Filipino groups mobilizing for typhoon relief

A major local effort is underway to help survivors of the devastating typhoon in the Philippines. Filipino churches have been leading the way – collecting money and supplies from parishioners and helping people try to connect with family members. Southern California is home to more than 300,000 Filipinos, the largest population of Filipinos outside of that country. Meanwhile, an El Segundo group made up mostly of former military members caught a plane last night for the hard-hit city of Tacloban. Team Rubicon will provide medical aid and help with rescue efforts…Communities across Southern California are paying tribute to country’s vets today. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti will be the grand marshal of the 10th annual San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade. Forest Lawn is holding a ceremony with skydivers, to be followed by a job fair for vets. At El Monte City Hall, dozens of Army recruits will be sworn in this morning. Commerce will hold its annual ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park…Gov. Jerry Brown has reached his highest approval rating since being reelected in 2011. A new USC Dornsife–L.A. Times poll finds that 55 percent of California voters approve of Brown’s job performance. That’s up five points from June. The positive numbers come even as many voters say the state is headed in the wrong direction. Forty-nine percent of voters believe California is on the wrong track, compared to 39 percent who say things are going the right way…It seems like a win for the environment and thirsty Southern California: turn salty ocean water from the Pacific into enough pure drinking water to supply 100,000 people a day. But Coastal Commission staffers say a desalination plant planned for Huntington Beach could significantly harm the coastal environment by sucking in sea life through its large intake pipes. A new report urges major changes before the project receives commission approval…And finally, cloud seeding returns to California this winter as state officials try to boost snowfall in the second year of a drought. The Sacramento Bee reports that planes will be used to spread silver iodide vapor into the atmosphere during winter storms to promote the formation of snowflakes. Seeding is done only when temperatures inside the clouds are between 19 and minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit. It can enhance help draw more moisture out of existing storms.