News
5 Freeway Project Closures To Begin This Week
UPDATE: Inclement weather have forced the closures to this week May 6-10
Santa Fe Springs~Caltrans will close up to two lanes on both sides of the 5 Freeway between Carmenita Avenue and Valley View Avenue from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday this coming week
Motorists are urged to exit at Rosecrans Avenue or Valley View Avenue to avoid delays.
The work is part of the $110 million I-5 Widening and Alondra Boulevard Bridge Project.
The overnight work involves placing concrete median barriers and re-striping the lanes.
Caltrans is constructing one carpool lane and one general purpose lane in each direction from North Fork Coyote Creek Bridge to Marquardt Avenue, reconstructing the Alondra Boulevard and North Fork Coyote Creek overcrossings, and realigning and upgrading adjacent frontage roads.
Also this week, the southbound Carmenita Road off-ramp will be closed from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Thursday for work involving the $380 million Carmenita Road Bridge Project which eventually, will be widened from its existing two lanes to ten.
All this work is part of the 5 Freeway South Corridor Improvement Projects from the Los Angeles/Orange County line to I-605.
For more information call (855) 454-6335 or visit www.I-5info.com
La Mirada Carnival This Weekend at Benton
La Mirada~A weekend of rides, tasty carnival food, and entertainment is approaching at the annual "4 La Mirada Kids" Carnival April 20 through 22 at Benton Middle School. The fun filled weekend features a variety of activities for the entire family. A Battle of the Bands contest will also be held on Friday and Saturday evening beginning at 7 p.m.
Pre-sale ride tickets are available for $10 at the La Mirada Resource Center. A percentage of the proceeds are returned to local schools and organizations that sell the pre-sale tickets.
The Community Foundation sponsors the carnival to raise funds for youth groups and community organizations that provide a variety of educational, cultural and extracurricular opportunities. Volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to make the carnival a success.
An all-new Battle of the Bands will take place Friday and Saturday from 7-10 p.m.
For more information, call Community Services at (562) 943-7277.
Disney Purchases La Mirada Regional Park
La Mirada~Walt Disney Co. officials announced today that they have purchased La Mirada Regional Park in La Mirada.
City Hall was flooded with calls earlier, so we were unable to get confirmation from city officials, however, while on hold, “It’s a Small World” played in the background.
Later, reached by telephone, City Manager Jeff Boynton confirmed the deal, “We are excited to have Disney aboard. Even though Regional is a county park, we have ensured this deal will benefit us. For one, the pirate statue at the entrance of Splash! will be replaced by one of Mickey Mouse.”
Plans have already been approved for the park to be converted to a Disneyland spinoff-a smaller, more affordable amusement park.
When asked about the parking concerns for adjacent residential neighborhoods, Boynton said, “We will worry about that later.”
Disney officials have refused to comment, instead waiting for the press conference to be held by Donald Duck at the La Mirada Kiwanis Duck Race Saturday at Splash!
Garcia Takes Over the Helm as Mayor of La Mirada
La Mirada's First Family
From the La Mirada Lamplighter Newspaper!
La Mirada~Gabe Garcia took over tonight as mayor of La Mirada replacing outgoing mayor Steve Jones after one year.
Garcia was joined by many family, friends and others, to congratulate and wish him well.
Garcia was elected to the city council in March 2009. Previously, he was elected to the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District's Board of Education for three consecutive terms from 1993-2005.
Garcia becomes the first Latino mayor in the city's 52-year history.
In La Mirada, mayor's serve one-year terms on a rotating basis, with council members basically, taking "turns" as mayor. So, the evening was mostly a ceremonial, nominating and voting process, with Garcia beginning his first stint at the helm.
Officially, the vote was 5-0.
Councilman Steve DeRuse was voted in as mayor pro tem.
Norwalk-La Mirada School Board of Education President, Darryl Adams presented a certificate of recognition to outgoing Mayor Steve Jones, thanking him for his contributions to the school district and the community saying, "You have been an exemplary model of what a leader is all about-leading with consistency."
Captain Pat Maxwell of the Norwalk Sheriff's Station also thanked Jones for his support on behalf of all the men and women at the station, and presented him with a $250 check for the charity of his choice. Jones said he would donate the money to the California School Project organization.
After the meeting, we asked Garcia if he has any priorities for his first term as mayor.
"First, the fiscal health of the city, second, would be the strategies in dealing with the loss of redevelopment, and attracting new businesses to our shopping centers with new incentives," he said.
La Mirada Crime Report March 12-18-2012
Robbery
An attempted carjacking occurred on the 14300 block of San Cristobal Dr. The victim knew the suspect. The suspect was taken into custody by the Buena Park Police Department.
Residential Burglary
Three burglaries and one attempted burglary were reported last week. A burglary was reported on the 14900 block of Barnwall St. An unknown suspect kicked in a side door to gain entry. Jewelry and coins were stolen from the home. An incident occurred on the 13100 block of Los Alisos St. A sliding glass door was shattered. Jewelry and a purse were taken.A burglary was also reported on the 14700 block of Figueras Rd. A laptop computer and coins were taken. An attempted burglary occurred on the 15200 block of Cheshire St.
Vehicle Burglary
Four burglaries were reported last week. A trailer was broken into on the 16000 block of Canary Ave. A third row seat and various items were stolen from a vehicle on the 14300 block of Firestone Blvd. A window smash burglary occurred on the 13300 block of Beach Blvd. A purse and camera bag were stolen from the vehicle. An incident was reported on the 15200 block of Vanada Rd.
Grand Theft
A grand theft was reported on the 16000 block of Heron Ave. The incident is currently under investigation.
Grand Theft Vehicle
Two vehicle thefts were reported last week. A vehicle was stolen from the 14300 block of Firestone Blvd. An older model Honda was stolen from the 16100 block of Rosecrans Ave. The vehicle was recovered days later by the Buena Park Police Department. Deputies recovered a vehicle stolen from the City of Orange on the 14200 block of Ramhurst Dr.
UPDATED: Assault on Police Officer Sparks Short Pursuit
La Mirada~A La Mirada man led authorities on a brief pursuit through Buena Park and La Mirada last evening, ultimately crashing his car and being taken into custody.
The crash occurred on Stage Road about 7 p.m. just west of Biola Avenue, and shut down the road for approximately two hour
s as officials investigated.
Jeremy Cass, 25, of La Mirada was booked at the Buena Park Police Department for striking a police officer with his vehicle-a felony.
Lt. Gary Worrall of the Buena Park PD told the La Mirada Blog, "A motor officer noticed a small truck being driven erratically in the area of Beach Blvd and Artesia. When the officer attempted to make contact with the driver, he rammed the officer with his vehicle, striking him twice. A pursuit then ensued through the north end of Buena Park and portions of La Mirada. He is being held for assaulting a police officer."
The pursuit lasted about ten minutes, with the vehicle crashing on Stage.
The Biola Chimes is reporting Cass stole the vehicle from his girlfriend earlier and that also a technique to end the pursuit was executed by the Buena Park PD.
Lt. Rivera of the Norwalk Sheriff's Station said the vehicle was not officially reported as stolen. He said La Mirada units were involved once the pursuit entered the city limits.
Rivera said, "We have arrested this individual in the past. Also, the Whittier Police Department had some "activity" with him earlier in the day regarding a family disturbance."
Update: According to records, it appears Cass was sentenced to 180 days in jail on November 17, 2011 at Downey Municipal Court for an unknown felony charge. It appears he served apporoximately 110 days and was released last month on February 12th. He currently remains housed in the Central Mens Jail without bail, awaiting his arraignment Wednesday March 15th in Santa Ana.
Photo: Buena Park and La Mirada police personnel at the scene of the crash moments after it occurred.
Motorcyclist Killed in Traffic Mishap
La Mirada~A motorcyclist was killed in a rush-hour accident at Valley View Avenue and Bora Drive in La Mirada yesterday morning about 8:00 a.m.
The motorcycle was traveling southbound on Valley View Avenue when it collided with the van, driven by Virginia Gomez. of La Mirada.
Gomez was making a left turn from eastbound Bora Drive to northbound Valley View Avenue.
The southbound traffic on Valley View was backed up, as it usually does at busy times, from the Rosecrans Avenue traffic signal.
Gomez said traffic was letting her through when she was hit by the motorcyclist broadside.
We have still been unable to obtain the victims name, however we have unconfirmed reports he was a local man.The man appeared to be in his 50's.
One of our La Mirada Blog tweeters Kat (@torirosey), reported he was due to get married this summer.
Neighbors at the scene say this has long been a very dangerous traffic spot, with many similar incidents happening over the years.
A makeshift memorial is now at the scene, put there by family and friends.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Norwalk Sheriff's Station at (562) 863-8711.
Photo left: Makeshift memorial now at scene; right, photo by La Mirada Blog tweeter (@moonsunstaroflm) moments after incident.
UPDATE: LAPD Guns Down Murder Suspect in La Mirada Neighborhood
BREAKING
"Hail of Bullets" Rattles La Mirada Neighborhood; We Have Exclusive Video with Eyewitness to Shooting
La Mirada~A man,allegedly a murder suspect, was shot and killed this morning in a quiet La Mirada neighborhood by LAPD.
The incident hap
pened about 8:43 a.m. at the corner of Escalona and Chesire.
Escalona School was temporarily placed on lock down.
We have exclusive video from an eyewitness here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SEK9Nhk0Js
UPDATE: The LAPD/FBI Task Force were serving warrant for November double-homicide in East LA area. The suspect fled out of his home and jumped on the roof of a neighbors house, and according to police, began firing at them with his firearm.
Photo by Tony Aiello: 12:34 030112-Authorites continue to collect evidence
Truck Crashes into Frontier Park
La Mirada~A delivery truck veered out of control and crashed into Frontier Park Wednesday afternoon during rush hour traffic.
Nobody was hurt at the park, and the driver was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
A firefighter on the scene said the man was "very lucky to be alive."
An unidentified employee at the Frontier Park Community Center said she heard others say the conscious driver did not know what happened, saying he just lost control of the truck.
The truck came to rest just short of an unoccupied picnic bench, slamming into a pine tree and disenegrating the front of the vehicle.
Luckily, even though the park was busy at the time, nobody was injured.
See a short video of the incident on our YouTube channel here: http://tinyurl.com/7b3hvf8
See an additional picture of the crash here: http://twitpic.com/8npq2m
Copper Thieves Hit Gardenhill Elementary
Four Wings of the School Still Without Power as of Late Wednesday
La Mirada~Thieves stole copper wiring at Gardenhill Elementary School this past Monday evening/early Tuesday morning, leaving parts of the school without power all day Tuesday and Wednesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, four wings of the school, including the kindergarten section, remained without power as district electricians, continued to work on replacing the wiring.
The wiring was stolen from underground, with the thieves accessing two manhole covers.
"At an unknown time, 110 feet of 1¼ inch copper wiring was stolen, resulting in approximately $800-$1000 dollars in damage, said Sergeant Gary Harman of the Norwalk Sheriff's station, "As a result, two wings of the school lost power."
Gardenhill office clerk Sandy Roberts told the La Mirada Blog that she, along with the custodian noticed the theft almost immediately, "We saw two big holes in the ground, it was kind of obvious something happened."
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