After a hard-fought, defensive battle on the Vets’ Stadium field in Long Beach, the Los Alamitos Griffins came out victorious against the University High of Los Angeles Wildcats by a score of 40-0 last week.
Volleyball leaders looking to enjoy their senior year
They are the all-American girls next door. Seniors Jeneva Crossley, Cristiana Maietta, Courtney Crosby and Justine Wong-Orantes all play for Los Alamitos High School varsity volleyball team, and are looking forward to a great year.
40th Infantry Division conducts Change of Command Ceremony
Brig. Gen. Keith D. Jones took command of the 40th Infantry Division during a ceremony on Sunday, on Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB), Los Alamitos, succeeding Maj. Gen. Scott Johnson.
Pio Pico descendant becomes submariner
Youth
Bradley S. Pico began life as a great, great, great grandson of Pio Pico who was the last Mexican Governor of California. The towns of Pico and Rivera were merged into Pico Rivera in 1958, 10 years before Bradley’s birth.
Young mountain climber inspires Oak students
Oak Middle school students were offered some advice last week when 16-year-old Jordan Romero spoke to the students about setting lofty goals, and dreaming big. He used his accomplishments to show what someone can accomplish when working to achieve high expectations.
$5K Bandit Robs US Bank in Los Alamitos
For the third time in the last 14-months, the Los Alamitos US Bank branch located at 10942 Pine St. was robbed by the same knife-wielding suspect.
Cypress woman retires from board of OC Community Action Partnership
Elsie Carruthers, 94, of Cypress, CA recently retired from the Community Action Partnership of Orange County (CAPOC) Board of Directors, after 16 years of service, the CAPOC announced.
Los Alamitos falls to Chargers
Los Alamitos held a lead in the third quarter, but could not hold off Charter Oak. The Chargers scored the final 13 points to rally for a 22-14 win over the Griffins on Friday night at Long Beach Veteran Stadium.
Southland partners with city for disaster preparedness
Southland Credit Union became a “partner in preparedness” with a donation intended to assist City of Los Alamitos employees in their response to citizens following a disaster.
Fire forces preschool to move
A fire in the early evening on September 4 left a modular classroom at the Los Alamitos Community Center uninhabitable and has displaced a preschool class to another room at the center.
Local advancing in Marines
Charles “Charlie” Kerr, a 2006 Los Alamitos High School graduate and 2010 graduate of American University in Washington, D.C. was commissioned as a 1st. Lt. in May, 2010, the day after his college graduation. Currently, Charlie is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was recently promoted to First Lieutenant, and works as a tank platoon commander in Alpha Company, 2D Tank Battalion, II Marine Division. As a tank platoon commander, he is responsible for the tactical employment of four M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, as well as the training of 15 Marines.
Advisor cautions seniors against making common financial blunders
Among the Cypress Senior Center’s August workshops, financial advisor Mike DePaul spoke to a group of about 20 attendees about the most common blunders one makes during retirement or end of work years.
The seminar was part of the center’s monthly offerings on various issues affecting today’s seniors. DePaul, a financial advisor with a private firm was there as part of the non-profit group, Society for Financial Awareness, for which he volunteers his time.
DePaul said that his initial reason for getting involved in the group was because his own grandparents had fallen victim to some bad financial advice.
He admitted that had he taken a few minutes to look into their financial plan, much of the problems could have been avoided. Now he hopes to spare other people from similar mistakes which he finds to be more common than realized.
“We need to have some sort of financial strategy in place,” DePaul told the group.
The most common blunders, according to DePaul:
- Not having a financial strategy
- Overconfidence in investing skill
- “Saving” money in the bank
- Believing all bonds are safe
- Lack of Tax Planning
- Outdated Estate Plan
- Procrastination
DePaul said the biggest demon of the list would be procrastination, because it enhances all the other mistakes, particularly, the Estate Planning. DePaul said that if you have an Estate Plan that was done last year, it is out of date.
While bonds have a reputation for being safe, DePaul warns that some have liquidity issues and that individual bonds can falter if the company were to file for bankruptcy. Even municipal bonds should not be given unquestioned faith.
Two other key points for seniors would be to miscalculate their required minimum distribution from retirement plans. Failure to withdraw at least the required minimum could result in a penalty of up to 50 percent of the deficiency, according to DePaul. Also, without proper planning, up to 85 percent of a person’s Social Security income could be subject to taxes.
Other key points would be getting a handle on cash flow. Knowing how much is coming in and how much is going out is vital. It cannot be a guess, DePaul warns. Debt should be paid down as it is killing our country, he added. And retirees should look into a setting up a living trust. Probate is the secret word for lawyers fees for the state, DePaul said.
For more about the Society for Financial Awareness, visit www.sofausa.org.
Mobile job store comes to JFTB
The Mobile Job Store of the “Hero 2 Hired” program made a two-day stop at the Joint Forces Training Base recently and assisted soldiers in their search for a job.
Los Alamitos wins opener
The Los Alamitos High football team needed a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Paramount, 29-26, in the season opener for the Griffins on Friday at Paramount.