Scott Minikus, the retired Long Beach Police Officer selected by the Cypress Council to replace Stacy Berry, was sworn in by City Clerk Alisha Farnell at their Sept. 13 meeting.
“I, Scott Minikus, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I’m about to enter.”
Following the oath of office, Minikus thanked those who had encouraged him and acknowledged the other applicants who were not selected.
“To my fellow candidates who participated in our democratic process, I want to especially thank you for your time, dedication and effort you put forward,” said Minikus.
“While watching your interviews, I was struck by the depth of your knowledge, your passions and your willingness to serve our city, and for that I’m privileged to have participated alongside you,” he added.
“I’m proud to say that I have honorably served my country in one capacity or another, my entire adult life,” said Minikus.
The newest Cypress council member said he endorsed the teaching of the late Nelson Mandela. “We must possess the ability to effectively lead, as well as being a supporting member of a team that collaborates, and invites input and ideas from all stakeholders.”
“And so, with that, know that I’m here to listen to you, and have kind, thoughtful and respectful conversations. But most of all, as I’ve done before and will continue to do. I’m here to serve you and represent you.”
La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) installed Board members for the 2021-2022 year on September 9, 2021, at the La Palma Community Center at 8:00 p.m. All of the board members who were installed will be serving as board members for a second term.
Installation Officer Past- President Harriet Moses was assisted by Public Policy Co-Chair Sondra Cohen for the Installation Ceremonies. Harriet used President Beverly Zwick’s last name as a theme for Beverly’s second installation as President. Beverly’s name of “Zwick” means “pinch” in German, so Harriet said that she going to make a special “soup” with a “pinch of this” and a “pinch of that.” As the base for the La Palma-Cerritos Branch “soup,” Beverly held the group together by serving as president during the pandemic. The other board members would be the ingredients of the soup that added substance or flavor to the it.
Executive Board members who were installed included: President Beverly Zwick (present virtually by Zoom), Program VP’s, Karen Cox, Nancy Kawamura, and Mary Ann Quinn; Membership VP’s Joan Flax and Diane Merrick; AAUW Fund VP’s Thea Siegel, Esther Aronson, and Tobi Balma; Secretary Christine Taxier; and Treasurer Marilyn Forsstrom.
After installing the Executive Board, Harriet asked the Appointed Board members to stand, and they also were installed for their second term. Harriet thanked everyone for continuing to participate as board members.
Program VP Mary Ann Quinn presided over the business meeting circulated the minutes of last General Meeting of May 20, 2021, and the Treasurer’s report on a clipboard to members. The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as submitted, and minutes were approved three members who were present at the last meeting. Mary Ann was surprised when Membership VP Joan Flax presented her with a special certificate from AAUW California in honor of her being an AAUW member for 50 years.
As Chair of the AAUW Fund Named Gift Honoree Committee, Christine Taxier presented Tobi Balma and Carol Marsh with Certificates of Appreciation as the branch’s Named Gift Honorees. Tobi was honored for her many years of dedication to promoting equity for women and girls, for serving as mentor to many members, and especially, for serving as our branch Zoom Master during the pandemic. She also served as Zoom host for the AAUW Long Beach and AAUW CA Online Branch. Carol was honored for her many years as member and chair of the Academic Recognition and Awards Committee for Cerritos College women students.
The Pacific Airshow announced this week that the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will join the lineup for the 2021 Airshow, Oct. 1-3, flying over the ocean in Huntington Beach.
For only the second time in U.S. history, the three North American jet teams – the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will perform together at one airshow.
“To say it’s an honor to have the Thunderbirds join us again would be an understatement,” said Kevin Elliott, event director. “The lineup of the 2021 Pacific Airshow will become a thing of legend with kids growing up to say, ‘I remember when all three North American Jet Teams flew together in Huntington Beach.’ If you know anything about Airshows, or even if you don’t, you will not want to miss this spectacle.”
With the 2020 season cancelled, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds took the time to rework their air show performance. This year, the Thunderbirds will debut their new routine with formations that tell a story of patriotism, American ingenuity, teamwork, and inspiration. Fans can expect to see a new maneuver, Rapid Recovery, along with other modified maneuvers showcasing precision flying and combat capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The Thunderbirds will join the U.S. Navy Blue Angels at Pacific Airshow this year celebrating their 75th anniversary season and flying new F/A-18 Super Hornets, plus the Canadian Forces Snowbirds celebrating their 50th anniversary, Major Kristin “BEO” Wolfe leading the U.S. Air Force ACC F-35A Lightning II Demo squad, Lieutenant David “Strokes” Hinkle leading the U.S. Navy F-35C Lighting II Demo, the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey Demo Team, and the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute demonstration team, along with dozens of other military aviators and civilian performers.
Pacific Airshow was recognized as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Civilian Show Site of the Year in both 2018 and 2019, making it the only air show in history to win the award in consecutive years.
To add to the thrills, Pacific Airshow is introducing the two-night Afterburner Music Festival, the Official After Party, taking place on Friday, October 1 and Saturday, October 2. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Sammy Hagar and his band “Sammy Hagar & The Circle” will headline the first show on Friday, October 1 along with Umphrey’s McGee and 90’s Rockshow. Chart-topping, award-winning country artist Sam Hunt will headline the show on Saturday, October 2 with accompanying performances by X Ambassadors and Cassadee Pope. Local DJ Mark Moreno will open the festival both nights.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are set to appear on stage with Sammy Hagar on Friday night to play tribute to Van Halen and the 1986 Dreams music video, which featured the then Blue Angels flying their A-4 Skyhawks.
Tickets for the Friday night festival start at $69 for General Admission and $169 for VIP tickets, which includes access to the exclusive VIP lounge “The Hangar,” plus premium food and beverage options and VIP restrooms. Saturday night ticket prices start at $79 for General Admission and $179 for VIP. Tickets can be purchased online at afterburnermusicfestival.com or through the Pacific Airshow mobile app.
Fans can use the new mobile app to learn about this year’s Airshow and Afterburner Music Festival performers, discover major points of interest using an interactive map, purchase event tickets, and stay up to date with important event updates and announcements. Fans can download the mobile app through their provider’s app store.
Airshow attendees have five premium viewing options for the show this year, which can be purchased on the new mobile app or the Pacific Airshow website at pacificairshow.com.
For more information, please visit www.pacificairshow.com, follow Pacific Airshow on social media @pacificairshow and download the mobile app from the app store.
The Afterburner Music Festival is bringing live music back to the Huntington City Beach for the first time in nearly a decade. The Music Festival is an epic two-night event held right on the sand at one of Southern California’s best beaches. For more information visit www.afterburnermusicfestival.com.
The Los Alamitos City Council recognized two members of the city’s police department this week and presented them with awards from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) for their efforts to keep the streets safe.
Despite a slight slowdown, “drunk driving is still the number one cause of death on our roadways today,” said Interim Police Chief Eric R. Nunez. “We take drunk driving seriously in this city,” he said.
He thanked organizations like MADD for their many programs aimed at reforming laws dealing with driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and said out of those efforts grew specialization in enforcement.
“When I first started in law enforcement, which was many moons ago, they used to have a program called ‘Every 15 Minutes,’ which we still call it today,” he said.
The program brought awareness to the public in that it graphically illustrated that someone in this country was killed every 15 minutes by a drunk driver. Efforts by specialized officers and programs created by organizations like MADD have inverted that number to 51, he noted.
Now, said Nunez, someone dies as a result of a drunk driver every 51 minutes, and an average of 263,000 citizens are injured each year, some permanently, from accidents caused by drinking while driving. Still, more than 10,000 Americans die each year as a result of drunk driving, he said.
Ironically, he said that three months after the tragedy of 9/11, drunk drivers had already killed as many people as died on that tragic day. “That gives you some proportionality to that whole problem that we’re dealing with,” said Nunez.
Incidentally, Nunez said Los Al officers began wearing a special badge on the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attack in memory of all of the law enforcement, fire fighters and other responder partners who perished on that day. He said the 9/11 badges will be worn for one year.
Officers in Los Al make an average of at least one DUI arrest each week, he said, commending the two specialization officers in the city who have received special training.
Nunez recognized two officers, Det. Evan Flynn and Officer DeAngelo Gossett for their work at Monday’s meeting for using their specialized training to mitigate drunk driving in the city.
“It’s an honorable thing to do,” said Nunez.
ayor Mark Chirco, left, Officer DeAngelo Gossett, center and Interim Chief of Police Eric R. Nunez.
DeAngelo graduated at the top of his class from the Goldenwest Police Academy in 2012. He distinguished himself at the Signal Hill Police Department as a training officer, instructor and was awarded for preventing a suicide, among other accomplishments.
He joined the Los Al Police Department in 2018, the interim chief said. “We were lucky to hire him,” said Nunez. DeAngelo remains a field instructor, patrol officer and is a member of the West County Regional SWAT team.
“I would just like to thank Los Alamitos for the opportunity to transfer over here and be close to my family, spend more time with them and protect the citizens of this city,” said DeAngelo.
Flynn is also a graduate of Goldenwest Police Academy and joined the Los Alamitos Police Department in 2019, said Nunez.
He said Flynn was recently promoted to Detective and is also responsible for the training of the city’s newly hired police officers.
Even during the pandemic, said Nunez, both offices managed to arrest more than 20 DUI suspects as he congratulated both men and presented them with their MADD Awards.
“Like my colleague said, thank you to the great citizens of our lovely department. A lot of officers are struggling to find reason in the job,” said Flynn, “but I’m actually really happy that I work for Los Alamitos.”
He said the city provides administrative staff that “truly supports us in all of our endeavors. I love the job,” said Flynn, adding that the Los Al approach is like a “breath of fresh.”
“I just wanted to chime in and say that we, the city council, city staff and our residents, really appreciate the great work you do in terms of drunk driving,” said Mayor Mark Chirco. “Your work saves lives,” he said.
“When I talk to our residents about what makes Los Alamitos great,” the mayor said, “they always bring up the police department.”
“You guys and ladies are rock stars out there and we really appreciate everything you do.”
It had been 20 years since the traditional 5K/10K race in Los Alamitos had run on the streets of the city. Now they are back, and no better venue to feature them in than the City’s Race Los Al and Street Fair which took place on September 17-18.
Mayor Mark Chirco Courtesy photo
The 2-day event had a little something for everyone and for folks of all ages including a Friday night Glow in the Dark kids race, and glow-themed costume contest, a 5K-10K race Saturday morning, an eclectic spread of vendors and foodie tents, a fun zone and a mainstage that cycled a constant showcase of local and professional music and dance acts throughout the day Saturday.
4Lads from Liverpool.
Culminating with the musically solid Beatle tribute band 4Lads from Liverpool that conjured up as many of the Fab Four’s iconic songs as their two hour set would allow. Highlights of the 2-day event were captured by Los Al TV’s John Underwood and can be viewed on local cable Channel 3 daily at 5pm and at 8pm. The program can be viewed online at losaltv.org, or streamed on the new Our Los Al TV app downloaded through the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV app stores.
The family of a decorated World War II veteran from Cypress said this week that former Army Specialist Robert G. Yerian, who passed away at the age of 97, will be laid to rest November 11 in the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego.
Tim Yerian, of Cypress, who has lived in Cypress for nearly 50 years with his wife Dodie, said his dad came to live with them in 2016.
A decorated veteran.
Yerian said his father was a proud U.S. Army veteran who served gallantly during World War II in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Bob Yerian was a technician in the Army’s 105th Evacuation Hospital Unit, and their duty was to build field hospitals near combat zones and to treat the injured.
Yerian received the Good Conduct Medal (Medal of Fidelity) for his outstanding work building the hospitals and was awarded a Bronze Star by order of the U.S. President.
“He [Yerian] performed his duty in a highly commendable manner. His ability, initiative, cooperative spirit and devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces,” said the citation awarding him the Bronze Star.
Yerian served from May 5, 1943, until his Honorable Discharge on March 2, 1946.
After the war, Yerian began an illustrious career in the horse racing industry. Yerian began by taking four horses to Hialeah Park in Florida, where his brother Ray was the starter, then ran horses in Ohio and Florida at Beulah Park, where his brother John was plant Superintendent.
Yerian made it back to California in 1950 after landing a job at Santa Anita Race Track driving a team of four Belgian horses that set and moved the starting gate.
Eventually, Yerian was named assistant starter at Santa Anita and since there was no racing on Sundays in California, he and his brother traveled to the track in Tijuana, Mexico to run the starting gate there.
His son said that during his career, Bob Yerian handled the legendary racehorse Citation, of Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Citation won the triple crown in 1948, became a record-breaking stud and in 1959 was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame
The family said he retired from racing as head starter at Santa Anita in 1986 and spent most of his days thereafter watching horse racing on television and staying involved in the sport.
During the pandemic, Yerian spoke out against a city proposal to install a waste transfer station in the city yard near the Yerian home. Afterwards, he spoke out to thank the city
for not moving forward with the project.
Bob was the youngest of 11 children, six brothers and four sisters. He had 3 children; Jeff Yerian, Timothy Yerian and Robin Yerian, and two Grandchildren; Travis and Blake Yerian.
Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Nov. 10 at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego with a reception to follow at 11 a.m. at Miguel’s Restaurant in Carlsbad.
A Malibu law firm responsible for forcing compliance with the California Voting Rights Act in several Orange County cities said this week that his firm has notified the City of Cypress via written correspondence that their at-large system of electing council members is in violation of state law.
Attorney Kevin Shenkman said in a phone interview that with its recent actions, the city of Cypress should have reasonably suspected this would be a likely outcome and the law firm has given the city a period of 45 days to voluntarily consider creating single-member districts.
His firm, Shenkman and Hughes, PC, has successfully challenged many communities that have transitioned to single member districts, including Los Alamitos, Fullerton, Palmdale, Garden Grove, Stanton and others.
Currently, the city elects its five-member Council at-large, meaning any qualified resident can run for any of the five seats, regardless of where they geographically live in the city.
Single-member districting is when a variety of factors are used to draw district lines that then allow only candidates from within that specific geographic area to represent each district drawn.
In a letter to the City of Cypress dated Sept. 17 that Shenkman shared with the ENE, the attorney states “voting within the City is racially polarized, resulting in minority vote dilution, and, therefore, the City’s at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (“CVRA”).”
“The CVRA disfavors the use of so-called ·’at-large’’ voting – an election method that permits voters of an entire jurisdiction to elect candidates to each open seat,” said Shenkman in the four-page letter, “because they often result in vote dilution.”
“The (Cypress) City Council’s recent difficulty with adopting even a resolution acknowledging the Asian American community and encouraging their participation in the City, and then its blanket refusal to show support for another minority community (LGBTQ), is also telling,” said Shenkman’s letter.
“The mayor’s (Jon Peat’s) remark – “I don’t believe it is our responsibility to ensure access and success to any particular group” – demonstrates the unresponsiveness to minority communities that atlarge elections are known to cause, he notes, citing the specific legal reference in his letter.
“Ms. (Carrie) Katsumata Hayashida was passed over for an applicant who the council thought would work more cooperatively with the council majority and city staff,” the law firm claims.
Ironically, the candidate selected by the Council’s own recent process to fill the seat vacated by Stacy Berry, Scott Minikus, was sworn in this week at the Council’s regular meeting.
“[T]he majority, by virtue of its numerical superiority, will regularly defeat the choices of minority voters,” the letter continued. “When racially polarized voting occurs, dividing the political unit into single-member districts, or some other appropriate remedy, may facilitate a minority group’s ability to elect its preferred representatives,” the letter stated.
Several community members were disappointed when the Council refused to consider appointing former candidate Carrie Katsumata Hayashida to Berry’s open seat.
Even though she was not elected, they believed she had finished so far ahead of the other candidates in the 2020 race and deserved the seat.
“Despite significant support from Asian American voters, she (Hayashida) still lost her bid for a seat on the Cypress City Council. She came in third in a race for two seats, and yet when a council vacancy was filled less than a year after that election, Ms. Katsumata Hayashida was passed over for an applicant who the council thought would work more cooperatively with the council majority and city staff,” the letter continued.
Shenkman’s letter also included specific legal references to his various citations. His letter to the city was on behalf of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.
“Based upon recent data from the American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Department, Asians comprise 35.2% of the City’s population of 49,006. The current complete absence of Asian representation on the City’s governing board is revealing,” claims Shenkman’s letter.
The ENE has reached out to the city of Cypress and Mayor Peat for comment.
Peter Grant, Cypress City Manager, said the city has not received the correspondence and that it “has no comment.”
ENE will report the city’s comment whenever offered.
The attorney’s letter also cites examples of communities wasting “millions” of dollars fighting in court, suggesting his firm has never lost a case of this type and predicts they won’t lose this one, if tested.
To establish a CVRA violation, Shenkman said “a plaintiff must generally show that racially polarized voting occurs in elections for members of the governing body of the political subdivision or in elections incorporating other electoral choices by the voters of the political subdivision.”
“Given the racially polarized elections for Cypress’ city council elections, we urge the city to voluntarily change its at-large system of electing its city council. Otherwise, on behalf of residents within the jurisdiction, we will be forced to seek judicial relief,” said Shenkman in the correspondence.
“Please advise us no later than November 7, 2021 as to whether you would like to discuss a voluntary change to your at-large system,” it concluded.
At its Sept. 14 meeting, the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education adopted a one-page document outlining its Goals & Core Values for the 2021-22 year.
It was developed from discussions at an annual summertime workshop attended by board members. The district’s nine campuses across Rossmoor, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach have been open for full-time in-person instruction for weeks.
During last week’s meeting, Supt. Dr. Andrew Pulver mentioned that part of the motivation of this year’s effort was to communicate what the district stands for, especially in light of societal events that may prompt people to look to boards or organizations to make a statement.
“…I know the board has tried to stay out of politics as much as they can at times, but we also thought it would be really important as a board, and as a district to identify some of our core values,” Pulver stated and added, “What do we stand for as a district?”
Los Al Unified has identified five top goals. They are:
#1 “Passionately pursue academic excellence from all students by providing unparalleled preparation for College and Career Success.”
#2 “Cultivate a thriving culture that ensures a caring, inclusive, equitable, safe and student-centered environment.”
#3 “Foster collaborative relationships and partnerships with students, families, staff and the community.”
#4 “Provide high quality facilities to meet the educational and instructional needs of students and staff.”
#5 “Manage and allocate financial resources to maximize students’ educational experiences.”
The core values are:
“Care: We foster a culture of kindness where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and individuals seek to understand each point of view.”
“Responsibility: We hold ourselves responsible for consistently maintaining a clear focus on our goals and serving the needs of our students and families.”
“Equity: We meet the needs of all students through systems, structures, and opportunities that promote success and value similarities and differences of all individuals.”
“Commitment: We are committed to student success where students, parents, staff, and the community are supported through collaboration, reflection, and a focus on continuous improvement.”
Before the unanimous vote adopting the goals and values, board members shared their perspectives.
Megan Cutuli, first elected in 2000, zeroed in on the phrase “ensure every student” that appears in two subsections in the goals. Under Goal #1 it states: “Ensure every student meets or exceeds grade-level/content standards” in addition to other metrics. Under Goal #2 it reads: “Ensure every student is connected to school through academics, athletics, activities, and the arts.”
“I remember when we first used the word ‘every’ in front of students. And we were one of the first school districts in Orange County to boldly say that we want every student to truly succeed. And, yes, that’s a goal that’s way up there but I think that’s the goal we really need,” Cutuli said.
Trustee and Vice President Diana Hill commented on equity as one of the district’s core values. She noted that sometimes in today’s society the words “equity” and “equality” can be interpreted in different ways.
“I just really remember from the beginning of my time in this district and on this board that we always talked about that equity was equal access; was open and equal access to all students. And I think that it’s a great example of understanding that all of our students don’t come in at the same place or with the same resources … and some have different challenges than others and it’s really giving the students the access and the tools to be able to achieve their very best,” Hill said.
She brought up the new free tutoring now available to Los Alamitos High School students as an example.
“I feel like this really says that what we put down we intend to do,” Board President Marlys Davidson said and likened the goals to a contract. She said the district is already fulfilling some goals with targeted intervention to help stem learning loss and the increase of mental health counselors on campus and establishment of WellSpaces.
Davidson noted that she sees Goal #3, collaborating with the community, as a future focus area.
“I believe that’s where we need to keep going now, especially with technology, engineering, robotics and all of that. We really need to connect with the community and get the kids out there,” she said.
In other Board of Education news:
At-home COVID-19 testing kits are now available at Los Al Unified’s nine schools for students who are deemed a “close contact” with an infected person on campus and are opting to do the modified quarantine that allows them to continue to attend classes if they commit to testing and other guidelines. Families can contact the school nurse to get the saliva test. The test can be dropped back off at school to be sent to the lab for results. The tests are being provided by the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Students at Los Alamitos High School have multiple options for free tutoring and instructional support this year, Dr. Pulver explained in his Superintendent’s report. He said this effort is in response to parent’s requests in surveys. He estimated it’s costing about $150,000 in an ongoing commitment.
This is being offered before and after school. “No appointment necessary, students can just walk right in,” Pulver said.
High school students can also access free 24/7 online tutoring and academic support with credentialed teachers from the company Paper. The service also includes feedback on student essays and writing. Students can connect at mylosal.losal.org.
The district is launching a new Wellness Initiative as part of its heightened focus on student and staff wellbeing, explained Board President Davidson in her report.
“The purpose of this initiative is to address the social emotional well-being of all students, staff and families by providing resources, strategies and tools for mental health that can be incorporated into our daily lives,” Davidson said
Parents can expect to receive a monthly newsletter from district counselors sharing resources and strategies based on a monthly theme. September’s theme is “Wellness.” Students are being sent home with a bookmark that illustrates a breathing exercise that can be done by tracing the outline of a hand. Staff are taking part in Wellness Bingo to promote activities like stretching, spending time in nature and taking a break from social media.
For more local education news, sign up for the Spotlight Schools newsletter at spotlightschools.tinynewsco.org or follow us on Instagram @SpotlightSchools.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today recognized 325 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021.
The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Secretary Cardona will make the announcement during his Return to School Road Trip, where he will visit an awardee school, Walter R. Sundling Jr. High School, in Palatine, Illinois.
“This year’s cohort of honorees demonstrates what is possible when committed educators and school leaders create vibrant, welcoming, and affirming school cultures where rich teaching and learning can flourish,” said Secretary Cardona.
The local area schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:
• La Palma – Los Coyotes Elementary School, Centralia Elementary School District.
• Los Alamitos – Los Alamitos Elementary School, Los Alamitos Unified School District.
• Los Alamitos – Richard Henry Lee Elementary School, Los Alamitos Unified School District.
“I commend this school and all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children. Blue Ribbon Schools have so much to offer and can serve as a model for other schools and communities so that we can truly build back better.”
The coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. Now in its 39th year, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed approximately 10,000 awards to more than 9,000 schools.
The Education Department recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:
• Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
• Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.
Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. The Department invites National Blue Ribbon Schools nominations from the top education official in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Private schools are nominated by the Council for American Private Education.
First time film director Paul James (Houghton) stepped into the glare of a public spotlight and onto a big stage this past Sunday as his long-awaited short film finally made its worldwide debut.
James put Seal Beach on the silver screen as his movie “From Under the Bridge,” was shown among other short films at the former Grauman’s Chinese Theater, perhaps Tinsel Town’s most celebrated motion picture venue.
“It was an amazing night,” said James, for whom it was indeed a red-carpet evening.
While the Hollywood lights shone brightly outside the theater, inside the mood was a bit darker as the public got its first look at the local director’s dramatic look at the sad realities of virtual bullying.
“Bullying has become possible from anywhere in the world, with far more anonymity than ever, while the absence of accountability and responsibility soars. We must all recognize this massive problem and ‘be the change,’” said James.
His tragic, yet eye-opening look at cyber bullying received an enthusiastic response from the public and has in just two weeks landed James numerous film festival awards, including being named “Best Short Film” at the “Dances with Films” festival, where his short movie made its world premiere.
“I am utterly overjoyed, and my heart is full,” said James.
“But with the win, we also remember our inspiration, Megan Meire,” he added.
Meier took her own life in 2006, just three weeks prior to her 14th birthday after being pelted by unrelenting cyberbullying attacks.
James, who now lives and works in Seal Beach, grew up north of London in the United
Kingdom. He developed a passion for film, theater and writing as a young child, and performed in numerous productions in school.
James said he is educated in Performing Arts and his favorite performance in a production role was as the Artful Dodger in Oliver.
James speaking after screening the film at the Dances with Films festival, where his film was named “Best Short Film.”
After receiving a writing scholarship from TCI Cable, he focused on creative writing and design in college.
He came to the United States in 1992 and although James is new to directing, he is no stranger to dramatic works, especially scriptwriter.
In fact, James sold his first script (romantic comedy) to a major studio in 2006. James also wrote and produced an award-winning short film called ‘Skill Crane.’
His initial entertainment success (selling a script) produced for him the financial wherewithal to facilitate a career transition from corporate automotive design executive in Michigan to his dream pursuit, the founder of a film studio.
Of course, there were many stops and circumstances along the way, but James said he moved to California and then, four years ago, he was finally able to relocate to Seal Beach. “The first time I saw Seal Beach I loved it,” he said.
Ironically, James now lives on Electric Avenue and his Dreamotion Studios are located nearby.
James said he began to develop the short film “From Under the Bridge: When Bullies Become Trolls” when the pandemic brought everything to a halt in 2020. He said when the lockdown slowed other projects, the respite gave him time to develop an idea he had more than a decade ago after Meire’s tragic death.
“So, I’d heard about the story back in 2006,” said James. After reaching out to Tina Meire, Megan’s mom, “I spent three days with her,” said James.
“We really connected,” he said. Mrs. Meire is now the founder of the Megan Meire Foundation (meganmeirefoundation.org). She agreed to work with James on making the film.
“Okay, we’re going to do this film,” James said to himself. “I’ve got time on my hands, and that’s where it all started,” he said.
Bullying, especially cyber bullying is on the rise, said James, “seriously affecting, damaging and destroying lives.” And, he said, with nearly 5 billion people on the internet, “the stage, platforms, opportunities and techniques for cyber-bullying are dramatically and continuously expanding.”
James’ film weaves together a tragic tale illustrating how easy it is to hide behind a virtual identity to anonymously bully targets. His cast of characters neatly creates a small microcosm of modern society, demonstrating how remarkably easy it is to bully others, and how deadly the consequences can be when we overlook, sometimes knowingly, the need to step in and help.
His film erupts into tragedy when Megan’s bullies use a virtual profile to lure the troubled teen to a park, promising an ideal relationship only to discover two private school bullies, in the flesh, mercilessly shredding her ego.
James with Producer Connie Jo Sechrist.
According to the film’s description, it is about “a lonely high school girl escapes depression and her bullies when she meets the perfect boy online, but is he too good to be true? A shocking and powerful multi-faceted bullying, cyberbullying and suicide awareness story you won’t believe that is based on real events.”
“Sadly,” says James, “cyber-bullying is a powerful relative trend, growing at a frightening pace.” Moreover, said James, “bullying has become possible from anywhere in the world, with far more anonymity than ever.”
One of the film’s most pivotal scenes was shot on a greenbelt bench, and as reported earlier by the Sun, Seal Beach Mayor Joe Kalmick assisted James in obtaining the permits to film locally.
James said he was truly humbled by the support he received from businesses and other supporters in town.
“I wanted to film everything in Seal Beach,” said James, who lives here with his two daughters. Seal Beach residents could easily identify many scenes of their community in the film, as almost every exterior scene has some identifiable link to the city.
Upcoming actress Piper Reese (Modern Family) plays Megan’s character (Clare Taylor), as Luc Clopton (Disney’s Little Mermaid) plays the role of the lead bully (Kyle Badger). Sara Wolkkind (Love All You Have Left) plays the female bully.
In one of the film’s starker scenes, shot in O’Malley’s on Main Street, Chris Cimperman (Novel Love), a bartender, confronts his wayward younger (bully) brother, Kyle, in a dramatic example of tough brotherly love.
James said it alludes to a secondary point about bullying made by the film.
He said the brothers share an abusive father, which according to the director, illustrates that in many cases, those being relentlessly abused and bullied by others to themselves lash out at someone else.
“Bullies are often victims of abuse,” said James.
Sean Byrne, the general manager at O’Malley’s, said in a brief interview that because he supports the purpose behind the film, he was thrilled to allow James’ to film in the Main Street pub. James said many merchants and supporters in the Seal Beach community also pitched in.
Like daddy, like daughter. James’ oldest daughter London watches her dad direct on the Seal Beach greenbelt during the making of the film. Courtey photo
To fund the film, James said he put in some of his own money, found some local investors and also ran a Seed&Spark (storytelling crowdfunding site) campaign and quickly reached his goaThe Emmy nominated producer and actress said she applied only for a position of COVID regulator (now required on all film sets), but it was James that researched her and offered her the pivotal production role.
“This is an amazing and powerful film,” said Sechrist, “and I hope it touches at least one person and changes many lives.”
Already, other awards are rolling in from various film festivals, including the Los Angeles Film Awards, where James’ was selected as Best Director along with the Best Original Story award. Others in the film also won, including Best Actor (Luc Clopton) and Best Song (I Can’t Hold On).
The film’s hauntingly beautiful music was created by Justin Busch and Heidi Merrill. Merrill’s heartfelt vocal performance of “I Can’t Hold On,” which prepares viewers to the film’s tragic ending, has reportedly been already nominated for Grammy consideration, said James.
James said he later learned that a major studio executive was in the audience at the world premiere, and Dreamotion is already in negotiations to expand the short into a feature length film. “That is very good news,” he said.
James is also working with a major television network developing a new dramatic series and his company has also been green lighted for development of a road race/rage film in England, he said.
While the future is promising, James is most happy that his “Bridge” make bring some awareness to the world about bullying.
“This is such an important message about bullying and protecting children, and to understand that bullying can lead to much worse things like suicide,” said James in accepting the Best Short Film award.
“Bringing awareness is what we really wanted to do so thank you all,” he said.
The Cypress Chamber of Commerce, in association with the City of Cypress, is bringing together members of the business community, residents, educators, numerous city leaders and other friends of the city who will gather for the annual State of the City event on Wednesday Oct. 6. For 2021, the usual formal luncheon event has been reimagined as an outdoor evening mixer event on the Cypress Civic Center Green.
The main event will feature a keynote address by Cypress Mayor Jon Peat highlighting some of the city’s accomplishments for the past year and plans for future initiatives. The State of the City gathering will run from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. Attendees must pre-register on the Cypress Chamber of Commerce website in advance. Space will be limited due to Covid so no walk-ups will be accepted. Admission for the event is $50 – but if you hurry and register before September 22nd the price is $39.
Also planned for this year’s State of the City mixer event are appetizers and drinks provided by local vendors, as well as live music for the networking portion of the program.
This will be a great opportunity to meet and network with city officials and key members of the business community on an outdoor evening in a safe setting, following all current protocols.
Special events like the State of the City are not possible without the help of our partners. The sponsors and supporters for the 2021 State of the City include SoCalGas, Forest Lawn of Cypress, Westmont of Cypress, Kinetic Mortgage, Valley Vista Services, Country Garden Caterers, Cypress High School Culinary Arts, Dominic’s of Cypress and Celebrations! among others.
To register, visit the Chamber website at https://www.cypresschamber.org/events/details/state-of-the-city-social-mixer-2405
The Alpert Jewish Community Center (AJCC) is open for business, committed to safety, and wants to be “Your Center For Life!” To celebrate, this iconic Long Beach-area agency will be welcoming the entire community to a “FREE day at the J” on Sunday, October 3 from 9am-3pm. The event is open to all.
Those who attend can take part in FREE fitness classes, open swim, tours of the facilities, youth activities on the early childhood education playground, and more.
“We want the community to know that we are open and eager to safely provide activities and engagement for the whole family at any age and ability level,” said Shlomit Jackson, the Center’s Membership Director. “We are open to the entire community and encourage everyone to come check us out.”
The Alpert JCC houses a pre-school and after-school enrichment for children, a comprehensive fitness center, an aquatics center, and other programs and services for families, children, adults, and seniors. They offer personal training, multiple exercise classes including spinning, Zumba, aqua aerobics, and more, as well as youth and family programs and Jewish life and culture programs. Corporate Membership and Community Partnership Programs are available.
Centrally located in Long Beach, the Alpert JCC is situated conveniently off the 405 freeway near the Willow and Lakewood intersection.
The Alpert JCC is offering discounts exclusively to anyone who signs up for membership at the Open House. They will waive the registration fee ($150.00) and discount annual memberships by 25%.
“We’ll also have a prize wheel that people can spin to collect coupons for future activities,” Jackson said.
For more information and to RSVP, visit: https://alpertjcc.org/event/open-house/.
The Alpert JCC and Jewish Long Beach provide programming for all ages and stages of life. Known as “Your Center for Life,” The Alpert JCC provides a gathering space in which all are welcome to pursue early childhood education, after-school programs, fitness programs, aquatics activities, and summer camp, as well as to engage in Jewish life, culture, and education.
Courtesy photo
A super large crowd turned up in Rush Park in Rossmoor Sunday for its 20th Anniversary tribute to 9/11 and to hear Gregg Young and the 2nd Street Band. This enthusiastic couple decided to dance away as the event was the Rossmoor community’s last event of the summer.
The Youth Center’s Camp SHARK program recently partnered with Orange County Health Department to provide a fun Carnival Day to celebrate a summer of being active and to educate young campers on the importance of staying safe, healthy, active and drug free.
For the last year and a half, the Youth Center has worked tirelessly to keep kids safe and COVID-free with the help of several partnerships, including the OC Health Department. Early in 2020, The Youth Center opened their doors with free childcare for essential workers. A year and a half later, they are serving more children and keeping kids safe, thanks to partnerships like the one they have with OC Health Department.
Recently, the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce partnered with Pavilions in Seal Beach to provide more than 100 containers of sanitizing wipes for The Youth Center.
“It is incredibly powerful when groups come together to support kids,” said Lina Lumme, Executive Director of The Youth Center. “We often say ‘Together we make a difference’ and that is never more true than when one or more local groups join us to help give even more to our kids,” she concluded.
Another way OC Health Department is pairing up with The Youth Center is by providing Parent Education Nights – one-hour workshops designed to help parents navigate their kids through some of today’s most difficult challenges. Upcoming workshops take place from 6:30pm – 7:30pm:
• Parenting in Today’s Society – October 6, 2021
• Got Assets? – December 8, 2021
• Marijuana and Vaping – February 9, 2022
For more information about these workshops, contact The Youth Center at 562-493-4043.
The Youth Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to transform children’s lives one family at a time through collaborative social, educational and recreational programs. Since the birth of The Youth Center in 1952, The Youth Center has been honored to establish valuable partnerships within the community and acknowledges their critical importance in the organization’s current and future success. For additional information on The Youth Center, please call (562) 493-4043 or visit www.TheYouthCenter.org.
Last year, Orange County saw a 35% increase in hate crimes compared with 2019, including an 1,800% jump in incidents targeting Asians as the COVID-19 pandemic that officials say originated in China dragged on, according to the OC Human Relations Commission’s annual report.
The county logged 112 hate crimes in the county. The commission reported that hate crimes have been “steadily” rising in the county, with the most substantial jump between 2016 to last year, the agency said in a press release.
According to the release, the commission reported a 69% jump in hate incidents in 2020. Hate incidents are defined as moments of some sort of bigotry that falls short of a legal hate crime.
Of the 263 recorded incidents, there was a 114% increase in antisemitic incidents, 1,800% jump in incidents targeting those of Asian descent and a 23% increase in anti-Black incidents.
The commission said the most common hate crime was directed at Blacks, 27%, followed by antisemitic crimes, 11%, and 8% directed at Latinos. Those three groups accounted for 46% of the reported hate crimes.
The hate crimes in 2020 were directed at a victim’s race, ethnicity or national origin 68% of the time, with 21% motivated by religious intolerance and 11% of the time it was motivated by bigotry toward sexual orientation.
• There were seven anti-Asian hate crimes and 76 hate incidents last year. That amounts to a 40% increase in hate crimes.
• Four hate crimes targeted Buddhists last year with none in 2019.
• Six of the hate crimes were anti-Arab last year with none in 2019.
• Ninety-four of the hate incidents were antisemitic and a dozen of the hate crimes targeted Jews.
Examples included someone hollering “(Expletive) Chinese. Coronavirus” at an Asian family near a gas station. A black woman’s neighbor calling her the “n-word” while making a gesture with his hand indicating a gun.
At a protest stemming from the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota one man bellowed
“White power, (expletive) Black lives,” and added, “Come to my neighborhood and I will show you what white boys are about” while also calling out racial epithets and hanging a Trump flag out of his window, according to the commission.
The commission also noted a Twitter video featuring a rap about how the poster wanted to beat immigrants with wooden boards and put their heads on sticks.
A transgender woman was accosted with “you transvestite, I wish you die, people like you shouldn’t live,” according to the commission.Last year, as anti-Asian bigotry and xenophobia was on the rise, the commission launched a “To Know Better” campaign that included a multimedia campaign contest to raise awareness among middle and high school students, which drew 100 submissions.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office received reports of 30 hate crimes, filing charges in 18 cases. Four of the cases were rejected and eight needed further investigation.
The office of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said the office has created a new hate crimes unit.
Orange County Board Chairman Andrew Do said, “Anti-Asian hate crimes are an affront to all of us as Americans. The tools created by the Board of Supervisors will allow Orange County to tackle this issue head-on, to send a loud message to the racists that we will not tolerate their bigotry.”
A new Interpretive Center is coming to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, off of Warner Avenue, near Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. The first phase of the project, which begins in September, will be demolishing old storage sheds (on the west end of the property) to make room for a new Bolsa Chica Conservancy Administrative Building that will be brought in this October, according to Conservancy President/CEO Patrick Brenden.The new building also will provide two public restrooms and storage space for field equipment.
In early November, the existing Interpretive Center Building will be removed with a new structure delivered by the end of the year. New exhibits will be installed in January, with a Grand Opening in February. The project is being funded by the State of California, through a grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board, made possible by the passage of Proposition 68 in 2018.
Weikko Wirta, Conservancy Chairman, said: “This will allow the public enhanced access to the wetlands. With new displays and exhibits, elements of the wetlands that might be missed or not accessible are brought directly to our visitors. This has been a long-awaited update and the staff and board can’t wait to bring it to our guests.”
Phil Smith, founding member & former Executive Director and current Secretary of the Conservancy Board of Directors, said the Conservancy “supports the ecologically sensitive tidal marsh with hands-on service and STEAM-focused educational programs for adults and children. The long awaited and much-needed renovation of the interpretive center will make the Conservancy’s message and mission even more effective. Wait till you see it!”
“After more than 30 years, the Conservancy Board is very excited to have brand new homes for our interpretive center and offices for our hardworking staff!” said former Huntington Beach Mayor and current Board Member Keith Bohr.
For more information about the Conservancy and their many programs, please visit www.bolsachica.org. or call: 714-846-1114.
Not since Woody Allen’s cinematic love affair with New York has that fascinating city been captured with such adoration as director Jonah Feingold’s “Dating & New York,” his cinematic debut. The opening credits, an artist’s palette of vibrant pastel colors, depict sketches of a variety of familiar scenes from a doorman standing in front of a building to the glittering night skyline.
The visuals are accompanied by an upbeat soundtrack by Grant Fonda who incorporates a variety of musical instruments, including violins, piano, and a chorus of singers. The narrator’s voiceover by Jerry Ferrera begins with “Once upon a time” so, we know we are about to experience a modern-day fairytale meticulously captured by cinematographer Maria Rusche who, working with the director and Motion Graphics Artist Gustavo Rosa, infuses the film with glorious sometimes spot lighting gifting the audience with the colorful eye-candy, storybook opening.
Let me say at the beginning, that some of the ideas in this film are derivative from such works as “Friends With Benefits,” or “When Harry Met Sally.” That said, there is always room for a new twist on an old subject – the subject being the challenges of dating which are specific to the four primary millennial characters inhabiting Feingold’s well-written script.
Wendy, played by a remarkable Francesca Reale is trolling dating sites to meet someone. It is there that she meets Milo, brilliantly played by Jaboukie Young-White, whose performance will occasionally tug at your heartstrings. He and Wendy meet at a bar “Where you won’t run into an “X.” It seems they like each other and he tells her she’s perfect.
In between conversation, they both check their phones for messages. He kisses her and romantic music soars. They wind up at his apartment, but neither one seems real interested in getting together again or in the present vernacular – they ghost each other. Hank is Milo’s best friend and is well played by Brian Muller. He works for J.P. Morgan and appears to be more grounded than his pal. Hank spots a young woman sitting at the bar and tells Milo “I’m going to marry her.”
There’s a very funny scene where she comes over demanding to know why he aimed a finger at her. Turns out Olivia (Taylor Hill) is visiting from Texas and points out “I don’t have a top lip” and that she has a boyfriend. Anyway, Hank meets Wendy’s best friend Jessie, nicely played by Catherine Cohen and in short order they become a committed couple.
One of the most delightful moments in the film is a cameo role in which Sondra James plays a real estate broker showing Hank and Jessie an apartment. She can’t be more than 4’9” and is adorable especially in the three-way hug after Hank agrees to take the apartment where he asks Jessie to move in with him. In the meantime, Milo and Wendy reconnect on the “Meet Cute” dating app and pick a meeting spot at a diner equidistant from the “F” train. Anyway, they decide they really like each other but don’t want it to be exclusive so they create a “Best Friends With Benefits” contract, outlining the parameters of their relationship.
He wants cuddling and words like “I love you” cannot be used carelessly. They are best buddies who spend a lot of time hanging out together sharing their daily experiences and all seems to be going well. He sends her articles and they discuss Instagram. The doorman in Milo’s building is Cole played by the film’s narrator Jerry Ferrara. He is a good friend to Milo and asks the non-exclusive couple what would happen “If one of you catches feelings.” The two protagonists discuss dating stories with each other and soon Milo is not thrilled that she sees other men.
He does a one-upmanship by bedding his neighbor Katie (Sohina Sidhu) from Apartment 7F who doesn’t want to see him again while Wendy has a date with a guy who lied about his height, confessing “I’m slightly smaller than I said.” In the meantime, Milo is falling in love with Wendy and he proposes that they be exclusive. Well, that’s the kiss of death for Wendy who is definitely commitment phobic so with violin music playing, they stop seeing each other.
Wendy gets involved with handsome Trent (Alex Moffat) who has an apartment in Tribeca and is equally commitment phobic suggesting that they slow down and take a break. In the meantime, Milo is on a train heading downtown to a John Mayer concert with yet another date who, while holding onto to the pole, tells him “I don’t see a future with us” and gets off at the next stop. It’s now time for Hank and Jessie’s wedding where Milo and Wendy will see each other for the first time in a while.
They are both disappointed in their dating experiences and eventually confess that they miss each other and want to resume their relationship and make it exclusive. Introduced at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, you’ll have to watch the movie to see how their relationship plays out.
Throughout the film, the director sets his characters in familiar New York City landmarks with a profusion of colors accenting such places as subway stations, the Staten Island Ferry, and of course the iconic Central Park.
Now less than a month away, the Pacific Airshow has announced its final lineup of performers in the reconstituted 2021 event, according to its website.The long running
Huntington Beach airshow had become one of the most popular such shows in the USA before COVID-19 prompted a pause in all public events in 2020.
The event is scheduled to take off October 1-3, with the aerial performances occurring over the Pacific as fans line the beaches to witness the spectacle. According to spokesperson Barbara Caruso, this year’s event will feature top aerial acts from both military and private entities, including the following:
• The U.S. Navy Blue Angels
• The Canadian Forces Snowbirds
• U.S. Army Golden Knights
• U.S. Navy Leap Frogs
• U.S. Air Force ACC F-35A Demo Team
• U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight
• U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey Demo Team
• U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler Legacy Team
• U.S. Navy F35C Demo Team
• Red Bull Air Force (Kirby Chambliss and Aaron Fitzgerald) & Wingsuit Jump Team
• Michael Goulian (Goulian Aerosports)
• Mike Wiskus (Lucas Oil Airshows)
• Jeff Boerboom (YAK 110)
• Rob Holland (Ultimate Airshows)
• Greg Colyer (Ace Maker Airshows)
• Fedex 757
• Lyon Air Museum B-25 Guardian of Freedom
• Orbis Flying Eye Museum
• Orange County Fire Authority
As if the thrill of aviation firsts, supersonic jets and world-class aerobatics aren’t enough, Pacific Airshow is taking the annual beachfront event even higher with the addition of the two-night Afterburner Music Festival, the first live music event to take place on Huntington City Beach since 2013,said Caruso through a press release.
The official After Party of Pacific Airshow, the festival will take place October 1 and 2 with an array of musical acts including Sammy Hagar & The Circle, Sam Hunt and X Ambassadors, the airshow has announced.
For more information, visit www.pacificairshow.com.
This week, voters cast ballots in the recall election against California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Now, we’re learning of a nascent effort to recall three members of the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education.
Board members Megan Cutuli, Scott Fayette, and Chris Forehan could be served with a notice of an intention to gather signatures to launch a recall as early as this month, according to the self-described face of the effort, Robert Aguilar, Jr. He’s a parent in the district who ran unsuccessfully for the school board in 2016 but said he will not run again.
The goal is to get the recall on the November 2022 midterm ballot.
“We’re not being vindictive,” Aguilar said in a recent interview. “We just need somebody to do something for our kids and this is the only way legally we know to do that.”
Several steps must be taken before Los Al Unified voters would even see a recall ballot. That includes the collection of a total of roughly 6,000 verified signatures from registered voters across the three targeted trustee areas in the district. The signatures must be gathered within 90 days of recall petition notices being served to board members, according to a handbook from the Orange County Registrar of Voters office.
If it makes it to the ballot, the Los Alamitos Unified School District would have to pay for the election, according to the Registrar’s office. The bill would be sent to Superintendent Dr. Andrew Pulver.
Aguilar said he is supported by a dozen or so mostly conservative groups and parents throughout the Seal Beach, Rossmoor and Los Alamitos community. Fueling them are topics that have stirred up passionate public comments from opponents and supporters at board meetings for the past year.
That includes the board’s enforcement of California’s indoor mask mandate for students at TK-12 schools, the district’s adoption of an ethnic studies elective at the request of students at Los Alamitos High School, and the approval of social justice standards meant to help staff address incidents of intolerance on its nine campuses.
The president of the West Orange County Republican Women Federated is one of the recall backers. In an interview on Monday, Nancy Hathcock said, “We will support the efforts to recall the Los Alamitos School Board.”
Aguilar said he’s confident they can trigger a recall. “We have the support and several thousand signatures confirmed,” he said.
Originally, Board President Marlys Davidson and Vice President Diana Hill were to be included in the recall. But both are up for re-election in 2022 and election rules state an officer whose term ends within six months cannot be recalled.
In a statement, Board President Davidson said she was frustrated by the possibility of a recall but said the district’s focus continues to be on students. She cited the district’s recent hiring of more staff to support students’ mental health and the opening of WellSpaces on secondary campuses.
“Along with Supt. Dr. Andrew Pulver and his team, this Board is committed to our children, schools, staff and community. The recall effort will not divert our attention from the important work ahead,” Davidson wrote.
In an interview on Monday, Vice President Hill said she believes in the democratic process and the right for people to pursue a recall, but said it’s a little confusing to her that this would happen.
“I don’t feel like we have been negligent in our duty and our responsibility and, in fact, it’s the opposite. I think that this board has been true to putting students first and listening to all aspects of issues from the community and then finding that central lane,” she said. “I believe that this is a really well-balanced, well-intended, and well-meaning board. Nobody on the board has a political agenda. Our agenda is the students and staff of Los Al and how we can best serve them.”
Board members being targeted in the recall pointed to the work they’ve done since winning their seats in 2020. That includes being one of the first public school districts in Orange County to offer students in-person instruction during the pandemic.
“I’m very proud of the work that our school board has done during these trying times,” Scott Fayette, who represents Trustee Area 4, said in an interview on Monday. “That includes being able to bring back our students for in-person instruction as much as the safety and the regulations have allowed. The work of our district is to provide an inclusive, safe and welcoming environment for all.”
“Now is the time to focus on supporting our students and staff,” Megan Cutuli, the longest-serving current board member who represents Trustee Area 5, wrote in a statement. “That is where my energies are. I am committed to supporting the students, staff and community.”
“We are committed to providing our students the support they need at this time to continue to be academically successful,” Chris Forehan wrote in a statement. He represents Trustee Area 2. “As I have done throughout my career in education…Kids come first and will remain my focus.”
Mask Mandate is ‘the immediate threat’
Aguilar’s top issue is electing board members who can make masks optional for students. “We do believe that the immediate threat is the mask mandates,” Aguilar said. He says the district and board have been “sitting on their hands” and could do more. Some parents at the August 17 board meeting expressed similar concerns.
Universal indoor masking at schools is backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics as an important measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms and ensure full-time in-person instruction is possible at schools.
At their meeting in July, board members and Dr. Pulver publicly expressed disappointment and frustration about the mask mandate and spoke at length about what, if any, options they had to give parents.
“Just because you adhere to a law doesn’t mean you agree with it or that you think it’s what is best,” Hill said recently and shared that she had written a letter to Governor Newsom stating pandemic-related mandates were eroding local control. But Hill noted if the board made masks optional, “Then we as a district would be breaking the law.”
The Orange County Department of Education and the Orange County Health Care Agency warned districts they must follow the mandate. In a letter, California’s top public health official outlined potential legal and financial consequences for schools that do not enforce the mask mandate.
Students publicly asked the board for the course, arguing for the need to bring the missing perspectives of the district’s diversifying student body into the classroom.
Hathcock says it amounts to “critical race theory,” a college-level academic discipline looking at how laws and policies limit the opportunities for marginalized groups in the U.S. Opponents say critical race theory teaches students that America is based on white supremacy and that white people are racists.
At the June 1 virtual meeting when the board unanimously adopted the ethnic studies coursework (it was moved online to due safety concerns), public commenters warned: “If you do proceed with this we will do everything possible to stop this. You will be voted out of your positions never to be in office again.”
Parents React
LAUSD parent Steve Miller, a vocal supporter of ethnic studies and the district’s pandemic response, is already texting people to not sign a recall petition.
“While I may not agree with all the board’s decisions, personally, I’m thankful we have a non-partisan board who listens to experts,” he said. “This recall effort is an extremely partisan attempt to deny science and ignore history. I’m extremely confident it will fail.”
Other parents see the recall as a chance to get involved. LAUSD parent David Ryst has been vocal about his concerns with the district’s approval of social justice standards and feels his voice was not heard.
“I am willing to run because it’s obvious the current board is too far removed from the reality of what children and teachers in all grade levels are dealing with,” he wrote in a text message.
The board had a lengthy discussion on the social justice standards, even changing some of the language, when they were adopted in May.
Staci Muller pulled her two children out of Los Al schools this year over her concerns about what she says is being taught on campuses. She’s supporting the recall and even considering running herself.
“Parents of students, we need to step up and get involved! A more balanced board capable of critical thinking, instead of a far-left board, like LAUSD is now, would help in order to check one another along the way,” Muller wrote in a text message.
For Aguilar, there is another goal of the recall.
“We want to re-staff the superintendent’s office,” Aguilar said and added, “I like Dr. Pulver. I believe he has a heart for our kids but we just can’t have non-action on these issues.”
The recall effort against the LAUSD Board is not unique. There are more than a dozen current efforts to recall school board members across California, according to Ballotpedia. Right now, signatures are being gathered in an effort to oust three board members in the Tustin Unified School District.
For more local education news, follow @SpotlightSchools on Instagram or sign up to receive the Spotlight Schools weekly newsletter at spotlightschools.tinynewsco.org
Even as a young man, Tom Hermstad always knew he loved the water.
In the 1940’s of his youth, Seal Beach was indeed like Mayberry by the Sea. With less than 2,000 residents, Hermstad needed only the ocean to keep him content.
He was a kid from aross the channel. He discovered the waves and soon began to ride them.
Now in his eighties, Hermstad, like his friends, said he always felt at ease on the sand and at home on a surfboard, even as primitive as they were back when he was a boy.
From his love of water and sport, his abilities grew. He was there as the surfing industry began to grow. He became a witness to history, standout surfer, athlete, water polo player, award winning college coach and eventually, he made it to the Olympic Hall of Fame.
Even today, he can hardly believe it.
“I pinch myself and ask myself how the hell did this happen,” says Hermstad? “I was just a kid hanging out in Seal Beach.”
Among Hermstad’s small circle of beach friends, decades ago, were fellow surfers like Jack and Mike Haley. They, along with many others, have emerged over the years as legendary surfers, surfboard makers, and even famous surf photographers.
Back then, however, they were just kids; young adults who made the most of the incredible paradise in which they found themselves growing up.
For years, he said, they gathered on the sand near 13th Street in Seal Beach, then, he says, home to the some of the best surfing waves in all of California.
“Once in a while, there is that special wave,” he notes, as he explains how surfers must “claim a wave.”
“You get a peak here and a peak there. You’re right on that peak. Then, you may make the drop or maybe you get a break over your head,” says Hermstad.
Over many years, Hermstad has traveled the world to ride the ocean’s waves, having visited many of the modern world’s best-known surf locations.
Before Seal Beach’s growth prompted the addition of sand and other mitigating factors (which he said ended the blockbuster waves), Hermstad says surfers everywhere, including the Haley brothers, paid homage to 13th Street waves in Seal Beach.
Their collective passion for surfing helped fuel and frame much of what we recognize today as the surfing industry.
Though surfing is said to trace its roots back centuries, to Polynesia, the technologies (glues, adhesives, etc) emerging from World War II prompted a boom in new age surfboards as the industry began to flourish on the California coast.
Hermstad and his surfer friends were only to eager to oblige. He and the Haley boys were out on the waves most every day.
According to the Surfing Walk of Fame, Jack Haley, among the most renowned local surfers, actually perfected his surfing in the waves of Huntington Beach, not far as the seagull flies from Seal Beach.
Also, Haley holds the title of the first-ever winner of the West Coast Surfing Championships held at Huntington Beach in 1959. His brother Mike Haley won the event the following year, said Hermstad.
Known to friends as “Mr. Excitement,” Haley was extremely successful in many facets of life — he opened Jack Haley Surfboards in Seal Beach in 1961, and four years later opened the still-popular restaurant Captain Jack’s in Sunset Beach, claims the Surfing Walk of Fame and vowed to by Hermstad.
Haley, he says, “was a mythological type of figure who helped pioneer surfing in Orange County during the 1940’s and 1950’s.”
For Hermstad, Haley was all that and more.
Courtesy photo Upon hearing that his friend Jack Haley had succumbed to cancer, Hermstad headed to the ocean for a tribute surf. This photo was taken by world famous surf photog Kim Carey.
“When I found out he passed away in 2000, after losing his battle with cancer, I jumped on my surfboard and rode,” said Hermstad (see photo). Kim Carey, his friend (and former student), who became a world-renowned surfing photographer, followed him to the beach and snapped a famous photo of a devastated Hermstad’s tribute surf to Jack.
Like the Haleys, however, Hermstad became a legend, but not in the way he could have ever imagined.
Hermstad took a different path.
Always loving the water, he developed skills not only as a surfer, but as a water polo player. He was a standout at Wilson High School in the 1950’s and later, at Cal State Long Beach. He played in the Pan American Games and was a U.S. Olympic team finalist.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in ’61 and a master’s degree in 1964, both in physical education, at CSULB.
Hermstad was an assistant water polo coach for four state titles. From the start of his career, it became clear that Hermstad understood the game very well. He was named all-city beach water polo player in 1957, co-captain at CSULB in 1960, and California Community College Coach of the Year in 1979.
He began as head water polo coach at Lakewood High School in 1963 and moved on to coach at Golden West College from 1966-85, where, under his leadership, the Rustlers won eight state championships, had two undefeated teams, 20 conference titles and 7 southern California titles.
Hermstad enjoyed a remarkable water polo coaching career, also establishing friendships with the likes of UCLA basketball coach John Wooten, and basketball wonder Michael Jordan, among many others along the way.
Always a friend of the Haley family, Hermstad befriended Jordan when he came to California to participate in basketball camps arranged by Haley’s son, Jack, Jr., who played for several NBA teams, including the Chicago Bulls.
“I got a handwritten copy of Coach Wooten’s Pyramid of Success,” smiles Hermstad, pointing to the diagram sketched out long before Wooten’s book became a bestselling motivational book.
Throughout his career, greatness always seemed to find Ol’ Tom Hermstad.
His experience playing and coaching water polo made him a contemporary of the late and legendary U.S. Olympic water polo coaches Bob Horn (UCLA) and Monte Nitzkowski (Long Beach City College).
These two water polo titans were coaches and U.S. Olympic officials in their day, and Hermstad said one day they asked him to referee a practice game.
“Do you think you could referee our practice,” Hermstad remembers Horn asking him? “I had never done it,” said Hermstad, somewhat surprised at the request, but then again, why not?
That simple request, however, put Hermstad of yet another path, one that would ultimately lead him to the U.S. Olympic Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Hermstad said he accepted the request, gave it try. Very soon, he became a water polo referee.
“I never really read a rulebook,” he said honestly, having known the game so intently as a player and a coach. Having played the game, however, Hermstad apparently knew what to look for, even if deciphering the action below the water line “sometimes make infractions very difficult to call.”
“We can only see about one-tenth of what’s going on. It gets a bit rough out there,” said Hermstad, and referees have to rely on intuition to fairly arbitrate a game.
As his skills and reputation grew in the sport, Hermstad was invited to become an Olympic referee. At that point, said Hermstad, “I did eventually read the technical sections.”
Hermstad would go on to become an outstanding water polo referee, a passion he enjoyed for the better part of two decades. Through this career, however, it is perhaps the drama, and tragedy, of one event in his first Olympics that he will never forget.
Long before the internet, during the heyday of global satellite television, the eyes of the world were focused on the 1972 summer games in Munich, Germany as Hermstad prepared to officiate his first Olympic competition.
Although the Munich games made swimmer Mark Spitz a household word, these Olympic games would long be remembered for something far more sinister.
Hermstad found himself 6,000 miles from home about to be put to test as an Olympic referee.
“We (USA Men’s Water Polo team) had just received the bronze medal in water polo and the head of USWP had a very nice party at Dantebod (pool/eating facility) in Munich,” said Hermstad. So, he and his friends decided to attend.
Hermstad officiating one of the many water polo matches he worked during his two decade career as an Olympic referee. Courtesy photo
Early the next morning, about 2 a.m., Hermstad said he, Bruce Bradley, outstanding player during those Olympics and Eric Lindroth decided to walk back to the Olympic Village.
“There was a fence around the entire complex,” he said, and the fence was lined with barb wire everywhere except for the gates.
When they approached the gate, “it was locked,” said Hermstad, “so we climbed over it.”
The next morning, the world came to its knees; the “Munich massacre” had just begun.
Just before dawn on September 5, a group of eight members of the Palestinian Black September terrorist organization broke into the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes, coaches, and officials’ hostage.
The games were halted as two of the Israeli team members, now hostages, resisted and were immediately killed.
Hermstad, like many other athletes did not know yet what had happened, but when he and a friend walked to the parking lot the next morning to bring an athlete (Art Lambert) to the Munich airport, they noticed something odd.
“As we approached the parking area, we saw Mark Spitz, who is Jewish and had won 7 Olympic gold medals, surrounded by 10 or so men in suits with rifles,” said Hermstad.
“What is going on,” thought Hemstad?
“We took Art to the airport and returned to village, and it was ‘locked down,’” said Hermstad. “We could not get in and still had no clue what had happened. Early that afternoon, I finally got into Olympic Village and returned to my room,” he said.
“I noticed men with masks/guns/rifles on top of the building. More men with rifles were located on balconies of rooms on different floors. The TV news in Munich was, of course, all in German and it was being ‘filmed’ but I still did not know what exactly had happened.”
Suddenly, Hermstad said word began to spread throughout the Olympic Village that the games were halted. Gazing across to the next building, it was then that Hermstad could see the blindfolded Israeli athletes being led away by the terrorists.
Buses filled with athletes and coaches began making their way toward the airport. Hermstad booked a ticket and made it home safely, only learning along the way the extent of what had happened and that he had been a witness to history.
Moreover, what makes it an even more strange experience is the fact that the terrorists had apparently jumped the same fence that he and his buddies had jumped to get back into the Olympic village, just a couple of hours after them.
“When I eventually saw the movie (about the terrorist event),” said Hermstad, “I realized that me and my buddies had crossed that same fence not long before the terrorists. Made me think.”
Saddened by the tragic events, Hermstad nonetheless did his job as an Olympic referee, and apparently, had done it well. In fact, he’d built a career of excellence and fairness as an Olympic water polo referee.
In 1995, Hermstad was inducted to the U.S. Olympic Water Polo Hall of Fame as a referee.
Even while traveling the world as a water polo referee, Hermstad maintained local relationships as a coach and humanitarian. He served as head of aquatics in Seal Beach from 1966 -81, providing leadership in water sports for four months each summer.
For Hermstad, it’s been a long and unbelievable journey since the days of his youth. Although opportunities to leave the area presented themselves many times over the years, this standout athlete said no to any offer that would have taken him away from Seal Beach.
“I love Seal Beach. I love my wife, Lynn. I love my kids and it was just not worth going anywhere else,” said Hermstad.
Most afternoons, up on the “hill” in Seal Beach, you can see Tom and Lynn sitting outside, enjoying that wonderful sun, that very same sun that shone on them as beach hanging surfer kids back in the day.
Hermstad does not surf much anymore, yet he still loves the sport. He points to three shiny surfboards that still neatly hang from the ceiling above the family car parked in his garage.
“When you surf, you smile,” said a smiling Hermstad. He has been smiling, and surfing, for a very long time.
Hermstad really doesn’t need to surf any more. Already, his life has been one amazing ride.
Mahalo, Ol’ Tom, and keep paddling.
