Voicemail

A grand jury investigating whether Chiquita banana company voicemail was stolen for a newspaper expose has indicted a former Chiquita lawyer on charges of stealing voicemail messages. George Ventura, the company's former legal counsel in Honduras, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of unlawful interception of communications and five counts of unauthorized access to computer systems. If convicted, he could face up to 12 1/2 years in prison.

The first signs of trouble at National Regulatory Services, a small consulting firm in Connecticut, were a series of odd complaints from customers that their phone messages were not being returned--the electronic equivalent of a slap in the face. Sales agents at the company were stumped by the complaints since they could never remember receiving the phone messages in the first place.

As a guy who would have done just fine living on the prairie in 1870 with only the hoot owls to talk to, I've had to adjust to voicemail. A bit of an intrusion, isn't it? And presumptuous? Sheesh. Nowadays, no matter how isolated you want to be, they can get to you. At home, I wouldn't even have a standard message machine if it weren't for my far-flung relatives. My closest friends know I don't have time for their stupid little problems. If one of them calls and I'm not home, they can call back.

The first thing Jerry Grochow does each morning is listen to his voicemail messages. Then he checks his e-mail. Then he dials up his other voicemail system. And finally he logs in to his other e-mail account. "Voicemail has replaced prayers for me," said Grochow, 50, chief technology officer for American Management Systems Inc. in Fairfax, Va. "It's the first thing I do when I get up and it's the last thing I do before I go to sleep."

Good morning! Thank you for turning to the Los Angeles Times voicemail queen story. To read about "one of the most hated voices in America," go to 1. For a steamy sex scene, go to 2. To read about the spiritual side of voicemail, go to 3. For account balance information, put down the newspaper and call your bank. (Hey, we can't do everything.) *** Lounging poolside in West Hollywood, Marsha Graham cranks up her Dr. Jekyll-like larynx and starts jabbering.

Technology has become so commonplace at work that we often take it for granted. But the legal ramifications of using it should be given some serious thought. From voicemail to electronic mail to the Internet global computer network, employers have broad legal authority to monitor how their workers use technology on the job. Communications and transactions that are presumed to be private rarely are.

Residents who want to talk to a police officer about crime problems in their neighborhoods will soon have an easier time of it, thanks to a Los Angeles City Council vote Tuesday that allows police to install a voice-mail system. The City Council voted to grant $2,500 to put the system in the senior lead officers' office at the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Division. A senior lead officer is in charge of the Neighborhood Watch program in a given area.

The Pasadena Unified Board of Education on Tuesday approved a recommendation to allow schools to begin using computerized voice-mail systems like those used by businesses. A voice-mail system at John Muir High School will be permanently extended free to its four feeder elementary schools--Longfellow, Cleveland, Willard and Jackson. The service will be donated by QuickNet, a Van Nuys telecommunications firm that hopes to get a contract for the whole district, said owner Jerry Chien.

The Board of Education on Tuesday approved a recommendation to allow Pasadena Unified schools to begin using computerized voice-mail systems like those used by businesses. A voice-mail system now at John Muir High School will be permanently extended free to its four feeder elementary schools--Longfellow, Cleveland, Willard and Jackson.