Vol. 51, No.10
Serving the San Gabriel Valley Since 1966
March 6, 2013
Special Section
Local Events
Entertainment
Sports
Student's Corner
Temple City, San Gabriel, & ROSEMEAD PAGE 6
page 2, 3 Visit Car Culture at http://www.midvalleynews.com/
page 5
page 7,8
page 3,
Visit Us Online at www.midvalleynews.com for more Highlights of Local Schools and Events from the San Gabriel Valley Area.
Grand Opening of Armed Monte Vista School Welcomes Guest Readers for Read Aloud Day Forces Recruitment Center El Monte
“The more that you read, the more things that you’ll know, the more that you know the more places you’ll go.” This inspirational quote from famed children’s author Dr. Seuss was the theme running through Monte Vista School’s Read Aloud Day. Joining in the celebration of literacy and sharing the importance of reading were special guest readers who visited classrooms to read a book to the students. Guest readers included students from South El Monte High School (SEMHS), Monte Vista retirees, community members, parent volunteers, school personnel and Mountain View School District employees and board members. “The kids are so adorable,” said Tiffany Olmos, a freshman at SEMHS. “It was a lot of fun reading to them and letting them know that reading is an important skill to have.”
by Michele Earle
The Read Aloud Day celebration is an annual event that staff and students look forward to. “We appreciate our reading volunteers participating in our Read Aloud Day,” said Roberto Lopez, Monte Vista principal. “It’s very impactful for our students when someone other than their teacher reads to them. It gives them an opportunity to see the important role reading has played in the lives of the readers. They also learn that reading is a fun hobby that many people enjoy.” “I hope to get a job working with young kids,” said Alondra Flores, a senior at SEMHS. “This provided me experience interacting with the students and it was fun. They were a good audience and liked my book.” MVSD superintendent, Lillian Maldonado French read “I, Doko” a story about the golden rule of treating others like you would like to be treated to sev-
enth graders in Karyn Johnny’s class. Ms. French encouraged the students to dialog about the story and use higher level thinking to analyze the message. “I really like our Read Aloud Day,” said a second grader eagerly waiting for Michael Coughlin, MVSD’s Assistant Superintendent of Business Services to read One Little Chicken. “It’s really fun to hear stories and have people visit our classroom.” Sixth graders in Melissa Montellano’s class enjoyed the book LaRue for Mayor read by Monte Vista employee, Kathy Bailey. “I picked this book because it’s timely with the Mayoral race going on in Los Angeles the students are hearing a lot about it on the news and seeing the campaign commercials and I thought they’d like to learn a little more about it,” said Bailey. Each guest reader presented the classroom they read in with a book which was purchased by the school. Students also created special thank you notes and certificates for the readers.
Last Tuesday, February 26th, a new Armed Forces recruiting center opened at 3703 Peck Road in El Monte. The center will house the recruiting offices of the United States Marines, Army and Navy. The ribbon cutting/grand opening ceremony was well-attended by local city officials from El Monte and South El Monte, with Army
by Ken Rausch
Lieutenant Colonel Peterson serving as the Master of Ceremonies. “El Monte has demonstrated its commitment to our Armed Forces and especially our Veterans”, El Monte City Councilman Juventino “J” Gomez stated, “it is an honor to have this recruiting center in our city”. The center is one of the largest in Southern California.
Lt. Col. Peterson and El Monte Mayor Louie A. Aguiñaga
Local & County officals welcome the Armed Services Career Center to El Monte
Adam Carranza, Mountain View School District Board of Education Member reads to third graders at Monte Vista School.
Gasoline Excise Tax to Increase 3.5 Cents on July 1, 2013
by Jaime Garza
Effective July 1, 2013, the excise tax on gasoline will increase 3.5 cents per gallon to 39.5 cents per gallon and the excise tax on diesel fuel will remain unchanged at 10 cents per gallon following a vote February 28, 2013 by the California State Board of Equalization, which executed its legislative mandate to adjust the rate by March 1. Although excise tax in not
paid directly by the consumer, the gas station owner may choose to pass this tax onto the consumer in the form of higher gas prices. While the excise on gasoline will go up by 3.5 cents, the BOE cannot predict what the selling price of gasoline will be on July 1, 2013. In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill x8 6, Ch. 11, and
Senate Bill 70, Ch. 9. These bills lowered the sales and use tax rate on gasoline and increased the excise tax rate on July 1, 2010. The laws require the annual sales and excise taxes paid on gasoline to remain revenue neutral. They also mandated the BOE to adjust the excise tax rate by March 1 of each year in order to ensure revenue neutrality.
"The legislature mandated that we equalize the sales and excise taxes to avoid a net increase in taxes, " said Chairman Jerome E. Horton. “We could protest the legislation and not make the rate adjustment, however we would be violating law and arguably exposing taxpayers to even higher taxes in the future."