La Mirada City Council Moves Forward With Budget Despite Continuous Lambasting of State Actions
La Mirada~The La Mirada City Council took the first major steps into adopting a new fiscal budget for next year on Tuesday night.
La Mirada and many other area municipalities will be going into the new budget year without the luxury of having income generated from "economic engines" such as community redevelopment agencies.
City officials said that La Mirada's worst financial challenge stems from the State of California actions that have "impacted the City's budget far more than the Great Recession."
"The State's elimination of redevelopment agencies will have far-reaching negative impacts. The State's process for dissolving redevelopment was poorly conceived and executed, and has caused financial chaos and confusion for local governments throughout California," said Kevin Prelgovisk, Assistant City Manager.
But, overall, La Mirada's financial position is better than most area cities, however, without changes to the current law, La Mirada's General Fund could lose nearly $58 million, almost twice the annual operating budget.
"Financial blows of this magnitude will have severe negative impacts on La Mirada's ability to provide services and make critical infrastructure repairs," Prelgovisk said.
Councilman Steve Jones was blunt in his assessment of the new budget challenges from Sacramento.
"The state of California is acting like your addicted uncle who has the keys to your house," Jones quipped.
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Bermudez, Calderon Campaigns Engage in War of Words Over âPornoâ Mailers
The campaign battle between local state assembly candidates Ian Calderon and Rudy Bermudez has taken yet another twist with the wife of Bermudez diving into the fray with a week and a half before voters head to the ballot box.
Calderon and Bermudez are engaged in one of California's nastiest primary campaigns in the newly created 57th Assembly District.
Voters on Friday and Saturday will be receiving a giant sized post card from Nancy Bermudez, the longtime wife of the former assemblyman that attacks the first time candidate Calderon for portraying her husband for supporting a bill that "wrongfully" portrayed him as "supporting child pornography."
The Los Cerritos Community Newspaper was emailed an advance copy of the campaign mailer from Bermudez campaign advisor Bruce Young.
In the mailer, Nancy Bermudez states "Ian Calderon sent out a mailer claiming Rudy voted with the porn industry on AB 281, which is an outright lie."
"As you can see, AB 281was a bill sponsored by the District Attorneys to increase the penalties for child porn. Even Ian's uncle, (Senator) Ron (Calderon), voted for the bill. Ian Calderon needs to stop lying. Ian hasn't earned the right to lie about someone who risked his life to keep us safe." The signature of Nancy Bermudez appears at the bottom of the mailer.
The bill, that Bermudez and every other member of the State Assembly voted to support, increases the penalty for possession of child pornography by making the possession of more than 100 prohibited items an alternate felony misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail or by imprisonment in state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years.
Mayor, City Council Celebrate Mary Pearson’s 90th Birthday With Her
La Mirada~The La Mirada City Council honored longtime resident Mary Pearson for celebrating her 90th birthday with a special recognition at this week's meeting.
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| Mayor Gabe Garcia highlighted many of Pearson's accomplishments and pointed out that she was born in Billings, Montana on May 15, 1922 |
Pearson was thrilled with the honor and thanked the city for "a lifetime of memories."
Mayor Gabe Garcia highlighted many of Pearson's accomplishments and pointed out that she was born in Billings, Montana on May 15, 1922.
While in high school, she met her future husband Nilis Pearson.
Nilis was enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was schedule to be deployed on a mission in January of 1941, and the couple was married on January 1, 1941. Mary worked at a coat factory in the Bronx until Nilis was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1943. In 1943, their first child, Karen, was born.
In 1944, the Pearson family moved to Hawthorne, California. After several years in Hawthorne, they moved to Big Bear, where they lived for 22 years and established and pioneered a Chinchilla Farm. While establishing the Chinchilla Farm, the Pearson family founded Chinchilla Standard Select, which became internationally known as the leading standard in American Chinchilla Pelt Production. Mary was the office manager of the business for many years before retiring and moving with Nilis to Canoga Park in 1976 to be closer to the family.
57th Assembly Campaign Turns Into a War of Charges and Counter Charges; La Mirada’s Jaimes in Race
The race for a local California State Assembly seat between Democrats Rudy Bermudez and Ian Calderon has literally turned into a steel cage match that now includes charges of money laundering, and hiding personal income sources, and the filing of complaints with state campaign regulators.
Did Assemblyman Tony Mendoza mastermind an elaborate money laundering scheme to skirt California campaign finance laws to help benefit the campaign of the candidate who is running to take his place in Sacramento?
Did assembly candidate Ian Calderon fail to report $60,000 in income to state officials?
State campaign reform officials have opened up an official inquiry to determine if Mendoza and Assembly candidate Rudy Bermudez worked in tandem to avoid campaign contribution limits after $50,000 in donations were allegedly transferred between at least a half dozen campaign committees involving at least four local elected officials.
Mendoza is a former Chairman of the controversial Latino Caucus that is comprised of elected officials in Sacramento who serve as members of the Assembly and State Senate.
This week Latino Caucus Chairman Assemblyman Ricardo Lara blasted Mendoza in a statement that has sent several political observers into a tailspin.
La Mirada Resident Has Helped La Mirada Community Garden Grow
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| Bob Berklite and Jeanne Jenkins stand in front of entrance to La Mirada Garden |
See the Print Version in This Weeks Edition of the La Mirada Lamplighter!
La Mirada~ For more than 20 years, every morning, one can find longtime La Mirada resident Bob Berklite at the La Mirada Community Gardens tending to his garden, and talking soil with his friends.
Recently, Berklite and the others on the five-member advocate committee decided to hand over the day-to-day business of the garden to a new generation.
Now, Jeanne Jenkins, Chris Stevens, and other La Mirada baby boomers are geared up to lead the new garden committee.
Jenkins, who's in charge of membership, told us, "There are a lot of diverse people, I enjoy being here and I love talking with everyone, I learn a lot from them."
The garden, one of over 80 in Los Angeles County, is located at the Fountain of Light church (formerly Mt. Olive Lutheran) at 13518 Biola Avenue.
With yellow foxgloves around us and birds singing in the background, I sat down at the garden for a few minutes recently with the 87-year old who says he will still maintain his own personal garden space, but it's time for a new group of people to head up the committee, which oversees operations.
"We had a member die recently, that happens a lot around here," he said jokingly referring to the older age of a lot of the gardeners.
At 43,000 square feet, and occupying approximately one acre of land, the sanctuary is divided into 43 plots, each assigned to one gardener. Most of the garden spots are approximately 20' x 30' in size, and currently the garden has two plots available.
Some grow to save money on their produce bills, and some grow for the love of it, but most people are a combination of the two. The gardeners often share their bounty and it really makes for a nice social setting.
"We just had a sign put up; the community doesn't even know we have a garden here," said Berklite.
The garden also recently added a community blog on the Internet.
Plots cost $120 annually, but you can share a spot with someone to cut the price in half. Also, the large area is just too much for some, so dividing it makes sense, to maintain productivity.
Each plot is equipped with its own water supply valve.
The garden is open basically from sunup to sundown, and each gardener receives their own access key, since the garden is enclosed and secure.
The City of La Mirada handles all the costs associated with the garden including, administrative duties, the water bill, and other utilities and costs.
Not only is the garden one of the best kept secrets in La Mirada, it has been around for quite some time, and is now fueling a new generation of cultivators.
Lady Matadores Draw Home Game
La Mirada~The La Mirada High School softball team are looking to take advantage of home cooking when they were lucky enough to get a home game for their next playoff contest.
The Lady Mats advanced the CIF Division 2 playoffs after beating Beckman last week 7-0, and will play at home in the second round Tuesday May 22nd, as they host Los Altos High. Game time is 3:15.
La Mirada (21-7) is currently riding a five-game win streak and have won 9 of the past 11 games. They also finished the Suburban League undefeated at 12-0.
Miss Saigon Breaks Sales Record at La Mirada Theater
La Mirada~The recent run of the multiple Tony Award winning play Miss Saigon, at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts was the highest grossing production ever at the theatre said Producing Artistic Director, Brian Kite.
"Of the possible 26,271 seats available for the entire run, we sold over 22,000 of them, with numerous sell-outs, including the last two performances," said Kite who directed the La Mirada rendition of Saigon, which bowed out this past Sunday after 26 days.
He indicated the only other production from the past that might come close in gross sales would be "the first time Peter Pan was here."
Although it left Broadway in January of 2001, after a ten year run and 4,092 performances, Saigon has spawned numerous other productions across the globe and is still the 11th longest-running Broadway musical in musical theatre history.
Bolstered by rave reviews early in the La Mirada run, Kite told the La Mirada Blog the surge in ticket sales sent the staff scrambling, "We had to order 11,000 extra programs. Also, we had to hire additional help at the box office, because the phone was simply ringing off the hook."
Kite estimates that 10-15,000 "new people" visited La Mirada during the play's run, most non-residents.
The temporary visitors boost the local economy.
"They spend their money at La Mirada gas stations, convenience stores and other establishments in La Mirada. Mr. V's and other restaurants in town have told us they have seen an increase in business this last month," Kite said.
The attendance at Saigon also seems to have spurred sales for the upcoming, latest installment of Peter Pan, returning again to the La Mirada Theatre June 1st through June 24th, with Cathy Rigby once again revisiting her flying role as Peter.
The theatre was converted from a local movie house to a performing arts center in 1979 with the opening act being Tony Bennett.
For ticket information, call the theatre box office at (562) 944-9801.
Matadore Boys Bow Out of CIF; Girls Play Thursday
UPDATE: The softball team beat Beckman, 7-0 Thursday to advance to the second round. They will play Los Altos Tuesday, May 22nd at La Mirada High beginning at 3:15 p.m.
La Mirada~The La Mirada High baseball season came to an end this afternoon, losing to Damien High, 5-2 in a wild-card game of the CIF Division 2 playoffs.
Also, in Division 2 action, the La Mirada softball team (12-0 in league) will take on Beckman (Irvine) Thursday, May 17th at La Mirada High beginning at 3:15
La Mirada Girls Claim Suburban Title
UPDATE: The team also won the regular season finale on Thursday May 10th vs. Cerritos at La Mirada, 5-4, again in extra innings, to finish the Suburban League campaign undefeated at 12-0. The Lady Mats finished 21-7 overall. They await their first round opponent in the CIF-SS playoffs which will be announced at 12:30 PM PT on Monday, May 14th at www.cifss.org.
From The La Mirada Lamplighter!
La Mirada~When La Mirada softball head coach Richard Trujillo scouted Cerritos for the first time this season on Apr. 27 against Norwalk, he hinted that he could have a secret weapon when his Matadores played Cerritos. Trujillo stuck to his word as La Mirada paid a visit to Cerritos this past Tuesday with the Suburban League championship at stake.
That secret weapon was freshman pitcher Valer
ie Alvarado and she was just as hot as the weather was on this early May Southern California day. Alvarado pitched eight and two-thirds innings and struck out 16 of the 34 batters she faced as the Matadores snuck past Cerritos 3-1 in 11 innings. After watching Cerritos and Mayfair share the league title last season, the Matadores reclaimed what had been theirs outright from 2001-2008. La Mirada, the eighth ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division II poll, improved to 20-7 overall and 11-0 in the league.
Trujillo replaced senior Ambar Hickman with Alvarado with one out in the bottom of third following a walk to sophomore designated player Lilianna Herrera. Alvarado would strike out two of the three batters she faced in the frame as well as two in each of the next three innings. She fanned three in the seventh and eighth innings and never allowed a Cerritos runner to reach third base during her time in the circle.
"Whether you see her or not, she's effective," Trujillo said. "And that makes Ambar that much more effective. We still haven't counted [senior] Jenevie Rivas out but when they're not touching Val, why change?"
Refuse Hauler Will Pay for Street Sweeping Services if City Extends Agreement
City expected to approve $60,000 mailing program; other news from recent city council study session and regular council meeting
La Mirada~The city is claiming it will save $238,000 per year by approving a three-year extension to its current 10-year agreement that went into effect on July 1, 2009 with EDCO Disposal for refuse services in La Mirada
EDCO has proposed to find a new company for street sweeping, and pay for it, in exchange for the three-year extension of its original deal slated to end in 2019. Now their agreement will be extended to 2022.
For street sweeping services, the city has contracted with R.F. Dickson Co. for the past 48 years-currently under the terms of a five-year agreement set to expire next month on June 24th.
The new street sweeping company would be approved by the city and would be bound by current specifications and level of services.
City of La Mirada Public Works Director Steve Forster told the La Mirada Blog it is expected that Dickson would be one of the applicants when EDCO searches for a new street sweeping provider.
The City of La Mirada, even in these tough economic times, allocates funding for social service agencies that provide services to residents in La Mirada.
"This is money that comes out of the general fund," said City Manager Tom Robinson.
The agencies submit their request through an application process, and then are scrutinized by the city's Community Services Commission. The commission then provides their recommendations.
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