Sell Your Stuff For Free! See page 14 for details.
DOWNEY 2013 LA Press Club Award Winner for Best Investigative Newspaper in Los Angeles.
Serving Downey and surrounding communities • Published every Friday • October 11, 2013 • Volume 1, No. 16 • DowneyCommunityNews.com
Street View: In Downey, One Year Anniversary: Bones of Steel Sculpture Exhibit Set for Stay Gallery By Tammye McDuff Character Counts All In celebration of the One Year Anniversary of Stay Gallery, an army of steel Over the Community robots arrived in Downey this week. By Tammye McDuff Downey is a Character Counts City. Not long after a recent scandal in a neighboring city, the Downey City Council decided to name some of our streets after good character traits. Responsibility Row, which stands for Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship, has become an intricate part of who we are in this city. It is very important that we teach our youth these principles every day. Our city, nor our country will function properly without these ethics. Downey has
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Bones of Steel, an industrial sculpture exhibit by Cristian Castro, will hold its opening reception Friday, October 11, 2013 at 8:00 pm. Castro is an industrial designer and was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo by Tammye McDuff.
Bones of Steel, an industrial sculpture exhibit by Cristian Castro, will hold its opening reception Friday, October 11, 2013 at 8:00 pm. Industrial designer Cristian Castro, 42 was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a self taught industrial designer at Ebus, the premier developer and integrator of electric drive technology for transit applications. Castro is a member of the skilled team of managers, designers, and production specialists based in the 4-acre facility in Downey, California. Castro has always been fascinated by the function of things, driving him to
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Kevin Perez-Allen Drops California State Controller Orders Cerritos to Sell $170 Million in City Property Campaign for 32nd State tel, B & B Stables, Liberty Park and sev“This is a devastating blow to the city,” REPORT CALLS INTO eral other parcels. The City must forfeit all said one local Commissioner who did not QUESTION ACTIONS BY Senate proceeds from any sales and also future want to be identified, “ to lose the land and CITY COUNCIL, CITY OFFICIALS, AND THE OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR “UNALLOWABLE TRANSFERS” OF PROPERTY AND CASH.
By Tammye McDuff
California State Senate hopeful Kevin Perez-Allen has dropped his bid to win election in the 32nd District in next year’s state campaign opting instead to seek a seat on the Whittier City Council. Perez told Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper in a statement that “over the last few months, I have gone to many events and spoken to so many people and groups. Very soon there emerged a common theme to the conversations, Whittier needs help.” “It was always my plan to help my beloved hometown of Whittier as a member of the State Senate. But a new request soon also began to emerge from these hundreds of conversations, ‘Please run for city council instead. We need leadership in Whittier,’” Perez claimed. The press statement also stated that
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rents to the State of California. ABX1 26 was passed in January 2011 eliminating Redevelopment Agencies in California. Under the bill, a n y assets
By Randy Economy and Brian Hews
I
n a devastating blow that will send shockwaves across the city of Cerritos, Hews Media Group-Community News obtained the California State Controller’s Office (SCO) review on Tuesday confirming that transfers recorded by the Cerritos City Council and the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency were unallowable under ABX1 26, and the city must return over $170 million in property and cash to the Successor Agency. Land named in the report include some of the crown jewels of Cerritos: the Los Cerritos Center, the Cerritos Auto Mall, the Cerritos Towne Center, Sheraton Ho-
transferred after the effective date must be returned to the Successor Agency. The ruling demands city officials in Cerritos to sell the properties under the Health and Safety Code Section 34177 (d) (e) with the money disbursed to local taxing agencies.
rental income is a huge loss.” The Asset Transfer Review Report was issued by Controller John Chiang and received by Cerritos City Manager Art Gallucci via Certified Mail October 8. The review covered January 2011 to January 2012. HMG-CN obtained the report exclusively that same day. In the report, Jeffrey V. Brownfield, Chief Division of Audits for the State Controller’s officer, informed Cerritos officials that the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency transferred $210,774,198 in assets after January 1, 2011 including unallowable transfers of assets totaling $170,836,440 or 81.05% of the transferred assets. “Those assets must be returned at the Successor Agency to be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and in a manner aimed at maximizing value,” Brownfield said.
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OCTOBER 11, 2013
Sell Your Stuff Free! Anything under $200 we will list in our newspaper for FREE! See page 14!
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DOWNEY
Continued from page 1 22,500 students within the Downey Unified School District. One of the issues of the initial committee of Character Counts was that ‘we dangle a large carrot’. We have been able to pursue with victory and honor, these six principles. Along with cooperation of all the schools and our youth programs and sports leagues, we require that they embrace the Character Counts ideals. Donald E. LaPlante, current DUSD Board President, and member of the Board of Education of the Downey Unified School District, along with Dr. John Garcia - Superintendent of the Downey Unified School District, Barbara (Bobbie) Samperi, Nancy Swenson, and Martha Sodetani, were bestowed with a proclamation stating “The young peoples are the stewards of our communities nation and the world. In critical times and in the present, the future well being of our society requires an involved caring citizenry of good character. The character of our nations is only as strong as its citizens … I, Mario Guerra being the Mayor of the good city of Downey hereby proclaim October as Character Counts month. And congratulate our school district and our school board in educating our children as they do.” Donald LaPlante was most gracious of the opportunity to work with a city that believes in the Character Counts program stating “There are very few cities that have this kind of partnership and we are proud to be a part of this.” Mayor Guerra also commented that President Obama Administration came to Downey to see how the Character Counts program worked. “The administration
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wanted to witness how this works differently between the School District and the City to stand as the Character Community that we are. I am very proud of that.” says Guerra. Note: The author is now covering the Downey community for Hews Media Group and has also been a long time resident of the city
STAY GALLERY
Continued from page 1 discover, dissect and dismantle any manner of toys and machines he could get his hands on, fusing them together as industrial creations. Castro says he “constantly poking through yard sales, swap meets, airplane graveyards and junk yards to find pieces for his sculptures.” The only outline for his work his Castro’s boundless imagination. “Only about 30 percent of the concept is in my head before I start,” said Castro, who relocated to the U.S. from Argentina in 1999. “I just put the pieces on the floor and start to create.” Make it a date to view this amazing exhibit of beautifully crafted and painted robots at Stay Gallery Friday, October 11th, 2013.The exhibition will run until November 7, 2013. The Stay Gallery, at 11140 Downey Ave., Downey, California 90241.
80,000 unique visitors per month! Advertise on Hewsmediagroup.com Call 562.407.3873
PEREZ-ALLEN
Continued from page 1 “Kevin had a strong stance on the issues of Economic Development; Whittier Hills Oil; Homelessness and Public Transportation.” “As a Council Member, Kevin focused on bringing business back to Whittier to increase revenue and serve Whittier citizens for long term goals while ensuring that new construction adhere to the city’s historic public image,” the statement read. “There is no reason traffic congestion should keep Whittier from becoming the cultural and business center of Southeast Los Angeles.” Perez-Allen also noted. In the statement he touts himself as being a “a life-long supporter and outspoken ally of the LGBT community, through involvement in the No on Prop 8 campaign in 2008, work on anti-bullying campaigns and support of various LGBT advocacy groups in Southeast LA.” The non-profit executive and community activist also stressed that he will heed the call of many who have asked him to “stay put” in his hometown of Whittier instead of seeking a State Senate seat next year. “I am officially announcing that I will forego the State Senate race in order to seek a seat on Whittier City Council in April of 2014. I sincerely appreciate your continued support and friendship. I promise that I will examine and talk about the major issues facing the city of Whittier, including oil drilling in the Whittier Hills, homelessness, and economic development, City Council districting and cultivating a better relationship with Whittier College.” The 32nd State Senate District includes nearly all of Souheast Los Angeles County.
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CERRITOS
Continued from page 1 According to sources, the review team for the SCO spent almost a year in Cerritos performing interviews with Successor Agency personnel; reviewing meetings, minutes, resolutions, and ordinances of the Council, the RDA and the Cerritos Housing Authority; reviewing accounting records; and reviewing financial reports. The SCO issued the initial report Aug. 2, 2013, which was reviewed by Cerritos City Attorney Mark Steres. Steres responded by letter dated Sept. 13, 2013, disagreeing with the review results. The SCO Oct. 8, 2013 report disagreed with all of Steres’ arguments and ordered the City to return the $170 million to the Successor Agency. Findings by the Controller The report goes on in great detail describing the unallowable transfers via financial records obtained during the review. The most egregious transfers occurred during the Mar. 24, 2011 Cerritos City Council meeting where the Council and the RDA approved the sale and transfer of properties to the City amounting to over $120 million. The City Council at the time consisted of Mayor Carol Chen, Mayor pro tem Bruce Barrows, Mark Pulido, Joseph Cho, and Jim Edwards. The first sale of properties within the RDA had a book value of over $75 million with the Council approving purchase by the city of $11 million, eliminating over $64 million because of a “decline in value.” The City argued the value of the land dropped a staggering 85%.
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Continued from page 8 The land included in the sale consisted of the Cerritos Towne Center and three dealerships at the Auto Mall- KIA, Land Rover/Jaguar, and Lincoln Station. “That is very suspect,” said one former Mayor of a local city and former California Contract Cities Association President who did not want to be named, “it looks like they tried to transfer the property worth $75 million and buy it for $11 million and keep all the rental income.” The Cerritos Council and the RDA then approved the transfer of over $45 million
Montebello Unified School Board Member Montoya Scoffs at ‘Residency’ Claims By Randy Economy An appointed member of the Montebello Unified School District Board of Education has denounced claims that he was not a registered voter and did not live inside district boundaries when he was chosen to serve the remainder of a term left vacant due to the death of longtime school board member Marcela Calderon. On Monday, MUSD Board Member Paul Montoya issued a statement to Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper responding to allegations written by a Montebello school district voter who claims that he was not a resident of the sprawling district during the time the appointment was made back in 2012.
www.HewsMediaGroup.com in book value assets to the City for zero of the Oversight Board to the Successor dollar value. Agency and the approved transfers. That land included the Cerritos Center Under the direction of the Oversight for the Performing Arts, the former ROP Board, redevelopment agencies were rebuilding, B&B Stables, and Milliken Med- quired to establish a Successor Agency, ical. which would be charged with handling The City Attorney attempted to argue any outstanding debts and winding down for the transfers, but was soundly rebuffed the activities of the former redevelopment by the SCO. agencies. Another unallowable transfer occurred The Oversight Board consists of Chairduring the January 26, 2012 Cerritos City man and former Cerritos Mayor Jim EdCouncil meeting. The Council approved wards who was a councilmember during the sale of future ground rents (years 2012- the unallowable transfers, Vice Chair and 2087) from certain Towne Center and Auto former Cerritos Mayor Barry Rabbitt, SecMall properties to the City in the amount retary and Cerritos City Clerk Vida Barone, of $28 million. former Cerritos Finance Director Becky Conflict of interest questions were Lingad, current Assistant City Manager brought forward concerning members Kathy Matsumoto, Director of the Busi-
OCTOBER 11, 2013 9 ness Services Office for Cerritos College David L. Fattahl, Toan Nguyen, CFO of the ABCUSD, and David Mochiuki. Jacob Roper, spokesman for California State Controller John Chiang confirmed to HMG-CN late Wednesday afternoon that officials in Cerritos must transfer the assets to the Cerritos Assessor Agency “immediately.” “The law is clear, Cerritos needs to comply with the order and the report immediately,” Roper said. “If they don’t comply, a legal order was built into the law to compel Cerritos officials comply with the review,” Roper added, “litigation will not stop the process.” A copy of the report can be found online at www.loscerritosnews.net
Lorraine Lugo, who identified herself as a resident of the Montebello Unified School District in an email to HMG-CN said that she questions Montoya’s legal residence requirements. “In researching Paul Montoya’s qualifications for re-election and political party status I noticed that he didn’t register to vote within MUSD boundaries until April 9, 2013,” Lugo said. “From September 15, 2004 to April 8, 2013 he was registered to vote in Arcadia according to the LA County RegistrarRecorder/County Clerk. This means he served on the MUSD School Board from February 25, 2012-April 8, 2013 when he was registered to vote and actually voting by mail on at least two occasions in another jurisdiction in violation of state law,” Lugo continued “If Mr. Montoya misrepresented himself to the Board of Education, is the Board’s appointment valid? I’ve attached the vacancy appointment that went out when he was appointed which states that legally the appointee must not be disqualified by state law from serving in order to be appointed.” “In this case, state law precludes some-
voted in my East Los Angeles precinct since 2006,” Montoya said. “At the time I applied for the appointment I met all the requirements, and I still do. I am eighteen (18) years of age or older, I am a citizen of the state, a resident of the school district, a registered voter and not been disqualified by the Constitution or laws of the state from holding a civil office,” Montoya said. Montoya is facing a stiff reelection effort in the November 5th election against two challengers including Edgar Cisneros who is a Field Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, as well as candidate CJ Salgano who is a recruiter. It is not known who Lugo is supporting in the campaign, and additional emails to her were not returned to the newspaper. “Never having run for public office before, I was warned that it could possibly get nasty or ugly, but I never thought people would spread such blatant misinformation,” Montoya said. “If it were a valid issue it would have been raised after my appointment last year and not during this election campaign,” he stressed.
one who isn’t registered to vote in the district from serving on the local school board. Unless you have additional information that I’m not aware of, I am concerned that Mr. Montoya misrepresented himself and that his appointment should be rescinded,” Lugo stressed. Montoya slammed Lugo and her assertions in a written statement. “I was born and raised in East Los Angeles and have live in the Montebello Unified School District for over 36 years. I attended Winter Gardens Elementary, Joseph Gascon Elementary, Eastmont Intermediate, and Schurr High School. I am a product of the district and I am honored to have been appointed to the Board of Education in March of 2012,” Montoya said. Montoya did acknowledge that he lived outside of the Montebello Unified School District for a brief period nearly eight years ago. “I did live in Arcadia the first year of my marriage and I voted there in one election, but my wife and I moved back to East Los Angeles and the Montebello District in late 2005 and have lived here to this date. I updated my voter registration and have