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Hi there! I’m Monica Rodriguez and I hope your day is going well. I’d like to invite you to take a few minutes to pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up and take a look at this week’s issue of the ELA Weekly. In it you’ll find some nuggets of information I hope you’ll find both relevant and useful.
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Ducks take a dip on a cool, but sunny day at Belvedere Park.
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📢 News
Lighting up county park pools
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved $8.78 million to improve the lighting at 19 county park pools – including three in East L.A.
City Terrace Park and Ruben F. Salazar Park will each receive $500,000 in lighting improvements while $200,000 will be spent at the Eugene A. Obregon Park pool.
County leaders plan to extend the summer swim season from 10 weeks to about five months, according to a county staff report. Plans call for opening swimming pools from the Memorial Day weekend through October 31.
The goal is to upgrade pool lighting before pools open.
COVID tenant protections extended
Residential tenants living in East L.A. have two more months of protections from evictions if they’ve experienced financial hardships due to COVID-19.
The Supervisors extended eviction protections for renters days before they were set to expire at the end of the month.
The extension applies to residential tenants, including those in mobile homes, living in unincorporated L.A. County who used the County’s renter protections through Jan. 31, 2023.
Under the county’s protections, landlords are prevented from evicting tenants under certain circumstances including if the tenants’ income falls below a specific threshold. Tenants must still pay rent if they are able to or work out payment plans with landlords.
In addition, the Supervisors approved the creation of a $45 million “relief fund” designed to assist small landlords who in certain cases haven’t been able to collect rent from tenants. At the recent Supervisors meeting some landlords were critical saying they’ve encountered tenants who are using the county’s protections to stop paying rent all together.
-- From City News Service
🗒️ Notebook
Sheriff Luna's ELA connection
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna has been in the spotlight the last few days fielding questions about the Lunar New Year massacre in Monterey Park. What you may not know is that Luna is an East L.A. native, who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment and attended local schools, including Rowan Avenue Elementary, before his family moved out while he was in the 4th grade.
In an interview with Spectrum 1 last year, Luna talked about living in a community patrolled by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the impact that had on how he viewed law enforcement.
Luna recalled an encounter his father had with a deputy.
“I remember a Sheriff’s deputy stopping my father and not treating him well,” Luna said. “Those kinds of things stick with you, but at the same time, I always had an admiration, a level of respect, for that uniform.”
Luna spoke briefly to Eastsider publisher Jesús Sanchez at a media mixer on Monday night where he indicated he's open to providing more timely information and updates on crime in East L.A.
Retired City Terrace Elementary teacher dies
Former East LA school teacher Benjamin Carrera Aguilar died at the age of 85 December 25 in La Verne, according to an obituary posted on the Forest Lawn website.
Aguilar was born in Calexico and grew up in City Terrace, wrote Albert Juarez-Lujan, his nephew. Aguilar served in the military and some time after his return attended East Los Angeles College and Cal State L.A. in preparation to become a teacher.
He went on to become a bilingual elementary school teacher and taught at City Terrace Elementary.
🗓️ Things To Do
Saturday, Jan. 25
Shop for fresh produce and other food products along with locally produced crafts all while listening to local performers at the East Los Angeles Certified Farmers Market.
Monday, Jan. 30
Need a COVID or flu vaccine? There’s still time to get vaccinated at the Anthony Quinn Library. Appointments are recommended, but a limited number of walk-in opportunities are available.
Monday, Feb 6
Get the jab. Flu and COVID vaccines will be administered at the East Los Angeles Library. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are welcome.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Explore the world through dance with Teresa Smith who will present her interactive program at the East Los Angeles Library. Learn about different types of dance including ballet and Charleston.
We are grateful to all those who have made financial contributions to The Eastsider. One-time contributions are always welcome, but we encourage you to join the ranks of our Reader Sponsors who have committed to making a monthly contribution.
Our goal is to have 300 Reader Sponsors by the end of 2023.
Why is this so important? Even a small monthly contribution will create a more stable source of revenue, giving us more confidence to commit to expanding our staff to provide you with more of the community news you can’t find anywhere else.
Join The Eastsider 300
I hope we can count on you. And, if you are not ready for a monthly commitment, you can always make a one-time contribution. Thanks!
—Jesús Sanchez, Publisher
PS: The Eastsider is a private company. Your contribution is NOT tax deductible.
Monica Rodriguez is a freelance writer. She has more than two decades of experience in daily journalism working for news publications in Pennsylvania and California. She is a product of Boyle Heights and continues to call the community home.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.