After a comprehensive nationwide recruitment, the La Palma City Council appointed Conal McNamara as their next city manager. The City Council unanimously confirmed the appointment of McNamara at its meeting on March 3, 2020.
McNamara will come to the City of La Palma with over 25 years of local government experience, having recently served as the Director of Community Development for the City of Whittier since 2014. In that role, he oversaw the planning, building & safety, economic development, and housing divisions.
Before serving the City of Whittier, McNamara served as the Assistant Economic and Community Development Director for the City of Azusa. Additionally, he has worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works as a land development project manager after serving as a land use planning deputy for a Los Angeles County Supervisor. McNamara began his professional career as a city planner for the cities of Irvine, San Bernardino, and Santa Clarita. He holds undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge.
Mayor Peter L. Kim shared the Council’s excitement in welcoming McNamara to La Palma. “Conal has a terrific record of success in his prior employment and exceptional ratings from those he has worked alongside.” “For our City, he possesses important skills that can potentially take La Palma to the next level, and the entire Council looks forward to introducing him to the community.”
“It is quite an honor to have been selected as La Palma’s next city manager,” said McNamara. “I am eager to get to know the community and provide exceptional City services to all La Palma residents.”
Around 76,600 Votes Still Need to Be Counted in Orange County
By Jeannette Andruss
Votes are still being counted from the March 3 Presidential Primary Election. As of Wednesday, March 11, the Orange County Registrar of Voters estimated 76,649 ballots still need to be tallied. Statewide there were more than two million “unprocessed ballots” left to be counted as of March 10. The number includes vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots, same day voter registration ballots as well as ballots that may have been damaged. Keeping in mind uncounted ballots, here are the election results so far.
HED- 72nd State Assembly District
For state and congressional seats, it is a top-two primary. That means the top two vote-getters will advance to compete in the November general election regardless of party. A Republican could face another Republican. That could happen in the race for California’s 72nd Assembly seat, which covers Seal Beach, Rossmoor and Los Alamitos. But the race is tightening for second place. Republican challenger and former Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen is in the lead with 34.4% of the vote. Incumbent Tyler Diep, a fellow Republican, is in second place with about 25.2% but is virtually tied with Democrat Diedre Nguyen. As of March 10, Diep was only 17 votes ahead of Diedre Nguyen, a Garden Grove City Councilwoman.
HED- Congressional Contests
The 48th Congressional District covers all of Seal Beach. Incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda leads the race with 45.9% of the vote. It looks like he will face Republican Michelle Steel in November. Steel, an Orange County Supervisor and Surfside resident, is in second place with 35.4% of the vote.
The 47th Congressional District covers parts of Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Cypress. Incumbent Democrat Alan Lowenthal is leading with 44.1% of the vote. Republican John Briscoe, an Ocean View School District board member, has 18.1% of the vote. The results suggest that Lowenthal and Briscoe will face off in November which would be a rematch of the 2018 race.
HED- Orange County Measure A
Orange County voters are approving of Measure A with the “yes” vote garnering 78.8% of the vote. Measure A would amend the Orange County Charter so that any proposal to increase or extend taxes would require a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Board of Supervisors before the tax proposal is considered by voters.
HED- Statewide Measure Proposition 13
Proposition 13, the $15 billion bond measure to fund repairs and upgrades at California schools, is failing. Right now, 54.1% of the ballots said “No” to the statewide measure. The “Yes” vote is 45.9%.
State law requires counties to report final election results by April 3, 2020.
For the latest tallies on Orange County contests, visit ocvote.com/results.
California State University, Northridge (CSUN), the non-profit Aquarium of the Pacific, and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium are pleased to announce the success of a joint effort involving raising and releasing juvenile giant sea bass into the ocean. Giant sea bass are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Their populations are believed to be increasing slowly after years of decline.
“The Aquarium of the Pacific is proud to directly contribute to enhancing wild populations of giant sea bass by investing in this critically endangered species’ culture and care. This iconic Southern California species is key to healthy kelp forest ecosystems and is a wonder to behold,” said Aquarium of the Pacific Vice President of Animal Husbandry Dr. Sandy Trautwein.
In the past giant sea bass have been notoriously difficult to breed in an aquarium setting. The Aquarium of the Pacific was the first public aquarium to successfully hatch and raise a baby giant sea bass in 2016. That fish, named Yutaka, is now on view in the Aquarium’s Amber Forest exhibit near its parents, which have lived in the Aquarium’s Honda Blue Cavern exhibit since its opening in 1998.
After this initial success, the Aquarium of the Pacific’s husbandry staff planned a regional meeting to gather aquarium professionals and local researchers who had been working with giant sea bass, and multiple partnerships were formed between universities, aquariums, and government agencies. The Aquarium of the Pacific hosted its second Giant Sea Bass Symposium on February 18, 2020.
For this current project, CSUN shared giant sea bass eggs last summer with the Aquarium of the Pacific and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium to attempt to produce offspring. The Aquarium of the Pacific and the Cabrillo Aquarium were able to successfully rear baby giant sea bass babies from these eggs.
The Cabrillo Aquarium used new techniques developed by their animal care team. The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium produced over 300 juvenile giant sea bass raised in the Aquatic Nursery, an Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ award-winning laboratory space dedicated to raising young sea animals and young scientists.
Half of those giant sea bass were brought to the Aquarium of the Pacific in late 2019 as both partners prepared for the release of the fish. The new methods for raising giant sea bass were immensely successful, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium believes these techniques may end up having further reaching implications if applied as a model for growing other endangered species of marine fishes.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium has shared many of its aquarium-raised giant sea bass with aquariums across the country to teach aquarium visitors about this intriguing species and share the animal’s story, both as a warning to the dangers of overfishing and to demonstrate the potential success of species protection and aquaculture efforts.
The young fish will all be released into the wild with approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Divers from both aquariums will release several hundred fish into the ocean at a time on two trips, the first of which has already been completed. The release location will be kept confidential among the project partners, allowing the young fish to acclimate to their new home. Divers, fishers, or others who see giant sea bass in the ocean are encouraged to take a photo and upload it to a citizen science website developed by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who are working to track individual giant sea bass. To learn more or submit your photos, visit spottinggiantseabass.msi.ucsb.edu.
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 the new Pacific Visions wing, Ocean Science Center, Molina Animal Care Center, and the Tentacles and Ink and FROGS: Dazzling & Disappearing exhibits. Beyond its animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers educational programs for people of all ages, from hands-on activities to lectures by leading scientists. Field trips for schoolchildren are offered at a heavily discounted rate, from $7 to $8.50 per student. 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.
One of the largest universities in the country, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is an urban, comprehensive university that delivers award-winning undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 40,000 students annually and counts nearly 370,000 alumni who fuel the region’s economy. Since its founding in 1958, CSUN has made a significant and long-term economic impact on California, generating nearly $1.9 billion in economic impact and nearly 12,000 jobs each year. The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities named CSUN an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University, and the Wall Street Journal ranked CSUN second in the nation for the university’s diverse learning environment.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, was founded in 1935 in response to beach-goers’ questions about local sea life. The Aquarium’s mission is to be a trusted resource to inspire exploration, respect, and conservation of Southern California marine life. The Aquarium is the only fee-free aquarium in the United States that is accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. From its modest but passionate beginnings as an enthusiastically displayed collection of shells, to the center for teaching and research to which it has evolved, the Aquarium serves an essential niche for environmental and science education in the Los Angeles area.
For the first time in the nation’s history, families will have an opportunity to complete their census form online as the nation’s census takers begin their work.
Joseph Contreras, a Partnership Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, told members of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce Friday that the upcoming census will be critical to local communities.
“It’s more than just a count,” said Contreras, “counting everyone goes beyond that, it is shaping our future for the next ten years.”
Contreras explained that the nation’s distribution and grant programs of the massive federal budget is shaped by the counts revealed in the nation’s census.
“It is our constitutional duty to get it right,” he said.
Contreras said the country’s founding fathers mandated in Article 1, Section 2 of the United States constitution that an accurate count be made every ten years.
Moreover, he said the directive mandates that “everyone” be counted. The U.S. Census is important, easy and safe.”
He thanked the Los Alamitos community for being “very supportive” of the 2020 census, adding that it was critical for the city to “get the representation you need.”
Contreras suggested there were perhaps areas in the city that did not get fully counted in the 1990 census and he suggested ways to get them counted this year.
“Our goal is to count everyone once, and only once,” he said.
Families will have the opportunity to input their information on line in many languages this year,” he said, suggesting that only residences that do not take the opportunity to provide information online will get a door knock from an actual census taker.
Also, he assured everyone that even though the information is being provided, authorities have no actual way to determine the exact location after the fact.
Hundreds of billions of dollars will be allocated using the data, he said, adding that the nation’s census goes back to the first one every collected in 1790.
LeAnna Farris, First Vice Chairwoman, conducted the meeting. In other action, the Chamber;
Heard from newly installed JFTB base commander Brig. Gen. Michael Leeney, who said he was very happy to be in command and looks forward to working with the Chamber and the city.
Heard Farris invite members to participate in this month’s after-hours event, to be held March 26 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott on Katella.
Heard from Tricia Ridgeway, the Executive Director of African Sisterhood, a local nonprofit holding an “women of the future” empowerment event March 21.
The Music Center named 113 of Southern California’s most talented high school students as semifinalists in The Music Center’s 32nd annual Spotlight (Spotlight) program, a free nationally acclaimed scholarship and arts training program for teens. Since its launch in 1988, Spotlight has transformed the lives of 49,000 students across Southern California by being more than just a competition.
An important part of The Music Center’s fundamental support for arts education, the arts training program provides students the opportunity to develop their performance abilities, learn about careers in arts management and receive valuable college preparedness and workforce readiness skills to pursue their dreams in the performing arts. This year, nearly 1,400 teens representing more than 260 schools, 198 cities and eight counties auditioned for the prestigious program.
The Music Center named this years’ semifinalists in each of seven categories—acting, ballet, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental.
“Spotlight is a prime example of The Music Center’s commitment to deepen the cultural lives of all, in this case empowering young, aspiring artists with the skills and tools to explore their potential,” said Rachel Moore president and CEO of The Music Center. “This year-long journey has the added benefit of helping these students develop critical life skills that can set them on a path to success, whether or not they pursue a career in the arts.”
Santiago Lopez
According to Jeri Gaile, director of The Music Center’s Spotlight program, “Spotlight is so much more than just a scholarship program, it’s an opportunity for young performers to discover their full potential and push themselves to continue to achieve their goals. What makes this program so unique is not only the amazing talent that goes through the Spotlight process, but also the individuals who discover a new passion for the arts off stage or behind the scenes.”
Semifinalists receive a rare opportunity to attend a special master class in their genre with highly regarded artists, who share their expertise on performance technique, training and professional life. Experts provide students with highly valuable feedback on their performances, offering them a rich learning experience. Each semifinalist will audition again before a new panel of judges, who will then select the top two finalist performers in each category for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists. Judges will also name an Honorable Mention in each category. The Grand Prize Finalists will perform at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre in the Spotlight Grand Finale Performance on May 30, 2020.
The Music Center’s Spotlight program awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually. Both Grand Prize Finalists in each category receive $5,000 scholarships, with one Honorable Mention in each category receiving $1,000. Semifinalists each receive $300. The Music Center also celebrates five students in each category with the Merit Award, which acknowledges students who inspire the judges by their commitment and dedication to their art form. Spotlight Merit Award recipients each receive $100. This year, The Music Center is also partnering with Interlochen Center for the Arts to award all Spotlight semifinalists scholarship dollars to Interlochen’s summer camp and Arts Academy for the 2020-2021 academic year. All participants who were selected to participate in the preliminary second round of Spotlight auditions also received scholarship dollars from Interlochen to use toward one of the organization’s three- or six-week programs.
Numerous Spotlight participants have gone on to successful professional careers. Twenty-Three Finalists are Presidential Scholars, and many more have joined or performed with professional companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, among others.
They include Misty Copeland, who made history in the dance world as the first African American principal dance for American Ballet Theatre; Adam Lambert and Josh Groban, pop recording artists; Kris Bowers, Emmy® Award-winning composer whose work includes Green Book and Dear White People; Lindsay Mendez, Tony Award® winner for her role in the Broadway revival of Carousel and now starring in CBS’s new television drama All Rise; Erin Mackey, star of Broadway’s Wicked, Sondheim on Sondheim, Anything Goes, Chaplin, and Amazing Grace; Matthew Rushing, associate artistic director for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Yao Guang Zhai, associate principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony; Gerald Clayton, Grammy Award winning jazz recording artist; and many others.
Fredric Roberts is founding chairman of The Music Center’s Spotlight program. The late Walter E. Grauman is the creator. This year’s Spotlight co-chairs are Pamela and Dennis Beck, Terri and Jerry Koh, and Teresita and Shelby Notkin.
For more information about The Music Center’s Spotlight program, visit musiccenter.org/spotlight or join the conversation on facebook.com/MusicCenterSpotlight
The eight Citizens of the Year and the Man of the Year honored at the recent Americana Awards from the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel were not the only highlights of this year’s expanded event that included a banquet, a lightning live auction, and performances by various Cypress College students and staff, but they certainly are the heart of this annual fundraiser every year to support the Cypress College Foundation and needy students. These honored citizens from eight Orange County cities and one person each year are singled out for exceptional achievement in community and civic giving. They represent the cement that hold communities together. In its 45th year of showcasing individual service to community. Americana honors among others, Dr. Billy Poe of Los Alamitos, Esther Kenyon of Seal Beach, and Man of the year Bill Taormina of Anaheim. Los Al TV and producer John Underwood bring you highlights of the action from the Grand Ballroom on your local cable Channel 3, and also viewable online at losaltv.org.
Weissinger named tourney’s MVP for Griffins varsity team
The Los Alamitos High boys varsity volleyball team captured the Millikan Tournament championship on Saturday, finishing the tourney with a perfect 6-0 record.
The team “fought hard” to best Long Beach Poly, Long Beach Wilson, Millikan and Lakewood throughout the day’s action.
Two players from the Griffins were singled out for special honors, including Eric Weissinger, who was named Most Valuable Player and Tobias Murphree, who was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Griffins host a big match on March 18, when they will host Corona del Mar, at 5:30 p.m. at the Los Alamitos High gym.
Griffins go 5-0 in winning coveted Bullhead City tournament
By Jerry Moreland
Each year Bullhead City, Arizona, hosts a softball Tournament of Champions showcasing some of the best teams on the west coast. Team play five games over 3 days (March 5-7), and for the sixth time, after winning all give games, the Griffins brought home the coveted trophy with their outstanding pitching and hitting. They won the semifinal game against Oro Valley, AZ., and the championship game against Crescenta Valley, Ca.
The pitching was led by Tyler Denhart (Sr.), pitching every inning of the semifinals and championship game. Pitchers Sydney Saldana, Bailey Taylor, and Taylor Johnson all helped get the Griffins through the first three games.
The Griffins’ bats were alive in every game. Several Griffins hit multiple homeruns lead by Sophia Nugent (Jr.), Diamond Sefe (So.), Jamie Sellers (Sr.), Carly Robbins (Sr.), and Giselle Alvarez (Fr.). Ali Belarde (Sr.) and Emma Sellers (Jr.) had multiple hit games and played outstanding defense. Erin Mendoza (Jr.) was the base stealing leader, and a threat anytime she was on base.
Other Griffins contributing to an amazing performance include Alex Riddle (Sr.), Taylor Squires (Jr.), Jazzy Santos (So.), Julianne Ronquillo (Jr.), Carly Limosnero (So.), Julie Holcomb (Fr.), Alexis Montez (Fr.), Mackenzie Ficke (Jr.), Taryn Clements (Fr.), Marisa Salazar (So.), Emma Haygood (So.) and Elyse Silva (Jr.).
Head Coach Rob Weil, Assistant coaches Aaron Kimura, Jimmy Costello, Hollie Hernandez, Janet Fettig, Sean Nierman, and Dara Nicholson along with Associate of Operations, Junior Jordan Manrique (Jr.) also made the trip. The Griffins have one of the best Sport Medicine Directors, John Hansen, who always accompanies the team on their away games with his student trainer assistants to ensure the players’ medical needs are well taken care of.
Head coach Rob Weil says that this is one of the most cohesive teams he has ever coached. Everyone gets along and supports each other.
The Griffins have a strong following of parents and grandparents as well as several interested locals. They all are looking forward to a very successful year. Follow the Griffins on their road to the CIF playoffs.
While the Sunset Beach Art Festival is still a few months away, the impact of the 2019 festival was felt last week as several schools and non-profit charities received grant donations from the Las Damas organization that runs the festival.
More than $20,000 raised from last year’s festival was given out to area schools and organizations, including Los Alamitos High, Casa Youth and Precious Life Shelters. Las Damas is generally a non-profit organization focused on art, so the schools receive grants designated for their art programs. Local schools also included McGaugh Elementary, Oak and McAuliffe Middle schools. Teachers from the school art departments were on hand to accept the checks and also talk about some of the ways the money is used.
Artwork from the students was on display and teachers explained how students benefit and learn from the work. Los Alamitos ceramics teacher Jeff Carthew showed some pieces from students, explaining how they try to find new ways to use the materials provided. Ceramics begin with simple items spun on wheels or molded.
But Carthew challenges students to make pieces that conform to conventional beauty standards for symmetry and design. He displayed a bowl that appeared perfectly round and symmetrical all the way around. Then he explained how he challenged students to look for unconventional beauty in making pieces.
Students made symmetrical bowls again, but this time took the molded clay and slammed it to the ground, flattening and splitting the clay. They would then throw them down onto a ball, causing the clay to wrap round the clay and remold into bowl shapes. The glazed final products resembled dry leaves, cupped and randomly shaped with pointed edges and cracks.
Huntington Beach High ceramics teacher also talked about the different ways that students experiment with clay. He said they had constructed a hand-made salt kiln in the art room. The device allowed students to throw salt and baking soda into the kiln as the ceramic pieces were in the firing process. The salt and soda hit the pieces and create a rough texture that is unique to each piece.
McAuliffe Middle School teacher Sherry Tanaka had painting from students, including a project in which students were required to paint an island that was their own. The students were told to fill the island with everything they would want in their own world.
The non-profit service organizations who received grant funds were Casa Youth Shelter, NAMI of Orange, Precious Life Shelter, Thomas House Family Shelter and Waymakers (HB Youth Center). Smith Elementary in Huntington Beach also received a grant and the school’s principal, Maria Ashton was on hand to accept the donation. During her acceptance, she relayed a story of a child that had come through her school after receiving help from Waymakers. She said the student had been struggling and it was her belief that if not for the intervention of Waymakers, that student may not have even survived. But she reported he had moved on to middle school and was doing very well.
This year’s art festival is scheduled for May 9-10, starting at 9 a.m. each day. The festival is accepting vendor applications until May 4. For more information, call 562-537-8295, or email gaylemw@gmail.com.
Dr. William Poe V, is a dentist who believes, “it takes a village” to maintain a strong community and he holds that effort close to his heart.
He said he has a very strong sense of home and does everything he can every day to never let his family, his patients nor the community down; at his core, he says what motivates him is his sense of, “Simply doing what is right in life and always trying and striving to be your best.”
Poe is a charter member of the Los Alamitos Football Foundation and has been making mouthpieces for high school student athletes. Through the Football Foundation, Poe has been an integral part of their successful scholarship program, supporting multiple students each year in meeting their college goals.
He’s a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Los Alamitos, where he currently holds the position of president and he served as president of the Los Alamitos Youth Center Board of Directors and has become known as quite the Bingo caller at their Saturday night games.
The Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce honored Poe as the Chamber’s Man of the Year in 1998, having been a long-time member.
Dr. Poe coached his son’s Friday Night Football team for 10 years and was President and Coach of the Saint Hedwig Pony Baseball League and he also managed his daughter’s Indian Princess’ group of the YMCA.
Born in Long Beach and raised in Los Alamitos, Poe’s family has been in the area since the late 1890s. From a young age, he was an active participant in baseball, basketball and football youth programs and was also a quarterback and captain of the foot ball team at Los Alamitos High School, where he graduated with honors.
After High school, he earned his Associate in Science degree at Cypress College and to this day, he says he continues to be a proud alum.
Dr. Poe receives his award.
And while attending Cypress College, he also volunteered with the Orange County Fire Department.
After attending Cypress College, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA and during his time at UCLA he continued his community involvement as the Vice President of Sigma Chi National Fraternity as well as serving as a peer health counselor and a charter member of the UCLA Alcohol Education Awareness Committee.
Dr. Poe said he attributes much of his business acumen to his early days with the Sigma Chi Fraternity through all of the activities he was involved with there.
From UCLA, Poe moved to USC where he enrolled in the School of Dentistry and went on to earn his DDS. While in dental school, he was a member of the Delta Sigma Dental Fraternity and served as class treasurer.
Dr. Poe opened his office in Los Alamitos in 1989 where he continues to maintain a busy schedule serving his patients; he is a member of professional organizations such as the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association, the Harbor Dental Society, the America Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics.
Even after he had earned his DDS degree, he went on to obtain Masterships in both orthodontics and craniomandibular orthopedics and recently earned the State of Fellow from the prestigious Las Vegas Dental Institute, which less than 2-percent of all dentists in the U.S. have attended.
George O’Hara named Cypress Citizen of the Year
George O’Hara is the second member of his family to be selected as the City of Cypress’ “Citizen of the Year,” as his father, Jim O’Hara, was also named Citizen of the Year in 1980.
During the Cypress Americana event Saturday evening at the Disneyland Hotel, a video of each recipient told of their life, accomplishments and community service. O’Hara said that his parents and family have been a great influence on his desire to be an integral part of the community and to give back. “I feel grateful for the life that I have lived and for my parents; my family and my wife, Martha,” he said.
George O’Hara receives his award.
Moving to Cypress in 1965, he lives a quarter of a mile from where he grew up and fondly remembers that there were more cows at that time, than people in Cypress and today, he enjoys riding his bicycle through the City to see all of the positive changes that have taken place, including the lack of cow smells.
O’Hara said his involvement in the Catholic Church has also shaped his sense of community and desire to support Catholic organizations, continuing the work and example set b his parents as he supports the Union of Presentation Sisters, an International Catholic Congregation of Women, , while staying involved as a senior member of the committee for their retirement benefits event that rotates annually amongst Orange County Parishes where the Sisters teach.
In his younger years, O’Hara said he fondly remembers playing on a Club Rugby team at Cypress College, with that field being located where the softball field is currently today.
He said though he earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine, he is eternally grateful to Cypress College for getting him through physics.
O’Hara is well-known for his active participation in Cypress events and organizations and has the positive attitude of, “Get involved and stick with it.” He believes that being part of the community is a natural extension of someone in local business and credits that belief to his parent’s influence.
He has been involved with the Cypress Chamber of Commerce and was honored as the Chamber Man of the Year and currently serves as a board member of the Chamber as well as the Cypress College Foundation, where he served as president for a term.
He’s also active with the St. Irenaeus Parish, including the Baptism Preparation Ministry, the Knights of Columbus and the Fiesta Committee. and has served on the County of Orange Oversight Board to the City of Cypress Redevelopment Successor Agency.
Noella Lew is La Palma Americana honoree
Noella Lew’s outstanding service within the community of La Palma has not gone unnoticed, as The West Orange County Women’s Conference honored her as Woman of the Year for the City in 2018 because of her exceptional community service and leadership, and she also received the California Parks and Recreation Service Merit Award; recently, she and her husband of 46-years, Dickson, received the Dedicated Volunteer Service Award from the La Palma Parks and Recreation.
And now, in 2020, Lew has been honored as the “Citizen of the Year” for the City of La Palma during the 45th annual Americana Awards at the Disneyland Hotel over the weekend.
Noella Lew receives her award.
While working for General Mills, where she was a business management representative, Lew was recognized as the National Sales Representative and also earned the Superstar Award during her 37-year working career there.
The Lew’s two children attended John F. Kennedy High School, where when her son was in Water Polo, she became involved with the Water Polo Boosters and again when her daughter was in Cheer, she was active with the Cheer Boosters and even served as president of that organization.
“At Kennedy, I would volunteer on Package Stuffing and Registration days and would help with the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon,” Lew said. At Kennedy High School, she received the PTSA Commitment to Excellence Award for her outstanding service.
Lew has served as a board member for Lupus International and as an advocate for those with the disease. She said this cause is especially important to her, as she too was diagnosed with lupus 25-years ago. She has organized many fundraising events for the Lupus organization, including the Bobby Hatfield Classic Golf Tournament, which she has chaired for more than 18 years and for her outstanding service to Lupus International, she received the organization’s Special Volunteer Recognition Award.
The Lew’s have also worked with the Green Band Association as a host family for four years, which helps with housing and hosting band members from Japan when they come to march in the Rose Parade each year along with the JFK High School band. “It has been a rewarding experience for the whole family,” she said.
More than 400 individuals attended the Friday, Feb. 28, Celebration of Life for Seth Eaker, according to Scott Newton of the Seal Beach Lions.
Eaker, a Seal Beach activist and past Lions club president, passed away last December at age 46.
Cars overflowed the parking lot of Old Ranch Country Club and many who came to pay their respects parked in neighboring streets. Old Ranch employees were bringing in chairs as guests took their seats.
Pastor Tia Wildermuth, Eaker’s spiritual advisor, officiated at the ceremony. She said she and Eaker were close friends. She said one of the great honors of her life was officiating at the wedding of Eaker to Anthony J. Morgan. She said she would carry Eaker with her.
“He will effect my ministry,” she said.
Later, during her closing remarks, Wildermuth said she and Eaker spoke the day before he died. They spoke about the movie “Frozen 2,” and she quoted the final lines of a song from the movie:
“When it’s clear that everything will never be the same again
“Then I’ll make the choice to hear that voice
“And do the next right thing
Morgan said he was honored and proud to be Seth’s husband. They were married for six years.
Morgan thanked Eaker’s friends from the United Kingdom, New York and other places who had traveled to say farewell.
Morgan said Eaker had friends in the Seal Beach Police Department, Run Seal Beach, the Chamber of Commerce, the Seal Beach Police Foundation and the Lions.
Morgan described their first meeting in Philadelphia. He was at a drinking fountain when Eaker “bounded up” to him.
(Later during the celebration, Eaker’s mother Marcia Brashier said that he called her after his first date with Anthony and said he might have found the one. After the second date, he called her and said, “I think I’m in love.”)
Morgan described Eaker as loud and extroverted. According to Morgan, it was how different they were that made the relationship work.
He said Eaker grew up on stories of magic and fantasy.
According to Morgan, Eaker’s philosophy was that life was a gift, a ticket that had no cash value, was non-transferable and non-refundable.
Morgan said Eaker kept a red ticket to remind himself of this philosophy.
“If i could chose one word to describe hi, it would be giver,” Morgan said.
“Seth, you will always be loved, always admired, never forgotten,” Morgan said.
The next speaker was Eaker’s mother Marcia Brashier, accompanied by four friends to lend their moral support.
She said she was proud of what Eaker did with his educational choices. When he graduated business school, he told his mother he didn’t want to go into corporate America. Instead, he said he would go into his own business so “they can never fire me,” Eaker said.
Brashier said he wanted to help people be the best that he felt they could be.
Eaker turned down a Harvard scholarship to attend Swanee College in Tennessee. He came out as a gay man at Swanee. After he came out, a fraternity asked him to join them.
Seth’s brother Craig Brashier said, “We first knew him as a brillian boy.”
According to Brashier, at age 6, Eaker had memoriazed the periodic table.
Brashier described him as an amazing uncle. “We learned a lot when he was with us,” Brashier said.
For a musical interlude, Seth’s Eaker’s brother Craig Brashier performed “Think of me” on the harmonica. He’d originally planned to perform “Amazing Grace,” but decided the song was not approperiate for Seth Eaker.
The performance was followed by a video tribute to Eaker created by his friend Deb Machen.
Alan Eaker, Seth’s father, said, “The day Seth was born was the happiest day of my life. The day he left us, the saddest day of my life.”
Alan Eaker said Seth was an optimist. When he was a member of the forensics society, he gave a speech about optimism as a way of life. Alan Eaker said that in Seal Beach, Seth Eaker found a community he could be part of.
Morgan read remarks sent by Seth’s stepmother Raffi Brown.
“Best carry on and do what Seth would do, with intention,” Brown wrote.
Chad Berlinghieri sang the Gospel song “Stand By Me” and “You Are Mine.”
The celebration was followed by a reception. Well-known Eaker expressions—”Sethisms”—appeared on signs on the tables. Sethisms were also printed on the back of bookmarks placed on each of the chairs before the service.
The Cypress Chamber is Looking for a Few Good Mentors
The Cypress Chamber of Commerce looking for mentors in all fields of work who would like to be a part of our popular annual Student-Business Mentor Breakfast on Wednesday, March 18th. This is an opportunity to share your wisdom, background and subject matter expertise and talk to students over breakfast.
The program is geared for high school juniors and seniors and mentors are matched with students who have expressed a career interest in your area of work. There is no charge for mentors, although anyone can be an Educational Sponsor for $15, which helps offset the cost for the program.
Our keynote speaker this year will be California Military Reserve Chief Warrant Officer Rochelle Sonza, a 19 year veteran. She began her military career as a combat medic serving oversees in Germany and Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom-1.
Over the years she has served in many leadership roles and was commissioned as the first Community Outreach Officer for the CA Military Department’s “Youth & Community Programs Task Force.” Currently she oversees the Recruiting, Placement, Mentorship, and Outreach department of Sunburst Youth ChalleNGe Academy.
Chief Sonza is passionate about providing a second chance to any at-promise youth who wants to succeed. She is a firm believer in the power of mentorship and the belief that “it takes a village to create positive change.”
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For many years McDonald’s of Cypress has generously donated the breakfast for this event and will once again be providing the food. Other key sponsors for 2020 include: ENO Brands, Kinetic Mortgage, The City of Cypress, Crystal Geyser Water and Forest Lawn of Cypress.
Reservations and information regarding your area of expertise can be made directly on the Cypress Chamber website at cypresschamber.org. If you need more information, please call the Chamber office at 714 484-6015.
Editor’s note: Carl Rapp is employed by Bearing Inspection, Inc., a Los Alamitos based company that is part of the Timken corporate family. This is what he wrote about Erin Amarello, an employee recognized by The Manufacturing Institute.
By Carl Rapp
A role model. High energy. Smart. A difference-maker. An inspiration.
These are a handful of words I’ve used – and I’ve heard others use – to describe Erin Amarello, a business manager for Timken’s Bearing Inspection Inc. (BII) in Los Alamitos. Now, we can also call her a 2020 Step Ahead Emerging Leader! The Manufacturing Institute, the education and workforce partner of the National Association of Manufacturers, will be honoring Erin and other women who exemplify leadership in their science, technology, engineering and production careers at a ceremony April 30 in Washington, D.C. Erin is one of only 30 women in the U.S. to be recognized in the Emerging Leader category.
Awards like this one shine a spotlight on the often-unheralded contributions of women in manufacturing. According to the Manufacturing Institute, women make up only 29 percent of the manufacturing workforce. There’s tremendous opportunity for women to make their mark in the industry, and Erin and other award winners are doing their part to inspire the next generation.
When Erin joined our company in 2015, we knew she was something special and would be an asset to our operations. She has a can-do attitude that rubs off on everyone around her. She isn’t a big fan of the status quo. She takes on every task believing she’ll make it better, and she usually does. True to form, she’s already made a big impact on our company in her brief tenure with us.
In late 2019, we promoted Erin to her current leadership role with Timken’s BII business, overseeing our aerospace bearing repair service operations. Our decision to put her in that position was based on what she showed us at our facility in Keene, N.H., where she served as a supervisor, an area operations manager and, later, a materials manager. In her three years there, she helped make a great plant even better by implementing new processes, problem-solving techniques, cross-training and other tactics. Metrics improved across the board, including an 8 percent increase in productivity. All the while, the plant maintained an impeccable safety record.
Erin also helped drive positive cultural shifts throughout the plant through her proactive leadership style. She created programs to increase associate engagement, including improved onboarding training, to help increase retention. Since her arrival, surveys have shown that our associates in Keene are more optimistic than ever about the future and their personal growth. They’re committed to our mission and helping us move the world forward.
In 2017, Erin helped lead the Keene facility’s United Way campaign with the same positive attitude she employs in every aspect of her life. She created a kickoff event for all three shifts – speaking at each – and developed a raffle system for donations. Efforts like these helped increase associate engagement by 12 percent and donations by 36 percent over the prior year. Thanks to these significant improvements, the United Way presented the Keene facility with its Summit Award for the highest per capita gift amount for the company’s size and the Spirit of Monadnock Award, its highest honor for companies that exemplify the spirit of the region.
Erin brings the same level of passion to every challenge she faces – from mentoring students, coaching sports, and judging science fairs to leading manufacturing teams and working towards her master’s degree in systems engineering. She’s now thriving in her new role, and I suspect she’ll continue to rack up accomplishments for years to come.
The founder of a local military nonprofit organization is praising the introduction of a bill in the California state senate that will aid military sexual assault survivors seeking justice.
Dr. Dwight Stirling, CEO of the Center for Law and Military Policy, said the bill, introduced by Senator Jerry Hill and co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Umberg will empower California military service survivors of sexual assault to seek justice in a civil court.
Stirling, a former military prosecutor who still serves in the reserves, said he supports SB 1274 as a means of easing restrictions imposed by the Feres doctrine.
In 2019, Stirling was instrumental in testimony before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in supporting a change to federal military procedure regarding a Supreme Court decision nearly 70 years ago called the Feres Doctrine that has in many cases prevented active duty service members from seeking justice in civilian courts.
Reforming Feres “is our signature issue,” he said.
Moreover, he said “it is vitally important that we empower survivors of military sexual assault to hold their assailants to account in civil court,” said Stirling, a longtime prosecutor for the California National Guard.
“Rapists in uniform have been able to hide behind the chain of command for far too long. The only way to end the epidemic is to allow survivors to take control of the process by seeking damages against their perpetrators in an independent court of law,” he said,
“It is unconscionable that while prison inmates are able to sue for sexual assault, service members cannot.”
Hill said he introduced legislation to remove a legal obstacle that hinders efforts to hold members of the California military accountable in cases of alleged sexual assault, sexual harassment and reprisals against whistleblowers.
“This is a matter of justice,” he said. “These crimes must be properly investigated and prosecuted, and it is essential to empower survivors, not silence them,” said Senator Hill, D-San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. “Our basic tenets of justice do not change because the survivors and alleged perpetrators are our servicemembers. A loophole in the law jeopardizes those principles.”
Both Hill and Umberg have been service members.
Dr. Dwight Stirling testifies before a House Armed Services Subcommittee.
A previously convicted white supremacist gang member was sentenced today to 56 years to life in state prison for stabbing a 22-year-old man to death in a Laguna Niguel bar in 2015.
Craig Matthew Tanber, 40, of Los Alamitos, was convicted in December 2019 of one felony count of second-degree murder for stabbing Shayan Mazroei several times after Tanber and girlfriend were told to leave The Original Patsy’s Irish Pub on September 8, 2015. Tanber was also convicted on one felony count of the personal use of a weapon.
Tanber’s girlfriend, Elizabeth Thornburg, exchanged words with Mazroei when the two went outside the bar to smoke. Witnesses testified hearing Thornburg hurl racial slurs at Mazroei, and video footage captured her spitting on Mazroei several times. Before walking back in the bar, Mazroei spit on Thornburg.
Thornburg chased Mazroei back into the bar.
After being asked to leave the bar by a bouncer, Thornburg and Tanber waited outside the bar. Video footage shows Tanber walking back into the bar after the bouncer left to deal with another issue inside the business. Tanber then punched Mazroei and stabbed him twice, first through the heart and then in the shoulder.
Mazroei stumbled back into the bar and collapsed. Mazroei was taken to Mission Hospital by paramedics where he later died.
Following the stabbing, Tanber fled the scene but was arrested three days later at a Westminster motel by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Elizabeth Thornburg has been charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact.
“Shayan’s parents were robbed of their only son and a lifetime of memories,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who attended many of the hearings in this case, including today’s sentencing. “Craig Tanber is a callous murderer who has repeatedly shown a complete disregard for human life. The sentence handed down today will keep him behind bars for his entire adult life and prevent a cold-blooded killer from harming other innocent people and destroying more lives.”
Tanber had been out of prison for just three months when he killed Mazroei.
In 2007, Tanber admitted to helping kill a 26-year-old man who was beaten to death with a claw hammer after stealing money from the former girlfriend of a white supremacist gang member. Tanber pled guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter after his murder trial ended in a mistrial due to juror misconduct.
Tanber was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney of the Homicide Unit.
In a way, Eric Tamm is coming home.
A native of San Francisco, Eric Tamm began his dance training with tap and jazz at 14. With his role in the upcoming premiere of the production, “Of Love and Rage,” he returns to California, as an emergent dance professional on the world stage.
“It’s amazing how Alexi Ratmansky brought this story to the stage,” said Tamm, adding that he felt it was an honor to come back to California to perform in its premier on the Segerstrom stage.
In a must-see world premiere, Of Love and Rage is a new work choreographed by Ratmansky, an ABT Artist-in-Residence and MacArthur Genius who finds his inspiration in the ancient Greek text Callirhoe.
Written by Chariton of Aphrodesias, Callirhoe is widely acknowledged to be the oldest novel still in existence, set around 400 BC in the ancient Greek world, which, at that time, sprawled across the Mediterranean.
Eric Tamm. Photo by Jade Young.
Tamm’s ballet training began at 14 at the Irine Fokine School of Ballet, under the direction of Irine Fokine, Eugene Petrov and Jeanette Hoffman.
In the Summer of 2003, he attended Kaatsbaan’s Extreme Ballet program, studying with Martine van Hamel, Bonnie Mathis and Christian Holder. In January 2004, Tamm was selected for the ABT Studio Company Associate Program (now the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School) and attended ABT’s 2004 Summer Intensive Program on a full scholarship.
Tamm joined ABT Studio Company in August 2004, the main Company, as an apprentice, in January 2007 and the corps de ballet in December 2007. He rejoined ABT in 2020. His repertory with the Company includes the principal role in Ballo della Regina, the Second Sailor in Fancy Free, Des Grieux in Lady of the Camellias, principal 1st Movement in Symphony in C, the Nutcracker Prince and the Spanish Dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Olga’s Fiancé in On the Dnieper, Lead Highlander in The Bright Stream, the Nocturne in Fall River Legend and many other roles.
Tamm now lives in New York and is a resident ABT dancer. He returns to California this week to perform in “Of Love and Rage.”
A ballet in two acts, Of Love and Rage is influenced by the Greek aesthetic of beauty and harmony, incorporating many elements from ancient Greek drama. Ratmansky employs his expansive knowledge of classical ballet’s history and orchestrations of Aram Khachaturian’s score Gayane to create a powerful narrative of love and forgiveness, utilizing the full company of dancers. According to Ratmansky, “Of Love and Rage” is not a fairytale. Although it was written thousands of years ago, with the complexity of the relationship between Callirhoe and Chaereas at its core, it feels very modern and relevant. Callirhoe is a strong woman in a world where women had very limited options and no power. After early experiences where her fate is determined by men, she learns that she can use her beauty and her brains to shape her fate.” Ratmansky added, “I am fascinated by the topic of forgiveness. This is a story about how anger and jealousy tear two people apart – two people who are madly in love. Forgiveness is the only way they can reunite, and forgiveness requires strength. As Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.’”
Tamm and the entire ABT corps de ballet can be seen in “Of Love and Rage,” on stage at Segerstrom March 5-8.
Single tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s Of Love and Rage at Segerstrom Center for the Arts start at $29 and are now available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236.
Long Beach Opera highlights New Pacific Visions Space in the Aquarium
Long Beach Opera tackles Peter Maxwell Davies’ modern sea-based thriller in the environs of the new Honda Pacific Visions Theater at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
There will be four performances, March 21, 22, 28 and 29. The interactive theater space boasts cutting-edge, high-definition technology with a breathtaking 32-foot-tall 180-degree arc wrap-around projection wall and effects.
Based on a true story, this haunting opera is an atmospheric combination of detective mystery and ghost story, mixing courtroom testimony with fantastical flashbacks.
In the prologue, three officers from a lighthouse-vessel report to a Court of Enquiry how they arrived to relieve three lighthouse keepers and find the place deserted. The main act flashes back to the keepers (working the lighthouse far longer than usual), nervously passing the time by singing songs. But out of the fog, their past emerges to taunt them.
The original inspiration of this work came from reading Craig Mair’s book on the Stevenson family of Edinburgh. This family, apart from producing the famous author Robert Louis, produced several generations of lighthouse and harbor engineers.
In December 1900, the lighthouse and harbor supply ship Hesperus based in Stromness, Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the Flannan Isles light in the Outer Hebrides.
The lighthouse was empty – all three beds and the table looked as if they had been left in a hurry and the lamp, though extinguished, was in perfect working order, the men had disappeared into thin air.
There have been many speculations as to how and why the three keepers disappeared. This opera does not offer a solution to the mystery but indicates what might be possible under the tense circumstances of three men being marooned in a storm-bound lighthouse long after the time they expected to be relieved.
The new 300-seat Honda Pacific Visions Theater at the Aquarium of the Pacific is a breathtaking two level seating theater, featuring a 130-foot-wide by 32-foot-tall screen, curved in a 180 degree arc and a retractable 30-foot-diameter floor projection disc, all working together to dip audiences into a virtual environment. Long Beach Opera will create the first public opera production in this immersive space.
Over the course of his career, Maxwell Davies’s status changed from enfant terrible to leading cultural figure at the heart of the British establishment. His appointment in 2004 as Master of the Queen’s Music is a tribute to the revolutionary influence he has had on the British contemporary music scene and the public’s perception of it. From his radical works of the 1960s, he developed a more conventional, but no less startlingly original, idiom often drawing on the music and landscape of the Orkney Islands where he lived from 1971 until his death in 2016.
His major dramatic works include full-length ballets Salome and Caroline Mathilde, music-theatre works Eight Songs for a Mad King and Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot, and operas Resurrection, The Lighthouse, The Doctor of Myddfai, and Taverner, which was recently released by NMC Records on a Grammy-nominated disc with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Oliver Knussen. Maxwell Davies’s last opera Kommilitonen! (Young Blood!) received critical acclaim for its world premiere run of performances at London’s Royal Academy of Music, with the Daily Telegraph labelling the composer “a master symphonist”.
Maxwell Davies’ huge output of orchestral work comprises ten symphonies – hailed by the Times as “the most important symphonic cycle since Shostakovich” – as well as numerous concerti including the Strathclyde Concerto series and most recently his violin concerto Fiddler on the Shore, written for Daniel Hope and first performed in 2009 by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and at the BBC Proms. Maxwell Davies’ light orchestral works include An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise and Mavis in Las Vegas, and five large-scale works for chorus including the oratorio Job. His landmark cycle of ten string quartets, The Naxos Quartets, were described in the Financial Times as “one of the most impressive musical statements of our time”.
Long Beach Opera (LBO) is internationally known for its cutting-edge interpretations of unconventional repertoire. LBO creates immediate, inventive, and often boldly avant-garde productions for an adventurous audience and stands apart from most opera companies in the number of world, American, and West Coast premieres the company has staged. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest professional opera company in the Los Angeles/Orange County region with a performance history of more than 110 operas, ranging from the earliest works of the 17th century to operas of the 21st. LBO’s ever?growing repertoire has provided stimulus for the subsequent founding of other local opera companies, catapulting Southern California into the spotlight as a major opera epicenter. LBO is a recognized and respected member of the U. S. cultural community, receiving funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, the County of Los Angeles, and the City of Long Beach, along with generous support from individual donors, local businesses, public corporations, and private foundations.
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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 Pacific Visions, Ocean Science Center, Molina Animal Care Center, and the Tentacles and Ink and FROGS: Dazzling & Disappearing exhibits. Beyond its animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers educational programs for people of all ages, from hands-on activities to lectures by leading scientists. Field trips for schoolchildren are offered at a heavily discounted rate, from $7 to $8.50 per student. 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. For more information, please visit aquariumofpacific.org or call (562) 590-3100.
According to Google, International Women’s Day is observed annually on March 8 to celebrate the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women throughout the world. The global theme for International Woman’s Day this year is #EachforEqual#IWD2020, “An equal world is an enabled world.” It continues all year long to encourage action. It focuses attention on the fact that, individually, we can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations, and celebrate women’s achievements. However, collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. The theme urges everyone to choose to be #EachforEqual.
The National Women’s Party suggest wearing purple on International Women’s Day since “Purple is the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause.” It is also the color of dignity and self-respect and signifies bipartisanship. Other people consider the color purple as a symbol for royalty, so wear purple on other days too, for all its positive symbolism!
The La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) works to advance equity for women and girls and celebrates the accomplishments of women and girls. The AAUW Branch would like to invite members, potential members, and interested persons, to wear purple and come to their general meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2020, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Cerritos Park East, 13234 166th Street in Cerritos. Guest speaker, Miryam Fernandez, who will be sharing her many accomplishments as “An Immigrant’s Success Story of the American Dream.” Miryam originally came as an immigrant from Peru with her family, experienced life as a woman in the U.S. Air Force,
and is now a retired teacher. Come and meet Miryam and see how she has assimilated both her cultures in her life.
There will be refreshments prior to the program and a brief business meeting conducted by President Harriet Moses following Miryam’s sharing.
For more information about the program, contact Program Co-VP Karen Cox at 562-519-0596.
Photo Courtesy of Miryam Fernandez
Pictured is guest speaker Miryam Fernandez at the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at Cerritos Park East in Cerritos.
The Friends of the Los Alamitos/Rossmoor Library welcome Sue Ann Robinson, author, instructor at CSULB, Curator Emerita at the Long Beach Museum of Art on Sunday March 22 at 2 p.m.
Sue Ann has been making limited edition and unique artist books since 1981. Her books are in the collections of The National Gallery of Art, The Getty Research Institute, and Yale University, among others. She creates mixed media and sculptural artist books. Her work pushes the boundaries of the book arts by expanding the notion of the book as a useful container to being an expressive visual artwork. Sue Ann also conducts Book Arts Workshops and will be sharing her beautiful art with guests.
Also, this month, the Friends will hold their Book sale on Thursday, March 19 and Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special sale this month. All blue dotted books will be half price or 10 for $1.00. Come stock up. The Friends are looking for teen or adult volunteers to help sort paperbacks at the sale for 1-2 hours on either day. Please email the Friends if interested.
Both of these events will be at the Library, 12000 Montecito Rd. in Seal Beach. For further information call 562-430-1048.
Like us on Facebook, www.friendsoflarlibrary.com, or email us at friendsoflarlibrary@gmail.com.
Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) announced recetnly that he will be hosting his first ever 34th Senate District Women of Distinction Event in March, in honor of National Women’s History Month.
“Our state and nation become stronger with every additional woman who seeks and strives for positive social change,” noted Senator Umberg. “As the husband and father of two such strong women, I know full well the importance of both fostering education, independence, and confidence in women and respectfully honoring their many achievements. Only by doing so can we pave the path for the next generation of female leaders.”
The 34th Senate District Women of Distinction Event will take place on the evening of Thursday, March 19th with further details to follow. Nomination forms for the Senator’s event are live and can be found on the Senator’s website, his social media pages, or at: https://bit.ly/393J1VK.
Senator Umberg concluded by noting that, “We all know at least one woman in our life who has blazed a path for others, improved their community, or has just regularly gone above and beyond. I look forward to recognizing some of Long Beach and Orange County’s most impressive female leaders.”
Senator Thomas J. Umberg represents the 34th Senate District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Midway City, Orange, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, and Westminster. Umberg is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, former federal prosecutor, and small businessman. He and his wife, Brigadier General Robin Umberg, USA (ret.), live in Orange County.
