Southeast : Troubled Cemeteries Reopen

Cemeteries in Long Beach and Carson were locked on Friday because of bureaucratic confusion in Sacramento, but had reopened by Monday, graveyard operators said.

Officials at Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach and Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson, however, said they were still trying to clear up problems that have left workers without paychecks in recent weeks.

The state Cemetery Board has taken control of the two graveyards in response to allegations of mismanagement. In the past in such situations, the board has paid the new state-approved operators, but the Department of Consumer Affairs recently took over that role.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Consumer Affairs said Monday that she needed to research the matter before she could comment.

At Sunnyside Cemetery on Willow Street, an angry gardener locked the gates to protest the situation. When the voluntary group that operates the cemetery was notified, they unlocked the gates about an hour later, said volunteer Linda Meador.

But at Lincoln Memorial Park on South Central Avenue, graveyard operator Michael Mintz said he locked the gates all day Friday because he could no longer pay his workers.

“I should have been paid about three weeks ago,” said Mintz, a contractor who has been operating the cemetery since the state seized control of the graveyard in August.