LONG-TIME DODGER EMPLOYEES TO BE HONORED

 

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers will celebrate 75 employees with 25 or more years of service in ceremonies on the field at Dodger Stadium prior to Monday night’s 7:10 p.m. game with the San Diego Padres, the club announced.

 

Heading the list of those to be recognized are Hall of Famers Tommy Lasorda and Vin Scully, as well as long-time traveling secretary Billy DeLury, all with 65 seasons of service. Pitching great Don Newcombe (57 seasons), Spanish language Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrin (56 seasons), pinch-hitting wizard Manny Mota (45 years), 1965 World Series hero Lou Johnson (33 years), All-Star third baseman Ron Cey (30 seasons), All-Star  outfielder and broadcaster Rick Monday (29 seasons) and organist Nancy Bea Hefley (27 seasons) are also among the honorees.

 

“The Dodgers are beyond grateful for the service of our long-time employees and we are excited for them to be recognized before the game on Monday,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “Our dedicated employees make it possible for the organization to fulfill its’ commitment to bringing our fans the greatest possible fan experience at Dodger Stadium.”

 

Others with 40 or more years of service to be honored by the Dodgers include ticket seller Jerry Mickelsen (52), security manager Edward Gonzales (51), stand captain Robert Natelborg (48), ticket taker Miguel Yanez (45), batting practice pitcher Peter Bonfils (44), director of elevator operations James Harvey (44), ticket taker Eduardo Becerril (44), Vice President of Ticket Operations Billy Hunter (43) and usher Howard Levine (42).

 

The list of those to be celebrated includes: (39 years), usher captain Richard Angona, area scout Henry Jones; (38) stand captain Bruce Dinowitz; (37) stand associate Marcia Natelborg, ticket taker Errol Coffey, usher Andrea Garcia, minor league team manager John Shoemaker, usher captain Mario Villegas, Jr.; (36) stand associate Susan Meser, international scout Mike Brito, security officer Gildardo Garciacano, usher captain Anthony Lopez; (35) Special Advisor to the Vice President of Amateur Scouting Gilbert Bodet, manager of the visiting clubhouse Jerry Turner, manager of transportation Arn Douglass; (34) ticket taker Juan Franco, usher Robert Allen, usher James Mims,  security officer Fernando Sierra; (33) usher Mary Jane Babyak, security officer Richard Montano, security officer Louie Ocampo; (32) utility maintenance Kevin Waters, gardener Petronilo Serna, security officer Juan de Dios Prada, security officer Eddie Alcala, area scout Arthur Darwin; (31) ticket seller Roy Tyler, stand captain David Richard, front office Dolores Buonauro; (30) ticket seller Paula Shorter, Senior Vice President and General Counsel Sam Fernandez, ticket taker Valerie Jones, security officer Pedro Reynoso, usher Victoria Gutierrez; (29) manager, Dodger clubhouse Mitch Poole, security officer Gary Hedman, assistant stand captain Jaime Moreno; (28) ticket taker Rosendo Alvarez, DodgerVision crew Shane Shanahan; (27) usher Maria Ramirez, stand captain Patrick Cochran, stand associate Rosemary Cochran, stand associate Adriana Kano, front office George Barajas; (26) ticket seller Sharon McCabe, stand captain Marina Goungo, international scout Camilo Pascual, security officer Anthony Adams, security officer Manuel Guantez, grounds crew Francisco Torres, usher captain James Terminel; (25) usher Anna McClure, stand captain Mark McCool, stand associate Laurie Vasquez, ticket seller Mike Zlomislic.      

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, with six World Series championships and 21 National League pennants since its beginnings in Brooklyn in 1890, is committed to a tradition of pride and excellence.  The Dodgers are dedicated to supporting a culture of winning baseball, providing a first-class, fan-friendly experience at Dodger Stadium, and building a strong partnership with the community. With the highest cumulative fan attendance in Major League Baseball history, and a record of breaking barriers, the Dodgers are one of the most cherished sports franchises in the world.

Visit the Dodgers online at www.dodgers.com, follow them on Twitter @Dodgers and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Dodgers.

For media information, visitwww.dodgerspressbox.com.  

U.S. Military Conducts Airstrikes in Support of Irbil Operations

From a U.S. Central Command News Release

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2014 - U.S. military forces continued to attack terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant yesterday and today in support of operations near Irbil, Iraq.

A mix of attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted two airstrikes, destroying four ISIL Humvees, one ISIL armored personnel carrier, and two ISIL trucks -- one of which carried a mounted machine gun; one ISIL Humvee and one ISIL truck were also damaged in the strikes. All aircraft exited the strike areas safely.

The strikes were conducted under authority to protect U.S. personnel and facilities, support humanitarian efforts and support Iraqi forces that are acting in furtherance of these objectives.

U.S. Central Command has conducted a total of 133 airstrikes across Iraq since operations began Aug. 8. 

ARRIVAL IN GEORGIA

09/06/2014 12:39 PM CDT

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, arrives in Tbilisi, Georgia, and shakes hands with Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Mikheil Darchiashvili, Sept. 6, 2014. Hagel is making his first visit to Georgia as defense secretary, part of a six-day international trip.

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Fraudulent Visa and Payroll Scheme to Facilitate Illegal Immigration

New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Operating Fraudulent Visa and Payroll Scheme to Facilitate Illegal Immigration

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an eight-year scheme to falsify employment certifications to facilitate the illegal entry of Indian immigrants into the United States and to filing a false tax return.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Chief Richard Weber of Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Director Bill A. Miller of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.

Sandipkumar Patel, 41, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls of the District of New Jersey to conspiring to defraud the United States and to filing a false federal income tax return.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2015.

According to court documents filed with the plea agreement, from 2001 until 2009, Patel sponsored the visa applications of Indian nationals by falsely claiming to provide employment for them in the United States.   Patel falsely certified on the visa applications that he would employ the immigrants in various technical fields at several New Jersey companies, thereby facilitating their illegal entry into the United States.   Over the course of the scheme, immigrants paid Patel thousands of dollars for the false certifications to fraudulently secure the visas.   To disguise the scheme, Patel issued payroll checks and other payroll forms.   Patel required the immigrants to return the money from the checks and also to reimburse him for his payroll tax expenses.   Patel used the fraudulent pay stubs and payroll checks to support false applications to extend the visas, and Patel charged the immigrants fees for the visa extensions.

As a result of falsely carrying the immigrant employees on his payrolls, Patel overstated his payroll expenses on his federal income tax returns by more than $1.4 million over four years, under-reporting his tax obligation by over $400,000 for those years.   

This case was investigated by the IRS-CI and DSS.   The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorneys Hope S. Olds and William H. Kenety of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Corcione of the District of New Jersey, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

La Educacion: Nuestro Futuro

¿Cómo Se Escribe “Oportunidad”? Con un título de educación Secundaria

Por Yvette Donado

 Princeton, NJ - Soy hija de padres de clase trabajadora que vinieron de Puerto Rico en busca de oportunidades, y nací en la ciudad de Nueva York. Mis padres carecían de educación formal, pero mis hermanas y yo tuvimos la buena fortuna de que ellos entendieran su importancia para nuestro futuro. Hoy, todas tenemos títulos de estudios de post-grado, y a menudo nos preguntamos qué pasa con los millones de personas que no han sido tan afortunadas como nosotras. 

Cerca de 39 millones de personas en Estados Unidos no tienen título de educación secundaria, lo cual les impide acceder a oportunidades de empleo y mejorar su calidad de vida; a la vez que constituye un obstáculo para la productividad y competitividad de nuestro país a nivel global. Las personas con un título de educación secundaria encuentran mejores empleos, pagan más impuestos, mejoran sus oportunidades educativas, crían mejor a sus hijos y aportan más a nuestra sociedad. 

Según un reporte publicado en el 2013, cada año la deserción escolar le cuesta al país más de $1.800 millones, en impuestos estatales y federales que se dejan de recibir. Las consecuencias económicas de este déficit son enormes, pero más grave aún es que quienes no completan sus estudios de secundaria pierden la oportunidad de mejorar la calidad de vida suya y de sus familias.

En raras ocasiones, personas que no completan estudios secundarios tienen la suerte de encontrar trabajo que les permite sostener a sus familias de manera adecuada. La mayoría, sin embargo, están relegadas a empleos de bajo salario, y tienen que esforzarse para satisfacer las necesidades básicas y educar a sus hijos, muchas veces dejando de lado las oportunidades educativas para ellos mismos. Conozco a muchas personas que han obtenido un certificado de equivalencia de un título de educación secundaria, entre ellas mi propia madre. La buena noticia es que estos certificados se están volviendo menos costosos y de más fácil acceso.

Ahora bien, tengo que confesar que soy parcial. Tengo la buena fortuna de trabajar en Educational Testing Service (ETS), una entidad sin ánimo de lucro a la que varios estados acudieron para pedir que desarrolláramos una prueba nueva. Ellos estaban preocupados por los cambios en el GED®. La prueba había sido comprada por una compañía con fines lucrativos y su costo era de $120 por prueba. Los funcionarios estatales veían en el precio tan elevado un obstáculo para quienes querían presentar la prueba. 

La respuesta llegó en el otoño de 2012, cuando nuestros científicos y desarrolladores de pruebas de reconocimiento mundial se pusieron a la tarea de crear una prueba que

1. fuera mucho menos costosa que las otras;

2. estuviera ampliamente disponible, y no limitada a un sitio equipado con computadoras;

3. pudiera presentarse en papel o en computadora; y

4. se ofreciera en español y en inglés.

En tiempo récord, en ETS creamos una prueba que cumple todas estas condiciones, su nombre: HiSET, que viene del inglés High School Equivalency (equivalencia de educación secundaria). ETS comenzó a administrar la prueba en enero de este año, y 12 estados ya la han aprobado para  obtener el certificado de educación secundaria. Cabe anotar que en esos 12 estados residen más de 5.5 millones de adultos que carecen de un título de secundaria. 

La buena noticia es que HiSET es la prueba menos costosa, así que será asequible para las personas que más necesitan un certificado de educación secundaria. La noticia no tan buena es que muchas personas que califican para presentar esta prueba no la conocen, así es que los educadores, las organizaciones comunitarias y los funcionaros locales y estatales necesitan comunicar la buena noticia.

En este proceso hemos aprendido que la mayoría de las personas piensan que recibirán un diploma otorgado por GED, cuando en realidad son los estados los que emiten el certificado de equivalencia de educación secundaria, no una empresa. Bajo el programa HiSET, los estados seguirán emitiendo su propio certificado.

Esperamos que estas facilidades permitan que más adultos presenten la prueba y obtengan su certificado de educación secundaria. Ellos, sus familias, nuestras comunidades y el país entero se beneficiarán con sus logros. Para más información sobre HiSET visite: http://hiset.ets.org/.

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EDUCATION OUR FUTURE

 Opportunity is Spelled: High School Equivalency Certificate

By Yvette Donado

Princeton, NJ [CapitalWirePR] September 6, 2014 -The daughter of working-class parents who came from Puerto Rico to America in search of opportunity, I was born in New York City. I had the good fortune of having parents who, despite their lack of formal education, understood its importance for me and my sisters. Now, all with advanced degrees, my sisters and I often wonder about the millions of persons who have not been so fortunate.

Some 39 million adults across the country lack a high school diploma. This is an impediment to their own job opportunities and advancement, but also an obstacle to greater productivity and global competitiveness for our country. Persons with a diploma find better employment, pay more taxes, improve their educational opportunities, better guide their children and contribute more to our society. 

According to a 2013 report, high school dropouts cost more than $1.8 billion in lost state and federal tax revenue each year. The economic consequences of this shortfall are enormous. Worse yet, is the lost opportunity to improve one’s quality of life.

 Some people without a certificate do find decent jobs and are able to provide for their families. Most, however, are consigned to low-paying jobs, and try to make ends meet and educate their own children, often neglecting educational opportunity for themselves. I know many people, including my own mother, who have earned a high school equivalency certificate. The good news is that the certificates are becoming less costly and more available.

 Now, I confess to a bias. I am fortunate to work at Educational Testing Service (ETS). And several states that were concerned about the changes in the GED® asked my organization, a nonprofit, to develop a new test. You see, the GED had been bought by a for-profit company and, at a fee of $120 per test, the states believed the price was too high. Their answer came in the fall of 2012 when ETS’s world-class researchers and test developers set out to create a test that would:

1. Cost much less than other tests

2. Be widely available, not limited to a computer-equipped, designated location

3. Be taken in a paper or a computer format

4. Be offered in English and Spanish

 In record time, we had developed a new test that did all these things: the HiSET® exam, or, the High School Equivalency Test. ETS started testing in January 2014, and we are delighted that 12 states have already approved it for high school certificates. Those 12 states, interestingly, have more than 5.5 million adults without a high school diploma.

The great news: The HiSET exam is the least expensive high school equivalency test available, so it will be more accessible to people who, because of a lack of opportunity, lack a certificate. The not so great news: Many people who qualify to take the test are unaware of it. So educators, community-based organizations and local and state officials need to help spread the word. And more states would use the HiSET exam, we understand, but must alter legislation dating back many years that often specifies the use of other tests.

We have learned in the process that most people think one actually receives a GED as the credential. In fact, the various states have issued the High School Equivalency certificate. Under the HiSET program, states will continue to issue their own certificate.

Let us all hope that more adults can gain access to the test and obtain a certificate. These adults, our communities and indeed our nation will be the better for it. For further information on the HiSET exam, available in English visithttp://hiset.ets.org/.

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Honor Yourself With Yoga

 (Originally appeared in the July 1, 2004 edition of the Century City News)

by Kate Hallahan

As a yoga teacher and practitioner, both students and friends often ask me why it is that I practice yoga.  Before I began a yoga practice, I had never considered myself to be particularly athletic.  Although I took a few dance classes as a child, neither had I ever been exceptionally flexible.  I was aware of the physical benefits of yoga, but they were not what attracted me to the practice. 

So why is it that I practice yoga?  Yoga, for me, is much more than a way to keep fit—although it certainly offers that benefit.  My yoga practice is an opportunity to touch base with myself every day, a way to connect to my spiritual center in the midst of an often chaotic but beautiful world.  My practice gives me permission to turn off the phone, to put my to-do list on hold.  Whether I choose to practice a series of postures or whether I feel it is more appropriate on a given day to just sit in stillness for twenty minutes, I am making spending time with myself a priority.

I have found that if I honor that need to be still and present with myself, I am richly rewarded.  On the yoga mat, with few distractions, it is easier to notice thoughts and emotions as they enter into my mind.  When I am trying to meditate for example, but am finding it difficult because of reoccurring thoughts, it is valuable to ask myself what it is that I am thinking incessantly about.  In the answers to such questions, I often find clues about what areas of my life may need a bit more work.

Such inquiry is not limited to meditation, but carries over into physically active yoga poses as well.  If I fall down while trying to hold a balancing pose that is challenging for me, I can feel my frustration building.  I can also directly experience the fact that this frustration, which is making my limbs stiff and my breathing shallow, also prevents me from relaxing enough to find my center of gravity in the pose.  By consciously slowing and deepening my breathing and by approaching the pose more fluidly and light-heartedly, however, I can ease my way into it.  It might be a bit shaky, but I can begin to balance.

This is a skill that can be taken into my life off of the yoga mat as well.  If I am in an uncomfortable conversation with a family member or co-worker, for example, I may notice how my breathing shortens and my muscles tense slightly.  By consciously changing my breath and relaxing my stance, I can find my center again, and remain calm despite a challenging situation.

Yoga, for me, is ultimately about self-awareness and self-inquiry.  It is a way to draw closer to my Self, and to get to know her better.  It offers me the opportunity to observe my reactions on the mat and in my life, and to see how I respond to a given situation both physically and emotionally.  It also gives me the tools, such as breath control, to alter my reaction to a difficult situation.   My yoga practice gives me the confidence that just as I learn to breathe deeply and relax to get into a challenging balancing pose, so too can I learn to relax into and through any precarious position in life.

  

So when a student or friend asks me why it is that I do yoga, I will share my thoughts and experiences with him.  I will mention the peace that arises from spending time with myself as well as the physical benefits that yoga offers, and the positive impact these benefits have in my daily life.  But I will also encourage him to explore that question for himself.  Because each one of us has a unique combination of strengths and challenges, yoga will provide different things for different people. 

            The next time your mind is racing with a negative thought, ask yourself what it would mean to you to train your mind to replace that thought with a positive one.  And when you are finding yourself flustered by a challenging conversation, imagine the difference if you felt balanced.  The answers to those questions may provide a clue as to how yoga could impact your own life.  The full scope of its benefits can only be discovered by getting “on the mat” and practicing.

            

WESTSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL

(Originally appeared in the July 15, 2004 edition of the Century City News)

The WNC includes Century City workers and residents. If there are concerns that you have which you feel need to be represented to the Los Angeles City Council a great way to begin is to attend a meeting of the Westside Neighborhood Council. They meet the second Thursday of each month at the Westside Pavilion in the Community rooms near the food court. On December 2, 2004 from 4-8 pm there will be an election to the Westside Neighborhood Council which will be supervised by the League of Women Voters. If you would like to contact the WNC you can reach Terri Tippet by e-mail at westsidenc@earthlink.net

KAREN BASS TO HOST SPECIAL COMMUNITY MEETING

This month on August 5^th at the Westside Pavilion Side Too, at 7 pm there will be a community meeting help by Karen Bass (soon to be 47^th District Assemblywoman). The Meeting room “C” is located right above Tony Roma’s. Ms. Bass will be meeting with the community to learn the concerns and issues of this area. This is a perfect opportunity for all people with a connection to this area to participate in the community.