Join the Los Altos United Methodist Church for their annual Craft Fair on Saturday, Nov.5 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. There will be lots of vendors, ranging from crafty and homemade, to well-known suppliers. Previous years have included Pampered Chef, Scensty, PartyLite, Jamberry, Cookie Lee and Origami Owl. There will also be a white elephant table. Lots of food for sale as well. All vendors keep their own sales. This event is not to miss. Vendor tables are still available as well, contact the church office for more information at 562-598-2451, or Of****@*********MC.org.

The Woman’s Club of Cypress invites veterans in the community to its annual Veterans Appreciation Picnic, which will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Veterans Park (Ball Road and Denni Street).
Attendees can enjoy a display of World War II jeeps and listen to rocking music by Whiskey Tango. There will also be a water balloon toss.  Members of the Cypress staff, Police Chief Cox and the Cypress City Council will be at the event, participating in all the fun.

November is the ideal time to add to your landscape and garden. The weather is not too hot and not too cold, perfect for outdoor activity. November is also the start of the rainy season

Employment Law Attorney Ann K. Smith (left), a partner in the Law firm of Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, was joined by Cypress Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Theresa Murphy at a recent Chamber Networking Breakfast at the Residence Inn by Marriott Los Alamitos-Cypress.  Smith discussed the changes in employment law pertaining to overtime and exempt/non-exempt employees.  The Chamber breakfast are open to the public and are the second Tuesday of every month.

Courtesy photo

Lil’ Cottonwood Preschool held their annual Halloween Party on Oct. 23. Students and their families got together at the school to decorate pumpkins, cookies, and a piñata in their Halloween costumes. “Thanks to our McNeill Family, our preschool families and our teacher, Mrs. Donahue, for a wonderful time,” said Lori Scott, a representative from Lil’ Cottonwood Preschool.

Photo by Annie Teeter DeWitt

The Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF) recently donated $30,000 to the Los Alamitos Unified School District’s six elementary school Media Centers this Fall.   Each elementary school’s “Friends of” group received $5,000 to help support their Media Center and STEAM teachers.  The funds were raised during last year’s King & Queen of Hearts campaign.  By partnering with the “Friends of” groups at each elementary site, LAEF took advantage of an opportunity to provide elementary students with an enhanced educational experienc

Wings, Wheels and Rotor Expo took over the Joint Forces Training Base on Oct. 23. On display were hundreds of classic cars along with military aircraft aerial displays including a Q-9 Reaper Drone brought by the Air Force and a F-15 Fighter Jet from the Air Guard. Those in attendance had the opportunity to browse a numerous amount of booths and meet with various visiting military units and first responders.

Photo by Louie Katz, louiethelens.com

Los Alamitos Medical Center recently held an end-of-summer event to recognize the hard work of the staff. The event included shaved ice, music, popcorn, and the newly branded staff recognition program debuted at the event as well.  Part of the event included a peanut butter and jelly drive to give back to the communities the hospital serves.  Donations were given to We Care in Los Alamitos. We Care is a family support center helping families in need. The LAMC staff holds events throughout the year to give back to the communities we serve.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and local, bright soccer players stand as one to raise awareness starting with something as simple as socks.  
Sadly, 1 in 3 women are diagnosed with some form of breast cancer in their lifetime. That means many of these girls’ families have had breast cancer touch their lives.

A revitalized program honoring veterans with commemorative banners called the Banners of Honor Program is close to replacing banners on various light poles on Katella Ave. and Lexington Dr.
The non-profit, Banners of Honor (bannersofhonor.com), has 26 banners looking for sponsors to honor the Nation’s military. Twenty-six light poles on Katella and three light-poles on Lexington Ave. have yet to be sponsored.

Photo by Soule/Ungaro

The News Enterprise Article by the reverend, Mike Wilson, fears for Cottonwood Church. While a great ghost story for Halloween, it ignores the real nightmare Cypress residents are facing under Measure GG.
It is very important to note that while the Race Track and Golf Course owners own the land, they do not own the rights to develop the property.  Those rights belong to the residents of Cypress.  Many, many residents I have spoken with want to maintain the property as largely open space land.  

The meat industry is scary

The Los Alamitos Unified School District board recognized three students from the high school marching band who have been selected to perform in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Marching Band at its regular meeting last week.
Los Al students Eriq Perez, Kevin Tamashiro and Preston Crandall were among 125 students nationwide who will perform at halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game featuring the top high school senior football players in the country and broadcast on NBC.

Kimberly Isom, a 4-year-old from Anaheim, won the $700 top prize during Saturday’s annual Los Alamitos Halloween Carnival. Isom was dressed as a Caterpillar in a Fruit Tray, an original costume made by her family.
Isom kept popping in and out of the bright red apple and flashed a big smile from behind her lime green face paint.
The costume won the judges over and made one of the youngest overall winners in the event’s history.

The Rossmoor Community Services District Board of Directors appointed Mark Nitikman to fill the vacancy on the Board resulting from the resignation of Dave Burgess at their regular monthly meeting held on Tuesday, Oct.11.
Nitikman previously served on the RCSD Board from 2005 – 2008 and also has served as President of the RHA from 2014 – 16.
He was one of the three applicants viewing for the appointment along with Richard Butterfield and Shaz Umer.
Interviews were conducted as part of the Board’s meeting on Oct. 11 and were open to the public.

Under the leadership of the Los Alamitos School Board, the Los Alamitos Unified School District chose to take advantage of historically low interest rates to refinance some of its old G.O. Bonds without extending the term of those Bonds.
The District selected the right time to refinance the Bonds and was able to reduce the interest rate on the prior Bonds from 6.06 percent to 3.07 percent, reducing the community’s tax bill by about $3.948 million.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from Southern California Edison, nearly 140 children in the Los Alamitos Youth Center’s After School Program will have needed tutoring and academic resources.
 “This grant will help us provide more tutors, as well as the materials such as computers, supplies and educational resources we use to make the After School Program highly beneficial to our students,” said Youth Center Executive Director Lina Lumme.  

With the Nov. 8 election just around the corner, read a brief biography of each candidate running in the Los Alamitos City Council election.
Below are the biographies of the three candidates running for two seats on the city council.
Editor’s note:
Each biography was submitted by the candidate.