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la miraDa, ca., NovemBer , 2019 Serving La Mirada and ten other surrounding communities • January 9,22 2026 • Vol. 69, No. 51 • LMLAMPLIGHTER.COM
CALTRANS REROUTED THEanCITY OVERCopyright $5 MILLION OpenAI Artesia Advances CannabisTRAFFIC WITHOUT INFORMING CERRITOS, ILLEGAL MOVE WILL COSTWhy Case Matters toarterial Localstreets.” flows onto BY BRIAN HEWS Funded Community Grant The City is claiming that the during the construction period. ta or Artesia is a city designated The City then cited the nurerouting has caused over $5 “Caltrans has failed to coor- truck route, commercial vehicles Community Newsrooms merous safety hazards caused by Hews Media Cer- million in damage to the streets, dinate thus far, and any further over 6,000 pounds are strictly Program WithGroup-Los Chamber ritos Community News has ob- increased pollution in the area, lack of communication or con- prohibited on the streets, per the rerouting of traffic, concerns that of have beenmay voiced by Cerritained a letter,Under dated September Allocation Review increased traffic noise, and in- sultation with the City and its City Municipal Code.” The outcome the case 6, 2019, addressed to Caltrans from the city of Cerritos Cannabis operators would that blasts the state agency for reroutcontribute at least $300,000 ing tractor-trailer traffic through annually, with a portion the City due to I-5 construction reserved for nonprofits projects. andShockingly, the Artesiathe Chamber rerouting was of Commerce. done without notifying the City.
creased the safety risk of residents. Further the letter states that Caltrans is in violation of the project’s final Environmental Impact Report which obligates the agency to coordinate with cities to minimize adverse impacts
residents is unacceptable.” The City blasted Caltrans for establishing a detour route on southbound Carmenita between the I-5 and Artesia Blvd., and eastbound Artesia Blvd. between Carmenita and the I-5. “Neither stretch of Carmeni-
residents in calls and emails The Caltrans rerouting of tos determine whether smaller trucks has caused severenewsrooms dam- to have bothany HMG-LCCN and the age and increased traffic atpractical peak ability City. to defend rerouting on Carmenita hours, the extensive damage their work in The the age of alone is estimated “to cost $5.2 intelligence. takes large trucks by two schools, artificial million to repair,” and the “aver- Stowers Elementary and Carmeage daily traffic on said streets nita Middle school in addition By Brian Hews has significantly increased and
See CALTRANS page 14
By Brian Hews
As reported this week, lawyers representing The Orange County The City of Artesia is moving forward Register, the New York Daily News, with a Community Benefits Grant and other publishers have asked a An exclusive five-part LCCN investigation Program funded by cannabis revenue, federal judge to sanction OpenAI over a policy designed to direct money from revealing how Central Basin Director allegations that it deleted or substituted licensed operators into local nonprofits ChatGPT conversation BY THOM MARTIN millions of action, jumping out of herlogs car Juan Garza turned the Cardroom Cities’ and economic development-related after judges ordered the company grabbing the boy and helping to the activities. preserve produce them as evidence Joint Powers Authority into hisThe own City of Lakewood held and woman. Under the program, cannabis permit in a copyright lawsuit. The logs allegedly annual Award of Valor lunShe took them to Artesia High operation — and the conflicts andits liabilities holders are required to contribute the contain that news cheon on Nov. 6 to thank the men AI-generated School, whereoutputs they received medgreater of 1.1 percent of gross receipts or women of the Los Angeles ical assistance andbased were ultimateorganizations believe were on their he engineered for himself in theand process. $100,000 annually. With three licensed County Sheriff’s Department and ly reporting. transported to the hospital. journalists’ operators, the structure is expected to Fire Department, as well as The the dispute Because of her accenters on selfless a federal Part 4 generate a minimum of $300,000 per community volunteers who protions, the City of Lakewood recopyright lawsuit filed by the major year. City policy allocates 55 percent tect and serve Lakewood. news organizations cently awarded Bridget with the against OpenAI, Bridget Perrizo, a staffthe memMayor’s Award ChatGPT. at the city’sThe ancompany behind ber at Artesia High was honored nual Awards of Valor ceremony. [ See ARTESIA, page 7 ] publishers allege that OpenAI unlawfully when she helped two people that "I always wondered what I used their copyrighted journalism to train was being attacked by a dog. would do when faced with a situand generate AIlike responses that reproduce procurement, transparency, andwas conflicts Bridget, headed back to ation this one," said Perrizo. By Brian Hews or closely mirror news of interest. work from lunch when she spot- "By the grace of God,reporting, I had the often attribution, By controllingted thea JPA’s operations, dog attacking a woman and without couragepermission, to take action. I'm so or compensation. They further claim receiving bids, and managing public young boy. The dog had knocked glad that both the mom and son Five weeks ago, Los Cerritos that some AI-generated responses them to the ground and they were are okay, and I'm so honored to business through his own private Community News launched High distort or inaccurately summarize their screaming for help. receive this award.” Stakes, Dirty Water, Red Flags, a multi- infrastructure, Garza blurred — and in New state-run website lets Bridget immediately work, took undermining both its value and someResources cases erased — the legal separation TRASH piles up at a condominium complex Hawaiian Gardens. City chose partin investigative series The revealing that Waste See HERO page 15 Californians block data required between a public agency and a credibility. Incorporated as their new hauler, who said they would immediately begin District trash pickFour up. Photo Brian Hews. for years Central Basin brokers, delete personal As part of the case, a federal judge private enterprise. Director Juan Garza quietly operated the information, and reduce ordered OpenAI to preserve and produce That private control, combined California Cities for Self-Reliance Joint calls, texts, emails, and tens of millions of ChatGPT conversation with Garza’s renewal of his contract Powers Authority (JPA), a taxpayeridentity theft risks. as the JPA’s executive director while logs so publishers could assess whether funded agency, through Bellflower-based simultaneously serving as an elected their reporting was being reproduced in By Brian Hews BY BRIAN HEWS “PoorSix leadership, includedpublicseveral water defaultofficial letters, for Central Basin, has AI outputs. Heron, no hisforesight privately owned which, under California’s Public on the situation, typical of this relations and government-relations firm. now placed In recent filings, the news his Central Basin Municipal Californians a new, simple While rotting now trashhave is accumuCity Council,” former Hawaiian Resource Code Section 49000, Garza’s decision to personally run a Water District seat in legal peril. organizations argue that OpenAI failed way companies stop selling latingtointell many parts of to Hawaiian Gardens publicly Mayor Rey Rodriguez starts authority the clock on termination. funded joint powers to comply with those orders by deleting, Part One documented how Garza Gardens, Mayor Myra Maravilla City staff even went the extra their personal information online. told HMG-LCCN. through his private firm, which for years used his personal Six Heron email, substituting, or altering portions of the andMany the City Council finally con- brokers The staff report included in step and attempted to work with companies called data was not properly licensed with the city and Bellflower requested data. ducted a hearing, waiting an enbreaches cellphone, and collect information about people aslast theyweek’s meeting presented CWS to cure thecompany of Bellflower, raised red in March of this tire the week, and allowing trash email defaults starting clear evidence that CWS was in immediate use internet. This cantheinclude See DIRTY WATER, page 12 ] [ See LAWSUIT, page 14 ] flags under California law governing to accumulate evennumbers, more, to shopping once violation of its contract with the year, each of which gave[ CWS addresses, phone again discuss terminating CWS’ habits, and other personal details. City, but Mayor Maravilla and the steps to resolve the defaults. contract. Council were apparently afraid to In addition to the default noMost people do not even know this Under the Ralph M. Brown pull the termination trigger, leav- tices, the City also attempted to information is and being or sold. Act, Maravilla thecollected City Couning residents driving by stinky arrange meetings with CWS but stopping thisameant cil Before, could have sent out noticefinding piles of trash for the foreseeable CWS did not attend most meeteach company and asking by By Brian Hews and held a meeting withinthem twoonefuture. ings. ARTESIA HIGH staff-member Bridget Perrizo received the Award of one to delete your data. That was hard days to address the situation. The voluminous staff report Valor from Lakewood for saving two in a dog attack. and took a lot of time. See TRASH page 15 Sacramento, CA — The California Now, California has created one Contract Cities Association called on website where residents can make a state leaders to advance preventative, single request. The site is run by the technology-based solutions to address California Privacy Protection Agency the surge in illegal street racing and and is called the Delete Request and street takeovers, activities that have led Opt-Out Platform, or DROP. to hundreds of crashes, severe injuries, The website was created after a new and dozens of deaths across Southern law called the Delete Act was signed California. in 2023 by Gavin Newsom. The law Over recent years, Los Angeles requires data brokers to register with the County law enforcement agencies state and follow the rules or pay fines. documented more than 1,000 street Using DROP is simple. Californians takeover events within an approximately ELECTED OFFICIALS from the cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Bell Gardens, Downey, 18-month period, highlighting the first prove they live in the state, El Monte, Lakewood, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, San Fernando, Santa Fe Springs, then create a short profile with basic and West Hollywood gathered at a California Contract Cities Association meeting to [ See RACING, page 7 ] [ See BLOCK, page 7 ] discuss statewide strategies aimed at curbing illegal street racing and street takeovers.
ARTESIA HIGH STAFF-MEMBER RECEIVES AWARD OF VALOR FROM LAKEWOOD
The Law is Automatic. And the Central Basin Water Board Isn’t Acting.
One-Stop Website Lets Californians Block Brokers From Selling Personal Information
TRASH WILL FINALLY GET CLEANED UP IN HAWAIIAN GARDENS
California Contract Cities Calls for State Action Amid Deadly Rise in Street Racing and Takeovers