La Mirada Council Narrows Down Field
Council Decides to to Interview Five of Thirteen
La Mirada~It's something you don't see often in La Mirada at a city council meeting, but then again, it's only the second time in history the city has had to appoint a new city council member.
Tonight council members openly deliberated, and ultimately decided, to have five "finalists" to choose from, to fill the vacated Susan Tripp seat, after 13 applied.
Aside from time deadlines, there is no state law requiring how a council appoints a new council member.
At a special added-on study session meeting next Tuesday July 5th, public interviews will be held for the five who include: Attorney Paul Brown, Norwalk-La Mirada School Board Trustee Pauline Deal, LA County Director and La Mirada Public Safety Commissioner Edward Eng, Deputy Fire Chief and businessman, Michael Garcia, and business owner, Chris Pflanzer.
At the special meeting, each will be interviewed for approximately 20-30 minutes.
Two other applicants also received "mentions" from the panel-Luis Garcia, Robert Martin, and Phil Glenn.
As far as we know, the council will then decide who the new La Mirada City Councilmember will be, in time to participate in the July 19th regularly scheduled council meeting-and serve the remainder of the term until March 2013.
Local dignitaries in attendance at the meeting tonight included former council members Hal Malkin, Pete Dames, and Wayne Rew, with the latter speaking, and offering his views on the philosophy, traditional values, and the characteristics one must possess to be a La Mirada City Council member.
Photo: Chris Pflanzer and Pauline Deal await the word.
Bonus: Listen to Wayne Rew's comments here: http://twitvid.com/PVUFM
Friends of Coyote Hills Fundraiser
Fullerton~Friends of Coyote Hills will be having a fundraiser on Thursday, June 23, 2011 to Wahoo's Fish Taco restaurant, 444 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, CA (right in the middle of downtown).
Print the flyer available with link below.
With the flyer, Wahoo's will donate 20% of your entire purchase to help Friends of Coyote Hills help save Coyote Hills for a 100% park in park-poor north Orange County.
http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/FCHv/Wahooflyerforfundraiser.jpg
Are You a Performer or Artist? Applications Being Accepted for Project ‘11 at LM Theatre
La Mirada~ Applications are now available for 2011 Young Artist Project. Interested participants can submit an application online at www.PhantomProjects.com. This is neither a talent show nor a competition, and it is not an event for beginners. This is a fully-staged production written and performed by the participants. Only 10 of the nearly 100 individuals that will apply will be selected. Those selected will have exactly 14 days to completely create, rehearse and prepare their event to be performed as the final production in Phantom Projects Theatre Group's 2010-2011 Season at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The company is seeking actors, dancers, writers, singers, filmmakers, choreographers, stage mangers, and any other type of performance artist. Each participant must be between the ages of 16-23 and all will be asked to contribute in more than one area over the two-week rehearsal process leading up to the public performance. Applications for the workshop, which will be held at Phantom Projects' La Mirada facility, are currently being reviewed, and are still being accepted. The deadline to apply is July 5, 2011.
Three More Apply for Vacant La Mirada Seat
BREAKING NEWS: Six more, plus the three, file before deadline; see update below
La Mirada~Three more people threw their name in the ring yesterday by applying for a spot on the La MIrada City Council vacated by Susan Tripp when she resigned for business reasons.
This is a rare occurrence in La Mirada, happening only one other time in 1992 when the late Wayne Grisham was elected to Congress and vacated his La Mirada seat; Lou Piltz was then appointed to the panel.
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. today. As of now, there are seven individuals who have applied with intent. Their occupation listed is public record.
Paul Brown, Deputy State Attorney.
Madeline Alexander, Retired Office Manager.
Edward Eng, Executive Director, Los Angeles County.
Robert Martin, Senior Computer Software Support Manager.
Pauline Deal, Norwalk-La Mirada School Board Member.
Andrew Sarega, Police Officer.
Chris Pflanzer, Owner, Public Relations Firm.
The city council will narrow the field down to three on June 28th. On July 5th council will conduct public interviews with the remaining three. Council will then deliberate and more than likely, will choose a new councilmember on July 19th, but by law, no later than August 16th.
UPDATE 06/22/10 17:15:The deadline has passed, and today six more residents filed applications for the vacant La Mirada seat:
Phillip Glen, Businessman.
John Hammargren, Retired Commander, LA County Sheriff Dept.
John Lewis, Attorney.
Michael Garcia, Deputy Fire Chief, Businessman.
Daniel Alexander, Manager, Research & Development/Senior Food Technologist.
Luis Cruz, Sales.
Students Get Exposure to Real Life Consequences
La Mirada~Fifth grade students at Foster Road Elementary recently conducted a "mock" trial at Norwalk Superior Court as part of the Project L.E.A.D. program (Legal Enrichment And Decision-making).
The program is offered by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and teaches students at different schools to recognize the legal and social consequences of gangs, drugs, truancy and other crimes.
Deputy district attorneys, investigators, field deputies, hearing officers, paralegals and law clerks all over LA County devote one hour a week to serve as role models and teach students about the criminal justice system.
For the last five years in n La Mirada, the program has been headed by County Deputy District Attorney Cristine Albanese and Deputy Probation Officer Darryl Harris, both of whom are contracted out by the city as employees, and are based at the La Mirada Sheriff's Station.
They each volunteer one hour a week to the fifth graders and teach a 20-week curriculum covering issues such as school bullying, truancy, shoplifting, decision-making and culminating with the trial at the end of the school year. The "trial" was held in Judge Margaret Bernal's courtroom, with the students filling all the roles in a courtroom, including a jury, with a verdict.
The students also learn about all the different people that work in a courthouse.
During this past school year, the students also went on a behind-the-scenes field trip to Juvenile Hall.
Albanese says that the program teaches the kids,"practical life skills and to make good decisions". She noted that the program is so successful at Foster Road because of the support of the principal, Dr. Jean Maddux, and the City of La Mirada.
Photos: Above, "Judge" Raewyn Groak, student at Foster Road Elementary School, makes a ruling. Left, Prosecutors and Defenders mull over their notes, while the jury and Teacher Kim Clarkson look on.
Applications Available for Council Vacancy
DEADLINE TODAY 5PM!
Applications are being accepted from residents who are interested in applying for a City Council seat being vacated by Susan Tripp, who submitted her resignation effective June 17.
The deadline to submit applications is 5 p.m. on June 22.
Applicants are required to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age, be a registered voter and a resident of La Mirada.
Application forms are available at City Hall and may be downloaded here. Applicants are required to submit a written statement detailing their qualifying background and experience.
The City Council cited concerns with the cost of holding a Special Election, as well as the lengthy delay in returning the City Council to its full complement of five members, as reasons for choosing to appoint a new Councilmember to fill the term which expires in 2013.
Councilmember Tripp, who was elected to City Council in 2001, resigned to dedicate more time on a new business venture that requires her to spend significant time away from La Mirada. Her final City Council meeting will be on June 14.
For additional information, contact the City Clerk's Office at (562) 943-0131.
Become a World Record Breaker at Splash! La Mirada
La Mirada~All community members are invited to participate in breaking the World Record during the World's Largest Swimming Lesson at Splash! on June 14 at 8 a.m. Splash! is joining forces with Water parks and pools from around the world to help break the record and promote Water Safety.
For more information visit the Splash! website at www.splashlamirada.com, or call (562) 902-3191.
Photographers Encouraged to Participate in Summer Photo Contest
La Mirada~Professional and amateur photographers of all ages are eligible enter the City of La Mirada's Summer 2011 Photo Contest. All pictures must be taken within La Mirada city limits. Contestants must fill out an entry form and waiver and may submit up to three photos that highlight everyday life in La Mirada.
Photographs will be accepted in black and white or color, and can be no smaller than 4x6 and no larger than 8x10.
Winning pictures may be selected for use in City publications, and the top photographers will be recognized at a future City Council Meeting.
Entry forms are available at City facilities or online at www.cityoflamirada.org. The deadline for entering photos for is July 30.
For more information, call the City of La Mirada at (562) 943-0131
THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’
We welcome Stephanie Garcia to the La Mirada Blog team to provide the community with theatre news and reviews.
The Marvelous Wonderettes is not worth seeing once - it's worth seeing twice! Once to enjoy each one of the remarkable comedic actor- vocalists and a second time to laugh at all the understated antics all four of them do that provide the hilarity of the show. Written and directed by Roger Bean, "Wonderettes" is overall a playlist of hit pop songs of the 1950s and 60s with a surprise second half full of early 70s songs. As I watched the show I wondered if the songs were actually bringing back memories for all the "baby boomers" in the audience. Council member Larry Mowles definitely thought the show was a complete success, when I asked him what he thought of the play. "It brought back a lot of memories, I danced to most of that music I knew girls in high school just like those four...they did an excellent job portraying the 50s and 60s."
Academy at Benton Presents Seuss
La Mirada~The community is invited to the Benton Middle School Visual & Performing Arts Academy's presentation of Seussical the Musical.
Performances will be June 10th at 9 p.m. and June 11th at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Price of admission is $8 for the 7 p.m. shows and $5 for the 5 p.m. show.
For more information call 562-943-1553.
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