict a fu- Union High School District Raytheon and Boeing, as well rolled the major construc- eraged the business district, schools, including a pair of turistic building with plenty serves a low-income popula- as other companies such as tion projects underway at passing a series of bond mea- charters in Wiseburn called of natural lighting, an abun- tion, but thanks to a quirky Xerox and Mattel. all of the district’s three high sures in the early 2000s that Da Vinci schools.) dance of glass and a square boundary line that juts into Anytime the voters in the schools — Lawndale, Leuz- resulted in tearing down and This past November, vot- atrium cutting down the mid- an unpopulated portion of school district serving Haw- inger and Hawthorne. rebuilding all four schools in ers in the Wiseburn district dle of all four floors. El Segundo, the district has thorne, Lawndale and Len- That same business cor- that district. voted to become a unified The school will be de- rare access to a gargantuan nox approve a construc- ridor also sits in the Wise- For years, the students of school district with its own signed by Gensler, one of the cash cow. tion bond, about a third of burn School District, whose the K-8 Wiseburn district high school. The money to largest architecture firms in The eastern half of El Se- the money comes from that three elementary schools and were technically supposed build that school will come the United States.

“I think it’s outrageous they do this in low-income communities. What are we getting for it? Centinela I don’t see anything except for these big fancy buildings. I don’t see how they are going to make the kids any smarter.” FROM PAGE 1 — Larry Rudolph, Lawndale city councilman officials have pointed out that as a result of the two success- his contract — also has taken the district in a more positive “If you want to win, you gotta Changing support $10,000. (This was the ful bond measures — one in a $910,000 loan from the direction where students are walk” and knock on doors. The event at the Proud race in which Piper Jaffray 2008, another in 2010 — ma- school district to purchase a the PRIORITY and not build- Mark Steffen, president of Bird back in the summer of pitched in $25,000.) jor face-lifts have occurred home in Ladera Heights. He ings or superficial fix-ups.” the Torrance school board, 2010 was a campaign fun- Because none of that or are in the pipeline for all has 40 years to pay it off, at 2 TELACU’s preferred can- said he believes the same draiser for the 2011 school money went to the candi- three campuses. The proj- percent interest — an unusu- didates were triumphant. In is true in Torrance Uni- board race. It was early in dates directly, they did not ects have re- ally favorable set of terms. December 2009 — a month fied, where voters approved the game, and things wound have to report the support. Online: placed old, after the election — the new a $355 million pair of bond up taking an unexpected The committee spent at least To read sometimes Unusual donations school board unanimously measures in 2008. twist — both Suarez and Ra- $26,486 on each candidate. more crumbling TELACU first demon- approved Fernandez’s gen- Balfour Beatty manages mos fell out of favor. The money paid for slate about Centi- facilities strated its ability to influ- erous employment contract. those projects as well. It so happens that Suarez mailers, door hangers, bro- nela Valley’s with state-of- ence the outcomes of Cen- Not long after, the board “They’ve never offered, is big on historic preserva- chures and campaign signs, financial the-art class- tinela Valley school board voted to put another $98 nor have I sought out dollars tion. When it came to her at- among other things, accord- dealings, go room wings, elections in 2009. The com- million bond measure on the from them,” Steffen said. tention that the bond mea- ing to documents. to DAILY- media cen- pany donated $28,000 to a ballot. In November 2010, the In the Centinela Val- sure called for knocking down A political consultant BREEZE.COM/ CENTINELA- ters, offices political action committee voting public gave its assent. ley school district — which much of Leuzinger High, she closely aligned with TE- VALLEY- and common called Citizens for Better The initiative raised eye- oversees Lawndale, Leuz- began to have doubts. By Oc- LACU met with leaders of INVESTIGATION areas. Schools, according to cam- brows on the Lawndale City inger and Hawthorne high tober 2010 — a few months af- the teachers union to re- Critics, on paign finance reports ob- Council. schools — TELACU hasn’t ter the fundraiser — she was quest that they endorse the the other hand, say the whole tained from the Los Angeles “I think it’s outrageous been the only heavy contrib- fully opposed, and speaking two political newcomers. thing smacks of a money grab County Register-Recorder’s they do this in low-income utor to election campaigns. out publicly. The union declined, opting for the interested parties at Office. Citizens For Better communities,” Councilman In 2011, the investment It’s less clear why the con- instead to endorse nobody. the expense of the taxpayers. Schools, in turn, dished out Larry Rudolph said. “What firm Piper Jaffray of Minne- struction company ended its The effort to oust Suarez “The problem with Cen- $55,000 to purchase mail- are we getting for it? I don’t apolis contributed $25,000 support of Ramos. But she — was a success; Ramos man- tinela Valley, and so many ers and other promotional see anything except for these to Citizens for Better unlike the other three mem- aged to eke out a victory school districts and com- materials touting three can- big fancy buildings. I don’t Schools, donating much of bers — was generally known over the young Felizzola. munity colleges, is that they didates: Rocio Pizano, Hugo see how they are going to that to TELACU’s favored for occasionally voicing dis- Suarez says that prior have become bond-passing Rojas and Maritza Molina. make the kids any smarter.” candidates. The two firms sent on district matters. to the election, Fernan- machines that milk the pub- (By comparison, Pizano’s Rudolph added that in his have combined forces else- In any event, Citizens for dez sometimes took her lic to pay for lavish construc- election committee raised own elections, he does not ac- where in support of school Better Schools found two and other board members tion projects, outrageous $5,000, according to the doc- cept campaign contributions. bond measures, including a new candidates to support: to fancy restaurants such salaries and terrible loans,” uments. Rojas and Molina “I wouldn’t want to be in debt 2010 bid in Claremont. Piper banking executive Lorena as Houston’s in Manhattan said Mariano Vasquez, the apparently raised no money.) to anybody,” he said. “I don’t Jaffray contributed $25,000 Gonzalez, who was chal- Beach. The tab, she said, was plaintiff in a lawsuit oppos- Pizano was an incumbent. have to do anything but vote to that campaign, and TE- lenging Suarez; and Ugo Fe- often picked up by a law firm ing a recently passed parcel But Rojas, a karate instruc- my conscience.” LACU $20,000. lizzola II, a 24-year-old finan- or by TELACU. tax floated by Centinela Val- tor and former Hawthorne Although it is common Also contributing to Cen- cial analyst who was trying She later took her hus- ley and four feeder elemen- school board member with for big construction com- tinela’s 2010 effort to get a to unseat Ramos. band to Houston’s, not know- tary school districts. at least two DUIs on his re- panies to make financial construction bond measure This time, the politi- ing the prices. “This causes a very harm- cord — and Molina — then contributions for the pas- passed were law firms such cal action committee spent “When we looked at the ful misallocation of scarce a 23-year-old recent college sage of bond measures, it as Dannis, Woliver, Kelley — $82,000 on its campaign menu, we realized what they resources and capital that graduate — ousted two in- is rare for them to put up which has a lucrative con- favoring those candidates. were, and we looked at each slowly brings ruin to the cumbents with education money for individual school tract with the school district. Once again, TELACU made other,” she said. town.” credentials. One of them, board candidates — at least (It donated $7,500.) Another a sizable donation; records They ordered an appe- In recent weeks, Superin- Rudy Salas, is the princi- in the South Bay. law firm gave $5,000. show it contributed at least tizer, ate it quickly and left. tendent Jose Fernandez — pal at Hawthorne Middle “In our case, I doubt any- who took the helm roughly at School. The other, Frank body got a dime,” said Jane the same time that TELACU Talavera, is an educator who Diehl, a former longtime began exerting its influence in at the time was teaching at school board member in Centinela — has said publicly . Both the Redondo Beach Unified that the district intends to try opposed an effort to put a School District. Diehl was on for a third construction bond. bond measure on the ballot the board when voters in the This announcement came just in 2008. district approved a $145 mil-   days before a Feb. 9 story in Sources say those two lion construction bond mea- the Daily Breeze revealed that board members were con- sure in 2008. That project Fernandez amassed more troversial as well and had a has been managed by the than $663,000 in total com- vindictive streak. Salas de- company Balfour Beatty.    pensation last year. At least clined to be interviewed; Ta- “Most of the school board $215,000 of that came from lavera couldn’t be reached. elections in Redondo are a one-time expense, but Fer- In his ballot statement that pretty sparse,” she added, '$  + !    nandez — in exercising an- year, Talavera wrote that his saying candidates there gen- $! " ,"    "  other generous provision of experience “will help me guide erally raise around $8,000.  "  $! $ "! $  ! "" !"(!  + !" 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