Water in LA hotel tasted funny for weeks, decomposed body found in cistern

LOS ANGELES — British tourist Michael Baugh and his wife said water had only trickled for days as they brushed their teeth, showered and drank from the taps at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, but they could not have imagined the disturbing reason.

The body of a Canadian woman was later discovered at the bottom of one of four cisterns on the roof of the historic hotel near Skid Row. The tanks provide water for hotel taps and would have been used by guests for washing and drinking.

"The moment we found out, we felt a bit sick to the stomach, quite literally," Baugh said.

AFP/Getty Images

The Cecil Hotel.

AP

Canadian tourist Elisa Lam.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials were expected to release the results of tests on the water on Thursday.

When the body was discovered on Tuesday, they issued a do-not-drink order while a lab analyzes the water, said Terrance Powell, a director coordinating the department's response. The disclosure contradicts a previous police statement that the water had been deemed safe.

Powell said the water was also used for cooking in the hotel; a coffee shop in the hotel would remain closed and has been instructed to sanitize its food equipment before reopening.

"Our biggest concern is going to be fecal contamination because of the body in the water," Powell said. He said the likelihood of contamination is "minimal" given the large amount of water the body was found in, but the department is being extra cautious.

Powell said the hotel hired a water treatment specialist after the department required it to do so to disinfect its plumbing lines.

A call to the hotel was not returned.

The remains of Elisa Lam, 21, were found by a maintenance worker at the 600-room hotel that charges $65 a night after guests complained about the low water pressure.

Police detectives were working to determine if her death was the result of foul play or an accident.

LAPD Sgt. Rudy Lopez called it suspicious and said a coroner's investigation will determine Lam's cause of death.

Before she died, hotel surveillance footage showed Lam inside an elevator pushing buttons and sticking her head out the doors, looking in both directions. She was later found in the water tank.

Lam, of Vancouver, British Columbia, traveled alone to Los Angeles on Jan. 26 and was last seen five days later by workers at the hotel.

Lopez said the hotel has four cisterns on its roof that are each about 10 feet tall, 4.5 feet wide and hold at least 1,000 gallons of water pumped up from city pipes.

Lam's body was found Tuesday morning at the bottom of one cistern that was about three-quarters full of water, Lopez said.

The opening at the top of the cistern is too small to accommodate firefighters and equipment, so they had to cut a hole in the storage tank to recover Lam's body.

The cisterns are on a platform at least 10 feet above the roof.

To get to the tanks, someone would have to go to the top floor then take a staircase with a locked door and emergency alarm preventing roof access.

Another ladder would have to be taken to the platform and a person would have to climb the side of the tank.

Lopez said there are no security cameras on the roof.

Lam intended to travel to Santa Cruz, about 350 miles north of Los Angeles. Officials said she tended to use public transportation and had been in touch with her family daily until she disappeared.

The Cecil Hotel was built in the 1920s and refurbished several years ago. The hotel is on Main Street in a part of downtown where efforts at gentrification often conflicts with homelessness and crime. It had once been the occasional home of infamous serial killers such as Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, and Austrian prison author Jack Unterweger, who was convicted of murdering nine prostitutes in Europe and the U.S., the Los Angeles Times reported.

By noon Wednesday, the Cecil Hotel had relocated 27 rooms used by guests to another hotel, but 11 rooms remained filled, Powell said. Those who chose to remain in the hotel were required to sign a waiver in which they acknowledged being informed of the health risks and were being provided bottled water, Powell said.

Baugh and his wife, who were on their first trip to the U.S., had planned to go to SeaWorld on Wednesday. Instead, they were trying to find a new hotel. Their tour agency placed them in another downtown hotel with a less than sterling reputation, from what they heard.

"We're just going from one dodgy place to another," Baugh said, resigned, "but at least there's water."

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Broward doesn’t plan to sit out of Super Bowl

As the Miami Dolphins push Miami-Dade County to raise hotel taxes in pursuit of Super Bowl 50, Broward County’s tourism industry may be fighting for some home-field advantage.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is pledging to base future championships in Miami-Dade if his proposed financing plan gets approved, and he has come close to apologizing for the central role Broward played as host of the 2010 Super Bowl.

“We are the Miami Dolphins,” Ross said the day he proposed using $199 million in state and county dollars to fund half of the upgrades for the 25-year-old stadium. “We know the NFL headquarters will be in Miami. The last time it was in Broward, way before I got involved. I can tell you, it will be in Miami. That’s who is going to benefit.”

The pursuit of the 2016 Super Bowl looms large in the Dolphins’ effort to win Miami-Dade taxes for the upgrade, with team executives campaigning for a referendum in time for the May meeting when Ross and his fellow NFL owners award the 50th championship game. The push isn’t sitting well in Broward, which paid $2 million toward Super Bowl expenses in 2010 but now warns that local organizers can’t count on the money this time around.

“The news out of Miami-Dade County about what goes where and what may happen with the Super Bowl certainly doesn’t lend itself to Broward saying: ‘How can we participate?’ ” said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, a county agency. “Why would we make a significant contribution to the host committee if we’re getting no Super Bowl events?”

Private sponsors fund the bulk of local Super Bowl budgets, which typically land somewhere between $12 million and $15 million, said Rodney Barreto, the longtime chairman of the region’s host committee for the games. In 2010, Miami-Dade paid $1.5 million to the committee, and its tax-funded tourism bureau paid about $400,000. Losing Broward’s contribution would mean more of an uphill climb for the committee’s fundraisers, though Broward would likely offer to pay something in order to participate in the bid.

But the issue is a prickly one. In 2007, Miami-Dade lost top billing for local Super Bowls when the NFL changed the official host from “Miami” to “South Florida.” The regional brand continued in 2010, when Broward played host to the Super Bowl’s official media center, headquarters hotel and other official NFL events. An economic study funded by Barreto’s host committee put the 2010 game’s impact at $58 million in Broward compared to $40 million in Miami-Dade.

But when the Dolphins in 2011 proposed changing state law to allow both Broward and Miami-Dade to raise hotel taxes to fund a Sun Life renovation, Broward commissioners berated the plan. Mike Dee, the team’s CEO, later warned the vote against the plan might cost Broward a role in future Super Bowl bids. And the Dolphins have hinted at a bigger shift south for spending tied to the NFL, with Dee’s telling Miami-Dade commissioners the team wouldn’t rule out moving its training facility out of Davie and into Miami-Dade as part of a financing deal.

Dolphins executives declined to be interviewed for this article, issuing a statement that said in part: “Miami-Dade will receive a significant return on any investment it makes.”

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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda

Miami-Dade commissioners are expected Wednesday to urge the state legislature to allow Election Day voters to drop off their absentee ballots at their local precincts, and ask the mayor to identify funding to repair and upgrade the county’s 203 bridges.

Returning absentee ballots to local precincts was one of 13 recommendations in a report by an Election Advisory Group that needs local and state approval to become law. Now, absentee ballots can only be returned to election headquarters in Doral.

The advisory group, created after the embarrassing November presidential election saw people waiting in lines for up to six hours, also wants to change the name of absentee ballots to “Vote by Mail.”

Other recommended voting changes include expanding early voting days from eight to 14, including the last Sunday before an election; expanding the number of permissible voting sites; limiting ballot language on constitutional amendments to 75 words; and expanding the number of days elections supervisors are allowed to total and check votes from 15 to 20.

Commissioners are also expected Wednesday to urge Mayor Carlos Gimenez to identify funding sources to repair the county’s bridges. The county estimates that over the next two decades it will need as much as $450 million for repairs. The issue came to light in early January when the county was forced to close down the west-bound half of Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne, after structural flaws were found.

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Go On Exclusive Clip Piper Perabo

Matthew Perry has displayed his brilliant knack for physical comedy since the Friends pilot, and that skill-set has been put to stellar use on his new show, Go On.

FIRST LOOK - Courteney Cox & Matthew Perry Reunite For Go On

This Tuesday's episode, titled Ring And A Miss, sees Perry putting on the klutz once more as his date with Simone (played by the luminous Piper Perabo) goes wickedly awry after she asks Ryan to stop wearing his wedding ring as you can see from ETonline's exclusive sneak peek clip.

Go On airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

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Some problems as NYC school bus drivers return to work

New York City school bus drivers who serve tens of thousands of children were back at work Wednesday after a monthlong strike that forced students — many of them disabled — to take taxis, public transportation or car services to school.

"We're happy to be back," said driver Philip Pan, 57, whose dashboard was adorned with a hand-drawn "Welcome back" card, complete with a picture of a bus.

"We're like a family. We're really close with these kids," said Pan, who's been on the job eight years.

But not all parents were happy. Sadia Awan, 34, ended up taking her seventh-grader to school herself because their bus didn't come.

Getty Images

School buses rolling again in Queens

Her son, Hurrera, has a prosthetic leg. They waited about 90 minutes before giving up.

"I was calling, calling, calling, waiting, waiting, waiting. Nothing," said the angry mother said outside Middle School 88 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. "If he's late, the school's going to go after his academics. It's not good for me, it's not good for him."

Awan also said she had struggled with the online reimbursement process to cover her son's taxis during the strike. They cost $20 a day. "That's rent money," she said.

"I understand the drivers need security but they shouldn't have done it to the kids," said Awan.

Regular schedules resumed on all 7,700 routes serving the nation's largest public school system. Five thousand of those routes were affected by the strike. The city has about 1.1 million children in public schools.

Drivers and assistants known as matrons from the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 walked off the job Jan. 16, the first school bus driver strike in the city since 1979.

Union officials called off the strike Friday after leading mayoral candidates promised to address job security issues if elected.

Matron Sandy Cardinale, 56, said her time off the job "was horrible."

"It's nice to be working with these kids again," said the 14-year veteran. "We missed them. I'm so glad it's over."

The city spent roughly $20.6 million in transit cards, taxis and gas mileage to get tens of thousands of stranded students to school during the strike; some still didn't get there at all, schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said Monday. But he estimated the city saved $80 million because it wasn't paying bus companies during the strike.

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Remote employees require care to feel like part of the team

Working from home, hundreds of miles away from your boss, may sound like a perk, but that’s not always the case.

Ken Condren remembers the moment when he experienced the frustration his remote employees face. He was working from home, participating in a conference call and heard a side conversation going on, but had no idea what was being said. “I felt so out of the loop,” Condren recalls.

Today, businesses want the talent they want – and are more willing to hire or retain someone to fill a job even if they live or move thousands of miles away. Yet even with a great number of employees working remotely, nobody wants to be that guy who doesn’t get the inside joke during a conference call.

When the success of a team depends on the people, and all the people are scattered, it’s the manager who must make sure relationships stay vital and productivity high. Getting the most out of remote workers takes a manager who knows how to motivate and communicate from a distance. “Virtual workers still need a personal connection,” says strategic business futurist Joyce Goia, president of The Herman Group. “They want camaraderie and to feel like they are part of a team.”

More managers are using technologies such as videoconferencing, instant messenger and other collaborative software to help make remote workers feel like they are “there” in the office. Not being able to speak face-to-face can quickly be solved with Skype, Face Time or simple VoIP systems.

Condren, vice president of technology at C3/CustomerContactChan-

nels in Plantation, uses Microsoft Lync to connect virtually with a team spread across geographies and time zones. Employees see a green light on their screen when a colleague is available, signaling it’s a good time to video chat or instant message. Instead of meeting in physical conference rooms, team members get together in a virtual work room where they can hold side conversations during conference calls or meet in advance to prepare for the call. “You lose the visibility of waving hands during an in person meeting, but we can build that with virtual workspaces.”

Beyond that, Condren says he holds weekly video conference calls with his staff to help his remote workers become better team players. He also sets aside 45 minutes to an hour each week to check in with his remote workers. “It’s a little extra effort to make sure they are giving me the updates that happen casually in the office.”

Condren says adapting to a virtual workforce has allowed him to hire talent in any geographic market with the skill set he wants. And he has been able to hire them at competitive salaries.

In the current economy, such flexibility can be critical for a company looking to attract top talent. CareerBuilder’s Jennifer Grasz says the recession has created a less transient workforce, making it difficult for workers to sell their homes and relocate. “Employers are turning to remote work opportunities to navigate the skills deficit.”

Even from a distance, managers say there are ways to hone in on remote workers who are having problems. Billie Williamson managed virtual teams as a partner for Ernst & Young and would focus on the tone of someone’s voice during a group conference call. She would even listen for silences. “Silence can mean consent, or it can mean the person you’re not hearing disagrees or is disengaged.” If she sensed a team member was lacking engagement, she would follow up immediately.

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‘Animal walk’ to help rescue groups find homes for pets

When Laurie Hoffman decided to foster Gracie, a 3-year-old mixed toy greyhound who was found running in the streets and getting caught in the grates of a bridge in downtown Miami, she didn’t expect to keep her.

But she couldn’t help it.

“Many of us have gotten to a point in our lives where we want to give back. We want to be able to help others who can’t help themselves,” said Hoffman, associate executive director at the Humane Society of Greater Miami. “We chose the animals because that’s our passion.”

And it’s this same passion that she hopes many people will feel on Saturday, when this year, for the first time, Walk for the Animals, a yearly event held by the Humane Society of Greater Miami, is launching an “adoption arena.” There, attendees can adopt pets from the Humane Society, an animal shelter, and local animal rescue groups.

“Every step counts!” is the slogan for the walk that will take place on Feb. 23. Registration will open at 8:30 a.m., and the event runs through noon at Bayfront Park, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd.

There will be music, games, prizes, product samples and food after 9 a.m. The one-mile walk around the park will begin at 10 a.m.

The minimum donation for an individual walker is $50, and it includes a Walk T-shirt, a goodie bag and a dog bandana.

Attendees are encouraged to form packs or teams with their family and friends.

Eleven rescue groups are confirmed to attend, but Danijela Kandera, 35, manager of marketing and corporate development at the Humane Society, expects more to join.

“We are already hoping to fundraise enough with the Walk,” said Kandera. “But we are also here to help other organizations because we are all working together for the same goal, which is helping the animals.”

The goal is to reach $50,000 and find new homes for the pets.

“In order for us to care for the 300 animals that are here every day and to provide the programs or services that we do, we need to raise money,” said Hoffman.

Each group will take about five to 10 pets, and all animals set for adoption are spayed, neutered and microchipped.

Requirements for adoption vary per group.

Kandera recommends that interested adopters bring a valid ID and a checkbook.

Tents will be set in the arena for each rescue group. All costs are sponsored by Pet Supermarket.

“Our No. 1 priority is animals, whether it is the ones that we sell, the ones that come into our store or the ones we have for adoption,” said Steve Renzelmann, 49, regional manager of Pet Supermarket.

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Adorable Tots: Celebs and their Cute Kids!

Alessandra Ambrosio

Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio and husband Jaime Mazur were spotted with the whole family in tow -- baby Noah in Ambrosio's arms and daughter Anja in a toy car -- leaving a doctor's office in Santa Monica, Calif. on Feb. 18, 2013.

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Hackers in office next to Chinese military base accused of plundering US gov't

BEIJING — Cyberattacks that stole massive amounts of information from military contractors, energy companies and other key industries in the U.S. and elsewhere have been traced to the doorstep of a Chinese military unit, a U.S. security firm alleged Tuesday.

China's Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as "groundless," and the Defense Ministry denied any involvement in hacking attacks.

China has frequently been accused of hacking, but the report by Virginia-based Mandiant Corp. contains some of the most extensive and detailed accusations to date linking its military to a wave of cyberspying against U.S. and other foreign companies and government agencies.

AP

The building housing "Unit 61398" of the People’s Liberation Army is seen in the outskirts of Shanghai,.

Mandiant said it traced the hacking back to a neighborhood in the outskirts of Shanghai that includes a drab, white 12-story office building run by "Unit 61398" of the People's Liberation Army.

The unit "has systematically stolen hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations," Mandiant wrote. By comparison, the U.S. Library of Congress 2006-2010 Twitter archive of about 170 billion tweets totals 133.2 terabytes.

"From our observations, it is one of the most prolific cyberespionage groups in terms of the sheer quantity of information stolen," the company said. It added that the unit has been in operation since at least 2006.

Mandiant said it decided that revealing the results of its investigation was worth the risk of the hackers changing their tactics and becoming even more difficult to trace.

"It is time to acknowledge the threat is originating in China, and we wanted to do our part to arm and prepare security professionals to combat that threat effectively," it said.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, the Defense Ministry firmly rejected any involvement in hacking, saying Chinese law forbids all activities harming Internet security.

"The Chinese government has always firmly combated such activities and the Chinese military has never supported any form of hacking activity," the ministry said. "Statements to the effect that the Chinese military takes part in Internet attacks are unprofessional and are not in accordance with the facts."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not directly address the claims, but when questioned on the report Tuesday, he said he doubted the evidence would withstand scrutiny.

"To make groundless accusations based on some rough material is neither responsible nor professional," Hong told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Reiterating a standard China government response on hacking claims, Hong said China itself is a major victim of such crimes, including attacks originating in the United States.

"As of now, the cyberattacks and cybercrimes China has suffered are rising rapidly every year," Hong said.

Mandiant's methodology used in the investigation was sound, said Massimo Cotrozzi, managing director of KCS Group, a London-based international cyber investigation consulting firm that was not involved in Mandiant's research.

"No one as yet has provided the world conclusive evidence of a link between the Chinese military and the attacks. This report is the nearest thing to conclusive evidence that I have seen," Cotrozzi said.

Mandiant said its findings led it to alter the conclusion of a 2010 report it wrote on Chinese hacking, in which it said it was not possible to determine the extent of government knowledge of such activities.

"The details we have analyzed during hundreds of investigations convince us that the groups conducting these activities are based primarily in China and that the Chinese government is aware of them," the company said in a summary of its latest report.

It said the hacking was traced to the 2nd Bureau of the People's Liberation Army General Staff's 3rd Department, most commonly known as unit 61398, in the Shanghai suburbs.

News of the report spread Tuesday on the Chinese Internet, with many commentators calling it an excuse for the U.S. to impose greater restrictions to contain China's growing technological prowess.

Graham Cluley, a British cybersecurity expert who was not involved in Mandiant's research, said people in the computer industry believe China's government is behind such attacks but have been unable to confirm the source.

"None of us would be very surprised or be uncomfortable saying we strongly suspect the Chinese authorities are involved in spying this way," said Cluley, a senior technology consultant for security firm Sophos in Britain.

"I think we are seeing a steady escalation" of sophistication in hacking, Cluley said. "This is really the new era of cybercrime. We've moved from kids in their bedroom and financially motivated crime to state-sponsored cybercrime, which is interested in stealing secrets and getting military or commercial advantage."

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Sign up for Feb. 21 Miami Herald Small Business Forum featuring Zumba’s CEO, 4 interactive panels

Prepare your best pitch for the Miami Herald’s Small Business Forum on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the south campus of our sponsor, Florida International University.

In addition to how-to panels and inspirational stories from successful entrepreneurs, our annual small business forum will include interactive opportunities with experts to learn about financing options and polish your personal and business brands.

During our finance panel, audience volunteers will be invited to explain their financing needs to the group. During our box-lunch session, they will be invited to pitch their business or personal brand to our coaches.

Those who prefer just to listen will be treated to a keynote address by Alberto Perlman, co-founder of the global fitness craze Zumba (see bio below). Panels include success stories from the local entrepreneurs who founded Sedano’s, Jennifer’s Homemade and ReStockIt.com; finance tips from experts in small business loans, venture capital, angel investments and traditional bank loans; and insiders in the burgeoning South Florida tech start-up scene. Scroll down to see the panelists’ bios

Plus, it’s a real bargain. $25 includes the half-day seminar, continental breakfast and a box lunch.

Register here.

Program

8 a.m.

Registration and continental breakfast, provided by Bill Hansen Catering

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Host: David Suarez, president and CEO, Interactive Training Solutions, LLC

•  Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

•  Alice Horn, executive director, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE South Florida)

•  Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge Overview:

•  Nancy Dahlberg, Business Plan Challenge coordinator, The Miami Herald

8:45 a.m. Session I – Success Stories

Moderator: Jerry Haar, PhD, associate dean & director, FIU Eugenio Pino and Family Global

Entrepreneurship Center

Speakers:

•  Jennifer Behar, founder, Jennifer’s Homemade

•  Matt Kuttler, co-president of ReStockIt.com

•  Javier Herrán, chief marketing officer, Sedano’s Supermarkets

10 a.m. Session II – All about Tech

Moderator: Jane Wooldridge, Business editor, The Miami Herald

Speakers

•  Susan Amat, founder, Launch Pad Tech

•  Nancy Borkowski, executive director, Health Management Programs, Chapman Graduate School of

Business, Florida International University

•  Chris Fleck, vice president of mobility solutions at Citrix and a director of the South Florida Tech Alliance

•  Charles Irizarry, co-founder and director of product architecture, Rokk3r Labs

11:15 a.m. Keynote

Speaker: Alberto Perlman, CEO and co-founder of Zumba® Fitness

Introduction: Jane Wooldridge, business editor, The Miami Herald

11:45 a.m. Session III – Show me the money: Financing your small business

An interactive session featuring audience volunteers who will be invited to make a short investment pitch before a panel, including experts in microlending, SBA loans, traditional bank loans, venture capital and angel investing. Audience volunteers should come prepared with a two-minute presentation that includes details about current backing, how much money they are seeking and a brief synosis of ow that money would be used.

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