Opinion
La Mirada Blog Endorses Garcia, Keithly for City Council
There are two spots open with five candidates running in this year’s city council election. Of the five, we believe there are three that are viable.
Two of them are not ready for prime-time, Randy Gray and Andrew Sarega.
Gray, a very nice guy, does not have enough exposure, involvement in the community, or City Hall insight. It is not like he hasn’t done anything however-he is past president of the La Mirada NJB (National Junior Basketball) and has done many other wonderful things for the community.
Sarega also has very little involvement in town, is ill-informed and much too negative. We see Sarega’s Dad around town more than we see Sarega, spieling a bunch of rhetoric, and basically sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong, irritating people, and making a mockery of the process without offering any real ideas or solutions for current issues.
That leaves Steve Keithly, Pauline Deal, and current Mayor Gabe Garcia.
Keithly is refreshing for La Mirada politics. With a strong business background and currently sitting on the city planning commission, it is indeed stimulating to hear someone from within the “organization” indicating we might want to consider doing a couple of things differently. We believe him.
By far, the number one issue or concern La Mirada residents have is the condition of our shopping centers.
Keithly speaks of finally addressing the needs of our dilapidated centers using whatever methods it takes-once and for all-instead of falling back on the same old excuses past council members have been using for decades. We believe him.
So that leaves Garcia and Deal for the last spot.
Last month, Garcia was involved in a single-car incident on Tacuba Drive, which resulted in some mangled parked cars and a DUI arrest.
There is a fine line whether you believe he should have resigned immediately or not.
Given time to think about it, we believe everyone makes mistakes and in La Mirada, Garcia deserves a second chance. We all should live in glass houses.
The current inexperienced and unmotivated city council needs his leadership and especially his experience in local government.
Deal, is a wonderful person, is more than capable and has served the community well, but she might be in the right race at the wrong time. Her appointment to council in 2011 for the departed Susan Tripp, may be hurting her, giving the perception she has not earned the position.
We believe La Mirada residents are looking for something a little bit different in the characteristics of their council members-being a little less submissive and a little more assertive.
We recommend you vote for Steve Keithly and Gabe Garcia for La Mirada City Council
La Mirada Blog Endorses Garcia, Keithly
There is two seats open with five people running in the La Mirada City Council election.
The La Mirada Blog is endorsing Mayor Gabe Garcia and Steve Keithly.
There are three candidates we deem worthy and they are Garcia, Keithly, and Pauline D
A Special Thank You to a Really Cool Correspondent
La Mirada~A special thank you goes out to Christian Covarubias, 13-year old 8th grader from Los Coyotes Middle School who provided us with daily updates from his east coast trip he recently concluded with some of this classmates.
Having two sons of my own who took these trips, I realize that these trips literally keep the kids running from the moment they touchdown.
I know how tired Christian was every evening, but he provided us with his daily journal, regardless, providing us with a unique insight.
Christian's enthusiasm for America-its history, culture, values-speaks volumes for his generation.
From the La Mirada Blog Network Family, Christian, thanks again, and keep up the good work! We're watching you!
REVIEW: Magnolias Gets Thumbs Up
La Mirada~Wow! From the moment I walked in to the theatre I knew I was in for a treat. The set on stage was breathtakingly beautiful. I felt like I was actually in a beauty salon, the only thing missing was the strong smell of hair solutions.
I can only be talking about the production of Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling and directed by Brian Kite. Presented by La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Emtertainment in association with The Welks Resorts Theatre, it runs through October 18th.
THE CAST...
M'Lynn Eatenton........................................................................CATHY RIGBY
Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie......................................................AMY SLOAN
Truvy Jones................................................................................CHRISTA JACKSON
Clairee Belcher..........................................................................ROSINA REYNOLDS
Annelle Dupey-Desoto.............................................................EMMA FASSLER
Ouiser Bordreaux......................................................................MICHAEL LEARNED
I tip my hat to the actresses for allowing me to feel the very emotions that they performed on stage. Funny, sincere, and completely enjoyable. The likeness these actresses portrayed in comparison to those of the movie were right on.
I was able to picture in my mind the 6 different lives of these women. How they live, where they live, what their spouses were like. What lifestyles they each lived and what their spiritual choices were. I truly enjoyed getting to know them. The underlying strength and love, along with the respect that they shared for one another, was envious.
I strongly recommend that you grab your sister, your mother, your best friends, and your neighbor and head on over to the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts to enjoy this high-flying performance.
Thank you to all those involved, you all did a great job.
A 3rd of July I Will Never Forget; Dog is Killed as Fireworks Explode
FLASHBACK
The following is a re-post from a story I wrote in 2009 after witnessing a dog get killed on July 3rd of that year at La Mirada Blvd and Foster Road after the very young dog ran frightened from the fireworks show at Regional Park after the family had brought the dog to the event earlier in the day.
The La Mirada Blog is recommending dogs not to be taken to the annual celebration at Regional Park.
We all know parks and dogs go hand in hand, but this is one exception. The crowd is to large and dogs simply don't like fireworks.
Please do NOT take your dogs to Regional Park for the 3rd of July celebration, there are simply to many things that can wrong.
If you are worried about your dog staying home alone, you simply can't go the event.
Read this story I wrote six years ago, and I hope it makes you and others aware of the increased possibility of mishap.
Story originally written July 26th, 2009
Frustration, Joy, Despair; All in One Day
La Mirada~A friend, we'll call him MP, recently told me, "Tony, you have to write a La Mirada book someday."
Well, add another chapter.
An opinion piece, me? I don't do these any more, but I absolutely feel compelled in this instance.
Finally after over two weeks, I am able to write this story. As I said, over two weeks has passed now, and this year's 3rd of July event is now fading into distant memory for most.
Not so fast.
I worked the Kiwanis of La Mirada booth during the middle of the day; helping the club barbeque and prepare tri-tip sandwiches to be sold to the crowd. It was the most pleasant part of my day. What a line we had around 6 p.m. What a blast!
I had some interesting thoughts and observations throughout the day, but one that kept bothering me was the fact that many people had brought their dogs to this event.
People, I know dogs love parks, but this is simply an event you cannot bring your dogs to. During the day maybe, but still, there were way too many people to have your dog there, even during the day. And I had to wonder how many of those people were going to bring their dogs home for the evening. This worried me.
As a general rule dogs don't like fireworks. This is common knowledge. Sure, there are some exceptions, but for the most part they dislike fireworks and loud noises. In fact special precautions must be taken for your dog during the 4th of July, even at your own home. Guess what? You can't have both. You can't own a dog and go see the fireworks show. Someone needs to monitor the dog at home. It's a simple as that.
This bothered me all day after seeing dog after dog nervously looking around at the overwhelming crowd.
After finishing up at the booth I wandered over to the family's blanket to relax and watch the fireworks show. Fireworks really don't do much for me, but it's that family, quality factor thing.
At 9:07 p.m. the lights went out in the park and the show was about to begun. Just as the first projectile exploded, a little black dog went frantically racing by our blanket; leash still attached. You could barely see him because of his color and because of the darkness of the night.
I heard people laughing and it sickened me. This dog was obviously traumatized and bolted from its owners grasp. How did this happen? Who would be so irresponsible to let this happen? My worst fear was coming true.
Our blanket was located behind one of the softball diamonds, with our backs to the parking lot and Foster Road. The dog ran towards the lot and Foster Road. It was running so fast in the dark, and I immediately gave chase. I ran as fast as I could. I just wanted to get to the dog and let him/her know, it was OK.
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