The Cypress City Council has voted unanimously on what many past and former elected Council members hoped would never happen as the settlement agreement that acknowledged Cypress was in violation of the California Voting Rights Act has been signed and the attorney was paid June 30.
Malini Nagpal Courtesy photo
Plaintiff Malini Nagpal, who along with fellow Cypress resident joined the lawsuit filed by attorney Kevin Shenkman on behalf of the Southwest Voter Education Project, acknowledged that they have signed the settlement agreement to settle with the city.
“I’m glad it is settled,” she said this week. “I did not appreciate the city council’s process, not listening to the public.”
Nagpal said it appeared the Counci just “pushed the can down the road” until “they could get the candidates theywanted.”
She also expressed concern that Cypress citizens were left out of the discussions and the Council’s “level of agression was not needed.”
Tremendous disagreements emerged on the Council in September of 2021 when Shenkman’s demand letter arrived at city hall.
Actually, the saga began not long after the previous Council, led by Mayor Paulo Morales refused, despite the pleadings of citizens, including fellow candidates, to appoint Carrie Hayashida to a vacancy created by the resignation of Stacy Berry in June of 2021.
In late August of 2021, the Council set up a process that ultimately overlooked several Asian candidates and voted to appoint Scott Minikus, a retired Long Beach law enforcement officer.
A month later, in September of 2021, Malibu Attorney Kevin Shenkman, of Shenkman and Hughes, sent the city a certified letter asking them to voluntarily convert to at-large districts and gave them an option of simply paying a $35,000 fine.
Moreover, the previous Council could have easily approved a special election to fill the vacancy, expressing concern about the cost, which city officials said could range from $75,000 – 200,000.
Now, three years later, the city just paid to Shenkman and the plaintiff’s attorneys $835,000, and, according to warrants, more than $550,000 of taxpayer funds to other law firms involved in their defense of a case that never went to trial.
Council member Frances Marquez. Courtesy photo
Council member Frances Marquez, who suggested she has been bullied, and censured wrongly since this redistricting fight began, said while she was happy to see it end, she was correct in the first place.
“I’m happy to see this end tonight,” she said, suggesting it was easy to try and make her the villain and it was a pitiful waste of taxpayer money.
Marquez urged settling like La Palma, which also transitioned from at-large to single member districts but at a cost of only $35,000 to taxpayers.
“As a political science professor, when they said they were going to fight it. I was like, No, I don’t want it. We can’t waste taxpayer dollars. We need to use the funding for our community,” she said.
She has drawn fire over the entire period as she urged the city to “stop wasting taxpayer dollars.”
While the city has directly spent approximately $1.5 million in legal fees, internal staff time and subcontractors, which are not cited in the settlement could easily push the overall cost of the multi-year ordeal to taxpayers much higher.
Former Mayor Paulo Morales Courtesy file photo
Marquez also drew the ire of former Mayor and Council member Jon Peat when she suggested city officials were postponing a settlement until Peat’s wife Bonnie could run for Council while the voting was still at-large.
Jon Peat blew up at Marquez in January of 2022.
As reported in on January 29, 2022, Marquez responded, “when I mentioned Mayor Peat’s wife, I was just stating a fact not an opinion. Thank you.”
“Excuse me,” said Peat, loudly, who was sitting off the dais looking directly at Marquez (so that the remaining members could be socially distanced at the dais).
“That is not a fact. You can’t make a statement about my wife and a fact about something that hasn’t happened. … You’ve never talked with her,” Peat said angrily.
Former Mayor and Council member Jon Peat. Courtesy file photo
“I don’t know how you assert that she’s running for city council. How do you make a statement about my wife doing something when you’ve never spoken with her? And how dare you bring my family into this,” shouted Mr. Peat when he was serving in Jan. of 2022.
Both Morales and Peat have since termed out.
As it turns out, Peat’s wife Bonnie did run for Council in the fall of 2022 and she won a seat, taking office in 2023. Currently, she is serving as Mayor Pro-Tem.
“I think I’ve been pretty clear about this but I’ll say it again kind of like a broken record,” said Peat at the Council’s meeting two weeks ago.
Mayor Pro-tem Bonnie Peat, Courtesy photo
“I was willing to fight this, okay, and I wanted to fight this to protect the people s right to vote,” said Peat, “to vote for all of our candidates,” she added.
“And until it became more apparent with the Santa Monica (CVRA) case not being successful, I was willing to spend what it took to protect the right to vote,” she said.
“Sitting in this seat is not an easy job, and you really need to have good, qualified people, so that’s why I fought to make sure we had the best candidates possible.”
Mayor Scott Minikus Courtesy photo
Mayor Scott Minikus said “we felt that it was right to fight it to preserve everyone’s rights in this city and I’ll just leave that, at that.”
On a motion by Peat and seconded by Mallari, the Council voted to approve the CVRA final settlement.
The districts will be phased in, beginning with the fall election.
The annual audit of the financial practices of the City of Los Alamitos reveals there is some work to do on financial accounting, though the auditing firm that did the audit suggests improvements are being made.
At its June 24 meeting, city officials again engaged in a prickly debate over its internal financial controls, as two members of the Council repeatedly asked provocative questions that it appeared not everyone was happy to discuss in public.
In its cover letter to city officials, the firm of Rogers, Anderson, Malody and Scott, LLP, a San Bernardino accounting firm said
“During the audit procedures, and specifically in our review of client-prepared journal entries, we noted various instances where the journal entries had no documentation of when they were prepared and approved,” the firm said.
“Without proper documentation of when journal entries are prepared and approved, transactions may be inaccurately recorded in the general ledger and not be detected in a timely manner,” they continued.
Nevertheless, at the same time, the firm noted they found no material weaknesses in the city’s system.
“We did not identify any deficiencies in internal control that we consider to be material weaknesses. However, as discussed below, we identified certain matters involving the internal control and other operational matters that are presented for your consideration.”
When the matter came before the Council as a “Consent Calendar” item, a section of all local government agencies that allow Councils to sidestep debate by passing “routine” matters without explanation.
Council member Trisha Murphy pulled the annual financial report from the Consent Calendar, which made it available for public debate.
Murphy and fellow Council member Emily Hibard have quietly raised the ire of fellow Council members in the past by asking so many questions about financial accounting over the past year.
Once pulled from the Calendar, Murphy asked about the auditor’s lack of internal controls cited in the audit.
“I’d like to have the finance staff present the council with a list of the cash disbursements that the auditor stated have no supporting documentation and cannot be obtained,” said Murphy.
“Aren’t we getting a little too far into the weeds,” asked Mayor Pro-tem Shelley Hassebrink?
“Is that something you can produce,” Mayor Jordan Nefulda asked the finance staff.
“The batch that supports that check was not obtainable,” said Finance Director Craig Koehler, claiming that any number of things could havr happened, including spoiling, placing it in the archives or filing it in a previous year.
City manager Chet Simmons said “we can start from that check and then we can try to find out exactly what the attachment was and provide that information to you.”
Murphy also pointed out a section of the audit that she said indicated the city had “ineffective monitoring procedures and closing procedures that caused errors throughout the year that we’re not correcting in the year-end closing process.”
While the city claims these errors were caused by “significant turnover” and “vacancies” in staff, “I believe our community deserves a higher standard.”
Murphy moved, and Hibard seconded a motion that passed to have the finance department send to the council “a closing checklist for your procedures in the closing process that was implemented to show the reconciliation of balance sheet accounts.”
Murphy also requested the finance department address comments in the annual audit that implied that bank statement reconciliation was not being done in a timely manner “because unauthorized transactions can go through the bank without detection for an extended period of time.”
Simmons said the staff has noted all of the recommendations in the audit and suggested they are or will be addressed.
“I think the best part about an audit is that it is supposed to point out places where you can get better. The idea is to identify places where you tried to basically formulate a practice in which you can actually defend going forward,” said Simmons.
Council member Emily Hibard asked about why there were no check numbers on warrants and said the audit required corrections on about $6 million in transactions on a budget just over $20 million.
“So it is really high and I’m trying to get a feel for why. Can you talk about why this many adjustments were needed, are we doing things wrong,” asked Hibard?
Evelyn Morentin-Barceno, a manager at the Auditing firm of Rogers, Anderson, Malody and Scott, LLP, suggested much of the adjusted revenue was based on grants and other revenue for which the guidance was not available when the city received them, but later had to make adjustments when they did.
“With some of these, you know, like when you’re looking at your equipment, improvements and construction in progress, some of these things were asking a lot of questions as far as the projects, if there’s any projects that are no longer viable, and just kind of like going into more detail,” she added.
“From that perspective, sometimes some of our adjustments, it’s more of us helping from an operational standpoint,” said Morentin-Barceno.
Regarding the audit in general, the representative from the auditing firm who was attending the meeting acknowledged Los Al has been short-staffed.
“One of the things that is not just a problem here at your city, but in a lot of cities across the state right now is that there’s not enough accountants,” she told the Council.
And while there are questions about the “timeliness” of some of the things done made in the audit, the city of Los Alamitos was still more timely than 30 percent of the cities across California.
And for the “big picture,” Morentin-Barceno said, this will likely remain until staffing shortages statewide can be fixed.
“We’re talking about thousands and thousands of transactions,” she said, trying to put the city’s audit findings in perspective, noting that problematic transactions were the minor exception, not the rule,” she added.
And, she said, it was clear that the city was addressing the problem.
“We can see that management is trying to make improvements,” the audit spokesperson
said.
At least one person is dead, and 10 others were hospitalized after what’s being described by authorities as a 48-foot-pleasure craft with 11 passengers aboard crashed in the waters off Long Beach Wednesday night, according to a report filed by KTLA.
Crews with the Long Beach Fire Department responded to the area of the Alamitos Bay jetty just before 9:30 p.m. on reports that a vessel had run into the rocks, overturned and began taking on water, Long Beach fire officials confirmed to KTLA.
When first responders arrived at the scene, it was determined to be a mass casualty incident.
Aerial footage of the incident captured by Sky5 showed a heavy presence of first responders as victims were rescued and loaded aboard ambulances bound for nearby hospitals.
The details of the crash are extremely limited and it’s unclear exactly what caused the vessel to hit the rocks, but authorities told KTLA that speed was likely a factor and that one victim, only described as 40-50 years old, was declared dead aboard the ship.
Five other passengers required physical rescue, authorities added.
A total of 10 patients were rushed to the hospital, seven in stable condition and three in critical condition.
One of the most anticipated sporting events is set to return to the local area on Saturday. The field is set, and the athletes are working on final preparations. Treats are a big part of most of their training, as are speed and agility. But staying on course and not getting distracted will be a huge factor.
A total of 124 dogs, a record for the event, will make up the field for the 27th annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, where the eventual champion will hold the title of Fastest Wiener in the West. The event returns to Los Alamitos Race Course on Saturday where the fun will also help raise money for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center.
Chloe, from Los Alamitos, is making her debut at the race, where her mom, Kellie Guerin, will try to encourage her from the finish line. Guerin said that Chloe loves to run and play, but that the starting gate might be a challenge for the two-year-old as she’s not comfortable with confined spaces. If she breaks quickly and spots mom at the finish line, she may be in good shape.
“I’m the motivating factor,” Kellie said.
Also among the competitors will be 13-year-old Sisi, a Seal Beach resident who competed last year, and is returning as the senior dog in the field and as the Ambassadog for this year’s event. She did not win the title last year, but at her age, she made a good showing.
“We’re very proud that she’s still going,” said her human Kiley Majeski.
Photo by Ted Apodaca At 13 years old, Sisi is the oldest dog in the field, but is on a mission to promote the value of senior dogs for adoption. She is pictured with Kiley Majeski and Jason Ghareebo.
Sisi lives with Majeski and Jason Ghareebo, who adopted her at a late stage in Sisi’s life. But Majeski said that despite her age, Sisi is still active, loves to run, definitely loves to eat, and will gladly share affections with anyone who wants to be her friend. At Monday’s practice and media event, Sisi showed some speed, but got distracted by people who were watching from the sidelines.
“As long as no one is on the sides, she should be fine,” Majeski said after one of her practice runs.
Majeski also said she hopes Sisi’s participation will help show people that value of senior dogs available for adoption. Other local dogs competing include Burr, from Cypress, JJ and Tony, both from Los Alamitos, and Buddy from La Palma.
One contestant is flying in from Vancouver Canada, while another is coming from New York. St. Missouri, Nevada, Idaho, and Texas will also be represented.
The event consists of 10 preliminaries, which advance winners to the championship race. Two of the preliminaries are specifically for dachshunds under the age of 1 (Diaper Dash) and another for those older than six (Long in the Tail Race). The Champion will win $1,000, a trophy, a Wienerschnitzel restaurant replica dog house and the title of Fastest Wiener in the West.
Live horse racing will also run in between the dachshund races. General Admission tickets on the day of the event at Los Alamitos are $3 per person. Children 17 and under are admitted free. VIP seating to enjoy the event is available by calling 714-820-2681. For more information on the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, visit LosAlamitos.com or call 714-820-2690.
The Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF) is thrilled to celebrate Year 15 of its Summer Enrichment Institute (SEI) program this year. Each year, SEI is an essential part of summer for Los Al parents and students alike, offering fun and educational learning opportunities for students, and a much-needed break for their parents. Kids and teachers were thrilled to come together at Lee Elementary School for SEI again this summer.
LAEF’s first session of SEI was launched on June 17 and Session 2 began on June 30, offering over 140 fun and academic enrichment classes for K-5th graders. The best part of SEI is the support the kids get inside the classroom with our Jumpstart programs and the fun they have with our variety of enrichment classes like STEAM, cooking, fitness, sports, singing & dancing, art, guitar and new classes this year, like Printmaking! Students can try just about anything during SEI.
Courtesy photo
Students got a special visit from LAEF’s King and Queen, Randy and Diana Hill, this week and were very enamored by their appearance. Students were excited to show our Royals what they were learning! Randy and Diana Hill were crowned at LAEF’s Royal Gala during the “Fundraising February for Los Al Kids” campaign because of their strong ties to LAEF and the Los Alamitos community, and their unwavering commitment to supporting Los Al Kids. In fact, Diana Hill served as the LAEF Board Chair during the very first year of SEI fifteen years ago!
The Fundraising February campaign raised over $150,000 this year. Campaign proceeds will continue to support student mental health and wellness by providing stipends for seven Counseling Interns working in Well Spaces at Los Al USD schools. Funds will also support Innovation Grants for district teachers this upcoming Fall.
“We are thrilled to celebrate 15 years of SEI for Los Al Kids,” said Carrie Logue, LAEF Executive Director. “We love to see families returning year after year to take advantage of hundreds of learning opportunities.”
LAEF is the non-profit partner of Los Alamitos Unified School District. LAEF enhances educational excellence by providing after-school and summer enrichment programs to children in grades Pre-K to 12. LAEF provides significant funding for STEAM instruction, as well as igniting new programs and providing valuable resources, to impact all students.
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or more information, visit www.LAEF4kids.org or call (562) 799-4700 Extension 80424.
The City of Cypress recently completed a transition from at-large to by-district elections for city council members. Cypress now joins the majority of cities in Orange County, and our own Cypress School District, in having made this change to comply with the California Voting Rights Act. In November, 2024, for the first time, Cypress residents will begin electing council members by district.
As this change was being discussed in the community, I heard some residents express fears that switching to by-district elections would severely harm governance here in Cypress. There were suggestions that by-district elections will pit neighborhoods against each other, or that council members will only care about their own district rather than the city as a whole.
Personally, I’ve never believed that such dramatic changes were likely. There are still five council members. Most of the major issues that come before the council such as the budget, public safety, responding to litigation, etc. impact the whole community. And in my opinion, how well a city is governed depends primarily on the caliber of representatives who are elected.
If voters elect council members who are thoughtful, responsive, and focused on what is best for the community as a whole, the city government will be effective. If voters choose representatives who are overly partisan, beholden to special interests, or motivated more by self-service than public service, then city government will routinely fall short of expectations. In other words, it’s about the people we elect, not the method by which they are elected.
But, now that Cypress has transitioned to by-district elections, there is one thing I want to make abundantly clear—no matter where you live in Cypress, I am here to serve you. I was elected at-large in 2022 and I will continue to serve at-large until 2026. If I am elected in District 1 after that, I will still do my best to assist any Cypress resident, anywhere in the city. So if you have a question or concern about something in your neighborhood like an intersection that seems unsafe, or a park that needs maintenance, please don’t hesitate to contact me, even if you don’t live in District 1.
Don’t get me wrong, I love working with residents in District 1. That’s where I live. That’s where I take my kids on walks. That’s where my son attends school. That’s the area of Cypress I know best, and I have a natural desire to make sure that every neighborhood, street, and park in the district is safe and high quality.
But I want that for every neighborhood in Cypress, and frankly it’s that aspect of being a city council member—addressing residents’ concerns—that I most enjoy. Having served for about eighteen months now, I’m extremely grateful to be a Cypress City Council Member, but the job is not without its frustrations.
I am not a particularly partisan person, and I consider myself a problem-solver above all else. But in today’s political environment, being an elected official requires dealing with unnecessary drama, personal attacks, and false accusations. As someone who truly wants to focus on issues of substance, and ideas to improve our community, the aforementioned distractions are an unfortunate part of the job.
The reason I love constituent service is because it doesn’t involve any of that nonsense. When I meet a resident to discuss traffic safety concerns in their neighborhood, our political party affiliation is irrelevant. They’ve reached out to me as someone who may be able to help address their concern. I’m there to listen and figure out what I can do to help. There’s a simplicity to it that connects to the heart of what it means to be a public servant.
In many cases, I am able to work directly with our city staff to solve the problem. I recently spoke with a resident in a senior living community who told me that cars were parking so close to their driveway that it impaired their line of sight when they exited. After speaking with a member of our public works team, we are on track to paint a section of the curb red and improve line of sight so that residents can more safely enter and exit their homes.
A couple months ago another resident (okay, it was my wife Courtney) told me about a picnic table at Veteran’s Park that was in bad shape. I brought it up with our city manager and within a week the table was refurbished, repainted, and ready to go. These types of changes may sound small, but they add up to a higher quality of life in Cypress. If I can help one family have a better afternoon, or prevent one accident at an intersection, it’s well worth the effort.
So in the future, if you have a question or concern about anything in Cypress, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at db****@*******ca.org. No matter where you live in the city, I’m here to help, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Kennedy High’s football team took 2nd place in the recent Troy Clash of Champions passing tournament in Fullerton. Passing tournaments pit seven players against each other, running and defending passing and running plays without sets of linemen. In the finals, Kennedy lost to a very talented Santa Monica team who went undefeated on the day. Kennedy began the day beating a skilled Troy High team, 21-18, and then beat Woodbridge High, 30-6. The final game of pool play resulted in a loss to Cypress by a score of 18-6. Kennedy ended pool play as the 5th seed overall. They faced Corona in the first round of playoffs beating them by a score of 30-18. Kennedy found themselves playing Cypress HS in the quarterfinals and beat them 33-6. The semifinal matchup was between Kennedy and Troy High and resulted in 30-21 victory. In the seventh and final game of the day Kennedy battled a very talented Santa Monica team and lost by a score of 30-6. Kennedy had outstanding performances by many players. Quarterbacks Devin Almazan (co 2025) and Derek Almazan (co 2026) threw the ball well all day combining for 25 touchdown passes. WR/SS Rocco Street (co 2026) had multiple receiving touchdowns and interceptions on defense. WR/FS Deon Bynum (co 2025) also had multiple receiving touchdowns and interceptions on defense.
It’s hard to understand how a few minutes of celluloid and music can evoke such powerful emotions, but such was the case Sunday as four young stars had their name in lights as London Houghton’s short film “Breaking Plans” premiered in Hollywood.
After more than a year in the making, young London’s film was shown this week at the TCL Grauman’s Chinese Theater complex as part of the Dances with Films Festival.
Houghton, a fifth-grader at McGaugh Elementary School, was able to get the school involved in the film, and many of the parents and administration were part of the 200-person audience that filled the screening room.
The teacher in the film, for instance, is named Jerry McGaugh (Luc Clopton), and the entire film was shot on location at school and other scenes in Seal Beach with the support of the school’s administration, the city council, and others.
In the short film, three best friends, Emma (London Houghton), Sarah (Gracelyn Surtees}, and Amelia, (Zoe Tran-Wofford), are set to work on a school assignment together when Emma and Sarah are disappointed as Amelia doesn’t show up.
Emma and Amelia grow weary of waiting, then walk down the street for ice cream (McKenna’s Tea Cottage) where they unexpectedly see Sarah sitting there with Emma’s older brother Drake (played by Carter Jude Dau).
Eyewitnesses report the audience murmuring a huge “gasp” when the two girls see Sarah sitting with Drake. Even the young director was surprised…and she wrote the script.
“I was really surprised to hear everyone in the theater react in shock,” said London. “It was quite a gasp” when Emma and Amelia saw Sarah sitting with Drake instead of working with them.
The girls think they have been betrayed, yet it turns out later, that Sarah was consulting with Drake on the best way to tell Emma, her best friend, that he overheard their mom and dad talking about getting a divorce.
“It is a powerful short film,” said Paul James Houghton, London’s dad and the owner of Dreamotion Studios in Seal Beach, who co-directed the film. “Basically,” he said,“ I pointed her in the right direction then I let her say what she wanted.”
Houghton said his daughter London wrote, co-directed and acted in the leading role as Emma. Even though London is only ten, his daughter grew up watching him make films, so she knew what she wanted.
“London has been through the whole process before, so none of this is completely new to her,” the dad said.
Moreover, he said the story was loosely based on “what, in real life, London had witnessed when her parents, Cait and I, got divorced.”
In the film’s dramatic twist, Drake eventually confronts Emma and explains that he asked Sarah to meet with him to help him find the best way to tell her that their parents were divorcing.
Emma and Amelia now realize why Sarah did not show up and best friends Sarah and Emma share a tearful reunion.
“My wife and I both cried,” admitted Eric Surtees, the dad whose daughter Gracelyn played “Sarah” in the film. They were part of the large McGaugh contingent in the audience.
Surtees said he and his wife Miriam were so proud their daughter Gracelyn overcame much to act in the film, but they “were blown away” to see the way it turned out.
“Me and my wife Miriam had no idea how much had gone into this production and what a tremendous honor it was for Gracelyn to have been in the film,” he said. “We are super proud to be associated with this production,” said this parent, who enjoyed his night in Tinseltown.
Stepping around the footsteps and handprints of Hollywood royalty, the cast and crew arrived by stretch limousine before attending the world premiere and walking the festival’s red carpet.
After the premiere, London said making the film was fun but very hard. “I thought it was going to be easier,” she said. “But everything about it was exciting,” she added.
According to London’s dad, it all started with six pieces of paper where she had cobbled a story together.
Though her dad Paul is an established industry screenwriter, and producer/director, he had to first teach London how to use the special software to write scripts.
“I told her, if you finish the script, we will make the film. I didn’t think she would do it, but she sat down and wrote the whole script that same day,” he said.
Although she’s been around the industry with her dad for most of her life, this was her first real project. Once the script was ready, London along with producer Baylee Corona and cinematographer Brooke Mueller, screen-tested fellow 5th graders for the key parts.
For the original soundtrack, Jaya Loo and Justin Busch composed an original song “I Got You” for the film, and it was performed by Koraloo.
Houghton’s dad noted more than 90 percent of the cast and crew on this project were women, “which is kind of cool. He said Technicolor, the industry-standard film colorizing company, invited London to attend the colorizing sessions for her film.
“Really cool,” she said in an interview with ENE.
Houghton said the film will soon be placed on the so-called Film Freeway, which will then land it on the official short film festival circuit.
“Making the film was not as easy as I thought it would be,” said London this week, “but it was amazing.” With her first script, written at 9 years old, now made into a film, her dad said it didn’t take long to figure out what comes next.
She’s now 10, and already working on a new script. “Oh well,” her dad said, “at least she’s a chip off the ole block.”
A Los Alamitos police officer was given a hero’s welcome back to the department, and the city, by the City Council and local citizens as he returned from an overseas deployment to resume his role in the city’s police department.
“First of all, thank you all for coming this evening,” said Los Alamitos Police Chief Michael Claborn.
“I want to take this opportunity for the Los Alamitos police department to very graciously recognize the sacrifices that people make for the freedoms that we all unfortunately take for granted here,” said Claborn.
“Being that we are a military town, with the Joint Forces training base building here in the city, we above all else should be acknowledging those sacrifices,” he added. “We don’t have to look very far to be able to do that.”
“None other than our own officer Christian Cruz, who is the only member of the Los Alamitos police department who is currently in the United States military, that being the United States Marine Corps,” said Claborn as the Council and the public gave him a round of applause.
In August of 2023, Claborn announced that Officer Cruz, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, had been activated for a tour of duty that would take him overseas until May.
“Please join me as we wish Officer Christian Cruz Godspeed. He is being activated by the United States Marine Corps to serve his country. We could not be more proud and pray for your safe return,” said Claborn in an Instagram post.
That day has now come as Cruz has rejoined the department and was with Claborn and other officers at last week’s Los Al City Council meeting.
“So for those of you who don’t know, prior to him being deployed in the United States Marine Corps, he took an exam to test to become the very next motor officer for the Los Alamitos Police Department,” said Claborn.
Sgt. Cruz, right, holding the Los Alamitos Police Department patch while in Okinawa, Japan. Courtesy photo
He said Cruz was about to begin his training when he was activated by the military “And so he was not able to partake in that training, but I don’t think that we could have given him any better nugget to look forward to when he returned, then to be able to have that brand new motorcycle that’s parked right outside,” the police chief said.
Now, he said, Cruz will begin his motor training “and we can’t wait for his training to be complete, and he can be out there representing his department, Claborn said.
Officer Cruz thanked the Chief, the Council, the public and his department.
“I just want to say thank you honestly, it’s been really great being back,” said Cruz. “I have such great leadership here at my department that I’m very fortunate from all the way from Chief down to my sergeants and corporals in my department,” he added, “who really showed me a lot of support and a lot of love.”
Sgt. Cruz said after the meeting that he was deployed to Okinawa, Japan for specialized military training.
“They welcomed me back with open arms,” said Cruz. Getting back to work in the Los Al Police Department “was very actually easy for me, like second nature. I honestly missed it.
“I thought about it every day just waiting to come back and hit the streets again,” he added.
“And now, this next chapter me going into motors, I’m going to bring something back to the city and it’s just going to get only better and better from there. He said his achievements were for everybody within the department “because I am a product of each and every one of them.”
“So when I get back from motors I’m going to really hit it hard and make the streets safer here in Los Al to keep doing good work,” said Cruz.
Claborn also presented Cruz with an Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making the most drunk driving arrests (30) for the past year.
Claborn said Officer Cru was able to obtain 30 arrests but That is not what makes it so amazing. So he was able to achieve that task by having only work from the month of January to July before he was deployed,” said Claborn.
“He didn’t even work a full year,” he added.
Cruz was also recognized by Mayor Jordan Nefulda and the Los Al City Council, Assemblymember Tri Ta’s office and the office of Sen. Janet Nguyen.
By Staff Sgt. Crystal Housman
For the Event-News Enterprise
When the 71st cadet crossed the stage at Sunburst Youth Academy’s commencement ceremony Thursday, U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Aller broke away from the line of dignitaries, stepped to the microphone, and called Cadet Andrew Ochoa back to center stage.
Fireworks burst on video screens surrounding the stage as the surprised teenager, clad in the school’s coyote colored cadet uniform, learned he was the academy’s 5,000th program graduate.
“Wait, wait, stop right there Ochoa. Face the crowd,” Aller called on the mic in front of a packed auditorium of more than 3,000 people gathered to celebrate the academy’s 33rd graduating class.
Aller, the senior enlisted advisor for California National Guard’s Task Force Torch youth and community programs directorate, stepped forward to present the tall dark-haired cadet with the task force’s command coin “as a symbolic gesture of the 4,999 cadets who came before and the thousands and thousands of cadets who will come after him,” he told the crowd.
Started in January 2008, Sunburst Youth Academy is one of 39 National Guard Youth Challenge Program campuses in the country and is operated in partnership between the Cal Guard and the Orange County Department of Education.
The tuition-free military-style academy focuses on high school credit recovery for Southern California teens, ages 15.5-18 years old, and gives students an opportunity to earn up to a year’s worth of credits in half the time while living and going to school on Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos for five months.
For more than 16 years, teenagers have come to the academy for a chance to catch up on credits, step out of their comfort zones, learn life coping skills and spend time focusing on their goals and dreams.
“I think it’s remarkable,” said California State Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ashlea Medina, who joined the academy staff with Class 1 as an Air National Guard Staff Sgt. and rose through the ranks to serve as the academy’s acting director during Class 33. “It’s amazing to think of how many kids have been given a second chance at life.”
Medina has seen the academy grow from two small platoons in the first cycle with a graduating class of 47 cadets to four platoons with 170 program graduates in Class 33.
This class marked the academy’s largest graduating class since the pandemic created a need for social distancing and cut the number of students the academy could enroll. It was also the academy’s first COVID-free class since 2020.
The class earned a cumulative total of more than 11,000 high school credits leading to 25 high school graduates, more than $10,000 in local scholarships, three small business grants, and a $44,000 Army ROTC scholarship for Cadet Alexis Martinez to attend New Mexico Military Institute.
Students come for the credits, Medina said, but leave with much more.
“When I think about Sunburst and where we were to where we are,” she said, “the Sunburst staff have always had the heart to give, but we’ve learned how to give so much more when it comes to the experiences, opportunities, and credits and really learning how to support the kids when they leave.”
Class 33 ventured off base to volunteer in the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas. The cadets logged more than 6,800 hours of service to community at 5Ks, marathons, a Chinese New Year parade, equine therapy center, and other community events.
California State Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ashlea Medina, acting director of Sunburst Youth Academy for Class 33, congratulates high school graduate Franck Garrafa. 170 Southern California teens completed the tuition-free military-style academy and one became the academy’s 5,000th graduate. Sunburst is a National Guard Youth Challenge Program site run in partnership between the Orange County Department of Education and the California National Guard’s Task Force Torch youth and community programs directorate. Photo by Staff Sgt. Crystal Houseman
They enjoyed an Angels game, Disneyland, sailing in Dana Point, and a 10-mile run along the strand in Huntington Beach. They went to Los Angeles to visit the Columbia Memorial Space Center and the Holocaust Museum and completed a Spartan Race on the field at Dodger Stadium.
Class 33’s competitive teams traveled throughout Southern California and returned with eight JROTC Raiders trophies, a state championship for color guard and a prime time colors presentation for the Anaheim Ducks professional hockey team.
Standing in the wings of the Cottonwood Church auditorium moments before marching with his platoon for the last time, Ochoa reflected on his Sunburst journey.
“It feels great,” he said. “All the hard work paid off and I got through it.”
Ochoa, who served as a peer advocate and earned awards for academics, community service, test scores, citizenship, and excellence while serving as a squad leader, plans to move out of state this summer. He will continue his education at a new high school as a junior and is focused on joining the U.S. Air Force.
He’s leaving with credits and a host of experiences, but what he’ll miss most is the other cadets.
“My favorite memory is probably just hanging out with all the other guys,” he said, “all the bonding and the brotherhood.”
Ochoa, like the 4,999 cadets before him and the thousands who will come after him, is leaving with a grasp on his present and a plan for the future.
CLUE, the hilarious murder mystery comedy inspired by the board game and adapted from the fan-favorite film, is coming to Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a limited eight performance engagement from Tuesday, July 23 to Sunday, July 28. Tickets and information are available at scfta.org.
On Wednesday, July 24 at 6:30 pm, Segerstrom Center hosts a fun and free to the public CLUE Cosplay Contest with prizes for the best individual and group personifications of some of the most famous characters in board game history: Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, and Professor Plum. The first 100 people to arrive in costume will receive a complimentary appetizer voucher for a savory treat at Claim Jumper Steakhouse & Bar. If you ever played the game Clue, now is your chance to dress up and be one of the famous characters! Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to become a part of the mystery. To register for Segerstrom Center for the Arts’s CLUE Character Costume Contest, please visit https://scfta.org/shows-events/clue-contest.
In the play CLUE on stage, led by Broadway Director Casey Hushion (Associate Director of Mean Girls and The Prom, Associate Resident Director of Aladdin, choreography for the Netflix series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget! Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the fan-favorite 1985 Paramount Pictures movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, CLUE is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.
The cast of CLUE includes Mariah Burks as the Cook, John Treacy Egan as Colonel Mustard, Michelle Elaine as Miss Scarlet, Joanna Glushak as Mrs. Peacock, Tari Kelly as Mrs. White, Mark Price as Wadsworth, John Shartzer as Mr. Green, Jonathan Spivey as Professor Plum, Alex Syiek as Mr. Boddy, Teddy Trice as the Cop, and Elisabeth Yancey as Yvette. The understudies are Greg Balla, Alison Ewing, Mary McNulty and James Taylor Odom.
Juan A. Ramírez in The New York Times called it, “A very fun whodunit that strikes contemporary parallels on the way to its grand reveal. As those left standing rush to blame one another, in different possible scenarios, they mirror our own increasingly selfish desire to think of our perception as being the correct one. Like the board game, and life itself, the play winds up making only one perception true — but thank goodness this one’s fun.”
CLUE is based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn. Written by Sandy Rustin with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price. It features original music by Michael Holland.
The production also features scenic design by Lee Savage, costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Ryan O’Gara and sound design by Jeff Human.
TheCLUE franchise began in 1949 with the manufacture of the ‘Cluedo’ board game. Currently owned and published by Hasbro, the game has since sold more than 200 million copies worldwide. A murder-mystery comedy film by Paramount Pictures based on the board game was released in 1985 and went on to achieve cult classic status with a passionate fanbase.
The North American tour of CLUE is produced by The Araca Group, Work Light Productions, Lively McCabe Entertainment and Aged in Wood.
Originally produced at Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pennsylvania, Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman, Josh Fiedler, Producers. Developed by Cleveland Playhouse, Laura Kepley, Artistic Director & Kevin Moore, Managing Director.
Marina Kennedy in BroadwayWorld said, “Extraordinarily entertaining … You may have viewed the film and played the board game countless times, but you’ve never experienced the intrigue, eccentricity, and humor that ‘Clue’ brings to the stage.”
Hayley Levitt said in Theatermania, “Reminds you what a breezy night of pure entertainment feels like. Synchronized door slams, pratfalls, and wide-eyed gasps should all be on your murder mystery bingo card … happily hums along with no sign of the exertion it takes to make this brand of comedy look utterly effortless. They all roam through set designer Lee Savage’s luscious rendering of Boddy Manor, with surprise portals to more iconic ‘Clue’ rooms than you would ever think could fit onstage.”
Tickets for CLUE start at $39 and are available for purchase online at scfta.org, in person 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 offices at (714)755-0236.
MARIAH BURKS (The Cook). She/her. A native Clevelander making her national tour debut. Credits: Little Women (Dobama Theatre), Antigone (CPH), Clue (CPH). Alum of the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program & BGSU. Recipient: National Irene Ryan Acting Award at The Kennedy Center. Regional/local credits: Caroline, or Change (Tantrum Theatre); Ragtime (Cain Park). Love & gratitude to all! @magical_mariahb
JOHN TREACY EGAN (Colonel Mustard). Broadway: My Fair Lady, Casa Valentina, Nice Work..,Sister Act, The Little Mermaid, The Producers, Jekyll & Hyde, Bye Bye Birdie. Off-Broadway: ClintonThe Musical, When Pigs Fly, Disaster!, Bat Boy. Television: “And Just Like That”, Gotham,” “Younger,” “The Good Wife,” “The Knick,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Nurse Jackie,” and “30 Rock.” officialjohntreacyegan.com
MICHELLE ELAINE (Miss Scarlet). Alley Theatre: Clue, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Sense and Sensibility, Sweat, Quack, All The Way. The Ensemble Theatre: Clyde’s; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark; Gee’s Bend and School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. Stages: POTUS, We Are Proud to Present…, Failure: A Love Story. Watch Michelle’s web series @castmedammit on YouTube! @michelleelaineofficial
JOANNA GLUSHAK (Mrs. Peacock). Broadway (Highlight Roles): 1776, A Gentlemen’s Guide To Love And Murder, Sunday In The Park With George, Les Miserables, Hairspray, Urinetown. National Tours: 1776, Finding Neverland, Young Frankenstein, Xanadu. ‘Mrs. O’Toole’ in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” as well as many other roles for Film/TV. Yale Drama School Graduate. More info at www.joannaglushak.com
TARI KELLY (Mrs. White). Broadway: Mr. Saturday Night, Groundhog Day, Something Rotten!, Anything Goes, The Boy from Oz, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, and Show Boat. National Tours: Anastasia, Little Shop of Horrors, Show Boat, and Beauty and the Beast. Check out www.tarikelly.com
MARK PRICE (Wadsworth). Broadway: Mary Poppins, All Shook Up, Wonderful Town, Rocky Horror Show, Mamma Mia!, Dance of the Vampires, The Capeman, and Chicago. Regional: Clue, Dial M for Murder, The 39 Steps, The Cottage, Lend Me A Tenor, Assassins, Sondheim Celebration (Lincoln Center), Sweeney Todd (Kennedy Center; Helen Hayes nomination). T.V.: “Blacklist,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Good Wife,” “Law & Order.” www.aboutmarkprice.com
JOHN SHARTZER (Mr. Green). Theater: Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, Darling Grenadine, Clue. Film: Book Club. Television: “Dahmer,” “Station 19,” “9-1-1: Lonestar,” “Brooklyn 99,” “Grace & Frankie,” “While You Were Breeding.” Thank you Casey and Sandy for this opportunity. All my love to my Mrs. with all the right kisses Cassandra and our strong and beautiful Nora
JONATHAN SPIVEY (Professor Plum). He/him. Broadway: The Front Page, Act One. Off-Broadway: Summer & Smoke, Morning’s at Seven, Smart Blonde. Regional: Yale, Old Globe, Denver Center, Long Wharf, Barrington, Milwaukee Rep, Cape Playhouse, many more. TV: “The Gilded Age”, “Blue Bloods”, “The Blacklist”, “FBI: Most Wanted”, “East New York”. MFA: Old Globe. www.jspivey.com
ALEX SYIEK (Mr. Boddy). Some favorite credits: Natasha…Great Comet (Pierre; ISF/Great Lakes Theater), Groundhog Day (Phil; Paramount Theatre), Murder on the Orient Express (Officer; Paper Mill Playhouse). Musical projects: The Show on the Roof (Music and Lyrics), The Poké Musical (Book and Lyrics). BWU MT ’13, NYU GMTWP (Cycle 26). Thank YOU for supporting live theatre. www.alexsyiek.com
TEDDY TRICE (The Cop). He/him. The Book of Mormon (Broadway, 2nd Nat’l Tour). International Tour: Come From Away, The Book of Mormon (Australia). Off-Broadway: The Butcher Boy (Irish Repertory Theatre), Shedding Load (59E59). Select Regional: The Island (KC Actors Theatre), Sweat (Unicorn Theatre). B.A. in Theatre (Drury University). Gratitude and love to Claire, Mom and Dad, Manager, Rochel Saks, and the Clue team. @teddytrice
ELISABETH YANCEY (Yvette) is an actor, yoga instructor, and coach based in NYC. Favorite regional credits: Palm Beach Dramaworks, Gulfshore Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, and Wellesley Repertory Theater. Chautauqua Institute Conservatory 2020, MFA Acting (CWRU/CPH), BA Theatre Studies (Wellesley College), Certificate Classical Acting (LAMDA). @elisabethyancey
CLUE
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
July 23 – July 28, 2024
Segerstrom Hall
Performs:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7:30 pm
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an innovative, nonprofit arts organization committed to supporting artistic excellence, creating impactful educational programs, and dedicated to engaging a culturally connected, inclusive and vital Orange County community for all, through the power of live performance.
As the leading cultural arts hub, the Center presents a variety of programming with performances by international dance companies, Broadway national tours, jazz and cabaret musicians, chamber orchestras and ensembles, comedy, and speaker series. Through the Education and Community Engagement departments, the Center also delivers family-friendly programming and performances on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza; these events include outdoor movie screenings, concerts, dance classes, diverse festivals and more.
With six venues on a beautiful multi-disciplinary campus, Segerstrom Center for the Arts proudly serves as the artistic home to three of the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale as well as two independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and Studio D, Arts School for All Abilities.
Joe Escalante comes from a talented family that include a famous musician, a radio host, a prolific scriptwriter, an accomplished attorney, a successful businessman, a tour manager, a record company owner, and a television producer, among others.
Though Escalante has other talented siblings, all of the above career titles belong to him alone, and for his many accomplishments, he was honored Sunday with induction into the Los Alamitos Museum Hall of Fame.
“The Los Alamitos Museum has always honored individuals from the city who have achieved excellence in a variety of fields, from Olympic champions in sports to film, television, movie, radio, the arts, and other accomplishments of merit,” said Adrianne Chavez in introducing Escalante.
Escalante watches as Paul Williams introduces him Sunday at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Courtesy photo
“The museum celebrates these special people by inducting them into our Hall of Fame,” she said. “The recipients were either born here, worked here, or went to school here. Our city is also so fortunate to have hosted so many amazing inductees. Our Hall of Fame also displays and honors some of the pioneers of our city and their history,” said Chavez.
“The recipients were either born here, worked here, or went to school here. Our city is also so fortunate to have hosted so many amazing inductees. Our Hall of Fame also displays and honors some of the pioneers of our city and their history,” she said.
A standing-room-only crowd gathered to witness Escalante’s induction as Museum President Debbie Kent welcomed them to the newly refurbished museum.
“We’re all volunteers,” she said before giving a shout-out to the museum’s board members, whom she thanked for all their hard work during its recent renovation (see related story).
Marilyn Poe, the museum’s former President and board member referred to by Kent as the institution’s Grand Dame, welcomed visitors and gave them a short history of the area.
“This is a very short version of the history because we want you to come back and take your time going through the museum,” said Poe.
A large crowd on hand at the Loss Al Museum to see Joe Escalante inducted into the city’s Hall of Fame. Courtesy photo
A funny thing happened to Joe Escalante on the way to his induction ceremony in Los Alamitos and he couldn’t wait to talk about it.
He was first formally introduced by Sharon Williams, who said Escalante was born in 1963, raised in a devout Roman Catholic household, received his Sacraments at St. Hedwig went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Old Norse at UCLA before doing graduate work at the University of Reykjavik Iceland, and eventually graduated from Loyola law school in 1992.
Williams said Escalante took an internship at CBS Television and transformed it into a massive career, first by working on shows like Rescue 911, Everybody Loves Raymond and eventually became a CBS talent negotiator.
“He actually convinced Chuck Norris to sing his own theme song for the hit series “Walker, Texas Ranger,” she said.
Joe and his wife Sandra then established Kung Fu Records, which became home to the early works of Blink 182 and others, and Escalante himself was, and remains, a member of the famous Vandals, a band that remarkably still occasionally tours today.
In addition, Joe was the morning drive-time host on FM 103.1 and still has a Sunday radio show on AM radio. He has also worked with the writing team of “Ancient Aliens” on The History Channel, eventually writing and producing his own TV series, she said.
His work in music eventually landed him as a tour manager for the famous group Sublime, using his vast entertainment Rolodex to land them on stage at the Coachella Music Festival.
Singer/songwriter Paul Williams introduces his brother-in-law Joe Escalante. Courtesy photo
Williams went through a brief litany of Escalante’s amazing projects and accomplishments.
Escalante’s list of entertainment projects, she said, are as diverse as they are brilliant, saying it was exciting to see “what the future holds” for Joe Escalante. “The sky’s the limit,” she said, noting that despite his crazy busy schedule, he and his wife still teach CCD classes every Sunday night.
Escalante’s life has been so touched by an angel that the famous singer-songwriter Paul Williams (no relation to Sharon), showed up to give him an additional introduction.
“I’m Joe’s brother-in-law,” began Paul Williams, “and I’m looking to be on the receiving side of nepotism at this point in my life,” the longtime entertainer said. “I met Joe’s sister in 2005 and was smart enough to marry her, and lucky enough to get the Escalante family as my in-laws,” he added.
Although Joe is his brother-in-law, Williams said “sometimes I feel like he’s, my brother.”
“Joe really needs no introduction,” said Williams, suggesting in so many words that Escalante’s amazing career speaks for itself.
“You know, you look around this museum and you find that there has been greatness through the ages and all. And it’s perfect to add Joe to this,” said Wiliams.
Escalante thanked them both for their introductions, saying when Sharon first called him, he thought at first that his friends were pranking him.
“Sharon called me up one day and said, ‘Do you want to…we would like to honor you,’” he said.
“And I’m like, for what, which weird thing, you know? And then I thought it was probably one of my friends doing a prank, so I was just going along with it,” Escalante said to the standing-room-only crowd that filled the museum.
“Then, Sharon was very nice, and she brought me here (Museum) to take a look at it,” he said before agreeing to be inducted into the Museum’s Hall of Fame.
“I’m not the kind of guy that’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he continued. “I’m not getting an Oscar, yet,” he said, “but it just feels like my hometown hasn’t forgotten about me so I’m very grateful,” the Rossmoor kid who made good said on Sunday.
Escalante and his wife Sandra now make old-town Seal Beach their home.
“I think the best thing for me to do is explain like, now that you heard that bio, most people want just want to know is this guy crazy? How did he do all these things?”
Family, friends and fans listen as Joe Escalante explains his “crazy” career with impressive successes. Courtesy photo
“It’s all about where you end up,” said Escalante, admitting he doesn’t always get a chance to finish when trying to explain the crazy twists and turns in a journey that has delivered so many opportunities to his doorstep.
“You never know what fate is going to do with you,” said Escalante. “My parents chose Rossmoor, and here we are.”
Escalante said his parents moved to Rossmoor in 1958 so he grew up there, attended Rush Elementary, then Oak Middle, and Los Al High School. He was inducted into the Griffin’s Alumni Hall of Fame back in the 1980s for his punk rock work in the Vandals and success with Kung Fu Records.
Deep down, he said, “I was always struck with a serious creative streak.” Escalante said he learned the violin and trumpet in the Oak Middle School band, then switched to drums in the marching band so he could “save my lip for the community orchestra.”
Already in middle school, Escalante was dancing to the beat of a different drummer. He charted his own path and was unafraid to follow it.
Then, Escalante said he learned to play a set of drums by playing along with Ramones records, then started a local punk rock band and eventually went off to UCLA.
Escalante said he started a band called “The Vandals,” noting “it was just a hobby.”
Wanting to be a lawyer, he majored in “Old Norse.” “My dad never could quite understand it, but I was drawn to it,” said Escalante. “If you’re going to be a lawyer, does it really matter what you major in?”
After graduating UCLA, Escalante accepted a graduate position in Iceland where he learned to speak the language while living in Reykjavik. “I learned to speak Old Norse and modern Icelandic,” he said.
“And today, I think one of the most bizarre things about me, is I’m listed as one of the notable alumni of the University of Reykjavik in Iceland.”
Back in the U.S., Escalante said the Vandals put out a record that did well on the local charts. “Then I wrote a song called “Ladykiller,” he said, which became another Number One record in local markets.
Though music looked promising, Escalante said n those days, “there was no machine that could turn you into a star with just a couple of hits.”
Right then and there, “I had a vision of the future and this wasn’t going anywhere,” at least not as high as the Los Al grad wanted to go, so in the early 90s, it was off to Law School.
Escalante said he reached out to Loyola Law School, was accepted, and became an attorney. He said his sister was a prosecutor, and that he learned quickly that was not what he wanted to do.
As he looked around, Escalante said he thought about what to do next. Although the Vandals were still a thing, he wanted something more solid upon which to build a career.
“What did I love more than anything,” he rhetorically asked himself. “Television,” he said.
“I loved watching television, I loved everything about it, and I wanted to work in TV, but I didn’t know how to do it.”
Although he didn’t know how to get a foot in the door, he figured out where to start.
“I knew there was a guy named Frank Wells. He was president of Warner Studios, and he was a lawyer. I thought if I went to law school, I could be like him and work my way up, or whatever. So I got an internship at CBS Television and that’s how it began,” Escalante told the overflow crowd.
“I ended up with a job offer there, and I worked on Walker, Texas Ranger and Rescue 911, and Everybody Loves Raymond, and it was super fun,” he said.
Escalante said he was promoted to a “boring job” as a talent guy, noting that “I kind of peaked too early in the television world.” He wanted to produce television.
“I took the advice of some of my friends, and I started a record label, Kung Fu Records, and I quit that job, as Sandra and I started that (Kung Fu) label.
“It did quite well, and that’s how I went from a TV network to a record producer.” Even as a record producer, Escalante said he produced” videos, a couple of movies, then sold the label to go back into TV.”
Escalante said he began reading movie scripts and “they were so badly written that I asked my partner I could write one.” Well, he did, and was soon hired at the Discovery ID network.
Four years there and later moved over to the History Channel, writing for Ancient Aliens until he sold his own TV series to Fox Nation and started a production company.
“I never stopped producing videos,” he said.
All the while, though members came in and out, the Vandals remained a thing. “We were always playing, but never too serious,” said Escalante, noting the Vandals were always there, releasing records but ever a passion project.
“And then a crazy thing happened,” he said.
“This guy, Eric Wilson (bass player) from sSublime, called me for some legal help. Now, I don’t like to do legal work, and I try to avoid it, but every once in a while, someone will call me and I’ll do it. And this time I was I was really rewarded,” said Escalante.
(L – R) Joe Escalante, Debbie Kent and Paul Williams. Courtesy photo
As it turned out, when Bradley Nowell, lead singer for Sublime, who passed away nearly three decades ago, had died during the band’s height of popularity. At the time, Nowell’s son Jakob, was 11 months old.
Wilson apparently told Escalante that Nowell’s son, Jakob, now an adult, had auditioned for Sublime as lead singer for a new iteration of Sublime.
Escalante was asked to call the young singer’s Grandpa, apparently to handle some legal work for the band. “When I heard him (Jakob) sing, I got chills,” said Escalante.
Immediately, “I called my friend who owns Coachella Music Festival and played it for him. He said ‘I’m going to put them on stage at Coachella and its going to be big,’” his friend told him.
There was one small condition, said Escalate slowly. “And, by the way, you have to be the manager of the tour,” his friend concluded.
“And that’s how I became a tour manager for Sublime,” he said, recalling how he got the band together. “I got a partner named Kevin Zinger, who was already managing the kid. And we ended up taking over all their assets, all their their publishing, their movie rights, everything. I talked to members of the band, and they liked it,” said Escalante.
Of all his music experiences, Escalante said he’ll never forget the tour for U.S. troops performed by The Vandals during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He said the band’s drummer was afraid. “He refused to go,” said Escalante.
Here is a man who had succeeded at every aspect of entertainment at that point, yet he jumped at the chance to perform for the USO tour in front of U.S. troops with The Vandals. “They (troops) were singing our songs,” he vividly remembers, having switched from drums to playing bass by then.
The big question on everyone’s mind, it seemed, was what on earth could be next for this accomplished Renaissance Man. Already, it’s an act hard to follow, but surely the angels of opportunity will soon visit him anew.
Though he’s a local Hollywood mogul, of sorts, he’s made of a different ilk. Despite his fame and success, Escalante says he still attends monthly meetings of his Oak Middle School Fishing Club and that his Roman Catholic Faith remains strong.
In fact, he and his wife Sandra teach Catechism classes at St. Peter Chanel every Sunday, he goes to St. Hedwig every Saturday with his sisters and the one-time altar boy remains an altar boy for most funerals at St. Peter Chanel.
Always thinking is Escalante, the most recent inductee in the Los Alamitos Museum Hall of Fame.
“I go to Mass anyway, so why not sit there as the altar boy.”
Editor’s Note: Escalante has put his bass guitar from the Vandals on display along with other memorabilia for a limited time at the Los Al museum.
Editor’s Note: Escalante provided the museum with his bass guitar from The Vandals and other memorabilia that will remain on display in the Museum’s Hall of Fame.
In a special meeting, the City Council of Los Alamitos approved a motion to declare an emergency to fix a natural gas leak in a line leading into the city’s police department.
Mayor Jordan Nefulda said the special order of the day was to discuss the emergency gas line repair for the police department.
“The gas line to the police department building is damaged and was reported to be leaking,” the mayor said. “This item recommends immediate action to begin repairs of the gas line that feeds the police department and the city’s emergency generator.”
City Manager Chet Simmons told three members of the Council attending the special meeting that if they did not declare an emergency, it would take as much as six months to fix the dangerous leak which, in essence, was unacceptable.
At issue is the city’s charter, which was initially approved in 1960. Simmons said under the city’s charter, unless the issue is declared to be a legitimate emergency, the RFP and bidding process could take as long as six months.
“I want to say that this leak has been going on for about a month,” said Simmons, noting that the city found a gas leak near the main line which was repaired.
“Then the company came back and realized that there were two additional gas leaks out of an abundance of caution. Obviously, we have shut down the gas to the building until such repairs can be made to the problem,” the city manager said.
“The problem here again is related to the city’s charter in that it doesn’t allow for any public works project that is over $10,000 to take place without a formal bidding process,” he said.
If the city was held to go through the normal public works process, “it would take between five to six months to accomplish,” he said.
“So today, we’re asking you to essentially declare an emergency and authorize the city manager to execute any and all contracts needed in order to facilitate the fix within the building to the gas line,” Simmons told the Council.
“Speaking for the police and the chief, it is a very serious matter,” he added.
By declaring an emergency, the city would legally be able to bypass standard rules and fix the leak, Simmons explained to the Council.
He said while the $10,000 amount is written into the 1960 charter, that amount would equate to $106,000 today. While he asked the Council to declare the emergency, he was careful to mention this is the exception, not the rule for doing business.
“And I can tell the question that you’re going to ask is ‘Chet, why don’t we just do this for every single project so that we can skip this,’” Simmons told the Council. “In consultation with the city attorney and the city clerk, it has been made very, very clear to me that trying to obfuscate that rule is obviously not in line with the charter.”
Council member Tanya Doby questioned Simmons “in the interest of making it abundantly clear, why we didn’t address more immediately, please explain?”
Simmons explained the limitations of the city’s aging charter and used the opportunity to say why he thinks the city should offer a charter amendment this fall.
“Within our charter, there is a limit on what exactly we can do without having gone out and done a formal bidding process,” said Simmons, carefully going through each step and explaining why it would take six or eight months to complete.
“The city council did authorize staff to start the process of looking into a charter amendment. This is the primary reason for moving forward with that charter amendment to put ourselves more in line with not only surrounding cities but also just good business practices,” the city manager said.
“There is a reason why there’s a process that allows us to change the charter from time to time, which the city has done in the past,” he added.
While any proposed charter amendment has yet to surface, there have also been discussions among council members that the city’s charter also limits terms of service, which some have hinted may have to be changed because of districting.
Nevertheless, the Council voted unanimously 3-0 to declare the police department gas leak a city emergency, giving Simmons the authorization to bypass the bid process and have the leak fixed.
Nefulda, Doby and Mayor Pro-tem Shelley Hasselbrink voted in favor. Council members Emily Hibard and Trisha Murphy were not present for the special meeting.
Interestingly, the Council’s special order agenda called for them to go into Executive Session to discuss “anticipated litigation,” however Mayor Nefulda protested, saying the matter should wait until Hibard and Murphy were present.
The Council agreed and chose not to go into executive session and the special meeting was adjourned.
The Rossmoor Community Services District at its Board of Directors meeting in June finally adopted its proposed budget for the 24/25 fiscal year, but not before adjusting two final categories.
The district will collect $2.2 million in overall revenues and spend $2.1 million according to the RCSD’s budget for fiscal 24/25. The RCSD General Manager Joe Mendoza and financial advisor Michael Matsumoto projects a small surplus for the upcoming budget year that begins July 1.
In addition, for the first time, the Board adopted a matching deferred compensation plan where the district will much as three percent of their salaries that they defer for retirement.
General Manager Joe Mendoza said the plan will not be offered to the General Manager, part-time staff, elected officials or contractors. Moreover, said Mendoza, the new employee plan is expected to cost the RCSD about $10.883 for the year if all eligible employees take the full three percent.
In addition, district employees will see a three percent (3%) cost of living raise in the new budget.
Michael Maynard, RCSD President, thanked Mendoza and the team for putting together the program as the board voted 4-0 to approve the budget, which includes the planned employee benefit.
Before final approval, however, Director Nathan Searles peppered Mendoza with questions surrounding the moving of money for parks and parks projects.
He questioned an expenditure of $3700 for new park benches for Rush Park and transferring the money from an events category to pay for it.
Searles also asked about an expenditure for Elite Special Events during the recent Health and Wellness Festival that Mendoza said was for the printing of a banner.
Mendoza, supported by Matsumoto, said there was extra funding in the event account that he pulled the money from for these events.
“I’ll just summarize it was a general manager’s decision. If I didn’t make the right decision, and you want to move it back in there, I will,” said Mendoza.
Searles said his goal with the questioning was simply to have money within the RCSD budget moved into correct categories so that future budgets would reflect actual monies spent but he did suggest not all parks within Rossmoor are not being treated the same.
“I think one of the very common discussions we’ve been had in the last year, roughly, is about how much money is spent in each park,” said Searles, and “how one park in a particular part of the neighborhood doesn’t get the same resources that the other park does.”
Mendoza suggested Searles was suggesting favoritism, which he strongly rejected.
“What you’re bringing out in this kind of debate,” said Mendoza, is “you’re actually saying that we’re showing favoritism, and that’s not even close. So my point is, if you want a breakout, I will put that mic now break it out. We’ll show you what the breakout is. We’re gonna we’re just going on an as-needed basis of what each party and I don’t think anybody’s showing favoritism, That’s not even close, okay,”
Matsumoto said currently, only the larger capital projects are coded (accounting) for specific parks. In addition, he said the banner printing could have also been coded in the “printing” budget.”
At one time, Maynard seemed to defuse the debate, saying the questions by Searles were perhaps sounding a bit too “accusatory.” In addition, he wondered aloud why the board needed to be involved in such “minutia.”
Searles asked that his opposition to this type of action be officially noted in the record. Mendoza said he would get the data requested to Searles and make the changes requested by the board.
Searles was not yet finished.
He asked why the budget contained more than $60,000 for legal services when the district averages between $20 – 30,000 annually, also questioning a smaller over-budget surplus amount in the TV broadcasting budget.
Mendoza said it’s better to make a mid-year adjustment and be prepared rather than not having enough in the event of special meetings or circumstances.
After a long discussion, the board unanimously agreed to reduce the over-budget to $2,000 in the broadcasting budget and max out legal fees at 45k.
Satisfied, the board voted as reported above, unanimously 4-0. Director Dr. Jeffrey Barkey was not present for the June meeting.
An overflow crowd gathered at the Los Alamitos Museum on Los Alamitos Boulevard on Sunday for two purposes, first to formally recognize its two year transformation and to also induct Renaissance Man Joe Escalante into the city’s Hall of Fame (see related story).
For anyone who has visited the museum since it opened in 1976, gone is the carpet that was old as the building and its place is a shiny new red floor and painted adobe walls, courtesy of the City of Los Alamitos, who owns the building.
Courtesy photos From left. Shelli Appling, Bonnie (Poe) Adrian, Debbie Kent, Myrt Perisho, Marilynn Poe, (hiding) Sharon Williams, Lesley Hale, & Adrianne Chavez. (Right) After the carpet was removed, city workers installed a beutiful, fire engine red floor.
“Nobody gets paid. We’re all volunteers,” said Museum President Debbie Kent, “and it’s a small board, but we have become really good friends.”
“We also want to thank our city (Los Alamitos) who helped us do all the heavy lifting and putting things up on our walls because none of us should be on ladders,” she chuckled.
According to long-time museum veteran and former President of the Board, and a former Los Al Mayor, Marilyn Poe, the almost year long renovation project was painstaking.
“Everything had to go,” she said in a pre-event interview. “We had to take everything down from the walls, take down the exhibits and pack everything in crates and boxes so that the inside of the space would be completely free of any valuable historic items during renovation.”
(L – R) Joe Escalante, Debbie Kent and Paul Williams. Courtesy photo
Ron Noda, the city’s Developmental Services Director also attended the event. He said city crews and contractors had a hard time with bubbles and other problems in the floor once the old carpet had been pulled out, but at the end of the project, the floor turned out well. It’s now smooth, and painted fire-engine red.
Kent thanked the city as she recounted the ordeal.
“We started last, end of June, beginning of July. We had to box everything up in this museum. We started boxing it up and it we were here Tuesdays and Thursdays every, almost every Tuesday and Thursday,” said Kent.
“The city came in one day and moved everything. We’re talking the piano…the host thing… the stove, the refrigerator. They took everything out, all the cases, and they either went into the pods or to the warehouse,” she marveled.
“So the city workers, and they got here at nine, they were done by two. It was amazing so just like everything, they did the floor.
“And then, like when you start something at your house, they did the floor, and we go, (to the city) ‘Oh my gosh, the walls look awful. You know, you got this brand new floor and the walls are awful,’” said Kent.
Kent said the city relented and said “we’ll paint the Adobe.” “So they painted the walls for us, and then it was all done, and we came back here, and I can’t tell you how exciting it was really. It was an awkward feeling because we came back here and it was so beautiful,” said Kent.
“No doubt it was beautiful, but this whole room was full of boxes that now we had to take out and rearrange our displays, which was hard, but it’s really a good thing to go through, like spring cleaning, you know.”
“We decided we wanted to do something, not just put things back in the display cases like they were. We wanted to do kind of a timeline,” said Kent.
Now, said Kent, visitors to the museum can start in one corner and sort of follow a timeline of historic events.
Kent said “nothing could be done without our board members” and she asked them to stand for recognition.
“We couldn’t do this without you,” Kent told the Board.
Current Los Al Mayor Pro-tem Shelley Hasselbrink said she was proud of the Museum and the work done by the city to renovate it.
“My husband and I moved here 32 years ago, when we got married, we raised our two new boys here. One of my goals when I came on the council in 2014 was to make sure that my children wanted to come back here and have their families and raise their families here,” she said.
“Our heritage is continuing,” she said, and that the city was so lucky to have a museum to preserve the history of local families. “We have a museum for a city our size that is also a landmark with the National Historical Society, it’ just really special to have that.”
Hasselbrink coined the term for the “fire-engine red floor.”
“We have some amazing things going on in this city,” said Hasselbrink.
While residents in Rossmoor recently rejected a costly study prepared by the Orange County Department of Public Works, a lone resident appeared before the Board of Directors in June saying he could not in good conscious not speak out before someone gets hurt.
Kevin Boylan suggested that while the residents rejected the recent traffic study, so many kids are getting in and out of cars along Montecito suggests someone, probably a child, is eventually going to be hurt.
“I would like to address at least one concern that I do have. It has to do with the safety of the young people that we have in the community, particularly those in adjacent to Rossmoor (Elementary) School,” said Boylan.
“I live on Montecito and have a bird’s eye view of what goes on every single day,” he said.”Rossmoor School is a seven-day-a-week activity during the school year, he added.
“Whar I think that isn’t so great is I think there are the hazards that a lot of those people are being exposed to because of this factor. Young people are entering and exiting vehicles,” he said, suggesting someone eventually is going to be hurt.
“When that happens, said Boylan,” we’re going to be responsible for that. And I just can’t, in good conscience, stand up here and say tha.s the right thing to do.”
Director Tony Demarco, First Vice President, and head of the Board’s traffic committee reminded Boylan that Rossmoor overwhelmingly rejected a proposal recently put forth by OC Public Works to make changes to the traffic flows throughout the community.
“The vast majority of the people who came to that meeting did not want any change,” said Demarco. “So it’s just very difficult to get change, even if it’s safety change,” he said.
Boylan said despite the recent rejection, “Sometimes you need to push against the resistance to change.”
Demarco told Boyland that he’s still open to exploring traffic changes.
” I’m still open to discussing this. I know the county spent a bunch of money on all these studies,” said Demarco.
Boylan said it was a “head scratcher” as to why the developer of Rossmoor allowed a four-lane high through a residential highway.
Regarding the recent traffic study, Boylan said there were some, of what he termed, “poison pills” in the OC Public Works study. “There was a lot to dislike in the study,” he offered, “nevertheless we’re trying to move toward a safer environment.”
Demarco then asked Boylan about his neighbors.
“What about your neighbors,” Demarco asked Boylan, “what do they think?”
In short, Demarco asked Boylan to reach out to his neighbors, and if they agree that safety changes were needed, he should put together a coalition of neighbors that live along Montecito and Bostonian, where he lives, to try to create some isolated change.
Boylan said he was not opposed to reaching out to his neighbors but wondered aloud what the board’s disposition might be for a real change.
Demarco repeatedly expressed his openness to listen and board president Michael Maynard said “you have my ear.”
Maynard said the item was not on the agenda and it was impossible to discuss a hypothetical solution without a proposal but encouraged Boylan to press forward.
“I’ve always been a proponent of slower speeds and a little bit more careful consideration, especially around schools,” said Maynard. He suggested areas around schools need “hybrid” safety solutions.
“There is a process, and I can tell you anything that makes Rossmoor safer, safer, especially speeding near schools, you have my ear,” said Maynard.
The OC Public Works transportation planning staff put together a plan that called for a mini-traffic circle near each of the four elementary schools within Rossmoor to slow traffic, but voters overwhelmingly rejected it in a community-wide survey.
“It’s crazy for people crossing the street and I’ve personally seen what you see,” Maynard told Boylan.
”I just see too many people getting in and out of their cars and a lot of double parking occurring, particularly on the school side of Montecito where the fields are as people are entering and exiting and waiting for a parking place,” Boylan told Maynard.
“Let me start by saying my wife is clairvoyant,” said Boylan. “She said if I came here and made a presentation I would get an assignment. I don’t mind knocking on doors,” he told the board, suggesting he would be back before them at some point in the future.
The community services district in Rossmoor (RCSD), which runs the two parks in the unincorporated area, is considering a DRASTIC REDUCTION of 30% to 50% in how much the Los Alamitos Girls Softball League can use Rossmoor Park.
The league has used the park since the 1960s and has provided a wholesome activity for local girls for decades. In 2011, the league signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the RCSD and RPN, Rossmoor Park Neighbors, (representatives of 30 homeowners) that gave access to the park’s three fields to continue the mission as it has for decades.
The league’s board has said it does not want to lose the MOU. The homeowners say they want to keep the MOU in place.
But RCSD wants to tear up that agreement and is considering a 30% to 50% reduction in field use. At a meeting Thursday (6/20) RCSD officials complained bitterly about the league, such as why they call themselves the Los Alamitos Girls Softball League and not Rossmoor Girls Softball League. They said trash overflows the park’s bins on game days.
They complained that the girls practice pitching behind home plate was never permitted, even though the league has done this for over 30 years, and it has never been an issue.
Really? This is what RCSD has come down to, a mean-spirited operation that has been attacking homeowners over the last few years and is now grumbling about the girls.
Two board members, Mike Maynard and Tony DeMarco, said at the meeting that they weren’t going to kick the league out of the park. That’s disingenuous. They are presenting a false narrative about trying to redress parking problems around the park by reducing the league’s use of it.
Over the last two years, the RCSD board has stated unequivocally that parking and congestion are not issues at Rossmoor Park, despite the pleas of nearby homeowners that the addition of four pickleball courts would make parking difficult. Now all of a sudden they are concerned with “softening the impact on surrounding park neighbors.”
It is true that homeowners around the park are complaining about parking and traffic, but LAGLS’s use of the park is limited to certain hours, days and months. By contrast, pickleball is every day of the year from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. When the four courts are used for doubles, it adds up to 16 additional vehicles to the neighborhood streets, since the park has no parking lot. By the way, Rush Park has its own parking lot, which is empty most of the time.
There is a public concept called “first in time, first in right.” Well, the girls were at the park for a half century before RCSD decided to install pickleball. The girls have a first right. Let’s not make the girls pay for the errors of RCSD in trying to jam ever more activity into the park. Over the years, RCSD has added pickleball, a summer youth camp and enhanced basketball, each nice activities but each contribute to traffic and parking congestion around the park.
The MOU in 2011 called for offloading some games to Rush Park. A new softball diamond was built for that purpose, but for the last decade has been used very little, if at all. The league last year offered to pay the cost of improving the diamond and playing more games there, if only RCSD would extend the fence line. RCSD General Manager Joe Mendoza has rejected doing it.
RCSD apparently feels it has a financial problem and wants to raise the softball league’s fees. Some of that makes sense, but RCSD would have plenty of money if Directors DeMarco, Barke & Maynard hadn’t voted to recklessly spend $65,000 (previously unbudgeted) to resurface all four tennis courts and the basketball court – TWO YEARS EARLY – instead of simply painting lines for the one court being converted to pickleball.
The original MOU was a tri-party agreement that has served this community well for 13 years. Now Maynard and DeMarco want to cut out any role the neighborhood has in the girls’ league. No doubt that is because we support the league, as RCSD wants to eviscerate it. And as was the case with pickleball, Directors Maynard, DeMarco & Barke, along with GM Mendoza, have repeatedly shown their disdain for any input from park neighbors if it interferes with their self-serving autocratic agenda.
RCSD says only a few homeowners are raising a fuss. In fact, more than 50 homeowners around the park neighborhood have signed a petition (name, address and signature, not a phony online survey) asking the county to help with relief from pickleball. There needs to be acoustic mitigation and a parking plan. It will not cost a fortune.
It’s time for RCSD to stop fighting the community and start trying to listen to its constituents.
2011 RPN Representatives
Eye health is an important factor in our overall well-being. Yet 65.3% of California children don’t regularly see an eye doctor. With many kids out of school for the summer, screen time may add up quickly and potentially contribute to health issues, making it a great time to shine a spotlight on vision health.
That can include a focus on preventing or treating nearsightedness, also known as myopia, which can affect our ability to see far-away objects clearly. Importantly, childhood onset of myopia has been linked to a greater risk of developing serious eye diseases later in life, including cataracts and glaucoma.
Unfortunately, myopia is on the rise, affecting around 42% of all Americans, up significantly over the last few decades. By 2050, it is projected that 50% of people worldwide will be nearsighted.
In an increasingly digital world, it’s more important than ever to be aware of this growing issue and how to address it. This is especially true for kids. According to an international research study, children who spend most of their time on both a smartphone and a computer may have an 80% higher risk of developing myopia.
Here are some tips to support eye health for you and your family:
Reduce excessive blue light exposure. Research is showing the potential health implications of excessive exposure to blue light, including disrupted sleep cycles and digital eye strain. Nearly 60% of U.S. adults report experiencing symptoms of digital eye strain with Americans spending an average of 7 hours per day interacting with screens. Make sure to spend ample time outdoors, which research has shown may reduce the risk of nearsightedness.
Watch for warning signs of myopia. Some common symptoms include far-away objects appearing blurry while close-by items are clear, squinting to see properly, eye strain and even headaches. For parents and caretakers, it’s important to remember that children may not know they have a vision problem, so pay attention to indicators like head tilting to read or watch TV, reduced performance at school or constant blinking.
Get a comprehensive eye exam and consider myopia management if needed. If you think you or a loved one may be experiencing vision issues or if you’re a frequent computer user, make sure to visit an eye doctor and get a comprehensive eye exam. These exams can detect health problems that a simple vision screening may miss. Ideally, kids should get annual comprehensive eye exams throughout their school years.
While eye doctors can’t cure myopia, they can prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses to help you see clearly again. And if you or a family member is diagnosed with myopia, specialized treatment plans may help slow the progression.
Maintaining good eye health is an important step everyone can take to protect their overall well-being and may help prevent or slow the onset or progression of nearsightedness and other vision conditions.
Archana Dubey, MD, is Chief Medical Officer, UnitedHealthcare of California, located in Cypress
A long-time activist in the City of Cypress urged citizens on Thursday not to be tooled by city hall and just vote ‘no’ on a ballot measure that seeks to build nearly 700 new residences on the grounds of the Los Alamitos Racecourse.
George Pardon, the co-founder of the nonprofit “Citizens for the Responsible Development of Cypress,” spoke to more than 100 residents at the Ovation senior living community this week to discuss a ballot initiative the city plans to discuss on June 24.
Alicia Velasco, the city’s planning director, held two workshops with residents recently to offer information about the new development that plans a 676-unit housing tract.
Even though the city’s housing element plans for new units on Lincoln Avenue, Pardon says the city is somehow aiming to build them on racecourse property, which would require voter approval.
“What’s really frustrating,” said Pardon, is that “they’re trying to create a divide here. They say, if we don’t put it here on the racetrack, we’re going to have to put it on Lincoln and then basically a great divide between the folks that live closer here and the folks that live along the Lincoln corridor.”
“The problem is, is that the city, you know, is very hypocritical about this,” he said. Information being disseminated is misleading, said Pardon, metaphorically comparing it to a wolf speaking to a herd of sheep saying, “I promise when I’m elected, I’ll become a vegetarian.”
“That’s kind of what we’re hearing here,” he said.
Pardon said when the city originally submitted its housing element to the state, it included the 676-unit at the Racecourse. “Because building those 676 units on Racecourse property will require voter approval, the state asked the city to submit an alternative proposal.
The city then submitted an alternative proposal with the additional units planned for Lincoln Ave., which was accepted by the state.
“So in their brochure when they say ‘if you don’t do this, we’re going to have to build them on Lincoln, they already have approval to build them there,” said Pardon.
“The hypocrisy here is they already have a plan for 3900 units so when we authorize another 676 units, we’re really authorizing 4700 residential units in our city, said Pardon.
In addition, Pardon said, “if residents pay attention to City Council meetings, and I’ve brought it up with the two community meetings that they’ve recently had, and nobody denies it, the mayor and others say, ‘well, one of the reasons that we don’t have the on Lincoln is that because of a lot sizes and the number of lots that exist there, it’ll never get built.’”
“What’s the problem with that,” asked Pardon, “who wants 3200 new residences here, let alone 3900 so this threat to put them on Lincoln is an idle threat,” he said.
In addition, he suggested that even if the voters approve the development at the ballot, there is nothing to stop developers from also building on Lincoln, effectively extending the housing element past its approved total of 3,900 housing units to 4700.
Another point, said Pardon, is that if voters approve a ballot measure to construct 676 new residences in the city, there would be little property left to build a meaningful “Town Center” that was originally approved by voters.
“I think enough is enough,” he told the residents, “and hopefully you would agree with that,” he told the residents.
“The city has spent a lot of money on this so far, our money, and you know the dilemmas, they send out these brochures, but they never give anyone from an opposing position to send out a brochure that would just tell the residents the rest of the story,” said Pardon.
“Nothing bothers me more than getting misinformation,” he added.
Pardon said one of the reasons he wanted to speak to the group was to encourage voters to speak up, to use the civic power they hold to say no.
Marilyn Reames, an Ovation resident, introduces George Pardon. Courtesy ohoto
“That’s one of the reasons that I’m here today,” said Pardon. “And they (city hall) think, obviously, they have a good chance of passing it. They wouldn’t be putting this on the ballot if they didn’t think there’s a chance that it would get passed, and so the council needs to hear from you,” he told them.
Before the Council makes the final decision whether or not to put the racetrack development on the ballot, “if they would hear from hundreds of people that they were planning to vote no, I think their tendency would be to consider not putting it on the ballot,” said Pardon.
“When they sent this brochure out (about the ballot measure) they included a postcard,” said Pardon. “I don’t know if you have that postcard or not, but if you still have it, you can write no. Just by saying no, that we have no intention of voting for it (ballot measure).
Also, he said Marilyn Reames, a resident of Ovation, could provide them with Council members’ email addresses.
“I think it’s very important for us to communicate this issue,” said Pardon. “If we don’t, they’re just going to proceed.”
Reames said Pardon’s visit to Ovation was part of a new “Speaker Series” the local community has begun under the leadership of Chairwoman Diane Ortega.
After Pardon finished, they also discussed Ovation’s ongoing efforts to have a stoplight installed on Katella near their community. For years, they have fought without success to have a stoplight installed at the intersection of Enterprise and Katella Ave.
Many residents expressed concern that if voters approve a ballot measure for nearly 700 new homes at the racetrack, the extraordinarly bad traffic situation would only get worse.
The artwork created by a La Palma graduate in the Class of 2024 has been chosen by a well-known Irvine nonprofit to represent the best drug-free message among more than one hundred competitors and now appears on transit stations in SoCal.
Waymakers, of Irvine, recently unveiled award-winning artwork by John F. Kennedy High School Class of 2024 graduate David Alfaro on a Cypress bus shelter, according to Waymakers’ spokesperson Jenny Wedge.
Alfaro’s work was selected for this honor after receiving the highest accolades in a district-wide Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) art contest titled “Substance-free is the Way to Be,” she said.
Courtesy Photo Waymakers and the Orange County Health Care Agency unveiled a bus shelter in Cypress featuring recent John F. Kennedy High School graduate, David Alfaro’s artwork that was selected for the winning ad campaign about substance use prevention in the Anaheim Union High School District. Pictured from left – Ronnetta Johnson, CEO, Waymakers; Carolyn Secrist, Orange County Health Care Agency; Sydney Ma, Health Educator, Waymakers; Estrella Vargas, Health Educator, Waymakers; David Alfaro (student); Clarissa Urrutia, Program Coordinator, Waymakers; Christina Resendiz, Program Manager, Waymakers.
Wedge said the contest was hosted by Waymakers, and AUHSD, the goal of the contest’s drug prevention theme was to reduce youth substance abuse and promote healthy alternatives.
Alfaro’s winning entry, “Substance Free is Alright with Me,” illustrates a healthy life without the abuse of substances by depicting aspects of living a healthy lifestyle, such as eating right and socializing regularly, on a wheel.
Alfaro and his family gathered with the Orange County Health Care Agency and Waymakers for the official unveiling in May. The group watched the unfolding of a 4-feet x 6-feet ad displaying Alfaro’s artwork at the bus stop in front of Veterans Park on Ball Road near the intersection of Sorrento Drive in Cypress.
Alfaro said he considers himself more of a musical artist (trumpet) but decided to enter the contest to explore his visual artistic side.
“I’m more of a musical artist now,” said Alfaro in an interview with ENE, but said his artistry “kind of started with graphic design so I wanted to explore more of the visual side.”
In addition, he said vaping is a big problem among high school students and Alfaro said he wanted his artwork to represent this problem.
“What I was hoping to achieve was kind of to give more positive alternatives to vaping because I know some people who do it do it for reasons of like, they think they’re like stressed out or having like troubles at home,” said Alfaro.
“I figured this might help with an alternative,” he added.
The winning artwork will be displayed at four locations through July 8, 2024, including three additional displays located at the intersection of La Palma Avenue and Valley View Avenue in the city of Buena Park, the intersection of Valley View Avenue and Fred Drive, and the intersection of Lincoln and Walker Street in Cypress. Additionally, the ad is featured on the interior of 13 buses running throughout Orange County through June 30, 2024.
According to Wedge, for more than five decades, Waymakers has assisted organizations like the Anaheim Union High School District with programs to deal with substance abuse by focusing on prevention.
Waymakers’ Project PATH (Positive Action Toward Health) has been providing alcohol and drug prevention services in AUHSD for the past four years, she said.
By providing services and creatively discussing substance use prevention, Waymakers works to help guide positive change. PATH is a program that strives to create safe and healthy neighborhoods by addressing public health issues through education, training, technical assistance, and media campaigns.
Wedge said about 125 students participated in the contest and that participation is totally voluntary on the part of students.
Three Additionally, the ad is featured on the interior of 13 buses running throughout Orange County through June 30, 2024.
According to Waymakers, every day throughout Orange County, people find hope after trauma. They don’t simply survive; they find ways to heal – all with the help of Waymakers.
Their ten model programs guide over 120,000 abused children, crime victims, struggling families, acting-out adolescents and people needing mediation services annually.
Waymakers has been sheltering children, supporting victims, counseling families, resolving conflicts and educating communities in Orange County since 1972. For more information on Waymakers, visit waymakersoc.org,
Alfaro said he enjoyed participating in the contest and said he has enrolled in Cypress College. Long term, Alfaro said he planned to major in history, and perhaps art.
“I’m fascinated with Mesoamerican Colombian history, especially the art,” the graduating senior said.
