Japan Relief

Next to the usual "Deposit Cash" option on Wells Fargo ATMs, customers logging in recently found a new "Donate to Charity" button on the screen. Within 10 days, ATMs around the country collected more than $1 million for the American Red Cross to use on relief efforts in earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan. Officials from the American Bankers Assn. say it may be the first time the machines have been used on this scale to raise money for charity. A Cleveland bank in the 1990s used its ATMs to raise money for its local United Way. Wells Fargo & Co. has experimented before with ATMs for a few small charity projects, officials said.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Thursday: Lady Gaga is accused in a class-action lawsuit of pocketing proceeds that should have gone to Japan earthquake relief. ( New York Daily News ) "Real Housewife" Michaele Salahi performs "Bump it" on a morning news show and sexy-poses on the beach in a white bikini. We're not sure which is worse. ( Los Angeles Times ) A Newsweek cover uses age projection to imagine what 50-year-old Princess Diana would be like, had she lived.

Several local organizations have set up funds to help victims of the Japanese earthquake: * The American Red Cross is accepting money for the "Japanese Relief" fund. Send checks to 2700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90057, or charge donations by calling 1-800-842-2200. * The Salvation Army is accepting donations earmarked "Japan Earthquake Relief." Mail contributions to 900 W. 9th St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90015.

Next to the usual "Deposit Cash" option on Wells Fargo ATMs, customers logging in recently found a new "Donate to Charity" button on the screen. Within 10 days, ATMs around the country collected more than $1 million for the American Red Cross to use on relief efforts in earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan. Officials from the American Bankers Assn. say it may be the first time the machines have been used on this scale to raise money for charity. A Cleveland bank in the 1990s used its ATMs to raise money for its local United Way. Wells Fargo & Co. has experimented before with ATMs for a few small charity projects, officials said.

A woman from Reseda, whose family is still living in a house heavily damaged in the Northridge earthquake, brought a carload of clothing, food and special treats to Little Tokyo to be forwarded to victims of last week's deadly Kobe temblor. And Long Beach mail carrier Yamira Ybarra spent her day off with her son, Jonathan, carting the items she had collected during her mail delivery route to Little Tokyo's earthquake relief center.

France, Japan and Argentina have made planes available to help evacuate refugees from the Gulf War and provide relief supplies, aid officials said Friday. France told the Intergovernmental Organization for Migration it would provide a plane capable of evacuating 7,000 to 10,000 refugees in a series of runs, an IOM spokeswoman said. She said Japan has provided four commercial Boeing 747s to carry a total of 1,000 Asian refugees out of Jordan.

Frustrated members of a Southern California medical relief team finally got a chance to help on Tuesday, but in a much different way than expected.

Turmoil erupted in Parliament on Monday over the government's handling of Japan's killer earthquake as the death toll surpassed 5,000, unofficial damage estimates rose to $100 billion and the stock market suffered its biggest drop in 3 1/2 years. "Bungling" in the government's handling of the disaster "showed that under the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, even the most minimum responsibility of the government . . . to protect the lives and property of the people . . .

A medical team made up of 18 Southern California trauma-care specialists Sunday became the first private U.S. relief effort to reach this devastated city since an earthquake struck Tuesday. Most offers of foreign assistance have been refused by the Japanese government.

After a long day of heartache and confusion, a group of 18 Southern California trauma-care specialists finally received the go-ahead late Monday to become the first foreigners to treat critically injured victims of the Kobe earthquake. The word came at midnight just as the success of their mission seemed imperiled. The eight volunteer doctors, nine nurses and single paramedic organized by a Torrance businessman had spent their first day in Kobe feeling frustrated.

Travelers are being offered many ways to contribute to the earthquake and tsunami relief effort in Japan. Some airline and hotel rewards programs will allow members to exchange their points for charity donations. In an earlier blog post, I wrote about donation options from American Airlines and All Nippon Airways . Here are more companies that provide ways to help, with links to their rewards programs: Hilton HHonors --Will match donations made by its members to a maximum of $250,000.

Sandwiched between a major downtown artery and a neighborhood of crushed houses is a playground the size of a large traffic island, where six tents stand. Rie Hatada sits on an upturned plastic box, quietly tending a small fire. Curled up close by is her 6-month-old puppy, Buuta. Her two boys, 6-year-old Kennichi and 12-year-old Sho, kick around a soccer ball nearby. Hatada doesn't complain about her temporary home. The tent is dry, if cold, and she has daily rations of rice and canned meat.

A woman from Reseda, whose family is still living in a house heavily damaged in the Northridge earthquake, brought a carload of clothing, food and special treats to Little Tokyo to be forwarded to victims of last week's deadly Kobe temblor. And Long Beach mail carrier Yamira Ybarra spent her day off with her son, Jonathan, carting the items she had collected during her mail delivery route to Little Tokyo's earthquake relief center.

Frustrated members of a Southern California medical relief team finally got a chance to help on Tuesday, but in a much different way than expected.

Demolition, emergency repairs and construction accelerated here Tuesday as the government declared this crippled city a disaster area and offered special tax cuts to victims of Japan's worst earthquake in 72 years. With convenience stores and some other shops reopened, the less damaged parts of the city took on an appearance of near-normality. But in other places, clouds of dust rose as huge cranes tore into crumbled buildings of concrete and steel.

After hiking seven miles through some of this city's most ferociously flattened neighborhoods, half the 18-person Southern California medical relief team finally got to help Tuesday: At a Koreatown hospital, they peeled vegetables, straightened X-ray files, sterilized surgical equipment and conducted a grief therapy session. And they were welcomed with hugs, tears and praise. "They rescued us," said Dr. Jung Hyo Kim, emergency room chief at Kobe Asahi Hospital, of the surprise assistance.

Demolition, emergency repairs and construction accelerated here Tuesday as the government declared this crippled city a disaster area and offered special tax cuts to victims of Japan's worst earthquake in 72 years. With convenience stores and some other shops reopened, the less damaged parts of the city took on an appearance of near-normality. But in other places, clouds of dust rose as huge cranes tore into crumbled buildings of concrete and steel.

Harumi Takasago, his unshaven face weary from just six hours of sleep in six days, manages a microcosm of Japanese society as the de facto commander of a relief shelter at Uozaki Elementary School in this quake-ravaged city. He has seen people die in the rubble as residents desperately tried to claw them out by hand, while Japan's infamous bureaucracy kept Self-Defense Forces troops from reaching the scene for four days.

Turmoil erupted in Parliament on Monday over the government's handling of Japan's killer earthquake as the death toll surpassed 5,000, unofficial damage estimates rose to $100 billion and the stock market suffered its biggest drop in 3 1/2 years. "Bungling" in the government's handling of the disaster "showed that under the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, even the most minimum responsibility of the government . . . to protect the lives and property of the people . . .

After a long day of heartache and confusion, a group of 18 Southern California trauma-care specialists finally received the go-ahead late Monday to become the first foreigners to treat critically injured victims of the Kobe earthquake. The word came at midnight just as the success of their mission seemed imperiled. The eight volunteer doctors, nine nurses and single paramedic organized by a Torrance businessman had spent their first day in Kobe feeling frustrated.