Arcadia Weekly_6/16/2025

Bass, mayors call on Trump to stop raids amid war of words over immigration enforcement

By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com

As unrest continued in downtown Los Angeles, more than 20 mayors from cities across Southern California including LA Mayor Karen Bass called for President Donald Trump to stop federal immigration enforcement raids in the region.

Six days into protests that followed the raids, Bass again blamed the Trump administration for provoking the demonstrations that started peacefully but turned violent and destructive.

“A week ago, everything was peaceful in the city of Los Angeles, and in all of the representatives behind me,

in their cities as well,” Bass said during a news conference Wednesday. “Things began to be difficult on Friday when raids took place.”

The motive behind the immigration enforcement operation remained unclear, Bass added.

“Maybe we are part of a national experiment to determine how far the federal government can go, reaching in and taking over power from a governor, power from a jurisdiction, and frankly, leaving our city and our citizens, our residents in fear,” Bass said.

She took issue with the locations chosen for the raids

— Home Depot stores, day labor centers and garment industry sites, some of which were in close proximity to schools.

“When you run armored caravans throughout streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe,” Bass said.

“You’re trying to cause fear and panic, and when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary.”

The mayor said the Trump Administration is not targeting criminals, but everyday Angelenos trying to make a

living.

Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons said the “proud tight-knit community ... has been deeply shaken by recent events. In the last few days, our residents have faced loss, uncertainty and fear for many in our city. This has been one of the most devastating moments in recent memory.”

Lemons said Paramount officials have launched efforts to support affected families.

The Paramount City Council established a fund to assist immigrant households.

Tuesday court hearing set on control of National Guard troops

Afederal court hearing is set for Tuesday to determine who is in charge of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles.

Until then, the troops will remain under the guidance of President Donald Trump, who federalized and deployed them late Saturday amid community demonstrations against ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the L.A. area.

On Thursday, a federal judge ordered Trump to return control to Gov. Gavin Newsom following a hearing in which the jurist expressed doubt about the president’s claims that civil unrest in downtown Los Angeles needed to be met with military force.

In a written ruling following an emergency court hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer wrote that Trump’s actions did not follow congressionally mandated procedure.

“His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the judge wrote. “He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”

Hours later, Breyer’s ruling was stayed by a three-

OUR 2025 SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

judge appellate panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in response to a Trump administration notice of appeal.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held an eventful news conference in West L.A. to discuss ongoing ICE operations in the Los Angeles area and declare “We are not going away,” moments before Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was forcibly removed, forced onto a hallway floor and placed in handcuffs.

The rough treatment of Padilla was widely condemned, including by Newsom who called it “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful” and by Mayor Karen Bass who labeled it “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.”

Thursday’s dramatic events came as tensions sparked by immigration enforcement and the resulting protests in the L.A. area remained heightened — with a dusk-to-dawn downtown curfew still in effect, leading to a reduction in confrontations with police — though arrests continued to mount.

While most of the protests have been concentrated near the federal Metropolitan Detention Center downtown and the nearby federal building and City Hall, smaller, scattered protests were held this

Police form a line to move protesters on the 110 Freeway in downtown LA after immigration raids sparked unrest. | Photo courtesy of Homeland Security/X

Orange County supervisors Tuesday signaled their support for a proposed $10.8 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year with some minor changes, including a boost in the budget of each supervisor

The annual budget is about $1.2 billion more than the current fiscal year's spending plan.

The general fund budget, which offers the most flexibility, is projected at $5.4 billion, up from the current fiscal year's $4.8 billion. The remainder of the budget is generally restricted by law, limiting the county's ability to adjust how those funds are used.

Orange County board Vice Chairwoman Katrina Foley and Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said they were pleased the county received a state grant to fund a program that would boost the District Attorney's Office's attempts to prevent wage theft.

Sarmiento said it was important "especially for victims in the immigrant community."

District Attorney Todd Spitzer told the supervisor he was "very offended by the fact that we have to have this program," and added "it may not be a more important time" when some undocumented immigrants face deportation in steppedup enforcement actions from the federal government.

Spitzer said some employers are reducing wages with threats of deportation to guarantee the silence of laborers.

"It is immoral, flagrant and it is abusive," Spitzer said.

"What I'm worried about today is workers (who) are threatened with wage loss because of their status will be very difficult to use as witnesses," Spitzer said. "My office will need your help as well to ensure we can properly enforce these laws because these workers are presently intimidated."

Spitzer said his office will "expedite" applications for residency for crime victims.

Spitzer added that his office will also pay close

OC board signals support for $10.8B budget

attention to excessive force as demonstrations against the enforcement actions escalate.

"All of the officers and all of law enforcement need to use very, very good judgment in this very difficult time," Spitzer said. "They need to know that just because there are certain messages coming from Washington that doesn't mean they get to use excessive force. I'm deeply monitoring that."

Spitzer also advised protesters to avoid resorting to violence.

"I hope it's a concern to all of us that people can demonstrate peacefully," he said. "Law enforcement has the same responsibility to be responsible."

Sarmiento praised Spitzer's comments.

"I want to thank the District Attorney for the comments he just made - - it's important for the public to understand there is a balance. We don't want people to destroy public property, but at the same time we want to make sure we remind our officers at every level to exercise restraint and good judgment. We want to make sure we protect (the demonstrators)," Sarmiento said.

Supervisor Janet Nguyen made a motion to increase the budget of each supervisor office by $145,035.

When the budget was unveiled last month, Supervisor Don Wagner acknowledged the spending plan was inching up and blamed it on various new state mandates.

"We have enormous new mandates from (the state) legislature to deal with, issues from the court, so it's a frustration. Yes, it's bigger than last year. I won't defend that. But that is in the inevitable way of government budgets everywhere, and I wish we could get a handle on it. Everything is more expensive."

Foley said revenue has just not kept up with the new expenses.

The new mandates include programs for social services, security in courtrooms, healthcare,

By Paul Anderson, City News Service

and ongoing reviews of old murder convictions that might qualify to be overturned due to new state laws, Foley said.

The county expects $1.2 billion in general purpose funds, an increase of $78.5 million, largely due to a $72.1 million rise in property tax revenue.

Revenue from the half-cent tax to fund law enforcement from Prop. 172 is down 2.5% this year compared to last fiscal year, officials said. The estimated revenue is $427.6 million, with $342.1 million allocated to the Orange County Sheriff's Department and $85.5 million to the District Attorney's Office.

That decrease isn't as bad as was expected, Foley said.

"We were at 5% (decrease) so that means we improved in our sales tax," Foley said last month. "When we shop local, when we buy from our local stores, retailers and not online, those dollars stay in our local market and that helps us fund public protection."

The Prop. 172 revenue decrease is bad timing, Wagner noted.

"The 172 revenue is down but the demands on law enforcement, the public defender and D.A. are increasing, so it is a challenge to continue to provide the level of support ... without making cuts in other places," Wagner said. "So we've been very clear with department heads that belt tightening has to happen, which has been happening."

County officials are also keeping an eye on the federal government and the impacts a new tax-cut bill and tariffs will have on the economy. Foley said there are reports that car sales, for instance, have slowed down due to tariffs.

The county is expected to receive $27.5 million from "realignment revenues" over last year for a total of $945 million. Of that, $266.4 million is budgeted for health, mental health and social services, $666.7 million for public safety and social services and

$11.4 million for juvenile criminal justice.

The county is planning to eliminate 163 jobs by not filling vacant positions, although department heads may attempt to restore some of those cuts. For instance, officials from the District Attorney's Office recently met with county leaders about the upcoming budget, Wagner said.

"They were asking we take a hard look at the positions that were frozen and see if there's relief there," Wagner said.

The county can hire back some retired employees on a part-time basis but only for about six months or so, Wagner said.

"If the legislature wants to give us relief from that then that would help," Wagner said of the pension restrictions that prohibit longer tenures for returning employees.

One looming financial concern is the Airport Fire and the series of legal claims that blame the county's Public Works Department for its ignition.

"We are reserving some money" to prepare, Wagner said. "We are perhaps being a bit more frugal with restoring augmentations than we'd like to because that money we're going to need to make (legal claim)

payments. It's not a great big bill due immediately, but over several years now, and we are planning accordingly. This budget and next will be tight. We've made no secret about that."

Last month, Orange County CEO Michelle Aguirre said officials have transferred funds from other county departments to pay for legal claims.

"The intent of that is to provide us with flexibility ... as we continue to mediate with claimants," Aguirre told reporters on a conference call last month. "We want to make settlements in good faith. If we have a need to make internal borrowings that's what it's there for."

It's unclear how much the county will need for the claims, she said.

"The claimants have not provided us with all of the details related to their claims," she said. "We don't have a specific idea on how much that will cost us."

Aguirre also noted that the state continues to return the least amount of money in taxes back to Orange County.

San Diego County, for instance, receives "more than double what Orange County receives, so we have to be very strategic and plan well ahead to manage the budget."

Orange County Chief Financial Officer Kim Engleby said this year's spending plan was "one of the most difficult and problematic in many years."

But, she added, "We've been through other challenging times since the Great Recession and COVID-19... We know what to do."

Some projects included in this year's budget are a revamping of the Juvenile Hall campus and efforts to create services to help those released from jail or aging out of foster care have shelter and training to re-enter the workforce, Engleby said. A workforce entry center will be developed at the former animal care site, she said.

The workforce re-entry site will have a retail and dining businesses to help participants get on-the-job training, she said.

"And it will have housing for about 50 people who participate in the program," she said.

Aguirre added, "The goal is to also address our homeless population," because many of the people exiting jail have trouble finding shelter.

The re-entry centers can also serve as shelter for longterm transients who finally want to get off the streets, she said.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

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EPA drops legal case against the GEO Group, a major Trump donor, over its misuse of harmful disinfectant in an ICE facility

By Sharon Lerner and Lisa Song, ProPublica

TheEnvironmental ProtectionAgency has withdrawn a legal complaint filed last year against the GEO Group, a major donor to President Donald Trump that has more than $1 billion in contracts with the administration to run private prisons and ICE detention facilities.

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Theadministrative complaint, which the EPA filed last June under the Bidenadministration, involved the GEO Group’s use of a disinfectant called Halt at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in California. The EPA regulates the product, which causes irreversible eye damage and skin burns, according to its label. By law, users are supposed to use goggles or a face shield, chemical resistant gloves and protective clothing.

But on more than 1,000 occasions in 2022 and 2023, the GEO group had its employees use the disinfectant without proper protections, the EPA complaint alleged. The agency alleged that GEO Group’s employees wore nitrile exam gloves that were labeled “extra soft” and “not intended for use as a general chemical barrier.” In a separate, pending lawsuit, people who were detained at the detention center alleged they were sickened by the company’s liberal use of a different disinfectant.

A hearing had yet to be scheduled before an administrative law judge. The maximum penalty for the company’s alleged misuse of Halt is more than $4 million. But a notice filed on June 6 by Matthew Salazar, a manager in the EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, stated that the EPA’s case against the GEO Group would be dropped. The notice did not provide an explanation.

“This is a complete surrender,” said Gary Jonesi, an attorney who worked at the EPA for almost 40 years. “If this is not due to political intervention on behalf of an early and large Trump donor who stands to gain from managing ICE detention facilities and private prisons, then surely it is at least partly due to the intimidation that career staff feel in an environment when federal employees are being

fired and reassigned to undesirable tasks and locations.”

A spokesperson for the White House said that the GEO Group has “provided services to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for several decades” and has been a major federal contractor for many years. The spokesperson did not say whether the White House played a role in the decision to withdraw the complaint but referred ProPublica to the EPA.

The EPA said in an email that, “As a matter of longstanding practice, EPA does not comment on litigation.” The GEO Group didn’t respond to questions from ProPublica. In a filing in response to the EPA’s complaint, the GEO Group admitted that its employees used Halt but said that the disinfectant “was applied in a manner consistent with its label at all times and locations.” The company also wrote in its court filing that the gloves its employees used are chemically resistant and offered appropriate protection.

The GEO Group has had close ties to the Trump administration. Pam Bondi, Trump’s attorney general, was a lobbyist for the company in 2019. The attorney general “is in full compliance with all ethical guidance,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said in an email.

The firm was the first corporation whose political action committee “maxed out” on contributions to Trump’s presidential campaign. A subsidiary company, GEO Acquisition II, also gave $1 million to

the pro-Trump PAC Make America Great Again. The GEO Group, its PAC and individuals affiliated with the company collectively contributed $3.7 million to candidates and political committees in the 2024 election cycle, compared with $2.7 million in 2020, according to OpenSecrets, an independent group that tracks money in politics. They donated overwhelmingly to Republicans: In every election cycle since 2016, at least 87% of their donations to federal candidates went to Republicans.

Data from the Federal Election Commission shows that George C. Zoley, the founder of the GEO Group, donated $50,000 in 2023 to a joint fundraising committee to support Republican efforts to maintain a majority in the House of Representatives. Zoley gave the maximum amount allowed for an individual per election at the time, $3,300, to Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s primary and general election campaigns in 2024.

The GEO group regularly and liberally sprayed disinfectants in the ICE facility, according to both the EPA complaint and a separate civil suit filed on behalf of Adelanto detainees. The EPA complaint did not state whether employees were harmed by the pesticide; it accused the company of inappropriately handling the pesticide.

The separate lawsuit, filed by the Social Justice Legal Foundation, alleges that Adelanto detainees were sickened by the use of a different disinfectant

product, HDQ Neutral, made by the same company. “Various Plaintiffs had nosebleeds or found blood in their mouth and saliva. Others had debilitating headaches or felt dizzy and lightheaded,” the lawsuit stated. “GEO staff sprayed when people were eating, and the chemical mist would fall on their food. GEO staff sprayed at night, on or around the bunk beds and cells where people slept. And on at least one occasion, GEO staff sprayed individuals as a disciplinary measure.”

That lawsuit is still pending. The allegations echo a warning letter the EPA previously sent the company accusing the GEO Group of improperly using HDQ Neutral. That letter cited complaints from detainees at Adelanto who suffered “difficulty breathing,” “lung pain” and skin rashes from the disinfectant. The pesticide was sprayed onto bedding and inside microwaves, the EPA said. The GEO Group has told reporters that it rejects allegations that it’s using harmful chemicals, and that it follows the manufacturer’s instructions. In a court filing, the company said any problems alleged by the EPA “were the result of the declared national emergency concerning COVID-19.” A judge ordered ICE to stop using HDQ Neutral in 2020. The GEO Group began using Halt “on or about” March 2022, according to the EPA complaint.

Pratheek Rebala contributed reporting. Republished with Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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.

The headquarters of the GEO Group in Boca Raton, Florida. | Photo b y Eflatmajor7th – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores said condemned what he called “fear-based tactics” targeting immigrant communities.

“Our communities are not battlegrounds — deploying military forces and conducting militarized ICE raids in immigrant neighborhoods is not about public safety,” Flores said. “It is about political theater that is rooted in fear. It threatens families, traumatizes children and corrodes the foundation trust between local government and the people that we serve.”

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis spoke out Wednesday against raids in her district.

“My office received reports of immigration enforcement activity in Boyle Heights involving a deeply disturbing incident: two unmarked vehicles, believed to be operated by ICE agents, crashed into a civilian car with two children inside. Video footage shows agents deploying tear gas and forcefully apprehending an individual.”

Solis said her office received reports of additional raids in East Los Angeles near Salazar Park, in the city of Baldwin Park and other areas of the San Gabriel Valley, unincorporated West Puente Valley and Whittier Narrows.

“We are strong and resilient, but no one should have to live under the constant threat and of militarized raids, racial profiling, and family separation,” Solis said. “Los Angeles County will not stand by. I will not stand by. As Governor Gavin Newsom said, we cannot be complicit.”

Protests have been occurring daily in downtown LA area and other parts of the county since Friday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted a series of enforcement operations and took dozens of people into custody.

Trump initially federalized 2,000 California National Guard troops and ordered them to Los Angeles. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Bass and other officials condemned the move, saying it would stoke tensions and provoke further unrest.

On Monday, Trump ordered another 2,000 National Guard troops and deployed 700 U.S. Marines to help protect federal facilities and personnel. The military mobilization is expected to cost about $134 million, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

Trump has insisted that his deployment of the

Raids

National Guard saved the city of Los Angeles.

“If I didn’t ‘send in the troops’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great city would be burning to the ground right now,” he posted on social media, adding that Newsom and Bass were “incompetent.”

As the aftermath of the weekend raids and ongoing protests set in, the war of words between state and local officials and the White House escalated Tuesday, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump trading barbs and the House Speaker calling for Newsom to be “tarred and feathered.”

Trump repeated his assertion that his deployment of California National Guard troops to Los Angeles saved the city from “burning,” although those troops were not actively engaged in quelling protests or violence in the streets over the past four nights.

“If we didn’t send the National Guard, and last night we gave them a little additional help, Los Angeles would be burning right now,” the president said during an Oval Office press conference. “Los Angeles would be not a lot different than what you saw take place in California in Los Angeles just a little while ago,” he said, referring to the January wildfires.

He added that the city is set to host the 2028 Olympics, “and we don’t want people looking at Los Angeles like it would have been. It would have been bad.”

Trump also claimed that he called Newsom “a day ago” and told him “he’s got to do a better job.”

“He’s done a bad job,

causing a lot of death, a lot of potential death,” Trump said, although no deaths have been attributed to the protests against the ICE raids.

Newsom swiftly replied on X, “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a president deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, also took aim at Newsom on Tuesday, declining to say whether the governor should be arrested, but saying, “He ought to be tarred and feathered, I’ll say that.”

“Look, he’s standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law,” Johnson said. “He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He is a participant, an accomplice in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected but assaulted. This is a serious problem.”

Newsom responded on X, “Good to know we’re skipping the arrest and going straight to the 1700s style forms of punishment. A fitting threat given the @GOP want to bring our country back to the 18th Century.”

On Sunday, ICE Acting Director Tom Homan suggested Newsom and other officials could face arrest if they impede federal enforcement operations. ICE retreated from that hardline stance, however, saying Homan was not threatening to arrest Newsom.

But on Monday, Trump told reporters he would support Homan arresting the governor.

“I think it’s great,” Trump said. “Gavin likes the publicity. … He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows.”

On MSNBC over the weekend, Newsom retorted: “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy, you know? I don’t give a damn. But I care about my community. I care about this community. … These guys need to grow up. They need to stop, and we need to push back. And I’m sorry, to be so clear, but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”

In an interview with CBS Evening News, Homan said, “Well, that whole thing’s been taken out of context. They haven’t crossed a line yet, but like any other U.S. citizen if you cross that line I don’t care who they are.

The governor, the mayor, whatever — when you commit a crime against ICE officers, we will seek prosecution. …

“There’s no intention to arrest the governor right now,” Homan said. “I don’t know if he crossed that line.”

On Monday night, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called out Newsom on the governor’s assertion that LA “didn’t have a problem” until Trump got involved and deployed the military.

“Your state is a criminal sanctuary for millions of illegal alien invaders, cartel killers, foreign terrorists, transnational gangs and insurrectionist mobs,” Miller posted on social media. “Huge swaths of the city where I was born now resemble failed third world

migrants are being held under are nothing more than inhumane,” Torres said.

“This is no longer about immigration policy, it is about human dignity and the rule of law,” she said. “We are witnessing ICE ignoring federal laws designed to protect families. We are also seeing people going missing, families being torn apart and even American citizens being detained.”

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, said he was also denied access to an immigration facility, and he condemned the deployment of the National Guard to the city, saying such a move can’t be made unless requested by the governor.

nations. A ruptured, balkanized society of strangers.

When our courageous ICE officers, fighting to rescue your communities, came under violent organized attack you and the L.A. mayor left them, unforgivably, to fend for themselves. When the rioters swarmed, you handed over your streets, willingly. You still refuse to arrest and prosecute the arsonists, seditionists and insurrectionists. This Administration is fighting to save the city and the citizens you have left to struggle and suffer.”

Newsom countered with a Tuesday morning post, “The only people defending insurrectionists are you and (Trump). Or are we pretending like you didn’t pardon 1,500 of them?” Newsom was referring to the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters who Trump pardoned earlier this year.

Members of the Southern California Democratic congressional delegation on Tuesday accused federal authorities illegally conducting raids that led to the days of protests.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario and a former LA-area 911 dispatcher, accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of “indiscriminately” carrying out “violent raids in California and illegally detaining people without warrants.”

She and other congressional representatives called for an end to the immigration activity in the area. They also accused ICE officials of denying members of Congress their legal right to inspect immigration enforcement facilities in the Los Angeles area.

“The conditions that we have been told these

Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, issued a statement calling the Marine deployment “an astounding overreach of authoritarian power.”

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was critical of the governor, who is termed out of office this year.

“This is Governor Newsom’s lawless California,” Bianco posted on Facebook. “His pro-criminal government is failing Californians. We deserve better.” Bianco, who is running for governor, urged Newsom to “put his phone down … and be quiet because he is doing nothing but fueling this process,” the sheriff told the New York Post.

“He needs to stay out of the way of law enforcement,” Bianco said. “He knows nothing about this. He knows absolutely nothing about the enforcement of law. He despises the enforcement of law, and he has encouraged this.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Temecula, has called for a congressional investigation after public reports that the LAPD took more than two hours to respond after protests materialized and demonstrators tried to prevent federal agents from carrying out their enforcement operation.

“We need to know if the political leadership of the city of Los Angeles, the state of California or anyone else instructed the LAPD to stand down and not respond to the emergency requests of our ICE agents who were under attack by rioters determined to block them, burn them, or even kill them as they bravely carried out their sworn duties,” Issa said in a statement.

“Enough is enough,” he added. “Congress can’t look away as our cities burn, our federal agents are assaulted and the laws of our country go unenforced.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and mayors from more than 20 cities call for an end to ICE raids. | Photo courtesy of Mayor Karen Bass/X

CA makers of compostable packaging call for state, federal policy changes

By Suzanne Potter, Producer, Public News Service

California companies making compostable packaging materials said their products could make a huge dent in the problem of plastic pollution but only with changes to state and federal policy.

California passed Senate Bill 54 in 2022. It requires single-use packaging and plastic foodware to be either recyclable or compostable by 2032. The issue is with a companion bill, Assembly Bill 1201, which said compostable materials must be certified organic.

John Felts, cofounder and CEO of Santa Cruz-based Cruz Foam, which makes compostable packaging foam from food waste, said the requirement is a tall order.

“The idea that all compostable packaging would have to comply, would effectively remove compostable packaging from being viable,” Felts explained. “The cost, the tracking, making a fully certified organic packaging material is nearly impossible.”

The organic requirement is set to go into effect Jan. 1, but negotiations are underway in Sacramento to delay implementation, a move also supported by the plastics industry. Environmental advocates said plastic waste is choking the planet, disrupting marine ecosystems, and endangering human health, so recycling, reusable containers and compostable packaging are key.

It is estimated 40% of plastic produced today is used to make packaging, much of which is used once.

Julia Marsh, cofounder and CEO of San Leandro-based Sway, which uses seaweed to make flexible packaging, said plastic use is only increasing.

“About 5 trillion bags, wrappers and pouches are produced every year; 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year,” Marsh pointed out. “That number is expected to triple by 2040, if production rates continue as is.”

Advocates would also like the National Organic Program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to broaden the term “organic” to include certified compostable materials.

Compostable packaging made from seaweed or food waste is a more sustainable alternative to plastic wrappers and foam. | Photo courtesy of Sway

Experts examine ethics of lethal animal population control in CA

By Amy McDermott

for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Pulitzer Center-Public News Service Collaboration.

Wildlifebiologist

David Wiens was extremely nervous the first time he shot an owl. He steadied himself in the evening darkness of an Oregon fire road, pointed his shotgun at a big barred owl perched on a stump, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened; the gun’s safety was still on. “I had to completely recollect myself,” he recalls. “The bird just stayed there.” Wiens thought back to the months of firearm training preparing him for this moment, resettled the gun’s viewfinder on the owl, then pulled the trigger.

Wiens, who works for the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Corvallis, is head biologist of a six-year experiment culling barred owls from areas of Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. Researchers wanted to know if removing barred owls would help another species, the threatened spotted owl, survive.

Management methods that involve killing animals are called lethal control. It’s often assumed that reducing the population of one species will help another survive-for instance, killing invasives to protect natives, or culling predators to benefit livestock. Millions of animals are destroyed by lethal control every year in the United States, including coyotes, raccoons, feral cats, prairie dogs, bears, and mountain lions.

Deciding which animals should live or die is not so clear-cut, and context matters. For example, the barred owl is native to North America but expanded beyond its historical range alongside human development. Are they invasive? It depends on whom you ask. Search the literature, and you’ll see trade-offs and ethical distinctions between killing invasive species to protect natives and killing native predators, such as wolves and mountain lions, to benefit ranchers.

In general, the public is more comfortable killing exotic, invasive species (think: pythons in the Everglades) than with killing native predators, such as wolves or coyotes, explains wildlife biologist Rachael Urbanek at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Still, the core question is the same: Is there evidence that killing effectively manages populations? The answers differ case to case, she says.

And then there’s the core ethical quandary: Even if lethal control can work, is it

the right thing to do? What if you can only guarantee it will work for a few years?

How do you value one animal over another? Those questions fuel a heated debate, which simmers ever hotter as public attitudes about animal welfare evolve. Values, as much as data, are likely to determine whether governments and communities abide lethal control as a policy.

Frontier Origins

Wiens had never fired a gun before training for this experiment. Killing any bird of prey ran counter to his ecology education before the study. “Every time I went out there to do it, it was extremely difficult,” he says. But Wiens believes that to maintain biodiversity, lethal control has become “more and more necessary,” particularly in the case of invasive species.

Others disagree. “I don’t think you can find any research that does adequately demonstrate that lethal control works,” says William Lynn, an ethicist in the Marsh Institute at Clark University in Massachusetts and the founder of PAN Works, an animal ethics think tank. The US Fish and Wildlife Service hired Lynn 15 years ago to lead a stakeholder group (which included conservation organizations and timber industry representatives) to discuss ethical concerns about the planned barred owl removal experiment in the Pacific Northwest (1, 2). Many participants said they valued the owls’ lives and recoiled at the thought of routine killing. The owl case is one of the most meticulously studied. Barred owls, native to eastern

North America, have spread west over the last century (an expansion unintentionally facilitated by humans) and are now encroaching on the last western old-growth forests where threatened spotted owls roost. The hope is that by killing thousands of the encroachers, wildlife biologists can stabilize spotted owl populations.

The results of Wiens’ experiment are promising. After removing about 3,000 barred owls over a six-year period, the USGS team found that spotted owl populations stabilized (3). The US Fish and Wildlife Service now plans to conduct a scaled-up 30-year cull of barred owls, starting this year, based largely on the results of the experiment. As of early March, a number of lawmakers from multiple states encouraged the Trump administration to scrap the plan, citing high costs and dubious success.

It’s the latest salvo in a long history of efforts to kill in order to manage populations. The story of lethal control in the United States began on the Great Plains in the early 1800s, when European settlers decimated bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn populations, explains Brad Bergstrom, professor emeritus of vertebrate ecology at Valdosta State University in Georgia. Bergstrom chaired the Conservation Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists for nearly a decade. He authored a widely cited 2014 review on the history of lethal control in the United States, among other topical articles (4, 5).

What happened, Berg-

strom says, is that starving wolves, bears, pumas, and other predators turned to cattle as prey. The US government responded with a program of shooting and trapping predators to protect livestock. Its modern incarnation is Wildlife Services, an agency within the US Department of Agriculture. “That’s how it started, and we’re still doing that,” Bergstrom says. Perception vs Reality

The Department of Wildlife Services is still the federal agency largely tasked with lethal control. In 2023, the agency killed 1,454,324 animals, according to their annual report (6), including 24,603 beavers, whose dams are blamed for flooding (7); 18,916 double-crested cormorant birds, whose eating habits are ostensibly pressuring fisheries (8); and 68,562 coyotes, which raise concerns about killing farm animals and pets, though there’s little evidence that killing carnivores protects livestock (9).

“I think Wildlife Services has gotten a lot of negative media attention over many decades,” Urbanek says. Much of it is undeserved, in her opinion. The agency’s attitude certainly isn’t “have at it-let’s kill them all!” Wildlife Services studies nonlethal methods as well, she notes, whether directed at deer-car collisions or bird-airplane collisions.

Often, a government agency engages in lethal control-for instance, with coyotes-because of a public outcry, Urbanek says. “It’s a social carrying capacity,” she says. People start noticing more coyotes, eventually feel there are too many, and

What does the science say? The answers and the caveats vary, case by case.

Consider the Blanding’s turtle, a northeastern species that’s endangered in some states due to habitat loss and the pet trade. “These guys are adorable and a really friendly turtle,” Urbanek says. People tend to poach them as pets. In 2013, the Lake County Forest Preserve District was monitoring the turtles at two nature preserves on the IllinoisWisconsin border and had two healthy populations left. The district was actively taking eggs from nests and handraising them, then releasing the young turtles back into the wild to give them a head start. But raccoons and other predators often discovered the nests and dug them up.

then complain to their local government, which can go to state agencies or Wildlife Services to intervene and neutralize the perceived threat. In Wilmington, where Urbanek lives, and where both human and coyote populations have grown in recent decades, “we don’t want to get to that point,” she says.

So, in 2023, she published survey results that gauged public attitudes toward the growing coyote population (10). The survey quizzed residents on their knowledge of normal coyote behavior and asked how the county should spend tax money-whether on coyote lethal control, public education about coyotes, or other measures. Only 11% of respondents said they’d had aggressive encounters with coyotes. Many of those stories came from wary people who saw a coyote nearby and felt threatened, Urbanek says. Most respondents supported spending tax dollars on public education over culling, except in cases of coyote attacks.

Urbanek says the survey, by highlighting the role of education, is helping Wilmington get ahead of a widespread fearful response that might lead to lethal control.

Wilmington’s parks and gardens have since begun a series of coyote education events. To keep humans and pets safe, Urbanek says she teaches hazing: “Getting an empty soda can, putting coins or rocks in it, taping it shut, and shaking it.” Coyotes run off at the noise.

Silver Bullets

The district asked Urbanek’s lab to see if culling raccoons before nesting season would help, by creating a window of time when the nests went undisturbed before the predators moved back in (11).

Her team trapped and killed 45 raccoons from the 2-square-kilometer study area in spring 2013, reducing raccoon population density by about 90%. Because raccoons can carry rabies, they couldn’t legally be relocated. In the nesting season that followed, only one of seven, or 14%, of monitored Blanding’s turtle nests was attacked and partially eaten.

The next year, though, the researchers repeated the experiment by culling 33 raccoons. This time, 9 of 15 turtle nests, or 60%, were attacked. Foxes, opossums, and skunks had likely moved in on the food source with the raccoons gone.

Urbanek’s conclusion: Predator management, especially for threatened species, “can help to some degree”after all, there was a boost for the Blanding’s turtle nests in 2013. But in general, the two-year study showed that “predator management is not the panacea,” she says. Killing the raccoons didn’t save the turtles long-term.

Maybe if the team had killed foxes, skunks, opossums, and raccoons every year, they’d have seen a lasting impact. Then again, maybe not. There are communities on North Carolina’s barrier islands that hire trappers to take foxes, raccoons, and coyotes, in hopes of helping endangered sea turtle nests.

Photo by Zach Key on Unsplash

In those cases, Urbanek says, predators “move back quickly, even across the water.”

Borne on Brown Wings

But it’s the case of the barred and spotted owls that’s received the most public attention of late-and spurred the most vocal controversy.

In this tale of two owls, the barred is larger, territorially competitive, and better at living alongside people.

The northern spotted owl, by contrast, only lives in the oldgrowth forests of the Pacific Northwest and northern California, roosting in the cracked trunks of old conifers.

The northern spotted owl has been a fiercely beloved mascot of the Northwest since 1990, when its listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act gave teeth to forest protection efforts. These two owls have been on a collision course since around 1900, Wiens says, when European settlers planted trees on the Great Plains. Barred owls probably used those trees to hopscotch their way west from their native eastern forests. Since the 1960s, they’ve arrived in the Northwest, where they’re outcompeting the spotted owls for nesting hollows and food.

In response, the US Fish and Wildlife Service developed the removal experiment, killing some 3,100 barred owls over six years in areas of Oregon, Washington, and Northern California, to test if their removal would slow, stop, or reverse spotted owl declines. It did seem to help. Spotted owl numbers stopped crashing at the treatment sites-though, notably, their populations didn’t grow either. Populations leveled out at a 0% rate of change. In control areas, spotted owls declined by an average of 12% per year. At one control site, there was a single owl left by the end of the study (3). Since those results were published in 2021, Fish and Wildlife has unveiled a strategy of more widespread barred owl killing to be deployed, up to the next 30 years, across Oregon, Washington, and California.

Although Wiens thinks the plan is necessary to save the spotted owl, he also sees potential issues. It’s been five years since his experiment, and at a decline rate of 12% annually, that leaves few spotted owls to save in places that already had small populations, such as Washington and northern Oregon. The larger spotted owl populations in Northern California and southern Oregon have been impacted heavily by barred owls recently, in the last 5-10 years, and culls should be effective there, he says.

Without implementing the strategy, and conserving

Animal population

old growth forest, Wiens says we’ll eventually see extinction of the northern spotted owl. But barred owls have wider impacts on other species as well. He found the bones of smaller pygmy and screech owls in the stomachs of barred owls during the experiment. And many of these smaller native owls are also competing with barred owls for the same small mammal prey. It’s never been just about northern spotted owls, he says; it requires “a more holistic view.”

Bergstrom calls the owl research “intricate” and “welldesigned” and says those attributes make it “the exception, not the rule” for cases of predator lethal control. But he would argue that a scaledup cull of barred owls only treats a symptom of habitat loss, not the habitat loss itself.

“Extreme habitat specialists are in trouble everywhere,” he says, “and the only long-term solution is to restore their habitat.”

Even if thousands of barred owls are shot, that won’t suddenly free spotted owls to expand beyond the tiny islands of habitat left to them. “I hate to say it, but I think the spotted owl is doomed,” Bergstrom says. “Because even if barred owl removal works, is it really going to be funded forever? Or for as long as it takes for the old-growth forests to grow back?”

Toward Value and Virtue

Some argue that lethal control has become so polarizing because it’s really more of a values debate than a scientific one. When is it OK to take the life of an animal, especially an intelligent one?

“While there are scientific questions in play...there is a more deep-seated controversy that stems from value differences,” which often go unacknowledged or underacknowledged, says interdisciplinary scientist Jeremy Bruskotter at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Questions about lethal control’s effectiveness are rarely separate from the more emotional quandary: Even if it works, “should we do it?” he says.

Bruskotter coauthored several recent studies suggesting that opinions on lethal control-and how we value wildlife in general-are changing. In a survey of 43,949 people across all 50 states, published in a series of papers (12-14), Bruskotter posed 19 questions about ideal relationships with wildlife and dozens of other questions to gauge public perceptions of wildlife-related issues.

For each question, participants read a statement, such as “the needs of humans should take priority over fish and wildlife protection,” and

then indicated their alignment on a scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”

Comparing those results to similar questions from earlier studies, as far back as 2004 and in 19 western states, attitudes had significantly shifted toward viewing animals as “morally relevant,” Bruskotter says, meaning deserving of care and compassion, as opposed to just a means to human ends. “People are demanding good answers for why animals should be killed,” he says. However, the results were not uniform across the West. The values shift was most pronounced in Utah, Nevada, and California, where more sympathetic views of animals had spread since 2004. But in the same analysis, more traditional views of animals as resources had expanded in 2 of the 19 states, Wyoming and North Dakota. Increasing disparities in public values state to state suggest one reason why disagreements over lethal control are getting more polarizing.

“Science is the surrogate for what is actually a values debate,” Bruskotter says. The relationships people wanted with wildlife even 10 years ago aren’t the relationships they say they want today.

“In the majority of cases, lethal control doesn’t do what people expect and want,” says ecologist Adrian Treves at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The field has become so polarized that researchers are entrenched in camps, he adds. “People have forgotten the lesson that when those scientific debates get so hot, that’s when we need more and better data,” Treves says.

There are at least ways to make killing more humane. In the case of the owls, Wiens’ study included protocols to take only clear shots at close range, using a special type of quiet gun barrel. “Usually, it was one shot, and that’s it, so it was very quick,” he says. The culled owls were physically intact and became museum specimens for future studies.

Ultimately, lethal control is a response to dilemmas humans have createdpoaching, habitat destruction, the spread of invasive species. “In our history as humans, we’ve moved animals and plants around to hunt them and eat them, or because they look pretty,” Urbanek says. “We are still playing that role and trying to fix that.”

Amy McDermott wrote this article for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Disney Co. and NBCUniversal sue AI image generator

By City News Service

TheDisneyCo.and NBCUniversal sued an artificial intelligence start-up Wednesday in Los Angeles, alleging in federal courtthatMidjourney illegally uses copyrighted works to create images that “blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters.”

The lawsuit alleges that Midjourney uses AI-generated characters from the studios’ “Star Wars,” “The Simpsons” and other titles, and claims that the company ignored requests to stop.

A message sent to San Francisco-based Midjourney seeking comment was not immediately answered.

Disney and Universal are considered the first major Hollywood studios to file copyright infringement lawsuits against an AI imagegenerating service.

“Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” according to the suit.

The Hollywood companies contend they sent cease-anddesist letters to Midjourney seeking to prevent further copyright infringement, but the company continued to release unauthorized images.

The lawsuit states that Midjourney operates when a subscriber submits a request for an image of, for example, the Darth Vader character in a specified setting or involved

in a particular action. Midjourney then “obliges by generating and displaying a high quality, downloadable image featuring Disney’s copyrighted Darth Vader character,” according to the complaint.

Disney and NBCU are seeking unspecified statutory damages, an accounting of Midjourney’s proceeds from the alleged infringement and injunctive relief.

Photo by Tara Winstead via Pexels

‘Queer Lens: A History of Photography’ at Getty celebrates LGBTQ+ history

By Staff

Celebrate love at Getty with “Queer Lens: A History of Photography,” on view from Tuesday to Sept. 28, 2025. This is the first major exhibition in the United States to survey the history of photography through a queer lens, bringing together a variety of works that explore photography’s profound role in shaping and affirming the tapestry of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Queer Lens takes a theme that is often hidden and gives it a high level of visibility,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle director of the J. Paul Getty. “The exhibition explores how, despite multiple forms of discrimination, LGBTQ+ individuals have shaped art and culture in innumerable ways, and how photography was and continues to be a powerful tool in the representation of the queer experience. The exhibition also demonstrates the Getty Museum Department of Photographs’ commitment in recent years to collecting and exhibiting works by historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.”

Bringing together more than 270 works—including vintage prints, books, magazines, and rare

ephemera—the exhibition highlights photography’s role in shaping, preserving, and affirming the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals from the 19th century to today.

The exhibition unfolds across eight chronological sections, tracing the intersection of queerness and imagemaking during each of these periods. From early homosocial portraiture to drag culture, the rise of the Gay Liberation Movement, and the creative resilience during the AIDS crisis, each section offers a vivid snapshot of LGBTQ+ life and love.

Homosocial Culture and Romantic Relationships

In the early 19th century, public life was defined by strict gender separation, except within the confines of marriage. During this era, the depiction of homosocial interactions and romantic relationships set the stage for later queer representations in art and society.

Language and Identity

The exhibition delves into the evolution of sexual orientation. In 1869, Hungarian journalist KarlMaria Kertbeny published a pamphlet that introduced the terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual.” This breakthrough laid the ground-

work for the binary system of sexual identity, marking the beginning of a division between straight and gay identities.

The Pansy Craze

Underground gay clubs and drag performances found a home in Prohibition era speakeasies in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. This phenomenon, known as the “Pansy Craze,” pushed photographs of queer expression into the public eye, culminating in a vibrant urban landscape of selfexpression.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Despite intense discrimination, many gay Americans found subtle ways to express their true selves. The exhibition features narratives of individuals who, while serving in uniform, established close-knit communities of friends and lovers. The 1930s and 1940s introduced photo booths and the Polaroid Land Camera, which provided gay individuals with essential privacy to capture clandestine moments of intimacy.

Rise of the Gay Liberation Movement

In the 1950s the first homophile groups were founded in the wake of the “Lavender Scare,” a decision to dismiss suspected gay

people from their jobs with the U.S. government These groups advocated for gay rights while creating a sense of community through events and publications. On June 28, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. Its patrons fought back, and the ensuing five days of rioting led to the expansion of the gay liberation movement.

The AIDS Crisis

The 1980s brought the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis, deepening the stigmatization of the gay community. In 1987, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, was founded in angry response to the Reagan administration’s inaction and was spurred on by the culture wars over homosexuality, religion, art, and censorship.

Friends of Dorothy Phrases such as “a friend of Dorothy” became covert signals that enabled gay men to safely identify themselves in public. One hundred portraits in this gallery celebrate the diversity and resilience of the queer community, while underscoring the importance and joys of queer kinship.

Things are Queer

Founded in 1990, the activist group Queer Nation

led the effort to reclaim the word “queer” from a slur to a term of affirmation and empowerment. Queer photographers focused on making work that rejected traditional belief systems, cruel stereotyping, and racism.

The Future is Queer

At the threshold of the beginning of the second quarter of the twenty-first century, there has been an expansive growth of queer representation in contemporary photography. The works on display in this section epitomize the medium’s continuing appeal to those exploring queer identity, while also reflecting the Getty

Museum’s ongoing commitment to curating an inclusive collection that honors previously marginalized voices.

In tandem with the exhibition, Getty will host a slate of public programs—including talks, performances, and interactive workshops— highlighting queer voices in photography and beyond. These events complement both Queer Lens and the concurrent exhibition at the Getty Research Institute, $3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives. An illustrated companion book by Paul Martineau and Ryan Linkof, published by the Getty Museum, further explores the themes and images from the exhibition.

‘Little Women Ballet’ twirls its way into Pasadena Playhouse

By Staff

“ Little Women Ballet,” based on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, returns with its full-length classical ballet for an encore presentation with three performancesbetween June 21 and 22, 2025 at the Pasadena Playhouse. This original ballet brings the novel to life through dance and is a moving tribute to family, friendship, and finding one’s voice. The show has rebounded from the tragedy of the Eaton Fire where “Little Women Ballet” props, merchandise, painted signage, decorations, and many of the costumes

were destroyed.

The original ballet depicts the coming of age of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they navigate an ever-changing world as they learn to embrace their artistic gifts and share them with the world as a source of comfort.

“Little Women Ballet” pairs life lessons with progressive ideas about women’s roles in 19th century America. This tale of family, friends, finding yourself, and growing up, has warmed the hearts of audiences for decades.

More than 35-40 dancers take part in the full-length ballet, donned in 19th

century costumes. Several of the musical compositions used for the production are composed by Daniel Robbins, combined with classic Victorian pieces.

The two-act ballet will have three performances taking place on Saturday, June 21 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on Sunday, June 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $42 to $49. Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the full-length ballet visit https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/tickets-events/.

Little Women full-length original classical ballet. | Photo by Edie Tyebkhan Photography

Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton, aka Fanny and Stella, about 1870. Fred Spalding. | Reproduced by courtesy of Essex Record Office,D/F 269/1/3712

Rosemead City Notices

ORDINANCE NO. 1029

A SUMMARY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE UPDATED FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES MAP AS RECOMMENDED BY THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS FOR FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 51178, 51179 & 51182

On May 13, 2025, the City Council of the City of Rosemead introduced for first reading by title only, and on June 10, 2025 conducted and adopted the second reading of Ordinance No. 1029, approving the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map as recommended by the State Fire Marshal and implementing regulations for the Fire Hazard Severity Zones pursuant to Government Code Sections 51178, 51179, and 51182.

The updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) map for the City of Rosemead identifies areas at risk of wildfires using scientific data on vegetation, topography, weather, and fire history. It categorizes risk into three levels: Moderate (Yellow), High (Orange), and Very High (Red).

The Los Angeles County Fire Department will enforce fire safety regulations in High and Very High zones. The updated FHSZ map will be integrated into the City’s Safety and Hazard Mitigation Plans, and all new or substantially remodeled buildings in Very High zones must comply with fire-resistant construction standards under California Building Code regulations.

PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 10th day of June, 2025 with the following votes:

AYES: Armenta, Clark, Dang, and Low NOES: None

ABSENT: Ly ABSTAIN: None

The full text of Ordinance No. 1029 is available for inspection during regular business hours at the City Clerk’s Office, 8838 E. Valley Blvd. Monday –Thursday 7:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. or at www.cityofrosemead.org.

DATED THIS 16th DAY OF JUNE 2025

Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk City of Rosemead 8838 E. Valley Boulevard

Publish June 16, 2025

ROSEMEAD READER

EL Monte City Notices

ORDINANCE NO. 3055

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL MONTE, REPEALING SECTION 15.09.080 (PROPERTY INSPECTION REPORT) OF TITLE 15 (BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION) AND AMENDING RELATED SECTIONS OF EL MONTE’S MUNICIPAL CODE ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT FOR REAL PROPERTY INSPECTION REPORTS

WHEREAS, pursuant to California Constitution Article XI, Section 7, the City of El Monte (the "City") has the authority to enact local planning and land use regulations to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of their residents through its police power; and

WHEREAS, Title 15 (the "Building and Construction Code") of the El Monte Municipal Code (the "EMMC") contains the majority of the City's construction standards and Regulations; and

WHEREAS, Section 15.09.080 (Property Inspection Report) of the EMMC requires that the title owner of real property apply to the Building Division for the preparation of a Property Inspection Report in the case of many sales, exchanges, transfers, or conveyances of real property; and

WHEREAS, the City’s property inspection process for real estate transactions deters potential buyers and places additional administrative and financial burdens on the City; and

WHEREAS, the City Council desires to alleviate these burdens, and encourage the efficient transfer of property between third parties; and

WHEREAS, Property Inspection Reports pursuant to Chapter 8.60 (Foreclosure of Residential Property Registration) involving foreclosure are also redundant and pose administrative and financial burdens on the City; and

WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend this section, and other EMMC sections referencing Property Inspection Reports.

NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL MONTE DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1: The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by reference.

SECTION 2: Section 15.09.080 (Property Inspection Report) is repealed in its entirety.

SECTION 3: Section 8.60.046 (Property Inspection Report Upon Sale or Transfer of Property) is hereby amended to read as follows (additions are denoted by underlined text and deletions are denoted by struck-through text):

"8.60.046 – Certificate of occupancy Property Inspection Report requirements upon sale or transfer or property.

A. Property which is acquired by a beneficiary following the recordation of a notice of default, whether acquired by such beneficiary by foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclo sure or judgment of foreclosure, shall also be subject to compliance with the provisions of Chapter 15.09 of this code upon the sale, exchange, transfer or other convey ance of such property by the beneficiary to a third per son.

B. Property which is vacant or abandoned at the time of acquisition by a beneficiary, whether acquired by such beneficiary by foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or judgment of foreclosure shall also be subject to compli ance with the provisions of Chapter 15.09 of this code prior to the earlier date of either: (i) re-occupancy of such property by any tenant of the beneficiary; or (ii) sale, ex change, transfer or other conveyance of such property by the beneficiary to a third person.

C. Property which is occupied by either the trustor or a ten ant of the trustor at the time of acquisition by a beneficia ry, whether acquired by such beneficiary by foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or judgment of foreclosure, shall also be subject to compliance with the provisions of Chapter 15.09 of this code to the earlier date of either: (i) the re-occupancy of such property by any successor tenant to the trustor or such other successor tenant to the tenant in possession of the property at the time of the beneficiary's acquisition of the property; or (ii) sale, exchange, transfer or other conveyance of such property by the beneficiary to a third person.

D. Certificate of Occupancy Requirements Property Inspec tion Report for Short Sales/Short Pay Agreements.

1. As used in this subsection (D) of Section 8.60.046 the words "short-pay agreement" mean an agree ment in writing in which the beneficiary agrees to release its lien on a property in return for payment of an amount less than the secured obligation af fecting the property. As also used in this subsection (D) of Section 8.60.046, the words "short-pay de mand statement" means a written statement issued subsequent to and conditioned on the existence of a short-pay agreement that is prepared in response to a written demand made by a trustor or an au thorized agent of such trustor, whereby a benefi ciary sets forth an amount less than the outstanding debt, together with any other terms and conditions under which the beneficiary will execute and deliver a reconveyance of the deed of trust securing the note that is the subject of the short-pay demand statement.

2. All property which is proposed to be transferred, sold or otherwise conveyed by a trustor to a thirdparty bona fide purchaser following the recordation of a notice of default and the issuance by the beneficiary (or its agent) of a short-pay demand statement, shall prior to the completion of such transfer, sale or other conveyance, be subject to compliance with the provisions of Chapter 15.09 of this code. The beneficiary, and each of its agents who cause to be recorded the reconveyance of the deed of trust securing the note that is subject to the shortpay agreement, shall each be responsible for obtaining compliance with Chapter 15.09 of this code, in the event that the bona fide purchaser may fail to provide the city with an acceptable surety for such compliance prior to the recordation of the reconveyance of the deed of trust described in the short-pay demand statement."

lowing the completion of the foreclosure sale, the trustee provides a copy of the text of Chapter 8.60 and Chapter 15.09 of this code, to such bona fide purchaser; and (ii) the trustee provides written notice to the Chief Building Official or the City Manager or his/her designee of the full name, address and telephone or email contact information of such bona fide purchaser within ten (10) business days following the recordation of the trustee's deed un

ABSTAIN: None

ABSENT: None

E. Property Inspection Report for Property Sold by Foreclosure Trustee at Auction. For the purpose of compliance with provisions of Chapter 15.09 of this code, in the case of property sold at auction to a bona fide purchaser pursuant to the powers conferred on a trustee by a deed of trust following the recordation of a notice of default, the beneficiary under such deed of trust, and each of its agents shall be presumed to be the parties who are responsible for the completion of all needed corrections identified in the property inspection report, as provided in Chapter 15.09 of this code, unless: (i) at least one business day prior to the recordation of the trustee's deed conveying such property to the bona fide purchaser fol-

Publish June 16, 2025 EL MONTE EXAMINER

Probate Notices

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF Richard P. Berger aka Richard Paul Berger Case No. 25STPB06388

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of Richard P. Berger aka Richard Paul Berger A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Ralph Berger in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE re-

quests that Ralph Berger 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

time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373361.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2025118415

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DONCASTERS SUPERALLOYS OF LONG BEACH, 3245 CHERRY AVENUE, LONG BEACH, CA 90807 LOS ANGELES COUNTY. Mailing address if different: N/A. The full name(s) of registrant(s) is/are: CERTIFIED ALLOY PRODUCTS INC, 3245 CHERRY AVENUE, LONG BEACH, CA 90807 (State of Incorporation/Organization: CA). This business is conducted by: CORPORATION. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: JOSEPH M JOSEPH, SECRETARY. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above on (date): 03/2025. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on (Date) 06/11/2025. NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373362.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2025119190

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1. SANTA MARIA, 2. SANTA MARIA UNIVERSE, 448 W AVENUE 46, LOS ANGELES, CA 90065 LOS ANGELES. Mailing address if different: N/A. The full name(s) of registrant(s) is/are: STEPHANIE SARTORI, 448 W AVENUE 46, LOS ANGELES, CA 90065. This business is conducted by: INDIVIDUAL. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: STEPHANIE SARTORI, OWNER. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business names listed above on (date): 01/2019. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on (Date) 06/11/2025. NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373366.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2025118826

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WEBANTE TRANSPORT, 6038 W. 85TH PLACE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045 LOS ANGELES. Mailing address if different: N/A. The full name(s) of registrant(s) is/are: YESHITILA WUHIB, 6038 W. 85TH PLACE, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045. This business is conducted by: INDIVIDUAL. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: YESHITILA WUHIB, OWNER. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above on (date): N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on (Date) 06/11/2025. NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373431.

WOODRUFF AVE STE 2, LAKEWOOD, CA 90713 LA COUNTY. Mailing address if different: N/A. Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number: 6211330. The full name(s) of registrant(s) is/are: MASSAGE SPARADISE INC, 4180 WOODRUFF AVE STE 2, LAKEWOOD, CA 90713 (State of Incorporation/Organization: CA). This business is conducted by: CORPORATION. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: BING SU, PRESIDENT. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above on (date): N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on (Date) 06/11/2025. NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373551.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT 2025119963

The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: NEMK MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, 5800 S. EASTERN AVE SUITE500, CITY OF COMMERCE, CA 90040 LOS ANGELES. Mailing address if different: N/A. The full name(s) of registrant(s) is/are: NEMK DELIVERY INC, 5432 PIONEER BLVD, WHITTIER, CA 90601 (State of Incorporation/Organization: CA). This business is conducted by: CORPORATION. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: VICE PRESIDENT, PERUZ PETROSYAN. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above on (date): 06/2025. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on (Date) 06/12/2025. NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq. Business and Professions Code). Publish: 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025. ARCADIA WEEKLY. AAA1373573.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025120150 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as HIROSHIMA MUSIC, 2653 Stranahan Drive, Alhambra, CA 91803. This business is conducted by a limited liability company (llc). Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: HIROSHIMA, LLC (CA-1032446, 2653 Stranahan Dr, Alhambra, CA 91803; DAN KURAMOTO, MEMBER. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 12, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118616 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as HS Notary Services, 2029 Verdugo Blvd 164, Montrose, CA 91020. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: (Entity), 2029 Verdugo Blvd 164, Montrose, CA 91020 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself

LEGALS

authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118070

NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Sage Development, 14710 Burbank Blvd 205, Sherman oaks, CA 91411. This business is conducted by a limited liability company (llc). Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: Sage Development LLC (CA-202465011027, 14710 Burbank Blvd 205, Sherman oaks, CA 91411; Taleen Richmond, Managing member. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025119298

NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Balentan Realty, 8961 Summerwood way, Fontana, CA 92335. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on January 2025. Signed: Sandra G Balentan, 8961 Summerwood way, Fontana, CA 92335 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025117386 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as (1). Fab & Clean Co. (2). Fab & Clean Co. House Cleaning Services (3). Fabulous & Clean Co. , 221 Ridge Terrace Lane, Montebello, CA 90640. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: Fabiola B Resendiz, 221 Ridge Terrace Lane, Montebello, CA 90640 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118809 NEW FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Wildgold Botanicals, 22287 Mulholland HWY #578, Calabasas, CA 91302. This business is conducted by a limited liability company (llc). Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: CHMA INVESTMENTS, LLC (CA201603710091, 22287 Mulholland HWY #578, Calabasas, CA 91302; Hassan Nassirzadeh, Manager. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 11, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118137 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as LA Express Chinese Food, 1662 Indian Hill , Pomona, CA 91764. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on June 2025. Signed: Gourmet Chen Inc (CA-3297009, 1662 Indian Hill , Pomona, CA 91764; Lisa Chen, CEO. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118276 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Timeback Publishing, 5428 La Forest Drive, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on June 2025. Signed: Shauna Prussin, 5428 La Forest Drive, La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025.

NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2021028927

NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as (1). Xpress testing (2). build smarter (3). water intrusion specialist (4). Fenestration Testing Lab (5). Fenestration Testing Laboratory , 35 N Lake Ave Ste 710, Pasadena, CA 91101. This business is conducted by a limited liability company (llc). Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on May 2025. Signed: Smarter Companies, LLC (CA-8195336, 35 N Lake Ave Ste 710, Pasadena, CA 91101; Dorothy Chang, CEO. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025118123 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as iSmash Burbank, 328 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502. This business is conducted by a limited liability company (llc). Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: Slaughterhaus Entertainment LLC (CA-202464817427, 328 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502; Rocky X Slaughter, Manager. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025101468 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Alimouri & Alimouri, 595 East Colorado Boulevard 335, Pasadena, CA 91101. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: Law Office of Damon Alimouri (CA-4629287, 595 East Colorado Avenue, Suite 335, Pasadena, CA 91101; Damon Alimouri, CFO. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 19, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025117846 NEW FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as The Solis Group, 3452 E Foothill Blvd Ste 200, Pasadena, CA 91107. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on March 1999. Signed: TSG Enterprises Inc (CA2100263, 3452 E Foothill Blvd Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91107; Michael Komsky, CFO. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025117905 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as GRAVEFINDER, 4100 W Alameda Ave STE 300, Burbank, CA 91505. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on June 2025. Signed: GraveFinder Inc (CAB20250148433, 4100 W Alameda Ave STE 300, Burbank, CA 91505; AVETIS SEMERJIAN, PRESIDENT. The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025117831 NEW FILING.

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as SCV MARKETING ADVERTISING, 1124 E Harvest Moon St, West Covina, CA 91792. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on May 2025. Signed: (Entity), 1124 E Harvest Moon St, West Covina, CA 91792 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code).

Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME 2025108988. The following person(s) have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name: (1). Frank’s Locksmith Services (2). Frank’s Locksmith Services LLC (3). Frank’s Locksmith Service LLC (4). Frank’s Locksmith Solutions (5). Frank’s

Locksmith Service LLC (6). Frank’s Locksmith Solutions (7). Frank’s Locksmith Solutions LLC (8). Frank’s Locksmith Service (9). Frank’s Locksmith Services (10). Frank’s Locksmith Service , 3839 Baldwin Avenue Apt 66, El Monte, CA 91731. The fictitious business name referred to above was filed on: April 14, 2025 in the County of Los Angeles. Original File No. 2025074561. Signed: Frank’s Locksmith Services, LLC (CA-, 3839 Baldwin Avenue Apt 66, El Monte, CA 91731; Francisco Julian Zuniga Carranza, CEO. This business is conducted by: a limited liability company (llc). This statement was filed with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder on May 29, 2025. Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025096353 NEW FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as (1). Jason paul Productions (2). The Modern Day Joseph , 5917 Oak Avenue, Temple City, CA 91780. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on August 2019. Signed: Jason Paul, 5917 Oak Avenue, Temple City, CA 91780 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 12, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025,

1992. Signed: (1). Jason Paul, 5917 Oak Avenue, Temple City, CA 91780 (2). David V Burnett, 6636 Selma Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90028. (Jason Paul, General Partner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 12, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2025116268 NEW FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as (1). The Leather Mechanic The Movie (2). The Fashion Behind The Music (3). The Leather Mechanic , 6636 Selma Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028. This business is conducted by a individual. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Signed: David V Burnett, 6636 Selma Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (Owner). The statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2025. NOTICE: This fictitious business name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed prior to that date. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state or common law (See Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professional Code). Pub. Monrovia Weekly 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025

Alhambra City Notices

NOTICE OF ALHAMBRA PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING

Watch and listen to the meeting via Zoom Webinar as follows: Zoom Webinar direct link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82735405361 Webinar ID: 827 3540 5361

Or by telephone by dialing (833) 548-0276 (Toll Free) or (833) 5480282 (Toll Free) or (877) 853-5257 (Toll Free) or (888) 475-4499 (Toll Free) or +1(669) 900-9128 or +1(253) 215-8782 or +1(346) 248-7799 or +1(301) 715-8592 or +1(312) 626-6799 or +1(646) 558-8656 and entering Webinar ID: 827 3540 5361. Please Note: All members of the public calling or logging into the meeting will be muted so that the meeting can proceed. If there are technical difficulties with Zoom during the meeting, the meeting will proceed regardless.

Addressing the Commission:

In person: Any person wishing to address the Commission during the meeting is asked to complete a Speaker Request Card and submit it to the Secretary. When called upon by the President, please step to the podium and give your name, address and organization or other party you represent, if any, in an audible tone of voice for the record.

Via Zoom or Telephone: “Raise your hand” - Members of the public may speak by using the “Raise Hand” function during the public comments portion, if on Zoom or telephone. Staff will unmute speakers participating via Zoom or telephone and announce your name when it is your time to speak.

Comments are limited to 5 minutes; however, the presiding officer may either extend or reduce the maximum time to such period of time as the Commission may determine.

All comments shall be addressed to the Commission as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than the Commission and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through a member of the Commission, without the permission of the President. No question shall be asked a Commissioner except through the President.

Any member of the public who needs accommodations or who needs their comments translated should email or call the Community Development Department at mmccurley@alhambraca.gov or (626) 570-5034. All requests for accommodations or translation services shall be made by 4 p.m. the Thursday prior to the Planning Commission meeting. If accommodation or translation is not requested by 4 p.m. the Thursday prior to the Planning Commission meeting, staff will try to accommodate the request to the best of their efforts to provide as much accessibility as possible while also maintaining public safety. All participants are encouraged to email their comments prior to the beginning of the meeting, but are not required to do so. All written comments received prior to the meeting will be entered into the record and distributed to the Planning Commission for their review.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular meeting of the Alhambra Planning Commission will be held on Monday, July 7, 2025, at 7:00 P.M., or as soon thereafter as the matters may be heard, in the Council Chambers of the Alhambra City Hall, 111 South First Street. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the following items:

ADDRESS: Citywide

APPLICANT: City of Alhambra

FILE NO.: AMD-25-03

REQUEST: This is an application for Zoning Text Amendment AMD-25-03 to adopt a Historic Preservation Ordinance establishing regulations and standards for designating historic resources within the City and regulating designated resources as part of a comprehensive Historic Preservation Program, as well as amending various sections of the Alhambra Municipal Code to establish consistency with the proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance.

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, staff has conducted an initial review of the project application and has determined that the above referenced project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) unless otherwise noted above.

Further details and legal descriptions relating to the above application is on file and may be viewed in the Community Development Department in City Hall, or online at: www.HistoricAlhambra.com

Any person wishing to be heard on this matter is invited to attend the hearing and speak to the Planning Commission at the time and place stated. Written input may be submitted before or during the hearing. 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.

LEGALS

CITY HALL: (626) 570 5034 ALHAMBRA PLANNING

COMMISSION

NOTICE NO. N2M25-77 ANDREW HO

Publish: June 16, 2025 Director of Community Development

Publish June 16, 2025 ALHAMBRA PRESS

Glendale City Notices

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

NOTICE is hereby given that the City of Glendale (“City”) will receive sealed Bids, before the Bid Deadline established below for the following work of improvement: City Wide Facility Painting Project SPECIFICATION NO. 3997

Bid Deadline: Submit before 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23,2025 (“the Bid Deadline”) Original plus two (2) copies of Bid to be submitted to: Office of City Clerk 613 E. Broadway, Room 110 Glendale, CA 91206

Bid Opening: 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday July 23, 2025 City Council Chambers 613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor Glendale, CA 91206

NO LATE BIDS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Bidding Documents Available: June 16, 2025 on City of Glendale Website: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/finance/purchasing/rfp-rfq-bid-page

Mandatory Pre-Bid Job Walk: Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2025 Time: 9:00 am Location: 4410 New York Ave Glendale, CA 91214

Note: • All Contractors planning to attend the pre-bid job walk on July 8th shall RSVP prior to 4 pm on July 7th by email to storo@glendaleca.gov or by calling (818) 937-8210.

City of Glendale Contact Person: Sean Toro, Assistant Project Manager Phone: 818-937-8210

E-mail: storo@glendaleca.gov

Mandatory Qualifications for Bidder and Designated Subcontractors:

A Bid may be rejected as non-responsive if the Bid fails to document that Bidder meets the essential requirements for qualification. As part of the Bidder’s Statement of Qualifications, each Bid must provide satisfactory evidence that:

Bidder: satisfactorily completed at least Three ( 3 ) prevailing wage public contracts in California; each comparable in scope and scale to this Project, within Five ( 5 ) years prior to the Bid Deadline and with a dollar value in excess of the Bid submitted for this Project. General Scope of Work: Contractor shall furnish labor, materials, equipment, services, and specialized skills to perform work involved in the Project. The Work in the Bid is defined in the Project Specifications and will generally include, but not limited to:

• Prepare and paint the exterior of the identified buildings (4).

Other Bidding Information:

1. Bidding Documents: Bids must be made on the Bidder’s Proposal form contained herein. BiddingDocuments may be obtained by visiting City of Glendale’s website.

2. Completion: This Work must be completed within 90 calendar days from the Date of Commencement asestablished by the City’s written Notice to Proceed.

3. Acceptance or Rejection of Bids. The City reserves the right to reject any and all Bids, to award all or any individual part/item of the Bid, and to waive any informalities, irregularities or technical defects in such Bids and determine the lowest responsible Bidder, whichever may be in the best interests of the City. No late Bids will be accepted, nor will any oral, facsimile or electronic Bids be accepted by the City.

4. Mandatory Pre-Bid Job Walk. A mandatory pre-bid job walk will be held at the project site at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8th at the at 4410 New York Ave., Glendale, CA 91214.

5. Contractors License. At the time of the Bid Deadline and at all times during performance of the Work, including full completion of all corrective work during the Correction Period, the Contractor must possess a California contractor license or licenses, current and active, of the classification required for the Work, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 9, Division 3, Section 7000 et seq. of the Business and Professions Code. In compliance with Public Contract Code Section 3300, the City has determined that the Bidder must possess the following license(s): General “B” and or “C-33” The successful Bidder will not receive a Contract award if the successful Bidder is unlicensed, does not have all of the required licenses, or one or more of the licenses are not current and active. If the City discovers after the Contract’s award that the Contractor is unlicensed, does not have all of the required licenses, or one or more of the licenses are not current and active, the City may cancel the award, reject the Bid, declare the Bid Bond as forfeited, keep the Bid Bond’s proceeds, and exercise any one or more of the remedies in the Contract Documents.

6. Subcontractors’ Licenses and Listing. At the time of the Bid Deadline and at all times during performance of the Work, each listed Subcontractor must possess a current and active California contractor license or licenses appropriate for the portion of the Work listed for such Subcontractor and shall hold all specialty certifications required for such Work. When the Bidder submits its Bid to the City, the Bidder must list each Subcontractor whom the Bidder must disclose under Public Contract Code Section 4104 (Subcontractor Listing Law), and the Bidder must provide all of the Subcontractor information that Section 4104 requires (name, the location (address) of the Subcontractor’s place of business, California Contractor licensenumber, California Department of Industrial Relations contractor registration number, and portion of the Work). In addition, the City requires that the Bidder list the dollar value of each Subcontractor’s labor or services. The City’s disqualification of a Subcontractor does not disqualify a Bidder. However, prior to and as a condition to award of the Contract, the successful Bidder shall substitute a properly licensed and qualified Subcontractor— without an adjustment of the Bid Amount.

7. Permits, Inspections, Plan Checks, Governmental Approvals, Utility Fees and Similar Authorizations: The City has applied and paid for the following Governmental Approvals and Utility Fees:City of Glendale Building Permits and Inspections

8. All other Governmental Approvals and Utility Fees shall be obtained and paid for by Contractor and will be reimbursed based on Contractor’s actual direct cost without markup. See Instructions to Bidders Paragraph 14, and General Conditions Paragraph 1.01 for definitions and Paragraph 1.03 for Contractor responsibilities.

9. Bid Forms and

11.

12.

States Secretary of Labor, pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act, have determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rates determined by the California Director of Industrial Relations are available online at www.dir.ca.gov/DLSR/PWD/. Davis-Bacon wage rates are included in this Specification and are available online at www.wdol. gov/. To the extent that there are any differences in the federal and state prevailing wage rates for similar classifications of labor, Contractor and its Subcontractors shall pay the highest wage rate. California Department of Industrial Relations ― Public Works Contractor Registration.

Beginning July 1, 2014, under the Public Works Contractor Registration Law (California Senate Bill No. 854 - See Labor Code Section 1725.5), contractors must register and meet requirements using the online application https://efiling.dir. ca.gov/PWCR/ActionServlet?action=displayPWCRegistrationForm before bidding on public works contracts in California. The application also provides agencies that administer public works programs with a searchable database of qualified contractors. Application and renewal are completed online with a non-refundable fee of $300. More information is available at the following links: http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/PublicWorks/SB854FactSheet_6.30.14.pdf http:// www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/PublicWorks.html

Beginning April 1, 2015, the City must award public works projects only to contractors and subcontractors who comply with the Public Works Contractor Registration Law.

Notice to Bidders and Subcontractors:

No contractor or subcontractor may be listed on a Bid proposal for a public works project (submitted on or after March 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code section 1771.1(a)].

No contractor or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project (awarded on or after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5.

• This Project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations.

• The prime contractor must post job site notices prescribed by regulation. (See 8 Calif. Code Reg. Section 16451(d) for the notice that previously was required for projects monitored by the DIR Compliance Monitoring Unit.)

Furnishing of Electronic Certified Payroll Records to Labor Commissioner. For all new projects awarded on or after April 1, 2015, contractors and subcontractors must furnish electronic certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner (aka Division of Labor Standards Enforcement).

Dated this 12, 16, day of June, 2025, City of Glendale, California. Dr. Suzie Abajian, City Clerk of the City of Glendale

Published on June 12, 16, 2025 GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DECISION ADMINISTRATIVE USE PERMIT CASE NO. PAUP-004479-2025

LOCATION: 1232 S. Glendale Avenue, Unit B, Glendale, Ca 91205 (PUPUSERIA EL SABROSITO)

APPLICANT: Janelle Williams, Williams Land Use Services

ZONE: C1 (Neighborhood Commercial), R-2250 (Medium Density Residential), P (Parking Overlay)

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Parcel A, Parcel Map No. GLN 1319A

APN: 5676-029-039

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Application for an Administrative Use Permit (AUP) to allow the continued on-site sales, service, and consumption of beer and wine (ABC License Type 41) at an existing full service restaurant (Pupuseria El Sabrosito) located in C1 (Neighborhood Commercial), R-2250 (Medium Density Residential), P (Parking Overlay) Zones. A Conditional Use Permit Case No. PCUP 1320065 was previously approved with conditions on September 25, 2013.

CODE REQUIRES

1) The sale of alcoholic beverages requires an Administrative Use Permit in the C1 Zone (Table 30-12-A).

APPLICANT’S PROPOSAL

1) To allow the continued on-site sales, service, and consumption of beer and wine at an existing full-service restaurant.

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION

The project is exempt from CEQA review as a Class 1 “Existing Facilities” exemption, pursuant to Section 15301(e) of the State CEQA Guidelines because the discretionary permit request is to allow the on-site sales, service, and consumption of beer and wine at an existing full service restaurant and there is no additional floor area proposed.

PENDING DECISION AND COMMENTS

Copies of plans, staff analysis, and the proposed decision letter are available at http://www. glendaleca.gov/planning/pending-decisions.

If you would like to review plans, submit comments, or be notified of the decision, please contact case planner Shoghig Yepremian at (818) 937-8135 or SYepremian@glendaleca.gov.

DECISION On or after July 2, 2025, the Community Development Director will make a written decision regarding this request.

APPEAL

After the Director has made a decision, any person may file an appeal within 15 days of the written decision. Appeal forms are available at https://www.glendaleca.gov/home/ showdocument?id=11926.

Dr. Suzie Abajian

The City Clerk of the City of Glendale

Publish June 16, 2025

GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

Monterey Park City Notices

BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MONTEREY PARKCOUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - STATE OF CALIFORNIA

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

TAKE NOTICE that the City Council of the City of Monterey Park will hold a public hearing on July 2, 2025, at the hour of 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located at 320 West Newmark Avenue in the City of Monterey Park. The meeting information may be obtained by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (626) 307-1359 or online at www.montereypark.ca.gov/AgendaCenter.

The City Council will consider whether to adopt the Office of the State Fire Marshal’s State Responsibility Area Fire Hazard Severity Map. Copies of all relevant materials are available to the general public for review in the City Clerk’s Office on or about June 26, 2025, and copies may be obtained at cost or online at www.montereypark. ca.gov/AgendaCenter.

Interested individuals may appear in person or by agent at the public hearing and be heard on any matter relevant to such proceedings. 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 City Council at, or before, the public hearing.

Maychelle Yee, City Clerk

Publish June 16 & 23, 2025 MONTEREY PARK PRESS

Probate Notices

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

KENNETH BLAIR BURWELL AKA BUZZY BURWELL CASE NO. 25STPB06315

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of KENNETH BLAIR BURWELL AKA

BUZZY BURWELL. A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by RAYMOND BLAKE BURWELL in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that RAYMOND BLAKE BURWELL 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: 07/03/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 62 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 in-

LEGALS

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 (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:

Betty S. Chain, 15233 Ventura Blvd., PH-4, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403, Telephone: 8186219879 6/9, 6/12, 6/19/25 CNS-3934510# GLENDALE INDEPENDENT*10080

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF ADELE B. FINKEL

Case No. 25STPB06399

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

terested 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 ROBERT H. BRUMFIELD, IIISBN 114467 LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT H. BRUMFIELD 1810 WESTWIND DRIVE, SUITE 100 BAKERSFIELD CA 93301

Telephone (661) 316-3010

6/9, 6/12, 6/16/25

CNS-3934362# GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF Glenn Wayne Hodson, Jr. CASE NO. 25STPB06141

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of: Glenn Wayne Hodson, Jr.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Elizabeth WeissHodson in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Elizabeth Weiss-Hodson 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 with full authority . (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 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 07/03/2025 at 8:30 am in Dept. 99 located at 111 N. HILL ST. LOS ANGELES CA 90012 STANLEY MOSK COURTHOUSE.

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

CASE NO. 25STPB06480

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

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

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that AKRAM A. AWAD 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 with limited authority. (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 consent-ed 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 PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Laura Finkel Veys in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Laura Finkel Veys 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 July 8, 2025 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 62 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 issu-ance 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: ANJA M REINKE ESQ SBN 146385

LAW OFFICE OF ANJA M REINKE

4000 W MAGNOLIA BLVD STE L BURBANK CA 91505

CN117579 FINKEL

Jun 12,16,19, 2025 BURBANK INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: ADIB ISKANDER AWAD

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: 08/07/25 at 9:00AM in Dept. F3 located at 17780 ARROW BLVD., FONTANA, CA 92335

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.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 07/10/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 79 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

ALAN D. WEINFELD - SBN 234584

PARKER, MILLIKEN, CLARK, O’HARA & SAMUELIAN 515 S. FIGUEROA STREET, 8TH FLOOR LOS ANGELES CA 90071 Telephone (213) 683-6500 6/12, 6/16, 6/19/25 CNS-3936288# GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: ANGELA DOLORES LIRA CASE NO. PROVA2500465

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

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

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that GRACE ORTEGA 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

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

LAYNE A. BARTHOLOMEW - SBN 178280 LAW OFFICES OF LAYNE A. BARTHOLOMEW 222 N. MOUNTAIN AVE., STE. 100 UPLAND CA 91786

Telephone (909) 931-4733 6/16, 6/19, 6/23/25

CNS-3937736# PASADENA PRESS

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 C. TRACY KAYSER - SBN 230022 KAYSER LAW GROUP, APC 1407 N. BATAVIA ST., SUITE 103 ORANGE CA 92867

Telephone (714) 984-2004

BSC 226984

6/12, 6/16, 6/19/25 CNS-3936208# ONTARIO NEWS PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

BARBARA ANNE HOLLAND AKA BARBARA A. HOLLAND AKA BARBARA HOLLAND

CASE NO. 25STPB06611

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of BARBARA ANNE HOLLAND AKA BARBARA A. HOLLAND AKA BARBARA HOLLAND.

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

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that CHRISTINE MARIE SCOTT 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 Es-tates 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: 07/10/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 79 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

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF Christian Barragan Case No. PRRI2501591

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of Christian Barragan A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Maria Barragan in the Superior Court of California, County of RIVERSIDE. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Maria Barragan 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 July 21, 2025 at 8:30 AM in Dept. 12. located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, Ca 92501. 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: ANDERSON & LeBLANC, APLC JEFF W. LeBLANC

WILD LINE CAMPER

6604 Doolittle Ave Riverside, CA 92503

Riverside County WINCAR OFF-ROAD INC. (CA, 6604 Doolittle Ave, Riverside, CA 92503

Riverside County

This business is conducted by: a corporation. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code, that the registrant knows to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousands dollars ($1000).)

s. FANGFANG TAN, CEO Statement filed with the County of Riverside on May 21, 2025 NOTICE: In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of the five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any changes in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 Et Seq., business and professions code). I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office.

Peter Aldana, County, Clerk File# R202506571 Pub. 05/26/2025, 06/02/2025, 06/09/2025, 06/16/2025 Riverside Independent

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. FBN20250004553

The following persons are doing business as: Pipiolos Cleaning, 154 E Merrill Ave, Rialto, CA 92376. Mailing Address, 154 E Merrill Ave, 154 E Merrill Ave, CA 92376. Sergio Valdez Aguirre, 154 E Merrill Ave, 154 E Merrill Ave, CA 92376. County of Principal Place of Business: San Bernardino This business is conducted by: a individual. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. By signing below, I declare that I have read and understand the reverse side of this form and that all information in this statement is true and correct. A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). I am also aware that all information on this statement becomes Public Record upon filing pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Government Code Sections 6250- 6277). /s/ Sergio Valdez, Owner.This statement was filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on May 16, 2025 Notice- In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920. A Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section

17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code) File#: FBN20250004553 Pub: 05/26/2025, 06/02/2025, 06/09/2025, 06/16/2025

San Bernardino Press

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as The Meat Boutique 371 Wilkerson Ave, Unit N Perris, CA 92570

Riverside County

The Meat Boutique, LLC (CA, 371 Wilkerson Ave, Unit N, Perris, CA 92570

Riverside County

This business is conducted by: a individual. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code, that the registrant knows to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousands dollars ($1000).)

s. Rosalia Zambrano Ruelas, Managing Member Statement filed with the County of Riverside on May 28, 2025 NOTICE: In accordance with

subdivision (a) of section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of the five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any changes in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 Et Seq., business and professions code). I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office.

Peter Aldana, County, Clerk

File# R-202506756

Pub. 06/09/2025, 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025

Riverside Independent

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Vazirian Events 3955 Ibbetson St Corona, CA 92882 Riverside County Mina Louise Vazirian, 3955 Ibbetson St, Corona, CA 92882

Riverside County

This business is conducted by: a individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on May 23, 2025. I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material

matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code, that the registrant knows to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousands dollars ($1000).)

s. Mina Louise Vazirian Statement filed with the County of Riverside on June 5, 2025 NOTICE: In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of the five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any changes in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 Et Seq., business and professions code). I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office.

Peter Aldana, County, Clerk File# R-202507147 Pub. 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025 Riverside Independent

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as CNC WELLNESS 812 Poppy lane Corona, CA 92881 Riverside County California Nursing consultants (CA, 812 Poppyseed Lane, Corona, CA 92881

Riverside County This business is conducted by: a corporation. Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code, that the registrant knows to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousands dollars ($1000).)

s. Holy Dove Quiboloy Paule, CEO Statement filed with the County of Riverside on June 11, 2025 NOTICE: In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of the five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any changes in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 Et Seq., business and professions code). I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office.

Peter Aldana, County, Clerk File# R-202507493

Pub. 06/16/2025, 06/23/2025, 06/30/2025, 07/07/2025 Riverside Independent

LA supervisors ask Probation Department to improve CCTV monitoring

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday called for stricter oversight of closed-circuit television monitoring at juvenile detention centers in Los Angeles County.

The board directed the chief probation officer to report back in 30 days with a strategy to implement 24/7 surveillance, random audits and staff training.

The motion, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, follows the board’s approval last week of a $2.6 million settlement to a victim who was physically assaulted as a minor by other detainees at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall while under probation staff supervision.

“This egregious act was caught on CCTV camera, but no one was monitoring the footage at the time, so it took weeks before the footage was discovered,” Hahn said.

She added that similar incidents have occurred at other county facilities, prompting public outrage about juvenile safety.

“CCTV footage has led to the indictment of multiple probation officers by the California Attorney General,” Hahn said.

The California Department of Justice had directed the county Probation

By City News Service

Department to submit the protocol in December 2024, which has been long delayed, she added.

“Footage can be used to verify or disprove allegations to confirm that departmental policies are being followed and their presence can detour abuses of power

in the first place,” Hahn said.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who co-authored the motion, said the goal is to improve transparency and accountability.

“Our youth deserve safety, dignity and care, especially when they are in our custody,” she said.

Ralphs, Albertsons, Pavilions, Vons workers authorize strike

By City News Service

Workers at Albertsons, Pavilions,Ralphs and Vons grocery stores will begin preparations Thursday for a possible strike.

Members of Local 770 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union will participate in sign-making sessions and conduct picket captain meetings at union headquarters in Koreatown, according to the union.

The union representing approximately 45,000 workers at the four stores in Southern California announced Wednesday that its members had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

“Our message is clear: We are fed up with these corporations’ union-busting tactics designed to intimidate us and prevent us from getting the fair contract that we’ve earned and deserve,” according to a statement from the Bargaining Committee of Locals 324 and 770 of the United Food and Commercial Workers.

“For four months, we’ve negotiated with Kroger and Albertsons, offering solutions to the staff shortage crisis that hurts store operations, working conditions, and customer service. The companies have dismissed our proposals and claimed that

our concerns were ‘anecdotal’, downplaying the real challenges we and our customers face daily.

“At the same time, the companies have broken labor laws by engaging in unlawful surveillance, interrogation of members at actions, threats, and retaliation for union activity. This is unacceptable,” the statement continued.

“This strike authorization vote means that we expect the companies to return to the bargaining table, negotiate a deal that works for everyone, and desist from their unlawful tactics, before we walk out and hit the picket lines.”

A vote count was not released. The vote was taken the first two weeks of June, according to the union.

There was no immediate response to emails sent Wednesday night to Albertsons Companies Inc., which

is also the parent company of Pavilions and Vons, and The Kroger Co., the parent company of Ralphs, seeking comment.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume on June 25, according to the union. The workers’ contracts expired March 2.

The union said it is seeking “living wages, affordable healthcare benefits, a reliable pension (and) more staffing and better working conditions for a better customer experience.”

A strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean there will be a strike.

Union members approved a three-year contract in 2022 after a threatened strike, including wage increases of $4.25 per hour for most workers while some classifications received higher pay raises.

Probation officer charged with smuggling drugs into juvenile hall

By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com

Adeputyprobation officer is accused of conspiring to smuggle Xanax into a Sylmar juvenile hall, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Michael Angelo Solis, 59, was charged with one felony count each of bringing a controlled substance into a juvenile hall; conspiracy to bring a controlled substance into a juvenile hall; possession for sale of alprazolam, which is commonly called Xanax; and conspiracy to possess alprazolam for sale, according to the DA’s office.

Solis worked at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, where he allegedly conspired with a youth detainee to sell alprazolam pills for hundreds of dollars between May and August 2023, prosecutors said.

A conviction could result

in as many as three years in state prison.

“Trafficking illegal drugs to juveniles is unconscionable under any circumstances, let alone as a government employee taking advantage of vulnerable youth in need of guidance and support,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “Probation officers have as their primary duty the protection, health and safety of juveniles under their care. My office will not tolerate such an abuse of power, which endangers youth, undermines rehabilitation and makes our communities less safe.”

In a statement shortly after the charges were announced, the LA County Probation Department said Solis “has been on ordered absence through the duration of the investiga-

tion.”

The department said it has worked closely with the DA’s office on the investigation immediately after the allegations surfaced.

“There is no room in this department for anyone who violates the public trust and endangers the safety and well-being of the youth in our care,” Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in the statement. “We applaud the action taken by District Attorney Nathan Hochman and remain steadfast in our commitment to holding our staff to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and accountability.”

State regulators ordered the Nidorf juvenile hall to close after finding the facility unsuitable to house youth in July 2023.

Xanax is a powerful

| Photo courtesy of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall (Sylmar Juvenile Hall)/Facebook

| Photo courtesy of Chris Samuel/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Union members prepare for a grocery workers strike. | Photo courtesy of UFCW Local 770

Sen. Padilla forced out of Homeland Security news conference, handcuffed

By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was forcibly removed Thursday from a West Los Angeles news conference after he interrupted remarks by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Video from the scene shows federal agents forcing Padilla onto a hallway floor and placing him in handcuffs.

Padilla, 52, attempted to interrupt Noem as she was speaking to reporters at the West LA federal building about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. Secret Service officers in the room grabbed Padilla, then pushed him past a group of journalists through an open doorway. Padilla continued speaking loudly as he was removed from the room.

Noem called Padilla’s actions at the news conference “inappropriate” but said she intended to speak with him.

“I don’t even know the senator. He did not request a meeting with me or to speak with me,” Noem said. “So when I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him and find out really what his concerns were. I think everybody in America would agree that that was inappropriate.”

Padilla emerged a short time later from the federal building and told reporters he was not arrested.

“Since the beginning of the year, but especially over the course of recent weeks, I and several of my colleagues have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for more information and more answers on their

When they reached the adjacent hallway, three federal officers forced Padilla to the ground on his stomach and cuffed his hands behind his back.

increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions, and we’ve gotten little to no information in response to our inquiries,” Padilla said. “And so I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information. And at one point I had a question. ... I was there peacefully. At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question. I was immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained. ...

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out

in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable.”

A Homeland Security response posted on X said, “Senator Padilla chose disre-

National Guard

week at the DoubleTree Hotel in Whittier, the Westin Hotel in Pasadena and the Embassy Suites Hotel in Downey, where demonstrators believed federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were staying.

Protests have been occurring daily in the area since Friday, when ICE agents carried out a series of immigration enforcement raids, detaining dozens of people.

Prior to the curfew, the nightly protests often devolved into violence, with some demonstrators hurling objects or fireworks at police, who often responded by firing non-lethal weapons or tear gas.

Bass and community leaders took issue Thursday with suggestions by Trump and others that the entire city was under a siege of violence necessitating deployment of the military, including the 4,000 federalized National Guard troops and 700 active-duty U.S. Marines.

“To characterize what is going on in our city as a city of mayhem is just an outright lie,” Bass said at an afternoon news conference attended by dozens of local faith and community leaders.

The mayor pointed to comments made by Noem Thursday morning that described the city as a “war zone.”

“There’s no one up here that sees Los Angeles like that,” Bass said. “This is

not all of Los Angeles. This is isolated to a few blocks in a city that is 500 square miles. And out of those 500 square miles, the protests -and especially the protests that devolved into violence — represent half a square mile.”

Bass said the raids were spreading fear in the community, preventing some people from going to work or school. She said some raids that occurred Thursday took place at “emergency rooms and homeless shelters.”

And she again repeated her assertion that protests in the city would stop immediately if federal immigration authorities discontinued enforcement raids.

“We want peace to come to our city,” Bass said, adding that such an action “needs to begin in Washington, and we need to stop the raids.”

Noem said the enforcement operations were targeting violent criminals.

During her news conference, photos of criminals detained during the Southland operations were shown on video screens.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s court hearings stemmed from a lawsuit brought late Monday by Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta following Trump’s escalation of military forces in the Los Angeles area.

Breyer said the issue is “the president exercising his authority, and the president

is, of course, limited. That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George.”

The judge indicated Trump’s deployment of 4,000 members of California’s National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles — over Newsom’s strenuous objections — was legally deficient. The judge also was dubious about Trump’s insistence that the unrest in Los Angeles posed a “danger of rebellion.”

The judge said Trump did not appear to have met a legal requirement that such orders must pass through the governor of the state involved.

Breyer declined to rule on Newsom’s request to block the call-up of 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, saying any action from the bench seemed premature because the troops haven’t arrived in the city.

On Tuesday night Bass implemented the nightly curfew in a one-square- mile section of downtown Los Angeles, lasting from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. — a curfew that remained in effect Thursday, leading to fewer reports of unrest and property damage. Protesters continued to gather, but many retreated when the curfew took effect. Those who failed to do so faced arrest.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, seven people were

spectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @ SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.”

arrested for curfew violations Wednesday night and Thursday morning. There were 71 arrests for failure to disperse, two for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and one for resisting an officer.

A motorist was arrested late Wednesday for allegedly driving through a skirmish line of protesters and police officers near Beverly Boulevard and Western Avenue in Koreatown.

That driver led authorities on a high-speed freeway chase into the Inglewood area, where he was arrested after attempting to flee the

vehicle on foot on a surface street.

The curfew applies to an area between the Golden State (5) and Harbor (110) freeways, and from the Santa Monica (10) Freeway to where the Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway and Golden State Freeway merge. That area includes Skid Row, Chinatown, and the Arts and Fashion districts.

On the first night of the curfew — Tuesday night into Wednesday morning — 17 people were arrested for curfew violations. During the day Tuesday, the LAPD arrested 203 people for

failure to disperse. Three people were arrested for possession of a firearm, one for assault with a deadly weapon and one for discharging a laser at an LAPD airship, police said. Two officers were injured during Tuesday’s unrest, according to the LAPD. There are “limited exceptions” to the curfew — including for residents of the area, “people traveling to and from work and credentialed media representatives,” the mayor said. Bass said she expected the curfew to be in effect for “several days.”

Soldiers guard the Los Angeles Federal Building in downtown on June 9. | Photo courtesy of Capt. Alex Werden/U.S. Defense Department

Federal agents push U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, out of a Homeland Security press briefing in West LA. | Photo courtesy of Mayor Karen Bass/Bill Melugin/X