La Mirada Blog
Articles by Tony Aiello
Energy Resource Center to Receive First LEED Recognition in State
Downey~Southern California Gas Co.’s (SoCalGas) award-winning Energy Resource Center (ERC) is celebrating its 20th anniversary by becoming the first building in California to receive LEED “green building” recognition and one of only two buildings in the state to be awarded Platinum Level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Energy Resource Center will be hosting a celebratory event on Wednesday June 10th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that will feature a time capsule, speakers, demonstrations and displays. Tours begin at 1:00 p.m.
The 44,572 square-foot building was designed in part by recycling its former 1957 building and adding cutting-edge materials and technologies.
The ERC uses 40.7 percent less water than other commercial buildings its size (outdoors) and uses 38.3 percent less water (indoors). It also uses 51.39 percent less energy than the national average and 60 percent of its employees use energy-efficient transportation, including bikes, low-emission vehicles and carpooling.
Menchie’s La Mirada Grand Opening Celebration
La Mirada~The new Menchie’s La Mirada is now open and celebration is planned for the new shop open at 12261 La Mirada Blvd. in the Crossroads center.
Guests are invited to come by for a ribbon cutting and free yogurt on Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. to kick off the week-long festivities.
Saturday 11am – 1pm:
Ribbon cutting with Menchie, free t-shirts for the first 25 guests, free frozen yogurt for all guests, balloon artist (entertainment).
Sunday 1pm:
Free plushie doll giveaway (qty 25), Color-in t-shirts (while supplies last), Face painting
Monday 5 – 6pm:
$1 for $1 hour – Fill up your cup
Tuesday 2 – 4pm:
Kids eat free, Arts & crafts
Wednesday 11am – 1pm:
50% off lunchtime yum
Thursday 3pm:
Free dodge ball giveaway (qty 25)
Friday 8pm – close:
Buy one cup of frozen yogurt get one free.
Barricade Causes School Lock Downs
La Mirada~A suspect barricaded himself inside a home early Wednesday afternoon resulting in the temporary lock down of both Eastwood Elementary and Los Coyote Middle Schools.
The incident began around 11:30 A.M. and is still on-going with suspect reportedly still inside home on near the intersection of Ashworth Drive and Mercado Avenue in La Mirada.
All roadways in the surrounding area of the incident have been adversely affected.
It is unknown to us at this time what the suspect is wanted for; earlier unconfirmed Twitter reports suggested the suspect had weapons.
Follow the La Mirada Blog on Twitter for the latest and check back here for more updates.
UPDATE: 19:25 052715: Suspect taken into custody, https://twitter.com/LaMiradaBlog/status/603724607141638144
FROM THE EDITOR: New Healthy Lifetsyle Column Coming to the La Mirada Blog
We are pleased to announce a new column is coming to the La Mirada Blog-Healthy Mama Diaries by Amanda Denker.
Amanda's column will feature healthy cooking, fitness and lifestyle tips for busy mamas who want the best for their family. Amanda says, "Life is good, it's better when you are healthy!"
Amanda is also a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and will offer information on essential oils from doTERRA.
She is a La Mirada native and still lives in La Mirada with professional baseball player Travis Denker. Needless to say because of hubby's profession they do a lot of moving around. La Mirada is home-base for the fam, but I have a feeling Amanda will be providing some Mama Road Tips.
She is a first-time mom to 18-month old son, Jet. She is also a part-time counselor at a residential treatment center, helping clients overcome eating disorders.
She enjoys spending all the rest of her time being a mom and lives and loves a healthy balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise (I should take some hints from her).
For a sneak preview, check out her Instagram feed @healthymamadiaries.
Look for her first column to debut soon. Welcome to the team Amanda!
FROM THE EDITOR: La Mirada Blog Expanding Its Horizons
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| Look for the new La Mirada Blog website to debut in 2015, a long way from our first post in 2004 (pictured). |
These are exciting times for your La Mirada Blog.
In late 2003, with the La Mirada community craving for a local print newspaper, I decided to jot/type down a few news items (I was already covering local news) on something called a web-log or blog, on the still relatively-new Internet.
You long-timers might remember we were on a site called weatherscout.com and you still had to type in the www. The first official post was on January 30, 2004 (see insert) and the La Mirada Blog was born, ushering in the hyper-local news movement.
Of course, when we started there was no such thing as Facebook our Twitter or social media. Now, the LM Blog is approaching 3,000 followers on Twitter and 8,000 on Facebook-a total of almost 11,000 fans, a fifth of the La Mirada population. We are also on YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr and Flickr.
I am thrilled to announce 2015 has and will be an exciting year for the La Mirada Blog.
Sporting News Grill Coming to West Coast; La Mirada First Location
La Mirada~A Sporting News Grill is coming to La Mirada and the restaurant is expected to open by July at the site of the former Red Robin restaurant located inside the Holiday Inn Select Hotel.
Richard Choi, General Manager of the La Mirada hotel, told us the facility is currently being “gutted” and revamped with a $1 million dollar renovation.
This will be the first Sporting News Grill on the west coast and the La Mirada restaurant will influence others Sporting News locations yet to open in the region including in Long Beach.
This will also be the largest restaurant in the nation for the chain.
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| Work continues on the new Sporting News Grill/La Mirada seen here last month. The sports-themed restaurant will feature over 25 TV's and is the first on the west coast. photo (c) La Mirada Blog 2015 |
The concept was born in 2006 when the magazine partnered with the hotel chain and built over 90 restaurants at the Atlanta-based companies’ Holiday Inn Select locations.
Sporting News officials say the restaurants are aimed at younger, action-oriented travelers as well as the local community.
"One thing (patrons) can't get with other sports-themed restaurants is the phenomenal archival assets that Sporting News has to draw on," Sporting News spokesman Drew Kerr said, noting that the magazine once known as the Bible of Baseball dates to 1886.
Locally, Choi said there will 24 taps and close to 30 TV’s for patrons at the La Mirada location.
He mentioned construction is continuing and they hope to have a soft opening later this month and they are shooting for a grand opening the last week of June.
La Mirada Boys Help Clinch Championship at Notable Soccer Tournament in Texas
Dallas, TX~Nic Hernandez and Ryan Candelario, both of La Mirada, helped soccer club AC Brea Premier clinch the 2015 Boys Under-14 Championship of the prestigious Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup, held last week in Texas.
After going 3-0 to win their bracket, Brea survived overtime in three consecutive matches before defeating FC Dallas Pre-Academy, 1-1 (4-2 in Penalty Kicks).
Candelario scored three goals in the tournament, while Hernandez helped anchor a defense that allowed only three goals in regulation over the six games played in the tournament.
The Dallas Cup started in 1980 and is an invitation only tournament held Easter Week of every year featuring marquee teams and talented up-and-coming players from around the world, in seven age categories from U-13 to U-19.
La Mirada High Boys One Step Away From State Title; Draft Picks Event Benefits Team
Berkeley~The La Mirada High Boys Basketball team will attempt to capture their first state title in school history as they take on Archbishop Mitty of San Jose at the Haas Pavilion on the UC Berkeley campus beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The broadcast of the game, on DirectTV Channel 698, will be shown at Draft Picks Sports Grill and Tom's Tailgate in La Mirada.
Also, by watching the game at Draft Picks and Tom's you can support La Mirada Basketball by just saying "Go Matadores" when you order and twenty percent of your bill will go back to the program.
It’s CIF Week at La Mirada High School
La Mirada~The Matadores of La Mirada will be competing in four CIF playoff games this week with three scheduled to be played at home.
Thursday, The La Mirada girls soccer squad will take on Culver City (Ocean League) in the first round of Division 4 after finishing first in the Suburban League.
The Lady Mats finished with a 21-2 record overall and a perfect 12-0 in league action.
Game time is 7:00 at Goodman Stadium.
Friday will feature a double-header at La Mirada High.
At 5:00 p.m. the boys soccer team will play Laguna Beach (Orange Coast) in the first round of Division 4 action.
The Matadores finished 11-8-1 overall and 9-3 in league play, good for second place.
At 7:00 p.m. the boys basketball team will take on West Covina (Hacienda) in first round action.
The Matadores are ranked number one in Division 2A.
Bryce Jones’ squad finished 24-3 overall and 12-1 in the Suburban League, winning their first outright league title since 1982.
Wrapping up the week, the girls basketball team will travel Saturday to play San Jacinto (Mountain Pass) in the first round of Division 2A play.
Led by first-year coach Billl Nuanez, the Lady Mats finished fourth in the Suburban League with a 6-6 record.
Game time is 7:00 p.m.
A Night of Entertainment to Benefit La Mirada Meals on Wheels
La Mirada~The annual Lou Piltz Memorial Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser will take place Friday January 30th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the La Mirada Activity Center.
The event benefits the La Mirada Meals on Wheels-providing hot, nutritious meals to the elderly and disabled in the La Mirada area since 1975.
The dinner is named after the late Lou Piltz who served on the Board of Directors and also served as President and Treasurer of Meals On Wheels La Mirada. The dinner will include, spaghetti, meat sauce, salad and garlic bread.
Entertainment will be provided by students of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy of La Mirada High School.
There will be a 50/50 contest and two raffles with various prizes.
Desserts will be provided by the La Mirada Ebell Club for a nominal donation.
Editor of the La Mirada Blog, Tony Aiello will be the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
For tickets or for more information, please contact Meals On Wheels at 562-943-0037.
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