HEWS MEDIA GROUP
"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Winner of Fourteen LA Press Club Awards from 2012-2018. Serving Cerritos and ten other surrounding communities • October 15, 2021 • Vol. 35, No. 51 • loscerritosnews.net
Artesia Considering Changing Cannabis Laws Since the passage of Measure Q, proposals offered minimum guaranteed revenue between $360,000 and $750,000 each year to the City. BY TAMMYE MCDUFF
RAISING MONEY FOR KIDS AND SCHOOLS WIN-WIN: many schools registered as a way to raise funds for their programs with half of the monies going to the Parent Teacher Association and the other half to the La Mirada Kiwanis.
Splash! Holds Ducky Fundraising Event Cerritos College BY TAMMYE MCDUFF merchandise for the race, in- Mandates Vaccine cluding duck masks, duck shirts, After being grounded for two duck pins, duck water bottles by Jan. 3, 2022 years the Kiwanis Club of La Mirada was able to once again host their charity duck race at Splash! in La Mirada. Residents, companies and sponsors buy individual ducks which are placed in Splash's lazy river for three different races. The last race takes the three winners in their own race to determine the overall winner. Ray Bakker, a local PTA President, owner of 567 Entertainment and a disc jockey for 90.1 KBPK held a live Facebook event for the race. The first ‘heat’ began with 2,500 yellow rubber ducky’s being dumped into the lazy river at Splash! Next up was the sponsor race; the second ‘heat’ dispersed a second round of 2,500 ducks for a total of 5,000 ducks. Bakker was very excited about the event, “we sold out this year, next year we are going for 7,500 rubber ducks!” The second half of the day featured a rubber duck Halloween Fashion Show where various sponsors decorated large rubber ducks for Halloween, a 50/50 raffle and then the final ‘heat’ that included the winning ducks of the first three races. The Kiwanis Key club sold
and of course, rubber ducks themselves. Many of the schools registered as a way to raise funds for programs with half of the monies going to the Parent Teacher Association and the other half to the La Mirada Kiwanis. The grand prize winner of $1,500 was Debbie and Mike Fields, with second place going to Autumn Katzman and third place to Heather Bragg. Corporate first place winner and fashion show winner was Ginger Shattuck. The Kiwanis meet every Wednesday morning at 7:15 am. All are welcome to stop in and join new 2021-2022 President Steve Jones and the morning group to discuss upcoming service projects, including the Annual Children’s Christmas Shopping Spree for those children in the community who would not have presents this upcoming holiday season without the support of Kiwanis in our community. If you or your organization would like to participate next year, contact the la Mirada Kiwanis: duckrace.com/lamirada
Staff and students must submit proof of vaccination, or they will not be allowed into any college facilities. BY VINCENT MEDINA, TALON MARKS MANAGING EDITOR
Cerritos College board of trustees voted to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and faculty on campus during their meeting on Oct. 6. The mandate will go into effect on Jan. 3, 2022. Staff and students must submit proof of vaccination to the college, or they will not be allowed into any college facilities and are subject to disciplinary action. Trustees are allowing medical and religious exemption, but those who are exempt must receive weekly testing before entering campus. Religious exemptions are difficult to obtain, as some local religious leaders are denying exemption notes to their congregations. Trustee president Cody Birkey, vice president Dr. Shin
In November 2020, Artesia voters approved Measure Q. The ballot measure allowed for taxes to be collected from the cultivation and sale of cannabis if the Artesia City Council were to lift the current prohibitions on medical and commercial cannabis activities. Since the passage of Measure Q, the City has received several unsolicited proposals from owners and operators of cannabis dispensaries and related businesses in California inquiring about the opportunity to open a business. Some of these proposals offer ed minimum guaranteed revenue to the City between $360,000 and $750,000 each year. On many licenses granted in cities, a large licensing fee at the signing of the contract is also paid. In May 2021, staff requested direction from the City Council regarding the potential future of medical and commercial cannabis activities. At the August 2021 meeting, the City Council asked for further information, including what steps would have to be taken to lift the City’s moratoriums on
medical and commercial cannabis activities, how payments to the City for items such as business licenses would be processed, and to provide examples of cities with regulated cannabis programs with only a minimal number of facilities. City staff reached out to a dozen cities to gather more information; of these cities, Carson and Bell allow for certain cannabis uses, but have no cur-
See CANNABIS page 12
Some 62+ Can Now Defer Property Taxes BY BRIAN HEWS The State Controller's Property Tax Postponement Program allows homeowners who are 62 years or older, blind or have a disability, to apply to defer payment of property taxes on their principal residence. You cannot have a total household income of $45,811 or greater, must have at least 40 percent equity in the property, and not have a reverse mortgage on the property. Applications may be filed as soon as October 1, 2021 and as late as February 10, 2022. Last year, California homeowners received more than $4.3 million in property tax assistance. The interest rate for taxes postponed under the program is five
See TAXES page 12
TRUSTEES at the meeting voted 6-1 for the campus mandate. Liu, Carmen Avalos, Mariana Pacheco, Marisa Perez and student trustee Ninel Sutherland voted in favor of the mandate.
Trustee Zurich Lewis stood alone in his opposition to the vaccine requirement. “Norwalk La Mirada school
See MANDATE page 12