St. Isidore Wine Garden
Because of the difficulty in arranging for food trucks to appear at St. Isidore’s Wine Garden, the Plaza is apologizing for any inconvenience experienced by its loyal and true patrons. However, Steve, with Ragin’ Cajun Food Truck, has promised to fulfill the need for food trucks at the future Plaza’s Wine Gardens. The Plaza’s renewed pursuit will be instigated on Saturday evening, April 12, 2014 at 5:30 PM with 5 or 6 food trucks in attendance. The Wine Garden will officially be called “Saturday Night at The Plaza.”
The wine garden will be open providing beer, wine, Margaritas, soda and water, a fine accompaniment to the food trucks. The Plaza will have a live band adding to the good times. The Plaza is located at the St. Isidore Historical Plaza, 10961 Reagan Street, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Please call 562-493-3101 for date and time verification.
Anita Schommer
Los Alamitos
Congratulations to all the Run Seal Beach winners and participants
Our 40th annual was the best event yet! All our volunteers, committee managers and directors were at the top of their game yesterday.
A big thank you to the city for their support, SBPD, SBPW, council and our sponsors. A bigger thank you to the residents for their support. Remember, we are a non-profit event and all our proceeds go to support our city and hundreds of non-profit organizations in our community and schools.
Well done everyone!
Marc Loopesko
Elizabeth Kane
Seth Eaker
Traffic and the Village at Los Alamitos project
I am writing to inform readers that at this week’s Los Alamitos Traffic Commission meeting the main item was a discussion of a Traffic Impact Analysis of “The Village at Los Alamitos” Apartment/retail complex proposed for the vacant 2.1 acre parcel on the southeast corner of Los Alamitos Boulevard and Briggeman/Sausalito.
This will be the only public meeting currently planned that focuses exclusively on the potential traffic impact of the project. Other impacts will be dealt with at the Planning Commission and City Council level, most likely once the full Environmental Impact Report is completed.
I am writing to inform residents of the hearing. I thought residents might want to provide input, either in person or by email.
This is not a public hearing, but an opportunity for the Traffic Commission to provide comments or recommendations regarding the study to the Planning Commission. It is my understanding that the traffic engineer who prepared the study (Daniel A. Kloos of Linscott, Law & Greenspan, Engineers) will be present, as well as Steven H. Levenson, the president of the developer.
The traffic study’s conclusion and recommendation:
The study examined seven key intersections including Los Alamitos and Katella, Los Al and Cerritos, Los Almitos and Farquhar, and Katella and Wallingsford. The study concludes the proposed project “will not significantly impact” traffic at any of the seven intersections studied. However, to mitigate the cumulative 2016 impact of this plus other projects such as the LAMC expansion, the addition of a second westbound left-turn lane will be required. The Village’s “fair share” of that improvement works out to about 11 percent of the estimated cost, or $5,550.
Dave Emerson
Los Alamitos
SCA 5 abolishes Californian’s Civil Rights
The United States is a country founded on the principles of opportunity, freedom and equality for all regardless of background, race or socio-economic status. Dating back to the beginning, this great nation in the Declaration of Independence clearly stated – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
However, some Democrat politicians in Sacramento are openly supporting legislation that eliminates the progress of the Civil Rights Movement, and takes California back to a time where success is determined by the color of one’s skin.
Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5), authored by Senator Ed Hernandez (D – West Covina) would overturn Proposition 209, which abolished discrimination in public education. Simply put, SCA 5 would turn back the clock and re-introduce racially based admission criteria in California’s public schools.
In 1996, California’s voters declared that we would not stand for discrimination in our state with the passage of Proposition 209.
The California Civil Rights Initiative, Prop. 209 amended the state constitution to prohibit state government institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, public contracting or public education.
Since its passage, enrollment for minority students has seen a 150 percent increase, and graduation rates have doubled for those same students.
The end of racial preferences increased opportunities and improved the lives of all residents across the state.
Hardest hit by the implementation of SCA 5 will be the Asian community.
Of the 392,951 undergraduate students enrolled in the California State University system, 15.3 percent are Asian, and in 2010, the University of California system reported that of the 234,464 students enrolled, 29.8 percent were Asian.
Given that enrollment opportunities are not dynamically expanding but are a set amount of resources, there will have to be winners and losers from the pool of college applicants.
Plainly stated, re-introducing racially based preferences in California under SCA 5 would drive down Asian enrollment numbers.
Have the Democrats in Sacramento already forgotten how hard we fought for the Civil Rights Act, and the struggles we overcame to finally achieve justice through Brown versus the Board of Education?
Clearly they have chosen to forget, or are choosing to ignore the fact that the country was founded on principles that hard work and the desire to strive for a better future allows every one the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
SCA 5 has just been returned to the Senate after public outcry highlighted the dubious goal of some politicians to promote discrimination in schools.
For now, SCA 5 has been temporarily stopped.
However, your voice and opposition to racial discrimination still needs to be heard by your elected officials.
Tell the Democrats in Sacramento that the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. is alive and well, and we will fight to protect it.
As he proclaimed in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
SCA 5 must be stopped permanently, and students’ rights have to be evaluated on their hard work and individual merit.
For more information on issues pertaining to the 72nd District, follow Assemblyman Travis Allen on Twitter and Facebook.
Travis Allen
72nd District Assemblyman
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