LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Organizers are expecting a record number of
participants in Saturday’s fifth annual United Way HomeWalk in Exposition Park,
thanks to Los Angeles Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant serving as the event’s
honorary chair.
Approximately 10,000 people are expected for the five-kilometer walk,
topping the previously high of about 6,000, which was set last year, said
United Way of Greater Los Angeles Chief Execitive Officer Elise Buik.
“To have Kobe’s stature and his focus on this issue has really helped
put it on the radar,’ she told City News Service.
Buik said she hopes the walk will raise $500,000, which will be used to
support permanent solutions to end homelessness for chronically homeless
people, include veterans and families.
Bryant announced in June the formation of the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant
Family Foundation, which will initially focus on youth homelessness in Los
Angeles.
“On my way to games, I noticed children and families living on the
streets blocks away from where I play and it didn’t sit well with me,’ Kobe
Bryant said at the time. “I wanted to help make a difference in homelessness
and what better place to start than in my own back yard.’
Bryant’s involvement in a local issue is unusual, Buik said.
“We don’t often have local figures of his stature that are focused on
Los Angeles,’ Buik said. “They might be focused on other countries or other
cities like New Orleans. To have him focused on L.A. and to focus on a poverty-
related issue is very impactful.’
She called Bryant “very passionate about this issue.’
Los Angeles County has switched its emphasis in dealing with the
homeless to providing permanent supportive housing, where residents receive
mental health, substance abuse and health care services in addition to shelter.
“Unless you provide a homeless person with a home and address the
issues that rendered him homeless in the first place, they’re going to remain
homeless or go back to being homeless very shortly after they’ve been in an
overnight shelter,’ said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who is
scheduled to attend Saturday’s walk.
According to statistics provided by United Way of Greater Los Angeles,
more than 51,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County on any given night,
more than any other county in the nation, with 25 percent to 30 percent being
chronically homeless, meaning homeless for at least a year, he said.
“Addressing homeless on a case-by-case basis is a very time consuming
undertaking because many of the homeless we have in the streets of L.A. have
been homeless for years, in some cases decades,’ Yaroslavsky said. “It’s not
easy to get them to be open to the idea of getting into a permanent supportive
housing unit. But if you don’t give up on them, in almost every case we are
able to be successful.’
In addition to the philosophical shift from temporary shelters, the
effort to reduce homelessness has also been aided by the improved alignment of
government funding — with Los Angeles County providing funding for services
and cities providing funding for housing — allowing “us to get these projects
online quicker,’ Buik said.
The county’s homeless population includes more than 9,000 veterans.
Yaroslavsky said his office is working with the Veterans Administration
to identify 120 of the most chronically homeless veterans “who have major
issues’ so they can be housed in a building on its Brentwood campus that would
be retrofit to provide health care and mental health services.

VAN NUYS (CNS) – A Westlake Village man was convicted today of voluntary
manslaughter for the shooting death of a longtime instructor from Pasadena‘s
Art Center College of Design at a Persian new year’s party in March 2010.
The Van Nuys Superior Court jury also found true a gun-use allegation
against Steven Ronald Honma for the March 20, 2010, killing of Norman Schureman
of Altadena.
Jurors acquitted Honma of first-degree murder and second-degree murder,
according to defense attorney Dmitry Gorin.
Schureman was shot once while at a party at his mother-in-law’s Westlake
Village home. The 50-year-old Altadena father of two died hours later at
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Honma — who was a neighbor of Schureman’s mother-in-law — was involved
in a struggle after returning with two guns to the party he and his wife had
left earlier, authorities said.
Honma suffered head trauma and facial fractures during the struggle,
according to Gorin.
The defense contended that Honma, an engineer, had no intent to hurt
anyone and that the gun went off accidentally after he was confronted.
Honma is facing up to 21 years behind bars, with sentencing set for Jan.
4.

by, Carrie Benuska

While
much of the country is ramping up for a triple-dip, San Marino
continues to experience an active and competitive real estate market.
It would appear that the huge insurgence of foreign buyers, armed with
cash and the ability to close extremely quickly, is the force behind San
Marino’s hearty sales. According to Sinora Chan, the branch manager of
West Coast Escrow in San Marino, over 75% of the deals she has handled
in 2011 have involved overseas buyers, most of these involving all-cash
transactions.

Although
a large percentage of these buyers are coming from Mainland China and
Hong Kong, Chan has also dealt with buyers from Singapore, Canada, and
Taiwan. Chan, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, has a unique
connection with Asian buyers because of her ability to speak Mandarin
and Cantonese. She claims that she receives multiple calls each day
from international buyers, eagerly searching for the opportunity to own
San Marino real estate. This international interest is not new to
Chan. She has seen a large increase in sales to foreign buyers since
2009.
According to Chan, the heavy influx of Chinese buyers can be attributed to a number of different factors:

1. The
   combination of a weak U.S. economy and real estate market mixed with
   the increasing value of the Chinese Yuan creates a perfect money-making
   environment for Chinese buyers.
2. Due
   to the possibility of Chinese government policy changes, many wealthy
   Chinese individuals like to diversify their investments outside of the
   country.
3. China
   only allows families to have one child. Couples, who long for a larger
   family and a great public school education, are drawn to the U.S. –
   especially San Marino.
4. San
   Marino has a very prestigious reputation in China. The stability of
   the real estate market, the beautiful updated public facilities, and the
   outstanding school district are all big draws for Chinese buyers.
5. In
   China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, it is very rare for citizens to own a
   single family residence and the land it sits on. Most homeowners in
   these countries can only afford an apartment in a large building. San
   Marino provides an opportunity for these foreign buyers to own a
   beautiful home and a large property. The tranquility of having this
   personal space is a huge draw.

San
Marino is not the only hot destination for foreign buyers. Newport
Beach, Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Beverly Hills are all popular
communities for foreign investment. Lili Kung Peters, Realtor with
Teles Properties Newport Beach, has earned the revered reputation as the
“go-to” real estate agent for international buyers interested in owning
property in Southern California.
Peters,
who was born and raised in Taiwan, contends that foreign buyers are a
big part of Orange County sales, as well. She works with buyers from
China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. Newport Beach has become a new and
growing market for the most elite class of Chinese buyers, who are
looking to diversify their wealth. Peters, like Chan of West Coast
Escrow, does not see any stop to the influx of foreign buyers.
This
summer, a major international transaction took place that could spur on
a new and increased wave of foreign buyers to Newport Beach. Winston
Chung, a battery scientist, inventor and entrepreneur from China,
purchased the parent company of the exclusive Balboa Bay Club and the
Newport Beach Country Club. Rumor is that Chung is also seeking to buy a
high-profile property in Newport Beach. According to Peters, Chung’s
investment in these two prestigious Newport clubs will draw other
wealthy Chinese individuals to join him in this beach paradise.
The
existence of foreign money is definitely keeping the fires burning on
San Marino home sales. At a time when loans are hard to get, appraisals
are a huge question mark, and many Americans are just trying to hold on
to what they have, the existence of all-cash offers is a huge benefit
to sellers.

PASADENA (CNS) – Pasadena police will conduct a special enforcement
effort at high-collision intersections throughout the city tomorrow.
Between 6 a.m. and noon, officers will focus on motorists who run red
lights or drive aggressively through intersections, sad Lt. Randell Taylor of
the Pasadena Police Department.