COMMERCE
Winner of Nineteen LA Press Club Awards from 2012-2021 Serving Commerceand ten other surrounding communities • February 6, 2026 • Vol. 41, No. 7 • LOSCERRITOSNEWS.NET
Cerritos City Council Approves New Water and Sewer Rate Schedules By Brian Hews
Pico Rivera Moves to Block Slaughterhouse’s Return in Court Sale THE MANNING BEEF facility in Pico Rivera is headed to a court-supervised sale following the company’s bankruptcy filing, triggering a pivotal moment for the future of the long-controversial site. City officials have announced plans to participate in the sale process in an effort to block any return of slaughter operations, citing years of community concern, protests, and regulatory scrutiny. The outcome of the sale will determine whether the property is acquired by the city or repurposed by a new owner under strict limitations.
Community Sports:
Success in Cerritos Basketball Programs Lies Within the Family By Loren Kopff In athletics at any level, the word family is used constantly, but at Cerritos High, it literally is a family affair when it comes to the boys and girls basketball programs. Not only are boys head coach Jonathan Watanabe and girls head coach Marcus Chinen among the most prolific mentors
league was formed, Chinen and Watanabe have won a league title in the same season three times, including this season. The other two came in the 2019-2020 and 2023-2024 seasons. Chinen’s father, Lawrence, and Watanabe’s mother, Margo, grew up on the island of Oahu. They moved out to Southern California, and when the house next door to the Chinens went up
COUSINS: Marcus Chinen (left) and Johnathan Watanabe have been keeping the Cerritos High basketball programs among the strongest in the CIF-Southern Section. Photo by Loren Kopff.
in the area, as well as the CIFSouthern Section, they are family members. The two successful coaches are cousins and have combined for nearly 600 victories since the 2001-2002 season. Watanabe has produced 40 percent of the wins amongst the seven head coaches in school history and was the first 605 League champion at the conclusion of the 2018-2019 season. Since the
for sale, Lawrence called Margo to try to purchase it. They bought the house and to this day, the families are still neighbors. Watanabe has been the head coach of the Dons since the 2001-2002 season, except for the 2021-2002 season when Lance Convento took over the varsity team. Watanabe is in his 24th season as the head coach, [ See FAMILY, page 11 ]
By Brian Hews Pico Rivera announced this week it will participate in the court-supervised sale of the long-controversial Manning Beef slaughterhouse property, with city officials making clear the objective is to permanently prevent the site from ever resuming slaughter operations. The city said it is exploring whether it can acquire the property outright. If the site is ultimately purchased by another party, Pico Rivera said it will ensure the facility does not reopen as a slaughterhouse. “This moment presents a rare opportunity for Pico Rivera to thoughtfully reimagine the future of a long-standing industrial site in the heart of our community,” Mayor Gustavo Camacho said. “Our priority is to ensure that whatever comes next truly benefits our residents, protects public health, and aligns with our values as a City.” Camacho added that the city’s involvement in the sale is intended to permanently close the door on the site’s past use. Officials said future uses under consideration include affordable housing, public open space, or plant-based food or sustainability-focused development, though any redevelopment would depend on the outcome of the bankruptcy sale and available funding. City Manager Steve Carmona described the bankruptcy as a rare opening for the city to exert influence over a property that has drawn years of controversy and protest. Whether through direct ownership or coordination with a future buyer, Carmona said the city’s goal is straightforward: ensure the Manning Beef site never again operates as a slaughterhouse and is instead converted into a community asset.
In front of a raucous crowd of residents that filled the City Council chamber and spilled into the hallway, the Cerritos City Council approved a water and sewer rate increase Monday night. After Frank Yokoyama opened the agenda item, city staff delivered a presentation outlining what they described as aging water infrastructure needs and the city’s outreach efforts related to the proposed increases. Following the staff presentation, Yokoyama opened the public hearing, prompting a lengthy and often heated round of public comment, with the overwhelming majority of speakers opposing
the rate hike. A total of 36 residents addressed the council during the hearing. Of those, 31 spoke against the proposed increases, three spoke in support, and two offered mixed or neutral comments. Several speakers accused the city of inadequate outreach, questioned the legality of including long-term capital projects in the rates, warned of financial hardship for seniors and fixed-income households, and threatened political consequences. One speaker criticized local media coverage, claiming residents were not adequately warned, a claim contradicted by prior reporting on the proposed increases. During council comments, [ See RATES, page 7 ]
Kaiser Slammed With a $556 Million Medicare Settlement, Medicare Advantage Under Scrutiny By Brian Hews Affiliates of Kaiser Permanente have agreed to pay $556 million to resolve federal allegations that they submitted improper diagnosis information to inflate payments from the Medicare Advantage program, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Announced January 14, 2026, the settlement is the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement reached to date under the False Claims Act. Federal prosecutors alleged that from 2009 through 2018, Kaiser entities encouraged the addition of unsupported diagnoses to patient medical records, often through addenda entered months or even years after office visits. Those diagnoses increased patients’ risk scores, which directly determine how much Medicare
pays private insurers for each enrollee under the Medicare Advantage system administered by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Justice Department said the practices resulted in hundreds of thousands of questionable diagnoses and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments. The settlement resolves civil allegations involving Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of [ See KAISER, page 5 ]
Rep. Sánchez Secures $11.7 Million for Community Projects Across Southeast L.A. County By Brian Hews Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez announced that she secured more than $11.7 million in federal funding for 15 community projects securing investments in water infrastructure, public safety, transportation, parks, and broadband access. “I fought hard to secure funding for all 15 of my requested community projects because our communities deserve real results,” Sánchez said. “This funding will bring safer drinking water, better transportation and infrastructure, stronger
public safety, and meaningful improvements to the everyday lives of working families across our district.” Projects benefiting cities covered by LCCN include: In Pico Rivera, $850,000 was secured for the Durfee Avenue Community Center. The funding will support the design and construction of a new community center, converting a long-vacant former Veterans of Foreign Wars building into a usable public facility. In Downey, $250,000 was allocated for the Water Treatment [ See SANCHEZ, page 4 ]