Vaqs, Lobos look forward to fall ‘13
A very good ‘Night’
SPORTS/10
Last Chance tour for the Halos?
ARTS&LIVING/5
SPORTS/10
Over 25,000 readers weekly n Thursday, July 25, 2013 n www.ggjournal.com n Vol. 31, No. 59 n Phone: 714-539-6018 n Fax: 714-539-6079
Viets elders find a home in adult day facilities
WSD BOARD MEETS ON TAUER’S FATE
SOUNDS OF THE SUMMER
By Marc Ramirez The Dallas Morning News
Continued on page 2
n INDEX Arts & Living/5 Dear Marilyn/5 Don Alexander/10 Jim Tortolano/3 Journalisms/3 Legal notices/6-8 News & Views/3-4 Pop N Stuff/4 Sports/10 This Week/3
FUTURE
NEWS
What to expect in the Journal for the next issue and beyond . . . .
District superintendent has been on paid leave since July 1 vote
JOURNAL PHOTO
Neil Morrow and his band performed at Eastgate Park in West Garden Grove last Thursday as part of the Garden Grove Community Foundation’s free Summer Concert Series. Tonight (Thursday) it will be Instant Replay, with the music starting at 6:30 p.m. In Westminster at 6 p.m. in the Civic Center Sunken Gardens, it’ll be Woodie and the Long Boards.
The fate of Superintendent Richard Tauer, placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month, comes before the Westminster School District Board of Trustees when it meets tonight (Thursday). Tauer has been superintendent since July 1, 2010 after serving as assistant superintendent for human resources. He was hired under a threeyear contract but a divided WSD board put him on leave at a special meeting earlier this month. The agenda for tonight’s meeting includes a closed session set to begin at 6 p.m. in the district offices, located at 14121 Cedarwood Ave., Westminster. Listed items in the closed session include “superintendent evaluation” as well as “public employee/ discipline/dismissal/release.” At recent meetings, Tauer and some board members have clashed over reinstatement of certain administrative posts the superintendent felt were important to the operation of the district. Some
RICHARD TAUER Superintendent
trustees were concerned about the cost of those employees. Also on the agenda are four items related to charter school facilities, authorization, oversight and renewal in the WSD. The regular session is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. The WSD is a K-8 district serving most of Westminster as well as Midway City and parts of Garden Grove and Fountain Valley. The next meeting of the WSD board is set for Aug. 8.
Plans for Central Park on Western Avenue advance By Jim Tortolano Garden Grove Journal
Plans for a new Central Park for Stanton took another step forward Tuesday night as the City Council approved an initial study for the project. On a 4-0 vote (with Councilman Brian Dona-
n STANTON CITY COUNCIL
hue absent), the council approved the document that will advance construction of the proposed park at 10660 Western Ave., the site of the former Mary Perez Elementary School of the Magnolia
GGUSD bonds get a boost from Moody’s By Andy Russle Garden Grove Journal
General obligations bonds for school modernization for the Garden Grove Unified School District got a boost Tuesday as the financial instruments got a high rating. Moody’s Investor Service gave an Aa2 rating on $119.9 million Series C of the $248 million bond issue, approved by local voters in 2010. The Aa2 rating is considered to be the second- or third-best rating possible for bonds. The service also affirmed
its Aa2 status for Series A and B, which have helped finance upgrades on GGUSD construction now underway. In its report, Moody’s supported its rating by noting that “the bonds are secured by an unlimited property tax pledge of the district.” Last week the GGUSD board voted to raise property taxes in the district to cover eventual repayment of the bonds; the typical homeowner will see a $7.22 increase in property taxes. The rating could rise even further if the local tax property tax base improves. Property Continued on page 8
School District. Now occupied with a golf driving range and tennis courts, the new park would include three soccer fields, a baseball/softball diamond and other sports and recreation facilities. The site map shown at Tuesday night’s meeting is not to be considered the final plan, but the council was urged to approve the initial study to meet an early deadline to apply for Proposition 84 parks money from the State of California. “The clock is starting to tick,” said City Manager Jim Box. The awarding of a contract to build the park is expected to take place in 2014. An update on the project will be presented to the city council this August or September. Also Tuesday night, the council heard a presentation on Stanton’s GRIP (Gang Reduction and Intervention Program) which serves about 95 youngsters in two locations in the city. Unlike similar programs in other cities, the Stanton program runs year-round, instead of only during the school year, the council was told.
COMING UP: Coverage of Westminster City Council and Westminster School District .... More high school football schedules for the fall ... an unusual Retorts column from Jim Tortolano ....
FIVE-DAY WEATHER
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – For years she was a radio announcer in Vietnam, but as a 74-year-old immigrant to the U.S., Oanh Tran’s ability to communicate is limited. The idea of going to a senior center was intimidating _ at least until she found Texas Golden Age Adult Day Care Center. The Vietnamese-oriented senior center gives her a place to interact with her peers, and the affection she feels from others there, she said, ``makes me feel like I belong.’’ That’s the idea at Golden Age, which Loan Ngo and husband Yduc started two years ago in Arlington. About 140 Vietnamese seniors are enrolled, with about half showing up on any given day for tai chi classes, games of Chinese chess, Asian food and basic medical attention from onsite nurses. “We’re old, too, so we understand what they need,’’ Ngo told The Dallas Morning News .She’s 69; her husband is 78. Monthly activities include joint birthday celebrations and styling services. “Look!’’ Ngo said, stopping a woman passing with a plate of pork and rice to display the woman’s freshly manicured hands. “All the women have beautiful nails.’’ Vietnamese communities in the U.S. are barely four decades old, their older generations formed by lives of war, suspicion and displacement. Largely concentrated in San Jose and Orange County, Calif., and to a lesser extent Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, they carved out enclaves where culture and language could be preserved as they assimilated to American life. The members of that first generation who fled Vietnam are now into their 60s, 70s and 80s. Meanwhile, their children are grown and busy, caught between raising their own kids and taking care of aging parents who traditionally live in the same household. “They don’t have time to stay home and take care of them,’’ said Mai-Phuong Nguyen, a physician and board member of Acacia Adult Day Services in Garden
Thursday
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THE FESTIVAL AMPHITHEATER stage in the VIllage Green Park on Main Street in Garden Grove.
Help wanted: to run a theater in G. Grove The curtain may be rising next year on a new theater company in Garden Grove, or perhaps observers will see the continuation of an established troupe. The City of Garden Grove is seeking a facility operator to “deliver high-quality performing arts” at the 540seat Festival Amphitheater on Main Street in downtown Garden Grove. This request for proposals is triggered by the planned departure of Thomas Bradac, who has the contract to operate the facility. He will be stepping down from his
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position as head of Shakespeare Orange County, which has been the resident theater company since 2003. The city plans to enter into a five-year agreement with the next operator, with an option to renew the contract for two more five-year terms. However, the process won’t necessarily result in a new operation. John Wolcutt of Shakespeare Orange County has announced his intention to operate the facility and continue SOC’s tenure there. Continued on page 8
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