Salvation Army

A new shelter for homeless women will open its doors next month, but only those with alcohol problems will be allowed to spend the night. It is the first program exclusively for women alcoholics in the area, and city officials say the slated mid-June opening will come none to soon. The 56-bed facility, housed in a remodeled hotel on East 5th Street, is a Salvation Army project. "You have provided a sign of hope, an indication of love and an expression of caring to those who are down on their luck," Mayor Tom Bradley said at a ceremony outside the building Friday.

Last-minute shoppers at Fashion Island in Newport Beach won't hear one of the most familiar sounds of Christmas: the Salvation Army bell. Salvation Army workers and their red kettles are stationed outside Bloomingdales and Macy's at the upscale mall with an ocean view, but they have agreed to a request to not ring their bells. "You have to respect store owners, people," said Salvation Army Major Antonio Orta, who oversees the three bell ringers — their actual job title — on the property owned by the Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. "We have to comply because we solicit on their premises," Orta said.

Call it the Forever 21 effect, or fast fashion. Americans are buying, and discarding, clothes more quickly than ever. The average American throws 54 pounds of clothes and shoes into the trash each year. That adds up to about 9 million tons of wearables that are sent into the waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — a 27% increase in a mere eight years. Although resale shops are a good option for clothes that still have some fashion value, and charities will take items that are well past their prime, there are still an awful lot of ink-stained dress shirts and moth-eaten sweaters that find their way to the dump.

An El Monte man accused of preying on Chinese immigrants by charging them to join a fake U.S. Army unit is actually a charity-minded businessman who modeled his military group on the Salvation Army, according to his attorney. David Deng, 51, appeared in a Pomona courtroom Wednesday, shackled and wearing jail-issued clothing — a far cry from the smart military-type uniform he wore as the "supreme commander" of the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve. His arraignment was postponed to May 2, and a bail hearing was set for Friday, when his attorney said he'll argue for a reduction in his client's $500,000 bail.

Congratulations to Times staff writer Doug Smith and The Times for the heartwarming and inspirational story about Kenneth and Jolene Hodder, newly commissioned Salvation Army officers (Metro, Dec. 24). How fortunate we are to be blessed with such unselfish and committed young people in our efforts to cope with the myriad problems that beset our society today. Faith in our way of life should be immensely strengthened in knowing that people like Kenneth and Jolene Hodder will be leading the charge for a better tomorrow.

When Salvation Army founders William and Catherine Booth began preaching to the destitute on the streets of London in 1852, people didn't yet use light bulbs or telephones. Now, the faith-based social service charity, a potent symbol of Christmas tradition, is fully digital, recently streaming online a Christmas pop concert held in Glendale, collecting text donations via mobile phones, and developing an iPhone app with a ringing bell. The cornerstone of the electronic effort is the Online Red Kettle ?

By day, Henry Graciani oversees a 54-bed treatment center for alcoholics and drug addicts who come to him broke and hopeless. After work, he makes a quick drive to the $1.3-million Santa Monica home he shares with his wife and three children. Graciani is not a high-paid executive returning to a beach retreat. He and his wife, Dina, are career Salvation Army officers who bring home $25,000 per year -- combined . They are among dozens of the charity's officers in Southern California who are paid modest salaries but given rent-free housing -- some in high-priced communities such as Rancho Palos Verdes, Seal Beach and Santa Monica.

Lifelong Fullerton resident Dolores Barrett, director of social services for Salvation Army Orange County, has been selected to serve in the 1998-99 class of Frances Hesselbein Community Innovation Fellows. The program recognizes and supports the accomplishments of people who have demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial performance, and are engaged in projects that demonstrate community innovation.

The Western Corp. of the Salvation Army announced Thursday it will start providing domestic partners benefits. "Health care is a universal good, and the only way to access it is through employment," said San Francisco Division Cmdr. Richard Love. "We want to make health care as broad as possible." Currently, Salvation Army employees and their spouses in the Western states receive full health benefits.

When Salvation Army founders William and Catherine Booth began preaching to the destitute on the streets of London in 1852, people didn't yet use light bulbs or telephones. Now, the faith-based social service charity, a potent symbol of Christmas tradition, is fully digital, recently streaming online a Christmas pop concert held in Glendale, collecting text donations via mobile phones, and developing an iPhone app with a ringing bell. The cornerstone of the electronic effort is the Online Red Kettle ?

As Thanksgiving has approached, the Salvation Army in Compton has been overwhelmed with requests for turkeys from families that cannot afford them. But the organization has been hit hard by the same drop in donations that has plagued charities across the country. Capt. Ezekiel Guevara said he started the week with just one turkey in his freezer, far short of the 150 he was able to hand out last year and nowhere near the 500 he hoped to give to needy families this year. Guevara's story made the local news.

For four years, Long Beach leaders have pinned hopes for turning around a troubled central city neighborhood on the Salvation Army's plan to build a world-class community center there. Then, last week, Salvation Army leaders announced that the project — which was to be funded largely by $76 million from the estate of Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's entrepreneur Ray Kroc — was not financially viable. They cited insufficient local fundraising, escalating costs and liability concerns.

Re: "A charitable benefit," March 14: "Some Salvation Army officers get use of expensive homes." So what? For the men and women who devote their lives to providing care for those in need, any organization employing them would be remiss if it did not ensure adequate salaries and benefits. It sounds like smart money management and real estate investing to me when the Salvation Army buys homes in pricier neighborhoods to house its personnel. James Wight Altadena :: The fact that the Salvation Army is a residential powerhouse is in one sense irrelevant.

Call it the Forever 21 effect, or fast fashion. Americans are buying, and discarding, clothes more quickly than ever. The average American throws 54 pounds of clothes and shoes into the trash each year. That adds up to about 9 million tons of wearables that are sent into the waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — a 27% increase in a mere eight years. Although resale shops are a good option for clothes that still have some fashion value, and charities will take items that are well past their prime, there are still an awful lot of ink-stained dress shirts and moth-eaten sweaters that find their way to the dump.

By day, Henry Graciani oversees a 54-bed treatment center for alcoholics and drug addicts who come to him broke and hopeless. After work, he makes a quick drive to the $1.3-million Santa Monica home he shares with his wife and three children. Graciani is not a high-paid executive returning to a beach retreat. He and his wife, Dina, are career Salvation Army officers who bring home $25,000 per year -- combined . They are among dozens of the charity's officers in Southern California who are paid modest salaries but given rent-free housing -- some in high-priced communities such as Rancho Palos Verdes, Seal Beach and Santa Monica.

Los Angeles is full of a lot of private moguls and a lot fewer public moguls, and Rick J. Caruso is one of the latter -- an immaculate, slightly Italianate master of his universe, with a bit of a retro vibe. The retail superstar conceived and built the Grove, the Americana at Brand and the Commons at Calabasas and is laboring on projects in Montecito and near the Santa Anita racetrack. But he has also thrown himself into civic life, as head of two of the city's most powerful boards, the DWP and the Police Commission, as a charitable force and as a man in the political mix as a possible candidate for mayor.