|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Volume 2 |
|
June 2009 Monthly Report |
Number 6 |
|||||||||||
|
 |
City of Cerritos Recreation Services Division Won 1st Place Team Accomplishment Award During Public Service Recognition Week
On May 6, 2009, The City of Cerritos’ Adaptive Recreation program won
the Team Accomplishment Award at the Public Service Recognition Week
Award Luncheon hosted by the Greater Los Angeles Federal Executive Board
and the Combined Federal Campaigns of Greater Los Angeles and Orange/San
Bernardino. The award is presented to teams, groups or organizations
that have made exceptional accomplishments based on their overall
performance and dedication to public service. (From left: Congresswoman Linda Sánchez District
Director Bill Grady, Director of Community and Safety Services Greg
Berg, Recreation Supervisor Carlos Espinosa, Councilmember's Jim Edwards
and Carol Chen, Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho (holding the trophy) ,
Recreation Services Superintendent Sherré Titus, and Recreation
Supervisors Heide Xitco and Ernest Vital) Judy Chu Is the Top Vote getter in a Special Election for the 32nd Congressional District; Now Faces a July 14 Runoff Election |
||||||||||||
|
On May 19, 2009, State Board of Equalization Vice Chairperson Judy Chu, PhD. won the most votes for the open 32nd Congressional District seat to replace Hilda Solis who was appointed by President Barack Obama to be Secretary of Labor. Because she fell short of an outright majority (50% +1 of the vote), she will have to face the top Republican vote getter, Betty Tom Chu, and the top Libertarian vote getter, Christopher Agrella, in a July 14 runoff. Judy Chu, a former member of the Garvey School District, Monterey Park City Council and the State Assembly, campaigned on her experience and deep roots in the district and worked hard |
||||||||||||||
| to build coalitions across ethnic lines. She is expected to easily win
the July runoff in the strongly Democratic district. On May 1, 2009, Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho hosted a reception for Judy Chu at his Artesia office. The reception was co-sponsored by ABC Unified School Board member Mark Pulido, Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club President Nikki Noushkam, Former President of the Whitney Foundation James Kang, Former President of the United Federation of Indo-American Pat Patnaik and President of the Chinese American Club of Southern California. Supporters in attendance included La Palma City Councilmember Larry Herman, Downey City Councilmember Luis Marquez, Water Replenishment District Board member Lillian Kawasaki, Cerritos College Board member Tina Cho, ABC School Board member Armin Reyes, Buena Park School Board member Jerry Kong, City of Cerritos Commissioners Alon Barlevy, Ph.D., Kenneth Cha, Nick Kim, Samuel Kim and Chong Sop Yi and President of Mid-Cities Korean Chamber of Commerce Henry Park, Korean American Federation of Orange County President Jaejun Chung, Korean American Federation of Orange County former President Dr. Oh Ku. (State Board of Equalization
Vice Chairperson Judy Chu State of The City of Cerritos Showed
|
||||||||||||||
 On May 21,
2009, Mayor Bruce Barrows and City Manager Art Gallucci gave
presentations on the accomplishments made during the City’s 2008-2009
fiscal year, and gave an outlook for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The
annual State of the City address was held at the Cerritos Center for the
Performing Arts, and hosted by the Cerritos Regional Chamber of
Commerce. City manager Art Gallucci said that he was preparing a balance
budget without tax increase and no layoffs. Due to the reduction of
sales tax revenue and interest income, the City projects that by June
30, the end of the current fiscal year, total revenue will fall short by
approximately 8 percent from the level estimated at the beginning of the
fiscal year. The combined budgetary total of all City/Agency activities
for the upcoming fiscal year 2009-2010 is projected to be around $124.5
million. |
||||||||||||||
 The
City of Cerritos has not been immune to the economic downturn. Overall,
Cerritos businesses saw a 10 percent drop in sales last year, and in
particular, the Cerritos Auto Square saw a 21 percent decline in
business. The drop in Cerritos business sales translated to a drop of
$2.5 million to the city’s sales tax revenue, but the City has enough
reserve funds to weather this economic hardship. In the past year, as
soon as one business moved out, another was poised to fill the space.
For example, when the Volvo dealership moved out, it was quickly
replaced by a Volkswagen dealership, and when Hummer moved its
dealership across the street, a Smart car dealership took its place. At
the Los Cerritos Center, when Mervyn’s went into bankruptcy, Forever 21
stepped in to take its place.Despite the real estate slump, the assessed valuation of property in Cerritos went up last year by 4.3 percent to $7.2 billion, and it is expected to jump to $8 billion once the new construction at the Cerritos Towne Center and the renovations at the Los Cerritos Center are completed. The renovations include a new 138,000-square-foot Nordstrom store, and a 36,000-square-foot adjacent retail space. A new five-story office building at the Cerritos Towne Center is ready for occupancy. The building was recently topped by an open dome. The open dome is the largest piece of public art in the county. The building is expected to generate $77 million in rent and tax increment revenue for the City over the next seventy five years. The presentation materials from the State of the City Luncheon are available on the City’s website at http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/stateofthecity09.pdf (Upper photo: Mayor Bruce Barrows, Bottom photo: City Manager Art Gallucci)
|
||||||||||||||
 The
American Cancer Society event, Relay For Life, was held on May 16 and
17, 2009 at Gahr High School. Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho, Ph.D.
participated in the Relay for the third year in a row with his team
“Never Give Up”. The team was led by co-team captains Property
Preservation Commissioner Alon Barlevy, Ph.D. and Planning Commissioner
Kenneth Cha. The team had about 50 members including Parks and
Recreation Commissioner Nick Kim, Community Safty Committee member Chong
Sop Yi, Let Freedom Ring Committee member Samuel Kim, Mid-Cities
Korean-American Realtor Association President Phil Ahn, Korean-American
Cancer Survivor Kyu Kyung Lee and their families. |
||||||||||||||
| Entertainment was provided Saturday afternoon on a center stage and
included the Korean girls choir Voice of Little Arirang, the Valley
Christian Middle School Jazz Band and the International Peace Choir. Later that
evening, participants gathered together to take part in a Luminaria
Service in remembrance of those who had succumbed to cancer and to
celebrate those who had survived their battle with the dreaded disease.
(Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho
led the last lap with Korean cancer survivor Kyu Kyung Lee (left most),
Community Safty Committee member Chong Sop Yi (second from left) and
Property Preservation Commissioner Alon Barlevy, Ph.D. (thrid from
left)) Cerritos Memorial Day Ceremony |
||||||||||||||
 On
May 25, 2009, the City of Cerritos Memorial Day Ceremony was held near
the Cerritos Veterans Memorial at the Cerritos Civic Center in honor of
those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while defending our nation’s
freedom. Mayor Bruce Barrows, Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho, Council members
Carol Chen, Jim Edwards and Laura Lee and 1st Combat Engineers Battalion
Major David C. Morris participated in the ceremony. More than 200
community members including the Southern California Philippine-US Veterans Association also participated
in the ceremony. Prelude music was performed by the Cerritos College
Concert Band. The ceremony included a presentation of colors, comments
by the City Council, wreaths laying and a moment of silence. |
||||||||||||||
|
At the ceremony, Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho, Ph.D. invited Cerritos Korean War Veterans to an appreciation event including dinner, a concert and symposium, which will be held on June 21 and 22, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is sponsored by the Friends of American Veterans of the Korean War, and will provide Korean War Veterans and their spouses full accommodations for the night of June 21 and all meals associated with the two-day program. (From right: Councilmember
Laura Lee and Jim Edwards, 1st Combat Engineers Battalion Major Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho Sponsored
|
||||||||||||||
 Cerritos Library Teen Contest Reception
Date: May 4, 2009 7:00 PM (Back row from right: Mayor Bruce Barrows, Mayor Pro Tem Joseph Cho, Councilmember Carol Chen and Friends of Cerritos Library Board Members)
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
CCC Information Services, Inc.
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Seoul
National University Los Angeles Branch Office Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Great
Bragg 
City
of La Palma Sister City
Joseph Cho Cerritos City Councilmember - P.O. Box
4115, Cerritos, CA 90703 (562) 547-4434
This site was last updated
June 12, 2009