COMMERCE
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Serving Commerce and surrounding communities • 3,200 Homes Every Saturday • August 23, 2013 • Volume 1, No. 4 • HewsMediaGroup.com
Commerce Council Meeting Marred by Verbal Attacks Between Officials
Hews Media Group Exclusive
CALTRANS: CALIFORNIA’S SLUMLORD
By Kristin Grafft Tuesday’s City Council meeting in Commerce boiled over into a verbal altercation between city council members, while three of the council members were also served with recall papers that same evening. Councilwoman Tina Baca Del Rio and councilwoman Denise Robles, who have been bitter political rivals for years, got into a verbal spat that lasted throughout the night that included namecalling, character attacks and a political call to war by Baca Del Rio. “You want to play politics? It is on girlfriend. I will gladly dance with you, because you are not going to disrespect me, or any of my family or anyone else here in this community,” said Baca Del Rio. Although some of the meeting was indeed productive with presentations on the ‘Clean up Commerce’ event and AB 109, much of it was overrun by petty comments and arguing. The battle between Robles and Baca Del Rio first broke out as early as public comment, following the remarks made by Robles’ daughter, Angela Sandoval, against a letter written by Bonnie Lopez, Baca Del Rio’s sister. The letter included accusations that Robles has a “dirty political agenda” and that she allowed a registered sex offender to live in the community. Sandoval said, “I don't know what Bonnie thinks you guys can do, but you can’t dictate who lives and doesn't live in the city of commerce.” Sandoval also said that she is the one in charge of that property, not Robles. However Sandoval’s com-
See COUNCIL page 8
Recall Campaign Launched Against Commerce Officials Baca Del Rio, Leon, Altamirano By Randy Economy
FRUSTRATED EL SERENO RESIDENTS CLAIM THEY HAVE BEEN FORCED TO LIVE IN “SLUM LIKE CONDITIONS” BECAUSE OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND, NOW THEIR RENTS ARE INCREASING 10% EVERY SIX MONTHS.
T
BY RANDY ECONOMY AND BRIAN HEWS
he California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is known for its’ meticulous maintenance of the state’s highways, bridges and roads managing more than 50,000 miles of California’s highway and freeway lanes, but that is not the case in the tiny neighborhood of El Sereno, where residents contend that Caltrans, who owns many of the houses in their area, is treating them like a slumlord. Last week Hews Media Group-Community News, State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, and State Senator Ed Hernandez got a firsthand look
at the “slum like conditions” that an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 residents have been forced to live in at the end of the Long Beach 710 Freeway for more than a generation now. A tightly bonded group of residents who call themselves the “No 710 Freeway Coalition,” took the group on a walking tour of their hillside neighborhood to see firsthand how they have been neglected and forced to live in “substandard living conditions” by their “landlord,” Caltrans. The group visited around a half dozen homes in the
pathway of the freeway showing a wide range of problems that residents claim were “directly caused by Caltrans workers.” Some of the homes had several gaping holes in their walls, cracked or totally broken windows, uprooted sidewalks, cracked foundations, garage doors that could not be opened, and broken water pipes. One house even had a hole in their living room where you could see dirt from the ground below. Resident Carlene Ward held her newborn child of less than
Three Commerce City council members have been served with official recall papers this week from a group of community residents who claim that city hall has “grown to benefit its elected leaders instead of doing the work of the people.” On Tuesday and Wednesday, Councilwoman Tina Baca Del Rio, Mayor Pro Tem Lela Leon, and Councilman Ivan Altamirano where served recall petitions from a group of residents who have been long time critics of the current city council majority that also includes Mayor Joe Aguilar. Jamie Valencia, who has run for city council on four different occasions told Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper that the recall effort has been in
See RECALL page 9
Commerce Council Drama Spills Out of City Hall By Kristin Grafft Following a hostile Commerce City Council meeting on Tuesday, August 20, the drama continued at a nearby restaurant in the late hours of the night, resulting in a police report. Tension was already high as councilwoman Denise Robles and her husband Richard were on their way home, when they noticed the cars of council mem-
See CALTRANS page 9
See COMMERCE page 9
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COUNCIL
Continued from page 1 ments were made before the letter had been read into public comment prompting Baca Del Rio to raise serious issue with the fact that Sandoval “negated” the letter before it had a chance to be read. Robles defended Sandoval and argued that once a document is submitted to the council it becomes public record. Their banter continued for almost ten minutes, until they were interrupted because the topic was “not on the agenda”.
Richard and Denise Robles. An already hostile Baca Del Rio became further agitated upon noticing that Sandoval was recording the meeting on her IPhone and devoted her report time solely to addressing her issues with Robles and Sandoval. The subject of Robles’ public records requests was also brought up again, with Baca Del Rio accusing Robles of being on a witch-hunt. Baca Del Rio ended her comments by scoffing at Robles, “Christian – psh – in whose eyes?” The adversarial climate continued as
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Before moving on, Baca Del Rio took one last jab and requested information on how to sensor a councilwoman in the future. The negative comments continued during council reports, with councilman Ivan Altamirano beginning his report with complaints that staff is overwhelmed by public record requests being made by
they moved on with the agenda and council members jumped at opportunities for personal attack throughout the items addressed. Many items were also postponed, although still discussed, due to the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Lilia Leon. The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3 in the Council Chambers.
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CALTRANS
Continued from page 1 eight weeks in a blanket and told the group, “I am a breast cancer survivor and I have lived here for 17 years, and my house is in shambles. My plumbing never works properly. I would be more than happy to make the improvements myself, but we are not allowed to do any repairs or
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while wearing cowboy hat and with a “No 710” button on his lapel. Jones said his wife passed away recently and that he had to spend her final days “fighting with Caltrans.” “Jerry Brown lied to us when he said he cared about our community here, shame on him and his administration for continuing to put us through this living hell,” Jones said. The tour also stopped in front of a fenced off group of three to five small bungalow style units that residents
Broken Pipes Create Backyard “Jacuzzi”Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez [left]and State Senator Roger Hernandez [second from left] inspect the back yard of a home owned by Caltrans where a broken pipe has created what area neighbors refer to as the “Jacuzzi.” It has been there for almost ten years.Randy Economy Photo.
alterations without having Caltrans do them for us.” And now the residents face the ultimate insult by Caltrans; they were officially notified recently that their rent would increase an unheard of 10%
claim have been empty for at least twenty years. The off yellow units are covered with gang graffiti and are used as “shooting galleries” for drug users. The windows are nailed shut with plywood, the doors are sealed off, and
against by Caltrans, we want to be educated and told the truth,” said Rivera. At the time of the gathering, at least two cars marked with Caltrans logos drove by without stopping or acknowledging those present. “Look, see for yourself, these Caltrans workers could care less about our concerns. We could stand in front of their moving cars here on our street and they would probably run us over if they had the chance,” said one resident who did not want to be named. Assemblyman Gomez, who is in the middle of his first two-year term in the State Assembly, has been on record in the past as opposing the 710 Freeway expansion. “I have consistently opposed the extension of the 710 freeway via a surface route or a tunnel. The proposed ‘solutions’ do nothing to solve our longterm regional transportation problem,” Gomez said. Gomez was more than “alarmed” from what he witnessed. “I had no idea the conditions were so bad here,” he said. “We have a problem here that has gone on for far too long, and now someone at Caltrans has got to be held accountable,” Gomez told residents who stood in a circle around both him and Hernandez during the tour. Hernandez has represented the area in the State Senate for the past six years, and even he admitted to HMG-CN that the neighborhood is in “substandard condition.” “This is unacceptable conditions,” Hernandez said. “It troubles me to see what I am looking at today,” Hernandez said. “I had no idea it was like this.”
COMMERCE
Continued from page 1
Above: House in ShamblesThis boarded up house, owned by Caltrans, has sat vacant for more than 20 years. Residents are frustrated with state officials about the “slum” conditions they have been forced to endure in their community at “the end of the 710 Freeway.”
every six months. For Ward and other residents who live in the impacted El Sereno community, the rent increases are “the final straw” in their battle with state officials. “Caltrans stole our homes, and now they are going to rob us blind on top of it,” said Don Jones, a community activist and area resident who has been an outspoken opponent of Caltrans for just about half of his adult life. Jones directly blasted California Governor Jerry Brown during the tour by calling him “a crack addict who is out of control.” “When does humanity come into play Governor Brown,” Jones said
the roofs are falling apart. “This area is not safe for the children who have to live here,” said Janice Dotson, another longtime opponent and vocal critic on how Caltrans has conducted business with this project. “It is time to start facing facts. The 710 Freeway is never, ever going to be expanded and someone needs to fix this once and for all,” Dotson said. Retaliation Mike Rivera, who has lived in one of the homes in the path of the freeway said he was concerned about “retaliation” from Caltrans officials for “speaking the truth about just how bad and corrupt” this situation has become. “We don’t want to be retaliated
bers Tina Baca Del Rio and Ivan Altamirano and Eddie Olivio in the parking lot of Steve’s Steakhouse. However, these were not their personal cars, these were the city issued cars given to employees to be used for city business. Richard Robles said in an interview with Hews Media Group-Community News, “Tina accused my wife of abusing the car privilege... then after the meeting she had the nerve to take the car to a steak house to go have dinner and drinks for personal reasons, just like she always does” Robles explained, “the code says they’re supposed to use it for city business and then take it back. If it’s late at night they can take it home and return it in the morning.” The couple saw this as “a good opportunity” to address the issue and take pictures of the cars as proof. Robles took some photos and uploaded them to Facebook and then said he entered the restaurant to use the bathroom. While inside, Robles encountered the group. Robles said it was about 1 a.m. and the group had been drinking. Robles said he asked if he could get some pictures of them and initially they went along with it. “Baca Del Rio even posed for the first few before they realized maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” said Robles. Robles then said Ivan stood up and approached him, saying, “You’re an asshole. I’m going to kick your ass. You’re a bitch, just like your wife.” City commissioner Miguel Alvarado had friends on the scene and said; “Ap-
AUGUST 23, 2013
9
parently Ivan got up and began getting very aggressive and confrontational with Richard.” “Initially Eddie and Tina told Ivan to sit down and leave it at that, but Ivan continued and followed Richard on his way out of the restaurant saying nasty things about him and his wife,” Alvarado said. Robles said he just put his hands in his pocket the whole time to make sure he didn’t do anything. However, despite Robles’ alleged restraint, a sheriff visited him at his house later that night at around 3 a.m. Robles said he was asked to step out of his house, but refused because he was afraid they were “intent on arresting him.” After hearing his side of the story, Robles said it appeared the police decided they did not have enough evidence to arrest him. Robles said he thinks the photos of Baca Del Rio posing in his photos were a strong indicator that he was not the aggressor. Although HMG-CN has yet to obtain the police report, Robles said the sheriff informed him that Baca Del Rio, Altamirano and Olivio all reported that Robles had been the one threatening Altamirano.
RECALL
Continued from page 1 motion for the past several weeks. “The residents are tired that the city has not progressed. We have had enough of the political games, and now we need a city council that will represent the best interests of the community and not their personal lives,” Valencia said in an interview. Another supporter of the recall is longtime Commerce resident Mike Alvarado, who said that he has “grown tired of the lack of leadership” coming from the current city council. “There is a lot of unhappiness that I have witnessed in being active here in Commerce,” said Alvarado, who previously served as a city commission for four years under the appointment of Leon who is one of the recall targets. Alvarado said that he was given “an ultimatum” to support Baca Del Rio, Altamirano, and Leon during the campaign this past March in which all three were narrowly reelected over three underfunded candidates including Valencia, Art Gonzalez, and Joanna Flores. Baca Del Rio and Altamirano were served with the “intent to recall” papers after the conclusion of a heated city council meeting (see additional article) on Tuesday. Leon did not attend the city council meeting because due to a previously scheduled hip replacement surgery she underwent this week. Leon was served with by recall organizers at City Hall late Wednesday afternoon. Valencia said the recall process will take at least the next three months, and claims to have at least twenty residents involved. “My biggest concern is that the residents, businesses, and employees have been neglected by this current city council,” Alvarado said.
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