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la surrounding miraDa, ca., NovemBer 22 ,17, 2019 Serving La Mirada and ten communities • July 2026 • Vol. 70, No. 37 • LMLAMPLIGHTER.COM
CALTRANS REROUTED TRAFFIC WITHOUT INFORMING CERRITOS, ILLEGAL MOVE WILL COST THE CITY OVER $5 MILLION Three Months Before DOJ Subpoenaed New York Times Reporters, Central Basin Subpoenaed LCCN Publisher
BY BRIAN HEWS
Hews Media Group-Los Cerritos Community News has obtained a letter, dated September 6, 2019, addressed to Caltrans from the city of Cerritos that A taxpayer-funded lawsuit blasts the state agency for rerouting tractor-trailer traffic through forced Los Cerritos the City due toNews I-5 construction Community to projects. spend thousands of dollars Shockingly, the rerouting was defending guaranteed done withoutrights notifying the City.
by the First Amendment.
The City is claiming that the during the construction period. rerouting has caused over $5 “Caltrans has failed to coormillion in damage to the streets, dinate thus far, and any further increased pollution in the area, lack of communication or conincreased traffic noise, and in- sultation with the City and its creased the safety risk of resi- residents is unacceptable.” dents. er-Publisher Brian Hews with aThe City blasted Caltrans for establishing a detour route on Further the subpoena. letter statesAthat sweeping subpoena Caltrans is in violation of the southbound Carmenita between is a legal order requiring someproject’s final Environmental the I-5 and Artesia Blvd., and one to provide documents or Impact Report which obligates eastbound Artesia Blvd. between testimony in connection a the agency to coordinate with cit- with Carmenita and the I-5. legal proceeding. this case, the“Neither stretch of Carmeniies to minimize adverseInimpacts
LCCN Staff Report Last week’s subpoenas served on New York Times reporters triggered a national debate over press freedom. For Los Cerritos Community News, however, that debate had already become reality. Just three months earlier, Central Basin Municipal Water District, acting through its outside attorneys, Los Angeles-based Buchalter, served LCCN Own-
subpoena sought years of communications with district officials and others connected to Hews’ investigative reporting, forcing the newspaper to retain private First Amendment counsel. The Justice Department subpoenas sought testimony from four New York Times journalists following reports about security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. Federal agents reportedly delivered some of the subpoenas directly to the reporters’ homes.
ta or Artesia is a city designated truck route, commercial vehicles over 6,000 pounds are strictly prohibited on the streets, per City Municipal Code.” The Caltrans rerouting of trucks has caused severe damage and increased traffic at peak hours, the extensive damage alone is estimated “to cost $5.2 million to repair,” and the “average daily traffic on said streets has significantly increased and
flows onto arterial streets.” The City then cited the numerous safety hazards caused by the rerouting of traffic, concerns that have been voiced by Cerritos residents in calls and emails to both HMG-LCCN and the City. The rerouting on Carmenita takes large trucks by two schools, Stowers Elementary and Carmenita Middle school in addition
See CALTRANS page 14
ARTESIA HIGH STAFF-MEMBER RECEIVES AWARD OF VALOR FROM LAKEWOOD BY THOM MARTIN
action, jumping out of her car grabbing the boy and helping the The City of Lakewood held woman. its annual Award of Valor lunShe took them to Artesia High DUNKEL BROS. owners and staff, joined by Historical Preservation Advisory Council member Harry Scott, cheon on Nov. 6 to thank the men School, where they received medCouncilmembers John Lewis Ed Eng, theassistance transportation team, pose atop and around and and women of theand Losmembers Angeles ofical and were ultimatethe historic Windermere Ranch olive press after it was loaded for its journey back to County Sheriff’s Department and ly transported to the hospital. La Mirada. Dunkel Bros. donated the transportation of the massive 19th-century press at no cost to the City,acearning La Mirada’s Fire Department, as well as the Because of her selfless Community Spotlight Award for helping preserve an important piece of the community’s agricultural history. community volunteers who pro- tions, the City of Lakewood retect and serve Lakewood. cently awarded Bridget with the Bridget Perrizo, a staff mem- Mayor’s Award at the city’s an[ See SUBPOENA, page 12 ] ber at Artesia Highon was the honored nual Awards of Valor ceremony. War Middle Class when she helped two people that "I always wondered what I was being attacked by a dog. would do when faced with a situBridget, was headed back to ation like this one," said Perrizo. work from lunch when she spot- "By the grace of God, I had the ted a dog attacking a woman and courage to take action. I'm so young boy. The dog had knocked glad that both the mom and son them to the ground and they were are okay, and I'm so honored to improving pedestrian safety at Traffic-calming receive this award.” several of the city’s busiest inter- City honors Harry Scott’sscreaming for help. upgrades move forward, and Dunkel Bridget immediately took TRASH piles up at a condominium complex in City Hawaiian The Citydetermination chose Waste Resources sections. staffGardens. recommendSee HERO page 15 but proposed miniBros.’ extraordinary Incorporated as their new hauler, who said would immediately begin trash pick up. Photo Brian Hews. edthey awarding the construction
Artesia Set to Approve $881,000 Street Safety and Road Improvement Project roundabouts have been removed for further study.
La Mirada’s Historic McNally Olive Press Returns Home
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Federal Loan Options, Leaving Parents to Pay More
contract to Onyx Paving Com- donation that returned pany, Inc., the lowest responsive the historic olive press bidder among eight contractors. to La Mirada. By Brian Hews Although the company’s original bid included construction two By Briandefault Hewsletters, BY BRIAN HEWS “Poor leadership, no foresight of included several mini-roundabouts, the proposed on the situation, typical of this which, under California’s Public ARTESIA — is AaccumuproposedCitycontract those features While rotting trash Council,”excluded former Hawaiian Resource Code Section 49000, LA MIRADA — A rust$880,900 roadway following lating in many parts ofimprovement Hawaiian Gardens Mayor Reyrecommendations Rodriguez starts the clock on termination. ed, 19th-century olive press Gardens, that Mayorwould Myra Maravilla HMG-LCCN. went the extra project rehabilitatetoldfrom the Public Works Commit-City staff even that once helped produce oland the City Council finally constreets and add pedestrian safety The tee. staff report included in step and attempted to work with ducted a hearing, waiting an en- last week’s meeting presented CWS toive cureoiltheonbreaches AndrewandMcNally’s CAPPED: The Parent Plus loan will be capped at $20,000 per year, tire week, and allowing the trash clear evidence that CWS was in defaults famed starting Windermere in March of thisRanch has this was a crucial loan for parents of college students, loans were not capped before Trump’s Big Bill. to accumulate even more, to once violation of its contract with the year, each of which gave CWS returned home after spending again discuss terminating CWS’ City, but Mayor Maravilla and the steps to resolve the defaults. nearlytotwo decades contract. In addition the default no- at a muCouncil were apparently afraid to in attempted eastern San Diego Under the Ralph M. Brown pull the termination trigger, leav- tices, theseum City also to dle-class families may now have Act, Maravilla and the City Coun- ing residents driving by stinky arrange County, meetings with CWStobutthe efforts New borrowing caps thanks to turn to private lenders—or pay cil could have sent out a notice piles of trash for the foreseeable CWS didofnotlocal attendhistorians most meet- and one leave many middle-class out of pocket—to bridge the gap. and held a meeting within two future. ings. ARTESIA HIGH staff-member the Award of parents searching Bridget for Perrizo receivedThe changes are part of Presgenerous industrial moving days to address the situation. The voluminous staff report Valor from Lakewood for savingas two in a dog attack. private financing the ident Donald Trump’s “One Big company. See TRASH page 15 price of higher education Beautiful Bill,” which eliminates At a recent City Council continues to climb. several federal repayment opmeeting, the City honored tions, ends the Biden administraDunkel Bros. with its ComBy Brian Hews tion’s SAVE repayment plan, and munity Spotlight Award for places new caps on Parent PLUS donating the transportation and graduate student loans. For many American families, of the massive historic press For decades, Parent PLUS back to La Mirada, where it paying for college just became loans allowed families to boronce played a key role in the significantly more difficult. row up to the full cost of attenSweeping changes to the city’s early agricultural econdance, minus any financial aid federal student loan system that omy. received. Beginning July 1, new The recognition also high- took effect July 1 are shifting Parent PLUS loans are capped at more of the financial burden lighted the years-long work of $20,000 per student per year and from the federal government to $65,000 per family over a lifeIMPROVEMENTS Streets included in Artesia’s proposed roadway Historical Preservation Adviparents, particularly those with improvement project are highlighted in blue. sory Council member Harry children attending four-year uni- time. That may sound like a subScott, who tracked down the versities. While students’ annual stantial amount until compared historic equipment, negotiated federal loan limits remain largely with today’s college costs. enhancements throughout neighRoadway improvements in- with its owners, and coordi- unchanged, the amount parents A student attending a Caliborhoods surrounding Artesia clude Elaine Avenue from 183rd nated its return. can borrow through the federal fornia State University can exPark has been continued until the Street to South Street; Grayland The olive press original- Parent PLUS loan program has pect annual expenses of roughly City Council’s August meeting. Avenue from 183rd Street to ly operated on Andrew Mc- been sharply reduced. $30,000 to $38,000, including The project combines state South Street; 186th Street from Nally’s Windermere Ranch, The result, higher education and local transportation funding experts say, is that many midto rehabilitate aging streets while See ARTESIA, Page 6 See OLIVE, Page 6 See COLLEGE, Page 4
TRASH WILL FINALLY GET CLEANED UP IN HAWAIIAN GARDENS