Children S Center

Midnight traffic zoomed past the Children's Center on North Bristol Street, sending stripes of light and emergency wails into the darkened front room. Oblivious, four small forms slept on child-sized cots. In pajamas, a 2-year-old hugged a bottle, a 4-year-old, a worn teddy bear. A 5-year-old still in her day clothes lay curled up in another room beneath a flickering television, in hopes her mother would arrive any minute.

A grand jury said a Kern County center for abused and neglected children is crowded, depressing, and lacks the proper security and medical care, but officials have not found evidence of abuse there, according to a recent report. Grand jury members called on the county Department of Human Services to work with other social service agencies to improve conditions at the county-run A. Miriam Jamison Children's Center and seek funds for a new building.

Orange Coast College's growing fund to build a new children's center on campus has received a $25,000 contribution. The gift from the Margaret E. Oser Foundation brings the fund total to $2.5 million. The Oser Foundation, established in 1986, makes donations to organizations concerned with educational, health services and women's issues. Construction on the children's center, which will provide affordable day care for children of Orange Coast College students, has already begun.

The grazing goats might give it away that the Silverado Children's Center is not your standard suburban baby-sitting setup. Or maybe the tip-off is the kids freely spilling paint all over the sidewalk and each other without a peep of protest from the adults. There are no children consigned to straight rows here, no grown-ups spouting strict rules. The place is a creative free-for-all, just as parents want it in the canyons around Silverado.

A fund-raiser earlier this month for Orange Coast College's Foundation raised $6,821. The money will benefit the college's Children's Center, which provides day care. Proceeds will buy equipment for the center's demonstration kitchen, where teachers show children how to make meals and snacks. More than 300 people attended the fund-raiser at Outback Steakhouse. Established in 1969, the college's Children's Center recently moved into a $2.86-million complex.

Los Angeles zoning officials last week granted the Las Doradas Children's Center in Venice a permit to move its existing child-care facility in Oakwood to a new site owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District next to Broadway Elementary School. The school district will allow the center to use the site for free, freeing money that Las Doradas had been paying for rent, which will now be used toward an expansion of its preschool and after-school programs.

In the playground at the Moorpark College Child Development Center, kids who never knew Wendy McGrath instead hear merry tinkling sounds from the nearby hillside. McGrath died of liver cancer last year at 42. But her spirit lives on in the chimes, which were dedicated to her in a ceremony on Saturday. About 60 people attended, most of whom knew McGrath from the times she took her son Matthew to the center between 1994 and 1997.

Orange Coast College has been awarded the largest cash gift in its history. The $500,000 donated by the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation will be used for a new children's center on campus. "The Steele Foundation has been extremely supportive of Orange Coast College over the past decade, and we're very grateful for this latest gift," said David A. Grant, president of Orange Coast College. Officials said about $1.95 million has been raised for the $2.2-million project. The children's center provides affordable child care to low-income students, said Doug Bennett, executive director of the Orange Coast Foundation.

A grand jury said a Kern County center for abused and neglected children is crowded, depressing, and lacks the proper security and medical care, but officials have not found evidence of abuse there, according to a recent report. Grand jury members called on the county Department of Human Services to work with other social service agencies to improve conditions at the county-run A. Miriam Jamison Children's Center and seek funds for a new building.

An early Valentine's Day dance Friday will benefit the Children's Learning Center at Laura's House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. The second annual Dance-a-thon Valentine Ball, featuring a free group ballroom dance lesson, is expected to draw about 150 people and raise more than $1,000 for the children's center.

In the playground at the Moorpark College Child Development Center, kids who never knew Wendy McGrath instead hear merry tinkling sounds from the nearby hillside. McGrath died of liver cancer last year at 42. But her spirit lives on in the chimes, which were dedicated to her in a ceremony on Saturday. About 60 people attended, most of whom knew McGrath from the times she took her son Matthew to the center between 1994 and 1997.

An early Valentine's Day dance Friday will benefit the Children's Learning Center at Laura's House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. The second annual Dance-a-thon Valentine Ball, featuring a free group ballroom dance lesson, is expected to draw about 150 people and raise more than $1,000 for the children's center.

A fund-raiser earlier this month for Orange Coast College's Foundation raised $6,821. The money will benefit the college's Children's Center, which provides day care. Proceeds will buy equipment for the center's demonstration kitchen, where teachers show children how to make meals and snacks. More than 300 people attended the fund-raiser at Outback Steakhouse. Established in 1969, the college's Children's Center recently moved into a $2.86-million complex.

Orange Coast College opened its $2.86-million Harry and Grace Steele Children's Center on Tuesday. With 13,000 square feet, the complex serves 160 children, ages 6 months to 6 years, whose parents are enrolled at the college. It replaces an older center. Designed by Taylor & Associates Architects in Newport Beach, it features six cottage-style classrooms, a kitchen, demonstration area, central living room, library, administrative area and lounge. Center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Orange Coast College's growing fund to build a new children's center on campus has received a $25,000 contribution. The gift from the Margaret E. Oser Foundation brings the fund total to $2.5 million. The Oser Foundation, established in 1986, makes donations to organizations concerned with educational, health services and women's issues. Construction on the children's center, which will provide affordable day care for children of Orange Coast College students, has already begun.

Orange Coast College has been awarded the largest cash gift in its history. The $500,000 donated by the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation will be used for a new children's center on campus. "The Steele Foundation has been extremely supportive of Orange Coast College over the past decade, and we're very grateful for this latest gift," said David A. Grant, president of Orange Coast College. Officials said about $1.95 million has been raised for the $2.2-million project. The children's center provides affordable child care to low-income students, said Doug Bennett, executive director of the Orange Coast Foundation.

Orange Coast College opened its $2.86-million Harry and Grace Steele Children's Center on Tuesday. With 13,000 square feet, the complex serves 160 children, ages 6 months to 6 years, whose parents are enrolled at the college. It replaces an older center. Designed by Taylor & Associates Architects in Newport Beach, it features six cottage-style classrooms, a kitchen, demonstration area, central living room, library, administrative area and lounge. Center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The grazing goats might give it away that the Silverado Children's Center is not your standard suburban baby-sitting setup. Or maybe the tip-off is the kids freely spilling paint all over the sidewalk and each other without a peep of protest from the adults. There are no children consigned to straight rows here, no grown-ups spouting strict rules. The place is a creative free-for-all, just as parents want it in the canyons around Silverado.

As acting president of the Del Rey Homeowners and Neighbors Assn., I object to your characterization of the issue regarding the property on Wagner Street as (only) a conditional use permit for a children's center. The major principle here is the accountability of the Community Plan. The City Council approved this plan August, 1976, making the Wagner Street property R1, to be used for single-family dwellings only. The Community Plan was revised July, 1988, but the Wagner Street property was not affected.

Los Angeles zoning officials last week granted the Las Doradas Children's Center in Venice a permit to move its existing child-care facility in Oakwood to a new site owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District next to Broadway Elementary School. The school district will allow the center to use the site for free, freeing money that Las Doradas had been paying for rent, which will now be used toward an expansion of its preschool and after-school programs.