Culver City Observer -

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

I see State Senator Rod Wright is awaiting sentencing by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kennedy. This will allow Gardena Assembly Member Bradford to move up.

Now comes the icing on the cake. Could Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas be looking at going to Washington, D.C.? Everybody knows Congressmen are not term limited and therefore it's a juicy plum of a job. May I suggest our friend Maxine Waters just might retire in four years . . . hmmm . . . and then . . . hmmm . . . well, you get the picture.

Bill Haslam, Governor of Tennessee, mentioned during his "State of the State" message that two free years at a community college or technical school would be a big step toward a better educated workforce.

And from the file labeled "I knew it, I knew it," the City of Los Angeles settled lawsuits by 11 police officers for $536,363.63 each, or $5.9 million in total. Why? Because "productivity goals" of at least 18 tickets per shift were not maintained, the cops received reprimands, were denied overtime or harassed. Quotas are illegal in California but productivity goals are okay.

From my bulging "Take two aspirin and call me tomorrow" file, it has been suggested that drinking three cups of green, black or oolong tea a day may help to reduce levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides, regulate levels of blood sugar and soothe inflammation.

Women whose mothers had a stroke are themselves at increased risk of heart attack, per a study published Feb. 1, 2011 in "Circulation" magazine called Cardiovascular Genetics.

The extraordinary value of cardiac rehabilitation in preventing another heart attack and possible death has been verified. .

Snoring may be more serious than just keeping your partner awake. A study says loud snorers are at nearly double the risk of developing metabolic syndrome symptoms associated with diabetes and heart disease. Check out "Sleep," Dec. 2010.

An analysis of 11 studies totaling more than 300,000 participants finds consumption of sweetened drinks increases the risk of diabetes. Read "Diabetes Care," Nov. 2010. And from Brazil, women who drank slightly more than two glasses of orange juice from concentrate each day for three months saw an average 15% decrease in LDL cholesterol and an 18% increase in HDL, as reported in "Maturitas," Dec. 2010.

Hardly anything is worse than the pain after getting a tooth pulled. Should one take Advil or Motrin or Tylenol, and what about possible side effects? For these questions read the "Journal of the American Dental Association," Vol. 144, Page 898. Follow only the advice of your medical professional.

On April 27 Pope Francis will canonize both Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. This will be the first ever double papal canonization.

From the "I cannot believe it's true" file, by the end of 2014 North America will be overtaken by Asia as the continent with the most millionaires. Also, 40 years ago in 1974 President Nixon signed a bill mandating a 55 miles per hour speed limit for cars and trucks, to cut back on fuel consumption.

Maria, the "wild Gypsy lady," said our government, within the next 12 months, will announce the discovery of massive amounts of freshwater reserves under the seabed of the continental shelf of North America.

Has anyone heard of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court? I must have asked 30 people within two hours as I walked around the mall recently and much to my surprise, one person had. This court gave the okay for the National Security Agency to collect the telephone records of every American for another three months.

Can't believe how time has flown, witness the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War (Aug. 2, 1990 - Feb. 28, 1991). My unit, the historic 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, was formed in 1843 to help the settlers over the Oregon Trail. It's been 171 years of honor and duty to our nation. We lead the British and French Armored Divisions to victory in 1989.

Can one honestly believe the two police officers who beat Kelly Thomas were innocent? They might have fooled the jury this time but soon action will be brought by the Department of Justice and a civil lawsuit as well. We also remember the Rodney King and Trevon Martin cases and wonder how some get away with these terrible crimes.

Just because former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of Penn State was convicted of child molestation is no reason he feels he shouldn't be getting his $4,900 per month pension. The decision on his appeal will be given by the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement Board in a few months.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed was cleared Jan. 7, 2014 to start gathering signatures to get his proposed statewide pension reform initiative on voter ballots this November. The initiative would allow cities to renegotiate public workers' future pension and retirement benefits. Mayor Reed has until June 5 to collect more than 800,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.CulverCityObserver.com by placing Rubenstein in that website's search box.