Created by Diane Brown, Buena Beach is an online soap opera, giving up all the juicy details of some of the hottest guys and gals of Buena Beach, a small town in Southern California. Check back everyday for a new episode here on HelloBeautiful.com.
City Employee Under Investigation in National Money-Laundering Scheme
Eddie
Thank You, Lord, for what I’m sure will be another day filled with blessings and peace. I pray that I, in turn, will be a blessing to others, Lord. Please use me today. Amen.
It’s the way I begin every day, by thanking the Creator and preparing myself to follow His lead in all my decisions. Whereas some folks can’t start the day without their cup of coffee or a cigarette, I can’t get started without a word to the Father.
I’m not what you’d call a holy roller or anything like that. Really, I’m just as screwed up as the next guy. But there’d be no reason for me to get up, shower, shave, get dressed…breathe without my faith, even though it’s been taking a beating lately. Yet, here I am, rising at dawn on a Saturday morning. On weekdays, I’m up just as early as I am now for a quick jog or bike ride before heading to my job at Buena Beach High where I teach and coach the Varsity boy’s soccer team. Waking so early on Saturdays is especially tough since I also spin at a downtown club on the weekends. Last night, I didn’t start counting sheep until nearly 4:00 a.m., but I’m thankful that the Lord got me up this morning in particular so I can make it on time to my appointment.
Even if I hadn’t scheduled the first meeting with my newly assigned mentee for 7:30 a.m., I’d still likely be tying up my sneakers and grabbing my black hoodie as I head at the door for a Saturday run. This will be my first time meeting my mentee, identified on the Buena Beach Parks & Beach’s Mentor Program’s printout as “L-Dog.” He never picked up when I called his cell phone, but did respond to my e-mail. In our exchanges over the last week, we agreed to meet in front of the clubhouse at the north end of the trail at the beach, and that I’d be the guy in the white t-shirt (black hoodie probably tied around the waist) and green plaid shorts.
My decision to be a mentor came at the prodding of my roommate, who lied to me and said, “Man, you’d make a great mentor.” I didn’t believe him, of course, because I knew about the offering by his division at work for entries into an opportunity drawing for two Lakers tickets for every person he recruited as a matched mentor. After he bribed me with two lunches and a pledge of dishwasher duty for a full week, I filled out the application and went downtown to the police station for fingerprints and a background check. Weeks went by without a word, so I figured they’d found out about some secret life of mine that I wasn’t even aware of, where I’d committed armed robbery or smuggled cocaine which had, therefore, disqualified me from participating in the program. Then, I learn that that roommate of mine, Calvin, had been fired, so I assumed that my application had been tossed out as well.
So of course, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I’d been matched with ol’ L-Dog, who is 16 and lives in Long Beach. I sort of expected some resistance to my idea to meet for a short jog down the beach followed by a bite to eat at the Buena Beach Café, one of my favorite breakfast spots. But he immediately wrote back: kool. c u there. how wil i no u?
He should be here soon, hopefully. I feel kind of silly out here, just standing, watching everyone else run, cycle, and skate by. Dude’s probably operating on teenage time, which means I could be waiting another half-hour or so.
“Excuse me, sir. Do you know what time it is?”
I turn around to see a young lady, no more than 17 or 18, I’m sure. She’s absolutely gorgeous, although a little on the thin side. Just the kind of girl who would have rejected me back in high school (although my type is much different now). “Oh, uh…yah. It’s 7:36.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“Sure. No problem,” I tell her, somewhat bemused by the way she’s stretching. She certainly looks the part with toned legs and a lean upper body, but her warm-up routine is rather unorthodox and just…strange.
She must feel me watching her. “I’m just warming up before I meet up with someone.”
“Oh, yah? Me too. Looks like he’s running late.”
She shrugs. “Time is stupid if you ask me. What’s the point of hurrying here and rushing there all the time? Just make the most of the day while the sun’s up, party when it goes down, sleep when you’re tired, and be happy. But, no. I manage to be born into this competitive, money hungry society that wants nothing from me but my tits and my tax dollars, and that’s run by old men who sit around on their thrones all day, patting each other on the back for having the ability to pee standing up.”
Allllrighty, then.
“I’m sorry,” she says, doing a sort of pigeon-toed squat. “It’s just that I’m taking this Women’s Studies class in the evenings at City College and it’s got me all hyped up.”
“Okay.”
“And, no. I don’t think all men are evil.”
“Well, that’s good news. I guess.”
She puts her arms out to the side and then begins alternating each one up and down, up and down. If she went any faster, she’d look like those funky air-blown balloon men they always have flailing around in front of used-car dealerships. Trying not to laugh, I look up and down the path in search of what I assume will be a smartly attired black male, taking on the sand with a confident stride.
“You, for example, look pretty harmless,” says the girl.
“You don’t,” I say, giving myself the okay to flirt since she’s old enough to be in college.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure I won’t be bitter forever. I just need to meet some normal people, you know? I haven’t run into too many, and I’ve kind of scared off the ones I have known. I can be a pain in the ass.”
And, this is where it gets really awkward. Yes, I’m pretty sure this poor gal’s got some bones in her closet she wouldn’t want anyone to unearth. But I suppose it won’t hurt to talk to her, keep her company, until L-Dog arrives.
“So who are you?”
I chuckle a bit at her missing tact. “I’m Eddie,” I say, reaching out with my hand.
When she doesn’t take it, I’m ready to give a mini-lecture about home training, but then she stands up straight and starts laughing. “Eddie?”
“Yah. Eddie.”
“Oh my gosh. I’m such a dumbass. I thought your name was Eeee-die. You know, the girl’s name?”
“What?”
“Yes, I don’t know why I didn’t figure this out before. I mean I just assumed they’d match me with a female.”
I back up a couple steps. “Wait, hold up. What?”
“White t-shirt, green plaid shorts. Black hoodie. In front of the clubhouse at 7:30 sharp. You’re certainly a man of your word.”
No, she’s got to be kidding me. “But, wait. Didn’t you say you were at City College?”
“No, I go to Buena Beach High. I’m just taking a night class at City. The teachers at Buena Beach don’t know crap.”
“So what you’re saying is…you’re L-Dog?”
“Yes. Well, sort of. That was just a joke – I figured the guy who helped me fill out the form at the office would make me change it, but he didn’t. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Lauren. And it looks like I’m your mentee.” She bends down for one more of her absurd stretches. “So, you ready to go?”
Allllrighty, then. But hey, I asked for it.
Former City of Buena Beach Recreation Division employee, Calvin Shore, is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of several participants in a money-laundering scheme with the firm Sweet Entertainment International. Shore was fired by Recreation Division Director Danny Torres on May 19 after an internal investigation found that Shore gave preferential treatment to vendors at special events and festivals in the city. City Management has since learned that Shore, responsible for approving all permits for city gatherings, forced event sponsors to use Sweet Entertainment as the sole vendor for items such as portable lavatories and tent rental. Some are speculating that Shore received payment from Sweet Entertainment in exchange for contracting services at city events, such as the annual Buena Beach half-marathon. “I had a vendor with a quote that was half the amount of what Sweet Entertainment wanted to charge me for tables and chairs,” says Harry Bass, organizer of the Buena Beach Jazz Festival. “Mr. Shore informed me that if I wanted my permit, I had to go with Sweet Entertainment because of a sole-source agreement the City had with them. Now I wish I would have made a call to the City Manager to complain.”
Danny Torres was not available for comment, but Mayor Certig stated that “the situation has been handled, and new policies are being put into place to prevent something like this from happening again in the future.” Sweet Entertainment is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is now being investigated for similar schemes involving entities throughout the country. The initial internal investigation was sparked by an anonymous tip to the City Manager’s office last month. Upon further inquiry, the City contacted the Department of Justice to take over the investigation.
Check back tomorrow for the next episode of Buena Beach!
