HEWS MEDIA GROUP Winner of Fourteen LA Press Club Awards from 2012- 2017. Serving Cerritos and ten other surrounding communities • July 2, 2021 • Vol 35, No. 39 • loscerritosnews.net Exclusive: Conflicts of Interest are Rife in Hawaiian Gardens Harassment Investigation not do enough to protect her and The investigation of other women from being sexually former disgraced harassed by Licon. union president Just days later HMG-CN Fred Licon was very reported that two woman who questionable. worked for the city for many years, Linda Suniga and Claudia Raya filed a similar lawsuit alleg- BY BRIAN HEWS ing harassment by Licon. Licon is the former AFSC- A Freedom of Information Act ME union president with a very request by Hews Media Group- checkered past, accused and Cerritos News pertaining to the found guilty of misusing union sexual harassment allegations and funds in 2020. investigation of Hawaiian Gar- dens employee Fred Licon has See LICON page 12 revealed a web of conflicts that Landmarks of the world sand sculptures involved former City Manager Ernie Hernandez and City Coun- Pool Closed SAND SCULPTURES: Company artists work on one of the sand castles at the Citadel Outlet in cil members. Commerce. They are creating 'Landmarks of the World,' seven different sculptures. Tammye McDuff photo. In early May, Hews Media Pico Rivera Will Group exclusively reported that Brianna Gonzalez, an employee Citadel Outlets as a representa- parks for all types of events Be Without a of Hawaiian Gardens, was su- BY TAMMYE MCDUFF tion of the wonders around the worldwide. The art of sand ing the city alleging the city did world. CoVID was very hard sculpting is a unique promotion Public Pool he Citadel Outlet has on everyone and no one had the of ‘artists in action,' one that is hired Sand Sculpture Harvard& MIT opportunity to travel. This will intriguing to all ages. Recog- BY BRIAN HEWS Company out of Mil- be a reminder of some of the nized for their ability to create waukee, Wisconsin to spectacular things the world has original displays and to inter- A Face Mask That Tcreate Landmarks of the World to offer and hopefully people face with the public and media, The pool at Smith Park is for visitors and sightseers. can visit them soon.” they work steadily to assure that Can Detect COVID 39 years old and is showing its Buck Hoover, who has been The Sand Sculpture Com- goals surpass expectations. age. (Harvard News) The face with the company for 17 years pany is a full-time professional “We submitted a sketch to With the cracking of the ce- mask that you wear in the future consented to give HMG-CN an display company that special- the Citadel and they approved ment around the pool and small could alert you of a coronavirus exclusive interview, “We are izes in creating custom sand it,” stated Hoover. “We have cracks in the bottom of the diagnosis, thanks to researchers here doing this sculpture for the sculptures; sandcastles and sand been working on this since pool, water and chemicals are at Harvard University and MIT. June 4 and we should wrap it leaking into the ground. Researchers have created all up by July 1. The sculpture To make matters worse, wearable biosensors that can de- will be here for three months.” only three of the eight burners Door of Hope Donates to Su Casa tect the presence of the virus in The sculpture includes Christ in the boiler system are opera- the Redeemer from Brazil; the tional, leading to a temperature Great Wall of China; the Taj of under 65 degrees. Mahal; Pyramids of Egypt; “That is not safe,” said City the Statue of Liberty; Mount Manager Steve Carmona, “and Rushmore and the Coliseum of it is a big problem for us.” So Rome. the city has closed the pool with “This endeavor, although the hot summer coming. really great, is one of our Carmona said the cost to smaller ones using only 350 repair the boilers is estimated tons of sand.” Hoover went on between $600,000 to $800,000, to explain that a recent sand with a total fix-up cost estimat- sculpture park in Kuwait took ed at $10 million. over 33,000 tons of sand. Even if he finds the money, “We believe in using local it would take several months to talent and organizations, so the THE FACE MASK that complete the repairs. sand came from a local quarry. can diagnose COVID. The city is now seeking DONATION: (l-r) Lilly Lopez, Su Casa Director of Programs, It has a lot of clay which makes grants, he said. Mercedez Quintanilla, Door of Hope Executive Director. a person’s breath. These button- the sculpture structurally strong Councilman Andrew Lara activated masks give COVID so that we can keep the sculp- was extremely disappointed the The Door of Hope recently company which focuses on results within 90 minutes in a tures’ vertical height.” pool wouldn’t open this sum- donated a palate of assorted Environmentally friendly and simple-to-read format similar to Apparently sandcastles are mer saying, “it’s a shame we cleaning products to benefit the sustainable cleaning products. an at-home pregnancy test. not just something to build don’t have the ability to offer residents at Su Casa’s domestic The Door of Hope provides The mask can diagnose at the beach; it has become a our residents swimming.” violence shelters. services to Norwalk, Whittier, COVID at accuracy levels com- Door of Hope provided La Mirada, and surrounding prosperous industry.” I started At the last City Council the products from the ECOS communities. See SAND page 12 See MASK page 12 See POOL page 12 Pride Month Protest Beating at CPE Downey Alert System 24-Mile Gun Range Passings 'Cheers' in La Mirada A group gathered at La A man was approached by Residents can download USS IOWA transition will raise Cerritos' Rich Day served as The Vault has a sunken bar Mirada City Hall to get the two men with brass knuckles app. and receive emergency awareness in how the U.S. is a CIF-SS basketball assigner for with 14,991 pennies, and a LGBTQ flag over City Hall. and a bat; they robbed him. alerts, among many others. maritime nation. nearly three decades great dart area Page 3. Page 3. Page 5. Page 8. Page 10. Page 11. 2 LosCerritosNews.net To advertise call 562-407-38734 Los Cerritos Community News - LosCerritosNews.net JULYTo advertise 2, 2021 call 562-407-3873 AUGUST 7, 2020 of community newspapers across the newspapers are especially vulnerable to La Mirada La Mirada Theater Opens Sept. CALIFORNIABELLFLOWER LEGISLATURE CHAMBER HOLDS FIRSTnation. POST-PANDEMIC These outlets are critical MEETING to economic fluctuations and catastrophic The La Mirada Theatre premieres our democracy. When they can no consequences, like closure. These July 3rd Event Suspended Clue, a comedy based on the beloved NEEDS TO SAVE COMMUNITY longer afford to continue reporting, small publishers are scrambling to stay The City’s annual Independence board game and movie that will leave afloat by cutting coverage, furloughing Celebration event on July 3 will be you laughing and guessing until the final NEWSPAPERS, IT'S EASY communities lose a vital watchdog and suspended this year in response to State twist, on Friday, September 24. government business is hidden from reporters and eliminating print and County COVID guidelines regarding public view. publication on certain days of the week. Tickets to Clue and other exciting BY DAVID CHAVERN large scale events. Theatre productions, concerts, comedy Right now, many communities They are expediting their transition La Mirada Regional Park is operated and family shows go on sale Friday throughout California are suffering to digital-first publishing and exploring by Los Angeles County, which issues You’d be hard pressed to find an the loss of their watchdogs. More than new methods for providing information August 20 at 11 a.m. Become a subscriber industry that hasn’t been negatively a permit to the City for this event. Due today and enjoy the presale access to all a dozen newspapers have suspended to their communities as more readers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. to COVID regulations, a permit was your favorite Broadway-style shows. operations in the last five months, with turn to these methods during the But when it comes to news publishing, not issued for this year. While COVID La Mirada residents get a subscription more planning to close in the coming crisis. However, cutting print days carrier routes will be eliminated. the virus has accelerated some difficult restrictions have eased recently, the discount. Visit the Theatre’s website to months. disenfranchises specific demographic To save California newspapers, at a trends, especially for small community County remains concerned with large view the full 2021-22 schedule. Last year, the California Legislature groups, such as senior citizens and minimum, the Legislature must extend scale events where entrances/exits are not publishers. For additional information, call (562) passed Assembly Bill 5 for how other residents who don’t have internet the exemption to AB 5, which will limited and safety protocols are difficult And now yet another blow to small 944-9801, visit the box office, or visit businesses classify workers as access (6%) or don’t have a reliable provide newspapers with more time to enforce. online at LaMiradaTheatre.com. newspapers in California is about to be contractors or employees. In recognition internet connection (up to 25% of rural to get past COVID-related advertising dealt, unless the state Legislature acts of the inapplicability of the legislation communities).