Eric Pierce
Articles
TRANSIENT JAILED IN CONNECTION WITH BODY BURIED ALONG 105 FREEWAY
DOWNEY (Via The Downey Patriot)—A 22-year-old transient has been arrested in connection with the dead body discovered Sunday in a shallow grave along the 105 Freeway in Downey. Bryan Petty was booked for homicide and is currently at L.A. County Jail. California Highway Patrol notified Downey detectives about the body Sunday at about 4:45 p.m. [...]
PLASTIC, PLUG-IN, LIGHT-UP BABY JESUS STOLEN FROM DOWNEY MANGER
A plastic, plug-in baby Jesus, perhaps resembling the the one not seen in this photo, has been stolen from the manger of a Nativity scene on the front lawn of a Downey home.
ELECTRICAL EXPLOSIONS KNOCK OUT POWER IN DOWNTOWN DOWNEY
More than 1,800 homes and businesses in Downey were rendered powerless Tuesday night by an apparent electrical explosion near Brookshire Avenue and Firestone Boulevard. The outage most heavily affected the downtown area, where many shops and restaurants closed due to the blackout. Residents reported hearing several “explosions” at about 6:30 p.m. and there are unconfirmed reports that a [...]
DOWNEY’S SECOND HOOKAH BAR IN THREE WEEKS OPENS TODAY
The Hookah Time Cafe, the second hookah bar to open in Downey within the last three weeks, will celebrate its grand opening Friday, according to its website. The latest hookah bar is at 8323 Firestone Blvd., next to Leeds mattress store. Its owners also appear to operate the Custom Cuts barbershop in South Gate. Mosaik [...]
IT TAKES JUGGLING, BUT DOWNEY BUDGET WON’T CUT PROGRAMS OR SERVICES
After a public hearing on June 28, the Downey City Council is expected to approve a $143.6 million budget that will plug a $1.7-million deficit by using the city’s reserves, but will not reduce any city programs or services, although 34 budgeted and/or unoccupied jobs will be permanently eliminated. The city’s reserves are projected at [...]
DOWNEY COUNCIL KILLS PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE AND ASSUMES ITS FUNCTION
The Downey City Council killed the city’s Art in Public Places Committee by a 5-0 vote Tuesday night, in effect establishing itself as the arbiter of form and content in publicly funded displays—and inheriting the $376,000 currently in the public arts fund. Council member Mario Guerra, who proposed dissolving the committee, insisted that the decision [...]
OF SOLDIERS’ HEADSTONES, AND THE STONE-HEARTED WHO WOULD STEAL THEM
As plans are made to provide a headstone for a Civil War veteran buried at Artesia Cemetery in Cerritos for more than a century, a worker at Downey Cemetery begins to replace one of four headstones stolen this week from the graves of more-recent veterans.
RELAX, EVERYBODY! DOWNEY IS KEEPING ITS EYE ON THE NUCLEAR MESS IN JAPAN
The City of Downey issued a press release Thursday night claiming that its public-safety workers are monitoring the nuclear crisis in Japan and “collectively working to address the public’s concern surrounding the potential impact to .. California and the Western United States.” Whew! That’s a relief! Here’s the text of the press release: “The City [...]
RAYTHEON WILL LOCATE NEW FACILITY—AND 150 JOBS—IN DOWNEY
Raytheon Company, an aerospace and defense company with sales of $25 billion last year, will open a 27,000-square-foot research-and-training facility in Downey and hire 150 people to staff it, city officials announced Monday. The Public Safety Regional Technology Center, to be located at 11899 Woodruff Ave., just north of Stewart and Gray Road, will provide [...]
A DOWNEY BUSINESS CONTINUES AS STATE’S TOP TAX DELINQUENT
A Downey business continues to earn the dubious honor of being California’s largest sales tax delinquent, according to a list published by the state’s Board of Equalization today. The company, which did business as Calif. Target Enterprises, Inc., allegedly owes the state more than $18.1 million in unpaid sales tax. A lien was filed against [...]
DOWNEY’S SHOOT-FROM-THE-HIP COUNCIL HAS SUSPICIOUSLY BUTTONED ITS LIPS
When elected officials evade questions and fail to be held accountable for their actions, citizens have every reason to be suspicious. So it is that we are suspicious about the Downey City Council’s decision to fire city clerk Kathleen Midstokke at a hastily-called Thursday afternoon council meeting—after The Downey Patriot had gone to press. By [...]
THERE’S HELL TO PAY—WELL, $3 MORE—FOR PARKING TOO LONG IN DOWNEY
Overstaying your welcome—that is, the parking limitations on curb signs and parking meters—just got more expensive in Downey, where the city council has signed off on a state-mandated $3 increase on all parking citations. Although it will cost the Downey Police Department $5,700 to replace its parking citation inventory and the city will collect the [...]
PAROLEE ARRESTED AT MOM’S HOUSE ON CHARGES OF STEALING FROM CHURCHES
A 52-year-old man on parole for a burglary conviction was arrested Monday at his mother’s house in Downey on charges of stealing money from church donation boxes. Peter Manuel Galindro, 52, allegedly pried open collection boxes at churches in Burbank and Glendale. The stolen money had been earmarked for Haitian relief efforts, officials said. READ [...]
RETIRING DOWNEY CITY MANAGER ASKS COUNCIL TO ELIMINATE HIS BENEFITS
As Gerald Caton prepares for retirement next December after 21 years as Downey’s city manager, he is asking the city council to take away his fringe benefits in 2011—a move that Caton estimates will save the city more than $100,000. “A great deal has already been accomplished…,” Caton wrote in an agenda memo to the [...]
DOWNEY TO GIVE REBUILT BOB’S $100,000? BOY, THAT’S BIG!
Bob’s Big Boy, which successfully rebuilt the Johnie’s Broiler diner after it was illegally demolished in 2007, has met its requirement to maintain 30-40 full-time jobs and is expected to receive $100,000 as part of a package of economic incentives approved by the city of Downey last year. Jim Louder, owner of the local Bob’s [...]
END OF AN ERA: DOWNEY’S SAMBI OF TOKYO RESTAURANT TO CLOSE OCT. 24
Sambi of Tokyo, a fixture in Downey since it opened on Firestone Boulevard nearly 40 years ago, is closing. The owners confirmed that the restaurant’s last day will be Oct. 24. Employees were notified of the closure last Friday. “It has to do with so many issues. Basically it’s due to the economy, that’s a [...]
STATE SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATES AT FORUM IN DOWNEY TONIGHT AT 7 P.M.
The two candidates seeking to become the next California state superintendent of public instruction will take part in a candidate forum Wednesday in Downey. Larry Aceves and Tom Torlakson will each take questions from a panel and give their take on issues facing K-12 education. They will also answer questions from the audience. The forum [...]
DOWNEY OFFICIAL ALLEGEDLY SOUGHT OFFICE SPACE FROM DEVELOPER WITH PENDING BUSINESS WITH CITY
Fernando Vasquez, a Downey planning commissioner and candidate for City Council, received a phone call from the Downey Police Department recently after he attempted to secure office space from a development firm with pending business in the city. Vasquez allegedly requested office space from Yanki Greenspan, vice president of leasing and development with Westland Industries, [...]
SLOT MACHINES IN A 98-CENT STORE
Downey police confiscated five slot machines from a local 98-cent store last week and charged the store owner and an employee with illegal gambling. Members of the Downey Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team seized the electronic slot machines and two “coin-push” machines containing more than $900 from the 98 Cents+ Mart at 13258 Woodruff Ave. [...]
DOWNEY PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY OPPOSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES
The City of Downey moved closer to prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in the city when the Planning Commission on Wednesday agreed with city administrators that the benefits of marijuana collectives to residents are “far outweighed” by the violent crime that oftentimes besiege the clinics. The Commission unanimously approved a resolution that formally recommends [...]
DOWNEY PLANNING COMMISSION MAY REQUEST MARIJUANA DISPENSARY BAN
During its meeting this evening, the Downey planning commission will consider asking the City Council to revise the city charter to permanently bar medical marijuana dispensaries from operating in the city. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Citing federal law that still makes it a crime to grow, use or possess marijuana, city [...]
THESE DAYS, A JOB IS A JOB IS A PART-TIME POSITION AT McDONALD’S
McDonald’s is hold a “Hiring Day” today to fill part-time positions for the company’s Downey-area restaurants. There are seven McDonald’s in Downey. A McDonald’s representative said the jobs can help employees “grow their skills with one of the world’s most successful companies.” “We provide every employee with valuable skills including time management, learning to take initiative and self-confidence [...]
