Max Beyda closes down her store.

LONGTIME  SAN PEDRO STORE OWNER SHUTS DOORS AFTER 20 YEARS; MAX’S PLACE IS LIKELY TO CLOSE WITHIN TWO WEEKS

By Diana L. Chapman

hartchap@cox.net

Once a booming store, Max’s Place – a small retail store that has clothed hundreds of San Pedro women for 20 years – plans to shut its doors within the next two weeks.

Through tears and smiles, Ann-Margaret “Max” Beyda said no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to turn the store around despite the money she poured back into it.

“I stood on my head to figure out if I could turn it around,” said Beyda, 60, who said she will soon the be looking for a full-time job. “Last year was really bad, but this year was worse. You can endure a slow time…but you can’t endure it past a certain point.”

The economy “is eroding fast, ” she added.

For weeks now, the store’s stock was slashed to 50 percent off, clearing out the shop and leaving less than 10 percent of what it once carried.

Customers have been warm and respectful, hugging her to say goodbye, Beyda explained, adding that she soon would be seeking work in customer relations. The shop, at 25^th Street and Western Avenue in the Von’s plaza, was a thriving business when it first opened two decades ago and continued on that steady path for nearly two decades.

But that began to change three years ago as the economy slumped.

“Everybody who has come in here has been sweet and supportive,” the shop owner said. “It’s really touching how many people have been reaching out to me. One lady came in and said: ‘Don’t you dare close.’”

Known as a higher end outlet store, Max’s carried brand names, such as True Grit, for half the prices of other stores or online. It primarily catered to a stream of middle class women.

While there were blips along the way, most years were healthy and Beyda was able to make a good living for her and her son, Robert, now 25.  A steady decline hit the store about three years ago and continued a downward spiral despite that she took out loans and tried to make a comeback.

Her son, who attends California State University Dominguez Hills finally encouraged her to shut Max’s doors.

“When I was stressing, my son said: “It’s like a sponge – a bottomless pit. You put the money in and it sucks it down,” Beyda said with tears in her eyes. “I’m going through the grieving process.”

Like so many small shops and cafes, the weakening economy punched out many small businesses – and continues to do so – making many wonder out loud if there will be much left of a middle class. In the shopping center, three other stores remain shuttered after closing three years ago.

Those closures, including a Hallmark gift store, ate away at shopping center’s foot traffic, Beyda said.

Keeping the store running became more problematic when inventory wasn’t moving. Without incoming cash, she couldn’t freshen up the store with new stock.

“I don’t have feast days anymore,” she concluded, adding that as soon as possible, she will beat the streets in search of a job.

Bonnie Sheehan with a dog named Alley, one of the thousands shes' rescued over the years.

 

An Accidental Rescue of One Tiny Dog in LA’s Garment District Led to a New Mission in Life; Bonnie Sheehan Has Saved Some 17,000 Pipsqueaks from the Needle of Death, Cleaned Them Up and Found Them New Homes

But the Hard-hitting Recession Has Forced Her To Rethink The Path Of Her Non-Profit, Hearts for Hounds

By Diana L. Chapman

hartchap@cox.net

Fourteen years ago while lost in the Los Angeles Garment District, Bonnie Sheehan spotted a bloody-red mass flying up and down like a yo-yo from behind a fence. She blinked to register what she was witnessing.

Then it dawned on her; she watched as a group of men egged on a pit-bull to snap, tear and bite to death a pug yanked around by one of the men. A red rage surged through Sheehan, a successful fashion consultant at the time.

“Give me that dog! Give me that dog!” she shouted looming out of her car like a mad woman.“It was disgusting what they were doing, They threw her to me. She was probably only eight pounds.”

Now, she was racing to her vet, blood soaking her designer clothes, the pastel blue leather seats in her new BMW and her high heels—hoping she could save this dog’s life – not knowing it would upend her own. Her fashion consulting life was out; her life as a dog rescuer was about to begin.

 Since that horrible day, Sheehan’s non-profit Hearts for Hound has marked and repeated success and found homes for more than 17,000 plus small dogs —often taken from shelters and nearly at death’s door. It wasn’t until this year, the flagging economy struck hard at her work. She’s now seeking to make drastic changes so she can save the remainder of her 60 canines.  Perhaps, she believes, the thousands of folks who adopted her dogs will come rescue Hearts for Hounds.  A $10 donation from each person who adopted from her could save everything.

  
 "It's just so dark now," Sheehan said. "Now I'm only adopting one dog a week."

***

That tiny pug launched Sheehan into a new lifestyle that shifted from one end of leash to the other. Sheehan shucked her Armani skirts, glittering sunglasses, lucrative salary and BMW, and entered the animal rescue world. Today, she sports sneakers, simple T-shirts and a filthy SUV with a “Puppy Chow” license plate that carts around hundreds of small dogs. Her salary is meager at best.

The money she acquires immediately goes back to the dogs and to run the $7,000-a-month lease for the Hearts for Hound’s kennel.

Before the economy crashed, Sheehan and her six member team became known locally for about 15 years for purchasing and rescuing dogs from shelters the day they are scheduled to be killed.

 They clean them up, remove mange and ticks, give them all beauty parlor treatment and find them new homes.

“I always say they (the dogs) are like the homeless,” she said. “You clean them up give them a bath and they look healthy again.”

Three Hearts for Hounds puppies waiting to be adopted.

The group has a 97 percent success rate in placing dogs like Amy, a four-year-old Russell Terrier mix; Buttons, a 1  1/2-year-old terrier-mix; Porter, a 2-year-old Wheaten terrier mix; and Sylvester, a 1-year-old poodle – all of whom, due to Bonnie,  were taken off death row the day they were to expire.

Before the recession, she matched  15 to 20 dogs with new homes each weekend; Now the number has dwindled to three or four during her Saturday and Sunday adoptions.

A couple that just adopted happily shows off their new pup.

From the beginning of Sheehan's dogged odyssey she was successful when it came to adoptions. The pug, Daisy, was saved and became her invalid mother’s companion. Daisy lived for many years after.

It was Daisy’s peril that first moved Sheehan to volunteer at shelters, but she found it heartbreaking with endless examples of healthy animals being put down who had just been readied for adoption.

“I’d show up the shelter and ask: ‘What happened to this dog or that one?’” the Long Beach rescuer said. “They’d say: ‘Euthanized. Euthanized.’”

The rescuer once spent hours picking ticks and fleas from a three-year-old German Shepherd she named Sarah. Sheehan had found a potential home for the shepherd, “who only needed a couple of days to recover and relax.” She gave Sarah a soothing bath before she left.

 When Sheehan returned the next day, she was shocked and angry that Sarah was euthanized.  That’s when she started her non-profit.

Despite her disgust with some shelters, she did learn something while volunteering for them. A big dog owner all her life until the Garment District rescue, Bonnie said she learned her own fallacy was believing small dogs were adopted quicker than large dogs. She now found herself drawn to smaller dogs.

“They won me over,” said the short-haired determined blond who has been a vegetarian for 30 years and comes from a family of six. “At one point, I was getting out 12 dogs and I finally had to rent a kennel.”

Sheehan with another one of her rescues.

Her small dog adoptions is what led me to Sheehan. My mother, at 80, finally made an announcement – she wanted a small pooch after my sisters and I had begged her for years to adopt one. Excitedly, I began calling rescues, but each turned me down because I lived in LA. My mother lived in Napa and they couldn’t do a home inspection.

Frustrated, a friend referred me to Hearts for Hounds website. When I got Sheehan on the phone, she told me she would find a match. She knew by instinct, she said, who would be good owners and didn’t need to visit any households.

On a sunny day, my husband and I drove to the Alamitos Farmer’s Market in Long Beach where Sheehan does adoptions every Sunday at 10:30 am.

She greeted us and showed us some potential matches. First on the leash, came Katie, a quirky, leaping Schnauzer mix. She was much too wild for my mom.

Then came darling, whiskered Linus, an absolute bundle of goodness who was quickly adopted by a middle-age couple.

 At last came Dara, a not-so-cute silver colored dog shaved down to the nub. Sheehan had snatched Dara out of the pound –despite calls from the staff that the dog was dead. She refused to believe it, she said, until she heard it from the vet.

When the veterinarian came in,  he ruled Dara, a Havenese mix, was more than alive.

Now, holding Dara in my arms,  I could feel her love swamp all over me as she nuzzled deeply under my chin.  My mom now calls her  “sweetie,” “little girl” and “the best dog I could ever have.”

My mom and Dara

 Baxter, now 11- months-old.

Because of Dara, we later turned to Sheehan again. My family added a wild baby Baxter, a bearded collie-poodle mix.

Lilly, my sister's dog.

And we encouraged my sister Leslie that she needed another dog before her beloved dog, Spark, died from cancer. Sheehan matched my sister with Lilly, also a Havanese pup taken from some illegal breeders.  Lilly was only 8-months-old and she already had three pups by the time Sheehan rescued her; they all died. Lilly and Leslie are now like two peas in a pod and are weirdly alike.

All this got me to thinking about the rescuer, and all the work she and her volunteers do. Day after day, they save little dogs that look more than-down-and-out.  Some look like they’ll never get back up on their paws again.

These are the creatures Sheehan and her team drag out of shelters, pay the fees to obtain them, and the expenses to care, feed and treat them before finding new homes. Due to recent financial struggles, Hearts for Hounds had to stop this practice and work on adopting the group's current clutch of canines.

On occasion, Sheehan admits she finds herself stuck with dogs she realizes will never find homes due to fear of humans – even though they love other canines. Her crew calls them “duds,” but the duds have found a good home at Sheehan's kennel training others to socialize with each other. Those include a couple of Chihuahuas, some poodle mixes and a Jack Russell terrier.

“They don’t trust anybody (human),” Sheehan said. “They just love other dogs. They teach them how to trust each other.”

While she skated at first through the mucky economy,  the last several months have forced her to consider buying an inexpensive piece of property back east –where pet adoptions are still thriving – to save some 60 dogs she still has and her non-profit.

She figures if each person who has adopted from her donates $10 she can do this easily.

I support Sheehan’s move. Her insurmountable successes which are mostly by “instinct” have led her to pet adoptions where she stills hears back from people to this day. Amongst the pride-and-joy stories she could line on her trophy wall are two in particular.

One starts with a Northern California family who spotted Tara, a Tibetan-terrier mix on the Hearts for Hounds website. They had a young son with medical conditions and he became captivated with Tara’s photo.

The family flew down to see if Tara was a fit. Once the youngster met Tara, Sheehan said, it was a clear the two already loved each other.

 Tara went off with her new family.

Within a week Sheehan received a call from a grateful mother.

Her son, the mother told her, had gone into cardiac arrest.  Tara had been left outside his bedroom and went into a wild fury, charging and slamming herself repeatedly against his closed door. The family rushed in discovering his seizure.

“Tara saved my son’s life,” the mother told Sheehan, who wasn’t the least surprised knowing the power of itty-bitty animals.

A second story was of a powerful Newport Beach attorney. He showed up at the adoptions acting oddly. He never had a dog, he announced.  His social graces upset the volunteers so much, that they asked Sheehan to turn him away.

But Sheehan watched him. Suddenly, he scooped his hand in the cage, picked up a Tibetan terrier – and kissed him. That was all the answer Sheehan needed to know he would make a good owner.

 A year later, she was adopting her pooches at a spot in Newport Beach when the attorney arrived with his dog in tow offering a $500 bottle of champagne to the rescuers. The attorney took his dog to the office everyday.

“’This dog changed my life,” Sheehan said he told her. “People talk to me now when they wouldn’t even approach me before.’”

“ Now, that was just precious,”  Sheehan said.

Sheehan can be reached at (562) 597-7137. Because she is frequently swamped, call several times. To see what she has for currently up for adoptions, visit www.heartsforhounds.com.   Besides cash donations, Hearts for Hounds needs blankets, toys including old stuffed animals, food and cleaning supplies. Donations can be sent to Hearts for Hound Kennel  at 1356 Obispo Avenue, Long Beach.

ANNOUNCING The 7 Golden Secrets to Writing Workshop FOR THE FALL

What’s this:

A fun, unorthodox way to get children to embrace and love writing while they learn, create and enjoy at the same time. Long time writer Diana Chapman created the workshop to instill a passion in children about the craft  while they improve their skills

Who is tHis For:

Children ages 6 to 13. Another class will be formed if enough parents are interested for children ages 13 +. If interested, email her at hartchap@cox.net

WHAT ARE THE COSTS, WHEN AND WHERE?

Each six week session costs $60. This workshop will run each Wednesday from Sept. 14 to Oct. 19 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 at the Corner Store, 1118 West 37^th Street, San Pedro. There are no refunds.

TO ENROLL:

Either show up for the first day of class or reach Diana via email above.

Do You Think the City’s Top Cops Are Supporting Harbor-Area Police Officer Joe Buscaino in the Los Angeles City Council Race to Replace Janice Hahn? They Might Not Say So Out loud, But You Bet the Brass Wants Him In

This Wednesday, Buscaino and His Nearly 20 Contenders Face the Everyday Cops  Union

By Diana L. Chapman

Couldn’t help but wonder about it as I perused down the list of our 20 potential candidates who believe they have the “right stuff” to replace former Los Angeles Council Member Janice Hahn.

What I wondered: Will the Los Angeles Police Department’s higher-ups support former Harbor Area Community Police Officer Joe Buscaino, a 36-year-old father of two?

It’s not possible to do so openly, said LAPD Deputy Chief Pat Gannon, explaining that Chief Charlie Beck made a promise before he became the department’s top cop that his upper commanders – including himself – would not endorse any political candidate.

They will remain silent about one of their own running for Council District 15 and have clearly detailed what Buscaino can and cannot do while he’s campaigning and still wearing the working shoes of a police officer.

This, however, does not include curtailing any endorsement that might come from the Los Angeles Police Commander’s Association—the LAPD’s upper management union.

Buscaino -- whose roots in the Harbor Area seem deeper than an ocean trench with 500 plus Italian family members living in Wilmington, Harbor City and San Pedro - believes he’s got  all the cops in the bag -- top on down.

“The other candidates don’t wear the badge,” said Buscaino. “I do expect my brothers and sisters to support me. I’ve worked patrol car, foot beats, special investigations. If anyone knows the importance of the police officers’ job it’s me.

“I believe I will be getting support top down.”

Not so fast.

This Wednesday Buscaino has to pluck up an endorsement from his own union, the Los Angeles Protective League, while vying for its stamp of approval  among his other competitors.

But that wasn’t so easy for one of his rivals, Pat McOsker, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, who immediately received sharp criticism for running when he was representing  the city’s firefighters. Rancor and recall threats hummed furiously and some called it a conflict of interest.

Once McOsker took a leave-of-absence, however, the whole issue settled and the union did endorse him after much hullabaloo.

While Buscaino may be counting his chickens before the eggs hatch, a patrol officer, who asked not to be identified, believes Buscaino will skate through his union’s endorsement.

“I’ll support him as much as I can even though I don’t live in the city,” said the officer. “But I think they’ll be in favor of Joe. He’s one of their own and they’d favor that. The understanding  will be that he’s on the P.D. and that he’ll understand us.”

While top commanders aren’t publicly endorsing Buscaino – at least so far – the officer received some major accolades from the upper command in the past three months, including adopting the officer’s program to recruit teenagers to help fight crime across the 21 regions of the LAPD and elevating him to oversee the city’s cadet instructors.

Still, Buscaino has had to follow some strict rules set up by commanders, said Gannon, his boss.

First, he was removed from working anywhere in the area of District 15, which stretches across the Harbor Area, pulling in San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City and Watts.

“When he announced he was running for City Council, I immediately transferred Joe from Harbor Station to my office at Operations-South Bureau,” Gannon said.  “He has been assigned administrative duties to eliminate any possibility of a conflict. He will also worked our cadet program.

“He cannot campaign while on duty and must keep work and political ambition separate.  As the campaign moves forward and the time needed to concentrate on this effort increases, Joe will need to take a leave of absence from the police department until the election is over.”

Although Gannon was Buscaino’s mentor and directed him into a police career when he spotted his talent working with youth at Bogdonovich Park in San Pedro, Gannon said he cannot endorse his mentee due to Beck’s wishes.

But there’s little reason to think the high command is not supportive. Their recent actions the last few months seem to put the check in the ballot box for Buscaino.

Prior to his announcement, the top command endorsed Buscaino’s work to bring teens into the fold to help determine ways to fight crime. Six years ago, Buscaino formed the first Teen Community Police Advisory Board. Crime statistics showed that  teen crime dropped by nearly 50 percent in some areas.

The chief then ordered such teen boards to be in place at all 21 regions of the LAPD by the end of August. Shortly after that, Buscaino was named to supervise the popular cadet program, overseeing all its instructors.

And while Gannon and Buscaino remain close, the deputy chief said: “I’d love to endorse Joe, but I must stay neutral.”

Buscaino, who added that many officers are volunteering for him already, said he will take a leave-of-absence from the police department Sept. 11.

TWO NEW PRINCIPALS STARTED THEIR JOBS THIS WEEK AT DANA AND DODSON MIDDLE SCHOOLS;

Both Principals Vow to Raise Test Scores and Build From Where Their Predecessors Left Off

Jesus Nunez takes the helm at Dana

By Diana L. Chapman 


Two new principals for local middle schools – whose hires were approved by Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy this week  – started their posts Thursday day filled with enthusiasm and hard-core intentions to bring up their campuses test scores.

Jesus Nunez, 39, of Whittier took over his role as the head of Dana Middle School. He’s worked for Los Angeles schools for 16 years, lastly as an assistant principal at White Middle School. He replaces Terry Ball, who was promoted.

John Vladovic – son of Los Angeles School Board Member Richard Vladovic – stepped in to oversee Dodson, a school he attended as a youth. He last served as an assistant principal at Wilmington Middle School. He steps into the shoes of Travis Collier, who also was promoted.

John Vladovic will now run Dodson Middle School

Both men applied to head Dodson and Dana, said Michael Romero, superintendent of LAUSD’s District 8 who manages the schools in the entire Harbor Area as well as Carson, Gardena, Lomita and parts of southern Los Angeles.

They were among 25 candidates who contended for the positions, Romero said.

“They both had their hat in the ring,” he explained, adding he could have placed each at either school but picked Vladovic for Dodson because he had “a personal connection to the school” having attended there.

“They are both outstanding, strong instructional leaders,” said Romero who received final approval from Deasy Tuesday. “They are bold, innovative, bright. They both want to make a name for their schools and have a lot of energy. We had some strong candidates, but they were my final choices.”

Asked if John Vladovic received the job because his father’s on the school board, Romero said: “Absolutely not. Dr. (Richard) Vladovic never talked to be about that and he never would.  John Vladovic has completely earned this.”

At Dana, Nunez, in a phone interview, couldn’t express his delight more after arriving at Dana he said to find a warm, caring and talented staff. While he attended Dodson too as a child too, something about Dana appealed to him immediately.

“I’m excited,” said Nunez, who has two boys, Noah, 6, and Benjamin, 8. “I just found out yesterday (Wednesday).  “The staff was really receptive. We have a lot of work to do. I really like Dana. I interviewed for Dodson, but I’m happy to be at Dana.”

The Dana principal says he hopes to expand on his predecessors footsteps. Prior to Nunez’s arrival – the school which has been haunted for years with a bad reputation and low test scores  – began its turn around after Ball arrived six years ago.

Ball included parents – once unwanted at the campus --in the equation to better the school, allowing them to volunteer and work directly with students. After that, test scores began to rise, as more and more families began to return to their home school.

Planning to build from that, Nunez said, he too will encourage parent volunteerism to blossom and plans to work on making sure his teachers “don’t teach in isolation.”

Teachers, he said, will collaborate, share their best practices and will have to “look in a mirror” and come to reflect whether their earlier strategies remain workable. If not, he hopes to bring together fresh and invigorating ways to strengthen their teaching talents.

Asked what his philosophy is on how students should be treated, Nunez said: “I always say to teachers: ‘Treat them as you would want your own kids treated.  Be firm, assertive and loving. ‘ (Middle school) students have so much developmental changes going on with their bodies and their thoughts. You need to have sympathy for the them and on get to know your students needs.”

Dodson’s newest principal, John Vladovic, 34, said he was surprised when he learned this week he landed the campus – a school he attended and still lives near.

“I was in the original drama class that Dodson first had and I feel personally connected to the school. My sister and I went there together.” he said. “I got the call this week.  At first I was taken aback and shocked. Now I am really excited. I am completely honored and humbled.

“Dodson has done some great things and I plan to continue in the direction it’s moving.”

Vladovic, who held a series of teaching posts that took him across more than a half dozen communities in Los Angeles Unified, said the experience of being shunted around the district due to his low seniority only added to his knowledge about ways to handle education.

With the district now  ten years, Vladovic has held slots as a teacher at middle and high schools, a test coordinator and a data coach before he became an assistant principal , a job he held at two middle schools..

Because of his deep educational roots with his family – and his interest in making Dodson a better school – Vladovic said not only will he focus on test scores, but also on ensuring that the students are taught academic and social skills to prepare for their futures.

He also intends for the school’s parents to feel more welcomed at the middle school. Over the years, many parents have complained that they are not wanted there.  His plans, he said, is to make Dodson a welcoming environment for students, parents and the community.

Asked how his father felt about him receiving the post,  Vladovic said he believes his dad is proud and happy.

“My Dad was really surprised,” Vladovic said. “He even offered me advice. He said to be an active listener and innovative. He also said to make sure my door was open.”