Opinion
Editorial-La Mirada has Responsive City Government
In it's nearly 64-year history as a city, La Mirada has always exceled in executing the two basic functions of local government: maintaining the roads and keeping the public safe.
The community is known for its lengthy, green, manicured roadways and is consistently recognized as one of the safest cities in the region.
Financial prudence, awesome community services, a model graffiti-removal program and just the overall well-kept nature of the city really should be considered as icing on-the-cake.
La Mirada may not be the flashiest city. We may not be perfect. We may not have an expensive nightclub or giant department store, but we do a lot of things well.
Many of these little things we do well fly under the radar. (more)
City Council reorganization features a refreshing change
The La Mirada City Council conducted its annual reorganization last month selecting Steve De Ruse as Mayor for the 2023-24 term.
Councilmember Andrew Sarega was selected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem in a 4-0 vote with Councilman John Lewis abstaining.
It seems as if everyone is beginning to get warm and fuzzy all over as this may indicate an end to the 10-year contentious era in which Sarega was passed over twice when it was his “turn,” which had been the traditional way La Mirada had always chosen their next Mayor and Pro Tems. (more)
Is this the right time to give Cerritos College more money?
Residents asked to increase their contribution to the college by 60 percent
A major property tax for La Mirada and nearby small cities is on the ballot this November, despite one official saying the money is unnecessary.
“Every time I’ve been on campus these last few months, I’ve seen no students,” said Marisa Perez, a Lakewood resident serving on the Cerritos College Board of Trustees, “Why are we going to build buildings that are going to be empty?”
The trustees voted July 20 to put a $425 million bond measure, known as Measure CC, on the ballot this November. The money will be used for classrooms but also for unnecessary, fun projects: a “front door” (main entrance way) and a new administration building complete with a board room for the trustees. (more)
Lack of peace clouds La Mirada election cycles
I have an Olive tree in the front yard and it’s wild.
There are a couple other olive trees way up Hesse Drive, but they’re tame, trimmed like a Bob Ross afro and circled by brick planters. Domesticated.
I have the only wild olive tree on Hesse Drive.
The city of La Mirada has history with this species, the Greeks had a long name for it and La Mirada being a tree city, somebody needs to look up the long name.
Our 62-year-old city replaced a ton of olive groves according to resident historians Ray Fernandez and Tony Aiello, who say a bunch of olive oil was famously produced here.
The owner of this website got really pumped up, as historians are prone to get, when the original oil press from the La Mirada olive groves recently surfaced in Campo, CA. Where?
But enough dendrology, let’s talk about the symbolism of my wild olive tree and being a preacher; let me throw in some Bible. (more)
City Council Race 2022
I am officially declaring, the City Council election season has begun in La Mirada.
I am not an expert on politics, elections or anything else really, but I can offer a unique perspective and why not?
This is the third campaign season La Mirada residents will be electing council members by district rather than city-wide after the city was threatened to be sued by MALDEF in 2016.
What does this mean? Well, from a candidate standpoint, generally speaking, you only need a few hundred votes to win rather than the couple of thousand you would need in an at-large election.
Where Does the La Mirada Blog Go Next?
Well, I think it’s about time.
You mean an opinion column on my own website? What a novel concept. I hope to produce this on a every-other-month basis so let’s see and let’s go. Thank YOU for taking time out of your busy day to read this and I hope you enjoy it as we move forward.
From the beginning, I am not going to grovel for days over this column or it’s just going to stress me out and I won’t like doing it. So, my goal is to knock it out in 30 minutes and it is what it is. I’ll put a stop watch on my desk and let’s see how it goes.
Where is the La Mirada Blog going and how has it evolved and changed over the years? What’s next, if anything? What happened in the 2017 La Mirada City Council Election, just 27 months ago-the true story, other than me losing? 😊 City Council members are now elected by district, but are they serving in their districts?
The first issue is this website. I hear you, it's outdated. I hope to have it updated very soon and I apologize. Social media took over in 2009-10 as you well know if you’re a long time follower and the website has been neglected, but mostly because of financial reasons. The overhaul is going to cost more than I thought and I hope to have this remedied very soon. However, with that being said, it is still a place for exclusive content and I have some great advertisers!
Minus the website, the La Mirada Blog has 20,000+ social media followers, not to mention the engagement and reach. What does this mean? Nothing, but comparatively speaking, in a town of 50,000 it is significant and sometimes there is a stress and pressure that goes along with it.
Although I knew I loved what I was doing when I started the Blog many years ago in 2003, at times I have had difficulty keeping up emotionally with its tremendous growth, its status in the community and the responsibility that comes with it along with trying to approach it in a non-biased way in a city I have such a personal attachment to.
So, join on this journey with me as I trudge along running the La Mirada Blog and let us all see what’s next. I tell you and you decide. Send me your ideas, questions, topics, stories and story ideas, advice, news ideas and anything to lamiradablog@gmail.com and let’s travel this road called life, together. Till next time.
Follow the La Mirada Blog on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Is La Mirada Now a Divided City?
Forty years ago, I began my career as a realtor in La Mirada. A home was about $53,000. Today, they’re around $500,000. Life is about change. Change is inevitable and our City Council election on March 7, 2017 is no exception.
In the past, candidates had to appeal to the entire city to get elected. I know, because I go way back to the days of Lou Piltz. Where church retreats, the Kiwanis Club, Little League games along with Easter Egg Hunts and festivals, was the way to show your commitment to our city.
But this past summer the Mexican-American Legal Defense Education Fund (M.A.L.D.E.F) threatened the city with a major lawsuit, if they didn't create a Latino District. The way state law was written our Council had no choice but to comply.
The result is La Mirada has five new Council Districts. Districts 1 and 2 will be up for election in March. The Latino District is #1 and despite District #2 having a healthy 41% Latino population, no Latino chose to run.
MALDEF had claimed a plethora of complaints by Latinos that no Latino could win a City Council seat in La Mirada. MALDEF’s problem is that our current Mayor Steve DeRuse is Latino! MALDEF’s goal was to only elect Latinos and they failed.
So there it is in a nut shell. Council seat #1, might elect a Latina and Council seat #2, has no Latino candidate.
Finally, please vote on March 7, 2017.
Opinions, Comments and Information from Blog Readers #2
Do you have an opinion, comment or information you would like to share with the community? E-mail the La Mirada Blog at news@lamiradablog.com, text us at (562) 483-3574 or send us a message on our Facebook or Twitter pages. Please give us permission to use your name or if you would like to remain anonymous. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the La Mirada Blog or its advertisers. Here’s the latest:
Please be aware a black Chrysler.300 around La Mirada going around stealing your valuables when you're not looking. My daughter and her husband parked in my driveway just for a few minutes to pick up the babies. Once they came back their wallets were taken. A neighbor came running to let us know a strange looking tall white male came around and quickly ran away from the house. Unfortunately we've lived here a long time and because we've never experienced this before, we thought it would never happen to us. A very valuable lesson learned — feeling angry-Regina Trevino
There is a painting contractor going by ###### ###### & ########## ####### operating within the city limits of La Mirada, and they are preying on local senior citizens. They do have a contractor’s license but not a La Mirada city business license. They have painted many houses in the city over the years.Their work may be decent work but nonetheless, they continually stop by every year or so and suggest other painting or repair work and even say the house needs to be painted again. The particular experience I know of is of a house painted by the company less than 5 years ago and definitely does not need to be repainted again. They do not wait for the work to be solicited by the homeowner, but knock on the door recommending work often not needed because they have gained the trust of the senior citizen. They charged $5500 to paint a house less than 1200 square feet, that was painted fairly recently. -Anonymous
I have had 2 vehicles stolen from the 14000 block Valley View Avenue. The latest was a F750 service truck on 11/4/16 @ 4:05 AM out of my driveway. The GPS was defeated 12 minutes later in a neighborhood on Imperial Hwy west of Valley View. No leads at this point-G. Smith
Heads up my dads truck was broken into on Libra drive. 1st time someone has broken into anything the 35 years I've lived there. -Brian
Opinions, Comments and Information from Blog Readers
Do you have an opinion, comment or information you would like to share with the community? Email the La Mirada Blog at news@lamiradablog.com, text us at (562) 483-3574 or send us a message on our Facebook or Twitter pages. Please give us permission to use your name or if you would like to remain anonymous. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the La Mirada Blog or its advertisers. Here’s the latest:
COYOTE SIGHTINGS: I've seen a pack (4) of them a couple of weeks ago in my neighborhood. Tanfield Drive and Steprock. We have had several cats and small dogs killed by them in the last couple months.-Alicia Jones
There was a coyote trotting down the sidewalk on Tacuba Drive near La Mirada Blvd., on Wednesday morning at 4:30 am. Not sure this is the forum to tell folks to keep small pets indoors? -Pamela Narney
My parents, 87, lost their chihuahua to a coyote yesterday and are heartbroken. Can the city trap and euthanize the coyotes? –Bonnie Valles
A light at the intersection of Rosecrans and Stanton would be great! People are flying up/down Rosecrans and there is a school very nearby! Many accidents here and would hate if a child was struck while crossing for school (or anyone). Very scary intersection. Please, please, please! -Mishele Emerson
Hi, I just wanted to let people know that there are three individuals (one female mid to late 30s and two males in theirs mid 20s) at the La Mirada shopping center today that tried to steal my purse while I was putting my kids in the car I front of the Starbucks on Rosecrans and Adelfa. The woman distracted me by asking me if I was from the area and knew where the Nordstrom Rack was as the men tried to grab my purse. I called the cops to let them know but I wanted to let other local La Miradians know so it doesn't happen to them. This happened today around 2:15pm. -Anonymous
Incumbents Cruise in Norwalk-La Mirada School Board Race
Norwalk~The three incumbents, all from La Mirada, easily held off challenger Victor Juan last night, cruising to victory and winning another four-year term.
Karen Morrison (1,998 votes), Chris Pflanzer (1720), and Jesse Urquidi (1687) won in a race that was never close.
Board members will be overseeing the distribution of funds from Measure G approved by voters last November, eventually.
There were no other candidates in the contest. Juan filed papers on the last day and was criticized by unnamed inside sources for running in the race and therefore creating a need for an election. Sources say it cost the school district $300,000 to conduct an election.
Democracy at its best or worst or in the middle?
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