Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/8603
6 LIVEMAGS.NET MARCH>>10 In an effort to curb unwanted cat populations in the city of Long Beach, decrease money spent on lost cats and reduce the practice of euthanasia on strays, John Keisler, the manager of the Department of Animal Care Services, proposed mandatory licensing and micro-chip insertion for cats to the City Council. In contrast to dog owners who are required by law to license their pets, cat owners have been free of legislation that regulates documentation of their felines in the city. Keisler told the Long Beach Gazette, "Almost four times the number of cats were euthanized than dogs last year," when he explained the drain on Animal Care Services' budget. Twenty individuals were honored for saving the lives of others by the Greater Long Beach Chapter of the American Red Cross at the Hyatt Regency on March 11. Chief executive officer Nancy Kindelan presented each hero with a medal and a plaque. The event was the fifth annual Hometown Heroes Awards Ceremony. Recipients included Jack Lee and Steve Roberts, who administered CPR to Lee's grandson, Hunter Cairns, after a baseball hit his chest. Sandy Ferguson and Hayley McDonald saved the life of a baby while performing CPR rescue breath and chest compressions. Jessie Rellosa helped a fellow student having a seizure at Long Beach City College by holding his body in a safe position. Home Town Heros Animal Care Services Propose Cat Licenses Police Student Visa Fraud Operation Eamonn Daniel Higgins of Laguna Niguel was arrested on March 8 for attending local colleges posing as foreign students. He helped "about 120 people from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey and Qatar maintain their student visa status," the Los Angeles Times reported. In Higgins' operation, he made fake California driver licenses and completed courses and exams at 10 schools, which included Saddleback College, Orange Coast College, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State L.A., Irvine Valley College and Cal State Dominguez Hills. What began as a lucrative illicit business for Higgins in 2002 ended with criminal charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud at the Santa Ana branch of the U.S. District Court. LOCAL IN REVIEW THEMONTH NATIONAL WRITER>>TOVA MORRISON That's Gay WWII Women Pilots Get Congressional Gold Medals World Convention on Endangered Species Trade Republican Senator Roy Ashburn, a father of four children, was arrested in his government-issued car for driving under the influence of alcohol on March 3 rd . When it was reported by a TV news station that Ashburn had been at a Sacramento gay bar prior to his drunk driving charge, he came out of "the closet" in a radio interview broadcast in Bakersfield, on radio KERN 1180 AM. In light of his revealed sexual orientation, gay rights groups have scrutinized his anti-gay voting stance; he voted against establishing Harvey Milk Day on May 22 and voted against a 2005 gay marriage bill. On March 10, two hundred members of the WWII all-women civilian military aircraft ferrying operation, Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), received the Congressional Gold Medal from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. President Obama awarded this highest Congressional honor to WASP survivors in July of 2009. At the height of its war-time service, 1100 women served the United States in WASP. But because of sexist discrimination, the women pilots did not get financial support from the government and the group was never officially militarized, until they secured veteran status in 1977. The WASP program was decommissioned in 1944 when, after the war, piloting positions grew scarce and only male pilots were given Air Force employment. In Qatar, from March 13 – 25, delegates representing over 170 countries assembled for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This group discerns which animals and plants benefit from laws to protect them. High on the agenda was a proposal from Monaco to ban commercial trade of bluefin tuna. The United States proposed to completely ban polar bear trading, and the United States and Sweden proposed strict regulation on the harvesting and selling of pink coral. Tanzania and Zambia asked for approval to sell government-owned stockpiles of elephant ivory, but the Congo, Ghana, Kenya and other African nations proposed a 20-year freeze on ivory selling.