El Monte Examiner_5/1/2023

Officials tout gun proposals near scene of Monterey Park mass shooting

By City News Service

SGV area Jewish Federation to host consul general of Israel for town hall

By Staff

On Monday, May 15, the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys will host a special Town Hall Meeting with the consul general of Israel, Dr. Hillel Newman. Jewish Federation’s Executive Director Jason Moss will moderate the evening program. It will cover topics ranging from the current controversy regarding judicial reforms and the situation on the Temple Mount to Iran, how Israeli innovations are impacting everyday life and addressing worldwide issues, and much more. In addition, attendees will be able to have their questions answered. The event is open to the public, but for security reasons, people must pre-register by Monday, May 8, by going to www.jewishsgpv.org.

Dr. Hillel Newman became consul general of Israel in July 2019, serving as the senior representative of the State of Israel to the Pacific Southwest. Before his post, Newman spent over 20 years in diplomatic service. He served in several influential and critical positions, including policy advisor to three foreign ministers of Israel and ambassador of Israel to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Most recently, Consul General Newman served as special policy advisor to the director general and director of the World Jewish Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, he has been intimately involved in the Jewish community’s most pressing global issues.

“The opportunity to bring the highest-ranking Israeli official in Southern California to our community is wonderful, especially with what is currently happening in Israel today.” explains Jason Moss, Jewish Federation’s executive director. “It is my hope that this event will open the eyes of many in our community as they hear what is going on in Israel and the amazing impact Israel has on the entire world.”

The event will be held at Temple Beth David (9677 E. Longden Ave., Temple City) at 7:30 p.m.

Local elected officials gathered last Monday in Monterey Park, scene of a shooting that left 11 people dead earlier this year, to tout three pieces of proposed state legislation they said would make communities safer from gun violence.

Assemblyman Mike Fong, D-Alhambra, who authored the three bills, said they are critical to counter shootings that are “happening almost daily at schools, grocery stores, churches and dance studios.”

“Lawmakers are the ones who have the power to end this plague, and I’m proud to take leadership on this effort to help get weapons

off our streets,” Fong said in a statement. “I look forward to working in partnership with the Prosecutors Alliance of California and gun safety advocates to pass these measures.”

Fong, joined by the nonprofit Prosecutors Alliance of California, District Attorney George Gascón and Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez, held a news conference at Monterey Park City Hall Monday to discuss the bills, which are pending in Sacramento.

Fong said Assembly Bill 732 is aimed at strengthening the process of removing firearms from people who are legally prohibited from possessing them. The bill

would prevent a court from closing a case against a criminal defendant unless there is proof that all firearms have been surrendered.

“We know that we have way too many people in our communities that are still in possession of guns, where the law clearly says that they’re not supposed to have firearms,” Gascón said.

Fong said that according to state figures, there are nearly 24,000 people in the state who are prohibited from possessing firearms but continue to own them.

AB 1638 would require local agencies that serve jurisdictions where 10% or more of the population speaks a language other than

English to have adequate staffing to provide information in that language during an emergency situation. Officials pointed to the Monterey Park mass shooting in January as one that affected a largely Chinese-speaking population.

“It has absolutely no use when we are communicating in languages that the majority of people in that community do not fully understand,” Gascón said.

AB 733, meanwhile, would prevent state and local agencies from selling surplus firearms, ammunition and body armor.

“State and local government agencies should not be arms dealers,” Fong said.

To learn more about this event or the Jewish Federation’s programs and services, contact the Jewish Federation’s Executive Director Jason Moss by calling 626-445-0810 or emailing federation@jewishsgpv.org.

Assemblyman Mike Fong was joined by District Attorney George Gascón and Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez at the press conference last Monday. | Photo courtesy of Asm. Mike Fong / Twitter

Pro-Israel rally in Los Angeles in 2021.

| Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

Spitzer, Barnes rail against OC judge, lawmakers at crime victims event

Judge denies Arcadia hospital executive depositions to ex-workers

By City News Service By City News Service

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes ripped a local judge and state lawmakers last Monday at an annual ceremony to honor crime victims, as the county’s top law enforcement authorities advocated for tougher laws on fentanyl dealing and railed against criminal justice reform measures in recent years.

A day before state Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, was set to ask a senate public safety committee to reconsider a bill that would crack down on fentanyl dealers, Barnes called the other Democrats on the committee who have voted against it in the past “liars.”

The legislation Umberg is pushing would give prosecutors the option to pursue a second-degree murder charge against fentanyl dealers with a prior conviction if they get caught again and someone died as a result of a drug deal. It is similar to the so-called Watson Advisement given to convicted drunk drivers who get into a fatal DUI crash.

Barnes said he has campaigned for legislation cracking down on fentanyl dealing for seven years. He said one of the lawmakers told him at a committee hearing in 2018 that “people aren’t dying from fentanyl,” prompting the sheriff to say, “You are all just liars... You lie to the public every day and I make no apology for saying that.”

Barnes and Spitzer were highly critical of Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian for plea deals she gave to two defendants involved in cases in which law enforcement officers were victims.

In one of the cases, four deputies were injured July 19 when Chase Brannon, 21, crashed into several Orange

County sheriff’s deputies’ patrol cars in Yorba Linda in July of last year. He pleaded guilty Feb. 3 to multiple charges of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and was sentenced to 364 days in jail.

Deputy Kiana Lewis, who was injured in the crash, spoke at the annual ceremony to detail how the crime has affected her. She is continuing to rehabilitate broken ankles and knee and back injuries and is not able to return to work, she said.

The other case that was criticized involved another plea deal Apkarian offered to a defendant. Gilbert Antonio Villalba pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for a struggle with a Brea police officer on March 10, 2022.

Barnes referred to Apkarian as a “Jerry Brown appointed judge.” He also criticized Apkarian for giving Brannon a chance to appeal to have his case dismissed if he clears probation.

Lewis said, “I as a victim was cheated,” and said she felt a “broken trust” with the justice system.

“I’m serving more time than he will,” she said of her recovery.

Lewis said she was especially offended that the judge said she did not wish to “ruin” the defendant’s life.

“We should not have to settle for the bare minimum of justice,” she said. “It should have been, `Victims have suffered enough.’ “

Spitzer recalled meeting with the judge in her chambers during Villalba’s case as he told her he wanted Brea Police Chief Adam Hawley to make a victim impact statement in court.

“The judge said to me, ‘Did you have anything to do with packing this courtroom today?’” Spitzer said. Spitzer

said he did not and that the officers attended the plea deal hearing because “they care deeply about what happens to a comrade in their department.”

Spitzer claimed Apkarian told him that Hawley was not a victim but she would let him make the statement anyway. He also criticized the judge for asking Brea Officer Steven Wulff, who was involved in the struggle with Villalba, “Isn’t that what you signed up for when you became a police officer?”

Spitzer said he was “flabbergasted.”

Spitzer said the efforts to crack down on fentanyl are not a “war on drugs, but a war on murder.”

He added, “You have to say to yourself what the hell is going on?”

Spitzer said that while he was out this weekend he got a call from a neighbor informing him of loud music coming from his home. It turned out to be his daughter and her friends were having a backyard party, he said.

“I freaked out,” he said. “You know why I freaked out? Because of fentanyl.”

He said he was concerned one of the teens might have brought it to the party.

“I lost it. I cannot imagine what it feels like to lose a child,” he said.

“It is us holding down the fort,” Spitzer said. “It is us who will not give up any ground.”

Umberg addressed the group from a pre-recorded tape since he was in Sacramento on legislative business.

“Fentanyl has caused more harm than any drug we’ve seen in many, many, many years,” Umberg said. “What can we do about it? The first thing is what you’re doing right now. Raising awareness. ... Many youths don’t know that just one pill can kill.”

Attorneys for four ex-employees of USC Arcadia Hospital, alleging age discrimination and retaliation for complaining about health and safety in the workplace during the coronavirus, cannot depose five hospital executives, a judge ruled Monday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jon R. Takasugi agreed with hospital attorneys that lawyers for plaintiffs Fiona John, Shelly Perks, Lisa Marquez and Harold Hayes had not demonstrated they could not get the same information they want from other witnesses.

The state’s “apex deposition rule” states that agency heads and other top governmental executives are not subject to depositions absent compelling reasons. The judge wrote that the plaintiffs’ attorneys have not deposed people identified in the complaint and in discovery as having direct knowledge of the facts allegedly supporting their clients’ claims of retaliation, discrimination and unlawful harassment, including direct supervisors, human resources managers, union representatives and co-workers.

The five executives the plaintiffs’ attorneys sought to depose were hospital President and CEO Dan F. Ausman and four senior vice presidents, Steven Sisto, Clifford Daniels, John Peeples and Dr. Bala Chandrasekhar.

According to the suit filed in October 2021, the plaintiffs were fired about the time they had provided testimony to city officials, the media and internal managers and supervisors at USC Arcadia Hospital about their concerns of what they believe were inadequate COVID-19 protections, understaffing and expired inventory which allegedly directly impacted patient and employee safety.

John, then 59, of Altadena, was “systematically targeted” during her 16 years of service to USC Arcadia Hospital, where she prioritized patient care of mothers and their babies and raised concerns regarding COVID-19 precautions and other departmental issues before being fired earlier this year, the suit states.

Perks, then a 46-year-old single mother and 13-year employee from Santa Clarita who worked in the ICU, was fired after speaking out about her COVID-19 health and safety concerns, the suit states.

Marquez, then 63, of Azusa, has been a nurse for over three decades and worked for four years at USC Arcadia Hospital, which was formerly known as Methodist Hospital of Southern California, before she too was fired in April for expressing concern about coronavirus safety conditions, the suit states. Marquez’s termination occurred while she was attempting to return to work from medical leave .

Hayes, then a 59-year-old radiologist and CT technologist who also is from Azusa, was employed at the hospital for more than 35 years and was fired soon after signing a letter to the Methodist Board of Directors and providing testimony to city officials about coronavirus protocol, the suit states.

In their court papers, defense attorneys denied any liability on the part of the hospital and said the former workers are not entitled to damages. The defense lawyers also maintain the plaintiffs’ causes of action are barred by the statute of limitations.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer speaks at the 2023 Orange County Crime Victims’ Rights Ceremony. | Screenshot from Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer video via Facebook

| Photo courtesy of USC Arcadia Hospital

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Bed Bath & Beyond store-closing sales underway

The Arcadia Weeklyhas been adjudicated as a newspaper of general circulation in court case number GS 004333 for the City of Arcadia, County of Los Angeles, State of California.

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WDith Bed Bath & Beyond announcing plans to “wind down” its operations as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings, the household-goods retailer began “store-closing sales” at its locations in California and elsewhere on Wednesday.

The retailer, which previously closed numerous locations as it worked through financial difficulties, announced April 23 that it had

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection “to implement an orderly wind down of its businesses while conducting a limited marketing process to solicit interest in one of more sales of some or all of its assets.”

Company officials said the remaining 350 Bed Bath & Beyond locations and 120 buybuy Baby locations across the country will remain open for now. But it was unclear how long that will last.

According to the company, all locations were set to begin their store-closing sales on Wednesday.

“We encourage you to come shop for your favorite products while merchandise selection is best,” according to the company’s website.

But with those sales beginning, customers will no longer be able to use those ubiquitous Bed Bath & Beyond coupons that almost always accompanied the retailer’s advertising

mailers. The company noted that the store closing sales will allow customers “to shop for your favorite products at deep discounts.”

Gift cards will be accepted through May 8, and people with merchandise credits will be able to redeem them through May 15. The company’s Welcome Rewards+ credit cards will still be accepted. Additional details are available online at https://www. bedbathandbeyond.com/.

Lt. Gov. Kounalakis announces candidacy for governor in 2026 race

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis last Monday declared her candidacy for governor in the 2026 election, seeking to be the first woman to hold the post.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is barred from running for reelection that year because of term limits.

“As a proud mother, daughter, advocate, and leader, I know the struggles Californians face and have the experience and grit to bring meaningful change to our state,” Kounalakis, 57, said on social media.

“I will fight fiercely to build a future where everyone — regardless of race, class, or immigration status — has the same opportunity that my family and I had.”

A Democrat, Kounalakis in 2018 became the first woman elected as California’s lieutenant governor, succeeding the man she is seeking to succeed

as governor. She was reelected in November.

Mona Pasquil served as acting lieutenant governor between John Garamendi’s election to the House in a 2009 special election and Abel Maldonado’s confirmation in 2010 to be Garamendi’s successor.

Born March 3, 1966, in Sacramento, Kounala-

kis worked for her family’s Sacramento-based housing development firm, AKT Development, for 18 years, building master-planned communities. She was United States ambassador to Hungary from 2010-13 and a virtual fellow with the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 2014-17, specializing in international

trade and immigration.

Kounalakis also chaired the California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment and was a member of California’s First 5 Commission and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism.

Three women have been major party nominees for governor of California — Democrats Dianne Feinstein in 1990 and Kathleen Brown in 1994 and Republican Meg Whitman in 2010 — but all lost.

Kounalakis’ announcement came on the sixth anniversary of her announcement of her candidacy for lieutenant governor.

Two of California’s last four governors were lieutenant governor immediately before being elected governor. Gray Davis was lieutenant governor when he was elected governor in 1998.

Bed Bath & Beyond store. | Photo by Mike Mozart (CC BY 2.0)

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. | Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

SoCal transportation projects receive millions in state grants

By City News Service

State transportation officials announced Monday the award of more than $690 million in funds to 28 transportation projects across the state, including multiple Southland projects.

“California is making a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to transform and modernize our transportation infrastructure, creating jobs, alternatives to driving, and reducing pollution,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement announcing the funds. “Our state is placing a high priority on investing in public transportation projects that aim to shift away from fossil fuels while making public travel more rider friendly. Today’s announcement not only provides better travel alternatives but also helps to speed up our transition to a cleaner, healthier transportation future for all Californians.”

Among the local projects receiving funds was a $35 million grant for the Metro Eastside Transit Corridor, which will extend the Metro L (Gold) Line from East Los Angeles to Whittier.

“I am grateful to Governor Gavin Newsom for supporting Metro’s commitment to equity in transportation infrastructure and service,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement. “Eastside communities have been waiting for a long time to see this line extension move from a line on a plan to a real connection to our broader rail system. I am excited to see us move one step closer to breaking ground on delivering this transportation option for our residents, as it will vastly increase access to opportunities to learn, earn, and grow.”

Metrolink, meanwhile, will receive $10 million to support its Locomotive Fuel Efficiency and Maintenance Modernization Project, along with $15.5 million to support track improvements on Metrolink’s 91/Perris Valley Line in Riverside County.

“These commitments are essential toward Metrolink’s ongoing mission of providing reliable, safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable transportation for everyone and we appreciate the state’s continued support in making that possible,” Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle said in a statement.

The Orange County Transportation Authority received nearly $45 million to help fund two projects, one of which is aimed at boosting transit options in central Orange County, and the other aimed at stabilizing and ensuring the future of coastal rail transit.

The Atlantic Avenue Gold Line Station. | Photo courtesy of METRO96/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

An atmosphere of conviviality greeted Republican attorneys general arriving in New Orleans for their recent winter conference. It was Mardi Gras, and tourists traipsed through the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel wearing colorful beaded necklaces and clutching cocktails.

A few feet from the check-in desk, if any of the attorneys general stopped to notice it, stood a replica of former U.S. Sen. and Louisiana Gov. Huey Long’s “deduct box,” which reportedly contained more than $1 million in cash donations from businesses and wealthy individuals when the notoriously corrupt Long was assassinated in 1935. The attorneys general were in New Orleans on their own fundraising mission, albeit aboveboard. That evening, in a ballroom one flight up, the Republican Attorneys General Association hosted an invite-only Super Bowl party, where they mixed and mingled with donors, and alcohol flowed freely. There was reason to celebrate. Having endured its worst crisis since it became a standalone entity in 2014, RAGA was thriving again.

RAGA, a tax-exempt political group representing more than half of the states’ chief legal officers, had come in for particularly harsh criticism for its support of Trump’s election fraud claims in the wake of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A RAGA sister organization had sent a robocall urging “patriots” to join Trump’s Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse in Washington. Then the fuzzy recorded voice went one step further, saying, “We will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal.”

Only a few weeks earlier, Texas’ Republican attorney general, Kenneth Paxton, had brought an emergency motion to the Supreme Court to invalidate the results of the vote in four states Joe Biden had won. Seventeen Republican attorneys general, all RAGA members, supported the motion.

The response from corporate America was swift. A Comcast spokesperson told The New York Times, “We are appalled and

condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and have communicated that to R.A.G.A.” The University of Phoenix demanded RAGA return recent contributions. Regular five-figure supporters like Microsoft and CocaCola abruptly cut RAGA off, cold turkey. Contributions to the group dropped 36% in 2021 compared with 2020.

RAGA’s embrace of Stop the Steal also caused an organizational exodus. RAGA’s executive director resigned days after news of the robocall became public. Georgia’s Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, who was chairman of RAGA at the time, decided by April 2021 that he could no longer lead the group, citing a “fundamental difference of opinion” about “the significance of the events of January 6.” At least seven staffers left in the wake of the riot, with one writing a resignation note that said: “The direction is not one I can honestly stand behind.”

At the conference in New Orleans, there was little sign of such chaos. And those corporations that expressed such outrage? While some companies, like Microsoft and Coke, are still staying away, Comcast is more typical. The company resumed giving barely a month after condemning RAGA, and has since contributed close to half a million dollars. Many others are back in the fold as well, including Amazon, Walmart, Visa, Capital One, MasterCard, Intuit, Walgreens, General Motors, Altria, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase’s PAC. Even the University of Phoenix, having pulled its donation, is filling RAGA’s coffers once again.

One might imagine that the corporate largesse reflects RAGA having distanced itself from the extremes of its party. Hardly. Since the Jan. 6 controversy, Republican attorneys generals have even more tightly embraced Trumpism and the movement that sows doubt about the legitimacy of elections.

Powered by returning companies, RAGA revenues in 2022 jumped 68%, reaching $21.6 million. The group used some of its funds to boost midterm candidates who pushed the lies that

By Ilya Marritz, ProPublica

Trump won in 2020 and that the voting system is rife with fraud.

RAGA’s rapid return to health demonstrates that some corporations are willing to look past even the most extreme views because access to states’ top law officers is just too valuable. Ethics watchdogs have long been concerned that fundraising shindigs like the one in New Orleans, or at regular retreats at ski and golf resorts, allow corporate donors to buy access to RAGA and its opposite number, the Democratic Attorneys General Association. A 2014 series in The New York Times detailed how corporate lobbyists and lawyers used such access to advocate for lighter regulation and favorable legal settlements.

ProPublica reached out to all the companies mentioned in this story. Few returning donors responded to requests for comment. Others, like AT&T, emphasized that they give equally to Democratic attorneys general. An Intuit spokesperson wrote: “We believe engagement with policymakers is essential to a robust democracy.”

RAGA did not answer ProPublica’s specific questions but offered this written response from executive director Peter Bisbee: “Our nation’s Republican attorneys general are the most effective group of elected officials in combating federal overreach, protecting the Constitution, and stopping the left’s woke agenda that targets everything from the innocence of school children to the retirement accounts of hundreds of millions of Americans. I do not believe violence has any place in the political discourse of our country.”

“Jan. 6 was a gut punch to our democracy,” said Chris Toth, the former executive director of the National Association of Attorneys General, a bipartisan group. “And the fact remains that many of these contributors who said that they were going to cut off RAGA are now contributing money.”

The comeback is the product of assiduous courtship.

In the summer of 2021, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and RAGA’s executive director

scheduled a virtual meeting with four representatives of the pharma and medical devices giant Johnson & Johnson. Wilson had recently become leader of the organization’s effort to rebuild relationships with donors: He had taken over as RAGA’s chairman after Georgia’s Carr, who unambiguously said that Trump lost the election, resigned.

At the time, Johnson & Johnson was on the record as “reviewing” its political giving. The company’s then-CEO, Alex Gorsky, said in a statement shortly after the Capitol riot: “As a U.S. military veteran who served overseas to protect our democracy, I’m devastated by this assault on what our country has stood for since its founding: free, fair and peaceful elections.”

But Johnson & Johnson was also facing threats to its bottom line. More than 40 attorneys general were investigating the company’s marketing of talc, a mineral that has been linked to cancer. Separately, Wilson was one of 47 state attorneys general actively pursuing a settlement with a Johnson &

Johnson subsidiary, Janssen, for its sales and marketing of opioids.

The calendar invite to the meeting, on Aug. 26, 2021, included two of Johnson & Johnson’s top executives handling opioid lawsuits: worldwide vice president for litigation Erik Haas and senior counsel Marc Larkins. The initial email to set up the meeting proposed “a RAGA call with J&J.” RAGA executive director Bisbee was invited as well, according to the records, which were obtained by American Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog focused on transparency in government.

It’s not clear what was discussed, but Wilson’s consultation appeared to have an effect. Within a month, J&J sent a $285 check to RAGA, followed by a $50,000 donation in November 2021. The law firm that set up the meeting is a longtime RAGA supporter and contributed to Wilson’s 2022 reelection campaign. Legal experts said that attorneys general should not

This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

When GOP attorneys general embraced Jan. 6, corporate funders fled. Now they’re back.

Participants at the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. | Photo by outtacontext (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

take meetings where active litigation could be discussed alongside appeals for political donations.“There’s an incredible conflict of interest there, and there’s certainly an appearance of impropriety,” said Toth. “It’s not rocket science to stay on the right side of the ethical line here.”

In February 2022, Wilson announced an opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson and three opioid distributors, worth $361 million to the state. Larkins’ name appeared on the consent judgment. South Carolina’s settlement with Johnson & Johnson followed a formula negotiated jointly by dozens of states. There is no indication that the drug company received preferable treatment because of its support for RAGA.

Wilson did not respond to an extensive list of questions from ProPublica.

Johnson & Johnson did not comment, but provided a link to its “Political Engagement” webpage, which states, in part: “Interactions with any government candidate or official must be conducted in a legal and ethical manner consistent with Our Credo, Company policies, and applicable laws.”

In the summer of 2021, Wilson courted United Parcel Service as well. After the Capitol riot, UPS had said it “believes the democratic process is a fundamental and sacred cornerstone for America” and that “since our founding, our country has stood for free, fair and peaceful elections.” The calendar entry for Wilson’s July 16, 2021 virtual meeting with two UPS lobbyists was titled, simply, “Call - RAGA.”

RAGA laid Wilson’s task out for him clearly in a premeeting fact sheet on UPS: “Please remind them that their membership lapsed in February and ask that they renew this quarter,” it said,

noting that the company had donated at the Committee Club level, $15,000.

RAGA also itemized past UPS donations to RAGA and DAGA and identified some of UPS’ “policy interests.” They included labor issues, the interstate shipment of illegal or illicit goods and a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to require companies to report on greenhouse gas emissions.

Three days after the Wilson-UPS meeting, UPS rejoined RAGA with a $15,000 donation, records show.

It’s not clear what was discussed at the meeting. Michelle Polk, a UPS spokesperson, wrote in an email, “We support elected officials in both parties with whom we engage on issues relevant to our business.”

Jeff Modisett, a former Democratic Indiana attorney general who now teaches a unit on attorneys general and ethics at UCLA Law School, said both RAGA and DAGA encourage officials to be attentive to donors’ priorities.

“RAGA is a little more blatant about it, but I think both of these organizations try to find areas of concern for the companies,” Modisett said. “The whole idea of avoiding the appearance of impropriety seems to have been forgotten by an awful lot of attorneys general.”

At the same time it’s been winning back donors, RAGA has stayed loyal to MAGA. In April 2021, RAGA selected Bisbee as its new executive director. Previously, Bisbee led the Rule of Law Defense Fund, the sister organization to RAGA that commissioned the Jan. 6 robocall. After refusing to concede that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fairly, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was elevated to RAGA chairman in late 2022. The vice chairman is

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. His office in 2021 hosted election denier Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO, who was then looking for a plaintiff to sign on to a lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election. Knudsen’s office did not say whether Knudsen attended the meeting.

Over the past two years, some of the attorneys general have signed legal actions aimed at helping Trump in his current legal travails, including an amicus brief objecting to the investigation into the former president’s possession of classified documents, which they labeled a “ransacking” by the Biden administration. And they filed a brief arguing that Sen. Lindsey Graham should not be forced to testify before the Georgia grand jury probing Trump’s election meddling. And even before the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment of Trump was unsealed, a number of attorneys general assailed the case, with West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey calling it “political” and “a travesty.”

In the 2022 midterms, RAGA funded candidates who baselessly cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections. The group spent more than $3 million in Arizona to boost the attorney general campaign of Abe Hamadeh, who said the 2020 election was “rigged”; following his general election loss in 2022, Hamadeh continued to insist he won, despite a recount that confirmed his opponent was the victor. Another RAGA-backed candidate, Matthew DePerno, is under criminal investigation for possibly tampering with voting machines in Michigan. (He also lost.) DePerno told ProPublica “I did not tamper with any voting equipment.” Election denialism was not a losing proposition in all races: Kris Kobach, a longtime proponent of the idea that cheating

is rampant in elections, was elected attorney general in Kansas, with RAGA spending over $500,000 to support his campaign. In all, RAGA spent at least $8 million to support eight candidates who denied or questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential race, according to data from AdImpact.

Rejoining RAGA hasn’t stopped some companies from publicly celebrating their civic engagement. UPS has continued to connect its image with democracy. In 2022, it was listed as the presenter of a “Democracy Game Show” hosted by TV personality Terrence J at Democracy Fest in Atlanta. The Sept. 20 event, on Voter Registration Day, aimed to boost civic awareness among high schoolers.

RAGA owes its returning health to corporations like J&J and UPS, but its life force comes from another source entirely: the nonprofits around conservative judicial activist and longtime Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo, including the Judicial Crisis Network and its parent organization, the Concord Fund.

The Judicial Crisis Network was one of RAGA’s very first donors in 2014, and the first to give five figures. In 2021, when many corporations paused their giving, the Concord Fund stepped in with gifts totaling $2.5 million, amounting to nearly 20% of RAGA’s income that year, compared with contributing just 15% a year earlier. In 2022, as companies came back, Concord’s contribution share dipped only slightly, to 19%.

The money has gone both ways. A for-profit political strategy company partly owned by Leo, CRC Advisors, has collected payments from RAGA worth about $250,000 since 2020. Expense reports describe its work simply as “consulting.”

Leo has not spoken publicly about the unfounded narrative that the 2020 election was fraudulent. But the Concord Fund gave a quarter of a million dollars to the Republican attorneys general as they petitioned the Supreme Court to invalidate the vote in four states in late 2020. And in 2022, Leo wrote a check to support Raúl Labrador, a primary challenger to the incumbent Republican attorney general of Idaho, Lawrence Wasden, who had criticized Texas’s effort to challenge the election results of other states. Wasden lost, and Labrador, who said he would have supported the Texas suit, won the primary and then the general election

(with support from RAGA) to become attorney general and a RAGA member.

Leo’s influence has been felt in other ways, too. In recent months, an obscure controversy has flared up, as some Republican attorneys general have quit the organization that supports bipartisan multistate settlements, the National Association of Attorneys General.

In January, a group called the Alliance for Consumers Action Fund ran TV ads assailing NAAG as a “left wing racket” and accusing Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, who is the group’s chairman, of “protecting NAAG’s cash stash.” The Alliance for Consumers is a trade name for the Concord Fund.

Neither Leonard Leo nor the Concord Fund commented.

With a solid 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, state attorneys general are able to play the role of batting practice pitcher, lobbing the justices the kinds of cases they need to make precedent-setting rulings on all kinds of matters of law. Paul Nolette, chair of the political science department at Marquette University, notes that state attorneys general are the second most common Supreme Court litigator, behind the federal government itself.

“They are a perfect vanguard for a bunch of these doctrines and arguments that had been sitting around in law review articles and now you can actually put this into reality,” Nolette said. “The Leonard Leo-linked groups or other conservative libertarian ideological groups are realizing the time is right.”

A case decided in 2022, West Virginia v. EPA, demonstrates that synergy. The Supreme Court endorsed West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s argument that the Clean Air Act did not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate emissions of gases that cause climate change. The ruling could hobble regulators writing rules at other agencies, too.

Leo has particularly strong ties to RAGA’s new executive director. Unlike his predecessor, whose background was in political strategy, Bisbee came to the job as someone steeped in the conservative judicial movement. He worked for more than seven years at the Federalist Society, as membership director and director for state courts.

Last year, Bisbee was a candidate for school board

in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Records show that about half of the $6,350 he raised for his campaign came from staffers at CRC Advisors, the Leo-owned consultancy. (Bisbee lost.) Bisbee has never publicly spoken about his role in the robocall. The fact that he was even considered for the RAGA job caused the organization’s then-finance director to resign, writing:

“Pete Bisbee approved the robocall expenditure, and was the only other person accountable for RLDF involvement in the January 6 events. Over the last few months, I have fielded, reassured and assuaged concerns from our core donor base on the future direction of our organization. The result of the executive committee vote to nominate Pete as RAGA’s Executive Director is a decision I cannot defend.”

The day after the Super Bowl, the conference at Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans got down to business. The first panel after breakfast was entitled “Election Law.” The moderator was Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who has cast doubt on the result of the 2020 presidential election. The panelists, including a state legislator, a lawyer and a policy specialist, agreed that there is rampant cheating in elections, and that Democrats want to make it even easier to commit voter fraud. One panelist, North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore, was the plaintiff in Moore v. Harper, a closely watched recent Supreme Court case built around the once-fringe doctrine that state legislatures, rather than the courts, should have the last word on how votes are counted. (Many Republican attorneys general joined an amicus brief in favor of Moore’s arguments; the case has yet to be decided.) Another speaker was Jason Snead of the Honest Elections Project, a nonprofit that is part of the Leo-linked Concord Fund, who spoke about the need for more restrictive voting rules as a means to restore public trust.

More than 200 people sat in the ballroom, many of them lobbyists and lawyers representing some of the best-known corporations in America. After about half an hour, the panel ended, and the room was filled with sustained polite applause. Republished with Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

A roadmap to success for rural California community colleges

By Suzanne Potter, Producer for Public News Service

Ruralcommunity colleges face a lot of challenges, but many have turned determination into innovation, with best practices showcased in a new report from the Aspen Institute.

Researchers singled out efforts at two rural California community colleges.

Kate Mahar, associate vice president of innovation and strategic initiatives at Shasta College explained the school offers a program called BOLD, which stands for Bachelor’s Through Online and Local Degrees. BOLD students who complete the first two years at Shasta can stay on campus and finish the last two years through an existing online degreecompletion program from a four-year school.

“BOLD allows those

students to access some of the support that they need to be successful in those programs, including reliable technology, connections, library services, and tutoring services,” Mahar outlined.

The Shasta Foundation underwrites a free one-unit course, so students can be co-enrolled with Shasta and the four-year program of their choice. There are no four-year public institutions within driving distance of Shasta College, so it allows people to stay in their communities while earning a bachelor’s degree.

The report also highlights a program at Imperial Valley College, where they send college professors to teach at local high schools.

Victor Torres, associate dean of workforce develop-

ment and non-traditional instruction at Imperial Valley College, said high school students can earn up to 30 college credits before they graduate, and 95% go on to college.

“It establishes sort of a sense of belonging,” Torres emphasized. “We do a field trip where they actually get a college ID, and they become part of our college culture. The students are already thinking that they can be successful in college courses.”

The report also highlighted programs creating pathways to economic mobility, convincing students to enroll and stay in college, and building strategic partnerships to help people afford to stay in school.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Shasta College partners with the Cal State system, Simpson University and Columbia College to offer online completion degree programs in fields like business, criminal justice, early childhood education, information technology, and social work. | Photo courtesy of Shasta College

Rethinking urban plantings to survive climate change

By Kate Wheeling for Nexus Media News. Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

After a series of winter storms pummeled California this winter, thousands of trees across the state lost their grip on the earth and crashed down into power lines, homes, and highways. Sacramento alone lost more than 1,000 trees in less than a week. Stressed by years of drought, pests and extreme weather, urban trees are in trouble.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that cities are losing some 36 million trees every year, wiped out by development, disease and, increasingly, climate stressors, like drought. In a recent study published in Nature, researchers found that more than half of urban trees in 164 cities around the world were already experiencing temperature and precipitation conditions that were beyond their limits for survival.

“So many of the trees that we’ve relied upon heavily are falling out of favor now as the climate changes,” said Nathan Slack, the urban forest superintendent for the city of Santa Barbara. Conifers, like pines and coastal redwoods, once extensively planted along the coast, are dying in droves, he said. “The intensity of heat [and] the longer periods [without] rainfall really force us, as urban forestry managers, to reimagine what are good street trees.”

Trees help keep neighborhoods cool, absorb rain water and clean up air pollution. But in order for them to provide those critical functions they need to survive those same conditions. For many cities, that means reconsidering what species are planted.

Slack said he is looking to trees that typically grow further east, like the paloverde, that do better in warmer, drier conditions. “The trees that survive in

the desert are going to be much more useful to us here,” he said.

In Sacramento, species like the “Bubba” desert willow are replacing redwoods, said Jessica Sanders, the executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation. “It’s sad because it’s an iconic tree,” Sanders said, “but it’s not really suited to the Sacramento region’s climate at this point.”

It’s not just California cities that are rethinking their canopies.

In Harrisonburg, Virginia, officials are bringing in willow oak and sweetgumtrees that are more tolerant to heat than many local species - from the coast. In Seattle, they’re planting more Pacific madrone and Garry oaks, which stand a better chance of surviving hotter, drier summers.

In Detroit, which was once known as the “City of Trees,” for its extensive canopy, officials are planting hardy trees like the Eastern redbud, American witch hazel and White oak that can withstand extreme heat and flooding.

City officials are also expanding species diversity to fend off disease, aiming not to allow any single species to comprise more than 10% of the city’s canopy. Detroit lost much of its canopy between the 1950s and 1990s to Dutch elm disease and an invasive beetle called the emerald ash borer. Today almost 40% of the trees that remain are considered “poor quality,” said Jenni Shockling, the senior manager of urban forestry in Detroit for American Forests, a nonprofit. “[They] consist of species that are prone to disease and storm damage, cause property and infrastructure damage, and drop heavy amounts of debris.”

Preserving urban tree cover can mean the differ-

ence between life and death on a heating planet. Extreme heat kills roughly 12,000 people annually already in the United States; experts say that figure could reach 100,000 by century’s end. A study published by the Lancet in January found that increasing a 30% increase to a city’s tree cover could cut heat-related deaths by a third.

Poorer neighborhoods with large non-white populations tend to have less tree cover and can get up to 20 degrees warmer than wealthier (and greener) neighborhoods, according to several studies. “A map of trees in any city in America is a map of income and a map of race,” said Jad Daley, the president and CEO of the nonprofit American Forests.

Cites may soon see some relief. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year, includes $1.5 billion for the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, amounting to a five-fold increase in the program’s annual budget.

The funding has the potential to transform urban canopies, according to experts like Daley. But as Slack and other arborists across the country turn to new species to fill their streets, they’re running into a new issue: supply.

“Right now there are bottlenecks in the traditional nursery supply line,” said Shockling. “Growers tend to favor specific species because they grow well in the nursery or grow quickly, but that doesn’t necessarily speak to the species diversity standards that we’re trying to adhere to.”

American Forests has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to invest in and develop nurseries across the country to improve the supply chain. “The nurseries need some assurances that what they’re growing is

going to have market value, and we have the assurance that what we’re going to purchase will have a supply,” Shockling said.

Those large-scale investments will be crucial to updating the make-up of urban canopies, according to David Teuschler, the chief horticulturist at Devil Mountain, one of California’s largest nurseries.

According to Teuschler, even California native trees, like the Coastal Live oak, are struggling in the state’s droughts. He’d like to invest more in trees like Mesa oak or Silver oak to sell in Northern California and Swamp mallet or Salt Marsh gum to sell in Southern California, but it can take years to grow trees to a saleable size, and then he has only a limited time to sell those seedlings. Unsold trees are usually composted, burned, or otherwise destroyed.

He needs to know he’ll have customers who have a clear eye toward the future.

“You have to remember

that there are a lot of oldschool people out there that want to plant redwoods,” he said. “You want to be the nursery that has these drought-adapted species, but if you can’t sell them, it’s waste.”

One of Devil Mountain’s longtime customers is California arborist Dave Muffly, who stocks all his projects with drought-tolerant species.

Muffly first began looking for drought-resistant trees 15 years ago, while leading a project to plant 1,000 trees along a two-mile stretch of highway that runs through East Palo Alto. He wanted evergreens, to block freeway pollution from reaching the low-income community on the other side, and droughttolerant varieties, but most of the state’s nurseries held few options.

Muffly began scouring the Southwest for acorns from hardier species of oaks; with more than 500 species of oak around the world that can breed and create viable

hybrids, the trees are particularly likely to evolve traits that can help them survive rapid climate change, Muffly said.

With Teuschler’s help, his projects - including a 9,000-tree mega-project around Apple’s campushave served as a proof of concept for cities as they work toward climate-resilient tree canopies.

Through channeling federal funding toward nurseries like Devil Mountain, this kind of holistic system could be replicated around the country to meet each region’s unique needs, Muffly said.

“The truth is we don’t grow anywhere near enough trees in the United States to spend the money that the government just put out,” Muffly said. “So now it’s time to build an arsenal of ecology, and the production lines are the new nurseries that will have to be built to grow the trees.”

Wheeling wrote this article for Nexus Media News.

SCAN ME!

Kate

Trees in Sacramento. | Photo by Jirka Matousek (CC BY 2.0)

As filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron said during a ‘96 commencement address at Wellesley College, “Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.” If that’s the case, high school may be one of the greatest dress rehearsals of all.

It’s a place where students explore their interests, dive into extracurricular activities, finally get the freedom to choose their own classes, and prepare for college or the workplace. For many of these students and their families, public education is key: 49.5 million students enrolled in public PreK-12 schools in 2021, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, about a third were in high school, enrolled across about 23,500 public secondary schools nationwide.

For many anxious parents, getting their kids into the best of these public high schools is of the utmost importance. Some families even move homes to get into better school districts. However, among all of these thousands of schools, a few stand out for their academic excellence, incredible track records, and the future success of their young students.

Stacker compiled a list of the 30 best public

Best public high schools in California

By Stacker

high schools in California using 2023 rankings from Niche. Niche uses eight weighted factors for its rankings. A majority of the score is based on academics and grades, but other factors include culture and diversity, health and safety, clubs and activities, resources, and surveys of parents, teachers and students. School districts are provided when available; otherwise, the city is listed instead.

Editor’s note: The original article had inaccuracies when multiple schools in California had the same name. In most of these instances, the wrong data was displayed in the ranking. Stacker sincerely apologizes for the errors.

#30. Miramonte High School

- District: Acalanes

Union High School District

- Enrollment: 1,174 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #29. Redwood High School

- District: Tamalpais

Union High School District

- Enrollment: 1,986 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #28. Homestead High School

- District: Fremont Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,379 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #27. University High

School

- City: Fresno

- Enrollment: 483 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #26. Amador Valley High School

- District: Pleasanton Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,744 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #25. Foothill High School

- District: Pleasanton Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,237 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #24. South Pasadena Senior High School

- District: South Pasadena Unified School District

- Enrollment: 1,451 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #23. Mt. Everest Academy

- District: San Diego Unified School District

- Enrollment: 291 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #22. Mountain View High School

- District: Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,257 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #21. Del Norte High School

- District: Poway Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,481 (27:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #20. Westview High School

- District: Poway Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,395 (27:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #19. Lowell High School

- District: San Francisco Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,786 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #18. Campolindo High School

- District: Acalanes Union High School District

- Enrollment: 1,400 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #17. Academy of the Canyons

- District: William S. Hart Union High School District

- Enrollment: 414 (30:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #16. Whitney High School

- District: ABC Unified School District

- Enrollment: 1,019 (26:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #15. Lynbrook High School

- District: Fremont Union High School District

- Enrollment: 1,942 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #14. Northwood High School

- District: Irvine Unified School District

- Enrollment: 1,756 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#13. Palos Verdes

Peninsula High School

- District: Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,359 (25:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#12. La Canada High School

- District: La Canada

Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,058 (25:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#11. Torrey Pines High School

- District: San Dieguito

Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,547 (25:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#10. Los Altos High School

- District: Mountain

View-Los Altos Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,209 (19:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#9. University High School

- District: Irvine Unified School District

- Enrollment: 1,708 (26:1

student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#8. Saratoga High School

- District: Los GatosSaratoga Joint Union High School District

- Enrollment: 1,159 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#7. Riverside STEM Academy

- District: Riverside Unified School District

- Enrollment: 655

- Niche grade: A+

#6. Palo Alto High School

- District: Palo Alto

Unified School District

- Enrollment: 2,085 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #5. Orange County School of the Arts

- District: Santa Ana

- Enrollment: 2,277 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#

4. California Academy of Mathematics & Science

- District: Long Beach Unified School District

- Enrollment: 669 (27:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+ #3. Canyon Crest Academy

- District: San Dieguito Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,503 (28:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#2. Troy High School

- District: Fullerton Joint Union High School District

- Enrollment: 2,614 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

#1. Henry M. Gunn High School

- District: Palo Alto Unified School District

- Enrollment: 1,936 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)

- Niche grade: A+

South Pasadena High School. | Photo courtesy of South Pasadena High School

Arcadia City Notices

NOTICE INVITING QUOTATIONS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Arcadia is accepting quotations for Portable Handheld Radio Equipment. Quotes shall be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “Quote for Portable Handheld Radio Equipment” and shall be sent to the City Clerk of the City of Arcadia, 240 W. Huntington Drive, P.O. Box 60021, Arcadia, California, 91066-6021. Quotes are due no later than 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

Requests for copies of the City of Arcadia Quotation Request Form may be obtained from Amber Abeyta, Management Analyst, at the Arcadia Police Department, 250 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California, 91007 or via email at aabeyta@ArcadiaCA.gov .

The City of Arcadia reserves the right to accept in whole or part or reject any and all bids and to waive any informalities in the proposal process. All bids are binding for a period of ninety (90) days after the bid opening and may be retained by the City for examination and comparison, as specified in the bid documents. The award of this contract shall be made by the Arcadia City Council.

CITY OF ARCADIA

PURCHASING OFFICE

/s/ Linda Rodriguez

Assistant City Clerk

Dated: April 27, 2023

Publish: May 1, May 4, and May 8, 2023

nia 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner PAUL JAY FUKUSHIMA - SBN 065868

LAW OFFICES OF PAUL JAY FUKUSHIMA

12749 NORWALK BL., STE 111 NORWALK CA 90650 4/24, 4/27, 5/1/23

CNS-3692836# ARCADIA WEEKLY

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

HELEN RODRIGUEZ

CASE NO. 23STPB04304

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of HELEN RODRIGUEZ.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by JESUS M. RODRIGUEZ AND ARLEEN OCHOA in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

been filed by PAT DUGQUEM AND ARMI DEDICATORIA in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that PAT DUGQUEM AND ARMI DEDICATORIA 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 05/30/23 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 objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

provisions of the Civil Code. Any vehicles sold will be under Section 3071 of motor vehicle code.

The Online bidding starts on 4/19/2023 and ends at 9:00AM on 05/15/2023. Full access to this auction can be viewed at www.bid13.com. The undersigned will be sold by competitive bidding at BID13 on or after the 05/15/2023 at 9:00AM or later, on the premises where said property has been stored and which are located at:

Mt.Olive Storage 1500 Crestfield Dr. Duarte, CA 91010 County of Los Angeles

State of California

Unit sold appear to contain:

Misc. furniture, household goods, and boxes, tools, luggage, clothes, electronics, Bikes

Belonging to:

G55 Chris M Ramos

D36 Leslie Smutz

J33 Thomas P Ray

Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase in CASH ONLY. All purchased items sold as is and must be removed at the time of sale. Sale subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between owner and obligated party.

Bid 13 HST License #864431754

This notice will be published on the following dates: May 1, 2023 & May 8, 2023 in the DUARTE DISPATCH

NOTICE OF PUBLIC LIEN SALE

In accordance with provisions of State Law, There being due and unpaid charges for which the undersigned is entitled to satisfy an owner and/or manager’s lien of the goods herein after described and stored at the LifeStorage location listed below.

Temple City Notices

NOTICE

RECRUITMENT FOR CITY OF TEMPLE CITY YOUTH COMMITTEE

Applications accepted through June 2

Four Seats Open on City’s Youth Committee

May 1, 2023 – The City’s Youth Committee is currently recruiting for four prospective members!

Youth’s grade 9-12 are invited to apply for this leadership opportunity to make contributions to the community. Members meet regularly to discuss community issues and coordinate special youth activities and programs to encourage civic awareness and education among peers. Past projects include youth disaster training, water conservation outreach, promotion of Little Free Libraries in the city, public transportation, and Economic Impact the Youth have in the City. Committee members serve without compensation for one (this applies to applicants who are seniors in high school at time of application submittal) -or two-year terms beginning September, 2023.

An application can be downloaded from www.templecity.us/youthcommittee or obtained during normal business hours by email from the City Clerk’s Office at jnunez@templecity.us. The deadline for submitting an application is 5 p.m., June 2. Committee members will be selected through an interview process. A virtual meet and greet with current and graduating Youth Committee Members will be held in the month of May, date to be determined.

For more information, please email the City Clerk’s office at cityclerk@templecity.us.

Publish May 1, 2023

Probate Notices

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: MARTHA JANE HAND

CASE NO. 23STPB04170

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of MARTHA JANE HAND.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by JEFFREY SCOTT HAND in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that JEFFREY SCOTT HAND be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take

many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 05/19/23 at 8:30AM in Dept. 4 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 58(b) of the Califor-

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that JESUS M. RODRIGUEZ AND ARLEEN OCHOA 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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.)

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 appointed 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 section 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.

1727 Buena Vista Street, Duarte, CA 91010, 626/775-7690

Customer Name – Inventory Dave Guerra Hsld gds/Furn

And, due notice having been given, to the owner of said property and all parties known to claim an interest therein, and the time specified in such notice for payment of such having expired, the goods will be sold to the highest bidder or otherwise disposed of at a public auction to be held online at www.storagetreasures.com which will end Thursday May 25, 2023 @10AM

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: 06/02/23 at 8:30AM in Dept. 11 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 objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

ARCADIA WEEKLY NOTICE

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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner ANNA VALIENTE GOMEZ - SBN 246661

2146 BONITA AVENUE LA VERNE CA 91750

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

ARIES B. MORALES

CASE NO. 23STPB04344

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of ARIES B. MORALES.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has

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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner

MONICA GOEL - SBN 211549, TREDWAY, LUMSDAINE & DOYLE LLP

2010 MAIN STREET, STE. 1000 IRVINE CA 92614

BSC 223284

5/1, 5/4, 5/8/23

CNS-3695507# AZUSA BEACON

Public Notices

NOTICE IS HEREBY given San Dimas Lock-Up Self Storage in City of San Dimas intends to sell Personal Property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property pursuant to Sections 2170021716 of the Business & Professions Code, Section 2328 of the UCC, Section 535 of the Penal Code and provisions of Civil Code.

San Dimas Lock-Up Self Storage will sell at public sale by competitive bidding on the 9th day of May 2023 at 10:00 a.m. where said property has been stored which is located at San Dimas Lock-Up Self Storage, 409 West Allen Avenue, San Dimas, California, County of Los Angeles, State of California the following:

Tenant’s Name Joseph Robitaille

Units consist of clothing, chairs, table, pictures, books, sofa, bar stools, artificial plants, boxes and bags (contents unknown).

Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase in cash only. All purchased items sold “as is” where is and must be removed at the time of sale. Sale is subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between Owner and obligated party. The obligated party reserves the right to bid at the Auction. The Owner reserves the right to cancel a bid at the time of auction as well.

Auctioneer: William Robb

Bond #: 65067162

Telephone: 310-994-6908

Sale will be on: May 9, 2023 @ 10:00 am, or any day after.

Publish April 24th & May 1st, 2023.

AZUSA BEACON

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the undersigned intends to

der other than cash is accepted, the Trustee may withhold the issuance of the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale until funds become available to the payee or endorsee as a matter of right. The property offered for sale excludes all funds held on account by the property receiver, if applicable. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. Notice to Potential Bidders If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a Trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a Trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same Lender may hold more than one mortgage or Deed of Trust on the property. Notice to Property Owner The sale date shown on this Notice of Sale may be postponed one or more times by the Mortgagee, Beneficiary, Trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about Trustee Sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call In Source Logic at 702-659-7766 for information regarding the Trustee’s Sale or visit the Internet Website address listed below for information regarding the sale of this property, using the file number assigned to this case, CA07000127-20-1. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Website. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. Notice to Tenant NOTICE TO TENANT FOR FORECLOSURES

Published on May 1, 2023 & May 8, 2023 in the DUARTE DISPATCH.

Trustee Notices

APN: 5281-033-036 TS No: CA0700012720-1 TO No: 200028393-CA-VOI NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE (The above statement is made pursuant to CA Civil Code

Section 2923.3(d)(1). The Summary will be provided to Trustor(s) and/or vested owner(s) only, pursuant to CA Civil Code Section 2923.3(d)(2).) YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED June 19, 2009. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE.

IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT

A LAWYER. On June 13, 2023 at 10:00 AM, behind the fountain located in the Civic Center Plaza, 400 Civic Center Plaza, Pomona CA 91766, MTC Financial Inc. dba Trustee Corps, as the duly Appointed Trustee, under and pursuant to the power of sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust recorded on June 25, 2009 as Instrument No. 20090957590, of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Los Angeles County, California, executed by ATSUKO EBARA, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, as Trustor(s), in favor of FINANCIAL FREEDOM ACQUISITION LLC, A SUBSIDIARY OF ONEWEST BANK, FSB as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, in lawful money of the United States, all payable at the time of sale, that certain property situated in said County, California describing the land therein as: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN SAID DEED OF TRUST The property heretofore described is being sold “as is”. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 1140 WALNUT GROVE AVENUE UNIT D, ROSEMEAD, CA 91770 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligations secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of this Notice of Trustee’s Sale is estimated to be $374,395.39 (Estimated).

However, prepayment premiums, accrued interest and advances will increase this figure prior to sale. Beneficiary’s bid at said sale may include all or part of said amount. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept a cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the California Financial Code and authorized to do business in California, or other such funds as may be acceptable to the Trustee. In the event ten-

AFTER JANUARY 1, 2021

You may have a right to purchase this property after the trustee auction pursuant to Section 2924m of the California Civil Code. If you are an “eligible tenant buyer,” you can purchase the property if you match the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. If you are an “eligible bidder,” you may be able to purchase the property if you exceed the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. There are three steps to exercising this right of purchase. First, 48 hours after the date of the trustee sale, you can call 702659-7766, or visit this internet website www. insourcelogic.com, using the file number assigned to this case CA07000127-20-1 to find the date on which the trustee’s sale was held, the amount of the last and highest bid, and the address of the trustee. Second, you must send a written notice of intent to place a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 15 days after the trustee’s sale. Third, you must submit a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 45 days after the trustee’s sale. If you think you may qualify as an “eligible tenant buyer” or “eligible bidder,” you should consider contacting an attorney or appropriate real estate professional immediately for advice regarding this potential right to purchase. Date: April 11, 2023 MTC Financial Inc. dba Trustee Corps TS No. CA07000127-20-1 17100 Gillette Ave Irvine, CA 92614 Phone: 949-252-8300 TDD: 711 949.252.8300 By: Bernardo Sotelo, Authorized Signatory SALE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED ONLINE AT www.insourcelogic.com FOR AUTOMATED SALES INFORMATION PLEASE CALL:

In Source Logic AT 702-659-7766 Order Number 90880, Pub Dates: 4/17/2023, 4/24/2023, 5/1/2023, EL MONTE EXAMINER

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE TS No. CA17-764077-JB Order No.: 170070999-CAVOI YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 12/28/2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 to the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state, will be held by duly appointed trustee. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by the Deed of Trust, with interest and late charges thereon, as provided in the note(s), advances, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, interest thereon, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee for the total amount (at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale) reasonably estimated to be set forth below. The amount may be greater on the day of sale.

TEMPLE CITY TRIBUNE

LEGALS

Glendale City Notices

UNCLAIMED CHECKS & UNCLAIMED CASH BOND DEPOSITS

UNCLAIMED CHECKS & UNCLAIMED CASH BOND DEPOSITS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT, the Finance/Information Technology Director of the City of Glendale, County of Los Angeles, State of California, declares that the following monetary sums have been held by the Finance Director and have remained unclaimed in the funds hereafter indicated for a period of over three (3) years and will become the property of the City of Glendale on the 13th day of June 2023, a date not less than forty-five (45) days nor more than sixty (60) days after first publication of this Notice. Any party of interest may, prior to the date designated herein above, file a claim with the City’s Finance Department, which includes the claimant’s name, address, amount of claim, and the grounds on which the claim is founded. The Unclaimed Check form & Unclaimed Deposit form can be obtained from the City’s Finance Department at 141 N Glendale Ave, Room 346, Glendale, CA 91206 or from the City’s website. For questions regarding unclaimed checks, please contact the City of Glendale, Finance Department, Accounts Payable at (818) 548-3907. For questions regarding unclaimed deposits, please contact City of Glendale, Finance Department, General Accounting at 818-548-3243.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT, the Finance/Information Technology Director of the City of Glendale, County of Los Angeles, State of California, declares that the following monetary sums have been held by the Finance Director and have remained unclaimed in the funds hereafter indicated for a period of over three (3) years and will become the property of the City of Glendale on the 13th day of June 2023, a date not less than forty-five (45) days nor more than sixty (60) days after first publication of this Notice. Any party of interest may, prior to the date designated herein above, file a claim with the City’s Finance Department, which includes the claimant’s name, address, amount of claim, and the grounds on which the claim is founded. The Unclaimed Check form & Unclaimed Deposit form can be obtained from the City’s Finance Department at 141 N Glendale Ave, Room 346, Glendale, CA 91206 or from the City’s website. For questions regarding unclaimed checks, please contact the City of Glendale, Finance Department, Accounts Payable at (818) 548-3907. For questions regarding unclaimed deposits, please contact City of Glendale, Finance Department, General Accounting at 818-548-3243. This notice and its contents are in accordance with California Government Code Sections 50050-50056.

This notice and its contents are in accordance with California Government Code Sections 50050-50056.

Publish April 24 & May 1, 2023

PUBLISH: APRIL 24 & MAY 1

GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

Monterey Park City Notices

City of Monterey Park Engineering Division

320 West Newmark Avenue Monterey Park, CA 91754

Tel. No: (626) 307-1320

Fax: (626) 307-2500

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

EDISON TRAILS PARK PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT PROJECT

SPEC. NO. 2023-003

Contract Time: 40 Working Days; Liquidated Damages: $1,000 per working day.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The project consists of the sidewalk, installation of Poured in Place (PIP) playground surface, installation of electrical grounding for the new play equipment, hauling play equipment from storage area, installation of the new play equipment, and other related work as shown on the plans on file with the City’s Public Works Department. Prevailing wages required. A 10% Bidder’s Bond is required with bid. Successful contractor will be required to provide: (1) Liability insurance with City of Monterey Park as addition insured endorsement; (2) Proof of workers’ compensation insurance coverage; (3) 100% Faithful Performance, (4) 100% Labor and Material Bond, and (5) DIR Registration.

Plans are available to download for a fee from QuestCDN; link on the City’s website www.montereypark.ca.gov/444/Bids-Proposals. Bid Package Cost: $42.00.

Bid Due Date and Time: Bids will be received via the online electronic bid service, Quest Construction Data Network (QuestCDN), www.questcdn.com, until 10:00 AM, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Questions? Please call: Ivan Daza, Contract Project Manager at (626) 307-1326.

Publish April 24 & May 1, 2023

MONTEREY PARK PRESS

City of Monterey Park

Engineering Division

320 West Newmark Avenue Monterey Park, CA 91754

Tel. No: (626) 307-1320

Fax: (626) 307-2500

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

FY 22-23 CONCRETE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT INCLUDING SIDEWALKS, CURB & GUTTERS, AND BUS PADS

LEGALS

SPEC. NO. 2022-011

Contract Time: 60 Working Days; Liquidated Damages: $1,000 per working day.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The project consists of the removal and replacement of concrete sidewalk, curb and gutter, and bus pads at various locations Citywide and related work as shown on the plans on file with the City’s Public Works Department. Prevailing wages required. A 10% Bidder’s Bond is required with bid. Successful contractor will be required to provide: (1) Liability insurance with City of Monterey Park as addition insured endorsement; (2) Proof of workers’ compensation insurance coverage; (3) 100% Faithful Performance, (4) 100% Labor and Material Bond, and (5) DIR Registration.

Plans are available to download for a fee from QuestCDN; link on the City’s website www.montereypark.ca.gov/444/Bids-Proposals.

Bid Package Cost: $42.00.

Bid Due Date and Time: Bids will be received via the online electronic bid service, Quest Construction Data Network (QuestCDN), www.questcdn.com, until 11:00 AM, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Questions? Please call: Ivan Daza, Contract Project Manager at (626) 307-1326.

Publish April 24 & May 1, 2023

MONTEREY PARK PRESS

CITY OF MONTEREY PARK

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A NEGATIVE DECLARATION

ZONING CODE AMENDMENT (ZCA-23-02)

ADDING CHAPTER 21.55, ENTITLED “FIREARM HEALTH PROTECTION ZONE,” TO THE MONTEREY PARK MUNICIPAL CODE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held before the City of Monterey Park Planning Commission to consider adding Chapter 21.55 to the Monterey Park Municipal Code regulating the location of Firearms Dealers within the City’s jurisdiction.

WHEN: May 23, 2023 – 6:30 p.m. WHERE: City Hall Council Chambers – 320 W. Newmark Avenue, MAIL TO: Community Development Department – Planning Division. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the City prepared a Negative Declaration for the proposed project. The public comment period on the Negative Declaration is from May 1, 2023 through May 21, 2023. PERSONS INTERESTED IN THIS MATTER are invited to attend this hearing to express their opinion on the above matter. If you challenge the proposed action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or prior to the public hearing.

ALL DOCUMENTS, including copies of the proposed Initial Study and Negative Declaration are on file with the Community Development Department – Planning Division located at Monterey Park City Hall, 320 W. Newmark Avenue or online at https://www.montereypark.ca.gov/1535/Public-Notices. The staff report on this matter will be available in the Community Development Department – Planning Division on or about May 18, 2023 and available on the City’s website at http://www.montereypark.ca.gov/AgendaCenter. Written comments on the draft ND must be received no later than 6:00 PM on May 21, 2023. Please submit comments to: Beth Chow, Senior Planner, Community Development Department, 320 W. Newmark Avenue, Monterey Park, CA 91754, bchow@montereypark.ca.gov. The City’s City Council will consider and take a final action on the project and its environmental determination at a public meeting to be held at a future date, which will be noticed separately.

JESSICA

SERRANO, SECRETARY, Planning Commission, City of Monterey Park

Publish May 1, 2023

Probate Notices

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: ESTHER MEDINA AKA ESTER MEDINA AKA ESTER SAGUN MEDINA AKA ESTER S. MEDINA

CASE NO. 23STPB04123

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of ESTHER MEDINA AKA ESTER MEDINA AKA ESTER SAGUN MEDINA AKA ESTER S. MEDINA.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by MARIE ROPER in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that MARIE ROPER 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 05/24/23 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner

MONTEREY PARK PRESS

CNS-3692614#

WEST COVINA PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: GEORGE MIN

CASE NO. 23STPB04126

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of GEORGE MIN.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by LAURA MIN JACKSON in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that LAURA MIN JACKSON be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 05/22/23 at 8:30AM in Dept. 4 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner RITA M. DIAZ - SBN 205538, HAHN & HAHN LLP

301 E COLORADO BLVD., 9TH FLOOR PASADENA CA 91101-1977 4/24, 4/27, 5/1/23

CNS-3693236#

GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

YOLANDA MARTINEZ

CASE NO. PROSB2300481

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of YOLANDA MARTINEZ.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by GLADYS MARTINEZ TORREZ in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that GLADYS MARTINEZ TORREZ 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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 in-

terested 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: 05/25/23

at 9:00AM in Dept. S35 located at 247 W. THIRD STREET, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92415

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner

JENNIFER L. FIELD - SBN 236565, LAW OFFICE OF JENNIFER L. FIELD

405 N. INDIAN HILL BOULEVARD CLAREMONT CA 91711 BSC 223258 4/27, 5/1, 5/4/23

CNS-3694113#

ONTARIO NEWS PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

BARRY R. KAUFMAN AKA

BARRY ROBERT KAUFMAN

CASE NO. 23STPB04215

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of BARRY R. KAUFMAN AKA BARRY ROBERT KAUFMAN.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by JEFFREY HOWARD KAUFMAN in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that JEFFREY HOWARD KAUFMAN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 05/26/23 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner

WILLIAM C. GEORGE, ESQ. - SBN 122583 BURKHALTER KESSLER CLEMENT & GEORGE LLP

340 N. WESTLAKE BLVD., #110 WESTLAKE VILLAGE CA 91362 4/27, 5/1, 5/4/23 CNS-3694127# BURBANK INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF EMILY ANNE PAYNE

Case No. 23STPB03981

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of EMILY ANNE PAYNE

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Robert Blocker in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Robert Blocker be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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 administra-tion authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objec-tion to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held on May 18, 2023 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 4 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 objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your ap-pearance 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 appointed 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 section 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 knowl-edgeable 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for petitioner:

CHRISTINA LEWIS ESQ SBN 232672

LAW OFFICE OF CHRISTINA LEWIS 3655 TORRANCE BLVD STE 300 TORRANCE CA 90503 CN995926 PAYNE Apr 27, May 1,4, 2023 BURBANK INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF JAMES HUNG CHEW aka JAMES CHEW

Case No. 23STPB04178

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of JAMES HUNG CHEW aka JAMES CHEW

PETITION FOR PROBATE

has been filed by David Chew in the Su-perior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that David Chew be appointed as personal representative to admin-ister the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court ap-proval. Before taking certain very important 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 on May 25, 2023 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 5 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 objections 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 rep-resentative appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: HENRY C WONG ESQ SBN 96687 WONG AND WEINBERGER LLP 1499 HUNTINGTON DRIVE STE 318 SOUTH PASADENA CA 91030-5451 CN996059 CHEW Apr 27, May 1,4, 2023 ALHAMBRA PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

JEFFREY PILL CASE NO. 23STPB04265

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of JEFFREY PILL.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by CATHERINE ALEXANDER in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that CATHERINE ALEXANDER AKA CASSIE ALEXANDER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 07/14/23 at 8:30AM in Dept. 67 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner

GARY N. SCHWARTZ, ESQ.SBN 106306, LAW OFFICE OF GARY SCHWARTZ

20750 VENTURA BLVD. #420 WOODLAND HILLS CA 91364 4/27, 5/1, 5/4/23

CNS-3694749# BURBANK INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

ESTHER BEATRICE WILEY

CASE NO. PROSB2300268

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of ESTHER BEATRICE WILEY.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by TROY WILEY in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that TROY WILEY 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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: 07/06/23 at 9:00AM in Dept. S37 located at 247 W. THIRD STREET, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92415

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner

ELIZABETH MCDONOUGH BARRY - SBN 159143, BARRY AND BARRY 404 N. SECOND AVENUE UPLAND CA 91786

BSC 223271

5/1, 5/4, 5/8/23

CNS-3694896#

ONTARIO NEWS PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF Alex Alejandro Luevano Case No. 23STPB03934

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of Alex Alejandro Luevano aka Alex Aluevano Iniguez

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Rocio Luevano in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Rocio Luevano 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 Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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 on May 18, 2023 at 8:30 AM in Dept. 4. 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 objections 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 appointed 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 section 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 provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for petitioner:

Amy Oakden SBN 248408 Oakden Law, Ltd, 28475 Old Town Front Street SUITE G Temecula , CA 92590 (951) 888 - 2244 West Covina Press April 27, May 1, 4, 2023

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF PATRICK A. DANIELS, aka PATRICK ALLEN DANIELS CASE NO. 23STPB03993

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of PATRICK

A. DANIELS, aka PATRICK ALLEN DANIELS A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by CHASEN LE HARA in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that CHASEN LE HARA be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important 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

Hundreds gather for rallies commemorating Armenian Genocide

By City News Service

Two rallies marking the 108th anniversary of the start of events widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century took place in the Los Angeles area last Monday.

The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Rally for Justice began at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in Little Armenia. Hundreds of people crowded into the street to hear speeches and musical performances. Many attendees held Armenian flags.

The rally was organized by Unified Young Armenians, which also organized a rally Sunday outside the Azerbaijan Consulate in Brentwood seeking an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

At noon, the Armenian Youth Federation held a “Rally for Humanity” outside the Turkish Consulate at 8500 Wilshire Blvd., near La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills, themed “Remember the past, defend the future.”

Hundreds of people attended that rally, some holding signs reading “Sanction Turkey,” “Shame on Turkey” and “Turkish Denial Must End.”

Schools were closed Monday in the Los Angeles and Glendale unified school districts to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

The Los Angeles area is home to the largest population of Armenians in the world outside of Armenia itself.

The LAUSD Board of Education adopted a policy in 2020 to close schools on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Students and teachers in the Glendale

Unified School District have been given the day off on April 24 for Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day since the 2013-14 school year.

A bill establishing GenocideRemembrance Day as a state holiday to be observed on April 24 and permitting public schools and community colleges to close in observance of the holiday was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 29.

“Genocide commemoration is more than a history lesson. It is a powerful tool to engage people across generations in the sanctity of human rights, the enormity of crimes, and how to prevent future atrocities,” Newsom wrote in his signing message for AB 1801 by then-Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-North Hollywood.

Glendale conducted its 22nd annual Armenian GenocideCommemorative Event at the Alex Theatre, with the theme, “The Armenian Experience Through the Lens,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of Armenian cinema.

The program began with a tribute to the atrocities in the Nagorno Karabakh region in an attempt to raise awareness of humanitarian crises.

The event also included a preview of Armenia’s submission for the 2024 Oscars best international film category, “Aurora’s Sunrise,” an animated documentary based on the life of Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who after her escape became an actress in the United States.

The keynote address was delivered by actor Joe Manganiello, who discussed intergenerational trauma, drawing from his familial history and the story of his maternal great-grandmother,

Terviz “Rose” Darakijan, who survived the Armenian Genocide, organizers said.

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenianintellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople, leading to an estimated 1.5 million people being killed.

Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes Glendale which has a large population of Armenian Americans, strongly disputed that in a statement issued Monday.

“One hundred and eight years ago, the Ottoman Empire began a systematic effort to destroy the Armenian people,” Schiff said. “Despite the overwhelming evidence of this methodical mass killing, Turkey has long engaged in a campaign to deny the genocide and to silence those who would speak the truth.

“But the United States will no longer be silenced. In 2019, for the first time in history, the U.S. House passed my resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide by a near unanimous and bipartisan margin. The Senate too passed a resolution affirming the facts of the Armenian Genocide. And in 2021, President Joe Biden finally cast aside decades of shameful silence by our nation to become the first sitting U.S. president to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

... “On this solemn anniversary, as we pause to remember the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide, we also reflect on the resilience of those who survived, and the

perseverance of their children and grandchildren.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message to the Turkish people Monday, saying in part, “I remember with respect the Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives under the harsh conditions of the First World War and offer my condolences to their grandchildren. On this occasion, I wish Allah’s mercy upon all the Ottoman citizens who passed away due to the clashes, insurgencies as well as gang violence, and terrorist acts that occurred during the First World War.”

Erdogan added that “events of the past” should

not “overshadow our present and future.”

“We strive to establish an inclusive and embracing environment in (Turkey) where no one is marginalized and excluded because of their identity, faith and ethnicity,” Erdogan wrote. “Recognizing our differences as a source of richness, we will continue to work with the aim of friendship and peace in the coming period, despite those who attempt to politicize history.”

Biden also issued a statement Monday to mark what the White House billed as Armenian Remembrance Day.

“As we join nations around the world in remembering this

painful history, we also reflect on the resilience and resolve of the Armenian people,” Biden said. “So many of those who survived were forced to begin new lives in new lands — including the United States.

“Here and around the world, the Armenian people have met the evil of hate with hope. They rebuilt their communities. They nurtured their families and preserved their culture. They strengthened our nation. They also told their stories — and those of their ancestors — to remember and to ensure that genocide like the one that happened 108 years ago is never again repeated.”

Industry-based company to pay $500K fine over faulty dehumidifiers

By City News Service

Product Safety Act. The fine, along with provisions to pay restitution to victims, was part of a $91 million resolution with three related Gree companies that represented the first corporate criminal enforcement action ever brought under the CPSA, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

TheIndustry-based subsidiary of a Chinese appliancecompany was sentenced Monday to pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to failing to notify the U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission that millions of dehumidifiers sold to U.S. consumers were defective and could catch fire.

Gree USA Inc. pleaded guilty in January to a felony violation of the Consumer

Gree USA Inc.; Gree Electric Appliances Inc., an appliance manufacturer headquartered in Zhuhai, China; and Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co. Ltd. struck the deal with prosecutors to resolve criminal charges in federal court in Los Angeles.

The companies were charged with one felony count under the CPSA of willfully failing to report consumer product safety information to the commission. The companies will also provide restitution for any uncompensated victims of fires caused by the companies’ defective dehumidifiers, according to the Justice Department.

According to court filings, the companies knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet safety standards and could catch fire. But the companies only reported and recalled the dehumidifiers after consumer

complaints of fires.

“This corporation endangered the safety of American consumers by failing to promptly report a known problem with their defective humidifiers,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.

“Fortunately, authorities were able to stop this practice before Gree USA could cause greater harm. This historic case underscores our commitment to protect the public from dangerous products that could cause consumers real harm and to hold accountable corporate entities who knowing violate our laws in promotion of their

greed.”

Charley Loh, 64, of Arcadia, and Simon Chu, 67, of Chino Hills — respectively, the chief executive officer and chief administrative officer of Gree USA — were previously indicted on felony charges for their alleged roles in failing to report the defective dehumidifiers. Both have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in November.

According to court documents, the companies admitted selling more than 2 million dehumidifiers in the United States between 2007 and 2013. They also agreed to continue cooperating with federal prosecutors.

People fill the streets in Hollywood’s Little Armenia neighborhood for a rally to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. | Photo courtesy of Unified Young Armenians/Facebook

A recalled Gree USA humidifier caused this fire damage. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

New Los Angeles County Fire Department chief sworn in

By City News Service

Kidspace Summer Camp to bring National Parks to life

By staff

Anthony C. Marrone was officially sworn in as chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Monday after serving as interim chief since July 2022.

The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Feb. 28 to approve Marrone’s selection, despite opposition from several organizations, including the Women’s Fire League, L.A. County Stentorians and Los Bomberos de LA County, who pointed to what they described as systemic failures in the department to bolster diversity, create jobs and advancement opportunities for women and people of color.

The groups and others also blasted the Board of Supervisors, saying it failed to hold a thorough, transparent and fair search for a new chief.

Marrone committed to the board that he would work to continue efforts by his predecessor, Daryl Osby, to improve representation within the agency, “to make sure we can move the needle ... to be more inclusive of women and people of color, not only when hiring, but when promoting.”

He said that effort will begin by working to stabilize the department’s budget, which he said needs to be increased to provide a higher level of service. He also conceded the department

needs to be streamlined, with a reduction in the overall number of employees.

“I have a vision for the fire department that’s going to be more inclusive, but we really need to start with that foundational budget. We need to fix it,” he said.

Board members said they had confidence in Marrone’s ability to improve the makeup of the agency. Supervisor Holly Mitchell told Marrone the agency has had “a historic under-representation of people of color and women.”

“I heard you use the word equality, and I want to suggest the focus should be equity, given the historic underrepresentation,” she said.

Mitchell said she wants “to continue to make strong strides ahead in making sure the fire department is a representative department that reflects the diversity of LA County.”

“Please know that I will continue to collaborate with you and hold you accountable for those goals,” she said. “I fully expect that we make significant gains in that area.”

Marrone responded, “I will be intentional that I will move the needle forward toward more diversity in our fire department. There’s much more work that needs to be done.”

Marrone has been a member of the department for 37 years, including stints as deputy chief and acting chief deputy over business operations. He also led and managed the Leadership and Professional Standards Bureau, Special Services Bureau, Emergency Medical Services Bureau, East Regional Operations Bureau and Central Regional Operations Bureau.

Marrone will be paid $441,792 a year.

Kidspace Children’s Museum will host eight weeks of summer camp for children ages 5 to 8 years old on its 3.5-acre outdoor campus.

“We want kids to experience all those iconic moments of summer camp,” said Lisa Clements, Kidspace CEO. “If your child loves nature walks, arts and crafts, sing-alongs, and s’mores, they’ll love making new friends at Kidspace Summer Camp.”

Each week of camp will bring to life a different National Park with new camp mascots, trail names, and challenges, plus up-close experiences with live animals, water play days, and all the summer fun of Kidspace Museum. At the end of each week, families gather around the campfire to cheer on silly camper skits and sing along with some new favorite camp songs.

Weekly camps at Kidspace run from June 12-Aug. 11, except for the week of July 3. Sign up for one unforgettable week of camp, or for the full 8-week series. Camp is $575 per week for nonmembers and $550 per week for Kidspace members.

For more information and to register visit kidspace.org.

Judge asked to OK $3.5M accord for abused former special needs student

By City News Service

Ajudge is being asked to approve a $3.5 million settlement between the Los Angeles Unified School District and a former special needs student who alleged he was sexually abused and provided alcohol by a teacher’s aide whose job was to assist him getting to and from class during the 2018-19 school year.

The plaintiff is identified only as John Doe in the Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit filed in October 2020 against the district and teacher’s aide Alex Salas, alleging negligent supervision and retention of Salas and negligent supervision of a minor. The plaintiff dropped Salas as a defendant on Jan. 6.

The parties were in the middle of jury selection in January when attorneys informed Judge Huey Cotton that the case was

resolved. The same judge is now being asked to approve the settlement for the plaintiff, who is currently 20 years old and is a person with a disability.

In court papers filed April 20, lawyers for the plaintiff state that he “will continue to suffer emotional distress damages.”

Under the proposed accord, Doe will receive just over $2 million after attorneys’ fees and other expenses are deducted. A hearing on the petition was scheduled for last Thursday.

In their earlier court papers, attorneys for the school district argued that no district administrator or supervisor knew or should have known about Salas’ alleged abuse of Doe and further maintained that the district “took all reasonable measures to prevent this type of conduct from occurring, including establishing,

distributing and conducting training of all its staff to recognize, combat and report misconduct.”

The plaintiff attended Grant High School from 2017-20 and during the 2018-19 school year, the district assigned Salas to be a special education assistant for Doe, who was then 16.

Salas, who was in his 40s, rode on a school bus with Doe to and from school and was tasked with helping the plaintiff walk to and from the bus, the suit stated.

“Salas utilized his assignment as an assistant for plaintiff to begin grooming and conditioning plaintiff with the specific intent of manipulating plaintiff’s emotions and taking advantage of his young age so that he could ultimately sexually abuse him,” the suit alleged.

Salas began giving Doe extra attention, including touching him and asking the

plaintiff to kiss him while they traveled on the bus, the suit states. At school, Salas asked Doe to have lunch with him, according to the suit.

Salas also began giving Doe rides in his personal vehicle, where at times he touched Doe on his upper thighs, according to the suit.

Salas additionally drove Doe to get food and to the mall to buy the plaintiff gifts, the suit stated.

Salas also allegedly texted “flirtatious and sexually suggestive messages” to Doe. His alleged grooming and conditioning of Doe culminated in Salas taking

Doe to a Burbank motel where he ostensibly was to help him with his homework in private, according to the suit.

But on each of the four trips to the motel, Salas provided beer and hard liquor, then sexually abused him, the plaintiff alleged.

Anthony Marrone is sworn in as chief of the LA County Fire Department. | Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department/ Twitter

Summer Camp attendees. | Photo courtesy of Kidspace

| Photo by Freedomtumz/Envato Elements