LOS CERRITOS
Winner of Nineteen LA Press Club Awards from 2012-2021 Serving Cerritos and ten other surrounding communities • April 24, 2026 • Vol. 41, No. 25 • LOSCERRITOSNEWS.NET
La Palma’s Legal Troubles Mount as Second Lawsuit Follows $8.4 Million Verdict Second lawsuit widens scrutiny beyond police, alleging wage violations, ignored complaints, and a growing pattern inside City Hall. By Brian Hews
Just one week after Los Cerritos Community News first reported on the $8.4 million jury verdict against the City, a second lawsuit has surfaced—this time alleging wage theft, off-the-clock work, and systemic labor violations inside another City department. Filed April 8 in Orange County Superior Court, the complaint by former Recreation Specialist Misty Torres accuses the City of failing to pay for all hours worked, denying required meal and rest breaks, and issuing inaccurate wage statements over a nearly seven-year span. According to the filing, Torres was officially scheduled for
four-hour shifts but routinely worked full-day schedules— often from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.— to keep the Tiny Tots program running, all while being capped at part-time hours. The lawsuit claims City management knew about the extra work but imposed strict hour limits anyway, creating what the complaint describes as a “predictable and unlawful result”: either leave essential work undone or perform it off the clock. Torres alleges she performed roughly 15 hours of unpaid work per week, including overtime, and was frequently unable to take legally compliant meal or rest breaks due to staffing shortages—at times being left alone supervising up to 24 children. The financial exposure in the case is significant. The complaint seeks more than $48,000 in unpaid straight-time wages, over $50,000 in unpaid See LA PALMA, Page 16
Central Basin Board Reviews Garza’s Incompatible Office, Finds ‘Nothing’ Army Corps outlines $735 million dam upgrades, potential closures impacting Pico Rivera parks and facilities. By Brian Hews
In November 2025, Los Cerritos Community News launched High Stakes, Dirty Water, Red Flags, a multi-part investigative series revealing that for years Central Basin District Four Director Juan Garza quietly operated the California Cities for Self-Reliance Joint Powers Authority, a taxpayer-funded agency, through Bellflower-based Six Heron, his privately owned public-relations and government-relations firm. The reporting detailed how bids, contracts, and dayto-day operations were routed through Garza’s privately owned firm, which for years was not licensed with the City of Bellflower, where he lived and previously served as mayor, raising immediate red flags under California law governing procurement, transparency, and conflicts of interest. By
From Dairy Valley Roots to Modern Cerritos City DAIRY VALLEY: Los Angeles County Supervisor Frank Bonelli, a featured speaker at Dairy Valley City Hall’s groundbreaking, is presented with a calf. Pictured with him are Dairy Valley City Councilmembers (left to right) Louis Struikman, Jim Albers, Alex Moore, Joe Gonsalves, Frank Leal, and an unidentified calf handler. Courtesy City of Cerritos.
Study: E-Bikes Boom, and So Do Brain Injuries By Brian Hews
controlling the JPA’s operations, receiving bids, and managing public business through his own private infrastructure, Garza erased the legal separation required between a public agency and a private enterprise. The investigation found that this private control, combined with Garza’s repeated renewals of his now $6,000-per-month contract as the JPA’s executive director while simultaneously serving as an elected Central Basin director, placed his seat on the Central Basin Municipal Water District at risk of automatic vacancy under the state’s incompatible office laws. Part One documented how Garza used his personal Six Heron email, company cellphone, and a Bellflower P.O. Box as the JPA’s operational and procurement pipeline, effectively turning a public agency into a one-man operation. Part Two exposed how that private control collided directly with Garza’s elected authority at the Central Basin Municipal Water District, where he votes
E-bikes and scooters are everywhere across Los Angeles and Orange County, but a new study shows the injuries are rising just as fast—and they’re far more serious than most riders think. Researchers at NYU Langone Health analyzed 914 patients treated at a New York City trauma center between 2018 and 2023. What they found is hard to ignore: e-bikes and scooters now account for 6.9% of all trauma admissions. About 68% of those injured were hospitalized, 30% needed intensive care, and roughly half required surgery or medical procedures. About one in three suffered a traumatic brain injury. That’s not a small trend—it’s a major category of trauma. The biggest cause of injury wasn’t falling off the bike. It was getting hit by a car. Nearly half of all cases involved collisions with vehicles, with falls a distant second. The formula is simple: cars, faster bikes, and streets that weren’t built for either. That setup is easy to spot across Southeast L.A. County— riders weaving through traffic, jumping onto sidewalks, and cutting across busy intersections. The speed is higher, the margins are tighter, and when something goes wrong, the injuries are severe. The study also found something unexpected: pedestrians are often the ones who suffer
See REVIEW, Page 16
See E-BIKES, Page 4
Cerritos Water Rate Recall Already Spending Thousands—But Still No Donors Disclosed Early recall activity shows organized spending, but delayed reporting laws keep financial backers hidden from public view. By Brian Hews CERRITOS — The political committee calling itself “Concerned Citizens of Cerritos” has already spent thousands of dollars advancing the recall effort targeting Mayor Frank Yokoyama and Mayor Pro Tem Lynda Johnson—yet has disclosed nothing publicly about where the money is coming from. Documents filed with the
California Fair Political Practices Commission show the committee qualified on February 1, 2026, after surpassing the $2,000 threshold required to begin raising and spending funds. Theresa W. Pedace is listed as treasurer, with Carla D. Gilhuys as principal officer. Despite the lack of public financial disclosures, Los Cerritos Community News can confirm the committee has already spent approximately $5,000 with this newspaper—an adjudicated publication for legal notices in Cerritos—to publish the required
See RECALL, Page 7
Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Sharpen Focus Across California, With L.A. County Hospitals at Risk By Brian Hews
LOS ANGELES — The impact of sweeping federal healthcare cuts is no longer theoretical in California. New analysis shows the state is among the hardest hit, with 83 hospitals flagged as financially “at risk,” placing nearly one-third of California’s hospital system under potential strain. The findings stem from a national dataset examining the effects of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Budget Act,” which includes deep reductions in Medicaid funding over the next
decade. Hospitals identified as at risk share a common profile: they rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursements and have posted sustained financial losses in recent years. That combination leaves little cushion as federal funding declines. For California, the implications are significant. The state’s healthcare system is deeply intertwined with Medi-Cal, which serves millions of low-income residents. Hospitals operating in that system often function on narrow margins, balancing high patient demand with lower reimbursement rates. Any disruption See HOSPITALS, Page 15