Veterans Housing

The federal government Thursday abruptly cut off about $300,000 in monthly payments to the beleaguered Veterans Home in Barstow for its failure to meet patient care and management standards. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West Jr. sent a letter notifying the state of his decision to halt payments to the home because an inspection concluded that "residents were at risk and were receiving substandard care."

Stephen J. Murphy knows what it's like to be down on your luck. Less than a decade ago, he was an alcoholic and living in a soon-to-be-repossessed Corvette. But Murphy's luck has turned around. In six years, Murphy has amassed a fortune by buying foreclosed properties at bargain basement prices. In an ironic twist, he made millions from the misfortune or bad business sense of others. "I have slept behind garbage cans. I have slept in parks.

Burdened by county budget cuts and a recent heavy influx of immigrant World War II veterans, the Filipino-American Service Group Inc. is concerned that plans to expand its transitional housing program could be jeopardized without more funds. Money woes have left the 11-year-old agency three months in arrears on rent for its eight-room emergency shelter for homeless senior citizens and could dash plans to open a 12-room home in six months.

A Los Angeles attorney who brings elderly Filipino World War II veterans into the country on credit and houses them in three aging apartment buildings he owns has been charged with criminal slumlord violations by the city attorney's office. Salvador Paja, 65, is a native of the Philippines who owns three four-unit buildings at 4106 Oakwood St. and at 338-342 and 339-345 N. Heliotrope Drive.

April 27, 1946: Jack Benny and Bette Davis were among the celebrities on hand to help dedicate Rodger Young Village, emergency housing temporarily erected in Griffith Park for 1,500 World War II veterans and their families. Built at a time when homes were in short supply, the collection of Quonset huts was "the largest veterans' emergency housing project in the nation and first of its kind to be opened," The Times reported. Pfc.

Officials broke ground Saturday on a new residence hall that will provide 196 units of affordable housing near Los Angeles International Airport for low-income veterans. With airplanes thundering overhead at close range — sometimes as often as one minute apart — U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, Victoria Reggie Kennedy (wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy) and veterans from each branch of the Armed Services celebrated the $34.9-million project, which is expected to open in the fall of 2011.

Broadcast industry veteran Thomas J. Wilson has listed his Malibu house at $5,495,000. Called Bella Crest, the rebuilt home overlooks the beach. Its nearly 5,300 square feet includes a high-ceilinged living room, a media room, a temperature-controlled wine room, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The master bedroom has a crystal glass fireplace, ocean views and remote-controlled draperies. Outside, a lagoon-style pool, spa, sauna, meditation or card room and an outdoor kitchen create a resort-like feel.

Only one of the 20 current California congressmen who were eligible for the draft during the Vietnam era ever fought in the war, a survey conducted by the Sacramento Bee found. The newspaper's survey was prompted by the controversy over the military record of the Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who served in the National Guard. Of the 20 Californians who might have been drafted during the Vietnam years, only Rep. Duncan L.

Veterans Jimmie Giles, Kevin House and Ron Springs were waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, a day after the NFL team lost, 38-7, to the New Orleans Saints. Tampa Bay Coach Leeman Bennett said the moves were related to the performance of Giles, House and Springs in the club's first seven games rather than their effort against the Saints. "They hadn't played up to what I expected," Bennett said.

The House approved $90 billion in spending next year for veterans, housing and other programs on Friday after Republican leaders overcame complaints that the measure would shortchange veterans' health care. The chamber also voted 352 to 60 to approve a separate bill providing $984 million in immediate relief for victims of natural disasters. House members then left town, finished with their legislative work until September.