Reid estate people deny report on 'steering'
gets minority
By DENISE KUSEL
. SUM Writer
Some Long Beach real estate
agents ate using Cerritos' reputa-
tion for racial harmony by "steer-
ing" minorities to the area.
Steering is the practice of talk-
ing a potential home buyer out of
looking for a home in one area and
^"steering" him to another.
Dorothy Siegfried, vice presi-
dent of the Long Beach Board of
Realtors, firmly denies that this
practice exists.
But, according to a survey of 10
Long Beach real estate agents,
steering is widespread.
"I've heard of cases where a
black family with a good income
walks into a real estate office in
Long Beach," explained real estate
agent Jill Crawford. "The family
tells the agent they would like to
look at homes in Belmont Shore or
in the El Dorado Park area. In-
stead, the salesman steers the
family to Cerritos.
MCTTEH
I ItOtI
MAC
MALCOLM
EPLEY
FORT BIDWELL - Horse
ownership, we have found, involves
more than just taking an occasional
ride or viewing with pride a couple
of noble animals in one's own pas-
ture.
We've learned, in our short
custody of two quarter-horses
named Buck and Sam, that we're
dabbling in horse medicine, horse
psychology and, of course, horse
affection.
The latter is easy. These are
two gentle and friendly steeds.
"Getting them up" from the pas-
ture is no problem. If we don't walk
right up to them, they walk right
up to us.
They are a little jealous, like
dogs. Curry or brush one and the
other pushes right into the middle
of the operation. Each wants his
share of attention, and a little
WE LEARNED, too, that the
purchase price is just the beginning
of the financial outlay. At the out-
set, we had to acquire saddles,
bridles, halters and lead ropes. We
had a little luck.
We were able to pick up a sad-
dle for $100 when a horseman
neighbor of ours passed away.
Check the price of saddles and
you'll see how we did. We got a
bridle for $30, and bought a couple
of he'alters for under $10 each. We
have borrowed a saddle from a
young fellow who is in college at
Reno and doesn't ride his horse to
the classroom.
That gave us a fair start on
equipment. Nothing fancy, but us-
able. We decided against a horse
trailer for the present. Those things
run into money.
THEN WE ventured into the
field of veterinary medicine when a
couple of things happened to Sam,
the rosy-colored dun.
Sam had been here only a cou-
ple of days when he cut his foot
badly just above the heel. There's
no loose barbed wire in the pasture,
but we figured he may have caught
his fool on the wire at the top of the
fence when he rose up on his hind
feet to gesture at a loose horse that
came up in the road outside the
pasture.
Well, we got some bottled pur-
ple stuff at the store and daubed it
on the deep cut. Because of the
medicine, or -in spite of it, and
despite the unprofessionalism of
the doctors, the wound healed.
In a couple of weeks, I rode
Sam.
BUT THIS good hose wasn't out
of the woods yet.
When a fellow was here to shoe
the horses (that's another $25 to
$40) he found that Sam winced
when his left hoof was raised. A
close look showed the left front
knee was slightly swollen, and we
observed that he favored it a little,
walking.
The farrier suggested liniment,
and we've been daubing it on.
I was telling an experienced
horseman about it at the store. The
liniment, he said, would probably
do no good, but we should go ahead
and put it on as it would be good
therapy for US.
The nearest veterinarian is 40
miles away and we aren't certain
whether he would come here or
somehow we'd have to get Sam to
him.
Today, I asked my closest
neighbor, a pioneer rancher.
He felt the sore horse knee. He
said not to .worry about a horse
doctor, who could do no more than
nature was going to do for Sam.
"He's had a kick or a sprain, and
he'll be OK." he said.
I shook his hand and patted my
pocketbpok.
I think maybe Sam heard and
Understood. He walked away and I
could no longer detect a limp.
"The sales pitch is usually,
'Well, the Shore is a nice area, but
the homes are small and you're
really not getting your money's
worth. Have you ever thought of
looking in Cerritos? The homes are
new and spacious and the area has
good schools ' after about four weekends of driv-
"Pretty soon the family has
been sold on moving to Cerritos."
Cerritos is in Los Angeles Coun-
ty, with its western boundary rub-
bing against Orange County, which
is considered the last frontier of
tract home building in the South-
land.
In a survey of eight Cerritos
real estate agents, all agreed that
their city is "a unique area" and a
place where integration has work-
ed. Cerritos was viewed as an area
where "you can be something dif-
ferent and feel comfortable with
that difference."
Another real estate agent, who
asked that his name be withheld,
said, "1 had a (black) client who
DON NICHOLSON'S WALRUS SCULPTURE JUDGED "MOST ARTISTIC ENTRY"
As thousands watch
Sand sculptors end sea fete
By MIKE JELF
Sta« Writer
Thousands of spectators jam-
med the Junipero Avenue beach
Sunday to watch temporary sculp-
tures appear in the sand and disap-
pear again, as the llth annual
International Sea Festival drew to
a close.
The sand-sculpture contest, one
of the festival's more popular
events, shared the day's billing
with a 2916-mile Catalina Channel
dory race, a swim meet at Alami-
tos Bay and a waterskiing contest
at Marine Stadium.
Sculptures were as temporary
as sand castles, which some were.
Construction began at noon, judg-
ing started at 2 p.m. and destruc-
tion at the hands of rambunctious
children began shortly after 3 p.m.
Though sculpting teams snared
a common medium (beach sand)
and were restricted to the use of
hand tools and sea water, their
creations took a wide variety of
forms.
One was a depiction in relief of
a soaring balloon, with the legend
"Around the World in 80 Days."
Other entries included a cannibal's
meal cooking in a pot, the U.S.
Capitol, a giant octopus, a sea ser-
pent, two Viking landers on Mars'
•and that most famous of humanoid
legumes, Mr. Peanut.
Skip-creditors boost prices, collector says
By TIM BURT
Staff Writer
Southland residents who move
and leave creditors with unpaid
bills are boosting the cost of living
for others, the president of a Lake-
wood collection agency believes.
"Such services as hospital care
have had to be increased to make
up for the unpaid bills," said Anto-
nio Inocentes of the American
Retrieval Corporation, 2735 E. Car-
son St.
"The ones who are suffering
are the ones who pay their bills,"
said Inocentes, who estimated that
costs are up as much as 25 per cent
because of "skipping."
Inocentes based his opinion on
a recent survey by the American
Collectors Association, w h i c h re-
ported thaMilOO million of unpaid
was a lawyer and her husband had
a civil service job and they were in
the market for a new home.
"So, I took them around to all
the prime areas — the Shore, El
Dorado Park, Alamitos Heights,
Lakewood Village. . . . Finally,
ing around, the husband took me
aside and said that he and his wife
'didn't feel comfortable in those
areas. That's when we took a drive
out to Cerritos."
According to Ms. Crawford,
"Cerritos is proof that people can
live together in harmony and pros-
per.
"As in other areas, property
values in Cerritos, which is a rela-
tively new city, have been shooting
up at 10 per cent per year.
"When a black family moves
in, the neighbors don't moan,
'There goes the neighborhood.' In-
stead, they just continue the up-
keep of their homes — which they
know can only appreciate in value
-Staff Photos by ROBERT GINN
Presidential politics reared its
head as two separate elephants
representing Gerald Ford reached
their trunks toward two separate
peanuts representing Jimmy Cart-
er.
A prize entry in the "most
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Chuck Davis' lobster
bills were left for creditors nation-
wide each month in 1975.
"This could mean nearly 35,000
skipped bills totaling $3.5 million
for Los Angeles County each
month.
"People should accept responsi-
bility for their own actions and
maintain the basic codes of person-
al integrity. Those who skip out on
their bills are also skipping out on
the fundamental trust that is the
key to pur credit society," Ino-
centes said.
But many people don't accept
the responsibility. Inocentes and
his staff deal with about 4,000 debt-
ors a week. He estimates the agen-
cy has a constant flow of 50,000
unpaid accounts.
"There are many people who
go to extraordinary lengths to
— and get to know their new neigh-
bors," Ms. Crawford said.
"The people of Cerritos have
successfully run the word 'fear' out
of town as ancient real estate histo-
ry and you have to admire them for
it."
Barry Margo, who is white, and
his family have lived in Cerritos for
nine years. He calls the racial har-
mony that exists in Cerritos "self-
evolution."
"We all moved to Cerritos
about the same time," Margo said.
"The houses were new and there
was a feeling that we're all in this
together.
"Everyone has to live some-
where and Cerritos seemed like a .
good area. Good schools. Lots of
parks. The houses were large; and
it was a good place to raise a
family.
"Everyone has kept up their
homes. The yards are kept clean
and well trimmed. I don't think it's
a question of race. It's a people
artistic, commercial" category was
Fukuhara Photography's "Mindless
Media," a sculpture depicting a
giant hand dragging a woman into
a television set.
R i c h a r d Fukuhara's group,
wearing "Mindless Media" T--
shirts, provided a backdrop for the
sculpture, as did several helium-
filled balloons bearing the titles of
television programs the sculptors
detest
Ancient sculptural influences
could be discerned in Brian Lie-
vens' "Sands of Time," a replica of
an Egyptian pharaoh's m u m m y
case.
Shortly before the sand sculp-
tors began digging in their 20-foot-
square plots, the first dory arrived
at Seaport Village after crossing
the Catalina Channel from Isthmus
Cove.
Steve Heifer and Larry Moore,
both of Oceanside, finished the Na-
tional Doryman's Association-spon-
sored race in 5 hours, 3 minutes.
They were followed by South
B a y c o u n t y lifeguards B o b
Schroder and Bob Moore, with a
second-place time of 5 hours, 18
minutes.
Third were county lifeguards
Henry Stuart and Mike Mairry of
Manhattan Beach, with a time of 5
hours, 21 minutes.
cover their tracks in order to suc-
cessfully cheat their creditors,"
Inocentes said.
Usually a creditor will wait for
four to. five months before referring
the account to the agency, which is
one of about 20 such organizations
competing for business in Los An-
geles County, Inocentes said.
Then the search begins to trace
the debtor Working with a central-
ized computer system, the staff at-
tempts to locate the debtor.
But even when that person is
located, there are no assurances he
or she will pay the bill.
"They always deny that they
owe money," Inocentes said.
"Many of them cuss at us and think
that by becoming irate at the peo-
ple who call, the problem will be
eliminated."
question," Margo continued, "and
Cerritos is set up for people.
"Our children play with black
children. There's never been any
question about that. Like most
homes in Southern California, we
have a six-foot fence around our
back yard, so we're not exactly
leaning over the fence and ex-
changing recipes with our neigh-
bors — black or white. But, on the
other hand, we don't avoid each
other," Margo said.
"We're a new community. And
we can learn from the mistakes of
older cities. Race has never been
an issue here. And I work in Cerri- •
tos. It's just not only a place to
come home to at night."
Ruth Johnstone and her family
live one block east of the Margo Artesia,
home.
"We've lived here for a little
more than two years," Mrs. John- that has such an even balance and
stone, who is black, said. "My distribution of all racial groups,"
husband works at a securities of-
fice in Los Angeles and commutes
PRESS TELEGRAM
MON., AUGUST 23,1976-SEC. B, PAGE 1
Citizens helping
in city planning
By MARY ELLIS CARLTON
Urban Affairs Editor
Urban designers once were de-
fined as professionals who knew the
answers to a lot of questions that
no one asked.
But today involved citizens are
asking those questions. A n d , in
some instances, they are helping —
or attempting to help — urban
planners come up with the an-
swers.
An example in Long Beach is
the citizens' review committee for
SEADIP (Southeast Area Develop-
ment and Improvement Plan). Its
chairperson is Jan Hall, president
of the College Park Estates Home-
owners Association.
In June — when
representatives of eight neighbor-
'hood groups first met with city
planners and area developers to
thrash out differences over pro-
posed land uses for 551 acres of
undeveloped land in East Long
Beach — there were more ques-
tions than answers.
The climate was one of bitter
confrontation, with angry area resi-
dents pitted against developers and
city planners over proposed densi-
ties and unsolved traffic problems.
It appeared that the process to
reach such planning decisions at
the grassroots level would not
work.
But at the group's sixth study
session, held last Thursday, it was
becoming apparent that, though the
choices involved are painful ones,
there can be some give-and-take
when opposing forces meet to ex-
change conflicting viewpoints.
Sometimes they may exchange
roles, as Naples Improvement As-
sociation spokesman Tom Seeger
did Thursday night.
Although the SEADIP study,
allowing densities of from 6.5 to 22
dwelling units per acre, already is
in printed form, Seeger became
planner-fpr-a-night and presented
his own ideas for the undeveloped
areas east of Marine Stadium and
south of Seventh Street
His "Single-Family Residential
Park" plan would allow only 6.5
dwelling units per acre which, he
said, would generate less than 100
automobile trips per day per acre.
It would provide park-like open
spaces with street access only to
the rear of cluster-type residential
complexes.
There would be water orienta-
tion where possible, bike and walk-
ing trails, recreational facilities,
mom-and-pop neighborhood mar-
Because nonpayment of bills is
usually not a criminal offense, the
agency can only use the threat of a
civil lawsuit or of putting the per-
son on a bad-credit list, which lend-
ing organizations check when
granting credit
But many of the persons claim
to be on welfare and say they are
unable to pay the bills because they
are financially troubled, eliminat-
ing the possibility of recovering
any assets in a lawsuit, Inocentes
said.
A major source of nonpayment
comes from hospital expenses, he
added, "especially emergency-
room cases, where the people, who
can't afford to pay for the ex-
penses, are^ taken off the street."
every day.
"I think there were three basic
reasons why we decided to move to
Cerritos. The homes are spacious,
the schools are good, and the re-
gional shopping center is nearby;.
"I know what it's like to live in
an all-black neighborhood. I grew
up in Compton," Mrs. Johnstone
added. "My husband -grew up in
Watts. Cerritos is diverse. It's .'ra-
cially rich. It represents a break in
old racial prejudices and it's a'rco:n-
cept and acceptance I want my
children to grow up understand-
ing."
Dr. Eugene Tucker, superin-
tendent of the ABC Unified School
District, which serves Cerritos and
calls the race relations-a
"rare balance.".
"I've never seen a community
(Turn to Page B-4, Col. 1)
kets and only small service-
oriented businesses.
"You've got to think about
where we came from," he said.
"This concern (over high-density
developments in the area) rose out
of the problem of traffic.
"We don't want any crosstown
traffic or traffic corridors through
pur neighborhoods," he said, add-
ing, "You can't work on one aspect
(land use) without considering the
other (traffic impact). They are in-
separable."
He maintained density figures
allowed in the SEADIP study could
only add up to even worse traffic at
the city's worst traffic bottlenecks
— the Pacific Coast Highway-Bell-
flower Boulevard-Seventh Street
triangle and the Pacific Coast
Highway-Second Street-Westmin-
ster Avenue intersection. :
(Turn to Page B-4, Col. 1) .
Meters eyed
for Sunset
Beach strip
Threatened with loss of state
funds unless some local revenue is
generated by the Sunset Beach
parking strip, Orange County
supervisors may disclose Tuesday
that they're "thinking parking
meters."
That's bad news for Sunset
'Beach residents, who made it plain
in 1971 that they don't want meters
on the strip.
County supervisors agreed • in
1969 to prepare a "linear park" a'nd
parking lot on the narrow strip of
right-of-way owned by the Pacific
Electric Railway, which sliced
through the Sunset Beach settle-
ment.
When it opened, there were
parking meters on the 674 parking
stalls.
In short order, some meters
disappeared, some were damaged,
some were plugged and none were
loved.
Delegations of Sunset Beach
residents descended on the supervi-
sors, pleading for unrestricted use
of the parking lot in an area where
off-street parking is non-existent
and on-street parking is practically
priceless.
Additional credit problems re-
sult from unpaid credit-card costs
and large telephone bills.
"These people pile up large
phone bills at one location, then
move on to another," he said.
Inocentes claims his organiza-
tion recovers about 35 per cent of
the unpaid accounts.
Recovery becomes even more
complex when dealing with ex-
spouses and irate in-laws, he said.
"One daughter-in-law gave me
her father-in-law's business ad-
dress and phone number and
added, 'Tell him to send the money
he owes us for handling his delin-
quent bills ma{J,ed here.' "