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• Norwalk’s and Pico Rivera's Only Community Newspaper • Vol. 4 No 14• July 23, 2010

Korean War Veterans Recognition Day Ceremony July 27 at Cerritos Center for Performing Arts

Cerritos Mayor Joseph Cho presents proclamation to Korean War Veterans who recently returned from South Korea in observance of the 60th Anniversary of the War. The proclamation declared July 27 National Korean War Veterans Recognition Day. The group presented the Mayor with a picture of the veterans and members of their families taken in front of the Veteran’s Memorial adjacent to city hall.

City of Bell:

Why cities need a community newspaper

Jerry Bernstein At the Cerritos City Council meeting of July 8, Mayor Joseph Cho issued a proclamation declaring July 27 as Korean War Veterans Day in recognition of a war known in this country as “The Forgotten War.” Mayor Cho stated “Koreans and Korean-Americans have never forgotten the war or the heroic efforts of the Veterans who sacrificed for the freedom and liberty of the Korean People. Although the fighting stopped on July 27, 1953 with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, the Korean War never formally ended. For the last 57 years, the Korean peninsula has been under an ongoing cold war situation which most people prefer not to discuss.” The Korean War began on June 25 1950 when the North Korean Army crossed the 38th parallel at 4 a.m. invading the Republic of Korea [ROK]. This was a war where 23,615 American fighting men were killed in action defending a country they knew little about and a people they did not know,

It was years ago that Bell had a community newspaper, it was called the Bell, Maywood, Cudahy Community News. I know this because it was part of a larger newspaper group my family owned. Art Aguilar was the editor at the time and, suffice to say, you did not mess with Art. Coincidentally, we sold those papers in 1998, right around the time Bell hired its highly overpaid City Administrator. This is exactly why cities need a vibrant community newspaper. We are the watchdog for the residents, keeping in check what goes on in the city. Johnny-come-lately bloggers have no chance at a story like this unless they are lucky, and then it is not in print. It takes someone like LCCN Editor Jerry [See SALARIES Page 4]

ALL SHOWS ONLY $30* SAVE $26! See page 3! A war where 2,847 died in Prisoner of War Camps. On July 24, 2009, President Obama proclaimed July 27, 2009, as National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. On July 27, 2009, President Barack Obama signed H.R. 2632, the Korean War Veterans Recognition Act. Prior to reaching the president's desk, the bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 421-0 and the Senate by unanimous consent. H.R. 2632 adds the National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day to the list of days on which the display of the flag of the United States is especially encouraged. Mayor Cho's proclamation declaring July 27 as Korean War Veterans Recognition Day is the first of any city in the US. In honor of the Korean War Veterans Recognition Day, the Cerritos KoreanAmerican community will hold a special ceremony at the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts located at 12700 Center Court Drive in Cerritos. The ceremony, which will begin at 10:00 am on July 27, will feature a band from the Republic of Korea Navy along with teams of Honor Guard, and Samulnori (Korean tradition[See VETERANS Page 11]

Funding issues main topic at Hawaiian Gardens Council meeting Larry Caballero

Brian Hews

Pirates!

Consent Calendar items on a city council agenda are usually considered routine and are enacted by one motion and one vote, unless discussion is desired. Yet all of the items were removed from the calendar for discussion at the Jun. 13 Hawaiian Gardens City Council meeting because two of the members— Barry Bruce and Reynaldo Rodriguez— had budgetary concerns. “We need to cut consulting costs,” Rodriguez said. “We’re making these firms rich.” Three firms alone, said Rodriguez, received more than $500,000 from the City. “And I’m not counting attorney fees.” Rodriguez wanted to cut these services to provide more funding for seniors, youth, park and recreation projects and to protect the City’s reserve from future economic downturns. Bruce had concerns about the City’s donation policy related to general city contributions to non-profit organizations and local schools. “The guidelines are too general,” said Bruce. “We give grants without documentation and we

need full disclosure to be sure that residents from Hawaiian Gardens, and not only surrounding communities, are taking advantage of the benefits the City provides.” Bruce was concerned that local schools are always expecting Hawaiian Gardens “to rescue them.” In some cases, the program had already expired before the City was asked for funding. “That’s just rude,” said Bruce. He wanted future requests for funding to be made in person and an oral presentation, with a slide show if possible, to the Council once the project [See FUNDING Page 11]

More Inside NORWALK CITY COUNCIL- Page 2 MERITORIOUS MARINE - Page 3 LETTER FROM EDITOR - Page 4 ABC PARENT PROGRAM - Page 7 COMMUNITY SPORTS - Page 12-13

2 COMMUNITY NEWS GROUP • JULY 23, 2010

www.loscerritosnews.net

Norwalk Rotary inducts new president

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Norwalk City Council approves lien list for unpaid trash fees By Shelley Henderson

[l-r] Don Skala (outgoing President) with Briant Carcamo. more importantly, he is optimistic about attracting new and energetic young professionals who are looking for an opportunity to feel good about serving their community. His enthusiasm is contagious. He stated that there are so many projects that can help fulfill that need to belong to a community that cares about itself. The club meets every Wed at noon at the Sizzler (Imperial & Pioneer). The new Pres has extended an open invitation to anyone in the community who would like to learn about Rotary to join them for lunch any Wednesday, or call membership chairperson, Reyhan Belici @ 562-822-1487.

Briant Carcamo has been inducted as the President of the Norwalk Rotary Club for the Rotary year 2010/2011. At a luncheon at Bruce’s outgoing Pres, Don Skala, commented that the Norwalk club has had a lifeline twice that of the incoming Pres. Although he may be young, Carcamo, is well experienced about Rotary, having attended the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) camp when he attended Norwalk High School. He was also once a recipient of a Rotary Scholarship. He was in the process of creating a community based Rotary Club when he was recruited into join the already long established Norwalk Club. Briant brings a fresh outlook to what Rotary can do for the community. But

Winning lottery ticket sold in Cerritos A lottery ticket recently sold in Cerritos is worth $210,214, the California Lottery said today. The ticket has all five winning numbers out of the 39 numbers possible in the Fantasy Five game. Saturday night's drawing picked 7, 10, 16, 36 and 39. It was sold at the Cerritos Market Store, 12606 South Street, lottery officials said.

At its regular meeting on July 20, three members of Norwalk City Council voted unanimously to approve a list of properties with unpaid trash fees and send that list to the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor to place a lien on each property. Two members of the Council were absent for the vote. A lien for unpaid city fees clouds a property’s title. The lien must be paid before the property can be sold. According to a staff report, 1,678 notices adding up to $402,000 were mailed on March 31 to property owners with unpaid trash fees. Of that number, 1,206 remain unpaid, adding up to $318,000. A lien will be placed on all properties with fees not paid by July 31, 2010. In other business, the Council confirmed approval of two items in this meeting’s consent calendar that first came up for a vote at its last meeting on July 7. Both needed a second vote to become effective. The first item, Ordinance No. 101631, amends the Norwalk municipal code in regards to charity car washes. At the prior meeting, Councilman Michael Mendez noted that the city had no choice because restrictions on water runoff were mandated by the State of California. Without the change, the City would be open to huge state fines. He worried that schools would find it harder to raise funds. Councilman Jesse Luera expressed concern for families raising money to pay for funerals. Councilwoman Cheri Kelley wor-

ried about the safety of children trying to catch the attention of drivers. Councilman Rick Ramirez asserted that it will be hard to educate the public about the change, and that the new ordinance will need consistent enforcement. Despite these concerns, the ordinance passed unanimously at the July 7 meeting and received final approval at the July 20 meeting. The second item, Resolution No. 1024, amends the 2010-2011 City budget to pay for a school resource deputy and matching funds to qualify for a grant for upgrades to Vista Verde Park. The same resolution called for a reduction in hours of operation at the Norwalk Senior Center due to lack of funds. As discussed at the July 7 meeting, the City expects that at least part of the expense for the school resource deputy will be recovered from a U.S. Justice Department Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). The City’s 2010 JAG allocation is $61,505 but the funds have not yet been awarded. The resolution passed unanimously at the July 7 meeting and received final approval at the July 20 meeting without further discussion. The last item of Council business, a request to waive property maintenance enforcement fees for the property at 16105 – 16115 Norwalk Blvd., was delayed to the next Council meeting at the request of Councilman Luera because of the absence of Councilman Mendez. A roll call vote on Councilwoman Kelley’s motion to deny the waiver was already in progress. Mayor Gordon Stefenhagen agreed to the delay over Kelley’s objec[See NORWALK Page 11]

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