La Mirada Blog
Articles by Tony Aiello
FREE: Electricity Safety Story Time for Kids/Adults at LM Library
La Mirada~Join the La Mirada Library for a special story time with a Southern California Edison Lineman this Saturday November 1st from 2:00-3:00 PM.
You can hear stories and learn about the importance of electrical safety. This program is ideal for school-aged children and their families.
No pre-registration required and coloring books and safety kits will be available for attendees.
For more information call (562) 943-0277 or visit www.colapublib.org
New Bike Trail Connection in La Mirada Opens
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| Mayor Larry Mowles and OCTA Officials at Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Coyote Creek Trail segment of the OC Loop. |
Another option for La Mirada bicyclists and pedestrians as they can now travel from Imperial Highway to La Mirada Boulevard via the trail which includes an entrance at Behringer Park.
La Mirada~The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) officials recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony at La Mirada Behringer Athletic Facility. The ceremony marked the completion of a two-mile segment of the OC Loop, a path for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel throughout the county.
OCTA Chairman Shawn Nelson and CEO Darrell Johnson led the ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Coyote Creek Trail segment that runs near Beach Boulevard, between the Cities of La Mirada and Buena Park. La Mirada Mayor Larry Mowles and other City, OCTA, and OC Parks representatives were also in attendance at the ceremony.
OCTA is working with transportation officials in cities along the OC Loop to create 66 miles of bikeway and pedestrian connections across Orange County.
The OC Loop provides a convenient pathway for residents to bike, walk and connect to some of California’s most scenic beaches and inland reaches. The OC Loop also provides commuters with connections to many bus stops and three Metrolink stations, as well as major employment centers.
The loop is about 70 percent complete. The County of Orange, through a Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) grant, is working with cities along the OC Loop on a feasibility study to close the remaining gaps. The study will provide cities with grant-ready information on their segments including design concepts and costs. Nearly 46 miles of the loop already in place are off-street trails along the San Gabriel River, Coyote Creek, Santa Ana River and the Coastal Beach Trail. 
When completed, bikers will be able to travel the 66-mile loop from La Mirada, south to Seal Beach, southeast to Costa Mesa, north to Carbon Canyon and back to La Mirada.
Another option for La Mirada bicyclists is the North Fork Coyote Creek.The trail head is on Foster Road just east of Marquardt Avenue in Santa Fe Springs just up the street from Frontier Park in La Mirada. That trail meets up with the San Gabriel River trail downstream and ends at Seal Beach-about a 13 mile ride declining slightly for most of the ride as the river leads to the ocean. Check it out here.
For more information on the OC Loop, visit www.octa.net/OCLoop.
La Mirada Theatre Receives 17 Ovation Award Nominations
La Mirada~The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment recently received 17 Ovation Award nominations from the LA Stage Alliance for their 2013-14 season. The La Mirada Theatre received the second most nominations for a theatre in the greater Los Angeles area.
The LA Stage Alliance announced the nominees at Native Voices at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. La Mirada Theatre award nominations include those for Best Season, Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre), Acting Ensemble of a Musical, Music Direction, and several individual performers nominated for Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Musical.
Brian Kite, Producing Artistic Director for the La Mirada Theatre, is nominated for Best Director of a Musical for Les Misérables.
“We are honored and excited to be nominated among an incredible group of artists and theatres. We are proud of our 17 nominations and hope that they reflect the Theatre’s work in providing high quality programs to audiences throughout the Southern California region,” says Kite. “We look forward to the awards ceremony in November.”
La Mirada Shaquatics Participate in Charity Scrimmage
Brea~The La Mirada Shaquatics participated in a charity scrimmage this past Tuesday night at Brea Olinda High School to benefit Homes for our Troops-a nonprofit organization helping with adapted mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The group raised $540 and had high attendance and generous donations from Shaquatic parents.
La Mirada Shaquatics is a year-round water polo club for kids 9-15 based at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center.
To get more information about the club visit www. shaquatics.net.
Annual St. Paul of the Cross Carnival Kicks Off
La Mirada~The annual Parish Festival at St. Paul of the Cross kicked-off tonight and will continue through Sunday.
The traditional event features live entertainment, rides, food, vendors, a swap meet and a beer garden.
Hours are Friday from 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday 12--9 p.m.
La Mirada's first church established in 1956 is located at 14020 Foster Road. For more information call (562) 921-2914 .
Los Coyotes Eighth Grader Wins Track Championship
La Mirada~Ryan ‘The Rhino” Vargas took first place in the championship race and won the track championship this past Saturday at the Irwindale Event Center.
Vargas is an eighth-grader at Los Coyotes Middle School in La Mirada and began racing cars three years ago.
He races in the U.S. Legend Cars INEX Division and drives a Bandolero, a turnkey, spec-series 750 race car which can reach top speeds of approximately 90 mph. He holds track records at Kern County Raceway Park, The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Orange Show Speedway.
He is a straight-A honor student and very involved in his school. Mom Dawn says he must maintain straight A’s in order to race.
He has been first in California the past three years in his division; last year he was sixth in the nation.
This year, he set a goal of becoming one of the top five racers in the nation. He not only met his goal but also far surpassed it. He has a chance to be number one in the country.
He also captured two track championships this year, one at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino and the other at Irwindale Event Center in Irwindale.
Follow his racing page “Rhino Motorsports” on Facebook here.
Grade Separation Project Completed
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| Representatives from the Cities of La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs, Caltrans, LA Metro, and California State Assembly at the Valley View Avenue Grade Separation ribbon cutting ceremony. |
Santa Fe Springs~Stage Road is now open for traffic as the the Valley View Grade Separation Project is now complete after a little over two years of work.
Partners in the project, the City of La Mirada, the City of Santa Fe Springs, BNSF Railway and Caltrans participated in a brief ceremony at the site this morning along with Santa Fe springs Mayor Jaunita Trujillo and La Mirada Mayor Larry Mowles.
Construction on the $65 million endeavor began in the summer of 2010.
THE CARRIAGE: Decision Could Come in November for Fate of Cultural Diner
La Mirada~The La Mirada Planning Commission may be deciding the fate of the Carriage Coffee Shop at its regular meeting next month.
City Planner Gabriel Bautista told the La Mirada Blog the process is taking longer than he prefers, but hopes it will be on the agenda for the November 21st meeting.
Residents who consider the diner a cultural icon stormed city hall this past March to protest a decision by the owners of the property, Rich Development, to replace the 49-year-old diner with a McDonald’s.
Because of the traffic concerns expressed by residents at that meeting, the commission suggested a traffic study be executed to address these potential issues.
The final draft of the study has been completed and has been sent to the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Traffic Division for final approval, Bautista told us.
The commission will then decide whether or not to grant McDonald’s a conditional use permit to construct a drive-thru at the new restaurant; paving the way for the apparent demolition of The Carriage.
Lewis Supporters Gather for Meet-and-Greet Fundraiser
SOCIAL SCENE
La Mirada~Friends and family gathered at the home of Hal and Barbara Malkin this past Thursday in support of La Mirada resident Zurich Lewis who is running for a seat
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| Hal Malkin and Zurich Lewis |
as Governing Board Member/Trustee for the Cerritos College Community District-Area Seven.
A beautiful array of food and refreshments was offered by the host Mrs. Malkin as guests mingled and discussed current news and events.
Lewis, a lifetime La Mirada resident is a Biola University student and sits as a Community Services Commissioner for the city.
Area seven for the district includes portions of the cities of La Mirada, Cerritos, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and North Whittier.
For more photos visit the La Mirada Blog Back Page here.
La Mirada Library Getting First-Time Major Renovation
La Mirada~The public library in town will be renovated for the first time in its 45-year history with construction expected to begin next year.
The 15,704 square foot branch is part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library System and was constructed in 1969 around the same time as today’s city hall and has relatively remained unchanged since then with the exception of some minor interior improvements over the years.
As part of Supervisor Don Knabe’s “Operation Libraries” project, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors recently approved $45 million into the restoration of County libraries in the fourth district-with $4 million being allocated to La Mirada.
The County of Los Angeles Public Library is the 6th largest public library system in the United States with 85 branches.
A lease agreement is being finalized between the City and the County. Although the facility is owned and operated by the County; the City would manage the design and development of the project.
The renovated library is expected to include: adult, teen and children’s reading areas, a family early childhood area, self-check-out machines, staff work area offices, group study rooms, Wi-Fi, public access computers, library collection, displays, and a community meeting room with an enhanced audio-visual system.
Under the plan, interior renovation considerations would include modifications to the lighting, ceiling, and heating; improvements to electrical, mechanical and telecommunications infrastructure; installation of new furniture, fixtures, equipment, and signage; and ADA upgrades.
Exterior improvements would include modifications to the building entry and a civic art component.
A temporary library would be set up at a still undetermined location while the renovation is taking place.
The project is expected to commence in mid-2015 and be completed in 2016.
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