GHOST STORES: Los Angeles may declare quake-ravaged...
GHOST STORES: Los Angeles may declare quake-ravaged areas redevelopment zones to speed recovery. But Simi Valley has yet to decide what to do with two of its largest victims--the crumpled Pic ‘N’ Save and Sears Outlet stores on Tapo Street. Neighbors say the stores have become dumping grounds and havens for transients. “It’s as if time froze on them Jan. 17. Nothing has been done,” homeowner Ellie Kieffer said. . . . Assistant City Manager Mike Sedell says the city is frustrated too. “We’re walking a tightrope concerning private property rights and the need for an aesthetic community.”
GUT ISSUE: Likely California voters favor more than 2 to 1 the November ballot initiative that denies government services to illegal immigrants. (A1) . . . That margin might be 3 to 1 in conservative Ventura County, said the measure’s local coordinator. “People are saying: ‘Enough is enough. We pay the taxes and illegal lawbreakers get the benefits,’ ” Steve Frank says. . . . Moorpark Councilman Bernardo Perez dissents: “People have a gut reaction, but the fact is that Prop. 187 is not based on facts.”
GREEN SCHOOL: Hold the paper. Hold the plastic. Under Oak Hills Elementary’s new zero-tolerance trash policy, students cannot bring non-recyclable paper or plastic in their lunch boxes (B6). . . . “It is our planet and we cannot keep trashing it,” Principal Anthony Knight says. “Our (contribution) is to cut back in our trash.” . . . But some parents have complained the school has gone too far.
NEW STATION: The firefighters of Camarillo’s old Station 54 will welcome their move next year to a larger $1.5-million station. It will hold both of their firetrucks. “And we’ll be able to flush the toilets,” says Capt. John Moland, a seven-year veteran of the old station’s plumbing problems (B1). But Moland and his crew have mixed emotions. “We like this station. It has big open-beam ceilings. It feels more like home.” It also has history. And when the World War II-era building is torn down, Moland will be there. “There is a time capsule in some wall, we want to take it with us.”
