The Region : Meeting on County Cuts

County Supervisor Gloria Molina is presiding over a community meeting in La Puente tonight on cutbacks in the 1993-94 county budget.

“It is important that the community attend this presentation to clearly understand the severe impact this year’s budget is going to have on their daily lives,” she said.

The county expects to lose $299 million in funding to schools under the state budget. The tentative budget calls for the closure of a public hospital, four jails, eight sheriff’s stations, 23 parks and eight libraries.

Health services would be cut by $191.6 million, and mental health services would be cut by $42.1 million.

The community meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bassett Park’s senior center, 510 N. Vineland Ave., La Puente.

HAZARDOUS WASTE DATES SET

The county public works and sanitation departments will collect household hazardous waste from San Gabriel Valley residents on July 17 in Monrovia and July 24 in Monterey Park.

Household hazardous waste includes motor oil, paint, pesticides, garden herbicides, antifreeze, car batteries and cleaners with acids or lye. It is illegal to dispose of such waste in the trash or sewers.

Collection on July 17 will be at the Shamrock Business Center, 1600 S. Shamrock Ave., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Monterey Park collection site will be open the same hours July 24 at East Los Angeles College, 1301 Brooklyn Ave., in the parking lot at Bleakwood Avenue and Floral Drive.

SWIM LESSONS TO COST $20

People learning to swim at county pools in Arcadia and Temple City will have to pay starting today.

The Board of Supervisors last week imposed a $20 fee for swimming lessons that have traditionally been free. The fee buys 10 one-hour lessons.

County parks officials say they will attempt to obtain scholarships from private groups for swimming lessons for needy children.

Supervisors also increased greens fees at the county’s golf courses for 18 holes from $15.50 to $17 on weekdays and up to $21 on weekends.

Despite the new fees, a $9.48-million shortfall in the Parks and Recreation Department budget could force the closure of 23 parks, officials said.

Alhambra

TRANSFER TAX VOTE IS DELAYED

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an $82.7-million budget for fiscal year 1993-94 but delayed a decision on a controversial plan to triple a tax on property sales.

Council members, who gave preliminary approval to the “documentary transfer tax” in May, agreed to re-examine the proposal in a month.

The tax would be raised from 55 cents to $1.65 for every $500 of a property’s sales price. On a $250,000 house, the increase would be from $275 to $825 and would be paid by the seller.

Officials for the West San Gabriel Valley Assn. of Realtors told council members that the tax increase was unfair because it targets a few to benefit everyone.

City Manager Julio J. Fuentes said the tax is equitable because it applies to all sales and is low compared to other cities’ taxes.

The city and the county split the 55 cents. Under the new proposal, the city would get $1.10 and the county 55 cents.

Meanwhile, council members approved $325,000 in other taxes, including applying the business license tax to public utility companies and applying the utility user tax to cellular telephone calls.

Monterey Park

PURVIS TAKES MAYOR’S POST

Marie T. Purvis has been elevated to the mayor’s position in Monterey Park, and Judy Chu becomes mayor pro tem.

The City Council rotates the positions every 9 1/2 months, based on seniority.

Purvis, an art gallery owner, is a former Chamber of Commerce president who was elected to the council in 1990.

Bassett

SLAYING VICTIM IDENTIFIED

Sheriff’s Department homicide investigators have identified a woman who was found dead last week in the bushes along Turnbull Canyon Road. Alicia Marie Carter, 24, of Bassett was stabbed about 20 times in the upper torso. Investigators said the time and place of death have not been determined.

The body was found June 23 by a person walking along Turnbull Canyon Road between the Whittier city line and Skyline Drive. A Sheriff’s Department spokesman said the killing might be gang-related.

Pasadena

BENITO SCHOOL DRESS CODE

A deeply divided board of education has approved a dress code emphasizing solid colors and conservative styles for Don Benito Fundamental School, the first in the Pasadena Unified School District.

Board members, divided over how restrictive the dress code should be, decided to make participation voluntary the first year. The policy will be reviewed next year.

The vote was 3-2, with board President George Van Alstine and board member Elbie J. Hickambottom dissenting. Hickambottom argued that the dress code infringes on individual rights and inhibits free expression.

The dress code allows students to wear long pants, walking shorts or skirts in khaki, navy, gray, denim or plaid. Blouses, shirts, sweat shirts and sweaters must be in a solid color. School Bobcat insignia T-shirts and sweat shirts will be allowed.

School officials say the dress code is a result of parental concerns about gang attire and peer pressure over fashionable clothes. Two parents’ committees studied the issue for a year.

The code will begin in September.

SEA LEVEL CHANGES DETECTED

A U.S.-French satellite showed that sea levels dropped 12 inches off the East Coast last winter as cold air chilled the Atlantic Ocean and made the water contract.

The Topex-Poseidon satellite also found that during the same period, from October, 1992, to March, 1993, sea levels rose 12 inches in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where warm summer air heated the oceans and made the water expand.

The measurements are the most accurate yet of global sea level changes, and show how sea levels are affected by winds and seasonal temperature changes in ocean water, said Lee Fu, chief scientist of the $706-million project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Topex-Poseidon bounces radar beams off the world’s oceans to measure sea levels and calculate wind speeds and ocean currents. Scientists are using that information to learn more about how the oceans circulate and to improve their ability to predict weather, climate disruptions and the severity of global warming from industrial pollution.

By removing the effects of tides, scientists can use Topex-Poseidon’s measurements to learn how seasons, winds and other factors affect sea levels.

Cold continental air masses blowing off North America and Asia were responsible for the 12-inch wintertime drop in sea levels detected off the East Coast in the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf Stream and off the east side of Japan, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

Topex-Poseidon also detected a seasonal drop in sea level at the Equator in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, due mainly to seasonal changes in trade winds.

In a similar manner, seasonal monsoon winds caused sea levels to drop in the eastern and southern Indian Ocean and rise in the northwestern part of that ocean, NASA said.