Association For Retarded Citizens

A Compton nonprofit job training program that faced eviction from the building it has occupied for 25 years will get to stay there after all. The Mid-Cities Assn. for Retarded Citizens reached an agreement Tuesday with the building's owner under which the organization will begin paying rent. A real estate dealer bought the property on Alameda Street at auction after the building fell into default on property taxes.

A Compton nonprofit job training program that faced eviction from the building it has occupied for 25 years will get to stay there after all. The Mid-Cities Assn. for Retarded Citizens reached an agreement Tuesday with the building's owner under which the organization will begin paying rent. A real estate dealer bought the property on Alameda Street at auction after the building fell into default on property taxes.

The Mervyn's Department Store in Ventura and Paschen Management Corp. of Camarillo, operator of McDonald's restaurants throughout Ventura County, have been honored as leading employers of persons with developmental disabilities. The two firms have four developmentally disabled employees each, according to Ann Contreras, program director of SEARCH, the supported employment program of the Assn. for Retarded Citizens-Ventura County.

A nonprofit job training program for the mentally disabled is facing eviction from a Compton building where it has provided occupational training for a quarter-century. Attorneys for the program, the Mid-Cities Assn. for Retarded Citizens, will go to court today in an attempt to block the eviction by a real estate investor. Frank Prior purchased the association's property for a fraction of its worth at a county auction in February after the building fell into default on property taxes.

A nonprofit job training program for the mentally disabled is facing eviction from a Compton building where it has provided occupational training for a quarter-century. Attorneys for the program, the Mid-Cities Assn. for Retarded Citizens, will go to court today in an attempt to block the eviction by a real estate investor. Frank Prior purchased the association's property for a fraction of its worth at a county auction in February after the building fell into default on property taxes.

On behalf of the parents and other members of the Association for Retarded Citizens-California, I wish to thank The Times for publishing the series on living conditions in community care facilities for persons with mental retardation (Part I, Jan. 8-10). We are outraged by the numerous cases of abuse, neglect and deaths of vulnerable and dependent individuals your reporter, John Hurst, uncovered. We are shocked by the accounts of various agencies failing to intercede to protect dependent persons.

The eye of the hurricane is at Lake Poway. On the far side, in the bush. Lee and April and Doug, sitting in the dappled shade of the scrub trees, on their slashers--big knives like the kind Crocodile Dundee flashed in Manhattan--to keep their bottoms off the mud. There is the sound of the odd jay in the trees. A far-off curse by a fisherman who's just dropped a fish from his hook. A nearby rustle of something small under the leaves.

Deep into the gloom of a 13-month-old recession, a few lights shine brightly in Ventura County. Some area businesses are not just surviving hard times, but thriving. Amid the failing banks, listless car dealerships and struggling real estate firms, a few enterprises are flourishing, including thrift shops, temporary agencies, employment services and auction houses.

It might seem odd that the guiding spirit behind Ventura County's most successful effort to help homeless people would be the director of the county's Animal Regulation Department. But it makes sense to Kathy Jenks. In 25 years with the county, she has made a career out of getting things done. And when El Nino storms pushed the persistent countywide problem of homelessness to the crisis level, she had the right combination of skills, connections and compassion to take charge.

The Mervyn's Department Store in Ventura and Paschen Management Corp. of Camarillo, operator of McDonald's restaurants throughout Ventura County, have been honored as leading employers of persons with developmental disabilities. The two firms have four developmentally disabled employees each, according to Ann Contreras, program director of SEARCH, the supported employment program of the Assn. for Retarded Citizens-Ventura County.