Eric Pierce’s Blog

De Remer kicks off campaign

Photo courtesy De Remer campaign

Gary De Remer kicked off his City Council campaign with a rally at Granata’s Italian Villa last week. The event is said to have drawn more than 60 supporters.

Mike Prokop introduced De Remer to the crowd. Here are Prokop’s introductory remarks, as he provided to the Patriot:

Back in February we fought to defeat the measure that would have eliminated term limits in Downey.

We won that fight…and we won big!

That victory resulted in terming out the very councilman who supported the measure. That victory caused seats to be open in city-wide District 5 and in District 3.

To fill these seats we want people who will put the best interest of Downey first. We want candidates who will listen to the voice of Downey’s voters. We want candidates who will have no special allegiances, except to the voting public.

We do not want a candidate who is a politician.

What we do want is a person who will perform as a public servant. And we want a candidate who supports term limits for Downey City Council.

That candidate is Gary De Remer.

Other candidates are welcome to submit photos from their campaigns as well. We want to be as fair and neutral as possible.

Downey Starbucks are safe

Caffeine junkies, don’t fret: Starbucks has released its list of 600-plus stores scheduled to close later this year and all three Downey locations are safe.

In fact, the closest Starbucks store scheduled to close is in Norwalk, at the AMC movie complex.

Also shuttering is the Starbucks along I-15 in Baker, Calif., a favorite pit stop of mine on the drive to Vegas.

Pillow talk

Billiards tournament at the senior center.

Is it Friday yet?

I am SO ready for the weekend, it’s ridiculous. The week has been brutal, but productive, and I’m looking forward to a long nap to reclaim my sanity.

But first, I wanted to respond to a question from loyal reader Kathy Perez. She asked if we’ve considered doing a feature story on professional baseball player Evan Longoria, who grew up in Downey.

The answer is yes. But circumstances have not worked in our favor.

When the Tampa Bay Rays were in town to play the Angels last month, I requested media passes to cover the game with the intention of snagging an interview. But the Angels and Rays ignored us, maybe because they consider us “small potatoes”?

Our sports writer, Scott Cobos, has also been unsuccessful.

I’m sure we’ll have an interview and story in due time. Longoria is a homegrown success and he warrants coverage, so we’re going to keep trying.

In the meantime, the Sporting News has a really good feature on Longoria. You can read it here.

•••••

OK, so we couldn’t interview Evan Longoria, but we did secure time with Nickelodeon’s Miranda Cosgrove, star of the hit TV show, “iCarly.” Miranda grew up in Downey and still lives in the area. Staff writer Brooke Karli conducted the interview, which you can read in tomorrow’s issue.

Also tomorrow:

•Henry Veneracion has more on DUSD and their goals for the coming year. He also writes about the district’s CTE program, which trains students for specialized careers in automotive, hospitality, culinary, and other industries.

•Speaking of Scott Cobos, he made his way to IndyMac bank at Downey Landing to see how Downey residents are dealing with the institution’s federal takeover. Suffice it to say people were upset.

•We have a preview of next week’s concert in the park, which will feature the Wiseguys Big Band. Our newspaper is a concert sponsor, but we would have done the preview anyway.

•I ventured to the Barbara J. Riley Community & Senior Center for our latest installment of “Downey in Action.” I must admit, those seniors are alot more active than I am!

Plus: letters to the editor, community announcements, and more.

Downey’s Hollweg is traded

Here’s hoping Ryan Hollweg, right, has a good dentist.

Downey native and NHL veteran Ryan Hollweg has been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2009 fifth-round draft pick, the league has  announced.

Hollweg, 25, had spent his entire career with the New York Rangers after being drafted with the 238th pick in the 2001 draft.

Newsday describes Hollweg, who reportedly left Downey at age 14 to play hockey in British Columbia, as “a high-energy but sometimes reckless forward.” Indeed, Hollweg has made headlines for violent confrontations on the ice, most notably a March incident with the Islanders’ Chris Simon.  (YouTube has the clip.)

Here’s Hollweg’s official NHL stat line.

School construction update

A new auto facility has been proposed for Downey High School, but a source of funding remains unclear.

Construction at the local high schools is expected to continue through 2010. That’s Downey High, above.

Warren High’s award-winning landscape.

Henry Veneracion wrote an enlightening story last week detailing DUSD’s ongoing construction efforts, a recommended read for anybody wondering what exactly is going on at the schools. Unfortunately, I think Henry’s distinctive writing style (shall we call it…wordy?) is a turn-off to some people, so maybe not everybody got the scope of the article’s importance.

Here are a few revealing highlights from the story:
•A $67 million bond measure approved by voters in 2002 is helping finance the renovations of most Downey public high schools (Columbus being the exception).

•Downey High School is receiving 34 new classrooms and a 250-seat “mini theater.”

•Warren High School gets 26 new classrooms, a new library, and six “computer rooms.” The cafeteria will also be retrofitted with a juice bar and food court-style serving points. 

•Both of the schools have already received new stadiums and science buildings.

In case you were wondering, elementary and middle schools received their upgrades in 1996.

Downey library is thriving

Ivan, Jillian, Charlotte and Tera get an up-close look at butterflies. Photo courtesy Downey City Library

With schools out of session and summer in full swing, the Downey City Library has presumably been a lifesaver for parents with bored and antsy kids at home.

The library has announced that nearly 2,000 kids have signed up for their summer reading program. Two-thousand!

Most of the library’s programs and activities are free, including a special visit from Painted Lady butterflies on July 8.

Yet another reason to support the library.

Johnie’s leads again

Mario Guerra, Kirk Cartozian, (a slim-looking) Bob, David Gafin and Rick Trejo

The last remnants of Johnie’s Broiler were swept away this week, and that, of course, will be our lead story in tomorrow’s edition.

If you’re sick of reading about Johnie’s, don’t fret, here’s what else you can expect (hey, that rhymes!):

•Staff writer Henry Veneracion relays details on the seemingly endless construction going on at Downey and Warren High Schools. The article is wordy but contains lots of good information; I’ll probably post a separate blog about it.

•We christen our new feature series, “Downey in Action,” with a profile on the Southland Harmony Chorus of Sweet Adelines, written by Brooke Karli. Hopefully the series catches on with readers, because we plan to carry it through the summer.

•The good folks at the Downey Theatre sent us a bio on Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries, performing Wednesday at concerts in the park. They last played in Downey in 2006, when they headlined the Downey Chamber of Commerce’s “Oldies but Goodies” fundraiser.

•Plus information on the Downey Museum of Art’s new exhibit (opening Sunday), Griffiths Middle School visits Virginia, and teen fashion tips for July, courtesy Macerich.

As always, I hope you enjoy the issue.

Residents like their concerts

A huge crowd packed Furman Park last night for the start of summer concerts, which opened with the vivacious Mariachi Divas.

No official attendance count is taken at the concerts, but officials said yesterday’s crowd may have been a record-breaker. From my personal observation, I would have to agree.

The Divas, though, were a little disappointing, I have to admit. They didn’t get the crowd pumping as they did last year, and they lacked their trademark enthusiasm. The crowd, although large and happy, didn’t seem enthralled.

Anyways, the concerts are a good time to meet people. Here are a few pictures I snapped.

It’s not a concert in the park until Miss Downey, Miss Teen Downey and their courts have arrived. That’s Downey Theatre Manager Kevin O’Connor to the left, directing things.

 
City Council candidates Roger Brossmer, left, and Gary De Remer were chatting with the crowd. The cute little guy is Brossmer’s son.

This photo is bad quality, but it kind of puts in perception the size of last night’s crowd. It was huge.

‘Downey in Action’

I’m happy to announce we’re starting a new series this week: “Downey in Action,” a comprehensive look at the different opportunties available to get active in Downey.

The weekly series will look at service clubs, hobby groups, volunteer organizations, basically anything that allows Downey residents a chance to get out of the house.

A couple of groups we’re hoping to cover:
•Knights of Columbus
•Downey Fly Fishers
•Toastmasters
•Rotary and Kiwanis

And we’ll look at lesser-known groups:
•Downey Model A Club
•Downey Numismatists
•Overeaters Anonymous

My goal is to make the articles interesting, readable and lively; not a simple recital of their mission statement.

“Downey in Action” is scheduled to kick-off this week. Staff writer Brooke Karli is writing about the Southland Harmony Chorus of Sweet Adelines.

The photo above is courtesy the Downey Dog Obedience Group, which I’ll be profiling next week.

Bob’s Big Boy to the rescue

Photo by Eric Pierce

A small fleet of bulldozers and other heavy machinery descended on Johnie’s Broiler today, helping to fully demolish the iconic diner and make way for a new Bob’s Big Boy restaurant.

City officials and representatives from Bob’s were on hand for the ceremonial clean-up, which is expected to take a week to complete.

Construction may begin next month, and the restaurant could open as soon as January, said Gilbert Livas, community development director for the city of Downey.

The new Bob’s Big Boy  will be built to Johnie’s Broiler’s original design and specifications, down to the stone walls, wood trimming, and side-by-side carhop service stalls, said Jim Louder, who will own the Bob’s Big Boy in Downey.

“Whenever you undertake a project of this size, there’s a certain amount of apprehension,” said Louder, who also owns the Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance. “But the folks from town have been very supportive and made us feel very welcome and that goes a long way. We’re very excited about this.”

Adriene Biondo of the Los Angeles Conservancy said she was happy to see a Bob’s take over Johnie’s and predicted success for the new eatery.

“I don’t think there’s anybody better to step in on this project,” said Biondo, whose group had been battling for years to save Johnie’s Broiler from the wrecking ball. “There’s a sense of relief today. This is a culmination of so many years of work.”

Christos Smyrniotis purchased Johnie’s Broiler in 1966. He also said he was relieved to see Bob’s Big Boy take over the property.

“I’m very happy to see this happen,” he said. “I owned five restaurants in the 1960s, and I’ll never own another one.”

Johnie’s Broiler was illegally demolished on Jan. 7 of last year by then-tenant Ardas Yanik, who had been rebuffed by the city in previous attempts to redevelop the property into a strip mall.