BeaconMediaNews.com
6 | APRIL 8, 2013 - APRIL 14, 2013
Tobacco Ordinance in Duarte on the table for Duarte Council The Duarte Chamber of Commerce and Public Safety Office are co-sponsored an informational meeting on the Proposed Tobacco Retailer Ordinance at 10:00AM, Wednesday.The meeting will target tobacco retailers, so they may learn how the proposed ordinance will impact them and what options they have. The Duarte City Council, on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, will be considering an ordinance that will require all businesses that sell tobacco products to obtain a City tobacco retailer license. Such a license would be obtained at the Finance Department at an annual fee of $100. The essence of the proposed tobacco retailer ordi-
nance as provided by City Staff: Federal, State, and local laws tightly regulate the sale, possession, and use of tobacco products. Despite such regulations, young persons continue to obtain and consume tobacco products at an alarming rate. Indeed, the most recent California survey demonstrates that illegal sales of tobacco products to minors have increased 50% since 2000. The proposed ordinance is a step the City can take in order to further decrease minors’ access to tobacco products. Virtually the only requirement to maintain the license is for a tobacco retailer to obey all applicable laws that regulate tobacco products. Should a tobacco
retailer violate any federal, state, or local law regulating tobacco products, the City could take action to fine the tobacco retailer, suspend or revoke the license, and take additional civil or criminal action as may be appropriate. Nothing in the proposed ordinance interferes with, is contrary to, or duplicative of existing laws and regulations. It is simply a licensing requirement with a basic premise: in order to sell tobacco products within the City’s jurisdiction, a business must obey all laws regulating tobacco products. The tobacco retailer license will be part of the business license (similar to locations with ABC licenses) and will be renewed each year in January.
Fire at Azusa motel destroys room and car The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Azusa police investigated a fire that destroyed a room at a local motel on Wednesday. There were no injuries
at the Colonial Inn Motel, 534 E. Foothill Blvd., but one room was totally destroyed when found by an Azusa police .. The Los Angeles Coun-
ty Fire Department responded and put out the blaze. Nearby rooms had moderate damage and a vehicle parked in front of the room was destroyed.
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Mercy Housing Veterans facility scheduled for mid-2014 On Tuesday, March 26, members of El Monte's Business and Professional Women and several guests experienced a very informative Power Point Presentation focusing on the Mercy Housing Project for Veterans in El Monte. Joe Lambert, Senior Planner with the City of El Monte's Economic Development Department explained that the now-underway project will build 41 single selfcontained, completely furnished apartment units with kitchenettes for homeless veterans and/or veterans in danger of becoming homeless. A myriad of support services will be available: addressing medical/dental needs, career counseling, job placement services, etc. Held at El Sombrero restaurant, Esthela Torres de Siegrist, Second Vice President of BPW and current President American Legion
-Courtesy Photo
Auxiliary Unit 261, opened the event with a quote from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar": "Beware the Ides of March"-- meaning that we all must pay close attention to everything, and, especially, those little things we tend to overlook and ignore. Special guests were from El Monte's American Legion
Post 261: Adjutant Tony Farinella and First Vice Commander David Siegrist. Representing El Monte American Legion Auxiliary Unit 261 was Sally Farinella, pasr President. Opening Day of the Mercy Housing Veterans facility, is scheduled for mid2014.
Chin Ho Laio claims San Gabriel is racist Continued from page 1
with this outrageous idea. This can become an example for other cities’ elections. Anyone can send a letter and complain and (stop the procedure). Can you imagine what kind of mess than will be?” Answering the question alleged from the complaint, Liao answered, “Of
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course I do live in the city. “I don’t have any problems,” he continued. “The (city clerk’s office) has to qualify me before I pull the papers. That’s not an issue. The city has to qualify me and so does the county. It took them two to three weeks of time to check everything out. They
already qualified me.” In addition, Liao said the city is breaking the law by not installing him. “By California election code, they have to certify all the ballots and install the elected city council members,” he said. “It’s against the law. They have to do it by the fourth Friday after the election. They already missed the deadline.” Liao added the city is acting like the judiciary, which is something it should not do. “We’re asking for a writ of demand to install me,” he said. “It’s their job. Let the court tell them to do it.” Liao also said he does not know why one letter of allegations from a resident should subvert the election. “Based on one resident’s letter you cannot stop the procedures the city is supposed to do,” he said. “In a way it is stupid.” He added the city is wasting a lot of taxpayer money in investigating this. “They hired a very expensive law firm to come up with this idea,” Liao said. “You can’t do that. It’s a violation of the will of the voters and 1,714 voters decided to vote for me. It’s not just about me now. (The voters) think their democratic votes are canceled by this action.”