The Los Alamitos city council received a briefing from the Orange County Sanitation District about a trunk line sewer rehabilitation project that will disrupt traffic for approximately 10 months or longer.
The massive trunk line rehabilitation project will include areas of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach, Kathy Milliea, Director of Engineering, told the council this past Monday.
“We understand the inconvenience, Milliea told the Council, saying the project team at OCSD is prepared to utilize a variety of outreach mediums to keep residents notified once the project begins.
Outgoing Mayor Richard D. Murphy, who served for four years on the board of the OCSD, said “without a doubt, it is the number one sanitation district in the world. People come from all over the world to study how it’s done in the Orange County Sanitation District.”
Milliea explained that there are two major sewer trunk lines running down either side of Los Alamitos/Seal Beach Boulevard that feed sewer discharges to either of two treatment plants, one in Fountain Valley, the other in Huntington Beach.
“For some reason,” said Milliea, the district gets calcium buildups in the joints of the pipe only in this area. The calcium deposits build up in the lines and must be periodically cleaned.
A photo of calcium building up in the lines.
The calcium “restricts capacity on this line and if not cleaned, will “tear up equipment.”
Therefore, she said the district will go out for bid on the project early in 2021 and they expect to award the bids in April, with construction projected to begin in the summer of 2021.
She demonstrated the specialized machines that will plumb the lines underground, moving from one section of pipe to the other. The specialized equipment will test every joint where one section of pipe meets another.
Each joint will be “air tested,” she said, meaning that if air is found to be escaping from any part of the joint, this means water can get in and with it, bring more calcium.
She said the specialized equipment will be able to fix the joint underground. Only in rare cases will it become necessary to “tear up the concrete” to dig down to the joint, said Milliea.
Milliea said the district has already begun the outreach to the broader community, seeking their opinion on the best times to perform the work.
Quite naturally, she said residential areas want the work to be done at night to cut down on noise while business communities wanted the work done during the day so that traffic to their businesses would not be impeded.
“We are supportive of our communities,” said Milliea, and “we understand the impact.”
Therefore, she said the district reached a compromise of sorts, work will proceed during the night for the stretches of work near Rossmoor and during the day when the work moves closer to the business community in Los Alamitos.
“Seal Beach was quite clear,” said Milliea, “they want all of the work to be done at night.”
Daisy Covarrubias, who will head the outreach for the sanitation district, briefly explained how the district planned to use email, web, letters and social media to keep residents notified once the project is underway.
She said residents will be able to sign up for email updates.
Council member Shelley Hasselbrink asked Milliea to consider issuing a weekly advisory similar to those being issued by construction workers on the 405 Freeway, while Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Chirco asked them to consider using video or other media easier for some residents to consume.
“The good news,” said Milliea, “once this is done, you won’t see us again for another 50 years.”
Chabad of Los Alamitos held its first ever drive-in menorah lighting on Monday night at Los Alamitos Race Course.
Dozens of Jewish families from Los Al, Cypress, Seal Beach and other pockets of Orange County and Los Angeles got comfy in their cars and watched on a large screen as a 9-foot menorah was lit.
The special event also included broadcasting and music.
They also enjoyed a Chanukah concert and party with music transmitted via FM radio. Traditional Jewish foods such as latkes and jelly doughnuts were served.
“It’s more complicated, but much safer,” said Rabbi Shmuel Marcus, of Chabad of Los Alamitos, an orthodox synagogue. “Allowing families to celebrate the festival from the safety of their own vehicle is by far the safest way to go.”
The official Chanukah holiday, also known as Festival of Lights, starts on Thursday, Dec. 10.
Though public menorah lightings are not unusual, this was the first drive-in style ceremony offered by Chabad of Los Alamitos, for an obvious reason. The production in the Race Course parking lot, at 4961 Katella Ave. in Cypress, was billed as a “COVID safe event.”
Rabbi Marcus led prayers, preached and sang.
Gatherers honked their horns to show approval and excitement.
Singer/songwriter Isaac Gordon performed. Menorah kits were handed out for those who didn’t bring their own. Those on hand took selfies with their candelabrums. Dreidels were spun.
“It’s a wonderful way for us to come together and support each other,” said Sandra Serota, who drove from Fountain Valley with her family. “Chanukah is a time of celebration.”
“Being able to celebrate with other people in a safe way is so important,” said Matt Paretsky, of Los Alamitos.
Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem around 200 B.C., after Jewish fighters triumphed over their oppressors. The story goes that they lit the menorah in the Holy Temple with a one-day supply of oil, and it burned for eight days.
Starting Dec. 10, the Jewish faithful will light one candle on their menorahs every night for eight nights, to signify and celebrate a miracle.
Driving or strolling around Seal Beach, Cypress, Rossmoor and other areas, you’ll likely see menorahs in windows.
In a historically tumultuous year, they are, to many, more poignant than ever.
“That’s what we’re celebrating,” Rabbi Marcus told the crowd. “That little jar of oil that gets us through, and cannot be broken.”
The Los Alamitos Youth Center is again selling trees, wreaths and ornaments this Christmas season in the Ganahl Lumber parking lot to support local kids.
Selecting a tree from the Youth Center is a time-honored annual tradition for many locals, with every penny raised going directly to The Youth Center’s after school programs, music program, the Leadership Academy, “Every 15 Minutes” Camp SHARK and Teen Camp. Proceeds also fund scholarships for low-income families. Not only do 100 percent of the tree lot’s proceeds go to support kids, other nonprofits in Los Alamitos benefit as well, including Precious Life Shelter, Casa Youth Shelter, Grateful Hearts and We Care of Los Alamitos. Through a partnership with We Care of Los Alamitos, free trees are annually provided to families in need. To-date, The Youth Center has donated more than 2,000 trees.
The lot is located at Ganahl Lumber, 10742 Los Alamitos Blvd., in Los Alamitos. Lot hours are weekdays noon to 9 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“In addition to providing our location, as they have done for 22 years, Ganahl Lumber is donating $25,000 to cover all the trees The Youth Center will donate to families in need and Military families this year,” said Lina Lumme, Executive Director of The Youth Center. “Many local parents were laid off this year, and the Christmas tree lot allows us to raise the funds needed to keep our doors open and continue helping families throughout the holiday season and beyond,” she continued.
This year, more than 300 volunteers, including those from the Seal Beach Lions Club, LAHS Baseball, Biker’s Club, local school kids and community members are helping by setting up the lot and serving customers.
For more information on The Youth Center Tree Lot, visit www.theyouthcenter.org/christmas-tree-lot/ or call 562.493.4043.
From an early age, story-telling and drawing had a big influence on Rossmoor resident Rozanne Willams. She remembers her father and grandfather telling her stories about the old country, after her grandparents had emigrated from Poland around 1913-14.
Rozanne Williams
Her early experiences were drawing and creating comic books that her uncle, a fifth grade teacher, would share with his students. Williams would eventually go into teaching herself and after leaving the classroom, she went back into writing. Instead of comics, she began writing resource books, designed as student workbooks for early elementary grades students.
One of her books, “The Coin Counting Book,” taught kids the value of coins, and how many various coins it took to add up to a dollar, for example. Recently, Williams moved back into story type books, but still in the theme of money. Her latest six-book series tell stories designed to help young children learn basic concepts of money. It’s called the “Financial Literacy for Kids,” series.
“This takes everything a step further,” Williams said of the new series.
Rather than workbooks that help young students learn letter writing, or basic math, the new series are books that tell stories about starting a business or earning money. Characters in the book, Cat and Dog, often in this case, learn about budgeting money by understanding wants versus needs and how to go about starting a business. While the concepts are adult, the books keep things simple for young students and give them a basic understanding.
Williams began her teaching career in Los Angeles and even taught in Germany at the Department of Defense American School. She mostly taught third grade, but early on in her career she decided to create her own classroom materials and much as possible. One of those resource books was designed to inspire students to write.
That book was eventually picked up by her friend and mentor Terry Garnholz, who was a senior editor at Educational Insights. The book was expanded into a three-book series for publication and Williams was off on a new track.
These days she mostly writes for Creative Teaching Press in Cypress. Much of her work has encompasses themes such as family, maps or science, but the financial literacy series is a venture into more of a mass market work for her. They are still designed for emergent readers, but they teach in a new way that most of her prior work does not.
“This is a new format for me,” Williams said.
While the Financial Literacy Series are more like story books, they still focus on key words for understanding and offer activity tips for students or readers to follow up. Williams’ first love was art. The book “Charlotte’s Web,” hooked her on reading. Her next love could be writing stories to teach.
The word “auteur” is reserved for those filmmakers who have distinguished themselves through their work. Among those directors who have earned that coveted recognition are, Gus Van Sant, Christopher Nolan, David O. Russell, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Pedro Almodóvar, and Quentin Tarantino. Tanzanian-American Ekwa Msangi makes her directorial debut with her perfect script Farewell Amor. If this film is an example of her talent, and future works bear her signature, she is certainly destined to join those ranks.
Farewell Amor is a tender story about an immigrant family facing new beginnings. Essentially a three-hander, the finely fleshed out characters are brought to life by the stirring performances of the principal actors. It’s time for rediscovery and director Msangi divides the film into three segments to reflect the adjustments each of the characters is trying to make. The first segment focuses on Walter, amazingly brought to life by Ntare Guma Mbaho. He left his wife and daughter in Angola 17 years ago to escape the civil war.
Since then, he has been working as a cab driver earning just enough money to pay for his living expenses, including rent on his claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment, sending whatever is left to his wife. The time has finally come when all the immigration red tape has been met and his family can now join him in America. His wife Esther, played by Zainab Jah, embodies the complexities of her character, and arrives at La Guardia Airport with their daughter Sylvia, played by Jayme Lawson. There is an awkward greeting between them for they meet again almost as strangers and before long they find themselves caught between two cultures. As the newly arrived immigrants take their first ride through the busy city streets, cinematographer Bruce Francis Cole captures both the grittiness of New York as well as the wonder reflected in the eyes of these newcomers.
At the family dinner that evening, Esther insists that they say grace first and Walter begins to get a glimpse of how deeply religious she is, which began when she fled to Tanzania. Confessing that she’s been celibate since they separated, that evening there is an attempt at lovemaking, but Walter is clearly conflicted and turns his back away from her. Religion is deeply entrenched in his wife and she would rather go to church than enjoy a family outing. He tries to accommodate her wishes, but clearly is having difficulties and doesn’t participate in singing the hymns. Other forbidden things on her list include drinking wine and dancing, both of which he has been enjoying. Osei Essed’s lively soundtrack is a wonderful blend of African roots music as well as popular American selections. With his powerful inner life and spellbinding understated performance at one point, Walter sniffs something from a bag hidden in a closet and without a word, we realize that there is another woman in his life. He subsequently throws the bag in the trash and continues to remain present and distant at the same time. At one point his daughter says, “Poppa do you love us?”
The next segment is from Sylvia’s point of view. On her first day at school, she meets fellow student D.J., nicely portrayed by Marcus Scribner. He grew up in the south without a father, and on discovering that she likes to dance, suggests that she try out for the Step Team. Her first new friend walks her home and when Esther sees him in their tiny apartment, she forbids her to have friends or dance, forcing her to kneel and pray for forgiveness. At school, Sylvia injures her hand and Walter takes her to the hospital. While waiting, he shares how he and her mother met at university and what great times they had dancing together. Sylvia doesn’t understand why he didn’t send for them sooner and he answers, “red tape.” He also explains that “This country is very hard for black people and dancing is the one place I can show myself,” encouraging her to dance. There is a quiet exchange between Walter and the nurse Linda (Nana Mensah) and we begin to understand exactly who she is and his struggle to let go of that relationship, one that has been loving and supportive.
In the segment devoted to Esther, we see her slowly uncovering his secret as mail addressed to Linda keeps arriving. She spends most of her time cleaning, cooking, and talking to her sister back home, who advises her to increase her donations to the church, and they pray together over the phone. Esther finally confronts her husband about Linda and he replies, “She gave me hope.” We begin to understand that although Walter was in this loving relationship, he is committed to his wife and daughter. In an effort to discuss everything, he takes his wife out to dinner in a beautiful restaurant. She bought a new dress and looks lovely, exuding a softness we haven’t seen before as she comes off as pretty unlikeable. They discuss their past and what takes place is surprising and either you will smile or shed a tear or two.
Farewell Amor could have easily slipped into a soap opera, but the finely honed script and razor-sharp, but gentle directing, resulted in an unforgettable family drama, illuminating aspects of the universal human condition and the inherent challenges therein, including sacrifices for the greater good. While all the performances are fully realized, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine’s totally internalized characterization of Walter is spellbinding and we must patiently await his next role and what awards he will garner. As far as the title Farewell Amor, that could have several interpretations. What do you think?
“Farewell Amor”
Release Date: December 11, 2020
Where: In Theatres and on Digital and VOD Platforms
Language: English
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
The Rossmoor Woman’s Club honored Los Alamitos High School seniors Ava Faris and Giovanni Paduano as students of the month for November and December, respectively.
Ava Faris is a senior at Los Alamitos High School. At Los Al, she loves to get involved in as many activities as possible.
Ava Faris
Ava is the varsity cross country captain and has participated in both track and cross country all four years. In addition, she is the president of California Scholarship Federation, a board member on the Growing Up STEM Club, and a member of Model United Nations and French Honor Society. In college, she hopes to study either criminal justice or economics with a minor in French.
Gio Paduano has been a member of the Los Alamitos Boys Volleyball program throughout his four years at Los Alamitos High School. He has been involved with ASB during the past two years serving as Junior Class President, and currently as the Spirit Commissioner. He has also been a member of CSF and the National and Spanish Honor Societies.
Academically, Gio has maintained a cumulative 4.5 GPA. Outside of school he has been involved with the National League of Young Men, providing volunteer hours to organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House and Heart of the City. Gio hopes to attend a university within the UC or CSU system where he plans to major in Business Administration.
Each student received a certificate and $600 scholarship award from the Rossmoor Woman’s Club.
Three Los Alamitos High School students — Mackenzie Ficke, Amy Lam, and Corinn Tiffany — have been selected as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. More than 1.5 million high-school juniors from about 21,000 high schools nationwide competed in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The 16,000 semifinalists are selected from the highest-scoring students in each state and represent less than one percent of those taking the test. Semifinalists will be notified in February if they move on to become finalists.
Mackenzie Ficke
Ficke is a student athlete on the LAHS varsity softball team and on a club team based in Cerritos. When she’s not practicing softball or working at Chick-Fil-A, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her friends and family. Her favorite high school memory is getting to play LAHS softball with her younger sister. She hopes to study biological or chemical engineering in college.
Amy Lam
Lam is president of Classical Music Appreciation club, an event leader in the Growing Up STEM club, and a violinist in the LAHS string orchestra. In her free time, she enjoys listening to Rachmaninoff and making earrings for her friends. Her favorite LAHS memories are cooking ramen in Mr. Jones’ AP Chemistry class and coding frog games in Mr. Grant’s AP computer science classes. She intends to study cognitive science or sociology in college with a minor in Spanish language.
Tiffany Corrin
Tiffany is co-president of The Environmental Activism Club and Growing Up STEM Club. In her free time, she enjoys taking care of her plants and baking sourdough. Her favorite LAHS memory is winning cross country League Finals with her friends. In college, she hopes to pursue computational biology.
Two new incoming members of the Los Alamitos city council will be asked to take the so-called Fiscal Accountability Pledge after they are sworn in.
Two new members, Jordan Nefulda and Ron Bates, will be sworn in December, and Mayor Pro-tem Mark Chirco wants them to take the Fiscal Accountability Pledge taken by the current Council before the election.
“It looks like Measure Y is going to pass,” said Chirco, “and we’re (council) are being entrusted with more of our residents’ sales tax, something that was absolutely needed.”
The 1.5 percent sales tax that was narrowly passed by voters Nov. 3 is estimated to produce as much as $4 million annually for city operations.
Since the tax was undedicated, meaning it will go straight into the city’s general fund and can be spent for any purpose, city council members created their own guardrails by drawing up a “Fiscal Accountability Pledge” that they individually agreed to before the community voted on Nov 3.
“I’d ask that we put the Fiscal Accountability Pledge on the January agenda,” asked Chirco, “and I think it’s important that they get a chance to sign on to that pledge.”
Mayor Richard D. Murphy did not run for re-election and council member Dean Grose apparently lost to Tanya Doby by a razor thin edge.
Also this week, Murphy congratulated the city’s finance department for receiving an award for “Financial Reporting Achievement” from the Government Finance Officers Association.
As Interim Finance Director Craig Koehler said “thank you” and held up the award, city manager Chet Simmons said “we’re obviously ensuring that we’re continuously keeping an eye on the books.”
“Craig and I have talked about significantly ensuring that our numbers are correct and making sure we can always revert back to double, triple check that our numbers are correct.”
He thanked the entire department, including Ryan Phelps and Norma Murillo for their work in winning the award.
Finally, the city recognized Chief Eric R. Nunez to congratulate the police department for the quick work of many officers after the Oct. 18 burglary at Casa Youth Shelter in Los Alamitos.
“Because of the pro-active and quick response from the police department, numerous stolen items were recovered and solved other cases,” said Murphy.
A further investigation by detectives resulted in “several career criminals” being arrested,” the mayor said.
Nunez thanked the city for their recognition, but said not all officers involved “in this incredible arrest” were on the call so he called them out, starting with Corporal Dalana Lopez, who he said spotted the suspicious vehicle and ran the records check that activated the take down.
When the plate came back stolen, she received backup from Officer David Rael-brook and Sgt. John Krok who helped take the suspects into custody, the police chief said.
Detective Nestor Rodriguez coordinated an investigation that tied the suspects with the stolen items back to Casa Youth Shelter, said Nunez, also complimenting the work of Officer Joseph Medici, and records specialists Amanda McDowell and Riley Hill for their “monumental work” booking all of the stolen property and evidence in the case.
“I just want to add that that that that the fact that they (suspects) did have that shotgun as part of that evidence,” said Nunez, “really elevated the significance of the risk of the arrest.”
Nunez complimented the professionalism of the Department. “I just want to thank them for being out there doing that kind of work there every day.”
Following a nine-month process that included outreach and internal investigations, the Cypress city council voted 4-1 this past week to approve an environmental impact review and award to representatives of Amazon a conditional use permit to operate a “last mile” facility.
Saying Amazon brings with them “lots of opportunity,” Mayor Ron Johnson made the motion to approve the project and it passed 4-1 with only Mayor Pro-Tem Mariellen Yarc voting against.
The action clears the way for Amazon to complete the process of permitting the ‘last-mile’ distribution center. Once operational, it will process packages daily, load them onto local delivery trucks for “last mile” delivery.
Mitsubishi Motors of America had occupied the site since 1983. They announced in 2019 that they were moving their corporate operations to Franklin, Tenn., leaving the site vacant.
Although Amazon plans on utilizing the former Mitsubishi warehouse, the gleaming office building out front “shall remain in place solely for aesthetic purposes to screen the project site,” according to the staff report.
Amazon’s permit does not allow it to occupy the building without further council approval, but they are required to maintain it.
Approximately 70,000 square feet of research space and 4,000 square feet of mezzanine warehouse space “will be demolished” as Amazon plans another warehouse and a host of other improvements on the site (see related story).
Following Mitsubishi’s departure, Duke Realty, of Irvine began marketing the 22.3-acre site on Katella Ave. Duke had initially filed the application for a conditional use permit on Amazon’s behalf back in March. Since then, Amazon and Duke have held numerous forums and outreach sessions to answer citizen questions.
Melissa Watkins, an outreach coordinator, said Amazon will have dedicated email addresses for citizen concerns going forward.
Even activists like Brittany Cook, often skeptical of the council, and who said she still doesn’t know “if I’m for or against” this project, complimented the city for the vast amount of due diligence. “Concerns are being addressed,” she said. “The city is doing a really good job.”
During the public hearing before the vote, citizens lined up (via Zoom) to comment on the project. Not all were in favor, but most were.
Will Sheer, who will become Amazon’s station chief in Cypress, explained the daily routine to the council and the public. As a former UPS driver who knows Cypress well, he promised an open door to the community.
Twenty-year Cypress resident Thomas Curtin said he opposed the project “for a number of reasons.” He said the union construction jobs “will only last a month” and “we have to live with the project for many years.”
Amazon, who contracts out deliveries to independent drivers, “has a history of dismissing themselves from “responsibility” when accidents or mishaps occur. “They’re rather short sighted,” he said.
George Pardon, Director of Citizens for the Responsible Development of Cypress, himself sometimes critical, this time had only positive things to say about the Amazon proposal.
After asking numerous questions, Pardon said he had received inciteful answers. “More and more,” said Pardon, “as e-commerce grows, they should be a part of the business mix in Cypress.”
Shelia Lewis, a 6-year resident of Cypress, who lives behind the project said she had concern for wildlife and other questions. “I am not a supporter of the project,” she said.
Vanessa Burtle, a small business owner, said she fully supported the project. “They (Amazon) could be excellent partners within our city,” she said, especially with “job creation.”
Several labor union members from outside of Cypress also testified on behalf the project, saying the project would create many well-paying construction jobs.
Walter Comeaux, who supports the project and lives near to it, was unsuccessful in petitioning the council to force Amazon to construct a literal noise barrier rather than a planned natural berm barrier.
Ron Noda, Acting Deputy City Manager from Los Alamitos, did ask Amazon and Duke to sit down with city planning officials to resolve an unspecified issue that is of concern.
After several more speakers, the mayor closed the public hearing and offered the motion of approve.
“I’m old fashioned,” said Yarc, speaking for herself and of her concern for area residents. “I don’t want or think we deserve this business in their backyard.”
“I know the world is changing,” she said, “but I don’t have to like it.”
Yarc said could not cast her “one last voting opportunity” for a project she did not believe in. “I don’t think it’s right for Cypress.”
Council member Stacy Berry, who had earlier expressed concerns about the project, said “this is a great opportunity for the city. Virtual shopping is the wave of the future,” said
Berry, adding that Amazon has answered concerns raised by residents.
Having so much “high tech” and a “global brand” in town would ultimately be good business, she said. Berry also thanked citizens for their “thoughtful” civic engagement during the process.
“Amazon has agreed to 130 conditions on this project,” said Council member Paulo Morales. He said the new employment opportunities would be “great for career-oriented college students” and others. Morales said he remembers when similar concerns about property value depreciation were expressed about a major business locating in Cypress. Homes near it today are worth at least $800,000 to $1 million, he said.
The strongest argument opponents have used against the project is the lack of benefits from the project, since Amazon will not sell goods at the site, thus no sales tax will be generated.
While Amazon’s trucks will generate an additional $100,000 to the city budget annually, the fact that the permit also requires Amazon to be all electric by 2025 negates such a benefit.
Council member Jon Peat went through a number of the ‘concessions’ to demonstrate how Amazon is committed to becoming a good corporate neighbor. For instance, Peat asked Amazon’s representatives to confirm that no forklifts will be used on site, no backup beepers can be used, no horns, etc.
Peat seconded Mayor Johnson’s motion and the Council voted to approve the Amazon proposal 4-1.
The Los Alamitos High School Jazz program will present its annual winter concert entitled “Inspiration 2020” on December 15, and the school released a “trailer” this week that hints at the first-ever concert that will include video and audio as part of the presentation.
Chad Lefkowit-Brown
The Los Alamitos High School Jazz program consists of three large director-led ensembles and three small-group student-led ensembles called jazz combos. Public performance of jazz music is at the heart of the program.
To stream the event, the school has set up a special web address where fans, boosters and parents can either contribute to the program or simply receive a digital key that will unlock the presentation.
According to the fundraising chair, Cynthia Murnane, while there is “no cost” to attend the performance, “we are hoping for donations.”
Parents and boosters connected to the program say fundraising is the key to retaining the excellence and opportunities for the many students participating in the program.
Murnane and Colleen Ryan, Booster Club President, have arranged several fundraising activities to generate support for the program.
They said the ‘Jazz Students’ and their parents will also be selling See’s candy for three Sunday’s at the Ganahl/Youth Center Christmas Tree lot: November 29th, December 6th and December 13th.
In addition, they plan to sell community business sponsorships to support our overall efforts. Sponsors will be advertised during the night of the concert.
And if fans want to entertain all of their senses, they have, “as part of our fundraising efforts,” made arrangements for Flippin’ Pizza in Long Beach and Wahoo’s on Los Alamitos Blvd to support take out dining during the night of the concert.
Accordingly, participants can mention Los Alamitos High School Jazz Program with their order and get takeout that night to enjoy with the concert. The Jazz program will generate 25% of the sales from these takeout orders.
“The cost of this program is significant and the additional needs as a result of COVID make our fundraising goal unique this year,” said Murnane.
According to Ryan, “normally we are fundraising for the kids to go to competitive music festivals-but this year we are fundraising for this special program and the additional technical and production needs that accompany it.”
Funds raised will be used to support the program, pay for production of the performance, teach kids about the technical aspects of music, and raise awareness about the school’s unique music program.
In addition to the three Los Al jazz combos, special musical guests include saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and trumpeter Willie Murillo. They will perform with the jazz combos by making special guest appearances.
For additional info, call 562-209-2480, or email Cynthia Murnane,
Cy*****@***********ds.com or Colleen Ryan, co**********@***lb.edu,and visit https://youtu.be/wDlMWIiA3vo.
To reserve tickets, please visit: https://lahs jazz orchestra.anywhereseat.com.
Once participants receive their log in, organizers say they will be able to stream the show anytime from 7-11 p.m. Dec. 15.
What happens when you are elected Chairwoman of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce and three months later, all of a sudden you find yourself struggling to save your own business and the Chamber as well?
For Nesi Stewart, such a situation was all too real when the pandemic struck without warning in March. “My initial thought was ‘we can’t do this,’” said Stewart this week.
When it became obvious that what many thought would be a two-week lockdown in March became an indefinite setback, she wondered “how will we function.”
Nesi’s journey to Los Alamitos began in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she was born. Her parents moved to Lancaster when she was 15, and eventually she attended college in Los Angeles.
For two decades, Stewart worked for a general contractor in the Bay Area, “wearing hard hats and steel toed boots” as she supervised construction of some major facilities, including one of the largest school complexes in Los Angeles.
Those days are gone now, but Stewart said she has an affinity for construction sites, even thinking about visiting the site of a hotel under construction near her office to chat it up with the hard hats. “I have flashbacks,” she laughs.
Stewart finally hung up her steel toed boots in 2007 when she and her husband Carl moved to the area. “We wanted to buy a business,” she said. The Stewarts had their eye on another business but purchased the Printmasters print shop in Los Alamitos when that deal fell through.
“Now, I’m glad it did,” she said, as she and Carl have made a success of their multi-purpose printing facility on Los Al Boulevard.
The ambitious businesswoman had big plans for the Chamber, while fate had its own plan for Stewart.
Suddenly, under orders from the government, her business, like every business in town, was shuttered. The Chamber’s only part-time employee, Toni Hauger, was put on furlough and the city became a virtual ghost town overnight.
The situation was not exactly what Stewart had in mind when elected Chair of the Chamber. “Several businesses have closed,” she said, some permanently.
Stewart said, when she was finally able to reopen their printing business, they were fortunate because the pandemic drove a mini-printing boom with social distancing signs, emergency placards, etc.
While business has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Stewart said her situation soon stabilized and she began calling around to Chamber members to take stock.
The membership, she said, “was happy to know we were there and still trying to network to keep things going.” Many members, she said this week, “are still struggling.”
Stewart said the Chamber was in a rebuilding phase when the pandemic hit, and the Chamber had grown to having more than 200 members and was on a steep incline when the pandemic hit.
Now, she said, the Chamber is working even harder to prove its value to local businesses. Stewart has strengthened ties with key partners like the City of Los Al, Los Al Unified and others.
She implemented Zoom meetings and the Chamber is again meeting monthly. Hauger has returned to work and a recent membership mailing netted more than 60 memberships, she said.
“People ask me all of the time what do I get out of the Chamber,” said Stewart. “I tell them that the Chamber is one of those organizations where you get out what you put into it.” Stewart said her business has benefited from the being in the Chamber but added, “I’ve put a lot into it.”
Nevertheless, after a few dark months during lockdown, Stewart said things have steadied both in business and for the Chamber as well.
“We have to be vigilant to get new members,” said Stewart, “but we’re growing again.”
Stewart and the current board of directors recently agreed during a Zoom meeting to continue in their current roles for another term. There is simply no way for the Chamber to facilitate an election, therefore Stewart said her term and the entire current Chamber board will be extended for another year. The board is still discussing what type of online event to host in January in lieu of its annual January fundraiser. “We’re still working on it,” she said.
“I’m encouraged,” she said, adding that the Chamber will continue its online networking meetings to preserve continuity and hopes to return to normal in-person meetings as soon as the pandemic will allow.
In spite of current obstacles, Stewart said she and her husband Carl are totally happy they made the decision to buy the business and become a part of the Los Al community. They will celebrate their 13th year in business on Dec. 10.
Stewart and Printmasters have also just announced a student art contest that they hope will bring joy and opportunity to students throughout the community.
Stewart, who firmly believes “timing is everything,” said she thinks 2020 has been a year of “unforeseen challenges. In her words, the year 2021 “can’t get here soon enough.”
Last week’s vote by the City of Cypress to welcome Amazon to the neighborhood produced some surprises and perhaps gave the community a glimpse at how drastically the economic environment has been changed by ecommerce and amplified by COVID.
Cypress has enjoyed a plethora of major brands who have located there since its founding in 1956 as the city’s economy has followed America’s transition over the past seven decades.
Amazon, a tiny upstart that has become the world’s first ubiquitous brand, will replace Mitsubishi on a premier 22.3-acre site in Cypress.
In the case of Mitsubishi, a combination of factors prompted the move. Although they cited the state’s high costs, other factors obviously played a role in their departure.
Among them, and likely a strong influence, is the fact that Tennessee has somewhat become the southern U.S. auto headquarters, where Nissan, who now owns more than a third of Mitsubishi, is constructing an $800 million manufacturing plant.
Nevertheless, now that Mitsubishi has taken its 200 jobs to Nashville, is Cypress now in a better or worse position with Amazon? That was largely what the multi-month debate centered around.
To their credit, Cypress and its staff began an extensive investigation that produced much needed data and a foundation of facts upon which a decision could be made. In fact, the case presented was apparently strong enough to prompt some activists initially against the proposal to flip and support it.
Although the proposed Amazon last-mile facility “was a relatively new use” facility in the city zoning codes, and did not necessarily “fit” within any of its present zoning uses, Cypress city staff determined it was “eligible” because it complies with the Cypress Corporate Center Master Plan.
In doing so, however, Amazon has agreed to 130 “conditions” in the conditional use permit “CUP” the council approved. If violated, the CUP can be revoked, officials said.
For example, Amazon will be required to heavily invest in the former Mitsubishi 22.3-acre site, including refurbishing and bolstering the berm separating the site from existing neighborhoods. They must add additional trees throughout the site, including to the existing pine trees to the eastern edge, maintaining existing trees and shrubs along the western edge fence, etc.
Further, the permit requires strict aesthetic construction guidelines which call for the orderly destruction of some buildings on the site and requires a certain “look” of new structures on the site.
Amazon’s permit does not allow them to “provide delivery operations to other on-line shopping or delivery companies.”
The facility plans to operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week, expecting to have 190 total delivery vans “dispatched in 20-minute increments” between 9 – 11 a.m.
In addition, 18 line-haul trucks will deliver packages from the Inland Empire to the Cypress last-mile facility “generally between 5-8:00 a.m. Approximately 280 additional delivery vans depart between 7 -8 a.m.
Approximately 120 employees will arrive between 1:30 – 5:30 a.m. which “mitigates traffic during morning rush hour” while 55 afternoon employees will arrive between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to mitigate the afternoon traffic rush. The permit does allow for some deviation for special occasions like Amazon Prime Week and holidays.
Moreover, the permit requires Amazon to further reduce impacts by becoming the first ‘last-mile’ station to be facilitated with all electric vehicles.
“Amazon shall transition to an all-electric delivery fleet in the most expeditious manner possible and no later than December 31, 2025,” reads the permit, although it does provide allowances for exceptional circumstances.
The 180,000 square foot building closest to Katella will be maintained, but Amazon will not be allowed to occupy the building without altering its permit by reappearing before the council.
The permit literally cites hundreds of specifics, including such things as not allowing diesel trucks servicing the facility to idle “more than five minutes” and prohibiting deliveries from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
And while Mitsubishi went south with 200 jobs, an Economic Benefit Analysis estimates the Amazon project will ultimately support 1,030 jobs in the area, generating labor income of $58 million annually, with a “total annual regional economic output” of $136.7 million.
Moreover, the project will “provide a one-time contribution” of $350,000 to the city as a “contribution toward street and infrastructure maintenance” at the time of building permit issuance.
According to the city’s analysis, the project will also provide to the city’s Recreation and Parks District “an estimated $94,000” generated by off-site sales and property taxes.
Finally, under the CUP, “Amazon shall make good faith effort to include Cypress residents in the candidate pool for employment opportunities at the Cypress facility.”
Even before the pandemic, Amazon was among the most valuable companies in the world, having gambled on ecommerce decades before many others.
With the onset of the pandemic, life has evolved around ecommerce, making Amazon virtually ubiquitous.
Amazon, which is expected to globally deliver 3.5 billion packages this year, is working to transition its entire fleet to electric vehicles. Globally, Amazon has hired approximately 1,400 new employees per day since the pandemic began, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Time will tell the wisdom of welcoming Amazon to the neighborhood, but with ecommerce as the wave of the future, at the very least Cypress has secured itself a major role in it.
Editor’s Note: While this story includes some of the concessions and economic impacts of the Amazon proposal in Cypress, it does include them all. For interested readers, the entire document can be viewed at cypressca.org.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to ask Cypress residents to oppose the proposed construction of a truck-to-truck direct-tip trash transfer station as well as a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Fueling Station at the Cypress City Yard located at 5285 Cypress St which is north of Lincoln between Moody and Walker. I have visited the home of a resident living next to the City Yard and I must say I am both shocked and saddened that this project is even being considered. This proposed project is in very close proximity to homes, apartments, a school, a park, a church, businesses, etc. Many residents in the residential area are very concerned about the health and safety issues related to this proposed project. More specifically: 1) King Elementary School that is catty-corner to the site is a Title 1 school; 2) the 170 unit Tara Village Apartment complex that is immediately west of the site is a low-income housing tax credit apartment development; and 3) there is a 97 year old World War 2 veteran who lives in a house that backs up to the site. Not only is this a dangerous project, it is impacting our most vulnerable residents.
Some of the reasons residents oppose this project are serious health and safety concerns.
A concern with a direct-tip truck-to-truck solid waste transfer facility is that it is hard to control air-borne debris and vectors. Flies, rats, and other pest infestations are major vectors of many infectious diseases specifically related to trash facilities. There would be at least 14 trash trucks and 7 semi-trucks visiting the site every weekday. A CNG Fueling Station has safety concerns that were evidenced as recently as June 2020 in Riverside where there was an explosion at a CNG Fueling Station that injured 2 people, 1 critically. Also, both of these proposed facilities emit smells and generate noise levels that no one would want to live near. The City should not be leasing out city owned property to a private business that will cause both health and financial damage to the residents.
Along with many other residents, Lord’s Light Community Church is yet another organization being impacted. Lord’s Light is a growing Korean Church. While their address is 5271 Lincoln Ave, Cypress, their parking lot entrance is off of Cypress St. across from the City Yard. The church has a lot of programs during the week for children and seniors and during the summer, they have a full daycare and summer school program for children. The church is in the process of getting a loan to renovate and expand on that site. Instead of looking forward to expanding, the church is now concerned about the ramifications of the Valley Vista proposal on the health and safety of their congregation.
I know the residents have already gathered over 500 signatures opposing this project even during a pandemic. I have asked the City how many more signatures are needed to convince them that this is not a project the community wants. I have not heard back. It is sad to think that residents in this area are left no alternative but to go out during the pandemic spread that is underway to get more signatures, but they will. That’s how important this is to them.
We also don’t want to forget the 2018 agreement that the city entered into with the Cypress School District to park and maintain their school buses at the City Yard. The purpose of this agreement was to help facilitate the school district’s efforts to sell their administrative site at Moody and Orange. Now that the school district has entered into an agreement to sell the Moody and Orange site, all the school buses will also be housed and maintained at the City Yard. Let’s pray that if the city approves the Valley Vista proposal that the rats and other vermin from the trash don’t find their way onto our school buses.
Everyone should check out where the White Pages indicate George Briggeman lives. He is the person who is pushing this proposal for Valley Vista. You can be sure residents in his upscale Newport Beach neighborhood wouldn’t tolerate a project like this in their neighborhood and I am sure Mr. Briggeman would be leading the charge in opposition.
Given where Mr. Briggeman lives, he certainly isn’t struggling with the finances of the Valley Vista current agreement yet our residents will be significantly impacted if this proposal is approved.
This proposal should be a concern for every Cypress resident because it means that every trash truck will need to navigate their way through the city in order to get to the City Yard and then return to where they left off. It also means that if the City Council is willing to consider this proposal for this neighborhood north of Lincoln, what will they consider for your neighborhood in the future?
The City Council has done more than enough to meet the needs of Valley Vista. This proposal is going too far. Please email the Cypress City Clerk at ci*******@*******ca.org with a statement of opposition to the Valley Vista proposal and ask that your comments be included in the Public Comments section of the next Cypress City Council agenda.
Thank you.
George Pardon
Cypress Resident
Despite setting aside funds from reserves to cover a projected budget deficit for the most recent budget year, the La Palma city council learned this week that will not be necessary.
“Things were a bit different back in March,” said the city’s financial consultant Michael Matsumoto, when projections had to be made after the initial onset of the pandemic.
Officials then estimated the city could run a fiscal 2019-2020 budget deficit of approximately $500,000 because of stay at home orders and other COVID implications.
Since then, said Matsumoto, “revenues exceeded expenditures and the deficit did not happen.”
First of all, he said tax collections ran closer than expected to normal, the city received two grants and unexpected long-term investment income of approximately $200,000.
And, because of the pandemic, many expenses that had been budgeted were not expended so it all combined to produce a “million-dollar swing” to balance the budget.
Matsumoto told the council that it was no longer necessary to take funds from its reserves to balance last year’s budget.
Going forward, Matsumoto said “it is still not absolutely clear where COVID is going to go and affect our finances.”
While the current budget does show a slight deficit, the finance consultant said, “I’m not sure you will end up with that deficit unless things get a lot worse.”
Matsumoto recommended the city wait until early 2021 to make any changes.
The Council skirmished a bit over leaving funds budgeted for the “Festival of Nations” event that was scheduled for earlier this year and which has now been moved to 2021.
Acknowledging they could always move the funds if the pandemic prevents the city from hosting the event, the council voted 4-1 to approve a resolution to amend the 2021 budget.
Also, the council voted to allow city staff to continue negotiating with Elite Taekwondo, a tenant on city property to whom the city has granted conditions and waived rent because of the stay-at-home orders and other COVID complications.
Mayor Peter Kim asked if the tenant had received one of the small business grants from the city and was told yes by staff. Several members of the council said they wanted to do everything possible to help the small business.
“I want to be a good steward,” said council member Marshall Goodman, “but I want us to be good stewards as well.”
The council okay’d continued negotiations and will revisit the item in December.
In other action this week, the La Palma Council:
• Voted unanimously to approve a raise in the salary of the city manager from $190,000 to $199,500 per year, plus benefits.
• Approved an Award of Contract in the amount of $222,970.60 to PlayCore Wisconsin Inc., dba GameTime, for Replacement of Playground Equipment and Surfacing at El Rancho Verde Park.
• Approved an Award of Contract in the amount of $278,700.00 to the low bidder, LJB Construction, Incorporated for the City Hall Restroom Refurbishment Project.
• Approved an Award of Contract in the amount of $349,900.00 to the low bidder, InterPacific, Incorporated for the City Hall Electrical Upgrades Project.
• Authorized additional project funding in the amount of $97,635 from the Capital Outlay Reserve.
• Approved “long overdue” parking lot improvements for the La Palma Shopping Center.
• Welcomed new council members Debbie Baker and Mark Waldman. They will be sworn in at the Council’s next week. Mayor Peter Kim and council member Gerard Goedhart have termed out.
The Los Alamitos City Council expressed satisfaction with the direction of an emerging transient policy after receiving an in-depth briefing from the city’s police department.
“It is referred to as a bridge program,” said Sgt. Chris Lee, who is the city homeless liaison officer told the council during a lengthy briefing at their most recent meeting.
The new approach bridges “traditional law enforcement actions of citations and arrests” and the work of social organizations, which could be governmental mental health agencies and other nonprofits.
Moreover, Lee said the approach has been sanctioned by federal Judge David Carter, who has found himself at the center of major rulings involving the homeless and the Catholic workers lawsuit.
“Instead of an arrest first mentality,” said Lee, officers first educate themselves about potential remedies and services for transients and homeless people and then attempt to provide services to them.
He said habitual transients are those who have remained in the area for a year or more, saying there were between four and six such transients in Los Alamitos.
Many homeless requiring medical services, come into the city from the riverbed when they need medical attention, said Lee, saying the location of Los Al Medical Center prompts many “walk-ins.”
Lee said officers get to know them and rather than arrest them, they offer services based on what they find out from the transients.
Lee said he planned to work with the Los Al Chamber of Commerce so that his unit can better coordinate with local businesses.
“We’re going to continue to expand the training,” said Lee, “including crisis intervention training and some environmental design type of training where we can go out at work with business owners property owners and take a look at the way their properties are set up and maybe make some suggestions.”
In addition, Lee said they are developing a document for business to sign in advance that will allow police to make arrests when transients refuse to leave the premises.
Currently, he said, “if a business wants a person arrested for trespassing, a representative of that business has to be present and essentially affect a private person’s arrest. We’re probably not going to find a business owner in their business at 2:00 o’clock in the morning.”
However, said Lee “if the business owner or property owners signs a letter agreeing to support prosecution and essentially asking the Los Alamitos Police Department to affect an arrest (they are) basically authorizing us to act on their behalf.”
That program is eventually going to be rolled out here, hopefully with the cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce, said Lee.
Even then, said Lee, providing for the needs of transients would still take precedent. “We realize that we are not going to be able to arrest our way out of a transient situation,” he concluded.
With a potential $1.9 million remaining unspent from their federal coronavirus aid funding, a Cypress city councilman has asked the city to investigate the possibility of using those funds to provide a new grant program for local institutions hard hitby the virus.
Council member Jon Peat inquired about the progress of their efforts to create a grant program for the city’s 30 nonprofit organizations.
“I’m just wondering if it is possible that we could consider using the surplus money to help our community,” said Peat.
Acknowledging that the nonprofit grant program is slated to be back before the Council in the spring of 2021, Peat wondered if that “would be permissible uses” of the funding.
Although Peat’s request came two meetings ago, City Manager Peter Grant got a thumbs up on Monday after he gave the Council a sneak peek at what he and the staff were envisioning as a COVID 2.0 small enterprise rescue fund. Peat has been pushing to expand or enhance the current grant program to the city’s nonprofits, which in the past have received mostly in-kind services.
Grant initially wondered aloud about the city’s ability to administer such a program with current staffing, noting that there was a very low bar for entry to the earlier COVID program.
There are no administrative or funding connections to the purported federal aid surplus so “it could certainly be used” to fund small business grants like those distributed earlier this year.
After Peat’s request “to allow for the potential for all 30 nonprofits to ask for some level of assistance to cover costs or lost revenue,” Grant noted that, earlier in the year, the council “very successfully’ put $1.2 million in federal funds back into the community via grants.
“So that is a model we could certainly replicate,” he said.
Grant quickly outlined the parameters of a new grant program, seeking input before the holidays as the staff put the final touches on the program before it is presumably ratified in January.
Of the available $1.9 million in remaining funds, Grant said $750,000 will be set aside for $5000 grants to the 150 small businesses in the city.
An additional $500,000 would be set aside to, “for the lack of a better term,” assist the smaller enterprises that “survive the pandemic.”
Another $350,000 would be dedicated to food security to either assisting existing food distribution programs or allow Cypress restaurants to participate by providing vouchers of some sort.
“The idea there would be that, at $15 per meal, $350,000 could provide up to 25,000 meals,” said Grant.
Finally, he said, the remaining $300,000 would be set aside to allow the city’s nonprofit grant application program. “The details are still being worked out,” he said.
Incidentally, the Cypress small business grant program administered earlier this year has been nominated for an award by the Orange County Business Association.
Justin Padilla does not just take the stage. He makes an entrance.
His students sit exactly where he once sat, and Padilla knows that only if he is at his best will students feel compelled to do the same.
“As go I, so go they,” says Padilla. “You have to own the moment.”
Padilla’s long musical journey has lifted him from a second-grade clarinet player to conducting at what many call the pinnacle of music education in southern California.
Justin Padilla
After fourteen years of impressive success as band director of Oak Middle School, Padilla was named Director of Jazz and Orchestra at Los Alamitos High School in 2016.
For Padilla, music has been a priority since second grade.
It began when Padilla’s single mom Linda (Newman) took him to what he calls “the instrument petting zoo at seven years old.”
“I don’t know why,” he says, “but I came home with a clarinet.”
“My mom got me started and supported me the whole way,” emphasized Padilla. From his second-grade trip to the music store to college and beyond, Padilla said his mom has “always managed to get me what I needed.”
“I don’t know why I started on the clarinet,” said Padilla. “After a semester, I switched to saxophone,” he says, while he was still learning the scales and other musical basics.
When he switched to sax, his mom stepped in again.
Padilla said his uncle Tony owned an alto saxophone. “My mom talked my uncle into letting me have it,” smiled Padilla. He now proudly owned an alto saxophone. Padilla began blowing the sax in third grade and has never stopped.
According to Padilla, as his interest blossomed in music, so did the support provided by his mom. At every opportunity, says Padilla, she stepped in to procure instruments, provide lessons and was always there with moral support.
The young Padilla quickly became a soloist and a very respected junior high sax player. When he moved up to Hesperia High School, Padilla says he was fortunate to strike up a friendship with Josh Fox.
Fox was a senior and “an amazing sax player,” says Padilla, who remembers meeting him as a lowly freshman. Yet, Fox became somewhat of a role model and mentor for Padilla.
Fox introduced Padilla to well-known music teacher Chuck Deremo, who had once been the standout sax player for the great band leader, Stan Kenton.
Again, his mom wrote the check to pay for her son to take private lessons with Deremo.
With Padilla now in high school, Deremo began to mold new techniques into the impressionable Padilla’s musical repertoire, teaching him to embrace his own style and how better to read sheet music.
“He (Deremo) really, took me through the paces,” said Padilla. Looking back, Padilla remembers, Deremo provided him with a critical intervention during his early musical development.
As a tween, it should be noted that while still learning, Padilla was already a well-respected saxophonist. He landed in all the area honor bands and was a soloist at festivals.
While competing with Hesperia High School (marching and concert) bands, Padilla won top awards at many of the same festivals that his students compete in today.
In addition to playing the sax, Padilla says he has always had a drum “hobby.” At 12,
Padilla’s mom had finally bought him a drum set. “She got tired of me beating on the pillows,” he says wryly, noting he had a pair of drumsticks “years before I finally got the drums.”
Padilla and his older brother Matt, a guitar player, started a grunge rock band. “We played the grunge circuit throughout high school,” laughs Padilla. While rock-and-roll was fun, said Padilla, he nevertheless knew his future was in the big band sound.
Padilla’s rock music hobby in no way distracted from his dedication to the sax. Throughout high school, Padilla was among the best sax players in the region, winning awards for solos and other accolades.
Most notably, Padilla earned a spot in the prestigious Tournament of Roses high school band and marched the iconic Rose parade route his sophomore, junior and senior years.
Learning music in those days, remembers Padilla, was hard. He said kids then had to work extremely hard to hear musical influences and share other musical experiences they sought.
Cassette tapes were all the rage, CD-ROM’s were scarce and living in the high desert, finding music they wanted to hear on the radio was quite a chore.
“The Cabana Boys” jazz fusion group at Fullerton.
“It was back in the day when we had to drive an hour through the desert to be able to listen to 88.1 FM,” said Padilla. For Padilla and his friends, it was sheer exhilaration when a hour-or-so into their car ride they could begin to hear the crackle of the greats like Hoagie Carmichael as the static dissolved into jazz on the car’s radio.
By now, their road trips also included going to see his friend Josh play in the Jazz Ensemble at Fullterton Junior College. “That band was screaming and swinging,” said Padilla.
“We would get as many of us into a car as we could fit and off we’d go to listen to Josh Fox,” he remembers.
Padilla can quickly recite his many teachers, influencers and former band directors. “I will never forget,” he said, noting that his first grade school music directo was Carmen DeLacruz.
Perhaps the most influential, however, was Leo Potts.
Potts is a legendary music teacher, having worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and others.
Padilla had entered junior college at Fullerton and was introduced to Potts by his friend Josh Fox. Again, his mom said yes, and paid for more private lessons.
Padilla said he had no idea what he was about to encounter. Little did he realize it, but Potts was about to ask him to forget most of what he knew about playing the saxophone.
“I remember going into the little studio Mr. Potts had behind his house,” Padilla said. Potts, he said, was notoriously tough. “Many who entered that little studio left in tears,” said Padilla.
“He (Potts) strips you down of all you think you know. He totally takes control of you,” said Padilla, still seemingly startled as he retells the story.
Playing fusion jazz at Fullerton Junior College
“Potts asked me to start by playing a single note,” said Padilla, “yes, a single note. Then two,” he said.
Padilla said he played only two notes over and over, “maybe for an hour,” he said.
“Mr. Potts made me play those two notes over and over until the musical transition from one note to the next was absolutely pitch perfect,” said Padilla. “He was so tough, but his artistry so deep,” he said.
Even today, as he remembers Potts, Padilla said“I learned from him how to make beautiful music with only four simple notes.”
Using techniques taught by Potts, Padilla said he learned that precision of musical artistry resulted from how precisely the notes are played, regardless of how they are arranged.
Using only four notes, Padilla learned, one can create “music played so sweetly, it can make the angels weep.”
For Padilla, “the beauty of four notes” would become a lifelong lesson.
Padilla soon became the first in his family to graduate from college. After finishing with Mr. Potts and Fullerton Junior College, he transferred to California State University, Long Beach, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in both Music Education and Saxophone Performance and where he also completed graduate studies in Instrumental Conducting.
Since then, Padilla has transformed multiple music programs into thriving programs.
He was chosen 2012 Oak Middle School Teacher of the Year, 2014 Los Alamitos District Teacher of the Year, the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators’ 2014 Secondary Instrumental Music Teacher of the Year, and 2016 Orange County Music and Arts Administrators’ Music Educator of Excellence.
Even as a young man, Padilla had already grown comfortable on stage.
As a musician, Padilla is considered a saxophone authority and still plays semi-professionally, though his main stage is now much larger; his mission more profound.
When he became Director at Los Al, Padilla inherited a significant jazz ecosystem that had been developed by local jazz legend Chuck Wackerman, and others. He acknowledges excellence in the program “was happening way before me.”
Even so, Padilla is making his own mark. Having had such a strong foundation of expert teaching and coaching, Padilla is rapidly building his own brand of musical success.
Ben Zander, the widely acclaimed Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, has written “the musical conductor does not make a sound. The art of music can only be conveyed through its interpreters,” said Zander, “and the conductor must depend on his ability to make others feel powerful.”
So far, Padilla has been able to do just that.
Although he is working hard to elevate the “orchestra” to achieve new levels of excellence, the school’s three jazz bands are already rocking hot.
For the last four years, the top jazz ensemble members have been invited to the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. In 2020, the top jazz combo placed 3rd marking a historic first-time top placing at the Next Gen festival.
All three jazz ensembles and various combos have placed first in their respective divisions at the Reno, RCC, and Irvine jazz festivals. “Many of our students have received top scholarship prizes at the Monterey, Irvine, and Esperanza jazz festivals,” he said.
Each year, Los Alamitos jazz members audition into the All-Southern California, and All-State Honor Jazz Ensembles representing the best of the best in the region and state.
Last year, he said, “one of our jazz musicians, Santiago Lopez, was awarded the Downbeat Award for Best High School tenor saxophonist, and Honorable Mention at the L.A. Music Center’s Spotlight competition.”
“One of my students even tried out, and made, the Tournament of Roses high school band,” says Padilla.
Padilla’s early influences and life lessons now accompany him to every practice, every performance and are obviously beginning to pay huge dividends for him and his students.
Legions of “band parents” starting from his time at Oak Middle School, until now, look up to Padilla as he equally embraces them. “If you engage parents, they will be supportive,” he says.
Karen Denyer, now an alumnus, was a longtime band booster. She first met Padilla when her two sons took music under him at Oak Middle School.
By a stroke of luck, her sons graduated to high school the same year Padilla was named Director, creating the long association.
“As we are reflecting, I’m smiling,” said Denyer. “I remember all the times I chased down Mr. Padilla with those famous words, ‘Mr. Padilla, I have an idea.’”
“He knew new ideas were great for the program and he was always open to them,” she said.
Such wisdom was never so evident as his latest ambitious undertaking, entitled Inspiration 2020. Four years in, Padilla is charting his own course by standing on the shoulders of those who came before him.
Padilla, however, is adding an additional layer of artistry by inviting mentors of national acclaim to create experiences for his kids, not unlike what his mom had done for him.
For instance, to bolster the upcoming “Inspiration 2020” event, Padilla has reached out to Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, a YouTube saxophone sensation. Lefkowitz, 30, whom Padilla calls a “phenom sax player” has accompanied Taylor Swift, Chris Bodie and others.
Between now and the Dec. 15 event, at which Lefkowitz-Brown will perform with Padilla’s students, Leftkowitz will also hold two “master-classes” attended by the LAHS student musicians.
“That means something to them,” said Padilla, believing these young music professionals can further “bring out the music” from his students.
The same is true for top trumpet player Willie Murillo, whom Padilla has also enlisted to participate in the upcoming Inspiration 2020 virtual concert.
Even though COVID has tried to silence the music this year, Padilla has found a novel way for Los Al music to play on.
“My job is to create memorable experiences for these students,” he said. Honestly speaking, Padilla says student musicians today are “far ahead” of where he was at this point in development, saying modern technology can bring them any music of their choice to the palm of their hands.
For his much-anticipated winter concert, Padilla and his team have turned to advanced software and other technologies to allow his students to perform.
Each student will each record their individual parts while the software will edit the performances into an entire orchestra to produce the full, rich sound of a Padilla concert.
“It is a teaching moment,” said Padilla, noting that his students are not only getting a chance to perform, but also an opportunity to learn technology that will enhance their future careers. The edited pieces will be performed in conjunction with a live production of Los Alamitos TV.
Every year, he graduates hundreds of young musicians. Padilla said he knows each one of them has a future, not all in music, but all will have music in their lives.
At the very least, Padilla wants students to have learned some of the lessons he was fortunate to have learned, hoping they will go on to make beautiful music of their lives.
Given the chance to make a difference for his students, it is not suprising that a man of such musical magic will has found an impressive way to “take the stage,” even during a pandemic.
With prominent guests and eager students, Inspiration2020 on Dec. 15 promises to be just that.
Justin Padilla, for sure, will be at his best…and yes, he will make an entrance.
Editors Note: To attend Inspiration2020, visit www.lahsjazzorchestra.anywhereseat.com.
The mayor of Los Alamitos, whose term ends next month, says, this week, that he is gratified that Measure Y was approved by voters, yet the city still has some convincing to do.
Voters on Nov. 3 approved the measure by a slim margin of 3,060 votes for to 2,946 against.
Although the official returns will not be certified for another week or so, the Orange County Registrar’s office said this past weekend that there were not enough uncounted votes remaining to change the outcome, in essence calling the race in favor of the tax.
City officials have been trying every way to communicate the city’s financial straits to its citizens.
Initially, the city had proposed a one-cent sales tax, but eventually decided to ask voters to consider a 1.5 cent sales tax. After debates and discussions, city officials decided they should utilize the city’s only remaining taxing authority before another state agency grabbed it.
Thus, the proposal became 1.5 cents instead of a single penny.
City officials estimated (pre-COVID) that the measure will generate about $4 million per year for the city.
Long before the city even decided to ask for a vote, however, officials were busy holding a series of community meetings in multiple locations with residents to explain in detail the city’s financial plight.
“We explained that this problem began long before our term,” said Murphy, noting also that the city has made drastic cuts over the past two decades.
For real, most city employees accepted pay cuts for the current year, with some employees managing more than one position to balance the 2021 budget.
Yet, says Murphy, despite those significant efforts, the close vote may also indicate that many residents were not convinced of the city’s true financial position.
“I am very happy and relieved that it passed,” said Murphy, “yet I’m surprised that some voters were still not convinced that we weren’t bluffing.” Had the measure not passed, said Murphy, “the council would have had no choice but to start making larger and larger cuts.”
Murphy, who chose not to run for re-election, said based on feedback he’s heard, the razor thin margin could have also been a result of many emotional issues during the term and some uncertainty surrounding the virus.
“There were more than 30 similar propositions in other cities that failed,” he said, noting “it is a tough time (to pass a tax).”
Murphy said voters across the state approved slightly more than half of the municipal propositions on the ballot, with slightly less than half of them failing to gain voter approval.
Nevertheless, because the measure did pass, said Murphy, he felt like it demonstrated that voters “still have faith in the city and they were satisfied that changes have now been made for the better.”
Murphy said he understood some voters’ hesitation, but the vote was “really a decision about living in the past or moving into the future,” said Murphy. “I think they (voters) made the right decision.”
“It makes me feel good that I am leaving the city in much better condition than when I started,” the mayor said. Murphy will leave office in December after serving eight years on the Council.
Also, he noted, the turnout on Measure Y was the “largest single vote turnout in the city’s history.” “People were paying attention.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Chirco
Meanwhile, Mayor Pro-tem Mark Chirco, who chairs a budget standing committee that worked tirelessly on documenting the city’s finances for more than two years, also expressed relief that voters had expressed confidence in the future.
“It is not surprising that the vote on Measure Y was a close one,” said Chirco. “Even without the pandemic and the economic uncertainties facing many families, this likely would have been a close vote.”
“Nevertheless,” said Chirco, “a majority of Los Alamitos residents voted to provide the necessary resources to keep our city functioning as it has been for many years.”
Long term, Chirco said “their vote will ensure that we can avoid the drastic cuts to services and personnel which would have been necessary without Measure Y and which would have negatively impacted quality of life in the city.”
Council member Shelley Hasselbrink
Shelley Hasselbrink, the other long standing member of the budget standing committee, said “we are relieved that Measure Y looks as though it will pass.”
She said the city has “worked very hard over the past years to slim our budget down including reducing our staff by 30%, freezing open positions and delaying non-emergency city improvements.” “Unfortunately,” said Hasselbrink, “it wasn’t enough and we had to ask our residents for help. We did a tremendous amount of education and outreach so our residents would understand our financial position and how it will affect our future.”
“Nobody likes taxes,” she said, “but our residents understood that for this tax, all of it will be reinvested back into Los Alamitos.”
By all accounts, it was a patriotic presentation when the Cypress City Council began their most recent meeting by honoring an active duty military veteran who has lived and raised his family in Cypress for more than three decades.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to the podium, so to speak, as his wife ended up getting a medal.
In fact, the council began their meeting by recognizing Sgt. Major Ron Cabrera, a former Marine, U.SA. Army Reservist and current member of the California National Guard for his meritorious service to the nation.
Mayor Rob Johnson said Cabrera completed his training at the Naval Air Station in 1981 and was initially assigned to Air Group 39 at Camp Pendleton. After being promoted, he served two overseas tours of duty that took him away from home for extended lengths of time.
Cabrera’s first overseas tour as a combat helicopter mechanic was in Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the second, as a Sgt. Major in southeast Asia and in Iraq.
Johnson said Cabrera holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia College in Missouri and is employed by a defense contract management agency.
He also is a member of the Southern California chapter of the the Army Aviation Association of America and volunteers to help hospice veterans.
Cabrera said he was “blessed” to live in Cypress and that is was a “privilege to have raised my kids in this city.”
But then, he turned to his wife Linda, and thanked her for doing such an amazing job as a wife and mother with their children while he was away so often on deployments. It always seemed that when he left, said Cabrera, the “roof starting leaking” and “always problems to solve for the kids.”
Then Cabrera’s commander, 40th Infantry Division Chief of Staff Col. Gilbert Roldan stepped up to the podium.
Linda Cabrera
Although Rodan had presented a medal to Cabrera at his official retirement party held recently at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, he surprisingly began speaking about Cabrera’s wife Linda.
“A lot of times we recognize our military service members for all the good things they do. However, we forget about our unsung heroes, on the home front,” said Roldan.
“They (spouses) have to hold down the household while we’re gone,” said Col. Rodan, “and a lot of times they are not recognized.”
Roldan said Linda Cabrera had served as a family group leader for the 140th Aviation Battalion and the for an aviation sustainment maintenance group.
“Mrs. Cabrera demonstrated outstanding support of the commander’s vision to execute a family readiness program,” the Colonel said, and “she raised $15,000 to fund events such as a welcome home dinner, family picnics to enhance camaraderie and boost morale,” said Roldan.
Mrs. Cabrera had repeatedly demonstrated concern for deployed military families and was responsible for helping them cope with the stress of having loved ones deployed.
“So at this point, it gives me great pleasure and honor to recognize Linda Cabrera,” Roldan said, presenting her with “a citation issued by the Military Department, State of California.”
“This is to certify that, by the direction of the governor of California and pursuant to the authority vested in me, the California accommodation medal is presented to Mrs. Linda Cabrera for meritorious service between one April 2004 and one March 2010.”
Roldan then pinned the medal on her and presented her with a certificate. Visibly shaken, Mrs. Cabrea simply said “I had no clue.”
She then watched as the Col. stepped back, saluted her, and said, “thank you very much for your service, ma’am.”
She slowly came to attention, within social distance, returned his salute, and said, “you are very welcome, sir.”
Sgt. Major Cabrera then presented his wife with flowers and the meeting continued.
According to BloodHorse.com, a top horse racing website, the California Horse Racing Board tabled a vote to approve the license of Los Alamitos Race Course until its meeting next month, pending the receipt of the track’s written plan to reduce the number of racehorses receiving corticosteroid intra-articular joint injections there.
The move is reportedly necessary because CHRB officials believe those injections have contributed to a spike in fatalities at the local horse racing track.
The site said Executive director Scott Chaney told commissioners during its most recent teleconference meeting that evaluations of fatalities at Los Alamitos showed that horses there had been injected on average three times over their lifetimes. By comparison, that figure was a 0.6 average for racehorse fatalities at Del Mar, Santa Anita Park, and Golden Gate Fields, according to Chaney.
“About five times the number of injections seem to be present over there,” Chaney said. “There’s always been this kind of rumor that there’s a cultural issue with respect to trainers and vets and how things operated. So, the numbers seem to bear that out that (intra-articular joint) injections are more of an issue than it is (elsewhere),” the site quoted the official as saying.
Los Alamitos conducts a regular nighttime mixed-breed meet of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds in addition to periodic higher-quality afternoon meets exclusive to Thoroughbreds. It also serves as a major training facility.
Chaney and CHRB chair Dr. Greg Ferraro indicated to the board that in discussions over the past week, the CHRB received a positive response from Los Alamitos owner Dr. Ed Allred to implement stricter protocols related to injections, the report said.
This follows a summer agreement between Los Alamitos and the CHRB in which the track was required to submit enhanced safety protocols after 21 horses had died from racing or training through July 20, nearly half of which had come over a period from late May through mid-July.
Since the summer protocols were put in place, six on-track racehorse fatalities have occurred at Los Alamitos, specifically during racing, according to CHRB online records.
“We’re very appreciative of the help that we’ve been given by Dr. Ferraro in coming to this understanding, and we’ve pledged to do all we can,” Allred said. “In addition to that, we’re addressing some of the other security problems at the track. We’ve hired two of the retired investigators of the CHRB, and we’re putting in cameras in many of the stalls. And we’re hopeful that this will correct any problems we have in that way. We’ll present the full agreement at the next meeting,” the report continued.
That agreement, according to Ferraro, will require a 30-day stand-down before racing after corticosteroid joint injections, not merely the fetlock joint, and a 10-day stand-down from breezing after such injections.
“I might add that pursuant to their agreement, pursuant to the desires of the board, we’d like to have all rules regarding health and welfare of horses standard throughout all our tracks in California,” he said. “So, consequently, we will not only require that Los Alamitos, as part of their license to operate, have this rule, but we will extend it to all tracks.” Therefore, Santa Anita and Del Mar will also be required to put a rule in place for a 30-day stand-down for intra-articular steroids, the commissioners were told.
As a tween, it should be noted that while still learning, Padilla was already a well-respected saxophonist. He landed in all the area honor bands and was a soloist at festivals.
