For the last three days we’ve been getting an early start on our morning live coverage of the Marek and Sesnon Fires.  Monday we were first on the scene of the mobile home park that was mostly destroyed because of the fire off Lopez Canyon.  The scene was a sad one as we saw home leveled, cars burned beyond recognition and bicycles belonging to children.  It really puts into perspective that this didn’t just affect people but families.

Amid the homes of Sky View Terrace

Tuesday we spent the day in Granada Hills where the fire seemed to be non-stop as flareups came and went all along Sesnon Blvd. and Louise Ave.  At one point we had to cut our live transmission to move because the fire suddenly turned towards us as the winds picked up.  It was a scarey moment but one that really shows how unpredictable the fire can be.

With Photographer Edwin Calderon as the fire approached.

We’re in Ontario today covering the disappearance and possible murder of a woman here.  Police are looking for Ana Maria Garcia and her boyfriend Mario Adrian Reyes.  They say they entered her home and found it covered in blood but didn’t find her.

In the meantime, we’re slowly but surely getting into our new editing equipment.  Not all the crews are proficient in it yet so it’s nice to see the photographers helping each other out.  I caught a shot of Jeff Scharping helping Mike Tauber understand the pug-ins for the digital media pack in advance of our shoot this morning.  The pack will allow Mike to shoot whatever we cover onto a hard drive so Jeff can edit it later in a non-linear fashion on the computer.  It makes newsgathering much quicker.

A Tale of Two 'Togs

It’s 9am and I’m waiting for the news conference to start regarding a 40-year-old murder case that’s just recently been reopened.  We’re set up just off Highway 23 at Moorpark and the area’s been sectioned off so investigators can begin to dig where they believe the remains of a 16-year-old boy killed in 1968 are located.  As we wait, I’m proud I found a chair to sit in, that my laptop’s battery is fully charged and that we’re set up right in front with the best shot.

We got here at about 4am to begin our set up.  As is customary, we were the first media to arrive so we got the best spot.  By 5am everyone else was here.  But as I’ve mentioned before on this here blog, we tend to help each other out in the field and not act as though competition is everything.

There are now two groups of cops gathered, we’re not sure yet who will be speaking about this case.  It stems from Dec. 14, 1968 - Mack Ray Edwards admitted to killing Roger Madison.  It’s truly a sad story that today, hopefully, the family of Madison will finally have closure.

The Fred Jordan Mission is once again opening its arms and giving back to the community it serves.  Skid Row is a place on its own, a spot where the poorest of LA’s underprivileged gather and today it is the sight of miracles.

The smiles of the kids here are heart-warming.  Free clothes, shoes, even haircuts - all to get them ready for school.  It’s an amazing thing to see.  Certainly the hope would be that by helping these kids now, they are trying to avoid helping them in the future - that the kids won’t be part of the system so many others here at Skid Row find themselves a part of.  Miracle?  I think so.

So much of what do is “hurry up and wait.”  In the mornings we’re often sent out the door by 4am and on the air by 5am.  But a lot of times you’ll notice my reports don’t show up until 15 minutes after the start of the newscast, or even in the 530am news block.  Most of the time it’s planned like that (where we’d rush to get to our location and then wait for the live remote), other times it’s because we’re far from the scene and need a little extra time setting up.

But there there are other times we have to sit and wait.   Like right now.  I’m sitting in our live van with Channel 4 Photographer Beth Slepp-Paz.  She just finished editing the story we’ll air for our midday newscast which starts in 30 minutes.  We’re also waiting for the NTSB to begin it’s “site distance test” with two trains to figure out if the two engineers of the two trains saw each other before the crash.  I just commented to Marissa, my producer, that it’s funny to see all the news helicopters in the air - also waiting, burning fuel for sure, but waiting to get the shot and share it with viewers.  We’ll take a live look from News Chopper 4 when we go live momentarily.  I think what gets us done with our editing so early is the new non-linear editing system we have.  It allows us to edit quickly and make re-writes and changes at a moment’s notice.  It’s truly amazing.

Anywho, off to sit and wait some more.

We reported a similar incident in late May.  And back then we reported it was similar to an incident in November 2007.  What is going on at El Camino College?

Friday night an 18-year-old female student says a man grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth with one hand and went for her inner thigh with the other.  She elbowed him in the ribs and he took off.  Good for her.  Bad for him.  Campus Police are investigating.

Question, though: THREE reports now in less than a year and in all three cases, cops haven’t found a suspect.  And yet they do not believe any of them are related to another.  So now what?

I keep trying to stay on top of this and I promise to work harder.  In the meantime, I wanted to share a couple pics from Malibu last week.  While we were reporting live from a hilltop, the sun rose and where we’d usually see a breath-taking view of the Pacific Ocean, we instead saw a breath-taking view of cloud coverage.  We were actually above the clouds.  And it was gorgeous.  This picture from my phone does not do it justice.

A Walk in the Clouds

Am I crazy?  Why’s a 17 year-old walking around after curfew with a handgun?  I never had a handgun.  I walked around after curfew once in a while, but never with a gun.  And I never ran from police either, that just makes you look guilty.

But that’s what Rialto Police are investigating today.  Last night at the Rennaissance Village Apartments, they were patrolling on foot when they came across four teen boys.  The boys scattered - three went one way, one went into a courtyard.  An officer followed that kid, hand-cuffed him and patted him down.  A gun fell from the boy’s waistband (underneath four pairs of shorts - I also never wore more than one pair of shorts at a time) and discharged.  The cop was hit in the lower left leg.  You can imagine the commotion for police when they hear a gun shot and find out one of their own is down.

Neighbors told us it got hectic after that.  One neighbor said she was detained for interfering, although denied any wrong doing.  Police did arrest her and one other person for that reason.  The 17-year-old was taken into custody for possession of a firearm and the officer is in the hospital.  At this writing, police did not want to release his name, only to say he’s in his mid-20’s and had been on the force for about a year.  A rookie cop with a big heart and a love for what he does, they told me.  Good thing, then, that he’ll be alright.  It’ll be nice to have someone with that commitment to goodness on the streets.

Holy cow!  We were surrounded by wild parrots this morning in Santa Ana!  What’s the deal with these?

445am = We’re on the scene right now of a sinkhole on the 110 Pasadena Fwy in South Pasadena.  CalTrans is working hard to get it fixed and open the road in time for the morning rush, although, it appears all lanes will not be open until this afternoon!

615am = moving along.  Connie’s been a trooper helping to get great shots this morning, and still managing to stay safe.