the voice - february issue 2010

8/14/2019 The Voice - February issue 2010

1/16

Circulation - 20,000 323.221.7400 www.thevoicepub.com FEBRUARY 2010

THE VOICE

T h e N u m

b e r O n e S o

u r c e

F o r N e w s i

n S e r v i n g

N o r t h e a s

t L o s A n g

e l e s

IN THISIN THISISSUEISSUE

Arroyo Vista Family Health Center 5 CLINICS TO SERVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

EL SERENO4815 Valley Blvd.

LA CA 90032(323) 222-1134

LINCOLN HEIGHTS2411 N. Broadway Blvd

LA CA 90031(323) 987-2000

LOMA DRIVE303 S. Loma Drive

LA CA 90017(213) 201-5800

MEDICAL MOBILE CLINICWe Care About Your Health

At various Community LocationsCall for an appointment or just walk in or

call for a Mobile Clinic visit

HIGHLAND PARK6000 N. Figueroa St.

LA CA 90042(323) 254-5221

Arroyo Vista Family Health Centers Board of Directors and staff enthu-siastically supported its Annual Christmas Holiday Food & Toy Drive,Wed, Dec 23, 2009. Food baskets and toys were distributed to patientsfamilies in the local community. Arroyo Vistas staff lled food baskets with

turkeys, corn, stufng, potatoes, oatmeal, candies and other food items. The food and toys were distributed at Arroyo Vistas four clinic sites inHighland Park, Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, and Loma Drive. Thankfulfamilies and children were excited to receive holiday gifts. The last dis-tribution took place in Loma Drive, where children were eager to receivetheir toys. The 200 food packages served 939 people with a holiday din-ner and a total of 425 toys were distributed.The food and toy drive was a great success. Its going to help a lot of people, said Arroyo Vista staff Susana Ruelas. There are a lot of peoplethat need help with food, especially this year with all of the layoffs. Ar-royo Vistas staff member Gandhi Huerta states Events like this are themost rewarding part of my job the gift of giving.Special thanks to Board of Directors, individual donors and staff fortheir generous donations for the Christmas Food Basket Fund. Specialthanks to United States Marine Toys for Tots for donating toys receivedby children. Special thanks to Smart & Final for assisting in discountingfood for Arroyo Vistas Holiday event. Also, special thanks to Trader Joesfor providing holiday gift baskets.

Pictured on the right: Arroyo Vista staff member Noah Durian as Santa Clause and the Lopez Family who received a nutritious food basket and toys.

COMMUNITY RESIDENTSCOMMUNITY RESIDENTSORGANIZE A PROTEST,ORGANIZE A PROTEST,

TO PROTECTTO PROTECTPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SAFETY

By Carlos Morales

The Hillside Village PropertyOwners Association (HVPOA)organized a community protest onJanuary 30th at the front of LosAngeles Fire Station 16 locatedon Eastern Ave. The protest wasin response to the BROWNOUTSthat have been happening sincethis past summer.

Brownouts are station closuresor temporary reduced services toa neighborhood. The stakehold-

ers organized the protest to pro-tect the communities of Hillside

Village, El Sereno, and Univer-sity Hills which are immediatelyimpacted by temporary reducedservice by Fire Station 16.

These brownouts require staff rotations that relocate reghtersfrom other parts of the city to eldthe emergency response calls inour community. The problem isthat each community has its owndistinctive needs that a re com-pany coming from other areasmay not be familiar with whichwill result in inefciencies that

will compromise lives.THE VOICE received a letter

sent out by HVPOA; in the letterit alerted concerned stakehold-ers about the protest against thebrownouts at Fire Station No. 16.HVPOA President Luanna Allardstated in the letter, Fire stationslike ours with existing limited re-sources carry a larger burden toprovide re service than those restations that have more than oneengine. Our reghters know ourcomplicated hillside topographyand navigate our confusing andwinding roads using the quick-

est route to help our neighbors intimes of need. Allard continued

to state in the letter, Eliminatingthe paramedic engine in our com-munity will result in increasedresponse times and compromisethe rst and most critical minutesof medical emergencies, whichare the majority of service calls.As the most eastern re stationwithin the City boundary, ourre station cannot rely on backupfrom all directions like those inother parts of the City. It has tak-en years for our neighborhood toacquire a paramedic engine, and

we will work harder to protect it.CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

BRAVO MAGNETHIGH SCHOOLDr. Gloria Pace who teaches 9thGrade English at Bravo Magnet HighSchool stated, This project origi-nally got started with the CaliforniaScholarship Federation (CSF Club)as a school project. Each teacherencouraged their students to bringshoes to school for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. My class gotinvolved because we had a journalassignment to talk about the crisisthat was happening in the NorthernHemisphere; both locally and in Hai-ti. We had a chance to write aboutit, we had a chance to talk about itand now this was the perfect con-

nection after the journal assignmentto extend our efforts to help those inneed, so we joined the effort to col-lect shoes to send to the people of Haiti. said Pace. I challenged mystudents to bring in shoes; our ini-tial goal was to bring in 150 pairs,which was a lofty goal. We beganto organize and I decided I could upthe stakes by offering students ex-tra credit. The students and I soonfound out that this was much morethan getting extra credit, we knewthat some people over there reallyneeded these shoes. We reached ourgoal in two days so we increased it toOne Thousand pairs of shoes,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Students Unite To Help Victims Of The Haiti Earthquake

FriendshipFriendshipRideRide

Page 12Page 12

Job FairJob FairPage 11Page 11

GIRLGIRLSCOUTSSCOUTS

NEED YOURNEED YOURSUPPORTSUPPORT

Page 8Page 8

LAPDLAPDCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITY

POLICEPOLICEACADEMYACADEMY

Page 5Page 5


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Get Your LocalNews / EventsInfo FromTHE VOICE

on twittertwitter.com/voicenewspaper

Hello Neighbors,This month I celebrate my

2nd Year Anniversary of havingGastric Bypass Surgery and as

many of you have seen my life has change before your eyes.

It is sometimes strange for me to see pictures of myself and see how far I have come.

This past year was an incredible one. I had the opportunity to see President Obama as he landed Air Force One on his rst trip toCalifornia.

I met and interviewed Lance Armstrong three times, and rode by his side twice last year alongwith members of the EASTSIDE

BIKE CLUB. I tell my friends and family how

am I going to top that? Indeed I have been blessed.This year has started fantastic with

one of the best surprise birthday parties I have ever experienced Thanks to my girlfriend Erica.

Words cannot discribe how much I love and appreciate each and everyone of you that contribute to my

happiness everyday.On Another note;

Please support our advertisers,They provide products services

and employment in our community. Lets stay focused on what our objectives are this year. We will have to do more with less city services.

Keep our community safe, stayinformed and vigilant. Start a

Neighborhood Watch and sign up for CERT TRAINING.They both are free. The only

thing that is stopping you... IS YOU. Prepare now! Its time.

We welcome your comments send them to [email protected] or call us at 323/221.7400.

Carlos Morales Publisher / Editor

EDITORSMESSAGE

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Page 4 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 www.thevoicepub.com FEBRUARY 2010

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PUBLISHER / EDITORCarlos Morales

GENERAL MANAGERJoe Rivera

MARKETING DIRECTORCarlos Morales

CFOSal Garcia

PHOTOGRAPHERSRichard CanalesStarland Francis

Vicente Rodriguez

SALESErica Cornejo

CONTRIBUTORSGeorge Cabrera Jr.Frank A. SerranoKimberly Bueno

Tom WilliamsJaime Urbina

Mark OverstreetBob HidalgoErik Sarni

Adriana OleaHector Huerta

Sevin RileyTeresa Marquez

Val Marquez

THE VOICEIs a community based news

publication based in El Sereno and published once a month.Our circulation consists of

20,000 print impressions and 1,200 email subscribers. Itis delivered to residents and

businesses in the El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, and Boyle Heights, Rose Hills, University Hills and Downtown Alhambra and Emery Park communities.

Our growing network of community participation has made this publication the primary source for local information.We strive to make a positiveimpact on the community by

reporting news that is seldom found anywhere else in the me- dia to inform, and educate this community on what is going onin their front yard!

We welcome community interest stories, and press releases. 60% of all articles are written by community stakeholdersTHE VOICE reserves the right

to edit all materials due to space constrictions.THE VOICE is not respon-

sible nor liable for any claims or offerings, nor responsible for products availability that may be advertised. Opinionsexpressed in these columns are

those by the authors who wr ote them. All rights reserved. Re- production in whole or in partwithout written permission

from the editor is prohibited.Email: [email protected] Valley Blvd., Suite A1

Los Angeles, CA 90032

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1Reduced service is not acceptable be-cause all citizens lives are valuable.

The brownouts began on August 6,2009 and THE VOICE has seen rsthand how this has directly affected theLincoln Heights Community servicedby Fire Station 1. As reporters, we areon location at crime scenes, commu-nity meetings and emergency response

incidents and because of this over theyears we have become acquainted withmost of the re personnel from everystation in Battalion 7 (which servesEl Sereno, Boyle Heights and LincolnHeights.) Since these brownouts start-ed we at times arrive before the para-medics on location. The ironic thingis that we arrive on scene before 1stresponders and we ride our bicycles toget to these incidents.

It has indirectly impacted El Serenoand Boyle Heights neighborhoods be-cause when Station 1 is on the brown-out rotation Paramedic Engine compa-nies such as 16 and 47 out of El Serenoand Engine Company 2 out of BoyleHeights loss staff in order to cover FireStation 1. This has been going on forve months and yet Councilman Hu-izar CD14 and Ed Reyes CD1 havenever mentioned it during their emailcommunity updates.On Saturday, January 30th the commu-

nities call for alarm was loud and clear.Nearly 100 community stakehold-ers responded to the call, armed withpicket signs, whistles and lots of ener-gy to alert other community membersof the imminent danger. Communitymembers told THE VOICE they ndit strange that the evening before theprotest was scheduled CouncilmemberJose Huizar send out his weekly emailupdate notifying the community thathe recently became aware that the LosAngeles Fire Department (LAFD) haddeveloped a draft plan to consider redi-recting resources across the City basedon budget cuts.

Several members of the communitywho are employed by the city did notwant to comment on the record for fearof losing their jobs or any city retali-ation for speaking up. This last ditcheffort to disseminate information theevening before the protest makes us up-set. Councilman Huizar has known of these brownouts happening for monthsand did not alert his constituents thatthis was taken place.

In his email the day before the pro-test Councilman Huizar states, Pub-lic safety is my number one priority,I want to assure you that this plan isnot going to be implemented anytimesoon. commented Huizar thru the let-ter. Huizar continued to state, Lastsummer, LAFD management devised abrownout plan as a way to meet the de-partments goal of saving $120 million.Initial dialogue with the departmentsuggests that the latest redeploymentplan does not represent a decrease inoverall resources, but instead a redirec-tion of resources between stations ac-cording to Fire managements sense of where they are most needed. Council-man Huizar closes his letter by stating,You have my commitment that I willclosely monitor this situation

Leonard who did not want to revealhis last name is an El Sereno residentthat attended the protest stated Thisis typical political cover up, wait un-til Huizar runs for re-election, he willhave a three alarm call for the com-munity to come out and vote for him,he has a surprise coming when no one

from this community is coming to hisaide, he is failing us now, he is plac-ing my family in danger. This is some-thing our community will not takelightly, What good will it do when heis monitoring the situation and we aremaking funeral arrangements for lovedones? stated Leonard.

The fact is that LAFD has been clos-ing re companies and ambulances ona daily basis since last summer dueto budget constraints imposed by theMayor and City Council. The closureshave been at the rate of 28 companiesper day, for a total of 87 fewer emer-gency responders on duty each day inthe city.

The Fire Chief recently signaled hisintent to spread these closures on awider basis, in a way that will impact

the residents of Hillside Village, Uni-versity Hills, and South El Sereno to agreater degree.Unlike the ambulance, Engine 16 will

be replaced at the station on the daysit is closed. Non-paramedic Engine 47(from the Monterey Hills / Rose Hillsneighborhood) will move-up to FireStation 16 on the days in question.Last year, on January 27th, 2009 THE

VOICE covered a press conference onthe opening of the Valley Blvd GradeSeparation Bridge. Councilman Hu-izar stated during that press confer-ence The single most important factorof building this bridge was PUBLICSAFETY and today were taking some-thing that was a source of frustrationfor the community and were turning itinto a source of pride. stated Huizar.(You can read the complete press cov-erage in our FEBRUARY 2009 VOICE@ thevoicepub.com)Wes Taussig a homeowner in the Uni-

versity Hills community also at theprotest stated, We nally get the Val-ley Blvd. Bridge to open last year toservice us efciently and now the Cityis taken away the Paramedics that weneed. The budget affects all of us, andmoney is an issue for every family. Weunderstand you have to make cuts, butyou cannot make cuts to public safety.Paramedics are essential, how can wehave a community that is not supportedby Paramedics, the Fire Department orthe Police Department. This is not anoption. What is happening with thissituation is that politics is dominat-ing people to say whatever they want

just to look good and are unaffected onhow this affects our communities. Thedecisions they make hurts real peopleslives, this community needs the sup-port of our Paramedics.Eddie Santillan, El Serenos Honorary

Mayor told THE VOICE It is criticalfor this community to keep our re sta-tions fully staffed, when my father hada massive stroke several years ago, theFire department responded to renderaid and in moments like this where sec-onds count. LAFD Paramedics havetold THE VOICE In our line of work,a few seconds delay could mean thedifference between life and death.

The United Fire Fighters of LosAngeles (uag.org) the Fire FightersUnion website: Post brownout stationclosures on a daily basis to keep theirunion members and the community atlarge informed of what is happening.Sources within the department hasbrought it to our attention that begin-ning February 3rd, Paramedic Assess-ment Engine 16 will be closed for threeconsecutive days in a row. That cyclewill repeat 27 days later, meaning theengine will be closed 3 days out of ev-ery 30 days for as long as this policycontinues.

We spoke with Battalion 7 Chief Mi-chael Thomas who was representingthe City at the community protest andhe stated, LAFD Paramedic RescueAmbulances (RA) resources are avail-able to respond within the prescribedtime, so there is no loss in responsetime. The community has it wrongcalling it brownouts, it is a rotation of resources stated Thomas. We askedhim, What exactly does that mean fornormal people like us? He stated, Ba-sically it is a reduction of resourceson a rotational basis and it is accom-plished by putting stafng elsewherein order to cover the city. (So onemust question who is watching station1 in Lincoln Heights? Perhaps this is

why we have often seen signs put upby community members at the LincolnHeights station saying that their stationwas closed when their engine was cov-ering other areas.)

Channel 4 News Anchor Ted Chenwas one of the reporters covering theprotest and was the rst to notice thatEngine 1 was parked in the station baywhere Engine 16 usually is parkedready to answer the emergency belltones. Chen asked Chief Thomas,What is that engine doing here? Chief Thomas replied This is a perfect ex-ample on how the LAFD routinely ro-tates its resources throughout the city;

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Paramedics Services In Danger


5/16

FEBRUARY 2010 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 email: [email protected] Page 5

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The Community Police Academy isan 11 week course, taught one nighta week at the Los Angeles PoliceAcademy. It is designed to developa partnership between the LAPD andthe members of the community. TheAcademy provides students with aninside look at the LAPD and variousfacets of law enforcement.

The course is taught at the LAPDAcademy in Elysian Park, 1880 North

Academy Drive, Los Angeles, CA90012 from 6pm -9pm every Thurs-day. The last day of course will con-clude with Graduation Ceremony.

Through the community PoliceAcademy enrolled students will be en-couraged to build a lasting partnershipwith the LAPD with the ultimate goalof reducing crime and improving thequality of life in our neighborhood.

Members of THE VOICE Commu-nity Publication have graduated fromthis course and HIGHLY RECOM-MENDS it to community members.

Each community member mustmeet the following criteria for con-sideration: Must be 18 years of ageor older. Live, Work or go to schoolin Operation Central Bureau, No Out-

standing Warrants, No Pending Crim-inal Cases, Must be approved by anArea Commanding Ofcer.Note: High School students between

the ages of 14 and 17 yrs are encour-aged to enroll and attend CommunityPolice Academy Classes. However,their parent(s) and / or Guardians(s)must be enrolled in the class and shallaccompany the minor. The parent(s)and / or guardian(s) will also be re-

sponsible for the transportation of theminor(s) to and from the Los AngelesPolice Academy.

Interested community members areasked to contact LAPD Hollenbeck Senior Lead Ofcer Joe Perez @213.793.0754 or Hollenbeck SergeantAndy Rea 323/342.4130 or THEVOICE 323/221.7400.

The next CPA is scheduled forMARCH 25th thru June 3rdApplications must be turned in for re-view no later than March 15, 2010.

SPANISH CLASSJune 10th thru August 19th

Last Class of the year isAugust 26th thru November 4th

LAPD OFFERS COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1and today we have achieved thatgoal as well in fact we have ex-ceeded it.

Students got their families toget involved and soon we hadparents bring in shoes. Our stu-dents worked thru their lunchand nutrition periods to sort andcount the shoes. It was a veryinvolved, hands on process. Atrst the shoes came in from thestudents own closets, some kidsdid not wear a pair of shoes any-more; others received them forChristmas or perhaps a birth-day and were not going to wearthem. Students began bringingin their parents shoes that theydid not wear, started askingtheir extended families, cousins,aunts and uncles, neighbors andfriends. said Pace.Elihu one of the students par-

ticipating in this shoe drive toldus he brought 18 pairs of shoes.

We asked him where did he getthese from and he stated, Wewere having a family reunionand asked everyone to bringwhat they could. I am happy tobe able to help families who re-ally need the help.

Approximately 180 studentsparticipated in this effort. Intwo weeks the students havecollected nearly 4,000 pairs of shoes!

WILSON HIGH SCHOOLCREATES YARD SALE FOR

HAITI By Jessica Garcia

Wilson High School Student

The students of Woodrow Wil-

son High School have joined to-gether in an effort to raise moneyfor the people of Haiti. Studentsare hosting several on campusevents including dances, con-certs and bake sales. In addition,we are also having an on campusYARD SALE on Saturday, Feb-ruary 13th from 6 am 1pm. andthe community is invited to helpus reach our goal.

Our goal is to raise $5,000, butwe hope to exceed that goal withthe help of our community. Allcontributions will go to ZanmiLasante, which is a Haitiangrassroots organization thatsbeen providing free healthcarefor over 20 years. Please HelpWilson High - Help Haiti.

This wasnt a One-Teacher,One-Idea kinda thing. Manyclubs here at school were alreadyworking on raising money, so weall just decided to work together.The exact number of studentsand teachers is not known, butwhat is known is that the morepeople know of this, the moreteachers and students not onlywant to be involved but actuallyget involved.

As of now, we can be sure thatabout, if not more than half theschool is currently involved inall Haiti Relief events. This in-cludes the yard sale, dances, oth-er clubs, etc. The yard sale willbe held here at school in front of the Multi Purpose Room (MPR)and the student store. The en-tire area will be utilized for theyard sale. One idea, however,is to have like a child-play areain front of the MPR with music,games and food.

STUDENTS HELPHAITI

EARTHQUAKEVICTIMS

LAFD CERTEMERGENCY

RESPONSETRAINING

BE PREPARED!

BARRIO ACTION YOUTH & FAMILY CENTERANNOUNCES NEW COLLABORATION!

By Tammy Membreo and Michele Matheson

On January 21st, the rain wasnt going to keep folks from coming to visit an-other inspiring celebration at Barrio Action Youth & Family Center. This eventcelebrated the Centers Grand Opening as a site for the Lincoln Heights/ElSereno FamilySource Program, one of 21 such consortiums funded by federal,government block grants and managed by the City of Los Angeles Commu-nity Development Department

Gerardo Ruvalcaba, Regional Area Director of East Region of CommunityDevelopment Department explained that the FamilySource Program acts as adelivery system for anti-poverty initiatives and core services designed to assistlow-income families with youth, ages 16 and under, to increase family incomeand improve educational achievement.

The celebration included a taste of what the community can learn from theFusion Performing Dance Academy which offers something for everyone,from kids to adults. The Fusion Performing Dance Academy conducts classesin Barrio Actions dance studio and the gymnasium for larger classes. Classesfor the community are: Ballet to ages 8+, Body& Mind (age 14+), Pre-Dance (ages 4 - 7), Hip-Hop Fusion Beginning (8+), Latin Rhythm Cardio(12+), Step Cardio Boot Camp (14+), and Zumba(14+).We were then heartened to hear testimonials from

two students in the ESL/Computer class, AndreaLeon and Eduardo Perez. Teacher Diane Galindosaid, The fact that Andrea and Eduardo stood upin front of a crowd of people and spoke in Englishsays it all. You could see the pride that they felt.You get that through your successes. She contin-ued, I have had the honor of teaching ESL for 15years at Barrio Action. I have seen the physicaltransformation of Barrio Action from teaching ata little re station to a dilapidated restaurant andnow to our beautiful new building. Throughout thechanges of these different sites, our students havealways been loyal and have followed us. It has beentheir tenacious desire to learn English that I think always brings them back! I am proud of their work and more importantly proud to be their teacher.

Since 1992, in partnership with Wilson-LincolnAdult School, the ESL (English as a Second Lan-guage) classes have been giving people the oppor-tunities to feel successful. The new ESL compo-nent has a new class structure that includes ESL,conversation, grammar, pronunciation, writing,and reading. Also, adding to the new structureare computer classes that include keyboardingand computer literacy. The academic componentteaches basic skills in math, as well as career de-velopment that address employment preparation.Each student will get an individualized plan toreach his/her goals. Classes are taught by LAUSD-credentialed teachers and a team of LAUSD staff who will also conduct workshops on topics such ascareers, vocational program requirements, social

programs, life skills, application/resume writing,interviewing skills, and job opportunities.The computer classes are taught in our new com-

puter lab stocked with 20 computers. The classesbegin gently, with the very basics and advanceslowly. Right now, students are mastering the key-board. ESL/Computer Classes are every day Mon-day through Thursday from 8:30-12:30. Child-careis provided.

Amy Ley-Sanchez from Hillsides describedthe parenting classes, currently held on Mondaynights from 6:00-7:30 in Spanish and English andon Thursday, in Spanish, from 10:30-12:00, hereat Barrio child care included! Classes are taughtby masters level clinicians who are bilingual inSpanish and who demonstrate expertise in the ar-eas of child and adolescent mental health and fam-ily dynamics. Hillsides parenting classes focus onreducing child abuse, domestic violence, substanceabuse and neglect,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7


6/16

Bob & Rose Fukuhara Your 70th Wedding

Anniversary is comingup on June 1st, 2010

Two Love birds Happy Valentines Day 2010 Love Eileen & Rudy

10 Year AnniversaryLupe since we met last century you havebeen an angel in my life. These ten yearshave gone by so fast and I am lookingforward on the next decade by your side.I love you for whom you are. You havebeen there for me 24/7Ill always be there for youLovingly Ruben

Mi Adorada Madre,En un dia tan importante comohoy pensando en ti mi corazon

palpita sin velocimetro.Te doy las gracias por abermedado vida y por lo que soy.Cada dia pienso en ti.Tu hijo que nunca se olvidarade su madre adoradaRuben Happy Birthday Mom on your 89th February 26th, 2010

Sally, There are no words to describeour long term friendship. I hope wecan continue forever.Happy Valentines Day! Love Always,George Cabrera Jr.Your Urban Cowboy!

Heeeee Haaaaaaaw

Rafael & PiperWishing yu both a

Happy Valentines Day!May it be filled with Love and

Happiness.

Eileen & Rudy

Three generations of a loving family,Mark, Erika, Rosa, and Carlos Overstreet,

Grandma Jane Lopez,Grandfather Refugio Serrano.

Mom, We wanted to tell you what agreat Mother you have been to us. Wewant to wish you a Happy Birthday anda Happy Valentines Day. We know that

God has blessed us to have the honorof being your sons.

George & Joel Cabrera

Corazon,Wishing you a Happy Valentines Day.

I love you BIG much! Love, Frida

Olga, Miracles didnt seem to amazeme until the day you were born. You

are a clear example of a miracle, sinceyou now know the story about your

birth. You have lled my life with joyand unforgettable moments.

I am proud to say that you have agreat man by your side.

Love you both Ruben

Happy Birthday Mija on your 32nd Birthday,February 21st 2010


7/16

FEBRUARY 2010 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 www.twitter.com/voicenewspaper Page 7

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By Erica CornejoMaracas Restaurant has been

serving delicious and authenticMexican food in Los Angeles forover four decades with outstand-ing customer service.

Leonor Mendez Paz originallyfrom Tapachula Chiapas Mexiconear the border of Guatemalashe came to the State of Califor-nia seeking a better opportunity

for her family in 1960. Leonorworked as a Chef in a restaurantand realized that she too can run arestaurant business with the helpof her two sons and two daugh-ters.

The familys dream in becom-ing a restaurant owner material-ized in 1963 when she opened herown Mexican Cuisine RestaurantLa Maracas on Main Street inDowntown L.A.

This past month, Las MaracasRestaurant took another big stepby opening this restaurant on Jan-uary 10, 2010 in Lincoln Heights.Miguel Contreras the owner of therestaurant said, I am very pleasedto see the community come out towelcome us to this community.We asked him why did he choseLincoln Heights? Contreras stat-ed, I love this community, I amfamiliar with this community, Iattended Hollenbeck, Wabash,attended Lincoln High School in1970 and 71, then moved over toRoosevelt and graduated in 73.We ask: What makes you differentfrom other restaurants in the area?Contreras answered, I serve greattasting food at affordable prices.I like to challenge myself and bydoing this I become better at whatI do, and what I do is sell greattasting food!

Contreras has many long timeemployees working with him, hekeeps them busy at the restaurantand the catering service he offers.Maracas, has employed some of

its employees for nearly sixteenyears and no less than four years.They have been loyal to us, sowe are loyal to them they are ourextended family, they have beenby our side thru the good timesand during tough times that everybusiness experiences.

Norma Olivo the business ownerof Sloans Dry Cleaners in Lin-

coln Heights was anxious for theGrand Opening and she attendedthe event accompanied by her twodaughters Erika Gallo and LeslieRuiz. Gallo stated, There was aline of several dozen people thatled out the door into Broadway,the restaurant was lled withpeople from all neighborhoodsand people of every color. I lovethe diversity and friendliness of our neighborhood. Its so greatto see everyone so happy sayinghello to each other. Its like sit-ting here with family said Gallo.Leslie fell in love with the food of Maracas, It taste just like a homecooked meal. said Ruiz. Allthree were very impressed withthe quality and freshness of their

meals after ordering enchiladas,crunchy tacos and a green chili

burrito. I love supporting thenew businesses and I wish themsuccess.

THE VOICE attended the GrandOpening and seen several hundredpeople enjoying the food through-out the day. Contreras made avery smart move in serving mostof his dishes for only one dollar.We did this knowing that people

love our food and will bring oth-ers to enjoy it.Maracas offers homemade riceand beans to specialty dishes suchas enchiladas, tacos, Chile Rel-lenos, Birria, Milanesa, ShrimpScampi, Menudo, Cocido. Wetake pride in making everythingfrom scratch and cook it with love.When you walk into Maracas youwill be greeted by their friendlystaff, be served fresh food in aclean restaurant. Whether you arestopping by for a quick lunch orlooking to dine in for dinner.For information on Maracas Ca-tering service for family reunions,company parties, birthday par-ties and weddings contact MikeContreras. Maracas is located at

3300 N. Broadway Ave. LincolnHeights, CA 90031

MARACAS RESTAURANT SERVING IT UP!CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

and also meet DCFS and FamilyCourt requirements. Certicatesare offered to participants whocomplete the sessions.

Dennis Ortega of LincolnHeights Tutorial Program wasnext to let everyone know aboutthe tremendous academic sup-port his tutoring program offersas well as lots of fun! We alsoheard about the new upcomingprogram to El Sereno - the ElSereno Tutorial Program!

We heard from Juana Lambertand Carolyn Lopez from the LosAngeles Boys and Girls Club.LABGC offers programs calledGoals for Graduation, SmartGirls, Career Launch, MoneyMatters, and many more includ-ing their recreational programs attheir club.Plaza de la Razas Maria Jiminez

talked up the cultural and artisticprograms for youth and adults

that include wonderful activitiessuch as Folklorico dance, Ma-riachi, and singing. Hellen Hongand Carolina Andrade from theLos Angeles Center for Law andJustice closed the presentationssharing information about theirlegal services, child support ser-vices and domestic violence supportsuch as restraining orders andhelp for pregnant or sexuallyabused youth.All of these programs are free!

Tammy Membreo, BarrioActions Executive Director forthe past 19 years stated, Nothingis better than to be able to bringprograms to our families in need;programs that are relevant totheir lives and current needs. Wewant to empower them; we wantto enrich them; we want to makesure that we nurture the learningprocess of our families - this iswhat the FamilySource Center isall about. said Membreno.

BARRIO ACTION

Members of the Fusion Dance Team


8/16

Page 8 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 www.twitter.com/voicenewspaper FEBRUARY 2010

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DR. MARTIN LUTHER KINGOBITUARY

Steven A ThomsonOctober 11, 1964 to January 09, 2010

Steve was born to Wally and Sue Thomson in San Ga-briel, CA. He was a 1982 graduate from RosemeadHigh School.

Steve has moved and lived in Lake Havasu for the past16 years. The things that he enjoyed in his life wereracing his mini street stock cars at Lake Havasu Speedway and Mohave Valleyraceway.

His rst love was riding and camping with family and friends in the Glamis sanddunes, his rst trip to Glamis was at 6 weeks of age. Steve was an experienceddesert rider having raced in California, Nevada and Arizona, with the WORCS andDistrict 37 organizations. He started racing when he was 10 years old. He workedfor USF Reddaway and had earned his Million Mile Safe driver Award. He left thisworld unexpectedly doing what he loved most racing with his son Thomas in therecent Parker 250.

He is survived by his Fiance Marty Taylor; his son Thomas and his DaughterKaycie; his future daughters Morgan and Erin and his future grand daughterDevynn; Parents Wally and Sue Thomson and grandmother Helen Larsen of Ka-nab, UT; brothers, Bob (Cindy) of Diamond Bar, CA, Todd (Dagmar) of Las Vegas,NV; Nephews, Zac, Cody and Jake; Nieces, Autumn, Alexandria and Emma.

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Girl Scout Troop 7711, based in El Sereno, wouldlike your support this season. We have been presentin the community for three years now. The Daisy,Brownie and Junior troop consists of 15 wonderfulgirls. Each one brings something different to thetroop.

The girls have done several community serviceevents in Montebello and are looking to get their

feet wet in El Sereno, our home town. As a troop,the Girls have participated in Memorial Day cer-emonies, Feed Your Neighbor canned food drive,made personal care boxes for the Womens Shelter,made Thanksgiving baskets, and was a participant inour El Sereno Independence Day parade last year.

This year the Greater Los Angeles Girl ScoutCouncil is focusing on Together we can end ex-treme Poverty & Hunger. The Feed Your Neighborcampaign collected 37,979 pounds of food whichwere donated to local food banks.

Troop 7711 plans to sell cookies outside ChaseBank in El Sereno on Saturday, February 27th andMarch 6th. We will also sell cookies outside of Vons on Fair Oaks, So Pasadena on Sunday March14th and end our cookie sales season at the Albert-sons on Fremont, Alhambra March 21st. Girl ScoutCookies are still $4.00 per box. This years cookieline up still has some of your favorites and addition-al New Cookies!!! Thank U Berry Munch, Dulce

de Leche bite size, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Trefoils,Do-Si-Dos, Tagalongs, Samoas and Thin Mints.The Cookie Season is a great tool for each Girl

Scout to develop self-condence, meet new friends,practice money management, learn goal setting,acquire marketing skills, and discover the value of teamwork.

We hope to see our community members support our troop. If you visit us and mention you read about our cookie sale in THE VOICE you will receive a special treat.

Girl Scout CookieSeason Has ArrivedSupport Our Girls!

Honoring the Spirit of Martin Luther KingDay 250 Los Angeles Area Students StartService with City Year

The rain did not discourage 250 studentswho had the day off and still came to schoolon January 18th to Honor the memory of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. legacy through citi-zen service.

The 250 middle school and high schoolstudents served their communities throughCity Years Young Heroes and City Heroes

programs. They were joined by 1,000 localvolunteers and led by City Year corps mem-bers who are engaged in a year of full-timeservice as tutors, mentors and role modelsdedicated to keeping students in school andon track.

Young Heroes is a leadership developmentand community service program for 6-8thgrade students. Bank of America is the Na-tional Lead Partner of the City Year YoungHeroes Program. On Saturdays from Janu-ary to May, 150 Los Angeles area middleschool students will learn from City Yearcorps members, each other and special guestsabout how to become active in their commu-nities and make a difference. These youngpeople come together to work in diverseteams of eight to 12, serve a minimum of 80 hours and, in the process, earn the Presi-dents Volunteer Service Award. Participantslearn about the social issues in their commu-nities and help address them through handson community service.

In addition, 100 high school students willkick off ve months of service as City He-

roes who learn about social challenges andhow they can address them. As a weekendleadership development and social awarenessprogram for 9-12th grade students, partici-pants learn to lead others in tackling issuesthat directly affect their communities.The students in both these programs havediverse backgrounds and experiences andcome from across the Los Angeles region from Brentwood to Boyle Heights and fromNorth Hollywood to Watts.

Today, we are inspired by these 250 middleschool and high school students who are tak-ing the pledge today to become Young He-roes and City Heroes and 1,000 volunteerswho have decided to make this a day ON, nota day off, said City Year Los Angeles Exec-utive Director Allison Graff-Weisner. Theircommitment to their community serves as anexample for all of us, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Immediately after taking their pledge toserve, the Young Heroes and City Heroes

joined 150 City Year corps members and1,000 community volunteers in service. Ledby City Year corps members, the participantsbeautied the campus of Belvedere MiddleSchool in East Los Angeles by painting anarray of inspirational and educational muralsthat will serve to improve the schools cli-mate for the students.To learn more about City Year and how di-verse corps members unite as tutors, mentorsand role models, who help students stay inschool and on track, please visitwww.cityyear.org/losngeles.


9/16

FEBRUARY 2010 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 www.thevoicepub.com Page 9

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Throughout February, First 5 LA pro-motes Childrens Dental Health Month

and offers tips for parents.An epidemic of tooth decay exists among

young children living in Los AngelesCountys poorest communities, accordingto a recent Childrens Dental Health Studycommissioned by First 5 LA, along withthe Annenberg Foundation, The CaliforniaEndowment and The California WellnessFoundation.

The study revealed that some 72 percentof children under age 5 in underservedcommunities have untreated cavities. Thisis signicantly higher than the national av-erage of about 30 percent of youngsters incomparable age and income groups. Thestudy also found that among the 72 per-cent with untreated cavities, 9 percent of the children needed immediate dental carewithin 24 hours while the others requireddental care within 15 days.

Recognizing this critical problem, First 5LA is teaming up with dental care provid-ers throughout February, Childrens Den-tal Health Month, to help promote goodoral health care.According to Evelyn V. Martinez, executive

director of First 5 LA, many youngstersdo not visit the dentist regularly or get thedental care they need to keep their teethand gums healthy. As a result, they areinfected with dental diseases that can hurtthe development of their permanent teeth,lead to painful conditions and threaten theiroverall health and well-being, Martinezsaid. Tooth decay is the most commonchronic disease of childhood, occurring upto ve times more frequently than asthma,and also a leading cause of absence from

school.Martinez said the downturn in the econ-

omy has made it even more difcult formany parents to adequately care for theirchildrens health, especially dental health.The increase in out-of-pocket dental ex-penses or loss of dental insurance cover-age has blocked access to dental care.

Many parents wait until their child is age3 or 4 before they have a rst dental visit,but the American Academy of Pediatricsrecommends that children see a dentistby their rst birthday. For more informa-tion on childrens dental health care visit:www.readysetgrowla.org/oralhealth.

First 5 LA offers tips on the best way totake care of a young childs teeth:

Birth to 12 monthsGood dental habits should begin before therst tooth appears. After feedings, gentlybrush your babys gums using water on ababy toothbrush that has soft bristles. Orwipe them with a clean washcloth.

Schedule your babys well-child visits.During these visits, your childs doctorwill check your babys mouth.

12 to 24 monthsBrush your childs teeth two times a dayusing water on a baby toothbrush with softbristles. Best times are after breakfast andbefore bed.

Make sure your child doesnt drink morethan one small cup of juice each day andonly at mealtimes.Consult with your childs dentist or doctor

about sucking habits. Sucking too stronglyon a pacier, a thumb or ngers can alterthe shape of the mouth; how the top andbottom teeth line up.Schedule a dental checkup.

L.A. County has Alarming Rates of ToothDecay Among Poor Children

Play Now for Autism will be returningfor a second year. After last years suc-cessful baseball event, the committee de-cided to bring it back. The event is set toreturn March 28, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA.The location has not yet been determined.It will no longer be held at Northeast LALittle League. It will begin at 11am and goon until around 4pm.

The event will consist of two baseballgames. The rst game, beginning at noon,will solely be for children with autism whilethe second game will invite others on to theeld for a game too. Children with autismthat participate in the baseball game will begiven a free baseball and a free T-shirt.

Many changes for the event have beenmade. This year will feature some of thesame attractions (petting zoo, arts & crafts,etc) but will have a much bigger and bet-ter resource fair. Everything in the resource

fair will be related to autism.A book signing by the events creator,Zack Gonzalez, an El Sereno resident, willalso be held from 2pm-3pm. He will beselling and signing his new book, SavingDeets!: A Familys Journey with Autism.The event will have a whole hour-asidefrom the baseball games & performances-where attendees can mingle and go throughthe resource fair. During this hour (2pm-3pm) autograph signings and mini presen-

tations will be held amongst the differentbooths.

The event will host more performancesthan last years event, as well. The eventwill, again, be selling Dodger Dogs andregular concession stand snacks, but thisyear, GFCF (gluten-, casein-free) treatswill also be available. You can expect tosee more Los Angeles Dodger Legendsalong with last years Bobby Castillo andJim Gott.

Registration to play has already begun.To register your child with autism for thisevent, be a volunteer for this event, or if you are interested in being a vendor orbooth holder for this event please emaileither, [email protected] [email protected]

All the proceeds from the Play Now forAutism 2010 Baseball Event will be donat-ed to Jenny McCarthys non-prot autism

organization, Generation Rescue, and gotoward family grants. The grants will helpthe families fund for biomedical interven-tions and more!

For more information on this eventplease visit:www.myspace.com/playnowforautism

www.zackgonzalez.comwww.generationrescue.org

El Sereno Youth Behind the MovementThe New-n-Improved Play Now for Autism


10/16


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U.S. CONGRESSWOMANJUDY CHU

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US SENATORDIANE FEINSTEIN

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LOS ANGELES CITYCity Hall Ofce200 North Spring StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa213/[email protected]

COUNCILMEMBER 14THJose Huizar

213/[email protected]

COUNCILMEMBER 1STEd P. Reyes

213/[email protected]

Elected OfcialsDIRECTORY

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4in this case the engine that isusually here was scheduled for atraining exercise this morning andis out of service, and the coveragethat 1s is providing is actuallynormal procedure. At any givenday, our companies receive train-ing and when this happens weleave a company behind to coverthe district. This particular engine

is within Battalion 7. The bottomline is strategically we have to-tal coverage with in the city, so Icannot elaborate anymore on theeffect this program has, we justwant to make sure that city servic-es are not compromised. Thomascontinued to say, Certainly com-munities should take ownership of re ghting resourses which is anormal thing but sometimes theyhave a tendency to misinterpretwhat this measure is, what theythink is that there is no cover-age at this station and that is nottrue stated Thomas. Chen askedhim, Chief are you not worried?Thomas stated, Well like I said,I work for the re service and we

make certain strategic measuresto comply with city services andas far as Im concerned these ser-vices are not reduced at all saidThomas.

Well after further investigationby THE VOICE we found out thatEngine 1 is whats called a BASICLife Support Engine and Engine16 in El Sereno is classied as anADVANCE Life Support engine

company. Here is what makes upa BASIC vs ADVANCE or alsoknown as an ASSESSMENT En-gine. A BASIC ENGINE Com-pany has One Captain, One En-gineer, and two FIREMEN, anADVANCE ENGINE Companywill have One Captain, One En-gineer, One Fireman and ONEPARAMEDIC.

When someone has a stroke orheart attack as an example; En-gine 1 would not be able to renderor administer drugs to a patient tostabilize them for transportationto get further medical attention.In some cases when a PARA-MEDIC is not on location it canbe a matter of LIFE OR DEATH.

That being said let say Engine 1is covering for Engine 16 and letssay trafc accident happens nearValley Blvd and Mariondale Avein the University Hills commu-nity, how long will it take a LAFDParamedic Engine to arrive onscene to stabilize that patient tosave a life?

Now as a stakeholder of thiscommunity, I Carlos Morales ask:

LAFD Chief Thomas, do you stillmaintain that there is no loss of response time? We all know thereal answer nowand you knewbetter! And to Council MembersHuizar and Reyes how much moremonitoring of this situation wouldyou need to step up and protect ourcommunity? We are not a barganingchip! This community stepped upbecause you have failed to keep usinformed!

Raymond Rios, Vice Presidentof the HVPOA summarized theprotest by stating, We organizeda protest to draw attention to thecitywide Fire Department Brown-outs. Thankfully for local mediacoverage, we informed our com-

munity and City residents aboutupcoming changes to their localFire Stations. Our message is thatcutting vital emergency servicesresults in the lives of citizens tobe put at risk. We feel that Sat-urdays demonstration was a suc-cess. The goals we set out to ac-complish were met; however thebattle is not over. We now haveto be vigilant and hold the City

Council accountable for their de-cisions related to spending andCity budget cuts. While mind-ful of the Citys nancial crisis,we need to keep reminding themthat we WILL NOT tolerate cutsto vital emergency services withinour communities. In the case of Fire Station 16, anything less thana self-reliant station would be un-acceptable. Our property ownersassociation grew-up in a big wayas a result of Saturdays protest.We hope we inspired other com-munity organizations and look forward to working with them,sending the message that Enoughis Enough! said Rios.

Paramedics Services In Danger

The Board of Directors of the support organization,Friends of Hermon Dog Park (FHDP), proudly an-nounce their selection of El Sereno artist Ismael Ca-zarez and his project River Dogs, to be funded withFHDPs 2009 award from the City of Los AngelesCommunity Beautication $10,000 Matching Grantand placed in Hermon Park in the Arroyo Seco.

The nal decision was made January 23rd after in-terviews with two nalists by a Selection Committee.That committee was comprised of the FHDP Boardof Directors, local artists, an artist consultant, galleryowner, public arts advocate, local high school art stu-dent, community advocates, local art teacher, schoolprincipal, and representatives from the Citys Ofceof Community Beautication and the Department of

Recreation and Parks.The selection process began September 27th of lastyear with a call for artists, graciously distributed bythe respected Arroyo Arts Collective. After an after-noon site walk-through, 21 unique projects were sub-mitted for consideration.

Cazarez has called El Sereno home for about 23years and has been creating art for more than 40years. He earned his Masters Degree in studio artsin 1982 at Cal State L.A. He began as a muralistback in the 1970s, but now does mostly sculpturalworks.

Cazarez described the River Dogs work to us andsaid, It begins with a steel rebar wire frame that iswelded together, then he will grind river rocks to ttogether like puzzle pieces so that there are no gapsbetween them. This will eventually completely coverthe steel sculpture like a skin. Each stone is glued tothe rebar, different size stones will create the eyes,ears and other body parts, coloring and textures. Theend result portrays two slightly larger-than-life sizedogs playing with each other. Cazarez estimates thateach dog will take him between two hundred / twohundred and fty hours to fabricate each dog. Thecity process can take up to a year to get approved andfunding.

The committee found Cazarezs work to be unique,innovative, honoring of the community, and lowmaintenance.THE VOICE will monitor and report the progress of

this project as it becomes available.

El Sereno ArtistSelected For Hermon Dog ParkArt Project


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A Huntington Park businessman whopreyed on Spanish speaking investors withpromises of hefty returns in the real estatebubble has been found guilty of federalcharges for swindling more than 2,000 vic-tims out of more than $62 million.

Milton Retana, 46, was convicted on Jan-uary 20th by a federal jury of six counts of mail fraud and one count of making falsestatements to government agents who wereinvestigating the case.

Retanas lawyer, William S. Harris of South Pasadena, said that his client was anearnest businessman who never intendedto defraud anyone. He said he planned toappeal the verdict. Mr. Retana was rath-er disorganized and unsophisticated as abusinessman, stated Harris, He had veryprimitive accounting methods practicallynonexistent. But he was not living a lavishlifestyle as is the trademark of any master-mind behind a Ponzi scheme.

Following a week-long trial in UnitedStates District Court, jurors deliberatedfor less than an hour before convicting Re-tana of charges. Dozens of victims werein court to hear the announcement of theguilty verdicts.

Retana began soliciting investors in 2006through his company, Best Diamond Fund-ing, by telling them that their money wouldbe used to buy and sell real estate. BestDiamond Funding solicited money throughadvertisements in Spanish-language maga-zines, on the Internet, and during weeklyinvestment seminars at locations acrossLos Angeles. The investment seminars of-ten had as many as 300 potential investorsand incorporated religious messages.

Retana guaranteed returns as high as 84percent each year, claiming that he wouldpurchase properties in bulk at below-mar-ket prices and immediately sell them for aprot. However, records obtained by fed-eral investigators showed that Retana usedonly a tiny fraction of the victims moneyto purchase real estate and that his com-

pany was actually losing money.During the trial, several victims testi-

ed that they mortgaged their homes anddrained their retirement accounts becausethey believed Retanas promises that theirinvestments would be safe. The victimswho testied at trial were largely fromworking-class families in the East Los An-geles area and they included a stone mason,a long-haul truck driver, and a roofer whowas also a pastor at his local church.

Retanas scheme was almost uncoveredin the summer of 2008, when the Califor-nia Department of Real Estate audited hiscompany. Retana obstructed that investi-gation by ordering his employees to hideall of the investor les at the back of hiswifes religious bookstore, La Libreria DelExito Mundial located next door to hisbusiness on the 6400 block of Pacic Blvdin Huntington Park, CA. His scheme wasdisrupted in October 2008, when federalagents from the United States Postal In-spection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed search warrants onthe ofces of Best Diamond Funding andthe bookstore.

During those searches, agents found$800,000 in cash stashed in Retanas desk,as well as another $3.2 million in cash hid-den in the back of the bookstore. The FBIalso seized another $8 million from Reta-nas bank accounts.

Soon after the execution of the federalsearch warrants, agents interviewed Re-tana, who lied about how much money hehad received from the investors and claimedthat he could pay all of them back. Retanawas later secretly recorded telling a BestDiamond employee not to tell the govern-ment how much money Best Diamond hadreceived from the investors.

Retana is scheduled to be sentencedby United States District Judge R. GaryKlausner on April 26th and faces up to 125years in federal prison.

Con Man Found Guilty of Operating $62 Million PonziScheme That Targeted Spanish-Speaking Investors


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FROM THE DESK OF STEVEN KASTEN

FEBRUARY 1, 2010 AN OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY FROM STEVE KASTEN

STEVEN KASTEN PROPERTIESPROPERTY OWNER /BUSINESS OWNER

2718 NORTH BROADWAY, LOS ANGELES, CA 90031

I approve of our recently enacted Business Improvement District (BID) in Lincoln Heights.

I am pleased to see the improvements and the more positive activities and attitudes in our community. Our newly enactedBusiness Improvement District (BID) is definitely making a difference. Please take some time to check out the businesscorridor along Broadway, Daly Street and around five points at Pasadena Avenue and Avenue 26. What a difference! Thestreets are free from litter and graffit i. The streets and sidewalks are cleaned Monday through Saturday every week.

With the support of our Council Office (Councilman Ed P. Reyes and his staff), the LAPD (Hollenbeck Division) and thesupport in the community, our businesses will survive the recession and prosper as our economy improves.

Please support our local merchants in Lincoln Heights.

Thank you,

Steve Kasten

(Your comments are welcomed by phone at (323) 222-3489or by e-mail to [email protected])

CAFE IN THE HEIGHTS 3510 North Broadway(across from Lincoln High School)

NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS 6AM - 9PMServing Pastries, Fresh Fruit and Yogurts,Italian Ice Cream, Sandwiches

Every month it looks like our community is improving. Our BID has hired a private security firm to patrol our BusinessDistrict for 16 hours a day. The BID also installed Christmas Decorations in our Business District in December of last year..

We need a safe and clean community to attract new businesses. As we know, businesses in the community create jobs inthe community. We need new retail businesses to open in our newly created fashion distr ict on North Broadway. If youhave any ideas or leads, please let me know.

Our wish list for the community includes the following:

1. A community Certified Farmers Market

2. A Lincoln Heights (Gas Powered) Trolley to travel through the Business District.

3. Regularly sponsored community promotion such as store discount coupons and advertised community salespromotions, etc.

4. A community newsletter to keep us all informed of upcoming events & promotions.

Our Board Members of the Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce met with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for lunch on January 25th 2010, to discuss community issues with him. Other local Chambers were also represented at the January 25th,2010 luncheon at the San Antonio Winery. It was very successful and gave us direct access to the Mayors office. Council-

man Ed P. Reyes also attended the luncheon with the Mayor.

The next Sidewalk Sale in Lincoln Heights is scheduled for February 5, 6 & 7, 2010 on North Broadway.Our community is on the move.

On January 28, 2010 Councilman Ed P. Reyesinstalled the new Board of Directors for 2010 of theLincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce.

The luncheon attended by about 70 people wasa huge success. The Councilman advised us thatbecause of more budget cuts are expected in theCitys budget, members of the community need todo more for themselves. A perfect example of whythe BID in Lincoln Heights is so important.

The Board of Directors for 2010 of the

Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce.


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NOW OPEN6am - 9pm Everyday

Delicious Sandwiches *Affordable Prices*Great Atmosphere *Wi-Fi

Cafe In The Heights ofciallyopened its doors to the cheersof stakeholders from LincolnHeights, El Sereno and BoyleHeights.

The magic moment arrived onJanuary 9th after three years of hard work of dealing with the citybureaucracy, the persistence haspaid off for entrepreneur WilliamAparicio. Over 200 eager coffeeacionados, community supporters,hungry passers by and the merelycurious mingled and sampled coffee,sandwiches, Italian sodas, NaturalJuices, Yogurts and Gelatos duringthe grand opening event.

Assembly member Kevin DeLeon helped with the ofcialribbon cutting ceremony stated,William has been a jewel in theLincoln Heights Neighborhoodfor a long time; let me put thisinto perspective; We have plentyof liquor stores with plenty of beer and wine sales in the area.What we do not have is a smallwholesome establishment likethis coffee shop in our neighbor-hoods. Never in our history have

we endured a nancial crises asthe one we are in right now sincethe great depression. It takes a lotof courage to put the money onthe line; it takes a person with astrong constitution to say I am go-ing to open up this business neverthe less because our communityneeds it. stated De Leon andcontinued to say, You can go toEagle Rock, you can go to SilverLake, you can go to Echo Park and now we have just as goodcoffee here in Lincoln Heights.said De Leon to the cheer of thecrowd.

Paul Visconti, board member of the Lincoln Heights Neighbor-hood Council stated, Im veryexcited to have a new cafe on thisend of Broadway. There has beena buzz and people have been waitingfor a while, said Visconti.

The front room of the cafe istastefully decorated with black tables, beige with taupe wallsand red teardrop hanging lamps.Aparicio plans for the walls todisplay ongoing art exhibits fromlocal artists. There is also a back

room that is available for commu-nity meetings that can comfortablyaccommodate around ftyguests.Community resident Sevin Reileyreported that a couple of com-munity organizations are al-ready holding meetings in theback room. The Lincoln HeightsNeighborhood Council has heldsmaller committee meetings here

as well as board meetings for theBusiness Improvement Districtand Tenants Rights meetings haveutilize this new space.

Aparicio, was genuinely movedby the presence of Assem-blymember De Leon and thecommunity that came out to joinhim celebrate the special occasion.Aparicio stated Im glad this dayhas come, it has been a long threeyears dealing with health inspec-tors, city building inspectors andthe city as a whole. The Cityof Los Angeles talks a lot aboutbringing business to this city butthe way they operate is not verybusiness friendly especially tothose who want to open up andcreate jobs in our neighborhoods.

The main thing is that we arenow open. We dont intend to be just like any other establishmentin Lincoln Heights, we want tooffer something different. Justlike our sign says (as he pointsto the sign in front of his caf)Where Friends and NeighborsMeet Thats what its all aboutstated Aparicio as he opened thedoor and welcomed the neighbor-hood into the caf.Baudelia Lopez a forty year resi-

dent of Lincoln Heights stated,I am so glad to see this businessopen so close to my home, I cannow enjoy good coffee and goodtasting sandwiches and have totravel across town to get it, wedont have anything like this cof-fee shop in the area.

Natalie Salas an El Sereno resi-dent also in attendance stated,This place is classy, I will callmy friends from high school tomeet me over here to have coffee,it is close to home and the price isright said Salas

The Joe Calderon Trio ledby Joe Calderon entertained theguest for several hours with an ar-ray of music genres. The extraor-

dinary talents of John Gibsonon Flute and Roger Espinoza onGuitar make this trio stand apartfrom any other. The trio soothedthe crowd and took them intoa world tour from Spanish Fla-menco Classics, to Soft Rock toMexican Classics.

Also in attendance was RaulRodriquez the legendary RoseParade Designer which this yeartook home ten trophies for hisdesigns in the 2010 Rose Parade.He was accompanied by his verycolorful and animated parrot Se-bastian who at times took centerstage and Rodriguez gesturedto the crowd that he was onlySebastians perch as the crowdlaughed.

Rodriguez introduced a friend,Maribel Salazar who is the LeadSoprano from the Palacio BellasArtes in the Capitol City of Mex-ico. She entertained the crowdaccompanied by the Joe CalderonTrio. sang Mexican classics suchas Besame Mucho by composerConsuelito Velazquez and Sola-mente Una Vez by famed com-poser Agustin Lara who happensto have a bronze statue in LincolnHeights across the Parque deMexico at the intersection of Mis-sion Road and Main Streets.

Regina Wyatt a local artist thatlives around the corner on Thom-as Street had her art displayed atthe coffee shop. Wyatt stated, Iam elated to have my work dis-played here and we noticed that her

pieces were not painted on canvas,so we asked her about her piecesof art. Wyatt replied When I wasgrowing up, I did not have themoney to purchase canvas mate-rial or tools that traditional artistwould use, So I started paintingon almost anything I could getmy hands on, this has evolved towhat is on display here todaysaid Wyatt.

Aparico stated We wanted tooffer something that this com-munity did not have, Thats whywe chose to serve, in addition togreat quality espresso and cap-puccinos, deli-style sandwiches,Italian sodas gelatos and fresh

juices from a local supplier, LaCremosita in El Sereno. We wantto serve healthy, quality food ina great ambiance that this com-munity has been waiting for saidAparicio.

Also that week two bicyclegroups rode to visit the coffeeshop. The Eastside Bike Clubfrom El Sereno led by CarlosMorales and the Spoken Art Ridefrom Highland Park led by JosephBray-Ali from the Flying PigeonBike Shop.Caf In The Heights is a busi-ness model that other businessesin the city should follow. Apariciohas decided to make this estab-lishment a BIKE FRIENDLYbusiness. He will be placing bikeracks in the rear parking lot wherecyclist can lock their bikes whileenjoying your cup of coffee orhaving a bite to eat.

CAFE IN THE HEIGHTS - OPEN FOR BUSINESSPage 14 THE VOICE - Serving Northeast Los Angeles 323.221.7400 www.twitter.com/voicenewspaper FEBRUARY 2010


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