Mayor Hadjinian's Questionable Yes Vote Gives His Friend's Father Millions
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Winner of Six LA Press Club Awards in 2012, 2013, and 2014 MONTEBELLO Serving Montebello and Surrounding Communities • July 10, 2015 • Volume 1, No. 1 • MontebelloCommunityNews.com IN THE SPIRIT OF THE Montebello Watchdog MONTEBELLO NEWS MAYOR HADJINIAN’S QUESTIONABLE YES VOTE Greetings Montebello residents: My name is Brian Hews, Publisher of Hews GIVES HIS FRIEND’S FATHER MILLIONS Media Group-Community By Brian Hews Agreement (OPA) entered into between News and Publisher of your Minasian and the RDA agreed that Garfield new Montebello Communi- At the May 20, 2015 Montebello City would develop 20 single-family detached ty News. I am very excited, Council meeting, in a 2-2 vote with one ab- homes, designated as affordable housing particularly in this day and stention, Montebello Mayor Jack Hadjinian to low and moderate income buyers. The Brian Hews age, to start a new print inexplicably voted to settle a simple claim project was called Natasha Lane (Project), Publisher newspaper in Montebello. filed by Michael Minasian and his com- located at 125 East Whittier Boulevard.The But I am not really pany Garfield Financial Corporation (Gar- Project was completed in 2005. new to Montebello. My family owned the field) against the City for over $3.5 million, On November 1, 2005, to avoid what Montebello News from 1990 to 1998, so despite the fact the international law firm Questionable relationships: Montebello both parties saw as impending litigation, I know Montebello particularly well, and of Squire, Patton, and Boggs (SPB), which Mayor Jack Hadjinian stands with Chuck Garfield and the RDA executed a Settle- I look forward to working with residents, was hired by the City to examine the item, Calderon and Moe Minasian. ment Agreement (Agreement) signed by businesses, and city officials once again. strongly asserted that Garfield’s claim was both parties and their attorneys that provid- vote on the issue. The content of the paper will have “extremely weak.” ed the City “a general release of all claims, Some people are calling the yes vote mostly Montebello News on the front, with Michael Minasian is the father of Moe known or unknown that it [Garfield] might by Hadjinian to give Garfield over $3.5 a sprinkling of other area cities on the front Minasian. Moe Minasian was the campaign have.” million “a massive gift of public funds.” and inside pages. manager for Hadjinian’s 2011 City Council Also in the Agreement, Garfield agreed The questionable vote to settle is cen- Give us some time to expand and you Campaign. they owed the City $1.5 million, which tered on an agreement between Garfield will see more Montebello news, events, Reliable sources told HMG-CN that would come from the sale of the last five and the Montebello Redevelopment Agen- and hopefully support from area advertis- Mayor Hadjinian, a long-time friend of the cy (RDA). ers. Minasian family, led the charge for a yes In early 2000, an Owner Participation See HADJINIAN page 8 As you can see on the top of the paper, we have won six prestigious Los Angeles Press Club Awards in the past three years, Downey's Temple Park MUSD Student Innovation and Achievement Event including Best Investigative Newspaper in Los Angeles in 2012 and 2014, beating out all other newspapers in the area including Receives a Makeover Showcases 21st Century Learning in Action Staff Report the Los Angeles Times. By Tammye McDuff I truly believe that a community news- MONTEBELLO – Showcasing im- paper should not only report on community The City of Downey is currently work- news and events, but also be a watchdog pressive ingenuity and commitment, more ing with RJM Design Group to develop a than 200 Montebello Unified graduating of city officials in the communities we re- Parks and Open Space Master Plan, which port on. As they say, “the inspected is the seniors presented their capstone projects will serve as a guide and execution tool expected.” in front of District officials, community for the development of Downey parks and We will hand deliver to 15,000 homes partners and industry representatives at recreation facilities. The Master Plan will and also deliver our newspaper to over 50 the inaugural Pathways Senior Exhibi- high-traffic businesses in Montebello. If tion. The event, held June 6 at the Quiet you would like our newspaper at your busi- Cannon in Montebello, also provided an ness just call us, we’ll be there ASAP, free opportunity for students to win $1,500 in of charge. scholarships provided by the Friends of More than 200 Montebello Unified Of course, we are not just in print but MUSD Foundation. graduating seniors presented their online too so if you missed the hard copy “Since its implementation, our Path- Pathway capstone projects in front of of the Montebello News you can look for it ways have provided each and every stu- District officials, community partners and online at MontebelloCommunityNews.com. dent the chance to achieve success while industry representatives at the inaugural We also have a Facebook page: Monte- in our classrooms and beyond,” MUSD Pathways Senior Exhibition held June 6 at bello News so please go there and “Like” Board President Edgar Cisneros said. our page to get breaking news; our Twitter “The innovative projects seen here today the Quiet Cannon in Montebello. handle is @Montebello_News, our email are the culmination of years of rigorous hensive MUSD high schools – Montebel- is [email protected], and finally instruction and hard work and we whole- lo, Bell Gardens, Schurr and the Applied our phone number is (562) 407-3873. Councilman Roger Brossmer and Sean heartedly thank our community partners Technology Center (ATC) – encompassing If you have any questions, comments, Ashton join Mayor Luis Marquez, Viv- and the Friends of Montebello Unified a wide range of possible career opportuni- or suggestions, please do not hesitate to ian Sandoval [46 year resident] Mayor Foundation for their gracious support of ties tailored to meet the needs of 21st cen- email or call me, or my staff. In the spirit Pro-Tem Alex Saab and local neighbor- Pathways. We wish the best of luck to our tury marketplaces. of the Montebello News, I look forward to hood children to officially open the new graduates in their future endeavors.” A key to the success of Pathways, ac- reporting on your great city once again. playground equipment. There are 11 dedicated Pathway pro- grams spread out among all four compre- See DOWNEY page 10 See CAPSTONE page 8 $350,000 Insurance Policy 2 JULY 10, 2015 HewsMediaGroup.com TO ADVERTISE CALL 562-407-3873 Former Cerritos Resident, Coach at University of Florida, Wins Second Straight College World Series By Loren Kopff junior varsity baseball under Jim Chapel. As a junior, he was part of the 1989 Tim Walton may have started as just California Interscholastic Federation- one of the guys on the Cerritos High Southern Section Division 4-A champi- School baseball team in the late 1980s, onship team, coached by Richard Emard, but in 10 years, he has emerged as one that defeated Hart 4-1. Although he didn’t of the top NCAA Division I softball head play much, nor was one of the top players, coaches who, in late May, won his second Walton reflected back on his time at Cer- straight College World Series champion- ritos and what it was like growing up in ship with the University of Florida. that environment. But Walton’s success doesn’t just stop “I’ve played Division I baseball, I’ve at the University of Florida. He is cur- played professional baseball and I wasn’t rently an assistant coach of the United good enough to play on our varsity team States Junior Olympic softball team that my junior year,” Walton said. “We were just wrapped up action in the World Cup loaded and we had a CIF Player of the in Irvine on July 5. Year in Mark Mattingly. We had a bunch His time with that team was just the of guys play professional baseball. Cerritos resident Tim Walton attended Carmenita Junior High School, played baseball latest of accomplishments that Walton “We were good at everything,” he for the Frontier Little League, and graduated from Cerritos High in 1990. Walton has added to his resume, which seems to continued. “Cerritos High School was credits many people for his early success in baseball, which transformed into his be growing and growing. And all of this so good in so many different things. But softball coaching career. comes roughly around 25 years after pos- playing on that team, the big thing that I sibly joining the Marines, which was one can remember was just how much I was College and one day drove Walton over “I was good, but then when I got around of his original thoughts as a teenager. challenged every day in practice.” there to introduce him to former head these other guys, I was just okay. After I Walton finished up his elementary Walton credits many people for his ear- coach George Horton. was there for one week, one month, one school days in Buena Park before attend- ly success in baseball, which transformed Walton remembers that he didn’t year, my ambition was to leave Cerritos ing Carmenita Junior High School. Grow- into his softball coaching career. He says know much about Cerritos College and College with an AA [degree] and go play ing up in Cerritos, he played baseball for Bill Stark, whom he played for at Frontier was a redshirt his first year there, even Division I baseball.”.