Montebello News

In what could be her last night at the city's helm, Mayor Rosie Vasquez called a special meeting to purchase six properties, recommence enforcement of a law that prohibits large trucks from operating in the city and possibly fire the city attorney.

Five months after a pizza parlor shooting spree that left three dead, an active investigation is still ongoing.

Under the watchful eye of a dozen judges and about 1,000 spectators, 40 marching bands performed Saturday in the 56th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands.

Heart of Compassion Food Distribution is partnering with the city of Montebello to distribute food to the first 500 families from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Holifield Park, 1060 S. Greenwood Ave.

At least THESE two meetings are on the city's website. Two more special meetings, one for the CRA, and one for the City Council were called by outgoing Mayor Rosie Vasquez mere days before being forced out of office by the voters this past Nov. 3. Public comments are scheduled at both meetings.

Regular session of the Special City Council Meeting starts at 6:30pm. Individuals interested in addressing the City Council on any agenda item or topic must fill out a form provided at the door, and turn it in to the City Clerk prior to 6:30pm, forms turned in after 6:30pm will be held until the next regular meeting.

Wells Fargo mortgage consultants will be on hand today to provide prospective homebuyers with all the information they need when buying a home.

Police are looking for whoever broke into a Best Buy store early Friday and helped themselves to about $50,000 worth of Sony PlayStation 3 video game systems and other electronics.

Many in the audience gasped as long-time Montebello City Administrator Richard Torres announced the $15,000-a-month salary of his temporary replacement, Nick Pacheco.

Some active members of the community say they need to know more about Pacheco. “We don’t know who Pacheco is,” says Luis de la Peza, a 50-year resident of Montebello and co-chair of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force.

A Whittier man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Wednesday after his car hit an electrical pole and trees, injuring two of his passengers.

A major single-vehicle crash in Montebello left one person seriously injured Wednesday, police said.

A pregnant woman is in custody on suspicion of driving drunk when her vehicle collided with another car also driven by a drunk driver, according to Montebello fire officials.

In her last act as mayor, Rosie Vasquez joined two colleagues on the City Council in appointing a former Los Angeles City Councilman to the post of interim city administrator.

A special meeting has been called by the Mayor for the third time in two business days for Monday, November 16 at 4:00 p.m., but there is no mention of it on the city's website, only a single piece of paper posted behind city hall.

The stated purpose of this meeting is to fill six high positions in city government two weeks before turning over her council seat to the ostensive new council majority. You might want to call the city clerk before attending to make sure it hasn't been cancelled again.

La Habra Councilman Steve Simonian was recently inducted into the Montebello High School Hall of Fame by the school's alumni association.

Contracts should go to the lowest bidder - at least that's the rule of law under which cities and other local governments operate, with the exception of Montebello's Athens contract.

Mayor Rosie Vasquez called a special meeting Friday at 4:00 pm to accept the resignation of City Administrator Richard Torres who announced his retirement months ago.

Is this the first "Scorched Earth" tactic of the outgoing Athens' contract supporters to devastate Montebello's budget as they are forced from office? A citizen of Montebello raised this issue at the last city council meeting, and this is apparently Mayor Vasquez' response.

Why else would there be no mention of this "Special Meeting" on the city's website?

Longtime Councilman Bill Molinari and two challengers won three open City Council seats in voting on Tuesday.

Photo: The First Photo of Gomez, Molinari and Barajas together, at 1:00am, just after final results came in. Copyrighted Photo used with permission of Bill Molinari

Voters ousted Mayor Rosie Vasquez and paved the way for longtime Councilman Bill Molinari to go from outsider to leader of a new City Council majority.

The Planning Commission on Monday night voted unanimously for a zoning change that would permit check-cashing businesses to open no less than a half-mile apart from each other.

With the top three vote totals, Bill Molinari, Art Barajas and Frank Gomez now become an new anti-Athens' style contract, anti-1200 mainly condo proposed project majority. With virtually all the candidates decrying the Athens' contract, the Hills appear to have been the deciding factor in this election. Will the bottom six run in the recall elections?