Bob_Tarlau's Blog

Tonight (Thr May 8), Fox 11 presents a half hour special at 10:30 PM called THE NAVY WAY. It’s an unusual look at the Navy… stories well away from the “grayhulls” – as warships are often called.

Our program was reported by Carlos Amezcua, photographed by Ken Moore, edited by Mark Sudock, with graphics by Miguel Valdivia. I produced and wrote THE NAVY WAY, which is about a side of the Navy you may not be familiar with – from what goes into the training of a Navy SEAL to the wonderful humanitarian work of the hospital ship Mercy, one of America’s greatest ambassadors.

Also, discover a remarkable wildlife habitat and learn about a major environmental cleanup -- both inside the Naval Weapons Station at Seal Beach. Again that’s THE NAVY WAY tonight (Thr May 8) – at 10:30P, right after the Fox 11 news.

Thanks in advance for watching... and ENJOY!

We're running a story on our Thursday (Feb 28) Fox 11 10PM newscast that I want to call to your attention. It concerns a ten-month Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation – using dozens of wiretaps – that resulted in the busting of a major narcotics trafficking ring that had been based in Orange County.

Phil Shuman reports and takes you behind the scenes of the planning and execution of one of 11 simultaneous raids done by the DEA – assisted by state and local police. You will only see this story on Fox 11. The photography is by Ken Moore, and the piece was edited by Debbie Kim.

Our story goes beyond the significance of the busting of this drug ring – an operation that, over all, seized millions in cold, hard cash along with package after package of cocaine and methamphetamine. I say that because the DEA considers this just one of many enforcement success stories, as it tries to choke off the illegal drug flow.

Here’s a startling statistic: Timothy J. Landrum, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, told Phil, Ken and me that Americans are now spending 65 billion dollars a year on illicit drugs. So for the bad guys, it’s all about the money. Landrum says: “That is the root of all the evil, the money. That’s what it’s all about.”

As you will see in the report, 60 pounds of high-quality crystal meth was found at the “stash house” in Fullerton. If it actually got to the street, this stuff would have sold for $2 million. Jon Goldberg, assistant Special Agent in Charge, told us at the scene: “The drugs were found in a bedroom right next to four sleeping children, ranging from two years old to 10 years old.”

The DEA is a fascinating organization that doesn’t get as much publicity as some of the other federal law enforcement branches. But it’s huge, with 227 domestic offices in 21 Divisions throughout the U.S. and 86 Foreign Offices in 62 countries. And Landrum says the DEA is making a big difference in a big fight. In his words: “If we can save one life and keep one person from becoming addicted or overdosing, we’ve succeeded.” Personally, I can relate to that. I’ve felt the same way about the many drug education stories Fox 11 has done over the years – especially in regards to methamphetamine. You never know if the anti-message is getting across. Hopefully it is and just maybe, somewhere out there, we’ve saved a life or two. That’s actually my fondest hope as a journalist—that whatever issue we address in depth, we are making a difference.

So a reminder to please our DEA drug bust story on Thursday evening at 10PM on the Fox 11 News.

Cheers, Bob

You've probably heard of the adventure apparel firm Patagonia -- based in Ventura. The company and its founder, the environmental crusader Yvon Chouinard, are the focus of a half hour special on Fox 11 this Fri (Feb 15) at 10:30PM.

Yvon is defined by his high-risk adventures, physical work and keen and green business sense. As Carlos Amezcua will report, Yvon became one of the corporate world's very early environmentalists. And he still is... and now he's alarmed, telling Carlos: "We are killing the planet. I am very pessimistic."

Yvon got into the high-quality outdoor clothing business after years as a blacksmith, forging the climbing implements called pitons. You'll see Yvon make one for Carlos.

Patagonia took in 270-million dollars last year, but this isn't just about the money. As he says: "We're going to take responsibility for our clothing from birth until birth."  It's about recycling and caring for the environmental footprint of what he makes and sells. It's also about being among the first to provide child care at the workplace... and about flex time: he allows his people to go surfing on his time.

Fortune Magazine calls Patagonia a green business "that's conducted upside down and inside out." In our half-hour special -- called "Patagonia: Company With A Conscience," we'll show you why that works.

So please join us this Fri evening at 10:30P (right after the Fox 11 News at 10P) for this very special half hour.

Finally-- in addition to Carlos, I'd like to thank Ken Moore for the excellent photography, Mark Sudock for the fine job of editing, Miquel Valdivia for the finely crafted graphics, along with managing editor Larry Coner, assistant news director Tom Searson and our VP of News, Jose Rios.   It was Jose who suggested the project.  I was the producer and writer.

Thanks in advance for watching.

Cheers, Bob

It’s time to take a pause from partisan politics to remember a party-line Democrat – who today was saluted by the Republican White House.   I mourn – with so many others – the passing of an original… Congressman Tom Lantos of California.   He’s left us at age 80 after a battle with esophageal cancer.

To me, he embodied the definition of a hero.  Not just because he was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress.  He spent 27 years on the Hill and was forever a champion of human rights.

He never lost his Hungarian accent, or his love for animals, or his stubborn belief that political leaders have a duty to speak out against tyranny and oppression, no matter where it happens.  The prime minister of Hungary had wanted to honor Rep. Lantos last week with the highest honor that country can bestow.  But that didn’t happen.  The congressman was too sick.

If you didn’t know the Lantos story until now, you’ve certainly been reading and hearing about it in the many long obits.   So just a quick summary here:  He survived the Holocaust by twice escaping from a Nazi labor camp in his teens.   Lantos survived the final years of World War II living in a complex protected by storied Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. He came to the U.S. with nothing but a salami that was confiscated by border agents.

He achieved his goal of chairing the Foreign Affairs panel.  Sadly he only held the gavel for a year. 

Lantos co-founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus 24 years ago, was a tireless supporter of AIDS relief for Africa and raked a number of high-profile corporations over the coals for doing business in countries with questionable civil rights records.   He was almost strong and articulate in his beliefs.  Wow, could he ever speak out.   That got him in trouble in 2006 when he was one of five lawmakers arrested during a demonstration at the Sudanese Embassy to protest ethnic killings in Darfur. 

And – in a scene I will always remember -- he berated and belittled executives from Yahoo last year for providing information to Chinese authorities that eventually led to the imprisonment of a journalist.  At the end of a three-hour hearing, he told them:  "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies."

Lantos' final years in office were marked by a running battle with Bay Area liberals, including many in his own district. They were angered by Lantos' early support for the war in Iraq and his refusal to say that the U.S. was wrong to overturn Saddam Hussein.

It was only last month that Tom Lantos revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer during a series of routine tests in December.  He said then that he wouldn’t be running for re-election this fall.  That was a hard decision for the congressman, who had said that he would never retire. But with the cancer already wearing him down, he was left with no choice but to concentrate on finishing his final term.  He left public life with no regrets.

The San Francisco Chronicle quotes him as saying:  "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust ... could have received an education, raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress," he said as he announced his retirement. "I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

The White House issued a statement from President Bush who said: “Tom was a man of character and a champion of human rights.  Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men.”

Well said Mr. President.