La Mirada Blog
Articles by Randy Economy
La Mirada Councilman Andrew Sarega Announces Campaign for Congress to Replace Rep. Ed Royce
La Mirada City Councilman Andrew Sarega, a Republican, announced Tuesday that he will be a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives to replace retiring Rep. Ed Royce in Congress.
Sarega said he will commit $200,000 to help fund his campaign and will file documents with the Federal Election Commission.
“I have grown extremely frustrated with the careless manner in which both Sacramento and Washington D.C. politicians enact laws that negatively impact our communities,” Sarega said.
“As a Councilman, I have seen firsthand how these laws take local control away from residents and replace our neighborhoods with one-size- fits-all policies. Out-of- touch politicians need to be held accountable. Many are entrenched in their jobs, serving special interests at the expense of their constituents.”
Cerritos College Administrator Bob Chester Abruptly Resigns
Norwalk~Robert “Bob” Chester has resigned his position as President of the Cerritos College Faculty Senate as well as the Coordinator of Judicial Affairs for the campus in a stunning email to members of the Board of Trustees and other campus officials on Wednesday morning.
Chester has been a controversial and divisive figure at the Norwalk based campus for the past several years.
Read the rest of the story here.
BREAKING: âInappropriate Affairâ Leads to La Mirada Public Works Director Steve Forster Removal from City Hall
La Mirada~La Mirada Public Works Director Steve Forster was escorted out of city hall on Wednesday afternoon after he allegedly engaged in an inappropriate affair with a fellow married female staff employee, Hews Media Group has learned.
Forster was physically removed from La Mirada City Hall at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, sources tell the La Mirada Lamplighter and Los Cerritos Community Newspaper.
Those same sources, who did not want to have their name revealed for fear of retaliation, is an employee with the City of La Mirada.
She said that Forster had engaged in a “long time affair” with a married female employee who works at the La Mirada Public Safety Department. The female involved in the alleged affair is also married to a male employee who directly reported to Forrester.
“He packed up his office and was escorted out of the building. He carried out boxes of his personal belongings and placed them in the back of his car,” the source said.
The Lamplighter was also told that the husband of the female employee involved in the affair confronted Forster about their relationship earlier this week.
“Steve Forster created a hostile work environment for years, and he finally got caught,” the source said.
Last week, La Mirada City Hall was reeling when Mayor Gabe Garcia was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he was involved in a car accident. Garcia was released on a $5,000.00 bail and will be reporting to court next month.
EXCLUSIVE: Standard Protocol for Career Politicians; Wendy Greuelâs Official Calendar Shows Years of Campaigning for LA Mayor on Taxpayerâs Dollar
(Copyright Los Cerritos Community Newspaper, La Mirada Lamplighter, La Mirada Blog. All Rights Reserved. Republishing Granted With Proper Attribution)
Cerritos~A six month investigation by Los Cerritos Community Newspaper (LCCN) into the official activities of Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel has shown that, in possible violation of the Los Angeles Governmental Ethics Commission Ordinance, she has spent an overwhelming majority of her official schedule for the past three years attending lavish dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and social events in an effort to advance her 2013 mayoral campaign.
Greuel is in a heated four-way campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles in the upcoming March 5th Primary Election against fellow city councilmembers Eric Garcetti, Jan Perry, and former Federal Prosecutor Kevin James.
LCCN released more than 640 pages of Greuel’s “official city appointment calendar” that was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Those FOIA requests went unanswered for more than five months by Greuel and her office.
“We had received tips from inside her office that Gruel was campaigning on county time, so LCCN requested copies of her 2009-2012 daily calendar,” Hews said. “LCCN was able to conquer a bureaucratic maze created by the Controller’s Office that included being told more than 15 times that our request was being “gathered” by personnel in her office.”
“The process to obtain the records was extremely arduous and involved. As a public official, whose calendar is open to the public, I expected this process to be simple, and for city staff to be helpful rather than adversarial toward releasing information about a public employee, especially to a community newspaper,” Hews said. “This treatment certainly raised some red flags.”
According to the California Public Records Act (PRA) [GOVT. CODE 6250 - 6276.48] the responding agency of the government must fulfill the request for public records within approximately 24 days. Further extensions can be requested but should not go longer than three months.
“But in this case it took the Controller’s office six months and several phone calls to provide LCCN with Greuel’s calendar. That being said, whether or not the controller’s office is in compliance with the California Public Records Act is definitely a big question,” Hews said.
Williams Welcomed ‘Back Home’ to La Mirada; To Host Community BBQ
La Mirada~It was “Derrick Williams Night” at the La Mirada City Council meeting on Tuesday.
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| Derrick Williams receives the Community Spotlight Award from Mayor Gabe Garcia. The award is 'designed to recognize those individuals, who through their actions, bring credit to themselves and the City of La Mirada' Photo Randy Economy |
The superstar basketball player from the Minnesota Timberwolves was honored by Mayor Gabe Garcia and the city council with a rarely presented “Community Spotlight Award.”
Garcia said Williams was being honored “not because he plays in the NBA, it is because he is giving back to the community where he lives, loves and grew up.”
The recognition is presented to La Mirada residents who through their actions bring “credit to themselves and the City of La Mirada.”
Williams is a 2009 graduate of La Mirada High School and then attended the University of Arizona where he rose to national prominence in his sophomore year when he averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
“Derrick is the perfect example of someone who grew up here in La Mirada, and who is going on to accomplish major things in professional sports, who is now giving back his time, efforts, and even his money,” Garcia said.
The mayor then quipped, “Hey Derrick, we might need a loan down the road here at city hall,” to the amusement of those gathered.
During the 2011 season, Williams led the NCAA in True Shooting percentage (.690) and Effective Field Goal percentage (.650), helping lead the Arizona Wildcats basketball team to a regular season PAC-10 championship. Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year.
Williams told The Lamplighter in an interview that he is looking forward “to a great season ahead.”
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| And the crowd goes wild. From the front, and then clockwise-Mayor Garcia; ex-teammate at La Mirada, Ryan Kelly; Councilman Steve Jones; Mayor pro-tem Steve DeRuse; Councilman Larry Mowles; Councilwoman Pauline Deal; Mom, Rhoma moore; Sister, LaToni Moore; Williams and agent Rob Pelinka. Photo Randy Economy |
“Our team is going to be whole next year, with a solid team up and down,” Williams said.
“It is great to be home and with my family, friends and the community,” he said.
Williams will be hosting a youth community picnic this Saturday, September 15 at La Mirada Regional Park from 12 noon to 4 p.m.
“We want all the kids from La Mirada and their parents to come by and grab a hot dog and just enjoy being part of this wonderful community,” Williams said.
Early Morning Closures of I-5 to Affect La Mirada Area
La Mirada/Santa Fe Springs~Call it Southeast Los Angeles County’s version of “Carmageddon.”
Tens of thousands of daily local motorists who travel on the jammed packed Interstate 5 Freeway through the Norwalk, La Mirada, and Cerritos area will be in for the newest version of a traffic inconvenience when Caltrans conducts a series of brief, intermittent, full freeway closures beginning next week.
According to Maria Raptis, Spokesperson for Cal Trans, the early morning hours on northbound and southbound Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) between Valley View Avenue and Carmenita Road will be experiencing full closures from Tuesday, September 11 through Friday, September 14, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Raptis said the work involves relocating utility lines across the freeway.
Southern California Edison will perform the work, with Caltrans oversight, as part of the I-5 HOV Widening and Carmenita Road Interchange Project.
California Highway Patrol will conduct traffic breaks for these full closures and each full freeway closure, around three or four per night in each direction, will last approximately 10 to 12 minutes and are scheduled to take place at hourly intervals.
The nightly schedule is as follows: Tuesday, September 11 at 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.; Wednesday, September 12 at 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.; Thursday, September 13 at 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Two Men Who Shot at Pedestrians in Unincorporated Whittier Arrested by Norwalk Deputies
Whittier~Two young adults have been arrested by Norwalk Sheriff’s after they eluded them in an incident early Sunday morning.
At 12:50 a.m., Norwalk Station Patrol Deputies arrested Carlos Hernandez, 18 of Whittier and Roman Rosales 19 of Long Beach for assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle at a person and evading a peace officer.
The deputies were on patrol in the area of Carmenita Road and Trumball Street, when they saw a car occupied by two men, fire at a group of three people standing at the bus stop on Carmenita Road, south of Trumball Street. The suspects fled in their vehicle and were arrested after a short vehicle pursuit.
A loaded pistol was recovered by the deputies after the arrest.Anyone who may have been a victim or witnessed this crime are asked to contact Operations Safe Streets Detective Farias at Norwalk Station (562) 863-8711.
Apparent kidnapping in La Mirada results in one arrest by Norwalk Sheriffâs
An apparent kidnapping involving a La Mirada resident on Thursday, has resulted in the arrest of one suspect by members of the Norwalk Sheriff's Department.
Norwalk Sheriff's Station deputies responded to a "person with a gun" call at 3:49 P.M. on the 14000 block of East Plantana Drive, La Mirada.
When they arrived, deputies were told that that 27-year old Suspect Derek Martin of Brea came to a residence in La Mirada looking for his 18-year girlfriend, who is also a resident of Brea.
Instead he found a 22-year old man from Corona and pointed a handgun at him, demanding he tell the whereabouts of the 18-year old woman.
The 18-year old woman heard the commotion and stepped out of the residence. Suspect Martin demanded that she get into his car. Out of fear, the victim complied. Sheriff's deputies began a search and contacted neighboring police agencies.
Later, Brea Police Department officers located the vehicle on the 200 block of Ash Avenue in Brea.
Norwalk Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and were able to locate Suspect Martin and the 18-year old victim, who was unharmed.
Suspect Martin was arrested at approximately 6:20 P.M. for assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping and is being held in lieu of $100,000.00 bail.
If you have further information, contact LASD Norwalk Sheriff's Station detectives (562) 863-8711. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call "LA Crime Stoppers" by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
Community Foundation, City Council Honors Haugh, Jenkins Scholarship Winners
La Mirada~The La Mirada Community Foundation has awarded new scholarships to local high school students in a special ceremony at the La Mirada City Council meeting this week that honors community pioneers Bob Jenkins and Ray Haugh.
This year, 19 applications were received for the Bob Jenkins Scholarship and nine hopefuls were submitted for the Ray Haugh Vocational Scholarship.
The Foundation's subcommittee selected four recipients for the Bob Jenkins Scholarship and one for the Ray Haugh Vocational Scholarship.
Bob Jenkins Community Service Scholarships were earned by Krystal Tapper, Jonathan Reveles, Ramon Gerardo Visaiz, and Garrett Yniguez. The Ray Haugh Vocational Scholarship was captured by Courtney Morrison. All of the recipients live in La Mirada.
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Krystal Tapper displays her $1,000 scholarship presented by Mayor Gabe Garcia and the La Mirada City Council this week. Tapper is also joined by members of her very proud family. Tapper has been volunteering for several years with Brothers of Charity. She also spends countless hours preparing hundreds of sandwiches to distribute throughout the Los Angeles area to feed the homeless. |
Here is more about this year's honorees: Krystal Tapper displays a high level of volunteerism in the community. Miss Tapper has been volunteering for several years with Brothers of Charity. She spends countless hours preparing hundreds of sandwiches to distribute throughout the Los Angeles area to feed the homeless. She also volunteers at special events and activities for the school and community. Miss Tapper is the Finance Director for the La Mirada High School Rotary Interact Club where she is actively involved in participating with fundraising activities.
Jonathan Reveles is extremely motivated to help where he is needed. As a youth leader, he has volunteered for a number of years at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. He devoted over 240 hours to the hospital as an ambassador where he assisted with discharging patients, taking them flowers, and providing emotional support. Reveles also received the Los Angeles County's Junior Volunteer of the Year award for his volunteer efforts at the hospital. In addition, Mr. Reveles is an active member of Key Club and is currently serving as President. He has been instrumental in organizing events such as beach clean-up days, Toys for Tots fundraiser, and volunteering at City wide events.
La Mirada City Council Moves Forward With Budget Despite Continuous Lambasting of State Actions
La Mirada~The La Mirada City Council took the first major steps into adopting a new fiscal budget for next year on Tuesday night.
La Mirada and many other area municipalities will be going into the new budget year without the luxury of having income generated from "economic engines" such as community redevelopment agencies.
City officials said that La Mirada's worst financial challenge stems from the State of California actions that have "impacted the City's budget far more than the Great Recession."
"The State's elimination of redevelopment agencies will have far-reaching negative impacts. The State's process for dissolving redevelopment was poorly conceived and executed, and has caused financial chaos and confusion for local governments throughout California," said Kevin Prelgovisk, Assistant City Manager.
But, overall, La Mirada's financial position is better than most area cities, however, without changes to the current law, La Mirada's General Fund could lose nearly $58 million, almost twice the annual operating budget.
"Financial blows of this magnitude will have severe negative impacts on La Mirada's ability to provide services and make critical infrastructure repairs," Prelgovisk said.
Councilman Steve Jones was blunt in his assessment of the new budget challenges from Sacramento.
"The state of California is acting like your addicted uncle who has the keys to your house," Jones quipped.
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