LOS CERRITOS
Winner of Nineteen LA Press Club Awards from 2012-2021 \
August 21, 2026 • Vol. 41, No. 42 • LOSCERRITOSNEWS.NET
Cerritos Recall Proponents Take Note: Water Rates Are Surging Across SoCal Despite the political firestorm surrounding Cerritos water rates, communities across Southern California are confronting substantial increases of their own as utilities struggle with aging infrastructure, rising imported-water costs, depleted reserves and increasingly expensive state and federal water-quality requirements.
WORLD CHAMPIONS: The La Mirada Little League Junior All-Stars pose with their championship banner after capturing the 2026 Junior League Baseball World Series title. The team will be honored with a victory parade Tuesday, Aug. 25. Photo by Danielle Swint, Allstar Productions.
ABC Unified Board Faces Growing Backlash After Anti-Muslim Tirade Goes Unchallenged Longtime educators and a Muslim civil-rights group demand answers after ABC trustees allowed antiMuslim remarks despite the district’s own rules. By Brian Hews The ABC Unified School District Board of Education is facing mounting criticism after a public speaker delivered a five-minute anti-Muslim tirade at its Aug. 4 meeting without being interrupted
RUDY KRAUSS said Islam has a “culture of rape and pedophilia” during public comment. by trustees — moments after the district explicitly told speakers that adverse remarks based on religion were prohibited. The controversy
Sources: Orange County Register, local agency websites, rate studies and public documents.
La Mirada All-Stars Win Junior League Baseball The battle over Cerritos water rates has become one of the loudest issues in the campaign to recall has now drawn complaints from World Series, Parade Mayor Frank Aurelio Yokoyalongtime ABC educators and comSet For Tuesday ma and Mayor Pro Tem Lynda P. munity members, along with the
Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is calling on ABCUSD to publicly condemn the remarks. Adding to the controversy, the same speaker made similar remarks before the Long Beach Unified School District earlier this year, where the board president ultimately apologized for failing to intervene. Before public comments began Aug. 4, ABC Board Clerk Leticia Mendoza read the district’s rules. “Adverse remarks about a person’s race, ancestry, ethnic group identification, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental or physical disability, or age may not be made,” Mendoza said. The first speaker called to the podium was Rudy Krauss. Krauss immediately began arguing that ABC schools should emphasize “assimilation,” telling trustees that “immigration without assimilation is invasion.” He then turned his comments toward Muslims. “You are giving the Muslims, in this case, the tools to be able to convince the public, the students, to accept their ideologies,” Krauss
See ABCUSD, Page 6
By Brian Hews
Jayden Valdez’s three-run homer in the 10th inning propelled La Mirada past Asia-Pacific 6-3, completing an extraordinary postseason run and bringing home the World Series Championship. By Brian Hews LA MIRADA — Jayden Valdez blasted a three-run home run in the top of the 10th inning Sunday, breaking a 3-3 tie and lifting the La Mirada Junior AllStars to a thrilling 6-3 victory over Asia-Pacific and the Junior League Baseball World Series championship. The dramatic home run capped a back-and-forth championship game in which Asia-Pacific answered nearly every time La Mirada moved ahead. La Mirada struck first in the fourth inning when Adam Brewer launched a solo home run to left field for a 1-0 lead. Asia-Pacific responded in the bottom half when En-Yu Chen singled home the tying run. The West champions moved back in front in the sixth when
See LA MIRADA, Page 3
Johnson, with proponents repeatedly pointing to the increases as evidence of failed leadership. But beyond the political rhetoric surrounding Cerritos, water customers across Southern California are confronting substantial increases of their own — some exceeding 30%, while customers
in at least one city face rates that could nearly double. The increases are being driven by many of the same pressures Cerritos officials have cited: aging infrastructure, rising imported-water costs, depleted reserves, higher operating expenses and increasingly expensive water-quality requirements. The Orange County Register recently reported that Golden State Water Co., which serves communities throughout Southern California, is proposing increases that could raise customer bills by
See WATER, Page 5
Norwalk Expands Housing Assistance for Veterans, Homeless Residents, and Families City receives 18 new federal housing vouchers for veterans while council approves additional funding for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing. By Vincent Medina Contributing Writer NORWALK — Norwalk officials took two actions Tuesday aimed at preventing homelessness and helping unhoused residents, including accepting 18 new federal housing vouchers for veterans and approving additional funding for the city’s homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing programs. During the Norwalk Housing
Authority meeting, commissioners accepted a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing grant providing the city with 18 HUD-VASH vouchers and $313,356 in federal funding. The HUD-VASH program combines rental assistance from HUD with supportive services provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs for unhoused veterans and their families. “As we continue to address homelessness and assistance for affordability, these vouchers are a huge, huge assistance for our veterans,” City Manager Jesus Gomez said. Gomez credited Housing Authority staff member Bethany
See NORWALK, Page 8