SEE PAGE 2 for carbon pollution limits can help save lives
ANAHEIM PRESS
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 - AUGUST 31, 2014
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Anaheim is 25th best city in US for hosting major events by Vickie Vértiz Online event management software company Cvent released their third-annual Top 50 Meeting Destinations, ranking Anaheim at number 25. According to the Los Angeles Register, Cvent evaluated more than 5,000 cities in the United States, ranking them based on existing meeting and event booking activity in the Cvent Supplier Network. The number of meeting and event venues in the area was also factored into the ranking, which the Cvent report said included 91 meeting hotels, sports venues, industrial and technology companies, and sizable event spaces, such as the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC). The ACC is the largest convention center on the West Coast and has more than 1.6 million square feet of space, including more than 800,000 square feet of exhibit space, and 51 meeting rooms. Due to its family-friendly attractions such as Knott’s Berry Farm and the Disneyland Resort (although its baseball and hockey franchises were not included in the ranking), its proximity to airports made Anaheim move up in the rank-
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Temporary road closures Aug. 25-Sept.1 Anaheim welcomes participants for 9th annual Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
$30 million as of August 20, according to the official website. Compared to the same period of last year, from July 29 to August 20, donations amounted to $1.9 million. According to Slate, the Ice
Since 2006, Anaheim has been home to the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, one in a series of runDisney events held each year in and around the City. Thousands of runners, joggers and fitness enthusiasts, both local residents as well as international visitors, look forward to participating in this annual family friendly tradition. The 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend takes place in Anaheim Aug. 2831. Please note the following information to help visitors navigate through their stay and residents commute during the days leading up to and following the events. Temporary road closures will occur, as listed below. During the actual races, entertainment will be scheduled along the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon race routes, which begin and end at the Disneyland Resort. Please note the following road closure schedule.* Commuters are encouraged to plan accordingly. Monday, Aug. 25 – Monday, Sept. 1 - Overnight closures only •Disneyland Dr. (1:006:00 a.m.) – Between Paradise Way and Magic Way Friday, Aug. 29 – Disneyland 5K:
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Anaheim Convention Center -Courtesy Photo
ings from its spot last year. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego were ranked higher landing in 19th, 12th, and fifth place, respectively.
The rankings are focused on the number of hotels are available for meetings and Please see page 4
The Ice Bucket Challenge: fun or controversial? by Jennifer schlueter Have you asked yourself why so many of your social media friends and people like former president George W. Bush, LeBron James, and Oprah Winfrey recently have been pouring ice buckets over their heads? Not only in the United States have people joined this
SEE PAGE 3 for 21st annual gun melt in los angeles county
trend where you donate to the ALS Association if the chilling thought of ice water does not appeal to you: Thanks to challengers nominating three other individuals, the ice bucket challenge has quickly gone viral all over the world, and the ALS Association has received over
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Carbon pollution limits can help save lives and improve health By Harold P. Wimmer and thomas ferkol Few things are more frightening for a parent than racing to the hospital with a child who can’t breathe. Few things are more difficult for a physician than telling a family that a loved one will not recover from an asthma attack. We work with people who know those experiences far too well and---because of those experiences---support reducing carbon pollution. The American Lung Association and the American Thoracic Society members and volunteers understand the impact of polluted air. We know that, as a nation, we have to do more to protect the ability of people to breathe, and that requires us to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. It isn’t enough for physicians to educate patients about the health risks of air pollution, and for parents to keep their children with asthma indoors on bad air days. We must reduce pollution before it takes a further toll on our children and families. As a nation, we have cut air pollution by over 70 percent since 1970, but today more than 147 million Americans (nearly half of the U.S. population) still live where the air is unhealthy to breathe. Warmer temperatures from climate change will
make it even harder to reduce air pollution in many places, and increase the likelihood of drought, wildfires and other threats to our health. Fortunately, we can fight those threats. Recently, hundreds of people attended public hearings hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Denver, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington, DC to speak out in support of the proposed Clean Power Plan to place first-ever limits on power plant carbon pollution. They spoke up because they recognize that reducing carbon pollution benefits the health of communities across the nation. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan provides states with tools to reduce the carbon pollution from power plants by 30 percent, moving forward in the fight against climate change. But the plan would do more than that. When fully implemented, the carbon reduction plan will also reduce lethal air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury by 25 percent, preventing up to 6,600 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks in children each year. The plan Please see page 4
Ice Bucket Challenge Continued from page 1
Bucket Challenge was not an invention of Pete Frates, an ALS patient, or the ALS Association, but of a few pro athletes, who were dared to contribute $100 to a charity of their choice, if they declined an ice bath. Proving this are videos by Matt Lauer, Martha Stewart, and others, who predate any videos mentioning the ALS Association. Frates, 29, however, initiated people donating to the ALS Association should they refuse his Ice Bucket Challenge. The non-profit organization is committed to research the fatal nerve disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” with which former baseball star Frates was diagnosed. Critics of the #icebucketchallenge, as it is referred to online, have expressed their concerns about the dare being a bandwagon trend. Today’s web narcissists join to collect “likes” or because they feel peer pressure. The challenge was supposed to help charities by donating money to them; however, more people seem to enjoy freezing their brain cells because their friends do it rather than raising awareness for a good cause. That’s probably why some videos do not even mention ALS. Yet, there are those outstanding people who have done both the challenge and a donation. Especially in droughtstricken California, the Ice Bucket Challenge videos are
viewed with raised eyebrows and shaking heads. According to Reddit, less water than people believe is wasted: “Comparatively speaking, very little. People use much, much more water for everyday activities than they do for the ALS ice bucket challenge. The most obvious example: you use as much water in one minute in the shower as you would use for one bucket of ice water. (The average showerhead uses about five gallons per minute, while the average bucket holds the same amount.) And most people take showers every day, for often quite a bit longer than one minute.” With California authorities issuing fines for unlawful outdoor water use such as hosing down asphalts and watering on certain weekdays, it is interesting to note that, according to a 2012 Pacific Institute report, households only use about 4 percent of California’s water, whereas agriculture takes up 93 percent. Cows drink 23 gallons of water, and automatic flushing systems for them can use up to 150 gallons a day. The One Green Planet article which compiled this data therefore suggests replacing animal products with a plant-based diet to save water. Whether you choose to engage in the Ice Bucket Challenge or not, please keep in mind that it intends to promote donations to charities, and not a trend.
Pete Frates, ALS patient, linked the Ice Bucket Challenge to the ALS Association. -Facebook Photo
AUGUST 25, 2014 - AUGUST 31, 2014 | 3
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Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers oversees the 21st annual Gun Melt On Wednesday, August 13, 2014, Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers announced the destruction of 4,661 weapons confiscated from criminals in Los Angeles County and collected through the “Gifts for Guns” exchange program. Annually, Gerdau Steel Mill, located in Rancho Cucamonga, generously donates its furnace, equipment and personnel to convert these weapons into steel rebar. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works also donates the trucks every year that transport the weapons to the Mill. These weapons will be melted into steel reinforcing bar (rebar) and ultimately transformed into elements of construction for upgrades in freeways and bridges in Arizona, California and Nevada. “Our partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department allows us the opportunity to make a positive impact on our community,” said Mark Olson, Vice President and General Manager of the Gerdau Mill in Rancho Cucamonga. “Gerdau is melting materials that could otherwise damage our community and transforming them into steel that will be repurposed to create the buildings, roads and bridges we use daily.” This year twelve law enforcement agencies contributed confiscated weapons to this program. These agencies include Downey Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, South Gate Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, El Monte Police Department, West Covina Police Department, Gardena Police Department, South Pasadena Police Department, Manhattan Beach Police Department, UCLA Police Department, Department of Motor Vehicles Police Department and Pasadena Police Department. “The continuous partnership with Gerdau Steel Mill has allowed law enforcement to destroy thousands of weapons that will never be used again to commit crimes on the streets of Los Angeles County. The guns that are being destroyed today have
-Photo by Terry Miller
been collected throughout the year and are a great example of the hard work of law enforcement officers in the communities we serve. Since the inception of the Gun Melt Program we have destroyed a total of 178,167 weapons,” said Assistant Sheriff
Todd Rogers. For more information please contact Public Information Officer Nicole Nishida at (323) 810-1973 or Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau at (323) 267-4800. For information about Gerdau please visit http:// www.gerdau.com/longsteel/
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
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Road closure for Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Continued from page 1
•Disneyland Dr. (12:017:30 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Paradise Way •Magic Way (12:01-8:00 a.m.) - Between Disneyland Hotel Pl. and Disneyland Dr. •Disneyland Dr. (5:00-7:30 a.m.) – Between Paradise Way and Katella Ave. Saturday, Aug. 30 – Disneyland 10K: •Disneyland Dr. (12:017:30 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Paradise Way •Magic Way (12:01-8:00 a.m.) - Between Disneyland Hotel Pl. and Disneyland Dr. •Disneyland Dr. (5:00-7:30 a.m.) – Between Paradise Way and Katella Ave. •Katella Ave. (5:00-7:30 a.m.) – Between Disneyland Dr. and Harbor Blvd. •West St. (5:00-7:00 a.m.) – Between Katella Ave. and Convention Way •Harbor Blvd. (5:00-7:30 a.m.) – Southbound from Disney Way to Convention Way Sunday, Aug. 31 - Disneyland Half Marathon: •Disneyland Dr. (12:018:00 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Paradise Way •Magic Way (12:01-10:15 a.m.) - Between Disneyland Hotel Pl. and Disneyland Dr. •Disneyland Dr. (5:0010:15 a.m.) – Between Paradise Way and Katella Ave. •Katella Ave. (5:00-7:00 a.m.) – Westbound from Disneyland Dr. to Harbor Blvd.
Carbon pollution Continued from page 2
•Harbor Blvd. (5:00-7:00 a.m.) – Southbound from Katella Ave. to Disney Way •Ball Rd. (5:15-8:00 a.m.) – Eastbound from Disneyland Dr. to Anaheim Blvd. •Anaheim Blvd. (5:15-8:15 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Cerritos Ave. •Cerritos Ave. (5:15-8:15 a.m.) – Between Anaheim Blvd. and Lewis St. •Lewis St. (5:15-8:15 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Cerritos Ave. •Ball Rd. (5:15-8:30 a.m.) – Between Lewis St. and State College Blvd. (Reroute via St. College, Vermont, East St.) •State College Blvd. (5:158:30 a.m.) – Between Ball Rd. and Cerritos Ave. •Cerritos Ave. (5:15-8:40 a.m.) – Between State College Blvd. and Douglass Rd. •Douglass Rd. (5:15-8:45 a.m.) – Between Cerritos Ave. and Katella Ave. •Gene Autry Way (5:159:30 a.m.) –From Angel Stadium of Anaheim to Santa Cruz St. •Santa Cruz St. and Stanford Ct. (5:30-9:30 a.m.) – Between Gene Autry Dr. and Anaheim Way •S. Anaheim Way (5:1510:00 a.m.) – Between Katella Ave. and Disney Way •Disney Way (5:15-10:00 a.m.) – Westbound from Anaheim Blvd. to Harbor Blvd. Please note all times are
Pacific Daylight Time. Prior to Sunday’s event, the Disneyland Health & Fitness Expo at the Disneyland Hotel will feature seminars on training, nutrition and racing from renowned experts and legendary runners, and will showcase the latest in running and fitness equipment. The Expo will be open Thursday, Aug. 28, 12:00 – 8:00 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 30, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. To find out more about the Disneyland Half Marathon and the Disneyland Health & Fitness Expo, please visit www. rundisney.com/disneyland-halfmarathon. *Times are approximations and all information is subject to change without notice.
would also help prevent heart attacks, hospital admissions and missed days of work or school due to illness. Public health experts call this prevention. For the rest of us, it’s just simple common sense. That is why both our organizations support efforts of the EPA to establish national limits on carbon pollution. If we, as a nation, act responsibly now to reduce carbon pollution we can simultaneously improve our air quality now and prevent many of the adverse health and environmental impacts for future generations. Harold P. Wimmer is the National President and CEO, American Lung Association, and Thomas Ferkol the MD, President, American Thoracic Society.
25th best city in major event hosting Continued from page 1
sleeping rooms in hotels. For Anaheim there are a total of 16,920 sleeping rooms, and approximately 76 meeting rooms. In other business rankings important to tourism, Expo Magazine ranked Anaheim as the sixth-best city to host trade shows in the country, tying with Philadelphia. Expo ranked the Top 10 cities in a slightly different way than Cvent. For its April 2014 magazine, they surveyed 126 trade show managers to find out their preferred destinations. In those rankings, Las Vegas was first. The Orange County Register credits the Anaheim Convention Center as making a tremendous difference for Anaheim and its destination rankings. It is true that Disneyland rings in millions of visitors annually and has done so for many years, but the new park California Adventure, while it opened in 2001, did not really see a ton of visitors until after a “$1 billion makeover was com-
pleted in 2012 with the debut of Cars Land,” the paper reported. However, ranking of different kinds vary in their measurement technique depending on their bias or intention. For instance, Cvent only measured cities that were using event software they create. There are some rankings, thankfully, that measure other variables and characteristics that benefit the larger public and come without direct benefit to the company who in ranking the cities, like measuring fun, for example. Remember that we reported Anaheim as a 2014 Playful City USA for providing places for children to have year-round balanced and active play. Sponsored by the Humana Foundation and the nonprofit KABOOM!, a Playful City national program recognizes communities that demonstrate a commitment to ensuring all kids get the balance of active play they need to be healthy and happy.