La Mirada High Sophomore Receives NASCAR Award Recognizing Racing Skills
La Mirada~Zooming across a black-and-white checkered finish line at 140 miles an hour in a 400-horsepower car is not unusual for La Mirada High School sophomore Ryan Vargas, who’s been racing since he was 11.
“Growing up, I always loved monster trucks, demolition derbies and Thomas the Tank Engine,” Ryan said. “When my dad took me to a NASCAR event at Irwindale Speedway, I found out that kids could actually race cars and saw it as an opportunity to do something I loved.”
Since then, Ryan has tied for national championships in the Bandolero division in 2014, set five track records across Nevada, California and Arizona, and earned Rookie 
of the Year in 2015 at The Bullring at Las Vegas. In 2016, he competed in 27 races, placing in the top five 12 times and top 10 25 times, along with reaching fifth place in the California state standings.
Most recently, he was awarded the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award by NASCAR, which recognizes a high-performing minority or female driver contributing on and off the track in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
“I’m just really, really thankful,” Ryan said. “Being selected to receive this amazing award is such an honor in my life and in my career.”
La Mirada Arts Colony Home Garden Tour April 23rd
The Arts Colony of La Mirada will hold their next meeting on Monday, April 3rd, at 6:30 p.m. at the La Mirada Resource Center located at 13710 La Mirada Blvd
Watercolor artist Jim Shalchak will demonstrate his technique by emphasizing the importance of selective vision through simplification and focus. The meeting is free to the art appreciating public.
The Arts Colony will be presenting its Art in the Garden Tour on Sunday, April 23 from 12 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the parking area east of the Activity Center at 13810 La Mirada Blvd.
Four home gardens will be viewed that will showcase various gardening styles and artwork from members and students. Light refreshments will be served. For information call 562-760-3175, 562-944-4535. Art entry forms for garden tour available here.
Jacks Leads La Mirada Expansion
La Mirada~IMPACT Properties, a premier real estate agency with more than $128 million in transactions, recently announced its expansion into Los Angeles County with the opening of a new office in La Mirada to meet market demand.
In addition to the agency’s headquarters in Orange County, the new space doubles IMPACT’s footprint in Southern California.
Don Jacks, a real estate veteran with more than 20 years of experience, was tapped by IMPACT Properties’ founder and CEO Aaron Zapata to lead the new office which offers residential listings, foreclosures and property management services.
Seasoned Real Estate Professional Takes Helm of New Office
With more than two decades of experience selling homes in communities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties, Don Jacks will lead the new La Mirada office, effective immediately. Jacks is ranked in the top three percent of REALTORS® nationwide, and is a real estate coach for one of the leading real estate coaching and training companies in the world and brings his coaching experience to help his agents succeed.
A proud father of four, Jacks has coached youth soccer since 2000 and is a founding member and president of the La Mirada Soccer Association, serving the soccer needs of more than 1,000 children in the community.
“As a local resident, I am invested in this community and look forward to leading the L.A. office,” said Jacks. “IMPACT’s approach to achieving results for our clients with unparalleled customer service and innovative marketing tools drew me to the agency. I look forward to working with the team of agents and the community to support their real estate needs.”
IMPACT Properties’ new office is located at 16700 Valley View Avenue, Suite 300 in La Mirada.
3rd Annual La Mirada Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast April 7th
La Mirada~ A morning of inspiration is promised at the 3rd Annual La Mirada Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, Friday, April 7th at the Holiday Inn.
The keynote speaker will be La Mirada resident Tony Corrente, former Neff and La Mirada High School social science teacher, current NFL referee and throat cancer survivor.
Tickets are $20 and includes a buffet breakfast, musical entertainment and of course, prayers.
For more information and to purchase tickets direct, visit the event website here.
Latest News From The Hall
Extra Revenue is Always a Good Thing
The City Council recently reviewed its annual mid-year budget report. The report showed an improving economy as key revenue sources remain stable with some expected to exceed budget estimates. Overall, General Fund operating revenues for the current year are expected to reach $43.8 million, which is $2.1 million over the budgeted amount. General Fund operating expenditures are projected at $30.9 million, which is slightly below the budget. These figures do not include fund transfers for capital improvement projects. The estimates reflect ongoing efforts to manage costs even with conservative budgeting.
The mid-year report also emphasized the City’s continued commitment to maintaining public safety as a top priority and ongoing investment in local infrastructure. At mid-year, Measure I revenues were $2.22 million. Revenues are projected to reach $6.10 million at year end, an increase of $425,000 or 7.48 percent above the conservative budget estimate. This funding source is used for neighborhood infrastructure repairs, and the third phase of improvements is currently in progress. The one percent Measure I sales tax ends on March 31, 2018.
Newly Renovated La Mirada Library Ready to Open
La Mirada~The newly renovated La Mirada Library will fully open for business on Monday, March 20 at 4:30 p.m.
Everyone is invited to visit the library for an open house and fun activities from 4:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served by the library’s support group, the Friends of the La Mirada Library.
Benton Student to Sing National Anthem at Staples
La Mirada~Britanny Fisheli will be singing the National Anthem at the Lakers/Clippers game April 1st at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 13-year old La Mirada resident and Benton Middle School student is an aspiring singer, dancer, actress and songwriter with ten short and full-length films to her credit including, A Glitter of Hope (2016), The Dark Tapes (2017) and Beyond Approval (2016).
She has recently appeared in the Nickelodeon series “Henry Danger." Check out her website here.
âLove La Miradaâ Day of Service Event March 25th
The second annual “Love La Mirada” day of service event will be held on Saturday, March 25 from 8 a.m. to noon. Projects include cleaning up local parks, making improvements at schools, writing letters to armed forced troops, and other creative service projects.
The event will begin at 8 a.m. with a “Love La Mirada” launch rally at Heights Christian Elementary School, 12200 Oxford Drive. At the launch rally, volunteers will receive t-shirts, coffee, official wristbands, and further instructions on service projects. Projects will finish around noon, and teams will return to Heights Christian Elementary School for lunch, music, a bounce house, and other activities.
Inspired by the Love Our Cities movement that began in Modesto, California; Love La Mirada aims to partner with La Mirada organizations, businesses, schools, and residents to serve for the benefit of the community.
To sign up for a service project, visit the Love La Mirada website at lovelamirada.org.
Fire Causes Major Damage at Hillsbourough Area Home
La Mirada~Firefighters responded to a structure fire at the 16000 block of Blackburn Drive last night around 7:00 p.m.
A portable heater in a garage is the possible cause of the fire that caused damage to other rooms of the home.
Damage is reportedly over $200,000.
No injuries were reported.
Biola University Announces Winners of 2nd Annual International Screenwriting Competition
La Mirada~Biola University’s Cinema and Media Arts Department is excited to announce the winners of its second annual international screenwriting competition. In its second year, the Cinema and Media Arts department received a record amount of entries, a few of which hailed from Nairobi, Kenya and Zhejiang, China. There were ten semi-finalists and four winners, who were awarded scholarships of up to $10,000.
This year’s winners include Donald J. Schaffer, Jr. in first place with his script “The Boy and His Treemendous Companions,” Abigail McCoy in second place with her script “Let Her Go,” Anna Heistand in third place with her script “The Forgotten,” and Taylor Hein in fourth place with her script “Bridges.” Bios and headshots of these talented finalists are featured on our website.
Our semi-finalists, who received a copy of Stephen V. Duncan’s essential screenwriting book A Guide To Screenwriting Success, include Andrew Brewster’s “After Yesterday,” Jesse Creaseman’s “The Untitled Film,” Quinn Kilhenny’s “Count The Hours,” Maralisa Ortiz’s “Boxed In,” Elizabeth Rockhill’s “The Sound of Color,” and Merlin Senthil’s “Open Tents.”
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