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LOS CERRITOS

Use after #STAYATHOME is over! See page 5 Serving Cerritos and ten other surrounding communities • May 1, 2020 • Vol 34, No. 40 • loscerritosnews.net

FORMER CERRITOS RESIDENT LT. COLONEL SAM SACHS HONORED ON HIS 105th BIRTHDAY ROGUE CENTRAL BASIN DIRECTORS ONCE AGAIN DISRUPT BOARD MEETING BY BRIAN HEWS

Photo by Tammye McDuff

LIEUTENANT COLONEL Sam Sachs on the porch of the assisted living home facility he resides in. Over 250 vintage vehicles cruised by, decorated with balloons and signage. The L.A. Fire Department's Station 94 gifted Sachs with official firefighter shirts and brought 6,200 birthday cards in several boxes honoring the true American hero. BY TAMMYE MCDUFF As the voice of old’ blue eyes, Frank Sinatra, wafted through the warm Sunday afternoon this past April 26th, singing ‘Young at Heart’ – the honored man of the hour Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sachs, surveyed the gathered throng of well wishers from his front porch swing. The day began at 11:00 am with a parade of more than 250 vintage vehicles cruising past Mom and Dad’s House, a senior living home in Lakewood. Cars were decorated with balloons and signage wish-

CERRITOS GROUP LAUNCHES PANTRY FOR SENIORS

EL MONTE COUNCILWOMAN WHO HELD FUNDRAISER FOR VETERANS HAS FAILED TO DONATE THE MONEY BY BRIAN HEWS

HOW CELL VIRUS TRACKING AND CIVIL LIBERTIES COULD COLLIDE DONATIONS ready to be distributed to area seniors. The drop off place for donations is arranged privately between those that wish to donate and the group leader.

Imagine your phone buzzing with an alert: Someone who passed you at the grocery store has tested positive for COVID19. Based on location data transmitted through a smart phone app, authorities believe the stranger exposed you to the coronavirus. You might be infected. The alert directs you to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent further spread of the deadly disease. In the app, a map of colorcoded dots displays the population of your

See VIRUS page 4

See CENTRAL BASIN page 14

HMG INVESTIGATION

See HERO page 13

BY R. J. VOGT

In what is becoming commonplace, Central Basin (CB) Directors Joshuana “John” Oskoui, who is the Assistant City Manager for the city of Downey, and Director Bob Apodaca deliberately interrupted Central Basin's regular board meeting on Monday, with Apodaca violating the Brown Act and halting the meeting only 15 minutes after it started. The 15 minute meeting was heard on audio sent to Hews Media Group and can be heard online at loscerritosnews. net. Current CB attorney Anthony Willoughby attempted to broker a deal where they could continue the meet-

BY TAMMYE MCDUFF

The Neighborhood Watch Program is a group of people living in the same area who want to make their neighborhood safer by working together and in conjunction with local law enforcement to reduce crime and improve their quality of life. Although it has been said that the neighborhood watch is homeland security at the most local level, it is far more than

that. It has taken on the persona of making sure local members have what they need during an emergency, such as this pandemic. Cerritos Neighborhood Senior Food Pantry began gathering food and paper items for local senior citizens March 20th. Neighborhood Watch Captain and Admin of the group, Karen Elfman Wilson

During this time of a global pandemic, most organizations that rely on donations are scrambling to devise new ways to raise money. But what they don’t expect is an organization or person, who pledged donations months prior to the outbreak, denying payment of the promised money later on. But that is exactly what El Monte City Councilwoman Victoria “Vicky” Martinez-Muela pulled on local organizations in her own city. And that move could put her squarely in the sites the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission and the F.B.I.

See PANTRY page 4

See EL MONTE page 12 Printed with soy inks on a majority of recycled paper.

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PATRONIZING LOCAL RESTAURANTS DURING COVID-19 STAFF REPORT During this unprecedented time, and during a stay at home order, many restaurants remain open and available for to-go orders. Hews Media Group is traveling to different cities and taking pictures of local restaurants in an effort to let our readers know that they are open and

ready to serve them. Studies have shown that there is an extremely small chance that you would get the coronavirus from food, and have said even if it's on the food, your stomach acid would kill the virus. So please patronize local restaurants, they are practicing social distancing and good sanitation techniques and you will get a great meal!

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FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN DOWNEY DRAWS 2,500+ BY TAMMYE MCDUFF This past Friday, April 24th, the LA Regional Food Bank partnered with the LA County Library, Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office and the City of Downey to distribute food items to anyone in need. The food distribution was held at the LA County Courthouse in Downey off of Imperial Highway. The line of cars extended five miles to the 710 freeway entrance on Imperial and then down Garfield Avenue an additional four miles. Food Security Director for the Emergency Operations Center told HMG they were prepared to feed about 2500 families on Friday “This was a larger turnout than

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we expected, hopefully we have enough for everyone. If we need to we will bring in more trucks. We are doing drive through distributions all over the county almost every day.” The food distribution is just one part of the strategy for LA County. There is a Food security Branch Force in the Emergency Operations Center and this is a multi-prong effort. First and foremost people should visit the county website and go to the resource portal where residents can sign up for CalFresh benefits, food stamps, women and children programs and meals on wheels programs addressing food insecurities. LA County Department of Social Services encourages those who have a lost a job due to CoVID-19 or just needs assistance to apply for CalFresh and other benefits online by visiting the ‘ Your Benefits Now’ website at dpss.lacounty-gov

Los Cerritos Community News - LosCerritosNews.net

THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION was held at the LA County Courthouse in Downey off of Imperial Highway. The line of cars extended five miles to the 710 freeway entrance on Imperial and then down Garfield Avenue an additional four miles.

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VIRUS

Continued from page 1 home town. You notice the dot associated with you, previously green, has turned to yellow — now everyone else with the app knows you could be dangerous. In South Korea, the movements people made before being infected are published online by the government. Private developers have mapped the information onto websites that use color-coding to show I can help you with that. how recently infected persons visited a specific location. (coronamap.site) Whether the scenario sounds Orwellian DeAnna Allensworth or absolutely necessary could depend on Broker - Advisor your answer to a rhetorical question Dr. Phone: 562-533-5600 Anthony Fauci, director of the National www.CenturionMF.com Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasCA DRE 01443787 es, recently posed during a live Snapchat NMLS 206457 interview. “Do you give up a little liberty to get a little protection?” he said. The answer seems to be yes in at least 23 countries, where dozens of “digital contact tracing” apps have already been downloaded more than 50 million times. PHARMACY & MEDICAL SUPPLIES PHARMACY & MEDICAL SUPPLIES Authorities in Australia, India, the United PHARMACY & MEDICAL SUPPLIES Kingdo m and Italy are also deploying • Local•Delivery Available Local Delivery Available drones with video equipment and temperaLocal Delivery Available • We•Are A Compounding Pharmacy ture sensors. • We Are A Compounding Pharmacy We AreOur A Compounding Pharmacy • Ask• About Weight Loss Program According to experts like Fauci, such • Ask About Our Weight Loss Program • Ask About Our Weight Loss Program widespread public health surveillance is 17623 17623 PIONEER BLVD. BLVD. essential to containing the deadly coroPIONEER 11515 ARTESIA BLVD. navirus that’s killed more than 50,000 17623 PIONEER BLVD. ARTESIA ARTESIA Americans and infected nearly three milARTESIA ARTESIA 562-402-1000 562-402-1000 lion people around the world. 562-402-1000 fax562-402-1000 562-402-2471 But the devil is in the details for groups 562-402-2471 faxfax 562-402-2471 fax 562-402-2471 like the American Civil Liberties Union 176th ST176th ST and Amnesty International. ARTESIA 176th ST For example, in an April 8 report, the ACLU said engineers and tech experts agree that cellphone location data canStan Winters, R.Ph R.Ph Stan Winters, not accurately identify contacts within GRIDLEY Stan Winters, R.Ph six feet, the generally accepted radius of

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COVID-19 transmission. The group noted, however, that such data could be accurate enough to place a person near a “bank, bar, mosque, clinic or other privacy-sensitive location.” “Location data contains an enormously invasive and personal set of information about each of us, with the potential to reveal such things as people’s social, sexual, religious and political associations,” the ACLU report states. “The potential for invasions of privacy, abuse and stigmatization is enormous.” Michael Kleinman, director of Amnesty International’s Silicon Valley initiative, shared a similar sentiment during an April 2 workshop on surveillance and human rights. “There is an understandable desire to marshal all tools that are at our disposal to help confront the pandemic,” he said. “Yet the country’s efforts to contain the virus must not be used as an excuse to create a greatly expanded and more intrusive digital surveillance system.” Because U.S. health agencies and big technology companies are still developing the public-private partnerships necessary to enable digital contact tracing, it remains to be seen whether app-based monitoring or drone usage will be challenged in court as a violation of Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unlawful search and seizure. But considering the rash of constitutional litigation already filed by churches and other groups over social distancing orders, legal experts say it’s only a matter of time before public health surveillance is tested in court. There will be judicial review, but the response will depend on the nature of the surveillance. “I think, definitely, there will be cases,” said Eric Posner, a law professor at the University of Chicago. “There will be judicial review, but the response will depend on the nature of the surveillance.” He noted the precedent set by Jacobson vs. Massachusetts , a 1905 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state’s authority to enforce compulsory smallpox vaccination laws. In a 7-2 majority opinion, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that liberty is not “an absolute right in each person to be, in all times and in all circumstances, wholly free from restraint.” Traditionally, public health surveillance hasn’t triggered data privacy debate. Previous contact tracing efforts relied on manually interviewing infected persons about their movements and then notifying those who may have crossed their paths. But because COVID-19 spreads rapidly through unknowing asymptomatic carriers, many scientists believe that harnessing big data and 21st-century technologies is the only way to control contagion. In the words of a widely cited March 31 Science article by four Oxford University researchers, “viral spread is too fast

PANTRY

Continued from page 1 told Hews Media Group, “this group is about helping our seniors in need during the Covid-19 Crisis. We are collecting essential food items, paper products and toiletries to give out to our seniors who may not have a way to shop or living alone and have need for help.” The drop off place is arranged privately between those that wish to donate and Wilson. Every donation is documented, cataloged on a spreadsheet along with the person who made the donation. “We have even received 70 packages of homemade hand soap from Scott and Faith Freeman, owners of Primal Elements,” noted Wilson. As of Monday April 6th some of the

MAY 1, 2020

to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster, more efficient and happened at scale.” “A contact-tracing app which builds a memory of proximity contacts and immediately notifies contacts of positive cases can achieve epidemic control if used by enough people,” they added. That type of system is already in place in South Korea, where the government publishes online the movements people made before being diagnosed with the virus. Surveillance via GPS phone tracking, records from credit card purchases and store security camera footage has helped authorities keep infections to a fraction of the levels seen in the U.S. Although the detailed reporting of people’s movements has led to several human rights complaints — Choi Youngae, chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, has warned that the “excessive disclosure of private information” could cause people with symptoms to avoid testing — public outrage has been nearly nonexistent. All the measures are authorized under a law passed in 2009 to respond to the country’s MERS outbreak, and the widespread surveillance has enabled far more economic activity than in the U.S., where surveillance has been comparatively minimal. That could soon change, however. On April 10, American tech giants Apple and Google announced a joint effort to enable government contact-tracing via the Bluetooth technology on their devices. In their announcements, the companies emphasized that “user privacy and security” would be central to the project, which would have an opt-in component and could roll out its initial stages in May. Posner said such surveillance, though certainly intrusive, may be preferable to the stay-at-home orders that most Americans have experienced over the past month. “While it would be a restriction on liberties, surveillance might allow a relaxation of the more obtrusive restrictions currently in place,” he said. But for Mason Marks, a Gonzaga University law professor, the assurances of Big Tech do little to assuage fears of overreach. “Historically, we have seen Big Tech firms abusing and misusing the data they collect for purposes other than those officially stated by them,” he said, noting Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal as one example. “Moreover, Big Tech is likely to find more uses and to derive more inferences once new analytical tools are available in the future.” I don’t see a world in which we can deal with this without a government being more intrusive. needed items for the pantry are: Ensure, jelly, pasta sauce to go with the pasta or spaghetti noodles, canned fruit, instant potatoes, rice, anything canned, corned beef hash, chili's, tuna, crackers, creamy peanut butter, milk and eggs. They are still searching for packages of Clorox wipes, small bottles of bleach, toilet paper of course, and paper towels. “When you are shopping for yourselves since you are already in the store... that is the time to look around for things our pantry needs,” Wilson added, ”And we could use homemade masks to pass out to our seniors as well.” If you wish to donate or be involved, please join our room and if you want to donate food items, please private message Karen Elfman Wilson at tweetylvr4@aol. com or contact HMG Online Editor Tammye McDuff at Tammye.mcduff@gmail. com and please put "Senior Pantry" in the subject line.

MAY 1, 2020

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WALMART INTRODUCES EXPRESS DELIVERY Retailer debuts new service that puts customers’ orders on their doorstep in less than two hours. BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 30, 2020 – Today, Walmart is announcing Express Delivery, a new service that delivers more items from the store than ever before to customers’ doors in less than two hours. Walmart has accelerated the development of the service in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, piloting Express Delivery in 100 stores since mid-April. The service will expand to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and will be available in nearly 2,000 total stores in the following weeks. Express Delivery allows customers to order across more than 160,000 items from Walmart’s food, consumables and general merchandise assortment such as groceries, everyday essentials, toys and electronics. “We know our customers’ lives have changed during this pandemic and so has the way they shop,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart. “We also know when we come out of this, customers will be busier than ever, and sometimes that will call for needing supplies in a hurry. COVID-19 has prompted us to launch Express Delivery even faster so that we’re here for our customers today and in the future.” Walmart’s Express Delivery joins the retailer’s popular pickup and delivery offerings, all three of which are no-contact services for the customer. It relies on the retailer’s team of 74,000 personal shoppers who will pick customers’ orders. This includes additional personal shoppers hired specifically for Express Delivery. Walmart will utilize its exist-

ing lineup of delivery providers to take orders from a store to customers’ doors. The service will cost $10 on top of the existing delivery charge. Walmart’s Delivery Unlimited customers’ will simply pay a $10 fee per Express Delivery. Like Walmart’s pickup and delivery services, there is no markup on items – an item is priced the same as it is on the shelf. Express Delivery also builds on the existing inventory of pickup and delivery slots available to customers, creating more opportunity for customers to shop Walmart when and how they want. “We have an opportunity to serve our customers no matter what life calls for,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, Customer Product. “Whether it be a lastminute ingredient, medicine when a fever hits, or the item you didn’t know you needed when checking off your chore list, time matters. Express is a solve for that.” To get started, customers go to walmart.com/grocery or the Walmart app and search their zip code to see if Express Delivery is offered in their area. Here’s how it works: User Friendly Shopping: When customers are creating their order, the search feature at the top of the screen makes it easy to directly search for the exact item they need to add to their cart. At Checkout, select Express: Customers proceed to check out, selecting Express Delivery. They will then pay for their order and sit back and wait for their delivery to arrive! Delivery: A delivery driver picks the order up at the store. They deliver to the customer within two hours. No money is exchanged at the door.

BY TAMMYE MCDUFF The Friends of the Artesia Library along with the Artesia Chamber of Commerce invite residents to participate in the great Project Take-Out Restaurant Rally. “Our local mom and pop restaurants that have supported you in the past are now working hard to stay open, “ said Chamber president Manu Patel, “Our community can make a difference if we come together – to rally – and make a difference.” Order take-out, five or more times from any combination of approved restaurants and your name will be added in an opportunity drawing for nine $25 restaurant gift certificates. Once you have completed the fifth take-out order, email Sally Flowers at zunigaflowers@yahoo.com to submit your name.

Participating restaurants include: American Ranch & Seafood Market; Arte Café; Ave 3 Pizza Subs & Catering; Ashoka the Great cuisine of India; Bhimas Vegetarian; Canaan Restaurant; Chicago Pizza; Denny’s; elbows Mac N’ Cheese; Fresh Catch – Daniela’s Kitchen; Gerry’s Grill; Green Banana Leaf; Huffs; Jay Bharat; Julio’s Pizza; La Tavolata; London’s Pub & Grill; Luisa & son Bake Shop; Monora Thai; Mehfil Restaurant; Mi Burritos Mexican Grill; Panda Inn; Pho Little Saigon; Poke,Etc; Subway; Surati Farsan; Tampopo and Thailicious. Let the restaurant know you are participating in the Rally. For more information contact Sally Flowers at 562.416.2751. Take-out Restaurant Rally began Friday, April 24th and will continue through Sunday May 24th.

CISNEROS RESIGNS FROM MUSD SCHOOL BOARD STAFF REPORT Montebello, CA – Board of Education Member Edgar Cisneros has resigned from the Montebello Unified School District Board of Education with an effective date of April 23, 2020. “Unfortunately, other demands on my personal and professional life have made this difficult decision clear and inevitable for me as I no longer have the ability to dedicate the energy and time required of this significant obligation,” said

Cisneros.“I want to thank my colleague and friend for his dedication and leadership to the students, personnel, parents, and communities of the Montebello Unified School District,” said Board of Education President Marisol Madrigal Uribe. “I am sure this was not an easy choice to make and I fully respect his decision to step down” continued Ms. Uribe. “I wish Mr. Cisneros the best moving forward and may the Lord bless him and his family on future endeavors.”

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Six months ago, I issued a call to action for businesses: to continue to exercise innovative thinking and leadership, stay engaged in the community, focus on growth and address the troubling issues that challenge Orange County and the region. Much has changed in the world since then. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the trajectory of this economy and impacted business operations for almost every enterprise. Those “troubling issues” of six months ago have become even more persistent with new challenges added to the list. We’ve been warned to embrace “social distance,” but social connections and bonds have never been more important. One of those important bonds during this pandemic has been consistent communication. The pandemic has many of us looking to our local newspapers for critical information. No surprise — throughout all of American history, newspapers have been part of the essential fabric of our lives. For subscribers, newspapers provide timely, relevant information about our communities and familiar features for relaxation. For nonprofit organizations, schools and others, they share important news about community needs. For businesses, they are a cost-effective way of reaching customers with information for consumer decision- making. And more recently, local journalists have risked their own health and safety reporting from the front lines of the epidemic, profiling brave healthcare and emergency workers, hospital

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The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently unveiled a bobblehead figurine of California Governor Gavin Newsom. The bobblehead is the first of the Golden State’s governors to be accepted into the museum. Newsom has been at the forefront of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, earning him significant praise both within the state and nationally. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will be donating $5 from every bobblehead sold, to the ‘Protect The Heroes’ fund in support of the 100 Million Mask Challenge. The Hall of Fame and Museum has raised over $160,000 through the sale of Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx bobbleheads. The bobbleheads are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. Each figurine is $25 plus a flat-rate shipping

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NEWSPAPERS KEY TO A LOCAL RECOVERY By Lucy Dunn President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council

resources. Twenty percent of all U.S. newspapers have closed since 2004, according to a recent report from PEN America, and the sector has shed 47 percent of its jobs.” Moving forward, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature must acknowledge the essential role of newspapers in economic recovery and support their preservation and longterm financial stability. Newspapers are critical to helping all of us, including the state, move forward in a post-COVID world. While

publishers are increasing the delivery of news through digital channels, many people prefer to receive a printed newspaper. In addition, print circulation shoulders the financial burden for journalists and digital content. Without newspapers, businesses lose an important tool to reach customers, sell products and kick-start the economy. In the next few months, local newspapers will serve as the primary means for consumers to learn about re-openings, sales and discounts. They will inform community business owners of deadlines for financial grants and assistance as well as new workplace requirements governing employees. Newspapers will be there to capture the moment Main Street opens, be it Disneyland, Santa Ana’s Main Place or Irvine Spectrum. Newspapers will communicate about school re-openings and share information to drive traffic to theaters, malls, restaurants, housing developments and auto dealerships. They will report on efforts to shore up the safety net to assist our most vulnerable. Newspapers will help us regain our sense of security and normalcy. Local journalism informs us, infuriates us, moves us and brings us together. With support from Gov. Newsom, the Legislature, policymakers and the public, local journalism will continue to inform Southern California residents and help the business community forge economic recovery to achieve new levels of success.

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capacity and new policies governing how we work and engage in this new normal. But local newspapers have been operating under tremendous cost pressures, now amplified by the lack of advertising revenue during the pandemic. According to a recent article, “most U.S. newsrooms already are straining to cover their communities amid declining ad revenue and dwindling

MAY 1, 2020

charge of $8 per order and will ship in July. On a base bearing his name, the bobblehead features Newsom wearing a suit and standing at a podium as he makes an announcement during a press briefing. The bobblehead of Governor Newsom joins bobbleheads of Wisconsin’s Governor Tony Evers, New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine which are all being released today April 29th. "During these unprecedented times, we want to continue to raise funds for an amazing cause while putting a smile on people’s faces with bobbleheads,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said, “We received a lot of requests to make a bobblehead of Governor Newsom and other Governors who have been instrumental in the continued fight against COVID-19, so we’re excited to unveil our newest creations. “ The National Bobblehead Hall of

Fame and Museum, is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and opened to the public February 2019. Visit them at www.bobbleheadhall. com

MAY 1, 2020

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LEAL ELEMENTARY HOLDS SPIRIT PARADE FOR STUDENTS

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LEAL TEACHERS and staff get their cars ready for their Spirit Parade last Wednesday. The sheriff's led the parade sounding sirens. BY TAMMYE MCDUFF Teachers, administration and staff of Leal Elementary held a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;we-miss-youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drive by parade for over 500 homes and school families this past Wednesday evening, April 29th. Cathy Eng, school teacher at Leal Elementary school in Cerritos coordinated a rolling school spirit parade by driving through the local community to lift the spirits of families quarantined by COVID-19 lockdown. Originally the parade was to be held April 9th, but was postponed due to the torrential downpour that day. Leal Elementary has 28 classrooms and 34 teachers, but Principal P.A. White was not expecting the turn out and enthusiasm displayed Wednesday evening. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This afternoon we have gathered the staff for a drive through our neighborhood and see our students again, we have not seen the kids since March 15th,â&#x20AC;? he said. The sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s department was invited to lead the parade with flashing lights and whoop-whoop sirens sounding, White said it was a way for the teachers to see their students and vice versa â&#x20AC;&#x153;That has

been the most difficult part of all of this â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not having that daily connection with our students.â&#x20AC;? The school has a text based program called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Remind Meâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that sent a blast out to all the families reminding them of the parade, it was posted on Facebook and other social media platforms as well as through the PTA. The program seems to be successful, because there were families lining the streets of the proposed parade route with signs and wearing school spirit tee shirts and colors. Students that did not live in the area were invited to sit along the parade route, in order to participate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many of our students live in local apartment buildings and the Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department was kind enough to make arrangements for us to drive through them, honking and waving,â&#x20AC;? Eng told HMG. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was something that I really wanted to put together,â&#x20AC;? confessed White,â&#x20AC;? I knew the staff would be on board.â&#x20AC;? All in all 28 teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vehicles showed up with streamers, balloons, school spirit shirts and the entourage was even accompanied by one of them playing music on live on a bugle from the car.

A FAMILY along the parade route waves at all the teachers and staff of Leal who had not seen each other since the lockdown.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced it is waiving late fees and penalties for vehicle registration, extending expiring identification cards, temporary operating permits and motor carrier permits. With authority granted under an executive order issued April 23, 2020 signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the DMV is: â&#x20AC;˘ Waiving late fees and penalties for vehicle registration renewals due between March 16 and May 31, 2020, and paid within 60 days of the original expiration date. The requirement to have current license plate stickers is also waived for vehicles with registration expiring between March 4 and June 30, 2020. â&#x20AC;˘ Extending identification cards expiring on or after March 4, 2020, to be valid through June 22, 2020 (60 days from today). â&#x20AC;˘ Temporarily suspending for 60 days the requirement to submit a transfer of ownership within 10 days for vehicle transfers occurring on or after March 4, 2020, and the requirement to register a vehicle acquired or previously based outside of California within 20 days once registration becomes due.. â&#x20AC;˘ Allowing temporary operating permits that expire on or after March 4, 2020, to be valid another 60 days from today. â&#x20AC;˘ Lengthening motor carrier permits expiring in March, April and May 2020 to June 30, 2020. A motor carrier permit is required for numerous transportation and commercial activities in California, including transporting property for compensation, hauling with a commercial vehicle weighing more than 10,000 pounds, and transporting hazardous materials. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These measures can help lighten the burden many Californians are experiencing during this difficult time,â&#x20AC;? DMV Director Steve Gordon said. The DMV continues to encourage customers to renew their vehicle registration and complete vehicle transfers online or by using the DMV Virtual Field Office. Customers can also get replacement registration cards and license plate stickers online or at the hundreds of DMV kiosks across the state. The DMV continues to provide essential services via mail, online, kiosks, call centers, available business partners and virtually to process critical transactions, including eligible driver license and vehicle registration renewals, during the COVID19 pandemic. Customers can use the Services Advisor on the DMV website to learn their options to complete DMV tasks.

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MAY 1, 2020

SU CASA AND PROJECT SAFE HAVEN GET HELP FROM SINGER RIHANNA BY TAMMYE MCDUFF Su Casa-Ending Domestic Violence has partnered with recording artist Rihanna, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to help victims of domestic violence during the lock down period. It was reported that the singer and her foundation will be sending funds to ‘address a surge in domestic violence’ in LA while the city is on lockdown. Rihanna and Dorsey are both donating $2.1 million each. These monies are to be used for shelter, meals and counseling. The Clara Lionel Foundation was founded in 2012 by Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. In a statement, Executive Director for the foundation, Justine Lucas said: “There are a number of populations who are especially vulnerable during this pandemic – those who are in more danger, the homeless, elderly, and those in abusive relationships, now more than ever need our help and we need to support organizations that prioritize the health and wellbeing of these individuals.” Earlier, this month Dorsey announced that he was allocating 1 billion of his equity in Square to help fund COVID-19 relief efforts. In a press release, Dean Lockwood, Director of Development and Community Outreach for Su Casa commented “With the restrictive containment measures, domestic violence victims become particularly vulnerable. Children being home

from school, financial insecurity, isolation, and an inability to utilize normal coping mechanisms due to limited mobility are some of the factors that cause a spike in domestic violence related crime.” Su Casa normally has 24 beds and a transitional shelter available, which is more of an apartment complex. One of those apartments is now ‘open’ in case a family or individual needs to be quarantined. Due to the space requirements, residency has had to be cut in half to keep appropriate distances between family units. This also has to apply to counseling; medical visits and staff interaction, all sessions are now done through telemedicine and teleconferencing. The organization has been able to secure other housing accommodations with cooperating hotels and they do have other options available “Initially, the impact on the hotline was reported to be less than normal,” stated Lockwood,” We think this is because people did not have access to a private phone call or computer opportunities.” It has been reported there had been a 20 percent increase in domestic violence, but in actuality it is higher than this, “That percentage was based on calls to the police department. This is an underrepresented number because the facts that people are stuck at home.” Access and information about Project Safe Haven is available by calling Su Casa’s 24/7 Crisis Hotline at (562) 4024888.

To all of our many healthcare professionals, first responders, and volunteers, the Gardens Casino says THANK YOU for your tireless efforts, strength of spirit and unfailing determination. We are grateful for your selflessness and sacrifice in helping restore our health and well-being. Together we will emerge stronger!

MAY 1, 2020

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JUDGE ORDERS NORWALK TO PLACE HOUSELESS IN HOTEL

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COMMUNITY FAMILY GUIDANCE OFFERS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN VIA TELEHEALTH BY TAMMYE MCDUFF

THE SADDLEBACK located on Firestone and Bloomfield will be used by the county.

STAFF REPORT A judge this past Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order directing the city of Norwalk to temporarily place homeless people considered vulnerable to the coronavirus in a motel. Hews Media Group has exclusively learned that the hotel is the Hotel Saddleback located at 12500 Firestone Blvd in Norwalk. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Samantha Jessner said the interests of the county in implementing a state order under Project Roomkey to safely house the homeless during the pandemic outweighed any harm the city could suffer. The judge's order applies only to the one motel eyed by the county. Louis "Skip'' Miller, an attorney for the county, said he had no objections to the limitation. "That's the motel they want to get going on,'' said Skip Miller, attorney for

the county. Miller said the TRO allows the county to begin moving the homeless into the motel immediately. Until Tuesday, Norwalk had resisted the county's efforts to secure temporary emergency housing by enacting legislation "directly contrary to, and in violation of, (Gov. Gavin Newsom's) declaration of an emergency and his issuance of executive orders,'' according to the county's petition filed Thursday. Last Tuesday, the city directed a participating hotel to withdraw its contract with the county and threatened to take immediate action to revoke its permits, business licenses and other municipal entitlements, according to the petition. At an emergency meeting of the Norwalk City Council that same day, the city enacted an ordinance asserting local control over land use and related activities during the current state of emergency, the suit said.

As public conversations around CoVID-19 increase, children may worry about themselves, their family and friends becoming sick. Parents, family members and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest and accurate. When trusted adults don’t know how or cannot answer those questions or calm those fears this is where the Community Family Guidance Center can step in. The Community Family Guidance Center [CFGC] now provides mental health services for children via Telehealth. Children, just as adults, experience anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral issues, as well as a wide range of other mental health-related needs. CFGC continues to provide a full range of mental health services via our telehealth system, for individual and family therapy, medication management, parent support, and case management. Their therapists specialize in using evidence-based practices, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and child-parent psychotherapy to help children get healthier for a better life. The Services Access Team is can assist families seeking mental health services, as well as provide referrals to other community resources during this difficult time. In March of this year, CFGC announced the immediate availability of their Telehealth system, enabling therapists to provide ongoing assistance to

over 400 active clients and to be able to immediately accept new clients in need of mental health services. By enhancing their ability to support children via video chat, therapists can stay on track, providing high-quality counseling services to more than 1400 children in need and maintain the average of more than 33,000 therapy sessions each year. "There are two cases in particular where Telehealth has made a world of difference.” said Ms. Perez, Therapist at CFGC, “Both clients are early elementary school-aged children with trauma history, engaging them over the phone was just about impossible.” Perez said she had switched to primarily working with the parents over the phone through collaterals. “Now with Telehealth, I can see them and they can see me, we are able to engage and build rapport.” Talking about trauma circumstances over the telephone can feel impersonal and doesn't allow a therapist to read nonverbal cues that are often essential in trauma-related work. “Something about being able to see me makes them more comfortable and engaged,” added Perez. Founded in 1976, Community Family Guidance Center is a non-profit agency committed to providing a wide range of services designed to help Southeast Los Angeles County's underserved children and their families heal from trauma, abuse, emotional, behavioral and mental health issues through proven interventions and compassionate guidance. Parents or legal guardians of a child may call (855)329-8080 for assistance. The center is located at 10929 South Street, Suite 208B in Cerritos.

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MAY 1, 2020

STATE OF ARTESIA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS Winter season strong for Artesia High athletics with fall, spring sports showing promise

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BY LOREN KOPFF @LORENKOPFF ON TWITTER This is the first in a series of stories on the athletic programs of the area teams from the past 15-20 years and the immediate future of most of those sports. Each story will have comments from that school’s athletic director, or one of the co-athletic directors on most, if not, all the sports that school competes in. Up first is Artesia High, one of three teams that moved from the Suburban League to the 605 League two years ago to join three other schools. Already, the Pioneers have had success in the new league where the teams are more comparable with each other than if they had stayed in the Suburban League.

FOOTBALL

In the past 20 years, the program has finished anywhere from first place to seventh place, finishing within the top three on five occasions. The program’s lone league championship came in 2018 and in that same season, the Pioneers reached the CIF-Southern Section Division 12 finals. Co-athletic director Joe Veach, who took over the helm in 2007, says there was a lack of consistency during the time the school was changing football coaches from 2000-2008. But since Veach took over, there has been some consistency. Veach took over the head coaching position four games in to the 2009 season and towards the tail end of his tenure as head coach, which lasted through the 2016 season, the program has seen increasing numbers. “It’s hard to really look back on the last 20 years and say that we’ve had some success, but we’ve had some down years,” Veach said. “I don’t want to say it’s easy to anticipate, but I think we can anticipate having a decent amount of success. If you can have a level of consistency in your leadership, it’s easier to predict when

you’re going to have success.” Veach said going to the finals, the first in school history, was a great experience and was the results of a lot of things. He went on the add that it was something that the program may not have needed, but something the school needed. The program figures to be a playoff contender for the next several years with four league schools fielding football programs (Oxford Academy and Whitney High do not field football teams).

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

This has been a program that has struggled to find consistency and has not finished higher than fourth place in over 20 years while going through seven different coaches. Only once have the Lady Pioneers reached the playoffs, and that came in 2010. Even then, Artesia is seeking its first winning season since prior to 1998. “I think we’re on the way up,” Veach said. “If you look at where we’ve been the last few years, up is almost the only place you can go. But I think it really is one of our programs on the rise. [Former head coach] Mailelei Penn took over a few years ago and she did a great job of just creating a program that was valued within our school. “Tommy, who is here now, our new coach, is another club guy, but has really bought into being at Artesia,” he continues. “He’s got our girls playing…a lot of our girls are playing year-round. I think volleyball is going to have a good run in 2020.” Veach is referring to Tommy Dube, who took over last season and guided his team to seven victories, the most since 2015 and tied for the second most victories since 2001.

GIRLS TENNIS AND BOYS WATER POLO

These two sports have never been popular on campus and it shows with girls tennis winning six league matches since

2002 and boys water polo going 1-40 in league since 2002. The last league win for tennis came in 2010 and for water polo, which did not field a team from 20092017, that program has one league win in history (2005). Veach admits Artesia will struggle in these sports because the community of the school doesn’t play a lot of these two. Because of that, the Pioneers are constantly having to start from scratch. “Both programs are similar in that we don’t get a lot of kids in our community that have played a lot of water polo or tennis before they walk on campus,” Veach said. “While we’re playing some schools that have a lot of those kids, we’re going to struggle. There’s no way around it.” However, brighter days may be ahead for tennis as it has started to get leadership and consistency the past two seasons since Matt Soriano took over as head coach.

CROSS COUNTRY

Veach believes cross country is a sport the school should be better in than they are and says it’s just a matter of getting kids to come out and run. Willie Martinez, who ran cross country and played soccer at Artesia, has been the coach for a few years and has had some individual success here and there and a little bit of team success. The numbers from this past fall have been the highest in five or six years and Veach thinks the program is on the rise.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Since the 2000-2001 season, the boys basketball program has won 352 games, nearly 100 more than any other sport on campus. Dating back to the 1990s, the program was once one of the strongest in Southern California and even the nation. But following a CIF state title in 2007, the program has been average and has not won a league title since that season. Still,

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CITY OF ARTESIA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the City Council of the City of Artesia will hold a Public Hearing to consider the following item at the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on May 11, 2020. The meeting will be held by teleconference only and can be viewed live over the internet at https://artesia.12milesout.com/livevideo Public comments can be submitted to publiccomments@cityofartesia.us any time before the item is herd. Consideration and Introduction of Ordinance No. 20-896, an Ordinance of the City of Artesia, California, Amending Title 8 of the Artesia Municipal Code by Adding Chapter 13 on Separate Metering for Dwelling Units and Chapter 14 on Time Limits for Completion of Construction If you challenge the City’s actions in regard to this matter in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in the notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City at, or prior, to the public hearing. PUBLISHED: May 1, 2020

Ernesto Sanchez City Clerk

Published at Los Cerritos Community News 5/1/20

MAY 1, 2020

ARTESIA

Continued from page 10 the program has finished second, third or fourth in league nine times since winning its second state title. “I think you can look at basketball in general and it’s hard to look at 20 years and say, ‘oh, in the last 20 years we have won five league titles and [three] CIF titles,” Veach said. “I really think you have to look at prior to 2008 and then 2008. I really see a division there.” Former head coach Greg Taylor took the 2010-2011 team to the quarterfinals but since then, the program has seen the second round of the playoffs once. Two years ago, Ray Walker guided that team to a second place finish in the 605 League. Now, Jeff Myles has taken over and Veach thinks the program will keep getting better. Of the 352 games won in the past 20 seasons, 165 have come since the days of divisional and state championships. This program is on track to remain among the top three in the 605 League for quite some time.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Girls basketball was another program that was among the Southland’s best early in the 2000s. But up until this past season, the Lady Pioneers were floundering to a combined nine sixth or seventh place finishes in league play. Head coach Shontya Pouncey, who just completed his seventh season, is beginning to return the program to prominence as the recent Division 5 AA championship will prove. In five of the first seasons of the 2000s, the program won at least 20 games. Then came a stretch of single digit wins in nine of 10 seasons. But the program has won 38 games the past two seasons and is headed in the right direction. The 26 wins of this past season were the most the program has seen since the 2001-2002 campaign. “I think he might be the hardest working guy in girls basketball,” Veach said of Pouncey. “He is constantly going to games and scouting teams. He’s got his girls in the weight room year-round and they’re on the track and they’re in the gym. I think you saw it pay off this year, obviously with the CIF title.” If a league title isn’t in the cards for the program in the near future, then you can anticipate a top three finish, which will guarantee an automatic berth to the playoffs instead of going to the postseason as an at-large representative.

BOYS SOCCER

One program that does not have to worry about struggling is this one, with only one losing season (2014-2015) and absent from the playoffs in two seasons. The architect of the program was Rudy Magallon, who took one team to the semifinals and five others to the quarterfinals. Now, former girls soccer head coach, and co-athletic director Octavio Marquez has taken over and is keeping the winning tradition going. In four seasons with the boys, Marquez has gone 66-26-7 with a trip to the quarterfinals and two more to the second round. However, there will always be that big question of advancing to the CIF finals. “I talk to Tavo all the time and the main thing that he wants to see, and I want to see from boys soccer is getting over that last hump, that last hurdle,” Veach said. “We do have a lot of kids that grew up playing soccer. Our goals should not be, ‘oh, let’s just have a good, solid team’. Our goals for that program should be postseason success. And we’ve had that where we’ve won a game or two or three. But we really want to see a CIF title

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in the next couple of years because that’s a program that our community really gets behind.” Veach says the goals in boys soccer are a lot different than their goals in a lot of other sports. That’s one of the reasons why the program has the third most victories in the past 20 years than any other program, behind the two basketball programs, and all three are the only Artesia programs with over 200 wins.

GIRLS SOCCER

Many could say that Marquez put the Artesia girls soccer program on the map. He was the first girls soccer coach the school has ever had, and when Marquez was playing soccer at Artesia for Magallon in the 1990s, there were a few girls on the team. “Girls soccer didn’t exist in our area, which is just crazy to think of,” Veach said. “But that’s what it was. With Tavo coaching the boys for a few years, then finally starting the girls program…yeah, he went through some rough years; that’s for sure. He’ll be the first one to tell you. But the same thing I go back to with all the other sports is we had a level of consistency. You find a good person to do a job and you keep him there. And they’re going to have some up years and some down years. But you just try to stay consistent and Tavo is a good coach; he knows the game.” After flirting with the postseason a couple of times but coming up short, Marquez coached the first Artesia team to go the playoffs in the 2008-2009 season. That was the first of six straight trips to the playoffs, including a quarterfinal appearance in 2013. However, Marquez stepped down from coaching the program after the 2015-2016 season and the program has taken a talent hit the past few seasons and didn’t have the talent level to play with Cerritos or some of the other schools in the area. Veach says current head coach Hugo Umana reminds him a lot of a younger Marquez just in that he’s a young guy who loves the sport, loves the game and loves coaching the girls. Veach added that Umana is somebody they need to try to keep on campus because he’s great with the girls and the program is ‘in good hands” with Umana.

GIRLS WATER POLO

There have been three teams in school history (2003-2004, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008) and none have won a league contest. Veach would love to have girls water polo but says the numbers so far have not justified having a program again. The girls who have been playing the sport have been playing with the boys the past couple of years. There have been a couple of years where the school has been on the borderline of putting together a full team but have not been able to get more than six or seven girls.

WRESTLING

For Veach, the sport is the hardest to find a coach for, especially if there is not a teaching position that comes with it. He was able to find Chris Youngblood a few years ago who had just graduated from college. But Artesia had already hired a coach who didn’t pan out. Veach emailed Youngblood to offer him the job without a teaching position. Now, Youngblood is also a physical education teacher at Artesia as well. The program has been getting better the past few years and Veach believes it will continue to get better.

BASEBALL

Since 2015, the baseball program has been one of the laughing stocks in the area, winning 16 games overall and two league contests. The program has gone 12 straight seasons without a postseason appearance. Before that, there were

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four trips to the playoffs in the previous five seasons, including one trip to the quarterfinals. Michael Gaoghagen has coached the program since 2003 and immediately went 18-11 with that trip to the quarterfinals. “I was excited for this season for baseball because I thought we were in a good spot in our league, and I thought our team was going to be better than we had been the last couple of years, ” Veach said. “I thought we could have made some good strides this year.” The last few years, Artesia has not gotten a lot of talented baseball players from the area, according to Veach. Still, Gaoghagen is out there on the weekends in the fall or winter dragging the field or throwing batting practice to the kids in the summer. “I tell people all the time if anybody asks me about baseball, I’ll always say about Mike, that guy…knows so many things about that game,” Veach said. “I love baseball and I think I know baseball. But then I talk to him and I always walk away going, ‘I really don’t know much about baseball’. He just knows so much about the game.” He added that he thinks Gaoghagen does not get enough credit, but instead gets a lot of grief because of the record over the years and thinks he’s an underrated coach. Veach has told him as long as he wants to coach at Artesia, he’s going to coach at Artesia. “I’ve said to [Artesia principal] Sergio [Garcia] and I’ve said to Mike, ‘that guy is our coach until he doesn’t want to be our coach anymore,” Veach said. “At some point, yeah, we’re going to have to find somebody. I don’t look forward to that day because finding a coach is never a fun process. But I think this year we were going to surprise some people. Next year, if Mike is back coaching again, which I don’t know why he wouldn’t, I think we’ll be even better.”

SOFTBALL

Like the baseball program recently, the softball program went through its share of futility, finishing in sixth or seventh place of the Suburban League (17 times in the past 20 seasons). That included eight seasons in which the Lady Pioneers didn’t win a league game. Then came former Artesia and Michigan State University standout Dayna Feenstra and the program has suddenly taken off. Feenstra was known throughout the community even before taking over the Artesia coaching job. “I think she brought a level of softball respect to where people look and [say], ‘oh, Dayna is coaching’,” Veach said. “People know who she is; they remember her from the community. She knows people. When you can hire somebody

like that, of course, they’re going to do a good job because they know the game. But also, people start to take notice. Kids that are in middle school, young kids and their parents, are going to say, ‘oh, we know her. She’s been giving hitting lessons down the street’.” In Feenstra’s fourth season, Artesia advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1992. Then in 2019, it went 17-4 and shared the 605 League title with Cerritos High. Veach says Artesia is now a destination for softball players whereas before Feenstra took over, the school would just have to take whoever they could get on campus to play on the team. With Feenstra being on campus, it has helped open the doors for those experienced softball players to come on campus. Feenstra has been the head coach for seven seasons. Before that, the program has had eight coaches since 2000.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL/TENNIS Boys volleyball has had some success the past two seasons and Veach says that the sport at a lot of schools is a program that could be really good because boys volleyball in general is not a popular sport in the area. “It’s just a matter of can you boys volleyball coach go out and get athletes to play volleyball,” he added. Veach has coached boys tennis for five or six years and says just like girls tennis, the sport is tough because the school is not in a community where there are of ton of kids who grow up playing tennis. Both programs have combined to win 53 matches since 2002 and neither has finished higher than fourth place in league. As far as moving from the Suburban League to the 605 League, Veach says as a whole, the new league has been a positive and suits Artesia pretty well. “I was at Artesia for 11 years while we were in the Suburban League and we never had a CIF finals appearance for a team sport,” Veach said. “We’ve had some individual and some track champions. In two years in the 605 League, we’ve had a CIF finals [appearance] and a CIF champion. I don’t think you can argue that it’s been a positive for us. It’s obvious that the league been a positive for Artesia High School, not in every single sport. I’ll give you that much, and we knew that going in, that there’s no perfect fit.”

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EL MONTE

Continued from page 1 Back in November 2019, MartinezMuela held a Friendsgiving fundraising event to “celebrate the holidays and support sponsorships of youth sports, veteran and community organizations.” The event was held at the Holiday Inn in El Monte from 6-8 pm, “in the bar area.” According to the promotional flyer obtained by Hews Media Group-Los Cerritos Community Newspaper, all contributions were to be made payable to MartinezMuela’s campaign committee, Martinez for Council 2015, ID# 1337681. And it was noted on the flyer that "Contributions are not tax deductible.” Most youth sports, veteran and community organizations are registered as 501(c)(3) companies; all donations to those organizations are tax deductible. Using best practices, if the fundraiser was targeted specifically for the organizations, the checks should be made payable to those organizations, not Martinez-Muela’s campaign committee. Sources who attended the fundraiser told HMG-LCCN that Martinez-Muela told everyone, “the money was going to several local El Monte organizations in need of donations.” But, over four months later, during a pandemic that is squeezing all non-profit organizations, Martinez-Muela has yet to give the money to those organizations. Hews Media Group-Los Cerritos Community News has obtained MartinezMuela’s campaign finance documents (460’s) for the year ended December 31, 2019. An immediate red flag went up when it was found that Yolanda Miranda is Martinez-Muela’s treasurer. Document showing Yolanda Miranda as treasurer of Martinez-Muela’s campaign committee. Miranda was associated with Ron and Tom Calderon for years and ran Ron's defense fund after his indictment. Miranda has a very checkered past in East Los Angeles politics going back many years. She worked as treasurer for current Central Basin Director Robert “Bob” Apodaca, who was sued for sexual harassment and eventually settled the case, costing rate-payers over $700,000. Her company, Yolanda Miranda and Associates, had a long association with former Bell Mayor George Cole con-

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victed in the now-infamous city of Bell scandal. Of particular note is the fact that Miranda had very close ties to Ron and Tom Calderon, acting as their treasurer not only for campaigns but running Ron’s legal defense fund after he was indicted on bribery and money laundering charges. The 460’s show Martinez-Muela did indeed take in thousands at that November Friendsgiving fundraiser. But those same 460’s show that Martinez-Muela did not disperse any funds to the organizations she targeted as recipients of her fundraiser. The lack of payment to the organizations has made many accuse MartinezMuela of money laundering, similar to what Ron and Tom Calderon were indicted for in relation to their non-profit, Californians for Diversity. One source, who was at the fundraiser, commented to HMG-LCCN, “why would she ask the checks be made out to her campaign committee and not the YMCA? The next day she could get a ‘grip and grin’ picture handing YMCA officials the check and score big political points, instead she holds on to the money?” The 460’s were dated December 31, 2019 – the last reporting period - so HMG-LCCN contacted Martinez-Muela asking if she had made payments after December 31. In a short emailed response on April 9, Martinez-Muela admitted she had not yet donated the money and blamed the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak for her inaction. Martinez-Muela wrote, “due to the COVID-19 situation, all distribution of funds have been put on hold. I look forward to giving to local charities once this situation is resolved.” Martinez-Muela was reminded that the fundraiser was November 20, three months prior to the outbreak, and that the targeted organizations are now in dire need of the money. Martinez-Muela wrote back, “thanks… .I will take that into consideration.” One person, who asked to remain anonymous, and actually wrote a check to Martinez-Muela, told HMG-LCCN, "It’s very disappointing that someone that has been in office for so long would raise money under false pretenses and refuse to donate the money, especially now when so many worthy organizations need the help."

CITY OF ARTESIA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the City Council of the City of Artesia will hold a Public Hearing to consider the following item at the Regular City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on May 11, 2020. The meeting will be held by teleconference only and can be viewed live over the internet at https://artesia.12milesout.com/livevideo Public comments can be submitted to publiccomments@cityofartesia.us any time before the item is herd. Proposed Update of Planning Department Fee Schedule Proposed Action: The City Council will conduct a public hearing concerning a proposed update of the City’s Planning Department Fee Schedule. The proposed fees are supported by the City of Artesia Planning Department Fee Study Update dated April 30, 2020, which includes public data indicating the amount of the cost, or the estimated cost, required to provide the services for which the fees or service charges will be levied and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the services, including General Fund revenues. If adopted by the City Council, the proposed fees, as set forth in Resolution No. 20-2803, would be paid by applicants for Planning entitlement approvals. Where Documents May Be Viewed: Further information, including the City of Artesia Planning Department Fee Study Update dated April 30, 2030, is available over the internet at https://www.cityofartesia.us/DocumentCenter/View/3684. You may also call (562) 865-6262 to request that this information be mailed to you. All interested persons are invited to submit written comments and to attend the hearing and give testimony. If you challenge the City’s actions in regard to this matter in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in the notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City at, or prior to, the public hearing. Ernesto Sanchez, PUBLISHED: May 1, 2020 City Clerk Published at Los Cerritos Community News 5/1/20

MAY 1, 2020 NOTICE INVITING SEALED BIDS

COMMERCE WAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FROM EASTERN AVENUE TO WASHINGTON BOULEVARD FEDERAL AID PROJECT NO. DEMO8L-5362(024) PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT NO: 2019-04 PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the CITY OF COMMERCE, referred to as “CITY”, invites sealed bids for the above stated project and will receive such bids at Commerce City Hall in the Office of the City Clerk, 2535 Commerce Way, Commerce, California 90040 by the due date of 11:00 AM on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The bids will be opened in the City of Commerce, Engineering Conference Room, located at 2535 Commerce Way, Commerce, CA. 90040 shortly after the due date and read aloud. 1.

BID DOCUMENTS: Electronic files of the Plans, Specifications and Contract Documents are available for download on the City website at: https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal. cfm?CompanyID=32906. Hard copy of the bid package will not be mailed.

PRE-BID MEETING: None.

SCOPE OF WORK: The work to be done consists of furnishing all labor, materials, tools, equipment and incidental for the improvements as shown on Project Plans.

LOCATION OF WORK: The project is located on Commerce Way from Eastern Avenue to Washington Blvd at City of Commerce.

SCHEDULE OF WORK: In accordance with the Standard Specifications, and/or as may be provided for with-in the herein Special Provisions, after notification of award and prior to start of any work, the Contractor shall submit to the Engineer for approval its proposed Con-struction Schedule. At a scheduled date prior to commencement of work, the Con-tractor and all subcontractors shall attend a pre-construction conference at the City Hall. Total construction duration is 60 working days. Please see Section A.00200 – In-structions to Bidders for the project schedule.

ESTIMATED COST OF WORK: Estimated cost is $1,750,000.

BID BOND: Bids must be accompanied by a bid bond, made payable to the City of Commerce for an amount no less than ten percent (10%) of the bid amount.

CONTRACTORS LICENSE: Contractor shall have a valid California General Contractor License, Class A, Gen-eral Engineering Contractor, at the time of bid, at the time of award and during the performance of the work.

FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECT: This is a federally funded project. Federal Labor Standards Provisions, including prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts will be en-forced. Any contract entered into pursuant to this notice will incorporate the provi-sions of the State Labor Code. Compliance with the prevailing rates of wages and apprenticeships employment standards established by the State Director of Indus-trial Relations and the Federal government will be required. This is a Federally funded project and Davis-Bacon will be enforced, and where the State and Federal wage rates are applicable, the higher of the two will be used.

10.

DBE: All bidders are required to comply with all applicable competitive bidding and labor compliance laws including, but not limited to, active solicitation of subcontract bids from minorityowned businesses, women-owned businesses, and businesses owned by disabled veterans. Bidders are advised that, as required by Federal law, the State has established a statewide overall DBE goal. This contract is considered to be a part of the statewide overall DBE goal. The City is required to report to Cal-trans on DBE participation for all Federal-aid contracts each year so that attainment efforts may be evaluated. This project is subject to Federal Funding Requirements and has a DBE Goal of 15%.

11.

CALIFORNIA PREVAILING WAGE The City hereby notifies all qualified bidders that it will affirmatively insure that quali-fied minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, or handicap in consideration for an award. Attention is directed to the provisions of Section 1777.5 (Chapter 1411, Stat-utes of 1968) and 1777.5 of the Labor Code concerning the employment of appren-tices by the Contractor’s or any such subcontractors under hire. The bidders and the selected Contractor shall not allow discrimination in employment practices on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, religion, or handicap. In entering into a public works contract, or a subcontract, to supply goods, services, or materials pursuant to a public works contract, the Contractor, or subcontractors, offers and agrees to assign to the awarding body all rights, title and interest in, and to, all causes of action it may have under Section 4 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. Section 15) or under the Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 [commencing with Section 16700] of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code), arising from purchases of goods, services, or materials pursuant to the public work’s contract or subcontract. This assignment shall be made and become effective at the time the awarding body tenders final payment to the Contractor, without further acknowl-edgment by the parties. To comply with SB 854, beginning January 1, 2015 the following applies: (1) No contractor or subcontractor may be listed on a bid proposal for public works project (submitted on or after March 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of In-dustrial Relations (DIR) pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5 [with limited excep-tions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code section 1771.1(a)]. (2) No contractor or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public works on a public works project awarded on or after April 1, 2015, unless registered with the DIR. (3) The project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the DIR. (4) Require the prime contractor to post job site notices prescribed by regulation (regulation not created yet) or the City must post the notices itself. The contractor shall fill in the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Contractor Regis-tration Number Form provided in “Section B – Bidder’s Proposal” and submit it with the Sealed Bid. Bids must be prepared on the approved Proposal forms in conformance with the In-structions to Bidders and submitted in a sealed envelope plainly marked on the out-side. Bids must be accompanied by a bid bond, made payable to the City of Com-merce for an amount no less than 10 percent of the amount of bid. The City will deduct a State-mandated 5% retention from all progress payments. No bid will be accepted from a Contractor who has not been licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Business and Professions Code. The successful Contrac-tor and his subcontractors will be required to possess business licenses from the City. The City reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any irregularity, and to take all bids under advisement for a period of 60 calendar days. If there are any questions regarding this project, please submit your questions via Planet Bid at https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=32906 no later than May 11, 2020 at 5:00 P.M. It is the responsibility of the bidder to confirm transmission of correspondence. By order of the City Council of the City of Commerce, California

LENA SHUMWAY, City Clerk Dated: April 20, 2020 Published at Commerce Community News 4/24 and 5/1/20

MAY 1, 2020

To advertise call 562-407-3873

HERO

Continued from page 1 ing the 105 year young Sachs a very happy birthday. Born in Grand Forks North Dakota April 26, 1915, and the oldest of three children Sachs, earned a business degree in 1936 from the University of North Dakota. He then headed out west to California and joined the ROTC in 1940 right before the beginning of World War II. Not too long after moving Sachs joined the Army and wound up in the thick of the war. He helped our Nation and our allies to defeat Nazi Germany and the forces of fascism by leading a team of soldiers and the famous 82nd Airborne Division on D-day. Heavily armed, he landed a glider behind enemy lines, and took out the enemy defenses helping to make the Normandy Invasion successful. Sachs added “I’m Jewish, and I was determined that I would not be taken prisoner by the Nazi!” Sachs did go on to liberate prisoners form a Nazi concentration camp. After the war, Sachs returned to Southern California, earned a teaching credential and began a career at Huntington Park High School where he taught for almost 30 years. Sachs birthday celebration continued on in the early afternoon when local and national officials wished him birthday wishes. Proclamations were made by Lakewood Mayor Todd Rogers; Cerritos Mayor Naresh Solanki; Field Representative for Janice Hahn Military and Veterans Affairs Lynda Johnson; Los Alamitos Councilman Dean Gross and the California Army National Guard based our of Los Alamitos bringing the Army HMMWV [Humvee]; a 1940’s Army Staff Car the type that then Captain Sam Sachs would have driven and the LA County Sheriff’s Department flew their helicopters over the neighborhood. Firefighters from LA Fire Department Station 94 gifted Sachs with official firefighter shirts and 6200 birthday cards honoring a true American hero were set out for all to view. Birthday greetings were sent by the Speaker of the California Assembly Anthony Rendon, naming Sachs Veteran of the Year; fellow veteran Senator Bob Archuleta sent a personal message and Grand Forks North Dakota Mayor Michael Brown proclaimed April 26th to be Sam Sachs Day. Rodgers added “ Sam is a living example of the greatest generation that we hold so fondly. He is a hero on two continents being inducted into the Legend of Honor by the President of France, officially being named a chevalier or Knight of France.” “Speaking of friends in high places,” continued Rogers, “ I’m told that the President of the United States and the First Lady have sent you special birthday greetings.” Rogers read a bit of the letter “Our

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STAFF WRITERS TAMMYE MC DUFF LOREN KOPFF-SPORTS EDITOR LAURIE HANSON EDITOR & PUBLISHER BRIAN HEWS Los Cerritos Community News, the Hawaiian Gardens Community News and the La Mirada Lamplighter is published weekly. Los Cerritos Community News, the La Mirada and the Hawaiian Gardens Community News has been established as a newspaper of general circulation in Los Angeles County. Based on this legal status we are eligible to publish Legal Notices and Fictitious Business Name Statements. Published and copyrighted by Eastern County Newspaper Group, Inc. Reproduction in whole or part of any material in the Community News without permission of the publisher is prohibited. ©2012. loscerritosnews.net lmlamplighter.com • hgcommunitynews.com

nation owes your generation, the greatest generation, a tremendous debt of gratitude for your dedicated service to our country. In the face of uncertainty and great danger, your sacrifices were critical to the defense of our country, ensuring our security and the prosperity for our country. We celebrate and extend our best wishes to you on this tremendous milestone of a birthday.’ Sachs walks around the block everyday and was a resident of Cerritos for 50 years. The front lawn held over 200 American flags, a banner with Sachs younger and older photos, balloons and USA banners. “Because of the virus, I have had the most eventful day of my life and it has taken me to another level of reality. The kindness and all these cards from the people is unimaginable,” he added. Rodgers added “ You deserve absolutely everything that you have received today and it has been an honor to be invited to your special day, I’m looking forward to seeing you next year, at your 106th birthday celebration.” In a voice that was clear and strong and not sounding at all like a man of 105 years, Sachs thanked everyone in attendance saying, “Thank you very much - I appreciate so many people coming to wish me a happy birthday, and this beautiful ceremony, all these flags in front of me, It has just been overwhelming, no question about it. To have this wonderful experience solely for me, well, I will take it! I am overcome with emotion. There is no place on earth that compares to Southern California.”

Los Cerritos Community News - LosCerritosNews.net

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ES-TATE OF: CHOW WEI LI CASE NO. 20STPB03118 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be inter-ested in the WILL or estate, or both of CHOW WEI LI. A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by PE-TER WEI-DER LI in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that PETER WEI-DER LI be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Es-tates Act . (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtain-ing court approval. Before taking certain very im-portant actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 05/13/20 at 8:30AM in Dept. 29 located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objec-tions or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative ap-pointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in sec-tion 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as pro-vided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner BYRON R. LANE - SBN 132625 LANE LAW GROUP, INC. 28924 S. WESTERN AVENUE, SUITE 206 RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA 90275 BSC218195 4/24, 5/1, 5/8/20 CNS-3360617# LOS CERRITOS COMMUNITY NEWS

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CENTRAL BASIN

Continued from page 1 ing, but Apodaca and Oskoui would not listen and were extremely disrespectful in telling Willoughby they would not move forward. Four of the Board members, President Leticia Vasquez, Vice President Art Chacon, and Directors Martha Camacho-Rodriguez and Phil Hawkins were also intent on conducting the meeting, but Oskoui and Apodaca refused. It seems that unless Apodaca can be called the president and Oskoui vicepresident, they will not allow any board meeting to continue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like two immature kids, if they do not get their tinker toys, they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come out and play,â&#x20AC;? said one observer, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apodaca yells Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the president, Oskoui yells donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interrupt me, both bring the meeting to a level where nothing can get done.â&#x20AC;? In what is a now a familiar mantra, Oskoui begins the meeting by announcing he does not recognize Anthony Willoughby as the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lawyer nor does he recognize Leticia Vasquez or Art Chacon as officers. And Oskoui is wrong about his assertion that Willoughby is not CBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney.

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During the first court teleconference concerning the appointment of Vasquez and Chacon, Finance Manager Andrew Hamilton was somehow allowed to speak and asserted Willoughby was not CBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney. A surprised Superior Court JudgeÂ Samantha JessnerÂ asked Hamilton if there was there a Substitute of Attorney, Hamilton answered no. Jessner then angrily asked Hamilton, â&#x20AC;&#x153;who are you,â&#x20AC;? and snapped back, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you are not allowed to speak, the court recognizes Willoughby as Central Basinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney.â&#x20AC;? When Vasquez and Chacon tried once again to move the meeting along with Willoughby, Oskoui once again went out of order and interrupted the meeting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You are not our attorney,â&#x20AC;? Oskoui yelled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this is not the time for you to speak. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quit pretending you are an employee of the Board of Directors, if you want to talk, do so in public comment.â&#x20AC;? Sitting in his office was Hamilton, who was recalled as Mayor of Lake Forest and is an ally of Apodaca and Oskoui, Â running the virtual meeting through his personal Zoom account. Hamilton has been called out for the use of the personal Zoom account since that should be the purview of Cecelia Pulido, the board secretary.

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But Hamilton has literally locked CBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building, allowing only employees inside while denying elected officials entrance; so he is basically running the agency. And it is evident he has â&#x20AC;&#x153;gone 5150,â&#x20AC;? which is California law code for individuals who present a danger to themselves or others. When Hamilton first locked the building down, he placed a padlock and chain on the front door, if there would have been a fire in the back of the building, employees would have been trapped, as there are only two exits. In another incident President Vasquez entered the building and attempted to retrieve credit card records related to Hamilton; Hamilton called the LA County Sheriffs and allegedly filed a false police report to have her detained, Vasquez was eventually released. And there are other instances where Hamilton has been extremely insubordinate, while also getting caught misusing public funds to pay agency vendors. Now he is acting as puppet for Apodaca, cutting off public meetings and violating the Brown Act. After speaking for a large part of the fifteen minute meeting, Oskoui yelled, "this is ridiculous, I am leaving,â&#x20AC;? and Apodaca moved to adjourn the meeting. Since a quorum still existed, a move

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