San Fernando Police Department

It may not be considered hard labor, but for the dozen or so local business people taken into custody Tuesday, working the phones for donations was their ticket to freedom. Arrested on a variety of made-up charges ranging from tardiness to withholding hugs, the individuals were detained in a makeshift jail in front of JC Penney on the San Fernando Mall until they raised enough cash to satisfy their jailers.

San Fernando officials have established a memorial fund to assist the family of Arthur Jensen Sr., who was killed by suspected gang members on Easter as he walked with his son to a neighborhood bakery. "This is a real tragedy for the family and the city at large, because it could have happened to anyone," said San Fernando Mayor Raul Godinez II. "Mr. Jensen leaves behind four young children, a wife, a mother and many relatives and friends.

When San Fernando Police Chief Dominick Rivetti asked Reserve Sgt. Jim Martinez to rescue the department's faltering Explorer program just over two years ago, the post had only six members and no planned activities. The first move by Martinez, a San Fernando native who oversees police recruit training, was to enlist the aid of another reserve officer: his daughter Kathy Martinez.

The City Council has put on hold the purchase and installation of a $16,462 GTE automated attendant and voice-mail telephone system requested by the Police Department. "The concern that council has is that when a person calls the Police Department, they usually have a problem or need help," Councilman Doude Wysbeek said after a vote earlier this week. "And if they call up and get a bunch of different numbers and have to listen to a menu," Wysbeek said, people might get the wrong message.

Former San Fernando Mayor Jess Margarito faces felony charges for allegedly crediting friends and acquaintances with court-ordered community service they did not perform, authorities said Thursday. Capping a three-year investigation by the San Fernando Police Department, prosecutors filed forgery charges Monday against Margarito, a longtime San Fernando power broker who also served as a city councilman and parks director. If convicted, he faces up to four years and four months in state prison.

City of San Fernando Public Works Director Mike Drake was the first to cash out. He approached the new automated teller bank machine installed Thursday in the lobby of the San Fernando Police Department headquarters, stuck in his card and punched in his personal identification number. Bea Walker, branch manager of the U.S. Postal Service Credit Union, which supplies the new machine with money, didn't know how much money Drake withdrew. And Drake--an experienced public official--didn't say.

WHERE TO GET MONEY: City of San Fernando Public Works Director Mike Drake was the first to cash out. He approached the new automated teller bank machine installed Thursday in the lobby of the San Fernando Police Department headquarters, stuck in his card and punched in his personal identification number.

The YWCA of Greater Los Angeles has entered the home stretch as it gears up to help launch the nationwide "Week Without Violence," which will run from Oct. 15 to 21. "We will challenge people to take the first steps, during this week, to make the vision of peace in our communities a reality," said Laverne Minor, facility coordinator and team leader at the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles, located in San Fernando.

A new firing range and an emergency communications center opened this week at the San Fernando Police Department. Paid for with funds raised by the San Fernando Police Advisory Council and from grants, the new three-lane firing range, located in what used to be an empty alley behind the station, is entirely automated, said Sgt. Robert Ordelheide, who oversaw construction of the new facility. "It's state of the art," Ordelheide said.