Christian Brown
Articles
CRAVE LIFE CHURCH USING COLUMBIA SPACE CENTER AS LAUNCHING PAD
Tbe Rev. Moses Barrios says his Crave Life Church in Downey is "not yo mama's church," and the fact that it congregates for Sunday services in the Columbia Memorial Space Center is only the first evidence of that.
AS TACO BELL TURNS 50, DOWNEY GROUP WANTS FIRST STORE SAVED
DOWNEY—The year was 1962, and a young man named Glen Bell was searching for the perfect location to launch his new taco restaurant. He’d already enjoyed moderate success with similar spots called Taco Tia’s and El Taco. Now Bell began to envision something different, a small village plaza with retail shops, mariachis, fire pits and [...]
SKATE-O-RAMA IN 1970S: THE MEMORIES ARE GREAT–THE PHOTOS, NOT SO MUCH
"Growing up a block from Skate-O-Rama in the late ‘60s and ‘70s was a most memorable time for me," says Dale Lendrum, now 48, who lived near the intersection of Imperial Highway and Woodruff Avenue.. "At the time we didn’t have a city park nearby---Skate-O-Rama was a place to go for some fun and recreation. It was the Disneyland of Downey!”
LATEST REDISTRICTING MAPS WOULD KEEP CITY OF DOWNEY WHOLE
DOWNEY (via Downey Patriot)—As opposed to the first round of draft maps, new visualization maps released by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission keep the city of Downey intact in each proposed congressional, state assembly, state senate and board of equalization district. Preliminary maps had prompted angst among city officials who believed they isolated Downey from [...]
LIFE AFTER DARK: THIS ISN’T YOUR MOM AND DAD’S DOWNEY
Hookah Bars ... a nightclub ... a sports bar ... a micro-brewery ... in Downey? “The city is trying to make a statement,” says Omar Monzon, 29, of Hookah Time Café, part of a flurry of new downtown businesses staying open after dark. “‘We're not dead.’”
DOWNEY COUNCIL NEGOTIATES SPENDING LIMITS FOR CAMPAIGN ORDINANCE
The Downey City Council has moved closer to adopting new campaign reforms that would reduce the size of campaign spending by regulating contributions given to candidates. According to the ordinance, written by city attorney Yvette Abich Garcia, candidates in Districts 1 through 4 who accept the voluntary expenditure limit would have a $1,500 per person [...]
SKED FOR DOWNEY FIREFIGHTERS: TWO DAYS ON, THEN FOUR DAYS OFF
Hoping to promote continuity among regional fire departments while increasing the efficiency of local firefighters, the Downey Fire Department is about to begin an 18-month trial of the “48/96” shift schedule—that is, firefighters will work two consecutive 24-hour shifts, then take four consecutive days off. The change begins June 29—this Wednesday—and comes just two weeks [...]
TO GET DIRECTIONS TO TORIITOWN, YA GOTTA TALK TO A DUDE FROM DOWNEY
Toriitown is a once-a-homestand place in the right-field pavilion of Angels Stadium where all things about Angels outfielder Torii Hunter are celebrated. But to know exactly when and where, you've got to talk to Downey resident Claude Bilodeau, who is Toriitown's founder ... and you could say, mayor.
DOWNEY’S WARREN HIGH ADDING A MOVIE BACK LOT FOR FILMMAKING CLASSES
The $11,200 grant that Warren High School just received from Lowe’s was the result of the combined efforts and priorities of construction teacher Kent Kiess and film teacher Andy Lundsberg. It shows. The Downey school is using the money to convert an old weightroom into a warehouse for construction classes—and a movie back lot modeled [...]
DOWNEY MEDICAL CENTER CALLS PENDING FPPC FINE A ‘PAPERWORK SNAFU’
Downey Regional Medical Center, which has been struggling to emerge from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection it received in September 2009, is facing a $200 fine by the Fair Political Practices Commission this month after allegedly failing to report a $5,000 payment to a political consulting firm last year. According to a statement of violation released by [...]
DOWNEY MINISTER DOES THE MATH AND RESCHEDULES THE APOCALYPSE
"I'm 110 percent sure of this," says the Rev. Audie Derryberry, whose 65th birthday---retirement age---would nearly coincide with the end of the world on May 21. "This is not a scare tactic. Do the math---there's a lot of math in the Bible and it's there for a reason.”
