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El Monte to get new Target store, fast food chains By Joe Taglieri
VOL. 10,
Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to subpoena Harlan Crow or Leonard Leo By Andy Kroll, ProPublica
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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. Series: Friends of the Court: SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors upreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ decadeslong friendship with real estate tycoon Harlan Crow and Samuel Alito’s luxury travel with billionaire Paul Singer have raised questions about influence and ethics at the nation's highest court. More than two months after authorizing subpoenas for key figures in the Supreme Court’s ethics controversies, Senate Democrats have yet to issue them. The delay has caused outside activists to demand that Democrats press ahead with their investigation. On Nov. 30, the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve subpoenas for Republican donor Harlan Crow and conservative legal activist Leonard Leo after the two men had refused to voluntarily provide all the information requested by the committee about gifts for Supreme Court justices. “Both Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow are central players in this crisis,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said at the time. “Their attempts to thwart legitimate oversight efforts of Congress should concern all of us.” But in an interview last week, Durbin told ProPublica that he had not yet issued the subpoenas to Crow and Leo. Questioned about the timing or what issues remained to be worked out, he said only: “Still working on it.” The decision to authorize subpoenas came in response to stories by ProPublica that detailed how, for decades, Crow had paid for lavish vacations for Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2014, Crow purchased Thomas’ mother’s home in Georgia. Crow even paid private school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew, whom the justice said he was raising “as a son.” Thomas did not disclose the vacations, real estate purchase and tuition assistance on his annual financial disclosure forms. After ProPublica’s reporting, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever ethics code, though it’s not clear if and how it will be enforced. Thomas has said that he did not need to disclose the free vacations and that he didn’t report the real estate sale because he misunderstood the rules. Crow has said he has never tried to influence Thomas on any matters. ProPublica also revealed that Leo, the influential lawyer and Federalist Society co-chairman, arranged a luxury fishing trip to Alaska for Justice Samuel Alito in July 2008
S | Image courtesy of the city of El Monte
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l Monte residents can expect several new local retail options starting this year, including a Target store set to open in October. Fast food chains including In-N-Out Burger, Chickfil-A, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers and Starbucks also have agreed throughout the past year to add locations in El Monte. The new Target is currently under construction and will occupy the former Sears Outlet and two adjacent vacant retail buildings at 3610 Peck Road, El Monte officials said in a statement. The new retail store will total 127,879 square feet and have parking for 372 vehicles. Officials anticipate tenants inside the Target complex will include Target Optical, CVS Pharmacy, Starbucks and Ulta Beauty. A forthcoming Chickfil-A at 3340 Santa Anita
Ave. will total 851 square feet with 98 indoor seats and 44 outdoor patio seats, along with a drive-thru that can accommodate up to 29 vehicles. The project's construction and eventual retail staffing was expected to provide up to 120 full-time and part-time jobs, city officials said. The El Monte Center Drive-Thru Redevelopment project features three fastfood chains, In-N-Out, Starbucks and Raising Cane's, that are set to open at 3748 Peck Road. Plans for the project, which will be heard as part of a public hearing within the next 5 months, include updating the site's landscaping and adding outdoor seating areas and green spaces to enhance the dining environment for customers, according to the city. "The City anticipates that upon completion of
all these projects, they will collectively generate between $537,000 to $791,000 in annual sales tax," said City Manager Alma Martinez, who provided the following sales tax estimates and project time frames: Chick-Fil-A, opening spring 2024, estimated annual sales tax: $67,000-$133,000; Target, opening fall 2024, estimated annual sales tax: $344,000-$477,000; In-N-Out breaking ground 2025, estimated annual sales tax: $64,000-$80,000; Raising Cane's, breaking ground 2025, estimated annual sales tax:$59,000-$96,000; and Starbucks, breaking ground 2025, estimated annual sales tax: $3,000-$5,000 "Our residents have been asking for a big box retailer and additional quick service restaurant options in the city, and we are fortunate that these projects are See El Monte Page 32
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coming to fruition without opposition," Martinez said. "These businesses will not only create employment opportunities for our residents but also generate sales tax revenue to support vital public services. In addition, they will significantly enhance the shopping and dining options available in our City, contributing to an improved quality of life for our community." Against the backdrop of these new retail additions to the local economic landscape, El Monte officials highlighted the city's "business-friendly" governance. "The City of El Monte has prioritized businessfriendly policies attracting new commercial and retail businesses," Martinez said, noting the El Monte Business Resource Center that serves as a "concierge" of sorts to existing and
See Senate Judiciary Page 18