With the vote on Tuesday, The Los Alamitos Unified School District has agreed to “withdraw its intention” to layoff 277 classified employees, bring back more than 90 percent of the 292 positions it voted to eliminate on August 11.
The positions “should not be eliminated” until “further action by this board,” said board member Marlys Davidson, reading the resolution to restore the positions.
The board voted to bring back 151 positions after last week’s opening of elementary schools and 126 more this week, following the opening of middle schools.
In fact, Dr. Joe Fraser, Assistant Supt. for Human Resources, said even the ones not brought back to their full capacity, will eventually be brought back in some way to one of the campuses.
“Our goal was to bring back our classified positions,” said Fraser.
“We’ve said that since the beginning,” he added.
At the time of the layoff, however, there was no certainty that schools would be opened at all and the board was told state policies require districts to lay off workers without work. The resolution said the classified employees were now required by “operational needs” of the district.
Board member Dave Boyer said the district “always wanted” to see students back in school and bring the positions back but that the board “wanted to do it safely.”
Fraser also announced collective bargaining agreements had been reached with the Los Alamitos Education Association (LAEA) and the California School Employees Association (CSEA).
“Although it was a long process, it feels good to come to an agreement,” said Fraser.
Board President Meg Cutuli said because of COVID, it was harder to communicate and not being able to meet in person made negotiations more difficult, but she thanked everyone for their work.
Davidson thanked Mitch Kam with CSEA and praised Stacy Schmitz with LAEA, who she said is a teacher, has children in high and elementary school and still manages to “give her heart and soul” to the teachers.
As citizens of Los Alamitos face a critical decision on November 3, we believe this brief explanation will better explain why a single item on this year’s ballot will make a major difference in our community development, and quality of life, for the foreseeable future.
Without question, residents enjoy living, working, and playing in Los Alamitos because of the exceptional quality of life offered by our city.
Maintaining this quality of life requires foresight, both on the part of city leaders as well as residents themselves. For sure, we have missed opportunities that could have changed our financial future.
First, Los Alamitos had an opportunity to purchase what is now the Rossmoor Center, which would have ensured quality shopping and a broad source of sales tax revenue with which to support the things that make a city like Los Alamitos so enjoyable.
Later, Los Alamitos had an opportunity (at incorporation) to ensure the inclusion of the Los Alamitos racetrack into the city by paying for certain infrastructure as part of a deal to get the racetrack but did not.
Los Alamitos failed to take advantage of these opportunities, which were long ago, but other nearby cities wisely decided to do what was necessary to ensure these valuable properties were within their borders, generating the funds necessary to fund their local essential services.
Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Chirco
Yet, even so, our citizens have created for themselves a proud, safe, and happy community that is widely recognized across the state.
However, to maintain what we have built and maintain our unique quality of family life, we must understand how critical it becomes for EACH one of us to say goodbye to the past and welcome the future by supporting Measure Y.
The future of Los Alamitos is exceptionally bright, but only if built around Measure Y. With it, our city begins to rebuild for the next generation, properly funded for the future.
• What is it? Measure Y is a 1.5 cent sales tax on certain retail transactions purchased in Los Alamitos. A tax that will NOT apply to groceries, rent, mortgages, utilities, prescription medicine, or personal services, such as medical services.
• Is this necessary? Absolutely. No one, not even those who have written in opposition of the measure, disagree that this is necessary. Los Alamitos is projected to run out of working capital in the 2021/2022 fiscal year and by 2024 will have depleted its reserves (“rainy day fund”).
• What does this mean? In frank terms, Los Alamitos will not have sufficient funding to pay its bills and operate effectively offering current levels of service. Without Measure Y, the city will have no choice but to make significant cuts to services.
• What will be cut? Sadly, these cuts will include community programs, much needed maintenance of streets and parks, programs to assist seniors and children, and, most significantly, it will require further cuts in funding to our police department, which makes up more than 50% of the city budget.
• Will only Los Alamitos residents pay for this? No, a sales tax is considered a fair tax because it will be paid by both residents and visitors to the City. This option is in contrast to others (which were rejected) that would have resulted in a tax burden only to Los Alamitos property owners and renters.
• Is this situation unique to Los Alamitos? No. Los Alamitos has held off on adding a sales tax measure much longer than other local cities. In fact, Seal Beach, Garden Grove, Long Beach, and most other surrounding cities have already raised their sales taxes and are thus higher than Los Alamitos’ current 7.75% rate.
• Are other cities affected? Yes, all cities are in the same situation; the need for drastic measures has resulted primarily because of the state of California’s unfunded mandates and takeaways from local jurisdictions including approximately $12 million the state has taken from Los Alamitos over the last 8 years.
Most of us have, understandably, taken for granted the fact that our streets, parks and neighborhoods are safe, that we have a wonderful and extremely responsive police department, that we have great programs and opportunities for all who seek them, and that we have a thriving business community despite challenges from California regulations and this year’s pandemic.
In fact, these are the reasons people choose to live in Los Alamitos. This high quality of life exists despite substantial cuts made in Los Alamitos over the years. Unfortunately, there is nothing left to cut without our residents noticing a significant, precipitous, and likely irreversible decrease in the quality of life in Los Alamitos. We simply cannot allow this to happen.
Measure Y was placed on the ballot by unanimous vote of the city council so that you, as residents, can decide what you want for the future of our city. We believe Measure Y is necessary to maintain Los Alamitos’ high quality of life, and we wholeheartedly encourage a Yes vote on November 3rd.
Join us and choose a vote for the future of Los Alamitos with a Yes on Measure Y.
For more information on Measure Y, please visit https://cityoflosalamitos.org/measurey/
Richard Murphy is the Mayor of Los Alamitos and Mark Chirco is Mayor Pro-tem
Inside Precious Life Shelter’s infant care center, you’ll find stuffed animals, teething toys, rattles and rings, newborns with their favorite things.
Outside: a perimeter fence, trespassing signs, surveillance cameras and, at night, thieves.
The women and children are safe. The donations that keep the shelter going are not.
“People who don’t care, steal,” said Theresa E. Murphy, executive director of the shelter, which provides emergency, transitional and single parent programs for pregnant women with no place to live. “They take clothing, house-ware, toys, everything.”
Murphy added that some of the items dropped off at the shelter are probably taken by those who believe they’re for locals — perhaps people on the street and down on their luck.
Most of the women at the shelter are facing financial, physical or emotional emergencies that put them on the brink of losing housing, food and other necessities. Women at the shelter are looking for a safe place to stay and nurture their babies under tough circumstances.
Murphy said about 40 percent of the shelter’s operating costs are maintained by the donations that are disappearing; shelter volunteers distribute the donations to the women and babies or sell those that can’t be used via the shelter’s thrift store. It is a critical component to caring for the typically eight to 12 women living in the shelter’s housing units.
“Anything that’s taken affects us greatly,” Murphy said. “Donations is how we operate.”
Surveillance cameras at the shelter show that over the past month a couple driving a pickup truck has managed to trespass and steal loads of donations. Cameras have also chronicled drivers of a minivan loading up.
Los Alamitos Police arrested two trespassers at Precious Life Shelter at 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 5 for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, said Sgt. John Krok, who added that police got “a good lead.” One of those arrested had four open warrants for vehicle theft and drug possession.
Krok said police believe those stealing from the shelter grab donated items, go to a neighboring garage and then sift through the haul to see what they can sell.
“We’ve got extra patrols in that area,” he said.
This is not a new problem for the shelter, which has increased its security in recent years but, as a non-profit, is typically tight on funds.
Recently, however, “it’s gotten worse,” Murphy said.
Meantime, Murphy is trying to raise public awareness.
Donations of clothes, shoes, toys, home decor and more should be made during business hours, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Make sure a volunteer accepts your donation, Murphy said.
“It’s very important that donations reach their destination to support the women and children they are intended to help,” Murphy said. She also thanked the community for its continued support.
The shelter is at 3622 Florista St. in Los Alamitos. For more information, call 562-430-7309.
Everything’s coming up “Halloween” at Knott’s “Taste of Fall-O-Ween” now through Sunday, Nov. 1.
It’s a really fun event for the whole family, with a large portion of family members dressed in their favorite Halloween attire. And there are more new Boysenberry food items to try out.
It’s Knott’s newest family-friendly outdoor dining and retail opportunity to ring in the Halloween season of Fall flavors; there are too many food items to list; however, here’s a tease of some flavor-bursting items: Wagon Wheel Perilous Pizza; Butternut Squash Soup in a Bread Bowl; Pastrami Tatter Tots; Pumpkin Spice Churro Sticks with Candy-Corn Sugar, Shrimp and Vegetable Curry Bowl over Rice with Cilantro; Log Ride Funnel Cake; Strictly On-A-Stick Corn Dog; Acai Bowl with Pumpkin Granola, bananas, berries and almond butter; Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese with Bacon, and that’s just to name a few from the nearly 30-food locations offering one-of-a-kind food items.
Here’s how to participate: There are adult and junior tasting cards available for purchase online. With the purchase of a junior tasting card, youngsters get the opportunity to walk the “Trick or Treat Trail” sponsored by Ralphs and Hershey, and receive treats along the way, throughout Camp Snoopy, that’s all done up in festive Halloween and Fall colors of pumpkins-a-plenty (it is that season you know), skeletons, cobwebs and “live” characters that includes the “Straw man” from the “Wizard of Oz” and there is a headless horseman too as well as others.
And of course, all activities have been planned with social-distancing and mask-wearing in mind.
The event is Friday through Sunday until Sunday, Nov. 1. The tasting card is admittance into the theme park from Noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from Noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Tasting cards are date-specific and can only be purchased online at Knotts.com or through the Knott’s mobile app, prior to the entrance date planned.
Some dates are already sold out, as only a certain amount of tasting cards are sold each day. Best to check online when purchasing Tasting Cards, for open dates that are available.
Knott’s is located at 8039 Beach Boulevard, in Buena Park; parking is off of Crescent Avenue and Beach Boulevard. Grand Avenue is closed to traffic; open with picnic tables for dining guests.
Choosing and supporting policies and practices that promote responsible seafood can have significant environmental and health benefits, but for many, finding and navigating through the sometimes conflicting information can be challenging.
Overfishing and other harmful fishing practices, escapes and diseases from farmed seafood, and poor regulation of some seafood sources are just some of the many concerns that consumers face when choosing seafood.
All of these issues are important, but do they tell the whole story of seafood and the sustainable choices that are available? The public is invited to find out more through a new online series from the Aquarium of the Pacific that will debut in October, which is National Seafood Month.
The Aquarium’s Seafood for the Future (SFF) program will host this special virtual panel series to explore sustainable seafood.
The series will feature scientists and experts who will discuss the big picture of sustainable seafood and its role in and relationship with climate change, nutrition, livelihoods, policy, society, and more. Panelists will also explore responsible seafood farming, or marine aquaculture, as a tool to sustainably expand our seafood supply.
Speakers featured in this series include experts from The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Naval Academy, and several universities and seafood companies.
The series episodes will be released on dates in October and November. SFF will host a live
Q&A session at the end of the series. For the full list of speakers, visit aquariumofpacific.org/events/info/exploring_sustainable_seafood/
It will be held October 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 & 29, November 3, 5, 10, 12 & 17, 2020, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
There is no cost to attend. For more information, call (562) 590-3100.
The Honda Marine Science Foundation is an initiative to help restore marine ecosystems and facilitate climate change resilience.
The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a community gathering place where diverse cultures and the arts are celebrated and where important challenges facing our planet are explored by scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders in search of sustainable solutions.
The Aquarium is dedicated to conserving and building nature and nature’s services by building the interactions between and among peoples. Home to more than 12,000 animals, Aquarium exhibits include Shark Lagoon, the June Keyes Penguin Habitat, Lorikeet Forest, and the Molina Animal Care Center.
Beyond its animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers educational programs for people of all ages, including lectures by leading scientists, through its Online Academy. The Aquarium offers memberships with unlimited FREE admission for 12 months, VIP Entrance, and other special benefits. Convenient parking is available for $8 with Aquarium validation.
The Navy Golf Course in Cypress, Calif. is set to welcome back its customers on Thursday, October 1 after being closed for over six months to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The golf course will be operating on limited hours, and will open daily at 6 a.m. A reserved tee time is required in order to enter the facility. The driving range and practice greens will remain closed until further notice. Customers are required to wear a mask when checking in or when 6-foot social distancing cannot be maintained.
Customers will have their temperatures taken at check-in, and anyone with a temperature above 100 degrees will be asked to reschedule. Carts will be single rider only. Food and beverage services will remain closed until further notice.
Golfers must make reservations for tee times either on-line at https://myffr.navyaims.com or by calling the Navy Golf Course at 714-889-1576.
Additional COVID-19 golf policy and rules can be found at: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/content/dam/cnic/cnrsw/NWSSB/pdfs/misc/NGC_Reopen.pdf. The linked information includes a QR code to scan for easy booking of tee times.
The Navy Golf Course is located at 5660 Orangewood Ave., Cypress, CA 90630.
Mitch Kilmer, a Los Alamitos dad, got a huge but welcomed surprise this past week as his wife Shane gave birth to their daughter McKenzie on the way to Anaheim Regional Medical Center.
The drama was captured and reported by the CBS Channel 9 as Mitch Kilmer drove his wife along the 91 Freeway.
Apparently, said Kilmer, his wife went into labor three weeks early and they were rushing towards the hospital on the 91 Freeway when Shane said “it’s coming, it’s coming.”
Kilmer said by the time he could say “Ok honey,” he began to hear the baby crying as she was delivered, or practically delivered herself moving down the highway, with her big sister in the back seat.
By this time, the L.A. County Fire Department showed up to assist and help Kilmer cut McKensize’s umbilical cord there on the spot.
“I was so nervous,” Shane told the tv station.
Kilmer joked and said, “I think it runs in the family,” noted that Shane’s mother delivered her sister on the back of a three-wheeled motorcycle on the way to the hospital.
The station reported both mother and daughter were admitted for observation but back home the next day. The family is reportedly doing fine after the very special delivery.
Legendary Boxer Mike Tyson, training for a November exhibition boxing match with fellow former heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., has recently eaten twice at Sunset Beach’s Himalayan Grill. “He likes the protein he’s getting from our specially-prepared chicken, lamb, goat, lobster & veggies,” said restaurant owner, Amrit Mahato from Nepal. “I wished him well for the big fight.”
Assistant Pastor Craig Peterson and 15 others from the nearby Calvary Chapel of the Harbour, said they noticed Tyson’s photo with Mahato on the wall. “Maybe the fighter also likes the serenity here,” Peterson said. “When you’re eating outside in the covered patio, you’d think you’re in the hills of Himalaya. It’s so peaceful.”
According to ESPN, Tyson, 54, once the youngest heavyweight champion in history, reportedly is working out to fight Jones, 51, in an 8-round exhibition at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson on Nov. 28th. The bout was originally scheduled for September.
The Himalayan Grill, which specializes in food from India, Tibet & Nepal, has been a Sunset Beach fixture for 12 years, starting at Peters Landing Marina and temporarily moving this year to the neighboring, vacant “Original Sam’s Seafood” structure on Pacific Coast Highway. Next year, they’ll return to a newly rebuilt location at Peters Landing.
The restaurant, which has won awards for “Best Nepalese Indian Food,” is open 7 days a week from 11:00am to 9:30pm at 16278 Pacific Coast Highway. You can learn more at: http://www.himalayan-grill.com; 562-592-9080.
Taxpayers in the city of Cypress are being asked on November 3 to give its city government extraordinary powers that could affect truth and transparency going forward.
A quiet ballot initiative entitled, “Measure P,” has apparently been placed on this year’s ballot, ostensibly because the city charter ‘has not been updated in the past 64 years.’
That indeed may be true, but insufficient, we believe, to justify removing the same public accountability that citizens demanded when the charter was approved. Truth and transparency never go out of style.
No one is suggesting a future government plans any nefarious action or that the current government has done anything inappropriate. Nevertheless, the safeguards should remain.
We believe Measure P presents too tempting an opportunity for city officials to entirely control the flow of information for proposed ordinances, franchises, public works contracts, legal notices, and other matters.
Currently, city officials must provide its “official” newspaper of record with written notices for publication, regarding key changes in public policy or spending taxpayer money that will result from their actions.
It is noteworthy as well that this newspaper group has not published any legal notices for the city of Cypress since 2018 so this is not written for any self-serving or financial gain. It seeks only to protect a community’s most vital commodity, the public interest.
Having to publish legal notices in a newspaper makes it impossible for major changes to occur without another entity besides the city having control of the information about the proposed change.
Under Measure P, if approved, the city, by its own admission, could place a written sheet of paper on the front door of City Hall, another one on the concession stand, and another at the corner drug store, then bury a notice in its ‘online presence’ and proceed to move forward with any contract or change in public policy they collectively voted to approve.
According to an “impartial analysis” written by Cypress city attorney Anthony Taylor, “the charter (currently) requires publication of notices relating to ordinances, franchises, public works contracts, legal notices and other matters in the city’s official newspaper.”
But if voters approve the change in the charter, “the proposed amendment would permit the city to post notices on the city’s online presence, [and] at least three places designated by the city council; except as provided by ordinance,” concludes Taylor.
The mere removal of the requirement to publish outside legal notices for the public, we believe, creates the potential for a very slippery slope. No longer will it be necessary to notify any entity outside the city’s control for anything it decides to do. More critically, once the requirement is changed, it will likely never return.
We understand that the city council voted unanimously to put this measure on the ballot as a “charter update” which, of course, they have every right to do.
Nevertheless, citizens have rights too and should consider the full measure of implications before this extraordinary power buried within Measure P is granted.
Newspapers remain the watchdog of the public and provide accountability to government. While citizens have trust and confidence in the officials they elect, as they should, they should also want to keep every guardrail of democratic accountability in place as well.
Cypress is a wonderful city with a bright future and so there is little reason why the public watchdog should be so easily dismissed. Without a doubt, truth and transparency never go out of style.
At the very least, it certainly should not be voted out by the people who depend on it as the foundation of good governance.
Just days ago, Cynthia Freund was minding her store on Main Street in Seal Beach.
But on this morning, she stood solo high atop a peak in Mount Zion National Park performing her daily yoga routine.
Her thoughts interrupted only by one or more of the canyon’s more than 300 species of birds.
Yoga on the mountaintop
Waking up in Utah was the sporadic result of a week-long adventure for Freund; a trip she did not plan but is now very thankful she took.
Freund, the owner of the trendy Station 17, said, like most everyone else, for months she has been slogging through the ups and downs of trying to run a small business in the pandemic.
“It’s not easy,” she says, but at least when the lockdown was lifted, Freund said her business boomed for a bit.
Nevertheless, when Akoni Kama invited her to join him on a test drive of his new “living van” project, an odyssey that would take them through Southwestern America, she said yes.
Freund, always the free spirit, said she has not really slowed down since her days at University of California film school in Santa Barbara.
Snowstorm along the way
Always interested in fashion, her first gig out of film school landed her on the wardrobe team for the hit show “Friends,” which was then, and is still now, a major television success.
“I dress people,” said Freund.
After the popular show ended, she moved on to a series of other shows, including the Chelsea Handler show, even as rock video producers for Mötley Crüe, and other groups hired her to dress the rock and rollers. Then it was commercials with Lindsay Lohan, etc.
“I never slowed down,” she said.
In fact, Freund said she ended up with so many leftover celebrity clothes that she started going to swap meets to sell them.
“It worked out so well,” said Freund, that “I decided to open Station 17 in Seal Beach.”
“We call it Boho chic,” she said.
In fact, if customers do not get a Bohemian vibe when they walk through the door, they have probably walked into the wrong store.
“It covers the whole spectrum of hippie,” she smiles, sometimes calling it “street sassy.”
But recently, when the invitation came to take the pandemic road trip, she said, “let’s go” and they were off.
“I’ve got cameras in the store that I can view on my phone,” said Freund, so even while on the road, she can monitor her business and able to speak to her employees or customers.
Freund said she and Kama have a daughter, Lexington, who is now 12, together.
They met when Kama was customizing Airstream trailers, converting them into DJ concert stages for Red Bull, she said.
Customizing living van
His new venture is customizing Mercedes Sprinter vans into mobile housing units.
“He’s always been into industrial design,” said Freund, noting Kama has done “some amazing work.”
Kama has completely redesigned the inside of a Sprinter van (which is similar to an Amazon or FedEx delivery vans), and customized it to include a small couch, a bed, a shower, toilet and a stove. “The toilet is inside the shower” to save space, said Freund.
“You can s***, shower and shave without moving much,” she says, chuckling at the same time. “But it works.”
Kama had just finished the prototype and wanted to know “if Lexington and I wanted to go with him on a test drive,” she said, “you know, to work out the kinks.”
The new van is a kind of “ready-made life for wandering gypsies,” she said. Have fuel, will travel, and live, said Freund.
More importantly, she said, a growing number of people are apparently finding a home, quite literally, on the road, noting Kama and his investors expect to do well with the new product.
Practically, and “somewhat surprisingly,” she said, “it slept three very comfortably.”
First stop was to see friends in Las Vegas, said Freund, as they adjusted to living in a rolling box. Notably, the more it rolled the more she liked it.
Always a bit on the earthy side, Freund said she was taken aback once they reached the real country roads of the southwest, where the buffalo once roamed free and native Americas ruled the west.
“Everyone thinks you need to travel overseas,” she said, “including me before this, but I began to really appreciate the beauty of America.”
She said the AK Sprinter has four-wheel drive so they “climbed mountains too.”
Visiting major monuments along the way, Freund said they headed for Zion National Park in Utah, known for its reddish peaks, incredible valleys and canyons carved by the Virgin River over millions of years.
After just a few days away from her Main Street store, Freund said she began to deeply appreciate the magnificence of rolling hills, green valleys, white mountains, brown peaks, and the general beauty of the American landscape.
The variety became breathtaking. They passed abandoned gold mines, beautiful marble cliffs as every day along the American byways of the old west began to etch wonderous images of places she had never taken the time to visit.
“There’s nothing better than opening your eyes to simple pleasures of life,” said Freund, admitting the van life was a spartan one, but a transformative experience. Suddenly, she was front and center with a slice of the American continent and which she had never experienced.
Once they reached Mount Zion in southern Utah, they camped and hiked the “amazing trails at sunrise” before moving towards the park’s famous “Narrows” and “Angels Landing.”
Freund did her morning yoga amid the beautiful serenity of Mount Zion, looking deep into a canyon once populated with native American tribes.
She said Lexington has a half-sister in Colorado, so for sure they would eventually stop there, but she had school to worry about. Not a problem, however, as her daughter’s 7th grade Huntington Beach class is still in virtual mode, so Lexington attended her first day of class while at Buffalo Bill’s gravesite in Lookout Mountain, CO.
Quite interesting, she thought, that surrounded by such natural beauty, Freund said she could still turn on the Wi-Fi on her mobile device and get the bandwidth she needed for her daughter to attend school.
She also did not miss the contrast of leaving wildfires and 110-degree heat of California to running into a snowstorm and blizzard along the way.
“It’s a crazy world we live in,” she laughs.
For a woman who spent her entire working life in the make-believe world of Hollywood, this was far away and far out, even though her phone did buzz every time there was a transaction back in Seal Beach.
“This was perfect for me,” she said, “how many people get to do something like this with family and enjoy the people you care most about,” she wondered?
Freund lives her life much like she stocks her store. She is determined to produce “one of a kind” experiences for her customers and tries to fill her store with “one of a kind” fashions and other unique items.
Ironically, Freund said she found a “natural jewelry designer” in Colorado which will now supply her store with products.
“I’ve learned to really appreciate the beauty of America,” she said. “America is so beautiful,” she says. Somewhat surprised by its grandeur, Freund admits she has always jetted off to other “destinations” on vacation.
More importantly, however, the trip began to matter on a deeper level.
“It was an awakening,” she said.
Freund admits the trip was very personal, which taught her, and her daughter, life lessons along the way.
Gone now is the hustle and bustle and working seven days a week.
Kama is now tweaking his prototype and Freund is now back at work at Station 17 in Seal Beach.
“I’m learning to slow down,” she says. “I take a day or two off every week.”
Her business is up and down, but growing, as she knows her customers want “unique” experiences and products.
“I just sent three pairs of roller skates to Hawaii,” she says, as her skates and bell bottoms blue jeans lined with fabric are jumping off her shelves.
Nevertheless, “I’ll never forget those mountain ranges, the beautiful vistas and pretty blue clouds,” she says, now that her seven-day pandemic road trip is now a memory.
“Never again,” said Freund, “shall I take for granted the simplest pleasures of life.”
Cypress city council members voted unanimously this week to investigate ways to oppose a pending allocation of nearly 4,000 new housing units that, if not appealed, must be facilitated by 2029.
“What the hell, are you nuts,” Mayor pro-tem Mariellen Yarc rhetorically asked the state? “Where are we going to put them?”
Yarc, and for that matter, the entire city council protested after newly installed Planning Director Alisha Velasco presented the new housing allocations required by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment for Oct. 2021 – October 2029. The process is facilitated by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
The council’s fury was not aimed at Velasco, who simply reported the issue, but rather they were upset with SCAG and the state initiative that demands housing unit needs be projected for the years ahead.
Velasco said the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation is distributed from the State Department of Housing and Community Development through SCAG.
In fact, it was not just Cypress, but the new housing assessment saddles many Orange County communities with seemingly unreachable targets for new housing units, said Velasco.
For example, the new projections indicate Buena Park must plan for nearly 3,000 new housing units in that same period.
Velasco said the pending allocations for Cypress includes a need for 3,927 new housing units, including 1,147 for very low income, 656 for low income, 622 for moderate income and 1,502 for the “above moderate” income range.
Velasco said there are “no ramifications” if that actual number of housing units are not constructed, but there are potential drawbacks if the city does not take precautions and steps to plan for the new units. For example, such as identifying locations for the units.
In addition, she said the city council must create “ordinances and policies” to facilitate those allocations. Velasco suggested the city should still be moving forward with its housing elements, including public outreach, picking a team etc., while she also identified the process to create an appeal.
“I think this (housing allocation) is outrageous,” said Yarc. “It makes you question their wisdom.”
Council member Stacy Berry, who served as a Cypress representative on SCAG, admitted that is a “very frustrating process.” Berry said she voted to oppose the allocation, but the opposition was “outvoted” by other cities.
In addition, Berry said while the city can consider an appeal, the state has already rejected an appeal to the total number in the SCAG housing allocations, citing an 11th hour change in the process.
Berry openly wondered whether local cities unhappy with their allocations could perhaps ban together to appeal. “Where are these homes going to go,” asked Berry?
Council member Paulo Morales asked city attorney Anthony Taylor about potential opposition strategies. “Anything we can hang our hat on,” he asked?
Taylor suggested the item be discussed in a future executive session, but did offer a potential argument that COVID-19 had “changed the circumstances” of all communities, saying the allocations “predate the world we live in now.”
Berry admitted, however, that any challenge will be an “uphill battle.”
“I suggest that we expend our resources implementing our numbers and not spend resources fighting a battle that has no chance of success,” said council member Jon Peat.
“Cypress is getting very crowded,” acknowledged Mayor Ron Johnson.
Despite the odds, Yarc continued her efforts to appeal the state’s process, an entity she called a “mongrel.”
“I make a motion to investigate options, rather than just give in,” said Yarc. While it may be a forgone conclusion, the city owed it to itself to see whatever options they may have before accepting a “ridiculous” allocation.
The motion passed 5-0.
Several citizens, including two running for city council, urged the Cypress city council not to use its last meeting together to vote on several major issues and initiatives facing the people of Cypress.
Activist Brooke Nefertiti said during oral communications that “I’m sensing a trend here,” noting that in the council’s last meeting in November last year, they passed the controversial Shea Properties proposal to allow the company to move forward on the sale and development of a valuable 13.3 acre town center property.
This year, she said, at their Nov. 23 meeting, the council may attempt to take its final vote on the Shea Properties development as well as vote on the Amazon ‘last mile’ facility. She wondered openly why would they “try to cram them through” before a new council takes office in December?
“Why can’t we take a deep breath here,” she asked, noting that the city was entering “uncharted waters.” She said by taking such action, the existing council would “neuter” the new council.
The city voted recently 3-2 in a divisive exchange to allow Shea to proceed, even after they revealed that a proposed bowling alley for their new development would now likely be a grocery store.
At least one of the “yes” votes, Mayor Ron Johnson (termed out), would no longer be on the Council if they allowed the new Council to vote on the proposal.
It was acknowledged by Shea during that meeting that the city would get one final look at the development. In November, the council will have one final yes or no vote to award authority to move the plan to actual development.
Another citizen, Brittany Cook, also pleaded with the council not to vote on the matter at their last meeting. Doing so, she said, would be “cutting off the new council at the knees.”
Three of the nine candidates spoke during the open mic portion of the meeting, including Anne Hertz, Blaise Bent and David Gersten.
Bent and Gersten agreed with postponing the vote, Hertz addressed other matters.
Any decisions that have to made should be delayed to give the new council a chance to review before voting, they suggested.
In other action Monday, the Cypress Council:
• Heard Finance Director Matt Burton say the first of the “quarterly budget updates” will be held Oct. 19. Details will be discussed then, but he said Cypress had so far weathered the pandemic in relatively sound financial shape. He said the budget surplus would likely cover the potential deficit.
• Heard city manager Peter Grant say major announcements in the reopening process would be made soon after Orange County has been recognized in the red tier, allowing administrative offices to reopen.
• Heard a representative of the Orange County Taxpayers Association ask the city to support a resolution opposing Prop 15, saying the new measure would allow “split” tax rolls that would amount to the largest property tax increase in the state’s history, though she did acknowledge that a portion of the $10-12 billion per year collected (40 percent) would go to schools.
Selling in any environment is totally about relationships, Long Beach real estate professional Barbara Betts told members of the Los Alamitos Chamber on Thursday.
Chamber Chairwoman Nesi Stewart introduced Betts saying she was successful in “all things real estate, an influencer in the real estate industry and someone who impacts everyone she speaks to.”
Although her brokerage office is in Long Beach, Betts said she is routinely in and out of Los Alamitos where she shops and entertains.
Although her topic was termed “Marketing through the pandemic,” Betts said in truth, “nothing has changed. My strategy is the same,” she said.
In essence, Betts said successful marketing is all about “connecting with humans.” Many times, instead of always going out and trying to find more and more customers, businesses can achieve greater success by improving their relationships with the customers they already have.
Happy and satisfied customers, she said, will eventually “bring you more business than you can handle.”
“The greater the physical or psychological proximity between people increases the chance you’re going to form a relationship,” said Betts, adding that some of her best months in business have occurred amid the hardships of the pandemic because of her relationships.
“Relationships are recession proof,” she said, adding that her firm was enjoying their “best year ever.”
Once established, said Betts, relationships should be nurtured regularly, including sharing information with your customers on a regular basis, not just when you want them to do business.
Share everything you can about the industry you’re in or do whatever it takes to “own a piece of the mindshare” of their customers, Betts advised the group.
Tell stories to your customers, “that’s how I do it. And it works.”
“Essentially,” said Betts, “focus on the customer, not the transaction.”
And while social media helps, she advised Chamber members not overlook direct mail. According to Betts, approximately 90 percent of direct mail advertising gets opened, while only 20 percent of unsolicited emails are routinely opened.
The pandemic has created somewhat of a “fluid” situation, acknowledged Betts, as marketing does indeed need to change with the environment. Yet, while the medium, either physical or social can change, the basics of “selling by relationships” does not.
Emeline Noda, Los Alamitos Recreation Director, thanked the community and the local sponsors and participants for two recent “very successful” city events, as she invited the community to participate in the upcoming Halloween “trunk or treat” campaign, which will this year be a drive-through event.
Stewart thanked everyone for attending the virtual September event and said Manuel Gouveia of Republic Services will be “talking trash” at next month’s virtual breakfast.
In partnership with the Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the City of La Palma created a Small Business Emergency Grant Program to provide funding to small businesses needing financial assistance in overcoming the temporary loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
This past week, the City issued 20 checks to the business who qualified for the funding under the CARES Act program. Congratulations to La Palma’s CARES Act Funding Recipients!
Each of the following 20 businesses received a $7,500 grant to support them during the COVID-19 challenges. The grant may be used for working capital to cover the day-to-day business operating expenses such as payroll, rent/lease payments, mortgage payments, utility expenses, inventory, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations.
The city received a $368,000 CARES ACT allocation from Second District Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel which was used for the grants.
A’Romo Ristorante
Bold Optometry
Cachi Café
Centerpointe Hospice
CNS Jewelry & Gift
Eden Day Spa
Esteem Pilates
Friendly Eye Medical Group
Gram’s Kitchen
Healthy Massage & Spa
Hwang So Go Jip Korean Spa
Infinity Beauty Salon & Supply
Jaime E. Gonzalez MD Inc.
KA Motors
La Palma Eye Care Center
Lovely Pet Grooming
Urban Bliss Spa
WPD Dental Group
Young’s Tackle
The MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center is expanding its leadership team with Long Beach native and accomplished Southern California cardiologist, David Shavelle, M.D., being named medical director of adult cardiology.
Dr. Shavelle is bringing his extensive leadership experience in cardiology to this new role that will provide leadership and strategic direction for adult cardiology programs, as well as oversight for the interventional catheterization laboratories.
Dr. Shavelle, a Millikan High School (Long Beach, Calif.) graduate, is returning to Long Beach with more than 20 years of cardiology practice, research leadership, and teaching experience. He joins Long Beach Medical Center from Keck Medical Center at the University of Southern California, where he served as the Director of Interventional Cardiology while leading a multitude of clinical research trials, including several focused on implanted devices for heart failure. He plans on increasing the availability of clinical research trials for cardiology patients at Long Beach Medical Center.
“The MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute has a rich history of research and pioneering new treatment techniques,” says Ike Mmeje, chief operating officer, Long Beach Medical Center.
“Dr. Shavelle’s passion for research makes him a perfect fit to continue that legacy and find the next cutting-edge treatment for our cardiology patients.”
MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute facilities are among the most comprehensive centers for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of cardiac disease, providing groundbreaking care for complex heart conditions, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmias and peripheral vascular disease. In addition to his hopes to expand research opportunities, Dr. Shavelle plans on expanding the programs for heart failure and structural heart disease.
“I am excited to join the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center,” says Dr. Shavelle. “My dad was a physician here, and many of my mentors and fellows are at Long Beach Medical Center. I’m looking forward to creating more collaboration among cardiologists, surgeons, residents and the entire team to expand the already comprehensive cardiology care available to the community.”
After earning his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Dr. Shavelle completed his internal medicine internship and residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. He completed his General Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Washington and Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/Good Samaritan Hospital.
The MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute — delivering nearly 20,000 cardiovascular diagnostic tests and treatments last year — continues to push the boundaries of discovery with many “firsts.” These began 70 years ago when world-renowned cardiologist, researcher and educator, the late Mervyn Ellestad, M.D., co-invented at Long Beach Medical Center the modern-day maximum stress test to detect heart disease.
Courtesy photo
The Southland Credit Union My City | My Los Al 90720 Celebration presented by MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach was a success on Monday, September 7, 2020. The Bikes & Bites event had 10 participating restaurants and over 50 families biking and walking around town on a self-directed restaurant tour of Los Alamitos. Families enjoyed a variety of appetizers, entrees, and desserts and ticket sales benefited the restaurants and the Los Alamitos Recreation & Community Services Department Scholarship Fund for low income families. The Drive-Up Concert followed at Los Alamitos Youth Baseball (LAYB) Parking Lot with the band Flyer and food trucks for all participants to enjoy. Thank you to all who participated in celebrating Los Alamitos’ 90720 zip code day.
The Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department is excited to announce its Fall 2020 class offerings! Try something new this season by registering for a Los Alamitos Recreation Program. From youth sports, Escape Los Al, enrichment classes, and the new Afternoon Rec for Kids & Teens program sponsored by Southland Credit Union, the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department has something for everyone!
This season, youth sports is introducing a new Basketball Training Camp at Little Cottonwood Park for 3rd-8th graders in two time blocks from 3:00PM-4:00PM and 4:15PM-5:15PM. During this program, your child will learn the basics of the sport and will prepare them for the Youth Basketball League Sponsored by Chang Orthodontics in partnership with the Jr Clippers. If you have a 3.5-4 year old basketball player at home, register them for Jr. Pee Wee Basketball on Saturdays from 10:15AM-11:00AM at Little Cottonwood Park!
This program is a perfect introduction of the sport for your little basketball star. If you are looking for an introductory basketball program for your 2-3 year old, register them for Parent and Me Basketball! During this parent-involved program, Recreation staff will go over the fundamentals of shooting, dribbling, and passing to prepare them for the next step in their basketball journey.
Parents- are you looking for an after school program for your 5-12 year old child? Look no further because the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department is excited to announce Afternoon Rec for Kids! Join us Monday-Friday from 2:30pm-6:00pm at the Los Alamitos Community Center for enrichment activities, games, crafts, and a whole lot of fun! Program starts at 12:00pm every Wednesday. Register your child today at www.cityoflosalamitos.org/recreation. Afternoon Rec isn’t just for children ages 5-12! We are also offering Afternoon Rec for Teens for ages 13-17! During this program, your teen will learn valuable life skills, participate in weekly workshops, and will make friendships to last a lifetime.
Los Alamitos classes and programs start the week of September 21! In order to protect public health and slow the transmission of COVID-19, all classes are currently being held outside the Los Alamitos Community Center (10911 Oak Street). This season, the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department is offering a variety of exercise & fitness, enrichment, and special interest classes for all ages and skill levels. Below is a list of new classes being offered for the Fall 2020 season:
• Youth Beginning Art with Recreation staff
• Modern Tween Home Economics with Recreation staff
• Guitar 101 with Recreation staff
• Song Team Training with new instructor Kayla
• Youth dance classes- Baby Ballet & Tap, Youth Hip Hop, Hip Hop Minis, and more with new instructor Kayla
Whether you enjoy art, sports, or dance the Los Alamitos Recreation and Community Services Department has something for everyone. For more information and to register for a class today, please visit www.cityoflosalamitos.org/recreation
With everyone on the sidelines because of the pandemic, one Texas-born singer has found renewed inspiration during her isolation, including an inner voice this talented singer says she had never heard.
Olivia Kuper Harris, an ambitious young artist, apparently got frustrated with waiting around for the music industry to find her, so she took matters into her own hands.
The result is her first album, entitled “Juicy,” which debuted recently at #12 on the iTunes rhythm and blues list.
“I’m not waiting around,” said Harris, who before the pandemic was a vocalist in Post Modern Jukebox and was on the music industry’s up and coming “watch” list. The Event News Enterprise profiled Harris in 2018.
Olivia Kuper Harris becomes Executive Producer of her own album.
Having reflected much during the pandemic, Harris says she is today a different woman.
She said the same inner voice that convinced her to become executive producer of her own album awoke something else inside of her that she wants to now share with all women.
“When I started doing this work, I realized what it was for a woman to take on such a big challenge,” says Harris. “Now, I want other women to do the same.”
As a result, many songs on the album reflect her goal of inspiring other women to stop waiting around, to find their power and take control of their lives into their own hands.
“As a woman, most of the songs were written from a perspective of empowerment,” said Harris, who wrote all but two of the songs on “Juicy.”
“During the entire process, I grew in ways as an artist that I could not have imagined,” she said. With the album complete, Harris spend her time promoting her new work and is expected to announce a fall tour.
Harris on stage with Post Modern Jukebox
While on tour with PMJ last summer, Harris said she sheepishly shared a song she’d written with a male co-star last summer. “He not only liked it, but immediately said he wanted to help me record an album,” said Harris.
That gig was in Vegas and in that same hotel room, she said they produced a demo of the song “Oh Billy.”
Eventually, she said, “we took it to a whole other level and the rest is history.”
As executive producer, Harris said she coordinated the entire effort, even raising part of the money in a GoFundMe account and paying for the rest of it herself.
“I’m a big dreamer,” said Harris, sort of a chip off the old Texas block. Admittedly, she is the child of “Jewish hippies” in the Lone Star state, moving around a lot and sometimes living out of a van.
Harris’ vocal ability has thus far landed her many notable gigs on stage and starring acting roles in a couple of less noticed, but well received movies.
Olivia doing a bit of technical work between takes.
While “Juicy” is the title track, the gritty “Oh Billy” hints at what is to come for this relative Hollywood newcomer with such a big voice.
Although the album focuses on courage in the workplace, Harris said her song “Lady” is applicable to women and men, an ode to “not being afraid.” Harris plans to release the music video for another song, “The Only Reason,” this week.
Taking on such a massive project, she said, “is really hard to do as an independent artist.” Yet, Harris said she learned so much about her own work ethic, her voice and her unique style that the album was an amazing experience.
“I have had so many amazing collaborators,” said Harris. “This is really hard to do as an independent artist,” she said. Yet, Harris said she feels “super blessed.”
Hopefully, she said, the album will “spread love and inspiration” in a world that, now, needs as much it can muster. Her goal was to create music that injected songs about love and harmony in the world, said Harris.
Olivia Kuper Harris in sings from the heart.
“Everything is so ugly out there at the moment,” said Harris, including too many “ugly personal attacks against one another, left and right.”
“More than anything,” she noted, the year-long effort was “a creative learning process.” The female single turned Executive Producer even managed the business of making the album available on all major streaming services and took care of licensing. Because of the pandemic, she also produced a clever movie that became a “virtual launch” of the album.
“I’m trying to provoke someone to feel,” she said, “just trying to do my part; doing what I can to spread joy in the world.”
“I have been kissed by an angel,” said Harris.
“Juicy” is now available on all major music platforms.
Teachers claiming to represent a majority of their colleagues within the Los Alamitos Unified School District’s two middle schools and Los Al High School, told the board this week that they want additional safety measures and more COVID testing before returning to their classrooms.
Elementary students returned to their campuses last week in a so-called ‘hybrid’ setting while the district’s two middle schools are set to return to their campuses Sept. 22, and Los Al High is preparing to reopen Sept. 29.
While Supt. Dr. Andrew Pulver expressed confidence in the reopening plan, a total of seven high and middle school teachers addressed the LAUSD board at its most recent meeting to express their overall dissatisfaction with elments of the plan.
Many of the teachers suggested the Los Al reopening was “rushed” or “pushed to reopen” and that the lack of information provided by the administration to teachers made them uncomfortable and “feeling unvalued.”
“We are not comfortable or confident with the level of preparedness” said Los Al basketball coach Eddie Courtemarche. Therefore, he said the teachers are seeking to “proactively assert ourselves in the discussion on how to safely return to the classroom.
“The hours away from your families were”not lost on us, but I believe too often, especially under chaotic and stressful circumstances, the human element gets lost in the shuffle,” he said.
Courtemarche said the teachers are “not here just as teachers, but as husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.” He called working in classrooms a “most vulnerable environment.”
Another teacher, a 21-year veteran teacher at Oak Middle School, Juliette Gardner, was more direct.
“The competition to reopen is not a game we should be playing,” she said.
Gardner and the other teachers presented frank assessments to the board regarding the LAUSD “Reopening and Safety Plan” developed by staff and a committee of teachers.
“We have the right to be informed,” said Gardner.
“While science experts tell us that social distancing is our best defense,” said Gardner, “it will be difficult, if not impossible, to socially distance the required 6 feet for middle and high school students,” she warned… “even when only half of our students will be attending class.”
Math teacher Caley Strong said “I think we can come up with a better model than what we are providing to our students.” Strong said moving to a hybrid model will actually cut the amount of instruction time with his students.
He also suggested the reopening plan needs work. “The details have not been ironed out,” he suggested, adding that “only after the details have been figured out should we think about reopening.”
He provided no specifics but each speaker was limited to three minutes.
Teacher Mossy Kennedy told the board he had received correspondence from the administration on “shared responsibility.”
“With this notion of ‘shared responsibility’ in mind, I would ask the board and the district to provide a detailed accounting of money received from the CARES Act funding,” said Kennedy.
“It would be in all parties interest to know exactly how much has been received,” he said, as he also suggested the teachers wanted to know how the district “intended to use these funds.”
Spanish teacher Lisa Sragovicz asked the board to “forgive us for being stressed out” but to please understand that “information is not getting to us.”
Sragovicz said she knows college students that are being COVID tested every week. “Why can’t we do that,” she asked, noting that some of her students “contracted COVID on July 4 …so we know it (COVID) is in our community.”
Teacher Brandon Hart protested that “we are limited in our ability of knowing known cases as the system relies of self-reporting of COVID positive cases.”
“Therefore,” he said, “there can be no assurances to any family who sends their child to school or to any employee who goes to work that they will be informed if they’ve been exposed to a direct contact.”
Hart also questioned safety measures for district infrastructure. “We also have great concerns about our HVAC systems ,” he said. “This evening I was provided information about serious limitations in our HVAC systems ability to support maximally safe indoor environments,” he told the board.
While the Los Al reopening plan meets the “minimum legal requirements,” said Hart, “is the minimum the best we can do.”
“It should not be a rush to reopen,” said Los Al High School English and swimming teacher Leslie Weber, “it should be a rush to be safe.”
Weber went a step further saying teachers are “starved for information” about testing that “does not seem to be available.”
“The default seems to be about meeting the minimum legal threshold as opposed as doing what’s right for everyone,” said Weber. “We feel this undermines our district’s priorities,” she added.
Moreover, Weber said while “it’s great to see the changes on the elementary school campus, on the high school campus we haven’t seen any difference.”
“We don’t know what we’re bringing home and exposing our families to, and even further, the next day, we don’t know what we’re exposing our own students to,” she told the board.
Weber said more than 80 percent of Los Al High teachers responded to the latest survey, revealing ‘rare’ agreement.
According to Weber;
• 96% of those teachers indicated that they would want to be informed of a positive test in her classroom.
• 87% indicated that they would want to be informed of exposure.
• 91% want to know before they leave campus if they’ve been exposed that day.
• 90% of the teachers do not have confidence in the plan to manage positive cases within the campus.
• 80% are not confident in the plans to open safely.
• 80% indicated they would like the district to report positive tests for affected staff and students.
“We need to work together to maintain open lines of communication,” she suggested.
Another teacher, Drew Sells, said “I’m here asking for your commitment to the maximum testing and tracing transparency.”
Following the teachers’ statements, board president Meg Cutuli informed them that a state law called the “Brown Act” prevented the board from discussing or acting on any item not appearing on the agenda.
“So what I will do is ask Dr. Pulver if he would like to say anything, and then we can direct him to look into these concerns,” said the board president.
Pulver said he was very proud of the fact that “we spent the entire summer…in a strong collaborative effort engaging teachers through this process.
In addition, Pulver said “many of them (teachers) who are in this room tonight were part of our committee to help us create surveys and look at the different models.”
As far as testing, “it’s not lost on us absolutely…if I was in a room with an individual who tested positive for COVID, I would want to know,” said Pulver.
Nevertheless, the superintendent said the plan would evolve in a “collaborative” manner, suggesting inclusion, but said the Orange County Health Care Agency was responsible for leading the testing and contact tracing portions of the plan.
“We will follow their lead,” he added.
Pulver recounted a meeting with the Los Alamitos Faculty Forum who made similar requests and said ”I am confident we’ll be able to notify any staff member if they’ve been exposed to a student within their classroom.”
He also suggested the potential of Los Al, and other systems, working or consulting with an outside agency to on testing practices.
Answering teacher concerns about sanitization, he said custodians will have a checklist so teacher will have a confidence if the custodian had cleaned their classroom the night before.”
Also, he said one of the disinfectants the teachers suggested was not on the EPA’s approved list would soon be added to it.
Pulver said staff has analyzed its HVAC systems and filters and said special filters mentioned may significantlly reduce air flow, but noted technicians are constantly re-evaluating the plan.
Pulver has consistently maintained that scientific data will govern the reopening plan.
The superintendent said the district’s site leadership is working with staff to better analyze and assess all aspects of the reopening plan.
“I’m confident that the plan that we’ve created will be a collaborative effort of all parts to ensure that we can have a safe reopening,” he said.
Pulver said the elementary reopening went very smoothly, heaping high praise on parents, saying most of the returning students were well trained on various safety protocols and wearing masks.
In a symbolic gesture honoring its original decision, the five members of the Rossmoor Community Services District celebrated the final payment of the $5 million bond to purchase Rush Park with a literal bond-burning ceremony.
“It was hard, it was a fight but here we sit,” said Rossmoor Community Services President Michael Maynard during a special meeting before the actual ceremony Tuesday.
With the final payment now made, the homeowners of Rossmoor collectively own the 8.7-acre track that is now Rush Park, its administration buildings, auditorium, and acres of open green spaces and park.
Because of the board’s vision three decades ago, Rossmoor residents are today “reaping the rewards,” said Maynard.
Not only did they preserve 8.7 acres of green spaces, but Rush Park today includes community buildings where meetings are held, churches meet, clubs meet and much more, he said.
Rush Park was once Benjamin Rush Elementary School, constructed in 1962 as part of the Rossmoor master planned community. Dr. Benjamin Rush, it’s namesake, was an educator, a physician and was one of the original signatories on the American Declaration of Independence, born in 1746.
Historian Diane Rush said the LAUSD decided to sell Benjamin Rush School in the late 1980’s after it had been closed and declared surplus. Rush school operated from 1962 until it closed in 1978.
Director Tony DeMarco burns his portion of the bond.
The state had approved the formation of the Rossmoor Community Services District in 1987 and this was the first big test of the relatively new RCSD. They moved immediately to buy the site but opinion within Rossmoor was split.
Gustave Brinkman served as President of the Rossmoor Community Services District during the Rush School purchase (1991).
He said “the location of the Rush School site in the southern portion of the district balances off the park system in the district. It enhances the quality of life for all and especially for the children now and in the future,” according to local historian Diane Rush. Other directors approving the Rush purchase included Johanne Duffy, Germaine Erskine and Clair Weeks, she said.
During the rather contentious debate over the purchase, Brickman quoted Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” said Rush, a longtime Rossmoor resident.
Another director of the RCSD at that time was Joyce Bloom. She endorsed the full-throated contests often then held at RCSD meetings, “This has been a wonderful experience for democracy. I think shouting and yelling is fine,” said Bloom as quoted by Rush from a contemporary journal.
In 1990, voters of Rossmoor voted 55 percent to 45 percent to approve the sale of bonds in the amount of $4.2 million to purchase the property and everything on it from the Los Alamitos Unified School District.
Italian American Ross Cortese had purchased nearly 1,000 acres from the Bixby Ranch in 1951 and began construction of Rossmoor (named for the owner) in 1956. Rush says Cortese designated tracks of approximately 10 acres each, dedicated to school construction throughout the development.
In addition to Benjamin Rush School, there were four other schools constructed in Rossmoor, including Rossmoor Elementary, opened in 1958, Weaver Elementary, which opened in 1960, Richard Henry Lee opened in 1961, (Rush in ’62) and Francis Hopkinson opened in 1963.
Today, Rossmoor includes approximately 3,500 residences, four schools and one former school that is now Rush Park.
“So tonight, we celebrate the early payoff of Rush Park bonds,” said Maynard.
Reading a resolution to commemorate the event, Director Jeffrey Barke said the bonds were scheduled to have been paid on Sept. 2, 2021, but it was a “priority of board of directors” to pay it off early.
“This milestone in Rossmoor history is dedicated to all the residents of this great community to mark its greatest asset,” said Barke as he read from the resolution.
Maynard said the early payoff will save Rossmoor homeowners more than $7,000 in interest and cancels the final assessment of $108.50 for each Rossmoor homeowner.
Maynard, Barke and three remaining directors, Mark Nitikman, Ron Casey and Tony DeMarco then walked outside each carrying a ceremonial portion of the $5 million note, taking turns to place each piece into a carefully watched fire pit as they literally “burned” the bonds celebrating the final payment.
With interest, Rossmoor paid approximately $5 million for what Maynard claimed Tuesday could be an asset worth as much as $45 million.
“Everyone thinks you need to travel overseas,” she said, “including me before this, but I began to really appreciate the beauty of America.”
