COFFEE WITH JERRY • OFF STREET CAFE • TUESDAY, FEB 28, 9 A.M. Details on 6
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Serving Cerritos, Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, Norwalk, Lakewood, Pico Rivera, La Mirada, and La Palma • 45,000 HOMES EVERY FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 10, 2012 • Volume 26, No. 6 • LosCerritosNews.net
DISTRICT ATTORNEY OPENS OFFICIAL INQUIRY INTO ASSESSOR ACTIVITIES
COMMUNITYNEWS EXCLUSIVE By Randy Economy The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has opened up a formal inquiry into the activities of Assessor John R. Noguez, Los Cerritos Community News has learned exclusively. Noguez, who was elected in November of 2010 is the subject of a probe that was launched on November 18, 2011. In an interview with David Demerjian, Senior District Attorney with the Office of Public Integrity on Monday, a complaint was filed late last year and that “an inquiry has been commenced.” LCCN has also been told by four senior members who work at the highest levels for Noguez that that the focus of the probe revolves around the relationship between Noguez and Encino businessman Ramin Salari. Salari is the owner of Assessment Appeals Services, LLP. According to their company website, Salari touts his company’s ability to help “over 6,000 property tax reassessments with a high success rate.” Noguez spokesman Louis Reyes said that “they have not received anything
whatsoever from the District Attorney’s Office.” “You are asking us to comment on something we don’t have any knowledge about,” Reyes said. On Wednesday, Reyes called LCCN and said that Noguez had been told by Demerjian that “the Assessor was not the subject of the inquiry.” On Thursday at 9 a.m. after the story broke on both the LCCN website and confirmed in the Los Angeles Times by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ruben Vives (City of Bell), Demerjian called LCCN Publisher Brian Hews and Reporter Randy Economy and denied ever having a conversation with the Assessor about the probe. Further Demerjian said that he has only met Noguez on a couple of occasions at social events. “I have never spoken to the man,” Demerjian said.
Whitney Receives $125,000 Donation for Multi-Media Facility
LCCN has been told that the investigation centers on the influence that Salari has been able to leverage on behalf of his private clientele with his longtime political ally Noguez. Salari has helped finance campaigns for Noguez going back to his days as an elected member of the Huntington Park City Council. In 2003 Salari donated more than $15,000 in printing to Noguez and two other allies during a HP City Council campaign, according to records obtained by LCCN. LCCN has also been told that Salari has personally attended numerous meetings with at least three senior level members of Noguez inner circle to assert pressure on professional county appraisers to directly devalue assessed property rates on behalf Salari clients at Assessment Appeal’s Services, LLP. Several sources inside the Assessor’s office tell LCCN that Noguez staff members Andrew Stevens, Assistant Assessor Eric Haagenson and Chief Appraiser to Major Real Properties Mark McNeil have been with Salari in heated meetings with lower level appraisers in order
[See D.A. INQUIRY page 11]
By Randy Economy Norwalk Vice Mayor Cherie Kelley and Councilman Leonard Shryock threw a major league curve ball CHERIE KELLEY to American baseball icon Cecil Fielder and several other Hall of Fame players in bringing a renowned youth baseball tournament to the cash strapped community of Norwalk with more than 110,000 residents. Fielder and his group “The Baseball Legends” had formally petitioned the City of Norwalk City Council on Tuesday to request the waiving of nominal rental costs so the organization could bring a little league style tournament to several Norwalk ball diamonds scattered throughout the community. Fielder, recognized as one of the all time great American baseball players, and the father of current major league superstar Prince Fielder, had been focusing his efforts in bringing the Norwalk community his Baseball Legends event that would
[See LEGENDS TOURNAMENT page 10]
ABC School District Looking at Additional Budget Cuts for 2012-13 By Jerry Bernstein
Whitney alumni Rajr Shah and members of the Shah family, presented a facsimile check of $125,000 donation for the Whitney High School Multi-Media Training Faciliity now under construction at the Feb. 7 ABC School Board1meeting. donation was School Board President OlymdocTODAY_AD10X3:Layout 6/14/11Accepting 10:58 PMthe Page 1 pia Chen, Whitney Principal Dr. Rhonda Buss, and members of the Whitney faculty.
N e e d to S e e a
Kelley, Shryock Throw Curve Into Baseball Legends Tournament
On Jan. 5 Governor Jerry Brown released his budget proposal for the 2012-13 fiscal year. For the second year in a row the Los Angeles County Board of Education requested school districts to send two proposed budgets. Plan A, contingent on passage of the Governor’s tax initiative, which will be on the November ballot. Plan B would be implemented if voters turned down the governor’s tax initiative. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mary Sieu told the school board at its Feb. 7 meeting the budget submitted has a familiar theme. She said the unresolved state budget deficit that combined with the weak economy has created another District crisis budget for the year 2012-13. She said unlike recent previous years, the District is going to
have to live with uncertainty for a longer period of time. “We’re going to have to work in the coming months with our labor groups, the community and our parents and work within our time line to process the budget. We have weathered this type of storm before and will have to follow our own guidance principals in making some key decisions and recommendations for the 2012-13 budget year,” she said. ABC Chief Financial Officer Toan Nguyen said the state is facing an additional $9.2 billion budget deficit covering the next 17 months. “The Governor’s proposal includes $7 billion in revenues through his tax initiative that would increase the sales tax by one-half percent effective Jan.
[See ABC BUDGET CUTS page 10]
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