Whittier Dispatch

Owen Newcomer on the spot

2010-02-06T01:14:06Z

Whittier Councilman Owen Newcomer will be on the spot at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
He will have the key vote on how soon a plan to help properties can go into effect.

City staff has proposed allowing property owners on Whittier Boulevard to lease their empty buildings for uses that were previously allowed until the Whittier Boulevard Specific Plan was approved in June 2005.But in order for this to go into effect immediately, four votes are needed. Waiting to hear what happened are those like the owners of the Five Points Car Wash, 12604 Whittier Boulevard, say the change is needed to lease empty buildings they have at their property. Right now, the city no longer allows those types of uses, such as an auto body or car repair shop.

Mayor Bob Henderson and Councilmen Greg Nordbak and Joe Vinatieri have said they will support the change. Newcomer said during the meeting two weeks ago he is opposed. Councilwoman Cathy Warner was absent because of surgery and won't be there again Tuesday.

Thus, Newcomer's vote is needed for the proposal to take effect immediately. Otherwise, the council can approve an ordinance. But it must go through a second reading and won't become effective for 30 days. However, Newcomer said he would contact Warner and vote as she did, thus potentially providing a "courtesy" vote.

For those interested in this item, be warned: you might have to wait a while. You see the council had three public hearings -- the most controversial being the proposal to allow cell towers to be installed in the habitat areas. The council also is scheduled to take up the issue of the bus stop on Philadelphia Street in front of the Uptown Gym. And it will be asked how to handle the proposal from Earlham Drive residents for formation of a historic district. This item was postponed a month ago and that could happen again.

After all that, the Whittier Boulevard proposal is scheduled. Look for a long meeting Tuesday.

Hacienda Road to reopen Feb. 1

2010-01-18T21:48:48Z

Can you hear cheering in La Habra and unincorporated Hacienda Heights? If you did, it's because residents there have heard the news that Hacienda Road will reopen Feb. 1.

Yes that's right. This key thoroughfare that allows La Habra residents to get to the Pomona (60) Freeway or Hacienda Heights residents to get to the south side of the hill is finally reopening.
We'll have the full story in Tuesday's newspaper.

Oh and if you hear some groaning in La Habra Heights, there apparently are some residents (not those who live on Ardsheal Drive) who have enjoyed the reduced traffic on Hacienda Road.

Newspaper looking for local ties to tragic earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-14T20:33:33Z

Do you have family in Haiti or know of someone locally who does? The Whittier Daily News wants to tell your story.

Call Editor Tim Traeger at 562-698-0955, ext. 3015.

Whittier City Council faces key issues: sleeping in cars to historic preservation

2010-01-09T01:48:28Z

It's a new year and it's been about a month since a Whittier City Council meeting. That means there should be hefty topics for the council at its 6:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting.
And that's exactly what the council will have: from sleeping in cars, bus stops and historical homes.
The council will consider an ordinance that would ban camping on the street, such as sleeping in your car. It also will take up the issue of a request to move a bus stop in front of the Uptown Gym, 12912 Philadelphia St. The council also will be asked to give direction on how staff should handle a request from five homeowners on Earlham Drive seeking theirs and three other properties to be placed into a historic district.

Another interesting proposal comes from the Whittier Elk Lodge, 13620 Whittier Blvd., that wants permission to allow RV camping on their property.

Bus rider has her say on Whittier bus stop issue

2009-12-22T18:49:13Z

Next year when the Whittier City Council considers the plea by Richard Gill, owner of Uptown Gym, 12912 Philadelphia St., to move a bus stop in front of his business, at least one bus rider wants to have her say too.

Linda Pvieg, 68, of Whittier, who is legally blind, called the Daily News this week to say that stop is important to her.

"I catch the bus at Philadelphia and Milton," she said. "Once they start removing bus stops to suit everyone else, there won't be a bus stop." "It makes it very hard on people who like myself who have no access but by bus."

The council is expected to consider the issue at its Jan. 12 meeting. Gill requested the moving of the stop, saying it costs him parking, there are bus fumes, dust, cigarette smoke and loitering in front of his business.

Medical marijuana moratorium, Ficus trees on Whittier City Council agenda

2009-12-05T02:05:35Z

Look for a long but interesting Whittier City Council meeting on Tuesday to those who care about the issues in this city. Just to give you an idea, there are seven staff reports and some are pretty newsworthy.

The council is expected to adopt a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, provide guidance on how to deal with the Ficus trees on Maybrook Avenue, discuss the city's historic resources ordinance, and receive a park needs study. The latter appears to propose millions of dollars in projects. So far there's no way to pay for it. You've also got Councilman Owen Newcomer's proposal on campaign finance. Go to the It's Politics column for more information on this one. And just where should the Centennial Clock go since it had to be removed to make way for the new police station?

This isn't one of the staff reports, but a proposal to change the way the noise ordinance is enforced is on the consent calendar. Don't be surprised if that gets some discussion.
The council also will be approving plans and authorizing staff to seek bids for a number of the street projects being paid for the federal economic stimulus money. That includes adding a bicycle lane to Greenleaf Avenue from the southern city limit to Whittier Boulevard, repaving of Mulberry Drive and Slauson Avenue and adding embedded lights at the Greenway Trail crossing on Greenleaf Avenue.

Also, Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, and Miss Whittier and her court will be there at the beginning for presentations. They get to go first before oral communications.

Renowned artist Bob Bates dead at 82

2009-11-23T17:44:18Z

WHITTIER - Robert Lee (Bob) Bates, a nationally known and locally prominent artist, died Saturday at his home with his wife, Valerie, and other family members at his side. He was 82.
Bates was stricken by what was believed to be a slight stroke some months ago. However, in the past few months he developed symptoms that grew progressively worse, until finally he was hospitalized about a month ago.
The prolific artist was nationally recognized, especially for his warm and patriotic folk artworks, many of them set on farms and during an earlier era of smalltown America.
He cheered up Whittier in 1987 by producing many colorful paintings on plywood fencing erected to hide ugly vacant lots where buildings fell in the Whittier Narrows earthquake.
A full story on Bates will be featured in this newspaper on Sunday.

Finals bids for Whittier's Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility due at 5 p.m. today

2009-11-20T20:15:21Z

It's taken a while but today at 5 p.m. is the deadline for developers to put in their bids to purchase the now-closed Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier. Although today is a furlough day for the state, the project manager for the Nelles property sale will be present on at the state Department of General Services in Sacramento to accept bids until the 5 p.m. deadline, said Jeffrey Young, department spokesman.

Developers have had a couple of chances in the last several weeks to find out what a real estate firm thinks the 73-acre property is worth and what the city wants there.
The City Council recently said it favors a development alternative calling for 45 percent residential, 35 percent commercial and 20 percent other uses, such as medical offices.

Most expect this to be a more peaceful operation than what happened the last time the state sought bids in 2006. This time around, the relationship between the city and the state has seemed to be pretty good. That wasn't the way it was in late 2005 and 2006.

It started with the breakdown of negotiations between the city which wanted to purchase the property itself and resell it to its developer. But the city thought the property should be valued at $83 million and the state wanted $106 million. Then, Meruelo Maddux Properties put in a bid of $107 million. The sale was delayed when the city questioned the bidding process, saying the state should have had an independent appraisal over the value of the land.
Eventually, the city withdrew its request, but then on the day the sale was supposed to be approved, the state decided it still might need Nelles as a prison.

That set off a two-year fight that ended last summer with the state again putting the property up for sale.

There is an irony to all of this. Meruelo Maddux Properties has since filed for bankruptcy and it's possible if the sale had gone through the Nelles might be tangled up in that process.

Now with the final bids coming, we'll should learn soon how much the property is worth, which company is getting it and what its plans are. We should have a story in Tuesday's newspaper reporting what we can find out about the bids.

Cast your vote for Carol Reza

2009-11-20T19:53:03Z

WHITTIER _ Carol Reza, founder of Bridge of Faith H.O.M.E., is one of the 10 national nominees for L'Oreal's Women of Worth.
Reza is being recognized for her extraordinary volunteer achievements and positive influence on our community.
If Reza becomes the national honoree, L'Oreal will donate $25,000 to the Bridge of Faith cause, namely to help at-risk women and foster girls find a leg up in society.
Visit www.womenofworth.com/Honorees/Honoree2009Detail.aspx?nomid=9ceecd55-ea21-4b97-8d44-b49fc1bb63dd to read Reza's profile and cast your vote.
The deadline is Tuesday.

Election voter turnout numbers

2009-11-05T18:25:32Z

In today's newspaper, we had a story about voter turnout numbers. We didn't have space to run a chart showing them all. So, here's the numbers, from highest to lowest: Read 'em and weep:
Santa Fe Springs City Council                  29.2%
La Habra Heights Water District                 25.5%
Duarte City Council                                    24.2%
Valle Linda School District                      24.1%
South Pasadena City Council                      24.1%
La Canada Unified School District             23.4%
Duarte Unified School District                      22.4%
San Marino Unified School District              21.3%
Montebello City City Council                       21.3%
West Covina Unified School District            19.1%
Valle County Water District                      18.6%
La Puente Valley Water District                18.5%
South El Monte City Council                      18.5%
West Covina City Council                           18.4%
El Monte City Council                                18.1%
Baldwin Park City Council                          17.6%
Baldwin Park Unified School District          17.6%
Diamond Bar City Council                           17.3%
El Monte City School District                      17%
Pico Water District                                    16.4%
El Rancho Unified School District                16.2%
El Monte Union High School District          16.2%
Pico Rivera City Council                             16.1%
Walnut Valley Unified School District           16%
Montebello Unified School District               15.7%
Little Lake City School District                    15.4%
Mountain View School District                    15.2%
La Puente City Council                              15.1%
Los Nietos School District                        14.5%
Glendora Unified School District                 14.2%
San Gabriel Unified School District             13.8%
Rosemead School District                         13.1%
Bassett Unified School District                   12.4%
Rio Hondo Community College                 12.4%
Mt. San Antonio Community College           12.3%
Citrus Community College                        11.7%
Temple City Unified School District            11.6%
Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District 11.5%
Covina-Valley Unified School District          11%
Rowland Unified School District                 10.8%
Pasadena Community College                   10.7%
Orchard Dale Water District                       10.2%
Charter Oak Unified School District            10.1%
South Whittier School District                     9.3%
Whittier City School District                        8.7%
Garvey School District                                8%
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District   7.9%

Rio Hondo College, Pico Water District campaign finance reports

2009-10-30T22:37:32Z

Here are the final two installments of the series on candidates' campaign finance reports. The material from Rio Hondo College is long because some of the candidates have raised a lot of money.

RIO HONDO COLLEGE

DIVISION 1
Norma Garcia: Raised $35,855, spent $24,076 and has $11,779 in cash. Key contributions include $3,500 from Rio Hondo College Faculty Association; $1,400 from Michael Lehrer of Los Angeles; $1,000 each from Hope Bullock, Carmen Camacho, Associates of Hacienda Heights, Glen Dake of Los Angeles, Luis Garcia, Heateflex Corp. of Arcadia, League of Conservation Voters, Armando Ramirez of Pasadena, Telacu Industries that has the contract to manage construction of the Administration of Justice Building and physical education complex; $500 each from Angela G. Acosta-Salazar, CH2M Hill of Englewood, Colorado, Evergreen Property Investments of Industry, Adrian Guerra of Whittier, John Raul Guerra of Rowland Heights, LA Noria Entertainment of Pico Rivera, Bruce Saito of Long Beach; United Steelworkers, Vanir Construction Management of Sacramento, which has a $1 million contract from Rio Hondo to manage the Applied Technology building renovation contract.

David Siegrist: Filed a form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.

DIVISION 3
ANGELA ACOSTA-SALAZAR: Raised $13,383, spent $3,771 and has $10,222 in cash. Key contributions include $2,500 each from Ernie Camacho, president of Pacifica Services that has a contract with the college to manage its infrastructure and central plant projects, and Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union; $1,500 from Virginia Campos Consuelo Diaz, both of Whittier; $1,000 from Assemblyman Charles Calderon and $500 from Anita Garcia of Hacienda Heights.
Crystal Chavez: Raised no money.

DIVISION 5
Madeline Shapiro: Raised $4,163, including $800 contribution from herself; spent
$1,643 and has $2,520. Key contribution includes $3,000 from Rio Hondo College Faculty Association
Michelle Yanez-Jimenez: Raised $8,002, spent $6,092, and has $1,909 in cash. Key contributions include $1,000 from Telacu Industries that has the contract to manage construction of the Administration of Justice Building and physical education complex; $500 each from Abisco Products Co. of Santa Fe Springs, Angela Acosta-Salazar, Alliance Service Group of Whittier, BRJ and Associates of Pasadena, the campaign account of Central Basin Municipal Water District board member Robert Apodaca, Quatro Design Group that has the architectural contracts from the college for the Administration of Justice Building and Santa Fe Springs Regional Public Safety Training Center and South Whittier Educational Center, at Rio Hondo College, Southwest Management Consultants, and Vanir Construction Management of Sacramento, which has a $1 million contract from Rio Hondo to manage the Applied Technology building renovation contract.

PICO WATER DISTRICT
(Three seats at stake)

Victor Caballero and James Roybal filed a joint statement: Raised $3,335, spent $3,294 and has $40 in cash. Key contributions include $1,050 from Joe Caballero.
Victoria Aguilera Galarza: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Adrian Diaz: Filed Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Andres "Andy" Gonzalez: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Antonio (Tony) Martinez: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Salvador Orozco: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District campaign finance reports

2009-10-30T09:00:00Z

NORWALK-LA MIRADA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Four seats at stake)

Darryl Adams: Filed form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.
Ed Hengler: Filed form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.
Chris Pflanzer: Raised $7,943, including $4,043 loan from himself and $951 loan from Tom Wright of La Mirada; spent $5,397; and has $2,546 in cash. Key contributions include $500 from former Norwalk Councilman Luigi Vernola, $300 from Karen Jentz of Chula Vista and $250 from Wright.
Margarita Rios: Raised $4,745, including $1,200 contributions from herself; spent $3,954 and has $790 in cash. Key contributions include include $800 from Dilip Sangani of Joyland Childcare in Norwalk, $500 each from COPFIRE and the Los Angeles School Police Association, $250 each from the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs; spent $3,954 and has $790 in cash.
Jesus "Jesse" Urquidi: Raised $13,313, including $8,100 loan from himself spent $9,422 and has $3,891 in cash. Key contributions include $1,000 contribution from the former Norwalk Councilman Luigi Vernola; $500 from Roger Ruiz of Norwalk; $250 from Paramount Unified School District board member Vivian Hansen.
Ana Valencia: Raised $13,403, including a $7,900 loan from herself; spent $9,012; has $7,251 in cash. Discrepancy is because of $750 owed to David Gould and $2,110 the campaign had from previous campaign. Key contributions include $1,000 from the DRIVE Committee, a Teamsters Washington, D.C. political action committee and $250 from Montebello school board member Geri Guzman's campaign committee.

Los Nietos School District campaign finance reports

2009-10-30T04:00:00Z

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office.

LOS NIETOS SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Three seats at stake)

Art Escobedo: Raised $6,244, including $1,322 loan from himself; spent $6,081 and has no cash. Key contributions include $2,000 from former Cerritos
Councilwoman Grace Hu. Hu also paid for a $2,634 mailer on Escobedo's behalf. He also has $1,010 in unpaid bills.

All of the other candidates: Marisa B. Hernandez, Silvia R. Monge, David Nava, Grisel Vasquez and Diana Louise Villalba filed forms stating they will no spend no more than $1,000.

La Habra Heights Water District campaign finance reports

2009-10-30T01:58:54Z

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office. We'll try to file at least one more tonight. Keep watching.
La Habra Heights Water District

(Two seats at stake)

Brad Cooke: Raised $1,689, all in sums of all less than $100; spent $1,636; and has $53 in cash.
George Edwards: Raised $3,220, all of it a loan from himself; spent $3,220; and has no money left over.
Jeff Heintz: Raised $2,929, including a $500 loan from himself; spent $2,481 and has $447 in cash. He received a $200 contribution from John Pearce of La Habra Heights. The rest was in sums less than $100.

El Rancho Unified School District campaign finance reports

2009-10-29T22:38:35Z

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office:

EL RANCHO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

(Three seats at stake)

Rachel Canchola: Raised $7,889, including a loan of $3,145 from herself, spent $8,025, and owes $481. Key contributions include $1,000 each from Kenny Kropf, a Pasadena attorney, $1,000 from Ausa Rendon of Chino Hills, $500 each from Murad Menasian of Montebello and John Moss, an IT director for El Rancho; and $250 from Alex Santana of Bell Gardens.
Lorraine Morales De La O: Raised $125, spent $529 and owes owes $500 to David Gould.
Rita Jo Ramirez: Raised $895, spent $1,252, and has $865 in cash.
Joe Rivera: Raised $4,328, including a $1,252 loan from himself; spent $3,828 and no cash on hand. Key contributions include $1,000 from Los Angeles County Probation Officers Association; $150 from Diane Martinez of Paramount, an El Rancho educator, $100 each from Chuck Fuentes and Jeff Prang, Pico Rivera city manager and assistant city manager, respectively, and John Lopez of Pico Rivera, an El Rancho administrator.
Lupe Salas: Filed a form stating she will spend no more than $1,000.