11/09/04

LC041109

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

Skipping school isn't the harmless prank it used to be. Now an
Orange County Judge is cracking down on truants.

Robert Hutson>> When they come to me, they have a choice of
just one of two things. They're going to be in school in the
community of their choice or they'll be in school in the
Juvenile Hall, but they will be in school.

Val>> And then, a once splendid theatre has hit hard times, but
preservationists say it can be beautiful again if they can save
it from the wrecking ball.

These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times.

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> It used to be an innocent part of growing up, skipping
school and heading to your favorite fishing hole, but the Huck
Finn notion of playing hooky is long gone. Today, truancy is
often the first step toward prison, so would putting truants on
trial help? David Okarski goes to Orange County to see how one
community is tacking truancy.

David Okarski>> Twenty-six hundred students bustle between
classes on the Paramount High School campus. Among them, at
least six hundred are struggling to catch up after months,
sometimes years, of skipping school.

Reneshia>> I started skipping school the second semester of my
sophomore year.

Cynthia>> I didn't have much friends at school and I thought I
wasn't part of the "in" crowd, so I felt that and I didn't feel
like trying at school. So I found a way to not come to school
and make my parents think that I did.

Reneshia>> Second semester, not great. I was hanging around
people and that's what started getting me to ditch. I started
ditching and then, in my tenth grade year, I didn't come to
school that whole semester because I just liked being at home.

Greg>> I started ditching school February and the reason for
that is because, you know, my girlfriend was pregnant and, you
know, I wanted to be with her all the time.

David Okarski>> These former truants are back in class because
Paramount High School administrators declared war on truancy.

Gwen Baker>> When I first started here, we were at ninety-three
percent. Our annual attendance rate was at ninety-three
percent.

David Okarski>> And with help from probation officers and a
program funded under the state's Juvenile Justice Crime
Prevention Act, Assistant Principal Gwen Baker has become a
captain on the front lines.

Gwen Baker>> And last year, we ended at ninety-six percent and
I'm told that, for a school with our student population, that
that's impossible. But it's not impossible when you go out
there and you knock on doors.

David Okarski>> Baker and her colleagues at Paramount are among
a growing number of educators, public health researchers and
juvenile justice officials nationwide who are realizing the far-
reaching importance of identifying truants and getting them back
to school. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education and the
Justice Department are sponsoring a national conference on
truancy. One keynote speaker tells Life and Times that truants
are more likely than others to develop health problems related
to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and sex and are more prone to
suicide.

>> "And now I want you to think about twenty years in the
future at 2024. What do you think the world is going to be
like?"

David Okarski>> Although California has tracked attendance and
dropouts for years, it's only now begun collecting truancy data
because of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. But the State
Department of Education says, out of six million kindergarten
through twelfth grade students last year, almost ten percent
were truants under California law and that estimate is probably
low.

>> "Nickel bags of marijuana or dime bags."

>> "Yeah."

David Okarski>> Some jurisdictions approach truancy more
seriously than others. In Los Angeles County, police can detain
and cite children found off campus during school hours. The
county-wide daytime curfew has proved an important crime-
fighting tool.

>> "Now are we going to take somebody to jail for this?"

>> "No, but we cited them all."

>> "For what?"

>> "Truancy."

>> "Okay."

Susan Reizman>> Well, we definitely have found that there is
some link between truancy and juvenile crime.

David Okarski>> Orange County's truancy response project pays
for Deputy District Attorney Susan Reizman's twice weekly talks
to families of children who are skipping school.

Susan Reizman>> I think the message is two-fold. It is, on one
hand, to educate them as to what the law is on truancy, what the
program is here in Orange County, and that we are prosecuting
parents and students for truancy law violations.

Susan Reizman>> "Right now we often hear, especially from
parents of teenagers, that my child won't listen to me, they're
out of control. Until they turn eighteen, children are
ultimately your responsibility."

David Okarski>> Parents like Marco Martinez appreciate the
information, but often feel powerless to make their kids go to
class.

Marco Martinez>> In fact, another mother of a student was
saying that she takes them right to the front of the door. But,
unfortunately, you know, that school is big and there are so
many students, they take off for the opposite side of the
school.

David Okarski>> If the children and their parents don't get the
Deputy District Attorney's message, they could end up here at
the Betty Lou Lamoreaux Juvenile Justice Center in the courtroom
of Presiding Judge, Robert Hutson.

Robert Hutson>> When they come to me, they have a choice of
just one of two things. They're going to be in school in the
community of their choice or they'll be in school in the
Juvenile Hall, but they will be in school.

David Okarski>> Judge Hutson convenes a weekly truancy court.

Robert Hutson>> I have, more often than not, successful stories
where the children finally realize that, by getting to the
court, leaving the school setting where there's sort of a
familiarity and a safety and they're now facing a representative
of the government in the form of a judge and there's no nonsense
accountability there, the smart children conform, pick up their
britches and go to school.

David Okarski>> Back in Paramount, the hardcore truants end up
appearing before the School Attendance Review Board.

Reneshia>> S.A.R.B.?

David Okarski>> It's called S.A.R.B. for short. Gwen Baker
says every California school district should have one.

Gwen Baker>> A lot of kids have come to my office and said
thank you because it's hard to break away from peer pressure,
but what they're finding is, if they tell their friends that the
judge is making me go to school, that it's much easier. Go
figure, but that's their world.

Cynthia>> It really helped me when I was at S.A.R.B. and I seen
the lawyer right there because I'm almost thinking they're
helping someone. I could be there in the future helping people
who was going where I was going. I want to get there. I want
to go to law school.

Greg>> At first, my grades were A's, A's, A's. Now they're not
so good right now. Now I got to make up all the work.

David Okarski>> So you were getting A's before you left school?

Greg>> Oh, yeah. 4.0.

David Okarski>> In what subjects?

Greg>> All of them. Math, my electives, language arts,
economics.

David Okarski>> One recent study by the Public Policy Institute
of California suggests school attendance may be a more important
factor in improving reading and math skills than class size or
teacher qualifications. The lesson is simple. The less you go
to school, the less you learn.

Reneshia>> Right now, yes, it's hard. Sometimes I do feel like
giving up, but I just sit there and think like since I came this
far, I'm not going to stop until I finish.

Greg>> A big event for me was Ms. Baker. She made me realize
that I really have to come to school and get an education before
I get off track or before something happens. I thank her for
that.

Cynthia>> First I kept on seeing my parents' reactions. I
started skipping school and I would get home and listen to them
yell at me and say that I was doing the wrong things. I knew
they were right and that's why it really bugged me. I don't
want to see them like that anymore.

Greg>> If I stay in school and get my education and get good
grades, I think I have a good shot at getting a football
scholarship. A good shot.

David Okarski>> You mean go to college?

Greg>> Yeah, go to a four-year university.

Reneshia>> After I graduate, I want to go a four-year
university because I want to major in real estate and I want to
be a real estate agent.

David Okarski>> Gwen Baker says these and other bright talented
students can achieve their dreams if adults care enough to make
sure children go to school. David Okarski for Life and Times.

Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and
Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts
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interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life
and Times".

Val>> First he was a barber, then he was a bookseller, then he
was a crusader for literacy, and now he's half a million dollars
richer. Reuben Martinez is the recipient of the prestigious
MacArthur Grant and his personal commitment has gotten hundreds
of low-income children to fall in love with books. Debi
Gutierrez of KCET's "A Place of Our Own" introduces us to Reuben
Martinez.

Reuben Martinez>> Reading is the fountain to wisdom. Reading
is a ladder to a better future.

Debi Gutierrez>> Reuben Martinez was born in a small Arizona
town in 1940. His parents worked in the copper mines. A happy
child, Reuben liked playing, but not as much as reading.

Reuben Martinez>> Every morning at 6:45, the newspaper boy
would deliver the newspaper and, when it hit my neighbor's side
of the house, I would wake up, go out the back door, lean
against my neighbor's house and read the newspaper every morning
thoroughly. Then I'd fold that newspaper and put it back as
neatly as I could.

Debi Gutierrez>> When he finally got caught, Reuben's neighbor
told him to keep reading. After graduation from high school,
Reuben headed to California. He became a barber in Santa Ana,
but couldn't shake his love of reading, so he kept a few books
in the barber shop for customers to read. There was such a high
demand for them that, amazingly, the barber shop became a
bookstore.

Reuben Martinez>> Eleven years later, this store has over
15,000 titles now, close to 17,000. It's a dream come true.

Debi Gutierrez>> It is a dream come true for Reuben and for his
customers. That's because eighty-five percent of the books in
Martinez Books and Art Gallery are in Spanish.

>> My mom came here looking for a book that she heard on the
radio and she wanted it in Spanish.

Debi Gutierrez>> Over the eleven years since Reuben started
selling books, his business grew so much that he moved to a new
location, but he kept the barber shop in the far corner of the
bookstore and he still cuts hair, although not as much as he
used to.

Reuben Martinez>> On my real busy days, I used to do thirty
hair cuts a day. Today I do maybe two or three a week. These
are my customers that never knew where else to go.

Reuben Martinez>> "Your hair's so thick. I'm going to have to
start using an ax here to cut your hair off (laughter)."

Debi Gutierrez>> The business is doing well now, but it wasn't
always easy.

Reuben Martinez>> There were many times that I used to cry, not
knowing what I was going to do. I got behind a little bit on
the bills and I just had to cut down on some things.

Debi Gutierrez>> Reuben didn't give up and he had a lot of
help. Deliveryman, Alfonso Silva, remembers.

Alfonso Silva>> Every day, more and more books. I'm telling
you. We started with a couple boxes a day, maybe four or five.
Now, you know, fifteen or twenty. The volume is huge.

Reuben Martinez>> So that means that we're growing.

Debi Gutierrez>> Businessman, Felipe Rodriguez, says the
Libreria is needed in Santa Ana.

Felipe Rodriguez>> It's a real, real important place to be in
the area. I had the habit of reading a lot, so having a
bookstore, you know, with this kind of inventory is very
helpful. I believe people are very glad that they can find that
place.

Marjorie Morta>> It's just like a candy store. It has just
everything you'd want and the titles in Spanish and English.
Our school has had a partnership with Reuben Martinez Bookstore
for many years and we send our students over here with gift
certificates to encourage them to read.

Debi Gutierrez>> There's no shortage of children's books at the
bookstore because just a couple of doors away is Libros Para
Ninos.

Reuben Martinez>> We did open a children's bookstore four years
ago only maybe a two minute walk from here and the books that we
have there are preschool to fifth grade. All those books are in
as many cultures as we can get. I think that's so good when the
whole family reads together. That is the best pastime at home.

Debi Gutierrez>> It's not unusual to find Reuben reading to the
children or preaching the benefits of reading to their parents.

Reuben Martinez>> I tell moms that are pregnant to start
reading to their babies. Both the father and the mother reading
to the baby. And as soon as they're born that first day, read
them a poem. Sing to them. Hug them and tell them that we've
been waiting for you because we already automatically instantly
are in love with you. Words are beautiful.

Reuben Martinez>> "My poppa's hair is like a broom. All up in
the air."

Reuben Martinez>> We have choices. Parents have choices. Do
you want your children to be in front of the line or in the back
of the line? Because if you read to them and they continue to
learn and they want to be someone that writes their goals,
they're going to be in the front of the line.

Debi Gutierrez>> Reuben Martinez is passionate about reading.
He continues to urge people, young and old, to read because he
knows what it did for him.

Reuben Martinez>> I started reading at a very, very young age
and I still do. I read a lot every day. I look forward to
that. I love literature.

Reuben Martinez>> "See? Twenty minutes a day is one million
words a year. Isn't that something, huh? Getting ready for the
future because the future is waiting for us."

To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us
by mail at this address:

Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or
contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val>> An eleventh hour attempt is underway in Fullerton to save
a beloved landmark. It's the Fox Theatre and it's built by the
same people who built the world-famous Grauman's Chinese
Theatre. But it will take millions to restore. Nevertheless,
preservationists are passionate about saving the Fox Theatre.

[Film Clip]

Val>> They were a small but vocal crowd. The Fox Theatre, the
historic landmark built in 1925, sits in the heart of Fullerton,
an area that's enjoying a comeback. And these Fullerton
residents are intent on keeping this two-story Italian
Renaissance building from meeting the wrecking ball. But it
will take three and a half million dollars to buy it and time is
of the essence. It's slated to be demolished very soon to make
way for apartments and retail. Three years ago, the Fullerton
Historic Theatre Foundation was founded to save the Fox.
Tonight even a Joan Rivers look-alike was on hand to gather
support.

>> "I might give up my next Botox treatment to save the Fox."

Val>> But while the crowd outside was noisy, inside the theatre
it's dark and damp. Water damage from the rain and graffiti
give it an eerie feel. The theatre has been closed since 1987
when multiplexes lured audiences away from single-screen
downtown cinemas. Now, after seventeen years of deterioration,
virtually every square foot of this once splendid theatre is in
need of repair. I got a tour from preservationist, Jane Reifer.

Jane Reifer>> It's very valuable to our community because we
used to have a going theatre for almost seventy years and it's a
big gap now that it's gone. Several generations have grown up
coming to the movies and doing everything that's associated with
movies. As you know, now with multiplexes and so on, you don't
have that sense of community when you go to the movies. That's
a big gap for us. That's one of the main reasons we'd like to
save it. But also it has wonderful art treasures inside.
Beautiful murals by very famous mural artists. And also, it was
built by the same people who built Grauman's Chinese Theatre and
Grauman's Egyptian. It also has the forecourt, so it's a little
piece of Hollywood right here in Fullerton.

Val>> And I understand this part of Fullerton is enjoying a
renaissance of sorts and that this theatre would be a crucial
part of that?

Jane Reifer>> We think it would be the crowning jewel of the
downtown renaissance.

Val>> The Fox Theatre was not only about movies. It was a
venue for vaudeville performances as well.

Jane Reifer>> In the fifties, when people were trying to
modernize not just theatres, but all kinds of buildings, most of
the vintage theatres had their prosceniums or stage openings
gutted. We're so very lucky because, in ours, you can see the
scaffolding here and that arch screen was put across that and
then we had drapes put across that. Because they did it on the
cheap, we still have our complete proscenium opening and it is
so rare.

Not only that, but it's a particularly unique proscenium and
it's just a wonderful gift that we can bring back to the
community because, since 1955, people just saw screens and
drapery. This will be an wonderful opportunity. Also besides
showing film, we hope to show art films, foreign films and acts
on the eclectic as well as stage performances and concerts
because we have that opportunity. We have both features here.

Val>> Supporters produced a computer-generated virtual tour to
show what the Fox Theatre could look like, if only.

Announcer>> "Just imagine for a moment just beyond the iron
bars and all the graffiti is a beautiful garden courtyard filled
with theatre-goers."

[Film Clip]

Announcer>> "The Fox of the 1950's now sported quite a
different look. As you go into the theatre, you'd see this huge
movie screen, but what you couldn't see is that, hidden behind
all of that, was the old original proscenium and it's still
there today, still intact and just as dramatic as ever."

[Film Clip]

Val>> For many longtime Fullerton residents, like Stan Kelton,
the memories of the Fox are very personal.

Stan Kelton>> I'm fifty-two years old and I can actually
remember not driving by this theatre originally, but being
driven by it as a four or five year old child on the way from La
Habra to Anaheim to see my aunts. I would often wonder what was
in the theatre. My father had attended this theatre as a child
himself and he would tell me that, when he was a child, they
would go and see the movies here. Finally tonight, at age
fifty-two, I got inside and was able to see this wonderful
palace.

Val>> For the first time?

Stan Kelton>> For the first time in all these years. I have
wanted to know what's inside of it for about forty-seven years
and it certainly was worth the wait.

Announcer>> "On the side walls hang colorful canvas murals and
each mural depicts an historical event from California's past."

Val>> Those huge murals are now lost to time, but one small
swath was restored to show what could be. There was one area
that miraculously, despite years of neglect, has survived. You
brought us up to the second floor for a very special reason.
Why is that?

Jane Reifer>> Yes. We're here in the mezzanine and what's
wonderful about the mezzanine is that the murals on this floor
have been completely preserved since 1925. These murals were
done by John Gabriel Beckman who was most famous for his tile
mosaic murals of the Avalon Casino in Catalina. He actually
later went on to do set designs for the studios and his last
commission was "Designing Women". So his career spans from the
twenties through the nineties and, again, cut his teeth at our
theatre.

Val>> How did these survive?

Jane Reifer>> I think they're in an area that has no water
damage and also because, for some reason, it was never decided
to paint over here.

Val>> The current owner, a Century City attorney, is willing to
sell the property to the Foundation for three and a half million
dollars, but that's just the purchase price. The additional
restoration, repairs and upgrades to current safety codes would
cost an estimated ten million. How would you even begin to
restore this? You have to bring in people who understand the
era and have the skills and craft to understand that. It's an
expensive proposition.

Jane Reifer>> It is an expensive proposition. We're very lucky
because we have been able to bring on some of the people who've
done the historic theatre restorations at the Egyptian Theatre
and the Chinese. Again, same building materials because they
were built by the same builders, so they're already familiar
with some of it. There is a whole specialty of historic
restoration. People are restoring historic buildings all over
the country now and the science is better on replacing materials
if it needs to be or replicating materials and making sure that
you can keep a sense of the past while making things safe for
the current era.

Announcer>> "Hanging from the painted ceiling are these massive
wrought iron chandeliers that just give the whole theatre an air
of sophistication."

Jane Reifer>> I've got to say, too, in communities that are
less arts-oriented, that don't have the wealth that our town
has, they've been able to save their historic theatres. It's
being done all over the country, so we'd like to do it too.

[Film Clip]

Val>> If the passion of the supporters is any indication, and
the imagination of any preservationist is any measure --

Announcer>> "What an incredible thrill it would be to one day
go back and see a show or watch a movie at the Fox Fullerton."

Val>> -- the Fox Theatre could have a chance at a second life.

Announcer>> "In fact, I can't imagine Fullerton without the
Fox. Can you?"

Val>> Time seems to be running out, though, for the Fox
Theatre. The Foundation has not been able to raise the three
and a half million dollars it needs to buy the property and,
last week, the city of Fullerton turned down the request for
additional help. Bottom line? Unless a lot of money can be
raised really fast, the theatre will likely be destroyed. And
that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and
Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> Next time on Life and Times --

Are emotionally disturbed teenagers a threat to elementary
school children? That's the question facing parents and school
officials in Torrance.

>> My wish is for parents to step back and take a deep breath
and really look at what we have there. Let's monitor it.
That's what I talk to the parents about.

>> We're not all over-reacting. We're not all crazed parents.
We're just concerned about our kids.

Val>> That's next time on Life and Times.